Joanne Harris

The wind has always dictated Vianne Rocher's every move, buffeting her from the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes to the crowded streets of Paris. Cloaked in a new identity, that of widow Yanne Charbonneau, she opens a chocolaterie on a small Montmartre street, determined to still the wind at last and keep her daughters, Anouk and baby Rosette, safe. But the weather vane soon turns, and Zozie de l'Alba blows into their lives. Charming and enigmatic,...

It's an incendiary moment for St Oswald's school. For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls. Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered. Rebecca will bury the past so deep it will evade even her own memory, just like she has done before.

The trickster god Loki describes the rise and fall of the gods of the Norse, detailing how he left Chaos to serve Odin until the fall of Asgard.

Vianne Rochet returns to the French village of Lansquenet with her daughters, Anouk and Rosette, before allying herself with a desperate Father Frances Reynaud to reverse disturbing local changes.

The 120 recipes include French classics such as Onion Soup and Onion Tart, Coq au Vin, and Crème Brûle;e, as well as family favorites like Anouchka's Chile Garlic Bread, great-aunt Simone's Marinated Tuna, and great-aunt Marinette's Slow Fudge Sauce. There's also an entire chapter devoted to chocolate -- cakes, meringues, and spiced hot chocolate.

When a single mother and her young daughter move to rural France and open a chocolate shop - with Sunday hours - across the street from the local church, they are met with some resistance from the rigidly moral community. But as soon as the townspeople discover their delicious products, their attitudes begin to change.