Contemporary Women Audiobooks | Fiction

The Mystery of Mercy Close: British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022

"The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Marian Keye's heartbreaking stunner of a novel, The Mystery of Mercy Close, read by the actress Niamh Daly. Helen Walsh doesn't believe in fear - it's just a thing invented by men to get all the money and good jobs - and yet she's sinking. Her work as a Private Investigator has dried up, her flat has been repossessed and now some old demons have resurfaced. Not least in the form of her charming but dodgy ex-boyfriend Jay Parker, who shows up with a missing persons case. Money is tight and Jay is awash with cash, so Helen is forced to take on the task of finding Wayne Diffney, the 'Wacky One' from boyband Laddz. Things ended messily with Jay. And she's never going back there. Besides she has a new boyfriend now, the very sexy detective Artie Devlin and it's all going well. But the reappearance of Jay is stirring up all kinds of stuff she thought she'd left behind. Playing by her own rules, Helen is drawn into a dark and glamorous world, where her worst enemy is her own head and where increasingly the only person she feels connected to is Wayne, a man she's never even met. Utterly compelling, moving and very very funny, The Mystery of Mercy Close is unlike any novel you've ever read and Helen Walsh - courageous, vulnerable and wasp-tongued - is the perfect heroine for our times. Praise for Marian Keyes: 'When it comes to writing page-turners that put a smile on your face and make you think, Keyes is in a class of her own' Daily Express 'Zips along with engaging characters, fabulous plotting and spot-on dialogue. Marian Keyes: what a genius' Daily Mail Marian Keyes' international bestselling novels include Rachel's Holiday, Last Chance Saloon, Sushi for Beginners, Angels, The Other Side of the Story, Anybody Out There, This Charming Man and The Brightest Star in the Sky. Two collections of her journalism, Under the Duvet and Further Under the Duvet, are also available from Penguin."

Marian Keyes (Author), Niamh Daly (Narrator)

Audiobook

From Notting Hill With Love . . . Actually

"She was just a girl, standing in front of a boy . . . wishing he looked more like Hugh Grant. Scarlett loves the movies. But does she love sensible fiancé David just as much? With a big white wedding on the horizon, Scarlett really should have decided by now . . . When she has the chance to house-sit in Notting Hill - the setting of one of her favourite movies - Scarlett jumps at the chance. But living life like a movie is trickier than it seems, especially when her new neighbour Sean is so irritating. And so irritatingly handsome, too. Scarlett soon finds herself starring in a romantic comedy of her very own: but who will end up as the leading man?"

Ali McNamara (Author), Finty Williams (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Forgetting Tree

"When Claire Nagy marries Forster Baumsarg, the only son of prominent California citrus ranchers, she knows she's consenting to a life of hard work, long days, and worry-fraught nights. But her love for Forster is so strong, she turns away from her literary education and embraces the life of the ranch, succumbing to its intoxicating rhythms and bounty until her love of the land becomes a part of her. Not even the tragic, senseless death of her son Joshua at kidnappers' hands, her alienation from her two daughters, or the dissolution of her once-devoted marriage can pull her from the ranch she's devoted her life to preserving. But despite having survived the most terrible of tragedies, Claire is about to face her greatest struggle: an illness that threatens not only to rip her from her land but take her very life. And she's chosen a caregiver, the inscrutable, Caribbean-born Minna, who may just be the darkest force of all. Haunting, tough, triumphant, and profound, The Forgetting Tree explores the intimate ties we have to one another, the deepest fears we keep to ourselves, and the calling of the land that ties every one of us together."

Tatjana Soli (Author), Joyce Bean (Narrator)

Audiobook

"From the MAN BOOKER PRIZE- and WOMEN'S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED author of Swing Time, White Teeth and On Beauty - a masterful and intimate novel of modern London life 'A triumph. Every sentence sings' Guardian 'Intensely funny, richly varied, always unexpected. A joyous, optimistic, angry masterpiece' Daily Telegraph 'Smith's most satisfying novel. Funny, sexy, weird, full of acute social comedy. She's up there with the best around' Evening Standard Zadie Smith's brilliant tragicomic NW follows four Londoners - Leah, Natalie, Felix and Nathan - after they've left their childhood council estate, grown up and moved on to different lives. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their city is brutal, beautiful and complicated. Yet after a chance encounter they each find that the choices they've made, the people they once were and are now, can suddenly, rapidly unravel. Funny, poignant and vividly contemporary, NW is as brimming with vitality as the city itself."

Zadie Smith (Author), Don Gilet, Karen Bryson (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Baustelle Baby

"Babys - auf diese Kleinen können Sie bauen! Nämlich dann, wenn es darum geht, dem bisher bekannten Leben die Abrissbirne zu verpassen. Mama Sonya redet hemmungslos Tacheles über Männer in der Schwangerschaft, Sex währenddessen und danach, Renovierungsarbeiten am Love-Channel, den hauseigenen Molkereibetrieb und die stärkste Droge der Welt: Mamahormone! Ein brüllend komisches Hörbuch, in dem sich alle Mamas und zukünftigen Mamas wiederfinden. Und alle Frauen, die sich insgeheim oder ganz offen die Kinder-Frage stellen, wissen danach, welche Antwort für sie die richtige ist: Ja, Nein oder Vielleicht doch lieber erst später."

Sonya Kraus (Author), Sonya Kraus (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel

"Julia Stuart returns in her follow-up to the bestselling The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise with this clever murder mystery set in Victorian England, brimming with her signature charm and fabulous characters. When Indian Princess Alexandrina is left penniless by the sudden death of her father, the Maharaja of Brindor, Queen Victoria grants her a grace-and-favor home in Hampton Court Palace. Though rumored to be haunted, Alexandrina and her lady's maid, Pooki, have no choice but to take the Queen up on her offer. Aside from the ghost sightings, Hampton Court doesn't seem so bad. The princess is soon befriended by three eccentric widows who invite her to a picnic with all the palace's inhabitants, for which Pooki bakes a pigeon pie. But when General-Major Bagshot dies after eating said pie, and the coroner finds traces of arsenic in his body, Pooki becomes the #1 suspect in a murder investigation. Princess Alexandrina isn't about to let her faithful servant hang. She begins an investigation of her own, and discovers that Hampton Court isn't such a safe place to live after all. With her trademark wit and charm, Julia Stuart introduces us to an outstanding cast of lovable oddballs, from the palace maze-keeper to the unconventional Lady Beatrice (who likes to dress up as a toucan-don't ask), as she guides us through the many delightful twists and turns in this fun and quirky murder mystery. Everyone is hiding a secret of the heart, and even Alexandrina may not realize when she's caught in a maze of love."

Julia Stuart (Author), Hannah Curtis (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Gatecrasher

"Fleur is beautiful, unscrupulous, and has a large wardrobe of black designer suits. With the help of The Times announcements page she gatecrashes the funerals and memorial services of the wealthy, preying on rich, vulnerable men. She charms her way into their lives and onto their platinum credit cards, takes what she can, and then moves swiftly on. When Richard, a dull but wealthy businessman, meets Fleur at his wife's memorial service, he's bowled over. Gradually Fleur works her spell on Richard's family - transforming their lives while she moves in on their wealth. But she finds herself lingering longer than she meant to ..."

Madeleine Wickham (Author), Katherine Kellgren (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Inn at Rose Harbor: A Rose Harbor Novel

"The Rose Harbour Inn welcomes you to Cedar Cove… From the minute she sees the Rose Harbour Inn, Jo Marie Barlow knows that this is the place that will help her find the peace she craves. And if the inn can comfort her, surely it can offer the same refuge to her first two guests. Joshua Weaver has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, but a long-lost acquaintance proves to him that forgiveness is not out of reach and love can bloom in the unlikeliest places. Abby Kinkaid left Cedar Cover twenty years ago after a devastating accident. But as she reconnects with family and old friends, she realizes that she needs to let the past go if she is to embrace her future. Includes a PDF of bonus material."

Debbie Macomber (Author), Lorelei King (Narrator)

Audiobook

Nameless

"In 1941, mixed race Ruby Darke is born into a family that seem to hate her, but why? While her two brothers dive into a life of gangland violence, Ruby has to work in their family store. As she blossoms into a beautiful young woman she crosses paths with aristocrat Cornelius Bray, a chance meeting that will change her life forever. When she finds herself pregnant, and then has twins, she is forced to give her children away. At that point she vows never to trust another man again. As the years pass, Ruby never forgets her babies, and as the family store turns into a retail empire, Ruby wants her children back. But secrets were whispered and bargains made, and if Ruby wants to stay alive she needs to forget the past, or the past will come back and kill her. Nameless is a gripping underworld thriller by bestselling author Jessie Keane and read by actress Karen Cass."

Jessie Keane (Author), Karen Cass (Narrator)

Audiobook

Public Marriage, Private Secrets

"For scorching love stories, fans know to look no further than the works of best-selling author Helen Bianchin. In Public Marriage, Private Secrets, Gianna Velez-SaldaNa is the proprietress of an upscale boutique in one of the Gold Coast's trendiest suburbs-trying to leave her brief marriage in the past. But when her husband Raul unexpectedly shows up, their old flame is given new life. His desire is to continue their life together, but she is still haunted by how it all ended."

Helen Bianchin (Author), Nicolette McKenzie (Narrator)

Audiobook

True Believers: A Novel

"NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • San Francisco Chronicle In True Believers, Kurt Andersen-the New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author of Heyday and Turn of the Century-delivers his most powerful and moving novel yet. Dazzling in its wit and effervescent insight, this kaleidoscopic tour de force of cultural observation and seductive storytelling alternates between the present and the 1960s-and indelibly captures the enduring impact of that time on the ways we live now. Karen Hollander is a celebrated attorney who recently removed herself from consideration for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Her reasons have their roots in 1968-an episode she's managed to keep secret for more than forty years. Now, with the imminent publication of her memoir, she's about to let the world in on that shocking secret-as soon as she can track down the answers to a few crucial last questions. As junior-high-school kids back in the early sixties, Karen and her two best friends, Chuck and Alex, roamed suburban Chicago on their bikes looking for intrigue and excitement. Inspired by the exotic romance of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, they acted out elaborate spy missions pitting themselves against imaginary Cold War villains. As friendship carries them through childhood and on to college-in a polarized late-sixties America riven by war and race as well as sex, drugs, and rock and roll-the bad guys cease to be the creatures of make-believe. Caught up in the fervor of that extraordinary and uncanny time, they find themselves swept into a dangerous new game with the highest possible stakes. Today, only a handful of people are left who know what happened. As Karen reconstructs the past and reconciles the girl she was then with the woman she is now, finally sharing pieces of her secret past with her national-security-cowboy boyfriend and activist granddaughter, the power of memory and history and luck become clear. A resonant coming-of-age story and a thrilling political mystery, True Believers is Kurt Andersen's most ambitious novel to date, introducing a brilliant, funny, and irresistible new heroine to contemporary fiction. Praise for True Believers "Funny, fiendishly smart."-San Francisco Chronicle "A great American novel."-Vanity Fair "A big, swinging novel . . . [a] colorful story . . . This could be the most rambunctious meeting your book club will have for a long time."-The Washington Post "Intelligent and insightful . . . Think The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter and Atonement, a '60s-era female Holden Caulfield. . . . Andersen is an agile storyteller. . . . [There are] witty, occasionally even profound observations about the '60s and today."-USA Today "So epic: Part thriller, part coming-of-age tale, the novel alternates between the present and the 1960s, capturing some of America's most pivotal moments in history like a time capsule."-Marie Claire "This is an ambitious and remarkable novel, wonderfully voiced, about memory, secrets, guilt, and the dangers of certitude. Moreover, it asks essential questions about what it means to be an American and, in a sense, what it means to be America."-Booklist (starred review) "Fascinating and wisely observant."-O: The Oprah Magazine"

Kurt Andersen (Author), Vanessa Hart (Narrator)

Audiobook

Innocent Secretary...Accidentally Pregnant

"An international sensation, Carol Marinelli pens steamy romances that pierce the hearts of fans in the US, the UK, and Australia. Here, prim and proper Emma Stephenson is the unlikely personal assistant to Sicilian playboy and financier Luca D'Amato. Despite her efforts to keep their relationship strictly professional, Emma eventually succumbs to his charms. Now Emma is on the verge of a big promotion, one that could free her of crippling debt, but there's just one problem: she's pregnant-and Luca is the father."

Carol Marinelli (Author), Charlotte Strevens (Narrator)

Audiobook

Contemporary Women Audiobooks in Fiction