Showing results by narrator "Harrie Dobby" in All Categories

It's Christmas Eve eve, and the holidays are not off to a good start for, er, Eve. After the surprise and shock of catching her boyfriend cheating, Eve—totally devastated—reacts by throwing the gifts she’s selflessly bought and wrapped for HIS family out of the window. But while doing so she discovers her own present from Chris under the Christmas tree: an engagement ring, bought at the jeweler’s where she works. What the jingle bells is going on? And what was he thinking?

When Callum Champion and his wife, Jade, win the jackpot on the lottery, they think all their dreams have come true. Until they're approached by a desperate stranger begging for help and they discover the cost of their newfound fortune might be more than they're willing to pay.

When Faith Shackleford found herself in the unenviable position of having to accompany her irascible father to convalesce in the genteel seaside town of Torquay, she envisioned three months of wearying monotony. She certainly wasn't expecting to be intrigued by the forlorn empty house situated next to their own elegant villa, especially when she discovered it belonged to a handsome captain in the Royal Navy who was currently away at sea. Unfortunately, she never imagined that fascination might cost her her life.

Though war rages across mainland Europe and London is strafed by German aircraft, the little village of Pipley in Hertfordshire bustles along much as it always has. Adrift since her best friend, George, joined the Royal Air Force, 22-year-old Olive Bright fills her days by helping at her father's veterinary practice and tending to her beloved racing pigeons. Desperate to do her bit, Olive hopes that the National Pigeon Service will enlist Bright Lofts' expertise and use their highly trained birds to deliver critical, coded messages for His Majesty's Forces. 

London, 1940. When nurse Elsie offers to send a reassuring letter to the family of a patient, she has an idea. She begins a book of last letters: messages to be sent on to wounded soldiers’ loved ones should the very worst come to pass so that no one is left without a final goodbye. London, present day. Stephanie has a lot of people she’d like to speak to: her estranged brother, to whom her last words were in anger; her nan, whose dementia means she is only occasionally lucid enough to talk.

Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Many writers consider Anna Karenina the greatest work of literature ever, and Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. A complex novel in eight parts, with more than a dozen major characters, it is spread over more than 800 pages (depending on the translation and publisher), typically contained in two volumes.

Nina's life sounds great on paper. Or, more precisely, in her author bio. But, in reality, the farmhouse is crumbling, her gambling ex-husband has run away with all their money and Nina is just about keeping their (leaking) roof over her children's heads. But then her agent and best friend, Alice, gives her some life-changing news: her very first novel, Written in the Stars, has been picked up by a film producer in Hollywood. And before she knows it, she's flying her out to LA to meet the producers! 

Krystle didn’t have a normal childhood and longed for warm family Christmases with presents under the tree. Now she makes sure everyone else has the perfect Christmas she never had. With her festive business booming, she decides to celebrate by renting a secluded house in the Lakes, with a plan to make this the ultimate yuletide getaway. But fate immediately throws a spanner in the works in the form of a broken-down car, a flooded river and Max; a man who despises Christmas. Krystle becomes determined to show Max the joys of the holiday. Can she melt Max’s Grinch-like heart?

As the weather turns bitterly cold in the dark days of November 1941, fewer pigeons are being conscripted for missions into occupied Europe and Olive fears her covert program may be dropped altogether. In fact, the new CO of the Baker Street intelligence operation at Brickendonbury Manor, Major Blighty, has expressed his doubts regarding her birds—not to mention Olive herself—and assigned her to a far more insignificant role: escort to a visiting officer of the Royal Navy Intelligence Special Branch.

Following her harrowing pursuit of sinister cybercriminal Dantalion, and her life-changing decision to pursue personal vengeance over her case, Ericka Blackwood hit rock bottom. The only way she can find redemption is through the relentless hunting down of her former quarry. But Ericka is not the only one seeking Dantalion, whose scope has extended from orchestrating murder via the Dark Web and entered the world of international terrorism.

Returning to Pipley following her FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) training, Olive is eager to step up her involvement in the war effort. Her pigeons are being conscripted to aid the Belgian resistance, and it’s up to Olive to choose the best birds for the mission. To protect the secrecy of their work, she must also continue the ruse of being romantically involved with her superior. But perhaps the greatest challenge of all comes when an instructor at Station XVII, the top-secret training school housed at Brickendonbury Manor, is found dead in Balls Wood by a troop of Girl Guides.

Eleven-year-old Erskin is used to danger; she lives in the shadow of Mountainfell, a place of wild creatures and dangerous magic. When the most powerful and deadly creature of all–the fearsome cloud dragon–snatches Erskin's sister away, Erskin must face her greatest fear and journey onto the mountain to bring her back. A terrible power is stirring, and it is up to Erskin to save both her family and her home.

Olivia and Nico were once inseparable best friends with shared hopes, dreams and plans for the future. But as life took its course, they took very different paths – leaving them with a challenging long-distance friendship. When Olivia receives an invitation to Nico's wedding in Italy, she can hardly believe it. Despite her happiness for him, she can't help but reflect on the roads not taken and the promises once made. As she arrives in the picturesque Tuscany, disaster strikes. The wedding venue has fallen through and Nico’s wife-to-be is a total Bridezilla.

When Natalie Powers returns home for the first time in 13 years, she must convince everyone she has fully recovered from the mental illness that has seen her institutionalised for most of her young life. But instead of being welcomed back, Natalie enters a baffling world of deception. In the village of Little Downey, everybody appears to harbour a mysterious secret, including her father, Frank, the village butcher, who refuses to discuss the circumstances surrounding Natalie’s mother's disappearance. But who can Natalie trust if not her own father? 

Nine-year-old Frankie Appleton likes to count gates. One day she hopes to design the perfect gate - a gate to keep the bad things out. Little does she know that the bad things have already got in. Now her mother is dead, and the only other person with a house key has disappeared. Frankie thinks she knows who it is. But first she has to prove it. A delicately brutal exploration of what lies behind closed doors and of the secrets and lies that form the fabric of every family, The Weight of Small Things is as charming as it is chilling.

Grace has proved to the kingdom of Wondermere that when it comes to courage, determination, playing Troll-O on unicorn-back and being a brave knight, she's just as good as any boy! But now wondermere is expecting a very important visitor: the Mermaid Queen of the Outer Ocean. That means frilly dresses and best behaviour - and absolutely no rule breaking. But when a purple dragon egg falls into the moat of Wondermere castle, Grace and her sister, Princess Portia, find themselves babysitting a big secret.

Hannah has lost almost everything she ever loved, apart from one beautiful songbird. But the bird seems to be dying. So Hannah sets out on an incredible adventure to find the magical upside down River Qjar, whose waters can give her beloved bird eternal life. She journeys across deserts and over dizzyingly high mountains, lives an entire lifetime in the blink of an eye, braves the terrifying Forest of Oblivion, and is mistaken for a long-lost princess.

Juliet only wanted to see her childhood home one more time–to look at it from the street. She never intended to meet the new owners, let alone talk her way into a position as their new live-in nanny. But it's too late now to tell the truth about who she really is. Six-year-old Kitty has progressive mutism and cannot speak. Nobody knows why she keeps making silent phone calls to the police. Juliet makes it her mission to find out. As Juliet settles into the house, nostalgia for her childhood gives way to uneasiness, as troubling memories surface.

Five old school friends reunited for a weekend in Sheffield. A drunken game of truth or dare. One won't survive. The young woman is found murdered in a swanky hotel room. Detective Claudia Nunn gets the text just as she leaves her therapist's office. The victim's friends all say the same thing: she had been distracted and kept disappearing all weekend. And on the Saturday, someone had screamed abuse in her face. Did she know her killer?

Ben has no qualms about signing up for the Evergreens project, a controversial new trial. But are the promises of life without aging too good to be true? Sophie has no doubt that they are. And sixty-five years down the line, she gets the chance to find out. With Ben in hospital, unresponsive and aging rapidly before her very eyes, can Sophie uncover the dark secret at the heart of the Evergreens project—and save Ben's life in the process?