Showing results by publisher "Bolinda audio" in Genre Fiction

In 1975 Lucinda Marsh throws herself in front of a speeding train leaving her 12-year-old daughter Kitty alone, confused and abandoned – save for a selfish aunt, a violent father and her childhood sweetheart Harry Jenkins. When Kitty is sent to an orphanage after the death of her father, she meets Georgie, a lively cockney girl who, through the following difficult years, becomes her loyal friend. Convinced that her feelings for Harry will ruin the brilliant future that lies ahead of him, Kitty turns her back on his love.

Beth Ward and Tyler Blacklock share a love they know will last forever. But Beth’s mother, Esther, is jealous of the girl’s happiness and seizes an opportunity to be rid of her daughter. Banished in disgrace from the family home, Beth takes the northbound train and alights at Blackburn, friendless and alone. On this day, Fortune smiles, for Beth is taken in by warm-hearted Maisie Armstrong, a widow with two children. Money is scarce, but love abounds in the cosy house on Larkhill, and Beth is content there to await the birth of her child.

Just who is this strange woman at number 19? And why is Esther so obsessed with her? Esther lost her husband, Julian, and her children, Harriet and Dexter, in a car accident and is struggling with her grief. Spurred on by her own loneliness and a need to make amends for not being able to save her own children, Esther takes it upon herself to watch the woman who lives at number 19. But when inexplicable incidents begin to happen in Esther’s house, she begins to fear for her safety. Meanwhile, over at number 19, the woman’s behaviour is becoming more explosive and unpredictable.

For nearly five years I have wanted to write something about the surrealist painter Emil Bafdescu: about his paintings, one of which hangs in a little restaurant in Melbourne, and about his disappearance, which is still a mystery. But this is probably not going to be the book I imagined. Nothing has quite worked out the way I planned.

1939, India. Bindu holds her baby close, listening to the monsoon raging outside. She tries to hide her tears behind her sari as she hands her baby into a stranger’s arms, wondering if she will ever see her child again. When their small savings run out, Bindu reluctantly accepts an offer of marriage from the landlord’s entitled and often unpredictable son. In return, he promises to provide medical care for her beloved grandmother, but alone in a world she doesn’t understand, Bindu is desperately lonely. She soon finds solace in writing recipes and creating new spice mixes.

Jane is a contact tracer. She has to call a lot of people and some of them don’t want to talk. Various reasons – tax or immigration issues, infidelity. Domestic abuse. Jane knows all about that. She and her daughter Tara have spent years in hiding from Tara’s manipulative and terrifying ex. Now, as Jane talks to a close contact, she realises the woman on the phone is scared of the same man – and he’s close. Too close.

Gwen is known as someone who listens well and solves problems. Clients pay for her counsel as they sit in the purple chair and untangle their emotions and stories. Word of mouth keeps people coming to her door. But who listens to Gwen? Who helps solve her own problems? As she supports clients to heal, her own life swirls in pain. She is sliding further down. Will she ever learn to take her own advice and who will catch her if she doesn’t?

Rocks in the Belly is about a precocious eight-year-old boy and the volatile adult he becomes. During childhood his mother fosters boys, despite the jealous turmoil it arouses in her son. Jealousy that reaches unmanageable proportions when she fosters Robert, an amiable child she can’t help bonding with. Until the bond triggers an event that profoundly changes everyone.

A Wild & True Relation opens during the Great Storm of 1703, as smuggler Tom West confronts his lover Grace for betraying him to the Revenue. Leaving Grace's cottage in flames, he takes her orphaned daughter Molly on board ship disguised as a boy to join his crew. But Molly, or Orlando as she must call herself, will grow up to outshine all the men of Tom's company and seek revenge – and a legacy – all of her own.

She’ll never forget...I’ll never forgive. People always notice my daughter, Isobel. How could they not? Incredibly beautiful...until she speaks. An unsettling little-girl voice, exactly like a child’s, but from the mouth of a full-grown woman. Izzie might look grown up, but inside she’s trapped. Caught in the day it happened...the day that broke her from within. Our family fell apart that day, and we never could pick up the pieces....

Margot has spent most of her life at St Agnes' Orphanage with her little sister Lucie. She does her best to care for all the children, cradling them under the stars when Sister Helen can't get them to sleep. But she knows that when the Nazis reach the gates of Paris, the Jewish orphans will be in terrible danger. She must help them escape ... One night, Sister Helen tells Margot she has found a rich family to take Lucie in. But there will be no safety for the other children – unless Margot can lead them to the French coast for a ship destined for America.

My sister – the glue that held our family together and the gatekeeper to the memories of our shared childhood. The girl I made a pact with – to protect each other for life. The woman who destroyed my family, my future. And the only one who can save my daughter.

Eleven-year-old Novi just wants to blend in - not easy when you're named after a silkworm and have the most eccentric family in town. A descendent of the first Italian silk growers in northern New South Wales, he is an obsessive artist with a habit of drawing the stories of the people around him, and a secret conviction that the river murdered his grandfather. Young teacher Dom Best is new in town and must overcome his lack of confidence to support Novi's talent.

Cassie Callinan is a dutiful corporate wife, carefully preserving the safety of the status quo and her husband's camellias. When she learns she has lost her husband to a younger woman, she panics. Who is she without the familiar props of her marriage? Fleeing her own life, Cassie finds herself among the eccentric inhabitants of Shearwater, an isolated coastal village. She is gradually drawn into the life of the town with all its dramas, joy and secrets, and begins to discover who she really is.

Alice Ferguson is eight years old when a bushfire tears her family apart and she is sent to live with her aunt. Lost and lonely, Alice finds comfort in the beauty of the outback. As her confidence grows she dreams of creating her own home and of one day breeding the best wool in the country. Alice's strength and spirit take her far from her roots and the land she loves. As tragedy strikes again, Alice must summon every ounce of her will to keep her dream alive, but nothing can prepare her for the treachery of her jealous cousin or the betrayal of the only man she ever loved.

Mia has her life in order. She is a grown-up and enjoys a grown-up's relationship with Pete. Not passionate or spontaneous but solid. She knows he is 'the one'. But then she sees a text message on Pete's phone that throws her world into a spin. It is more than friendly, signed off with a kiss, and Mia has never heard of the sender, Liz. With her carefully mapped out life sliding out of control Mia will discover a side to herself she never knew existed, as she formulates a plan to win her happy ending. Because all's fair in love and war - isn't it?

In 1796, Martha becomes the mistress of the struggling Plas Ingli estate, at only 18 years old. She is pregnant and suicidal. Though she loves her husband, David, dearly, she is desperately lonely in a strange house, and her quick wit and cutting humour make her as many enemies as friends. There are mysteries surrounding the great fire that devastated the estate, but Martha's questions about it remain unanswered. Nobody else seems to realise that their haughty servant, the disinherited son of the local squire, is not as trustworthy as the rest of the family would like to think.

Since the first ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ issue in 1983, Granta has championed the work of authors who have changed the landscape of British literature. In 1983, featured writers included Kazuo Ishiguro, Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes, Martin Amis and Pat Barker, among many others. Subsequent editions have highlighted the work of Zadie Smith, Nicola Barker, Ben Okri, Jeanette Winterson and others. In 2023, they will introduce listeners around the world to a cohort of outstanding new British voices.

Jessie Warner has married Tom Smith and their baby is almost due. Settling down into their new home in Bethnal Green, Jessie looks forward to her new life – even though Tom is continually getting into mischief that borders on the downright criminal. When war begins and Tom is called up almost at once, Jessie is left to cope with the baby alone. Meanwhile Jessie’s twin, Hannah, has been recruited to help at Bletchley Park. Immersed in her work decoding German messages, she has no idea of Jessie’s increasing desperation.

The story of a friendship between two couples - and an affair that blows their worlds apart. Two married couples: Kate and Cary, Cressida and Luke. Four people who meet, click, and become firm friends. But then Kate and Luke discover a growing attraction, which becomes an obsession. They fall in love, then fall into an affair. It blows their worlds apart. After the fall, nothing will ever be the same again.