Showing results by narrator "Katie Villa" in All Categories

Connie stared out at the quiet Cornish sea as the hazy early morning light bathed the horizon in a beautiful golden glow. She inhaled the salty, cleansing ocean air, looked down at the handwritten note and wiped away the lone tear that had started to fall... Connie hasn’t been back to Magpie Cove – a seaside fishing village nestled between the cliffs – for years. When she thinks of the cove’s cobbled streets and cheerful cottages, she has to fight to push down memories she’d rather keep buried in the past.

Cassie stares at the woman on her doorstep in disbelief. Just months after losing her only son, Josh, here stands a stranger claiming to be Josh’s girlfriend. But it’s not only the woman Cassie is shocked by, it’s the baby nestled in Kim’s arms. Cassie’s grandchild. I know what you did. As Cassie tries to do what’s best for baby Samuel, she starts to receive threatening messages from someone from her past - someone Cassie has been hiding from for a long time.

When Tara Fitzpatrick tells a string of lies during the world’s most informal job interview, she has no idea of the path she’s set herself on. Renovating the rundown bookshop with her new boss, James, turns out to be more fulfilling than she could ever have imagined. Soon, she finds herself falling in love with the quaint little shop. And with James. But Tara has never let herself dream of a happy ever after. Ever since she was a little girl, she knew she would never have children.

As fascists march across the cobbled piazzas and past the towered buildings of her beloved home city, 20-year-old Devora’s worst fears come true. Along with her Jewish parents and twin little brothers they are torn away from everything they love and sent to an internment camp huddled in the mountains. Her father promises this war will not last long....

Suzanne's life changes forever the day she receives a visit from Rose Anderson, the woman who has been living with her estranged father, Don. Don is dead, but Rose wants Suzanne to have his possessions - including a series of intimate diaries and a mysterious collection of photographs of women. To Suzanne's shock, one of the photos is of her friend, Sophie, who died 10 years ago in an unexplained and devastating fire. But Don met Sophie only once, during an unsettling visit he paid Suzanne just days before Sophie's death.... So why did he have a picture of her?

Carefree, 30-something Mandy thought she’d be married to first love Danny forever. So when she discovers her heartthrob husband has had a fling, she realizes it’s time to make some big changes. But what will Mandy do now she’s single for the first time in her adult life? Determined to find her spark again, Mandy hops on a plane, ready for adventure and a second chance at happiness. Escaping to a sun-drenched Greek island, the glittering blue seas, golden beaches, and delicious cocktails are exactly what she needs.

Jay and I have only known each other a short while, but whenever I gaze into his gorgeous brown eyes I know he’s the one. His little house by the deep forest’s edge is perfect for the two of us—no internet, no phone signal, and no neighbors. I’m about as far from my past as I could be. Warm in Jay’s arms, I can persuade myself it’s ok that he disappears for hours when he thinks I’m asleep at night, returning the next morning, glittery eyed and tense. I won’t question him, I can’t challenge him. I need our relationship to work. Because I have secrets too.

On a dark night, on a mountain road, a young couple, Matthew and Stacey, are on their way home from a night out. Their car breaks down, and Matthew leaves to look for help. By the next morning, Stacey is found murdered in the car and Matthew is missing, presumed guilty of her murder. Called to the scene, Detective Alex King and her team soon see some terrifying links - to another local young man who is missing and to the discovery of a body from 30 years ago.

Lila had a favourite rock to sit on towards the back of the cove, where she often ate her breakfast, gazing out at the tumbling Cornish sea. As the sun rose that morning, Lila wished with all her heart that the grey-green waves could wash away her old life. That Magpie Cove would help her move on, and to forget... When aspiring pastry chef Lila Bridges flees her life in the city after a heartbreaking tragedy, she finds herself working behind the counter at Magpie Cove’s most beloved local establishment – Serafina’s Café.

When Sukey Reynolds receives news of a death at the elegant Mariners Hotel, she is intrigued. Who could possibly have wanted to hurt Dr. Whistler, a shy and retiring archaeology professor? The dusty documents he was carrying couldn’t possibly be of value, could they? You would never expect this sophisticated establishment to be home to murder. What secrets are hiding inside the charming Mariners Hotel?

She wanted a new life and true love. But the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. All Polly has to her name is a string of failed relationships and a mountain of debt. She sees herself as a hopeless case and would do anything to change her luck. So when she’s given the opportunity to swap all she’s ever known for a life of luxury, Polly jumps at the chance. Soon, it’s all diamonds, spa days and celebrity parties. Now all that's missing from her life is a bit of romance.

On a damp October day, a body is found in an abandoned hospital, too burnt to be identified, but detective Alex King knows that every victim is someone’s daughter or son. Pushing aside her own troubles, Alex puts everything into finding the killer, but when someone else is found dead, she begins to suspect that the body in the hospital was just the first of many. Just as Alex uncovers a heart-breaking link between the victims, she finds her own safety under threat. Is this a figure from her past hell-bent on revenge, or could the murderer be even closer than she thinks?

Ellie McTavish’s world turns upside down when a deadly diagnosis comes out of nowhere. Feeling adrift as she recovers from life-saving surgery at home, she impulsively bids on a vintage caravan, only to discover the next day that she’s won it. So she grabs her friend Fee and takes it on an impromptu road trip... well, that’s the plan, until it breaks down outside the tiny village of Magpie Cove in Cornwall. Unexpectedly stranded, the two women don’t have much choice but to stay there until it’s fixed. At least the local mechanic, Mark, is distractingly handsome.

Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home. But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.

Trained as an agent of the women of the planet Home, brand new Space Girl Red must stop a war between flying monkeys, robot armies, and a nanotech powered God King. Born and raised on a planet where no boys are born, Red was always the fastest and strongest among her unit of Space Girls, Capricorn. Capricorn was legendary before entering the academy, but training rivalries turned deadly when Blue tries to one-up Red in the real galaxy.

Take a trip to Hope Cove, the wonderful seaside village in Devon. The perfect escape for stunning scenery, glorious sunshine, and the cuonty’s best scones!

Well-Being in the Workplace: A Guide to Resilience for Individuals and Teams is aimed at managers who need to build resilience in both themselves and their team, and improve their own and others’ well-being. Managers, team leaders, those in HR roles, and employees looking to adapt to new ways of working will find this book invaluable.

Charlie's marriage is over - but that does not mean that her life is. It is just down to her besty Mercedes to convince her of that! Mercedes draws up the perfect bucket list and begins a one-woman mission to lift Charlie's spirits. Before long, Charlie is belly-dancing, bungee-jumping and much more...including rekindling her love life with handsome journalist Jake. But she is having so much fun as the bucket list grows - and has questions about Jake.

Josie Hudson's whole life has been about one thing and one thing only: keeping her son Scott alive. And when Scott, now 19, finds out that his heart is once again failing - with no hope of a transplant - Josie's world comes crashing down. Determined to give meaning to his final months, Scott decides to find a match for his mum: someone to be there for her when he will no longer be. But can Scott succeed in finding love for his mum before it's too late? Or will his place in her heart be too large to fill?