Showing results by narrator "Maria Johnson" in All Categories

This compulsive novel wrestles with vital questions of our time: sentience, purpose, life, death, and how to make a really good commercial. Told entirely through questionably obtained company emails, chat transcripts, TED Talks, training sessions, and more, this all-too-probable future pits emotionally intelligent AI against emotionally stunted humans.

A heart-pounding military adventure in the air! For fans of Derek Robinson, James Holland, Frank Barnard and Jack Higgins. Can the female pilots stop an attack on London…? Autumn, 1943Sisters Anna and Jennifer Nightingale have been flying in top missions with the Secret Sirens all-female RAF unit for nearly a year. Their squadron of twelve Mosquitos stages a raid on Rouen to divert the enemy’s attention from the Lancasters that are coming in to bomb the marshalling yards and port.

Sisters Anna and Jennifer Nightingale are recruits in the top-secret Siren Squadron: a group of women trained in the RAF to fight against the enemy. The Sirens are tasked with flying a series of night stealth missions as part of Operation Scorpion. The first mission is successful, and on returning to base they are told that new members will be joining their ranks.

With the reserves of male pilots ready for combat rapidly dwindling, England’s secret service decide to try something revolutionary. They are going to send female pilots into combat. MI6 put Wing Commander James Donovan in charge of the ‘Sirens’. Outwardly, the women chosen appear to be assisting in the transporting of planes, but this is just a cover. In reality, they will be flying secret RAF combat missions into enemy territory.

Can this marriage of convenience overcome the shadows from the past? Helena Angiers is grateful for a quick bolt to the Scottish border and the opportunity to keep her unborn child, but she has no intention of abandoning the memories of her first love. And yet, the more she learns about her new husband, Ralph Aldine, the more she wonders why such a kind, considerate, and capable man would marry her. Can it be possible that he married her for herself and that her money had nothing to do with it? Lowly solicitor Ralph Aldine has adored Helena Angiers from the moment he set eyes on her.

Eight-year-old Sharon Rowling has a lot to contend with. Her stunning mum, Maria, literally stops traffic with her beauty, much to the dismay of her dodgy dad, Ricky, who is under height and underemployed. Then there's her three excruciating siblings plus her unhinged Shetland pony, all of whom remain stubbornly oblivious to the fact that Sharon's deepest fear might soon become a reality.

It is 1535, and in the tumultuous years of King Henry VIII’s break from Rome, the religious houses of England are being seized by force. Twenty-year-old Catherine Havens is a foundling and the adopted daughter of the prioress of the Priory of Mount Grace in a small Yorkshire village.

It's not a good Monday for DI Daniel Owen. A body in a wheelie bin. Missing teenagers. His ex turning up as his new boss. A secretive teenager, a nosy secretary, an idealistic social worker, and a dodgy fruit and veg salesman all have pieces of the jigsaw. If Daniel and Maldwyn can trust each other again, they can put the pieces together. But time is running out, and at least one child's life is in danger. It's been raining for weeks, and the flood waters are rising, threatening to engulf them all.

A missing child. A deadly trade. A love caught between redemption and ruin. London, 1889. After surviving Jack the Ripper's reign of terror, Doctor Henry Jekyll and Francine Murphy dream of a peaceful future together. But their fragile hopes are shattered when Francine's estranged husband...

DCI Daniel Owen is barely holding things together when an old flame crashes into his life, with a dead body and enough emotional baggage to sink a ship. Then the fires start. Who is Jonathan Cole, and why is he living at a run down holiday park? Did he kill the park's owner? Daniel wants to believe Jonathan is innocent, and Jonathan wants to seduce Daniel. Mal, now Superintendent Kent, wants to come home. His undercover officer has disappeared from the same holiday park, and that can't be a coincidence, can it?

This clean and wholesome regency romance follows the adventures and exploits of a sensible widow, a managing earl, an absent-minded botanist, a high-strung heiress, a coldhearted guardian, and a villainous kidnapper.

This book charts the emergence of Kate Bush in the early-to-mid-1980s as a courageous experimentalist, a singularly expressive recording artist and a visionary music producer. Track-by-track commentaries focus on the experience of the album from the listener’s point of view, drawing attention to the art and craft of Bush’s songwriting, production and sound design.

When love and money collide, will a wintry house party lead to murder or matrimony? Haro Emison, thrust into his new role as Earl of Anglesford, discovers that his late father has left the family teetering on the edge of financial ruin. Intent on rescuing the estate, Haro abandons his long-held interest in his second cousin Eda and searches instead for a wealthy heiress. But when pride and jealousy cause his plan to spiral out of control, he begins to wonder if he has made a dreadful mistake. Eda Swanycke is enjoying her first season in London when her debut comes to a crashing halt.

As a child, Richard dreamed of knighthood and gallant deeds. As a grown man, he is committed to doing his best as an officer of the Guard, as a Lord of the land, and as a father. Living up to his oaths is easy. Being a good husband is much more of a challenge. Alysoun has done everything expected of a woman in her position. She has married well and had two clever, healthy children. That's not enough. Richard is kind, but increasingly distant. Alysoun herself has pain and fatigue magic can't fix. In truth, she is isolated and more than a little bored.

After seven long years in Devon, Lady Maud Worlington returns to London to reclaim life on her own terms, but a nefarious shadow and the prospect of financial ruin dog her steps. An impulsive and unforgettable kiss under the mistletoe creates a connection with Geoffrey, the handsome, young Duke of Tilbury. Yet, as pleasant as it is to have a suitor, Maud is not sure how a boy of one-and-20 can prove an equal partner in life and the equal of all the forces mounted against her.

Cassandra Comfort's goal for the season is to make an eligible match that will elevate her family's fortunes. But when her luckless brother wagers a marker with her name on it, she must retrieve it before scandal destroys her chances. The only problem is that the politely precise Gerrold Tavinstock won't give the marker back, and every plan to force it from his grasp seems to go desperately awry....

A missing heiress. A trip to Paris. Can a gentleman-turned-footman convince the runaway beauty that at least one man in her life is worthy of trust?

At forty-five, Julia has everything she thought she wanted. A good job. Four grown-up daughters. Grandchildren she adores. A comfortable home. And a husband who remembers to put the bins out……but seems to have forgotten he has a wife. Somewhere between raising a family, building a career and twenty-three years of marriage, Julia has quietly lost herself.

An aimless life. An unsettled conscience. Can the gentlewoman next door bring a new sense of purpose to this duke run aground in Derbyshire? Nigel Lymington, the new Duke of Warrenton, always played second fiddle to his elder brother’s wild exploits. After rising to the title himself, he tries to live up to his family’s rakish reputation, only to discover that he has neither the temperament nor the money to indulge in the wastrel Warrenton way of life.

Sara Schönflies, a young Jewish woman from a line of gifted tailors and seamstresses, finds her world shattered by the rise of the Nazi regime. When Sara and her sisters are transferred to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, their talent becomes a lifeline. Their survival hinges on sewing beautiful dresses for the wives of SS officers and Nazi dignitaries. Amidst the horrors and suffering, Sara's determination, her sisters' unwavering courage, unyielding defiance, and the unexpected friendship with a member of the Sonderkommando become beacons of hope.