Showing results by narrator "Antonia Beamish" in All Categories

Don't be deceived by Northaven's prettiness, by its white-wash houses and its sea views. In truth, many of its townsfolk are ruthless hunters. They revile those who have developed songlight, the ability to connect telepathically with others. Anyone found with this sixth sense is caught, persecuted and denounced. Welcome to the future. Lark has lived in grave danger ever since her own songlight emerged. Then she encounters a young woman in peril, from a city far away. An extraordinary bond is forged. But who can they trust?

Two years on from uncovering a terrifying conspiracy of rogue scientists, all Kate Maddox wants is to lead a normal life with her partner, Paul, and son, Jack. But then a face from the past turns up, bringing chilling news. A devastating new strain of the virus that killed Kate's parents is loose in LA - and when a bomb rips through a hotel, killing many top scientists, it becomes clear someone will do anything to stop a cure being found.

Ella has never known love. Left as a baby outside the workhouse, Ella has only ever been treated with unkindness; especially from the hateful guardians of the workhouse, who hold the fate of the inmates in their cruel hands. When she is sold as a scullery maid to a new home, Ella hopes for a better life. But her hopes are dashed as she struggles to do all the work heaped on her thin shoulders by her brutish master. Daring to escape her harsh treatment, it isn’t long before she is caught and once again finds herself at the mercy of an uncaring world.

Alone and on the streets after their mother ends up in hospital, Charlie has promised his little sister, Maisie, he’ll never let her feel frightened again. That promise is hard to keep when Maisie falls ill. Hope comes in the shape of Susan and the other nurses at the local hospital. Times are tough, and lately they’ve seen even more children come through their doors who need kindness and a loving home. The only way to keep Charlie and Maisie out of the orphanage is to find them a good foster home, but there are far too many people who’d take them in for their own ruthless ends.

What would you do if a stranger told you your son was going to die? Silas is 10 years old when the headaches start. When the diagnosis arrives, his parents are told they have until Christmas...maybe. And so begins Sarah Pullen's battle to save her son, against doubting doctors and insurmountable odds. This story about love and loss traces her family's journey from that first day at the hospital, battling a tumour they named Bob, through Silas' death and beyond.

Why do you love your child? Is it because they're a straight A student, a talented footballer? Or is it simply because they're yours? Sarah and Phil love both their children, James and Lauren. The couple have the same hopes and aspirations as any parent. But their expectations are shattered when they discover that their perfect baby daughter has been born with a flaw: a tiny but life-changing glitch that is destined to shape her future, and theirs, irrevocably.

I have no idea why they think I had anything to do with Danielle’s accident. My only crime was being there when she fell down the stairs. My therapist, Justine, thinks I'm hiding something. She's quite the character, but I know what she wants to hear. She's the least of my problems. Because, yes. Maybe I am hiding something. But it's not what she thinks. And if people found out, it wouldn't be just my own life in danger...

The heartbreaking and compelling new audiobook set in a Victorian workhouse from the author of The Orphans of Halfpenny Street. When Lucy and her brother, Joshua, are orphaned, it falls to Joshua to provide for them both, but he is barely into his teens and, in his naivety, falls prey to bad influences and drink. Lucy is desperate to avoid the workhouse, but when Joshua loses their meagre savings they are thrown out onto the street, and, in dire poverty, it isn’t long before Lucy finds herself at its gates - almost a fate worse than death.

Eliza was left as a small baby at the workhouse in Whitechapel, wrapped in her mother’s shawl, which is all she has of the mother she never knew. At 11 years old, she has survived sickness, near starvation and harsh beatings. Master Simpkins and his cruel daughter rule the workhouse with a rod of iron, but when Romany boy Joe arrives at the workhouse, his spirit and courage give Eliza hope. When she is sold into service, Eliza is relieved to be out of the workhouse and hopes her fortunes are changing for the better, but cruelty and unkindness are everywhere....

Laurel Bowman has started a new life as a teacher on the isolated Suffolk coast while she tries to get over the murder of her sister. But it seems she cannot escape from death. When the headmaster's wife is murdered, the detective in charge, idiosyncratic DI Frank Diamond, soon has a list of suspects. He is no stranger to Laurel, but despite their troubled past, together they start to unravel the truth. Then the murderer strikes again and Laurel must fight, not just for justice, but for her life.

Holly's husband died, and she's lonely. She needs to do something to save herself, quickly. Next thing she knows she's interviewing for a voluntary cooking job, surprised to be ambushed by a scruffy man who looks like he has a past. Angus has messed up. He's lost the respect of his family and has none for himself. If it weren't for his brother and friend who run the café, he'd be sleeping on the streets. Angus is about ready to give up—until he meets Holly, who sparks something in him. Then Lauren arrives from the homeless shelter.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell. July 1986. Vince and Joy have their whole lives ahead of them on the day they meet. Two weeks later they must part, each having lost a piece of their heart to the other. They won't see one another for seven years. Where will they be then? And in the years that follow? What will become of Vince and Joy?

Laura is watching the world go by without her. Unable to leave her house since suffering a trauma, Laura is stuck gazing out of her window at Willow Crescent, relying on husband Jim and best friend Debbie for help. Then one day, Jim doesn’t come home. A day becomes two, days become a week, and still no sign of Jim. And with the police half-hearted in their efforts to look for him, Laura is forced into a decision. She’s going to have to face the world outside and find her husband herself. But what Laura hasn’t realised is that Willow Crescent is a community, eager to help.

At Black Rabbit Hall nothing much ever happens - time seems to move slower at this idyllic holiday home in Cornwall. Until the worst thing happens and for the Alton children time feels like it's stopped altogether. In the present day, Lorna Smith is searching for her perfect wedding venue and is inexplicably drawn to the now crumbling Black Rabbit Hall, unaware that her own history is locked up in those derelict walls....

To control the past, they edited history. To control the future, they edited literature. London, 1953, Coronation year - but not the Coronation of Elizabeth II. Thirteen years have passed since a Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany was formalised. George VI and his family have been murdered and Edward VIII rules as king. Yet, in practice, all power is vested in Alfred Rosenberg, Britain's Protector. The role and status of women is Rosenberg's particular interest.

Aftermath chronicles this perilous journey as the author redefines herself as a single woman and creates a new version of family life for her daughters. She discovers previously unknown strengths and freedoms but also finds herself suddenly vulnerable to outsiders, unwelcome advice, social displacement and the absence of a clear authority. The pressure to reconstruct a 'normal' life for her daughters competes with the sense that nothing feels normal at all.

Admittedly, it wasn't murder. A moment's carelessness, a tragic accident - and two children are dead. Yours. Living in a small island community, you can't escape the woman who destroyed your life. Each chance encounter is an agonizing reminder of what you've lost - your family, your future, your sanity. How long before revenge becomes irresistible? With no reason to go on living, why shouldn't you turn your darkest thoughts into deeds?

By the time she was 18, Caroline Jones had lived in five different African countries as well as Pakistan. Her father worked for the UN, and the family followed him to countries in or on the border of civil wars and famines. It was a childhood full of adventure, but it was also transient and impermanent. At 16 she went to boarding school in England and then on to Oxford University. At 17 Caroline developed bulimia, a disease that became like a lover to her, her map through darkness.

Schoolboy Luke runs away to London, far from the abusive orphanage where he grew up. He’s desperate not to end up as a petty criminal and forced to beg for scraps on the street. Luke wanders the East End docks, struggling to find honest employment and morsels of food to fill his grumbling stomach. Longing to be a part of the close-knit community, Luke volunteers to work with the local doctor and his wife. Their kind words and welcoming home is everything he’s ever wished for. But not everyone wants the best for Luke and his new friends.

Following the death of his beloved father, Arthur is sent to Canada for safety with a group of evacuees on the eve of the Second World War. Alone and afraid, plagued with seasickness, and an unknown future, he can't imagine things getting any worse. Far from what he feared, Arthur is welcomed with warmth and kindness. But even on the other side of the world, the war can’t be escaped and before long, his new family are touched by it too. Faced with another dramatic change in his life, everything starts to change again for Arthur.