Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Holidays

Mara wants to believe in fate—she's just never had a good reason to. Until now. After a case of mistaken identity and the appearance of Joe—a gorgeous Austrian cellist—Mara has the chance to set up her own destiny. But life is complicated.... The lido where she works is under threat and her new housemate, Mike, proves to be more than she bargained for. Will Mara manage to arrange her own happiness? And what if true love is closer to home than she thinks?

When Cordelia's daughter Emily falls for a young chap who doesn't meet the approval of her father, Cordelia is reminded of her own first love - a love that she has never forgotten. Mabel is determined to get to the bottom of a spate of local burglaries. Her heart is in the right place as she sets out on a quest to clear her friend's name, but there will be unforeseen consequences. It's nothing short of a miracle when Colette returns to Manchester. But it's not going to be easy for her to keep living the life she once knew, and an impossible situation lies ahead.

A Week in December is Sebastian Faulks's first wholly contemporary novel. Set in London, it's a brilliant social satire, structured like a thriller, that takes place over the course of a single week at the end of 2007. It brings together an intriguing cast of characters, each apparently in his or her own world but - as gradually becomes clear - ultimately intricately related.

Truman Capote makes whisky-soaked fruitcake in Alabama; Laurie Lee slides across a frozen pond in Gloucestershire; and Shirley Jackson is outwitted by a wily Santa Claus at the bank. Ghosts haunt the Christmases of Muriel Spark and Elizabeth Bowen, while Dostoyevsky, Daphne du Maurier and Italo Calvino take a cynical view of the season and Selma Lagerlof and Angela Carter celebrate its miracles. Ranging from Cork to Lagos to the Wild West, and from Paris to San Paolo to outer space, this is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short-story writers of all time.

A classic mystery for the festive season: mulled wine, mince pies...and murder. Mordecai Tremaine, former tobacconist and perennial lover of romance novels, has been invited to spend Christmas in the sleepy village of Sherbroome, at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame. Arriving on Christmas Eve, he finds that the revelries are in full flow - but so, too, are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.

December 1935. Director Monty Harrison's production of A Christmas Carol has had a troubled run on its tour of regional theatres. With tensions amongst the cast running high, the company reach their final stop—London's Theatre Royale. Catastrophe, however, strikes on opening night: Scrooge dies on stage, the result (it is presumed) of a heart attack. But the show must go on. Until, that is, a leading theatre critic—and old rival of Monty's—is killed backstage.

After a decade of building her career in the city, Beca is ready to escape the humdrum. When she sees her dream home for sale in her hometown, it starts to seem like fate. But when she arrives and visits her grandparents' ice cream parlour, Beca is horrified to find out that the new owner, her ex-boyfriend Ed, has stripped the heart out of it. Determined to honour her family's legacy, Beca decides to follow in their footsteps and make delicious ice cream with the help of a long-forgotten recipe book and boat house.

It's Christmas 1937 and an eclectic list of guests and staff have gathered for the grand re-opening of Maybridge castle, a newly renovated yet still crumbling hotel deep in the Cumbrian countryside. An innocent game of murder-in-the-dark will turn into a real game of life and death. And by the time the first sherries have been drunk, one of these people will be dead - and one of them the killer. Someone has changed the rules, but who?

Chloe can't wait for Christmas...to be over! Her son Ruben is staying with his dad this year and Chloe is planning to ignore the holidays all together. Her only nod to the season is the advent calendar Ruben left her, to help count down the days till he's home again. But then an heir hunter gets in touch, telling her there's a plot of land in Canada she may be entitled to. Surely, it's a scam. Or could it be just the escape she needs right now? They're offering to pay for her flights...and Ruben's latest note in the advent calendar tells her to 'say yes!'

Ginny Spain usually loves Christmas. Not this year, though. After witnessing a traumatic accident and breaking up with her ex, she plans to spend it alone. But her formidable art historian mother, Evie, has other ideas. Determined to drag her daughter out of isolation, Evie persuades Ginny to spend Christmas with her at an artist and writer’s retreat at Triskelion, a remote old house in the tiny coastal village of Little Star. But Evie’s plans aren’t without an ulterior motive...

Natasha is flying home for yet another Christmas as a Singleton with her Mum, Aileen and annoyingly perfect older sister Doon. At least she will be in Ballyclare - the beautiful old house in the Wicklow hills that has been a treasured home since her father walked out all those years ago. Then comes the killer blow - it looks like the house will have to be sold, and this will be their last Christmas there. But when a stranger knocks on their door, Christmas takes an unexpected turn; and Tasha is not the only McDonnell woman to have her romantic fortunes turned on their head in a matter of days.

Jemima Jones is driving home to her family's magical hill-top farm for Christmas… And on arrival, she soon learns that her dad has been keeping a secret – all is not as it seems, and Hollybush Farm is struggling to make ends meet! Worried about losing the childhood home she loves, Jemima decides it’s time to pull on her winter wellies.

The frost and fairy lights only remind her it's been a year since she lost the mother who took her in as a baby and raised her. She's never felt more alone - until she discovers her birth mother's identity. And where to find her. A lifetime and thousands of miles have separated Evangeline and Bonnie. Now, travelling to New Zealand could be Evangeline's chance to confront the woman who gave her up. But is she ready for what she'll find there? The answers she's been looking for, a new family to heal her... Or someone she could never have expected?

I haven’t been back to Eos since I first met my step-sister, Lex. It’s been twenty-five years since that summer. Since we went from strangers to sisters. Since Abigail went missing. Since we told the first lie. Now we’re back together on the island. So much has changed since we were teenagers. We’ve both tried to move on from the past – from each other. But the island won’t let us escape our secrets. Only me and Lex know the truth about Abigail. We’ve been living a lie for so long. And if the truth comes out – neither of us will survive it…

At Ravendale Castle, nestled in the snowy heart of the Lake District, Lara is busy preparing for the Winter Spectacular — a glittering light trail that will fill the grounds with the magic of Christmas. It’s the perfect distraction from her recent heartbreak until Flynn, the ruggedly handsome technical manager, arrives and sparks start to fly.

Clumsy, earnest baker Sylvie West has worked at the Christmas Café in Silver Bells, Wyoming, ever since her boozy eggnog fruitcake won the town’s annual holiday bakeoff fifteen years ago. Her forever happy place, the café compliments her sweet, well-ordered life with her roommates: recently-widowed Gramps and her yappy chihuahua-pug Crumpet.

Laura's marriage is at a crossroads. When she discovers Villa Luna Rossa, a crumbling villa in the Italian countryside, she convinces her husband, Nick, to embark on a new life there. But as the intense summer heat rises, Laura quickly realises that her issues with Nick haven't been left behind. So it's a relief when their first guests arrive—a glamorous American couple. Laura can't help but be drawn to these strangers. As she gets closer to the couple, though, she realises that everyone at Villa Luna Rossa is hiding something.

More than 50 years ago, Willie Nelson's beloved Christmas song, "Pretty Paper", first hit the airwaves. And for all these years, Willie has wondered about the real-life Texas street vendor, selling wrappings and ribbons, who inspired his song. Who was this poor soul? What did his painful trials say about our loves, our hopes, our dreams in this holiday season - and in the rest of our lives?

It's 1984 - and it's an important time for the children of Ragley-on-the Forest school.... Their school choir is to sing a carol in a church in York, and it's actually going to be on television! Helping to keep his excited children - not to mention their parents - under control during these momentous events taxes Jack and his staff to the limit. And at the same time, Jack has his own problems to deal with....

Penguin Presents, Christmas Dreams, written and read by Giovanna Fletcher. A bundle edition of two fabulously festive Christmas stories, available as an unabridged audio download. 'Dream a Little Christmas Dream'. Sarah's doing great. Okay, her dreams might still be totally bananas, but real life is definitely back on track. She's got a fantastic job, amazing friends and plans to spend all Christmas wrapped up with Brett, her handsome boyfriend.