Showing results by narrator "Caroline Lee" in All Categories

Socks, the black brumby with four white legs, is a loner until one day he hears the bronze cuckoo whistle and the cattle dog follows him into the bush. They become great friends, the dog Lightning, whose master has died, and the horse. The bronze cuckoo keeps an eye on them when parties of men with whips and dogs come into the area to capture the brumby herds and take them to the sales. A female dingo joins Socks and Lightning, and soon there are pups to take care of as well.

Tully and Rachel Aston are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn't even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer's disease. Announcing his plan to divorce and then remarry, the news of Stephen and Heather's engagement sets a chain a family implosion. With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets and what this new woman really wants.

When a law enforcement officer dies under highly suspicious circumstances, it sounds like a perfect case for Australian Detective Carol Ashton. Too bad she's the suspect. Attending a rigorous FBI training course in the United States, Aussie top cop Carol Ashton feels a little out of her element - but is she out of her league as well? After a bitter argument with an instructor, Carol is shocked to find herself accused of murder.

For midwife Montana, finding out she was pregnant was the best moment of her life. But days later she was widowed. Nine months have passed, her daughter is born and Montana knows she needs a fresh start. Dr Andy Buchanan is building services at Lyrebird Lake Hospital and he wants Montana for the new maternity unit. He can’t get the beautiful new mum out of his mind. Lyrebird Lake is the perfect place for Montana to build a new life - with Andy? And then there’s the magical myth of the lyrebirds.

When 60-something musician pals Roy and George attend the funeral of an old bandmate, they realise that since they stopped performing, they've got stuck in a rut. Retirement's all well and good, but they seem to spend most of their time in front of the TV, or propping up the bar at the Hen & Pewter. Believing that jazz players should keep swinging while they've still got rhythm, the duo decide it's time to recreate the good old days, and start a new band.

Fleeing problems in her own marriage, child protection worker Dana Gibson leaves Sydney for a job in the Queensland town of Toowoomba. Her first house call is to nearby Crows Nest to assess the children of Sandra Kirby, which results in her getting both her new boss and a local detective offside. Dana soon learns that, in the country, city rules do not apply. When Sandra Kirby and her best friend are found shot dead, Dana is drawn into an investigation that will force her to strip away the friendly veneer of small-town life, while grappling with ghosts of her own.

When prison psychologist Dr Laura Fleming is assigned charismatic inmate Justin Jones to assess for parole, alarm bells ring. Working with some of the state's most damaged criminals, she knows Jones is too dangerous to release, but he's got everyone fooled . . . She needs proof. Laura knows all about damage. Her own painful mistakes have destroyed her marriage and she's been refused access to her daughter. Step by agonising step, she's rebuilding her life and her relationships, but it's a hard road. What does she have to do to prove she can be trusted?

We all carry stories within us - wrenching, redemptive, extraordinary, and laced with unexpected and hard-won wisdom. These are the real-life stories that a group of women tell each other when they gather for a deep and structured conversation - once a month in a suburban living room - about the things that really matter. They discover that life can be a heartbeat away from chaos; that bad things happen to good people; that good people do outrageous things; that the desire for transformation is enduringly human.

How do you begin your life again when you've lost everything you've worked for and your dreams have been shattered? That was the question beloved Australian author Belinda Alexandra faced one freezing winter night when she ran from her home in terror, clutching only her wallet, her phone and her latest manuscript on a USB stick. To pull herself up from rock bottom, Belinda drew strength from the real life women who had inspired her bestselling historical fiction.

Ten years ago, nine-year-old Freda walked into an underground restaurant and straight into a hostage situation. Those 36 hours still haunt her every move. But was she just an innocent victim manipulated by the one stranger who showed her any kindness: the gunman?

London, England, 1840: Evangeline Stokes loses her position as a governess when she finds herself pregnant out of wedlock. After being accused of assault and of theft, she is committed to Newgate Prison, then to a prison ship bound for Australia. On board, she strikes up a friendship with Hazel, sentenced to seven years for stealing a silver spoon. Hobart Town, Australia, 1840: Mathinna is the orphaned daughter of the chief of the Lowreenne tribe. Adopted by the new governor of Tasmania and brought to Hobart to live with the family, she is treated more like a curiosity than a child.

When Buzz, a thoroughbred bay colt from the Snowy River homestead is lured into the wild by the beautiful and independent filly Yarrawa, the Reid children are heartbroken. They head out into the previously unexplored country of the Snowy Mountains in search of their beloved and valuable colt. Will they find him?

Doctor Ben Brieley is keen to settle into life as a small-town general practitioner and help his grandmother run Brieley Park. The city life was never for him. He’s finally found the peace he’s longed for, until the arrival of that one woman he’s never been able to forget threatens to shatter it all. No way is he revisiting that road of unrequited love...except Holly Peterson seems fragile and in need of saving, and Ben’s never stopped being Holly’s white knight.

Rebecca Wood takes the role as postmistress in a sleepy seaside town, desperate for anonymity after a scandal in Sydney. But she is confronted almost at once by a disturbing discovery - her predecessor committed suicide. To add to her worries, her hopes for a quiet life are soon threatened by the attentions of the dashing local doctor, the unsettling presence of a violent whaling captain, and a corrupt shire secretary, as well as the watchful eyes of the town's gossips.

Julia Falconer is an artist married to a successful winemaker in the coastal hinterland of southern Victoria. From the outside, it looks like Julia and Michael have it all, but things are never as they seem. A storm has destroyed a major crop. Michael is devastated and is taking it out on Julia. And Julia retreats into herself, taking solace in her work, wine, and the comfort of her friend Christopher.

Kian, a cossetted suburban cat, is snatched from his comforts and dumped in the bush along with two kittens, Cally and Jem. The greatest threat to their survival are other cats, ferals who fiercely guard their territories. Kian survives some unnerving and vicious encounters but is unswerving in his desire to make the long journey home to his territory even though it is apparent his owner is dead and that there will be no welcome from the cruel man who has taken over the house.

It is 1953, and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.

Addy Loest is harbouring a secret - several, in fact. Dedicated overthinker, frockaholic and hard-partier, she’s been doing all she can to avoid the truth for quite some time. A working-class girl raised between the Port Kembla Steelworks and the surf of the Illawarra coast, Addy is a fish out of water at the prestigious University of Sydney. She’s also the child of German immigrants, and her broken-hearted widower dad won’t tell her anything about her family’s tragic past.

Birdsville, outback Queensland: the most remote town in the world, population 110. What the people lack in numbers they make up for in community spirit. When midwife and emergency nurse Phoebe McFadden fled her family dramas at age sixteen, she thought she'd left Birdsville for good. But when her cousin Scarlet asks her to be bridesmaid in her wedding party, Phoebe knows it's time to make her way home and face the past.

Pirriwee Public is a beautiful little beachside primary school where children are taught that 'sharing is caring.' So how has the annual School Trivia Night ended in full-blown riot? Sirens are wailing. People are screaming. The principal is mortified. And one parent is dead. Was it a murder, a tragic accident or just good parents gone bad? As the parents at Pirriwee Public are about to discover, sometimes it's the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal.