Showing results by narrator "Nikki Patel" in All Categories

Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London, but her bright future fades as she turns her back on school for gang life and crime. Betrayed by the police after a brutal gang rape, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local ‘top boy’. However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat – and the authorities answer by taking away her baby. Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation.

Escape to the frost-sparkling Yorkshire Dales for some festive fun under the mistletoe! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for costume shop owner Becky Finn. Leaving London to move back home to the twinkly rural village of Egglethwaite, she plans to build a new life for herself with fiancé, Cole. Keen to raise funds for the struggling village hall she loved as a child, Becky finds herself at the head of a colourful group aiming to revive the Egglethwaite Christmas pantomime.

Having dedicated her life to achieving professional success in Delhi, Tara is everything her brother isn't: steadfast, independent, thriving. But when their beloved father retires, he reveals himself to be far from the quiet, conventional accountant they thought they knew - and the family is thrown into disarray. In a country where old elites and norms are under threat, the pursuit of private aspiration plays out against a dystopian daily background of ecological collapse and political unrest.

Welcome to the sleepy island of Penfurzy, where nothing exciting ever really happens. OR DOES IT? Adventure awaits Demelza and her new best friend in the whole world, Nessa, as they explore the island and uncover the mysteries of the Penfurzy Knights. With a honking pet goose sidekick, quirky islanders and a legendary treasure to find, it's up to Nessa and Demelza to ride their bikes, solve the puzzles before them, and face down danger with frisbees, water-balloons, feathers....and a toilet plunger.

Adventure awaits Demelza and her best friend in the whole world, Nessa, as they embark on a whole new adventure, solving mysteries, fending off bullies and celebrating the greatest friendship of all time. When an unexpected guest arrives in Penfurzy, Nessa and Demelza go out of their way to help them, entering a world of ancient myth and legend. They face ghosts and monsters, and Conan the bully, who just keeps getting in the way at the worst possible moment.

Lady Ela Dalvi knows the exact moment her life was forever changed—when her best friend, Poppy, betrayed her without qualm over a boy, Lord Keston Osborn, heir to the Duke of Harbridge. She was sent away in disgrace, her reputation ruined.

A new mystery has rolled onto Penfurzy island, and the Rebel Bicycle Club are ready to investigate! Nessa, Demelza and Captain Honkers set-off to explore a travelling fun-fair when things begin to get strange. With new friends and a new legend to uncover, the best friends do what they do best: SAVE THE DAY FROM A FATE WORSE THAN HOMEWORK.

Hannah Conway overhears a lot while working behind the bar of a nightclub – friendly gossip, lovers quarrels, bad business deals – but nothing that usually involves anyone she cares about. Until she hears Jez Reilly, a corrupt businessman who runs the club, talking about the street her grandma lives on. Jez wants to buy the land for a new luxury development, and most of the residents and businesses have already agreed to sell up. But for those who refuse, something sinister is in store.

Rani, the bright and spirited daughter of an Indian Crown Prince, leads a privileged if lonely life. Longing for freedom, she escapes the confines of her father’s palace and meets Prasad – a poor young man – with whom she falls deeply in love. But her plan to gain her father’s approval for the match disastrously backfires. Estranged from her family and haunted by guilt, Rani’s path takes her from Cambridge to Bletchley Park and a new world of intrigue and secrets. Against the backdrop of war, Rani finds comfort and a sense of belonging with fellow codebreaker William and his young son.

1939, India. Bindu holds her baby close, listening to the monsoon raging outside. She tries to hide her tears behind her sari as she hands her baby into a stranger’s arms, wondering if she will ever see her child again. When their small savings run out, Bindu reluctantly accepts an offer of marriage from the landlord’s entitled and often unpredictable son. In return, he promises to provide medical care for her beloved grandmother, but alone in a world she doesn’t understand, Bindu is desperately lonely. She soon finds solace in writing recipes and creating new spice mixes.

When pregnant Jaya loses her mother, then her baby son, Arun, in a tragic cot death, her world crashes down. Overcome by grief and guilt, she begins to look for answers. Looking through her mother’s belongings, she finds two diaries and old photographs, carrying the smoky aroma of fire. A young boy smiles out at Jaya from every photograph - and in one, a family stand proudly in front of a sprawling mansion. Who is this child? And why did her mother treasure this memento of a regal family lost to the past?

1938: Divya has made the long sea journey from India to England, employed as a nanny by a British family. But once they arrive, she is cruelly abandoned, with no means to return home. Afraid and alone, she faces prejudice and rejection… until she finds her way to an Irish-run boarding house on West India Dock Road and meets Jack, Charity and a host of unexpected friends.

Annie is five when her beloved big sister, Gemma, leaves for school and is never seen again. The police search for weeks and Annie never gives up hope that Gemma will one day come home to her. Now, twenty years after her sister mysteriously vanished, Annie returns to her childhood home to care for her ill mother. Opening the door to Gemma's room, Annie finds it untouched from the day her sister disappeared, with her make up still on the dresser and her books open on her bed. Annie is certain that the answers to what happened to Gemma are here in her old room.

1929. When a passionate love affair threatens to leave Lucy in disgrace, she chooses a respectable marriage over a life of shame. With her husband, coffee-plantation-owner James, she travels to her new home in India. Everything in India is new to Lucy, from the jewel-coloured fabrics to the exotic spices. When her path crosses that of Gowri, a young woman who tends a temple, Lucy is curious to find out more about her, and the events that lead her to live in isolation from her family.

When twelve-year-old Estie is expelled from school, she's sent to stay with her aunt in Scotland over the summer. Even though Estie knows what she did was right. Even though nobody, not even her mum, asked to hear her side of the story. Estie's determined to keep her barriers up and stick to herself until the holidays are over. But when she comes across an intricately folded paper bird with a secret message written inside - a message from someone desperate to tell their own unbelieved story - a chord is struck, and Estie can't help but follow the clues to the next piece of artwork.

A friend has your back. And may stab you in it. Wealthy, pampered Susan is living the perfect life in leafy Kingston. She'll never let anyone see the darkness she's concealing behind the diamonds and rosé. Grace is new to the group, seemingly the perfect wife and mum. Yet no one knows the truth of what’s happening behind closed doors. Loner Natalie hides the pain of her childhood behind a carefully ordered life. But how long can the past stay hidden? Three unlikely friends, brought together for a weekly class run by beautiful, friendly, instructor, Jade.

Orphaned Jenny and her chimney sweep brother Noah eke out life in a cellar dwelling in the heart of the slums. Noah is the main breadwinner, but he is treated horribly by his master. Worried for her brother's safety and health, Jenny resolves to put her talent for singing to good use and begins trawling the low inns and taverns at night entertaining the punters. When she catches the attention of a music hall manager and is offered a spot on the stage, it seems like a dream come true. But her newfound success can't include her brother.

1942. Nisha's Malayan home has been destroyed by war. She and her mother, Amma, flee to her father's ancestral house in England, perched on a cliff top on the cold Northern coast. When Amma falls gravely ill, Nisha is left to face her formidable grandmother alone. The old woman's rules are countless, including forbidding Nisha to climb the Weeping Tree - a claw of leafless, twisted branches jutting upwards from the crag. But when a ghost child beckons Nisha to sit under its boughs and promises her Amma's life in return for three truths, the tree's pull proves irresistible.

In 16-year-old Abida's small Pakistani village, there are age-old rules to live by and her family's honour to protect. And, yet, her spirit is defiant, and she yearns to make a home with the man she loves. When the unthinkable happens, Abida faces the same fate as other young girls who have chosen unacceptable alliances - certain public death.

An emotional, page-turning read about love, family and the secrets we keep, for fans of Amanda Prowse, Ayisha Malik and Balli Kaur Jaswal. Shortlisted for The Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award 2020. It was the perfect marriage... until they fell in love. After attending Oxford University, Chaya is torn between her duty to family and her life in the UK since her traditional Sri Lankan parents want her to settle down. Gimhana is hiding his sexuality from his family, and it's getting harder and harder to turn down the potential brides his parents keep finding for him.