Showing results by narrator "Deborah Balm" in All Categories

The Apple: A Delicious History tells the engrossing and richly informative story of a fruit with a unique attachment to the human story. The 10,000-year tale of the round and pleasantly crunchy products of the trees of the genus Malus embraces not only culinary, horticultural, social and commercial history but also age-old traditions in mythology, folklore and religion.

With the hidden archives unlocked and their explosive secrets waiting to be deciphered, the Convocation teeters on the edge of chaos. Alise Elal, rescued from her evil father’s clutches by an unlikely hero, faces the ultimate test of her hard-won powers—if she and Cillian Harahel can fight their way to Convocation Center. There they will be joined by old friends and new in the final attempt to solve the riddle of the fall of House Phel.

Summer has arrived in Pigsend, and it’s not just the sweltering temperatures putting everyone on edge. It’s the sixth anniversary of the war ending, and a cadre of soldiers is camping north of town to keep the peace and monitor for strange activity. Rumor has it a rebellion is brewing, one that threatens to plunge the country back into war—not that anyone in Pigsend is keen on that. At the Weary Dragon, Bev’s playing host to the usual set of travelers, including butcher Vellora’s old commander Andres.

The Witzel Solstice Party is the highlight of an otherwise quiet winter season in Pigsend. But when Vellora and Ida Witzel start receiving mysterious, threatening letters, the party—and their own safety—may be in jeopardy. Across the street, Bev's got an inn full of suspects—and a freak winter storm to keep them all in one place. They all have their secrets, and it's a race against time and melting snow to figure out who's blackmailing the butchers—and which secret they're threatening to expose.

After escaping to the garden for a reprieve from the stuffy ballroom, Miss Evelyn Trainor bumps into a handsome stranger through a hedge. When he boldly requests an introduction, she lies and tells him a fake name, Lady Eve, positive she’ll never see him again. But when she returns to the country for Christmas and finds her handsome stranger—the Duke of Alverton—has moved in next door for the holidays, she does what she must to guard her secret. For he has declared the importance of titles and cannot find out she is a commoner.

Nine-year-old girls are missing from across the lands. Yvonne has promised to find them, and she always keeps her promises. Even when she doesn't know where to start looking. There's more trouble around. Mercenaries are disappearing. The ancient enemy has risen, more dangerous than anything she has encountered before. And an old ally wants her help. Before she can set out to look for the girls, Yvonne has to survive the goblin court, where a wrong word could mean death.

Warm beds, quaint mysteries, and the best rosemary bread this side of Pigsend Creek. Welcome to the Weary Dragon Inn. Bev may not know who she was before she showed up in the quaint village of Pigsend five years ago, but that doesn’t bother her much. She’s made a tidy little life for herself as the proprietor of the Weary Dragon Inn, where the most notable event is when she makes her famous rosemary bread.

1920s Germany: Though the world has changed in the wake of the Great War, it is still ruled by men. Even a woman as resourceful and intelligent as Niki Rittenhaus needs alliances in order to survive. Her marriage to Rickard Länger, a movie producer for Berlin's Passport Pictures, seems convenient for them both. When Rickard succumbs to increasing pressure from the Nazis to make propaganda movies, a horrified Niki turns away from her own film aspirations and instead, begins to write.

Stripped of her rank and her calling by some of her most trusted friends, Yvonne is left shocked and bleeding. Worse is to come. Not only are children still going missing, but she learns that the death of an old friend might not have been natural. With old friendships torn apart, Yvonne must work out who she can trust if she is to find the truth.

Lord Gabriel Phel wants one thing: to rebuild the shattered fortunes of his people and restore his ruined house to its former station in the Convocation’s highest tiers of elegant society. Fortunately, through a wild chance of birth, he was born with powerful wizard magic, the first in his family in generations. If he can obtain a familiar to amplify his magic, a highborn daughter he can marry, to be mother to his children, he’ll be that much closer to saving his family. With her, he can ascend to such a position of power in the Convocation that he can destroy it forever.

The only place of safety for the desperate has been destroyed. Yvonne has finally found a place to settle, where her children can grow, and where she can continue her work as Hunar, oath-bound to serve those in need. Even as she starts thinking about the future, and what that might mean, a shock rings across the world. Someone has attacked the Sisters in the Stone Walls. The attack is devastating, tearing apart everything the Sisters have built, leaving too many dead including one of Yvonne's dearest friends.

The Harvest Festival is the most-anticipated event in the quaint village of Pigsend, and Bev and the Weary Dragon Inn are ready to welcome visitors from near and far. But when strange occurrences begin happening, including the destruction of Bev's beloved herb garden, Bev's got to put her sleuthing hat back on to uncover the truth.

Yvonne is looking forward to spending time with her adoptive children, and catching her breath after recent adventures. But nothing goes to plan. Her journey home is interrupted by an unexpected attack, and when she does get back to the house, her son is missing.

When one of Irma's friends asks for help vetting a potential suitor, she's sure that a little digging into his past will do the trick. But after she discovers that a robotic appliance might be on a rampage in the almost-beau's swanky houseboat community, she sets out to entice Violet into unravelling another technological snafu.

Bev may not know who she was before she showed up in the quaint village of Pigsend five years ago, but that doesn't bother her much. She's made a tidy little life for herself as the proprietor of the Weary Dragon Inn, where the most notable event is when she makes her famous rosemary bread. But when earthquakes and sinkholes start appearing all over town, including near Bev's front door, she's got to put on her sleuthing hat to figure out what—or who—might be causing them before the entire town disappears.

young life full of promise. She bore three strong sons and delivered the kingdom of Orkney to her brother by way of her marriage. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful—for her name, her dowry, and her womb. Now, twenty years after she left her home, Anna is summoned back to Carelon with the crown of her now-dead husband, to face the demons of her childhood: her sisters Morgen, Elaine, and Morgause; Merlin and his scheming priests; and Bedevere, the man she once loved.

After a long separation, Elizabeth Bennet is off to spend Christmas in London with her grandparents, Lord and Lady Richmond, and her cousins Nicholas and Amelia. While her grandmother is determined to see her spoiled with new gowns and the like, Elizabeth would prefer to play chess and shop for books with Nicholas and her grandfather and visit with her grandmother and Amelia.

Inspector Fenella Sallow is haunted by her past and obsessive about the truth…no matter how painful. When a body is found on an isolated footbridge in the scenic village of St. Bees, Fenella must piece together the events that lead to the grizzly death. All evidence points to a murder by the escaped serial killer dubbed "Mr. Shred". As the investigation heats up, Fenella and her team discover a world darker than most can imagine. And it soon becomes clear the killer is determined to teach the police a lesson.

Detective Inspector Fenella Sallow is haunted by her past and cannot escape its painful truth… no matter how hard she tries. At a social designed to build team spirit, Fenella is called to a grim scene. A mummified woman throws her world into a spin, and the search for the truth tests Fenella to her limits. As the investigation begins, she peels away a web of intrigue, betrayal, lust and troubling secrets the victim took to the grave. In her toughest challenge yet, Fenella must face demons from her past and will pay a high price in the race to outwit a killer who leaves no clues.

Detective Inspector Fenella Sallow is obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons. When the body of a retired artist is discovered atop the blackened embers of the town bonfire, the community is rocked to the core. It falls to DI Fenella Sallow and her team to find out how she came to be there. In her 50s, the veteran detective inspector thought she had seen it all. But behind the curtained windows and closed doors of the idyllic Cumbria coastal setting lurks pure evil.