Showing results by narrator "Imogen Church" in All Categories

Gemma Tate has a new job and a new address. She is putting her past—her memories of nursing in the Crimean war—behind her. But when Jacob Harrow, a journalist with ties to Crimea, is found brutally killed, Gemma is pulled into the investigation. Police inspector Sebastian Bell works alone. But when all signs point towards a dark secret Harrow brought back from the war, he realizes he needs Gemma’s help to untangle the mystery. But raking up the past has devastating consequences when Gemma’s friend, another nurse from Crimea, is found murdered in her boarding house.

Thirty years ago something terrible happened to Luna's mother. Something she's prepared to reveal only after her death. In settling her mother's affairs, Luna finds more questions than answers, until something impossible and magical happens.... Luna meets her mother as a young woman back in the summer of 1977. If she can truly travel back in time, she can change things. But in order to save her mother's life, will she have to sacrifice her own?

Hours later, the man’s cold body lies in the city mortuary, alongside the woman he couldn’t save. And his sister, unconventional nurse Gemma Tate, tracks down troubled police inspector Sebastian Bell to unravel the truth. Sebastian has enough pressure to solve the murder of an aristocratic heiress without Gemma meddling in his case. But the cryptic sentences she brings him from her brother’s notebook could be a crucial lead. If only they knew what “milky way” meant.

Lizzie Riley is sure that the local academy school, with its excellent reputation, is perfect for her eight-year-old son Tom. But there's something strange happening at school. Parents are forbidden from entering the grounds and there are bars across the classroom windows. Why is Tom coming home exhausted, unable to remember his day? What are the strange marks on his arm? And why do the children seem afraid to talk?

Marissa lives alone in her tiny one-bed apartment. It’s quiet and safe; all she’s ever wanted since the night her mother was killed in front of her. But when the police knock on her door with the news that her last remaining family member has been murdered, she comes face-to-face with the trauma she has spent a lifetime running from.

The day my path crossed with Simon Fox I thought I’d already lost everything, but then he almost ran me off the road with his flash car and belittling jibes. The men in my life had undermined me for too long. Enough was enough. Fuelled by alcohol and the desire to get even, I decided a spot of petty vandalism would make me feel a whole lot better. Wrong. Very wrong. I hadn’t realised that Simon Fox was not a man to be messed with.

It was surreal returning to work after a sabbatical following the suspicious death of my best friend Livvy. On my return to the company apartment, I was surprised to find Livvy’s replacement, Amanda Dowd, firmly entrenched as my new flatmate. She’d seemingly appeared out of nowhere. But something didn’t feel right. I felt on edge. Everyone seemed to love Amanda, even my ex-Jayden was blinded by her outgoing personality and model-like looks. Yet her desperation to become friends felt unnatural.

A spate of pornographic polaroids and a violent accident bookend Josephine's last year at St John the Divine, an elite all-girls English boarding school. Divines are known for flipping their hair, harassing teachers, chasing boys and chain-smoking cigarettes. Joe and her friends are fiercely loyal, sharp-tongued and witty in the way that only teenage girls can be. When Joe is forced to board with Gerry Lake, the class pariah, she feels the ground beneath her shift. An unlikely friendship with a townie named Lauren further upends her world, as does a tragedy that changes everything.

Sarah is the first person in her family who wasn’t born into slavery in Delta, Louisiana. But being free doesn’t mean that Sarah doesn’t have to work. She cooks, she cleans, she picks cotton, she does laundry and she babysits. And when she works, she wraps up her hair. One day, Sarah’s hair starts to fall out! It’s itchy, crunchy, patchy and won’t grow. Instead of giving up, Sarah searches for the right products. And then she invents something better than any shampoo or hair oil she’s used before. 

Alicia was born to dance. From the moment she slips on pointe shoes for the first time, she’s determined to become a professional ballerina. A few years later, Alicia moves from Cuba to the United States to follow her dreams. Then, Alicia begins to lose her sight. How can a ballerina dance if she can’t see where she’s going? Stuck in bed and only able to practice with her fingertips, Alicia doesn’t give up. She finds a way to get back on stage, dancing into the hearts of audiences as one of the world’s most famous prima ballerinas. 

 Classic Cat Stories is an anthology that includes fairy tales and fables from the likes of Rudyard Kipling and Charles Perrault as well as comic tales from Saki and E. F. Benson. Cats, of course, have always had a dark and mysterious side, which is explored to chilling effect by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe in 'The Black Cat'. But above all, we love them, and you’ll find here stories about all kinds of cats that tug at the heartstrings like 'The Man of the House' by Ethel Colburn Mayne and other stories that celebrate their curious ways.  

Jamie and her son, Bo, have learnt never to take anything for granted. They had had a lovely home, Jamie had had a good job and all had been well in their little world. Until COVID hit. Now, Jamie finds herself scratching to make ends meet, working in a job she hates, living in a rented flat with a dodgy landlord and reliant on the local food bank. She’s not proud, but she finds it hard to admit she needs some help. And so when she meets an unlikely and colourful group of people in the queue at the food bank, she finds she’s not as alone as she thought.

When identical twin Coco goes missing during a family celebration, there is a media frenzy. Her parents are rich and influential, as are the friends they were with at their holiday home by the sea. But what really happened to Coco?

Sasha Greenhope has a very lovely life. Her marriage is solid, her only daughter is delightful and the family business is going full steam ahead. The only blip on the horizon is the upcoming family reunion for her parents 40th-wedding anniversary at Chadwell House—the family pile. Sasha just does not fit with her rich family. Her French mother, Delphine thinks everything Sasha does is a faux pas... And siblings, Adele and Beau, are clearly the favourites, leaving Sasha surplus to requirements.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of No Further Questions by Gillian McAllister, read by Imogen Church, Charlie Sanderson, Andy Cresswell, Jan Cramer, Penny Andrews, Cassie Layton, Rachael Beresford and Malk Williams. The police say she's guilty. She insists she's innocent. She's your sister. You loved her. You trusted her. But they say she killed your child. Whom do you believe? 

Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only 16 years old when she meets Duardo, and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana when the music of the rumba still calls to her?

Prince Siegfried comes of age and celebrates his 21st birthday in the palace gardens. The next day he is to finally choose his future bride at the court ball. Near the castle, on the shores of Swan Lake, the beautiful swan girl Odette emerges from the water in the moonlight. She is actually a princess transformed by the magician Rothbart. Siegfried is overwhelmed by her beauty and immediately swears his eternal love and loyalty. The curse of the evil wizard Rothbart is now supposed to be broken, but he has his own plans for Odette.

Tor, Cress and Kate have been best friends for as long as they can remember. Through all the challenges of marriage, raising children and maintaining their high-flying careers, they have stuck together as a powerful and loyal force to be reckoned with - living proof that 21st-century women can have it all, and do. It is only when the captivating Harry comes into their lives that things begin to get complicated, as Tor, Cress and Kate are drawn into Harry's dangerous games....

Ellie Shaw loves love. Unfortunately, she’s also an expert in break-ups. When a friend needs help with her ‘too nice to dump’ boyfriend, Ellie agrees to help. What she doesn’t expect is for American Dan to be kind, caring, to love dogs and look like a Disney hero. In other words, completely too good to be true. She lets him down with grace and, encouraged by her friends, sets up Softer Landings, offering kinder, gentler break-ups. A year later American Dan reappears in her life. With a new girlfriend. One who also decides he’s not the one for her.

Fresh out of prison, Jess Strickland has just six months’ probation to serve until she's free to get on with the life she left behind four years ago. With few options available, Jess takes a job at Bright’s, an industrial laundry company, alongside other ex-cons, all eager to keep their noses clean. Here she finds an ally in Karla, but soon learns her new boss, Terry, is not all he seems. Realising she’s no safer on the outside, Jess refuses to be a victim any longer. How far will she go to avoid going back to prison?