Alana Kerr Collins has narrated 48 audiobooks on Listento.it by 40 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 332 ratings. The most-rated is The Forgotten Home Child.
Under Lying
Summary
In this gripping novel of suspense, the disappearance of a couple’s baby daughter leaves everyone a suspect. Susan has everything she ever wanted. A loving husband, an angelic daughter and the cottage of her dreams in County Cork. Her picture-perfect life seems too good to be true. And it is. At a housewarming party with their new neighbours, her daughter Amelia goes missing. As friends become suspects, Susan’s life spirals out of control. And when Amelia’s yellow cardigan is dredged from the lake, every parent’s worst nightmare suddenly seems horribly real. In the aftermath of Amelia’s disappearance Susan and her husband Paul are not themselves. Someone is hiding something. What if Susan and Paul’s entire relationship was built on lies stretching back years? Some secrets may be best left buried in the past, but uncovering the truth could be the only way to find Amelia - before it’s too late.
©2019 Janelle Harris (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Shadow of a Century
Summary
From the author of So Much Owed, winner of Authors Choice Best Historical Fiction Award 2016 A broken woman, New York, 2016. A fearless rebel, Dublin, 1916. And a gripping story that spans a century. During a time of great upheaval and unrest in Ireland, as men and women run to take up arms against the tyranny and occupation of the British Empire, the lives of three women are forever altered and thereby inextricably linked over the span of a century. Mary Doyle arrives in Dublin in 1913, doomed, she fears, to a life of domestic service. Instead, however, she finds herself deeply affected by the social and political turmoil of a fledgling nation struggling for independence. Suddenly, all that was once inevitable is no longer a certainty as she is embroiled in the very heart of the Easter Rising. Scarlett O'Hara has had many hurdles to cross in her life, not least her name. A successful political correspondent, she finds herself at a crossroads when one error of judgement jeopardizes everything she has worked so hard to overcome and achieve. In the process of rebuilding her life, Scarlett faces the difficult and ultimate choice of starting all over again. At 93 years old, Eileen Chiarello thought her time for adventure and wonder was over, before a chance meeting with Scarlett draws her back to Ireland, the land her parents fought for and loved so passionately. Now, at the end of her life, Eileen has the opportunity to fulfil a promise she never thought she could. Historically sweeping and beautifully written, Shadow of a Century draws a circle around the Irish Rebellion and carefully traces the magnitude of its significance against the backdrop of three women's lives across history.
©2015 Jean Grainger (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
The Judge's Wife
Summary
*Shortlisted for a 2017 RoNA Award* The poignant, emotional story of three women, an adulterous affair, and one great love that changes their lives forever. With her whole life ahead of her, beautiful young Grace’s world changes forever when she’s married off to a much older judge. Soon, feeling lonely and neglected, Grace meets and falls in love with an Indian doctor, Vikram—he’s charming, thoughtful, and kind, everything her husband is not. But this is 1950s Ireland, and when she falls pregnant, the potential scandal must be dealt with. As soon as she has given birth, Grace is sent to an asylum by the judge, while Vikram, told that Grace died in childbirth, returns to India heartbroken. Thirty years later, after the judge’s death, his estranged daughter Emma returns home to pack up his estate, where she finds Grace’s diaries and begins to piece together the life of the mother she never knew. Meanwhile, Vikram is planning a long-awaited return to Ireland with his much-loved niece Rosa—who has grown up hearing all about her uncle’s long-lost love—to stand, at last, at the grave of the woman he adores. When the judge’s will is finally read, revealing he has sent letters to Vikram and Emma, the deception spanning both decades and continents finally begins to unravel, exposing long-buried family secrets along the way and raising the question of if true love can last a lifetime.
©2016 Ann O’Loughlin (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved
The Confession
Summary
Late one night, a man walks into the luxurious home of disgraced banker Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. And when the man launches an unspeakably brutal attack on Harry, a horror-struck Julie, frozen by fear, watches her husband die. Just one hour later, the attacker, J. P. Carney, hands himself into the police and confesses to beating Harry to death. But he also claims that the assault was not premeditated and that he didn’t know the identity of his victim. With a man as notorious as Harry McNamara, who was just found innocent in a highly sensationalized fraud trial, the detectives cannot help but wonder: Was this really a random act of violence? Was Julie really powerless to stop J. P.? When Harry’s many sins are unveiled to include corruption, greed, and betrayal, nothing is for sure. This gripping psychological thriller will have you questioning who - of Harry, Julie, and J. P. - is really the guilty one and whether or not Carney's surrender was driven by a guilty conscience, or if his confession was a calculated move in a deadly game.
©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC
The Upside of Falling Down
Summary
For Clementine Haas, finding herself is more than a nice idea. Ever since she woke up in an Irish hospital with complete amnesia, self-discovery has become her mission. They tell her she's the lone survivor of a plane crash. They tell her she's lucky to be alive. But she doesn't feel lucky. She feels...lost. With the relentless Irish press bearing down on her, and a father she may not even recognize on his way from America to take her home, Clementine assumes a new identity and enlists a blue-eyed Irish stranger, Kieran O'Connell, to help her escape her forgotten life...and start a new one. Hiding out in the sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland, Clementine discovers there's an upside to a life that's fallen apart. But as her lies grow, so does her affection for Kieran, and the truth about her identity becomes harder and harder to reveal, forcing Clementine to decide: Can she leave her past behind for a new love she'll never forget?
©2018 Rebekah Crane (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved
The Stars We Steal
Summary
The Bachelorette goes to space in this gripping story about a young girl caught in a world of royal intrigue and lost love in her quest to save her family from ruin. Perfect for fans of Katharine McGee, Melissa de la Cruz, and Kiera Cass. Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie "Leo" Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, has only one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin? But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love, Elliot, returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one who got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now he’s the biggest catch of the season, and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets. Fans of Katharine McGee and Kiera Cass will be dazzled by this world of lost love and royal intrigue.
©2020 Alexa Donne (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
The Mermaid's Daughter
Summary
A modern-day expansion of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, this unforgettable debut novel weaves a spellbinding tale of magic and the power of love as a descendent of the original mermaid fights the terrible price of saving herself from a curse that has affected generations of women in her family. Kathleen has always been dramatic. She suffers from the bizarre malady of experiencing stabbing pain in her feet. On her 16th birthday, she woke screaming from the sensation that her tongue had been cut out. No doctor can find a medical explanation for her pain, and even the most powerful drugs have proven useless. Only the touch of seawater can ease her pain, and just temporarily at that. Now Kathleen is a 25-year-old opera student in Boston and shows immense promise as a soprano. Her girlfriend, Harry, a mezzo in the same program, worries endlessly about Kathleen's phantom pain and obsession with the sea. Kathleen's mother and grandmother both committed suicide as young women, and Harry worries they suffered from the same symptoms. When Kathleen suffers yet another dangerous breakdown, Harry convinces Kathleen to visit her hometown in Ireland to learn more about her family history. In Ireland, they discover that the mystery - and the tragedy - of Kathleen's family history is far older and stranger than they could have imagined. Kathleen's fate seems sealed, and the only way out is a terrible choice between a mermaid's two sirens - the sea and her lover. But both choices mean death. Haunting and lyrical, The Mermaid's Daughter asks: How far we will go for those we love? And can the transformative power of music overcome a magic that has prevailed for generations?
©2017 Ann Claycomb (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
Eggshells
Summary
A whimsical, touching debut about loneliness, friendship, and hope. Vivian doesn't feel like she fits in - and never has. As a child, she was so whimsical that her parents told her she was "left by fairies". Now, she is living alone in Dublin, where the neighbors treat her like she's crazy, her older sister condescends to her, social workers seem to have registered her as troubled, and she hasn't a friend in the world. So, she decides it's time to change her life. She begins by advertising for a friend. Not just any friend. She wants one named Penelope. Meanwhile, she roams the city, mapping out a new neighborhood every day, seeking her escape route to a better world, the other world her parents told her she came from. And then one day someone named Penelope answers her ad for a friend. And from that moment on, Vivian's life begins to change. Debut author Caitriona Lally offers listeners an exhilaratingly fresh take on the Irish love for lyricism, humor, and inventive wordplay in a book that is, in itself, deeply charming, and deeply moving.
©2017 Caitriona Lally (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
A Bittersweet Garden
Summary
Nora McNeill has always dreamed of exploring her Irish roots. When she finally gets the opportunity to spend a summer in the village where her grandparents grew up, the experience promises to live up to her very high expectations. Except for the ghost that is haunting her rented cottage and is soon invading her dreams. Briana Devlin has arranged her life the way she likes it: a good dog, good mates, and work with horses. There’s no room in her life for a relationship. Especially with an annoyingly clumsy - and attractive - American who is only going to be around for a few months. The weeks fly by, and Nora’s ghost becomes more demanding, seeking her help in solving the mystery surrounding her death. Briana watches as Nora becomes more wrapped up in the past, seeming to fade away before her eyes. Past and present are on a collision course, leaving Nora and Briana caught in a ghostly intrigue that could cost them not only their chance of a future together, but their very lives.
©2019 Caren J. Werlinger (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
From a Low and Quiet Sea
Summary
A new moving novel of three men, each searching for something they have lost. For Farouk, family is all. He has protected his wife and daughter as best he can from the war and hatred that has torn Syria apart. If they stay, they will lose their freedom, will become lesser persons. If they flee, they will lose all they have known of home, for some intangible dream of refuge in some faraway land across the merciless sea. Lampy is distracted; he has too much going on in his small town life in Ireland. He has the city girl for a bit of fun, but she's not Chloe, and Chloe took his heart away when she left him. There's the secret his mother will never tell him. His granddad's little sniping jokes are getting on his wick. And on top of all that, he has a bus to drive; those old folks from the home can't wait all day. The game was always the lifeblood coursing through John's veins: manipulating people for his enjoyment, or his enrichment...or his spite. But it was never enough. The ghost of his beloved brother, and the bitter disappointment of his father, have shadowed him all his life. But now that lifeblood is slowing down, and he's not sure if God will listen to his pleas for forgiveness. Three men, searching for some version of home, their lives moving inexorably toward a reckoning that will draw them all together.
©2018 Donal Ryan (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Magdalen Girls
Summary
Dublin, 1962. Within the gated grounds of the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Redemption lies one of the city's Magdalen Laundries. Once places of refuge, the laundries have evolved into grim workhouses. Some inmates are "fallen" women - unwed mothers, prostitutes, or petty criminals. Most are ordinary girls whose only sin lies in being too pretty, too independent, or tempting the wrong man. Among them is 16-year-old Teagan Tiernan, sent by her family when her beauty provokes a lustful revelation from a young priest. Teagan soon befriends Nora Craven, a new arrival who thought nothing could be worse than living in a squalid tenement flat. Stripped of their freedom and dignity, the girls are given new names and denied contact with the outside world. The Mother Superior, Sister Anne, who has secrets of her own, inflicts cruel, dehumanizing punishments - but always in the name of love. Finally, Nora and Teagan find an ally in the reclusive Lea, who helps them endure - and plot an escape. But as they will discover, the outside world has dangers too, especially for young women with soiled reputations. Told with candor, compassion, and vivid historical detail, The Magdalen Girls is a masterfully written novel of life within the era's notorious institutions - and an inspiring story of friendship, hope, and unyielding courage.
©2016 V.S. Alexander (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Ulysses (AmazonClassics Edition)
Summary
James Joyce’s landmark novel traces the course of three characters on one summer day in Dublin. First, there’s middle-aged wanderer and appeasing cuckold Leopold Bloom. He crosses paths with Stephen Dedalus, a young aspiring writer flirting with indulgence. Among a gallery of generous, ebullient, and brawling Dubliners, Bloom and Dedalus find in each other, for a few hours, a spiritual father and son. Then there’s Molly, Leopold’s wife. Conflicted about love, marriage, motherhood, and sexual longing, she’ll spend her afternoon with a lover. Later, as day turns to night, with Leopold beside her, Molly brings an odyssey to an indelible end. With its Homeric allusions, labyrinthine digressions, and shifting narrative styles, James Joyce’s universal epic of the human condition achieves a singular and everlasting grandeur. Revised edition: Previously published as Ulysses, this edition of Ulysses (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.
Public Domain (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Rewind
Summary
PLAY Andrew, the manager of Shanamore Cottages, watches his only guest via a hidden camera in her room. One night the unthinkable happens: a shadowy figure emerges on-screen, kills her, and destroys the camera. But who is the murderer? How did they know about the camera? And how will Andrew live with himself? PAUSE Natalie wishes she'd stayed at home as soon as she arrives in the wintry isolation of Shanamore. There's something creepy about the manager. She wants to leave, but she can't - not until she's found what she's looking for.... REWIND Psycho meets Fatal Attraction in this explosive story about a murder caught on camera. You've already missed the start. To get the full picture you must rewind the tape and play it through to the end, no matter how shocking....
©2019 Catherine Ryan Howard (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
A Touch of Gold
Summary
Gold is wealth. Wealth is power. Power is a curse. King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift - or curse - almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished "The Touch" forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: Her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide. Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems - not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold - and the power it brings - is more dangerous than she’d ever believed. Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost? From author Annie Sullivan comes A Touch of Gold, the untold story of the daughter King Midas turned to gold, perfect for fans of Cinder and The Wrath and the Dawn.
©2018 Mission Audio (P)2018 Mission Audio
A Curse of Gold
Summary
Curses and queens. Pirates and kings. Gods and magic. The final saga of a princess cursed by Midas’s touch, a vengeful Greek god, and a dazzling kingdom in the balance. After barely surviving thieving, bloodthirsty pirates and a harrowing quest at sea to retrieve her stolen treasure, Kora finds readjusting to palace life just as deadly. Her people openly turn against her, threatening to overthrow her as heir to the throne due to fear of her magical powers. When Dionysus puts out a challenge to kill the girl with the golden touch and burn down her kingdom, it’s not just her future on the throne in danger. Kora’s life and entire kingdom are now on contract. With no other choice, Kora sets out to find Dionysus, journeying to the mysterious disappearing island of Jipper. Kora has no other choice. If she wants to save her kingdom and have any chance at reversing her father's curse, she will have to enter into a deadly game with Dionysus, the greatest trickster the world, or the underworld, has ever seen. A Curse of Gold: Is the highly-anticipated sequel to A Touch of Gold by author Annie Sullivan Is an enchanting and captivating fantasy adventure/fairy tale retelling, perfect for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Cinder Is told from the perspective of Kora, King Midas' daughter and a strong female protagonist Features a beautifully decorated cover Will have strong appeal to listeners ages 13 and up
©2020 Annie Sullivan (P)2020 Blink
A Slip of a Girl
Summary
This heart-wrenching novel in verse describes the life of a poor girl surviving the Irish Land War and the everyday challenges she experiences.
©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Frozen
Summary
There's one must-have toy this Christmas, and Neala Clarke has told her niece Charli she'll get it for her. Never mind that she's got less than a week and it looks like everywhere is sold out. She's promised Charli a Fire Princess doll - and Neala is a woman of her word. Darcy Hart is a people-pleaser. So when his adorable six-year-old nephew, Dustin, asks for a particular doll at the last minute, he says yes. Luckily for Darcy, there's one left in stock at the local toy store. Unluckily for Darcy, he's not the only person who wants it - and his rival is the one woman who's immune to his charms. Neala and Darcy have loved to hate each other since they were kids, and they're both willing to do whatever it takes to get that doll. This can't possibly end well for both of them...can it?
©2016 L. A. Casey (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Kingdom of Ice and Bone
Summary
Lira and Reyker have lost everything. Including each other. Lira of Stone watched her home burn and her clan fall beneath the sword of the warlord known as the Dragon. She believes the man she loves, a warrior who defected from the Dragon's army, is dead. Alongside her exiled brother and his band of refugees, she will fight the forces that conquered her island. But the greatest danger may come from Lira herself - with the blood of banished gods running through her veins, she's become a weapon, and no one is safe from the power of her wrath. Reyker Lagorsson thought he was done being a Dragonman. That was before he saw Lira leap from a cliff and vanish into the sea. Determined to honor her memory by protecting her people, Reyker must feign loyalty to the warlord, undermine him at every turn, and seek alliances with renegade soldiers - without succumbing to the battle-madness that threatens to possess him once more. When the Fallen Ones offer Lira a chance to defeat the Dragon, her quest leads her to a place she never expected - Iseneld, the warlord’s homeland. Her journey into the heart of the Frozen Sun will put her on a collision course with Reyker, costing both of them more than they ever imagined, and leaving her with a terrible choice: To save their countries, she must forsake everything she loves.
©2020 Jill Criswell (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
Beasts of the Frozen Sun
Summary
Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust. Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people's souls, to see someone's true essence with only a touch of her hand. When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland - one of the fearful marauders from the land of the Frozen Sun - Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith. He confides in her that he's been cursed with what his people call battle-madness, forced to fight for the warlord known as the Dragon, a powerful tyrant determined to reignite the ancient war that Aillira started. As Lira and Reyker form a bond forbidden by both their clans, the wrath of the Dragon falls upon them and all of Glasnith, and Lira finds herself facing the same tragic fate as her ancestor. The battle for Lira's life, for Reyker's soul, and for their peoples' freedom has only just begun....
©2019 Jill Criswell (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Sadness of Beautiful Things
Summary
An exquisite new collection of short stories from award-winning author Simon Van Booy. Over the past decade, Simon Van Booy has been listening to people’s stories. With these personal accounts as a starting point, he has crafted a powerful collection of short fiction that takes listeners into the innermost lives of everyday people. From a family saved from ruin by a mysterious benefactor to a downtrodden boxer who shows unexpected kindness to a mugger, these tales reveal not only the precarious balance maintained between grief and happiness in our lives but also how the echoes of personal tragedy can shape us for the better. “Van Booy’s stories are somehow like paintings the characters walk out of, and keep walking.” (Los Angeles Times) "Simon Van Booy knows a great deal about the complex longings of the human heart." (Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain) Audiobook Table of Contents: "A Sacrifice", read by Alana Kerr Collins "The Green Blanket", read by James Fouhey "Playing with Dolls", read by Simon van Booy "The Pigeon", read by Giordan Diaz "The Hitchhiker", read by Alana Kerr Collins "Not Dying", read by Darren Burrows "The Saddest Case of True Love", read by Simon van Booy "The Doorman", read by James Fouhey
©2018 Simon Van Booy (P)2018 Penguin Audio