Audiobooks by Rachel Hore

A Beautiful Spy: From the million-copy Sunday Times bestseller

From the million-copy Sunday Times bestseller comes a thrilling story about a woman with an extraordinary life, based on a true story. Minnie Gray is an ordinary young woman. She is also a spy for the British government. It all began in the summer of 1928... Minnie is supposed to find a nice man, get married and have children. The problem is it doesn't appeal to her at all. She is working as a secretary, but longs to make a difference. Then, one day, she gets her chance. She is recruited by the British government as a spy. Under strict instructions not to tell anyone, not even her family, she moves to London and begins her mission - to infiltrate the Communist movement. She soon gains the trust of important leaders. But as she grows more and more entangled in the workings of the movement, her job becomes increasingly dangerous. Leading a double life is starting to take its toll on her relationships and, feeling more isolated than ever, she starts to wonder how this is all going to end. The Russians are notorious for ruthlessly disposing of people given the slightest suspicion. What if they find out? Full of suspense, courage and love, A Beautiful Spy is a stunningly written story about resisting the norm and following your dreams, even if they come with sacrifices.

Rachel Hore (Author), Sandra Duncan (Narrator)

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The Love Child

The unmissable new novel from Rachel Hore, Sunday Times bestselling author of Last Letter Home, a 2018 Richard and Judy Book club pick. 'A gorgeous and deeply absorbing story' TRACY REES London, 1917 When nineteen-year-old Alice Copeman becomes pregnant, she is forced by her father and stepmother to give up the baby. She simply cannot be allowed to bring shame upon her family. But all Alice can think about is the small, kitten-like child she gave away, and she mourns the father, a young soldier, so beloved, who will never have the chance to know his daughter. Edith and Philip Burns, a childless couple, yearn for a child of their own. When they secretly adopt a baby girl, Irene, their life together must surely be complete. Irene grows up knowing that she is different from other children, but no one will tell her the full truth. Putting hopes of marriage and children behind her, Alice embarks upon a pioneering medical career, striving to make her way in a male-dominated world. Meanwhile, Irene struggles to define her own life, eventually leaving her Suffolk home to find work in London. As two extraordinary stories intertwine across two decades, will secrets long-buried at last come to light? Brilliantly evoking the changing attitudes of the time, The Love Child is a novel about love, family, separation, despair and hope, full of tenderness and deep feeling. 'Simply stunning . . . I savoured every moment of this moving story of love, loss and, ultimately, forgiveness. The Love Child is an absolutely beautiful book and, in my view, Rachel's best so far' DINAH JEFFERIES 'This tender account, spanning two generations, reveals how the loss affects mother and child across the years. A story that stirs the deepest emotions' WOMAN & HOME 'A poignant story, rich in period detail' SUNDAY MIRROR 'An emotive and thought-provoking read . . . My heart went out to both these two women as they faced such difficult personal decisions that would change their lives forever' ROSANNA LEY 'Rachel's stories are always absorbing and intricately woven and The Love Child is no exception. This is a wonderfully moving tale of love and loss, hope and eventual reconciliation, and I very much enjoyed it' BARBARA ERSKINE 'I found her writing warm, compassionate in this story about one girl's search for her true identity amidst the secrets and dynamics of her adopted family. It had a realism about the poignancy of illegitimacy in this prewar setting' LEAH FLEMING 'The Love Child is a hugely compelling, poignant and moving read. Rachel has great skill as a storyteller and readers are sure to be engrossed and swept away by her clever double-stranded tale' JANE JOHNSON

Rachel Hore (Author), Ana Clements (Narrator)

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Last Letter Home

On holiday with friends, young historian Briony Andrews becomes fascinated with a wartime story of a ruined villa in the hills behind Naples. Briony's grandfather had been a British soldier during the Italian campaign of 1943 in that very area. Handed a bundle of letters that were found after the war, Briony sets off to trace the fate of their sender, Sarah Bailey. As Briony begins to uncover the story, she encounters resentments and secrets still tightly guarded.

Rachel Hore (Author), Jenny Funnell (Narrator)

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The House on Bellevue Gardens

Rosa has arrived in London from Poland to look for her younger brother, Mikhail. He is supposed to be staying with their English father, but when she visits the house she finds it's locked up and there's no sign of either of them. Stef is running away from her boyfriend Oliver. Frightened, friendless and far from her family, she needs somewhere to hide. All three find refuge at 11 Bellevue Gardens. Here, its owner Leonie once herself found sanctuary, now opening her house to others in need.

Rachel Hore (Author), Helen Lloyd (Narrator)

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A Week in Paris

September, 1937. Kitty Travers enrols at the Conservatoire on the banks of the Seine to pursue her dream of becoming a concert pianist. But then war breaks out and the city of light falls into shadow. Nearly twenty-five years later, Fay Knox, a talented young violinist, visits Paris on tour with her orchestra. She barely knows the city, so why does it feel so familiar? Soon touches of memory become something stronger, and she realises her connection with these streets runs deeper than she ever expected.

Rachel Hore (Author), Avita Jay (Narrator)

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The Silent Tide

Rachel Hore's intriguing and suspenseful new novel magnificently connects the very different worlds of two young women, who are linked by their individual quests for truth, love and happiness. When editor Emily Gordon commissions an account of the great English novelist Hugh Morton, she finds herself caught between Morton's formidable widow, Jacqueline, and the charming biographer, Joel Richards. What is the secret buried in Morton's past? One winter's day in 1948, a chance meeting for Isabel Barber leads to a fascinating career in publishing. But when she meets charismatic young debut novelist Hugh Morton the professional becomes passionately personal...

Rachel Hore (Author), Gerri Halligan (Narrator)

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A Place of Secrets: A Novel

A runaway best seller in Britain with over 100,000 copies sold, a riveting historical mystery in the tradition of Kate Morton. Auction house appraiser Jude leaves London for her dream job at Starbrough Hall, an estate in the countryside, examining and pricing the manuscripts and instruments of an 18th-century astronomer. She is welcomed by Chantal Wickham, and Jude feels close to the old woman at once: they have both lost their husbands. Hard times have forced the Wickham family to sell the astronomer's work, their land, and with it, the timeworn tower that lies nearby. The tower was built as an observatory for astronomer Anthony Wickham and his daughter Esther, and it served as the setting for their most incredible discoveries. Though Jude is far away from her life in London, her arrival at Starbrough Hall brings a host of childhood memories. She meets Euan, a famed writer and naturalist who lives in the gamekeeper's cottage at the foot of the tower, where Jude's grandfather once lived. And a nightmare begins to haunt her six-year-old niece, the same nightmare Jude herself had years ago. Is it possible that the dreams are passed down from one generation to the next? What secrets does the tower hold? And will Jude unearth them before it's too late?

Rachel Hore (Author), Jilly Bond (Narrator)

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The Glass Painter's Daughter

Fran Morrison, a travelling musician, is summoned home to London after her father suffers a stroke. She finds herself in charge of the family business; a stained glass workshop. When the vicar of the local church asks Fran to restore a shattered window, her research into its origins uncovers a fascinating and moving love story from the Victorian past that resonates in her own life.

Rachel Hore (Author), Jilly Bond (Narrator)

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The Memory Garden

Lamorna Cove - a tiny bay in Cornwall, picturesque, unspoilt. A hundred years ago it was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel Pentreath hopes it is a place where she can escape the pain of her mother's death and a broken love affair, and gradually put her life back together. Renting a cottage in the enchanting but overgrown grounds of Merryn Hall, Mel embraces her new surroundings and offers to help her landlord, Patrick Winterton, restore the garden. Soon she is daring to believe her life can be rebuilt. Then Patrick finds some old paintings in an attic, and as he and Mel investigate the identity of the artist, they are drawn into an extraordinary tale of illicit passion and thwarted ambition from a century ago, a tale that resonates in their own lives. But how long can Mel's idyll last before reality breaks in and everything is threatened?

Rachel Hore (Author), Jilly Bond (Narrator)

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