Showing results by narrator "Susie Riddell" in All Categories

Alec Reid’s ghosts of the 21st century seldom lurk in old houses or waft across chilly moors. His dark tales may breathe alongside the supernatural, but they take place in broad daylight, in our daily lives. Their themes include dead warriors resurrected via Bluetooth, Rumpelstiltskin in the suburbs, an algorithmic fear of ghosts, and the shattered dreams of immortality. The world they describe is the one you inhabit, but you would live in terror were you to recognize it for what it is.

On the outside, Francesca March is a confident woman and an entrepreneur, but on the inside, she's a quivering mess with a painful secret. When she runs into ex-boyfriend Krish Kapadia, old feelings bubble to the surface, but her instincts tell her to push him away again. He's still sexy. He still has a bad habit of rescuing her. But she's still broken.

Molly lives a quiet, contained life in London. Naturally risk averse, she gains comfort from security and structure. Every day the same. Her identical twin, Katie, is her exact opposite: gregarious and spontaneous. They used to be inseparable, until Katie moved to New York a year ago. Molly still speaks to her daily without fail. But when Molly learns that Katie has died suddenly in New York, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. Katie is part of her DNA. As terrifying as it is, she must go there and find out what happened.

On the morning of Lily's 25th birthday, it's time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight. Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum's life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend, Dan, has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.

Catriona Buchanan, a 36-year-old journalist and single mother, lives a quiet life in Glasgow with her daughter, Grace. Single for six years but for a handful of failed relationships with all the wrong men and a string of one-night stands, Cat decides she's had enough of her homegrown efforts to find love. Instead, she purchases the infamous dating Bible The Ten Rules of Enticement and vows to obey its advice to the letter and chronicle her experiences.

Beth has always known there was something strange about her daughter, Hannah. The lack of emotion, the disturbing behaviour, the apparent delight in hurting others...sometimes Beth is scared of her and what she could be capable of. Luke comes from the perfect family, with the perfect parents. But one day he disappears without trace, and his girlfriend, Clara, is left desperate to discover what has happened to him. As Clara digs into the past, she realises that no family is truly perfect and uncovers a link between Luke’s long-lost sister and a strange girl named Hannah....

Two new dramas which get inside the emotional realities of dealing with ethical dilemmas. When a confused young man with no I.D. and a Doctor Who fixation is brought into hospital, the staff have clear rules about how decisions can be made on his behalf. But when he starts to make his own wishes clear, are they right to listen? Starring Gunnar Cauthery, Clare Perkins, Simon Bubb, and Carl Prekopp.

On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but instantly recognizes. Or thinks she does. At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revelers, Jake realizes that things are becoming dangerous. They know nothing of one another's existence, but both Stella and Jake flee their lives: Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand.

Heartbroken after her almost-engagement was called off, Jess goes on a mini-break to Paris and meets a hot French stranger called Gabriel. As sparks fly, Jess, fearing she was dumped because she was boring, vows to be more spontaneous, and she and Gabriel have mind-blowing sex. With his troubled past and soulful eyes, Jess quickly realises there’s more to Gabriel than a great shag and, when he whisks her away to his fixer-upper chateau in the country, Jess thinks she might be falling for him.

Have you heard of The Rules of Engagement? It's a book that promises to teach you to find the man of your dreams in 10 easy steps. Unsurprisingly, I don't own a copy. What is it, 1892? But I'm a journalist, and I've promised to follow it to the letter and write about the results. Never mind that my friends think I'm insane, I'm stalking men all over town, and I can't keep my mouth shut at the best of times. My name is Cat Buchanan. I'm 36 years old and live with my daughter in Glasgow.

Condemned to be auctioned off to the highest bidder by her own father, Aloise Crawford makes a desperate attempt to escape. When the ship she is imprisoned on docks, she jumps overboard. When she finally swims ashore, she finds herself at the feet of a dark stranger with a face as angry as it is alluring. For years, Slater McKendrick has lived in hiding, awaiting his chance to seek vengeance against the man who stole his family’s precious jewels, the Bengal Rubies. So when Aloise arrives on his lonely beach hideaway, it seems as if the opportunity has at last been delivered to him.

Beatrice Halliday has turned her life around since arriving in in the Scottish Highlands six months ago. Not only has she found love with her boyfriend Atholl Fergusson, but she is now successfully running The Princess and the Pea Inn, and welcoming visitors from all over the world to the beautiful village of Port Willow. Life seems perfect - until a surprise discovery threatens to derail the happiness, she has worked so hard for. In an attempt to distract herself, she takes over the role of cupid and tries her hand at matchmaking.

The more you delve into the stories behind history's greatest names, the more you realise they have something in common: a mystifying lack of common sense. Take Marie Curie, famous for both discovering radioactivity and having absolutely zero lab safety protocols. Or Lord Byron, who literally took a bear with him to university. Or James Glaisher, a hot-air balloon pioneer who nearly ended up as the world's first human satellite.

Church minster village - picturesque, quaint, sleepy - OR NOT...A place where women know exactly what they want, and it's not cream tea with the vicar. A place where anything can happen . . . so be careful what you wish for. And a place where the men had better behave . . . because the ladies won't take it lying down (well, not unless they want to!)

Annie Sharpe is the chef of a successful, acclaimed restaurant that she co-owns with her husband, Max. Mother to two now-grown-up sons, she’s worked hard for her business and her family. But when she walks in on Max in flagrante with one of the waitresses, she decides she’s had enough and walks out of her marriage, her livelihood and the only life she’s ever known. Suddenly free of responsibilities for the first time in her life, on a whim she responds to an ad asking for someone to caretake a house on England’s south coast, in the picturesque village of Willow Bay.

What’s not to love about Jane Eyre? Gothic and passionate, it features the ultimate hero – Mr Rochester. And that gives Charlotte a top idea: she’ll look for a new Mr Rochester for her lovely mum. So when Charlotte finds the ideal man, she can’t believe her luck. He’s dark, brooding and mysterious. He’s PERFECT.But this real-life romantic hero also turns out to be sarcastic and rude. Does Charlotte really want her mum marrying him?

Batpants the orangutan is completely, wildly HAIRY. She loves swinging through trees and apple crumble. But most of all, she loves her family, the Loveharts, and all their madcap adventures. Mrs Lovehart is a stuntwoman, and so the whole family is off to watch her latest film. But someone on set has an EEEEVIL plan and things could turn nasty - will it be Batpants to the rescue?

Six months into a trial separation, photographers Stella Knight and her estranged husband, Connor, rendezvous at the world’s largest photography convention in Las Vegas. At first it looks like reconciliation is on the cards, but then Stella is offered the opportunity of a lifetime by Connor’s greatest rival. If she says yes, it could wreck her marriage, but if she says no, she’ll regret it for the rest of her life. Torn between her ambition and her heart, Stella faces an impossible choice.

Snowy rooftops, mulled wine, and a hot single dad. Not the Christmas Saffy wished for... but maybe the one she needs? Twenty-nine year old Saffron Baxter knew her holiday plans didn’t stand a chance the moment her sister called to say she was stuck abroad with no hope of being home before Christmas. Saffy would just have to abandon thoughts of wild festive parties in the city and head down to remote Cornwall. Because every year her sister hosts a huge Christmas meal for all the single parents in her village. And Saffy knows it’d break her heart to let them down.

Enter an enchanted world of animal friends! Each cute animal has its own pair of pretty fairy wings, and a special job to do in Misty Wood to make it a wonderful place to live. In Chloe the Kitten, Chloe's wings sparkle as she flutters through Misty Wood decorating the cobwebs with shining dewdrops. Along the way, she meets a little mouse who is lost and afraid. Can Chloe help him find his way home? In Bella the Bunny, Bella is opening flowers to make Misty Wood as pretty as can be. There's a surprise inside one of the bluebells - Lexi the Ladybird!