Showing results by narrator "Colleen Prendergast" in All Categories

This month we look at how tech is revolutionising the way we make new connections. But we also consider how, sometimes, one is the perfect number.

No coach journey is ever dull with Miss Hannah Pym aboard, and this one proves no exception as she meets the young and beautiful Miss Yvonne Grenier, who is fleeing the Terror in France. Charming but shy, Yvonne becomes quite frightened when a dangerous enemy also boards the stagecoach to York. Luckily Miss Pym is on hand to propose a plan which will save Yvonne - and throw her into the arms of the wealthy and unattached Marquis of Ware!

When single mum Ruth has a brief fling with Rob, she's mortified to discover that he lied to her. He lied to her, because he's married. Worse still, he's the husband of Janine, head of the PTA at the primary school where Ruth works as secretary, and when the truth of their fling is discovered, Ruth suddenly has a lot of enemies at the school gates. Threatening texts begin to arrive, rumours abound and the staff room becomes hostile.

Bobbie Fraser, Mary Holland and Jean Thornton are Atta Girls - part of the Air Transport Auxiliary team flying planes between bases. Taking to the air in anything they're given, their work is dangerous but their courage always comes through. Now there's a new girl joining the ranks - Canadian Viv Robertson, who is bright, brash and brave. But can Viv settle into her new home with the other girls?

When Frank Peter’s wife, Maureen, dies, he feels that his once-idyllic life on the Yorkshire Moors is over. And with a daughter emigrating to Australia and a son who has his own marital problems, Frank feels resigned to a life of loneliness. Then one night he finds a frightened young woman hiding at the back of his farmhouse. She explains that her name is Irena, and she was brought to this country by a man who promised her the world and then forced her into prostitution.

Annie Howarth is living a restless life in a restless town. It's 1984 and for a mining community in South Yorkshire, the strikes mean tensions are running high. Then a murdered girl is found on the moors and the anxiety levels are pushed to a dangerous breaking point. Married to the Chief of Police, Annie should feel safe – William can be secretive, though surely whatever he's hiding is for her own good. But Annie is keeping her own secrets.

Kind-hearted Miss Hannah Pym is off to Portsmouth in the company of the beautiful but practical Miss Penelope Wilkins. Miss Pym quickly realises that Penelope needs someone to enliven her sheltered life, someone perhaps like their handsome travelling companion, Lord Augustus Railton. Penelope, however, thinks Lord Augustus is a ne'er-do-well...Hannah's hopes for adventure, on the other hand, are fulfilled when the coach happens upon a footman who faces hanging for a crime he didn't commit.

Destined for Dover, Miss Pym has her matchmaking work cut out for her when she encounters the pretty but hoydenish Lady Deborah Western! Encouraged by an unruly twin brother, the spirited, golden-haired Deborah seems set on dressing and acting the tomboy, much to the dismay of her handsome neighbour, the Earl of Ashton....

Mary is a driver for the ATA and although she yearns to fly a Spitfire, she fears her humble background will hold her back. After all, glamorous Angela is set to be the next ‘Atta Girl’ on recruitment posters. Bobbie learned to fly in her father’s private plane, and Jean was taught the queen’s English at grammar school before joining the squad. Dedicated and resilient, the three girls rule the skies: weathering storms and dodging enemy fire. Mary can only dream of joining them - until she gets the push she needs to overcome her self-doubt.

Three women controlled by one man—their charismatic husband Elijah, leader of their cult who dictates every aspect of life in the remote Scottish settlement of Halcyon. But cracks have begun to form in the community's idyllic facade, and Elijah's increasingly erratic behavior begins to test the loyalty of the women who love him, especially when he reveals his intention to take a fourth wife, sixteen-year-old Mim. Deceived and isolated by the husband they share, Aoife, Ruth, and Deborah must set years of animosity aside and come together as danger mounts within their isolated community.

Limpet and his mum run an ice-cream shop, full of her favourite flavours: spaghetti ice cream, anyone? Terrific tomato and parsnip ice cream? But his mum's off for the weekend, leaving Limpet and his dad in charge. What could possibly go wrong? When Limpet finds himself in a giant cucumber costume, defending a fairy fort against a mysterious robber, he knows that things can't possibly get any worse. Can he catch the thief, save the ice cream shop and avoid the dastardly stink eye of Mr A Pigeon?

Meg just wants her family to be together at Christmas. But her mother’s illness gets worse every day and her sister is off doing god knows what. So when Meg loses her job in the bakery, she doesn’t know how they’ll cope. Luckily, she knows Frank, the owner of a local patisserie, who offers her a job. But Meg isn’t suited for fancy cake and frills. All she wants is to feed her family and make them proud, but, as winter takes hold, it feels like everything is stacked against her. Can she make a success of herself before Christmas?

When the body of Oscar Lomas, an experienced hiker, is found at the bottom of a remote cliff in the Peak District of England called Cloud Drop, all the signs—including the "Sorry" note he left behind for his wife, Beth—point to suicide. Plans for the funeral begin, but Beth cannot accept that her husband took his own life. As she sets out to discover what really happened, Beth soon realizes that the safe, protected life she thought she had was nothing of the sort, and that Oscar had kept many secrets from her—secrets that involve even close family and old friends. 

A young Viking girl is swept by a storm on to a desolate English beach. Cruelly orphaned there, Ylva becomes set on revenge, tracking a killer through dangerous hinterland. She wants only the favour of the Norse gods and the comfort of her stories. But when a stranger decides to protect Ylva - seeming to understand her where others cannot - Ylva must decide if her own legend will end in vengeance or forgiveness.

A spellbinding adventure from the best-selling, award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy. Jewel Hastings doesn't know who she is. But she is about to discover that she is one of the most remarkable people to have ever walked the earth. On the run from school bullies, Jewel tumbles through the door of a mysterious old bookshop and falls headlong into Folio, the world of the imagination. There, she must begin a quest to rescue her missing aunt, helped only by her rude pet hamster Fizz and a malfunctioning copper robot.

Twelve-year-old Art lives in a small village in Scotland. Her mother has always made potions that cure the sick, but now the townspeople say she is a witch. One cloudless night, Art's mother is arrested and taken to England. Art mounts her horse, taking a sword, a tightrope and a herbal recipe book, and begins a journey through wild forests, using nature's signs and symbols to guide her. But will she spot the signs from the omens? Will she reach her mother, before it's too late?

After being orphaned as a child, Mary is taken in by her mother's friend - and ex-prostitute - Nell and raised as her own. But when Nell dies her stepfather takes too much of an interest in Mary, and she is forced to leave home, landing a job as a barmaid. Only Whitelocks is no spit and sawdust pub but a new gin palace in the centre of Leeds. Mary thinks she's landed on her feet. More so when she catches the eye of William Winn, the charming owner of a glamorous new hotel.

When 18-year-old Eve runs away from her small village to start a new life in the city, she quickly discovers that Leeds is not everything she expected it to be. Wandering the cold streets in search of shelter, timid Eve can only find work as a barmaid at the Bluebell Inn - a place her strict parents would never approve of. Serving ale and cheap gin to the rowdy crowd, Eve eventually catches the eye of dashing Sergeant Joseph Oates - but his intentions are not honourable, and he will leave her with more than just a broken heart.

Yorkshire 1944. The end of the war feels tantalisingly close, but Air Transport Auxiliary girls Bobbie, Viv and Mary have plenty more flights in their beloved Spitfires yet - battling everything from snow to enemy fire on their journeys. Risking their lives doing their bit for their country, this Christmas they're determined to have some festive fun. But as they set about bringing good tidings for all, a stern and mysterious new flyer in the form of Peggy arrives. What secret is Peggy hiding?

DI Annie Delamere and her colleague DS Zoe Everett are off duty and enjoying a walk on the Peak District’s vast moorlands when they stumble across a mutilated corpse. While Annie is put in charge of the case, her long-term partner, MP Sheena Pearson, is confronted by a group of far-right extremists. Sheena chooses to stand her ground - and almost pays for it with her life. As more bodies are found, Annie is under pressure to prove her worth.