Showing results by narrator "Thomas Judd" in All Categories

Classic Cat Stories is an anthology that includes fairy tales and fables from the likes of Rudyard Kipling and Charles Perrault as well as comic tales from Saki and E. F. Benson. Cats, of course, have always had a dark and mysterious side, which is explored to chilling effect by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe in 'The Black Cat'. But above all, we love them, and you’ll find here stories about all kinds of cats that tug at the heartstrings like 'The Man of the House' by Ethel Colburn Mayne and other stories that celebrate their curious ways.

Alex has the concerns every 12-year-old has but lately, ever since his brain surgery, everyone in his life is behaving a little mysteriously. He decides it's time to investigate. So begins the journey that will take him to the limits of his understanding and take you back to the wonder and conviction of your own adolescence, to a time when you understood the world so much better than it understood you.

September 1810. Raids across the Straits of Messina to disrupt preparations for the French invasion of the island have been repulsed with heavy casualties. George Warne, a bright young British officer, suspects treachery back in Messina, and is ordered to investigate. Warne uncovers a shadowy underworld of spies, traitors and informers where nothing is quite as it seems and where danger lurks around every corner. If the long-threatened French invasion erupts, will Sicily’s defenders be prepared?

'I first heard about Solomon Wiese on a bright, blustery day on the South Bank....' Later that evening, at the bar of the Travelodge near Waterloo Bridge, our unnamed narrator will encounter that very same Solomon Wiese. In a conversation that lasts until morning, he will hear Solomon Wiese's story of his spectacular fall from grace. A story about a scandal that has shaken the literary world and an accusation of serial plagiarism.

July 1981: while Gambian President Jawara attends a royal wedding in London, Marxist rebels seize power. Fearing armed intervention from neighbouring Senegal, they take hostages - including one of the president's wives and several of his children - and empty the prisons in a desperate search for allies in the coming struggle. As opposing factions of the police force wrestle for control, prisoners settle old scores, slaughtering almost 2,000 Gambians. In tourist beach hotels, hundreds of Europeans fear the worst.

Jack found the love of his life when he met Kate. But their happiness was shattered when she opened the door to a cold-blooded killer. Jack will never forget the face of the man who stole his future. The only person who loved Kate as much is Emily, her twin. So when Jack tells her that he’s found the man who murdered her sister she doesn’t hesitate to help him exact revenge. As the plans for vengeance lead to unforeseen danger, Emily has to trust Jack more than she has ever trusted anyone. Can you always believe what you see?

What is the mysterious Red-Headed League and why is it giving jobs to people with red hair? Sherlock Holmes senses a major crime may be in the offing! Set off with the legendary sleuth as he races against the clock to catch the cunning criminals behind this latest plot.

A coach driver has been murdered...and it looks like the killer is going to get away with their terrible crime. The only clue is a torn piece of paper in the victim's hand, with a few words written on it. With the help of this single tiny clue, can our legendary sleuth unravel the mystery?

When the Countess of Morcar's priceless blue jewel is stolen, a former thief is charged with the crime, but is he really guilty? Never fear: Sherlock Holmes is on the case, and the truth will out!

Dynamic naturalist Michael Blencowe has travelled the globe to uncover the fascinating backstories of eleven extinct animals, which he shares with charm and insight in Gone.

Erin Sloane was 16 when high school senior Andre Villiers was murdered by his friends. They were her friends, too, led by the intense, charismatic Ricky Hell. Five people went into West Cypress Woods the night Andre was murdered. Only three came out. Ativan, alcohol and distance had dimmed Erin's memories of that time. But nearly 20 years later, an ageing father will bring her home. Now a journalist, she is asked to write a story about the Southport Three and the thrill-kill murder that electrified the country.

There's a hurricane smashing, trashing, bashing through our house. CRASH! BANG! WALLOP! The doors are slamming, chairs are falling, cushions are flying, feet running, voices shouting, STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! The hurricane is Wills. Chris's 13 year old brother. He has A.D.D. - Attention Deficit Disorder. Chris says it stands for Acts Dumb and Daft. It's not easy being eleven and having a brother who causes so much chaos around the house.

They say there's no place like home. It's where the heart is....Meet the little boy who believes in miracles. Meet the mother who loves to bring babies home from the newborn aisle of her supermarket. Meet the husband who carves a longed-for baby out of ice as a gift for his wife. Meet the widow who is reminded of romance whilst standing at the kitchen sink. In this prize-winning short story collection, Carys Bray weaves together moments of joy, heartache, sadness and unwavering love as told through 17 very different notions of home.

An unknown thief steals an important naval treaty from the office of a government clerk. Who stole it and how did they do it? Will the treaty ever be recovered? This sounds like a case for England's most brilliant sleuth!

Sherlock is on the trail of a murderer. As he investigates the death of country gentleman John Douglas, he begins to piece together some unusual clues: muddy bootprints, a tattoo, and something called "The Valley of Fear." Can Holmes put these together in time to solve the mystery?

Hilton Cubitt is worried. Drawings of "dancing men" keep appearing around his house and they're frightening his wife, who seems to know what they mean. Can our brilliant hero solve the mystery of these drawings before disaster strikes?

Alex has a lot of the same concerns most of us do growing up (exams, puberty and, in his case, a punctuation obsession plus a little quantum mechanics) but since his brain surgery, everyone in his life is behaving a little mysteriously. Maybe it's adjusting to life after epilepsy or maybe it's the pressure of his pending scholarship application, but Alex is starting to see the world differently.

From ‘The Manchester Marriage’, in which a husband, supposedly drowned at sea, returns to find his daughter, to the two sisters who are comically adrift after the death of their domineering father in ‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’, and a young girl who enlists the help of a sorceress to win back her boyfriend in ‘The Goodness of Saint Rocque’, Standing Her Ground showcases nine groundbreaking women writers.

When James Cook's daughter was nearly one, he began to suspect that she wasn't simply a 'late bloomer', as he and his wife were telling friends and family. Emily was strongly taken by images and patterns around the house, had a marked response to music, but never pointed at anything, and hadn't crawled yet. At the age of two-and-a-half, after months of invasive tests, Emily was finally diagnosed with severe autism and everything changed.

Hari Patel is dead; he was killed by a lorry as he stepped out into the road without looking. Now he's a ghost, and that's where the real trouble starts.... This terrifying ghost story will chill your blood! From acclaimed author, Eleanor Updale.