Showing results by narrator "Cat Gould" in All Categories

A man is found stabbed to death on the Southampton morning commuter train. But why can't Detective Sophie Allen's team find out anything about his history? And why was he staying in a house that seems to be owned by a government security unit? Then there is another stabbing, this time in a refuge for abused women. And again, Sophie can find very little about the victim's life.

At a summer journalism course for teens in Tasmania, privileged Samira, from a conservative, political family, and over-achiever country girl Alex bang heads. While covering a news story together, their fiery clashes turn into first love. But when things fall apart, they're left hurting. A year later, they discover they're both interning for the same university student paper. Awkward isn't even the start of the tension between them. One thing that hasn't died is the attraction between them.

The Fragile Earth tells the story of climate change - its past, present and future - taking listeners from Greenland to the Great Plains and into both laboratories and rain forests. It features some of the best writing on global warming from the last three decades, including Bill McKibben’s seminal essay ‘The End of Nature’, the first piece to popularise both the science and politics of climate change for a general audience.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a longstanding problem that has increasingly come to the forefront of international and national policy debates and news. Yet, while we frequently read or learn about particular experiences or incidents of VAWG, we are often unaware of the full picture. Author Jacqui True provides an expansive frame for understanding VAWG in this book.

Fate or destiny or a god with a really messed-up sense of humor has dropped a weapon that could rewrite the universe right into the middle of London, and anybody with half a sniff of arcane power has rocked up to stake their claim on it. Last time this happened, the city went to pieces. This time, it might just go to hell. Also, I'm still dating a vampire.

The Kellys are messy, loud, loving Australians. The Lees are sophisticated, aloof, buttoned-up Americans. They have nothing in common…except for the fact that their daughters are married. When a nearby volcano erupts during their short vacation to a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland, the two families find themselves stranded together for six weeks. With only two island employees making up the rest of their party, everyone is forced to question what—or who—they really want.

How does a mother cope when she is forced to walk away from her three children and never see them again? That is what happened to JB's mother, Myrtle. Eventually, rescued from her despair by tall, dark, and handsome George Rowley, who fell in love with her, Myrtle started a new life and had seven more children. She buried the grief of losing her first children deep within and kept her pain secret. JB and her siblings were unaware of the existence of Myrtle's first three children until after she died.

Gemma Rowe is a shy math nerd from Sydney, who, despite having an affinity for probability and logic, only just worked out at 28 that she's not actually straight. Not only is she not straight, but she's developed feelings for her best friend, Sarah. Gemma knows the logical thing to do is to get over Sarah. She wants to be in her own happy relationship and not caught up on her straight best friend. But how is she supposed to get over Sarah when she can't figure out who she's attracted to anymore?

At first glance Emma and Lucie seem very different, but they share an unspeakable vice. Beautiful, wealthy Emma appears to have it all with a loving husband and a seemingly successful life, but a restless craving has driven her to foolish actions. Meanwhile, young widow Lucie is struggling to make ends meet while coping with a troubled five-year-old.

In the sequel to A Story of Now, Claire Pearson has already learned a few things this summer. Like falling for a girl is easy. Well, it is if that girl is Mia. What Claire hasn't learned yet is that now comes the hard part: learning to trust in this new relationship. And that isn't easy when no one has ever given you a reason to trust before.

At 28, Lady Arabella Niven is gentle, sickly, and firmly on the shelf. Having disobliged her father by refusing her last chance of marriage, she has been sent in disgrace to Blackhaven with two domineering aunts. Her one wish is to be left alone in a quiet cottage to write books on history. However, everything changes when she tries to rescue a naked man apparently drowning at sea. Thus begins an odd, fun friendship that quickly becomes passionate. For Captain Alban, the hero with a shady past, is rebellious and unconventional by nature.

As part of a large, rambunctious family, Lady Eleanor Carpenter has gained some knowledge of what makes a successful marriage. She's even compiled a list of essential qualifications in a potential husband. John, the Marquis of Montagu, seems of good character (check), with money enough to support a family (check). But what of the many other requirements on her list?

Eve and Leah are identical twins - but beyond that, they’re polar opposites. Struggling journalist Leah envies Eve’s seemingly perfect life - the loyal husband, the beautiful twin daughters, the stellar career - little knowing that what Eve longs for most is Leah’s independence. When a shocking event upends their world, one woman seizes a split-second chance to change everything and follow her sister down a different life path.

A wound to the heart, a hole so deep. Can it be fixed? Or simply replaced? People lie. Those closest to me, tell the most lies. Do they not know who I am? What I'm capable of? Sometimes I wonder if they do. Because when I unravel their lies, they will be delivered to the hell I once visited. And it won't be pleasant.

City girl Luce May's first year out of high school has been the worst. When she escapes her turbulent life in Sydney to start over at a university in the middle of nowhere, the last thing she wants is anyone in her new life to know of her past. Especially that to escape her chaotic, alcoholic mother, Luce also had to abandon her teenage sister. As Luce slowly starts to find another version of herself in this place, she also finds a new family in her eclectic group of friends.

While her older sisters have sought out adventure, Lady Madeline Vivers is content to be the conventional one in the family. A respectable husband, spring and autumn in Town, a place in the country—these are Madeline's reasonable goals. And Mr. Harry Stern is not the man to help her reach them—no matter how much he causes her pulse to race. He is far too ambitious and determined to make his mark in Parliament. Yet, somehow he's convinced that Madeline is just the helpmate he needs . . .

Marriage has worked out quite nicely for her older sisters, yet Lady Augusta Vivers is certain it would end her studies in languages and geography - and stop her from travelling. But when her mother thwarts her plan to attend the only university in Europe that accepts women - in Italy - she is forced to agree to one London Season. Spending her time at parties proves an empty diversion - until she encounters the well-traveled Lord Phineas Carter-Wood.

Intelligent. Kind. Must like children. Passable looks. A man of means. Must make us laugh . . . For Lady Alice Carpenter, these are some of the "musts" on the checklist compiled with her sisters as they husband-hunt among the ton. Yet when she encounters a striking nobleman on her morning ride in Hyde Park, Alice soon tallies another list of first impressions . . . Shallow. Flirtatious. Without seriousness of purpose. Impossible to avoid.

Newly widowed, wicked Kate Crowmore is in trouble. Scandal has broken over her head, and someone is trying to kill her. When she seeks refuge in Blackhaven, she doesn't expect a clergyman to be the solution to both these problems. Tristram Grant is not just any clergyman. The cast-off, illegitimate son of an earl, and a one-time army officer of great promise, the charismatic new curate is making his mark in Blackhaven. As soon as he sees the beautiful, defiant Kate, he sets his heart on her. And he is used to achieving his goals.

A smart, provocative account of the erotic current running just beneath the surface of a stuffy and stifling Victorian London.

In 1860s London, two loosely overlapping groups of bohemians - the Cannibal Club and the Aesthetes - challenged the buttoned-up Victorian propriety to promote erotic freedom and expression. Sensually attuned and politically radical, they were among the most influential thinkers and artists of the day, from Richard Burton to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris.