Showing results by narrator "Melody" in All Categories

On a street in a town in the North of England, ordinary people are going through the motions of their everyday existence - street cricket, barbecues, painting windows.... A young man is in love with a neighbour who does not even know his name. An old couple make their way up to the nearby bus stop. But then a terrible event shatters the quiet of the early summer evening. That this remarkable and horrific event is only poignant to those who saw it means that those who witness it will be altered forever.

Do you feel vulnerable to the whims of your boss, peers or internal politics, pushing through each day with an undercurrent of anxiety? Maybe you're micromanaged, interrupted in meetings, saddled with busy work or overlooked for career opportunities. But what if you could subtly teach those above you to value your ideas and treat you with respect - without ever changing your job title?

Brilliant and mercurial Will Tye suffers a life-changing accident. The terrible event ripples through three generations of the complex Tye family, bringing to light old tragedies and dangerous secrets. Each member of the family holds some clue to the chain of events which may have led to the accident, and all hold themselves to blame. Most closely affected is Will's cousin Cecelia, whose own life will change forever depending on how she responds to such unbelievable and shocking truths.

Everything feels off—especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am. Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.

Beatrice yearns to escape the clutches of her abusive father and determined to find a way back to Rome, enlists the help of Olimpio, the castle’s keeper. Soon the love that grows between them will transform Beatrice’s fortunes, for better and for worse. History has sold her short. She is no doe-eyed victim of her father’s brutality, nor the cunning murderer who plotted her father’s demise. No, this Beatrice - a woman pregnant by her lover, incarcerated in a remote castle by her father, and brim-full of white-hot rage - is both innocent and guilty, saint and sinner.

Poppy Day is an ordinary woman. She's a 32-year-old stay-at-home mum with two gorgeous children, while her husband Mart tours with the army. Her simplest pleasure is having her family together in a happy home. But Poppy is too busy to notice the fatigue in her body and the menacing lump growing on her breast. If there's anyone strong enough to defeat cancer it's Poppy. But does life really work like that?

Accused of grassing up a fellow officer and driven brutally out of home and job, DI Grace Fisher is thankful to survive some dark times and find haven with the Major Investigation Team in Essex. Any hopes of a quiet start to her new life are dashed by the discovery of the body of a female student, last seen at a popular bar in Colchester. Grace has her first case. When a second student, also out drinking, is murdered and left grotesquely posed, the case becomes headline news. Someone is leaking disturbing details to a tabloid crime reporter. Is it the killer? Or a detective close to the case?

A young psychiatric registrar is found beaten to death in the woods close to a summer camp for young patients suffering from eating disorders. It is run by the charismatic, world-renowned Professor Ned Chesham. DI Grace Fisher investigates, but it is not long before she is pulled from the case - to head up a Metropolitan Police review into a cold case involving Chesham himself.

Who can you turn to if not the police? Essex, Christmas Day. As the residents of a small town enjoy their mince pies, shots ring out in the street. Five people are gunned down before the lone shooter turns his weapon on himself. Grace Fisher, now Detective Inspector, is tasked with making some sense of this atrocity - all the more sensitive because the first of the victims was one of their own: a police officer.

We are living in the most moral period of our species’ history. Best-selling author Michael Shermer’s most accomplished and ambitious book to date demonstrates how the scientific way of thinking has made people, and society as a whole, more moral. Ever since the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment thinkers consciously applied the methods of science to solve social and moral problems.

Forcibly seduced by George Villiers, duke of Buckingham and the king's favourite, doctor's daughter Hester was cast aside to raise her illegitimate son, Rafe, alone and in secret. She hopes never to see his father again. Melis's visions cause disquiet and talk. She sees what others can't - and what has yet to be. She'd be denounced as a witch if Hester wasn't so carefully protective. Young Hope's beauty marks her out, drawing unwelcome attention to the family. Yet she cannot always resist others' advances. And her sisters cannot always be on their guard.

After a hectic summer running her beach café in Cornwall, Evie Flynn is looking forward to her first Christmas with new boyfriend Ed. But when Ed’s ex suddenly gets in touch again, and some unexpected guests arrive: Ed’s surly brother Jake and Evie’s heartbroken best friend Amber, Evie’s Christmas starts to look as if it’ll be a total turkey. Will any of her festive wishes come true?

As a teenager, Rachel lived through the death of a friend and discovered that even the most enchanted of lives can be shattered. When faced with tragedy in her adult life, Rachel ought to turn to her husband for support; but instead they end up further apart than ever. Lonely and resentful, Rachel is drawn into a destructive affair. But betrayal comes at a high price....

Elle Jamieson is a private person, in relationships as well as at work - and for good reason. But then she's made redundant and with no ties to hold her, she heads off to sunny Malta. Lucas Rose is furious when his summer is interrupted by the arrival of Elle, his ex. Forced to live in close proximity, it's hard to ignore what they had shared before Lucas's wedding proposal scared Elle away…

When it was first published in 1909, Ann Veronica caused a sensation, due to Wells' groundbreaking treatment of female sexuality. Twenty-one, passionate, and headstrong, Ann Veronica Stanley is determined to live her own life. When her father forbids her from attending a fashionable ball, she leaves her family home and makes a fresh start in London. There, she finds a world where she can be truly free. But when she meets the brilliant Capes, a married academic, and quickly falls in love, she soon finds that freedom comes at a price.

Evie loves running her beach café in Cornwall, but with a baby on the way she's been told to put her feet up. Helen's come to Cornwall to escape the stress of city living. She hopes a seaside life will be the answer to all her dreams. When she sees a job advertised at the café, it sounds perfect. But the two women clash, and sparks fly. Can the pair of them put aside their differences in a crisis?

Anxiety is a complex emotional response characterized by feelings of apprehension, worry, and fear. It manifests in various forms, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, and specific phobias. Understanding the nature of anxiety is crucial for individuals struggling with these conditions, as it provides insight into their experiences and underscores the importance of effective coping strategies.

Assassin. Private Investigator. Cat shifter. Kat is used to killing people, but for a blank check, she's willing to do the opposite and help solve a murder - even though it sounds boring as hell. That is, until she finds some body parts in her fridge, makes friends with the neighborhood cats, and realizes there may be an assassin better than her. Suddenly, things have become purrfectly exciting.

One summer, something happened that changed everything forever… Born and brought up in an artists' commune in Derbyshire, Oriana Taylor had freedom at her fingertips in a home full of extraordinary people. The Bedwell brothers, Malachy and Jed, shared their childhood and adolescence with Oriana. In the rambling old house and tangled grounds, their dreams and desires could take wing unchecked. But too much freedom comes at a price. Something happened the summer they were fifteen.

It’s official. I am the world’s worst stripper. From the orphanage to the stage, I’ve always been the black sheep. People avoid me like the plague. Until I meet Semion - the only purebred vampire in the Relic area of New York State. He is also the only man who has ever intrigued me and brings me back from the overwhelming darkness that is my life. So, when I am introduced to others of his kind, I’m taken by surprise just how many of them speak to my soul.