Showing results by narrator "Julie Maisey" in All Categories

Sara’s mother told her that she shouldn’t marry Conrad – that the twenty-five-year age gap between them would tell in the end. The end is now (apparently) approaching fast. Conrad, a famous painter, has decided that it would be good to die before he gets seriously old and so spends his time sorting out his chaotic life. Sara, teaching art at a local college, finds that she has plenty of male company – other people’s husbands, ones she tells Conrad all about, who are just good friends to her.

Garway church was built by medieval Knights Templar. After seven centuries, the Welsh border village is still shadowed in their mysteries. Why do the local pubs have astrological names? What happened in Garway to intimidate the Edwardian ghost-story writer M. R James? And why is it impossible to find a builder prepared to restore the ancient Master House, a few fields away from Garway church?

Lucy has been desperate for a new heart for as long as she can remember. But getting the call to say a donor has been found will be a bittersweet relief, because for her to live, someone else must die. Julia, Helen and Phoebe have been fast friends for all their lives, through Helen's unplanned pregnancy, the sudden death of Phoebe's mother and Julia's desperation to conceive with her much younger husband. Yet a deep friendship can hide many secrets....

Every parents wants their child to be happy and to do well when they grow up. But what are the qualities they need to make a success of their lives? How can you encourage kindness in your children? And resilience and honesty? And why is having a backbone important for the healthy development of your child? From babies to teenagers, Backbone: How To Build The Character Your Child Needs To Succeed shows parents the essential steps they need to take.

Anna Fekete returns to the Balkan village of her birth for a relaxing summer holiday. But when her purse is stolen and the thief is found dead on the banks of the river, Anna is pulled into a murder case. Her investigation leads straight to her own family, to closely guarded secrets concealing a horrendous travesty of justice that threatens them all. How long will it take before everything explodes?

A naked man is unearthed from a river with a lacerated neck and the only clue to his identity is the remains of a tattoo that has been sliced off his arm. When a local drugs deal goes awry and another man is hospitalised with a similar wound, Inspector Ann Lindell and her team are called in to investigate. All clues lead back to the local Dakar restaurant, run by the gluttonous Slobodan Andersson.

Although she believes nothing can come of it, ladies' maid Daisy March is eagerly awaiting the return on leave of naval lieutenant Jack Davenport, the brother of her mistress Georgina. She hopes that he will defy his family and declare his love. But before he can do so, she is accused of stealing and summarily dismissed. Daisy takes up nursing, but Georgina is also among the new recruits. When WWI breaks out, they are posted to Malta, where Daisy hopes to be reunited with Jack.

When photographer Kate O’Donnell takes off for London from swinging Liverpool she has two things in mind: to make a career and to track down her brother, who made the same trip earlier and has disappeared. But a job turns out to be easier to find than Tom, who has left behind a dead flatmate and some very suspicious cops. When Harry Barnard of the vice squad catches up with Kate, Tom’s future looks grim.

It's been a good few years since Molly and Bernie left their native Ireland and settled in Liverpool. Now they're both being courted by fine young men, and the future looks bright. But 1945 is rapidly approaching and soon war is changing everything - destroying homes and lives, and snatching away long-held dreams.... The beautifully evoked backstreets of Liverpool are the perfect setting for a tale of grit, friendship - and love.

Zoe has an unconventional pen pal - Mr. Stuart Harris, a Texas Death Row inmate and convicted murderer. But then again, Zoe has an unconventional story to tell. A story about how she fell for two brothers, betrayed one of them, and killed the other. Hidden away in her backyard shed in the middle of the night with a jam sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other, Zoe gives a voice to her heart and her fears after months of silence. Mr. Harris may never respond to Zoe's letters, but at least somebody will know her story...

Cathie Kinrade is all too used to hardship. Growing up in a fishing community on the Isle of Man in the 1930s, she sees her dad and brothers set sail daily on dangerous seas while her mam struggles to put food on the table. Cathie has little hope of better for her own future until a chance encounter gives her the opportunity to change her fortune for ever. Fiercely determined, Cathie leaves behind home and family for Liverpool, a bustling, modern city full of possibility.

The newspapers called it The Bad Place. A remote farm out on the Thames estuary, where six children were held captive for two weeks. Five of them got out alive. That was 20 years ago. Now adults, they meet up annually to hold a candlelit vigil for their friend who died. The only rule is that no-one can talk about what happened the night they escaped. But at this year's event, one of them witnesses a kidnapping. A young girl, Sammi, is bundled into a van in front of their eyes.

In 2016, beloved broadcaster and journalist Rachael Bland was diagnosed with cancer. Shortly afterwards she made the brave decision to share her story, and she spoke with beautiful poignancy through her blog and podcast, You, Me and the Big C. Having been told that she had only a matter of months left to live and writing this in what were sadly her final days, Rachael brings her warmth, courage and humour in this heartwarming and heartbreaking story.

When Daniel Davenport saves Maddie Lockett and her young brother, Tom, from drowning, an immediate bond is forged between them. But Daniel is an aspiring doctor and son of a wealthy manufacturer whilst Maddie is a potter’s daughter from a poverty-stricken area of the Potteries. Even a friendship between the two could be frowned upon, let alone anything more....

As the station prepares to close down for good, DI Georgie Strachan is running out of time to find out what is really going on in Burrowhead and put a stop to it. A deadly drug appears in the small Scottish village, best consumed with the blood of a freshly slaughtered animal. But what does this have to do with the deaths and suicides? And who is responsible for supplying it?

Patty Jenkins has come a long way from her poverty-stricken days in Brownlow workhouse. She now has a coveted position in the kitchens at Freeman's Department store in Liverpool and even the prospect of advancement. For Patty has always enjoyed baking, and her flair for it has caught the attention of the store owner, who intends to have her create elaborate cakes and pastries to serve at afternoon tea to Freeman's clientele.

Tasked with choosing a pontiff to replace a previous incumbent (Paul IV) whose reign was marked by repression and brutality, and faced with the growing challenge of the Protestant Reformation, the conclave faced a critically important decision for the future of the Roman Catholic Church and was faction-ridden even by the standards of such polarised gatherings. France and Spain, both looking to extend their power in Italy and beyond, had very different ideas of who the new pope should be, as did the Italian cardinals.

Everyone has a price... In pursuit of a golden writing opportunity, Sophie leaves her ex-boyfriend to pen the life story of elusive billionaire Tim Henderson, a visionary in the early days of fertility treatment. On his secluded Greek island, she stumbles upon an ancient labyrinth, its dark history steeped in old myths and chilling legends. But the island's present is even more menacing.

Tired of being underestimated, Annie Valentine is determined to prove to everyone that she can make her life a success. Her job as a personal shopper is brilliant, but she’s now intent on setting up a shoe and handbag empire of her own. To get there, she’ll do anything and go anywhere—the handbag factories of Italy are calling! But what started out as a fun after hours project is getting slightly out of hand. Because Annie is working around the clock to bag the perfect bargain, and her family life and relationship with adorable Ed is feeling the strain.

Maggie is a mother to a stroppy teenager, a wife to a befuddled husband and a daughter to two very different women. She has always known she’s adopted, but has she ever understood what that means? Not really. Following the death of her mother, Maggie finally feels able to go in search of her birth mother Morag, and heads to the Highlands of Scotland with her disgruntled daughter, Roxie, in tow, leaving her crumbling marriage to worry about another day. The family reunion is bittersweet, but everything is blown wide open when Roxie unearths Morag’s explosive teenage diaries.