Showing results by narrator "Naomi Barton" in All Categories

Cassie is sick of dating. It's been 10 years and it's time to find The One. It's either that or buy a fetching habit and veil and abandon the whole thing. But Cassie believes in love, and she's not ready to give up yet. The pressure is on to find Mr. Right, and Cassie's the first to find him: Parker Hamilton. He's good-looking, smart, cultured - and a doctor. Despite his obvious credentials, Cassie's not taking any chances. She's vetted Parker so thoroughly she could offer some pointers to the CIA. Needless to say, he passes with flying colors.

Twisty scares with heart. Ghosts, sea monsters, and a rest home for troublesome witches all feature in this collection of paranormal stories set in Wellington, New Zealand. By turns spooky and laugh-out-loud funny, these tales stew with malevolence and mischief. Climb aboard the ghost bus for a wild ride of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and humor, and hop off a little more in love with Aotearoa's capital city.

Big Red is more than a pet…so much more. The large ginger ball of fluff is not the only one taken, which is a catastrophe for the owners who, like Maddie, consider them family. Of course, the body found behind her bakery takes precedence, with the police and the town is scared, but why is no one else searching for the pets? Sheriff Tanner, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend, is doing what he can to solve both crimes. Still, Maddie can’t sit by and wait. Going against her darling Gran’s wishes, she once again does her own detective work - with a little help from her friends.

Sylvie is a friendly snail who loves to explore. More than anything else in the world, she wants to go on a big adventure. When Sylvie discovers that her neighbors Ben and Kate are going on holiday, she wants to go too! So, she hides inside Ben's favorite toy truck, so she can go with them. But, the world's a big place. Things go horribly wrong.

Em Rogers life changes forever when she gets her first after-school detention. If she'd known Dad would die in a traumatic accident, and Mum would have a nervous breakdown, she never would have talked in class. Was it all her fault? After losing friends, confidence, and hope, Em moves north to live with Nan and finds a future filled with promise, with the help of new friends, a mermaid, and a magic rock.

“Haven’t you heard about the virus?” When her BFF asks this question at the bus stop, there was no way 10-year-old Emilia could know that the global pandemic of COVID-19 was about to turn her life upside down. Based on true events, this story follows the journey of Emilia, who lives in South Korea with her teacher mother, where they both enjoy their international school community. Life is wonderful until the rapidly spreading global pandemic of COVID-19 prompts her mother to take Emilia from her home in Korea to her home in New Zealand.

It is 2003 in New Zealand, and Louisa Greenwood and her daughter Ngaroma are on a quest to discover their ancestry. Louisa has a greenstone necklace left to her in her father’s will, and from the first time Ngaroma wears it, she has unusual experiences, both good and bad. It leads her to various locations in New Zealand and England until, through a series of meetings and coincidences, she discovers the final resting place of her five times great grandmother.

New Zealand-born Pania Hayes has won the hearts of her Californian crowds. But after her husband’s untimely death, the opera singer realizes fame and fortune mean nothing without loved ones to share it with.

Set in the forest in northern New Zealand, Mila is a young woman descended from healers. A family death causes her terrible guilt and sets her on a path away from home and to the distant city. Her friend Tommy, the quirky boy next door who makes models from bones, helps to bring her home, where she belongs.

On a perfect summer's day, at a school picnic beside a lake, four-year-old Gemma Anderson goes missing, leaving a family devastated and a community asking questions. Seventeen years later, Gemma's older sister Stephanie is practising as a psychiatrist. A new patient's revelations force her to re-examine the disappearance. Why are their stories so similar? Unable to let the matter rest, Stephanie embarks on a journey to find out what really happened to Gemma on that long-ago afternoon.

Earth as a new Dungeon World means opportunities and dangers galore. One of the enduring aspects of the System is the Shop, an interdimensional series of stores that compete for the opportunity to service clients and make a profit doing so. New clients on a new Dungeon World mean rare and heretofore unseen items and massive profits. No surprise that the vultures have arrived, searching for easy marks.

New York, 1847. Elanora dreams of marrying her childhood sweetheart Eustace. The proposal on her 21st birthday is everything she hoped for, until her fiancé’s father dispatches him to the West Indies. After the promise of a white Christmas with the man she loves evaporates, she stumbles upon a secret that could tear Eustace’s family apart....

Nothing bad ever happens in the small seaside town of Castle Bay - until the body of missing tourist Bethany Haliwell is found in the bush, buried in a shallow grave. News crews and journalists from all over the country descend as old secrets are dragged up and gossip is taken as gospel. Among them is Miller Hatcher, a reporter battling her own demons, who arrives intent on gaining a promotion by covering the grisly murder. Following an anonymous tip, Miller begins to unravel the mystery. When another woman goes missing, she finds herself getting closer to the truth. But at what cost?

California, 1868. Isabella Wilmington’s dream of taking center stage feels empty without her long-lost twin brother cheering her on. When a bullet cuts through the crowd, she’s convinced the murderous act is a warning shot against her search for her missing sibling. Determined to crack the case, she tags along with a rugged ex-soldier who’d rather keep her out of harm’s way than put her on the frontlines of a dangerous investigation.

In a German Pension (1911) was Katherine Mansfield’s first published collection of short stories. Many of these works had been previously published in the British weekly magazine, The New Age, which also featured work by figures including G. K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, and George Bernard Shaw. The word “pension" in the title refers to a European guest-house.

This collection of short stories, by celebrated New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield, was first published in 1920. Many of Mansfield’s short stories explore New Zealand landscapes and identity, and her work has been a shaping force in the short story genre.