Showing results by narrator "Antonia Beamish" in All Categories

When teenager Benji Hammerton goes worryingly quiet, his parents turn to the one person who might be able to help—Agatha Pleasant, an ageing government agent who operates largely in the shadows. As luck would have it, Agatha has a batch of new recruits at her disposal. Untapped potential desperately in need of work experience.

Eliza was left as a small baby at the workhouse in Whitechapel, wrapped in her mother’s shawl, which is all she has of the mother she never knew. At 11 years old, she has survived sickness, near starvation and harsh beatings. Master Simpkins and his cruel daughter rule the workhouse with a rod of iron, but when Romany boy Joe arrives at the workhouse, his spirit and courage give Eliza hope. When she is sold into service, Eliza is relieved to be out of the workhouse and hopes her fortunes are changing for the better, but cruelty and unkindness are everywhere....

'Wonderfully entertaining . . . Maeve is on cracking form' - Jilly Cooper In A Country Garden is a heartwarming, hilarious tale of growing old not-so-gracefully, from the bestselling author of The Time of Their Lives, Maeve Haran. Lifelong friends Claudia, Ella, Laura and Sal celebrated sixty as...

Following the death of his beloved father, Arthur is sent to Canada for safety with a group of evacuees on the eve of the Second World War. Alone and afraid, plagued with seasickness, and an unknown future, he can't imagine things getting any worse. Far from what he feared, Arthur is welcomed with warmth and kindness. But even on the other side of the world, the war can’t be escaped and before long, his new family are touched by it too. Faced with another dramatic change in his life, everything starts to change again for Arthur.

The BRAND NEW gorgeous, heartfelt book club listen from the author of the NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

When orphan Julie Miller is sent to Canada to keep her safe from Hitler’s bombs at the start of WWII, she hopes this will the start of a happier new life for her after years of sadness. Taken in by a schoolteacher, it seems that Julie’s dreams are coming true. But that’s before a shadow is cast over her safe refuge, and before long, she is forced to run away. This is just the start of a long journey, one with many hardships before she can find a place to call home.

Evie Grant is forty-five years old, a widow, and single mum of two children about to leave the nest. Suddenly alone in the family home, Evie realizes she hates her job, hardly goes out and hasn't had a date since who knows when... So it feels like fate when the opportunity arises for a girls trip to New York City. Staying with her sister on the Upper East Side, Evie is enchanted by a snow-covered city consumed by preparing for Christmas. Bobble hat firmly on, Evie is walking through the city one day when she bumps into Daniel Roberts, Hollywood heartthrob and one-time boyfriend of hers.

Thorpeness, 1973. Wrongly exiled from London, Judge Neville Hanmer sought solace and a quiet life on the Suffolk coast. But then a face from the past unexpectedly resurfaces and he turns to The Anglian Detective Agency for help. Laurel, Frank, and the rest of the team are busier than ever trying to solve the mysterious theft of rare plants from Yoxford Hall Gardens. But when Judge Hanmer doesn't show for their meeting, they find themselves embroiled in yet another case.

Beth is desperate to return to normality. After a years-long ordeal, her daughter is finally home and safe. But Carmel has questions she can't ignore about the cult that kidnapped her, and about the preacher who gave her another girl's name. Digging into her past, Carmel uncovers secrets which suggest that she wasn't the only lost girl—and which puts her in danger all over again. While her mother struggles to salvage the safety they've only just found, Carmel tries to come to terms with who she has become. One question, a mystery at the heart of her disappearance as a child, haunts her:

I was taught that life is pain. That love is pain. It was unavoidable. Acceptable. I never had anything, or anyone I could count on. Not really. Not even myself. Until I met Dr Menon... To the outside world Lauren Taylor’s relationship with her boyfriend Josh is perfect. He is supportive and loving and has been there for Lauren during her darkest moments. But behind closed doors, secrets and lies can be hidden…

Aldeburgh, 1972. The local community is devastated by the accidental death of a local fisherman. Another tragedy to add to the recent murders of three young women. Soon, Laurel Bowman, Frank Diamond and the rest of the Anglian Detective Agency are pulled in to investigate another complex and dangerous case. But one of them is convinced that the fisherman's death is not an accident and they'll do anything to prove it. Even risk breaking up the agency.

At Rooks Wood Farm, Rosalind Breen's twin sons grieve her death. Daniel shoulders the burdens of running the farm and caring for his brother, Caleb, who's shunned for his strange appearance. Meanwhile, Minsmere Bird Reserve is suffering a spate of vandalism and senior partners of the Anglican Detective Agency, Frank Diamond and Laurel Bowman, are enlisted to find the culprits. But shortly after taking the case, Laurel discovers the body of a young man dumped in one of the meres and the detectives are caught up in a murder enquiry.

On the hunt for two missing persons, Laurel Bowman and Frank Diamond find they have another complex and dangerous case on their hands as they go undercover at a holiday camp near Orford in Suffolk. Using illicit searches, they uncover incriminating evidence about several members of staff. Then two people are brutally murdered and their missing persons case takes an even darker turn.

India, 1902. When Lilly Myerson is summoned by her mother to spend one hot summer in Nainital, she leaps at the opportunity. It's the only way to escape her violent and controlling husband Royce, but in return, he forces her to leave behind her beloved son Teddy. In Nainital, Lilly meets Duffy, tiger tamer at the renowned Tiffert's Circus, and together they hatch a plan. She will join the circus, create a new identity, and earn her independence—and hopefully enough money to rescue her son.

1971. David was thirteen when he went missing two years ago. It's now up to Laurel Bowman and Frank Diamond, partners in the newly formed Anglian Detective Agency, to find him. But how do you solve a cold case with no leads? Could it have anything to do with the brutal deaths of three local residents? As their first big case unravels, they uncover a circle of temptations, destruction and deceit. But the closer they get to solving the case, the more exposed they are to danger. And now both Laurel and Frank's lives are at risk.

Laurel Bowman has started a new life as a teacher on the isolated Suffolk coast while she tries to get over the murder of her sister. But it seems she cannot escape from death. When the headmaster's wife is murdered, the detective in charge, idiosyncratic DI Frank Diamond, soon has a list of suspects. He is no stranger to Laurel, but despite their troubled past, together they start to unravel the truth. Then the murderer strikes again and Laurel must fight, not just for justice, but for her life.

After more than 20 years of marriage, Fay and Steve are happy enough, though life's become routine and lacks excitement. Fay believes an open relationship could reignite the spark they've lost. But can sex ever just be sex? Steve eventually agrees to the idea of sleeping with other people, but first they must set some ground rules: no sex with friends, no telling the kids and a limit on how many times they can see the same person. Can their marriage survive non-monogamy—even if they have permission?

Schoolboy Luke runs away to London, far from the abusive orphanage where he grew up. He’s desperate not to end up as a petty criminal and forced to beg for scraps on the street. Luke wanders the East End docks, struggling to find honest employment and morsels of food to fill his grumbling stomach. Longing to be a part of the close-knit community, Luke volunteers to work with the local doctor and his wife. Their kind words and welcoming home is everything he’s ever wished for. But not everyone wants the best for Luke and his new friends.

Charlie’s experiences at the Battle of Kohima and the months he spent lost in the remote jungles of Nagaland during the Second World War are now history. Home and settled on a farm in Norfolk and newly married to Claire, he is one of the lucky survivors. Starting a family and working the land seem the best things a man can be doing. But a chasm exists between them. Memories flood Charlie’s mind; at night, on rain-slicked roads and misty mornings in the fields, the past can feel more real than the present.

Dawn, mist clearing over rice fields, a burning Vietnamese village and a young photographer takes the shot that might make his career. The image, of a staring soldier in the midst of mayhem, will become one of the great photographs of the war. But what Jonathan has seen in that village is more than he can bear. He flees to Japan, to lose himself in the vastness of Tokyo and to take different kinds of pictures: of streets and crowds and cherry blossom - and of a girl with whom he is no longer lost. Yet even here his history will catch up with him