Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen has just restored order in his life, as well as in the adventure park he now owns, when a man from the past appears—and turns everything upside down again. More problems arise when the park's equipment supplier is taken over by a shady trio: Why won't Suomen Leikki Ltd sell the new Moose Jump to Henri when he needs it for the park's main attraction? At the same time, Henri's relationship with the artist Laura Helanto is reaching a breaking point.

When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it's either children fooling around or a worrying racially motivated crime. As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. An idea suggested by pathologist Mortis makes Barton suspect he has the arsonist’s motives wrong.

Brothers. Emperors. Deadly enemies... An unputdownable novel of intrigue and combat in Ancient Rome. Emperor Severus is on his deathbed. His sons Geta and Caracalla, feuding in Britannia, are readying for a devastating power struggle. Silus, now a centurion in the Arcani, the secrete network of spies and assassins, is thrown into the maelstrom. Back in Ancient Rome, plots breed in the stinking alleys. Everyone might be an enemy. Everyone a traitor. As an Imperial Assassin, Silus’ loyalty will be tested to breaking point.

A desolate wasteland. A mission gone wrong. An impossible goal. Roman scout, Silus, is deep behind enemy lines in Caledonia. As he spies on a raiding party, he is abruptly discovered by an enemy chief and his son. Mounting a one-man ambush, everything quickly goes wrong and Silus must run for his life, the head of the enemy leader in his hands. Little does he know the price he will pay... As Silus is inducted into the Arcani, an elite faction of assassins and spies, he must return to Caledonia and risk everything in the service of his Caesar.

The Ashes are on the line as England and Australia meet at Old Trafford in July 1961 for the fourth Test. For most of the match, England have their noses ahead – until a dramatic final day, of intensely fluctuating fortunes, as the tourists eventually storm to victory. In short, an Ashes classic, told here by David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts in vivid and immersive detail, recreating the sometimes agonising experience of millions of armchair viewers and listeners.

Detective Jake Porter’s life was ripped apart by the hit-and-run driver that killed his wife. The life he has been building up piece by piece is rocked by the discovery of new evidence. At the same time, he has a volatile case to juggle. Ross Henderson was a Vlogger with over 10 million followers rallying against the growing tide of the far-right. As his audience tuned in to listen to Henderson tear apart more anti-immigrant vitriol, they watched in horror as he was brutally murdered during a live broadcast.

The Surrays and their five children form a prolific writing machine, with scores of treatises, reviews and crime thrillers published under their family name. Following a convergence of the whole household at their Oxfordshire home, Ruth—the middle sister—decides to spend some weeks there recovering from the pressures of the writing life. Their next return is heralded by the tragic news that Ruth has taken her life after an evening at the Surrays' hosting a set of publishers and writers, one of whom is named as Ruth's literary executor in the will she left behind.

This is the story of generations of parents, Britain's richest and grandest, who believed that being miserable at school was necessary to make a good and successful citizen. Childish suffering was a price they accepted for the preservation of their class and their entitlement. The children who were moulded by this misery and abuse went on - as they still do - to run Britain's public institutions and private companies.

Calling Major Tom is a funny, uplifting tale of friendship and community about a man who has given up on the world...but discovers in the most unlikely way that it might not have given up on him. We all know someone like Thomas. The grumpy next-door neighbour who complains to the residents' committee about the state of your front lawn. The man who tuts when you don't have the correct change at the checkout. The colleague who sends an all-company email when you accidentally use the last drop of milk.

Makana, a former police inspector who fled from Sudan to Cairo, lives on a rickety Nile houseboat. When the notorious and powerful Saad Hanafi hires him to track down a missing person, Makana is in no position to refuse him. Hanafi is the owner of Cairo’s star-studded football team; his most valuable player has just vanished and Adil Romario’s disappearance threatens to bring down not only Hanafi’s private empire but the entire country. But why should the city’s most powerful man hire its lowliest private detective?

One night less than two weeks before Christmas, a single mother is violently assaulted. It’s a brutal crime at the time of year when there should be goodwill to all. When DI Barton begins his investigation, he’s surprised to find the victim is a woman with nothing to hide and no reason for anyone to hurt her. A few days later, the mother of the woman attacked rings the police station. Her granddaughter has drawn a shocking picture. It seems she was looking out of the window when her mother was attacked.

Daniel isn’t used to living life in the slow lane. So when he finds himself unexpectedly jobless and back in his old Cornish hometown, he can’t sit still. Hazel used to be adventurous too. But now widowed and in her 80s, she barely leaves the house. When she sees an advert for Daniel’s new walking club, she grabs at the chance of some excitement. Daniel’s heart sinks when he sees that the only person who’s turned up for his walking club is the old lady from two doors down. What he doesn’t expect is to discover that she is one of the most fascinating people he’s ever met.

A joint operation between Britain and France, the 1916 Battle of the Somme was an attempt to gain territory and dent Germany's military strength. By the end of the action, the Allied Forces had made just twelve kilometres. For this slight gain, more than a million lives were lost. In this classic military memoir, Staff Sergeant Sidney Rogerson vividly captures the last spell of frontline duty performed by the 2nd Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment.

Bury your enemies, and bury them deep. John Milton thought he was done with Avi Bachman. The most dangerous man he's ever known has been incarcerated in Angola, the brutal Louisiana prison. Inmates rarely leave Angola. Once you go in, the only way out is in a box. But Bachman is no ordinary prisoner. He was an assassin for the Mossad, and he has favours to call in.

The Cavendish residents are discussing the traditional Easter festivities and egg hunt on the Harrington estate when the vicar’s dog digs up a bone. Retracing the dog’s walk, James uncovers a skeleton buried in the woods. Studying the remains, he identifies a number of expensive items. With the likelihood that the victim could be someone well to do, James puts his sleuthing hat on. But a chance conversation turns the whole enquiry on its head.

James Witts is 45 years old, fatty deposits have begun to nestle on his back and he has a penchant for craft ale. He also rides a little. But not a lot. In his job as cycling journalist, however, he does have unparalleled access to the world's best riders and their expert support staff. Which got him thinking: could spending time with the pros, discovering the training, gear and nutritional tricks of the trade, transform this back-of-the-pack sportive straggler into a fit-and-fast frontrunner?

First contact: the dream that became a nightmare when the first alien life encountered swarmed locust-like through the solar system. Merciless. Relentless. Unstoppable. With little hope of halting the invading forces, Earth's last, desperate roll of the die was to send out three colony ships - seeds of Earth - to different parts of the galaxy.

From renowned booze correspondent Henry Jeffreys comes this rich and full-bodied history of Britain and the Empire, told through the improbable but true stories of how the world’s favourite alcoholic drinks came to be. Learn how we owe the champagne we drink today to 17th-century methods for making sparkling cider; how madeira and India Pale Ale became legendary for their ability to withstand the long, hot journeys to Britain’s burgeoning overseas territories; and why whisky became the familiar choice for weary Empire builders who longed for home.

Eighteen years ago, on a mission in Iraq, Captain John Milton made a reckless decision with serious consequences. But it was Major Connor Gordon who really paid the price. Now Milton is on a different mission: to atone for his past sins. A human rights activist has vanished without a trace and his dying mother is desperate to know the truth. When the mysterious disappearance leads Milton all the way to the Western Isles of Scotland, he sees an opportunity to find his old friend Connor and finally make amends. Milton is determined to track both men down, wherever his search may lead.

One of the Claridge's kitchen porters is found dead—strangled. He was a recent employee who claimed to be Romanian, but evidence suggests he may have been German. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg has to find out exactly who he was, and what he was doing at Claridge's under a false identity. Once he has established those facts, he might get an insight into why he was killed, and who by.