Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

Billie Jo is the adored only child of wealthy villain Terry and Michelle, the drunken wife he hates. Knowing how much Billie Jo dreads her parents' fights, Terry imagines that she'll understand when he tells her he is going to leave Michelle to marry his pregnant secretary. But fate is about to deal a terrible hand and change everything in a way Terry has not planned for, leaving Billie Jo's protected world in tatters.

When Jared Johnson first meets Clarice Connaught he saves her from the hands of her father, who is brutally beating her in the street. Never one to walk past someone in distress, Jared doesn’t hesitate to help. But who is this girl and what is her story? Jared Johnson started with nothing. At just twelve-years-old he was orphaned and homeless, but eight years later, Jared is a success. Running McGuire’s Rag & Bone Yard and surrounded by friends, all Jared needs now is to find the perfect girl to settle down with.

Nellie Welche’s life changes for ever when she’s proposed as companion to Princess Sophia, daughter of mad King George III and Queen Charlotte. Taken into the heart of the family, Nellie is privy to the innermost secrets of the wayward House of Hanover. From the first rumblings of the French Revolution to the beginnings of the railway age, Nellie charts their story as she and Princess Sofy support each other through the ups and downs of their extraordinary lives.

Georgie Deacon thinks nothing of it when a gang of girls led by Yasmin, a member of the notorious Marx family, knock at her door and threaten to hurt her daughter—that is until her daughter doesn't return home. Detective Clark Kims ignores Georgie's plea to have the gang of girls brought in for questioning. He insists it is the work of the Kent serial killer, until Georgie realizes that the detective's daughter is part of the gang.

Winnie Berry had been the landlady for the Battersea Tavern for over 25 years and loved every minute of it. Her husband Brian preferred the quiet of the upstairs, but Winnie liked to be in the thick of it: the atmosphere and the company. While her son has taken after his father in more ways than one, she can't help but love him - David might not be able to hold down a job, but she would do anything to keep him safe. After all, once upon a time she'd made a mistake - something she'd do anything to put right.

It's Christmas Eve. Flurries of snow fall on the cobbled streets of Whitechapel, and an abandoned baby, swaddled in a blanket, is found on a doorstep in Angel Lane.... Named after the street on which she was found, Angel Winter was blessed to be taken from the harsh streets into a loving home. But fate deals a cruel blow, and she's torn from the only family she has ever known, thrown onto the cobbles of Covent Garden to fend for herself.

Twenty years ago, Fletch avenged the gangland killing of his younger brother, Spencer, and accepted his guilt. But his actions meant he had to leave his precious children to fend for themselves. He thought they would be looked after. Now a free man, Fletch returns to find his family in chaos. Kit is married to notorious gangster while Austin seems hell-bent on doing everything he can to create a turf war. Fletch knows he has to get his kids under control, but he also knows that the seeds of this disaster were planted long ago. Now Fletch is back and it’s time to settle the score.

After serving a lengthy sentence for the murder of her husband, Dolly Rawlins is free from prison. And she's only got one thing on her mind: the diamonds she stashed before the police caught her. But there are people waiting for Dolly on the outside ­- tough ex-prisoners who know about the diamonds, and they all want a cut. Also waiting for Dolly is DS Mike Withey. He holds her personally responsible for the death of his sister in the diamond raid 10 years earlier. And he wants her back inside. Dolly Rawlins has other plans.

Lottie Lane is all alone in the world. As a chambermaid at one of London's busiest inns, condemned to a life of drudgery and at the mercy of a vicious landlady, Lottie is too worn out to even dream of a better life. Until one night an injured soldier is brought to The Swan. Lottie nurses him back from the dead, and suddenly everything changes.

Bermondsey , London. With an absent father and a penniless mother, Cyril Reardon is determined to be the man of the house. As young as eight, Cyril is a charmer, a planner, and a risk-taker. A rare trip to the country, shows Cyril a completely different world and it opens his eyes to how the other half lives. A young man wants Cyril shot dead but receives a nasty scar and a few injuries that set him on a path of revenge.

When the Second World War breaks out, Annie Webster and her family find themselves, along with everyone else, thrust into a world of uncertainty, danger, and despair. Her brothers join up, her sweetheart, Paul, becomes a fighter pilot, and Annie, desperate to help, finds herself in the WAAF, where her intelligence and warmth single her out for a role more daring than she has ever known. The country has never needed its young people more, but will Annie and her loved ones survive its darkest hour?

Dolly Blanchard dreams of a bigger life. She wants to make a mark on the world, not simply wait for a husband to come along. So when an impoverished actress offers her a lifeline, Dolly flees to London, determined to make it on the stage and prove to her family – and herself – that she can strike out alone.

Having spent her life watching her father run his East London firm, Zara Ezra has learnt a thing or two about being a gangster, and she’s ready to take over when the time comes. Mike Regan, a blast from Zara’s past, is the head of his own firm, but when his son is kidnapped in the middle of a gangland feud, Mike has no choice but to accept help from the Ezras to get his little boy back alive. With a rival firm playing increasingly dirty, murder moves to the top of the agenda and Zara has some big choices to make.

Part memoir, part self-help guide, this fascinating audiobook takes the listener through the history of spirituality, what it means in the world and how Sally’s version for the modern age can be harnessed in the personal space. Secret Spirit is an uplifting book about hope and happiness, that deals with the dead as well as a brighter way of living - and is told in Sally’s inimitable, lovable, no-nonsense style.

Cathy Townsend has it all: a loving husband, two handsome sons and a lifestyle that many people envy. But one violent and bloody night, Cathy's whole world comes crashing down around her. Heartbroken and reeling from the events that took place, Cathy is determined to seek revenge on the people responsible for stealing her perfect life away from her. She knows she’ll need help but doesn’t know who to trust. Because in this new dark and dangerous world, Cathy discovers that friends are enemies and blood isn’t always thicker than water.

It’s 1983 and Stephanie Crouch’s life is dull. She is desperate to escape the run-down, pokey council house she shares with her overbearing family, but at fourteen years old she has nowhere to go. When Stephanie meets East End wide-boy Barry, his cockney charm and quick tongue soon have her head over heels in love. Finally Stephanie feels like her dreary life is on the up. But too young to control their fate, Stephanie and Barry are torn apart when he is whisked away to Spain by his family.

Being in the know can be deadly. Joanie Brewer's children mean the world to her. She'd do anything to make sure they're fed and clothed - even if it means going on the game - and she lives in constant fear that one of them will be taken from her. Eighteen-year-old Jon Jon is knee-deep in crime, and Jeanette, only fourteen, knows more than is good for her. But it's Kira who really scares her, for in a world where no one is to be trusted, her eleven-year-old angel is the most vulnerable to danger. Then Kira disappears and Joanie's darkest fears are realised. She thinks she knows what's happened to her little girl, and her obsession to uncover the truth threatens to destroy them all.

The Bailey brothers are gangsters determined to make their mark in the world. Peter and Daniel are chalk and cheese in many ways - Peter's calm exterior belies his ruthless nature, while Daniel's penchant for spectacular violence is legendary - but together they are unstoppable. From the late 70s they rule London's East End, and when their sons join the business, it seems that no one can touch the powerful Baileys. Although it's never easy at the top; there is always someone waiting to take you down....

Daddy’s girl Samantha Reynold hadn’t bargained on unexpectedly needing to step into her father’s shoes and take over the family casino business. Pampered and spoiled, Sam knows nothing about the rules of this glamorous but deadly new world. She has a lot to learn and even more to prove. But she won’t let her family down, especially when it looks like they could lose everything to their biggest rivals - the Stoker family.

When sixteen-year-old Sally is evacuated to the English south coast, she is terrified by what lies ahead of her. All she knows are the sights and sounds of London's East End – but Sally swallows her tears as they leave the familiar landmarks behind, knowing that she has to be a Grown-Up Girl and play mother to her six-year-old brother Ernie. Playing mother is nothing new for Sally – their real mother Florrie, a good-time girl, hasn't even come to the station to wave them off and Ernie, crippled at an early age by polio, is used to depending on his older sister.