Showing results by narrator "Julia Franklin"

Summer has come to Windermere, where Persimmon "Simmy" Brown runs her own florist shop. But the shop is struggling for money, so a contract to provide floral displays for a hotel in Hawkshead couldn't have arrived at a better moment. However Simmy's association with the hotel soon turns sinister when she finds a body in the lake. To make matters worse, her friend, Ben Harkness, is now missing and thought to be kidnapped.

A huge funeral for Windermere’s popular resident, Barbara Dodge, is taking place, and florist Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown and her new assistant, Bonnie Lawson, are busy compiling wreaths in preparation. There’s word of a series of sinister dognappings occurring in nearby Troutbeck, and whilst taking a walk up Wansfell Pike, Simmy and her father, Russell, stumble on a dog strangled to death - it’s not long before Simmy reluctantly finds herself caught up in a murder investigation.

Charity Stratton's bleak childhood is changed forever when both her parents are killed in a fire. Separated by the authorities from her younger brothers and sister, Charity is sent out to work as a skivvy in a boys' boarding school. Her loneliness and misery are eased when she falls deeply in love with the dashing but fickle sixth-former Hugh Mainwaring, but when she discovers she is pregnant with Hugh's baby, she soon realises just how alone she really is.

Following a personal tragedy, florist Persimmon “Simmy” Brown has moved to the Lake District to be nearer her parents. But her peace is shattered when, at a wedding, the bride's brother is found brutally murdered. As the florist of the wedding and one of the last people to talk to Mark Baxter alive, Simmy gradually becomes involved with the relatives. When events take another sinister turn, Simmy finds herself at the heart of a murder investigation.

When journalist Ellie looks through her newspaper's archives for a story, she discovers a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband.... In 1960, Jennifer wakes up in hospital after a car accident with no memory. And then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for.

How far would you go to protect your child? Can you really keep them safe? What if who they are puts them at risk? And what if they have blood on their hands?Teenager Allie Kennaway heads off for prom night, cheered on by dad Steve and her little sister, Teagan. But Allie never comes home, beaten to death in an apparent hate crime because of her transgender identity. As police investigate the brutal murder, a crime that has appalled the country, one parent is at her wits' end with her son's behaviour.

When Orla Payne was seven years old, her brother, Callum, mysteriously vanished from the Hanging Wood in the Lake District. Shrouded in complicated family matters and with no clear leads, the case was eventually dismissed. His body was never found. Twenty years of frustration and depression later, Orla is desperate to find out the truth. On historian Daniel Kind's recommendation, she contacts Cold Case Review detective Hannah Scarlett, who sets about seeking justice for brother and sister.

Winter has arrived in the town of Windermere and has brought with it the death of Frances Henderson, the best friend of Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's mother. Simmy must cope with the loss of an important figure from her childhood as well as the confusion at being bequeathed something in Frances' will. When Frances' husband is violently murdered, Simmy must face the fact that the family she was once so close to as a child holds some dark secrets.

In the wake of family collapse, a writer and her two young sons move to London. The process of upheaval is the catalyst for a number of transitions - personal, moral, artistic, practical - as she endeavours to construct a new reality for herself and her children. In the city she is made to confront aspects of living she has until now avoided and to consider questions of vulnerability and power, death and renewal, in what becomes her struggle to reattach herself to and believe in life.

Open House is a deliciously engaging romantic novel from Jill Mansell, author of over 20 Sunday Times best sellers including The One You Really Want and Miranda's Big Mistake. For fans of Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes. Nell O'Driscoll has known Marcus Kilburton for years - according to her diary, she even had a crush on him as a teenager.

Their affair is the scandal of Europe…Queen Elizabeth cannot resist her dashing but married Master of Horse, Lord Robert Dudley. Many believe them to be lovers. The formidable young Queen is regarded by most as a bastard and a heretic, yet many seek her hand in marriage. Desperately insecure, Elizabeth embarks on a perilous balancing act, using sex and high-powered diplomacy to play what becomes known as The Marriage Game.

Sarah's grandfather was a horseman of rare talent - only the exceptional are allowed into France's elite riding academy, Le Cadre Noir. But life took an unexpected turn, and now from a council estate in east London, the Captain hopes to train his granddaughter towards a better life.

Sappho Jones stopped counting birthdays when she reached 30, but even with her hazy grip on mathematics she realises that she's on the slippery slope to the big four-oh! With the thought suddenly lodged in her mind that she's a mere cat's whisker away from becoming a single eccentric female living in a country cottage in Wales, she has the urge to do something dramatic before it's too late. The trouble is, as an adventurous woman of a certain age, Sappho's pretty much been there, done that, got the T-shirt. In fact the only thing she hasn't tried is motherhood.

Twenty years ago, Malcolm Whiteley discovers his attractive wife, Lysette, is having an affair. The Whiteleys are wealthy and live with their 16-year-old daughter, Amber, in the magnificent Dungeon House. When Lysette tells Malcolm their marriage is over, he snaps and takes out the old rifle he has been hiding.... Back to the present day, and Hannah Scarlett's cold case team are looking into the disappearance of Lily Elstone, whose father was Malcolm Whiteley's accountant.

In the first volume of this epic new series, Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England's queens in the century after the Norman Conquest. Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in 1066, to the turbulent life of the Empress Maud, who claimed to be queen of England in her own right and fought a bitter war to that end, the five Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The House of Hope and Dreams by Trisha Ashley, read by Julia Franklin. When Carey Revell unexpectedly becomes the heir to Mossby, his family’s ancestral home, it’s rather a mixed blessing. The house is large but rundown and comes with a pair of resentful relatives who can’t be asked to leave. Still, newly dumped by his girlfriend and also from his job as a TV interior designer, Carey needs somewhere to lick his wounds. And Mossby would be perfect for a renovation show. He already knows someone who could restore the stained glass windows in the older part of the house….

Simmy Brown has a lot on her mind. Not just keeping her florist business afloat, her father’s failing health and the challenge of developing a long-term relationship with Christopher but also the approach of Mother’s Day, a busy and painful day for her. But in taking an order for a retirement party in Staveley, she is pulled into her most challenging investigation. When a daughter starts accusing her own mother of murder, Simmy, Ben and Bonnie find themselves taking different sides of the investigation. With her relationships under strain, Simmy is tried on all fronts....

In 1960, Kate Freeman, daughter of the inimitable Rose Webster, goes to London to follow her dream of becoming a photographer. But Kate has a long journey to take before she can realise her ambition. The era that was dubbed "a time of peace" proves to be anything but, as Kate's family and friends cope with tragedy, upheaval, and the tears and laughter of family life. The comfort of loved ones and the support of friends goes a long way.

Eugenie Winford is devastated when her beloved father commits suicide, having lost his fortune in the Wall Street Crash. Now Eugenie and her proud, spoilt mother are ruined. Eugenie changes her name and goes into hiding as a housemaid for the Stannard family - anything is better than what her mother has planned for her. But her real identity is soon revealed, and Jen has to flee again. She ends up in Lambeth, with a poor but good family, and together they face the hardships of the Depression.

Anna is a child of special, unknowable qualities. She is a happy child, always willing to smile at the world around her. But she also presents profound challenges. For her mother Jess, still in her early 20s, living alone in North London and hoping to embark on an adventurous career, her arrival will prove life-transforming. Over the course of decades, in ways large and small, Anna will affect the lives and loves of those around her. While Anna herself will remain largely unaltered by the passing years, she will live through a period of dramatic change.