Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

Amra and Holgren's comfortable - if decidedly unexciting - life is rudely interrupted when Amra receives an old enemy's head in a box. A longstanding debt calls her back home to Bellarius, the scene of many childhood horrors she would much rather forget about. Bellarius must be saved from utter destruction and civil war. After Amra suddenly vanishes, Holgren crafts a plan that teeters between impossibility and insanity. But first, he'll have to deal with three separate armies vying for control, all of which view him as either a threat, an inconvenience, or a potential tool.

A story from the collection Do Not Exceed the Stated Dose. Some might think that Bertie, Prince of Wales’ first case was the suspicious death of jockey Fred Archer in 1886, but here the self-important amateur sleuth recalls how his talent for deduction started much earlier in his youth, when he solved a mystery surrounding an Oxford boat race.

Lucius is back in Rome, reunited with his friend Isadora. Together they look after the wild beasts that will hunt, fight, and die in the arena. Lucius' brother, the famous gladiator Quintus Felix, will once again have to face death.

A story from the collection Do Not Exceed the Stated Dose. Bertie, Prince of Wales, must combine his detective skills with those of a firefighter when he tends to a fire in Villiers Street. With no apparent cause, Bertie soon finds himself on the tail of an arsonist.

A successful British television producer who fancies himself a Hollywood mogul, Sam Jackson makes enemies easily and delights in the fact. It is no great surprise that such a man should meet a violent death. Detective Chief Superintendent Lambert and Detective Sergeant Hook deduce that the person who killed him is almost certainly to be found among the company of actors who are shooting a series of detective mysteries in rural Herefordshire.

Darien is no longer a lost outpost of humanity, but the prize in an intergalactic power struggle. Hegemony forces have a stranglehold over the planet and crack troops patrol its hotspots while Earth watches, passive, rendered impotent by galactic politics. But its Darien ambassador will soon become a player in a greater conflict. There is more at stake than a turf war on a newly-discovered world. An ancient Uvovo temple hides access to a hyperspace prison, housing the greatest threat sentient life has ever known.

Margaret Woodruff is slowly dying in a care home. When her son is presented with the chance of exceptional care in her final months, he finds the offer hard to resist. Winifred is assigned to Margaret’s care. She’s a Helper: a new kind of carer that’s capable, committed and completely tireless - because she’s a synthetic human being. Under Winifred’s care Margaret’s health improves beyond everyone’s expectations, and Winifred begins to learn from Margaret what it means to be alive. But how will Winifred use what she learns from Margaret - and what does she truly want from her?

In 2050 there will be 9.3 billion people alive - compared with 7 billion today - and the number will still be rising. The population aged over 65 will have more than doubled, to more than 16 percent; China's GDP will be 80 percent more than America's; and the number of cars on India's roads will have increased by 3,880 percent. And, in 2050 it should be clear whether we are alone in the universe.What other megachanges can we expect - and what will their impact be? This comprehensive and compelling book will cover the most significant trends that are shaping the coming decades.

A fork of lightning and a crash of thunder herald the completion of a heinous crime. In woodland belonging to the eccentric Lord Wychbold, a body has been crucified on a tree. On Easter Day, the Reverend Tobias Campion returns from morning service at St Luke's and discovers the corpse, already beginning to putrefy. A crown of thorns frames his face, bludgeoned beyond recognition, and a loincloth preserves what is left of his modesty.

Ruari, son of Irish media owner J J Breslin, is in desperate danger, at the mercy of ruthless kidnappers making impossible demands. His terrified mother contacts the only person she knows can help her son: Harry Jones, her former lover, who she walked out on many years ago. Now memories of their passionate affair, the guilt, hurt, anger, and humiliation come flooding back.

After the disastrous end to their last case, the Intercrime team – a specialist unit created to investigate violent, international crime – has been disbanded, their leader forced into early retirement.The six officers have been scattered throughout the country.

11th century Italy. The domination of the Normans is causing trouble. At their head is the feared Robert de Hauteville, the 'Guiscard', who has colonised much of Italy and commands the triple Dukedom of the extended Norman family. But Robert has made many enemies, including the ever-powerful papacy in Rome. The newly elected Pope Gregory exercises his vendetta against the Normans by encouraging them to sail to Byzantium and fight the Turks. But first he must deal with the Guiscard.

Lucius Falerius is dead, and Rome in its entirety mourns the passing of its most powerful senator. It falls to his son Marcellus to carry out his father's legacy and restore the rights promised to the defeated Sicilian slaves, yet there are those who will not see the honour of Rome compromised and the slaves assuaged. On the Roman border provinces there is trouble, and the legions move north to neutralise the threat posed by the Celts.

These are the facts I collect. My son, Gabriel, met a woman called Mariela in a bar. She went home with him, where they had sex. They next morning she was found in an allotment. Mariela is dead. Gabriel has been asked to report to Camden Police station in six hours for questioning.

Stories by: Desmond Barry, Ken Bruen, Stewart Home, Barry Adamson, Michael Ward, Sylvie Simmons, Daniel Bennett, Cathi Unsworth, Max Décharné, Martyn Waites, Joolz Denby, John Williams, Jerry Sykes, Mark Pilkington, Joe McNally, Patrick McCabe, and Ken Hollings. Cathi Unsworth moved to Ladbroke Grove in 1987 and has stayed there ever since. She began a career in rock writing with Sounds and Melody Maker, before co-editing the arts journal Purr and then Bizarre magazine. Her first novel, The Not Knowing, was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2005.

Amateur violinist and collector Herman Yorke is overjoyed when he is chosen to play first violin in the Amateur Orchestral Society. In the audience, however, he is distracted by a beautiful woman that is watching him. After several concerts, he decides to approach the woman, but Herman soon discovers that he is the only person who can see her.

The Steampunk Pirates get a taste of their own medicine when their ship is raided by a sea monster that’s greedy for gold. But when the rusty robots race to get their treasure back, they sail straight into a trap. Can they dodge the creature's twisting tentacles or will they be next on the monster’s menu?

Small businesses and start-ups face their own challenges, and Steve Coulson has been there, made the mistakes and found a way to triumph. His straightforward, no-nonsense advice outlines a path to success if you want to grow your business to something bigger and more successful than you could ever have believed possible.

I'm a doctor. Mobster. Killer. My hands are covered in filth. I don't have the right to touch anything as clean and pure as Ellison MacAllister. I distance myself...always remaining obscure, composed, restrained. Careful to never allow my eyes to linger too long. Careful to hide my interest. Careful to keep my burning desire buried beneath the surface. I do it for her - suffer in silence - because it's what is best for the woman I love. And she has no idea.

It’s Christmas in the Chandler household, and as the party gather around the fire, their host Everard recalls a ghostly tale from the previous Christmas in the misty forests of Scotland.