Showing results by narrator "Julia Franklin" in All Categories

Kitty learned early on in her marriage that her husband, Bill Dunbar, isn’t reliable with money. So when they inherit the Dunbar family hotel at the start of the war, she's hopeful that their financial worries are over… until the bailiffs turn up! With Bill away fighting, it’s up to Kitty to turn things around for her family, or risk ruin. Lily worked as a chambermaid at Dunbar’s before the war. She met Daniel there, but their relationship was complicated by class differences and the disapproval of Daniel’s mother.

It’s early summer on the French Riviera when Vivienne Wilson arrives for a one-woman writers’ retreat after her philandering husband informs her that their 30-year marriage is over. There to collect the shell-shocked Vivienne is recently widowed Maxine Zonszain, who is struggling to come to terms with her empty life following the sudden death of her husband. Florist extraordinaire, Olivia Murray, shares the Villa that Vivienne is renting. She’s pretty content with life - but longs to meet ‘The One’. Life under the summer sun in Antibes becomes a challenging time for all three women.

As a toddler, Elodie Jacques was abandoned by her mother and left in the care of her French grandmother, Gabriella in Dartmouth, Devon. Now 24 years old, Elodie struggles to reconcile the deep anger for the mother she has never since seen. When Gabriella unexpectedly announces she wants the two of them to spend Christmas and her 70th birthday in her home town of Juan-les-Pins in the South of France, Elodie is thrilled. Gabriella meanwhile has her own ulterior motives for wanting to return after 40 years, a homecoming potentially filled with memories, secrets and recriminations.

Venice, 1954. Rosy Gilchrist thinks luck may be on her side. Her boss at the British Museum has chosen her to travel to Venice to track down a rare edition of Horace's Odes for their collection. Things soon take a drastic downward spiral. A wealthy recluse offers a million-pound reward for anyone who can find the treasure. Soon Rosy finds herself in a race against time as her rivals will do anything for money. Even murder.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The House of Hope and Dreams by Trisha Ashley, read by Julia Franklin. When Carey Revell unexpectedly becomes the heir to Mossby, his family’s ancestral home, it’s rather a mixed blessing. The house is large but rundown and comes with a pair of resentful relatives who can’t be asked to leave. Still, newly dumped by his girlfriend and also from his job as a TV interior designer, Carey needs somewhere to lick his wounds. And Mossby would be perfect for a renovation show.

Monte Carlo means different things to different people - a billionaires' playground where dangerous secrets hide. For Nanette Weston and her then fiancé, F1 racing driver Zac Ewart, their dream life came to an abrupt halt three years ago following a car accident which Zac walked away from but left Nanette being airlifted back to the UK, never to return or see her fiancé again. But when her friend and employer Vanessa asks Nanette to look after her children in the Principality for a few months, Nanette knows she has no choice but to return.

Sappho Jones stopped counting birthdays when she reached 30, but even with her hazy grip on mathematics she realises that she's on the slippery slope to the big four-oh! With the thought suddenly lodged in her mind that she's a mere cat's whisker away from becoming a single eccentric female living in a country cottage in Wales, she has the urge to do something dramatic before it's too late. The trouble is, as an adventurous woman of a certain age, Sappho's pretty much been there, done that, got the T-shirt. In fact the only thing she hasn't tried is motherhood.

Alex Lake’s day job is all about helping people, especially children. She cares about them passionately and does everything in her power to rescue them from those who mean them harm. When the case of three-year-old Ottilie Wade comes to her attention, Alex finds herself completely unable to detach from the child the way she should. She feels an overpowering need to make a real difference in little Ottilie’s life, but no one is prepared to believe that Ottilie is in danger.

England, 1611, and young Hannah Marston envies her brother's adventurous life. But when she stows away on a merchant ship, her powers of endurance are stretched to their limit. Then they reach Japan and all her suffering seems worthwhile until she is abducted by Taro Kumashiro's warriors. In the far north of the country, warlord Kumashiro is intrigued to learn more about the girl who he has been warned about by a seer. There's a clash of cultures and wills, but they're also fighting an instant attraction to each other.

When Agnes Agistini receives a phone call from Theo, her brother-in-law informing her that her estranged, abusive husband Oscar has died in an accident, she feels nothing but relief. But that relief is short-lived as Oscar’s vengeance from an early grave forces Agnes to return to the place she fled from over forty years ago. A place and time she’s not keen to revisit. At the request of a French notaires dealing with Oscar’s last will, Agnes travels to Cannes in the South of France alongside their daughter Francine and her grand-daughter Jasmine.

1943. Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini’s laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice, she must flee the city to save her life. Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh German reprisals and her own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart.

Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day. Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought.

Meet Janine Lewis. A single mom of three and Manchester’s newest detective chief inspector. Her cheating husband walked out the day she got promoted. Now she’s six months pregnant with his baby and in charge of her first murder case. The body of a deputy head teacher is found on a lonely allotment. Gutted—his stomach sliced open—and left for dead. The only witnesses are a dying elderly man and a seven-year-old girl. And now the prime suspect has disappeared.

In the first volume of this epic new series, Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England's queens in the century after the Norman Conquest. Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in 1066, to the turbulent life of the Empress Maud, who claimed to be queen of England in her own right and fought a bitter war to that end, the five Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters.

There are new residents at Goodwill House—WAAF drivers Camilla ‘Millie’ Cunningham and Diane Forsyth, both eager to do their bit for the war effort and excited to help the brave boys who fly. And when Millie meets dashing and heroic Spitfire pilot Ted Thorrington, they strike up an instant connection. But with Hitler gaining more ground in Europe, there is danger brewing across the Channel in Dunkirk and Ted is required to fly more and more dangerous sorties, risking his life every time. With their hearts and lives on the line, the courage of the girls in blue will be tested.

Richard and Christine Clay have been married for decades. Their relationship has stood the test of time despite Christine appearing passive while her husband is unmistakably dominant - at times bullying and controlling. Nurse Florence Shaw has seen Christine at the surgery a number of times with minor complaints over the past year, none of which has led to a serious diagnosis. But when Florence hears that the couple appear to have entered into a suicide pact, she is shocked, though not surprised that Richard has survived.

Librarian Prunella Pearce has left heartbreak behind to start a new life in the village of Winterbottom, where there's little social life to be had aside from the meetings of The Winterbottom Women's Institute at the parish hall. But a bit of excitement ensues when the group is about to elect a new president—and the nominees for the position begin dropping like flies. One is found facedown in a lemon drizzle cake, stabbed with a crochet needle. Another nearly dies spectacularly in the revolving doors of a Harrogate hotel.

August 1940. As Autumn approaches, Lady Joanna Harcourt is preparing for new guests at Goodwill House - land girls, Sally, Daphne and Charlie. Sally, a feisty blonde from the East End, has never seen a cow before, but she’s desperate to escape London and her horrible ex, Dennis. And although the hours are long and the work hard, Sal quickly becomes good friends with the other girls Daphne and Charlie and enjoys life at Goodwill House. Until Dennis reappears threatening to drag her back to London.

Jo Melling has arrived in Birch End from Australia, still grieving her father's recent death. She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too. Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village. Nick had planned to settle in Birch End and start a business, but as he grows closer to Jo, he realises he may have to choose between his dreams and a chance at love.

It is 1860 in Bilsden, the Lancashire mill town, and Frederick Hallam is dying. But first he makes secret plans to smooth the future path for his beloved wife, Annie. Her sister, Joanie, is fed up with everything until a dashing new admirer crosses her path. But a spurned suitor is determined that Joanie will be his, whatever the cost. And he is not the only one who wants to harm the Gibson family. Meanwhile the Civil War in America cuts off cotton supplies so that times are hard in Bilsden and unemployment is rife.