Showing results by narrator "Billie Brown" in All Categories

Someone is trying to kill Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Esteemed aunt of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, generous patroness of Mr. William Collins, a woman of rank who rules over the estate of Rosings Park with an unimpeachable sense of propriety—who would dare? Lady Catherine summons her grand-nephew, Mr. Jonathan Darcy, and his investigative companion, Miss Juliet Tilney, to find out.

From werewolves and vampires, to demons and aliens, the monster is one of the most recognizable figures in horror. But what makes something, or someone, monstrous? Award-winning and up-and-coming authors like Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw, Indrapramit Das, Priya Sharma, and more attempt to answer this question. These all-new stories range from traditional to modern, from mainstream to literary, from familiar monsters to the unknown . . . and unimaginable.

Meet Ellie Cooke. When it comes to all things environmental she’s, well, a bit "green". It’s not that she doesn’t care about things like climate change and plastic pollution, it’s just that life has always got in the way of that sort of thing. But when the PR firm Ellie works for is taken over by keen environmentalist Nolan Reece, it’s clear that if she wants to save her job, she’s going to have to get serious about being green—or face being recycled.

Vicky Beeching began writing songs for the church in her teens. By the time she reached her early 30s, Vicky was a household name in churches on both sides of the pond. Recording multiple albums and singing in America's largest megachurches, her music was used weekly around the globe and translated into numerous languages. But this poster girl for evangelical Christianity lived with a debilitating inner battle: she was gay.

Out of the blue, Susie Jones is contacted on social media by Anna, the girl she gave up for adoption fifteen years ago. But when they meet, Anna's home life sounds distinctly strange to Susie and her husband Gabe. And when Anna's adoptive parents seem to overreact to the fact she contacted them at all, Susie becomes convinced that Anna needs her help. But is Anna's own behaviour simply what you'd expect from someone recovering from a traumatic childhood? Or are there other secrets at play here - secrets Susie has also been hiding for the last 15 years?

Living deep within the mysterious southern forests, the spiritual Ninkuraaja people are being hunted to the brink of extinction by bloodthirsty raiders known only as Woves. Nobody knows better than a Ninkuraa that a Wove deserves only death.

It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise - to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave. Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them. Though Carol has distanced herself from her former friends, the three are adamant that the truth must never come to light, even if the memory still haunts them. But when some shocking news threatens to unearth their dark secret, Beth enlists the help of private investigator Matthew Hill to help her and Sally reconnect with estranged Carol.

Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer. But with her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly dating mother, and the nagging worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt. Then, as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens—both personally and professionally. Can she move on from past events and rebuild her future?

After the publication of a salacious tell-all book, the remote city of Ilvernath is thrust into the spotlight. Tourists, protesters and reporters alike flock to its spell shops and historic ruins to witness an ancient curse unfold: every generation, seven families name a champion among them to compete in a tournament to the death. The winner awards their family exclusive control over the city's high magick supply, the most powerful resource in the world.

Liverpool 1940. Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war. In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls anxiously counts the days for news of her son and daughter’s safe arrival.

In a dissatisfied world, looking back to ancient wisdom can shed light on fresh solutions. For years, many of us have upheld the Stoic concept of ‘no pain, no gain.’ But in a time when we are burdened by the fear of failure and outsize ambitions, perhaps we should stop skirting around the edges of our problems via punishing exercise regimes, productivity apps and early morning starts. According to the pleasure-centric philosophy of Epicureanism, life can be good without great sacrifice, and temptation isn’t always the enemy.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

They meet as children. They grow up together. It’s only after one fatefully misheard conversation that Heathcliff leaves, believing his love for Catherine isn’t reciprocated. When he returns, he is a wealthy and polished man but things have now changed–drastically–and Heathcliff starts to exact terrible revenge on those who wronged him…

Three months after Aderyn's coronation, the court is celebrating the Solstice, but Aderyn is preoccupied by Lucien's continuing hostility. The celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of nobles who have escaped from the neighbouring country of Celonia - the flightless have risen up and overthrown their rulers. The world is changing. As people being to question whether Aderyn and Aron are strong enough to rule, there is an attempted assassination on Aderyn's life. Siegfried and Tallis have made their move - they have formed an army, declared war and will take the throne.

Her name was written in the pages of someone else's story: Lucy Westenra was one of Dracula's first victims. But her death was only the beginning. Lucy rose from the grave a vampire, and has spent her immortal life trying to escape from Dracula's clutches - and trying to discover who she really is and what she truly wants. Her undead life takes an unexpected turn when, in twenty-first-century London, she meets another woman who is also yearning to break free from her past.

Raised his entire life for the sole purpose of defending his clan, Khalvir serves the chief who saved him from certain death. A death at the hands of the hated elves; a people who see him only as an abomination to be destroyed. Now a captive in his enemy’s clutches, Khalvir must find a way to escape the mysterious elf witch who holds him. An elf whose motives remain shrouded but whose very presence calls to his soul, threatening to turn every truth he has ever known into a lie.

For the first time in this ancient bloodstained story, the tournament is breaking. The boundaries between the city of Ilvernath and the arena have fallen. Reporters swarm the historic battlegrounds. A dead boy now lives again. And a new champion has entered the fray, one who seeks to break the curse for good...no matter how many lives are sacrificed in the process. As the curse teeters closer and closer to collapse, the surviving champions each face a choice: dismantle the tournament piece by piece, or fight to the death as this story always intended.

In 1960s Glasgow, anti-nuclear activists Judith and Jimmy fall in love. But their future hopes are dashed when their protestors’ squat is raided and many, including Jimmy, are sent to prison. Pregnant and with no word from Jimmy, Judith is forced to enter an unmarried mothers’ home, give up their baby and learn to live with her grief.

1940. Guernsey is first bombed, then occupied, by the Germans. A year earlier, young, naive and recently married Helene waves good-bye to her husband, who has enlisted in the British army. Protected only by her father and Nanna, Helene must carve out a life on the island for the length of the war. Forty years later, her daughter Roz begins a search for the truth about her father and stumbles into the secret history of her mother's life.

The island of Ramoa was once luscious and populated with mighty beasts. Now though, it is home to barren and tamed cities, where nature is locked out and trouble is brewing. When Kayla's beloved animal companion, a rare winged pangron, is stolen, she's determined to get him back. But to do so, she'll have to leave her city and journey into the wild and forbidden Beastlands. There, she meets Rustus, an exiled young warrior, and Alethea, a healer desperately seeking a cure for a mysterious disease. As their quests unite them, they'll adventure across the lands they know so little about.