Showing results by narrator "Emma Gregory" in All Categories

Heather has lucked out. She has a beautiful house, a happy marriage to James Jessop, with two sons — and she’s just won the lottery. £29 million! Natalie has never quite kept up, but she’s finally in a relationship with a new boyfriend, Nick. She’s been best friends with Heather since they were bullied at school. But will her friend’s new fortune change their friendship? The Jessops’ comfortable life dissolves into chaos. Heather starts receiving anonymous, hateful messages. She begs Natalie to escape with her to Spain, but away from the spotlight in London, things go from bad to worse.

THAT NIGHT. Lisa remembers the first part of the night: an evening in the pub with her best friend. Then nothing. She wakes up, days later. She’s in hospital. Her best friend is dead. WHAT HAPPENED? Lisa holes up in a remote country cottage, plagued by guilt and flashbacks: how did their assailant know them? Why were they attacked? And what really happened that night? With only vague memories of the event, she cuts herself off from friends and family, spending her days wandering the hills with her dog, Riley.

A brother sent away. A sister in a loveless home. A father ruthlessly murdered. Ricky and Leonora Bates are brother and sister, best friends, allies in a loveless family. They are a constant disappointment to their domineering father. He views Ricky’s quiet bookishness as weakness and Leonora’s feisty intelligence as unbecoming. Then Ricky is sent away to a boarding school in South Africa to “toughen him up”. And Leonora is stuck dealing with her dysfunctional parents on her own. The unthinkable happens. Leonora’s father travels to South Africa to bring Ricky home. Disaster strikes.

There are few labels not attached to Aphra Behn - playwright, poet, a spy, a scarlet woman condemned for loose morals. And yet, for all her notoriety Aphra Behn is an enigma. Born in around 1640, her early life isn't well recorded and facts about her are continually disputed. Her birth name may have been Eaffrey Johnson and she could have been the daughter of a Canterbury barber, although neither fact is certain. And, just after the Restoration she probably briefly lived in the English colony of Surinam in South America, where she was perhaps embroiled in political espionage.

Going from princess to pauper wasn’t exactly the fairy-tale ending Penelope Hastings believed in as a kid. She grabs at the opportunity to work at Camp Firefly Falls - home of her most treasured childhood memories and the haven where her spoiled heart expanded and her perspective changed after an encounter with an older boy. Now, she’s hoping that the camp can work its magic one more time and help her craft a new life.

Sylvie Armstrong has been running from her past for 20 years - until her mother's death forces her to return to her hometown along with her newborn daughter. Overwhelmed by grief in her childhood home, Sylvie tries to block out the memories that surround her - but then someone leaves a gift on her doorstep: a gold necklace with a heart-shaped locket. This locket belonged to Sylvie's best friend, Victoria Preston - and she was wearing it the night she died. Somebody knows what really happened to Victoria, and Sylvie has to know the truth. But is she in terrible danger?

Anna has everything worked out - a successful company, all the comforts she needs and no ties. But when she stumbles across the body of a young girl on a deserted beach in Lithuania, everything changes. Anna is compelled to uncover the story behind the tragedy, despite concern from her partner, Will. Everything points towards sex trafficking, but as she searches, her own deepest secrets start to surface. When Will disappears without a trace, Anna is pulled further into the murky world of organised crime. Time is running out, and there's a killer out there who will stop at nothing. 

Having dropped out of university, Harmony returns to the site of the urban commune where she lived as a child, now divided into flats. She rents a room in the hope of uncovering the source of her nightmares about a redheaded woman who haunts the house and her obsession with lost objects from her childhood. As the London riots explode in the streets, the two hot summers converge, blurred by the drugs and sex and cheap wine, and Harmony begins to discover what really happened at Longhope 20 years ago. Can she grow up at last and build her own future?

Essential hacks to bring breathing space into busyness. Is stress taking over your life? Are you worn out, flat out or continually going all out? Can you be more own-worse-enemy than own-best-friend? Keeping up with life’s demands can be relentless. Stress can morph you into someone you don’t want to be, living a life you don’t want to live. If you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, and can’t see the wood for the trees - fear not! Stresshacking is full of simple strategies to help you. 

Maire Anne McCartney is recruited for a one-off IRA mission as a honey trap. She is told there will be no violence. But she has been lied to. To save herself, 18-year-old Maire must flee across the border alone and start a new life. Human rights lawyer Anne-Marie Gallagher is appointed Minister of State for Security and Immigration. At the same time, the police in Belfast receive an anonymous tip-off. The password is verified from the Troubles - and the coordinates lead DCI Jon Carne to a field. And a body.

It is 10 years since Ella's sister Miranda disappeared without trace, leaving her young baby behind. Chilling new evidence links Miranda to the horrifying Jason Thorne, now in prison for murdering several women. Is it possible that Miranda knew him? At 30, Miranda's age when she vanished, Ella looks uncannily like the sister she idolized. What holds Ella together is her love for her sister's child and her work as a self-defence expert helping victims.

Dan's life has fallen apart at the seams. He's lost his house and his job, and now he's going to lose his family, too. All he's ever wanted is to keep them together, but is everything beyond repair? Maria is drowning in grief. She spends her days writing letters that will never be answered. Nights are spent trying to hold terrible memories at bay, to escape the pain that threatens to engulf her. Jack wakes up confused and alone. He doesn't know who he is, how he got there, or why he finds himself on a deserted clifftop, but will piecing together the past leave him a broken man?

Eve Sturridge, a high-flying divorcee and mother of two girls, is head teacher of Ivy House, an Ofsted 'Outstanding' prep school in Sussex. Eve is passionate about her school and its pupils. When Danish power couple Stefan and Anette Sorenson jet in and choose Ivy House over other schools, Eve is justifiably proud. The Sorensons are A-listers who bring an aura of style and power to Ivy House. Zoe is Eve's pretty 17-year-old daughter. Unlike her mother, Zoe's not so keen on school.

When Grace Manners takes up residence on Wittering Manor estate, she little realises working alongside eccentric Fraser Stratton will change her life. Grace has struggled to make ends meet, and the little cottage on the estate is both a refuge and a workshop for her jewellery business. It's only when Grace uncovers the story behind a diamond brooch she inherited that she becomes drawn into a family secret that threatens to destroy what little she has left....

In the summer of 1983, when Helen is 16, the Dover family move in next door. She is infatuated with the bohemian Dovers, especially the petulant and charming Victoria. But the summer ends suddenly one tumultuous evening, and the next day Helen wakes up to discover that the family have simply disappeared. What went wrong that summer's evening? Why does Helen feel like something terrible happened?

Lily McCain is cursed. With just one touch she can see a person’s future, whether it’s a good fortune or a terrible fate. Afraid of the potent visions she foresees, she distances herself from the world, succumbing to a life of solitude. But at the touch of a mysterious stranger – who has powers of his own – Lily sees a new, chilling future for herself: one where she is fated to make a terrible choice.

This is a story from the Dragon Tales collection.

This is a story from the Dragon Tales collection.

This Valentine's Day, Roxy Squires is waiting for the phone to ring …Roxy is famous. At least, she used to be. She's a good-time TV presenter and, OK, so things haven't been going so well recently, but she knows her big break is just around the corner. What she's really looking for is someone to propel her back to the big time. Enter Woody, one-time pop star and Roxy's ultimate dream date, now working as her window cleaner. He's the answer to her prayers – but for some reason, he doesn't want to be famous any more. And it turns out that they're not the only celebs in the village.

Here is a collection of four delightful dragon stories by two master writers for children: "The Reluctant Dragon" by Kenneth Grahame and "The Island of the Nine Whirlpools", "The Fiery Dragon", and "The Last Dragon" by Edith Nesbit. Presented with lively music and even the occasional amusing sound effect.