Showing results by narrator "Genevieve Swallow"

Growing up in London in the aftermath of the Second World War, Ruth is a thoughtful child who finds herself in a confusing adult world. She seeks refuge in her memories of her idyllic stays with her grandparents in the picturesque countryside, which provide comforting visions of a simpler life. As she comes to terms with her surroundings and her adolescence, Ruth finds the motivation to pursue the dream which has governed her childhood, discovering family secrets along the way.

Arethusa Clayton has always been formidable, used to getting her own way. On her death, she leaves unexpected instructions. Instead of being buried in America, on the wealthy East Coast where she and her late husband raised their two children, Arethusa has decreed that her ashes be scattered in a remote corner of Ireland, on the hills overlooking the sea. All Arethusa ever told Faye was that she grew up in a poor farming family and left Ireland, alone, to start a new life in America, as did so many in those times of hardship and famine. 

Elizabeth is a gifted surgeon - the only female consultant at her hospital. But while operating on a young woman with life-threatening blood poisoning, something goes horribly wrong. In the midst of a new scheme to publicly report surgeons' performance, her colleagues begin to close ranks, and Elizabeth's life is thrown into disarray. Tough and abrasive, Elizabeth has survived and succeeded in this most demanding, palpably sexist field. But can she survive a single mistake?  

Tamsin and her best friend, Michelle, have been inseparable since they were teenagers. Even now they spend all their time together, along with Patrick, Michelle's handsome husband. So when Tamsin hears a rumour that Patrick is having an affair, she is furious and plots a scheme to catch him in the act using her assistant, Bea, as live bait. It should be foolproof. After all, Tamsin can trust Bea with anything...or can she?

Martha Wallace came to Dublin from her home in America to find her birth mother. But instead she has lost her heart to the impossibly charming JP Deverill. Bridie Doyle, now mistress of Castle Deverill, is determined to make the castle she used to work in her home. But her flamboyant husband, Cesare, has other ideas. Kitty Deverill has come to terms with her life with her husband, Robert. But then Jack O'Leary, the love of her life, returns to Ballinakelly....

The field of mind-body medicine is plagued by wild claims that mislead patients and instil false hope. But as scientists in a range of fields uncover solid evidence that our minds influence our bodies quite profoundly, there is now great promise, too. Jo Marchant attempts to use scientific research to find out if alternative medicines work; if our thoughts, beliefs and emotions influence our physical health; and if we can train our brains to heal our bodies.

Lizzie has always had bad luck. Losing her heart to her boss leads to her losing her job, and with no money in the bank Lizzie finds herself forced to move back home with her parents. Now in her 90s, Mrs Dallimore is also coming to terms with her situation. Old age is finally catching up with her. As they form the bond of unexpected friendship, Lizzie begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck and that sometimes life has a way of surprising you....

Beth has always known there was something strange about her daughter, Hannah. The lack of emotion, the disturbing behaviour, the apparent delight in hurting others...sometimes Beth is scared of her and what she could be capable of. Luke comes from the perfect family, with the perfect parents. But one day he disappears without trace, and his girlfriend, Clara, is left desperate to discover what has happened to him. As Clara digs into the past, she realises that no family is truly perfect and uncovers a link between Luke’s long-lost sister and a strange girl named Hannah....

West Cork, Ireland, 1900. The year marks the start of a new century and the birth of three very different women: Kitty Deverill, the flame-haired Anglo-Irish daughter of the castle; Bridie Doyle, the daughter of the Irish cook; and Celia Deverill, Kitty's flamboyant English cousin. Together they grow up in the dreamy grounds of the family's grand estate, Castle Deverill. Yet their peaceful way of life will soon be threatened by Ireland's struggle for independence.

It is 1925, and the war is long over. But much has been lost, and life will never be quite the same. Castle Deverill, cherished ancestral home to the Deverill family in the west of Ireland, has burned to the ground. Young and flighty Celia Deverill is determined to restore the sad ruins to its former glory. But dark shadows are gathering once more as the financial markets start to shake, and everything that felt so certain is thrown once again into doubt....

Adam Hamilton-Shaw has more reason than most to avoid commitment. Living on a houseboat in the Severn Valley, his dream is to sail into the sunset - preferably with a woman waiting in every port. Would-be screenplay writer Sienna Meadows realises that everything about Adam spells trouble - but she can't ignore the intense physical attraction that exists between them. But can Adam change his damaging behaviour - or is the road to destruction a one-way street?

Kate returns from a post-break-up holiday with her girlfriends to news of a serial killer in her hometown - and his victims all look like her. It could, of course, be a simple coincidence. Or maybe not. She becomes convinced she is being watched, followed even. Is she next? And could her mild-mannered ex-boyfriend really be a deranged murderer? Or is the truth something far more sinister?

Mataura is a small town in rural New Zealand where, apart from the odd tractor theft, nothing very interesting happens. But when the body of a young mother is found washed up on the banks of the Mataura River, the small rural community is rocked by her tragic suicide. All is not what it seems, however. Sam Shephard, sole-charge police constable in the town, soon discovers the death was no suicide and has to face the realisation that there is a killer in town. To complicate the situation, the murdered woman was the wife of Sam's former lover. 

DC Sam Shephard is stationed in Dunedin CIB, a newbie at the bottom of the pecking order. When a young university student is found battered to death and floating in the Leith, she is pushed to one side by her boss and only given grunt work. Despite this, it is Sam who discovers that there has been a string of unsolved murders on the South Island, and that each has occurred while a travelling circus was in town - the same circus that is presently in Dunedin.

The town of Shadowvel in the Realm of Shyish lies outwith the domains of Neferata, Mortarch of Blood - but that does not make its inhabitants safe from her displeasure...Shadowvel has stood for centuries against all the hordes of Chaos thrown against it. But Neferata would see it fall, and the Maggotkin hordes of the Children of the Bell are the perfect weapon to wield against the spirits of Shadowvel. And none are better at manipulating a foe than Neferata....

Plying the stars and forgotten backwaters of the Imperium, Rogue Trader Captain Athene Santiago and her eclectic crew are chasing pirates when their quarry inexplicably vanishes, only to return a moment later. Unwilling to let her bounty go unclaimed, Santiago ventures aboard the now stricken vessel, but what she finds defies reason and leads to a discovery of something ancient and terrifying that could threaten not only her crew and her ship but the entire sector.

In this no-holds-barred collection of essays, prominent women authors, journalists and TV personalities explore the truth about becoming mothers. Covering topics from labour to the breastapo, twins to IVF, weaning to post-birth sex, and with writers including Cathy Kelly, Adele Parks, Kathy Lette and Lucy Porter and many more, Things I Wish I’d Known is a reassuring, moving and often hilarious collection that will speak to mothers - and mothers-to-be - everywhere.

I've taken your daughter as punishment for what you did.... Prepare to be gripped by the heart-stopping new thriller from the author of The Madam. South London detective Sarah Mason is a single mother. It's a tough life, but Sarah gets by. She and her ex-husband, fellow detective Adam Boyd, adore their 15-month-old daughter, Molly. Until Sarah's world falls apart when she receives a devastating threat: her daughter has been taken, and the abductor plans to raise Molly as their own, as punishment for something Sarah did.

When Mirka gets a job in a country house in England, she has no idea of the struggle she faces to make sense of a very English couple and a way of life entirely alien to her. Richard and Sophie are chaotic, drunken, frequently outrageous but also warm, generous and kind, despite their turbulent marriage. After a traumatic break two years ago with her family in Slovakia, Mirka finds she is happy at Fairmont Hall. But when she tells Sophie that she is gay, everything she values is put in danger....

Crime reporter Beth Chambers is committed to uncovering the truth - and she's not afraid of bending the rules to get there. When troubled soap star Megan Fuller is found stabbed to death in her South London home, all eyes are on her ex-husband - the notorious gangster Danny Shapiro. Determined to expose Danny as a cold-blooded killer, Beth obsessively pursues him. But in her hunt for the truth, her family are set to pay the ultimate price.