Showing results by narrator "Rosie Akerman" in All Categories

Maria and William seem to have it all: two happy children, a beautiful house, a thriving business. But when their home is invaded by David, an ex-employee with a score to settle, the couple face a terrifying fight to survive. During the course of one hellish night, David picks apart their carefully constructed life. Secrets are unearthed, truths revealed. And soon David begins to wonder if he’s bitten off more than he can chew—because he’s discovering Maria and William are not the defenseless couple he imagined.

A female thief, with four husbands, a lover, and, reportedly, over 12 children, is arrested and tried for the murder of her stepson in 1872, turning the small village of West Auckland in County Durham upside down. Other bodies are exhumed, and when they are found to contain arsenic, she is suspected of their murder as well. The perpetrator, Mary Ann Cotton, was tried and found guilty and later hanged on 24 March 1873 in Durham Gaol. It is claimed she murdered over 20 people and was the first female serial killer in England. 

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Feminists Don't Wear Pink (and Other Lies) curated and read by Scarlett Curtis with a cast of fierce women. We asked 52 women: what does the F word mean to you? The result is extraordinary. Curated by journalist and activist Scarlett Curtis, with incredible pieces by Emma Watson, Zoe Sugg, Keira Knightley, Gemma Arterton, Bridget Jones (by Helen Fielding), Saoirse Ronan, Liv Little, Dolly Alderton, Karen Gillan, Alicia Garza, Jameela Jamil, Kat Dennings, Nimco Ali, Beanie Feldstein, Olivia Perez, Amika George, Evanna Lynch, Akilah Hughes and others.

With Christmas approaching, the Brogan family of London's East End are braving the horrors of the Blitz. With the men away fighting for King and Country and the ever-present dangers of the German Luftwaffe's nightly reign of death and destruction, the family must do all they can to keep a stiff upper lip. For Jo, the youngest of the Brogan sisters, the perils of war also offer a newfound freedom. Jo falls in love with Tommy, a man known for his dangerous reputation as much as his charm. 

Nell Cosgrove is the new wife who got it all. She married her handsome, wealthy boss within six months of meeting him. They live in a beautiful riverside home. She has a flourishing career. The only problem is her two stepdaughters, Ruby and Poppy, who are fiercely loyal to their mother and reject all of Nell's overtures.

Women have been shamans since time immemorial, not only because women have innate intuitive gifts, but also because the female body is wired to more easily experience altered states, such as during the process of birth. Whether female or male, the altered states produced by psychedelics and ecstatic trance expand our minds to tap into and enhance our feminine states of consciousness as well as reconnect us to the web of life. 

The Real Beatrix Potter is a fascinating and revealing biography of one of the world's most cherished children's authors. Beatrix Potter's famous little white books have enchanted generations of young admirers who adored the characters she created and, of course, her own distinctive illustrations.

Beth became a widow after just two years of marriage. Before her husband's death, they made the decision to freeze an embryo so that she could still have his child. But Beth has just been told that the embryo was implanted in the wrong woman seven years ago. Somewhere in the neighbourhood, her longed-for son is growing up without her. What should she do? 

In this major study of near-death experiences with the newly born, babies, toddlers, and children up to age five, NDE expert P. M. H. Atwater reveals how those who experience a near-death state or other worlds at a very young age are profoundly affected for the rest of their lives, including developing psychic and intuitive abilities, higher intelligence and “wisdom beyond their years,” and a pervasive feeling of being “homesick for heaven.”

The Psammead trilogy, featuring Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet, has enchanted audiences of all ages for decades. Experience the entire story in this one unique collection, narrated by Rosie Akerman. 

A new neighbour becomes a new friend. She looks up to you. She admires you, but then - you realise - she wants your life.... When Sharni and Tom move into 24 The Pines, it seems like Clare and Chris have the perfect neighbours. Sharni is always there to help, especially with childcare for Clare's two-year-old, Ben. As Sharni's influence touches everyone around her, Clare finds herself fighting for her sanity as well her family.

Sharp-eyed Marianne lives in a white tower made of steel and concrete with her father and the other Professors. Outside, where the land is thickly wooded and wild beasts roam, live the Barbarians, who raid and pillage in order to survive. Marianne is strictly forbidden to leave her civilised world but, fascinated by these savage outsiders, decides to escape. There, beyond the wire fences, she will discover a decaying paradise, encounter the tattooed Barbarian boy Jewel and go beyond the darkest limits of her imagination.

Continuing the magical adventures of siblings Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, the sequel to Edith Nesbit's Five Children and It opens with the hatching of a phoenix in the children's very own home. The phoenix, whose egg was contained in a magical carpet, tells the children that the carpet may grant them three wishes a day. As the bird accompanies the children on many adventures - sometimes enlisting the help of the Psammead - the children begin to wear out the magic carpet as well as the phoenix, bringing their time to an end.  

Mafalda is a nine-year-old girl who knows one thing: some time in the next six months her sight will fail completely. Can Mafalda find a way through a seemingly dark future and still go to school, play football and look after her beloved cat? With the help of her family and her friends, Mafalda needs to discover the things that will be important to her when her sight has failed. A moving, empowering tale of courage and determination that will inspire young and old.

England, 1943. Lost in fog, Pilot Vee Katchatourian is forced to make an emergency landing where she meets enigmatic RAF Airman Stefan Bergel and then can't get him out of her mind. In occupied Poland, Ewa Hartman hosts German officers in her father's guest house while secretly gathering intelligence for the Polish resistance. 

Bath, England, 1890. Mystery author Lady Amy Lovell receives an anonymous letter containing shocking news: her fiancé, Mr. Ronald St. Vincent, has been dabbling in something illegal, which causes her to promptly break their engagement. Two evenings later, as Lady Amy awaits a visit from Lord William Wethington, fellow member of the Bath Mystery Book Club, her former fiancé makes an unexpected and most unwelcome appearance at her house.

On arriving home after a friend’s posh wedding, launderette worker Harriet finds her flat has been ransacked and her boyfriend is missing. Shortly afterward, she is harassed by East End gangsters and upper-crust aristocrats. Accepting an offer she can’t refuse, Harriet, against her better judgement, becomes the fiancée of the wealthy Hamilton Lancaster, with dire consequences. What she had not bargained on was meeting Doctor Brice Edmunds.   

Belle Moriarty was there one moment and gone the next. Ten years ago, she disappeared walking home from school, under the supervision of her older sister, Eve. Eve has never recovered from the guilt of turning her back on her. But then Eve receives a phone call that changes everything. Belle has been found - alive. But who took her? Why did they keep her alive all these years? And now that Belle has escaped, will they try to silence her for good? With Belle in a coma and Eve receiving increasingly terrifying threats, she must discover the kidnapper's identity before they return.

Jack has it all - a beautiful wife and daughter, a home, a career. Then his wife, Rebecca, plunges to her death from the Sussex coast cliffs. Was it an accident, or did she jump? He moves to Manchester with his daughter to start afresh...but things don’t go as planned. He didn’t think life could get any worse.... Then, Jack sees a woman in a window who is the image of Rebecca. Attraction turns into obsession as he returns to the window night after night. But he isn’t the only one watching her.... Jack is about to be drawn into a deadly game. 

Renee keeps a diary after she finds out her daddy is sick with cancer. She even starts praying and asking God to make him better. But what if he doesn’t get any better? She is worried that she won’t be able to talk to her daddy after he has gone, but her daddy encourages her to keep talking to him, no matter what.