Showing results by narrator "Julie Maisey" in All Categories

Bea has grown up part of a large, boisterous Kent family. But she hasn't heard from her soldier sweetheart in months, and her mother is controlling her life. She needs to take charge of her future. Edie inhabits a world of wealth and privilege but knows only too well that money can't buy happiness. She wants to be like Winston Churchill's daughter, Mary, to make a difference. Joan can't remember anything of her past or her family, and her home has been bombed in the Blitz. Desperate, she needs a refuge.

One look at the victim is enough for DCI Claire Winters to recognise the work of a warped mind. And when another woman is reported missing, Claire’s worst fears are confirmed: this is a killer who plans to strike again. As the body count rises, the pressure is on for Claire to find the perpetrator and bring them to justice. But first, she must learn to understand the twisted mind behind the crimes. And that will take her to a darker place than she ever thought possible.

The market town of Everham is full of rumours and counter-rumours. Dr Leigh McDowall, medical registrar, is taking a refresher course in obstetrics. He is immediately attracted to Dr Shelagh Hammond, obstetric surgeon, but she is deeply involved with another doctor, Paul Sykes and is caring for her terminally ill mother, who has a secret of her own. Meanwhile Reverend Derek Bolt is troubled by the unwanted attentions of a female parishioner and he confides in headmaster Jeremy North.

Nurse Connie Byrne has lived and worked through the Second World War, has celebrated its ending with friends and patients in the East End of London and is now enjoying a fresh new chapter in her life and looking forward to her wedding. But, as many a young bride-to-be has proved, the path of true love never runs smooth.... Connie's busy professional life and the characters who are her patients serve to give her a much-needed sense of perspective.

Unhappy in her life and relationship, Francesca is inspired by her sighting of a mermaid swimming away to freedom to leave her lover and uproot her life. She moves to Lewes to stay with Agnes Potts, her loving, eccentric friend. Francesca begins to paint again with Agnes' encouragement, and when her painting of the mermaid is seen by Henry, a local potter, he takes her into his employment. When Agnes suffers an accident, Francesca must become nurse, chef and companion to her friend.

Kjell Eriksson has made a huge splash around the globe with his series set in his native Sweden. Already a star in Europe and the Nordic countries, Kjell Eriksson has American critics raving. In Open Grave, in the Ann Lindell series, Professor Bertram von Ohler, has been awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine. This news causes problems in his otherwise quiet upper-class neighbourhood. Not everybody is happy with the choice of winner. Mysterious incidents start to occur.

Pam Evans' family saga brings post-war London vividly to life as, amid rationing and food shortages, a young girl finds a passion for growing her own vegetables. It is February 1945 and April Green and her cousin Heather wonder if the war will ever end. Then the local pub in Chiswick takes a direct hit and April's father is killed in the blast. Life without him is hard to bear and April and her brother do all they can to help, particularly when their mother announces she is pregnant.

Born at the turn of the twentieth century, Mae Strickland is only a few days old when her mother suddenly dies. Her aunt Maggie brings Mae up together with her own children, Eddie and Alice, and the girls become like sisters. In spite of Mae's unhappy start, life feels full of promise. Then, as the First World War looms, everything changes. While the local men - including young Eddie - leave to fight, Mae and Alice train as field nurses. As they travel to the front line in the wake of family tragedy, nothing can prepare them for the hardship that lies ahead.

Phoebe Giamatti lives with her boisterous Italian family in the heart of London's East End. Phoebe's father was killed in gang warfare and she and her family share a deep hatred for the Paxman brothers - whose lawless ways strike terror into the whole community. Despite her English mother's feckless ways, Phoebe is fiercely protective of Annie. Then just as the family are about to go to Italy for the winter, Phoebe discovers Annie is in trouble - and the Paxmans are involved.

Sarah believed in love at first sight. But after meeting the man of her dreams, and spending a night of passion in his arms, she was scared the magic couldn’t possibly last. So she left before he awoke. Joshua Howard had met his perfect woman, and lost her again in one night. Now he vowed to get his own back on her, and his revenge was going to be slow and sweet. It would begin as soon as he introduced himself as Sarah’s new boss!

Although she believes nothing can come of it, ladies' maid Daisy March is eagerly awaiting the return on leave of naval lieutenant Jack Davenport, the brother of her mistress Georgina. She hopes that he will defy his family and declare his love. But before he can do so, she is accused of stealing and summarily dismissed. Daisy takes up nursing, but Georgina is also among the new recruits. When WWI breaks out, they are posted to Malta, where Daisy hopes to be reunited with Jack.

John, Rick, and Derrick Underwood are the most handsome trio of brothers in town and it takes three exceptional women to convince them to settle down. For Jodie, marrying John seemed exciting and romantic at the time, but the reality of life is proving too much. Jodie loves her husband, but she doesn't know how much more she can take of his dishonest ways. Rick's marriage to Laraine is filled with love and adventure; their life is blissful - until one day it delivers a cruel blow. Everything begins to unravel and Laraine isn't sure she's strong enough to survive.

It's been a good few years since Molly and Bernie left their native Ireland and settled in Liverpool. Now they're both being courted by fine young men, and the future looks bright. But 1945 is rapidly approaching and soon war is changing everything - destroying homes and lives, and snatching away long-held dreams.... The beautifully evoked backstreets of Liverpool are the perfect setting for a tale of grit, friendship - and love.

A naked man is unearthed from a river with a lacerated neck and the only clue to his identity is the remains of a tattoo that has been sliced off his arm. When a local drugs deal goes awry and another man is hospitalised with a similar wound, Inspector Ann Lindell and her team are called in to investigate. All clues lead back to the local Dakar restaurant, run by the gluttonous Slobodan Andersson.

Sven-Arne Persson suddenly walks out of a business meeting and disappears, leaving behind his wife - no trace is found of him. Inspector Ann Lindell is investigating the discovery of a dismembered foot washed up on the beach. Ann's boss, Berglund, is delving into a cold case - a man beaten to death - an unsolved mystery that he finds impossible to forget. What connects the three?

Winner of The Swedish Crime Academy Award for Best Crime Novel.'But he took out all the Princesses and beheaded them. I don't get it.' 'The Princesses?' 'That's the name of the fish. The Princess of Burundi' When the mutilated body of tropical fish collector John Jonsson is discovered in Uppsala the police are baffled - he may not have been a saint, but who would want to kill him, and in such a brutal way?

Lily Grace has escaped the confines of the Scottish village where she grew up, and is at college in Newcastle. She loves her student life and hopes to stretch her wings even further by working on a cruise ship. The only cloud on the horizon is the blunder she made when she kissed her lecturer. Then a trip to Ireland for a family funeral changes everything. There she meets student Dara Ryan, and her brother Declan is smitten by the gorgeous Ava. Lily and Dara fall in love but she is fearful that a long-distance love affair is doomed.

Tycoon Luke Holloway lives on the wild side, but at work he is a professional. However, his new employee Sara Fleet is irresistible. Before long he has unbuttoned his prim and proper assistant and they're breaking all his rules... over and over again! Super-efficient Sara has never felt so out of control - and now she has to tell her sexy boss she is pregnant with his child!

Sixteen-year-old Lisa moves to London at the close of the 70s, hoping to follow in her older sister Ruby's footsteps. Ruby has cropped hair, a drug habit and not one but two unsuitable men. Enrolling on an acting course, Lisa decides that she too will enjoy living life to the full. But Lisa finds herself burdened by responsibility. Whatever her own problems, those of her mother, her sister and even her small brother Max always seem greater and more urgent.

A beekeeper herself, she gives insight into the activity in the hive and describes the bees' natural order and habits. She explores the myths of the past and how and when they were replaced by fact. For example, the heated discussions that broke out in the 18th century when it was discovered that the hive was ruled by a queen, not a king as had been the belief since Aristotle.