Audiobooks narrated by Sarah Cullum

Finding Hester: The Incredible Story Of The Hidden Woman Whose Love Letters Changed World War II

"Finding Hester explores the untold story of Hester Leggatt, a woman who helped trick the Nazis, and is a fascinating read for fans of West End musical Operation Mincemeat and anyone with an interest in women’s war stories Operation Mincemeat is one of the stranger tales to come out of the Second World War. A corpse dressed as a British pilot was dropped in the ocean near Spain, with the forged documents he carried landing in the hands of the Germans to convince them to move their troops to the advantage of the allied forces. It is an event perhaps most popularly told in Ben Macintyre’s 2010 book Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II, but it has recently been retold in a 2021 film and is currently the plot of an Olivier-winning West End musical. Operation Mincemeat has never been more familiar to the public. To sell the ruse of the corpse, MI5 had to create a credible backstory for their fictitious pilot. They filled his briefcase with receipts, cigarettes, a photograph, and, importantly, two fabricated love letters. An interview with MI5 secretary Jean Leslie, conducted by Macintyre for his book, revealed the name of the woman behind those letters to be a ‘Hester Leggett’. This has been repeated ever since, including in both the film and the musical. Hester Leggett does not exist. The false identity was discovered by a group of fans of the musical. While we know much about the other key figures portrayed in the musical, Hester was always more of a mystery and once the group started to research her, they discovered she was actually Hester Leggatt. This misplaced vowel made all the difference and we uncovered a huge amount about the real Hester. This book tells the story of how the musical fanbase found her school records, her family, her real love letters from the Second World War, and definitive confirmation from MI5 that they had the right person."

Claudia Caplan Wolff, Erin Edwards, Greg Callus, Jack Lawrence, Rose Crossgrove (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Box with the Sunflower Clasp: Uncovering a Jewish Family's Flight to Wartime Shanghai

"Rachel Meller was never close to her aunt Lisbeth, a cool, unemotional woman with a drawling Viennese-C alifornian accent, a cigarette in her hand. But when Lisbeth died, she left Rachel an intricately carved C hinese box with a sunflower clasp. Inside the box were photographs, letters and documents that led Rachel to uncover a story she had never known: that of a passionate Jewish teenager growing up in elegant Vienna, who was caught up by war, and forced to flee to Shanghai. Far from home, in a strange city, Lisbeth and her parents build a new life - a life of small joys and great hardship, surrounded by many others who, like them, have fled Hitler and the Nazis. 1930s Shanghai is a metropolis where the old rules do not apply - a city of fabulous wealth and crushing poverty, where disease is rife, and gangsters rub shoulders with rich emigrés; where summer brings unspeakable heat, and winter is bitterly cold; and where European refugees build community and, maybe, a young woman can find love. Set against a backdrop of the war in the Far East, The Box with the Sunflower Clasp is a sweeping family memoir that tells the hidden history of the Jews of Shanghai. Rachel Meller writes with elegance and insight as she examines what it means to survive, and what the legacy of displacement and war might mean for the generation that comes afterwards."

Rachel Meller (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Unravelling of Mary Reddish

"Nottingham, 1827. Mary Reddish, a young housemaid unjustly committed after defying her employer’s advances, must navigate the brutal treatments of the county asylum while trying to prove her sanity. Meanwhile, Ann and Thomas Morris, the asylum’s matron and director, struggle to uphold humane practices against outdated medical methods that haunt the institution. As Mary forms an unlikely alliance with a fellow patient, she finds herself at the centre of a battle between compassion and cruelty that will determine the course of her life – and the future of the asylum itself."

David Whitfield (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

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Future's Edge

"A gripping and heartfelt horror-tinged space adventure from the BSFA award-winning author of Stars and Bones and Embers and Becky Chambers. Readers of James S.A. Core will love this fast-paced story of space piracy, deadly alien artifacts and a race to save what is left of humanity. When archaeologist Ursula Morrow accidentally infects herself with an alien parasite, she fears she may have jeopardised her career. However, her concerns become irrelevant when Earth is destroyed, billions die, and suddenly no one needs archaeologists anymore… Two years later, she’s plucked from a refugee camp on a backwater world and tasked with retrieving the artifact that infected her, as it just might hold the key to humanity’s survival. With time running short, and the planet housing the weapon now situated in hostile territory, she realises she’s going to have to commit an act of desperate piracy if she’s going to achieve her objective before the enemy’s final onslaught. A thrilling, page-turning journey into deep space where the fights are brutal, the relationships are complicated and the world ended years ago."

Gareth L. Powell (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

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Hope for Caregivers: A 42-Day Devotional in Company with Henri J. M. Nouwen

"Henri Nouwen's timeless wisdom reminds us once again of the transformation that love brings, both when we allow ourselves to give love with abandon and when we allow ourselves to receive love. Caregiving too often is reduced to a list of tasks—doing the things that another individual cannot do independently. In six weeks of daily devotions inspired by the words of Henri Nouwen and intertwined with Scripture and prayer, Hope for Caregivers summons us away from our lists for a few moments each day and draws us to a fresh framework for the experience of giving care."

Henri Nouwen (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fat Girl Slim Three: Liar, liar, pants on fire...

"Has she gone too far this time? It’s all gone horribly wrong and the worst has happened.Alison is in deep, deep trouble and no amount of lies are helping. Forgetting the first rule of lying, she’s protesting her innocence but no one will believe a word she says no matter how hard she lies. Mother’s dark prophecy that she’d get what she deserves haunts her as she contemplates the best years of her life behind bars.Will she ever see her daughter again?Has Gerald finally had enough and deserted her? Find the answers to this and more in Fat Girl Slim Three; chicklit with a difference."

Marina Johnson (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fat Girl Slim Forever: The truth will out...

"The truth will out… Back home after her life changing moment at Frogham train station, it seems that Alison’s life is looking up and there’s even a possibility of romance on the horizon. Maybe she can finally stop lying. But it’s not very long before it all starts to go wrong and when Alison makes an enemy of Blake’s new girlfriend, she decides it’s time to get herself a proper job and make something of herself. She soon discovers that she’s not actually qualified for anything and is forced to take a job that’s her very worst nightmare. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that Mother was looking down on her and laughing. Can she ever shake off the spectre of Mother? Will she ever find true love? Find out in Fact Girl Slim Forever, the final instalment in the Fat Girl Slim Series."

Marina Johnson (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Good Mother

"How far would you go to protect your child? An absorbing new novel of psychological suspense from bestselling author Patricia Dixon. Three friends at pivotal points in their lives have some serious decisions to make . . . Gina is struggling with demons from her past while trying to be the opposite of her feckless mother. She is about to lose everything and will do whatever it takes to avoid following in her parent’s footsteps. Babs also has a battle on her hands, with her husband and her grown-up kids. After putting everyone first for so long, will she find the courage to break free? Robin has her own secret to keep, a vow to honour, and a fragile daughter to protect. But when her back is against the wall, and she has nowhere to turn, who will help her? These women, beset by threats, obstacles, and anguish, must find their paths forward. Each woman is living on the edge but for one of them, it’s the final straw. Who will it be?"

Patricia Dixon (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

Nothing Else Matters

"A powerful and moving story based on real events in the Lebanese civil war in the 1980's. Lamia and her family are caught up in the fighting, with tragic consequences. Lamia struggles with the hatred that threatens to destroy her, until she grasps that forgiveness and love are the most important things. Nothing else matters."

Patricia St. John (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

Anna O

"*Don't miss A Murder in Paris, the brand new twisty thriller from Matthew Blake* THE SMASH HIT NO.1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ~ A GUARDIAN and SUNDAY TIMES THRILLER OF THE MONTH ~ TV IN DEVELOPMENT WITH NETFLIX IT’S THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY Everyone knows the Anna O case. Everyone knows it was her fingerprints on the knife. But no-one knows the secrets of her sleepwalking. No-one knows whether she really meant to commit the murders that night. As a trial nears, the mystery reawakens. Is she innocent, or guilty? IT’S TIME TO PICK A SIDE For fans of Girl A and The Silent Patient, the story of ANNA O is your next obsession. READERS LOVE THE STORY OF ANNA O ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Best book of the year so far and will take some beating’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Hooked me from the start and continues to haunt me. Brilliantly written and so many red herrings!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely riveting, I couldn't put it down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This was a rollercoaster read with some exciting twists and a killer ending’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Addictive, brilliant and one I would definitely recommend’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this incredible fast-paced thriller’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘If you like The Silent Patient, this is the book for you.’"

Matthew Blake (Author), Christine Rendel, Dan Stevens, Hannah Curtis, Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

She Started It

"Brought to you by Penguin. Lord of the Flies meets And Then There Were None...but with Instagram and too much Prosecco. THIS IS THE HEN DO TO END ALL HEN DOS. AND YOU'RE INVITED... Poppy Greer is getting married and four of her old schoolmates are to be her trusted bridesmaids. They may have drifted but true friendships last a lifetime, don't they? Plus, who would pass on a free first-class ticket to white sands and bottomless cocktails on a private Caribbean island? But the women have underestimated their host, and each other. And as their darkest secrets are revealed, the trip of their dreams becomes the hen do from hell. Will anyone make it off the island alive? ©2023 Sian Gilbert (P)2023 Penguin Audio"

Sian Gilbert (Author), Anne-Marie Piazza, Billie Fulford-Brown, Ella Lynch, Ione Butler, Sarah Cullum, Sarah Ovens (Narrator)

Audiobook

How to Kill Your Best Friend

"If you thought your best friend deserved to die, could you kill her? From the author of The French Girl comes a novel full of secrets, suspense, and deadly twists. The perfect getaway - to get away with murder... Georgie, Lissa and Bronwyn have been best friends since they met on their college swimming team. Now Lissa is dead - drowned off the coast of the remote island where her second husband owns a luxury resort. But could a star open-water swimmer really have drowned? Or is something more sinister going on? Brought together for Lissa's memorial, Georgie, Bron, Lissa's grieving husband and their friends find themselves questioning the circumstances around Lissa's death - and each other. As the weather turns ominous, trapping the guests on the island, it slowly dawns on them that Lissa's death was only the beginning. Nobody knows who they can trust. Or if they'll make it off the island alive... Praise for the author: “A standout thriller - atmospheric, sinister and totally captivating” ALEX LAKE, bestselling author of After Anna “Uncannily creepy and grounded in the true horror of human evil” THE OBSERVER on The Missing Years “Demands a one-sit read” MAIL ONLINE on The French Girl “A gripping mystery... tangled relationships, shifting perceptions, and the memories - and people - that haunt us. I was completely captivated from beginning to end.” MEGAN MIRANDA on The French Girl"

Lexie Elliott (Author), Melanie Crawley, Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Sarah Cullum