Showing results by narrator "Julia Franklin" in All Categories

What will be will be. Belinda Marshall’s idyllic teenage life in Brittany, France, fell apart when her parents dramatically separated and her mother took her back to England. Fast forward 35 years when Belinda’s world is once again turned upside down. It’s the week before Christmas and her employer 'surprises’ Belinda by asking for her help to rejuvenate their latest investment, a run-down campsite in Brittany.

1943. Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini’s laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice, she must flee the city to save her life. Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh German reprisals and her own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart.

What has 'Roman Britain' meant to the British people since the Romans left? And what does Roman Britain mean to us now? How has it been reimagined, in story and song and verse? Charlotte Higgins leads us through the history, and by using some of Britain's most intriguing ancient monuments, Under Another Sky invites us to see the British landscape, and history, in an entirely fresh way.

Dan and Sally Oliver and their friend Chloe Hennessey are lucky to be alive. Three years on, after surviving one of the world's biggest natural disasters - the Boxing Day tsunami - their lives have changed dramatically. Dan and Sally are now parents. Dan is enjoying being a stay-at-home father taking care of their young son, and Sally is the bread winner and loves her job as a partner in a Manchester law firm.

A compelling and deeply moving novel of friendship, family and the power of love, from the Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Now available as an audiobook. How would you cope with the threat of losing someone you love? Josie Clark is a loving wife and mother. She and her husband Jeff don’t have much and it’s often difficult to make ends meet. But Josie will do anything to protect her family and keep them safe. Bel Monkton is a successful property developer, living in a beautiful house by the sea.

Andee Lawrence is in heaven. Well, the South of France to be exact. Ex-detective Andee has swapped freelance investigation and a broken marriage for two months in Provence, renovating a beautiful villa with the new man in her life. Pottering around a small picturesque town on an early summer's day, she is at peace. But her world is about to be shattered. 'Remember me?' Two words spoken by a woman from the back of a car that say so much yet reveal so little.

Monte Carlo means different things to different people - a billionaires' playground where dangerous secrets hide. For Nanette Weston and her then fiancé, F1 racing driver Zac Ewart, their dream life came to an abrupt halt three years ago following a car accident which Zac walked away from but left Nanette being airlifted back to the UK, never to return or see her fiancé again. But when her friend and employer Vanessa asks Nanette to look after her children in the Principality for a few months, Nanette knows she has no choice but to return.

Lancashire, 1930s. When her mother dies, leaving her an old sewing box and a clue to her father's identity, 22-year-old Maisie Bassett is determined to make a fresh start. Changing her name and moving to the small town of Rivenshaw, she finds a respectable job in a grocery store. But unwanted attentions from a man at her new church make life increasingly difficult - until the shy, handsome Gabriel Harte comes to her rescue.

Charlotte Nicholls has a secret that haunts her. She and three-year-old Chloe have left their home and friends, and are now building a new life for themselves elsewhere. All Charlotte wants to do is to forget the past, to blot out what went before, and to look only to the future. At last she and Chloe feel safe. Then, suddenly, their nightmare returns, and Charlotte finds she has no power to prevent what comes next…

From the best-selling author of Three Amazing Things About You and The One You Really Want. Jill's Mansell's Mixed Doubles is a deliciously romantic read for fans of Lucy Diamond, Cecelia Ahern and Cathy Kelly. Rules are made to be broken when you're playing mixed doubles.... New Year is looming, and best friends Liza, Dulcie and Pru are making their resolutions. Liza wants to get married - she's never had any trouble hooking a man.

Temperance Marston longs to escape England and explore the exotic empire of Japan. When offered the chance to accompany her cousin and Captain Noordholt on an expedition to Nagasaki, she jumps at the opportunity. On a foolhardy venture, she meets Kazuo. Kazuo is fascinated by her blond hair and blue eyes, but he has a mission to complete: Kazuo must restore his family's honour.

August 1940. As Autumn approaches, Lady Joanna Harcourt is preparing for new guests at Goodwill House - land girls, Sally, Daphne and Charlie. Sally, a feisty blonde from the East End, has never seen a cow before, but she’s desperate to escape London and her horrible ex, Dennis. And although the hours are long and the work hard, Sal quickly becomes good friends with the other girls Daphne and Charlie and enjoys life at Goodwill House. Until Dennis reappears threatening to drag her back to London.

When Bea Hanlon follows her preacher husband, Max, to a remote island in the Pacific, she soon sees that their mission will bring anything but salvation.... Advent Island is a place beyond the reaches of Bea's most fitful imaginings. It's not just the rats and the hordes of mosquitoes and the weevils in the powdered milk. Past the confines of their stuffy little house, amidst the damp and the dust and the sweltering heat, rumours are spreading of devil chasers who roam the island on the hunt for evil spirits. And then there are the noises from the church at night.

When a mysterious invitation arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne's curiosity is excited. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria's spa country for shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War. It's a cause after Phryne's own heart but what could Spencer want from her? Phryne and the faithful Dot view their spa sojourn as a short holiday but are quickly thrown in the midst of disturbing Highland gatherings, disappearing women, murder and the mystery of the Temperance Hotel.

Written in the form of two letters, 'Dear Mr. Editor...' showcases Christianna Brand’s skill for crafting inventive plots with a limited cast of characters. In this story, a woman receives a letter from an editor requesting a submission for an anthology of horror stories. Keen to provide an original piece, she plans to kill her sister for the perfect plot.

The day Maggie Lane dies, she sends her daughter Olivia a letter containing the address of Olivia's first love, Richie Briscoe. Olivia has not seen Richie for over twenty years, not since his desertion of her as a teenager almost destroyed her. Convinced that the note represents an admission of guilt, Olivia sets off for the idyllic seaside village where Richie now lives.

Manchester, November 1940. As the war continues and secrets threaten the railway girls, they will discover the true meaning of friendship. For Dot, her job on the railways is everything. Transporting parcels around the country gives her pride that she is doing her bit for the war effort, but a growing friendship causes problems when home and work collide. Joan loves her boyfriend Bob dearly, but when tragedy strikes, her heart is torn apart, and she is forced to make a decision that could hurt those she loves most.

Charity Stratton's bleak childhood is changed forever when both her parents are killed in a fire. Separated by the authorities from her younger brothers and sister, Charity is sent out to work as a skivvy in a boys' boarding school. Her loneliness and misery are eased when she falls deeply in love with the dashing but fickle sixth-former Hugh Mainwaring, but when she discovers she is pregnant with Hugh's baby, she soon realises just how alone she really is.

While out collecting some Portuguese laurel for the formidable flower arranger Mrs Dawes, feisty widow Ellie Quicke comes across a dead body - a corpse without an identity. Next day, Mrs Dawes is discovered by Ellie and her grandson, Frank, badly beaten and close to death. Much to Ellie's dismay, the police think shaven-headed Neil, Mrs Dawes' grandson, is responsible, even after a third body comes to light.

Anna is a child of special, unknowable qualities. She is a happy child, always willing to smile at the world around her. But she also presents profound challenges. For her mother Jess, still in her early 20s, living alone in North London and hoping to embark on an adventurous career, her arrival will prove life-transforming. Over the course of decades, in ways large and small, Anna will affect the lives and loves of those around her. While Anna herself will remain largely unaltered by the passing years, she will live through a period of dramatic change.