Showing results by narrator "Kate Handford" in All Categories

When Scarlett Melrose receives a call from her estranged sisters, she immediately knows something is wrong. Their mother’s inn has been cursed, and they need her help to save it. As the conflicted middle-child, returning home is giving Scarlett the heebie jeebies. And to make matters worse, she’s just come face-to-face with charming old flame and handyman, Nate. When her spell to break the curse goes horribly wrong, all Scarlett wants to do is flee back to the peace and quiet of her San Francisco flat. But she can’t keep running away forever, and she’ll need all the help she can.

Arriving with her partner Noah for dinner at his family’s immaculate countryside home, Detective Josie Quinn is devastated to find Noah’s mother, Colette, lying lifeless in the back garden, her mouth clogged with soil. Searching the house for answers, Josie’s team don’t know what to make of the rosary beads buried in the dirt near the body or the hidden file labelled “Drew Pratt”, the small town of Denton’s most famous missing person.

This is the second collection of short stories relating to the fictional sea-sprayed Canadian village of Avonlea. Anne Shirley appears in a few, but most concern other characters from the Anne Shirley series, including Diana Barry and members of the Meredith and Blair families. Published in 1920, these tales of hidden hopes and cherished dreams are sure to enchant fans of Anne of Green Gables.

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie's dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted and shuttered for years from outsiders—is now open for the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

On a day Abbey thought would be the best of her life – her boyfriend is surely going to propose tonight, right? – it all falls apart: he tells her he’s met someone else. And then to make things worse, she loses her job. In an act of reimagination, she splurges her wedding savings on renting an apartment in a building she’s always dreamed of living in and kits out her wardrobe to match. But when her family invites her ex – a close family friend – plus a date(!!) to her parents’ vow renewal, Abbey realizes her façade won’t be enough. There’s nothing for it but to fake one more thing – a romance.

At a passing glance, County Road 951 is an entirely unremarkable stretch of blacktop, a two-lane scar across the Cascade foothills of Central Oregon. But the road is known by another name, coined by those who’ve had to clean up after all those scenic detours went horribly wrong: The Devil’s Driveway. When Livia and her long-time friends take the Driveway as a shortcut to a much-needed weekend getaway, what begins as a morning joyride quickly becomes anything but. Soon, they’re driving for their lives, pursued by a horror beyond anything they ever imagined.

Grey has been revealed as the rightful prince of Emberfall. But the kingdom is crumbling fast, torn between his claim and that of the reigning Prince Rhen and Princess Harper. Newly crowned as queen of the enemy kingdom Syhl Shallow, Lia Mara struggles to rule with a gentler hand than her mother. But as Grey moves closer to claiming the crown of Emberfall, both Harper and Lia Mara are forced to question where they stand - and how far they can follow the dictates of their hearts.

Boston, 1838: Once upon a time Isobel Moore was thought to be one of Boston’s most eligible young women. But, after a marriage proposal gone wrong, she is now at threat of being labelled a spinster. And, though her work at a small school for impoverished immigrants brings her great joy, she can’t help but wish for more in life. When her dream of finding love fails to come true, she knows - if she’s to have the family she dreams of - it will take desperate measures.

When you're embarrassed to step out your own front door, is happiness even possible? Jennifer's life is falling to pieces. She's out of work. Her brother's in a coma. Her mom just died. And despite stellar qualifications, every job interview ends in rejection. Also, she's heavier than she's ever been.

Twelve years ago, Jessie Tucker was attacked as she made her way home from an outdoor concert. She still walks with a limp from that night, and every day since has been a struggle to rebuild her life. The police told her she was unlucky - that she was safe after they charged a local man for the crime. But Jessie has never managed to shake the feeling that there was someone else in the park that night...someone she knew. But then, Margaret Kincaid’s murder file lands across her desk, and Jessie knows she can’t keep silent any longer.

Following money over national borders, banking systems, casinos, and free trade zones, as well as the world of the corrupt elites, Big Crime and Big Policing brings new scholarly and practical insights into our understanding of the interplay of money, crime, and policing on the grand scale. In this wide-ranging volume, a mixed group of scholars and practitioners aim to show how money dictates the scope and nature of financial and corporate crimes, and the impact of these crimes on national economies, social institutions, and communal well-being alike.

Follow Me to Ground is fascinating and frightening, urgent and propulsive. In Ada, award-winning author Sue Rainsford has created an utterly bewitching heroine, one who challenges conventional ideas of womanhood and the secrets of the body. Short but authoritative, Follow Me to Ground lingers long after listening, pulling the listener into a dream between fairy tale and nightmare, desire and delusion, folktale and warning.

Summer escapes to Lilac House have always been a source of comfort for Anna Harris. Though things will never be the same since her husband’s death, she knows that it is there, nestled in Lake Summers in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, that she and her children Zac and Evie can begin to build a new life. The house is just as beautiful as Anna remembers, and caught up in the rhythm of small town life, helping her Aunt Hope run the little shop on Main Street, Anna begins to feel a sense of herself she hasn’t felt in years.

When Samantha Claymore doesn’t return home after an afternoon bicycle ride on Martha’s Vineyard, Detective Abby Pearce acts immediately. She knows from experience how quickly a lost girl can become a tragedy. Back on the island for the first time since she ran away as a teenager, Abby hopes solving Samantha’s case will make up for her past mistakes....

Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds. For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie’s brother. It’s where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it’s where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle. But this summer, the impossible happens - a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for.

Johnny, aka Felix Jones, is Hollywood's go-to action star. About to film his first romantic comedy, he's looking to change his image and show he's more than just a six pack with pithy one-liners. But off screen, he’s got a reputation for other things too, and not all of them are good. Anne, aka Elizabeth Moore was, until a year ago, heiress to one of New York’s biggest business dynasties. Southern Texas is hot. And temperatures do nothing but rise when ‘Anne’ sits next to ‘Johnny’ at the bar. Add in a trip to the ER, a hairless cat, and a NASA movie set, and things get even spicier.

Carrie Briggs is on the cusp of a career breakthrough. About to be made partner at her accountancy firm, she’s been given one more hoop to jump through before it can be made official. And she could think of worse clients to work with – because world-renowned billionaire Joe Hettich is flying her out to his private island in the Caribbean. But her hopes of career highs (and relaxing in the gorgeous sun in her spare time, of course!) are dashed when she meets the CFO of Joe’s company: Luke Chalmers, the man who broke her heart seven years ago when he chose his ex over her.

Maddie Morrow thought her problems were over. She saved the Inn at Havenfall - a sanctuary between magical worlds hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado - from the evil Silver Prince. Her uncle, the innkeeper, is slowly recovering from a mysterious spell that has left him not quite human. And there are still a few weeks of summer left to spend with her handsome, more-than-just-a-friend Brekken, even though she can’t stop thinking about Taya. But Maddie soon realizes there’s more work to be done to protect the place her family has run for centuries.

Emma thought she had the perfect life: a beautiful home, a loving husband, and a gorgeous son. She was wrong. When she wakes up to find herself in hospital, Emma has no memory of how she got there or why her husband and son won’t come to see her. What happened to Emma’s family? Emma is desperate to find out what happened - and that her loved ones are safe - but remembering the truth could be the most dangerous thing of all....

Eden, Eli, Marwan and Ilanka barely know each other beyond having a class or two together. But when they are all summoned via messaging app to an empty classroom after school, they find a small cube sitting on a desk. Its sides light up with rules for them: do not tell anyone about the device. Never leave the device unattended. And then, take me with you...or else.