Showing results by narrator "Julia Barrie" in All Categories

Some moments burn in the mind for ever. The landing is dark. Light comes from a window at the far end, enough to run by. Breath comes hard. From the stairs sound heavy footfalls in pursuit. The landing ends in a last doorway. There is no more running, only the need to hide.... Imagine not knowing the father of your child. Not knowing his name. What he looks like. Or what sort of person he is. Although she is desperate for a baby, that is something that Kate Powell cannot accept.

Two girls divided by time, united by their love for some very special horses - an epic Caribbean adventure! On a remote tropical island, 12-year-old Beatriz is about to embark on an epic journey, through hurricanes and across the high seas and back to the time of Christopher Columbus.… When Beatriz stumbles across a wild mare with strange markings in the jungle she can't believe it is real. Yet from that moment on the strongest connection grows between them, and she begins to uncover an incredible history.

Ellie opens the door to a man who is a stranger but instantly recognisable as the father of her housekeeper's young son. Mikey had been conceived at a party during which his mother, Vera, a schoolgirl, had been drugged and raped. Abdi hadn't wanted anything to do with her, but now he is a consultant whose wife cannot have children, and he aims to pay off Vera and adopt Mikey. Ellie discovers that Vera still thinks fondly of her then boyfriend, even though he had also rejected her.

In That Way Madness Lies, 15 acclaimed YA writers put their modern spin on William Shakespeare’s celebrated classics!

Stuck in a traffic jam, Nicki Clements sees a face she hoped never to see again. It's definitely him, the same police officer, stopping each car on Elmhirst Road. Keen to avoid him, Nicki does a U-turn and makes a panicky escape. Or so she thinks. The next day, Nicki is pulled in for questioning in connection with the murder of Damon Blundy, controversial newspaper columnist and resident of Elmhirst Road. Nicki can't answer any of the questions detectives fire at her.

Following a gruelling operation in Paris, Liz Carlyle’s bosses post her to MI5’s counter-espionage desk, but they haven’t counted on the fallout from Putin’s incursions into the Ukraine. Liz needs to track down a Russian spy who has entered the UK before he completes his fatal mission. Meanwhile, the intelligence services are in the spotlight. In response to the debate raging around privacy and security, they hire Jasminder Kapoor, a controversial civil rights lawyer, to explain the issues to the public.

Ellie opens the door to a man who is a stranger but instantly recognisable as the father of her housekeeper's young son. Mikey had been conceived at a party during which his mother, Vera, a schoolgirl, had been drugged and raped. Abdi hadn't wanted anything to do with her, but now he is a consultant whose wife cannot have children, and he aims to pay off Vera and adopt Mikey. Ellie discovers that Vera still thinks fondly of her then boyfriend, even though he had also rejected her.

When Ellie Quicke's friend, Felicity, witnesses a Pitbull savage a young mother in the park, she goes into shock and calls on Ellie for help. Ellie's enquiries indicate that the dog and its owner are strangers to the neighbourhood, but soon there are other attacks...and after each one, the dog vanishes.

When young John Vincent died, the outward respectability of the Cornwall household was undermined. Strangers pried, asked too many questions and pointed accusing fingers at Charlotte - herself eager to escape from the oppressive atmosphere of her father's home.

In April 1915 Dorothea Crewdson, a newly trained Red Cross nurse, and her best friend, Christie, received instructions to leave for Le Treport in Northern France. Filled with excitement at the prospect of her first paid job, Dorothea began writing a diary. 'Who knows how long we shall really be out here? Seems a good chance from all reports of the campaigns being ended before winter, but all is uncertain.'

When a Member of Parliament shows up at New Scotland Yard requesting an investigation into the suicide of the son of one of his constituents in the beautiful town of Ludlow, the Assistant Commissioner sees two opportunities in this request: the first is to have an MP owing him a favour, and the second is to get rid of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, whose career at the Met has been hanging by a thread for quite some time.

Christie Chapman is a single mum who spends her days commuting to her secretarial job in London and looking after her teenage son, Finn. It's not an easy life but Christie finds comfort in her love of crafting, and spends her spare time working on her beautiful creations. From intricately designed cards to personalised gifts, Christie's flair for the handmade knows no bounds and it's not long before opportunity comes knocking.

In 1975, when Oberleutnant Karin Muller is called to investigate a teenage girl's body at the foot of the Berlin Wall, she imagines she's seen it all before. But she soon realizes that this is a death like no other before it - the girl was evidently trying to escape from West Berlin.

Return to the worlds of The Craftsman and Lacey Flint in this first short-story collection from Sharon Bolton, International award-winning author of The Split. This collection is available exclusively in audio and features eight short stories, each with a new introduction written and read by the author.

In a village in Wiltshire, just off a busy road, Larch Tree Lane winds slowly up a low hill. Among the residents is Maggie Hatherall, full of life despite her advancing years, who worries what she is going to do with her 200-year-old home. Lucia Grey has escaped a bad marriage but her ex is reluctant to let her start a new life free of him. And for architect Corin Drayton, an unexpected inheritance is the start of a complicated family wrangle. From the cottages and farms to the local shop, pub and old manor house, the residents' lives are set to intertwine and relationships bloom.

It is 1718 and, in a small parish near Newcastle, Eliza Tally, a headstrong girl of 16, embarks on a reckless love affair that will prove her undoing. When her lover casts her off, denying their union, she is forced to travel to London, a city that attracts and alarms her in equal measure. There, she takes up a position in the house of an apothecary, Grayson Black, whom she trusts to salvage what remains of her reputation.

Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when a one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to ensure her husband doesn’t find out - including the unthinkable. Her secret is safe. For now. But as governments embark on a genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms, something truly horrendous is unleashed. Because those children have only one thing in common and people are starting to ask questions.

Ben is still desperately trying to forget that Katy had a one-night stand just before she announced she was pregnant. Nine months later a new baby explodes into their lives, creating utter chaos. Being a stay-at-home dad isn’t as simple as it seems; in fact it’s a disaster. Then help arrives in the most unlikely form: the wife of Katy’s ex-lover. Should Ben tell Katy about his secret rescuer, or is it his turn to keep a secret?

When Rachel discovers a Twitter message arranging a romantic liaison, she assumes her husband is having an affair and follows him. What she witnesses is so much worse: a hit-and-run using his car. Meanwhile, Rachel’s friend and business partner Suzie is increasingly worried about her fiancé, who’s not been in touch for days. When Suzie learns of huge debts racked up in her name, she fears he has run out on her, but then the threatening calls start, and she thinks something terrible has happened.

When Matilda's father retires through ill health, the family's new life in Much Winterlow is forced into reduced circumstances. To make ends meet, Matilda applies to be Dr. Henry Lovell's receptionist. She does her best to ignore the strong attraction she feels for him - dreaming of white weddings and a happy marriage is not for her, and, after all, Henry is engaged to Lucilla.