Showing results by narrator "Olivia Dowd" in All Categories

London, Burning is a novel about the end of the 1970s and the end of an era. It concerns a nation divided against itself, a government trembling on the verge of collapse, a city fearful of what is to come and a people bitterly suspicious of one another. In other words, it is also a novel about now. Vicky Tress is a young policewoman on the rise who becomes involved in a corruption imbroglio with CID. Hannah Strode is an ambitious young reporter with a speciality for skewering the rich and powerful.

Best friends forever. That's the pact you made. You'd do anything for her. And you have. She's always had it all. If you could take it for yourself...would you?

Three years ago, Nikki and Ethan Rhodes suffered a devastating loss when their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed in a road accident. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, leaving Nikki to care for their remaining child, Bella, who hasn't spoken since that day. Seeking a fresh start, the family moves into a revolutionary new house designed by renowned architect Catriona Fisher. The house features a state-of-the-art security system, along with every amenity you could dream of.

Whether part of religious habit or just part of a daily routine, meditation can help slow today's frenzied pace and improve feelings of good health, peace and control. In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meditation, Joan Budilovsky and Eve Adamson explain how easy it is to enjoy the benefits of meditation.

Mindfulness is consciously paying attention to your present experience with a receptive attitude, in order to perceive things more clearly. Mindfulness enables people to get more in touch with the truth of their lives and make more beneficial choices. When people cultivate mindfulness, they experience important physical and emotional benefits.

Nell and Charlie feel a spark when they meet by chance in a café. But they don’t trade numbers, or surnames, so there’s no way they’ll meet again. But the next day, Nell’s phone rings at work. Somehow, impossibly, Charlie is on the other end. And he needs her help. Nell is about to save a life, fall in love...and risk everything for a perfect stranger.

Bettina and Bart have grown up as best friends, so surely they will end up together? After all, Bettina is young, rich, headstrong...and gay. Bart is young, rich, charismatic...and also, definitely, gay. Any doubts are dispelled by, in short order: that ghastly kiss; a torrid encounter for Bettina in the school boiler-rooms; and an eye-opening Parisian visit for Bart. Society will never stand for it. What else can they do but enter into a ‘lavender marriage’ and carry on indulging their true natures in secret?

Lexie loves her home. She feels safe and secure in it - and loved, thanks to her boyfriend, Tom. But recently, something’s not been quite right. A book out of place. A wardrobe door left open. A set of keys going missing.... Tom thinks Lexie’s going mad - but then, he’s away more often than he’s at home nowadays, so he wouldn’t understand. Because Lexie isn’t losing it. She knows there’s someone out there watching her. And, deep down, she knows there’s nothing she can do to make them stop.

Frances’ parents were not prepared for her birth: they had a blanket and an easel and some paint, but not anything useful, like a car or a phone. So it’s no wonder Frankie has always had a temper. She was born on a beach, in a storm. What Frances was not prepared for was dying in a freak natural disaster that wiped out her whole town. Waking up 100 years later, Frances finds a whole load of new things to be angry about. And that’s before the visitors start turning up, treating her home like it’s a tourist attraction. Which it is.

1998. A 16-year-old girl is found dead on school property, dressed in white and posed on a swing. No known cause of death. Four girls know what happened. And until now they’ve kept their silence.

Mid-career crises are on the rise. It’s no wonder: working lives are getting longer, 'jobs for life' are a thing of the past, and there’s more opportunity than ever before to change role, companies or careers. As a result, more people are questioning whether their work is truly serving them – in emotional, spiritual, and practical terms. Yet mid-career crises can also become the springboard to finding greater meaningfulness at work, resulting in huge psychological and performance benefits.

The Essential Classics: Volume 3 brings together 5 of the greatest classics ever written, perfectly read by an esteemed cast including Lucy Scott, Kristin Atherton, Peter Noble, Robert G. Slade, and Olivia Dowd. Spanning British, German, and American literature, this collection includes stories of the high seas in Moby Dick, small town comedy in Queen Lucia, as well love, honour, and betrayal in Far From the Madding Crowd, and more.

When 18-year-old Ben Renshaw is found dead in city woodland, DCI Robin Lyons is plunged into one of Birmingham's most controversial cases. Months earlier, Ben and his best friend gave testimony that sent a former classmate, Alistair Heywood, to prison for a vicious sexual assault. Before the trial, the boys and their families endured months of brutal witness intimidation, for which the Heywoods, a privileged and influential local family, faced no legal repercussions. Instead, they vowed revenge.

Written by a recognized trainer for both LinkedIn and Meta, Smart Social Media is grounded in the insights gained from hands-on consultancy work, plus hours of personal research, observations, and in-depth reviews of the platforms themselves. Both practical and informative, Smart Social Media is full of actionable insights and valuable guidance that will emphasize the importance of using social media strategically, to enhance brand awareness, boost engagement, build relationships with your customers, and keep up with ever-changing consumer behaviour.

In CLEAVAGE Prime minister Eric Courteney, fresh from another scandal, realises he has his work cut out when the Labour offensive kicks off with the charismatic Vicky Tennyson and handsome Christian Eccles at the helm, both dead set on an end to Conservative rule. The desperate Tories resort to hiring maverick strategist Callum Gallagher to get them out of a fix. Gallagher's methods are unusual in the extreme and kept from his employers. As he and his data geeks travel deep into the data, sieving the red-hot web searches of the unsuspecting electorate, it becomes clear that sex sells.

When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D’Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her ‘cousin’ Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.

The tale of spirited farmer Bathsheba Everdene and the three suitors who vie for her attention is the first of Hardy’s Wessex novels. Passion and tragedy abound against the backdrop of a 19th-century rural idyll, as Hardy sets the tone for his subsequent forays into the life and love stories of this fictional county.