Showing results by narrator "Katy Sobey" in All Categories

Life is going well for Maria. Welcomed into the Saward family, she has secured herself a job as a maid for Queen Alexandra and is living with her family in a beautiful cottage on the Royal Sandringham estate. The luxuries and privilege associated with the royal family are a far cry from the poverty and suffering she endured before, though the royals, like the nation, are tightening their belts. But when a mysterious relative turns up, seemingly on the run from the law, Maria's new-found happiness could be under threat.

Elsie Martin may lead a quiet life, but working in her beloved local library is enough to make her happy. After all, books have always been her armour against the world. So when the library is threatened with closure to make way for a new housing development, Elsie knows it has to be saved—and that, despite being painfully shy, she needs to lead the campaign to save it.

When Rosie inherits the café on Marigold Marina, following her husband’s tragic death, she is determined to pour her heart into his dream. But when Kit, the owner of a bookshop barge, starts to come by regularly, she finds it difficult to ignore his dark eyes, disheveled curls, and warm smile. And just as Rosie starts to hope, letting herself open her heart a second time, she discovers the shocking secret that the husband she loved for so many years kept hidden from her.

On a wild and stormy night, Molly runs away from her grandparents' house. Her dad has sent her to live there until he Sorts Things Out at home. In the howling darkness, Molly sees a desperate figure running for his life from a terrifying midnight hunt. He has come to help her. But why? And who is he?

Rob and Emma have made a fresh start, moving away from London and back to her hometown. With their baby daughter Sophie, their family is complete. Until one night, Rob arrives home from a late shift to find baby Sophie crying and on her own. Frantically, he searches the house and surroundings, but Emma has disappeared without a trace. Rob is distraught. Emma couldn’t abandon their child - could she? As rumours spread around the village, Rob uncovers secrets about Emma’s past life that shake his foundations about the woman he thought he married.

Scarlett is dancing in the school talent show tomorrow. Nana, who Scarlett lives with since Mum died, reckons Scarlett will be on Strictly at this rate. Except Scarlett doesn't make it home from school. She's abducted by a man she never imagined she'd see again. A man on the police's most wanted list. Her dad.

When several young prostitutes are found murdered in Liverpool, DI Leigh Moss knows there is only one person she can turn to for help with the case. Gangland queen Grace Carter knows the streets of Liverpool better than anyone and can ask questions Leigh can’t...but will Grace help? Grace doesn’t trust easily, but when she discovers that her family might be linked with the gruesome murders, she decides to give Leigh a chance. But helping Leigh is risky, and as Grace is dragged deeper into the murky world of vice, her own life is put in danger.

Pregnant Victoria Valbon was brutally murdered in an alley three weeks ago - and her killer hasn’t been caught. Tonight is Stella McKeever’s final radio show. The theme is secrets. You tell her yours, and she’ll share some of hers. Stella might tell you about Tom, a boyfriend who likes to play games, about the mother who abandoned her, now back after 14 years. She might tell you about the perfume bottle with the star-shaped stopper, or about her father....

We know that's what modern mums want: that's why so many of them have joined Mush, our app, to chat to other mums going through the same thing. We know that milestones aren't just about your baby smiling or walking or sleeping through the night for the first time but everything you're going through, too: the first time you manage to leave the house, the first time you get on a train (or plane) with your little one and the first time you have sex with your partner again. The 'mumsition' is the biggest thing you'll ever go through, and so, from the moment you go on maternity leave, we've got your back.

Freya has a new virtual assistant. It knows what she likes, knows what she wants and knows whose voice she most needs to hear: her missing sister's. It adopts her sister's personality, re-creating her through a life lived online. This data ghost knows everything about Freya's sister: every date she ever went on, every photo she took, every secret she ever shared. In fact it knows things it shouldn't be possible to know. It's almost as if her sister is still out there somewhere, feeding fresh updates into the cloud.

When Sophia first meets Hollywood actor and Ivy College teacher, Marc Blackwell, she never dreams they'll share a forbidden, obsessive relationship. Now, dawn is breaking and they've decided to tell the world of their affair. But as paparazzi hound Sophia's every move, Marc steps up his control - dominating Sophia in every way possible, and drawing her into his dark world of intensity and passion.

In a field outside Bromsgrove, two elderly brothers live in adjoining railway carriages. No one visits, and they never speak to each other. Until the day Zohra Dasgupta, a young postwoman, delivers an extraordinary letter - from a woman claiming to be the sister they thought had been murdered 50 years earlier.

A heartwarming novel from the queen of family saga and author of Bicycles and Blackberries, Sheila Newberry. Suffolk, 1925. At only 16 years old, May Moon travels to West Wick, Suffolk, to become the local Punch and Judy girl. Determined to fulfil her dead father's wishes and to continue his business, May has her work cut out for her during her summer on the beach. Staying with a local family, she not only enjoys the silvery sand and sunshine; she also experiences first love, partings and reunions.

As the storm clouds gather over Europe, life at Easterleigh Hall is about to change again. 1937. Evie and her family have struggled to keep Easterleigh Hall, now a hotel, running during the depression, and with war looming, she worries for the children, who have to find their way in a changing world. Bridie is learning her trade at her mother Evie’s side, and is becoming a talented chef. Her cousin James has run away to fight in Spain, leaving the family devastated.

The East End, 1939. When war comes to London, the bright and irrepressible Georgia Smith is torn from her tight-knit family and packed off as an evacuee. She moves in with Phoebe Bliss, whose cheerful smile masks a dark past that 10-year-old Georgia couldn't possibly understand. Georgia soon finds herself involved in the small town's complicated love lives. But some secrets aren't meant for little girls, and she finds herself in danger. Can a good heart keep a mischievous girl out of trouble?

Ellie Taber's final year at university is hurtling to a close at alarming speed. Defeated by her philosophy dissertation and uncertain as to why she can't quite commit to her faultlessly supportive boyfriend, she is disenchanted with university life. Charlie, on the other hand, is determined to use his final year to become the man he was always meant to be. He plans to play the field, do just enough work to secure his degree, finally develop his brilliant business idea and basically have an awesome time. They are both in for a surprise.

Across the room, through the fog of tobacco smoke, Betty notices him. His teacup is empty, his eyes are low and he doesn't speak. She wants him to notice her. She wants to impress. Fifteen-year-old Betty Broadbent helps her erratic and beautiful mother run the Hotel Eden, a boardinghouse now besieged by reporters, keen for juicy gossip and eye-catching headlines. They are there because the Cornish seaside town has recently witnessed a string of murders, young girls stabbed to death.

Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is. She knows duck-billed platypuses don't have stomachs. She knows that 14 squirrels were once detained as spies. She knows that both chess and Snakes and Ladders were invented in the same country. And for once, Harriet knows exactly how her life should go. She's got it all planned out. Though her friends seem less than happy, Harriet is determined to Make Things Happen! If only everyone else would stick to the script....

When 15-year-old Becs meets Bracken, she is convinced she's found her soul mate. So what if he's much older? He understands her, she feels free with him and when he holds her she feels safe. But is she?Some young women in the area have been sexually assaulted. It's the talk of the school. And when Bec's best friend, Mary-Jane, becomes his latest victim, the true dangers hit home: just as Rebecca is starting to wonder about her future with Bracken, poor M-J rapidly shrinks away from life....

From much-loved author Shirley Hughes comes a thrilling World War II novel for children aged 10 and up. It is 1944, and Florence, Italy, is occupied by Nazi German forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though - and neither have Paolo and his sister, Constanza. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings do against a whole army with only a bicycle to help them? In extraordinary circumstances, people are capable of extraordinary things.