Showing results by narrator "Victoria Brazier" in All Categories

Someone's not playing by the rules… The book club may have the clue to a murder… The reading group at Norcester’s specialist crime bookshop adore a cosy whodunnit. So they are delighted to find themselves guests of honour at a remote country house for the weekend, to inspect the extensive...

Brought to you by Penguin. THE EMOTIONAL CONCLUSION TO THE ROWNTREES GIRL SERIES! January 1945. The end of the war at last feels within reach, and the Rowntrees workers dream of returning to work on chocolate rather than munitions. Within the Freeman household, there are also dreams of a...

'Utterly captivating. Perfect for fans of The Marlow Murder Club Mysteries' Michael Wood, bestselling crime fiction author 'A humorous, gripping cosy mystery story that every crime fiction lover will really enjoy' Fiona Leitch, bestselling cosy crime author Nothing is deadlier than angry...

Hester Carlye has no wish to look after the pampered offspring of the rich anymore, in spite of being a highly sought-after governess. But with her elderly father frail, and the roof of their rundown cottage falling in, she has no choice but to accept a dazzling new placement. Movie star Aidan Neil is box office gold, but after the tragic death of his wife Dinah Doyle, he needs Hester’s help to raise their young daughter Erin. Aidan and Dinah were once the perfect Hollywood couple, but stars don’t shine forever…

Ruby McBride has always been on the wrong side of authority. The grand opening of the Manchester Ship Canal is set to be a day of unfettered festivity for Ruby and her younger sister and brother. Even Queen Victoria will be in attendance. But the glories of the ceremony fade into insignificance when their dying mother delivers them to the imposing oak doors of Ignatius House. Abandoned in the not-so-tender care of the nuns, the siblings are soon separated.

The aroma of chocolate was as familiar to Molly Freeman as the nose on her face. Living and schooling on Haxby Road alongside the Rowntrees Chocolate Factory, Molly watched the daily trudge of women employed there in their white uniforms as she sat at her school desk. When Molly secures a job on the production line at the factory, she's excited to become one of these women. As she labours hard at the factory, she meets Connie. Quickly the two form a close friendship, and Molly begins to see the world differently.

Isabella Ashton has always been her father’s favourite, but when she gets involved with the new Birth Control Movement, he is scandalised. A decade has elapsed since the end of the Great War and running a family planning clinic in Salford is challenging but rewarding work. Bella is grateful for the help of Violet Howarth, a generous-hearted woman who takes her in off the street. Before long, a friendship with Violet’s son, Dan, blossoms into the beginnings of love.

World War Two has arrived for the girls of the Rowntrees factory, and with rationing crippling the country, chocolate production has been driven to a bare minimum. It's all change for the Freeman sisters when the Rowntrees factory is turned over to making munitions. Molly is put on the fuse and detonator line, soon becoming skilled at her work despite the dangers. Rose copes with husband Ned’s absence with the RAF by relishing her position on the Board. And Annie joins the Land Army, billeted to a pig farm in Lancashire.

Dolly Tomkins has always known what it is to live hand to mouth. In the mean streets of a Salford struggling under the mantle of the Great Depression, the only one making a decent living is the talleyman. Though Nifty Jack has a money bag where his heart should be, Dolly’s mam is in hock up to her ears and in dire need of assistance. But when Jack offers to wipe the slate clean, Dolly just can’t bring herself to trust him. Instead, she takes him on at his own game and in the process endangers everything she holds most dear as a revelation about the past rocks the very foundations of her world.

Manchester, 1960. When you're young, unmarried and pregnant, in a shaming society that will never understand, there's only one place left to go. St Ann's mother and baby home. That's how restless Joan, who dreams of a glamorous new life in the Big Smoke, finds herself shut away with two unlikely new roommates: spirited Megan and timid country-girl Caroline, who fell pregnant on her first time. Abandoned by their families, they have no one to rely on but each other, as they wait out the days before they birth their babies - only to be parted from them forever.

What if the person lying to you is your husband, the man who claims to love you more than anything in the world? Isolated in his remote Scottish ancestral home on the pretext that you are psychologically fragile and recovering from a breakdown, this home has become a prison. As the days slip by in a haze of confusion and a cocktail of drugs administered by a loyal housekeeper, you begin to piece together the fragments of your life and stumble on a terrifying secret.

Welcome to the Lakeside Cottage...a place for families, friends and loved one to share the perfect seasonal escape.

When a cryptic invitation brings Giulia Pepper to her uncle's remote estate in Devon, she arrives in dire need of a benefactor, only to discover that her uncle never sent her any invitation—nor does he want her there. Forced into a corner, Giulia must contrive a way to convince him to allow her to remain, just long enough to figure out where to go next.

Sarah is lonely. Living in a small Yorkshire village with just her grandmother for company, she longs to be reunited with her mother and sisters in Manchester. When she meets the mysterious Joe Bancroft, she feels her luck might be changing. And, before long, Sarah's married with a baby on the way. But Sarah's hopes for a family home are dashed by Joe's work, which takes him away from her for months at a time. And when tragedy strikes, Sarah is left more alone than ever.

After a kid's party faux-pas, mother Janine anonymously vents about her father-in-law's behaviour on internet forum Am I The Villain Here? When the community is invited to take sides the post goes viral, with mild-mannered Roy ending up in the national newspapers and sparking protests at his local library. REASONABLE PEOPLE explores how judging others reveals our deepest, most unreasonable selves - with Hulse's trademark heart, humour and humanity.

Lord Nathaniel Westlake has a reputation with the ladies, but he has always been two steps ahead of it catching up to him. His last narrow escape lands him on a ship and it seems like the perfect solution. Until he learns the ship is bound for India. The only available woman on board is a lady already wise to his antics. If he makes a muddle of things this time, there will be no escape.

Jess Delaney has always longed for independence. But when the Blitz reaches Manchester, she is locked in the cellar by her feckless mother, Lizzie. As bombs rain down from a sky turned blood red with flame, Jess waits for Lizzie to return. But fortunes are fickle, and soon Jess finds herself packed off to live with her tyrant Uncle Bernie, a bullying black marketeer. Though he treats her like a servant, she seeks refuge in the Sally Army, and her natural musical talent offers both an escape route and the chance for love.

Lady Isabel Palmer is crushed when her best friend and fellow adventurer, Marcus, leaves without even a good-bye. As years pass, tales of his rakish lifestyle reach her, and she buries any feelings she ever had for him. But when Marcus shows up years later in the middle of her father’s hunting party, old feelings and bitterness surface, placing the once close friends constantly at odds.

Lord Ian Pinkerton enjoyed a carefree life until his brother cut him off without a penny. After he wins an estate, he thinks his luck may be changing. Until he sees it. With no funds to fix his rundown estate, Ian considers leaving Scotland until he meets his beautiful neighbor. But to his surprise, she seems to detest him.

Aurelia Beswick’s life hangs by a thread. Penniless and alone, she grasps at her last hope: a position as a governess far from London. Little does she know that fate has a cruel twist in store. Her new employer is none other than Lord Ryland—a man from her past she never expected to see again. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to remember her. Determined to keep her position, Aurelia finds herself walking a precarious line, keeping her identity a secret while every interaction with Lord Ryland seems to draw them closer together.