Audiobooks narrated by Louise Brealey

Guilty by Definition: The debut murder mystery from the genius of Countdown's Dictionary Corner

An anonymous letter arrives at the offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary containing a challenge for the team of lexicographers working there. It's clear that's it's not the usual run-of-the-mill, eccentric enquiry. The letter hints at secrets, lies and a year. 2010. For Martha Thornhill, the new senior editor, that year can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant, beautiful older sister Charlie went missing. After a decade living abroad, Martha has returned to her father, her family home and the city whose institutions have defined her family, but the ghosts she thought at rest were only waiting for her to return. More letters arrive, pointing towards a secret in the heart of the dictionary itself. As Martha and her colleagues start pulling apart the clues, the questions become more insistent and troubling. Charlie's disappearance is one of a series of secret absences going back centuries, and someone wants to keep those secrets buried.

Susie Dent (Author), Jack Edwards, Louise Brealey, Susie Dent, Unknown (Narrator)

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Adventures in Democracy: The Turbulent World of People Power

Brought to you by Penguin. In a hyper-competitive world obsessed with rankings, super-wealth and greatness, how can we live up to democratic ideals of equality? Erica Benner has spent a lifetime thinking about these questions from different angles in different countries - from post-war Japan, where democracy was imposed on a defeated country, to post-communist Poland, with sudden gaps of wealth and security, and the US and South Africa with their legacies of slavery and racism. Adventures in Democracy draws on her experiences and the deep history of democracies - in ancient Rome and Athens, the American and French revolutions and Renaissance Florence - to offer an unflinching portrait of modern democracy. To salvage democratic institutions and ideals, Benner argues, we need to pay more attention to inequalities and struggles for power among citizens. Probing myths of heroic triumph over tyranny and inexorable progress towards equality, she reveals the vulnerabilities of people power, inviting us to consider why democracy is worth fighting for and the role each citizen must play. ©2024 Erica Benner (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Erica Benner (Author), Louise Brealey, TBD (Narrator)

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None of This is True: The new addictive psychological thriller from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling

Brought to you by Penguin. PREPARE TO BE HOOKED: Nailbiting suspense from the addictive number one million-copy bestselling author. Read by Nicola Walker (Unforgotten, The Split, Last Tango in Halifax) and Louise Brealey (Sherlock, Lockwood & Co.), alongside a full cast, this breath-taking audiobook includes original music and a gripping soundscape, which immerses you in the production and leaves your spine tingling. Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix's children's school. Josie has been listening to Alix's podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life. Josie's life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can't quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast, which you will hear, fully produced, throughout this audiobook. Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has inveigled her way into Alix's life - and into her home. But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, her life and her family's lives under mortal threat. Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done? This audiobook includes additional performances from: Jenny Walser, Kristin Atherton, Tom Judd, Ayesha Antoine, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Alix Dunmore, Dominic Thorburn, and Lisa Jewell herself. 'Utterly addictive, twisty and so dark and clever with characters that burst off the page. This is my favourite Lisa Jewell book yet!' Claire Douglas 'I don't wanna be dramatic, but this book was effing brilliant. Could not recommend it more! Have never read a book so fast!' Hayley Morris 'Twisty twisty twisty' Emily Henry © Lisa Jewell 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Lisa Jewell (Author), Louise Brealey, Nicola Walker (Narrator)

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Decameron: A BBC Radio drama adaptation of the Renaissance classic

Terry Jones introduces ten choice Florentine Fancies dramatisations, adapted from Giovanni Boccaccio's classic human comedy by the BBC Monty Python star and medieval historian Terry Jones presents ten BBC Radio dramatisations of tales from Giovanni Boccaccio's humane and comic masterpiece. Composed in the early 1350s, in the wake of the Black Death, The Decameron comprises 100 short stories from all over the world, reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes of Renaissance Italy. Their universal themes - love, sex, religion, fate, morality - resonate with us to this day, and their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern. Beautifully realised in vivid, vernacular prose, they have become a bedrock of our storytelling tradition, mined ever since by authors from Chaucer to Shakespeare, Keats, Molière and Thomas Mann. The scene is the onset of the Black Death, Italy and a group of seven young women and three young men escape to the countryside, to shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Plague, there they tell each other tales from all over the world. These ten radio retellings are performed by a stellar cast, including John Finnemore, Ingrid Oliver, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Lydia Leonard, Tim McInnerny, Samuel Barnett, Neil Pearson, Louise Brealey, and Tameka Empson. Cast and credits Saint Ciappelletto Ciappelletto - Colin McFarlane Musciatto - Sam Dale Holy Friar - Michael Bertenshaw The Burgundians - Monty d'Inverno & Paul Heath Doctor - Ian Conningham Federigo and His Falcon Federigo degli Alberighi - John Finnemore Monna - Ingrid Oliver Elena - Carrie Quinlan Beppo - Shaun Mason Niccolo - Adam Thomas Wright How Elena Blew Hot and Cold Elena - Lydia Leonard Violante - Elaine Claxton Rinieri - Cyril Nri Pyrrhus - Paul Heath How to Get It Off Your Chest Zeppa - Ian Conningham Mrs Zeppa - Hannah Genesius Spinelloccio - Shaun Mason Mrs Spinelloccio - Bettrys Jones Narrator - Jude Akuwudike Kind Hearts and Bayonets Mithridanes - Samuel Barnett Nathan - Sam Dale Beggarmaid - Bettrys Jones The Sweetest Young Man in Perugia Pietro - Tim McInnerny Madam - Hannah Genesius Pandara - Jane Slavin Masetto - Monty d'Inverno Ercolano - David Acton The Wager Musciatto - Michael Bertenshaw Ambrogiuolo - Geoffrey Streatfield Bernabo - Paul Ritter Zinevra - Louise Brealey Sultan - Jude Akuwudike Captain - Shaun Mason A Job for the Boys Masetto - Neil Pearson Sister Donna - Tameka Empson Sister Lisa - Rhiannon Neads Hildegard - Jane Slavin Nuto - Sam Dale Steward - Michael Bertenshaw Love Lies Sleeping Silvestra - Laura Molyneux Beppo - Rudi Dharmalingam Giovanni - Joseph Drake Mother - Jane Slavin Rinaldo - David Acton A Quiet Night in Naples Andreuccio - Gunnar Cauthery Filomena - Roslyn Hill Scarabone - Shaun Mason Neighbour - David Acton Ludo - Paul Heath Bruno - Ian Conningham Sister Lisa - Elaine Claxton Sister Donna - Hannah Genesius First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 1-12 December 2014 Written by Giovanni Boccaccio Adapted by Robin Brooks Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf Translations by Silvia Reseghetti Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Giovanni Boccaccio (Author), Colin Mcfarlane, Full Cast, John Finnemore, Louise Brealey, Neil Pearson, Paul Ritter, Samuel Barnett, Tameka Empson, Terry Jones, Tim Mcinnerny (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sixteen Horses

** FEATURED ON BBC TWO'S BETWEEN THE COVERS ** 'Unlike anything else you'll read this year, Sixteen Horses is a deeply disconcerting ride. Irresistible' - Val McDermid, author of Still Life 'Totally gripping from start to finish' - Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient 'Original, beautifully written, terrifying and haunting' - Sophie Hannah, author of Haven't They Grown Near the dying English seaside town of Ilmarsh, local police detective Alec Nichols discovers sixteen horses’ heads on a farm, each buried with a single eye facing the low winter sun. After forensic veterinarian Cooper Allen travels to the scene, the investigators soon uncover evidence of a chain of crimes in the community – disappearances, arson and mutilations – all culminating in the reveal of something deadly lurking in the ground itself. In the dark days that follow, the town slips into panic and paranoia. Everything is not as it seems. Anyone could be a suspect. And as Cooper finds herself unable to leave town, Alec is stalked by an unseen threat. The two investigators race to uncover the truth behind these frightening and insidious mysteries – no matter the cost. Sixteen Horses is the debut literary thriller from an extraordinary talent, Greg Buchanan. A story of enduring guilt, trauma and punishment, set in a small seaside community the rest of the world has left behind . . .

Greg Buchanan (Author), Louise Brealey (Narrator)

Audiobook

Lie Beside Me: From the bestselling author of Richard and Judy bestseller She Lies in Wait

Brought to you by Penguin. You wake up. You can't remember what happened. The man lying next to you is not your husband. And he's not breathing... The gripping third thriller starring DCI Jonah Sheens, from the author of Richard and Judy pick and Sunday Times bestseller She Lies in Wait. Louise wakes up. Her head aches, her mouth is dry, her memory is fuzzy. But she suspects she's done something bad. She rolls over towards her husband, Niall. The man who, until recently, made her feel loved. But it's not Niall who's lying beside her. In fact, she's never seen this man before. And he's dead . . . As Louise desperately struggles to piece her memories back together, it's clear to Detective Jonah Sheens and his team that she is their prime suspect - though they soon find she's not the only one with something to hide. Did she do it? And, if not, can they catch the real killer before they strike again? Praise for the Sunday Times bestselling Jonah Sheens series... 'What a marvel! A corkscrew-twisty, knife-sharp thriller. . . Prepare to be haunted' A J Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window 'I loved it. A SUPERIOR crime novel' Marian Keyes 'An engaging tale of lust, rivalry and murder' The Sunday Times 'A dark, deep, terrific thriller and a scorching portrait of friendship and its betrayal' Nicci French © Gytha Lodge 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Gytha Lodge (Author), John Hopkins, Louise Brealey (Narrator)

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Dark Tides: The compelling new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Tidelands

Number One bestselling author Philippa Gregory's new historical novel tracks the rise of the Tidelands family in London, Venice and New England. Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy man hoping to find the lover he deserted twenty-one years before. James Avery has everything to offer, including the favour of the newly restored King Charles II, and he believes that the warehouse's poor owner Alinor has the one thing his money cannot buy - his son and heir. The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and has come to tell Alinor that her son Rob has drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon. Alinor writes to her brother Ned, newly arrived in faraway New England and trying to make a life between the worlds of the English newcomers and the American Indians as they move toward inevitable war. Alinor tells him that she knows - without doubt - that her son is alive and the widow is an imposter. Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home.

Philippa Gregory (Author), Louise Brealey (Narrator)

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Exile: Journey on the Mayflower: A gripping BBC Radio full-cast drama

A gripping series about one family's journey into the unknown aboard the Mayflower, starring Louise Brealey What do you do when your beliefs are condemned by the rest of society? Sarah Hargreaves doesn't share her husband Matthew's desire to join the Puritan exiles, but when their son Benjamin is arrested on a trumped-up charge, they have little choice but to go. Things go rapidly from bad to worse, and they decide to leave everything behind. Hoping to find peace and like-minded souls in a new religious community in America, they spend everything they have left on a ticket to sail on the Mayflower. Safely aboard ship their adventure really begins. But conditions are cramped, storms blast the ship, and their daughter Elizabeth is very sick. Halfway across the vast Atlantic, there is no turning back… Also included in this release is a bonus programme, ‘The Mayflower – 400 years’, in which Emily Buchanan explores the Pilgrims’ journey, their relationship with Native Americans, and how their political and religious beliefs helped shape modern America. Cast: Sarah Hargreaves - Louise Brealey Matthew Hargreaves - Trystan Gravelle Ben - Joel MacCormack Elizabeth - Megan McInerney Saul Tregarron - Matthew Gravelle Captain Jones - John Cording Reverend Kerswell/Ghost Sailor/Minister - Marc Danbury Woman/Blackbird – Ashleigh Haddad Samoset – Daniel Taylor Directed by John Norton A BBC Cymru Wales Production 'The Mayflower - 400 years' was produced by David Cook and Dan Tierney

Adrian Bean (Author), Joel Maccormack, Louise Brealey, Matthew Gravelle, Megan Mcinerney, Trystan Gravelle (Narrator)

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Just My Luck

What if winning means losing everything? ‘A gripping story of greed, lies and dark family secrets’ Lisa Jewell, No.1 bestselling author ‘Addictive, provocative and thoroughly relatable – a brilliantly crafted reminder to be careful what you wish for’ TM Logan, bestselling author It’s the stuff dreams are made of – a lottery win so big, it changes everything. For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner. But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever. Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it. Sunday Times Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping take on friendship, money and betrayal, and good luck gone bad… Praise for Just My Luck: ‘Adele Parks never takes her foot off the gas, every book is tighter, faster, better than the last. Just My Luck is a gripping story of greed, lies and dark family secrets. I read it in a two-day frenzy’ Lisa Jewell ‘A compelling take on one of those “what if” scenarios that we’ve all wondered about. Addictive, provocative and thoroughly relatable – a brilliantly crafted reminder to be careful what you wish for’ TM Logan ‘An absolute joy: gripping, shocking and surprising. A cautionary tale about what one couple’s sudden wealth can do to old friendships’ Jane Fallon ‘Stupendous! I read this totally compelling modern-day morality tale over a weekend – I couldn’t put it down. As ever, Adele Parks does not disappoint – you’ll love it’ Ruth Jones ‘Like a deft magician, this book reveals its twists only at the very end, I was completely astonished’ Rosamund Lupton ‘A dark, gripping thriller’ Woman’s Weekly ‘Fabulous… her best yet’ Daily Mail

Adele Parks (Author), Kristin Atherton, Louise Brealey (Narrator)

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Letters of Note: Art

In Letters of Note: Art, Shaun Usher celebrates extraordinary correspondence about art, from missives on the agony of being overlooked, the ecstasy of producing work that excites, to surprising sources of inspiration and rousing manifestos. A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Crystal Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Stephen Mangan, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong and Meera Syal. The collection features letters by Michelangelo, Frida Kahlo, Oscar Howe, Martin Scorsese, Henri Matisse, Augusta Savage, Vincent van Gogh and many more. Letters of Note: Art also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Enjoy Noel Fielding reading Salvador Dali’s letter to Federico García Lorca at London’s Union Chapel and Ian McKellen reading Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to the students of Xavier High School at the Freemasons’ Hall. A donation will be made to The National Literacy Trust – one of the regular partner charities for Letters Live – for each audiobook sold.

Shaun Usher (Author), Benedict Cumberbatch, Clarke Peters, Crystal Clarke, Ferdinand Kingsley, Helen Mccrory, Jude Law, Juliet Stevenson, Louise Brealey, Meera Syal, Neil Gaiman, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Simon Callow, Stephen Fry, Stephen Mangan, Toby Jones (Narrator)

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Letters of Note: Love

In this moving collection, Shaun Usher gathers together some of the most powerful letters about love ever written. Whether inspired by love’s first blush or the recriminations at its ending, the regrets of unrequited feelings and the joys of passions known, Letters of Note: Love is essential listening for anyone with a heart. A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Crystal Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Jude Law, Natascha McElhone, Stephen Mangan, Miriam Margolyes, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong and Meera Syal. The collection features letters by Simone de Beauvoir, Vladimir Nabokov, Zora Neale Hurston, Nelson Mandela, Maud Gonne, Johnny Cash and many more. Letters of Note: Love also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Hear Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey read Chris Barker’s letter to Bessie Moore at the Royal Albert Hall, Tom Hiddleston reading Gerald Durrell’s letter to his wife at the Freemasons’ Hall and Nick Cave perform his song, Love Letter, at the Union Chapel. A donation will be made to The National Literacy Trust – one of the regular partner charities for Letters Live – for each audiobook sold.

Shaun Usher (Author), Adrian Edmondson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Clarke Peters, Crystal Clarke, Danny Huston, Jude Law, Juliet Stevenson, Louise Brealey, Mark Strong, Meera Syal, Miriam Margolyes, Natascha Mcelhone, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Simon Callow, Stephen Mangan, Toby Jones (Narrator)

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Letters of Note: War

In Letters of Note: War, Shaun Usher brings together some of the most remarkable letters that encapsulate the human experience of war, from unimaginable feats of courage and compassion, to unthinkable episodes of violence and horror. A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Natascha McElhone, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson and Mark Strong. The collection features letters by Mark Twain, June Wandrey, Evelyn Waugh, Lord Horatio Nelson, Alexander Hamilton, Luis Alvarez and many more. Letters of Note: War also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Listen to Ben Kingsley reading Mohandas Gandhi’s letter to Adolf Hitler and Colin Firth and Taron Egerton read letters exchanged between Rudyard Kipling and his son, John. A donation will be made to The National Literacy Trust – one of the regular partner charities for Letters Live – for each audiobook sold.

Shaun Usher (Author), Adrian Edmondson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Clarke Peters, Danny Huston, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Juliet Stevenson, Louise Brealey, Mark Strong, Miriam Margolyes, Natascha Mcelhone, Neil Gaiman, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Simon Callow, Stephen Fry, Toby Jones (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Louise Brealey