Showing results by narrator "Des Powell" in All Categories

August 1883. The future for Ling Southcott, a quarryman’s daughter, seems to be already mapped. Marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Barney, a cluster of children, a life contained to the hamlet of Foggintor Quarry. For Ling, with her sharp, enquiring mind and love of books, it is an accepted, if unwelcome fate. But then the new Princetown Railway opens across Dartmoor, connecting her remote hamlet to the neighbouring town of Tavistock, and even Plymouth.

Bess, the highway pony, is very good at robbing the carriages and loves life just the way it is. Can Olivia and Eliza help break the spell that is making Bess so naughty, and prove that crime really doesn’t pay? 

The ponies of Pemberley Stables have been bound by magic, and each of them are trapped in time. Can two brave girls help get them back? Margot the dressage pony keeps getting all of her steps wrong. But can Olivia and Eliza help break the spell that is making her so clumsy and bring her back to the stables?

1938. As England awaits the outbreak of war, Juliet Winterton journeys from the Mediterranean to the Essex countryside to begin her life as the beautiful young wife of a London jeweller. But beneath her husband's intelligence and ambition lies a cruel and ruthless man. And when dashing politician Gillis Sinclair comes to stay at Marsh Court, Juliet is drawn to his irresistible charm. So begins a passionate affair that will have consequences far beyond anything Juliet imagines.

Full of David Wragg’s unique blend of humour, heart, and high stakes, The Company of the Wolf is the epic next instalment in the Tales of the Plains trilogy. Seeking a better life, Ree and Javani have travelled west into the mountains, and left their pasts – and their troubles – behind...

To everyone who knows them, Louisa and Tom are the perfect couple. They have two beautiful kids, Stan and Flo, and are about to celebrate ten years of being happily married. Life is perfect. But when Lou is dealt devastating news, that perfect life is turned upside down and Lou and Tom must reevaluate the very foundations their marriage is built on. Lou’s main concern is who will look after her children if she’s not there to care for them? Will anyone be able to love them like she does?

1941. Maisie yearns for a family of her own. Raised as a charity orphan in a Catholic convent in Ireland, she believed she was all alone in the world. But when she is twelve, her world is turned upside down by a shocking revelation. She is uprooted from the only life she has ever known, and transplanted against her will to Plymouth, England. Family might not be all it's cracked up to be. But Maisie is resilient. She surrounds herself with a family of her own making. Then war breaks out across Europe and a horrific tragedy occurs during one of the worst nights of the Plymouth Blitz.

The ponies of Pemberley Stables have been bound by magic, and each of them are trapped in time. Can two brave girls help get them back? Gus the riding-school pony isn't having a very good day. But can Olivia and Eliza break the spell that is making him so grumpy and bring him back to the stables?

1968, Sicily. Just months after an earthquake has destroyed the mountain town of Gibellina, Enzo and his wife Irene Borgata are making their way back to the family home, Villa Alba. When their car breaks down, Enzo leaves his young wife to go and get help, but when he returns there is no trace of Irene. 2003. TV showman and true crime aficionado Milo Conti is Italy’s darling, uncovering and solving historic crimes. When he turns his attention to the story of the missing Irene Borgata, accusing her husband of her murder, Enzo’s daughter asks her friend for help to prove her father’s innocence.

The Harrisons were always a close-knit family. But with the grandchildren fast becoming adults and elderly Pamela struggling to adapt to widowhood, the four children of the middle generation find themselves equally lost in a changing world. As preparations for 42-year-old Cassie's long-awaited wedding gather pace, sibling and marital bonds are stretched to breaking point. Adultery, an unwanted pregnancy, and shadows of past losses threaten to turn their year of celebration into one of upheaval . . .

Victoria Bahani, the privileged seventeen-year-old, daughter of the Rajah of Marpur and an English woman, has always believed she would marry an Englishman. And when she meets Captain Henry Hindley-Jones she knows he’s exactly the kind of man she’s been thinking of. But when war breaks out everything changes for Victoria. With Henry away fighting, Victoria must try and find her own path in life and also do her duty for her king and country. Signing up to be a nurse in the Queen Alexandra’s Nursing Corp, Victoria must leave behind the country she loves for a life of danger and duty.

In this lively and entertaining introduction to the philosophy of mind, Edward Feser explores the questions central to the discipline, and relates them not only to the human brain and its capacity for thought, but also to the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence. This in-depth primer is an account of all the most important and significant attempts that have been made to answer the riddles of consciousness and thought.

The fourth book in M.C. Beaton's charming Edwardian Candlelight series. The Beast; that was what they called her. With her plump body and rough tomboy ways, she felt more like a clown. It was hopeless. Poor penniless Tilly could only sit among the chaperons as a paid companion to the spiteful...

On a normal day, in a normal house, on a normal street, wife and mother Fran has had enough. She packs a case, leaves a note for her bullying husband, Pete, and one for her beloved 21-year-old son, Harry, and heads to the airport - and freedom. In another house, on another street, Helena is desperately baiting her husband, Jack, into a fight. These days it feels like the only way to get Jack to take notice of her. Passionate, volatile, increasingly fragile, Helena is fast running out of hope.

Sandybridge is the perfect English seaside town: home to gift shops, tearooms and a fabulous fish and chip shop. And it's home to Grace - although right now she's not too happy about it. Grace grew up in Sandybridge, helping her parents sort junk from vintage treasures, but she always longed to escape to a bigger world. And she made it, travelling the world for her job, falling in love and starting a family. So why is she back in the tiny seaside town she'd long left behind, hanging out with Charlie, the boy who became her best friend when they were teenagers?

Unlock the power of strategic thinking and transform how you approach life’s challenges. Think Like a Strategist is your personal guide to smarter decision-making, offering practical insights from the worlds of strategy, gaming, and military tactics. Learn to think ahead, understand others’ motivations, manage risks, and adapt with confidence.

Dartmoor, 1952. When fifteen-year-old Lily Hayes loses her mother, she finds herself at a crossroads: go to a children's home or leave the bright lights of London to live with her estranged father in the wilds of Dartmoor. Lily moves from London to Dartmoor determined and excited to find out the truth about her family. Her dour father, Sidney, can be sullen and he has a temper on him. He seems to want nothing to do with her, but Lily vows to make the best of things. And there are some things she is grateful for—especially the handsome and charming Edwin Franfield.

You've earned the freedom. Now you just need a new direction. That’s why The Big Book of Fun Things to Do in Retirement was created, to help you turn that open space into your most exciting chapter yet! Packed with 300+ unexpected, energizing, and just plain fun ideas, this book shows you how to reinvent your days with purpose, curiosity, and joy. If you're ready for adventure, laughter, and “heck yes” moments, this book is your starting line.

Bodies surface and disappear, seduce and corrupt in these original stories by best-selling, award-winning female crime writers. Keep your eyes peeled, your ears cocked and your wits about you as 20 deliciously twisted tales take you to surprising places....

For Edith Whitlock, Porthpenny is her safe place, a quiet life surrounded by friends who have become family. But when Wyatt Simmons unexpectedly returns to the UK, his reappearance shatters the calm she's worked so hard to build. Once, they shared everything: dreams, laughter and a love that ended without explanation when he went back to New York. Now, thrown together by circumstance, Edith can't ignore the spark that still lingers between them or the unanswered questions that stand in their way.