Showing results by narrator "Penelope Freeman" in All Categories

It’s the perfect wedding: tropical sunshine, glamorous guests, a beautiful bride and a handsome Hollywood millionaire. But the day is about to take a shocking turn. Lisa Costello has all the expensive clothes and exotic vacations that come with dating a rich man. But her relationship with Josh Steen is a sham. Yet nothing could have prepared Lisa for the morning after their decadent wedding in Thailand. Josh is dead – and it looks like Lisa killed him.

As the Allied troops draw closer to victory, life at Beach View Boarding House is still full of uncertainty. Rosie’s plans for her wedding to Ron Reilly are plagued with misunderstandings. And when Ron takes on a secret assignment just days before they are due to say their vows, it seems their plans for a future together may be doomed. Meanwhile, Peggy Reilly embraces her new managerial role at the uniform factory. It’s a welcome distraction while her husband, Jim, is still away fighting in the Far East.

As ‘one of those girls’, she was expected to hide her shame with secrecy. No one should ever find out she’d had a child. But she never forgot the son who was taken from her. In the years that followed she struggled with PTSD, traumatic memory loss, agoraphobia and anxiety—impacting every area of her life. This is Michelle’s story of love, loss and hope; of how over 50 years she has managed the consequences of living with her secret, survived the emotional pain, and finally, after being reunited with her son, the journey to rebuild their lives together.

Haughty, social climber Juno, her ditzy, style-free sister Athena and their cousins, "It" girl Diana and wannabe actress Venus, are accustomed to living the high life, thanks to a trust fund set up by their super-rich, reclusive Uncle Clem.

It is Christmas 1937 when sisters Rowan and Thea travel from London to Scotland to visit their dying father. Having lost their mother in a tragic sailing accident when they were young, the two women are accustomed to grief. But they have no idea that their father's death will expose a terrible deception.... For back in London is his wife, Sophie, and their two sons. Neither family knows of the other's existence, and when news reaches Sophie of Hugh's death, her whole world is turned upside down.

Tess Simpson needs a break. No one appreciates her at home. No one appreciates her at work. And now her dog has died. She’s had enough! Maybe what she really needs is a break from hopeless husband, Dave, the ungrateful ‘kidults’ and the lacklustre job.

Janey is 18 and living in a small flat with her baby daughter. Just as her new life starts to show promise, her past catches up with her. Nicole is renting one of the new luxury flats. She’s just walked away from her husband and teenage sons, tired of being treated as a servant, suspecting her husband of having an affair. Winifred has lived in her large family home for over 80 years but it’s all getting too much, though she doesn’t want to leave. Things are not what they seem, and danger can strike both rich and poor.

Worthing, 1933 Ruby Bateman works at the prestigious Warnes Hotel on Worthing seafront. She enjoys her job and the camaraderie with the girls at the hotel, but she also loves a day off.... On an outing to the Sussex Downs, Ruby meets handsome photographer Jim Searle and instantly falls for him. The only cloud to overshadow her otherwise perfect trip is the dark mood of her father when she returns home. It's the first of many clouds to loom threateningly over the hardworking Bateman family.

1929, Cornwall. Fiona Fox, youngest child of the celebrated Fox family, is a devoted volunteer at the local lifeboat station, giving all her free time and her energy to the selfless crew. But when she seizes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do more, she sets in motion a chain of events that sparks danger and intrigue at Fox Bay Hotel.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of A Shilling for a Wife by Emma Hornby, read by Penelope Freeman. A dismal cottage in the heart of Bolton, Lancashire, has been Sally's prison since Joseph Goden 'bought' her from the workhouse as his wife. A drunkard and bully, Joseph rules her with a rod of iron, using fists and threats to keep her in check. When Sally gives birth, however, she knows she must do anything to save her child from her husband's clutches.

West Yorkshire, 1926. After completing her training in Steeple Street, Agnes is looking forward to making her mark as the village's first district nurse, confident she can make a difference in the locals' lives. But when she arrives, she's treated with suspicion, labelled just another servant of the wealthy mine owners. The locals would much rather place their trust in the resident healer, Nella Black.

It is 1946: The war is over and three young women face a new kind of life. But peacetime brings its own pressures.... Katie O'Neill's childhood has been dominated by her temperamental mother and by frightening secrets that she barely understands. Innocent, yet hungry for love, she is easily taken in by male charm and is left outcast and alone with her young son. Emma Brown has spent the war at home in Birmingham, longing for her husband Norm to return and meet the son he has never seen. But she soon finds that the joy of homecoming only brings a whole new set of problems.

David Tompkins thinks it is a splendid idea to open a tea garden at his Kentish cottage. His wife, Germayne, is not so sure. The local villagers are divided on the matter, and not necessarily supportive, particularly Mr Perch at the Dolphin, who sees it as direct competition to Mrs Perch's own tea garden. It doesn’t bode well when the official opening coincides with a break in the beautiful weather.

The fourth book in the War at Home series by the author of The Morland Dynasty novels. Set against the evocative backdrop of World War I, this is an epic family drama featuring the Hunters and their servants.

Texan honey Sally Lassiter, English rose Jane Morgan, and Jordanian Helen Yanna meet at an exclusive girls' school and become best friends. They form a bond that will never be broken...Years later, the three girls are grown-up, co-founders and millionaire co-owners of the exclusive Glamour chain of stores. They are fabulously wealthy, instantly recognisable, adored, and revered. Or are they? The Glamour empire is on the verge of collapse and the three women are embroiled in a bitter feud.

In 1916, the people are settling down to the business of war. As conscription reaches into every household, Britain turns out men and shells in industrial numbers from army camps and munitions factories up and down the land. Bobby Hunter gains his wings and joins his brother in France. Ethel, the under housemaid, embarks on a quest, and Laura sets out on her biggest adventure yet.

As death and destruction fall from the skies day after day in the London Blitz, Australian ambulance driver Lily Brennan confronts the horror with bravery, intelligence, common sense and humour. Although she must rely upon her colleagues to carry out her dangerous duties, Lily begins to suspect that someone at her ambulance station may be giving assistance to the enemy by disclosing secret information.

The sixth and final book in the War at Home series by the author of The Morland Dynasty novels. Set against the evocative backdrop of World War I, this is an epic family drama featuring the Hunters and their servants.

Jo Docherty and Hattie Contaldo have a vision - a holiday retreat in the heart of the Lake District exclusively for guests of 'a certain age' wishing to stimulate both mind and body with new creative experiences. One hotel refurbishment later and the Best Boomerville Hotel is open for business! Perhaps not surprisingly, Boomerville attracts more than its fair share of eccentric clientele.

In 1918 the Great War has taken so much from so many, and it threatens to take even more still from the Hunters, their friends and their servants. Edward, in a bid to run away from problems at home, decides not to resist conscription and ends up at the Front. Sadie's hopes for love are unrequited, and Laura has to flee Artemis House when it is shelled, and she finds herself in London driving an ambulance.