Showing results by author "Emma Davies" in All Categories

Down a winding lane lined with honeysuckle and wild flowers, there’s a beautiful orchard beside the rushing River Wye. There, in a little farmhouse in the furthest corner, a young woman has a difficult and life-changing decision to make... Life on Appleyard Farm is all Freya Sherbourne has ever known. Having spent her childhood playing between the blossom-heavy apple trees, Freya can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. But times have been hard since her father’s sudden death, and now that she’s being forced to put the farm up for sale, her world is about to come crashing down.

No sooner has Francesca Eve turned up for a jam-packed weekend of gourmet catering at a posh country house than she realizes how challenging this event is set to be. Not only are the hosts wealthy—and demanding—beyond her wildest dreams, but each of the guests is more difficult than the last. But she never expected the host to turn up dead. Suspicion falls on everyone in the house—could there be a murderer in their midst?

When elderly millionaire and eccentric entrepreneur Clarence Lightman dies, his nearest and dearest gather one final time at Justice House, Clarence’s beautiful country estate in rural Shropshire, for the reading of his will. But the day ends in uproar when Clarence’s will reveals that whoever solves a series of complex clues will inherit everything, whether that’s one of Clarence’s disagreeable children, his devoted housekeeper, or Francesca herself.

When Francesca Eve arrives for the Christmas special of the country’s most popular baking competition, she knows she’s out of her depth. For not only is she there undercover, reluctantly investigating strange threats to Miranda Appleby, the famous presenter-come-chef, but she swiftly gets roped into competing herself when another contestant can’t cut the mustard and quits.

Comforted by the gentle hum of the beehives at the bottom of the garden, Grace drains the last of her tea and walks slowly back towards the little hillside house she adores. Her marriage is over, but is it too late to start her life again? Beekeeper Grace thought throwing out her cheating husband would be the hardest thing she ever did. But when she opens the door to a property developer one morning, it’s clear that keeping her beautiful home and garden – her only sanctuary throughout her miserable marriage – will be the greatest challenge of all.

Francesca is nervous about catering her first-ever murder mystery party - but it’s clear from the clink of champagne flutes and piles of empty plates that the evening is a roaring success. The guests look spectacular in their disguises, whispering and giggling, as they try to identify who killed the beautiful, young Becky. But days later, the game takes a sinister turn, when Becky is found poisoned, and all the signs point to the culprit being a party guest.

One twinkling winter's night, Ruby wakes her sleeping children and escapes for a new life in the countryside. It's a choice that will change her life beyond all recognition. Arriving at the cosy little rental cottage as the first snow begins to fall, Ruby doesn't regret leaving her bully of a husband for a moment, but she does feel guilty about uprooting her kids so close to Christmas. She can only wish that one day soon her son will forgive her.

Following a scandal at her high-flying PR agency, 26-year-old Maddie flees London to help promote what she thinks is going to be a luxurious holiday retreat in the countryside. Everything is riding on her making a success of this new job....

Then: Twenty years ago, Alys’ husband, Sam, was in a terrible car accident that left him fighting for his life. His recovery was slow and painful, and just at the point when Alys began to hope, he sent her away, refusing to see her ever again for reasons she could never understand. Now: Married again and living in a new town with a new family, Alys feels like she’s sleepwalking through life. She’s just lost her job, her grown-up daughter is flying the nest, and her new husband doesn’t see - or even seem to care about - the downward spiral she is in.

When Abby steps off the ferry and onto the isle of Kinlossay, she squeezes her daughter’s hand and prays this trip was not a mistake. For the last year she has been receiving letters from a mysterious stranger detailing every moment of his life on this rugged little island. Swept away by descriptions of buttercups dancing on rolling fields, his words were a lifeline to Abby, filling her grey life with colour. But then, one day, the messages stopped.

The climb up the hill takes her past sweet-smelling pink roses in full bloom and leads her to an utterly breathtaking view. Megan is happy to be home at last, but will her relationship have survived the journey? It has been a difficult few years for 30-year-old Megan Forrester, completing her apprenticeship and trying to maintain a long-distance relationship with her gorgeous boyfriend, Liam. She's returned home to compete in a local craft competition.

Twenty-four-year-old Lucy needs a fresh start. Forever single, frustrated with her studies and dreaming of writing a novel she can’t start, she gives up everything to run a little library in the leafy village of Tilley Moreton. Lucy loves reading books almost as much as she loves fixing other people’s problems, so starting a book club seems like the perfect opportunity to do both. As she meets her new members, it’s clear she’s going to have her work cut out for her.

The view across the valley takes her breath away; everywhere she looks tiny patches of colour – ochre, chestnut, lime and purple. The farmhouse behind her glows pink in the morning sun. Finally, Flora has the home of her dreams... but is she about to lose it? Free-spirited Flora Dunbar is heartbroken at the news that she must close down her beloved little flower shop on the high street. As she packs away her pretty pots and vases and locks the door for the very last time, the only spark of hope is an offer from Ned.

Lizzie wants nothing more than to start over and put the past behind her. So when she is offered the chance to live and work at Rowan Hill, a beautiful country estate and bustling community of artists, it feels like a dream come true. But soon after her arrival a series of accidents and misunderstandings begins to threaten the happiness and livelihoods of everyone at Rowan Hill. And when suspicion quickly falls on Lizzie, she discovers that the past is not so easily forgotten.

Thirty-two-year-old "ice queen" Isobel has just six weeks to practice for a secret project that could save her career and no one must know she is here. When Tom, the local thatcher with eyes as blue and deep as the ocean, hears the sound of her violin on the breeze he feels a tug at his heart-strings that reminds him of happier times. Who is this mysterious new lodger, and why does she look so familiar?

Rowan Hill means many things to many people, but to Ellie Hesketh it represents new beginnings. Putting her life back together after a break-up is going to take time, but the crumbling country estate - as much in need of TLC as she is - seems the perfect place to do it. But Ellie is not the only person for whom Rowan Hill is a refuge. There's Will, damaged and complicated, whose secrets almost nobody knows. And Finn, his brother, who's finally decided to stop running from his own past.

He helped you move on... Until you discovered what he did. Louisa Adams has done her best to hold herself together in the years since she lost her husband in a car accident. But each morning she wakes up alone is more painful than the last. She hopes moving into the crumbling seaside guest house her daughter just bought in Devon will help put what’s left of her broken family back together... There, Louisa is offered a final chance to save her career by writing an article on a local sand artist, Isaac.

Family secrets, lost loves, and one woman’s fresh start... When heartbroken Lowri Morgan, a young Welsh widow, discovers a secret inheritance after finding a mysterious letter among her late husband's belongings, she and her daughter's world is about to shift. Now the owner of Clearwater Castle, she's determined to make the best of it, despite the derelict state of the castle and the overwhelming responsibilities.

Five entertaining audio readings of best-loved children’s festive stories for children of three years and over to enjoy at Christmas.

When Thea sees her old family home is up for sale - a beautiful old rectory in the small town where she and her childhood sweetheart, now husband, Drew, grew up - she knows she has to have it. Her parents moved her away suddenly when she was 11, but her childhood there was filled with happy memories. Drew seems less sure, but Thea is certain it’s the perfect place to raise their two children. But as the last boxes are unpacked, Thea can’t seem to settle. She thought the move would bring her family closer together, but Drew is getting more distant by the day.