Showing results by narrator "Sherry Baines" in All Categories

Ten years ago, Louise Hunter's life was torn apart by tragedy. Her husband, Ben, killed himself; her brother-in-law, Jacob, was murdered; and her sister, Susan, abandoned her newborn daughter, revealing the baby is Ben's child. Louise remains haunted by guilt over the one night she spent with Ben's friend Eric and refuses to return Eric's love. But after adopting Jinnie, she finds new happiness – until Susan decides she wants Jinnie back.

'You're everything to me. I'd have to lose my life before I'd lose you.' This is the vow Silas made to Cathleen on the day he asks her to marry him. Throughout their childhood their love has grown stronger and now, in 1900, they start to plan a life together. But a jealous woman is determined to ruin their happiness and uses Silas's father – a good and honest man – to do so, forcing him to make an impossible sacrifice. As a dutiful son, Silas has no choice but to obey his father, and Cathleen must pay the bitter price.

Lizzie Miller worries for her family – money is short in their little house, but her beautiful daughter Ruby vows to give them all a better life. Working as a maid for Mr Banks, Ruby befriends his shy and gentle daughter, Cicely. The two girls hatch a mischievous plan to introduce Ruby to society at a party for the ‘gentry’ of Blackburn, where Ruby meets Luke Arnold, the dissolute heir to his father’s fortunes.

Blackburn, 1947. In the tiny front parlour 14-year-old Laura Blake watches her beloved father die. But not before he tells her she will make something of her life. Laura never forgets his words. Yet her path to success proves to be a rocky one. Forced to trundle a cart around the back streets, selling other folk's cast-offs to support her family, Laura learns enough to start work in her uncle's furniture shop. But then fate deals another cruel blow when Laura is brutally raped. Bearing the child of her attacker in secret, she vows to make the world pay for its injustice towards her.

The marriage of Marcia and Curt Ratheter seems idyllically happy. As much in love now as on their wedding day, nothing can mar their joy. But one fateful day in 1931, Curt disappears, leaving Marcia her two daughters bereft. Then Barty Bendall admits his love to Marcia. Desperately trying to forget the past, Marcia moves to Blackburn with him, but soon Barty sinks into bad ways, tyrannising the family. He particularly focuses his aggression on Polly, Curt and Marcia’s first-born, blonde as an angel but afflicted since birth with an ominous shadow over her health.

Rita Blackthorn’s heart was barren and hard. In all of her life, she had never truly loved. But she had hated. Beneath the loving gaze of her daughter’s soft green eyes, her heart swelled with dark and dangerous emotions. Young Cathy Blackthorn has never experienced any loving response from her mother. It is her beloved Aunt Margaret, with a heart as big and warm as the summer sky, who has been more of a mother than her own could ever be. And when Cathy’s father brings home a London street urchin, Cathy despairs of ever winning her parents’ love.

Louise and Ben Hunter's loving marriage is marred only by their unfulfilled longing for a child. Living and working with Ben's father, Ronnie, they are quietly contented. But when Ronnie dies, their whole world changes. Ben's lazy brother, Jacob, returns, convinced he stands to inherit Ronnie's small fortune. And he means to have his brother's wife; though just as she did years before, Louise warns him off. Jacob, however, is not so easily dismissed. When he realises Ben will inherit everything, Jacob is beside himself with rage, and commits a terrible deed.

Sonny Fareham's lover – and also her boss – is the charismatic Tony Bridgeman, a successful and ruthless man who usually gets what he wants. But for Sonny, the affair that has promised a future of hope and happiness must end in desperate fear. Late one evening, Sonny overhears a private conversation between Tony Bridgeman and his wife. Only then does she realise she is in great danger.

Don't miss the brand new epic family drama from the nation’s favourite storyteller… Will a dark shadow destroy her family? As a servant below stairs at the big manor house, Rose dreams of running her own teashop one day, and carefully saves a few shillings each week from the money she sends...

Lucy Nolan is the golden girl. The only daughter of local grocers, Sally and Mike Nolan, she's grown up in a home of total love and security. The one thing her heart desires is that Jack Hanson might ask her to marry him, and when he does eventually propose, Lucy is prepared to give up everything to be with him—even though it means leaving her beloved parents to live abroad where Jack has been offered an exciting business opportunity. But then, almost on the eve of the marriage itself, tragedy strikes.

Powerful, hard-hearted Leonard Mears ruthlessly presides over his wife and children, exiling them from the outside world and brutally punishing any disobedience. But he is also a man with a dark secret – an illegitimate daughter that he forced his sister to bring up. The girl is now a young woman who, unbeknownst to him, is determined to find the father that abandoned her.

Kelly knew that, although Barney would always love her, his restless soul would never allow him to stay, but she could never have envisaged how his leaving would alter her life. Alone once more, Kelly finds herself remembering the past – in particular, what happened in the autumn of 1877 and how it destroyed her family. Filled with regrets and wishes that life may have been different, Kelly begins to see that she must confront her past – and only then will she finally be free.

Inspired by the true story of the Quality Street factory and its loyal workers, this is a nostalgic and compelling novel and the perfect Christmas treat. At 16 years old, Irene ‘Reenie’ Calder is leaving school with little in the way of qualifications. She is delighted to land a seasonal job at Mackintosh’s Quality Street factory. Reenie feels like a kid let loose in a sweet shop, but trouble seems to follow her around, and it isn’t long before she falls foul of the strict rules.

Will the shadows of the past haunt her forever? What hidden truths will come into the light? Newlyweds Cathy and Matt Slater can’t wait to start married life together. Planning their honeymoon to Australia, Matt wants to retrace the mysterious life of his family who settled there. Their trip...

How much will it cost to find her true family? Can she piece together the shards of her broken past? Cassie Thornton believed that she knew who she was. But when she receives a mysterious letter, from a woman desperately pleading for her help, it changes everything she thought she knew...

From the moment she learns of the stranger's visit, Molly Tattersall is filled with a sense of fear. Then her mother disappears, leaving behind a letter asking Molly to take care of her five brothers and sisters. Molly's wayward father rejects his responsibilities, leaving Molly to choose between the young man she has given her heart to and the family she adores. It is the cruellest decision of her life, with long-reaching and heart-breaking consequences. Only one thing is certain – Molly's life will never be the same again.

Robert Sullivan has been left to raise three-year-old Nancy and her seven-year-old brother Jack by himself.Unable to cope, Robert is driven to abandon his children to those he believes can provide them with a better life. However, he quickly has a change of heart and decides to go back for them. But on the way there, he is involved in a horrific accident.

Rumours about a war with Germany have been whispered around the Quality Street factory for months. It’s hard for everyone to get their heads around air raids, rationing and the threat of bombings, so to distract themselves, they girls are betting on who is most likely to announce wedding bells.

The Quality Street girls are gearing up for Christmas, but with the factory now making gas masks, as well as the nation’s favourite chocolate sweets, it’s anything but normal. They’re having to make other adjustments too. Reenie is in the doldrums after being demoted at work, while Mary has got her hands full getting used to married life and a ready-made family. New girl, Ada, isn’t sure she fits into factory life at all. Then, just as the Christmas party season gets into full swing, Toffee town gets a shock, and soon it isn’t just Christmas cheer that’s in short supply.

Seven friends. One killer. You can run, but you can’t hide… It’s Boxing Day and your friendship group has planned a hike. You know tensions are running high. You’ve heard the rumours flying around. But this trip is a chance for you to reconnect. As you head into the reserve, everyone is quiet. It almost feels like you’ve imagined the rift. But as the sun sets, you hear a gun shot. One of your group is dead. And someone you know killed them…