Showing results by narrator "Claire Storey" in All Categories

Grace has it all. At least she did until a moment of indiscretion threatened to destroy her career. With everything in London at stake and her fate in the Board’s hands, she escapes to her Aunt’s house in the Lake District—the perfect place to hide from her secrets and to get some much-needed peace and quiet. But Duckton-by-Dale is nothing like she remembered and she certainly didn’t expect to be attracted to her new neighbor, Harriet. But then she also didn’t expect her world to be turned upside down by the quirky ensemble of villagers who plot to give love a helping hand.

After catching the menstrual murderer red-handed, Annie and Kerry are now the Tampon Two, Barbourough’s most famous—well, only—detective duo. So Annie (and decidedly not Kerry) is enjoying her five minutes of fame. Except life in the spotlight seems to be a magnet for death these days. After a famous prankster is found dead with a condom stretched over his entire head, the Tampon Two are on the scene at their small village’s Festival of Fame to catch another killer.

When nine friends reunite for a weekend at the charming English seaside, their complicated personal lives lead to laughs as well as drama. Can they all find the happy endings they deserve?

Fran Bell is a music exec who’s welded to her career. Even when her parents move to a sleepy village called Mistletoe, she still vows to work through Christmas. When she tells the locals, their shock is palpable. One particular local stands out. Ruby O’Connell, a dazzling singer and the last person Fran expects to find as her parents’ neighbor. They’ve crossed paths before in London. It wasn’t pretty. When they’re thrown together to organize a Christmas festival, their relationship starts to thaw.

Real life doesn’t play out like a movie. Electric connections mostly mean you’ve got static in your jumper. Camila Moore knows that; she’s not daft. She has two teenage boys and bills to pay, plus the only man she’s ever been with has traded her in for a gym bunny. Returning to work’s the answer, but when she finds herself in the wrong room and wrong place at the wrong time, the last thing she expects is to be promoted out of obscurity into the arms of Harriet Imogen Pearson, media darling, hotshot entrepreneur, and notorious lesbian playgirl.

Everyone in the village loves Joni Blackwood. She is beautiful and bold, and it's no surprise to anyone when on the annual village bonfire, she is crowned 'queen' of the festivities. After all, despite fierce competition from the charity-giving and churchgoing mothers in the village, she has won this honour five years in a row.

Duckton-by-Dale has never been your average quintessential English village. And as preparations for the annual pantomime and winter solstice reach fever pitch, you just know that things are going to get even more bizarre! With new visitors bringing mystery, suspicion, flamboyance, and lust, past secrets and current desires will be revealed, bringing a dramatic conclusion to the Duckton-by-Dale series. Expect humor, paranormal happenings, fun and laughter, and of course a large dose of romance in this bestselling lesbian romantic comedy series. Merry Christmas one and all.

This is the story of Josie, a British expat living in New York City. Or rather, it is the tale of two Josies, as her life path split three years ago, when she did or did not meet the love of her life—wealthy, handsome Rob. One Josie is now a single radio show host living in Brooklyn, with a huge crush on her friend Peter; the other is happily married to Rob and living in a fabulous Manhattan penthouse. It’s both Josies’ 36th birthday, and each is set to celebrate when they crash their bicycles at the exact spot where their lives split three years ago.

When Cassie Hunt learns that her beloved Aunt Aggie is dying, she rushes back home to be with her during her final days. For as long as Cassie can remember Aggie has spoken about the forgotten world that exists just below their feet, in the tunnels and catacombs of the mysterious Sand House. But on her deathbed, Aggie reveals a terrible secret that she’s buried as deep as the tunnels beneath the old house, and when excavation work begins on the site, Cassie is the only one who can help keep the truth hidden.

When Faith Divine pulls up outside the Duckton-by-Dale cafe on a dazzling red Ducati motorbike she takes Drew Pettigrew’s breath away. Faith is cool, sexy, and desirable, and there isn’t one villager who disagrees. Completely smitten, Drew has no choice but to come out. The fact that Drew is a lesbian doesn’t come as a surprise to those who know her. Except, that is, for her mother, Esther.

It’s nineteen years since they stopped speaking to each other, but now Morgan needs to contact her three best friends from school: Paige, Emily and Tiff. Her teenage son wants to meet his dad and Morgan can’t ignore his requests any longer. And Paige, Emily and Tiff all knew what actually happened back then. Even if that was what led to their friendship group falling apart, they’re the only people Morgan can think of who might be able help her find the man who disappeared without a trace before she could tell him she was pregnant.

1944: Bologna, Italy, and the streets are crawling with German soldiers. Nineteen-year-old Leila Venturi is shocked into joining the Resistance after her beloved best friend Rebecca, the daughter of a prominent Jewish businessman, is ruthlessly deported to a concentration camp. 1981: Exchange student Rhiannon Hughes arrives in Bologna and meets Leila, her landlady. Soon, Rhiannon finds herself being drawn into a web of intrigue. Leila’s nephew seems to be interested in a far-right group, but how is the nefarious leader connected to Leila?

Between jobs and out of her rented accommodation, Clara Harrington decides to take a break and stay with her beloved, yet eccentric aunt. Vanessa Harrington is an award-winning crime novelist. When it comes to crime, and murder, there’s not a lot that she doesn’t know. Clara’s hope for peace and quiet is shattered when, on her first night at Chadwick Lodge, the local town councillor is murdered, falling face down into his dessert. Finding herself in the middle of one of her books, Vanessa happily takes on the task of uncovering the murderer and drags Clara along with her.

December, 1919. Clever crime reporter Lillie Mead hoped to celebrate a peaceful Christmas in the English countryside. But when a close friend's colleague turns up dead, Lillie knows there'll be little festive spirit until she unwraps this mystery. Following the clues to the wintery Scottish Highlands, she hopes to stop the killer cold before the next body hits the snow. But after she connects the victims to a clandestine wartime committee, she puts herself firmly in the murderer's sights.

Leah is accused of a crime she didn't commit. Dumped by Adam, the man she planned to marry, she escapes to Aunt Jayne's smallholding in the Kent village of Winkleigh Marsh. Heartbroken and homeless, she strives to clear her name and deal with her emotions. Jayne treats Leah's unhappiness with herbal remedies, cowslip wine, and common sense in equal measure. In return, Leah works hard for the delicious home-cooked meals they share. Back in London, steps are being taken to investigate what's happened to the missing money.

1943. Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini’s laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice, she must flee the city to save her life. Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh German reprisals and her own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart.

Alex would like to believe she’s a woman who has it all. Or that’s what she tells everyone, including herself. But this is far from true. Actually she’s on the cusp of losing her home, her dream career as a writer is in tatters, her ex won’t speak to her, and her mother’s gone forever. But then a chance meeting with a stranger named Hope gives her the opportunity of a lifetime, when Hope jokes that perhaps Alex should take over her job in a cafe while she goes travelling.

It has been a year since Tess had to trade the hustle and bustle of London life for pulling pints and moonlighting as a Cher impersonator in a backwater country pub. The sleepy Yorkshire village of Cherrywood would always be home, but a return to rural life wasn't quite the path she'd paved for herself. Still, being back with her oldest friends, Raven and Oliver, was a definite upside and she was beginning to settle into the slower pace. That is until Clemmie Ackroyd, a stalwart member of the community, is brutally murdered.

Deacon Katerina Rowe had a quiet life before she discovered her husband’s criminal activities. Now Leon is on the run, and Kat has started a private investigation business with her good friend Beth, who goes by Mouse. It’s plenty for any Deacon to handle—let alone one who’s heavily pregnant. When a widow asks Kat and Mouse for help, the sleuthing duo find themselves searching for the birth mother of the widow’s husband. But when it becomes clear that the widow isn’t telling the whole truth, Kat and Mouse are drawn into a deadly chase where nothing is what it seems.

Early one morning, in the grounds of Chatsworth, a body is discovered by one of the estate groundsmen. DI Marsden and DS Granger battle through snow-covered roads to begin their investigation. Meanwhile, at the Connection Investigation Agency, Doris, Kat and Mouse are busy juggling their caseloads, while trying to show their new trainee receptionist the ropes.