Showing results by narrator "Charlotte Strevens" in All Categories

Cousin to Elizabeth I - and possibly Henry VIII's illegitimate granddaughter - Lettice Knollys had a life of dizzying highs and pitiful lows. Entangled in a love triangle with Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, banished from court, plagued by scandals, embroiled in treason, Lettice would lose a husband and son to the executioner's ax. In the first ever biography of this remarkable woman, Nicola Tallis takes us through her dramatic life and the grand sweep of the Tudor Age and the events that define it.

Jude Shelley, the daughter of a prominent cabinet minister, was assaulted and left for dead in the river Thames. Her attacker was never caught. A year later forensic psychologist Alice Quentin is asked to reexamine the case. Then another body is found: an elderly priest, washed up at Westminster Pier. An ancient glass bead is tied to his wrist. Alice is certain that the Shelleys are hiding something - and that there will be more victims unless she can persuade them to share what they know.

When Edith Wight's parents fail to collect her from boarding school for the summer holidays, she's packed off to live with eccentric Uncle Francis - a vet who runs a practice in a remote part of the New Forest. Francis is the last in a long line of vets who treat mythical creatures: among his patients are pegasi, unicorns, dragons and much more. And when he receives a summons from the Himalayas - where one of a remote family of yetis is suffering from a mysterious illness - Edith finds herself on the voyage of a lifetime.

A woman is watching a report on television of the death of a mother and daughter; apparently both had died at the mother's hand. Also on the screen is the surviving member of the family, a widower described as Mark Bretherick. Watching with her husband, the woman, Sally, has to bite back the words that spring to her lips: this man is not Mark Bretherick! How does she know?

Everyone told Cara Shelly that she was crazy to set up a café in the shadow of eccentric Kentish stately home Tanton Towers. But three years later, the Happy Huffkin café is thriving, and Cara considers the Tanton Towers staff - and its eccentric owners, Max and Alison - to be like family. But one summer evening, Alison comes hurtling down to the café to beg her for help. Daphne Hanson, queen of the Towers' costume-clad dancing troupe is lying dead in the orangery. Strangled! But by whom? And why?

1851. Wealthy businessman Jacob Welland is dying of consumption and implores private detective Laetitia Rodd to find his beloved brother, whom he has not seen for 10 years. An impoverished Oxford scholar who left college to live as a wandering hermit, Joshua Welland has been spotted in a gypsy camp, where it was rumoured he was learning great secrets.

When Rebecca’s friend Abi convinces her to get away from it all at the fabulous Hawksley Manor hotel in York, it seems too good to be true. Pampering and relaxation are just what Rebecca needs to distract herself from the creeping suspicion that her husband is hiding something from her. She never imagined that by the end of the weekend she would have dined with celebrities or danced the night away in exclusive clubs.

A moving tale of laughter and loss from best-selling Cathy Hopkins. Emily and her dad have been on their own since her mum left. But Emily has a secret: she still sees her mum, and people are beginning to worry about her. Because Emily's mum isn't coming back.... But as her friendship with Mark starts to develop into something more, can Emily find the strength to start letting go?

1926, Kent. Lady Ansley's old Gaiety Theatre group are reuniting at Wychbourne Court for the weekend to perform the Follies. But, as Chef Nell Drury observes, Lady Ansley is worried. And rightly so, for as the group of actors and actresses - from the pompous Hubert Jarrett to the dashing Neville Heydock - prepare to take the stage, simmering tensions, old scores, fears and buried memories begin to resurface. What happened to Mary Ann Darling, the young Gaiety actress who disappeared 30 years ago? As the performance draws to a close, the real drama is only just beginning....

Best friends Lisa and Felicity think - maybe, just maybe - they finally have everything sorted out in their lives. Lisa is in a happy relationship with her old flame, and busy mum Felicity has managed to reignite the passion with her husband, Pete, after a romantic getaway. But when Lisa walks in on a half-naked woman in her boyfriend’s flat and Felicity is left reeling from a shocking discovery, it becomes clear that life is nothing but full of surprises....

A casual remark on the telephone leads Eleanor Hamilton to an appalling and deeply disturbing discovery: John, her husband of 20 years, has been leading a life of duplicity and betrayal. Shock, jealousy, and anger drive Eleanor to extraordinary limits in her desire for revenge. But then fate intervenes in the shape of a terrible accident.

'I love puzzles, and finding answers is the only truly enjoyable part of what I do.' This is because Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence. Nature has given us a messy, imperfect world, but her job is to help make sense of it when we need it to most. A pioneer of forensic ecology - using the natural world to help solve crimes - Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases.

The year is 1126. Heulwen, daughter of Welsh Marcher baron Guyon FitzMiles, has grown up with her father's ward, Adam de Lacey. There has always been a spark between them, but when Heulwen marries Ralf le Chevalier, a devastated Adam absents himself on various diplomatic missions. When Ralf is killed, Heulwen's father considers a new marriage for her with his neighbour's son, Warrin de Mortimer. Adam, recently returned to England, is determined not to lose Heulwen a second time....

Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick - well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company, Love Taxis, is more than just a gimmick - for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline. Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid....

It's 1969, and the summer of love still lingers in London, but Gilda is haunted by her wartime past. She walked out on her son, Reuben, when he was just a boy and fears he'll never forgive her. When he marries a small, blonde gentile, she takes it as the ultimate rejection. Her cold, distant son seems transformed by love. What does his new wife have that she doesn't? As Gilda's obsession builds, she starts to follow her daughter-in-law, copies her hairstyle and breaks into the newlyweds' home.

In a time of looming war, glittering spectacle and financial disasters, the wealthy liberals of the Whig Party work to topple a tyrannical prime minister and a lunatic king. Marriages and friendships stretch or break; political liaisons prove as dangerous as erotic ones; and everyone wears a mask. Will Eliza Farren, England's leading comedic actress, gain entry to that elite circle that calls itself the World?

When Arlette Blaise sees a German plane fly over the family farm in 1940, she’s comforted by the fact that the occupying forces are far away in the north of the country. Surely the war will not reach her family in the idyllic French countryside near to the small town of Oradour-sur-Glane? But then Saul Epstein, a young Jewish man driven from his home by the Nazis, arrives at the farm, and Arlette begins to realise that her peaceful existence might be gone for good....

Your worst nightmare just went viral…After being involved in a severe car accident and a vicious roadside assault, Beth Jordan wakes briefly to discover a coach party of students recording the aftermath with their phones. Beth furiously attacks the crowd before being restrained and lapsing into a coma. When she wakes in hospital, Beth is horrified when she’s told the video clips have been shared online and that millions of people around the world have now seen the incident.

Captivating Regency-era romances are the trademark of author Ann Lethbridge. Here Charles Mountford, Marquis of Tonbridge, is adamant about bringing his estranged brother, Robert, home. So he strikes a deal with his parents - Robert may return if Charles agrees to marry a proper young lady. Charles is happy to fulfill his duty - until he meets Miss Merry Draycott. The unconventional beauty isn’t exactly who his parents had in mind, yet he finds her impossible to resist.

Miriam hasn't left her house in three years, and cannot raise her voice above a whisper. But today she has had enough, and is finally ready to rejoin the outside world. Meanwhile, Ralph has made the mistake of opening a closet door, only to discover with a shock that his wife Sadie doesn't love him, and never has. And so he decides to run away.