Showing results by narrator "Helen McAlpine" in All Categories

When 23-year-old shepherdess Emma Gray breaks off her engagement, the chance to take over an isolated Northumberland farm seems just the fresh start she needs. But while the beautiful scenery certainly offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a night out with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy future at Fallowlees Farm quickly begin to fade.

After three decades of marriage, Brenda Jones has decided to leave her husband, just as soon as they both return from a mystery trip with their daughter Zara. But she has no idea that Zara is flying them to Las Vegas to renew their vows. Zara Jones has recreated almost every detail of her parent’s original wedding - now her only challenge is tracking down the two friends who were pictured with her mum and dad back in 1993.

This is... Denise. Married to Ray, her first and only love, Denise has never, for one moment, regretted putting the husband she idolised on a pedestal above everyone and everything else. But, after forty years of marriage, he is gone, leaving Denise to discover that their perfect marriage was fatally flawed. Now she faces a future alone. But first, she must face the betrayals of the past. This is... Claire. The estranged daughter of Denise, the woman who put her husband before her children, Claire took the opposite path and devoted her life to raising her family, sacrificing.

Lou Cairney's life has never been dull. But through twenty years of ups, downs and really bad hairstyles, Lou has had the best friends a woman could hope for in Lizzy and Ginger. Growing up together, they shared their dreams and their disasters, broken hearts and career crashes and they survived it all thanks to love, hope, a large dollop of humour and cocktails. Until now; Lou needs her friends more than ever. Her past has just caught up with her in a shocking way.

Suze has a niggling feeling that her husband Karl's marital sat-nav has taken a wrong turn and led him down the road to temptation. What's a suspicious wife to do? Mel knows that her sweet, docile husband Joe would never, ever cheat. But when Suze, her sister-in-law, hires a honeytrap to test Karl, the results blow Mel's world apart. Mel, Joe, Suze, Karl. They're family. They're friends. And they're about to discover whether or not they can navigate those other f-words - fidelity and forgiveness.

1889: Kitty Gray dreams of attending university and becoming a doctor, but when she is married off to Charles Maclean, one of Glasgow's richest and most eligible bachelors, her aspiration suddenly slips far from reach. Exiled to her new remote home in the Scottish Highlands, with its gargoyles, gothic arches and turrets, Kitty seeks solace in creating a restorative herb garden. Combining her medical knowledge and new-found fascination with herbalism, Kitty spends her days absorbed in a world of herbs and their healing properties until a devastating tragedy strikes...

From the best-selling author of the Sarah Midnight Trilogy comes an instant classic - a beautiful and poignant love story about letting go and moving on. Eilidh Lawson’s life has hit crisis point. Years of failed fertility treatments, a cheating husband and an oppressive family have pushed her to the limits. Desperate for relief, she seeks solace in the only place she’s ever felt at home - a small village in the Scottish Highlands.

As a prosecutor in the Scottish Highlands, Rachel is no stranger to death. But when a body is found in a local cemetery, she’s confronted by a case that hits far too close to home. The victim is connected to an investigation Rachel’s mother was involved in before her own mysterious disappearance years ago. And Rachel is seized by hope that she might finally discover the truth. Desperate for more clues, Rachel enlists the help of determined detective constable Selena MacDonald, but soon the trail runs cold.

Have you ever made a life-changing decision before wondering if you made the right one...? When Liv and Nate walked up the aisle, Liv knew she was marrying the one, her soul mate and her best friend. Six years later, it feels like routine and friendship are all they have left in common. What happened to the fun, the excitement, the lust, the love? In the closing moments of 1999, Liv and Nate decide to go their separate ways, but at the last minute, Liv wavers.

Inary Monteith’s life is at a crossroads. After a stolen night with her close friend Alex, she's just broken his heart by telling him it was all a terrible mistake. Then she has to rush home from London to the Scottish Highlands when her little sister's illness suddenly worsens – and in returning she must confront the painful memories she has been trying so hard to escape. Back home, things become more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

When city girl Shona moves with her partner Mikey and their baby to an idyllic cottage in rural Scotland, she believes that all that lies ahead for her family is happiness. But with Mikey working long hours away from home, the frightening isolation of the Scottish countryside begins to get to Shona. She feels lonely and trapped. That is, until she is rescued by a new friendship with the enchanting Valentina. Valentina enters Shona’s life like a whirlwind, bringing excitement and spontaneity to replace boredom and fear.

The groom’s grip is icy cold as he shakes my hand. “I have so wanted to meet you.” I look up into his steely eyes and a chill runs down my spine. I know this man, but no one can ever know why…

"McAlpine's wispy narration is a great fit...a satisfying start to a new series." —AudioFile on The Fireborne Blade A tale of honor, dragons, and a love that endures beyond death Come for the journey through the underworld. Stay for the suspiciously familiar winged cat. After their dubiously...

Things haven’t been easy for Eiley but she’s finally stepping into the light. With a new flat above the local bookshop, Thistle & Thorn, and a job that lets her indulge her bookworm fantasies, Eiley is on the path to rediscovering who she is – until her village of Belbarrow gets an annoyingly self-important new fireman called Warren, who it seems is always there to throw cold water on her plans.

Set Me Free is the new bestseller from Daniela Sacerdoti, following up the huge successes of her first two novels, Watch Over Me and Take Me Home. In London, Margherita’s marriage has slowly been falling apart since her little Lewis’ birth, a surprise baby much wanted by her but not by her husband. To add to her problems, her adopted daughter, Lara, is going through a rough patch, and all of a sudden she’s gone from quiet and introverted to constantly angry.

When you've forgotten how to live, help can arrive in mysterious ways.... Successful artist Isabel Ramsay has never come to terms with the tragic death of her mother. Haunted by what happened, Isabel finds her own life spiraling out of control until, one winter's day, she gives up, unable to bear the pain of living any longer. Yet somehow she wakes up, remembering a vision of a mysterious woman who has saved her.

Nothing has turned out quite how Rhona Beech thought: she's been swapping one so-so job for another on an annual basis...and now her nine-year relationship has ended abruptly. When her lukewarm efforts to adjust to the changes in her life are thrown entirely up in the air by some unwelcome news, Rhona has to think again.Her sardonic, funny, poignant attempts to find an answer to the questions she's facing are helped by a cast of friends, strangers and trained professionals..

1857, Glasgow. A young socialite named Madeleine Smith stands accused of murdering her lover. Thousands wait outside the court to hear the result. The scandalous nature of the affair, detailed explicitly in letters published in newspapers across the world, has made her case a worldwide sensation. But when the jury find themselves unable to decide whether she is guilty, they render a verdict of 'Not Proven' - and Madeleine is freed. 1927, New York. Harry Townsend, a handsome Hollywood film scout believes he has found the woman once known as Madeleine Smith.

The human body is like an exceedingly well-fortified castle, defended by billions of soldiers - some live for less than a day, others remember battles for decades, but all are essential in protecting us from disease. This hidden army is our immune system, and without it we could not survive the eternal war between us and our microscopic enemies. Immune explores the incredible arsenal that lives within us - how it knows what to attack and what to defend and how it kills everything from the common cold to the plague bacterium.

The flood waters are rising. And so is the body count… Police officer Fiona MacLeish has been ordered to step back from her role in Police Scotland. Haunted by the murder of her parents, she’s dangerously close to breaking point: and is back in her remote childhood home nestled in a valley on the Scottish border. But there’s a terrifying storm coming…