Showing results by narrator "Laura Kirman" in All Categories

A Daphne du Maurier-esque chiller set on the mysterious Cornish coast from the author of The Silent Companions and The Corset. Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft’s family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken. But Dr Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home.

The explosive new stand-alone thriller from the author of the Spider Shepherd series. Sally Page is an MI5 'footie', a junior Secret Service Agent who maintains 'legends': fake identities or footprints used by real spies. Her day consists of maintaining flats and houses where the legends allegedly live, doing online shopping, using payment, loyalty and travel cards and going on social media in their names - anything to give the impression to hostile surveillance that the legends are living, breathing individuals.

For Rose, every day is a gift. She narrowly survived a life-threatening illness and owes everything to her anonymous donor. Determined to thank him, Rose follows a trail of clues that lead her to the little Cornish fishing village of Falford. But things become complicated when Rose is drawn into local life, becoming involved in the legendary Falford Regatta and meeting the handsome Morvah brothers—one of whom might just be the man she’s looking for. But which one? Can Rose find the answer she’s searching for, or will she lose her heart before the summer is over?

Browsing antiques shops in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait - supposedly of Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better.... The woman is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 as an unwanted orphan and presumed dead after going missing as a child. The painting is more than just a beautiful object from Alison's past - it holds the key to her future, unlocking the mystery surrounding Mary's disappearance and the enigma of Alison's son.

Sophy Stevens is moving to Australia. Turning thirty has found her unexpectedly out of a job, out of a relationship, and just in need of Something Different - and Australia, where she can finally meet her grandparents and surprise them on their wedding anniversary, looks like the perfect answer...if she can save up the money for the plane ticket. So when her feckless, absent dad Johnno offers her a job at his vintage clothes shop in Primrose Hill, she can't turn it down.

Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Lucy Dillon and Debbie Johnson. A Christmas Tail was first published as a four-part e-serial set in Primrose Terrace. Catherine "Cat" Palmer realizes that bringing an adorable puppy into work is a bad idea, especially when it gets her the sack. Deciding it's the perfect opportunity to launch her dog-walking business, Cat enlists the help of flatmates Polly and Joe.

The annual dog show is looming, a crucial event when it comes to fundraising and ensuring the volunteers can continue the brilliant work they do. But their trusted newspaper reporter, who always includes them in his weekly column, is retiring, only to be replaced with a city-slicker named Darryl. And Darryl, as Ginny soon learns, has no interest in articles he deems 'below him'. Not one to take no as an answer, Ginny becomes determined to get him to meet the dogs themselves. One look at their cute faces and they'll worm their way into his heart.

Stranded in Rome, with all planes grounded due to volcanic ash, Callum gratefully accepts a lift back to London with a friend-of-a-friend who's on her way home after a European road trip in a campervan. But when he meets her, his heart plummets - she's Emma, his ex, The ex, and he can't be stuck in a van with her. When Emma sees Callum again, she's horrified. It's taken so many years to heal her heart - she really doesn't want to spend the next few days in close quarters with him.

The stories of two very different women, linked by the secrets and lies of history, merge together as past and present weave together in this stunning story of love, loss and resilience. 2016. Kitty, fleeing from a devastating revelation in her own life, finds herself at her great-grandfather's cabin in Lake Akanabee. There she discovers a gorgeous necklace, which leads her uncover to long-buried family secret. 1914. Tatiana, Grand Princess of Russia, falls in love with Dmitri, a Russian solider, as she nurses him back to health.

You’ve heard of the Afterlife. Welcome to the Beforelife. There are four of us: Samuel, Lucy, Thomas, and me – Eliza. We came into being the day Becca Valentine was born. We’ve been by her side ever since. What she doesn’t know yet, is that one day she might become our mother. Then two men come into her life. Both seeking her heart. And then we realise: everything rests on Becca’s love story. Because one of the men is Lucy and Thomas’s father. And the other is mine and Samuel’s. And there’s simply no way we can all be born.

Jodie Jackson is leaving her London life, her career and her husband behind. She'd like a chance to turn back the clocks, but she'll settle for some peace and quiet on her brother Bill's houseboat. But from the moment Jodie steps aboard her new home, it's clear she'll struggle to keep herself to herself. If it isn't Marilyn, who cleans for Bill and is under strict instructions to look after Jodie, then it's Ned, the noisy sculptor on the next-door houseboat. Ned's wood carving is hard on the ears, but it's made up for by the fact that he's rather easy on the eyes.

His charisma and glamour ensured him the status of a rock star prince. Yet Edward gave up the British throne, the British Empire and his position as Emperor of India to marry his true love, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. So much gossip and innuendo has been levelled at Wallis Simpson that it has become nearly impossible to discern the real woman. Many have wondered why, when Edward could have had anyone he desired, he was smitten with this unusual American woman.

Lucy Gibson needs to get away. When her good-looking, popular boyfriend Nick Laurentis, winner of reality TV show Hot Shots, proposes to her on air she's stunned - into silence. Every girl loves a romantic gesture, but she's just not ready for that kind of commitment. With the press hounding her as the one who callously broke Nick's heart, Lucy escapes her London flat to seek refuge in an isolated Cornwall cottage. But little does she realise that life down there will be far from uncomplicated. . .

Suddenly Maddy is right there… in her very own future. And it’s all wrong, yet again. It happens to her every time. When the kisses lead to the bedroom, just when she thinks she might have found the one… Just for a split second, Maddy disappears, and she finds that she’s living her own life. But ten years into the future. She’s only there for a little while. But each time, it’s long enough to know that she doesn’t want to be any of those future versions of Maddy. Because every man she falls for seems to lead her to a future that is just… wrong. Until she meets Oliver.

Jules and Holly have been best friends since university. They tell each other everything, trading revelations and confessions and sharing both the big moments and the small details of their lives: Holly is the only person who knows about Jules’ affair; Jules was there for Holly when her husband died. And their two children - just three years apart - have grown up together. So when Jules’ daughter, Saffie, makes a rape allegation against Holly’s son, Saul, neither woman is prepared for the devastating impact this will have on their friendship or their families.

Famous works of art are disappearing from all over the world. One moment they are there, the next, they have crumbled to dust. Peanut Jones and her friends suspect it might have something to do with the magical world of Chroma and the wicked Mr White's plot to wipe out colour, art and creativity. It's time to head back to the Illustrated City and help the resistance fight back.

Blackpool, 1938. Miss Margaret Finch - a rather demure young woman - has just begun work in a position that relies on her discretion and powers of observation, when her path is crossed by the disgraced Rector of Stiffkey (aka Harold Davidson) who is the subject of a national scandal, and newspaper headlines. Margaret is determined to discover the truth about Davidson; is he a maligned hero or an exploiter of the vulnerable? But her own troubles are never far away, and Margaret's fear that the history is about to repeat itself means she needs to uncover the truth urgently.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel, read by a returning cast. We always thought the biggest threat to humanity would come from the outside. We were wrong. As the human race picks up the pieces of destruction left behind, a new world order emerges. New alliances are formed. Old divisions are strengthened. And, with a power struggle fuelled by the threat of mutually assured destruction, nothing is certain.

Rome, AD 37. The emperor is dying. No-one knows how long he has left. The power struggle has begun. When the ailing Tiberius thrusts Caligula's family into the imperial succession in a bid to restore order, he will change the fate of the empire and create one of history's most infamous tyrants, Caligula. But was Caligula really a monster? Forget everything you think you know. Let Livilla, Caligula's youngest sister and confidante, tell you what really happened.

Maureen Jackson knew life as a trainee nurse wouldn't be easy, but she didn't expect her hospital to be badly bombed on her first shift. Plus Maureen still has her family and friends in Mulberry Lane to keep her busy - she's needed as much there as she is by her patients. Running the pub on the corner of Mulberry Lane, Peggy Ashley is used to taking in all sorts of waifs and strays. But the arrival of a dashing American captain has got tongues wagging about Mulberry Lane's favourite landlady....