Showing titles in Holidays

Spring has sprung, and I'm finally getting out of town with my monster-hunting boyfriend. However, our cozy little rental cabin in the woods turns out to have a serious problem—an angry leprechaun infestation. Before we can get back to our romantic rendezvous, we have to prove we didn't steal a magic hat. Piece of cake, right?

For listeners who are tired of Christmas commercialism, or who feel that Santa Claus and reindeer don’t tell the whole story, these classic gems provide a winning alternative. Selected for their insightfulness, spiritual value, and literary quality (nothing moralistic here) they project the spirit of the season in a fresh, compelling manner that will resonate with listeners of all ages - from children too young to read to themselves, to parents and grandparents who enjoy listening to stories, as well.

Liverpool, 1938. It’s Christmas in the Courts, and single mother Rosheen Clarke and her mischievous twin daughters, April and May, have no idea of the cataclysmic events which will soon overtake them. When war is declared, April and May are evacuated to the countryside, and Rosheen joins the WAAF, where she befriends fellow Liverpudlian Cassie Valentine. While Rosheen worries about what trouble the twins will cause next, Cassie is fighting her love for her childhood friend, Andy.

It's been years since Anna has seen Leo Knight. And of all the apartments in all the cities in all the world, he just happens to walk in to her cosy new attic home – as her new housemate. As the two walk the cobbled streets of Prague, taking in the sights and sounds from Wenceslas Square, frosted with snow, to the soft glow of candlelit Charles Bridge, the enchantment of the City of a Hundred Spires soon starts to work its magic on them…

Ledbury, December 1892. Detective Inspector Ravenscroft looks forward to spending a quiet Christmas with his family. Then he receives news that an old friend stands accused of a brutal murder. Ravenscroft and Detective Sergeant Crabb travel to the old Worcestershire market town of Bromsgrove to investigate. But events soon take a deadly dramatic turn. As the bad weather closes in on the two detectives, Ravenscroft begins to wonder whether they will make it home for Christmas.

Sixteen delightful holiday short stories by some of your favorite Soho crime authors! This captivating collection of short mysteries and crime capers - which features New York Times best-selling authors, Crime Writers Association Gold and Diamond Dagger winners, and Edgar Award nominees - contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming reminders of the spirit of the season.

This Christmas, Emily Merkle (call her Mrs. Miracle!) is working in the toy department at Finley’s, the last family-owned department store in New York City. And her boss is none other than…Jake Finley, the owner’s son. For Jake, holiday memories of brightly wrapped gifts, decorated trees and family were destroyed in a Christmas Eve tragedy years before. Now Christmas means just one thing to him - and to his father. Profit.

The Woodsman pub and campsite is under new management, with new staff and improved facilities. The old gang, plus some additional characters, return by invitation to check it out, and the adventures begin: retaliating against marauding motorbikes in the middle of the night, enduring a bike tour to hell and back, watching Tel and Sophie jumping from a plane and witnessing Tel having some sort of nervous breakdown, fighting against the tyranny of Liv’s father and soon-to-be ex-husband, and almost losing a vastly expensive ring.

On a leafy suburban street in Dublin, beautiful, poised Stella Greene lives with her successful husband, Matt. They're the perfect couple in every way, and Stella appears to have it all. Next door, at number 72, however, lives Rea Brady. Gruff, bad tempered and rarely seen besides the twitching of her net curtains, rumour has it she's lost it all...including her marbles, if you believe the neighbourhood gossip. But appearances can be deceiving, and when Stella and Rea's worlds collide they realise they have much in common.

The six of us arrived on that beautiful Greek island dreaming of sun-drenched beaches and blood-orange sunsets, ready to lose ourselves in the wild freedom of a weekend away with friends. On the first night, we swam under a blanket of stars. On the second night, the games began on our clifftop terrace. On the third night, the idyll cracked, secrets and lies whispering on the breeze. And by the final night, there was a body on the rocks below.

Working at a tiny village school in rural Yorkshire has its own unique set of challenges - but when teachers Lydia Knight and Jake Immingham are tasked with getting the children to put on a Christmas play for the local elderly people’s home, they know they’re in for a tricky term! But in between choreographing sugar plum dance routines, reindeer costume malfunctions and trying to contain Rory Scott’s wannabe rap star aspirations, Lydia realises that, even as a teacher, she isn’t past being taught a couple of things - and one of those things is a much-needed lesson in Christmas spirit.

After uprooting her life, Irene Steele has just settled in at the villa on St. John where her husband, Russ, had been living a double life. But a visit from the FBI shakes her foundations, and Irene once again learns just how little she knew about the man she loved. Irene and her sons try to get on with setting up their new lives while evidence mounts that the helicopter crash that killed Russ may not have been an accident.

The Mackenzies gather for a clan Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. In the chaos of preparations for the celebration - the first of Hart and Eleanor's married life - one of Ian's Ming bowls gets broken, and the family scrambles to save the day. Daniel busily runs a betting ring for everything from the hour Eleanor's baby will arrive, to whether Mac's former-pugilist valet can win a boxing match. Ian begins a new obsession, and Beth fears that the loss of one of his precious bowls has made him withdraw once more into his private world.

This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. Christmas on Megelle Island is the biggest event of the year, and somehow I've been hired to plan it all: parties, activities, festivals, and the Christmas Eve ball at the palace. So what if I'm a last-minute substitute because the old party planner got run over by a reindeer? So what if the King and Queen ask me to also plan their son’s engagement party within six days? So what if the cottage I rented was accidentally double booked and now I have an ancient, brooding vampire breathing down my neck every day?

Natasha is flying home for yet another Christmas as a Singleton with her Mum, Aileen and annoyingly perfect older sister Doon. At least she will be in Ballyclare - the beautiful old house in the Wicklow hills that has been a treasured home since her father walked out all those years ago. Then comes the killer blow - it looks like the house will have to be sold, and this will be their last Christmas there. But when a stranger knocks on their door, Christmas takes an unexpected turn; and Tasha is not the only McDonnell woman to have her romantic fortunes turned on their head in a matter of days.

Four friends. Twenty years. One powerful secret. There are certain dates on which you'll always remember where you were.... The day Princess Diana died. 9/11. The London 2012 opening ceremony. The same is true for Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa, who have been best friends since they met 20 years ago. But could a lie that spans just as long tear them apart?

Camilla Dix is fiercely independent. Growing up, she had to be strong for her mother and younger sister after her father left them for a new life in Benidorm. Camilla has kept her heart firmly closed to love and never allows her relationships with men to develop into anything serious. Tom Stone moved to Heatherlea for a fresh start. He’s been hurt in the past and has no intention of making himself vulnerable again. The only company he wants at night is that of his rescue British bulldog, Hairy Pawter.

It has been a long and lonely year for neighbours Vivienne, Mary and Gwen. All ladies of a ‘certain age’, their lockdown experience has left them feeling isolated and alone. They are in desperate need of a change. Things start to look up however, when Gwen comes up with a plan to get them out of London by borrowing a motor home. As their journey continues and their friendships deepen and while the seaside views turn into glorious mountains and moors, Mary, Vivienne and Gwen learn to smile again, to laugh again and maybe even to love again.

December 1930. With the Depression biting deeper, it looks like many children in the East End will wake up to nothing on Christmas morning. Widower Robbie Graham earns just enough to put food on the table for his children, Ben and Ruthie. Local cake shop owner Flo Hawkins can't bear the thought of any child having nothing for Christmas. Along with her sister, Honour, she hatches a plan to bring some festive cheer to the community.

Peter and Hank are lifelong friends, but when it comes to their jobs they couldn't be more different. Peter is a small-town pastor and is devoted to helping the community, while Hank runs the local pub and is never too far from a party. But this Christmas, everything is about to change. Having never settled down, Peter and Hank believe their demanding jobs are keeping them from finding love. Convinced that the other has it easier, they hatch a plan to swap places the week before Christmas to put their theories to the test and find time for themselves.