Showing results by narrator "Natalie Beran" in All Categories

When feature writer Ruth Finlay and her elderly neighbor Doris Cleaver visit an antique and collectibles market in the small town of Myrtle Bay, they get a lot more than they bargained for. After Ruth's old tennis coach is found dead, they discover that there's no lack of people who harbor a grudge against the victim, and a tangled web of family ties and lies begins to unravel. But can Ruth and Doris find the killer in time to avert a second murder?

Lady Amelia - pressed by her father to marry soon. Lord Northfell - a handsome suitor with deep secrets in his past. Can they overcome his secrets and find love together? Will Arthur and Amelia overcome their initial differences and reach out to help each other? Or will their similarly-proud natures lead them to ruin? A story of conflict, courage, and passion set in the ultra-sophisticated and unpredictable world of Regency London.

When Ruth lets her neighbour and sidekick Doris accompany her on a trip to Cape Bridgewater, an idyllic coastal location known for its pristine natural beauty, the last thing she expects to find is a body. With a feature to write and the promise of romance in the air, Ruth is reluctant to investigate another mysterious death. But Doris has other ideas, and drags Ruth into the confusing world of a local family's inheritance dispute over a rundown old farm.

Emily falls passionately in love with working-class Walter, despite fierce opposition from her class-conscious father. She sees marriage as a partnership of equals and resolves to elope to escape such a male-dominated society. Emily’s actions will see her struggle to survive the subsequent devastation brought about by the war, as she and her four-year-old son are thrown into the midst of danger and death.

Siblings Greta and Valdin have, perhaps, too much in common. They're flatmates, beholden to the same near-unpronounceable surname, and both make questionable choices when it comes to love. Valdin is still in love with his ex-boyfriend Xabi, who left the country because he thought he was making Valdin sad. Greta is in love with fellow English tutor Holly, who only seems to be using her for admin support. But perhaps all is not lost. Valdin is coming to realize that he might not be so unlovable, and Greta, that she might be worth more than the papers she can mark.

Jessica Seaworth is the impulsive, playful, and free-spirited daughter of the Duke. If she had her way, the free life she has lived at her father's country estate in Westbrook would be all she would ever know. But with her father confessing he is not long for the world and declaring his wishes that he see his daughters all be wed, Jessica must reevaluate her future.

A dazzlingly original and bleakly funny debut novel that follows one harried working mother before and after a devastating weather event, capturing the everyday wonders and infuriating indignities of mothering in a time of ecological crisis. Thea spends her days among stubborn animals, many of...

When Ruth Finlay accompanies her neighbour Doris Cleaver and the Mahjong club on a long weekend in the picturesque town of Bright, she’s hoping for a relaxing time researching the town for a feature article. Instead, the death of one of the tour party catapults her into an investigation she could surely do without.

Novella set in the Portals of Yahweh universe. A stone-age girl is stolen in a raid from her first family, made a daughter then sold by her second family to the mythical star-faring Earthlings. Strength of character and good fortune will take her further than human eyes can see on a cold winter's night. Her destiny will be written in the stars. Her first love is also taken but by alien slavers. Slavers who will find out about First Valley warriors and what it means to rain havoc. Among the stars and strange new worlds who will these stone-age youths become?

Jacintha Seaworth is wise, complex, and watchful. A beautiful woman, she nevertheless prefers to sit out from the dances, preferring to watch people and their interactions. She really couldn’t have chosen a childhood friend more different from her than Henry Musgrave, brother to family friend Claudia, and quite a social ladies’ man.

Pregnant. Single. Dating. It's going to be... a bumpy year! Trish Kirkpatrick never expected to find herself unmarried, pregnant... and not entirely sure who the baby's father is. With her ex, Pete, and her colleague, Elliot, in line for daddy duty while waiting on the DNA results, Trish finds her complicated world getting even more chaotic when a meet-cute on a plane to Tokyo with gorgeous architect Scott sparks a new flame. Now, as her bump grows so do Trish's troubles.

Marquess Hugh Seaworth is far too busy enjoying himself in London to think about matrimony. Despite being next in line to a dukedom, Hugh wants to get as much enjoyment out of life as he can before he is forced to settle down. However, his father, the current Duke of Westbrook, has other plans. When an unknown young lady steps out of the carriage and into his life, Hugh is forced to reconsider his plans for London.

We too often realize what we want only after it’s gone. In 1906 Montreal, Elie Rutherford dreams not of marriage, but of science. She longs to join the groundbreaking physics lab led by her father, the legendary Ernest Rutherford, at McGill University. But in an era confines women to domestic roles and separate classrooms, Elie finds herself trapped by societal expectations. Determined to follow her passion, she refuses to accept a marriage proposal that could shackle her ambition forever.

The youngest daughter of the Duke of Westbrook, Harmonia Seaworth is gentle, beautiful, and sweet. She has never expected her life to be anything but ordinary and, as the last daughter left at Seaworth Manor, had thought it would consist of nothing more than caring for her ailing father and watching her sisters' children grow. Surely she wouldn’t be expected to find a husband before her father’s passing as well.

Carmine Luedke, a shy, narcoleptic bookkeeper hides from the world and comforts himself by reciting arcane mathematical equations and proofs. Unable to stay awake during the day, he works through the night balancing the books. But suddenly, the numbers aren’t adding up….One fateful night, an unexpected and shocking reunion with a long-lost friend he believed to be dead sends shockwaves through Carmine's carefully crafted routine. She arrives with an urgent plea and vanishes into thin air, leaving him with more questions than answers.

Once every 10,000 years, the walls between worlds grow thin. The stars align, and Hell is close. It is the time of the Sha'Daa. The hordes of Hell are about to ride out upon mankind; the forces of evil are trembling with eagerness at the doors of our dimension. Oh, wait a minute.... Actually, they’re not all eager. Some have become members of the Elks, or are involved with a fun crowd at the local high school (though, granted, they’re drinking the cheerleaders’ blood. Not enough to do any real harm).

Saffron vowed to love Miles no matter what life threw at them both. But when her mother-in-law moves into their happy family home, Saffron’s shiny life begins to tarnish. Even as Caprice’s barbed comments turn to something more sinister, Saffron hopes the new nanny’s arrival will shield her from the worst of it. She’s starting to feel paranoid in her own home. Little does she realise that Caprice longs for a new daughter-in-law—and she’ll do anything to make that happen.

Four generations of the Black family have farmed Blackpeak Station in the high country of New Zealand’s South Island. Next in line, or so she believes, is Charlotte Black, stubborn as rock and unbiddable as the weather. Standing in her way are 150 years of tradition, an older brother and a father who believes that daughters should run families, not farms. But when circumstances suddenly change, Charlotte will have to be as tough as the mountains spanning the farm’s borders if she is to achieve her childhood dream of running and owning the family property.

Agnes Hart’s Ladies College wasn’t the kind of name associated with bad press. One of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, this is where high society sends their daughters, the school seen as the very pinnacle of education. But when Grace Miller receives a letter from a concerned parent, it’s not long before the dark reality of this institution comes to light. Murder is the order of the day…if only someone could prove it.

Meet the Tobin family. When Joy's children receive the news that she has only days to live, they rush to her side, bringing with them all of the dysfunction and hurt they have been carrying since their childhoods. Each of them is at a crossroads in their lives - but there's one more secret about their mother they need to learn. Will they finally be able to forgive their mother and, in doing so, face their futures together?