Showing results by narrator "Penelope Rawlins" in All Categories

When Sheikh Zahir Ra’if Quarishi took a Western woman as his wife, it caused outrage amongst his people. And marrying Sapphire Marshall turned out to be the biggest mistake of Zahir’s life. Cold and untouchable as her jeweled namesake, Sapphire fled the kingdom before sharing the marriage bed, leaving Zahir to face the shame alone – and his bank account five million dollars lighter….

Damascus, Syria, 2009. Carrie Mathison is leading an operation to capture or kill al Qaeda terrorist, Abu Nazir. But arriving at the compound where he was supposed to be in hiding, they find it empty. Carrie is sure that someone is leaking CIA information to the enemy and has betrayed their operation, seriously threatening American interests in the Middle East. To expose the double agent, her boss, Saul Berenson, devises an elaborate ruse that will send her on the most dangerous mission of her life.

Twenty-five-years ago, four-year-old Justin Manning disappeared. Two months later his body was found in a shallow grave in the woods, shocking the small town of Dove Point. Janet Manning has been haunted by her brother’s death since the day she lost sight of him in the park. Now, a detective and a reporter are asking questions, raising new suspicions and opening old wounds. But if the man jailed for the murder is innocent, who did kill Justin?

Patsy Cline is becoming best friends with another girl! It looks like Penelope is going to lose Patsy to Vera Bogg...forever. So Penelope starts a secret museum full of things that remind her of the people she loves, in case she loses them, too. Lizzie Maple, who loves adventures, is on board to help.But other people seem to think 'taking their things for a museum' is the same as 'stealing'... and Penelope is suddenly in a whole lot of trouble!

In 1922, Christian, a young artist, travels to Weimar to begin his studies at the Bauhaus, where the avant-garde confronts conservative elements around it. With postwar Germany in turmoil, while the Bauhaus attempts to explore radical ways of thinking and living, Christian finds that love will change him forever. And in 1970s London Duncan uses his inheritance to establish the country's first gay bookshop in the face of opposition from the neighbours and victimisation by the police.

When 17-year-old Stella Whittaker is offered the chance to study at the Academy of Music in Vienna it's a dream come true, made possible by old family friends, Rainer and Marthe Kraus, who offer her a place to live. Seduced by the elegant beauty of the city, Stella explores the magnificent palaces, gardens, and fashionable coffeehouses, and after a chance meeting in an art gallery, falls in love with Harri Reznik, a young Jewish doctor.

Maisie Mae's life is complete and utter chaos! She has five stinky brothers, and has to share a bedroom with the terrible twins. They think it's funny to put snails under her duvet, fish-food in her sandwiches and hide her favourite things in the rabbit hutch. What Maisie really, really, really wants is a room where there are No Boys Allowed! And she'll do anything to get it...

How do you know where you belong? In June 1988, Elizabeth Kelly's parents think she belongs at home in Ireland. Her boyfriend is certain of it. Unwilling to settle down just yet, she decides to spend the summer in Boston with her college friends. But the next four months change all of them, especially Elizabeth. Quiet and dutiful at home, she surprises herself and everyone else by falling for Danny Esposito, a restless charmer with a troublesome family.

In Delhi a small baby lies alone and abandoned. The product of IVF and surrogacy, she had been so coveted - until she was born with a fatal illness. Thousands of miles away in London, Kate and Ben are desperate for a baby. As Kate suffers another miscarriage, she knows something has to change. But will her desire for a baby stop at nothing...?

Hannah French has always wanted more from life than her sleepy village in Devon can offer. And there are two men who are willing to give her that escape: William and Ralph Lawlor. They are brothers but their bloodline is all that they have in common. When events in Hannah’s life take a devastating turn, will somebody come to her rescue or will she have to accept that hope is all she has left?

In a small Kent town in the 1950s, a bewildered little girl is growing up. Ostracised because of her colour, she tries her best to fit in, but nobody wants anything to do with her. A nanny climbs the steps of a smart London address. She’s convinced that her connection to the family behind the door is more than professional. And on the walls of an English stately home, amongst the family portraits, hangs an eighteenth-century oil painting of a mysterious black woman in a silk gown.

Like every child in Is-Land, all Astra Ordott wants is to have her Security Shot, do her National Service and defend her Gaian homeland from Non-Lander 'infiltrators'. But when one of her Shelter mothers, the formidable Dr Hokma Blesser, tells her the shot will limit her chances of becoming a scientist and offers her an alternative, Astra agrees to her plan. When the orphaned Lil arrives to share Astra's home, Astra is torn between jealousy and fascination.

Autumn 1940, World War Two: Bombs are raining down, destroying the cities of Britain. The evacuations begin, and soon children are being taken to the country for safety. Teacher Eve Parkins is in charge of one such group. The children are scared and Eve does her best to calm them, but the truth is that she too is haunted by a personal tragedy she cannot put behind her. Their destination is Eel Marsh House. Desolate and forlorn, it is situated on a causeway and is sinking into the treacherous tidal marshes that surround it. Far from home and with no alternative, Eve and the children move in.

Cat Aston’s fiancé has done a runner, just before she wins a fairy-tale wedding in a luxury hotel! Adam Lawley was left devastated when his girlfriend turned down his heartfelt proposal. He's made a vow never to fall in love again. So, when Cat and Adam meet, they shouldn't even consider falling in love. But for some reason they can't stop thinking about each other…

An edge-of-your-seat original prequel novel based on Showtime's hit series, Homeland. Beirut, 2006. CIA operations officer Carrie Mathison barely escapes an ambush while attempting a clandestine meeting with a new contact code-named Nightingale. Suspicious that security has been compromised, she challenges the station chief in a heated confrontation that gets her booted back to Langley.

Tara Jupp – vicar’s daughter, occasional thief, expert horse-rider and second fiddle to her sister ‘the beauty’ Lucy – sings at a wedding and is spotted by a record producer. With the spotlight suddenly, thrillingly shining on her alone, the roots of Tara’s country existence are shaken free and she is propelled to Swinging Sixties London.

All is not well in the kingdom of Waldberg.... The orphan Hans is desperate to escape his master, the grave robber Knobbe the Bent. The young countess Angela von Schwanenberg must rescue her parents from the mad archduke. But when fate flings them together, they find themselves on a daring quest, hurtling through haunted forests, racing down mountains in a coffin and sneaking along underground passageways with a travelling circus. And at every turn, the archduke’s Necromancer is there to thwart their progress....

A startling psychological thriller debut for any fan of Gone Girl or Before I go to Sleep. Menacing, suspenseful and utterly compelling, this is a stunning debut novel that throws the spotlight on the fine line between love and hate, and leaves you wondering just who you trust. Remember the person you sat next to on your first day at school? Still your best friend? Or disappeared from your life for good? Some friendships fizzle out. Rachel and Clara promised theirs would last for ever.

When the Duke of Pelham returns to his town house at 67 Clarges Street he is grimly determined to find himself a suitable wife, and love will have nothing to do with his selection. 

At first, Emily Goodenough and her uncle are exactly what the servants at No. 67 Clarges Street are hoping for: respectable tenants to usher in an uneventful Season.