Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

Welcome to Malory Towers, where there's more to life than lessons! Felicity Rivers is excited to be Head Girl of the third form and there are three new girls to help settle in this term. But Felicity's in for a shock when someone starts playing spiteful tricks. The girls suspect an old enemy is...

Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders' war—and Max is determined to protect her at all costs. But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye's power to claim an impossible victory. And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic. All the while, darker forces loom—far darker, even, than the Orders' secrets.

Welcome to Malory Towers, where there's more to life than lessons! Mischievous Daffy loves playing tricks, but when she goes too far there are a few surprises in store... Meanwhile, there's something so familiar about new pupil Alice. The girls are certain they've met her before - could she be...

Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid Gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself: first, by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret...until one dark and stormy night.

The Princess Companion: This retelling of the classic fairy tale The Princess and the Pea reimagines the risks and rewards that come when one royal family goes searching for a true princess. The Princess Fugitive: In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, the girl in the red hood has been swallowed up by the wolf and must decide if she's willing to fight for her freedom. Happily Ever Afters: Sarah and Evelyn have already risked everything to help Ava win a crown. But they soon learn that a coronation is a beginning.

Writer Karen Walker knows more than most about murderers. Her first love went on to become The Bagman, a notorious serial killer now locked away for life in a maximum-security prison. Karen has spent her life running from the weight of having loved him, defended him and, ultimately, leading the police to his door. But now, ten years later, just as she’s about to publish her account of his crimes, a young woman is abducted in horribly familiar circumstances.

In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her people's fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Max's mind is a shadow of what it once was . . . leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Ara's new, ruthless queen. Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.

Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton.... The land was filled with beauty, but it was also splintered by war. Out of the chaos grew a conspiracy to reawaken the Beast, a fearsome creature who wrought only tragedy and devastation. The only way to stop him was to fulfill an ancient prophecy: Triton’s four strongest warriors must wed its four most powerful witches, binding all nations together and finally bringing peace to the land.

'Alison Weir transforms Henry VIII's much-maligned fourth wife into a woman of passion, courage and mystery' Tracy Borman Alison Weir, historian and author of the Sunday Times bestsellers Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession and Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen...

The first three fairy tale retellings from the Return to the Four Kingdoms series: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl, The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella, and The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin. These interconnected fairy tale retellings each feature a different heroine who finds herself friendless in a strange land and who must fight to save her new home and win her happily ever after.

Rachel lives a quiet life in the peaceful countryside, content with her perfect man and her lovely dog. But when she stumbles upon a body in the woods one day, all that shatters. She knows what she has to do: run. Don’t get accused of murder. But when this victim is identified as her boyfriend’s estranged wife, Rachel realises she’s already the prime suspect. With mounting evidence against her, Rachel’s only hope is to keep her past well hidden.

The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill.

The second set of interconnected stand-alone fairy tale retellings from the Four Kingdoms series includes The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin, A Midwinter's Wedding: A Retelling of The Frog Prince, and The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty....

It's nearly Christmas in Oxford, and Detective Inspector Bridget Hart is enjoying a rare day off at Oxford's Christmas Market. A ghost tour seems like a fun way to round off the day. Until, that is, a brutal murder brings the evening to a tragic close. Torn between work and family commitments over the festive season, Bridget soon discovers that the ghost of Christmas past is reaching out to the present with fatal consequences.

When Dr. Nathan Frost, a lecturer in German literature at Oxford University, is invited to a lavish party at the country house of a wealthy businessman, he knows there'll be a price to pay. After all, as an expert on the legend of Faust and Mephistopheles, he can recognize a deal with the devil easily enough. But even he's not expecting such a sinister end to the evening.

The complete SIX TUDOR QUEENS short-story collection by acclaimed historian and SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING author, Alison Weir. 'This brilliant series has brought Henry VIII's six wives to life as never before' TRACY BORMAN 'Detailed, immaculately researched and convincing' THE TIMES 'Lingers long...

Welcome to Malory Towers, where there's more to life than lessons! Summer at Malory Towers means picnics, swimming and horse-riding. There are also the usual tricks to play and secrets to keep, but no one was expecting a mystery to solve. So when a horse is stolen from the riding school run by...

The sea gives life, but it also takes it away ... A dark and thrilling tale about mermaids and sea-magic, love, betrayal and revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author of After the Forest Winner - Best Fantasy Novel at the Aurealis Awards 2025 Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. To Lucinde Leon...

Welcome to Malory Towers, where there's more to life than lessons! This term the fourth-formers are busy planning for the school Christmas concert, but that doesn't stop them plotting tricks too! Susan is supposed to be in charge of the play but bossy Sylvia wants to take over, and new teacher...

Britain is in shambles, as it recovers from the cataclysm of WWI. Although the war has ended, it takes effort to preserve the peace against hidden enemies striving to undermine or replace the government. There is a desperate need for recruits to fight this invisible war. Sophie Burgoyne can trace her lineage back to the ancient French kings and dukes of twelve centuries ago.A long pedigree doesn't help her when she only has a few pounds in the bank. Sophie knows she must take action, or she and her father, the vicar of Havering-under-Lyme, will face the horrors of genteel impoverishment.