Showing results by narrator "Lucy Brownhill" in All Categories

1941. It is the Second World War, and Louise Keene's small Cornish village is full of soldiers. Among them is the dashing RAF pilot Paul Bolton, who sweeps her off her feet, only to be deployed days later. Desperate not to be another girl pining for her sweetheart, Louise runs away to join the army, never imaging she would end up watching the pitch-black skies of London as a gunner girl....

Rachel was barely more than an infant when her father, Dennis, murdered her mother and sister. In prison ever since, Dennis has never said one word about why he killed two family members-or why he spared Rachel. Now a grown woman, Rachel has done everything she can to leave her terrible past behind. She has changed her identity and is now happily married to the love of her life, Dan. But there is a dark cloud on the horizon.

Annie has been sad for so long that she's forgotten how to be any other way. She's trudging miserably through every day, sheer determination keeping her going. Until she meets Polly. Polly is everything that Annie is not. She's colourful, joyful, happy. Because if recent events have taught Polly anything, it's that your time is too short to waste a single day.

As town greenwitch, Aster's dedicated her life to defending her people from the nightmarish fae of the forest. Yet despite her best efforts, each year a girl is taken as a tithe by the Beast who rules the Folkwood. None ever return. And this year, the Beast claims Aster. Trapped in a cursed palace, taunted by mischievous, invisible servants, Aster despairs of ever making it home. Then the Beast offers her a bargain—if she can restore his rose garden and break the curse on his court, he will set her free.

Amy is trapped in a nightmare with Jason, a controlling, violent husband. Then on a short cruise without him, Amy befriends Liz, a young woman traveling alone on her way to meet her birth mother for the first time. Liz looks so much like Amy that they could be sisters. When Amy regains consciousness after a terrible accident that takes the lives of many passengers, she finds that, because of a mix-up in personal effects, everyone believes she is Liz. Only she knows it is Liz who has gone missing, presumed dead.

It's 1645. When Alice Hopkins' husband dies in a tragic accident, she returns to the small Essex town of Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives. But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed, and there are rumours spreading through the town: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which he is gathering women's names. To what lengths will Matthew's obsession drive him? And what choice will Alice make when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?

A miscarriage of justice could have deadly consequences in this taut and pacey psychological thriller. She thought she knew everything about her sister. It seems she was wrong.... DC Jo Boden was 11 years old when her older sister, Sarah, was brutally murdered during her first year at university. Her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, was convicted of the killing. Now, 15 years later, Wade is being released on licence, and documentary filmmaker Briony Rowe says she can prove his innocence....

In a Shepherd's Bush bedsit, Amelia White dreams of being a reporter. The closest she's come is selling advertising in the local paper. Until the fateful day she stumbles on a truly shocking scoop. Round the corner from her home, she discovers the body of a murder victim, dumped among the rubbish. When the police and reporters descend, Amelia is horrified at the assumptions made and lies soon to be spread about this poor young woman.

A stand-up with writer's block embarks upon his last gig as a Rodney Dangerfield impersonator. Reflecting on a childhood holiday, a father is faced with the limit to which he can keep his daughters safe. These characters search without knowing what they seek. At the heart of this work is Eva, whom we meet in childhood, locked in an enigmatic relationship with her mother; as a woman stumbling from youth into middle age; and in later life as the mother to a daughter of her own. Each story lays bare the emotional and psychic damage of life, love and abandonment.

This collection of stand-alone short stories is a treat for new listeners and dedicated fans alike. In each of these 17 stories, an ordinary person takes on an extraordinary journey to a new life, discovering facets and strengths they never knew they possessed. Across a variety of time periods and settings, these stories capture Anna Jacobs' unique style and showcase her mastery of emotional tales.

Torn from Thorne's side, Aster finds herself bound to Faolan by the magic of a faerie bargain. To pay off her debts, he expects her to compete in the Alder Trials, a deadly competition to determine the next King or Queen of Faerie. And not only is Aster a human competing against the impossibly powerful heirs to the Fae Courts, she soon discovers that Thorne will also be competing...against her. Exposed to the cruel, cunning politics of the Fae Courts, Aster must risk everything both in and out of the trials. At the end of it all, which will she choose—a faerie kingdom or her heart?

Charlene Downes was 14 years old when she went missing in the seedy underbelly of Blackpool. Once a happy-go-lucky schoolgirl, she had turned into a truant. Though Charlene was hanging out with a new crowd by takeaway shops and the pier, her mum, Karen, always knew her typical teenage daughter would come home. But one day she didn't.

Fae enemies are gathering on all sides, forced to bend the knee to the newly crowned Alder King. Now, only Aster stands between Faolan's wrath and the humans he intends to slaughter and enslave. From the fiery depths of the Metal Court to the darkest reaches of the sinister Shadow Court, Aster and Thorne must travel the length of Faerie to seek possible allies and hunt down the objects of power they desperately need to challenge Faolan's rule.

The people of Carrick Island have been whispering behind Neen's back ever since her father drowned and her mother disappeared. The townspeople say her mother was a merrow and has returned to the ocean. Neen, caught in her hazy new in-between self - not a child, but not quite grown up - can't help but wonder if the villagers are right. But if her mother was a merrow, then what does that make Neen?

Rocky Race is not your average fourteen-year-old. She's determined, ambitious, and the best football player you've ever seen. So, when she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend a prestigious soccer camp in California, United States, she takes it. But far from home, Rocky suddenly finds herself out of her comfort zone. Fake friends, her own anxieties, and a brand-new world with strange rules all threaten to derail her new life before it's even started-does Rocky have what it takes to succeed?

Broadcast live, Rosa Lincoln takes to the stage at her brother’s memorial service with a bomb concealed beneath her clothes. Being in Jimmy’s shadow was never easy, even when he was alive, but in death he has become a national hero. When she crosses paths with the enigmatic Teresa, she discovers that those she has been taught to view as enemies may not be the real villains after all. The lies need to be stopped, and Rosa intends on doing just that.

When her beloved father is killed in the Blitz, trainee nurse April Harvey is all alone in the world. Desperate to find the family she craves, she heads to Truro, her mother's hometown. But danger and heartbreak lurk even in Cornwall, and when the American GIs arrive, April finds her life turned upside down as she discovers that some people are not to be trusted. Especially when it comes to her budding romance with Major Crawford Dunbar. As vicious rumours emerge, April fears there will never be a future for them.

In our lives we'll meet something like 80,000 people. Most of them just in passing, sitting beside them on a bus, buying a latte from them, overtaking them too fast on the motorway. Others will become friends, lovers, family. Some will stay in our lives forever, and some will be swept away by the flow of life. But we touch all of these people in some way, tiny or huge, making more of a difference that any of us can imagine. Rosie is in a coma, unable to reach out to the world or communicate.

When her old agency is hacked by an elusive crime syndicate, ex-secret agent Maggie Black is enjoying the carefree life of a civilian. Then she learns that the names of the agency’s agents, past and present, are being leaked by the hackers, one by one until their notorious boss is released from prison. With the government refusing to negotiate with the blackmailers, she is forced out of retirement and dragged back into the perilous life of espionage she swore to leave behind. Her name is on that list, as well as those she cares about most.

When secret agent Maggie Black agrees to protect the Mayor of London, she thinks she’s in for a boring night of babysitting. But the simple job gets a lot more complicated when an assassin arrives and takes out the Mayor, framing Maggie as the killer. Unable to explain the evidence against her, Maggie is branded a traitor and hunted by the very people she once fought beside.