Showing results by narrator "Luke Francis" in All Categories

Ever since Jack's dad died, he's had a heavy feeling inside. The pressure keeps building. Looking for release, he starts skiving school and hanging around with a group who like to cause trouble. It's easy to hide his new habits from his mom, an environmental anthropologist, because she's too busy with work and conservation trips to notice. As Jack spins further out of control, his mom eventually becomes concerned—and shocks him by suggesting a trip together. But this will be no relaxing vacation.

When a brilliant doctor's experiment goes wrong, a dangerous pursuit of separating good and evil follows... Tucked away in the dark and murky streets of London, a lawyer finds himself investigating strange incidents between his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll and the reclusive Edward Hyde. Although seemingly nothing alike, the two are more similar than what meets the eye... This classic tale is perfect for fans of Heather Parry and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

From a skinny, ginger-haired kid from Walsall who was bullied at school, to the ‘Queen of Soho’, who would rule London’s drag scene in its most dazzling era. This gripping true story follows an unassuming boy, separated from other children and made to sit by the window, on to a remarkable career, with celeb buddies including Kylie Minogue, The Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper and, of course, Boy George. But behind the glitter, there was a far darker reality.

"What I did to them was terrible, but you have to understand the context. This was London, 2016." Bohemia is history. Paul has awoken to the fact that he will always be better known for reviewing haircuts than for his literary journalism. He is about to be kicked out of his cheap flat in east London and his sister has gone missing after an argument about what to do with the house where they grew up. Now that their mother is dead this is the last link they have to the declining town on the north-west coast where they grew up.

Unfolding over the course of four days and culminating in a shocking twist, Walk is a haunting, visceral and unique novel about the acts that ordinary people are prepared to commit when pushed to the very limits of what we are able to endure. **** Stephen had seemed enthusiastic about the walk...

In 1960s Liverpool, life is hard for Reggie Kellison. His marriage is stalling, baby number six is on its way, a fall out at work has put his nose out of joint and the football team he supports offers little relief. But Reggie has a plan. If it works it could give him the life, lover and the money he dreams of. If it doesn’t, a jail sentence could be on the cards. Either way, he can only find out by risking everything and playing the pools....

When Mathilde is forced to leave her teaching job in Oslo after her relationship with 18-year-old Jacob is exposed, she flees to the countryside for a more authentic life. Her new home is a quiet cottage on the outskirts of a dairy farm run by Andres and Johs, whose hobbies include playing the fiddle and telling folktales - many of them about female rebellion and disobedience, and seeking justice, whatever it takes. But beneath the surface of the apparently friendly and peaceful pastoral surface of the farm, something darker and less harmonic starts to vibrate.

The Middle Parts of Fortune is a novel by Frederic Manning that depicts the experiences of ordinary British soldiers, particularly Private Bourne, fighting in the trenches of World War I. Primarily focused on the brutal realities of the Battle of the Somme, including the trauma, camaraderie, boredom, and moments of bloodlust they faced, the book has been praised, since its publication in 1929, for its authenticity and raw depiction of war's psychological impact.

Milkmaid Rhoda Brooks cannot control her jealousy of Gertrude - a beautiful woman who has just married a rich farmer. So when Gertrude appears in her dream, she cannot help but reach out and grab the arm of the woman she wishes she was. As Gertrude's arm begins to wither away in real life and no physician is able to help her, she must turn to a conjurer... Considered one of Hardy's most successful short stories, 'The Withered Arm' is unmissable for those who enjoyed Laura Purcell's ´The Silent Companions´.

☀️'A sparkling romance full of wit and warmth' Phillipa Ashley☀️ *** Could romance be waiting in the wings…? Lucie Hart is a fledgling actress, her confidence having been shattered by her manipulative ex. Making ends meet by performing Shakespearean monologues full of romance she...

To the unsuspecting eye Dee Stephens has a perfect life as the vicar's wife: a devoted marriage to her charismatic husband Reverend Vincent, an adoring congregation and a beautiful daughter. But beneath the surface, Dee is suffocating. Vincent is in control, and he knows her every sin. Desperate, Dee escapes into a heady affair with Cal, an old schoolmate. But is Cal the saviour she thinks he is? What dark secrets does he harbour? And to what lengths will Vincent go to when he uncovers the truth?

Happily married and running a successful business, Peter Berry's life changed when, at the age of 50, he was given a terminal diagnosis of early-onset dementia. Since that day, he has learned to live with his very own 'dementia monster'. From depression and suicide attempts through to his determination to confront his dementia, Peter has embarked on a series of challenges to show that 'life isn't over with dementia, it's just a little different'.