Beverley A. Crick has narrated 74 audiobooks on Listento.it by 29 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.1★ across 95 ratings. The most-rated is The Darkest Secret.
The Darkest Secret
Summary
Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy 50th birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he's finding it difficult to sneak away to his mistress. Then something truly terrible happens: one of his three-year-old twins goes missing. No trace of her is ever found. The attendees of the party, nicknamed the Jackson Associates by the press, become infamous overnight. Twelve years later, Sean is dead. The Jackson Associates assemble for the funeral, together for the first time since that fateful weekend. Soon the barbed comments and accusations are flying. By the end of the weekend, one will be dead. And one of Sean's daughters will make a shocking discovery.
©2016 Alex Marwood (P)2016 Tantor
The Chick and the Dead
Summary
Carla Valentine works with the dead. After studying forensics, she assisted pathologists with postmortems for years before becoming the curator of the world's most famous pathology museum. When it comes to death, she truly is an expert, and in this book she shares that expertise. Using the most common postmortem process as the backbone of the narrative, The Chick and the Dead takes the listener through the process of an autopsy while also describing the history and changing cultures of our relationship with the dead. The book is full of vivid insight into what happens to our bodies in the end. Each chapter considers an aspect of an autopsy alongside an aspect of Carla's own life and work and touches on some of the more controversial aspects of our feelings toward death, including the relationship between sex and death and our attitudes toward human tissue collection. Starting with the first cut, we move from external examination into the body itself, discovering more about the heart, stomach, and brain, and into dismembered and reconstructed bodies, at each stage taking a colorful detour into the question of what these things can teach us about the living.
©2017 Carla Valentine (P)2017 Tantor
Sweetshop of Dreams
Summary
Rosie Hopkins thinks leaving her busy London life, and her boyfriend Gerard, to sort out her elderly Aunt Lilian's sweetshop in a small country village is going to be dull. Boy, is she wrong. Rosie's life is...comfortable. And even though she might like to pursue a more rewarding career, and Gerard doesn't seem to have any plans to propose, Rosie's not complaining. Things could be worse. Right? Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton's sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. When her great-niece Rosie arrives to help her with the shop, Lilian struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to settle up, and wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully colored sweets. But as Rosie gets Lilian back on her feet, breathes a new life into the candy shop, and gets to know the mysterious and solitary Stephen - whose family seems to own the entire town - she starts to think that settling for what's comfortable might not be so great after all.
©2014 Jenny Colgan (P)2018 Tantor
Make Me Love You
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Johanna Lindsey delivers a sparkling, passionate tale of an earl's daughter who must convince a mysterious viscount to marry her and end his vendetta against her brother. One duel could be considered a matter of honor, but three duels are attempted murder! With enlightened society outraged at such reckless behavior among young noblemen, the prince regent orders Robert Whitworth, the earl of Tamdon's heir, and Lord Dominic Wolfe to end their dispute by allying their families through marriage. Whichever party refuses to comply will forfeit his lands and title. Whitworth relishes the idea of sending his younger sister, Brooke, to his enemy's remote estate. He knows the Wolf will reject her as a bride, thereby losing his wealth and status. The Wolf, however, is determined to scare away the Whitworth chit. With dueling no longer an available means of destroying the man he abhors, he will be satisfied to see him lose his lands and title. But he doesn't expect his enemy's sister to be so resourceful or resilient. Brooke Whitworth has been dreaming of her first Season in London, because she intends to win a husband who will take her far away from her unloving family. Instead she is being sent to the Yorkshire moors to wed a mysterious nobleman whose family is cursed and who has thrice tried to kill her brother. But there's no room in her heart for fear; this man is her means of escape. She will make him love her!
©2016 Johanna Lindsey (P)2016 Recorded Books
A Defense of Honor
Summary
Forced to run for her life, Kit FitzGilbert finds herself in the very place she swore never to return to - a London ballroom. There she encounters Graham, Lord Wharton, who believes Kit holds the key to a mystery he's trying to solve. As much as she wishes that she could tell him everything, she can't reveal the truth without endangering those she loves. When Katherine "Kit" FitzGilbert turned her back on London society more than a decade ago, she determined never to set foot in a ballroom again. But when business takes her to London and she's forced to run for her life, she stumbles upon not only a glamorous ballroom but also Graham, Lord Wharton. What should have been a chance encounter becomes much more as Graham embarks on a search for his friend's missing sister and is convinced Kit knows more about the girl than she's telling. After meeting Graham, Kit finds herself wishing things could have been different for the first time in her life, but what she wants can't matter. Long ago, she dedicated herself to helping women escape the same scorn that drove her from London and raising the innocent children caught in the crossfire. And as much as she desperately wishes to tell Graham everything, revealing the truth isn't worth putting him and everyone she loves in danger.
©2018 Kristi Ann Hunter (P)2018 Recorded Books
Suddenly You
Summary
She was unmarried, untouched, and almost 30, but novelist Amanda Briars wasn't about to greet her next birthday without making love to a man. When he appeared at her door, she believed he was her gift to herself, hired for one night of passion. Unforgettably handsome, irresistibly virile, he tempted her in ways she never thought possible . . . but something stopped him from completely fulfilling her dream. Jack Delvin's determination to possess Amanda became greater when she discovered his true identity. But gently-bred Amanda craved respectability more than she admitted, while Jack, the cast-off son of a nobleman and London's most notorious businessman, refused to live by society's rules. Yet when fate conspired for them to marry, their worlds collided with a passionate force neither had expected . . . but both soon craved. Contains mature themes.
©2001 Lisa Kleypas (P)2018 Tantor
Beautiful Tempest
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Johanna Lindsey now reveals the tempestuous story of Jacqueline Malory, whose furious desire for revenge leads to a confrontation with the handsome pirate who abducted her - and sparks a much steamier kind of desire. For the first time, James Malory and his Anderson in-laws agree on something: It's payback time for the culprit who kidnapped James and Georgina's beloved daughter, Jack, from her American debutante party and whisked her away to the Caribbean, no matter that she escaped unscathed. James figured out who masterminded the dastardly plot and is leading a fleet of ships to the West Indies to deliver some Malory-style retribution. More interested in revenge than in finding a husband during her first London Season, Jack is furious that her father left her behind. Then an intriguing stranger leads her and her older brother, Jeremy, to her mysterious abductor. But instead of capturing him, the Malory siblings wind up as his "guests" on a ship sailing away from England. As Jack reengages in a battle of wills with her all too attentive captor, she realizes he is no ordinary pirate, perhaps no pirate at all, but a nobleman determined to settle a score that dates back to the days when her father was known as Captain Hawk - and what endangers her most is the increasingly passionate attraction they feel for each other.
©2017 Johanna Lindsey (P)2017 Recorded Books
About a Rogue
Summary
The first book in the new series Desperately Seeking Duke from USA Today best-selling and RITA award-winning author Caroline Linden. It’s no love match.... Bianca Tate is horrified when her sister, Cathy, is obliged to accept an offer of marriage from Maximilian St. James, notorious rake. Defiantly, she helps Cathy elope with her true love and takes her sister’s place at the altar. It’s not even the match that was made.... Perched on the lowest branch of his family tree, Max has relied on charm and cunning to survive. But an unexpected stroke of luck gives him an outside chance at a dukedom - and which Tate sister he weds hardly seems to matter. But could it be the perfect match? Married or not, Bianca is determined to protect her family’s prosperous ceramics business, even when Max shows an affinity for it - not to mention a dangerous ability to intrigue and tempt Bianca herself. And when Max realizes how beautiful and intelligent and desirable Bianca is, he’ll have to prove he’s no rogue, but the passionately devoted husband she craves....
©2020 Caroline Linden (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
The Noble Guardian
Summary
A cross-country trip through regency England brings intrigue, rogues, and high adventure. The must-listenconclusion to Michelle Griep’s Bow Street Runners Trilogy: Life couldn’t be better for Abigail Gilbert-but it’s been a long time in coming. Having lived with a family who hated her, it’s finally her time for love. Abby sets off on a journey across England to marry one of the most prestigious gentlemen in the land-until highwaymen upset her plans and threaten her life. Horse patrol captain Samuel Thatcher arrives just in time to save Abby. But she’s simply another victim in a job he’s come to despise. Tired of the dark side of humanity, he intends to buy land and retire. Abby pleads with him to escort her for the rest of her journey. He refuses-until she offers him something he desperately needs to achieve his goal...money. Delivering her safely will give him more than enough to buy property. So begins an impossible trek for the cynical lawman and the proper lady. Each will be indelibly changed by the time they reach her betrothed, if they don’t kill one another first-or fall in love.
©2019 Michelle Griep (P)2019 Two Words Publishing LLC
The Bachelor
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Sabrina Jeffries features an irresistible family in a series to savor, as the grown children of a thrice-married dowager duchess piece together the stories of their fathers - while pursuing passions of their own.... Lady Gwyn Drake has long protected her family's reputation by hiding an imprudent affair from her youth. But when her former suitor appears at Armitage Hall, manhandling the heiress and threatening to go public with her secrets, it's Gwyn who needs protecting. Her twin brother, Thorn, hires Joshua Wolfe, the estate's gamekeeper, to keep her safe in London during her debut. As a war hero, Joshua feels obligated to fulfill the assignment he has accepted. But as a man, it's torment to be so very close to the beauty he's fought to ignore.... With handsome Joshua monitoring her every move, Gwyn would prefer to forget both the past and the parade of money-seeking bachelors at her coming out. But Joshua is unmoved by her attempts at flirtation, and the threat of blackmail still hangs over her. With danger closing in, Gwyn must decide which is the greater risk: deflecting a scoundrel's attempts to sabotage her - or revealing her whole heart to the rugged bodyguard she can't resist....
©2020 Sabrina Jeffries (P)2020 Recorded Books
A Return of Devotion
Summary
Daphne Blakemoor was perfectly happy living in her own secluded world for 12 years. She had everything she needed - loved ones, a true home, and time to indulge her imagination. But when ownership of the estate where she works as a housekeeper passes on, and the new marquis has an undeniable connection to her past, everything she's come to rely upon is threatened. William, Marquis of Chemsford's main goal in life is to be the exact opposite of his father. Starting a new life in the peace and quiet of the country sounds perfect until his housekeeper turns his life upside down. They've spent their lives hiding from the past. Can they find the courage to face their deepest wounds and, perhaps, find a new path for the future together?
©2019 Kristi L. Hunter (P)2019 Tantor
The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris
Summary
It's true that Anna Trent is a supervisor in a chocolate factory...but that doesn't necessarily mean she knows how to make chocolate. And when a fateful accident gives her the opportunity to work at Paris's elite chocolatier Le Chapeau Chocolat, Anna expects to be outed as a fraud. After all, there is a world of difference between chalky, mass-produced English chocolate and the gourmet confections Anna's new boss creates. But with a bit of luck and a lot of patience, Anna might learn that the sweetest things in life are always worth working for. Hopeful, laugh-out-loud funny, and irresistibly addictive, The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris is a novel worth savoring.
©2013 Jenny Colgan (P)2018 Tantor
A Pursuit of Home
Summary
In early 1800s England, Jess Beauchene has spent most of her life in hiding and always on the move in an effort to leave her past far behind her. But when she learns the family she thought had died just might be alive and in danger, she knows her secrets can only stay buried for so long. Derek Thornbury loves the past, which has led him to become an expert in history and artifacts. He knows Jess has never liked him, but when she requests his help deciphering the clues laid out in an old family diary, he can't resist the urge to solve the puzzle. As Jess and Derek race to find the hidden artifact before her family's enemies, they learn as much about each other as they do about the past. But can their search to uncover the truth and set history right lead to a future together?
©2019 Kristi Ann Hunter (P)2019 Recorded Books
The Forgotten Secret
Summary
Can she unlock the mysteries of the past? A country at war. It’s the summer of 1919, and Ellen O’Brien has her whole life ahead of her. Young, in love and leaving home for her first job, the future seems full of shining possibility. But war is brewing, and before long, Ellen and everyone around her are swept up by it. As Ireland is torn apart by the turmoil, Ellen finds herself facing the ultimate test of love and loyalty. A long-buried secret. A hundred years later and Clare Farrell has inherited a dilapidated old farmhouse in County Meath. Seizing the chance to escape her unhappy marriage, she strikes out on her own for the first time, hoping the old building might also provide clues to her family’s shadowy history. As she sets out to put the place - and herself - back to rights, she stumbles across a long-forgotten hiding place, with a clue to a secret that has lain buried for decades. For fans of Kate Morton and Gill Paul comes an unforgettable novel about two women fighting for independence.
©2019 Kathleen McGurl (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
The Baffling Burglaries of Bath
Summary
The last thing Lady Katherine wants is to take the matchmaking job for Mrs. Burwick, whose daughter, Prudence, clearly does not want to be matched...until she realizes it provides her the perfect cover to investigate the string of robberies that have been taking place in the holiday town of Bath. Katherine, her loyal maid Harriet, and her tenacious pug Emma soon find themselves knee-deep in troubled waters as they try to piece together the baffling clues to reveal the truth. To further complicate matters, Katherine's investigation is impeded by the incompetent detective hired by the Marquess of Bath to flush out the burglar. Now Katherine must juggle advising Prudence on how "not" to land a duke, while she dives into the investigation in the hopes of narrowing down the suspects without making waves amongst the aristocracy, some of whom are her primary suspects. When the burglary attempts turn violent, Katherine must take drastic measures to ensure her detective career isn't all washed up before it even gets started.
©2018 Leighann Dobbs Publishing (P)2018 Tantor
Murder at the Ice Ball
Summary
When a tragic accident turns out to be murder, Lady Katherine finds herself embroiled in an investigation tainted by lies and deception. With conflicting witness testimony, mysterious neighbors who saw the impossible, and a secret someone would kill for, Katherine must dig into the dark side of polite London society to uncover the truth. Naturally, she has help. Maybe too much help. Along with her loyal maid, Harriet, her pilfering pug, Emma, and her Bow Street Runner friend Lyle, Katherine is joined by budding investigator Pru Burwick and her eccentric Scottish fiance, Lord Annandale. Katherine wouldn't mind their help so much if Annandale didn't keep bringing the insufferable Captain Wayland along. When the investigation takes a disturbing turn, Katherine gets a lead that indicates someone close to her may not be telling the truth, and she must make a tough decision. Protecting her loved one means keeping a secret from her closest allies. Hopefully it does not also mean letting a killer go free.
©2018 Leighann Dobbs Publishing (P)2018 Tantor
A Search for Refuge
Summary
Margaretta Fortescue desperately needs to disappear from London society, and her only hope is to follow the rumors of another young woman who recently made a life for herself away from the glare of society. Her search leads her to the market town of Marlborough, where, in spite of her efforts to avoid attention, she can't seem to elude local solicitor Nash Banfield. All Nash wants is a quiet, sedate life - no risks or surprises. When Margaretta, clearly on the run and unwilling to answer questions, interrupts his solitude, his curiosity and his principles won't let him leave this determined woman without assistance. But will discovering the truth about Margaretta make him think twice about finally taking a risk on love? A Search for Refuge is an novella that gives an exciting introduction to Kristi Ann Hunter's new Regency historical romance series, Haven Manor! Includes an extended excerpt of the first full-length novel in the series, A Defense of Honor.
©2018 Kristi Ann Hunter (P)2018 Two Words Publishing LLC
An Invitation to Murder
Summary
To stop a high-society killer, she'll have to play matchmaker one last time.... Lady Katherine would rather chase clues than suitors. Her reputation as a matchmaker could give her the cover she needs to follow in her detective father's footsteps. If she catches the Pink Ribbon Killer before he strikes again, she'll win her dowry and her independence in the process.... One look through the exclusive Northbrooke estate house party doubles her suspect list. With the help of her trusty maid and her precocious pug, Katherine risks it all to unmask the killer. But is winning her freedom worth putting another debutante in mortal danger?
©2017 Leighann Dobbs Publishing (P)2018 Tantor
The Danger of Desire
Summary
To root out the card cheat responsible for her brother's death, Miss Delia Trevor spends her evenings dancing her way through high society balls, and her late nights disguised as a young man gambling her way through London's gaming hells. Then one night, handsome Warren Corry, the Marquess of Knightford, a notorious member of St. George's Club, recognizes her. When he threatens to reveal her secret, she's determined to keep him from ruining her plans, even if it means playing a cat-and-mouse game with the enigmatic rakehell. Warren knows the danger of her game, and he refuses to watch her lose everything while gaining justice for her late brother. But when she starts to delve beneath his carefully crafted facade, can he keep her at arm's length while still protecting her? Or will their hot desires explode into a love that transcends the secrets of their pasts?
©2016 Sabrina Jeffries, LLC (P)2016 Tantor
The Art of Sinning
Summary
American artist Jeremy Keane refuses to return home and take over his father's business. He'd much rather sample bevvies of beauties abroad, in search of a model for the provocative masterpiece he's driven to paint. When he meets Lady Yvette Barlow at a London wedding, he realizes she's perfect for his work - and determines to capture the young heiress' defiant spirit and breathtaking sensuality on canvas. No stranger to scandal, Yvette agrees to be Keane's subject - in exchange for his help gaining entry to the city's brothels he knows intimately, so she can track a missing woman and solve a family mystery. But when their practical partnership leads to lessons in the art of sinning, can they find a bold and lasting love? Contains mature themes.
©2015 Sabrina Jeffries, LLC (P)2015 Tantor