Showing results by narrator "Alexandra Boulton" in All Categories

Charlie Matters’ life has always been a fight for survival. Orphaned with no prospects, Charlie steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he can enlist in the battle against the Germans. He miraculously emerges unscathed from the Blitz, but there’s no telling when the next bomb will fall, and whether it will be the one to end his life.

When Nick Vincent, producer of true-crime show Infamous, hears about an explosive new angle on a high-profile case – the murder of an eight-year-old girl in Oxford in 2016 – he leaps at the chance to send a researcher to verify the claims. Two months later, a dog walker discovers a woman’s body, bound and buried in a shallow grave in the woods, and forensic evidence links it to the disappearance of that same child. DCI Adam Fawley, the original investigating officer, is called in to run the enquiry.

Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost everything when her father unleashed a terrible, world-destroying magic. Desperate to escape the stain of his crime, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to risk discovery. That is until she receives a mysterious letter, containing for impossible words: Your father was innocent. To uncover the truth, she must pose as an apprentice for the illustrious Otherwhere Post.

Sare Silverbirch has already had her heart broken four times, and a fifth heartbreak will stop her heart forever. Such is the nature of the curse she was born under, which forces her to live a life without letting anyone get too close. Then her mother dies unexpectedly,and Sare begins to question the curse. Where did it come from? Why her? And rather than accept it, could there be a way to break it? Her questions lead her to Istanbul where she meets Leon, a seer who helps her track down the mysteries of her mother's past. But Sare's heart is a fragile thing.

Odile, wise beyond her years, will surely pass the Conseil's vetting. But when she happens upon a mourning tour she wasn't supposed to see, she realizes her dear friend Edme's parents have crossed the border from the east, from twenty years in the future, to view their son still alive in Odile's present. Edme, who's so funny and light. Edme, who's a violin virtuoso at just sixteen. Edme, who's the first boy to even see Odile, to really like her.... And it's Edme who's going to die.

Ninette Dreyfus was a cosseted scion of one of France's most prominent Jewish families - a cousin to Albert Einstein and family friend to Colette. But when the Second World War broke out and the Germans occupied Paris, the fall from grace was dramatic. Realising that her fate would be transformed, the teenager soon found herself fleeing the capital for the South, only to fall prey to the Vichy regime. In fear of her life at the hands of the Nazis and their French collaborators, she became somebody else.

Ellie has wanted to be an actor since she was a child so, when a role in a blockbuster film presents itself, she grabs it. On the plane to location in Abu Dhabi, Ellie overhears something she shouldn’t – two people discussing their plans to murder someone. Unsure if what she heard was even real, and not wanting to ruin her big break, Ellie remains quiet. Then ten members of the crew become nine...

When Nazis break down the front door of 18-year-old Trudi’s home and seize the Jewish couple hiding in her attic, she’s devastated, and is suddenly solely responsible for their two innocent children. The whispered rumours about the resistance are her only hope. A man called Frans and his cousin Piet risk their lives every day helping scared and abandoned Jewish children escape into the countryside. Under the cover of night, she races to beg for their help.

For six hundred years, Nightweavers - mystical beings with untamed elemental powers – have ruled over all humans, including seventeen-year-old pirate Aster and her family. But after an epic battle at sea where her eldest brother is killed by a new kind of monster, Aster learns that maybe there are creatures far more terrible to fear…

Jody, Ari and Carla have won golden tickets to the summer’s hottest music festival, which promises to be full of glamour, mystique and lots of freebies. But, arriving on the sun-drenched shores of a private Greek island among influencers and celebrities, the trio are dismayed to find the small festival site far from the beacon of music, art and ‘immersive experiences’ they were promised. Disappointed but not deterred, they vow to make the most of the trip.

When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.

Freya desperately wants to be a famous influencer, like her former best friend, Hye-jin, but no matter what she does, her posts flop. Until Freya’s stepdad arrives home with AdelAIDE, a home-assistant robot. It quickly becomes clear that AdelAIDE is much more powerful than other home-assistant technology, and the thing AdelAIDE wants most of all is to help her new owners. Especially Freya.

Seven interconnected stories orbit a central novella to create a collection of tales which resonate with the sound of women's voices. In this moving and deeply poetic audio collection, Maylis de Kerangal casts light on the balance between life and death, exploring the traces we leave upon each other's lives and creating space for women of all ages to be heard.

1890, Lutèce: In this city, Talents are everything: precious gems that gift unrivalled skills to their owners. The most coveted, Elite Talents, are claimed by the aristocracy, passed through generations by blood magic. Cleodora dreamed of inheriting her father's Tailoring Talent, but when he died, the magic died with him. Now she's left with empty promises, a dress shop she can't keep afloat, and her bed-ridden younger sister. But everything changes when she meets the dark-eyed Lady Dahlia Sibille.

When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.