Showing results by narrator "Helen Lloyd" in All Categories

Nicole and her friends are living the dream. No dull, tedious retirement for them - instead the nine friends have clubbed together to purchase a magnificent (if crumbling) château in Normandy. And after three years of shared dinners, fine wine and gorgeous scenery, they have finally settled into a routine. But money for the upkeep of the château soon runs low and the make-shift family need to come up with a plan to keep their dream on track. They decide to set up as a B&B and soon the arrival of visitors brings a welcome new dynamic to their community.

They wrote it on the wall above my bed. Hello, it said, my name is May. Please talk to me. May has been moved to a care home after her stroke. She can’t communicate - all her words are kept inside. If she tries to point, her arms swing in wild directions; if she tries to talk, strange noises come out of her mouth. May is sharp, quick and funny, but only her daughter, Jenny, sees this and Jackie, a new friend at the home who cares enough to look and listen closely.

Love begets madness. Viscount Locksley watched it happen to his father after his cherished wife’s death. But when his sire arranges to marry flame-haired fortune hunter Portia Gadstone, Locke is compelled to take drastic measures to stop the stunning beauty from taking advantage of the...

Women in the War beautifully weaves together the oral histories of 10 remarkable women who dedicated their young adulthood to the war effort. From aiding codebreaking at Bletchley Park to plotting the Battle of the Atlantic and working alongside Churchill in the War Rooms below Whitehall, these are the women who helped to defend the Home Front and kept Britain going. Now with the wisdom of age, they look back at how they coped with danger, trauma and stress, and tell how their spirits were fortified by friendship, fellowship and romance.

Autumn 1941, and as female conscription looms, three women arrive at the Bell Works Factory in Hucknall to work on the Spitfire production line. Lily soon realises her real dream is to pilot the planes; Edna longs to be reunited with her evacuee daughter, but soon discovers she has a much bigger problem; and Jeannie fears the worst after weeks of no news from her fiancé. Despite all the heartache, with a bit of festive cheer and 'can do' attitude, The Engine Girls will pull together and do all they can to ensure Britain's safe for the New Year.

Olive Turner might have lived through eighty-four Christmases, but she'll never get bored of her favorite time of year. And this one's set to be extra-special. It's the Gin Shack's first Christmas—and there's a gin-themed weekend and a cocktail competition on the cards! But, beneath the dazzle of fairy lights and the delicious scent of mince-pies, Olive smells a rat. From trespassers in her beloved beach hut to a very unfunny joke played on her friends, it seems that someone is missing a dose of good cheer.

D. H. Lawrence's 'The Rainbow' explores themes of love, sexuality, and the struggle for personal fulfilment in early 20th century England. Published in 1915, it follows the lives of three generations of the Brangwen family, focusing primarily on the women, as they navigate societal expectations and their own desires.

February 2022 marked 80 years since the Fall of Singapore and Olga is now ready to tell the story of her years as a child prisoner of war. It's a story of great fear and deprivation; of a childhood utterly lost to conflict. It's also a story of class prejudice and unkindness that didn't end when Olga was freed from the camp and returned to England as a refugee.

From the authors of Horror Hotel, called "fast-paced and freaky" by #1 NYT bestselling author Kendare Blake, comes another addictive YA horror about a group of teen ghost hunters who are invited to travel onboard a haunted historic cruise ship. All aboard... After their fateful stay at the...

Berlin, 1933. Leah and Magda have been inseparable for as long as they can remember, and one beautiful summer’s day in their courtyard, they vow nothing will ever come between their friendship. But Leah could never have predicted the darkness looming just around the corner… As Hitler comes to power and the Nazi Party gain even more influence, Magda proudly tells Leah she has decided to join the Hitler Youth. Leah’s blood runs cold before she begs Magda to change her mind—because Leah is Jewish.

Helen Reid has received a devastating diagnosis—and as she contemplates the life she’s lived, she is haunted by a terrible mistake she made in her youth after her boyfriend Rob struck a cyclist with his car. Compelled to find some sort of redemption, she journeys back to her old hometown to track down her ex and finally bring the truth to light. But Rob isn’t quite so ready to face his past, and it soon becomes clear that he’s willing to do anything to avoid the consequences. Will Helen find redemption—or revenge?

Act It Out's re-enactments of scenes from the life of Mary Queen of Scots are not as innocent as they seem. Are the Act It Out historic tours a cover-up a for a Scottish drug distribution gang…? Tasked by HM Revenue & Customs to investigate, undercover agent D J Smith and her sniffer cat Gorgonzola join a tour. Posing as Shelagh Macbeth from Historic Scotland, our intrepid heroine—and her cat ‘Lady M’—become suspicious of their fellow guests.

Twenty-nine-year-old teacher Emily needs her father to believe her life is a success. He may have walked out on the family when she was a child and let her down when she needed him most, but her life is perfect despite him.

It’s nearly Christmas in the small English town of Little Wittering, and retired teacher Sally Smith is enjoying an afternoon in the hair salon. Until she sniffs out a corpse. With a body in the broom cupboard and a police-imposed lock-in until the culprit is caught, it doesn’t take long to deduce someone in the salon is a cold-blooded killer.

Kiki grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of one day going to Glastonbury Festival. Now, mourning the loss of her beloved Yaya—the woman who raised her—she travels to the UK to follow that dream. It is only when she leaves home that she realises just how sheltered her life has been up until now. Ned lives an active and exciting life. Well, he did until the accident. Now, he's woken from his coma, except no one knows. He can hear everything happening around him but can't make his body respond.