Showing results by narrator "Mary Woodvine" in All Categories

Cracow, 1893. Thirty-eight-year-old Zofia Turbotyńska has assured her husband’s rise through the ranks to university professor and is now looking for something to fill her long days at home. To stave off the boredom and improve her social standing, she decides to organise a charity raffle. To recruit the requisite patronage of elderly aristocratic ladies, she visits Helcel House, a retirement home run by nuns.

Meteorologist Sky Matthews does not like surprises. Sky monitors her life like she does the weather, carefully and with a scientific eye. So, when she misses out on her dream job abroad and finds herself with no choice but to take a position on a tidal island off the Cornish harbour town of St Felix instead, she feels completely at sea. Worse still, she has to work alongside TV weatherman Sonny Stevens, who barely knows his storms from his tsunamis.

When Juno Browne finds a life-sized effigy floating in the River Ashburn, a note attached claims it as the work of Cutty Dyer, Ashburton’s mythical blood-drinking demon. But despite Juno’s instinct that this is a sign of trouble ahead, the police dismiss her find as a practical joke. Then the body of a woman is discovered by the river, and it becomes clear that a killer has taken on Cutty’s identity. As suspicion falls on someone close to her, Juno finds herself drawn into solving the mystery, desperate to prove her friend’s innocence.

Julia Thayne is a valued and loving wife, a successful mother and a beautiful woman. She is everything most other women strive to be. But beneath the surface is a terrible secret that threatens to tear her perfect world apart. Joshua is Julia's husband—a dynamic, devastatingly handsome man with great style, charisma and humour. He is utterly devoted to his wife and children, but as the ghosts of Julia's past begin to move into their marriage, he finds himself losing the struggle to keep them together. Then two telephone calls change everything.

On the day Juno Browne’s van goes up in flames and nearly cooks a dog, Juno meets James Westershall, owner of Moorworthy Chase, a large family estate. She is invited, along with her friends from Old Nick’s, to bring along their goods for sale to an upcoming garden fete. Included in the invitation is the newest and most irritating member of the Old Nick’s team, Gavin. During the fete, Gavin wanders off and is later discovered dead in nearby woods, apparently the victim of a bizarre accident.

Sophie Sayers’ plans for a cosy English country Christmas are quickly brought to an end when her ex-boyfriend storms onto the scene. And things are about to get messier when a baby, abandoned in the manger, disappears in plain sight. Before long, the whole village stands accused of murder. But Sophie knows there’s one man she most definitely suspects. Can she uncover the truth? Enjoy the fun of a traditional Cotswold festive season as Sophie seeks a happy ending for her latest village mystery – and for her new romance with charming local bookseller Hector Munro.

Everyone is hiding a secret. One of them is murder. The book club was her idea, of course. It was her way into our group. A chance to get close. I knew from the day she arrived that she couldn't be trusted. And I was right. Alice didn't come to the village for peace and quiet. She came for revenge. A deliciously addictive psychological thriller about a book club that unravels dark and scandalous secrets between one circle of neighbours.

Miranda's taken great care to create a calm and ordered world for herself, and in her job as property manager of a spectacular island castle in Cornwall, she's had the castle running like clockwork. But this summer, its sexy owner returns to claim his birthright—and Miranda's careful life will never be the same again. Dark, handsome and with a rakish reputation, Jago St Merryn not only looks like a pirate but is intent on flogging the Mount to a soulless leisure corporation. Miranda faces the battle of her life as she tries to persuade him to change his mind.

Socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office's Air Raid Precautions Department while matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labelled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

Samantha Jackson has been missing for 18 years when she gets back in touch with her sister. Sam needs Freya - now a grown woman with a family of her own - to take in her son. But Dino is not a happy child, despite the warmth of Freya's family he cannot settle. He startles at loud noises and he's prone to angry, violent outbursts. He's one of the family, Freya knows he is, but why doesn't it feel like that? In order to keep her daughters safe, Freya is forced to go in search of the truth. What is going on with Dino, and what really happened to her sister the night she left?

Alone at Christmas, will she find somewhere to call home? No more than 18 years old, alone and heavily pregnant, Kathleen stumbles through the snow, desperate for somewhere to rest her weary head. As the Christmas bells chime around her, she glimpses a man through the haze before collapsing into his arms.

Journeying aross Britain, from West Penwith and Avebury to the Lake District and Orkney, Stone Lands uncovers the magic and rich history of our incredible prehistoric standing stones. It conveys the delight that lies in tracking them down, as well as the solace these ancient places offer in times of darkness.

For 95 per cent of history, humans were hunter gatherers. In our cranium is kit that was formed hundreds of thousands of years ago. Back then we would have met a few hundred people in a life-time; today it's countless thousands. Back then we were only required to care about what directly affected us; now the news plugs our emotions into the agonies of the world. Little wonder that so many of us are tired, wired, stressed and depressed. Paleo Life shows a different way, guided by the lifestyles of hunter-gatherers past and present.

Bridget's life is small and safe: she loves her husband and her son and works hard to keep her own business afloat. Then one day her world is changed forever. The music teacher who abused her walks into a shop with the teenager he's clearly grooming. Bridget is sent spiraling back into her past. Anthony begins to stalk Bridget, trying to ensure her silence - until suddenly she snaps. And now Bridget must find a way to deal with the aftermath of her actions....

When Sophie Sayers joins a writers' retreat on a secluded Greek island, she's hoping to find inspiration and perhaps a little adventure. Away from her rural English comfort zone, she also takes stock of her relationship with her boyfriend Hector. But scarcely has the writing course begun when bestselling romantic novelist Marina Milanese disappears on a solo excursion to an old windmill. First on the scene, Sophie is prime suspect for Marina's murder.

Jamie Allenby wakes alone and realises her fever has broken. But could everyone she knows be dead? Months earlier Jamie had left her partner, Daniel, mourning the miscarriage of their baby. She'd just had to get away, so she took a job on a distant planet. Then the virus hit. Jamie survived as it swept through our far-flung colonies. Now she feels desperate and isolated, until she receives a garbled message from Earth. If someone from her past is still alive - perhaps Daniel - she knows she must find a way to return.

After their dreams of starting a family are crushed, Philippa and her husband Marco need a fresh start. Focusing on repairing the crumbling walls and leaking roof of the Cotswolds house they impulsively bought seems easier work than repairing their relationship. When Philippa finds a hidden memorial hidden deep in the garden, the discovery only pushes them further apart. But as Philippa determines to uncover the truth behind the memorial, could the secrets it reveals be the key to finally putting their heartbreak to rest?

Emily's instincts tell her that best friend Joanne's new boyfriend is bad news. Emily fears for Joanne. Fears for Joanne's children. But Joanne won't listen because she's in love. So Emily watches and waits...and then she makes a choice. But Emily has a past, and secrets, too. And is she really as good a friend to Joanne as she claims?

When Monica is offered a three-month placement in LA, she knows that for the sake of her career she must accept it - even though it means leaving behind nine-year-old Ruby, toddler Luca and her husband, Daniel. She hires Ursula as a housekeeper and nanny during her absence, although the older woman is oddly reluctant to agree to a childcare position. What is the dark secret in Ursula's past which has left her so closed off and reserved? Will her growing attachment to Ruby bring it to the surface?

They called them the Orchid Girls. Grace. Molly. Charlotte. One of them is in love. One of them is a liar. One of them is dead. On a jagged Dorset cliff, wind whipping their hair, waves crashing on the rocks below, three friends became two when Charlotte’s body was pulled out of the sea. Fifteen years later Grace and Molly are worlds apart. Grace has a glittering career and a loving husband. Molly is a lonely, unemployed alcoholic. Grace has everything to lose. Molly has nothing.