Showing results by narrator "Olivia Vinall" in All Categories

Eleven years ago my sister Lola vanished from my aunt's cottage in Cornwall. Now I'm back, and I'm no closer to understanding why she ran away. What secrets was she keeping? Memories come to me in snippets, but something is still missing. Then a body is discovered in a cave below the cliffs. No one knows how long it's been there. Is it Lola? The next night I wake, knowing someone is there, standing by my bed. I can hear them breathing. What do they want? Am I getting too close to the truth? Did Lola ever leave?

It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, is offered a position as governess at Hartwood Hall. She quickly accepts, hoping this isolated country house will allow her to leave her past behind. Cut off from the village, Margaret soon starts to feel there's something odd about her new home, despite her growing fondness for her bright, affectionate pupil, Louis. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

In London 1799, Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents' famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle's suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young man seeking acceptance into the Society of Antiquaries. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as her chance to restore her parents' shop to its former glory and to escape her uncle.

1841. Mr Montgomery Hurst of Radcliffe Park is getting married. To the great consternation of the county of Wickenshire, he is not marrying the daughter of an earl, but an impoverished widow with three children, whom nobody has ever heard of. Society is both appalled and intrigued. Nobody is more curious than Mr Ashpoint, a wealthy local brewer, who had hoped Mr Hurst might choose his daughter, Amelia, as his bride. Only, Amelia has no interest in marrying Mr Hurst - or indeed in marrying at all.

Cole is the perfect husband; a romantic, supportive of his wife’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy. So when his wife leaves him, he's floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him. Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life. Then he meets reclusive artist Lennie. And though she is quite different from the woman he’d expected, he believes he has finally found a soulmate. But as their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live.

In Victorian London, Genevieve Timmons poses as a spiritualist to swindle wealthy mourners—until one misstep lands her in a jail cell awaiting the noose. Then a stranger arrives to make her a peculiar offer. The lord he serves, Mr. Pemberton, has been inconsolable since the tragic death of his beautiful bride-to-be. If Genevieve can perform a séance persuasive enough to bring the young lord peace, she will win her freedom.

Growing Up with Two Languages provides a highly accessible account of the stages of language development, describes and evaluates the various systems and strategies that can be adopted and looks at the problems that can occur when a child is exposed to two languages and cultures. Combining research-informed advice and the experience of parents raising children as speakers of a wide range of languages in every populated continent in the world, this book and its associated web material will answer questions and provide material to enlist support.

I learned early in life how to survive. A skill that became vital in my position. I was given no power, yet I was expected to hold my own with the most powerful man in the country. My people were my children. I stood between him and them. I am not the person they say I am. I am not my husband. I am innocent. Do you believe me?

A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the acclaimed author of The Psychology of Time Travel. The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls since the early 1800s. But their dolls aren't coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.

A buried corpse disappears. A child is kidnapped. A woman suddenly vanishes. The only clue - mysterious Chinese symbols; left behind at each of the crime scenes in a provincial town in Northern Denmark. In the eye of the storm is Eva. After suffering a deeply sorrowful tragedy - where her long-awaited daughter is stillborn - Eva is fighting to get her life back on track together with her husband who recently, and inexplicably, became paralyzed and is now unable to take care of himself. In an attempt to escape her grief, Eva embarks on her own investigation to find out who is behind these violent crimes.

In this fascinating and deeply researched book, Sharon Marcus challenges everything you thought you knew about our obsession with fame. Icons are not merely famous for being famous; the media alone cannot make or break stars; fans are not simply passive dupes. Instead, journalists, the public, and celebrities themselves all compete, passionately and expertly, to shape the stories we tell about celebrities and fans. The result: a high-stakes drama as endless as it is unpredictable.

When struggling influencer couple Adele and Jack post a crowdfunding video online, they're amazed by a mysterious benefactor's offer: to buy them an idyllic 17th century French château. It’s the lifeline they need to leave all their troubles behind – and patch up their relationship after a rocky period. For Adele, it’s a dream come true. She will post videos from the fairytale setting, renovating the grand building as thousands of online subscribers follow their journey. But the château is not all it seems, and the local community is far from welcoming.

In 1830 a young novice called Catherine Labouré was granted a vision of the Virgin Mary. Nearly 200 years later, Sister Anne is also waiting for a sign. Which is why she accepts a mission to go to a tiny community on an island just off the coast of Brittany. Her only companion there is a sceptical, chain-smoking older nun who just wants to be left in peace.

It's 1951 and the servants of Stalin are closing in on the occupied nations of eastern Europe. As the Red Army tightens the net, Greta - best and bravest of freedom fighters - is told to escape to the West and undertake a dangerous mission. The Exile is the stunning prequel to The Partisan, Patrick Worrall's critically-acclaimed debut, which introduced the world to the force of nature that is Greta. This is her white-knuckle ride into the black heart of postwar Europe - a terrifying world in which allies and enemies are impossible to tell apart.