Karen Cass has narrated 167 audiobooks on Listento.it by 121 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 1,289 ratings. The most-rated is The Reunion.
Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder
Summary
"This is the most fun I've had with a book this year. Every page is a delight and the mystery got its hooks into me from the first chapter.” (Stuart Turton, best-selling author of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) The letter was short. A name, a time, a place. Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges listeners into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett's Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard. Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant at Miss Brickett's receives a letter of warning, detailing a name, a time, and a place. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can't see - her death the only sign she wasn't alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett's, making everyone a suspect. Marion Lane, a first-year Inquirer-in-training, finds herself being drawn ever deeper into the investigation. When her friend and colleague is framed for the crime, to clear his name she must sort through the hidden alliances at Miss Brickett's and secrets dating back to WWII. Masterful, clever, and deliciously suspenseful, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a fresh take on the Agatha Christie-style locked-room murder mystery with an exciting new heroine detective.
©2020 T. A. Willberg (P)2020 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
The Undesired
Summary
The light spilling in from the corridor would have to do. Though weak, it was sufficient to show Aldís a boy sitting in the gloom at the farthest table. He had his back to her, so she couldn't see who it was but could tell that he was one of the youngest. A chill ran down her spine when he spoke again without turning, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. 'Go away. Leave me alone.' 'Come on. You shouldn't be here.' Aldís spoke gently, fairly sure now that the boy must be delirious. Confused rather than dangerous. He turned, slowly and deliberately, and she glimpsed black eyes in a pale face. 'I wasn't talking to you.' Aldis is working in a juvenile detention centre in rural Iceland. She witnesses something deeply disturbing in the middle of the night; soon afterwards two of the boys at the centre are dead. Decades later single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the centre following the unexplained death of the colleague who was previously running the investigation. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister? Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a huge European best seller with both her crime and her horror novels. You might want to sleep with the light on after listening to The Undesired.
©2015 Yrsa Sigurdardóttir (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton
A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder
Summary
In Dianne Freeman's charming Victorian-era mystery series, Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, finds her sister's wedding threatened by a vow of vengeance. London is known for its bustle and intrigues, but the sedate English countryside can host - or hide - any number of secrets. Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, needs a venue for her sister Lily's imminent wedding, away from prying eyes. Risings, George Hazleton's family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice, and soon Frances, her beloved George, and other guests have gathered to enjoy the usual country pursuits - shooting, horse riding, and romantic interludes in secluded gardens. But the bucolic setting harbors a menace, and its not simply the arrival of Frances's socially ambitious mother. Above and below stairs, mysterious accidents befall guests and staff alike. Before long, Frances suspects these accidents are deliberate, and fears that the intended victim is Lily's fiancé, Leo. Frances’s mother is unimpressed by Lily’s groom-to-be and would much prefer that Lily find an aristocratic husband, just as Frances did. But now that Frances has found happiness with George - a man who loves her for much more than her dowry - she heartily approves of Lily’s choice. If she can just keep the couple safe from villains and meddling mamas. As Frances and George search for the culprit among the assembled family, friends, and servants, more victims fall prey to the mayhem. Mishaps become full-blooded murder, and it seems that no one is safe. And unless Frances can quickly flush out the culprit, the peal of wedding bells may give way to another funeral toll....
©2020 Dianne Freeman (P)2020 W.F. Howes
The Thing About Clare
Summary
A dying wish. A devastating secret. Should the truth really stay buried? The four Bliss siblings have a loving but complicated bond, but when their mother, Dorothy, dies seemingly without a will, this relationship is put to the test. As the mourning siblings try to make sense of the situation, one of them is caught with a secret: before she died, Dorothy entrusted her favourite daughter with her will and a letter - and told her to destroy them both. Of course it was Anna their mother turned to for this mission. Miriam, the eldest, is far too sensible; Sebastian, the baby, too sensitive; and Clare, the middle child, has always been too rebellious to rely on, and long ago cut herself out of her siblings’ lives. But what Anna finds in the documents could change everything. Do the other siblings not deserve to know what it is about them that their mother was so desperate to hide? And if it is revealed, will the Bliss family ever be the same again?
©2018 Imogen Clark. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage
Summary
From the best-selling author of Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market and The Cherry Tree Café comes a glorious summer treat of glamping, vintage tearooms and love.... When Lottie Foster’s grandmother’s best friend, Gwen, dies, she leaves Lottie her lovely home, Cuckoo Cottage. Lottie loves the cottage, but Matt, a charming local builder, points out that beneath its charm it is falling apart. Luckily he is always on hand to help with the problems that somehow seem to keep cropping up. But is he just a bit too good to be true? Certainly Will, Lottie’s closest neighbour, seems to think so. Lottie plans to set up her own business renovating vintage caravans. She hasn’t told anyone about the project she has cooked up with Jemma from The Cherry Tree Café to repurpose Gwen’s old caravan and turn it into a gorgeous tearoom. But before she can finally enjoy living with her legacy she must uncover whom she can trust and whom to avoid. And with two men vying for her attention, will she also find love?
©2017 Heidi Swain (P)2018 Simon & Schuster UK
Safe No Longer
Summary
One child dead. Another missing. The village has seen this before. On a warm evening in late summer, best friends Raymond and Cara camp out overnight in the garden. By morning, Raymond is dead and Cara is missing. DI Rita Cannan is called home to the sleepy seaside town of Green-on-the-Sea to investigate Raymond’s murder and try to find Cara - alive. But the case carries eerie echoes of another girl’s death that rocked the close-knit community, decades ago. If there’s a connection, if history is repeating itself, who knows more than they’re letting on? And how far will they go to cover their tracks? There are only so many lies a small town can hold and when everyone is a suspect, Cannan has nowhere to turn. To discover the truth, she must confront her own past. But can she do so in time to uncover the identity of the murderer and find Cara - before more innocent lives are lost?
©2020 by Gayle Curtis. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The Dressmaker of Paris
Summary
A beautifully written, sweeping historical women's fiction novel that spans both time and the globe as we follow one woman's journey from simple country girl to global fashion icon. I need to tell you a story, ma chère. My story. Rosa Kusstatscher has built a global fashion empire upon her ability to find the perfect outfit for any occasion. But tonight, as she prepares for the most important meeting of her life, her usual certainty eludes her. What brought her to this moment? As she struggles to select her dress and choose the right shade of lipstick, Rosa begins to tell her incredible story. The story of a poor country girl from a village high in the mountains of Italy. Of Nazi occupation and fleeing in the night. Of hope and heartbreak in Switzerland; ambition, glamour and love in Paris. Of ambition and devastation in Rio de Janeiro; success and self-discovery in New York. A life spent running, she sees now. But she will run no longer. Breathtaking and utterly enthralling, The Dressmaker of Paris is a stunning debut novel that is perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Kate Morton and Dinah Jefferies.
©2021 Georgia Kaufmann (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Written in Red
Summary
Shortly before Christmas, Professor James Lowell is found brutally attacked in his rooms at Walsingham College, where Anna Hopkins works as an administrator. Baffled as to why anyone would wish to harm such a gentle, scholarly man, Anna discovers that Lowell had a connection with her fellow dogwalker Isadora Salzman, who knew him as an undergraduate in the 1960s, a comember of the so-called Oxford Six. It turns out that Isadora has been keeping a surprising secret all these years. But someone else knows about Isadora's secret: someone who has sent her a threatening, frightening letter. Could the attack on Professor Lowell have its roots in a 50-year-old murder? And who is targeting Isadora and the surviving members of the Oxford Six?
©2016 Annie Dalton and Maria Dalton (P)2017 Soundings
Guide to Decision Making
Summary
An invaluable guide to arrive at better business decisions. We make decisions, and these decisions make us and our organisations. And in theory, decision-making should be easy: a problem is identified, the decision-makers generate solutions, and choose the optimal one - and powerful mathematical tools are available to facilitate the task. Yet if it is all so simple why do organisations, both private and public sector, keep making mistakes - the results of which are borne by shareholders, employees, taxpayers, and ultimately society at large? This guide to decision making, by leading decision science academic Helga Drummond, aims to improve decision-making in organisations. It explores how and why decisions go awry in the first place - and offers practical advice on what decision-makers can do to counter the psychological, social, and other forces that can undermine individual judgment and pull organisations off course. Full of examples of good and bad decision-making from around the world, it will make listeners think more clearly about decisions big and small.
©2012 Helga Drummond (P)2013 Audible Ltd
The Missing
Summary
A missing girl. A loving mother who never gave up. A betrayed wife who doesn’t know who to trust. Teenager Edie Hudson was nobody’s little darling, which made vanishing all too easy. Two decades later, she’s been forgotten by everyone except her mother, Samantha. And the person who knows what happened to her. Samantha has had a long time to remember, and to regret. Having seen how little her daughter mattered to the community in the months following her disappearance, she wonders if Edie was lost before she was even gone. Or was it guilt, not indifference, that made the locals turn a blind eye? When she meets Frances, she at last starts to hope for answers. Because Frances is obsessed with the mystery too, after finding a photo of her husband with the girl who disappeared. What really happened all those years ago? And just how dangerous could it be to find out?
©2020 by Daisy Pearce. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Organisation Culture
Summary
The importance of a business's culture to sustainable success. An organisation's culture either gives it a competitive advantage or a competitive disadvantage. It is a crucial factor in determining how successful a business is and how much people want to work for an organisation. That is why managers are putting more and more emphasis on getting their organisation's culture right. This book provides a route map for managers who want toGet a grip on why culture matters and the effect it has on success.Understand, define and measure their organisation's culture.Position their organisation's culture: aligning it with the business strategy.Avoid the common mistakes of""culture change""programmes.Keep their culture dynamic, responsive and resourceful. Full of real life example from companies as diverse as Ikea, GE, Microsoft, Google, eBay, McDonalds, Procter&Gamble, Unilever, Wal-Mart and Tesco, the book also includes a series of wide-ranging practical exercises that will help managers analyse and make their organisation's culture a powerful driver of success.
©2010 Naomi Stanford (P)2013 Audible Ltd
Reach for a Star
Summary
Sounding and Choc Lit present the audiobook edition of Reach for a Star. How could anyone resist Michael Tennant, with his hypnotic blue eyes and voice like molten chocolate? Jessie Simmons certainly can’t. But Jessie’s a single mum who can’t sing to save her life - there’s no way she’ll ever cross paths with the star tenor. At least that’s what she thinks until she’s unexpectedly invited to take part in a new reality TV show. The premise? Professional singers teach hopeless amateurs how to sing. The surprise? Jessie’s partner is none other than Michael Tennant! As she becomes better acquainted with the man behind the voice, will Jessie find out the hard way that you should never meet your idols.
©2019 Kathryn Freeman (P)2019 Soundings
Snakes and Ladders
Summary
Psycho meets The Silence of the Lambs “A taut, thrilling mystery.” --Dominic Nolan, author of Past Life From the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Blood for Blood, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Lee Child and Thomas Harris. A serial killer is terrorising London, removing a body part from each victim and leaving in its place a single pink rose. Dr Vernon Sange, a multiple murderer awaiting extradition, seems to know the culprit’s identity - but he’ll only talk to profiler Ziba MacKenzie, the woman responsible for putting him away. Though there’s something he wants in return from her. And time is running out. With one killer whispering in her ear and another running rings around the police, Ziba must play a game in which only her opponent knows the rules, and the forfeit is death.
©2019 by Victoria Selman. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The Rich Earth
Summary
As the Houses of York and Lancaster clash, young Elizabeth Sheldyke is married off to the ageing master of the Heron estate. As the years progress, a seed of fear is planted in the young woman’s mind. Could she possibly be barren? When widowhood hits her earlier than most, Elizabeth is taken with the notion of restoring Heron to its former grandeur. But a passionate love threatens her newfound independence when John Kendal sweeps her away in a whirlwind of desire. More anxious than ever to have a baby of her own, the years fly past Elizabeth on the Heron estate; love grows, feuds break out, war rears its ugly head and her desperation reaches its climax....
©1980 Pamela Oldfield (P)2016 Soundings
Cuckoo
Summary
A dark, juicy, deliciously unsettling psychological drama. Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend, Polly, comes to stay. Very soon Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted.... Is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again.
©2011 Julia Crouch (P)2017 Headline Digital
The Trailing Spouse
Summary
Do you really want to know the truth? Amanda Bonham moved halfway around the world to be with the man she loves. Although expat life in Singapore can be difficult, Edward Bonham is a dream husband and a doting father to his teenage daughter, Josie. But when their maid dies in an apparent suicide—and Amanda discovers the woman was pregnant and hiding a stash of drugs prescribed to Edward—she can’t help but wonder if her perfect husband has a fatal flaw. And if he can’t resist temptation under their own roof, what does he get up to when he travels? Camille Kemble also has questions for Edward. Recently returned to Singapore, Camille is determined to resolve a family mystery. Amid a jumble of faded childhood memories, she keeps seeing Edward’s handsome face. And she wants to know why. For one woman, the search for answers threatens everything she has. For another, it’s the key to all she lost. Both will follow his trail of secrets into the darkness to find the truth.
©2018 Jo Furniss (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved
Love Lies Waiting
Summary
December 1838. A storm is raging outside Kenilworth Hall. Inside, Lord Kenilworth's wife is in agony in the middle of a difficult labour. Lady Kenilworth doesn't survive the birth, but, against all odds, her baby daughter does. Baby Storm grows into a headstrong and adventurous child, close to her sister, Eloise, and their neighbours at Chislestone Manor - her best friend, Cissy, and Cissy's handsome older brother, Hunter, who has promised to marry Storm when she's older. But as Storm transforms into a beautiful young woman, preparing for her debut into society, she and Eloise must confront heartbreak, wickedness and great danger. Can the sisters survive turbulent times ahead to find love and happiness?
©2018 Claire Lorrimer (P)2019 Soundings
Circle of Doubt
Summary
She thought she was the perfect mother - until the new neighbors moved in. Emma and Dele’s dreams came true nine years ago when they adopted their daughter, Isla. It felt like fate, like they were meant to find each other, and now they’re living the life they always wanted. But then one day a new family moves into Forest Grove - and Emma can’t shake the chilling feeling that the wife looks just like Isla’s birth mother. Emma tells herself that this sophisticated stranger can’t possibly be the troubled woman she remembers from the adoption. But as they get to know each other and it becomes clear that Tatjana has a special interest in Isla, her suspicions grow. When small things start to go wrong and her parenting abilities are brought into question, Emma feels undermined, turning to her sister Harriet for support. But things only spiral further when secrets from her past suddenly resurface. With rumors swirling, Emma begins to doubt herself. Could Tatjana be Isla’s birth mother? And, with everything that’s happening, is Emma the right person to be raising her daughter at all?
©2021 Tracy Buchanan (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
Summary
From beloved New York Times best-selling author Jenny Colgan, a heartwarming and hilarious comedy about a pampered London socialite forced to live life among the common folk. Sophie Chesterton is London's "It Girl". She knows all the right people, goes to all the right parties, and wears all the right clothes...and her rich parents pay for everything. But deep down she suspects that her best "friends" - and her posh lifestyle - are nothing but shallow fakes. Then one evening Sophie's life takes a shocking, drastic turn, and her father decides it's high time for the party girl to make her own way in the world. Forced to earn a meager living as a lowly assistant to a "glamour" photographer, live in a shabby flat with four smelly boys, and eat baked beans from the can - Sophie is desperate to get her old life back, at any cost. But does a girl really need diamonds to be happy? Full of warmth and sparkle, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend is a surprisingly winning tale about luxury, life lessons, and the surprisingly low cost of true happiness.
©2009, 2020 Jenny Colgan (P)2020 HarperAudio
The Little Village Library
Summary
It takes a village.... Cloverdale is known for its winding roads, undulating hills and colourful cottages and, more recently, its Library of Things. Need a ladder, a hedge trimmer or a waffle maker? You can borrow it from the Library of Things. Single dad Adam is doing a good job of raising his daughter Zoe whilst burying his past and moving forwards. When he joins the Library of Things and agrees to run a mending workshop, new friendships start to blossom. Jennifer is a volunteer at the Library of Things. When her younger sister Isla moves back to Cloverdale after their mother dies, Jennifer finds herself wondering whether Isla is hiding something. And when Adam's daughter Zoe makes a startling discovery, it's time for the people at the Library of Things to pull together and help one family with its biggest challenge of all. This is a novel with community at its heart. It's about the kindness we can find when we least expect it and the bonds we can form when we're not even looking.
©2019 Helen Rolfe (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group