Showing results by narrator "Rebecca Courtney" in All Categories

Imagine nine women meeting. Tea and cake are on the coffee table. They’ve come together to share their love of books. They are friends. They trust each other. It’s a happy gathering. What could be more harmless? Scratch the surface and look closer. One is lonely, one is desperate and one of them is a killer. When the body of a woman is discovered on a Cambridge common, DCI Barrett and DI Palmer are called to investigate. But the motive behind the crime isn’t clear...and it all leads back to a book club.

Brighton, 1930: Maureen O'Connell is a carefree girl, but war is looming, and life will never be the same again. Jack and Nelson have always been dear friends to Maureen. Despite their different backgrounds, they've seen each other through thick and thin. The candle Maureen's always held for Jack burns bright, but just as she's found love, war wrenches them apart. With Jack no longer by her side and Nelson at war, can Maureen look to a brighter future?

Allie Jones loves her cosy cottage café in the picturesque village of Heatherlea. She has her independence, two grown-up children and two cute cats. Life is settled, and she thinks she's happy. Author Chris Monroe has it all. Critical success, a luxurious London apartment, and the kind of jet-set lifestyle most people dream of. But something's missing. When a family bereavement throws these two old friends together, they begin to question the true meaning of happiness. Love is in the air, but do Allie and Chris have room in their hands-on lives for more than a summer fling?

In a house full of history and secrets, the past will not stay where it belongs.... Lou has always loved Hill House, the derelict manor on the abandoned land near her home. As a child, the tragic history of its owners, the Mandevilles, inspired her dream to become a history teacher. But in her late 20s, working in a shop to pay off student debts, life is passing her by. That changes when a family disaster sends Lou’s life into a downward spiral, and she seeks comfort in the ruined corridors of Hill House.

Dottie and Mary forged a friendship over a bag of penny sweets when they were eight years old. They've shared everything together since then. Now, at seventeen, they're both shopgirls working at Woolworths. As they go out in the world in pursuit of love and happiness and life becomes more complicated, the simplicity of their childhood dissolves. The heady excitement of first love will consume them both, but the pain of unintentional betrayal will test their friendship.

If we just keep on going in a frenzied state of busyness, our nervous system eventually gets overwhelmed and we experience a trauma response. This changes how we think, feel and behave, making it difficult for us to carry out tasks or practise self-care strategies like boundary-setting and mindfulness. We lose motivation and interest in things we used to enjoy and become trapped in a state known as learned helplessness, unable to see solutions, sometimes unable to care. We still operate, but in autopilot mode, prone to making mistakes.

As a librarian, Imogen read a lot of books, but none of them covered real life on the Riviera. Her holiday with tennis ace Nicky and the whole glamorous coterie of journalist, playboy, photographer was a revelation. But the path of a jet-set virgin in that lovely wicked world was a hard one. Imogen began to wonder if virtue really was its own reward....

If Emily hadn't gone to Annie Richmond's party, she would never have met the impossibly irresistible Rory Balniel - never have married him and been carried off to the wild Scottish island of Irasa to live in his ancestral home. She'd never have met the wild and mysterious Marina, a wraith from Rory's past, nor her brother, the disagreeable Finn Maclean. And she would never have been caught stealing roses in a see-through nightie....

Lydia's not exactly Living Her Best Life. She never imagined she'd be here at 30 - newly single, a job that's going nowhere and her friends all winning at life when she's still barely taking part. So she jumps at the chance of a free holiday and jets off to sunny Spain. Then, out of the blue, she bumps into her childhood friend, the handsome and charming Danny Whittaker. She's always had a crush on him and they soon enter into a passionate holiday romance. But this relationship could be more than just a fling.

Dottie Perks has forged a new life for herself in London, with a new job and a loving boyfriend. She's safe, happy and loved. What more could she ask for? But when Dottie visits her home in Brighton, the last person she expects to see is her first love, Ralph Bennett. As old feelings come rushing to the surface, Dottie struggles to deny the strong chemistry between them. She can't throw away everything to be with Ralph...can she?

Motherhood has been one of the great blessings of Dawn Dix-Beaumont’s life, but with her children’s growing independence, it’s finally time for Dawn to return to teaching. However, Mother Nature has other ideas.... Rick Beaumont loves his family, but he’s busier than ever. With his high-flying career, two children and a third on the way, there’s a lot to juggle. Battling expectations, disappointments and a few surprises along the way, Dawn and Rick find their commitment to each other tested to the limit.

Who took Lucia Blix? Lucia went home from school with her new friend Josie for a playdate. Later that evening, Lucia's mother, Elisa, dropped her overnight things round and kissed her little girl goodnight. That was the last time she saw her daughter. The next morning, when Lucia's dad arrived to pick her up, the house was empty. No furniture, no family, no Lucia. Have you seen Lucia?

Harriet's old nemesis, Amanda, is back. And she's here to stay. As the wife of her husband's boss, Amanda will be accompanying Nick on his business trips. And Harriet can't help but think, how will Nick not succumb to her ruthless charms once he's in glamorous Milan? Knowing Nick is at risk of being seduced is bad enough, but when Harriet's best friend Grace falls madly in love with Sebastian, Amanda's much younger son, it can only mean trouble ahead. Determined to fight for her man, Harriet's seduction techniques go into overdrive.

When Julia discovers that homeless people are dying suspiciously and the police aren't investigating, she can't sit back and do nothing. She dives headfirst into the case, aided by her new Detective Inspector boyfriend, Barker. Convinced that there is a killer preying on the vulnerable residents of an old burnout warehouse, Julia must solve the mystery...but can she crack the case before more bodies turn up?

Little Woodford has a sleepy high street, a weekly market, a weathered old stone church and lovingly tended allotments. A peaceful, unexciting place, the very heart of middle England. In Little Woodford no one has fingers in more pies than Olivia Laithwaite, parish councillor, chair of the local WI, wife, mother and all-round queen bee. So of course it's Olivia who is first to spot that The Beeches has been sold at last. Soon rumours begin to swirl around the young widow who has bought this lovely house. Why exactly did she leave London with her beautiful stepdaughter and young sons?

The town of Little Woodford seems peaceful and picture-postcard beautiful, with its marketplace, ancient church and immaculate allotments. But behind the tranquil facade, troubles are brewing. Olivia Lewthwaite, former town councillor, pillar of the WI and all-round busybody, has been forced by her husband's gambling debts to sell their house - her pride and joy. She hates the new estate they've moved to and knows she needs to humble herself to apply for a job.

London, 1765. Lady Isabella Gerard, a respectable member of Georgian society, orders her maid to take her new golden gown and destroy it, its shimmering beauty tainted by the actions of her brutal husband the night before. Three months later, Lord Gerard stands at the shoreline of the lake, looking down at a woman wearing the golden gown. As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it’s clear this was not his intended victim…

The Sunflower Street series is a new heartwarming romance series from Rachel Griffiths, the author of The Cosy Cottage Café series. This audiobook collects the first two books in the best-selling series!

Kathleen Hey spent the war years helping her sister and brother-in-law run a grocery shop in the Yorkshire town of Dewsbury. From July 1941 to July 1946, she kept a diary for the Mass Observation Project, recording the thoughts and concerns of the people who used the shop. Among the chorus of voices she brings us, Kathleen herself shines through as a strong and engaging woman who refuses to give in to doubts or misery and who maintains her keen sense of humour, even under the most trying conditions.

1935. Kate Durrant is helping her mother move out of the little cottage her parents used to share, until her father’s heartbreaking death. Full of guilt that she couldn’t visit her dad in his last moments, Kate now has only memories for company. Memories and… something else. Since she was a small child, Kate has been able to see and feel the history of objects she touches. She’s always kept her gift secret, not knowing fully what it is, or how far it goes.