Showing results by narrator "Helen Keeley" in All Categories

Poppy Denby is furious with Rollo, who has gambled away his position at the Daily Globe and is being banished to New York. That is, until she discovers he plans to take her with him to work at the New York Times! Poppy can’t wait, but her hopes are crushed when she is allocated The Death Beat - writing obituaries. But Poppy has a nose for a story, and when a body is found in a luxury penthouse apartment she starts to investigate. She unravels a trail of illegal immigrants, forced labour, sex scandals and an unexpected ghost from her past.

When human remains are found in a ground floor flat, the residents of Nelson Heights are shocked to learn that there was a dead body in their building for over three years. Sarah lives at the flat above and after the remains are found, she feels threatened by a stranger hanging around the building. Laura has lived in the building for as long as she can remember, caring for her elderly father, though there is more to her story than she is letting on. As the investigation starts to heat up, and the two women become more involved, it's clear that someone isn't telling the truth....

A frightened Russian woman seeks DCI Hanlon's help in finding her missing husband. Hanlon's not keen on the case. Until she hears a name she recognises only too well. Arkady Belanov, sadistic owner of an exclusive brothel in Oxford is involved. And when DCI Enver Demirel, her former partner and friend, disappears, Hanlon is determined to solve the case. Forced into an uneasy alliance with the London underworld, the race to him from the blood-stained hands of the Russian mafia is underway.

The place: Seawings, a beautiful art deco home overlooking the sweep of the bay in Midtown-on-Sea. The crime: the gilded Holden family—Piper and Gray and their two teenage children, Riva and Artie—has vanished from the house without a trace. The detective: DS Saul Anguish, brilliant but with a dark past, treads the narrow line between light and shade. One late autumn morning, Piper’s best friend arrives at Seawings to discover an eerie scene.

Elizabeth I is one of England's most famous monarchs, whose story as the ‘Virgin Queen' is well known. But queenship was by no means a certain path for Henry VIII's younger daughter, who spent the majority of her early years as a girl with an uncertain future. Before she was three years old Elizabeth had been both a princess and then a bastard following the brutal execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn.

No one loves Christmas more than editorial assistant Eve Pilkins. But when her boss hits her with a huge deadline on Christmas Day, it looks like Eve's favourite time of the year might be cancelled. Armed with as much enthusiasm as she can muster, she travels to the coldest part of England, tasked with ensuring brooding author Edward Priest finishes his latest novel on time. The festive spirit at Cranberry Cross is as dark as the house itself; without a fairy light in sight, it looks like only a Christmas miracle can save this one. Will Eve be up to the task?

In the sweltering summer of 1997, straight-laced, straight-A student Karen met Biba - a bohemian and impossibly glamorous aspiring actress. A few months later, two people were dead and another had been sent to prison. Having stood by Rex as he served his sentence, Karen is now married to him with a daughter, Alice, who runs a vintage clothing company in London. They're a normal family, as long as they don't talk about the past, never mention the name Biba, and ignore Alice's flashes of dark, dangerous fury.

Reporter sleuth Poppy Denby is asked to investigate the mysterious death of an up-and-coming female scientist in an Oxford laboratory known as the Crystal Crypt. The official verdict is that Dr June Leighton died in a tragic accident, but Dr Leighton's lab assistant believes it was murder. However, when Poppy discovers that the colleague has spent time in a mental institution and has an unresolved murder in her own past, Poppy wonders if she is being misled. Then, another female academic is attacked, and Poppy herself becomes a target.

Loretta has life under control. She's good at avoiding things that make her uncomfortable, she's chasing a big promotion at work, and she’s marrying a man whose five-year plan aligns perfectly with her own. Children do not come into the mix. This all changes, however, when a stranger in an airport asks Loretta to keep an eye on her sleeping six-year-old, Phoebe. The stranger never comes back. Loretta knows that Phoebe's life will change forever from that moment. But so will hers.

Laura is grieving after the sudden death of her husband. Struggling to cope emotionally and financially, Laura is grateful when a local community, Oak Leaf Organics, offers her and her 17-year-old daughter, Tilly, a home. But as Laura and Tilly settle into life with their new ‘family’, sinister things begin to happen. When one of the community dies in suspicious circumstances, Laura wants to leave, but Tilly, enthralled by the charismatic leader, Alex, refuses to go.

Sara Dane is an 18th-century young Englishwoman, unjustly sentenced and transported to the penal colony of Australia. Follow Sara's struggle to raise herself from the status of a convict to a position of wealth and power. Sara faces many challenges, from the savage voyage aboard a convict ship to the corruption and prejudice rife in New South Wales. Life in the colony is harsh, and Sara has to contend with natural disasters and convict outbreaks, as well as the snobbery of the high society she wishes to enter.

Veronica Beecham's cottage is the neatest house on Mapleberry Lane. A place for everything, and everything in its place—that's her motto. But within her wisteria-covered walls, Veronica has a secret: she's hardly left her perfect home in years. Then her teenage granddaughter, Audrey, arrives on the doorstep, and Veronica's orderly life is turned upside down.

Flora Barton is desperate to save her family home Strawberry Hill Farm. She only needs one thing - a great business idea to keep the farm afloat! So, when Nico Rossi arrives from Italy with a crazy plan to save the farm, Flora should be overjoyed. The trouble is the Rossi men are infamous playboys and sensible Flora doesn’t trust impetuous Nico at all.

Lord Azariel, Head of the Navigator House Brobantis is dead. His widow and murderer, the Lady Chettamandey, stands to inherit his power and influence. Her plans for ascension are curtailed when she’s drawn into a dark world of ritual killings and cult murders. With planets being dragged into the warp seemingly at a whim, the threat to Chettamandey’s legacy is dire, and only she can avert potential disaster.

1768. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg empress, arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Her sister, Antoine, is sent to France, and in the mirrored corridors of Versailles, they rename her Marie Antoinette. The sisters are alone, but they are not powerless. When they were only children, they discovered a book of spells—spells that work, with dark and unpredictable consequences. In a time of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, they use the book to take control of their lives.

DCI Hanlon is going undercover. Oxford philosophy lecturer Dr Gideon Fuller is in the frame, but Hanlon is not convinced. From the specialist brothels in Oxford and Soho, to the inner sanctum of a Russian people trafficker with a taste for hurting women, the trail leads Hanlon deeper and deeper into danger - until she herself becomes the killer's next target.... Can Hanlon track down the killer before it's too late?

Emily Jones is a new mum: she's bought the swank buggy, planned her labour soundtrack, read the books. Then her little girl actually arrives and Emily realises: she has all the gear, no idea - and only 12 months of maternity leave to figure it out. Lonely but not alone, it's the women Emily befriends in this first year who really see her through to the other side.

As a single mother, Annie has an especially close relationship with her son, Ben. They have always been together. Just the two of them. So, when Ben brings home his mysterious beautiful new wife, Daisy, immediately Annie doesn’t trust her. Who is this woman who has taken her son away from her? And what is she hiding? She’ll protect him with her life....

Nancy, Eleanor and Mary met at college and have been friends ever since, through marriages, children and love affairs. But when Nancy is murdered, Eleanor and Mary must align themselves to uncover her killer. And as each of their stories unfold, they realise that there are many different truths to find and many different ways to bring justice for those we love.

Chloe and her husband Scott are holidaying with their families on the beautiful Greek island of Mykonos. But Chloe has a secret... She has hired a hitman to kill Scott when they return home. This week, her plan is to pretend to be such a happy wife that no suspicion can possibly fall on her after the murder. But she's reckoning without Scott’s meddlesome sister, Tori, plus the rivalries and demands of both families. Can she deal with them all while keeping her murderous intentions hidden?