Showing results by narrator "Colleen Prendergast" in All Categories

In the charming Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, the stage is set for murder. When a troupe of actors arrive in Scarborough to perform a murder mystery play and book into the Seaview Hotel, it's only a matter of time before amateur sleuth Helen Dexter and her trusty greyhound, Suki, are playing the roles of detectives once again.

Poppy tears, opium, heroin, fentanyl: humankind has been in thrall to the ‘Milk of Paradise’ for millennia. The latex of papaver somniferum is a bringer of sleep, of pleasurable lethargy, of relief from pain - and hugely addictive. A commodity without rival, it is renewable, easy to extract, transport and refine, and subject to an insatiable global demand. No other substance in the world is as simple to produce or as profitable. It is the basis of a gargantuan industry built upon a shady underworld, but ultimately it is a farm-gate material that lives many lives ....

At thirty two, Victory Shackleford is arguably overweight, undeniably frumpish and the love of her life is a dog. She still lives at home with her father—an eccentric retired Admiral who she considers reckless, irresponsible, and totally incapable of looking after himself. Her father on the other hand thinks Victory is a boring nagging harpy with no imagination or sense of adventure and what's more, he's determined to get her married off. Unfortunately there's no one in the picturesque yachting town of Dartmouth that Tory is remotely interested in, despite her father's best efforts.

After the death of her husband, Helen Dexter is contemplating her future as the now-sole proprietor of the Seaview Hotel. There's an offer from a hotel chain developer to consider, but also a booking from a group of 12 Elvis impersonators, a singing troupe called Twelvis. Tom loved Elvis, and for Helen, this is a sign that she should stay. But the series of mysterious events that follows suggests that the developer is not going to give up easily. Then, shortly after Twelvis arrive, one of the group disappears. His body is found floating in a lake, with his blue suede shoes missing.

Maxine Connolly has had a rough year with the loss of her mum, marriage, and job in quick succession, and she’d be the first to admit that she hasn’t been coping. But when her teenage daughter, Sophie, applies for a job at the Comfort Food Café on her behalf, Max realises she’s let things get out of hand. So when the job offer comes, Max decides to embrace this unexpected opportunity and uproot her life for a fresh start on the south coast.

Lara Cliffe and her three friends are off on a mini break for her hen party. It’s three weeks before her wedding to ’Steady Freddie’, one of the kindest men on the planet. But something is worrying Lara. Her friends say it’s wedding jitters, but she isn’t so sure Fifteen years ago the love of her life, Danny Belfont, walked out on her three weeks before their wedding and she has never been able to fully get him out of her heart. Then, on the overnight ferry, Lara finds out that Danny is playing in the onboard band and he spots her in the crowd.

As a palliative care nurse, it is Kelly Critcher's job to look death in the eye - to save a patient while the fight can still be won and confront death with grace and kindness when it can't. In early 2020, everything changed for nurses on the NHS frontline. Working on Covid wards and the High Dependency Unit, Kelly spent the height of the coronavirus crisis at Northwick Park Hospital - perhaps the UK hospital most deeply ravaged by the illness.

Three years ago police officer Georgina Ioannau was murdered, her killers never brought to justice. Now the prime suspects have been shot dead within hours of their return to the UK. Has someone finally taken the law into their own hands? Seeking out the truth will force Kate Daniels to confront her own past mistakes, and put her career, and her team's lives, on the line.

Commissioned by Audible and written especially for audio format this collection brings together six crime stories through the themes of discovery, destination and arrival. Top narrators bring these gripping tales to life acknowledging the Scandinavian tradition of oral storytelling.

When librarian and budding Private Investigator Kitt Hartley visits her ex-assistant Grace Edwards in Durham, she soon learns of an unsolved murder. A year ago, Jodie Perkins, a Mechanics student, disappeared after her student-radio broadcast was cut short with a deafening scream. The police suspect Jodie was murdered although her body was never found. Keen to be on the front line of one of Kitt's investigations, Grace convinces Kit to use her recent private investigator training to solve the mystery.

Flowers have always made Fearne smile. She treasures the memories of her beloved grandmother's floristry and helping her to arrange beautiful blooms that brought such joy to their recipients. But ever since a family tragedy a year ago, Fearne has been searching for her own contentment. When a chance discovery inspires her to start a happiness list, it seems that Fearne might just have found her answer.

Gina Moss is single and proud. She's focused on her thriving childminding business, which she runs from her cottage at the edge of The Evergreens: a charming Victorian home to three elderly residents who adore playing with the kids Gina minds. To Gina, they all feel like family. Then a run-in (literally) with a tall, handsome American stranger gives her the tummy-flutters....

The peace of Kielder Water is shattered when tourists open a barrel they found floating in the reservoir at dawn. Detectives Stone and Oliver are called to examine the skeletal remains inside. The tourists are eliminated from the investigation, but that same day a second body is discovered - this one with skin. Have the police let the killer leave the scene? While Stone investigates the remains, Oliver travels to Iceland to gather evidence and track down the tourists who have fled. Someone will do anything to protect the secrets of the past.

Against all the odds, perfectly ordinary girl next door, Victory Shackleford has won the heart of Hollywood heartthrob Noah Westbrook. But after a whirlwind courtship, the dust is now settling and Tory is faced with the reality of life with the most famous actor in the world. And it's not all hearts and flowers, especially as the media seem intent on digging up every bit of dirt about her they can possibly find.

Football fans will love this insight into the life and mind of Big Sam. With nearly 20 years as a player - plus almost 25 years as a coach and manager - under his belt, Sam Allardyce is one of the most recognisable figures in British football. 'Big Sam' has been a robust defensive general throughout the seventies and eighties, and an imposing touchline presence as a gaffer since 1994. Over the last four decades, Allardyce has seen it all.

Lady Ariana Boxstall's brother, Norris, is a strapping young man, but he's happily unmarried and childless. Pestered by his sister, Norris agrees to take a wife on one condition: that Ariana take a husband first. Although she realizes she risks spending a lifetime in a loveless marriage, for the sake of her own family's legacy, Ariana accepts his challenge. When the Earl of Kynaston met Ariana eight years ago, he broke her heart. Since then, his own heart has been broken, and he's sworn off love.

A victim leaves a note for the SIO who will investigate her death. This not what DCI Kate Daniels expects to find concealed at a crime scene. The note contains a last request: 'Find Aaron'. But is Kate searching for a potential second victim, or a killer? Following the clues, Kate becomes the obsession of her adversary who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will she find Aaron before he does?

Flirtatious, straight-talking Jo Gold says she's got no time for love; she's determined to save her family's failing footwear business. New mother Sarah Hudson has cut short her maternity leave to return to work. She says she'll do whatever it takes to make partner at the accountancy firm. Bored, overeating housewife Carrie Radley says she just wants to shift the pounds - she'd love to finally wear a bikini in public. The unlikely trio meet by chance one winter's day and, in a moment of carpe diem madness, embark on a mission to make their wishes come true by September.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Hetty's Farmhouse Bakery by Cathy Bramley, read by Colleen Prendergast. Thirty-two-year-old Hetty Greengrass is the star around which the rest of her family orbits. Marriage, motherhood and helping Dan run Sunnybank Farm have certainly kept her hands full for the last 12 years. But when her daughter Poppy has to choose her inspiration for a school project and picks her aunt, not her mum, Hetty is left full of self-doubt.

On an unassuming evening, a stranger sits down at Olive Anderson's dinner table and pretends to be her wife. But as much as the fake wife has her secrets, Olive just might have more.