Showing results for "free" in Family Life

When five-year-old Elsie Button was snatched from a garden in a sleepy town on the Welsh island of Anglesey, and a local man later confessed, it sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community. How could one of their own do such a thing? Especially when his own little girl was the same age – and the victim's best friend. Kathryn and her family left under the cloak of darkness one night, unable to bear the shame, and the anger of their neighbours. She hardly remembers that time. Now, she suffers the consequences of living under an assumed name, always looking over her shoulder.

Just when I thought I’d got my life back together, a handsome stranger moves in across the street. He says he lost his wife six months ago. He says he’s here for a fresh start. But I think he might be a killer. Three months ago, a serial killer tore through our perfect little community. But he’s dead now, and I’m doing my best to pretend everything’s normal — pot roasts, Pilates, and that my stepson TJ didn’t upend our lives the minute he arrived. That was before the new neighbour moved in...

Until quite recently, Ben Parker was considered, by many, one of the finest bakers on the Isle of Man. Indeed, his wife was once the first to concur with that accolade, directly attributing his culinary skills to her expanding waistline, in fact. So it was ironic, Ben couldn’t help but consider, that she ran off with the dietician he’d hired at her behest.

When octogenarian Olive Turner is persuaded by her son to move into a retirement home, she congratulates herself on finding the secret to an easy life: no washing up, cooking or cleaning. But Olive isn't one for mindless bingo with her fellow residents, and before the first day is over she's already hatching a plan to escape back to her beloved beach hut and indulge in her secret passion for a very good gin & tonic. Before long Olive's secret is out and turning into something wonderful and new. 

My fiancé brought me tea and scrambled eggs in bed that morning, and we snuggled together, talking about buying our rings, and about our perfect wedding next year. Then we headed into town. He held my hand and gazed at the ring I liked best, a smile spreading slowly over his face. Then a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I felt flushed, excited and ready for the rest of my life with the man I loved. We race to get on the train home. It screams to a halt and I run towards its open doors. Made it. I think he’s right behind me — but when I turn around, he’s gone.

My husband doesn't understand why I want to return to work, especially while our daughter is still so young. She's only four weeks old. But I'm at risk of losing my job if I don't. Hiring a nanny seems like the best solution, and Bree Miller is the perfect answer — she's young, bright and immediately adores Delilah. We go for a walk in Central Park on Bree's first day. I'm taking a call when I hear a loud, high-pitched shriek. My heart races in my chest as I turn the corner. A man dressed head-to-toe in black has his fingers wrapped around the handle of Delilah's stroller...

My husband has a son I never knew about. Now he’s in our home. And I don’t know if I’m safe. He's eighteen, claims to be my husband's son, and needs a place to stay. He’s family, and I have no choice but to let him in. The next day, a local girl is found dead in our community pool. And guess who’s the prime suspect?

He promised me forever. But I might not make it to "I do." I'm marrying Stephen at Shadowmoor Lodge. His family's luxurious estate deep in the frozen Surrey Hills. Inside is the exact outfit a woman called Charlotte Walker was wearing when she vanished a week ago. Six days until my wedding. And already I want to run.

Luke Whitney is stabbed to death. His wife Anna confesses after she is found next to his lifeless body. But if she did it, why can't she confirm any of the details of the crime? As police dig into the circumstances, they learn that the victim was a liar, a cheat and a narcissist. More than one person had a reason to want him dead; his scorned ex, his neglected mistress and Anna – who knows what happens to Mrs Whitneys when Luke gets bored of them.

Amanda Fitzroy has everything she ever wanted: a successful husband, a beautiful home, and a precious young son. When the pressure of juggling work and motherhood becomes too much, hiring a nanny feels like the perfect solution. Katelyn is capable, attentive, and adored by Amanda’s little boy. Almost overnight, life becomes easier. But then things start to go wrong… At first it’s small changes – appliances are turned off. The coffee is in the wrong place.

Two little girls stand with their heads bowed in my living room. I’m told they’re my granddaughters. Daisy is nine, and Alice seven. Daisy is the spitting image of her mother. This is the first time I’ve met them since my daughter and I fell out after she married that waste of space, Vince. They’ve come to live with me because their mother — my daughter — was murdered. In her own home while they slept close by. I think Vince killed her. But the police can’t prove it. I’ve always known he was no good. He treated my daughter like dirt. I said he’d cheat on her — but she wouldn’t listen.

It’s been years since Abby O’Brien Winters set foot in Chesapeake Shores. The Maryland town her father built has too many sad memories, and Abby has too few spare moments - thanks to her demanding Wall Street career, the crumbling of her marriage, and her energetic daughters. Then one panicked phone call from her youngest sister brings her racing back home to protect Jess’ dream of renovating the charming Inn at Eagle Point. But saving the inn from foreclosure means dealing not only with her own fractured family but also with Trace Riley, the man Abby left 10 years ago.

My son Cam is going to be a baseball star. He’s only thirteen but this trip is a huge opportunity for him. There are scouts from all the major baseball teams at this tournament. He is the one to watch. The night before the tournament starts, Cam’s bed is found empty. Everyone is a suspect. People are always jealous of him — other kids, other parents. Even his own father. Anyone could have taken him. The police start digging into every corner of our lives. They want to know everything about us. Everything about our relationship. Every secret we’ve kept from each other.

Donald is a forty-something aspiring drag queen with a lifetime of bitterness hiding behind his nail polish. He's not been back to his northern home-town since his father kicked him out after catching him wearing his dead mother's clothes. But his past is about to catch up with him, when his strange, beautiful younger brother arrives on his doorstep. Will Owen’s unexpected presence pull him out of his depression? Or is he destined to drag his little brother down with him?

Mrs Gereth, a wealthy widow, is dreading the day that her son, Owen, gets married. She hopes that he will marry a woman who will appreciate their home and all of its treasures as she does. So she enlists the help of Fleda Vetch to try to corrupt the impending marriage of her son and Mona Brigstock - a philistine who is determined to marry Owen in order to inherit Mrs Gereth’s valuable possessions and home by any means. Meanwhile, Fleda hides her real feelings towards Owen. Even when he ends up feeling the same way, Fleda cannot bring herself to marry him as this would force him to break his engagement to Mona, and thus betray all of her own ideals.

This is a mini-sequel to The Other Son, a little gift for all those listeners who have been begging to know what happens next. Alice has been lying to herself for years, holding fast to the belief that the needs of her family far outweigh her own. But her outwardly successful marriage hides dark secrets, and for much of her life, the children were the only reason she stuck around.

In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker. But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full.

This Christmas is a special one for Kitty and Leo: not only is it their first since becoming an official couple, but it's the first in their brand new home. After a whirlwind summer together, they are planning to spend the Christmas period curled up in front of the open fire, exchanging gifts and making new traditions.

When the unthinkable happens, and Claire Thompson's husband dies suddenly, she's left wondering how to go on. Being a wife and mother is all she's ever known. Grieving and lost, she decides to take her family for one last trip to their beach house before she's forced to put it up for sale. The house is filled with happy memories, and it seems like a great way to remember Bryan.

Sadie may be married now, but she's as spirited as ever, and her life is no less tame. In fact, soon after she and Mark are settled into the farmhouse Mark is renovating, she's visited by three FBI agents who question her about the two children who mysteriously appeared one day at the ranch. Before the agents leave, they warn Sadie that her beloved horse, Paris, is highly valuable, and that she and Mark may be in grave danger because of Paris.