Showing results by narrator "Deborah Balm" in All Categories

young life full of promise. She bore three strong sons and delivered the kingdom of Orkney to her brother by way of her marriage. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful—for her name, her dowry, and her womb. Now, twenty years after she left her home, Anna is summoned back to Carelon with the crown of her now-dead husband, to face the demons of her childhood: her sisters Morgen, Elaine, and Morgause; Merlin and his scheming priests; and Bedevere, the man she once loved.

Lord Gabriel Phel wants one thing: to rebuild the shattered fortunes of his people and restore his ruined house to its former station in the Convocation’s highest tiers of elegant society. Fortunately, through a wild chance of birth, he was born with powerful wizard magic, the first in his family in generations. If he can obtain a familiar to amplify his magic, a highborn daughter he can marry, to be mother to his children, he’ll be that much closer to saving his family. With her, he can ascend to such a position of power in the Convocation that he can destroy it forever.

How do I change my dog’s behaviour without taking away their freedom to be a dog? How do I know if I’m meeting my dog’s needs? Or even what those needs are? The answer is Good Guardianship. Join best-selling writer and dog obsessive Sally Gutteridge to consider what your dog needs in their life with you in her latest book. Get right to the heart of your dog and learn how to recognise and meet their individual preferences. Provide safe opportunities to practice natural dog behaviour, while also creating enriching experiences that build confidence and reduce stress.

Agnes Lockwood returns to Tyneside, only to stumble across another dead body. On her first visit, she helped the police solve a murder and gained quite the reputation as an amateur sleuth. Now, she is simply looking forward to meeting again with Alan Johnson, a DCI with the Newcastle police force. She is hoping their relationship will continue to blossom, but on her first day back in the city, she gets caught up in another murder. And this time, her intrusion into the police investigation pushes Alan Johnson’s patience to the very limit.

The Witzel Solstice Party is the highlight of an otherwise quiet winter season in Pigsend. But when Vellora and Ida Witzel start receiving mysterious, threatening letters, the party—and their own safety—may be in jeopardy. Across the street, Bev's got an inn full of suspects—and a freak winter storm to keep them all in one place. They all have their secrets, and it's a race against time and melting snow to figure out who's blackmailing the butchers—and which secret they're threatening to expose.

Agnes Lockwood is no stranger to crime scenes, but even she is shocked when she finds the body of a man lying on the floor of the ladies' room. With her partner Alan - the local DCI - they set about tracking the murderer. This time, they are joined by her friend Sandra. But is one of them holding back something that could further their inquiry?

Haunted by sorrow and regret, Margaret Hale stands at the precipice of an uncertain destiny. Fiercely determined but not knowing how to find her way, she risks the little she has left on the heart she once shattered - hoping somehow to win back his respect, if not his love...Since he was a boy, John Thornton has fought the consequences of his father’s mistakes. Crushed on all sides, all he has left to offer the one who needs him most is a home, and a heart that aches for her.

This comprehensive volume on dowsing and divining - from the twig and the pendulum to motorscopes and bare hands - traces the story of these fascinating and enigmatic phenomena from its origins in the world of fairy tales and mythology to recent theories that the enigma can be explained in terms of present-day psychology. The audiobook introduces us, in lucid style, to the fascinating world of dowsing and divining, and gives the listener full instructions on how to attempt to become one of this international community.

Summer has arrived in Pigsend, and it’s not just the sweltering temperatures putting everyone on edge. It’s the sixth anniversary of the war ending, and a cadre of soldiers is camping north of town to keep the peace and monitor for strange activity. Rumor has it a rebellion is brewing, one that threatens to plunge the country back into war—not that anyone in Pigsend is keen on that. At the Weary Dragon, Bev’s playing host to the usual set of travelers, including butcher Vellora’s old commander Andres.

Spring is on the horizon, and the Weary Dragon Inn is getting its annual deep clean. But before Bev can even finish scrubbing the windows, Carpenter Earl's workshop goes up in flames. Earl's convinced the local kids are behind the mischief, but when more buildings come crashing down under mysterious circumstances, Bev's on the case once more.

After escaping to the garden for a reprieve from the stuffy ballroom, Miss Evelyn Trainor bumps into a handsome stranger through a hedge. When he boldly requests an introduction, she lies and tells him a fake name, Lady Eve, positive she’ll never see him again. But when she returns to the country for Christmas and finds her handsome stranger — the Duke of Alverton — has moved in next door for the holidays, she does what she must to guard her secret.

Lady Seliah Phel can’t escape feeling like she’s one of those fairytale princesses awakened from a long slumber—except that her life is no romantic story and there’s no happy ending in sight. Though she has her magic and she’s been rescued from the depths of madness that consumed her since adolescence, Selly finds that the years she lost aren’t so easily recovered. Everyone treats her like the child they remember.

Sol Yarrow didn't ask for much. A nice day for hunting. A peaceful shift at her gods-awful job. A steaming bowl of her Aunt's famous stew. But after twenty-five years of simplicity, everything she thought to be true was rewritten when four strangers came to her town of Yavenharrow to take her back to a shielded land known to be inhabited by ruthless Elemental Magic Wielders, a land only known by rumors and bedtime stories.

In a fast-moving and compelling narrative, reporter David Ricketts takes listeners inside the rooms where extraordinary sums of other people’s money were wagered, trapped, and, ultimately, lost, in a scandal still sending shockwaves through the world of finance.

Formed of audio transcripts of covert recordings and team member journal entries, this book documents Operation Dawn Wolf, an eyes-only covert operation to identify and terminate the perpetrators of ongoing [redacted] of the highly secret Special Operations candidate-selection process. The transcripts document the progression of covertly recruited 2Lt [redacted] (now known as Carrie Harris, a.k.a. candidate Corra Hughes) through the agency’s Special Operations selection process [redacted].

Two young women are stabbed to death in Tyneside. But what's the connection? After a trip to the coast, Agnes Lockwood is shocked when she finds a young woman tucked away behind the litter bins in Newcastle Central Station. DCI Alan Johnson and Sergeant Andrews quickly set up an investigation. They soon learn that this is only the first case of its kind, when another stabbing takes place on the Newcastle quayside. Naturally, Agnes is keen to help with the investigation. DCI Johnson insists that she stays away from the case, but Agnes has never been a woman to be put off so easily.

Christmas 1940. Despite the rationing and the blackout, excitement at Mollison Farm is building as Alice and her workforce prepare for the annual Christmas Eve party. The snow has arrived, and this year, Alice has a big secret. She has invited her evacuee children’s mother to spend a few precious days with her kids at Christmas. But disaster strikes, and Alice is given the shocking news that Rose’s home is now nothing more than a pile of bricks, and the woman herself is missing, lost in the blitz.

It's the wedding of the year in Pigsend, at least if you talk to Vicky Hamblin. The bride-to-be is dead set on making her wedding to baker Allen Mackey the most perfect spectacle in the history of weddings, if only to impress her two snooty aunts. Bev's in charge of hosting them at the Weary Dragon Inn, along with a carefully-curated list of other family members, all designed to impress. But when things start going awry, and Vicky suspects someone might be out to sabotage her wedding, Bev's on the case once more. Can she find out who's out to get the bride before the big day?

After receiving a most unexpected personal invitation for a weekend of leisure and celebration, Miss Victoria Parker leaves London for the country seat of the Duke of Everton. Although unsure as to why a lowly spinster such as she would be invited anywhere by a duke, Victoria's trusted assistant, James Kensington, assures her it must concern her late father’s accounting firm, which she secretly runs.

Lady Veronica Elal has been freed from her tower—and entered a life of servitude. It doesn’t matter that her wizard master has odd ideas about circumventing Convocation tradition and making their relationship equal. Nic prides herself on her practicality, and that means not pretending her marriage is full of hearts and flowers. Besides, she understands that, despite her new husband’s idealism, they face obstacles so great the pair of them could be crushed to nothing, even without dashing themselves brainless trying to fight the Convocation.