Showing results by narrator "Clare Corbett" in All Categories

Detective Lauren Pengelly has only been part of the Penzance police force for less than two years, but that’s enough time to know that the sleepy Cornish town doesn’t see many murders. So, when the bones of a woman with a hole in her skull are discovered behind a derelict cottage, she immediately assumes the worst. Rallying her team, Lauren is flooded with a strange sense of relief when the bones turn out to be almost twenty years old, not a recent victim. But it quickly turns to dread when she receives her second heart-stopping call of the day–a little girl, Isla, has been kidnapped.

I've been in love with Luke Daniels since, well, forever. As his sister's best friend, I've spent over a decade living in the friend zone, watching from the sidelines hoping he would notice me, pick me, love me. I want the fairy tale, and Luke is my Prince Charming. He's tall, with shoulders so broad he blocks out the sun. He's kind with a smile so dazzling he makes me forget everything that's wrong in the world. And he's the only man that can make me laugh until my cheeks hurt and my stomach cramps.

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families let alone raise them. But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality tv show.

DS Whitney Walker wants a promotion, but it’s hard when she’s trying to balance motherhood with a career. When a newborn baby is kidnapped from the local hospital, she draws on her skills as a mother to help. Despite being ordered not to, and when the leads are going nowhere, Walker enlists the help of a local journalist who’s convinced it’s the work of an international baby smuggling ring. Walker’s plan backfires and she fears they’re running out of time.

Normal Women is a radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen – but of social and cultural change, powered by the determination, persistence and effectiveness of women – from 1066 to modern times. Did women really do nothing to shape England’s culture and traditions in nine centuries of turmoil, plague, famine, religious reform and the rise of empire and industry?

Returning to the universe of Revenger, award-winning author Alastair Reynolds delivers another thrilling tale set among the stars. Two sisters ran away from home to join the crew of a spaceship. They took on pirates, faced down monsters and survived massacres...and now they're in charge. Captaining a fearsome ship of their own, adventures are theirs for the taking - and there's hoards to loot and treasures to find in the darkest reaches of space. But the rules are also more relaxed out on the fringes, as they're about to discover....

Dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage, bringing with them all the fabulous wealth, glamour and sophistication of the Gilded Age. Anne de Courcy sets the stories of these young women and their families in the context of their times. Based on extensive firsthand research, drawing on diaries, memoirs and letters, this richly entertaining group biography reveals what they thought of their new lives in England - and what England thought of them.

They call him Dr. Perfect. I call him Dr. Aloof, Dr. Arrogant, Dr. If-you're-going-to-fire-me-just-get-it-over-with. If I had other options, I'd quit, but I need this job. Badly. So I jump at the chance to impress him by hand-delivering some important documents.

The Other Woman by debut author Sandie Jones is a gripping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Michelle Frances' The Girlfriend and B A Paris' Behind Closed Doors. There's nothing that this mother wouldn't do for her son.... Emily thinks Adam's perfect: the man she always hoped but never thought she'd meet. But lurking in the shadows is a rival, a woman who shares a deep bond with the man she loves. A mother whose love for her son knows no bounds.

Alex, Lucy, River and Bridget. Four people with one thing in common: they are all being stalked. Their lives are filled with daily terror. Always watching. Always waiting. And never knowing what – or who – is hiding in the shadows. But this group of four used to be five, until the terrible day their friend Nat was followed home by her stalker. Coming together for Nat’s funeral, they are handed a wreath saying RIP. However, this isn’t a wreath in memory of Nat – it’s for them, with a card dated in ten days’ time. It’s a clear message: in ten days, one of them will die.

Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a shocking message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their home was once a real-life murder house, with the evidence still concealed within the four walls.

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed.

Even the greatest love stories end. But what if this one didn’t have to? Emma is having the worst day of her life. Frustrating. Chaotic. And the only person who could make it better is dead by the end of the day. Yet even worse than all of that: Emma keeps waking up to the same day, over and over again. But what if this is a sign things could be different? Can Emma change the heartbreaking end to this love story?

Living in peace in her lilac wood, the Unicorn didn't know the world had changed, or that anything had happened to the rest of her kind. Overhearing a chance conversation, she resolves to venture out and discover the truth. The road is dangerous, and the risks are great. If she fails, then unicorns will be lost. Forever.

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway has excavated a body from the grounds of Norwich Castle, a forbidding edifice that was once a prison. She believes the body may be that of infamous Victorian murderess Jemima Green. Called Mother Hook for her claw-like hand, Jemima was hanged in 1867 for the murder of five children in her care. DCI Harry Nelson has no time for long-dead killers.

The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.... Captain Rackamore and his crew do.

Shortlisted for the 2014 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least 30 years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower. After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass, Tsukiko and Sensei come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.

An irresistible, heart-warming novel from the much-loved author of numerous Sunday Times best sellers, including A Walk in the Park and To the Moon and Back. Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope? Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood.

Ever proposed marriage on a first date? To a guy you first met covered in whipped cream? (I haven't even mentioned the bit where he won our date at an auction) There's no ring in my pocket, but I really hope he says yes. Not because I'm in love with him—that would be ridiculous. He needs to impress my father and I need access to my trust fund. That's all our union will be about.

Shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library. Ruth Galloway has just returned from maternity leave and is struggling to juggle work and motherhood. When a team from the University of North Norfolk, investigating coastal erosion, finds six bodies buried at the foot of the cliff, she is immediately put on the case. DCI Nelson is investigating, but Ruth finds this more hindrance than help – Nelson is the father of her daughter, Kate. Still, she remains professional and concentrates on the case at hand.