Showing results by narrator "Susan Duerden" in All Categories

Isla Palmer is crazy about cats - super-in-love crazy - but her vet-nurse mum has never let her have one. Then Isla meets Poppy, a gorgeous cat in need of a loving home, and comes up with the perfect way to convince Mum. It's not long before Poppy has transformed life at the Palmers - everyone is happier, especially Gran, and even Isla's older sister, Tilda, admits she likes having Poppy around. But Poppy isn't the only one in need of a home, and soon their house is full of cats. With Mum at her wits' end, Isla needs to come up with a plan and fast!

As in the original novel, the story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Nikolai Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls.

Lady Arabella Tremont has spent her entire life protected and overshadowed by her restrictive father. But she is a Tremont, after all, and the morning after she is nearly ruined at a ball by a handsome stranger, Arabella's father demands she make an arranged match with the heir to a dukedom. In desperation, Arabella takes matters into her own hands.

Lady Hermione Merryhew, daughter of an impoverished marquess, already has her share of problems. The last thing she needs is an intruder in her bedroom, especially not a fugitive thief. She should scream, but the shabby rascal is a man from her past. Six years ago, at her first ball, dashing Lieutenant Mark Thayne failed to steal a kiss, but succeeded in stealing a little of her heart. She's older and wiser now. She can't toss him to the wolves. Besides, she wants that kiss. Now Viscount Faringay, Mark has never forgotten Lady Hermione, but he mustn't involve her in his dangerous life.

This novel take on the history of wine reveals that, whether by adding toxic sweeteners or passing off counterfeit bottles, wine fraud is abundant—and as old as wine itself. Vintage Crime will intrigue even the most sated of wine drinkers with its juicy tales of deception, raising interesting questions along the way: what counts as wine, why do we drink it, and what makes a wine truly authentic?

Since being widowed, Kitty Cateril has been trapped in her late husband's home, where she is expected to mourn forever. Desperate to escape, Kitty will consider any option—even a hasty marriage to a stranger with no intention of abandoning his bachelor ways. London life suits Beau Braydon, especially his work keeping Britain safe. So when he inherits the title of Viscount Dauntry, he has no intention of resettling on a rural estate. He can't resist the opportunity to marry a widow who can manage Beauchamp Abbey for him—until he realizes Kitty is more than he bargained for.

On some level deep inside, Laura Bateman knows something is wrong. That her relationship with her son is not what it should be. That it is based on lies. But bad things have happened to Laura. Things that change a person. Forever.

After her mother's suicide, Abbie Myers returns home to the Lake District with her young child - and no wedding ring. Estranged from her turbulent family for many years, Abbie is heartbroken when she hears that they blame her for this tragedy. Determined to uncover her mother's past, Abbie approaches her beloved grandmother, Millie, in search of answers. The old woman reveals the story of how she travelled to Russia in 1911 as a young governess and became caught up in the revolution.

Delilah, the very proper widowed Lady Hargate, and Mr. Samuel Russell, previously acquainted during one unforgettable night in New York City when caution - and clothing - were thrown to the wind, will choose to pretend they have never met before when they wind up at the same wedding months later in England.

The Red Countess, the lady Valentina Winters. If you see her, it's likely to be the last vision in your life. The Red Countess is on the trail of someone she loves. Unfortunately, the trail is blocked by someone who fears the day she finds out the truth. A truth she is willing to kill to learn. Archie has made a bold move. A move that will accomplish much for his efforts in the conclave. Or give the Assassin a chance to claim his head. You never accomplish great things by risking small amounts. Is Archie willing to risk his life to get what he wants most?

It's the Easter holidays, and Isla can't wait to spend two whole weeks with the cats at Poppy's Place, including the two new cats from Dolly's farm - Sylvie, a friendly three-legged cat, and a timid ginger cat without a name. But she soon finds she's got other things on her mind - the appearance of a thin black cat in the garden and Mum's weird and secretive behavior. Then, Isla spots Mum outside a jeweler's with Mr. Black holding a small bag and puts two and two together - could the bag contain a ring?

Marguerite Demers is 25 when she leaves Paris for the sleepy southern village of Saint Sulpice to take up a job as a live-in nurse. Her charge is Jerome Lanvier - once one of the most powerful men in the village, now dying alone in his large and secluded house surrounded by rambling neglected gardens. Manipulative and tyrannical, Jerome has scared away all of his previous caretakers. It's not long before the villagers have formed opinions of Marguerite.

Valentina has a problem. An assassin competitor shows up unannounced and unappreciated. Never a good situation to find oneself in. The Conclave members are infighting and providing her additional jobs. Now, if those jobs weren't in conflict, life might have been a touch easier to handle. With an assassin on her tail, two powerfully rich competitors vying for her services, and worries about her missing sibling, she is determined to make it all work out in the end. Or several people are going to die.

When a promised inheritance turns out to be a fraud, shy spinster Charlotte Wilmont makes an impetuous wish that despite her lack of charm and fortune, she could capture the heart of the one man whom she's forever adored - Sebastian, Viscount Trent. With that utterance, Charlotte awakens shocked to find herself entwined with her beloved Sebastian. But the respectable man she knew is now a most rakish devil and she is...well, by some inexplicable magic, London's most infamous mistress.

The Seldons and Dales have been mortal enemies for centuries.... But that hasn't stopped the roguish Crispin, Viscount Dale, and the impetuous Lady Henrietta Seldon from waging their own battle...of the heart. Every stray glance, every chance encounter threatens to reveal the secret passion that keeps drawing them together. But finally, after years of flirting with disaster...Crispin and Henrietta find themselves locked in a wine cellar, and now there is no denying the love and loyalties that have lured them in and torn them apart time and time again.

What if your daughter becomes your enemy? When barmaid, Rachel, discovers her soon-to-be-married daughter, Beth, pinned down by a stranger in the pub cellar, Rachel lashes out in panic, and the intruder ends up dead. In desperation, Rachel convinces Beth they should cover up the crime and go ahead with the planned wedding in one month’s time. Rachel, however, has her own reasons for not involving the police.

Christmas is approaching on the island of Jersey, but Libby is feeling far from festive. Her police work and duties as vicar's wife weigh heavily on her, she's anxious about her troubled children, and now her best friend, Stella, has suddenly turned against her, citing a mysterious family grudge. Libby is devastated by Stella's unexpected coldness. But then her father shows her a diary written by her great-aunt Queenie, which sheds light on a long-hidden secret - one rooted in love, loyalty and betrayal.

Lizzie wants nothing more than to start over and put the past behind her. So when she is offered the chance to live and work at Rowan Hill, a beautiful country estate and bustling community of artists, it feels like a dream come true. But soon after her arrival a series of accidents and misunderstandings begins to threaten the happiness and livelihoods of everyone at Rowan Hill. And when suspicion quickly falls on Lizzie, she discovers that the past is not so easily forgotten.

The orphaned Mary Lennox is sullen, ill tempered, and unloved when she's sent to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven. A man consumed by grief over the death of his wife, Archibald has allowed his sprawling estate on the moors to fall into grim disrepair. It's when Mary begins tending to her late aunt's mysterious garden - locked up and neglected for years - that she discovers its life-changing secrets and a flowering rejuvenation of the human spirit.

The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences.