Showing results by narrator "Emma Noakes" in All Categories

In the teeming underhive of Hive Primus, the de facto capital of Necromunda, untold billions clamour for scraps as they attempt to eke out something barely resembling an existence. While the gilded elite enjoy the trappings of luxury in the towering spires above and the lowest of the low barely survive, many turn to the streets and each other for survival, and these are some of their stories.

Roach, a bookseller and a loner, is content to spend her days hoarding true crime proofs, listening to murder podcasts, and sneering at the predictable tastes of her normie customers. That is, until Laura joins the bookshop. Everyone loves Laura, with her neat outfits, literary tote bags and beautiful poetry. But Laura has a dark side that only Roach can see, and when Roach uncovers her tragic past, curiosity blooms into obsession. As Roach's boundaries disintegrate, it becomes clear that she will do anything to infiltrate Laura's life—and at any cost.

1990: Holly is a fresher student at Oxford University. Out of her depth and nervous about her surroundings, she falls into an uneasy friendship with a group of older students from the upper echelons of society and begins to develop feelings for one in particular. He’s confident, quiet, attractive and seems to like her, too. But as the year progresses, her friends’ behaviour grows steadily more disconcerting, and Holly begins to realise she might just be a disposable pawn in a very sinister game.

Southampton 1920. Phoebe Collins rose to the challenge of running the family fruit and veg stall when her father did not return from the front. The work outside in Kingsland market in all weathers can be hard, but with her mother and younger brother Tim to support, she's determined that it continue to be a success.

Violet Veil wants nothing more than to prove her worth and become her father’s apprentice at Veil & Sons Undertakers. And one rain-soaked night she gets her chance when she meets a boy, Oliver, who is wandering around the graveyard. Only, the last time Violet saw Oliver, he was indoors and very much dead, waiting to be buried. Violet has just found her first case and it doesn’t get bigger than this: can she, with the help of her dog, Bones, help Oliver solve his own ‘murder’.

Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world. But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren't necessarily the ones you can see.

In the polluted, sprawling hive cities of Necromunda, life is short. From the decadent heights of the Spire to the murderous deeps of the underhive, those on the climb must be bold and brutal, or face a violent end. When the barbarous Fettnir, Goliath overlord of the Chemfall Butchers, turns his attention to Escher territory, the result is nothing short of a massacre. Brielle of the Wild Hydras escapes the slaughter and is cast into the deepest levels of the underhive.

Baggit is a fast-talking ratling sniper with a greedy eye and loose morals. Clodde is an ogryn, a brute with a core of decency and a desire for a better life. Two abhuman deserters turned thieves, at large in the monolithic city of Varangantua, where only the tough or the ruthless survive. Having landed in debt to a savage crime lord, Baggit and Clodde end up in the crosshairs of the meanest, most puritanical sanctioner in the city.

In 1976, four students took a trip to the desert. Now the repercussions of that fateful summer are coming back to haunt them. And repercussions are just what Guy doesn't need: his wife, Jane, is moving swiftly from slightly eccentric to downright peculiar, their three-year-old daughter seems set on destroying Jane's sanity, and now even God's gone quiet on him. As for Nina, she's having enough trouble with her son, James. He's got exams looming, a new girlfriend with pneumatic breasts, and now, it seems, he's on drugs. Nina certainly won't welcome any ghosts from the past.

Twenty-four-year-old Daisy Moore is at a crossroads. Racked with guilt over her mother’s tragic death in a house fire, she needs a job and somewhere to live. She’s offered a lifeline, working at the Dolphin Hotel in the quiet Oxfordshire village of Fernfield. It’s a huge change after her exciting secret wartime work in London. Though the villagers aren’t keen on outsiders – or young women who speak their mind. But when a body is found in one of the hotel bedrooms, Daisy must use all her skills to help find the murderer.

One thing about me: I HATE flying. It’s my worst nightmare. That’s why I book seat 2A every time I fly. Since my big win, I've been booking seats 2B and 2C as well. They’re my comfort seats, they cushion the claustrophobia, and at last I can afford them. I am now determined to live the life of luxury. I deserve it, after all. How to Live Like a Millionaire is the book I’m reading on this flight. When it lands on the floor, a handsome guy hands it back to me. I know he clocks the title, because he’s totally charming and talks to me as if I’m one of the Marbella Millionaire set.

Bee stumbles through life in her stripy socks with her head in the clouds, doing her very best to keep out of the way of her bickering parents and avoid the bendy tap-dancing freak Crystal Kelly - who makes her life a misery. But when Crystal double-dares her to volunteer for a sponsored swim in honour of her great grandmother Beatrix's memory, Bee can't back down. Even though she is terrified of water and cannot swim! Then new boy Moon-Star gallops to Bee's rescue on his horse and takes her to meet Old Alice, who lives in a beautiful painted wagon.

Lieutenant Ronnie Carpenter and his wife check into their chintzy room at the Dolphin Hotel. Then Ronnie steps out for some air. Never to return. He’s only just checked in. Now he’s vanished without a trace. The next morning, Ronnie’s body is found, slumped in the passenger seat of a stolen car, abandoned on Broadmeadow Farm. A bullet through his head. Dolphin manageress Daisy Moore can’t help but be drawn into the investigation. Especially when Ronnie’s long-suffering wife comes crying to her for help. Simply devastated. But Daisy can’t shake the feeling that her tears are all for show.

Since her mum’s death, Marnie Platt has shut herself away from everyone who cares about her. Worse, her beloved bookshop on Ever After Street is suffering too. With sales down and the shop’s garden falling into disrepair, Marnie risks losing the very last thing she loves. Until a chance encounter with her surly and reclusive neighbour. Dark and brooding, Darcy O'Connell likes to keep himself to himself. But when he hears Marnie needs help, he can’t turn his back on her. Soon they are spending most evenings together in her enchanted garden and a friendship starts to bloom.

Willem has Asperger’s Syndrome and two main aims in life: to fly and to make at least two friends of his own age. As he stands on the edge of a wall, Sasha gives him a wink. Might she become his friend? As he flies through the air he wishes he could fly and escape. Instead he comes crashing down and breaks his ankle. Sasha is determined to put things right.

In a near future where a series of environmental disasters has left much of the country underwater, Pearl lives on a floating oyster farm with her father and younger sister Clover. Following her mum's death several years earlier, Pearl refuses to set foot on land, believing her illness was caused by the poisons in the ground. Meanwhile, Clover dreams of a normal life. Then Nat comes to spend the summer at the sea farm while his scientist mum conducts some experiments. But when the sisters promise to keep his secret safe, little do they realize that they may be risking everything.

On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help. Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames - and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands. But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible? And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?

Harry Christmas and Angie Moon are best friends and almost-twins. Ever since they were born two days apart they’ve been partners in cloud-spotting, sweet-eating and treehouse-building. But when Harry is taken to hospital for headaches that won’t go away, he needs Angie more than ever. Because when things fall apart, only a best friend can stitch them back together. Told through Angie's lively diary, this is a bittersweet story about friendship and growing up.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but Franca Andrews has never felt more miserable. With business far from bustling, she needs a Christmas miracle to keep her beloved nutcracker shop open... But there’s one man standing in her way - expert snow globe maker Raff Dardenne. Dardenne Snow Globes have a magical reputation for bringing lovers together, a myth Raff continues to exploit. But this Christmas their shops are pitted against each other and only one gets to stay on Ever After Street. As these two enemies get to know each other, Franca discovers another side to Raff.

Cleo Jordan has only ever wished for one thing – to open her own teashop in memory of her lovely gran. So when she accidentally fools the interview board into thinking she's a brilliant baker and is offered a prime spot on Ever After Street, she knows her dream is about to come true! Stepping into The Wonderland Teapot is like falling down the rabbit hole - magical! But there’s a catch: Cleo has completely lost her love of baking! With her little white lie ticking in her ear, it seems her dream is over before it’s begun. Until she meets her very own Mad Hatter.