Showing results by narrator "Charlie Sanderson" in All Categories

Barbara was 12 when she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital Aston Hall in 1971. From a troubled home, she'd hoped she would find sanctuary there. But during her stay, Barbara was systematically drugged and abused by its head physician, Dr Kenneth Milner. Somehow, eventually, she started to campaign for answers. This is a shocking account of how vulnerable children were preyed upon by the doctor entrusted with their care.

The trip of a lifetime! Rosie Lewis has her life together. A swanky job as a Michelin-starred sous chef, a loving husband and future children scheduled for exactly January 2021. That’s until she comes home one day to find her husband’s prepacked bag and a confession that he's had an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, Rosie drowns her sorrows in a glass (or three) of wine, only to discover the following morning that she has spontaneously invested in a bright pink campervan to facilitate her grand plans to travel the country.

Primrose Farm is Rachel’s very own slice of heaven. Come rain or shine there’s always a pot of tea brewing by the Aga, the delicious aroma of freshly baked puddings, and a chorus of happy memories drifting through the kitchen. But the farm is in a spot of trouble. As the daffodils spring, Rachel must plant the seeds of change if she wants to keep the farm afloat, and it’s all resting on a crazy plan. She’ll need one family cook book, her Mum Jill’s baking magic - and a reason to avoid her distractingly gorgeous neighbour, Tom.

Izzy is used to feeling invisible. So when she wakes up to find she actually is, she's not that upset. In fact, she finds she has a new lease of life: good-bye to street harassment! Farewell to worrying about what to wear! Good riddance to her oblivious boyfriend! Things only improve when her gorgeous colleague discovers her predicament. But inevitably, things get complicated. Could Izzy be in over her head?

Sera is usually a good girl. (Except for one wild night in the back seat of a stranger's car!) But what happens when that bad boy turns out to be her new boss? And what happens when he wants more than one night...and he can be very persuasive...?

The first snow is falling over Primrose Farm, the mince pies are warming and Rachel Swinton is looking forward to a well-earned break over the holidays. It’s time to settle down with family and cosy up with her gorgeous new flame, Tom, from the farm next door. If only it was all comfort and joy. The arrival of Tom’s ex brings an unwelcome chill to the farm. And with Rachel feeling the absence of her late dad, she feels unsettled when her mum starts to get close to someone new.

Bronte Mettlestone is 10 years old when her parents are killed by pirates. This does not bother her particularly: Her parents ran away to have adventures when she was a baby. She has been raised by her aunt Isabelle, with assistance from the butler, and has spent a pleasant childhood of afternoon teas and riding lessons. Now, however, her parents have left detailed instructions for Bronte in their will. (Instructions that, annoyingly, have been reinforced with faery cross-stitch, which means that if she doesn't complete them, terrible things could happen!)  

London, 1765. Lady Isabella Gerard, a respectable member of Georgian society, orders her maid to take her new golden gown and destroy it, its shimmering beauty tainted by the actions of her brutal husband the night before. Three months later, Lord Gerard stands at the shoreline of the lake, looking down at a woman wearing the golden gown. As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it’s clear this was not his intended victim…

Jess and Tracy Beaker are the perfect team. Jess thinks Tracy is the best mum ever (even when Tracy shouts at her teachers). Tracy is fun and daring, but she also works hard to give Jess the family home she desperately wanted when growing up in the Dumping Ground. Their flat might be a bit mouldy. but it’s their happy home. But when Sean Godfrey - Tracy’s rich new boyfriend - comes onto the scene, Jess is worried things are going to change. 

Evelyn War is a Believer. She knows that long before the Time of Ice, the Masters fought a war with Them, great chitinous beasts that stalked the world and rended and killed. She knows the Masters sent fierce, doglike Aux like her to watch over their great sleep. Them were real. But in the frozen ruins of Berlin, Them have not been seen for many years. Now the Aux fight among themselves and say all that was just stories. They scorn Evelyn and mock her warnings. But the ice is melting, and the whistling calls of Them can be heard in the tunnels of the U-Bahn once more....

On 7 August 1985, Nevill and June Bamber, their daughter, Sheila, and her two young sons, Nicholas and Daniel, were discovered shot to death at White House Farm in Essex. The murder weapon was found on Sheila's body; a Bible lay at her side. All the windows and doors of the farmhouse were secure, and the Bambers' son, 24-year-old Jeremy, had alerted police after apparently receiving a phone call from his father, who told him Sheila had 'gone berserk' with the gun. It seemed a straightforward case of murder-suicide, but a dramatic turn of events was to disprove the police's theory. 

The third volume in the best-selling Wideacre trilogy. Set in the 18th century, they launched the career of Philippa Gregory, the best-selling author of The Other Boleyn Girl and Three Sisters, Three Queens. Meridon, a desolate Romany girl, is determined to escape the hard poverty of her childhood. Riding bareback in a travelling show while her sister, Dandy, risks her life on the trapeze, Meridon dedicates herself to freeing them both from danger and want.

Nell is 26 and has never been to Paris. She has never even been on a weekend away with her boyfriend. Everyone knows she is just not the adventurous type. But when her boyfriend doesn't turn up for their romantic mini-break, Nell has the chance to prove everyone wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell meets the mysterious moped-riding Fabien. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life?

Sarah Forsyth has spent most of her life in fear. After overcoming the hurt and heartbreak of a horrific childhood, Sarah managed to build a new life for herself as a nursery nurse. Then, one day, she spotted a newspaper advert for a job in a crèche in Amsterdam. Excited by the prospect of a fresh start abroad, she eagerly signed up. But within minutes of stepping off the plane in Amsterdam her life began to fall apart.... There was no crèche and no job. That night, at just 19 years of age, her life - her real life, her life as Sarah Forsyth - ended. 

Melissa Slade had it all: beauty, money, a successful husband and beautiful twin babies. But, in the blink of an eye, her perfect life became a nightmare - when she found herself on trial for the murder of her little girls. Jonathan Hunt covered the original Slade Babies case for the local newspaper. Now that new evidence has come to light, Jon's boss wants him back on the story to uncover the truth. With Melissa's appeal date looming, time is running out. And, as Jon gets drawn deeper into a case he’d wanted to forget, he starts to question Melissa's guilt. 

When a fragment of a deadly map is recovered from a medieval plague pit in London, the Mapwalker team must cross over into the Borderlands, once more. In a race against time, they must find the remaining pieces of the map in a journey across long-lost cities before the Shadow cartographers wield it against Earthside in a devastating attack.

Sarah’s mind-numbing housewife existence is turning her brain to mush. With her third bun in the oven, this British mum is drowning under a mountain of playdates, bills, and head lice checks. But her man’s get-rich-quick idea of writing steamy novels isn’t her ideal way to dial up life’s passion. Drew desperately wants a break from Sarah’s whinging. And if that means researching how to write racy books all by himself, then he’ll make the sacrifice. But as he finally warms Sarah up to the sultry side hustle, their R-rated private project gets publicly exposed!

Life is tough for Ella Bancroft. After her father, Thomas, is wheelchair-bound by an accident at the tube works, the responsibility for keeping a roof over their head falls to Ella. Ella’s mother died when she was 10, and her sister, Sally, lives with her no-good, work-shy husband Eddy, so is no help at all. If she and her father are to keep the bailiffs from the door, then Ella must earn a living. But Ella is resourceful as well as creative and soon discovers she has a gift for millinery.

Since the death of her parents, orphan Ann Felton has had to struggle to survive. The grimy and gruelling Black Country is no place for a girl all alone, and Ann is relieved when she gets work at The Bell public house. Victoria Beckett and Viscount Richard Wyndham grew up with silver spoons firmly in their mouths, and neither can understand Ann's struggles. But before long Ann will change both their lives forever.

Every year on the same day, on the anniversary, I receive a single black rose. Thirteen years of dark petals, jagged thorns, dredging up memories I’ve tried to forget. I’ve packed up my life. All my belongings are carefully sealed, my suitcases ready for my big move. I’m just days away from a new life abroad with my boyfriend, Ben. No one knows the real reason I’m desperate to leave. My best friend, Lena, is throwing me a leaving party. A celebration, to say goodbye. Champagne to toast my farewell. Speeches, full of fond memories. No one knows what I’m running from.