Showing results by narrator "Helen McAlpine" in All Categories

When eight-year-old Cait Yorke goes missing on a remote island off the coast of the wild Scottish Highlands, PC Fiona MacLeish is quickly sent to investigate. But a gale is gathering force, and Fiona becomes increasingly concerned for a little girl braving the strong winds alone. As Fiona questions the locals, she soon realizes that they are hiding many secrets. What is this island, and who really lives here? Then a boat violently crashes off the coast of the island. On board, Fiona discovers the body of a man who has clearly been murdered.

The human body is like an exceedingly well-fortified castle, defended by billions of soldiers - some live for less than a day, others remember battles for decades, but all are essential in protecting us from disease. This hidden army is our immune system, and without it we could not survive the eternal war between us and our microscopic enemies. Immune explores the incredible arsenal that lives within us - how it knows what to attack and what to defend and how it kills everything from the common cold to the plague bacterium.

The gripping new thriller from the author of What Goes Around and Do Me No Harm. Do you ever feel that prickle on the back of your neck, as though someone's watching you? Someone is watching Hannah. Her name is Ruby, and her job as CCTV operative means she can follow Hannah everywhere she goes. It's against the law, but Ruby is willing to do whatever is necessary to keep Hannah safe. And there's no harm in just watching. Until just watching isn't enough....

Since the death of her mother, Kate Kennedy has been parent, helper and housekeeper to her large family. But life changes drastically as the young men leave the pits and head to the Great War. Desolate to watch brothers and friends march into danger, Kate must stay at home to hold her family together. Against all odds, Kate's baking skills create a path out of poverty. But as storm clouds gather over Europe again, the love, life and happiness she's fought so hard for may not survive - will she lose everything?

When you've forgotten how to live, help can arrive in mysterious ways.... Successful artist Isabel Ramsay has never come to terms with the tragic death of her mother. Haunted by what happened, Isabel finds her own life spiraling out of control until, one winter's day, she gives up, unable to bear the pain of living any longer. Yet somehow she wakes up, remembering a vision of a mysterious woman who has saved her.

Growing up as a schoolmaster's daughter in rural Scotland, Kirsty Robertson has always dreamt of following in her father's footsteps. When her father dies, she becomes even more determined to make him proud. Dedicated to her career, Kirsty knows she can't let love get in her way. She spurns the advances of her friend, Jamie, a farmhand. But she finds herself increasingly drawn to Hugh, the laird's son, whose family she knows would never approve of him marrying a poor schoolteacher. When World War I breaks out and Hugh leaves to fight, Kirsty knows her future is in question once more.

Nothing has turned out quite how Rhona Beech thought: she's been swapping one so-so job for another on an annual basis...and now her nine-year relationship has ended abruptly. When her lukewarm efforts to adjust to the changes in her life are thrown entirely up in the air by some unwelcome news, Rhona has to think again.Her sardonic, funny, poignant attempts to find an answer to the questions she's facing are helped by a cast of friends, strangers and trained professionals..

At Forest School, the Woodland Explorers are learning about fungi and how it connects trees underground in a huge network known as the Wood Wide Web. When Shyla is given her grandmother’s binoculars, she discovers mushrooms growing in a circle, called a pixie ring. Suddenly her eyes are opened to a whole new world - and magical woodland creatures show Shyla how to spread the word about protecting the forest.

Bridie lives on the remote Scottish island of Tornish, the youngest of three sisters. Although she loves her island, with its wild seas and big skies, she guiltily nurses a secret dream of flight - to America and the freedom of the New World. But her family are struggling under the spiteful oppression of the new Laird, and it seems that even some of the Laird's own household are desperate to leave. When the Laird's full cruelty becomes apparent, there's no more time for daydreams as Bridie needs to help the people she loves escape to safety.

Isla's brother, an ex-marine and private investigator, has just been found drowned in the River Clyde. The coroner declares it an accidental death. The police are happy to close the case. But Isla is convinced he was murdered. Determined to find out what really happened the night Dougie died and what he was doing in Glasgow, she starts looking into his unsolved cases. What she finds will put her in grave danger and force her to question everything she thought she knew about those closest to her....

The only people who’ve been inside our house are the ones I thought I could trust. Someone close is watching me, speaking to Olivia and trying to make me look like a bad parent. I don’t care what my husband says. I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my life, but my precious child means everything to me. They have no idea how far I’ll go to protect my daughter…

The city of Lifestone is under siege! A dark army under the command of the undead sorceress Ashnakh swarms outside the city walls, awaiting her order to attack. The only ones who can stop her are six brave children, each of them marked with a symbol of the Mortal Realms and each sworn to defend Life against the forces of Death.

Knotshead is a school catering for the children of the rich, famous, liberal - and deluded. With its progressive curriculum, complacent staff and beautiful grounds, it looks like paradise. But the clever, the odd and the bookish are relentlessly persecuted as pupils make their own rules in a bubble of privilege and prejudice.

Sometimes hope is the most dangerous thing of all. When their brother dies, sisters Freya and Tamsin lose the one thing that connected them. But when Tamsin goes missing a year later, Freya is determined to find her. Guided by a trail of diary entries, revelations are unveiled about the grief that drove Tamsin to the edge of a cliff - and into the arms of a mysterious stranger... A man who promised hope but demanded sacrifice.

When police officer Fiona MacLeish stumbles upon a group of fellow hikers in dire trouble in the dramatic peaks of the Scottish Highlands, she has no choice but to help. One of the party has fallen off the path, lying below with the crisp white snow around his head starting to turn scarlet. Fiona soon learns the potential accident is actually a deliberate murder. But who would want to hurt this man and why? With visibility worsening and the snowstorm getting worse, Fiona and the group of hikers make it just in time to a nearby shelter.

"McAlpine's wispy narration is a great fit...a satisfying start to a new series." —AudioFile on The Fireborne Blade A tale of honor, dragons, and a love that endures beyond death Come for the journey through the underworld. Stay for the suspiciously familiar winged cat. After their dubiously...

To begin with, what the hell is a novel? It's basically a tiny world, where characters are born, live and (sometimes) die. To write one all you need is a notebook and a pen - but along the way you'll want to learn about good writing habits, planning, mastering descriptions and dialogue and how to pull it all together. This book will guide you through the process and orient you towards the goal of publication. From absolute beginner to novelista, this book will change the way you write and think about writing.

Abandoned by her mother and left in the care of an absent father, as a child Francesca escaped her sad reality by dreaming of a better life. Her dream came true the summer she turned nine and she met the FitzRoys - a loving family who welcomed her into their world. Almost two decades later...

Life in front of the camera is harder than it looks... When Ted is spotted by a model agency, she can't believe it. At the same time her gorgeous sister, Ava, is diagnosed with cancer. With her world turned upside down, Ted has a lot of growing up to do, some of it in five-inch platforms.

The colour drains from my husband’s face as she releases him. When Ted says her name–Alice–my blood runs cold. Because I’ve heard her name before. Alice is the woman who broke my kind husband’s heart. Ted told me she vanished from his life after their breakup, but has he been lying this whole time? I stare at him in disbelief, but he swears he never invited her. Can I believe him? Whatever actually happened, I want her out of my house… but as thunder cracks and the sky turns dark, a huge storm sets in. We’re stuck here: is this my chance to discover the truth?