Showing results by narrator "Janine Birkett" in All Categories

Silent Voices is the fourth book in Ann Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope series – which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera. No murder is ever simple . . . When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, at first, she thinks it is a...

1715: With the country on the brink of rebellion, Dorothy Forster’s life at Bamburgh Hall is ruled by the men in her life – her feckless brothers stirring up trouble at court, her elderly father with his dangerous secrets and the man she loves who the world seems determined to keep her apart from. As tensions grow, Dorothy finds herself caught between the warring factions, danger everywhere. Then Dorothy discovers her family are the keepers of the legendary Rose, the talisman both sides believe will guarantee them victory in this deadly conflict.

December 1943. As the war effort gathers steam in Europe, it's all hands on deck on the home front. Gloria is over the moon to be reunited with her sweetheart, Jack. But her sons, Bobby and Gordon, are away with the Navy and still know nothing of their mother's divorce and new half-sister. Rosie's squad of welders must work gruelling hours in the yard as they prepare for the Allied invasion of Normandy. All the while Rosie herself waits anxiously for news of her husband, Peter, who is carrying out dangerous work as an undercover operative in France.

When her mother dies in childbirth, Pearl Edwards is left in the care of her aunt, Annie Grafton. Annie loves Pearl like her own daughter, but it isn't easy to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Annie knows the best way to supplement their meagre income is to walk the pit lane at night, looking for men willing to pay for her company. As Pearl grows older she is unable to remain ignorant of Annie's profession, despite her aunt's attempts to shield her.

Even as a child Barbara was beautiful, but as her beauty grew so did the affliction which shadowed it. She was becoming deaf. Yet living in an almost silent world protected her from what could be a worse affliction - to know the truth of her own origins. Barbara had another protector in Anna Brigmore, who knew that truth and was haunted by the thought it must one day be revealed to this girl she cherished like her own child. And among the surrounding hills and valleys of Northumberland, it was a long-relished scandal....

Brought to you by Penguin. From the Sunday Times bestselling author Nancy Revell. When Lucy’s estranged mother dies unexpectedly, her grief is overwhelming. Lucy was disowned when she married penniless horse-trainer Danny for love, leaving her blue-blooded family’s fortune in tatters. But...

When the Gallachers received an invitation from the Duke of Moorshire to attend an evening at Lea Hall, Maggie was overwhelmed. She did not see the invitation as the rock on which she was to perish; nor was she prepared for the reaction of her family. But had Maggie, or any of the Gallachers, foreseen how it would turn out, how irrevocably it would change the lives of the family she loved so dearly, she would have torn that invitation into tiny pieces and thrown them all on the fire.

Brought to you by Penguin. **THE NINTH NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING SHIPYARD GIRLS SERIES** Sunderland, 1943: As Christmas approaches in the shipyards, everyone is hoping for a little magic... Helen would love to find the courage to tell the dashing Dr Parker of her true feelings for him. But how...

Hidden Depths is the third book in Ann Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope series – which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera. A killer who is making an art out of murder . . . A hot summer on the Northumberland coast and Julie Armstrong arrives home from a night out to...

It’s 1941, and as the Second World War rages on, girls from all over the country are signing up to the Women’s Land Army. Renowned for their camaraderie and spirit, it is these brave women who step in to take on the gruelling farm work from the men conscripted into the armed forces. When Yorkshire mill girl Una joins the cause, she wonders how she’ll adapt to country life. Luckily she’s quickly befriended by more experienced Land Girls Brenda and Grace. 

A life of poverty in a cramped pit cottage is all that 17-year-old Ruby Dinsdale has known. Even with her father and younger brother working at the coal mine, money is tight. Her mother, Mary, is skilled at stretching what little they have, but the small contribution Ruby makes from her job at the local pub makes all the difference. So when Ruby is sacked, and Mary becomes pregnant again, the family's challenges are greater than ever. When charming Miner Gordon begins to court Ruby, it seems as though happiness is on the horizon.

Brought to you by Penguin. THE FINAL NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING SHIPYARD GIRLS SERIES! January 1945. Spring is in the air. And so is victory... Wedding bells are ringing at long last for Gloria and her soon-to-be husband Jack. But she can't rest until her youngest son is safely home. Head welder...

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell, read by Janine Birkett. Sunderland, 1940, and the women go to the shipyards to do their bit for the war effort. Polly never dreamed she would be able to work in the shipyards like the men...

A body, a nightclub – and long-buried memories. Set in Northumberland, The Seagull is the eighth book in Ann Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope series – now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera. Obsession never dies . . . When prison inmate and former police officer John Brace...

Each generation of the Mallen family has been cursed with a dramatic white streak in their jet-black hair. Barbara does not have the visible streak to identify her as a Mallen, but she has spent her life trying to forget her parentage - and the horrific circumstances behind her birth. When her triplets - the Mallen litter - were born, she hoped that it would herald a new beginning. But it seems that one of her sons bears the Mallen streak - and that the Mallen curse will never die out....

Transport yourself to 1920s Liverpool, to be moved and delighted by this wonderful novel from one of the UK's best-loved saga authors. In 1920s Liverpool, Jane, her little brother Alfie and their mother Ellen have faced the horrors of the workhouse together. But when Ellen dies, two very different paths open up for the siblings. Jane is sent to work in the Empire Laundry and builds a new life for herself with the neighbours who take her in.

Gwenda and Douglas Brady were among the millions of British children sent to live with new families for their own safety during the Second World War, leaving behind their parents, their friends and all that felt familiar and safe. Evacuation could be a scary experience, but five-year-old Gwenda and her brother were lucky enough to be housed with a kindly schoolmaster and his wife, and soon the realities of the war felt very far away.

A New Short Story from Award-Winning Author Ann Cleeves Ann Cleeves, the Sunday Times No #1 bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera, Shetland and Two Rivers series, returns with a darkly delicious short story featuring DI Matthew Venn, as featured on ITV's The Long Call. This...

Natty and Sean Wainwright are happily married. Rock solid in fact. So when Natty's oldest friend, Eve Dalladay, appears - just as their daughter collapses on a school trip in France - Natty has no qualms about leaving Eve with Sean to help out at home. Two weeks later and Natty finds Eve has slotted into family life too well - her husband has fallen in love with Eve. He's sorry, he tells her, but their marriage is over. With no option but to put a brave face on things for the sake of the children, Natty embarks on building a new life for herself.

Brought to you by Penguin. A heart-warming, romantic story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Donna Douglas, Daisy Styles and Call the Midwife will adore. Winter, 1942. Brenda and Joyce are just two of the girls who have joined the Women’s Land Army and are...