Paperback: 320pp

Published: Lightning Books (February 2019)

ISBN: 9780956832351

The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay

Nicola May

£7.99

The number one bestseller

‘A sunny, funny, lovely story guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart’ – Milly Johnson

Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash. However, while the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he or she has left one important proviso: the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.

Rosa resolves to get the shop, in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay, up and running again. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed – and who will work secretly to see her fail?

A handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter, a selection of meddling locals, and a dachshund named Hot Dog, together with a hit-and-run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace, all play their part in an unpredictable journey of self-discovery in this runaway bestseller from chick-lit publishing phenomenon Nicola May.

Extracts

‘Are you sure you’ve got the right person?’

Rosa took off her bright blue woolly hat and scratched the back of her head, causing her dark brown curls to become even more unruly.

The tall, pinched-faced solicitor nodded. ‘Yes, of course we have. Evans, Donald and Simpson do not make mistakes. You, Miss Larkin, are now the official owner of the Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay.’

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Extracts

‘Are you sure you’ve got the right person?’

Rosa took off her bright blue woolly hat and scratched the back of her head, causing her dark brown curls to become even more unruly.

The tall, pinched-faced solicitor nodded. ‘Yes, of course we have. Evans, Donald and Simpson do not make mistakes. You, Miss Larkin, are now the official owner of the Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay.’

He handed the bewildered twenty-five-year-old a battered leather briefcase and pointed to a small combination padlock on its brass clasp.

‘Here. The will stated that you – and only you – can open this, using your date of birth.’

‘This is all very strange,’ Rosa said. ‘And where exactly is this Cockleberry Bay?’

‘Devon, dear, Devon.’ The solicitor looked under his rimless glasses. ‘I take it you know where that is?’

‘I may have a cockney accent, Mr Donald, but I’m not stupid.’

‘Well, open it then.’ The solicitor was shifting from foot to foot in anticipation. He confided, ‘We’ve been wanting to know what’s in there for days.’

Showing no emotion, Rosa gazed at him with her striking green eyes and asked coolly: ‘Is there anything else I need?’

‘Er, no – but are you not going to . . .?’

‘I need to get to work.’ Rosa put her hat and scarf back on, zipped up her fur-lined bomber jacket and headed for the door. ‘Thank you so much for your help.’

And she was gone.

‘Rude!’

The solicitor peered crossly out of the window of the offices in Staple Inn and watched as the young woman, the briefcase in her arms, strode across the frosty cobbled courtyard and out into the bustle of London’s ancient legal quarter.

quotes

‘A sunny, funny, lovely story guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart’

Milly Johnson

‘Don't dare forget the name of Nicola May’

Anne Diamond

‘I’d be delighted to have Cockleberry Bay on my bookshelf’

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, on Radio 4’s You & Yours

reviews

‘It works as a delightful romantic comedy novel, but also a cosy crime mystery and moving story of personal growth and transformation’

Booklover Book Reviews

‘This book is so addictive that you will literally lose three hours of your life and you won't care’

Cara’s Book Boudoir

‘One of my favourite books of this year so far’

That Thing She Reads

‘This fab book offers you mystery, romance, drama and comedy. It is filled with a great array of realistic characters and at times feels like a little soap opera. Can’t wait for the sequel!’

BlondeWriteMore

‘A thoroughly uplifting and inspiring read’

Jera’s Jamboree

extras

Nicola May is interviewed by Anne Diamond on BBC Radio Berkshire shortly after the publication of her first novel.

Here's how The Bookseller reported our acquisition.

Nicola tells her amazing story, of getting her self-published novel The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay to the #1 spot in the UK Kindle charts, to Female First.

Here she tells the same story to the Daily Mail.

And here it is, reported by The Times.

Here’s Nicola on BBC Radio 4's consumer programme You and Yours talking about the challenges of being an ‘invisible’ bestselling author – ignored by most of the book trade because she made her breakthrough on ebook.

And here's an Amazon blog in which Nicola tells her self-publishing story.

This is one to treasure: the Indian website Indulge Express recommends The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay alongside Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light in its top four reads of the week.

ABOUT

Nicola May

Nicola May is a rom-com superstar. She is the author of sixteen romantic comedies, all of which have appeared in the Kindle bestseller charts. The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay became the best-selling Kindle book in the UK, across all genres, in January 2019, and was Amazon’s third-bestselling novel in that year. It spawned three sequels, followed by the hit Ferry Lane Market trilogy.

She lives near Ascot racecourse with her black-and-white rescue cat, Stan.