Showing results by narrator "Virginia Ferguson" in All Categories

In the Metfield of the 1930s, you could do all of your shopping without leaving the village, have a choice of pubs and "spend happy evenings helping to dig potatoes and listening to the old boys". If this sounds too idyllic to be true, Evelyn Whiting's charming memoir of growing up in this Suffolk community is quick to remind us that making a living from the land was hard and tedious work in those days. There was no electricity and water came from the sky, or from the pond.

In 1957, the town of Honeyspoon is ill prepared for a murder mystery. In fact, most of the townspeople have never experienced a violent death until a shocking murder in the small town sets everyone on edge. Mrs. Nancy Peabody is a widow of very limited means. Her life is drab and lonely so she can’t avoid the temptation offered by the party line she shares with two of her neighbors.

In the 1940s, Veronica Lake stirred a nation of filmgoers into a frenzy with her memorable screen performances and famous hairdo draped over one eye. The sultry blonde bombshell rocketed to stardom for Paramount Pictures only for it all to spiral out of control and be over in a flash. By age twenty-nine, Veronica was washed up with her career on the ash heap of movie history.

Snuffy Cod is the sole caregiver for her dying husband... okay... stop. He does die, but sometime in the future—a future she visits on and off through popovers to past and present. Snuffy’s visits occur in fits and starts via some perceived time travel portal. She embarks on these excursions several times throughout the day, hour, minute, second—sometimes simply during a thought.

Jessie Harper, a librarian with a passion for the supernatural, discovers her unique gift when her talking cat, Khan, reveals a world beyond the ordinary. Together, they embark on a journey into the dark forces hidden in the shadows of Liverpool. When Jessie's dear friend Elsie is murdered on a River Mersey ferry, Jessie's life takes an unexpected turn. Determined to unravel the mystery, Jessie, Khan, and an unlikely team of allies, including family friend George Jenkins and local detective Bill Roberts, plunge into a sinister underbelly of lies and corruption within the local council.

In 1930s England, Jessie Harper finds herself caught up in the latest case of the Dale Street Private Investigations Agency. Along with her partner George Jenkins, and Khan, the talking cat with magical powers, she sets off to London to solve the mystery of the kidnapped pedigree cats and the wealthy socialites who have received ransom demands for their beloved pets. But this case is unlike any they've faced before. Khan has gone undercover to gather information. Detective Sergeant Bill Roberts, Jessie’s mentor, is seconded from the Liverpool City Police to lead the investigation in London.

"What happens when an irresistible force encounters an immovable object?" The ancient paradox becomes a real-life problem when a woman, whose wealth and influence are matched only by her arrogance and violent temper, encounters someone with the strength of character to rival her own. It is bad enough that this new, formidable foe is a mere girl. But to make matters worse, she also happens to be the great lady's only granddaughter.

It's 412 AD, and the Roman Empire is on the brink of collapse. In Albion, Lalia gathers with fellow supplicants to call on the Goddess Cybele to aid Londinium. When a rival mob attacks, a golden orb is lost, trapping the goddess in her statue. Before she turns to stone, Cybele lays a curse on Lalia's head; she is bound in a cycle of reincarnation and death. Only the return of the orb will set her free.

In their early teens, two girls were forced to sit next to each other in school. Although they were complete opposites−one a social butterfly and the other a withdrawn bookworm−they soon realized that they shared similar hopes and dreams. Over time, against all expectations, they became best friends. Until the war broke out.

When Good Guys Escape plunges Tucker and Reggie further into the intricate web of mystery that promises to keep you guessing until the very end. Storied Sea Gables Inn, a bastion of history and grandeur, is the backdrop of a chilling series of murders that's left the idyllic coastal town in the throes of fear. As amateur detective extraordinaire Tucker and loyal new assistant Reggie join forces once again, their quest for justice leads them down a path riddled with danger and deception. Even in their own midst.

In this thrilling conclusion to "The Sea Gables Murders" series, the countdown to capture the killer and unravel the hidden secrets within the Florida tea room intensifies. As we reach the sixth and final installment, titled "Finally," the suspense reaches its peak. As zero hour approaches, the race is on for Laird's men to locate Reggie, ensuring her safety. With every passing hour without any word, Tucker takes matters into his own hands, diligently seeking new clues that could lead them in the right direction.

Carla Bass, an interior decorator and wannabe sleuth, moves to Braga, Portugal, for her husband’s career. When a nervous wine seller accidentally slips a bottle of Port into Carla's bag, she later attempts to return it to him – only to find his body slumped behind the counter. The last person to see him alive, she’s forced to remain in the country and decides to do a little investigating on her own.

Marika is a social worker trying to heal her drug addict clients, but she can't seem to mend her damaged self. She avoids love because love sits too close to death. Her choices have left her carefully ordered life a lonely, disconnected one. Everything is about to change. Big-hearted, quirky, emotionally walled-off Marika embarks on a plan that ultimately forces her to confront the very thing she's spent her life avoiding: love.

In the snow-kissed splendor of Regency England, a jaded lord with a scandalous past and a heartbroken lady determined to avoid love find themselves irresistibly drawn together in a chance meeting. Lady Eleanor Winthrop has sworn off marriage after a broken engagement. Her fierce independence and sharp wit are her shields against a world that has let her down. Lord Alexander Harrington, Marquess Rockingham, is a dashing rake with a reputation as notorious as it is scandalous.

Alenushka's Tales is a series of whimsical stories inspired by careful observation and great love of nature, written by Dmitrey Mamin-Sibiryak for his daughter Alena (Alenushka).

Fenella Conyers, a distant Raynham connection, unexpectedly appears at Beaumatin, the ancestral home of the Barons Raynham, with a request and a gift. After a life spent roaming the globe, she wants to settle down in the Cotswolds and asks if her noble cousin has an empty cottage where she could stay until she can find her own place. The gift is an extremely rare snowdrop—a yellow “spiky” that Fenella mysteriously acquired in her travels and which she has named Mystic Mayhem.

Christina Georgina Rossetti is the youngest of four siblings in a close-knit, creative Anglo-Italian family. A spirited child like her brother, Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, in adolescence she struggles with being sickly and depressed. She emerges "a dove on a solitary branch," realizing her voice through writing, most exceptionally poetry.

A beautifully detailed, emotionally intense story by a Ukrainian writer Olga Kobylanska describes a relationship between three roommates - three very different young women, whose diverse personalities and life goals causes their union to oscillate wildly between the jarring dissonance and the perfect harmony.

Love. Passion. Duty. The ties that bind, but can they set you free? In the opulent world of 19th-century England, where reputation and decorum are everything, Lady Cecilia Harrington's heart beats to a different rhythm. As the Duke of Harrington's daughter, her life is mapped out with lavish balls, couture gowns, and an impending engagement to Lord Ashworth, London's most eligible bachelor. However, beneath the glimmering chandeliers and behind the velvet curtains, a forbidden romance begins to kindle.

Henry Dawson, sorcerer and apothecary assistant, works to support his mother and younger siblings after his father’s investments and consequent death leave them penniless. Invited to woo a reclusive heiress with magical empathy, he reluctantly accepts, despite a preference for earning his own way. Emma Ainsworth fears smallpox scars and her hypersensitivity to others’ thoughts make her ineligible for marriage. Sheltered by her aunt and uncle, she has withdrawn from most social life and wears a veil whenever she must go out.