Showing results by narrator "Karen Cass" in All Categories

Joy has made a family for herself. She's turned her beautiful old farmhouse into a safe haven for anyone who is looking for a new beginning. She's always ready with a kind word, a nugget of advice and believes that anyone can change their life for the better, if they really want to. Libby has exchanged her high-flying job in New York for a break in the quiet Somerset countryside. She's soon drawn into Joy's world and into her family of waifs and strays—including Drew, whom Joy once helped get back on his feet.

Justine Picardie’s definitive biography explores the dark mysteries hidden beneath the shimmering surface of a fabled fashion icon. Unveiling remarkable details about Coco Chanel’s traumatic childhood and her flight into unconventional adulthood, this beautifully constructed portrait reveals her passionate and painful past, her turbulent loves and losses, her quest for fame and fortune, and how she transformed herself into her own most powerful creation.

At age 23, the petite Lady Margery has already graced the rows of wallflowers for many a season. With the one exception of Charles, the Marquess of Edgecombe, the only man who ever dances with her, Lady Margery will have nothing to do with men; what's more, she does not even particularly like Charles. Bored beyond words, she firmly decides this to be the end of it all and returns to the comfort of her only love, her home at Chelmswood. But she does not find comfort, not even there.

Based on two lectures Woolf delivered at the University of Cambridge, A Room of One’s Own compellingly argues for women’s intellectual freedom and the importance of financial independence. It is still considered one of the most powerful pieces of feminist writing to this day. Published in 1929, A Room of One’s Own asserts a simple message: in order for women to reach their full creative potential, they must have their own money and space with which to do it with.

When Mary Corbet walks into private investigator Jennie Redhead's rundown Oxford office one pleasant spring day in 1974, she is a desperate woman. Although she's convinced her daughter has been murdered, she can get neither the police nor her husband to agree with her. Jennie is not convinced either, but more out of compassion than conviction agrees to take the case. The only clue she has to go on is a fragment of an obscure 17th-century poem she finds in Linda's bedroom.

Award-winning and critically acclaimed historian Helen Rappaport turns to the tragic story of the daughters of the last Tsar of all the Russias, slaughtered with their parents at Ekaterinburg. On 17 July 1918, four young women walked down 23 steps into the cellar of a house in Ekaterinburg. The eldest was 22, the youngest only 17. Together with their parents and their 13-year-old brother, they were all brutally murdered. Their crime: to be the daughters of the last Tsar and Tsaritsa of All the Russias.

When Dani's boyfriend (and boss!) dumps her for a younger model, the only silver lining she can see is to be able to spend Christmas at home with her family after years away. Determined to surprise them, Dani turns up unannounced in her hometown, excited to see that the festive season in Marram Bay is in full swing with Christmas lights twinkling on every corner. But disaster strikes when she finds her parents' house is empty and they appear to have gone away on holiday!

Deedee Merriman loves her job running a travel agency but with turnover down and a big birthday fast approaching she’s thinking about the next chapter of her life and the changes she wants to make. Determined to stay vibrant and keep a youthful outlook on life she invites her friends, Gina and Rosie to celebrate with her in New York, one of her favourite places and where she feels closest to her late husband, Joe. On arrival, there’s a surprise, secret gift in store for Deedee of a small, ramshackle beach house in the beautiful Hamptons. But the house isn’t the only secret.

Ruby Wood is perfectly happy playing the dating game – until she has a red-hot dream about her very attractive flatmate, Nick. He might spend every day saving lives as a junior doctor, but he’s absolutely the last man on earth that fun-loving Ruby would ever date! The solution? Focus on all of Nick’s bad points. And if that fails, up her dating antics and find herself a man. So what if she manages to make disapproving, goody two-shoes Nick jealous in the process…

For NHS Nurse Lucie Burrows, it's time to put the past behind her and embrace Greek life. Finally free from the UK restrictions, Lucie is excited for the summer of 2021. When her best friend, Gavin, finds the perfect Greek island getaway, Lucie is sure that this holiday to Corfu is going to be one to remember. But when a landslide puts the village into a local lockdown, Lucie is thrown together with Michalis Andino, the super sexy village doctor. It's not quite the escape she had planned, but things could certainly be worse.

When four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to spend the summer, all is clearly not well. They find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their only daughter, five years before. No one seems any closer to finding out the truth. Why did Audrey vanish? Who is keeping her fate secret? As the sisters are lured into the mystery of their missing cousin, the stifling summer takes a shocking, deadly turn. One which will leave blood on their hands, and put another girl in danger decades later.

Lisa Darling - high-flying TV-exec and twice-divorced mother-of-two - has enough on her plate without having to deal with the handsome New Yorker parachuted in to her best friend's job at work. She's already navigating life with a grotty teenage son, organising a PTA cheese & wine event, supporting her oldest friend through breast cancer treatment and, since she hit 47, facing a new perimenopause symptom every day. It's no wonder she never has time for Pilates or that DIY panelling she keeps seeing on Instagram...

Things haven’t always been straightforward in Poppy’s life but her dreams are finally within her reach. She's moving into a cottage in beautiful Nightingale Square, close to the local community garden, where she can indulge her passion for making preserves and pickles. She may not have the best relationship with her family but she is surrounded by loving friends, and feels sure that even her grumpy new neighbour, Jacob, has more to him than his steely exterior belies.

In need of an escape from her failing marriage, Nia agrees to house-sit her aunt’s cottage on the Isle of Wight. She feels sure the cosy close in a quaint harbour town will be a safe place to hide and figure out what to do next. But things are not all as they seem in the close, and the neighbours who welcome her with open arms, are keeping secrets. When Nia finds the body of one of her new friends lying on the beach, she feels sickeningly sure that the killer is dangerously near to home.

Harper Jenkins has her dream job. As Celebrity Editor at a glossy weekend magazine, she's known for persuading tight-lipped Hollywood stars to open up, landing her exclusive stories and a great reputation. Everything's perfect - that is, until her awful boss hires hotshot reporter Ryan as the new Features Editor. Harper is furious: she remembers Ryan from a decade ago, when they were both interns together. Harper had mistakenly thought Ryan was someone she could trust - until he betrayed her in the worst way possible. They've never spoken since.

2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband—a famous university professor—to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation. Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism...and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love.

After calling off her engagement, Hayley, the Wynthorpe Hall housekeeper, wants nothing more than to return to her no-strings fun-loving self, avoiding any chance of future heartbreak. Little does she know, Wynbridge’s latest arrival is about to throw her plan entirely off course.... Moving into Wynthorpe Hall to escape the town’s gossip, Hayley finds herself immersed in the eccentric Connelly family’s festive activities as they plan to host their first ever Winter Wonderland. But Hayley isn’t the only new resident at the hall....

Olivia can’t believe it when her boyfriend, Teddy, proposes out of the blue. She loves him (of course she does!) BUT it does seem sudden, especially when they don’t even live together yet. There is only one place that Olivia has ever wanted to get married - a gorgeous venue on the Cornish coast, built by her grandfather. The problem is they only have one date available - and it's only a few weeks away! Olivia isn't so sure about rushing but Teddy jumps at the chance to be married within the month. Thrown into a whirlwind of wedding planning, alarm bells start to ring for Olivia.

Sophie is a girl about town - living the party lifestyle with Daddy footing the bill. But when she gets embroiled in a scandalous affair, she is thrown out of home and left to fend for herself on the mean streets of London. Scraping a living as a cleaner in a photographic studio, living in a bedsit on the Old Kent Road, eating baked beans from the can - this is one spectacular fall from grace. On top of that, she is papped by photographers every time she leaves the flat, with her so-called friends laughing at her downfall.

Charlie Stone and Terry Barton have been blood brothers since the cradle. They grew up in the East End skimming along the bottom of the underworld until Charlie takes over the manor from the local mob and a twist of fate puts him and his best mate on the road to the high life. When Charlie and Terry both marry and have kids, everything is set. Both families have everything they ever wanted. However, things start to turn sour between the families when Charlie’s adopted son, Harlan, starts to cause trouble.