Showing results by narrator "Elizabeth Bower" in All Categories

For five years, the remains of a young woman lie undisturbed in dark woodland on the outskirts of Birmingham. The gold necklace round her neck reads ‘Molly’. Now, watching the post-mortem, forensic psychologist Kate Hanson knows in a heartbeat that she’s looking at Molly Elizabeth James. She was only eighteen when she disappeared from a shopping centre in Solihull. DCI Bernie Watts’ team unearths more long-buried bodies in the area. Kate realises they’re dealing with a serial killer. One who abducted young women, torturing them for days before finally killing them.

Summer and her mum soon find their hands full with the arrival of her future stepsister, Frankie – a blue-haired teen firecracker who's nothing like the sweet little girl they remember. Meanwhile, local vet Ben is struggling – buried under a mountain of responsibility with trying to keep his crumbling family home Monk’s Folly standing, while supporting his reclusive mother and errant younger brother.

New Year’s Day. A dog walker is enjoying the early morning calm in Birmingham’s Woodgate Country Park. At first he thinks it’s some old rubbish. His dogs are always digging up trouble. But it’s a mummified body. The victim is Nathan Troy, an art student who disappeared twenty years ago. Days later, a second body is found. This time it’s a fresh kill. And the ligature marks on the victim’s neck are identical. It’s been twenty years, but after all this time, forensic psychologist Kate Hanson knows that Nathan’s killer is back.

Single mum Frankie’s whole life revolves around her kids. But when your teenage daughter goes on more dates than you and your toddler has a more active social life, something has to change. Forget ‘me time’, Frankie would settle for some adult conversation, and watching something other than the Disney channel. The local playgroup may be ruled by Instagram mums with perfect husbands, but Frankie accidentally forms a splinter group of single parents. After all, Mummy really needs a playdate of her own. (Now pass the prosecco.)

Emily loves her glamorous life in London, but it’s all about to come crashing down. Her banker husband’s lost his job, their beloved townhouse is for sale, and they’re relocating to Portugal to save money. The Villa Anna is beautiful, with bougainvillea tumbling down the walls, but living on a shoestring budget is a shock. To make ends meet, they launch a B&B, and Emily’s days are soon filled with six am wake-ups, fixing dodgy plumbing, and cooking breakfasts to order.

Kat Pennyfeather knows the joys and challenges of parenthood all too well – she’s been thrown into the deep end as a single, first-time mother to adorable baby Hattie. With the unwavering support of her beloved great aunties, affectionately known as The Lavender Ladies, and the sanctuary of her cosy home above Pennyfeather's Wool Shop, Kat is holding things together…. mostly. Across town, Jonah Brewster finds himself navigating the treacherous path of single parenthood after a painful divorce and unexpected loss.

Ros is too busy for a boyfriend; between work and looking after her father, there’s no time left for a relationship. But when she overhears her dad's dying wish is for her to find love, Ros is determined to make it happen – or at least, make it look like it has. Enter Cameron, a struggling student with a mountain of debt but a zest for life. Ros, driven by love for her ailing dad, reluctantly agrees to the simple business transaction: paying Cameron to play the role of her boyfriend. Ros meticulously plans their fake relationship – but when Cameron decides to go off-script, chaos ensues.

From summer days when butterflies dance above stone cottages, to autumn sunsets that bathe the market square in golden light, to winter snowfalls that transform the Yorkshire Dales into a shimmering wonderland–the village of Tuppenny Bridge holds beauty in every season.

The Last Gift is a short novella to chill you over Christmas - from psychological thriller writer Sarah J Naughton. On 24th December, husband and father Peter Biddiscombe is tragically killed. The body is not discovered until Boxing Day, but when PC Maxine Derbyshire delivers the news, Peter's wife believes it must be a case of mistaken identity. Peter spent Christmas with his family. Bonus material - includes an exclusive three chapters from Sarah J Naughton's new full-length thriller, The Other Couple.

Clemmie has always been a romantic at heart, even going so far as to write her own regency romance novels… not that she’d EVER let anyone read them. This year, she’s dreaming of a white Christmas, but any chance of a merry holiday is dashed when she spots her ex-boyfriend, Ross Lavender, across the frosty village green at a carol concert. Even worse, Clemmie is mortified when, in the village Christmas raffle, she picks the winning ticket. The prize? A portrait painted by Ross himself, who is a talented local artist.

Helen Grace is sure she made the right decision quitting her job as a detective. Until the day she looks out of her window to see a desperate young woman being pursued by two vicious thugs. Still a force to be reckoned with, Helen races into the night, swiftly downing the young woman's attackers. For a moment, it feels like Helen doesn't need her badge to do good, but as she leads her charge to safety, she's struck from behind, regaining consciousness just in time to see the terrified woman being driven off in a white van.

He's been looking in the windows again. Messing with cameras. Leaving notes. Supposed to be a refuge. But death got inside. When Katie Straw's body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police decide it's an open-and-shut case. A standard-issue female suicide. But the residents of Widringham women's refuge where Katie worked don't agree. They say it's murder. Will you listen to them? An addictive literary page-turner about a crime as shocking as it is commonplace, Keeper will leave you reeling.

'Til Death Do Us Part is a domestic, suspense thriller that challenges the limits of morality, the thirst for revenge, and the weight of the choices we make when the truth becomes our greatest enemy.

March 2020. Annie is alone in her house as the world shuts down, only the ghosts of her memories for company. But then she receives a phone call which plunges her deeper into the past. 1959. Annie and Rita are student nurses at Fairlie Hall mental institution. Working long gruelling hours, they soon learn that the only way to appease their terrifying matron is to follow the rules unthinkingly. But what is happening in the hospital's hidden side wards? And at what point does following the rules turn into complicity - and betrayal?

Two teenage boys make a gruesome discovery. A body locked inside a church crypt. The victim’s throat viciously ripped out. The dead man is quickly identified as twenty-year-old Matthew Flynn, son of a wealthy businessman. He was reported missing a year ago. Nothing about the crime scene makes sense to forensic psychologist Kate Hanson. The evidence reveals careful planning — but also a frenzied loss of control. Kate and her team disagree about the killer’s motive — is it drugs? Money? Sex?

It’s 1:23 in the morning when Kate gets the call. News at this time is never good, but this call is one of the worst. A body has been found in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Birmingham. It’s badly decomposed, but forensic psychologist Kate Hanson is sure she knows who it is. Nineteen-year-old Elizabeth Williams disappeared a year ago. She was a good student who simply vanished off the face of the earth.

Forensic psychologist Kate Hanson re-examines a brutal ten-year-old murder case in this deliciously twisty crime mystery. Then. Famous novelist David Lockman is convicted of murdering Della Harrington. He’s sentenced to life in prison. Now. Lockman walks free after ten years in jail. A miscarriage of justice. But if he didn’t kill Della, who did? Kate is determined to get justice for Della. But her search for the truth will lead her down a dark path and jeopardize everything she’s ever worked for.

A fatal accident at Bruncliffe’s livestock auction mart leads to a call for detectives Samson O’Brien and Delilah Metcalfe. What starts as a simple health-and-safety investigation soon takes a sinister turn when they discover evidence that suggests murder. Clive Knowles approaches them for help – his sheep are being threatened by the gang of rustlers that is plaguing the Dales. Meanwhile, poacher Pete Ferris has also decided to play his hand, setting in motion a blackmail plot which will ensure Samson is pulled back into trouble with his nemesis Rick Procter.

Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. In this audiobook on Yorkshire, you'll find two unique tales: an intimate account of returning to her childhood home of Snaith by Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love, and from new voice Victoria Hennison, a deeply personal memoir of growing up in the village of Holme-on-Spalding Moor.

Being a stable lass is probably one of the hardest jobs in the country, and yet for Gemma Hogg it is the most rewarding. She works in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Middleham, and if her colleagues are occasionally challenging, then the horses are downright astonishing. Now, in Stable Lass, she takes us into the closed world of a top racing yard, from the elation of having several winners in one day to the almost indescribable grief of losing a horse.