Showing results by narrator "Elizabeth Knowelden" in All Categories

Known as Snow White, Lady Sophie has led a sheltered life in the mountains of Bavaria. Until now. Her father, the widowed Duke Maximilian, is at last remarrying, and on the day of his historic wedding, Sophie is making her high-society debut. At the ball, Sophie charms the dashing Prince Philip, heir to the Spanish throne. But as Philip and Sophie start falling deeply in love, the king of Spain loses his temper. His wish is that Philip would marry a princess. And now, his command is Sophie’s death.

Sophronia Lattimore had her romantic dreams destroyed years ago and is resigned to her role as chaperone for her cousin. Still, she cannot sit idly by when she becomes aware that a gentleman is about to propose to the wrong woman. She sends him an anonymous letter that is soon the talk of the town, particularly when her advice proves to be correct. Her identity is discovered and Sophie, formerly a wallflower, becomes sought after for her “expert” matchmaking skills.

Scientific and weapons secrets and personnel are being sent via the people-smuggling routes from China, through Albania and the former Yugoslavia to Europe and Britain. Stephanie's personal feelings for one of the victims of this trade causes her to make a rare professional mistake, and the consequences are far-reaching, vicious, and challenging, even for her skills and expertise.

Ailsa Calder has inherited half of a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared without a trace 27 years ago - her father. Leaving London behind to settle the inheritance, Ailsa returns to the manor, nestled amongst the craggy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, joined by the half-sister who's practically a stranger to her. Ailsa can't escape the claustrophobic feeling that the house itself watches her - as if her dramatic past hungers to consume her.

As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain.

On the eve of her wedding to Adam, Lily’s best friend Josh unexpectedly walked out of her life, and she hasn’t seen him since. Lily and Adam are blissfully happy, until he falls ill. As she cares for him in his final hours, Adam asks her to make a mysterious promise: to find Josh—and forgive them both.

London, 1916. England is at war. Desperate to help in whatever way they can, Ivy and Louisa enlist as gardeners at Kew, the Royal Botanic Gardens, taking on the jobs of the men who have gone to fight. Under their care, the gardens begin to flourish and become a safe haven for those seeking solace - but not everyone wants women working at Kew. The pair begin to face challenges on the home front. When a tragedy overseas affects the people closest to them, can the women of Kew pull together to support themselves and their country through the darkest of times?

Coworkers Ruby and Harry are in love - but they're married to other people. They decide to tell their spouses that their marriages are over and to start a new life together. Ruby has wanted to leave her controlling husband for a while, so she tells him she's leaving and waits at the hotel where she and Harry are to meet. But Harry never shows up.

As a teenager, Hayley DaSilva walked into a nightmare, discovering the bodies of her mother, twin brother, and friend all brutally slaughtered in her home…and her nine-year-old brother missing. Her father, Leonard DaSilva, confessed to the murders, but Ethan was never seen again. He lied. But why? Now, Hayley has fled her dreadful past in Thamespark—until the call from Detective Sebastian Locke. Little bones uncovered in a shallow grave belong to Ethan…and the investigation reveals holes in the case that prove Leonard’s confession was false. He didn’t kill his family. So why did he say he did?

Paris, 1940 German tanks rumble through the streets of Paris, forcing frightened citizens to flee. But not everyone has the luxury to leave. Camille Lacroix, a chambermaid at the world-famous Hôtel Ritz, must stay to support her family back home in Brittany. Desperate to earn money, Camille also acts as a lady’s maid for longtime guest Vivian Miller, a glamorous American widow—and a Nazi sympathizer. Despite her distrust of the woman, Camille turns to Vivian when her friend Rachel Berman needs help getting out of Paris. It’s then that Camille discovers that Vivian is not what she seems.

In 1936, the life of ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York changed forever. Although she was a member of the British Royal Family, she never expected to become queen. But when her uncle Edward gave up the throne, suddenly her father was the new king, which meant young Elizabeth was next in line! Queen Elizabeth reigned for seventy years, and while there were palaces galore, the crown jewels, and trips around the world, her life was one of strict discipline and duty.

Aruna is an epidemiologist dedicated to food and avian politics. One is heaven, the other earth. The two passions blend in unexpected ways when Aruna is asked to research a handful of isolated bird flu cases reported across Indonesia. While it's put a crimp in her aunt's West Java farm, and made her own confit de canard highly questionable, the investigation does provide an irresistible opportunity. It's the perfect excuse to get away from corrupt and corrosive Jakarta and explore the spices of the far-flung regions of the islands with her three friends.

Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients. Invaluable property of the royal court, Ada was in service to the Five Gods and to the Gods-ordained rulers of Verdania—until she had enough of injustice and bloodshed and deserted, seeking to chart her own destiny. When mysterious assassins ferret her out after sixteen years in hiding, Ada, now a rogue Chef, and her beloved Grand-mère run for their lives, only to find themselves on a path toward an unexpected ally.

Overlooking the Thames, the Cliveden mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion - from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the 17th century to the 1960s Profumo affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor's current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking.

After her own mother mysteriously disappears, seventeen-year-old Alicia turns up on her godmother's doorstep and asks if she can stay. Carina can't say no to the godchild she hasn't seen in over a decade. And in a way, Alicia is the daughter she always wanted—she's so smart and driven, and definitely scholarship material. Carina is only too happy to help this brilliant young woman achieve her full potential. But husband Don and children Tegan and Arthur aren't so sure. There's something about Alicia… Is she just too good to be true?

Kids have imaginary friends. Rachel knows this. So when her young son, Billy, miraculously recovers from a horrible flu that has proven fatal for many, she thinks nothing of Delfy, his new invisible friend. After all, her family is healthy and that's all that matters. But soon Delfy is telling Billy what to do, and the boy is acting up and lashing out in ways he never has before. As Delfy's influence is growing stranger and more sinister, and rising tensions threaten to tear Rachel's family apart, she clings to one purpose: to protect her children at any cost - even from themselves.

One spring evening in 1884, beautiful young courtesan Lola Deslys discovers the lifeless body of a chambermaid hidden in the gardens of the Hôtel Beau Rivage in Cannes. Even more distressing is that Lola knows the girl well. When the inquiry into her murder fails to reveal a single substantial clue, Lola is persuaded by novelist Guy de Maupassant to delve into the case on her own. Eager to exert her independence and defy conventions, Lola agrees. But she needs help in her investigation, and there’s no better partner in her pursuit - however unlikely - than Miss Gabriella Fletcher, a highborn, well-educated, and currently disgraced English governess.

Haworth Parsonage, February 1846: It's been six months since the case of the vanished bride, and the Brontë sisters - Anne, Emily, and Charlotte - have received a steady dribble of inquiries made to Bell Brothers and Company solicitors, but nothing to really thrill them. Having found a publisher for their poems, they turn their attention toward writing a full-length novel, deciding to put their covert careers as detectors behind them.

I’ve gone by many names, though you most likely know me as Milady de Winter: Villainess. Seductress. A secondary player in someone else’s tale. It’s finally time I tell my own story. The truth isn’t tidy or convenient, but it’s certainly more interesting. Before you cast judgment, let me start at the beginning, and you shall learn how an innocent girl from the countryside became the most feared woman in all of Europe.

Ten years ago, the Harper family disappeared. Their deserted cottage was left with the water running, the television playing cartoons, the oven ready for baking. The doors were locked from the inside. Overnight, the sleepy village of Nighbrook became notorious as the scene of the unsolved mystery of the decade, an epicentre for ghoulish media speculation. For crime journalist Naomi, solving the case has turned into an obsession. So now, with Ivy Cottage finally listed for sale, it’s her chance to mount an investigation like no other.