Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. A store of stolen silver, a surprising view through a telescope, a shrill scream on a night out, a disappearing cash box, a dangerous accident and a trap for the Secret Seven! Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven in these six classic short stories by Enid Blyton - perfect for bedtime listening! The stories were originally published in books and magazines in the 1940s and 1950s. This audio recording features the classic texts.

Frances Gorges seems destined to be happy at last. King James has apparently lost his appetite for hunting witches, so the medical skills and herbal knowledge that saw Frances accused of witchcraft no longer seem to hang over her like a death sentence. The king would rather be hunting stag and boar - and Frances' beloved husband, Thomas, is firmly established in the royal household as the Master of Buckhounds. Their family is growing and their estates are secure. But life at court is never without intrigue, jealousy and danger for long, and a new arrival turns the world upside down.

1939: war has broken out, and in Albania Bekim's family take in a Jewish family fleeing from Nazi Austria. The years of war will shape his life in unimaginable ways as Bekim grows to love Hannelore, doing everything in his power to protect her. But will he be enough to keep her safe? 2019: following a shock redundancy, Ruth is taking an extended holiday in Southern Italy, where she befriends local Zak. When Zak's dying father asks them to solve a mystery from his past, Ruth leaps at the chance.

Tom is a successful author, but he’s struggling to finish his novel. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won’t leave him alone. Evie is smart, well read, and unstable. She lives with her father, and her social-media friendships are not only her escape - they’re everything she has. When she’s hit with a restraining order, her world is turned upside down, and Tom is free to live his life again, to concentrate on writing. But things aren’t really adding up.

Unable to prove that she’s the missing princess, and unable to bear life under Lady Tremaine any longer, Cinderella attempts a fresh start, looking for work at the palace as a seamstress. But when the grand duke appoints her to serve under the king’s visiting sister, Cinderella becomes witness to a grand conspiracy to take the king - and the prince - out of power, as well as a longstanding prejudice against fairies, including Cinderella’s own fairy godmother.

The mansion of larger-than-life business magnate Titus McAvoy hums with the energy of his servants Nessa and Aoife, two Irish maids bonded through their journey to America, and a dream of escape. When preparation for one of Titus's famous parties sends the pair to the beach, Aoife stumbles upon a strange find on the shoreline. She instinctively pockets it, unaware that it is the key to her and Nessa's freedom. Ambergris holds more worth than silver or gold.

King Henry VIII is set to marry a woman he's never met. Wary of rumours whispered by foreign envoys, he sends Susanna Gilman, royal painter and trusted friend, to Kleve to find out more about his chosen bride. Before long, Susanna is returning to England with the Princess Anna, assuring the king she is a suitable match. But the king is disappointed - Anna is not as beautiful as her portrait.

December, 1989, and Ashley Smith - a bright-eyed American studying in London - has unexpectedly been invited by her classmate Emma Chapman to spend Christmas at her family's Cotswolds manor house, Starvewood Hall. The holiday is a true English fantasy: woodland walks, charming pubs and elaborate dinners at the manor, with the added romantic potential of Emma's twin brother, Adam, who feels like Ashley's wildest dreams come true. But is there something strange about the old house, both stately and rundown.

Elly Griffiths has always written short stories to experiment with different voices and genres and to explore what some of her much-loved creations such as Dr Ruth Galloway might have done outside of the novels. This collection gathers them all together in one splendid volume. Here are bite-sized tales to please and entertain every thriller taste as well as all Elly Griffiths' fans.

The sorceress Oria has finally come into her own—able to wield the power of her birthright and secure in the marriage she once believed would bring her only misery. But the past she escaped still chases her, and the certainty of war promises to destroy everything she’s fought to have.

No longer a princess and not yet a queen, the sorceress Oria welcomes the rush of power the ancient mask brings her—though the obsessive connection to it frightens her and alarms her barbarian husband, Lonen. But retreat is not an option. She must wrestle the magic to prevent an annihilating war, even if she must make the ultimate sacrifice.

Sister Veronica is back at the Convent; a changed woman as a result of her experiences with the corrupt clergy and the murder she lived through. Now - more than ever - she has a thirst for righting wrongs, even if it means getting herself into danger. So, when a two-month-old baby girl is left on the Convent doorstep one night, wrapped up in dirty blankets and placed in an open cardboard box, Sister Veronica steps in to help solve the mystery. And when she discovers a tarot card left with the baby, she is drawn deeper into the search for the mother.

1586: Female espionage agent, Kit Scarlett is stationed at Chartley Castle, where Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, is under house arrest for plotting against the English Queen Elizabeth. Kit helps Sir Francis Walsingham's top code-breaker, Thomas Phelippes, as they intercept Mary Stuart's communications with her conspiring supporters. And when they have the proof that Mary Stuart has sanctioned Queen Elizabeth's assassination, Kit races to deliver the message to Walsingham. But before they can persuade Queen Elizabeth to sign Mary Stuart's death warrant, the Scottish queen escapes.

Hotel Portofino has been open for only a few weeks, but already the problems are mounting for its owner Bella Ainsworth. Her high-class guests are demanding and hard to please. And she’s being targeted by a scheming and corrupt local politician, who threatens to drag her into the red-hot cauldron of Mussolini’s Italy. To make matters worse, her marriage is in trouble, and her children are still struggling to recover from the repercussions of the Great War.

With her secrets uncovered and her power-mad brother bent on her execution, Princess Oria has no sanctuary left. Her bid to make herself and her new barbarian husband rulers of walled Bára has failed. She and Lonen have no choice but to flee through the leagues of brutal desert between her home and his—certain death for a sorceress, and only a bit slower than the blade.

Once Princess Oria spun wicked daydreams from the legends of sorceresses kidnapped by the barbarian Destrye. Now, though she’s come willingly, she finds herself in a mirror of the old tales: the king’s foreign trophy of war, starved of magic, surrounded by snowy forest and hostile strangers. But this place has secrets, too—and Oria must learn them quickly if she is to survive.

The residents of an apartment block in Central Krakow are trapped in their own building. All windows and doors are sealed, phone lines are down and the internet is off. Seven people, cut off from the world. It quickly turns out that they are participating in a strange game played by the mysterious ‘THEY’. Suspicions are cast, and conflicts break out. Paranoia thickens. Until finally, blood is shed.

1585, London: Queen Elizabeth is gravely ill and her spymaster, Francis Walsingham, has received intelligence that there is a plot to assassinate her. He sends his protege Kit Scarlett and Scottish agent Iomhar Blackwood to gather information. To their horror, they discover there is a plot to blow up Hampton Court Palace. With Queen Elizabeth too unwell to be moved from the palace, it is imperative the plot is foiled as quickly as possible. A search of Hampton Court is launched, with Iomhar leading the way, while Kit is given the task of guarding the queen.

When Isla, a 65-year-old grandmother, is left nothing but an old painting in her mother’s will, while her sisters and aunt inherit the estate, she is devastated. Close to retirement, getting ready to live on her own terms, the last thing she expects at this time of her life is such turmoil. So, to find an explanation for her mother’s rejection, she embarks on a road-trip.

Perfect for everyone who's been gripped by Showtime TV's The Affair, Adele Parks' The Stranger in My Home and J. P. Delaney's The Girl Before. When you're invited to spend summer in the Hamptons with a group of new friends, you agree - who wouldn't? But then you realise you're taking the place of another woman, a woman who died in mysterious circumstances, just the summer before. Your housemates tell you her death was an accident. But which of them has something to hide?