Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

The options for the penniless daughter of a deceased earl are few indeed in Regency England. So, following the suspicious death of her father, the Earl of Morton, and the discovery that she and her much younger sister have been left without income or home, Lady Caroline takes a post as a lady's companion to the wealthy widow Frogerton. Just as Caroline is getting accustomed to her new position, her aunt, Lady Eleanor Greenwood, invites her and her employer to a house party in the countryside to celebrate her youngest daughter's birthday. But all is not well at the Greenwood estate.

For Ianthe, war is all too familiar. A former soldier in the Astra Militarum, she now serves Inquisitor Covenant as an agent of the Throne. Her first mission sees her investigating a cult called the Children of Eternity. Falling foul of the local Enforcers, Ianthe soon learns that war in the shadows is seldom straightforward and that the local, angry law-keepers are the least of her troubles.

1964 - London. Dolly Vincent is born to an East End gangster but is sent away for her own protection. Mad Mick is hell-bent on his revenge and will stop at nothing to kill her. Estranged from her family, she becomes a successful barrister, but after defending a young Italian man she finds herself caught up in a secret held by a high court judge. Tortured and left for dead, she flees London and heads to New York. Only the Vincents know where she is...but even they don't know the truth.

After her murderous ex-boyfriend who she turned in to the police was released from prison, Jem Byrne fled to London, desperate to hide herself in the hustle of the big city. Now she spends every day watching her back, waiting for him to catch up with her. But The Mansfield estate is far from a safe place to hide, and Jem soon learns she's only ever one wrong move away from being found out - and sold out.

Dara Tailor has had to grow up fast. With a mother addicted to cocaine, Dara must look after her seven younger siblings, until social services split them up for ever. Grace Perry has led a sheltered life. Until her widowed mother is attacked and left for dead and Grace is taken into care. At Holly Brookes Children's Home, the two girls unite in the face of horrific abuse and form an unbreakable bond of loyalty. But when their loyalty is tested can they rely on each other to do the right thing? Friendship - it's all about trust.

Abandoned by their parents and left to fight for themselves, headstrong Rosalind Carey has no choice but to take charge of her younger brothers and sister in Devonshire’s grand Rockwood Castle. But their once much-loved home is crumbling like the family that lives within it. Living hand to mouth and desperate to provide for the estate that depends on them, the Carey family are one debt away from ruin. Until the day comes when the dashing Piers Blanchard appears on their doorstep from Cornwall, claiming he is Rosalind’s distant cousin and that Rockwood Castle is his.

For most of her life, Judy Begg has been a loyal servant at Creek Manor and to Jack Fox, its future lord. But just as their childhood friendship blossoms into a secret engagement he abandons her to join his brother overseas. And with Creek Manor up for sale, Judy and her family lose everything. Devastated, Judy is nonetheless determined to make the best of her life. Resolving to forget about Jack, she battles to keep her family from poverty’s door and her mother from the hands of her violent husband.

The Graft is an enthralling and hard-hitting story of violence and revenge from number one best-selling author Martina Cole. Looking back, Nick Leary couldn't say exactly what kept him awake that night. He'd had a lot on his mind; perhaps he'd been thinking about the 'respectable' Essex business that he ran, or about his two young sons sleeping in the room next door. Or was it simply the sound of his beautiful wife's steady breathing beside him? Whatever it was, he was awake when he heard someone's footsteps....

When Georgie Deacon's husband, Dixie, is found shot dead in the street, the police assume it's a revenge killing. However, things are not what they seem when two of her brothers-in-law are arrested for Dixie's murder. After she discovers a substantial padlock on her garage door and a box containing a child's toy and a pair of trainers in her husband's wardrobe, Georgie is forced to confront the secrets of her husband's past. No matter how sinister they appear to be.

Whitechapel in the 1930s was not an easy place to be brought up, and when the war came, those with nothing were hit the hardest. Queenie watched her family struggle and learned her lessons the hard way. When she was a little girl, there was one thing Queenie knew - she was going to get out of this.... And then tall, dark and handsome Alfie Butler walks into her life and gives Queenie her ticket out. One rushed wedding later, the real trouble begins. As the Krays make their mark on the East End, Queenie realises what it takes for an East End girl to really succeed.

A gripping thriller that will shock you to the core. Controlled all her life by her religious mother, 15-year-old Kelly Raven commits the ultimate sin. She soon discovers that running away to the cold, frightening streets of London is less harsh than her previous life. A drug dealer, two fraudsters, and a prostitute are her new family now, and she becomes the woman she was destined to be. Little does she know that Eddie Raven is coming for her, but she is no sweet four-year-old child, and he is certainly no doting father.

After serving a lengthy sentence for the murder of her husband, Dolly Rawlins is free from prison. And she's only got one thing on her mind: the diamonds she stashed before the police caught her. But there are people waiting for Dolly on the outside ­- tough ex-prisoners who know about the diamonds, and they all want a cut. Also waiting for Dolly is DS Mike Withey. He holds her personally responsible for the death of his sister in the diamond raid 10 years earlier. And he wants her back inside. Dolly Rawlins has other plans.

Having spent her life watching her father run his East London firm, Zara Ezra has learnt a thing or two about being a gangster, and she’s ready to take over when the time comes. Mike Regan, a blast from Zara’s past, is the head of his own firm, but when his son is kidnapped in the middle of a gangland feud, Mike has no choice but to accept help from the Ezras to get his little boy back alive. With a rival firm playing increasingly dirty, murder moves to the top of the agenda and Zara has some big choices to make.

Lady Caroline is happy to be back amid the swirl of London society, guiding her employer's daughter, Dorothy Frogerton, through her first Season. Mrs. Frogerton, meanwhile, finds her own diversions, including spiritualist gatherings at the home of Madam Lavinia, and begs Caroline to come along. Caroline is sceptical of the Madam's antics and faux French accent—until she slips a note into Caroline's hand, which contains intimate family knowledge. Even as Caroline tries to discern whether the spiritualist's powers are real, a much darker mystery presents itself.

When Dionne married a nightclub owner, Luke Mason, a whisper in her ear told her she would have it all - the money, the house and the luxury lifestyle. But she never expected her life to turn upside down the day they became parents to twins....

The latest crime thriller from best-selling author Kerry Barnes.

Jack Warr is a young DC with the Metropolitan Police. Charming but aimless, Jack can't seem to find his place in the world - until he's drawn into an investigation that turns his life upside down. In the aftermath of a fire at a derelict cottage, a badly charred body is discovered, along with the burnt remnants of millions of stolen, untraceable bank notes - the hidden legacy of Dolly Rawlins and her gang of Widows. Jack's assignment to the case coincides with an investigation into his own past.

Diana Davis has been head of the family business since the death of her husband, an infamous bank robber. She's a woman in a man's world, but no one messes with her. Her only son, Angus, is a natural born villain, but he needs to earn Diana's trust before she'll allow him into the business. Once he's proved he has the brains to run their clubs in Marbella, he is given what he's always wanted. It's the beginning of a reign of terror that knows no bounds.

The Butler brothers are the Kings of the East End, and their motto is ‘what goes around, comes around'. In their world, family counts; so when the truth about Vinny's cousin's death comes to light, it rocks the Butlers to the core. One by one, Vinny's friends and family are turning against him. Then, the unimaginable happens - Vinny's little daughter, Molly, goes missing. She's the one chink of light in all their lives, and the one they'd commit murders to bring back.

Aiden O'Hara has been head of the family since he was kid, and he's going to keep it that way. Jade Dixon is the one who watches his back. Mother of his son. The one who makes him invincible. But Jade's been in the game a lot longer than Aiden. She knows no one's indestructible. And when you're at the top, that's when you've got to watch the hardest. Especially the ones closest to you....