Showing results by narrator "Kirsty Cox" in All Categories

Edinburgh, 1948. Welfare Officer Helen Crowther has enough on her plate between her hectic job, her complicated love life, and her growing reputation as a troublemaker. Last year's scandal did nothing to help with the disapproval she already gets as a woman in her line of work. All she wants now is to focus on doing what she loves: helping the poor of the Fountainbridge ward in the city of Edinburgh. The last thing she needs is another string of murders to distract her . . .

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. But when a young man is found dead at the base of that same lighthouse, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate.

Twenty-two-year-old Leana Mackenzie is looking for adventure. Full of excitement, she leaves her home in a remote Scottish village and heads for the bright city lights. In Edinburgh, she meets Alasdair - a cute and charming singer/songwriter. As their relationship develops everything feels perfect. But as the sparkle of her new life begins to fade, Leana finds herself longing for her cosy home on the Isle of Skye, and the close-knit family she left behind. When Alasdair is offered the career opportunity of a lifetime, Leana is left even more confused.

In what is surely Molly Clavering's most autobiographical novel, two middle-aged women writers, close friends and neighbours, offer one another advice and support while navigating life in a lively Border village. Lucy Lorimer, the more successful author, with her four children, in-laws, and grandchildren gathered for a summer reunion, must try to avert disaster in one daughter's marriage, help a daughter-in-law restless with mundane married life after flying planes in the war, and deal with the awkward reappearance of an old flame.

On a small island off the coast of Scotland, an isolated community is grieving. Eighteen-year-old Alan Ferguson was found at the foot of the lighthouse—an apparent suicide. DIs Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to investigate. A raging storm keeps them trapped on the island for four days. And the locals don't take kindly to mainlanders. As George and Ritchie question the island's inhabitants, they discover a village filled with superstition and shrouded in secrets. But someone wants those secrets to stay buried. At any cost.

A sleepy Scottish village is about to be woken up...As the year draws to a close, Alasdair organises a celebration that will rock the quiet village of Lannick. The New Year’s party brings everyone together for a night to remember. But when midnight strikes, the fireworks bursting over the loch aren’t the only sparks flying...

Nineteen-year-old Evelyn has rarely strayed from her family's isolated estate - save for the occasional trip to Edinburgh, where her father, a respected magistrate, conducts his business. But when Evelyn's innocent friendship with a servant is misinterpreted by her father as an illicit union, Evelyn is whisked away to accompany her father on a trip to North America.

Sometimes the road to happiness is longer than we’d like.... At 14, Isla Mackenzie has her life all planned out. She’s going to be an artist and marry her best friend, Logan. Logan Donnell also has a plan. When he grows up he’s going to join his dad’s business and marry his best friend, Isla. By the time they’re 18, the two of them are inseparable. The future looks bright. Everything feels perfect. But when tragedy strikes, fate sets the pair on a different course. While circumstances keep Logan and Isla apart, their bond is not so easily broken.

The new Duke of Torringford must take a wife in three weeks or lose the country estate he's unexpectedly inherited. His brother suggests an advertisement in the papers, but the Duke refuses to consider it - until a wine-fueled evening when he pens one in jest. Now with the ad printed, the Duke is mortified - but that's when the lovely Miss Penelope Hastings enters his life.

For years Lexie has kept everyone at arm’s length. Her heart is so guarded it’s almost impenetrable. Until Nick. When the geeky teacher moves in next door, Lexie finds it increasingly difficult to ignore her attraction to him. To protect herself, she pushes him away, convincing herself that hurting him isn’t a big deal. She never imagined him leaving town. Or how much she’d miss him when he left.

Lorna's world is small but safe. She loves her daughter and the two of them are all that matter. But after nearly twenty years, she and Ella are suddenly leaving London for the Isle of Kip, the tiny remote Scottish island where Lorna grew up. Alice's world is tiny but full. She loves the community on Kip and how her yoga classes draw women across the tiny island together. Now Lorna's arrival might help their family finally mend itself—even if forgiveness means returning to the past.... And as the two women find friendship, Lorna also starts to find her place in the world.

Isla is perfectly content with her solid, stable relationship with Logan. But when they challenge each other to inject some spontaneity into their relationship things quickly get out of hand. Soon, Logan is determined to find the ultimate romantic gesture. Can he truly surprise Isla when she knows him so well? Lexie is enjoying being in a steady relationship with Nick.

A fairy-tale wedding in a castle should be a dream come true for Isla. Unfortunately, she’s not as taken with the idea as everyone around her. While her family and Logan organize everything, she’s left feeling that her opinion doesn’t count. Meanwhile, Lexie is dealing with family problems of her own. Her dad doesn’t approve of her relationship with Nick and is determined to cause problems for the two of them.

Elspeth Mackenzie hasn’t had any contact with the father of her child since they had a fling three years ago. Getting pregnant at 16 turned her life upside down. But now she has everything back under control. She’s managing a cafe and a toddler and making it look easy. If only dating was as easy. Most guys run a mile when they find out she has a child. When her friend sets her up on a blind date, Elspeth is in for a huge surprise. Not only because she finds herself face to face with the father of her child, but because her feelings for Rory haven’t changed a bit.

Dale didn’t intend to stay on the Isle of Skye for long, but when he’s offered a job at the Old Inn and made to feel at home by the locals, he starts to wonder what it would be like to stick around. Meanwhile, Elspeth is determined to salvage her relationship with Rory. Over in Portree, Jess is hopeful that her streak of bad luck with relationships is over. When a spate of crimes brings Dale under scrutiny, the locals speculate over his mysterious past, leaving tensions high in the normally peaceful Lannick.

The library is a sanctuary for some, a place for warmth for others and, on many occasions, an internet café. It's not always the books that bring us together. That's why you might be surprised to hear that I've been a witness to an attempted murder, a target for a drugs gang and the last hope for people in desperate poverty. The quirks of library life. But what I didn't expect was for a simple part-time job to become a passionate battle for survival, both for me and for the library.

Jess expects life on the Isle of Skye to be calm and peaceful. But when she falls for her colleague, things quickly become complicated. Rory comes with a whole load of baggage, but she just can’t seem to stay away from him.

Pippa has long felt like the odd one out in her family. Natalia has recently returned to Lerwick, hoping to reconnect with an old flame. Autumn is dedicated to her job in hospitality and relishes her role as general manager of Lerwick Manor's new hotel. No guest request is too big or too small, but her own unrelentingly high standards could push Autumn to her limits. Will the beauty of Shetland help these three women find the friendship, support and healing that they all need?

Poignant and uplifting, this is a story to remind hopeless romantics that you never know when true love might strike... Cassie Montgomery can remember a time where her life seemed pretty perfect. By day she was setting up her own little business in her sleek penthouse apartment, and by night sleeping on gazillion-count Egyptian cotton sheets next to her fiancée, once reputed to be Glasgow's most eligible bachelor. And yet one ordinary, fateful day, Cassie uncovers a secret that shatters her heart into tiny pieces, and changes her life forever.

On the enchanting Isle of Arran, three sisters find themselves at Meadowbank Cottage, their childhood home. But it’s the first time they’ve been together since their mum died. And now they’re back in Arran for the wedding of middle sister Emma. One thing is for sure: there’s going to be lots of laughter and buckets of tears along the way. But how will the sisters come together when Emma receives some unexpected news?