Showing results by narrator "Katherine Press" in All Categories

1944 - The Isle of Wight: 16 year-old Constance’s life on the island is sheltered until the death of her brother, brings the reality of war crashing down around her. He leaves behind his pregnant widow, Ginny. When Constance meets a handsome Canadian airforce man, she’s eager to escape her grief and be swept up by first love. It’s a love which has ramifications she could never envisage. Present day: When young British backpacker, Isabel Stark happens across a car accident on a lonely stretch of road in the South Island of New Zealand her life changes forever.

1944, and London is under attack. Young mouse Pip Hanway's safe and quiet world is turned upside down when her home, umbrella shop James Smith & Sons, is destroyed by a bomb. Orphaned and alone, she must begin a perilous quest to find a new home. But the only way to get there is by joining Noah’s Ark, a secret gang of animals fighting with the resistance in France, operating beneath the feet of the human soldiers. Danger is everywhere and as the enemy closes in, Pip must risk everything to save her new friends.

Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty years young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning up mess and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything. Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door...and their intentions aren’t good. With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared.

In this book Dr Jessamy unriddles the effects of trauma. Using a combination of psychology, neuroscience and her own experiences, Dr Jessamy brings a tough subject to life and opens up the space for healing. This book centres on the concept of 'Post-traumatic growth' - a term used to describe the remarkable way that painful experiences can lead to a valuable re-assessment of life, a renewed discovery of meaning and a fresh perspective.

All Hallows Hall, a rambling Tudor mansion on the edge of the bleak, misty moor is not a place many would choose to live. Yet the former governor of Dartmoor Prison did just that. Now he's dead, and his estranged family is set to inherit his estate. But when the dead man's family comes to stay, the atmosphere of the moors seems to drift into every room. Floorboards creak, secret passageways echo and wind whistles in the house's famous priest hole. And then, on the morning the family decides to leave All Hallows Hall once and for all, their young son, Timmy, goes missing.

Clarry Penrose finds the good in everyone. Even in her father, who isn't fond of children, and especially girls. He doesn't worry about her education, because he knows she won't need it. It's the early 20th century, and the only thing girls are expected to do is behave. But Clarry wants to dive off cliffs and go swimming with her brother Peter and cousin Rupert. And more than anything, she wants an education. She helps Peter with his homework all the time, so why can't she manage it by herself? When war breaks out, Clarry is shocked to find that Rupert has enlisted.

Adolescence is the most dramatic and formative period of our lives: both thrilling and traumatic, it is when we become who we are, when the smallest things can have life-long effects. But it is also full of contradictions, making it bewildering to live through and usually misunderstood in retrospect. In this moving, empowering book, which is full of counter-intuitive insights, Lucy Foulkes, an expert in adolescent psychology, draws on the latest studies and in-depth interviews to demystify adolescent behaviours - friendship, bullying, risk-taking, sex, mental illness, love and much more.

In the 21st century, information is king. But computers can be hacked and files can be broken into - so a unique government initiative has been born. Five ordinary people have been selected to become Minders - the latest weapon in thwarting cyberterrorism. Transformed by a revolutionary medical procedure, the country's most classified information has been taken offline and turned into genetic code implanted inside their heads.

Growing up in Edwardian south London, Alice Rowlands longs for romance and excitement, for a release from a life that is dreary and lonely. Her father, a vet, is harsh and oppressive; his new girlfriend, brash and lascivious. Alice seeks refuge in fantasy, in her rapturous longing for Nicholas, a handsome young sailor, and in the blossoming of what she perceives as her occult powers. Harrowing and haunting, a Gothic tale that is a strange cross between Daphne Du Maurier and Stephen King, but will also intrigue readers of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Diane Setterfield.

When Tartelin answers an ad for a personal assistant, she doesn't know what to expect from her new employer, Marianne, an eccentric elderly woman. Marianne lives on a remote island that her family has owned for generations, and for decades her only companions have been butterflies and tightly held memories of her family. But there are some memories Marianne would rather forget, such as when the island was commandeered by the British government during WWII.

Marina gave up her career as a chef to raise her children, but her divorce has left her harried, lonely, and the black sheep of her family. It’s also left her in dire financial straits. Opal is a post-menopausal fitness guru who spends her days chasing likes and followers in an industry that worships youth. Lilah is a shy and optimistic librarian who spends her days tending to the stacks, until she wins an unbelievable sum in the lottery. These three women have nothing in common except for one thing: the man who’s been lying to them all.

If you've ever found yourself waiting for a call that didn't come, The Man Who Didn't Call by Rosie Walsh is the audiobook for you. Imagine you meet a man, spend six glorious days together, and fall in love. And it's mutual: you've never been so certain of anything. So when he leaves for a long-booked holiday and promises to call from the airport, you have no cause to doubt him. But he doesn't call.

Life-long friends Louisa, Jeannie and Kate are following in the footsteps of their families, working at the Clarks shoe factory. But when Britain declares war on Germany, the Somerset village of Street is shaken to its core. The Clarks factory is at the heart of life in the village, but the Clark family are Quakers and pacifists. Before long, there are fierce debates amongst the workers and tensions between those who oppose the war and those who believe the village men should go to fight.

With the country in the grips of conscription, the pacifism at the heart of Street village comes under scrutiny, and when Kate befriends Gerald, a young Quaker arrested for refusing to fight, she starts to understand the true dilemma the community finds itself in. Still grieving the loss of her sweetheart Mattie, Louisa finds herself at odds with her parents, who refused them the chance to marry. As her mother’s attempts to find Louisa a husband show no signs of abating, Louisa takes solace in her friendship with Jeannie’s brother Lucas.

Vicky and Alek disagree on a lot. But there’s one thing they both agree on. They both believe they are fundamentally misunderstood – by society, and by their loved ones. When Vicky’s past catches up with her, and her unpleasant ex threatens to destroy her marriage, she’s faced with an impossible choice. Will she compromise her morals to protect herself and her family, or risk everything she holds dear?

Monty Bannerman's father is a leading genetic scientist and Nobel Prize winner whose company has just been taken over by what will soon be the world's biggest pharmaceutical giant. He had some misgivings about their company ethics - but ultimately, he needs their money, and they need his mind.

Tim and Rachel Hendon are riding high on an ideal marriage and growing political success. Tim is already in the Cabinet, and as they celebrate yet another election victory, they have no idea that they are on the eve of a nightmare that is going to totally devastate their lives. After a high-profile murder, Katherine Sumner has disappeared. Is she the killer? Or will the information she has on top government officials make hers the next body to turn up on the coroner's table?

Lainey has just lost everything. Luckily one little fib (OK, quite a big fib) helps nail her dream job. Soon she's living in a stunning house by the sea, fending off obsessed fans for a retired - if far-from-retiring - actor and organising his charming but chaotic family. Yes, everyone thinks she's part of a couple, and it's tricky keeping this secret. But at least she's not looking for love: with her disastrous relationship history, men are definitely off the agenda.

Family matriarch and Holocaust survivor Nora Wojnaswki is about to become the oldest woman in the world, and her family are determined to celebrate in style. Her great granddaughter, Debs, however, is not too happy about being left in charge of the party. It’s been a struggle to get the Rabbi to commit to a date and the large Wojnaswki clan can’t agree on what food should be served. Only, Debs’s problems are just beginning. Because Nora isn’t your average centenarian, and she has other ideas.

England, 1925. Louisa Drew lost her husband in the First World War and her six-year-old twin sons in the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Newly remarried to a war-traumatised husband and seven months pregnant, Louisa is asked by her employer to travel to Clewer Hall in Sussex where she is to photograph the contents of the house for auction. She learns Clewer Hall was host to an infamous séance in 1896, and that the lady of the house has asked those who gathered back then to come together once more to re-create the evening.