Showing titles in Small Town & Rural

When Mara Gregory receives a letter from the father whom she believed to have died when she was a child, her world is turned upside down. Aaron Buchanan only discovered that he had a daughter a couple of years ago and now he's desperate to play a part in her life. In the face of her mother's opposition, Mara arranges to meet her father and his family. In a breath-taking corner of the world, amid a waterfront community on Australia's west coast, will Mara find him the disappointment that her mother promises?

An ebullient Mr Finchley is about to propose marriage to a lady he had rescued from mishap, when he is sent to Paris by his firm. There he manages to upset a boat, adopt a stray orphan, and get himself kidnapped. The fine tangle he gets into takes some unravelling! Only when eventually back in London does he complete the proposal of marriage that was interrupted at the start. This gentle comedy trilogy was a runaway best seller on first publication in the 1930s and retains a timeless appeal today.

The gruesome death of Mrs McGinty provokes Superintendent Spence to seek the help of his old ally Hercule Poirot. The victim’s young lodger has been found guilty and is due to hang. But Spence is not convinced by the circumstantial evidence which influenced the verdict. So, at considerable personal discomfort, Poirot goes down to the sleepy village where the old lady lived and where, by chance, his good friend Ariadne Oliver is also staying.

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn 80. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen. Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire....

Layla Dupree has given up on love. She’s waded through all of the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite her best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check. Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution. After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: one month of no-strings dating.

Baking fanatic Charlie Quilter, still nursing a broken heart, is surprised when her late uncle bequeaths his vintage 1950s Routemaster bus to her in his will. She adored driving around with him in it when she was a child and can’t contemplate selling it. When Charlie loses her job, her friend Juliette has an exciting idea and suggests Charlie come to stay with her in the picturesque Cornish village of Porthgolow.

This magisterial collection of short works by Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner reminds listeners of his ability to compress his epic vision into narratives as hard and wounding as bullets. Among the 42 selections in this audiobook are such classics as "A Bear Hunt", "A Rose for Emily", "Two Soldiers", and "The Brooch".

Starlight Grove needs a new lighthouse keeper, and Olive Autumn Harvest needs a fresh start. Preferably one with as much solitude as possible. So, her new job and isolated ocean cottage are perfect—except for the eccentric, meddling townspeople and the cat who's adopted her. When the town wins a grant for lighthouse restoration, Olive is forced to let the contractors into her space… a company comprised of three hot alphas: Easton, her golden retriever stalker, Lars, the steady, protective Viking, and Finn, who's hiding a pain that matches her own.

The Christmas-crazy Carrolls are back – and this time, they’re in NEW YORK! Holly and her family are about to lead the famous Christmas parade in New York City! But there’s a hitch. They have been invited to join the EXCLUSIVE Christmas Club, whose members are among the MOST CHRISTMASSY FAMILIES IN THE WORLD. They simply have to follow the mysterious White Reindeer to find the Christmas Club’s secret headquarters in Manhattan. But when the White Reindeer shows up in the MIDDLE of the Christmas parade, the Carrolls are faced with a dilemma.

Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely...but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane's day that when Arthur doesn't show up one morning, she's instantly concerned. And then another day passes, and another.

Nina has devoted her life to making it as an actress, although her agent thinks she’s more best friend than leading lady. But with her onscreen character about to be killed off, it might be time for a new role (on and off screen). Lucky for Nina, life has a way of shoving you in the right direction. A falling out with her agent and his new star client leaves Nina’s life in tatters and her name in the papers. She is left with no choice but to flee the city, leaving nothing but an empty bottle of hair dye and her tiny bedroom behind.

1918. The Great War is over, and Clara Carter has boarded a train bound for Cornwall - to meet a family that would once have been hers. But they must never discover her secret... 2020. Caroline has spent years trying to uncover the lies buried in her family history. And once she arrives in Cornwall, the truth finally seems to be in reach. Except with storm clouds gathering on the horizon, Caroline soon learns that some secrets are best left hidden....

The youth theatre cast are in their places but Gus Lynch’s female lead is missing, that is, until she’s found in the boot of his car. Detective Inspector Stephen Ramsay and Sergeant Gordon Hunter are assigned to head the murder enquiry, meanwhile violence is escalating on the Starling Farm Estate as police battle to contain the latest outbreak of joyriding. Is the death of Gabriella connected to the events at Starling Farm? When another death occurs, investigations suggest a possible link, and Ramsay realizes what could have provoked someone to kill...and kill again.

North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher’s life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in prison. Her dream of a career in the arts is put on hold - until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Desperate to leave prison, Morgan accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence and a conspiracy of small-town secrets.

Dani unexpectedly inherits an enormous old house in a quaint college town and pursues her true passion - cooking! She opens Chef-to-Go, preparing delicious, ready-made meals for hungry students as well as providing personal chef services. To help support her new business, she opens her home to a few students, renting them rooms and becoming almost like a big sister figure in their lives. But just as Dani is relishing her sweet new life, the friend of one of her boarders is murdered, and Dani becomes one of the primary suspects!

May O'Callaghan has decided that life's too short and she's decided to throw in the towel in her predictable nine-to-five job. Now what? As May fits into her new life we meet her friend Pam and her husband Jack - but why is Pam terrified to tell Jack that she's pregnant? And then there's Denis and Bernard, May's next-door neighbours, going about their business oblivious to the deadly threat that lurks close by. There's Paddy, who lives on his own yet never seems to be at home.

This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in - just like her Nana would have wanted. But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for.

Like many small towns, Buffalo Valley is dying. Stores are boarded up, sidewalks are cracked, houses are in need of coats of paint. But despite all that, there's a spirit of hope here, of defiance. The few people still left here are fighting for their town. Lindsay Snyder is a newcomer. She's an outsider even though she spent childhood vacations here. Now she returns to see the family house again, to explore family secrets, and to reevaluate her life. And soon after she arrives, she meets a local farmer named Gage Sinclair....

Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, but tragedy grounded his dreams. Now the dust has settled, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home. But when he meets Morgan Lee, his world is turned upside-down, and Colby can't help but wonder if the responsibilities he has shouldered need dictate his life forever. Morgan is on her way to Nashville with plans to become a star and she wants Colby to come with her. While they are falling headlong in love, Beverly is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind.

In September 1883, a small town in the South Australian outback huddles under strange, vivid sunsets. Six-year-old Denny Wallace has gone missing during a dust storm, and the entire community is caught up in the search for him. As they scour the desert and mountains for the lost child, the residents of Fairly—newlyweds, landowners, farmers, mothers, artists, Indigenous trackers, cameleers, children, schoolteachers, widows, maids, policemen—confront their relationships, both with one another and with the ancient, impervious landscape they inhabit.