Showing results by narrator "Shazia Nicholls" in All Categories

It’s always been Malak, Kees, and Jenna against the world. Since childhood, under the watchful eyes of their parents, aunties and uncles, they’ve learned to live their own lives alongside the expectations of being good Muslim women. Staying over at a boyfriend's place is disguised as a best friend’s sleepover, and tiredness can be blamed on studying instead of partying. With growing older and the stakes of love and life growing higher, the delicate balancing act between rebellion and religion is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.

Steph Williams has arrived at the wealthy gated community of Beaulieu Heights ready to start her new position as head gardener. Surrounded by mansions and acres of land, it's worlds apart from the life she knows, but she's determined to give it her best shot. If she happens to accidentally overhear private conversations while trimming the bushes, or is refused access to a locked shed, she knows not to question it - after all, gardeners should be seen and not heard. Until notes start turning up, threatening to reveal the deepest secrets of the residents.

Zoya Sahni has a great education, a fulfilling job, and a loving family (for the most part). But she is not the perfect Indian girl. She's overweight, spunky, and dark-skinned in a world that prizes the slim, obedient, and fair. At 26, she is hurtling toward her expiration date in Mumbai's arranged marriage super-mart, but when her auntie's matchmaking radar hones in on the Holy Grail of suitors - just as Zoya gets a dream job offer in New York City - the girl who once accepted her path as almost option-less must now make a choice of a lifetime.

Steph Williams is excited to get her hands stuck into her latest gardening project. This time, she's been commissioned by Lady Clara of Ashford Manor to restore the stately gardens to their former glory. But the estate is suddenly thrown into chaos when a dead body is discovered in one of the rooms. The police rule it as suicide, though Steph's convinced they're barking up the wrong tree. For she knows the deceased better than they do and it could only be one thing: murder. And if the police won't listen to her, then Steph will have to investigate the case herself.

It's an invitation Steph can't refuse when she's handpicked to compete at the prestigious National Trust property Coleton Fishacre. With the country's top garden designers as rivals and a stunning historic estate for inspiration, it feels like a dream come true. But things quickly turn thorny when the youngest competitor falls mysteriously ill and Steph suspects foul play. Her fears are confirmed when a scream echoes through the gardens, leading her to the horrific sight of a dead body at the foot of the cliff.

A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious London mansion and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several objects arranged around the woman’s body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees—a book that appears to have helped the killer forensically cleanse the crime scene.

Midsummer’s Eve. Bonfires dot the English countryside and flicker in the ancient Forest of Dean as costumed revelers dance and drink the night away. But when the sun rises, a local girl, Maddie Friar, has vanished, last seen heading to a party in a forest commune called “The Clearing.” Her sister Adele reports her missing but the local police say Maddie was a known party girl and probably ran off with some boy, or maybe the “Cinderman” got her, referring to a local legend of a forest spirit said to haunt the woods in search of a lost daughter.

An immensely moving collection of letters on the theme of grief, curated by the founder of the globally popular Letters of Note website.

The first volume in the best-selling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name - an online museum of correspondence visited by more than 70 million people. In this volume, Shaun Usher turns to the subject of outer space and space travel.

The first volume in the best-selling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name - an online museum of correspondence visited by over 70 million people.

The first volume in the best-selling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name - an online museum of correspondence visited by more than 70 million people. In this volume, Shaun Usher turns to the subject of sex.

Holly loves making marmalade. Now she has a chance to leave her stressful city job and pursue her dream - of returning to the Dorset landscape of her childhood to open Bitter Orange, a shop celebrating the fruit that first inspired her. Holly's mother Ella has always loved Seville. So why is she reluctant to go back there with Holly to source products for the shop? What is she frightened of - and does it have anything to do with the old Spanish recipe for Seville orange and almond cake that Ella keeps hidden from her family?

When Arifa Akbar discovered that her sister had fallen seriously ill, she assumed there would be a brief spell in hospital and then she'd be home. This was not to be. It was not until the day before she died that the family discovered she was suffering from tuberculosis. Consumed is a story of sisterhood, grief, the redemptive power of art and the strange mythologies that surround tuberculosis. It takes us from Keats' deathbed and the tubercular women of opera to the resurgence of TB in modern Britain today.

Gripping and atmospheric, Winter in Tabriz tells the story of four young people living in 1970s Iran during the months immediately prior to the revolution and the choices they have to make as a result of the ensuing upheaval. The lives of Damian and Anna, both from Oxford University, become enmeshed with two Iranians - Arash, a poet, and his older brother, Reza, a student sympathetic to the problems of the dissident writers in Iran and a would-be photojournalist, interested in capturing the rebellion on the streets.

The first volume in the best-selling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name - an online museum of correspondence visited by over 70 million people. Now, the curator of Letters of Note, Shaun Usher, gives us wonderful new volumes featuring letters organized around a universal theme.

Every morning, Kerry gets up, goes on her post-round, talks to the locals, and then goes home again. Once a month, she has Sunday lunch with her perfect sister’s perfect family. Life is simple, life is fine. Her sister, Beth, thinks Kerry is kidding herself. She thinks Kerry needs to move out of their parents’ annexe, find a better job, and maybe even meet a man. Beth is determined to make Kerry get a life... whether Kerry likes it or not. But Kerry knows something Beth doesn’t.

In 1990, within the deceptively peaceful woods of her Sussex neighborhood, Mia witnesses the brutal murder of her mother and wakes up in a shallow grave. A man confesses to the murder and later dies in prison, but Mia never comes to terms with her mother's death. After another brush with tragedy in 2021, Mia and her boyfriend Rich move from London to a small Spanish village where they can begin a new life. At first, Val Verde seems to be everything they could wish for. But when a body is found in the olive grove outside of town, they realize that their would-be safe haven harbors a secret.