Showing results by narrator "Susan Duerden" in All Categories

Briony has a secret. She believes her secret killed her stepmother, destroyed her twin sister’s mind, and threatens all the children in the Swampsea. She yearns to be rid of her terrible secret, but risks being hanged if she tells a soul. That’s what happens to witches: They’re hanged by the neck until dead.Then Eldric arrives - Eldric with his golden mane and lion eyes and electric energy - and he refuses to believe anything dark about Briony. But he wonders what’s been buried beneath her self-hatred, hidden in Rose’s mangled thoughts, and whispered about by the Old Ones.

Award-winning, best-selling author Neil Gaiman demonstrates why he’s one of the hottest stars in literature today with “The Thing About Cassandra,” a subtle but chilling story of a man who meets an old girlfriend he had never expected to see .International blockbuster bestselling author Diana Gabaldon sends a World War II RAF pilot through a stone circle to the time of her Outlander series in “A Leaf on the Winds of All Hallows.”

“Sink your teeth in” (People) to the scariest, hungriest, undeadliest collection of vampire tales ever assembled—with stories from Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Bram Stoker, and many more.

Lady Arabella Tremont has spent her entire life protected and overshadowed by her restrictive father. But she is a Tremont, after all, and the morning after she is nearly ruined at a ball by a handsome stranger, Arabella's father demands she make an arranged match with the heir to a dukedom. In desperation, Arabella takes matters into her own hands.

Sensible gentleman of means seeks a sensible lady of good breeding for correspondence, and in due consideration, matrimony. Which is exactly the sort of advertisement that makes practical-to-a-fault Daphne Dale's heart flutter. A sensible gentleman, in her estimation, is the perfect match, and she's even more convinced once she's exchanging sensibly romantic letters with her very appropriate suitor. That is, until Lord Henry Seldon strays into her path.

As an extremely wealthy laird, Gowan Stoughton, Duke of Kinross, can have any of the maidens at the ball he attends. The only problem is they are all English and Gowan is not so certain they are suitable. He is accustomed to the hard-working lasses from his Highlands, not these dainty noblewomen who spend their days drinking tea or some other such nonsense. But then he makes the acquaintance of Lady Edith Gilchrist. Utterly bewitched by the emerald-eyed beauty with lush golden locks, he knows he must have her.

One spectacular Christmas, Lady Perdita Selby, known to her friends and family as Poppy, met the man she thought she would love forever. The devilishly attractive Duke of Fletcher was the perfect match, and theirs was the most romantic wedding she had ever seen. But four years later, behind closed doors, the spark of their love affair has burned out. Unwilling to lose the woman he still lusts after, the duke is determined to win back his beguiling bride's delectable affections.

Lavinia Tempest has been eagerly anticipating a spectacular season. But one disastrous pile-up on the Almack's dance floor derails all her plans. Added to that, the very stunning revelations about her mother's scandalous past have become the ton's latest on dits. Lavinia's future has gone from shining bright to blackest night in one misstep.

Maggie Hope has come a long way since serving as a typist for Winston Churchill. Now she's working undercover for the Special Operations Executive in the elegant but eerily silent city of Paris, where SS officers prowl the streets in their Mercedes and the Ritz is draped with swastika banners. Walking among the enemy is tense and terrifying, and even though she's disguised in chic Chanel, Maggie can't help longing for home.

Lucy Ellyson, the improper daughter of an infamous spy, saves the life of the Earl of Clifton. He intends to make her his countess after the war ends, but when he finally is able to return to her, he finds that she's vanished. Meanwhile, Lucy is living a new life in the heart of Mayfair. But she's as scandalous as ever, and when Clifton finally happens upon her, she's landed in the sort of trouble that only a hasty marriage can solve. He's more than willing to step in, but their future is all too quickly threatened by secrets from the past.

When a young British girl, born and reared in India, loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake, she is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Due to the loss of his wife ten years before, her uncle is very distant and, once again, the girl finds herself ignored. As she grows accustomed to the house and its inhabitants, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden, the doors of which have been locked.

Young Rosamunde Overton is forced into a daring deceit when her elderly husband cannot sire an heir. So when she flees a masquerade and happens upon an injured nobleman, Rosamunde might just have the answer to her prayers. Lord Brand Malloren is far above her station, but he's smitten by this masked lady who has taken him captive. Rosamunde has also fallen in love, but her reckless plan depends on secrecy. And to reveal herself could cost her everything.

Miss Linnet Berry Thrynne is a Beauty... Naturally, she's betrothed to a Beast. Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman. Linnet is not just any woman. She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love - in just two weeks. She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees.

World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue.

Her Aunt Allegra said, "A young lady with a fortune is subject to all sorts of untoward attentions by the worst sort of vagrants." It is a lesson Tabitha Timmons, a penniless spinster, has never needed to heed. That is, until she is left a vast fortune payable only upon her marriage to the very respectable Mr. Barkworth - a match that offers little chance of discovering exactly what her aunt means by "untoward attentions." But the same can't be said when the Duke of Preston happens along Tabitha's path....

Jo Beverley takes listeners into the heart of the most mysterious, most powerful, most seductive Georgian aristocrat of them all: the Marquess of Rothgar. Two of the strongest wills in England clash when Lord Rothgar is commanded by the king to escort the fiercely independent Diana Westmount, Countess of Arradale, to London. Though Rothgar has become a master at resisting temptation, Diana proves a challenge to his steely resolve. A moment of peril—and a night of passion—melt his icy self-control, and he must find the strength to surrender his heart to another.

Bespeckled and freckled, Lady Stella Corsham at least has a dowry that has attracted a crowd of fortune-hunting suitors—which definitely doesn’t include the sinfully handsome Silvester Parnell, Duke of Huntington, who laughingly calls her “Specs” as he chases after elegant rivals. And then—The worst happens. Marriage. To the duke. To a man marrying her for all the wrong reasons.

Witty and elusive Eugenia Snowe has all society begging for one of her premiere governesses - except the powerful Edward Reeve, who bursts into her office with his arrogant demands. No question that Eugenia enjoys crossing wits with the brilliant inventor, but Ward wants far more than a governess. He wants Eugenia, and he'll stop at nothing to have her - including kidnapping. Will Eugenia lose her heart in the most reckless gamble of her life, or will she discover the sweetest pleasure she's ever known? All it will take is seven minutes.

Lady Hermione Merryhew, daughter of an impoverished marquess, already has her share of problems. The last thing she needs is an intruder in her bedroom, especially not a fugitive thief. She should scream, but the shabby rascal is a man from her past. Six years ago, at her first ball, dashing Lieutenant Mark Thayne failed to steal a kiss, but succeeded in stealing a little of her heart. She's older and wiser now. She can't toss him to the wolves. Besides, she wants that kiss. Now Viscount Faringay, Mark has never forgotten Lady Hermione, but he mustn't involve her in his dangerous life.

Kelly Link has won an ardent following for her ability, with each new short story, to take readers deeply into an unforgettable, brilliantly constructed fictional universe. The nine exquisite examples in this collection show her in full command of her formidable powers. In “The Summer People,” a young girl in rural North Carolina serves as uneasy caretaker to the mysterious, never-quite-glimpsed visitors who inhabit the cottage behind her house....