Audiobooks narrated by Laura Aikman

Wives and Daughters: Penguin Classics Audiobook

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Laura Aikman. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Pam Norris. Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centres on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries a new stepsister, Cynthia, enters Molly's quiet life. Loveable but worldly and troubling, Cynthia's arrival alters Molly's daily life. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford. Wives and Daughters is far more than a nostalgic evocation of village life; it offers an ironic critique of mid-Victorian society (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Elizabeth Gaskell (Author), Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Whistle in the Dark: From the bestselling author of Elizabeth is Missing

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Whistle in the Dark by Emma Healey, read by Julia Deakin and Laura Aikman. In the award-winning Elizabeth is Missing debut novelist Emma Healey explored grandmother Maud's attempt to solve a 70-year-old mystery as she succumbed to dementia. Now, in her dazzling follow-up Whistle in the Dark, we meet Jen, mother to 15-year-old Lana - who has just been found after going missing for four desperate days. Lana can't talk about the missing days. As her daughter's life falls apart, Jen turns detective to discover what happened . . . How do you rescue someone who has already been found? Jen's fifteen-year-old daughter goes missing for four agonizing days. When Lana is found, unharmed, in the middle of the desolate countryside, everyone thinks the worst is over. But Lana refuses to tell anyone what happened, and the police think the case is closed. The once-happy, loving family returns to London, where things start to fall apart. Lana begins acting strangely: refusing to go to school, and sleeping with the light on. With her daughter increasingly becoming a stranger, Jen is sure the answer lies in those four missing days. But will Lana ever reveal what happened? 'A psychological thriller that meshes the homely with the Gothic' Literary Review 'Oozing with tension and written with captivating brilliance' Heat 'As gripping as its predecessor' Elle 'Gripping, deeply affecting' Irish Times

Emma Healey (Author), Julia Deakin, Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Whistle in the Dark: A Novel

Emma Healey follows the success of her #1 internationally bestselling debut novel Elizabeth Is Missing, winner of the Costa First Novel Award, with this beautiful, thought-provoking, and psychologically complex tale that affirms her status as one of the most inventive and original literary novelists today. Jen and Hugh Maddox have just survived every parent’s worst nightmare. Relieved, but still terrified, they sit by the hospital bedside of their fifteen-year-old daughter, Lana, who was found bloodied, bruised, and disoriented after going missing for four days during a mother-daughter vacation in the country. As Lana lies mute in the bed, unwilling or unable to articulate what happened to her during that period, the national media speculates wildly and Jen and Hugh try to answer many questions. Where was Lana? How did she get hurt? Was the teenage boy who befriended her involved? How did she survive outside for all those days? Even when she returns to the family home and her school routine, Lana only provides the same frustrating answer over and over: 'I can’t remember.' For years, Jen had tried to soothe the depressive demons plaguing her younger child, and had always dreaded the worst. Now she has hope—the family has gone through hell and come out the other side. But Jen cannot let go of her need to find the truth. Without telling Hugh or their pregnant older daughter Meg, Jen sets off to retrace Lana’s steps, a journey that will lead her to a deeper understanding of her youngest daughter, her family, and herself. A wry, poignant, and masterfully drawn story that explores the bonds and duress of family life, the pain of mental illness, and the fraught yet enduring connection between mothers and daughters, Whistle in the Dark is a story of guilt, fear, hope, and love that explores what it means to lose and find ourselves and those we love.

Emma Healey (Author), Julia Deakin, Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Making of Us: From the number one bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

Brought to you by Penguin. Lydia, Robyn and Dean don't know each other - yet. They live very different lives but each of them, independently, has always felt that something is missing. What they don't know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It is a letter containing a secret - one that will bind them together, and show them what love and family and friendship really mean... © Lisa Jewell 2011 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Lisa Jewell (Author), Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Liar's Room: The addictive new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of THE HOUSE

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Liar's Room by Simon Lelic, Laura Aikman and Nancy Carrol. Susanna Fenton has a secret. Fourteen years ago she left her identity behind, reinventing herself as a counsellor and starting a new life. It was the only way to keep her daughter safe. But everything changes when Adam Geraghty walks into her office. She's never met this young man before - so why does she feel like she knows him? Adam starts to tell her about a girl. A girl he wants to hurt. And that's when Susanna realises she was wrong. She doesn't know him. He knows her. And the girl he plans to hurt is her daughter. SIMON LELIC WRITES BEAUTIFULLY AND HE HAS A REAL TALENT FOR CHILLING STORIES THAT PLAY MERCILESSLY ON OUR MOST MOST DISTURBING FEARS - Cara Hunter A SUPERBLY WRITTEN AND WELL-CRAFTED THRILLER ... SIMON LELIC FUELS EACH PAGE WITH SUSPENSE AND INTRIGUE. IT WILL HAVE YOU UP ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT ... JUST FABULOUS! - Kathryn Croft A TENSE, ATMOSPHERIC THRILLER IN WHICH THE PAST HAUNTS THE PRESENT - AND THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES COME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE. TAUT, UNSETTLING AND BRILLIANTLY DONE - TM Logan, author of 'Lies'

Simon Lelic (Author), Laura Aikman, Nancy Carrol (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Foundling: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars Two women from different worlds. And a secret that will change everything . . . London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst - that Clara has died in care - the last thing she expects to hear is that her daughter has already been reclaimed - by her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl - and why. Less than a mile from Bess' lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart. 'Pacy, highly atmospheric and tantalisingly gripping from the very first page. With rich storytelling and a compelling narrative, The Foundling is subtle, satisfying and intensely moving' Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh 'A compelling tale of love and hope from the vivid streets of Georgian London' Sonia Velton, author of Blackberry & Wild Rose 'If you loved The Familiars, then you won't be disappointed by The Foundling. A gripping and moving read' Libby Page, bestselling author of The Lido

Stacey Halls (Author), Hattie Morahan, Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Exact Opposite of Okay

Izzy never expected to be eighteen and internationally reviled. But when explicit photos involving her, a politician's son and a garden bench are published online, the trolls set out to take her apart. Armed with best friend Ajita and a metric ton of nachos, she tries to laugh it off - but as the daily slut-shaming intensifies, she soon learns the way the world treats teenage girls is not okay. It's the Exact Opposite of Okay.

Laura Steven (Author), Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Dead Ex: The unputdownable summer 2018 bestselling thriller

Penguin Audio presents The Dead Ex by Jane Corry, read by Laura Aikman and Honeysuckle Weeks. THE THIRD TWIST-FILLED THRILLER FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY HUSBAND'S WIFE AND BLOOD SISTERS 'I wish he'd just DIE.' He said in sickness and in health. But after Vicki was attacked at work and left suffering with epilepsy, her husband Daniel left her for his mistress. So when Vicki gets a call one day to say that he's gone missing, her first thought is 'good riddance'. But then the police find evidence suggesting that Daniel is dead. And they think Vicki had something to do with it. What really happened on the night of Daniel's disappearance? And how can Vicki prove her innocence, when she's not even sure of it herself?

Jane Corry (Author), Honeysuckle Weeks, Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Couple: 'Genius, funny and thought-provoking. 5 stars' Carrie Hope Fletcher

The author of The Radio 2 Book Club Pick The Shelf returns with a new hilarious, thought-provoking and funny novel. 'Genius, funny and thought-provoking. 5 stars' Carrie Hope Fletcher 'A romcom with a difference' Sarra Manning 'Funny and clever. I loved every single line' Lucy Vine 'So clever. I loved it' Sophie Cousens 'A fresh, funny, razor-sharp take on society's views of relationships. It's feminist, it's provocative and a total joy to read' Hannah Tovey Millie is a perfectionist. She's happy, she's successful and, with a great support network of friends and family (and a very grumpy cat), she's never lonely. She loves working at a big tech firm and is on track be promoted to her dream role. The last thing she needs is romance messing up her perfectly organised world. Besides, normal people just don't have romantic relationships. Everyone knows that being in a couple is a bit . . . well, odd. You know, like having a pet snake or referring to yourself in the third person. Why rely on another person for your own happiness? Why risk the humiliation of unrequited love or the agony of a break-up? No, Millie is more than happy with her conventional single life. So, when Millie lands a new project at work, launching a pill that prevents you falling in love, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. That is, until she starts working with Ben. He's charming and funny, and Millie feels an instant connection to him. Will Millie sacrifice everything she believes in for love?

Helly Acton (Author), Laura Aikman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Speeches of Note: A celebration of the old, new and unspoken

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Speeches of Note by Shaun Usher, compèred by Richard Cordery, and with speeches read by a variety of narrators. SPEECHES OF NOTE: seventy-five extraordinary ways to step into someone else's shoes. From Shaun Usher, the author of the international bestseller LETTERS OF NOTE, comes an obsessively curated, richly illustrated and sumptuously produced collection of speeches from throughout the ages. Discover speeches that altered the course of history, like NELSON MANDELA's on the day he became South Africa's first black President, and outpourings of much-needed change, such as the impassioned, impromptu appeal for women's rights from SOJOURNER TRUTH, an African-American woman born into slavery. Expect the gloriously unexpected, as KERMIT THE FROG takes to the podium, and celebrate lives well-lived, including TILDA SWINTON's tribute to 'every alien's favourite cousin', DAVID BOWIE. While some speeches are heard by millions, some remain unspoken: the secret draft prepared for QUEEN ELIZABETH II during a military exercise for World War III, and PRESIDENT NIXON's chilling public announcement should NEIL ARMSTRONG and BUZZ ALDRIN become stranded on the Moon. Surprising, inspiring and shocking; moving, comforting and enlightening. Read by Laura Aikman, Shenoa Allen, Kristin Atherton, Taj Atwal, Kirsty Besterman, Kieran Bew, Mhari Black, Panti Bliss, Louise Brealey, Leo Burnett, Nick Cave, Richard Cordery, Elliot Cowan, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Ryan Ford Iosco, Fiona Hampton, Richard Hughes, Matthew Jacobs Morgan, Geraldine James, Paul Keating, Robert F Kennedy, Angus King, Liz Kingsman, Mitch Landrieu, Ursula le Guin, Donovan Livingstone, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Roy McMillan, Carla Mendonca, Ako Mitchell, Edward Murrow, Shirin Neshat, Amaka Okafor, Daniel O'Meara, Yeonmi Park, Jackie Robinson, Nicholas Rowe, Dan Russell, Clifford Samuel, Natalie Simpson, Adora Svitak, Justin Trudeau, Elie Wiesel, Maurice Williamson, Laura Aikman, Shenoa Allen, Kristin Atherton, Taj Atwal, Kirsty Besterman, Kieran Bew, Mhari Black, Panti Bliss, Louise Brealey, Leo Burnett, Nick Cave, Richard Cordery, Elliot Cowan, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Ryan Ford Iosco, Fiona Hampton, Richard Hughes, Matthew Jacobs Morgan, Geraldine James, Paul Keating, Robert F Kennedy, Angus King, Liz Kingsman, Mitch Landrieu, Ursula le Guin, Donovan Livingstone, Nelson Mandela, Roy McMillan, Carla Mendonca, Ako Mitchell, EdwardMurrow, Shirin Neshat, Amaka Okafor, Daniel O'Meara, Yeonmi Park Source: Take Care of Your Artists, World Economic Forum, Switzerland, 2014

Shaun Usher (Author), Adora Svitak, Ako Mitchell, Amaka Okafor, Angus King, Carla Mendonca, Clifford Samuel, Dan Russell, Daniel O'meara, Donovan Livingstone, Edward Murrow, Elie Wiesel, Elliot Cowan, Fiona Hampton, Geraldine James, Jackie Robinson, Justin Trudeau, Kieran Bew, Kirsty Besterman, Kristin Atherton, Laura Aikman, Leo Burnett, Liz Kingsman, Louise Brealey, Matthew Jacobs Morgan, Maurice Williamson, Mhari Black, Mitch Landrieu, Natalie Simpson, Nelson Mandela, Nicholas Rowe, Nick Cave, Panti Bliss, Paul Keating, Richard Cordery, Richard Hughes, Robert F Kennedy, Roy Mcmillan, Ryan Ford Iosco, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Shenoa Allen, Shirin Neshat, Taj Atwal, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ursula Le Guin, Yeonmi Park (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shadowscent

An Ember in the Ashes meets Indiana Jones in an electrifying, stealyourbreath away, superchargeyoursenses YA fantasy adventure. Across the Aramtesh Empire, scent is everything. Prayers only reach heaven on sacred incense, and perfumes are prized status symbols. 17yearold Rahil has an uncanny ability with fragrances, but her skills aren't enough to buy her dying father more time. Ash bears the tattoos of an imperial bodyguard. When his prince, Nisai, insists on a diplomatic mission to an outer province, Ash is dutybound to join the caravan. It's a nightmare protecting Nisai on the road. But it's even harder for Ash to conceal a secret that could see him exiled or executed. Rahil and Ash have nothing in common until smoke draws them to a plantation of the Empire's rarest flower. Nisai's been poisoned, flames devour the priceless blooms, and the pair have "suspect" clinging to them like a bad stench. Their futures depend on them working together to decipher clues, defy dangers and defeat their own demons in a race to source an antidote . . . before the imperial army hunts them down.

P.M. Freestone (Author), Laura Aikman, Steve West (Narrator)

Audiobook

It's Not Us, It's Them: Series 1-3: A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Drama

All three series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy about love, marriage and despair, initially broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as 'Start/Stop'. Barney and Cathy. Evan and Fiona. David and Alice. Three couples who have beaten the odds and stayed married - but is that simply because they haven't got around to divorcing yet? They've certainly got enough problems to deal with - Barney and his other half have been together for ages (and it shows), Evan finds that sparks are constantly flying with Fiona (and not always in a good way), and David is afraid his sexy, much younger wife will leave him for someone (anyone) else. In these three series, we follow this group of friends throughout weekends away and tricky date nights, weddings and funerals, Christmas celebrations and counselling sessions - all of which give them plenty of opportunity for flirting, fighting, competitiveness and reprehensible behaviour. We listen in to their innermost thoughts, feelings and motivations as they break the fourth wall: stopping the action, explaining themselves to the audience, then starting it all up again... Written by award-winning comedian, actor and writer Jack Docherty, who plays Barney, this warm, smart and funny sitcom was a radio hit, and was adapted for TV as part of BBC One's 'Comedy Playhouse' strand. It stars Charlie Higson as David, Jon Thomson as Evan, Kerry Godliman as Cathy, Fiona Allen as Fiona, and Katherine Parkinson, Sally Bretton and Laura Aikman as Alice. Guest stars include Jon Briggs, Sanjeev Bhaskar and John Sparkes. Cast Barney........................Jack Docherty Cathy........................Kerry Godliman Fiona........................Fiona Allen David........................Charlie Higson Evan........................Jon Thomson Alice........................Katherine Parkinson/Sally Bretton/Laura Aikman Voice of Barney's smartphone........................Jon Briggs Therapist........................Sanjeev Bhaskar Cathy's Dad........................John Sparkes Written by Jack Docherty Produced by Steven Canny (Series 1) and Claire Jones (Series 2 and 3) First broadcast BBC Radio 4: 6 September-11 October 2013, (Series 1), 10 November-29 December 2014 (Series 2), 29 July-2 September 2016 (Series 3) This programme was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as 'Start/Stop'

Jack Docherty (Author), Charlie Higson, Fiona Allen, Jack Docherty, Katherine Parkinson, Kerry Godliman, Laura Aikman, Sally Bretton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Laura Aikman