Showing results by narrator "Rebecca Norfolk" in All Categories

The Grand Mechanism is a machine the size of Saturn's rings that has lain dormant for all recorded history, watched over by the alien Jzat. Now, rogue elements in Jzat and human society conspire to activate it, hoping it will bring them power and opportunity. But the only person who knows the Mechanism's secrets is the Rav'nah Abelisk, a Jzat holy man on sabbatical aboard a vast alien megaship. Believing the Mechanism's activation will bring galactic devastation, Nic Mafalda has to seek out the Abelisk before his sacred knowledge falls into the wrong hands.

It's 1943, and the Second World War is raging. Ruby Mottram works for her local newspaper, the Bartonford Herald, typing up adverts and obituaries, whilst dreaming of a more exciting life. Between her shifts as an ARP warden and caring for her ailing father, the chance for escape doesn't come often to Devon. Meanwhile, in America's Deep South, Sam Archer is hatching a plan to raise enough money to get his mother and sister away from his abusive stepfather.

Emily has settled in the picturesque village of Ashton Mead where she lives with her puppy, Poppy. Life is finally going well for Emily. She has a cottage of her own, a job she likes and friends. Then she stumbles on the body of a woman who apparently drowned in the river. The other villagers suspect foul play and are quick to blame Richard, Emily's next-door neighbour and a newcomer to the village. Emily finds it hard to believe her friendly neighbour could be a cold-hearted murderer. When she meets his attractive son, Adam, her feelings become more complicated.

Single dad, Joel Grainger, is devoted to his little girl, Imogen, doing all he can to be a key part of her life. But with Imogen’s mum being ever more difficult and Joel’s job suddenly in doubt, he’s worried that everything is about to change. Joel has given everything to Imogen, and he doesn’t regret it, but maybe he’s lost himself along the way… Since her dad’s heart-breaking dementia diagnosis, Poppy Wells has been struggling and desperately needs a break. An opportunity to stay in gorgeous Whisperwood Farmhouse couldn’t be more perfect.

Mikira Rusel’s family has long been famous for breeding enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her ranch, Mikira has only one option: she must win the Illinir, a treacherous horserace whose riders either finish maimed or murdered. Yet each year, competitors return, tempted by its alluring prize money and unparalleled prestige. Mikira’s mission soon unites her with Arielle Kadar, an impressive yet illicit enchanter just beginning to come into her true power, and Damien Adair, a dashing young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle.

Polly Pecorino rescues animals, and she can talk to them, too. She spends all of her time caring for those at Happy Days Zoo, where the devious owners, Mr and Mrs Snell, will do anything to make money. One day, they steal a bear cub, certain that he will do wonders for ticket sales, but the ferocious bears living in Wild Bear Woods want their cub back. Will Polly be brave enough to stand up to the Snells and take Booboo, the bear cub, back where he belongs?

Daisy is preparing to spend her first Christmas in the only place she’s ever really felt at home: beautiful Fox Farm. But when tragedy strikes, she will need all her festive cheer, and all the mulled wine, to keep Christmas from being cancelled... Living at Fox Farm, with its cosy café and charming pottery workshop, is a dream come true for thirty-one-year-old Daisy. The kindly owner, Jean, and the close-knit village feel like the family Daisy has never had.

Lydia feels like she’s always been chasing something. But now she’s found her purpose, and having moved to Driftwood Bay to spend more time with her daughter Meredith, she’s happier than ever. But there’s still life in these old bones yet! With her newfound sense of identity, she’s keen to re-explore the things that made her happy as a younger person. Lydia’s passion was dancing – she used to compete in her younger years, and there’s no place she’s more at home than on the dancefloor. So when widower and antiques restorer Martin tells her about a big dance competition, she’s ready.

Margo is a solitary live-in nanny for an upper-class Kensingon family. Cora is a promiscuous dancer on the cusp of a big break, living hand-to-mouth in a run-down London flat. Different though they are, an unspeakable incident from childhood haunts them both. When the terrible secret comes to light, their fragile existences shatter, pitting them against each other in a race for survival.

Our Deadly Designs is the explosive and action-packed follow up to This Dark Descent, by Kayln Josephson. Steeped in Jewish folklore, it is the epic and swoonworthly conclusion to the duology.

They’ve swapped the dark and lonely baby days for school gate chaos, but Aisha, Sophy and Mel are discovering that there are new parenting pitfalls just waiting for them. Can the three mums navigate this new stage of motherhood together and keep their friendship and their sanity? Or could life be about to change for them all over again?

After getting her heart broken in her early twenties, Abi Mason vowed to live by a simple (but non-negotiable) rule: no second dates. Who needs a boyfriend, or anything else for that matter, when you have a career to think about? But life has other plans: with some unexpected time on her hands, Abi finds herself on holiday in Tuscany. Among sun-dappled vineyards and olive groves, Abi meets dashing American Tony, and it seems the universe is conspiring to force her out of her comfort zone...

With perpetually absent parents, the Stone sisters pretty much raised themselves and left their family home as soon as they could. But when they receive a surprise inheritance and find themselves the joint owners of their home, they are about to have a reunion they'll never forget.

After a whirlwind romance, usherette Connie is swept off her feet when projectionist Charlie proposes in a film reel added to the final frames of Casablanca. Her job at the Tivoli cinema in Tiverton has been a refuge from her violent and alcoholic father, Frank. But that night, Connie disappears, not only from Charlie's life, but from her own as well.

Fifteen-year-old Mo Merrydrew isn't exactly expecting to be asked to be Vampire Queen of Great Britain when she's cycling home from school one wet Tuesday evening. Apparently, she is 'the Chosen One'. Aside from being uncomfortable with the idea of unelected power (not very democratic), there's the blood drinking to consider (Mo is a vegetarian), and frankly it's just not really the sort of role Mo's looking for (she wants to aim for a real job in politics).

The Rusel family is famous throughout Enderlain as breeders of enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her family’s ranch, Mikira Rusel is left with only one option: enter the Illinir, a cutthroat, cross-country horserace known for its high death rate as much as its flashy prize money. To have any chance of success, she’ll have to recruit Ari, an unlicensed enchanter who creates golems in place of enchanted animals, and Damien Adair, a lord in the midst of a succession battle.

1938. In the turmoil of pre-war Italy, a painting is stowed in the false bottom of a suitcase, ready to be carried across the border. But as the train draws to a violent halt and armed officers lead the passengers onto the platform, the suitcase is taken and the painting never seen again. 1963. London is on the cusp of change in the swinging 60s. Nightclubs and exclusive parties are in their heyday. But when a lowly boarding-house mistress attempts to take on the establishment, and is accused of spying for the Russians, she can save only one thing - her reputation, or the love of her life.

At 5am one summer's morning, police diver Jen Harper wakes to find herself submerged in the silt of a river with no memory of how she got there. Forty-eight hours later, she's called to dive in the same river in search of a missing woman, Claudia Franklin. But for Jen, this is no ordinary job. Her and Claudia's families were entangled for decades—there is unresolved resentment between them, unspoken secrets. Jen hasn't seen Claudia for twelve years now. Or has she?

Doctor of Archaeology, Diana Garry, director of the dig at the beautiful Renaissance Chateau of Chenonceau, was daydreaming as she sat behind her desk in one of the incident rooms. She remembered back to her childhood when along with her two older sisters, their father would let them play unhindered in the grounds of their local castle at Corfe. They would take turns being the beautiful damsel in distress who was awaiting a dashing Knight in shining armour to whisk them away to his castle where he would turn out to be a dashing Prince and heir to the Kingdom.

A thrilling story that continues to follow a more mature and happier Diana is brought in on a dig that always had the possibility of challenging Columbus or the Vikings as the first visitors to the Americas from the Old World. But its ultimate conclusions - about Atlantis - could challenge her more fundamental tenets. Will Diana get through this in one piece?