Showing results by narrator "Helen Duff" in All Categories

On the vastness of the ice there is no room for individuals. No one survives alone. To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal. And Yaz is different. Torn from her family, from the boy she thought she would spend her life with, Yaz has to carve a new path for herself in a world whose existence she never suspected. A world full of danger. Beneath the ice, Yaz will learn that Abeth is older and stranger than she had ever imagined.

The green world overwhelms all of Yaz’s expectations. Everything seems different, but some things remain the same: her old enemies are still bent on her destruction. The Corridor abounds with plenty and unsuspected danger. To stand a chance against the eyeless priest, Eular, and the god-like city-mind, Seus, Yaz will need to learn fast and make new friends. The Convent of Sweet Mercy, like the Corridor itself, is packed with peril and opportunity. Yaz needs the nuns’ help—but first they want to execute her.

With her marriage in danger of falling apart, Joanna returns home to the beautiful but dilapidated Mulberry Farm Cottage in Dorset, where her sister Harriet is struggling to keep the farm afloat and cope with their eccentric mother. When Joanna discovers a bundle of love letters in the attic, written by a watercolourist named Emmy, she is intrigued and sets out to discover Emmy's true story. Emmy's letters take Joanna to the picturesque alleyways and bridges of Lisbon, Prague, and the most romantic place of all: Venice - where a whole new magical world seems to unfold in front of her.

They came against her as a child. Now they face the woman. The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat. Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.

The second novel in the brilliant new series from the best-selling author of Prince of Thorns. In Mystic Class, Nona Grey begins to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the Convent of Sweet Mercy, Nona must choose her path and take the red of a Martial Sister, the grey of a Sister of Discretion, the blue of a Mystic Sister or the simple black of a Bride of the Ancestor and a life of prayer and service.

On Abeth there is only the ice. And the Black Rock. For generations, the priests of the Black Rock have reached out from their mountain to steer the ice tribes’ fate. With their Hidden God, their magic and their iron, the priests’ rule has never been challenged. But nobody has ever escaped the Pit of the Missing before. Yaz has lost her friends and found her enemies. She has a mountain to climb, and even if she can break the Hidden God’s power, her dream of a green world lies impossibly far to the south across a vast emptiness of ice.

Margot and Will cross paths at the local dog rescue centre where - after a series of misunderstandings and a lot of consternation - they agree to foster Blossom (a gentle Staffy with a giant head, soft, floppy ears and kohl-rimmed brown eyes) together: one week on, one week off. Margot and Will don't get off to the best of starts: he thinks Margot is demanding and needy and Just So Much. And she thinks Will is emotionally unavailable, slightly brittle and very mistrustful. But the more they bicker, the worse Blossom behaves....

Sarah Sak's son, Anthony Walgate, was murdered by gay serial killer Stephen Port after they met on dating app Grindr. Stephen Port was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey in November 2016. The case received extensive press coverage not only because of the horrific nature of the crimes but also because the police refused to investigate Anthony's death despite three more bodies being found in near identical circumstances. It was not until Scotland Yard's crime squad took over that Stephen Port was arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Beautiful Sophie, with lips as red as blood, skin as pale as snow and hair as dark as night, is about to come of age and inherit her father's throne. But Sophie's stepmother wants rid of her - beautiful she may be, but too weak and foolish to reign. And Sophie believes her, as she believes all the things that have been said about her - all the poisonous words people use to keep girls like her from becoming too powerful, too strong.

I’ve always longed to be a mother. So when my sister Sophia suddenly offers to be a surrogate for my husband Mark and I, it feels like our dream could finally come true. Sophia and I may have drifted apart, but tears of joy prick my eyes when I think about the precious, perfect gift she is giving us. And even though Mark is acting distant, I’m sure this will make us stronger than ever. When Sophia starts talking to us less and less I can’t help but worry… is it just like twenty years ago, when she disappeared from my life? Or will it be different now she’s carrying our miracle baby?

Amy had it all money, brains and beauty. And then the accident happened. The Present Day: Left blind and without her family, Amy feels she needs to escape. On a trip along the Camino de Santiago - the Way of St James - she is accompanied by the mysterious and troubled Luke. Having been set up to help Amy by a mutual friend, Luke finds he is running from his past... 1314: A Templar Knight, Luc, is also running. He meets the wife of a former comrade, now blinded in a terrifying attack: Aimee.

She needed a getaway. What she found was a home. After catching her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with another woman, Louise is heartbroken and vows to stay away from men. But when she takes on a restoration project at an Italian hotel run by a group of lively seniors, she can't help but be distracted by the mysterious and alluring neighbour Vito. Despite his tragic past and her no-romance policy, sparks fly between them. Will they be able to resist the pull or succumb to their undeniable chemistry?

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices' skills to deadly effect: it takes 10 years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder - guilty of worse.

Stepsister takes up where Cinderella's tale ends. We meet Isabelle, the younger of Cinderella's two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless, brave, and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy, and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn't matter, though; these qualities are not valued in a girl. Others have determined what is beautiful, and Isabelle does not fit their definition.

The inheritance of a lifetime... or is it? When Sophie falls heir to a castle on the Italian Riviera, she can’t believe her luck. The catch? She must share it with her estranged sister, Rachel, for three months. As Sophie travels to Italy, memories of a cheating ex resurface but so does a newfound connection with her friend Chris back home. With the clock ticking, will Sophie be able to heal old wounds with her sister and find love with Chris? A beautiful story of romance and sisterhood, "A Little Piece of Paradise" is the first novel in the "Love From Italy" series.

What are the things we live for? What matters most in life when your time is short? This brave, frank and heartbreaking book shows what it means to die before your time; how to take charge of your life and fill it with wonder, hope and joy even in the face of tragedy. Ambitious and talented, Kate Gross worked at Number 10 Downing Street for two British Prime Ministers whilst only in her twenties. At thirty, she was CEO of a charity working with fragile democracies in Africa.

Two lost souls. One chance at love. From battlefields to bookshelves, Captain Jane Reed is on a mission to help a world-renowned author, Veronica Cooper, reclaim her passion. Seeking solace from the hustle and bustle of Venice, the two head to a tranquil countryside villa, where Jane discovers more than just the beauty of nature. As fate would have it, Jane crosses paths with David, Veronica's mysterious and brooding son. He too carries the weight of his past, but can Jane break through his walls and find the love they deserve? Or will their scars prove to be too deep to mend?

From the number one best-selling author of The Secret Wife, The Lost Daughter is a sweeping, moving story of the tenacity of love and the power of forgiveness. Spectacular, enthralling and romantic, Gill Paul's latest novel will stay with you forever.

It’s a beautiful day for a wedding. White roses scent the air and the summer sunlight streams in. A spoon chimes against a champagne flute and the room falls silent. And there he is - my husband - getting to his feet to propose a toast. He’s still handsome. His new wife is next to him, gazing upwards, oblivious. I’m not supposed to be here. All these years in the same town and I had no idea until I saw his name on the seating plan. He lived with me, once. Loved me. Small-town memories are long, but the people in this room don’t want to remember.

An acclaimed crime novelist and dramatist, Alison Joseph has scripted over 25 plays for BBC Radio. This collection showcases four of her original crime dramas, all specially written for Radio 4 – beginning with an apparently open-and-shut case for Sister Agnes that turns out to be anything but...