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Audiobooks Narrated by Victoria Riley
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"The brand new epic family drama from the nation’s favourite storyteller.
Where can a daughter turn when her father’s love is stolen away?
When heart-broken Sarah Quinn is left to care for her father and siblings when her mother dies, it’s hard to watch their loving dad, Fred, drift into drink and despair. With money tight, Sarah is determined to keep the family together.
But they receive a shock when Fred Quinn announces he is to marry Mavis Swindel, the landlady of a boarding house on the edge of the moors. Mavis seems to offer the answer to the family’s problems, and soon they are all moving into her shabby lodgings.
It quickly becomes clear that their stepmother has plans for her new family, and slowly but surely, Mavis takes over their lives. As her father becomes a stranger to his children, Sarah becomes convinced that Mavis has something to hide. But as her doubts turn into an obsession, does Sarah risk destroying everything she loves in her search for the truth?"
"Three powerful novels from a prize-winning storytellerSet before, during and after World War 2 on the beautiful Far Eastern island of Penang, these books and their memorable characters will keep you up all night reading
THE PEARL OF PENANG – EVIE'S STORY Winner of the 2020 BookBrunch Selfies award for Adult Fiction
In 1939, lonely and without prospects, Evie Fraser accepts a marriage proposal by post from a man she barely knows. Evie leaves her quiet English village for a new life on the exotic tropical island of Penang. Soon she finds herself pitched against her new husband on the one hand and the shallow spiteful world of the expatriate British on the other. Has she made a terrible life-changing mistake?
PRISONER FROM PENANG – MARY'S STORY
In late 1941, when the Japanese attack Penang, Mary Helston flees to the safe haven of Singapore, only for it to fall within weeks. Imprisoned by the Japanese on the nearby islands of Sumatra, Mary and her fellow women internees begin a desperate struggle for survival. But it's not only the Japanese and starvation that Mary is up against, as with her in the camp is the one woman Mary has good cause to loathe with a passion.
A PAINTER IN PENANG – JASMINE'S STORY
The war is over and Evie's unhappy step daughter, Jasmine, is desperate to return to the island of Penang where she grew up. When Mary, Evie's best friend, offers to host Jasmine, the sixteen year-old is over the moon. As Jasmine settles into her new life, enjoying her painting, communist insurgents begin the reign of terror that becomes the Malayan Emergency. Before long, Jasmine is drawn into a world of danger and secrets from the past that will force her to grow up faster than she had expected."
"Sixteen-year-old Jasmine Barrington hates everything about living in Kenya and longs to return to the island of Penang in British colonial Malaya where she was born. Expulsion from her Nairobi convent school offers a welcome escape – the chance to stay with her parents’ friends, Mary and Reggie Hyde-Underwood on their Penang rubber estate.
But this is 1948 and communist insurgents are embarking on a reign of terror in what becomes the Malayan Emergency. Jasmine goes through testing experiences – confronting heartache, a shocking past secret and danger. Throughout it all, the one constant in her life is her passion for painting.
From the international best-selling and award-winning author of The Pearl of Penang, this is a dramatic coming of age story, set against the backdrop of a tropical paradise torn apart by civil war."
"A vivid and moving story of sacrifice, hope and humanity. From the best-selling author of The Pearl of Penang.
After Penang is attacked by the Japanese at the end of 1941, Mary Helston believes Singapore will be a safe haven. But within weeks the supposedly invincible British stronghold is on the brink of collapse to the advancing enemy.
Mary and her mother are captured at sea as they try to escape and are interned on the islands of Sumatra. Imprisoned with them is Veronica Leighton, the one person on the planet Mary has reason to loathe with a passion.
As the motley band of women struggle to adapt to captivity, relationships and friendships are tested. When starvation, lack of medication and the spread of disease worsen, each woman must draw on every ounce of strength in their battle for survival."
"'Following the death of my wife, I am in need of support and companionship. I am prepared to make you an offer of marriage.'
Evie Fraser, paid companion to a crotchety spinster, seems destined for a lonely life. Then out of the blue, a marriage proposal arrives by post. She met the handsome Douglas Barrington just once – at his wedding – but never forgot him. Now widowed, plantation-owner Douglas offers her a new life on the lush, exotic island of Penang. How can Evie resist?
But what are Barrington’s motives in marrying Evie when he barely knows her, and why is he so hostile and moody?
Evie soon finds herself pitched against Douglas on the one hand and the shallow, often spiteful world of the expatriate British on the other. Has she made the biggest mistake of her life?
Flynn’s tenth novel explores love, marriage, the impact of war and the challenges of displacement – this time in a tropical paradise as the threat of the Japanese empire looms closer. "
"When Karin enters a high-ranked university to start her PhD she is brimming with hope and positively overflowing with grit determination to prove she is worthy. After all, she knows that only the extraordinarily learned and the astonishingly intelligent ever hold chairs and professorships... She knows researchers are idealists yearning to enrich the stock of human knowledge… She knows university is the apotheosis of civilised culture… She knows… very little…"
"Kendall McKenzie has vowed never to get married. She’s seen too many people give up their dreams for love, and is determined that’s never going to happen to her. Travelling the world teaching English, Kendall dreams of turning her jewellery-making hobby into a proper business one day. ‘No commitment’ is high-flying businessman, Jake Newman’s motto. He’s never met anyone he wants to settle down with, and that’s the way he likes it. But when Kendall and Jake meet sparks fly. It's obvious to everyone except themselves that they're meant to be together. Will their fear of commitment prevent them from admitting their love for each other? And if they do, will Kendall have to give up her dream?"
"Two girls go missing, decades apart. What would you do if one was your daughter?
When eight-year-old Grace goes missing from a sweetshop on the way home from school, her mother Emma is plunged into a nightmare. Her family rallies around, but as the police hunt begins, cracks begin to emerge.
What are the secret emails sent between Emma’s husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is Emma really as innocent as she seems?
Meanwhile, ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees Grace’s picture in the newspaper. It’s a photograph that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl – the first girl who disappeared…
This is a gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist that will take your breath away.
‘An intense domestic thriller, twists and turns galore, and a host of family secrets. An absorbing read.’ Paul Finch, bestselling author of Strangers
‘An intelligent, taut and compelling thriller’ Sam Carrington, bestselling author of Saving Sophie
‘Carpenter emerges as an addictive new talent’ Helen Fields, author of Perfect Remains
‘The plot is seamless’ Amanda Robson, author of Obsession"
