Showing results by narrator "Virginia Ferguson" in All Categories

Who came up with the idea that if a man is a prince, he must always marry a princess? Things come to a head when one rebellious royal decides to dispute this rule.

Only a few months earlier, the young woman now known as Jane Smith had lived a life of luxury and privilege as the ruler of a small Balkan kingdom. She lived a life of glittering balls, the finest furnishings, the most handsome men, the most exquisite of foods. Her only friends were four bearded old men who served as her cabinet, and worshiped the ground she walked on. Then the Germans had marched in, and she and her four councilors barely escaped with their lives.

Recently retired from the Royal Navy, much acclaimed Captain Bartholomew Grayson has come home to London. He’s looking forward to the Christmastide season, especially now that he’s adopted his 10-year-old former cabin boy. The waif needs a family, and Bart wants to recapture the joy of his own childhood. Too bad the fly in the ointment is a strong-willed harridan with a tart mouth intent on stealing his cargo.

Operation Rhubarb was an MI5 and Scotland Yard joint undercover investigation of Brockeln Belland, a city of London bank of impenetrable pedigree that was brought to a violent close 10 ago. One survivor of the blast, now-16-year-old Juliet, is seeking the truth about her parents' death. As the old case notes land on a Scotland Yard detective inspector's desk, Juliet's back-door inquiry opens a deadly can of worms that the Establishment presumed buried.

Anyone who likes to go out in a little black dress can thank Coco Chanel for making it fashionable. The French designer behind the iconic brand of haute couture grew up in poverty, though. Delve into this biography to learn all about the rags-to-riches life of this fashion icon.

For years, Lady Melloria Whitmore has believed her childhood best friend and secret love Brigham Clarke agreed to marry her out of a sense of duty. Knowing how important Brigham’s work with Parliament is to him, she agrees to see him once a year, when he returns to his country estate for the holidays. This Christmas, Mellie vows to give Brigham the one thing he has always wanted: an heir. For one night, she’ll share his bed, and she’ll have that memory of passion to get her through the long winter nights without him.

No heavy breathing, no verbal threats and yet the mysterious, oppressive silence on the telephone line is equally as frightening to Tessa. She knows that somehow these calls are linked to her past...perhaps to her daughter, Suzanne, and the dark secret which surrounds her birth. At least in Russell Davidson Tessa has found a friend she can trust, but the unexpected reappearance of his brother Richard is very disquieting. And she badly needs Detective Inspector Philip Anthony's professional assistance.

"What happens when an irresistible force encounters an immovable object?" The ancient paradox becomes a real-life problem when a woman, whose wealth and influence are matched only by her arrogance and violent temper, encounters someone with the strength of character to rival her own. It is bad enough that this new, formidable foe is a mere girl. But to make matters worse, she also happens to be the great lady's only granddaughter.

After a three-year absence mired in anxiety and trapped by her lack of speech, portrait miniaturist Susannah Gresham gathers her courage and returns to Whitehall Palace and her godfather, the king. Encountering Florentine jeweler Raphael Rossi, who appears to her just another court libertine, she is surprised when he finds his way unbidden into her thoughts. With help from the Duchess of Richmond, Raphael has set out to win her heart.

Ever since she created a scandal at a Christmas ball, Charlotte Moore has dreaded the return of the holiday. This year, at a small Christmas party, Charlotte is tasked with proving to her family that she can behave within society's expectations or be permanently exiled to her aunt's rural manor. Charlotte is determined to stifle her unladylike urges and act the perfect debutante. But then the very cause of her past scandal comes knocking at the door, and it has, in tow, the daring, dashing, devil-may-care Henry Simmons.

Phillip Brown wakes up one bitter November morning to find a woman near frozen on the stoop of the Baltimore home he shares with his sister and uncle. The unconscious woman eventually awakens, unwilling to share who has terrified her while she makes a recovery in the Brown home. He continues his work at the Wiest Oyster Cannery and pouring beer on occasion at his neighborhood brewery while guarding his family from dangerous criminals’ intent of silencing his discoveries about the woman.

In one of the first crime novels ever set behind the scenes of big-time television, Clarence Budington Kelland has plotted a thrilling adventure of danger and death which climaxes in a series of fast-moving surprises. Peter Mortain, one of the youngest directors in this very young medium, was beleaguered enough, directing the first episode of the most expensive variety show ever produced. He had a cast whose first appearance on television made them skittish, a thousand technical details to handle, and a star…who was also his boss!

In the snow-kissed splendor of Regency England, a jaded lord with a scandalous past and a heartbroken lady determined to avoid love find themselves irresistibly drawn together in a chance meeting. Lady Eleanor Winthrop has sworn off marriage after a broken engagement. Her fierce independence and sharp wit are her shields against a world that has let her down. Lord Alexander Harrington, Marquess Rockingham, is a dashing rake with a reputation as notorious as it is scandalous.

When a spate of sudden deaths occurs amongst the elderly in Ellie's home town, the South Australian ambulance officer grows concerned. After a man purporting to be the relative of one of the deceased who clearly is not moves into the old man’s house, she becomes suspicious. She alerts a local cop, Nick, who takes her concerns seriously.

Phillip Brown and Timothy Sweitzinger became best friends as boys, went off to war together, and remained steadfast as men to guard each other’s backs from all threats. When Timothy is found in bed with a dead woman, covered in her blood and with no memory of what happened, Phillip vows to uncover what really happened. Phillip’s investigation takes him all over the city of Baltimore, from the lowest of its citizens to the highest, and even to those who were thought to be above suspicion.

In late November a few weeks after rare book expert Crystal McInney’s relationship with her long-time boyfriend ends abruptly, she trades the sunshine of Orlando, Florida, for a more traditional Christmas atmosphere in her hometown of Placer, South Dakota. Unsure of her future, she begins a new job: cataloging and valuing the massive private library of Saul Custer, the town curmudgeon. Saul’s son Jason, whom she had jilted in their junior year of high school, shows up from New York City with his fiancée.

In 1930s England, Jessie Harper finds herself caught up in the latest case of the Dale Street Private Investigations Agency. Along with her partner George Jenkins, and Khan, the talking cat with magical powers, she sets off to London to solve the mystery of the kidnapped pedigree cats and the wealthy socialites who have received ransom demands for their beloved pets. But this case is unlike any they've faced before. Khan has gone undercover to gather information. Detective Sergeant Bill Roberts, Jessie’s mentor, is seconded from the Liverpool City Police to lead the investigation in London.

Dr. Evangeline Beauford thought blood held no secrets from her. As one of Boston's leading hematologists, she's dedicated her career to studying blood's mysteries—until a posthumous letter from her estranged sister draws her back to Beauford Grove after eighteen years away. The family's olive plantation shouldn't exist in Alabama soil. The trees shouldn't weep crimson sap. And her own family's blood work shouldn't show impossible anomalies that her scientific mind can't explain.

It's 412 AD, and the Roman Empire is on the brink of collapse. In Albion, Lalia gathers with fellow supplicants to call on the Goddess Cybele to aid Londinium. When a rival mob attacks, a golden orb is lost, trapping the goddess in her statue. Before she turns to stone, Cybele lays a curse on Lalia's head; she is bound in a cycle of reincarnation and death. Only the return of the orb will set her free.

Hattie Moon, a modern-day Miss Marple, is thrown into a mystery close to home when her son Howie, gets engaged. While his bride-to-be is charming, Hattie learns the woman is a widow who lives with her mother and sister, who are also widows. Naturally, Hattie becomes concerned...as she should.