Showing results by narrator "Gemma Dawson" in All Categories

The last thing Lord Nicholas Kincaid expected to see in the gloom of a London tavern was a vision of loveliness. And when she led him to a bedchamber with a come-hither smile, there was no question of resisting - until he realized the lying wench meant to render him senseless so the landlord could rob him blind!

In turn-of-the-century South Africa, 14-year-old Lettie, her younger brother, and her mother are Dutch Afrikaner settlers who have been taken from their farm by British soldiers and are being held in a concentration camp. It is early in the Boer War, and Lettie's father, grandfather, and brother are off fighting the British as thousands of Afrikaner women and children are detained. Determined to dictate their own fate, Lettie and her family give each other strength and hope as they fight to survive amid increasingly dire conditions.

Flo Jenkins is found murdered in her armchair, a paperknife sticking out of her chest. The old woman was well liked and nothing seems to have been stolen from her home. And it was common knowledge that she only had weeks to live. Why kill a dying woman? This is going to be one of the toughest cases yet for Hillary to solve. Hillary also has to deal with a new colleague who has a terrible temper and a rocky past. With no forensics, no leads and only a drug-addict nephew as a suspect, will this be Hillary's first failure to solve a murder case?

Gwendeline Gregory doesn't know what to think when she encounters the dashing Alex St. Audley, Earl of Merryn. She's in over her head in London Society, trying to fend off a scoundrel who will stop at nothing to ruin her. On the brink of a devastating scandal, the earl arrives just when she needs him most. But are his motivations trustworthy? And can he avert ruin for both of them?

Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies' man. DI Hillary Greene discovers that many wealthy married women were buying his paintings and taking ‘private' art lesson from him. It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead.

These are stories that delve into the modern psyche with unsettling and darkly satiric results. "Inclusion" tells the story of a doctor who is illegally testing a new antidepressant made from bee excrement. "A Short History of the English Novel" brings us face to face with a pompous publisher who is greeted at every turn by countless rejected authors.

After 17-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend Ilven kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with the vampire, Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous wild magic.

Looking for a brilliant best-selling murder mystery with a feisty female detective? Then meet DI Hillary Greene, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals. A would-be politician is found battered to death in the kitchen of his expensive home in a lovely Oxfordshire village. His wife’s alibi is full of holes, and there’s another woman in the background. And what about his seemingly mild-mannered political rival? DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this perplexing murder.

Desperate to escape an arranged marriage and the life her high-ranking government official father planned for her, Cat Hunter does the unthinkable. She runs away from her homeland, Tellus, disguises herself as a boy, and stows away on an air ship. She’s ready for life in a new land where the general population isn’t poverty stricken and at the mercy of the cruel officials. What she isn’t quite ready for is meeting Fox, a crew member aboard the Stormdancer - which turns out to be a smugglers’ ship.

Living on the edge used to make wild-card war reporter Jack Chapman feel alive. These days he needs some time-out before he burns out. So what better distraction than delectable pastry chef Ellie Evans? She's oh-so-tempting...and sleeping right next door! Perfect for a short-term fling! Ellie knows it would be beyond stupid to fall for a guy with ice in his veins who's always on the move. But daredevil Jack is even more irresistible than her death-by-chocolate cake - and saying no has never been Ellie's strong point!

Hulde is a queen's daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants. The queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement. Hulde becomes desperate to find out more, and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue....

Mattie Jones is found brutally stabbed to death in her palatial home. Hillary Greene is called in to investigate the murder of this wealthy woman. Who wanted her dead and why? Hillary discovers that Mattie's snobby attitude had made her many enemies. Mattie was also going through a messy divorce and had a secret lover. Meanwhile, in a terrifying turn of events, police officers are being gunned down outside their stations. A sniper is on the loose. Who will come under attack next? Can Hillary cope with the enemies within, a complex case, and the whole force under attack?

Looking for a brilliant best-selling murder mystery with a feisty female detective? Then meet DI Hillary Greene, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals. 15 year-old Billy Davies is found dead in his father's shed with a pair of gardening shears thrust brutally into his chest. DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this baffling crime. How did Billy come into contact with such a vicious killer? Who wanted him dead - and why? The investigation reveals that the teenager was not such an innocent young man.

July 1969. While men are walking on the moon, life in London for 16-year-old Jane takes unexpected turns. On the point of falling in love with her best friend Karl, she discovers that there's more to her father's spectacular girlfriend than at first meets the eye. In the sweltering heat of a fast-moving evening, other revelations quickly follow, reconciling Jane with her father but also reopening wounds from the past, laying bare raw emotions kept suppressed for too long.

Sixteen-year-old Iris itches constantly for the strike of a match. But when she's caught setting one too many fires, she's dragged away to London before she can get arrested. At least, that's the story her mother tells. Soon Iris finds herself in the English countryside, where her millionaire father - a man she's never met - lives. Though not for very much longer. Iris's father is dying, and her self-interested mother is determined to claim his life's fortune, including his priceless art collection.

Seventeen-year-old Vivienne lives in a world of knights and ladies, corsets and absinthe, outlaw magic and alchemical machines. By day, she is lady-in-waiting to the future queen of Camelot - Guinevere. By night, she secretly toils away in the clock tower as apprentice to Merlin, the infamous recovering magic addict. Then she meets Marcus, below her in class, destined to become a knight, and just as forbidden as her apprenticeship with Merlin.

Freya Bauer's revolutionary fervor has dimmed with age, but just as she's about to hang up her DedSec mask, she's recruited for one last mission to Berlin . . . with her ex-husband of all people. Yet upon her arrival in Germany, a series of betrayals mean she's suddenly unable to distinguish between friends and foes. Meanwhile, Freya's past has caught up with her—in the form of a mysterious hitman determined to take out the Bauer family in London.

From the author of I Saw a Man comes a powerful drama in verse that captures both the trauma of modern warfare and the difficulty of transitioning back to normal life after combat.

Brought together at the start of the London social season, Lady Georgina and Lord Vane are immediately at odds. The Lord’s cool countenance annoys Georgina to no end, while Lord Vane has no desire for his orderly routine to be upended by the passionate Lady Georgina. Forced together while under quarantine, will they overcome their mutual dislike? Are they destined to be at each other’s throats…or lips?

Quarry Lake, twelve years ago: Three young women are attacked, all with long, dark hair. The attacker wears a yellow jacket. One is murdered; one is left in a coma; one escapes; a small town lives in fear.