Showing results by narrator "Deryn Edwards" in All Categories

London, 1965. Top model Joycie Todd lives a glittering life with photographer Marcus Blake. But her childhood tells a different story… When she was eleven, Joycie’s mother disappeared. Run away with another man, so everyone says. But Joycie can’t forget the thumps she heard in the night, or the bloodstained rug hidden under the bed. A rug that was gone the next day. Twelve years later, Joycie has left her past behind. But when an old friend dies, Joycie is left a letter beseeching her to find out the truth.

After the body of a missing woman is discovered in a shallow grave, Detective Inspector Harry Powell steps in to lead the hunt for the killer. But when his investigation brings him face-to-face with an old case in his career, he begins to fear that a fatal mistake from his past may have left a dangerous criminal roaming free. While the Murder Squad are occupied by their new case, a new arrival sends ripples throughout the ranks. On the outside, Detective Constable Dane Hoopman appears to be like any other officer, but under the surface, does a dark secret lie in wait?

One year ago, the shadows shifted and began to show something different - not people's shapes, but their real selves. Now, on the first anniversary of the event, teenage friends Teddy, Betsy and Effie plan to risk all and watch the winter sun rise over Copperwell, in defiance of the Shadow Order. But from their hidden vantage point they witness a mysterious woman shout a dire warning, before being arrested, beaten and dragged away in handcuffs.

Summer, 1953. The sun is shining on Little Green Street, the bunting is being brought out, and Britain is getting ready to crown its new Queen. Except Helen Jones doesn't feel much like celebrating. Her father passed away last year, on the very same day as King George. Life hasn't felt the same ever since. Her husband Tad has a plan. As the newly-appointed chair of the small town's Coronation Tea Party committee, he's hoping that the day will be the perfect moment to bring a spark of joy back to their little family - and to the whole community.

Spring 1919. WW1 might be over, but the inhabitants of Dorcalon in the Welsh Valleys still feel the pain of the war that took so many of their men. Polly Smith is trying to survive her own battle at home. After her abusive husband, Gus, was finally jailed, Polly has been raising her two-year-old son alone. But being a single mother isn't easy, and Polly finds it harder still as Gus's criminal activities leave her with a bad reputation. Lonely and struggling for money, Polly retreats as she becomes the subject of cruel gossip.

When Fan's mum Agnes announces that the family is moving to Western Australia to take care of Agnes's father—a man they've never spoken of before now—Fan finds herself a stranger in a new town, living in a home whose currents and tensions she cannot read or understand. Resentful of her mother's decision to move, Fan forms an alliance with her grandfather, Edwin Salt, a convict transported to Australia in 1861. As she listens to memories of his former life in England, Fan starts snooping around the house, riffling through Edwin's belongings.

It's August 1917, and WW1 continues to take a toll. The villagers of Dorcalon try to keep hope alive, but every day brings fresh tragedy as more are killed on foreign battlefields. Elizabeth Meredith, daughter of mine manager Herbert, enjoys a privileged position in the village, but she longs to break free of society's expectations. Falling in love with miner Gwilym Owen brings more joy to her life than she's ever known...until she's forced to choose between her love and her disapproving family.

1941. Annie Beynon has just become the first stable girl for the most powerful family in her Welsh village. Whilst her gift for working with horses is clear, there are some who are willing to make her life very difficult simply for being a girl. There are other secret ways Annie is defying conventions though, and as the war rages, it seems that it's only a matter of time before Annie's secret is exposed. It's 1963 before Annie is able to face up to the secret she chose to keep over 20 years before.

Eleven-year-old Emily doesn't think Badger Cottage - where she's had to move with her vet father after her mum died - will ever be home. But there is something out there that needs her: a bright pair of eyes in the darkness. In the middle of a fierce battle between a conservation project to re-wild the lynx in the woods and the local farmers, Emily tries to shield a baby lynx she calls Lotta, afraid it will be killed by the person who shot its mother. Can Emily work out who the illegal hunter is in time? Who can she trust?

After 20 years of contentedly playing the role of home-maker and mother, Frances Copeland's life is shattered by the sudden death of her husband. With no career to fall back on and her son and daughter leaving home, the solitude of bereavement hits particularly hard. When new love beckons, in the form of a handsome young man 15 years her junior, Frances is torn. She longs to open her heart again but does not dare to trust her feelings. Turning to her closest friends for help, she is met by a wall of judgemental attitudes and envy.

July, 1916. In the Rhymney Valley, young mother Violet Jones is caring for four-year-old Clarice and baby Benjy on her own, while husband Charlie fights on the Front Line. When tragedy strikes, Violet’s life becomes even harder. Violet takes in a relative to help make ends meet. As the Great War takes its toll on the nation, Violet faces her own battle. Can she protect her children? And will she ever find joy out of the depths of despair?

A marriage of dynasty: that is what is expected of Mary Sidney. A marriage to Sir Henry Herbert, earl of Pembroke, to be precise. But Mary’s sharp mind longs to work on her writing and translation projects and perhaps learn more of the alchemical arts at the elbow of the dazzling Walter Raleigh. Rose Commin, a young country girl with a surprising talent for drawing, is desperate to shrug off the slurs of witchcraft which have tarnished life at home. The opportunity to work at Wilton House, the Herbert’s Wiltshire home, is her chance.

Eva finds the letter in the Blue Room. She spent the happier days of her childhood here, in her grandfather's painting studio. After his death, she is responsible for his legacy - a legacy threatened by the letter. It is from the Jewish Museum in Berlin. They have found the testimony he gave after surviving the death march across Serbia and Hungary, and they want to exhibit it. But the famous Joseph Silk - who came to England as a refugee - remade himself long ago. As Eva unravels what happened to him and to the woman he loved, she is confronted by the lies that have haunted her family....

What would you do if you woke up and didn't know who you were? Chloe Daniels regains consciousness in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. She doesn't recognise the strangers who call themselves family. She can't even remember her own name. What if your past remained a mystery? As she slowly recovers, her parents and sister begin to share details of her life. The successful career. The seaside home. The near-fatal car crash.

Become a better leader by accessing the source of your professional influence. Viewing them as 'touchy feely', intangible and invisible, most leaders separate their personal lives from their professional lives. Diana Jones, an executive coach for 30 years, argues that this is unwise. In fact the 'soft side' of leadership - empathy, compassion, and authentic communication derived from personal experience - is both powerful and essential to enhancing executive presence, influencing others and achieving results.

Remember, Remember, this second book in the DC Nina Foster series (now optioned for a major TV drama) is a taut and gripping police procedural crime novel. Returning to work after recovering from a serious injury, the feisty and determined policewoman is initially assigned to a desk job to keep her out of harm's way. But as she re-visits the investigation of the infamous 1964 Wickerstead Valley train crash, she finds new evidence that might link that fatal accident to a current spate of heroin-related deaths.

Maud's beloved Rotwood, a secret school for monsters, is under a cloud... literally! The pupils' monstrous games and spooky spells are filling the area with noise and smoke. Local residents are fed up and the school is facing closure! Maud and her friends are determined to help the Head, but end up accidentally terrifying the inspector during a crucial inspection. Was it an accident, though?

When Maud's pet rat, Quentin, escapes in the middle of science class, it's the very last straw. Maud is transferred from Primrose Towers to Rotwood Middle School - to the delight of her teacher, classmates, and her perfect twin, Milly. But what is in store at Rotwood? There's something strange about the pupils of Rotwood - everyone's dressed as though it's Halloween and the school's motto is "Because We Scare". Is 10-year-old Maud Montague monstrous enough for Rotwood?

When Maud's perfect twin sister, Milly, plans a sleepover, Mum forces Maud to have her friends over, too. What can possibly go wrong? Nothing much... just that Maud's mum might find out about Rotwood High being a school for real monsters! As if that's not enough, Maud is tricked into looking after Violet, the school hamster, by her archenemy, bitchy-witch Poisonous Penelope. But Violet is no ordinary hamster! She's a pedigree vampster and an expert cage-breaker. With a vampster on the loose, sleep is the very last thing that happens!

Maud loves camping and is excited about going on Wilf's family holiday in the woods. Will she be the first camper ever to solve the monstrous mystery of the Beast Of Oddington?