Showing results by narrator "Laura Kirman" in All Categories

The first chapter of a manuscript arrives on Publisher Marina’s desk. She assumes it’s just another novel by another aspiring writer. As the chapters arrive one by one, Marina is convinced they are about her past. There’s only one person who can know everything about the scandal, the trial, and the trauma that nearly broke her. This is one story that should never be told, and Marina is so desperate she will do anything to stop it getting out.

For Sam Lovell, organising the summer festival in her hometown is one of the highlights of her year. It’s not always smooth sailing, but she loves to see Porthmellow’s harbour packed with happy visitors and being on the committee has provided a much-needed distraction from the drama in her family life (and the distinct lack of it in her love life). When their star guest pulls out with only a few weeks to go, everyone’s delighted when a London chef who grew up locally steps in at the last minute.

Part of a remarkable family that produced three acclaimed female writers at a time in 19th-century Britain when few women wrote and fewer were published, Charlotte Brontë has been a great source of inspiration to writers, especially women, ever since. Now, in Reader, I Married Him, 20 of today's most celebrated woman authors have spun original stories using Jane Eyre as a springboard.

A month ago, Amy Wood had her perfect home, perfect boyfriend and perfect job in London. Now she’s broken-hearted, living in her parents’ tiny bungalow, and working in an estate agents in Bath. But Amy gets a new lease on life when she undertakes to sell Rosemont Hall, a crumbling Georgian mansion riddled with woodworm, dry rot – and secrets.

When Lizzie Summers is jilted at the altar, she’s left completely heartbroken. But then she receives news that she has inherited a beautiful chateau in Provence, and it seems like the perfect escape. Upon arrival, she discovers she is now the proud owner of...a crumbling ruin. A decrepit chateau – with nothing but dust and a goat for company. Intending to head straight back to the airport, Lizzie instead gets caught in a freakish summer storm and finds herself trudging through a vineyard for help. Bedraggled and furious, she enlists the help of her nearest neighbour, the enchanting Luc.

Aware that some people consider her unworthy of the title Mrs Darcy, Lizzy is determined to prove her detractors wrong by throwing a magnificent house party at her new home, Pemberley. Nothing can possibly go wrong…can it? Miss Caroline Bingley is quite determined to rescue Darcy from his reckless marriage. Convinced he must now regret his choice, she finds an unlikely ally in George Wickham who also wishes to avenge Lizzy, albeit for a very different reason. If Darcy were to find his ‘fine-eyed’ wife in a compromising position with Wickham of all people, he would surely never forgive her.

Clara King is left in sole charge of a fabulous new clifftop hotel for the summer. The owner has barely left the country when Clara realises that someone is hell bent on putting the Bluebell Cliff out of business. It becomes a race against time to hunt down the sneaky saboteur before they succeed in bringing the hotel to its knees. Meanwhile Clara’s family is in crisis following her grandfather’s affair.

For Rose, every day is a gift. She narrowly survived a life-threatening illness and owes everything to her anonymous donor. Determined to thank him, Rose follows a trail of clues that lead her to the little Cornish fishing village of Falford. But things become complicated when Rose is drawn into local life, becoming involved in the legendary Falford Regatta and meeting the handsome Morvah brothers—one of whom might just be the man she’s looking for. But which one? Can Rose find the answer she’s searching for, or will she lose her heart before the summer is over?

Matt Westbrook only turned his back for a moment. But when he looks around, his car - with his three young children inside - has vanished. Panicked, Matt assumes a car thief has got more than he bargained for, but then he starts to receive text messages: This is a kidnap. If you want to see your children again, you will exchange them for your wife. Matt and his wife, Annabelle, are horrified....

Beatrice Donovan would do anything for her identical twin sister. Including stepping into her hotel management job temporarily and pretending to be her - she’s desperate. What could go wrong? A lot apparently! Because her sister Delilah has hugely understated her role – the hotel is at risk of closure and she’s promised she can turn it around. Now Bea has to find a way to fly under the radar, get the job done before anyone notices their switch up. Sounds easy, all Bea has to do is avoid her temporary new boss Jonah. However, that’s a lot harder than she thought.

Cressida Collins is the queen of makeovers. With a well-placed stitch, button or seam, she can transform any frock in The Vintage Dress Shop and give customers their Cinderella moment. Like her beautifully organised workroom under the eaves, Cress's life away from the shop is just as orderly and mapped out. But when her boyfriend of fifteen years drops a bombshell, it explodes all the carefully laid plans Cress had for her future. It's going to take more than needle and thread to put Cress's own life back together. Will she ever be brave enough to say goodbye to her old dreams and start over?

Welcome to the gorgeous Cornish town of St Felix, where there's magic in the air...When Ana inherits a broken-down camper van from her best friend, she takes the chance for a quick trip to Cornwall - some sea air and fish and chips on the beach is just the tonic she needs. But St Felix has bigger plans for Ana. She discovers a series of unsent postcards, dating back to the 1950s, hidden in the upholstery of the van. Ana knows that it's a sign: she'll make sure that the messages reach the person that they were meant for.

One early October afternoon, 10-year-old Jacob Rossi begins the short walk home from school. But he never makes it. Days later, DCI Anna Tate is called to the scene of a burning building, where an awful discovery has been made. A body has been found, and the label in his school blazer reads: J. Rossi. As Anna starts digging, she soon learns that a lot of people had grudges against the boy’s father. But would any of them go so far as to take his son? And is the boy’s abductor closer than she thinks?

How far would you go to save the ones you love? The first book in a stunning new crime series featuring DCI Anna Tate. When nine children are snatched from a nursery school in South London, their distressed parents have no idea if they will ever see them again. The community in the surrounding area is in shock. How could this happen right under their noses? No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything - or at least that's what they're saying. But DCI Anna Tate knows that nothing is impossible, and she also knows that time is quickly running out.

Belgium, July 1939: Simone Lyon is the daughter of a Belgium national hero, the famous General Joseph Lyon. Her best friend Hava Daniels, is the eldest daughter of a devout Jewish family. Despite growing up in different worlds, they are inseparable. But when, in the spring of 1940, Nazi planes and tanks begin bombing Brussels, their resilience and strength are tested. Hava and Simone find themselves caught in the advancing onslaught and are forced to flee.

Dedicated local vet Laura cares for the farm animals of the little village of Bramble Heath. But falling bombs aren't the only danger as the war hits close to home. Laura is not afraid to serve her country by caring for animals and protecting the crops everyone relies on. But, just when the country is most in need of food, the farms of the village come under attack. Desperate to figure out who could be doing such terrible things even while German bombs rain down, Laura is relieved when the Ministry respond to her requests for help. But the man they send isn't what she expects.

When DCI Anna Tate is called to the gruesome discovery of a dead woman found on Barnes Common, she is plunged into a high‐profile investigation involving a prominent MP. London is baying for blood - but is there more to Holly’s death than at first meets the eye? Meanwhile, the hunt is on for Anna’s missing daughter Chloe, who vanished 10 years ago when her ex‐husband kidnapped her. The case has been cold for what feels like forever - but a phone call brings a brand-new lead....

Miss Kitty Bennet is travelling to Pemberley in order to become a companion and friend to Miss Georgiana Darcy when the coach she is travelling in crashes. Bingley is hurt in the accident and help arrives in the form of Adam Denney, the Rector of Bakewell who comes to their aid. Jane and Bingley are obliged to remain at The Rectory, whilst Kitty continues her journey alone. But the coach accident is just the first of many terrifying incidents that occur once Kitty is established at Pemberley. But when Kitty's sister, Elizabeth is placed in danger, Darcy is determined to keep her safe.

Sophy Stevens is moving to Australia. Turning thirty has found her unexpectedly out of a job, out of a relationship, and just in need of Something Different - and Australia, where she can finally meet her grandparents and surprise them on their wedding anniversary, looks like the perfect answer...if she can save up the money for the plane ticket. So when her feckless, absent dad Johnno offers her a job at his vintage clothes shop in Primrose Hill, she can't turn it down.

England, 1811: When Elizabeth Trelawny flees London, she has more than one reason to run. And when her carriage, pursued by her would-be fiancé, is caught in a storm, she quickly accepts the help of a dark stranger. ABut Rowan Curnow is not exactly a stranger. He’s not quite a gentleman either. Class disparity once kept him from courting Elizabeth, even if it didn’t keep him from kissing her. The couple elude their pursuers and reach Bastion Point, Elizabeth’s future inheritance. But in the very act of spiriting her to safety, Rowan has jeopardized Elizabeth’s inheritance