Lesley Pearse, No.1 bestselling author of The Promise and Belle is back with Survivor, the story of Mariette, a born fighter. It is 1938 and headstrong eighteen-year-old Mari Carrera leaves a gossipy small town in rural New Zealand aboard the SS Rimutaka. Rather too careless with her reputation, Mari is bound for the bustling anonymity of London — but she is all too willing to be seduced by the temptations of the glittering West End. Until war comes and snatches it all away. As the Blitz rains death on London, Mari's life is blown apart. Lost and alone in the burning West End, she learns that to endure this war she must find the strength, selflessness and compassion locked within her. And soon this born survivor must risk everything — putting her life on the line for others. From internationally bestselling author, Lesley Pearse, Survivor is a story of bravery and love. Utterly riveting, brilliant. (Closer). Characters it is impossible not to care about. (Daily Mail). Full of love, passion and heartbreak. (Best). Lesley Pearse's novels have sold over five million copies worldwide. Her sixteen most recent books, including Forgive Me, The Promise, and Belle are huge bestsellers and available as Penguin paperbacks. Lesley lives near Bristol and has three daughters and three grandchildren.

On the outbreak of war, Belle Reilly's husband Jimmy enlists and heads for the deadly trenches of northern France. Volunteering to help battlefield wounded, Belle is posted to France as a Red Cross ambulance driver. There, a tragic accident brings her face to face with Etienne — a man from her past she's never quite forgotten.

She witnessed a murder — and now her life is in danger... Fifteen year-old Belle, though raised in a London brothel, is an innocent. But when she witnesses one of the girls brutally strangled by a client, she is cast into a cruel, heartless world. Snatched from the streets and sold into prostitution, she is made a courtesan in New Orleans. At the mercy of desperate men who crave her beauty and will do anything to keep her, Belle's dreams of home, family and freedom appear futile. Are Belle's courage and spirit strong enough to help her escape? And what will await her at the end of the long, dangerous journey home? Lesley Pearse, author of Number One bestseller Stolen, has done it again with Belle — a heroine for our times: a strong woman trying to be good in a world gone bad.