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Audiobooks Narrated by Lorna Bennett
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"Ancient Mesopotamia, the Zodiac, and the land of the dead feature in this wildly surrealistic adventure story—Leonora Carrington's revolutionary second novel, long out of print.
The Stone Door is an omen, an incantation, and an adventure story rolled into one. Built in layers like a puzzle box, it is the tale of two people, of love and the Zodiac and the Kabbalah, of Transylvania and Mesopotamia converging at the Caucasus, of a mad Hungarian King named Böles Kilary and of a woman's discovery of an initiatory code that leads to a Cyclopean obstacle, to love, self and awareness, to the great stone door of Kescke and beyond.
Written at the end of World War II but not published until 1977 and long unavailable, The Stone Door is at once a celebration of the union of Carrington and her husband, the Hungarian-born photographer Chiki Weisz, and an argument for the unification of the male and the female as a means of liberating the human race."
"A major new examination of the Indian Ocean, revealing how the region has become a hotly contested geopolitical flashpoint
Throughout history, the Indian Ocean has been an essential space for trade, commerce, and culture. Every European power has sought to dominate it. Now, after a lull in the postwar period, control of major shipping routes has once again become a critical aspect of every rising state's ambition to be a global power.
Darshana M. Baruah shows how governments from Washington, DC, to Nairobi and Canberra are expanding their interests in the region. The Indian Ocean is resource rich, strategically placed, and home to over two billion people. Island nations have become more important than ever, with Madagascar forming ties with Russia and the Comoros with Saudi Arabia. It is also through the region that China engages with Africa and the Middle East. This is a compelling account of the geopolitical significance of the Indian Ocean—showing how the region has taken center stage in a new global contest."
"Nothing is ever as it seems. Especially when you work at 13 Park Lane…
1872. Marguerite has fled to London, leaving behind a traumatic past in Paris. When she is offered work as a cook for mysterious French widow Madame Riel, she seizes the chance to start afresh.
But as soon as Marguerite arrives, she is stifled by the tension in the house and before long she comes to resent her stingy and volatile employer, as well as her unfriendly housemaid.
Just as Marguerite is about to resign, Madame Riel’s beautiful actress daughter Julie returns to the house and charms her into staying.
But Julie’s presence creates new toxic waves of emotion—until someone finally snaps and murders Madame Riel.
Why is 13 Park Lane so full of hatred? What secrets does the household guard? And can any of its inhabitants escape the shackles of their past?"
"Cambridge University master Sir Flyte Rascallian has little interest in the innocent-looking set of old paintings he inherits from his aunt Beatrice until he takes a closer look… and ends up dead.
Something is clearly bothering Sir Flyte Rascallian, Master of Hardwick College at the University of Cambridge and renowned art expert. Are all the grimy paintings he's recently inherited from his aunt's old attic really as worthless as he claims? Curator Ambrose Nussknacker believes that one of the paintings could be a genuine Rembrandt. Why is Sir Flyte so reluctant to get it authenticated and determined to shun the accolade of discovering one of the world's great lost treasures?
When Sir Flyte is found murdered in his study on campus, Detective Chief Inspection Arthur St. Just must unravel his sudden unusual behavior to get to the bottom of the death of the old master, but in doing so, St. Just becomes entangled in a web of priceless artwork, deadly intentions, and dangerous secrets.
Fans of M.C. Beaton and Dorothy L. Sayers will love this entertaining mystery featuring delightfully eccentric characters."
"You paid the price for wanting what you couldn't have. Now DNA tests threaten to expose what you spent a lifetime hiding . . .
As an ambitious young woman in the years following the Second World War, Barbara made some hard choices, decisions changing everything that came after. She had to fight for what she wanted; then the stakes got so much higher.
A continent away, and decades later, Barbara's daughter hires genealogist Karen Copperfield to make sense of the family's DNA tests. Nothing about the results ties in with what Barbara's children believed, and the shock is tearing the family apart. Barbara seems to prefer death to revealing the truth, and Karen soon discovers there is more than one secret she intends to take to her grave.
But when threats start to come from both sides of the Atlantic, it soon becomes clear that Barbara is not the only person who wants the past to stay that way.
DNA Never Lies is the first in a series of novels featuring Karen Copperfield, investigative genealogist. Karen helps people make sense of sometimes dark family secrets revealed by DNA tests as they ask: 'what happens when nothing you believed is true?'"
"Under the cover of 'innovation,' technology companies have successfully resisted regulation and have even begun to seize power from governments themselves. Facial recognition firms track citizens for police surveillance. Cryptocurrency has wiped out the savings of millions and threatens the stability of the global financial system. Spyware companies sell intelligence tools to anyone who can afford them. This new reality—where unregulated technology has become a forceful instrument for autocrats worldwide—is terrible news for democracies and citizens.
In The Tech Coup, Marietje Schaake explains how technology companies crept into nearly every corner of our lives and our governments. She takes us beyond the headlines to high-stakes meetings with human rights defenders, business leaders, computer scientists, and politicians to show how technologies have gone from being heralded as utopian to undermining the pillars of our democracies. To reverse this existential power imbalance, Schaake outlines solutions to empower elected officials and citizens alike. Democratic leaders can—and must—resist the influence of corporate lobbying and reinvent themselves as dynamic, flexible guardians of our digital world. Schaake offers a frightening look at our modern tech-obsessed world—and a clear-eyed view of how democracies can build a better future before it is too late."
"As the winter solstice approaches in Myrtlewood, the Yuletide festivities are underway, but the cheer is overshadowed by mysterious winter deaths.
Athena and Rosemary must embark on a perilous journey to the Underworld. Along the way, they uncover clues about a prophecy and encounter allies and adversaries in the dream realm. As they get closer to their goal, they face unexpected challenges, and true motives are revealed.
Can they unravel the mysteries of the past before it's too late? The fate of the future hangs in the balance in this magical tale of fae, gods, and ancient prophecies."
"A psychologically gripping novel of estranged sisters, deep secrets, and tense twists from “an elegant and thrilling new voice,” (Emma Jane Unsworth, author of Animals).
At the height of summer, two sisters reunite at a remote cottage. They’ve long been distant from each other, literally as well as emotionally: Anna is a free-spirited wanderer and Catherine is career-focused and settled in one place. So, some tension is not surprising, but it rapidly escalates when odd things start happening during the all-night twilight on the wild peninsula.
Who’s the watchful girl with a baby and what does she want from the sisters? Who bangs on their windows in the early hours then disappears into the woods? What does the sad-eyed Scottish man Anna is falling for know about it all? And how does it link back to an event twenty years ago that the sisters never talk about—the incident that created all this confusion, dislocation, and longing in the first place?
This suspenseful, knowing novel explores how psychosis creeps in on the back of isolation and suspicion; the shadow that motherhood casts over women’s lives, even when there is no child; and how buried trauma always winds its way up to the surface—sometimes in the strangest and most frightening ways."
"As the leaves fall and the fog thickens, the town of Myrtlewood prepares for the annual Samhain festival.
But this year, something is different. The chill in the air is not just from the frost but from a deeper magic, an ancient magic that has lain dormant for years.
Rosemary Thorn and her daughter Athena both sense that something is amiss. They soon find themselves caught up in a thrilling mystery as strange occurrences happen around town. They must navigate through the mystical and mysterious world of magic and uncover the truth behind the spooky happenings before it's too late.
As All Hallows draws near, the spirits in the land begin to stir in restless frustration, and the anticipation in the air thickens, promising to be a Samhain that the people of Myrtlewood will never forget!"
"The autumn equinox is drawing near, and the mystical town of Myrtlewood is plunged into a spellbinding adventure.
Rosemary's chocolate shop is thriving with the help of Papa Jack, but it isn't long before the town is under attack by mysterious swampy monsters, and the local election reveals a dark side to the normally peaceful village.
Meanwhile, despite her mother's reservations, Athena is determined to embark on a journey into the fae realm to uncover her heritage and play a role in forging a treaty between magical beings.
Join Rosemary and Athena as they navigate vampire politics, pesky pixies, complicated magical family dynamics, and feisty familiars!"
"In the lead-up to the Lughnasa festival, trouble is brewing in Bermuda...
Rosemary has her hands full with the launch of her much anticipated magical chocolate shop. She's enjoying the peace and quiet of Myrtlewood, and the last thing she wants to do is get involved in Bermuda witching politics.
Athena, on the other hand, is dying for a tropical escape, especially when things take a turn for the strange and unusual where her powers are concerned, leading to terrible embarrassment.
Peculiar threats and unwanted visitors drive Rosemary to rise to the challenge of visiting the witching parliament to protect her daughter and salvage her dreams."
"As the Summer Solstice approaches, celestial magic is afoot in Myrtlewood…
Rosemary and Athena's lives are thrown as the big Summer Solstice festival brings a series of mysterious events. Rosemary's chocolate shop plans are being waylaid by strange disappearances and uninvited visitors. Meanwhile, Athena is sure the astrological lessons at Myrtlewood Academy hold the key to unlocking the town's latest mystery, even if her mother doesn't want to hear about it.
Can Rosemary and Athena manage to work together and cast aside their stubbornness before thousands of festival-goers succumb to a magical catastrophe?"
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