Showing results by narrator "Nicolette" in All Categories

The Great War opened up an exciting new career for Vi in London. But that was yesterday. Now the war's over, her husband is dead and she needs to pick up the pieces of her life. On her way home from work she meets a man who is in huge need of her help. Recently demobbed, Joss Bentley has no job or home and, with his wife dead, there's a new baby to care for - and, what's more, it's not his. As he searches grimly for its real father, he runs up against people who will use any means necessary to conceal dark secrets, and Vi finds herself faced with conflicting loyalties.

When Adelaide Anson-Gravetty finds out her father is not the man who raised her, she is both shocked and intrigued. Determined to find out more about her new family, she travels to the convent of Our Lady of Mercy in France to meet her aunt, the Reverend Mother. But when France falls to the German army, Adelaide and the nuns are soon in the thick of a war that threatens both their beliefs and their lives. Collaborating with the Resistance, sheltering Jewish orphans, defying the rulings of Vichy France: these are dangerous activities in dangerous times.

Bram Deagan dreams of bringing his family from Ireland to join him in Australia, where he now runs a successful trading business. But when a typhus epidemic strikes Ireland, it leaves the Deagan family decimated. And, with other family members scattered round the world, it is left to Maura Deagan to look after her orphaned nieces and nephew. Forced to abandon her own ambitions, and unsure whether she is ready to become a mother-figure to three young children, Maura recognises that their only hope is to join Bram in far away Australia.

Cat Parsons is on the run. She doesn't do relationships. After ten years of singlehood even the hint of the 'L' word is enough to get Cat packing her bags and booking herself onto a two-week holiday. A European bus tour feels like a stroke of genius to dodge awkward conversations at home. But little does Cat realise that the first stop will be Paris, the city of love itself.

Ismay Deagan has one wish in the world - to leave Ireland and join her brother, Bram, in Australia. However, her father has other ideas and orders her to marry their vicious neighbour Rory Flynn, even though she loathes him. But after Rory brutally attacks her Ismay realises she has to escape. So, disguising herself as an impoverished young widow, she sets sail for Australia, hoping to be reunited with her brother. When she meets Adam Treagar on the ship, she finally starts to believe her dreams of future happiness may come true....

Vienna, 1920: Professor Sigmund Freud is known for his interest in the human psyche, but psychoanalysis is still an emerging field with its share of critics. When Constable Karl Gruber seeks out Sigmund Freud's help in dealing with a gruesome murder case, the professor sees a new opportunity to explore the many facets of human behavior and thinking. Together with his stubborn daughter Anna, Sigmund Freud sets out to help Constable Gruber and solve the unusual and mysterious cases of Vienna. This collection contains episodes 1-4 of "The Sigmund Freud Files".

Four years ago Gianna married Raul Velez-Saldana in a whirlwind - he was the man she loved and the father of her baby. But, tragically, her pregnancy didn't last - and neither did their marriage. Discovering Raul's infidelity, Gianna left. As far as Raul is concerned his marriage to Gianna was simply postponed. Now the Spaniard has returned - and he wants his wife back!

Richard Wellington is one of the country’s most recognised doctors. A morning TV regular, surgeon to the elite, and scandal-proof despite a malpractice case that should have ruined him. But when his body is found sprawled in a harborside park on a sweltering Sydney morning, the facade shatters. His murder dominates the headlines, and the normally quiet cul-de-sac he called home becomes a media circus, seething with speculation and unease.

Eva Kershaw thought she would never marry and is happy living a quiet life with her dear friend Alice. But Alice is ill, and her nephew, Gus, has thrust himself into their household. Alice's dearest wish is that Eva should not make the same mistakes she did, and she alters her will so that Eva and Gus are strongly compelled to marry. Eva obliges to fulfil her dead friend's wishes. But Gus is not all he seems to be: he is not Alice's kind nephew but a robber, a confidence trickster, and not even Gus Blake. And Eva is in terrible danger....

She thought the worst was behind her.... Life is tough in Lancashire in 1905 - and especially so for 15-year-old Mary Ann, who was born out of wedlock. When her new stepfather begins to abuse her, Mary Ann doesn't know how much more she can take - until the worst happens and she is sent away to bear his child. After the birth, she manages to escape to Blackpool with the help of her new friend Gabriel. Years later, the Great War brings Mary Ann many new opportunities, and brings Gabriel back into her life - but circumstances mean they can never be together.

Liza McCullen will never escape her past, but the unspoilt beaches and tight-knit community of Silver Bay offer the safety she craves for her young daughter, Hannah...until Mike Dormer arrives, and the peace of Silver Bay is shattered. The mild-mannered Englishman could destroy everything Liza has worked so hard to protect: not only the family business and the bay that harbours her beloved whales but also her conviction that she will never love again.

Forced to flee Revolutionary France after the brutal guillotining of her beloved father, Isabella de Savigny arrives at Nethergate, the Suffolk house of her cousin, hoping for sympathy and succour. Instead, as a poor relation, she is forced to live the life of a servant and suffer the casual cruelty of lady’s maid Martha Pratt. When she is seduced and abandoned by the son of the house, Isabella is forced to marry Martha’s brother, and her struggle to survive truly begins. However, her misery is lessened when her daughter is born....

1866. Three Blake sisters remain in the Swan River Colony and two are quite happy to forge new lives for themselves there. The third, Xanthe, yearns to see the world. But even if she could afford to travel, could she persuade her beloved twin to let her go? Maia has fallen in love with their employer, and would surely be happiest staying behind with him. Xanthe's opportunity comes in the form of a handsome Irishman bringing some of the sisters' inheritance from England. But for Maia, the same man brings trouble in his wake: someone who has the power to make her life a misery.

Calico Road runs through a tiny Lancashire hamlet up on the edge of the moors, miles from anywhere. Its folk are an independent breed - and in 1827 they are a thorn in the side of the vicious mill owner in the valley below. Toby Fletcher's father ignored his bastard son while alive. Now Toby is the new owner of the rambling old inn, an unwitting keeper of its secrets. Then Meg Staley comes to Calico - a woman who was strong enough to survive one tragedy but found it harder to withstand a second blow.

An afternoon at the races - laced with champagne and women - is just another event for Ethan Cartwright, until very ordinary Daisy Donohue catches his eye. Daisy knows to keep her head down and stay invisible amongst the throngs of designer-clad socialites. But ruthless Ethan is intrigued by the drab assistant, and can't resist one passionate embrace! Daisy is devastated to be fired for a kiss - she needs her job! That's where Ethan comes in. He has a new role in mind: housekeeper by day - bedmate by night....

Gracie Flynn may be dead. But she's not gone. Three university friends are divided by a tragic death. Eighteen years later, chance reunites them. Robyn is still haunted by memories of her best friend Gracie, and Cohen's heart has never healed. Only Sam seems to have moved on and found success and happiness. But death rocks their lives again when Sam's body is found in mysterious circumstances. And the ghost of Gracie Flynn has a story to tell about the night that changed their lives forever.

In Stories of Hope, Heather will explore her extraordinary talents as a listener - a skill she employed when she first met Lale Sokolov, the tattooist at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the inspiration for her bestselling novel. It was this ability that led Lale to entrust Heather with his story, which she told in her novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the bestselling follow up, Cilka's Journey.

Kate Whitaker has always believed in love, but when a stranger named Willem shows up on her doorstep, the news he has to share isn’t as exciting as his god-like looks might suggest. He’s come to tell her that Kate’s fiancé is also engaged to his sister. Kate doesn't know how she didn’t see the red flags: Jon’s work as an airline pilot having him flying around the globe, the postponed dates, the huge rock of an engagement ring that isn’t her style at all.

Ruth had fostered a lifelong love of reading, and from the moment she first encountered Pride and Prejudice in the 1940s she had looked to Jane Austen's heroines as her models for the sort of woman she wanted to become. She resolved to re-read Austen's six novels; to reflect on her life in relation to what she discovered in each of them. And as Ruth read between the lines of both the novels and her own life, she began to reclaim her voice.

During a broiling heatwave, the inner circle of a high-profile charity attend a critical meeting at White Ash Ridge, a small hotel nestled in the Australian wilderness. As the temperature rises, a body is found lying in the thick bush, bludgeoned to death. One of the four remaining guests is a murderer - but who, and why, is a mystery. Detective Dana Russo knows the national spotlight will be sharply focused on the case. The charity was formed when the founders' teenage son was killed after intervening in a vicious assault - sparking public outrage and a damning verdict on the investigation.