Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

Zoe loves teaching science, she loves her garden, and most of all she loves her quiet, peaceful bungalow. Then at school, people start falling ill. The virus is airborne and highly infectious. It starts with flu symptoms, confusion, and sleepiness, which worsen until one day they just don't wake up. It decimates the population and leaves chaos in its wake. Now Zoe has to find a way to survive. Luckily, when the pandemic strikes, she already has a greenhouse full of vegetable seedlings, but not everyone around is as prepared.

Withering and waspish, Ursula Smart (not her real name) gate-crashes her mother's book club at an isolated country house for a long weekend retreat. Much to Mother's chagrin. Joining them are Mother's best friend, Mirabelle, Aunts Charlotte and Less, and Bridget with her dog, Mr. Bojangles. It doesn't matter that they've read Gone Girl three times this year already, this retreat is their chance to escape bustling suburbia. But someone has other ideas. A body is found in the grounds.

Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life. Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.

Welcome to Seacastle, a neglected resort on England's south coast. Divorced, broke, and saddled with a malevolent rescue cat, Tanya Bowe has swapped investigative journalism for running a struggling vintage furniture shop. When her tech-savvy stepson, Mouse, invades her life, he's a reminder that the modern world moves faster than she does. But life takes a darker turn when an old schoolmate is found dead in her family mansion.

Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven - everyone's favourite detective club! These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. In book nine, a girl has mysteriously run away from home and her parents are frantic with worry. Can the Secret Seven follow...

It's been years since Zoe Fairchild has been to the small Devon village of her birth, but the wounds she suffered there still ache. When she learns that her old friend and grandmother's caretaker has gone missing, Zoe and her fifteen-year-old daughter return to England to help. Zoe dreads seeing her estranged mother, who left when Zoe was seven to travel the world. As the four generations of women reunite, the emotional pain of the past is awakened. And to complicate matters further, Zoe must also confront the ex-boyfriend she betrayed many years before.

Since giving up their city jobs in London and moving to rural France over ten years ago, Janine and husband Mark have renovated their dream home and built a new life for themselves, adjusting to the delights and the peculiarities of life in a small French village. Including much-loved village characters such as Mr. and Mrs. Pepperpot, Jean-Claude, Claudette, and the infamous Bread Man, Toujours La France also introduces listeners to some new faces and funny stories, as Janine and Mark continue their lives in this special part of northern France. There is never a quiet moment.

When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne―tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace―in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents, and a series of events which will change the world.

Welcome to Malory Towers, where there's more to life than lessons! This term the fourth-formers are busy planning for the school Christmas concert, but that doesn't stop them plotting tricks too! Susan is supposed to be in charge of the play but bossy Sylvia wants to take over, and new teacher...

The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill.

Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven - everyone's favourite detective club! These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. A store of stolen silver, a surprising view through a telescope, a shrill scream on a night out, a disappearing cash box, a...

Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven - everyone's favourite detective club! These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. In book seven, the Secret Seven have a fantastic new hiding place, but somebody else has been using it too. Whoever it is is...

Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven - everyone's favourite detective club! These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. In book eleven, Jack's little sister, Susie, is so annoying! The Secret Seven are furious when they discover she's formed...

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Criminally clever' Daily Mail 'The perfect holiday treat' Guardian This collection of tales by the No 1 bestselling author features all her best-loved characters: Dr Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson, Max Mephisto, Detective Harbinder Kaur and more. It features...

Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to the Tudor Queen Elizabeth has trained Kit Scarlett since she was a girl. Aware that she is able to infiltrate places that his male agents cannot, he sees her as an invaluable member of his team. When Walsingham discovers that a rebel alliance is planning to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and put Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne, he summons Kit immediately. Together with loyal Scottish agent Iomhar Blackwood, Kit is tasked with finding out the full details of the treasonous plot.

Gina has lost her perfect job, her boyfriend, and her favorite aunt all within the space of a few months. So when she inherits her aunt's ramshackle French house, Gina decides to pack her bags for the Bordeaux countryside - swapping English weather for blue skies, sunshine, great wine, and a fresh start. What she hasn't factored in is a hole in the roof, the most embarrassing language faux pas, and discovering family secrets she was never supposed to know.  

SHEER MISCHIEF by bestselling author Jill Mansell is an unmissable romantic comedy about sisterly love and rivalry... Not to be missed by readers of Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes. It's not that Janey Sinclair isn't pleased to see her sister. It's just that being woken at seven by Maxine...

After the Forest is a dark and enchanting fantasy debut from Kell Woods that explores the repercussions of a childhood filled with magic and a young woman contending with the truth of “happily ever after.” Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour. Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house...

“A heartfelt and lovely Christmas tale for book lovers everywhere!”—Jenny Colgan, author of The Bookshop on the Shore In small-town England, two booksellers facing tough times decide to spread some Christmas cheer through the magic of anonymous book deliveries in this uplifting holiday...

The fifteenth century was a turbulent age: the Hundred Years War between England and France, and the Wars of the Roses dominated the lives of people both inside and out of the royal courts. Joan of Navarre, Katherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Wydeville and Anne Neville were the queens who stood by England's sovereigns, caught up in wars that changed the course of their lives, and the course of history. They were also formidable women who defied the limitations of their times, often living out the brutal consequences of their determination.