Showing results by narrator "Cathleen McCarron" in All Categories

When Evie Nicholson is asked to visit Kettlesheer Castle in Scotland to archive the family heirlooms, she jumps at the chance. Evie's passion for antiques means that, for her, the castle is a treasure trove of mysteries just waiting to be uncovered. But in each heirloom lies a story, and in the course of her investigations Evie stumbles upon some long-buried family secrets. Add handsome, gloomy heir Robert McAndrew and a traditional candlelit gala to the mix, and Evie's heart is sent reeling with an enthusiasm that may just extend beyond the Kettlesheer silver....

A tale of love and betrayal set in the borderlands of medieval Scotland. Badly disfigured Lady Isobel has fought to defend her Keep, with little thought for her safety. Why, then, has she let a stranger within her walls? Marc de Courtenay is a mercenary and a loner, drawn to the damaged, beautiful Isobel. But she has unwittingly given him secrets that will enable him to betray her. What would she do if she were ever to find out who he really is?

Scotland, 1860. Reverend Alexander Ferguson takes up his new parish, an isolated patch on the Hebridean island of Harris. His time there will change his life, but the Sea House, on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after Alexander departs. More than a century later, Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building for the family they hope to have. But their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery.

Salt water lifts blood. Only salt water. Loch Lomond is a mile deep, but the woman's body surfaced anyway. Found bludgeoned and dumped in the water, she now haunts Iain Fraser, the man who put her there. She trusted him, and now that misplaced trust is gnawing through Iain's chest. He thinks it will kill him. Nearby Helensburgh is an idyllic Victorian town. One-time home to a quarter of all the millionaires in Britain, it is quaint, sleepy and chocolate-box pretty.

31st August 1997. Rose Wilson is 14, but looks 16. Pimped out by her ‘boyfriend’, she has seen more of the darkness in life than someone twice her age. On the night of Princess Diana's death, Rose snaps and commits two terrible crimes. But a defence lawyer takes pity and sets out to do what he can to save her. Present day. DI Alex Morrow is a witness in the case of Michael Brown – a vicious, nasty arms dealer.

Blood is thicker than water, the family bond stronger than any other. A gripping psychological thriller that will hook you from page one - the perfect read for fans of C.L. Taylor, T.M. Logan, and Adele Parks. The Laird-Shaw family live a life most only dream about. Self-made millionaires Gavin Shaw and Stevie Laird built their business from humble roots to global turnover, Stevie’s wife - and Gavin’s sister - Eva is never out of the style pages.

When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she’s sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye. The Museum of Emily is filled with the belongings of one seemingly ordinary girl who disappeared from the town without a trace. With the help of her new friends, Lily is determined to solve the mystery and find out who Emily was, why she disappeared and who has created the strange, hidden museum.

In Jackie Kay’s first collection of stories, ordinary lives are transformed by secrets. Her world might seem familiar – sex, death and family cast long shadows – but the roles of mothers, daughters and lovers are imagined and revealed in the most surprising of ways. Jackie Kay sees the extraordinary in everyday life, and lights it up with humour and generosity in a way that is uniquely her own.

Badly disfigured Lady Isobel Dalceann has fought fiercely to defend her keep, with little thought for her safety. Why, then, has she let a stranger within her walls? Whilst he threatens danger, his battered body marked by war mirrors her own scars and tempts her to put her faith in him. Marc de Courtenay is a mercenary and a loner, although he is drawn to damaged, beautiful Isobel. But in taking him into her highly defended buttressed walls she has unwittingly given him secrets that will enable him to betray her.

One week before Fliss' wedding and all her old friends are back on Mistletoe Island to celebrate...Fliss cannot wait to get married, but before she says 'I do' she needs to clear up one little thing. Because now she's finally ready for her future, she won't let the past get in the way. Ten years ago, Lara broke Jon's heart. Now back at Holly Cottage, it's the first time they've been together in years, if only seeing him again didn't make Lara wonder, what if....

Resurrecting buried scandals, audacious hoaxes and private tragedies, Emma Donoghue has written a sequence of short stories about peculiar moments in the history of the British Isles. Here artists mix with poisoners and countesses rub shoulders with cross-dressers, vicars and revolutionaries; the Second Coming is proclaimed in Scotland; and a miniature girl becomes a tiny skeleton in a London museum.

When she's gifted a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic cruise, Olivia has never been anywhere so spectacular. Huge cliffs of ice loom up to the sky. The sun never sets over the sparkling sea. And there's a killer on board. Unable to sleep in the endless eerie daylight, Olivia has no idea who she can trust. And if she can't figure it out soon, she won't make it back alive.

Lily Crawford and Jeanie Taylor, from very different backgrounds, are firm friends from their childhoods in Kirkcudbright. They share their ambitions for their futures, Lily to be an artist, Jeanie to be a dancer. The two women's eventful lives are intertwined. In the years before the First World War, the girls lose touch when Jeanie runs away from home and joins a dance company, while Lily attends The Mack, Glasgow's famous school of art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

When Effie Coulstoun drops dead on the floor of her bar in a small Spanish town mid-business meeting, her daughter Daniella feels it’s her duty to return for the funeral. But Daniella has been estranged from her mother for over 20 years. Daniella is soon confronted by a hostile group of expat misfits who, along with Effie, are involved in a multi-million-pound property scam. The expats are threatening to implicate Daniella to save themselves. A Spanish detective is investigating Effie’s death. He’s convinced Daniella knows more than she is telling.

The children of Mivtown have grown up hearing the legend of the monsters of the loch. But it’s only a story - a warning to stay away from the water. Then strange things start happening in the village. Effie’s rabbit Buster escapes from a locked hutch, her mum disappears without trace and slugs start to infest her home. Along with her best friend Finn, Effie begins to hunt for clues to solve the mysteries of Mivtown. Could this all be connected to the legend? Is it really just a story, or is there something lurking in those deep, dark waters?

Hame, n. Scottish form of 'home': a valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin. In the wake of the breakdown of her relationship, Mhairi McPhail dismantles her life in New York and moves with her nine-year-old daughter, Agnes, to the remote Scottish island of Fascaray. Mhairi has been commissioned to write a biography of the late Bard of Fascaray, Grigor McWatt, a cantankerous poet with an international reputation. But who was Grigor McWatt?

It's hard enough having a baby on your own. But for Imogen, 24 years old and blind since birth, it will be harder than most. Her journey will take her from heartache to hope and back again. But Imogen has never let blindness rule her life, and she isn't going to start now.... Inspired by a real-life story, this is a moving and gripping listen from number-one best seller Amanda Prowse.

As leader of his clan, Black Rob Brunson has earned every dark syllable of his name. But having taken hostage his enemy's daughter in a fierce act of rebellion, he is tormented by feelings of guilt and torn apart with the growing need to protect her--and seduce her! Stella Storwick feels Rob's disdain from the first. Then slowly she starts to see behind his eyes to a man in turmoil. Something he has no words for, something that can only be captured in a heart-wrenching kiss...

To marry him will be to betray her family… Bessie has sacrificed herself for her family’s honour and is at the mercy of the court of King James. She’s enticed not only by her mortal enemy, Lord Thomas Carwell, but also by the opulence of a world far removed from her own. When the King demands her brother’s head, Carwell is the only one to whom she can turn. But she must pay the ultimate price for his protection...

Word in the Royal Court has spread that the Wild Scottish Borders are too unruly. Upon the King’s command, John Brunson must return home to persuade his family to honour the King’s call for peace. To succeed, John knows winning over the daughter of an allied family, Cate Gilnock, holds the key. But this intriguing beauty is beyond the powers of flattery and seduction…