Showing results by narrator "Anne Dover" in All Categories

A Pawnshop Robbery: It's no rest for the wicked as Kate Shackleton picks up her second professional sleuthing case. But exposing the culprit of a pawnshop robbery turns sinister when her investigation takes her to Harrogate - and murder is only one step behind.... A Fatal Stabbing: A night at the theatre should be just what the doctor ordered - until Kate stumbles across a body in the doorway.

Yorkshire, 1928. Indomitable sleuth Kate Shackleton is taking a well-deserved break from her detective work and indulging in her other passion: photography. When her local Photographic Society proposes an outing, Kate jumps at the chance to visit Haworth and Stanbury, in the heart of Brontë country, the setting for Wuthering Heights. But when an obnoxious member of their party is murdered, the group is thrown into disarray. Is the murderer amongst them, or did the loud-mouthed Tobias have more enemies than they might have imagined? 

The Batleys and the Caldwells owned neighbouring farms on the beautiful, wild Northumbrian coast. But there all similarity ended, and enmity began. For between the two families raged a violent and bitter feud. Into this stormy atmosphere came Linda Metcalfe, an agricultural student, who became involved in the tensions between the two households on her arrival. Employed by Ralph Batley, Linda soon found herself unwittingly a part of the feud, and began to feel a strange admiration for Ralph, who made it painfully clear that he didn't need her on the farm or in his life.

Life on the Fifteen Streets was a continual struggle for survival. John O'Brien grew up in abject poverty, confined to the hardships of the Fifteen Streets. Labouring on the city's docks and trying to keep his loved ones safe from the drunken wrath of his father and brother, this is the only way of life he knows. Then John O'Brien meets his sister's teacher.

Rosa grew up an orphan in a remote, watery island fastness on the wild East coast of Yorkshire. Taken in as a small child by the motherly Mrs Drew, she realised as she grew up that this large and seemingly close farming family contained many troubled souls: Mr Drew, whose religious fervour held a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, who was terrified of something from his past; Delia, longing to escape from the island; and tall, handsome, confident Matthew, who wanted only one thing - Rosa herself.

London, 1939. When tragedy strikes, Libby Andrews is left homeless and destitute, fending for herself on the capital's most dangerous streets. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Libby is on the cusp of making a decision that could jeopardise her future when a local boy saves her from ruin. The kindness of this stranger sets her on a different path, and Libby heads to Liverpool with a determined mind and hope in her heart. There, she reconnects with long lost family - but will she be able to uncover the truth that tore them apart all those years ago?

The fourth book in Anna Jacobs' beloved Ellindale series. Lancashire, 1934. When Tam Crawford is unexpectedly bequeathed some money, he can finally realise his dream of settling down in the beautiful village of Ellindale. Tam knows he can be impulsive - his nickname isn't Crazy Tam for nothing! - but this time he is determined not to be ruled by his big heart and hot head. Yet somehow, within just one day, he has taken on a fiancée and two children to keep them out of the poorhouse - or worse. 

It's 1941 and Britain is at war. For the aristocratic Walsingham family this means their grand home being taken over by the armed forces. But for newcomers Ava, Maudie and Bella, this is a chance for something more. Each is ready to do their part for the war effort and soon become firm friends. But Lord Edward Walsingham seems like he is hiding something. And although he may be clever, he might have met his match in Maudie and the girls....

Hull, 1940. Widowed Edie Copeland has just arrived on Exchange Street, heavily pregnant and with heavy suitcase in tow. She left York after tragedy struck to make a fresh start, but she's a stranger to this street, and her new landlord doesn't hesitate to remind her of this, widow or not. Luckily, the neighbours are a little more welcoming and Edie is soon made to feel at home by the Maguires and the Scuttles. As air raids sound and the war feels closer than ever, the community has to stick together. But Edie is hiding something, and she doesn't know how much longer her secret is safe.

It wasn't a privileged childhood, but it was a happy one. Sybil and Lizzie Cream, brought up in a fisherman's cottage on the edge of the cold North Sea, were content to leave privilege where it belonged: with their friends the Wintertons. Christina Winterton was the same age as Sybil, and the two girls were inseparable, but it was Lizzie whom Ralph Winterton, three years older, found irresistible. Then war came to East Anglia, and so did Manchester-born Fenn Kitzmann, now of the American Army Air Force.

When Polly Anna's mother died when she was just three years old, it seemed the workhouse was the only place for her to go. But with the help of Jonty - a young misfit who soon became her best friend - she managed to escape, running away with the fairground folk. She became a horserider and acrobat, travelling all around the country. Her friends became the circus people, and her home the caravans and travellers' tents.

The life of a Bomb Girl isn't usually glamourous. But Maggie is getting married, so she is going to make sure her wedding day is - even if she does have to spend every other day slaving on the factory floor. This blasted factory was not what Julia had in mind either. She had always dreamed of attending Oxford University rather than getting her hands dirty, and the easy laughter of the other women intimidates her terribly. But they are all here together in this munitions factory in a Lancashire mill town, sharing firsts, pitching in and getting on. These Bomb Girls are going to do their best at work and in love.

Yorkshire, 1927. Eclipse fever grips the nation, and when beloved theatre star Selina Fellini approaches trusted sleuth Kate Shackleton to accompany her to a viewing party at Giggleswick School Chapel, Kate suspects an ulterior motive. During the eclipse, Selina's friend and costar Billy Moffatt disappears and is later found dead in the chapel grounds. Kate can't help but dig deeper and soon learns that two other members of the theatre troupe died in similarly mysterious circumstances in the past year.

Ellie is a sweet-natured brunette, generous of heart with a sparkling smile and an accent that reveals her East End background. Bonny is beautiful and spoilt, with cascades of blond hair, the brightest pair of blue eyes and a mouth like Cupid's bow. The two girls meet in London at the end of the war when, seduced and abandoned by two American airmen, they pool their wits and resources and set off to make a living on the stage.

A grisly book dedicated to the crimes, perversions and outrages of Victorian England, covering high-profile offences - such as the murder of actor William Terriss, whose stabbing at the stage door of the Adelphi Theatre in 1897 filled the front pages for many weeks - as well as lesser-known transgressions that scandalised the Victorian era. The tales include murders and violent crimes but also feature scandals that merely amused the Victorians.

Motherhood is every woman's right and the natural outcome of a happy marriage. But what then when a normal and beautiful young woman is forced to recognise, after two years as the wife of a country parson in the north of England, that her marriage will never bring her the fulfilment she desperately needs? Grace Rouse is faced with this situation and, like many other women before her, she seeks to escape a mounting sense of frustration and despair by turning from the husband she has tried in vain to love to the comfort and release offered by another man.

The third book in beloved and best-selling Anna Jacobs' Lancashire-based Ellindale saga. Lancashire, 1932. Widower Harry Makepeace lives in Manchester with his sickly daughter, Cathie, scrimping and saving to get by. But after she suffers a violent asthma attack, the doctors say she must move to the clean, fresh air of the countryside to have any hope of survival. When Harry chances upon a patch of land for sale in Ellindale and an advert for a disused railway carriage that can be made into a home, he snaps both up quickly.

Ever since her mother died, Martha Mary had had to take over the running of her home, a sprawling mansion called The Habitation. She did everything she could to make ends meet, but could not understand why they were in such financial straits - especially as when her mother was alive, they had several profitable businesses. She hoped that her father's frequent visits to Great-Uncle James would finally come good when he died, and they could sell his house to alleviate their great need of money.

When Lucy's parents are killed in a train crash, her kindly uncle steps in to look after the little girl - to the initial apprehension of his wife and her son. However, Lucy's sweet, spirited charm slowly wins over her new family, and as she overcomes the trauma of her childhood, she grows up inspired to become a doctor, just like her father. But studying medicine in London takes Lucy far from her home in Hull and the people she loves, and she has to battle to be accepted in a man's world.

West Yorkshire, 1914. Newly married to Noah Jackson, Beth is happily content working on her family's market stall while Noah fulfils his dreams of being a teacher.  When war erupts, Beth's peaceful life is shattered by events beyond her control. Noah enlists to fight alongside his brothers. A devastating accident occurs that changes all their lives. Once a loving home, Beaumont Farm becomes Beth's responsibility.