Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. 
 
 
The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures.The Cook (Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year) was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series – The Detective (Sunday Times Top Crime Books of the Year) – is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy (Longlisted Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing), the fourth book, sees Kamil infiltrate a terrorist cell. The Shadow (A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month) is the latest book in the series.

Ajay Chowdhury

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Donna Douglas

A fascinating journey into the historical world of the Nurses of Nightingale Hospital. Follow their story as together they cope with the demands of war, love and loss, and traumas both in and out of the Hospital.

Three very different girls sign up as student nurses in 1936, while England is still mourning the death of George V. Dora is a tough East Ender, driven by ambition, but also desperate to escape her squalid, overcrowded home and her abusive stepfather. Helen is the quiet one, a mystery to her fellow nurses, avoiding fun, gossip and the limelight. In fact she is in the formidable shadow of her overbearing mother, who dominates every aspect of her life. Can a nursing career free Helen at last? The third of our heroines is naughty, rebellious Millie an aristocrat on the run from her conventional upper class life. She is doomed to clash over and over again with terrifying Sister Hyde and to get into scrape after scrape especially where men are concerned. 
 
This utterly delightful novel brings a London pre-war hospital vividly to life.

The Nightingale Girls

(Nightingales 1)

Christmas 1941 and the nurses at the Nightingale are facing their toughest winter yet. 
 
 
With shortages everywhere, and every news bulletin announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightingale Hospital is suffering too. 
 
 
Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family’s estate. It’s not long before her old world of The Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long-lost love… 
 
 
Jess is struggling with her move from East London to the quiet of the countryside. 
 
 
Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn’t last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth-talking GI. 
 
 
As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can’t protect the girls from heartache.

Nightingales Under the Mistletoe

(Nightingales 7)

THE BRAND NEW NIGHTINGALES NOVEL 
BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR DONNA DOUGLAS 
 
*** 
It's Christmas, 1945. The war is over, but its scars remain. 
 
Matron Kathleen Fox has the job of putting the Nightingale Hospital back together. But memories and ghosts of those lost fill the bomb-damaged buildings, and she wonders if she is up to the task. 
 
In the name of festive cheer Kathleen decides to put on a Christmas Show for the patients. The idea is greeted with mixed feelings by the nurses, who are struggling with their own post-war problems. And the newly-formed rivalry between newcomer Assistant Matron Charlotte Davis and ward sister Violet Tanner isn't helping matters. 
 
As rehearsals begin however, it seems the show isn't just a tonic for the patients - could the Nightingale Christmas Show be just what the doctor ordered for the nurses too?

The Nightingale Christmas Show

(Nightingales 9)

A HEARTWARMING WARTIME TALE FEATURING THE NURSES OF THE NIGHTINGALE HOSPITAL 
BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR DONNA DOUGLAS 
________________________________________ 
FOR THE NIGHTINGALE NURSES, THE WEDDING BELLS ARE RINGING... 
 
East London, 1917. 
 
Anna is over the moon when her sweetheart Edward returns from the front line. As he recovers from injuries sustained in war, they make plans to be married. But the horrors of the trenches cast a long shadow. 
 
Caring for shell-shocked soldiers brings untold challenges for Grace, and her parents have very different dreams for her future. Will she have the strength to forge her own path? 
 
Meanwhile Dulcie has her sights firmly set on her own happy ending. Yet sometimes we find love where we least expect to. 
 
Each nurse has her own battle to fight but they must pull together to find true happiness.

Nightingale Wedding Bells

A heartwarming wartime tale from the Nightingale Hospital

For the first time, a Nightingale nurses novel set during the First World War. Follow the senior staff as they overcome the trials of their training years. From Sunday Times top ten bestselling author, Donna Douglas. 
 
East London, 1914: Britain is preparing for war. As young men queue up across the country to enlist, the Nightingale Hospital has its own set of new recruits… 
 
Anna has had a happy upbringing in her parent’s bakery in Bethnal Green. But as war descends her family’s German roots will wrench them apart in ways Anna never could have imagined. 
 
Kate dreams of following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a doctor. With female doctors virtually unheard of, it will take courage to face off the prejudice around her. 
 
Sadie joins the Nightingale Hospital for a new life away from her mother’s interference. But the legacy of her family may not be so easy to escape… 
 
As the shadow of war descends, will the promise of Christmas help to bring the students together?

A Nightingale Christmas Promise

(Nightingales 10)

All that Dora Riley wants is her husband home safe for Christmas… 
 
The Nightingale Hospital, London, 1944: With her husband Nick away fighting, Dora struggles to keep the home fires burning and is put in charge of a ward full of German prisoners of war. Can she find it in her heart to care for her enemies? 
 
Fellow nurse Kitty thinks she might be falling for a German soldier, whilst Dora’s old friend Helen returns from Europe with a dark secret. 
 
Can the women overcome their prejudices and the troubles of their past to do their duty for their country?

A Nightingale Christmas Carol

(Nightingales 8)

As Christmas 1938 approaches, the staff at the Nightingale Hospital have their own wishes for the festive season. 
 
Ward sister Frannie Wallace is hoping she won’t have to live through another war like the one that claimed her beloved fiance. But with bomb defences going up all around London, it seems as if her hopes are in vain. 
 
Staff Nurse Helen Dawson wants to find happiness again after the death of her husband Charlie. A handsome stranger seems to offer the chance she wants. But is she looking for love in the wrong place? 
 
Matron Kathleen Fox struggles to keep up morale amongst her nurses as the hospital faces the threat of evacuation. But while everyone else worries about the future of the Nightingale, it’s for her own future that Kathleen truly fears. 
 
As the country prepares itself for war, one thing is for sure – by the time next Christmas comes, nothing at the Nightingale Hospital will be the same again…

A Nightingale Christmas Wish

(Nightingales 5)

As the war takes its toll, the Nightingale nurses must do their bit for king and country… 
 
Dora is the devoted mother of twin babies but, determined to help the war effort, she goes back to work at the Nightingale Hospital. 
 
More used to nights out in the West End, Jennifer and Cissy volunteer in the hope of tending to handsome soldiers. They soon find out that nursing isn’t quite what they were expecting. 
 
For shy and troubled Eve, the hospital provides an escape from the pressures of home, but the life of a nurse is never easy, especially at wartime. 
 
Can the nurses rally together while war rages all around them? And will the Nightingale Hospital survive the Blitz?

Nightingales at War

(Nightingales 6)

A Christmas short story, available only in ebook, from the author of The Nightingale Girls, The Nightingale Sisters and The Nightingale Nurses 
 
Christmas Eve, 1936 
 
On a foggy December night, a pregnant woman walks out in front of a trolley bus and is knocked unconscious. 
 
She is rushed to the Nightingale hospital, and a healthy baby is delivered. But the mother claims to have lost her memory, and cannot believe that the child is hers. 
 
It seems that the Nightingale nurses may need to perform a Christmas miracle.

A Child is Born: A Nightingales Christmas Story

An exclusive digital Christmas collection from the bestselling author Donna Douglas. Includes A Nightingale Christmas Wish and Nightingales Under the Mistletoe plus two short stories - A Child is Born and Little Girl Lost. 
 
A Child is Born: A Nightingales Christmas Story 
 
Christmas Eve, 1936 
 
On a foggy December night, a pregnant woman walks out in front of a trolley bus and is knocked unconscious. 
 
She is rushed to the Nightingale hospital, and a healthy baby is delivered. But the mother claims to have lost her memory, and cannot believe that the child is hers. 
 
It seems that the Nightingale nurses may need to perform a Christmas miracle. 
 
A Nightingale Christmas Wish 
 
It’s Christmas at the Nightingale Hospital … 
 
Sister Blake is revisited by a face from the past. Will buried secrets stop her from being happy? 
 
Lonely Helen Dawson has new responsibilities and trials, but is she looking for love in all the wrong places? 
 
And Matron puts the Nightingale first, even before her own health. With war looming large, will Matron and the Nightingale survive? 
 
With new hardships, new loves and new heartbreak, will anyone get their Christmas wish? 
 
A Little Girl Lost 
 
It’s Christmas time at The Nightingale Hospital and the children on Parry Ward are waiting eagerly for Father Christmas to arrive. 
 
But an unexpected arrival beats him to it and, as one discovery leads to another, the past comes back to confront the present. 
 
But will Staff Nurse Rose Chambers be able to forgive and forget? It is Christmas after all … 
 
Nightingales Under the Mistletoe 
 
Christmas 1941 and the Nightingale nurses are facing their toughest winter yet. 
 
With shortages everywhere, and each news bulletin announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightingale Hospital is suffering too. 
 
Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family’s estate. It’s not long before her old world of the Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long-lost love … 
 
Jess would rather be nursing on the front line but finds herself sent to the country. It isn’t long before the East End girl discovers there are battles to be fought on the home front too. 
 
Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn’t last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth-talking GI. 
 
As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can’t protect the girls from heartache.

A Nightingale Christmas Collection

‘Pay attention please, nurses. The next six months will be the most important of your lives’ 
 
 
It’s the final year of training for three young nurses at The Nightingale Hospital… 
 
Helen is at a crossroads in her life as she battles with her domineering mother over both her love life and her future career. 
 
Dora can't stop loving Nick, who is married to her best friend, Ruby. But Ruby is hiding a dark secret with the potential to destroy Ruby's marriage. 
 
Millie is anxious about her fiance, sent to Spain to cover the Civil War, and things only get worse when she encounters a fortune teller who gives her a sinister warning. 
 
With war looming in Europe, and the East End of London squaring up to the threat of Oswald Mosley's blackshirts, the women of the Nightingale have to face their own challenges, at work and in love. 
 
From the author of The Nightingale Girls and The Nightingale Sisters, this is the perfect read for fans of Call the Midwife.

The Nightingale Nurses

(Nightingales 3)

From the author of The Nightingale Girls, The Nightingale Sisters and The Nightingale Nurses – perfect for fans of Call the Midwife 
 
1937 sees new challenges for the trainee nurses 
 
Dora and her old enemy Lucy are paired up on the children’s ward for the final three months of their training. The two nurses couldn’t seem more different, but they may have more in common than they think, as each hides a secret heartache. 
 
… and new faces at the Nightingale 
 
Jess is the feisty eldest daughter of a notorious East End family and determined to prove herself as a ward maid. 
 
And new trainee nurse Effie can’t wait to escape her small Irish village, and make her way as a nurse in London. But Effie’s sister Katie soon begins to worry that Effie’s behaviour is out of control. 
 
Nightingales on call and in crisis: have they got what it takes?

Nightingales on Call

(Nightingales 4)

To the student nurses at The Nightingale hospital, the ward sisters are heartless and frightening, with impossibly high standards. But the sisters have troubles of their own... 
 
Violet 
 
The new night sister is not all that she seems. Who is she and what dark secret is she hiding? As the mystery deepens, Sister Wren is determined to find out the truth. 
 
Dora 
 
The student nurse is struggling with her own secret, and with her heartbreak over Nick, the man who got away. A new arrival on the ward brings the chance to put a smile back on her face. But can she really get over Nick so easily? 
 
Millie 
 
Dora’s fellow student is also torn between the two men in her life. But then an unexpected friendship with an elderly patient makes her question where her heart – and her future – really lies. 
As the nation mourns the death of King George V, it seems as if nothing is ever going to be the same again, especially for the women at the Nightingale.

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