Showing results by narrator "Diana Bishop" in All Categories

Tilling Green was a charming little village nestling in the Ledshire countryside. Not at all the sort of place you would expect to find an anonymous letter writer. And when one of the recipients, a young woman, was found drowned in the lake belonging to the Manor House, Miss Silver was persuaded to go and investigate. Valentine Grey, the pretty young heiress from the Manor House, was marrying one Gilbert Earle, but on the night of Valentine's pre-wedding party Jason Leigh, Valentine's former love, returned after months without a word.

Who was William Smith? And why was Mavis Jones so horrified to see him? For seven years William had worked as a woodcarver for the local toyshop, ignorant of his true identity. The war had robbed him of his memory, and no one expected him to ever find the answer. So when he took his work to Evesleys Ltd, why was his life instantly in danger? When William makes the frightening discovery that there are people determined not to let his memory return whatever the cost, Miss Silver is called in to investigate.

Miss Silver joins a friend from Scotland Yard to investigate a suspicious suicide. Frank Abbott’s vacations never last very long, and his trip to Field End is no exception. He has hardly enjoyed a moment of Jonathan Field’s hospitality before tragedy strikes. A niece ventures into old Jonathan’s study at night to ask him a question, and finds him stone cold with a revolver by his hand. An obvious suicide, it seems, but Inspector Abbott is not so sure.

James and Carmona Hardwick are spending the summer playing host to numerous friends and relatives in an old Hardwick family residence by the sea. The arrival of Alan Field, a devastatingly handsome though shady figure from Carmona's past, destroys the holiday atmosphere in the old house and replaces it with a mounting tension, culminating in murder. Fortunately, Miss Silver is present to unravel the complex mystery and seek out the murderer amongst them.

Alice Baxter knows the best things in life are free. But the approach of her 40th wedding anniversary and 60th birthday surely warrants a proper celebration. With visions of a glorious family gathering complete with a marquee, champagne and sunshine, Alice has big plans for the big day. Her husband David isn't so enthused. He seems to have lost his lust for life since retiring from his job. And he's not the only one who isn't in the mood to celebrate. Each of Alice and David's four grown-up children has their own problems to contend with.

Like his actor namesake, Ronald Coleman is a suave, well-spoken English gentleman. But although he's a movie buff, Coleman is no film star - he's a copper, and a Detective Inspector to boot. Together with his down-to-earth Scottish partner, DS Fred Astor, he sets about solving cases on two very different patches - rural Kirkcaldy and inner-city Southampton.

The two Miss Pilgrims, Columba and Janette, think it's unwise to leave their fine ancestral home, Pilgrim's Rest. When their brother suffers a fatal fall only days after talking about selling it, and his son barely escapes two near-fatal accidents, they suspect it's deadly to leave. Surely Miss Silver can determine why the house hates to be empty.

Davey is the new boy and Sam can't stand him. He thinks that Davey is a first-class, grade A, top-of-the-dung-heap moron. But when the two are thrown together, Sam discovers that Davey's eccentric way of looking at the world makes life a lot more exciting. Until something terrible happens...A beautiful, funny and sad story, told completely in verse.

Since solving a particularly nasty case of child murder using her forensic skills, Adelia Aguilar is deemed too valuable to send back to the School of Medicine in Salerno. Instead, King Henry II has decided to keep her in England. This is bad news for Adelia – in twelfth-century England women doctors are regarded with great suspicion. So, with her illegitimate child, Adelia is forced to live and practise in the secrecy of Cambridgeshire’s fenland. But at Henry’s court, terrible things are happening.

In Cambridge a child has been hideously murdered and other children have disappeared. The Jews, made scapegoats by the all-powerful Christian clergy, have been forced to retreat into the castle to avoid slaughter by angry townspeople. Henry, King of England, is displeased. The Jews provide a large part of his revenue and therefore the real killer must be found, and quickly.

When the Metropolitan Police fail to realise a serial killer is at work, London ignites over the fact that the killer's victims are young black and mixed race boys. Institutionalised racism is claimed by the community's activists and tabloids alike. Acting Superintendent Thomas Lynley is given the case, and his Scotland Yard task force is soon handling more killings and a looming tragedy.

One of the most flamboyant women of the late 18th century, Mary Robinson's life was marked by reversals of fortune. After being raised by a middle-class father, Mary was married, at age 14, to Thomas Robinson. His dissipated lifestyle landed the couple and their baby in debtors' prison, where Mary wrote her first book of poetry and met lifelong friend Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. On her release, Mary quickly became one of the most popular actresses of the day, famously playing Perdita in The Winter’s Tale for a rapt audience that included the Prince of Wales.

Things had never been quite the same at Latter End since Lois had taken over. Suddenly life seemed to be an endless succession of bitter family rows which Lois, needless to say, invariably won. More than one person at Latter End found themselves stretched to the limit by Lois and her bullying, and it was only a matter of time before somebody snapped. It was unthinkable of course...but if anyone ever murdered Lois Latter, it would be very embarrassing to discover just how many people might have wished her dead.

Adelia Aguilar is to accompany 10-year-old Princess Joanna on her thousand-mile journey to marry the King of Sicily. They must take with them the legendary sword Excalibur. And so Adelia sets sail with the golden princess and her lavish procession of nobles, musicians, servants, laundresses, grooms, luggage and treasure. But when members of the procession begin to die and it looks as though Adelia is to blame, there are dangerous accusations of witchcraft.

On hearing of this momentous discovery, King Henry II demands evidence that the legendary Arthur is dead. So he calls upon his Mistress of the Art of Death, anatomist Adelia Aguilar, to examine the bones. But someone doesn’t want the skeletons identified – and is prepared to kill in order to prevent it…

Between April 20th and June 22nd of 1945 the anonymous author of A Woman in Berlin wrote about life within the falling city as it was sacked by the Russian Army. Fending off the boredom and deprivation of hiding, the author records her experiences, observations and meditations in this stark and vivid diary.

She awakes in a dark place. A young woman with a shattered memory, she knows neither who she is nor how she came to be in this abandoned house. All she possesses is a faint sense that someone is lying dead at the foot of the stairs. Horrifyingly, she is correct. In the cellar lies a young woman, her body broken, her head split, her life undone by a revolver’s shell. The amnesiac flees and finally has a stroke of luck: She meets Maud Silver.

Meet Buffy. With three ex-wives, a failing career and only his dog, George, for company, Buffy's bachelorhood is looking worryingly confirmed. Until he meets Celeste. Dazzled by love, Buffy has no idea that Celeste is systematically researching his ex-wives, children, and step-children, and unearthing secrets that will change all their lives.

In 1951 London thrills to the Festival of Britain, but not Evie Smith. Mistress to Ted Hopkins, marriage is still just a dream. Ted is resigned to caring for his bed-ridden wife, only ever briefly seeing Evie and their two girls. Then, just as Evie finds she is pregnant, Ted takes his wife abroad for new treatment. After five years with no word, Evie selflessly brings up her daughters. But she may yet find her chance of lasting happiness.

Sophie Rivers thinks she’s fallen on her feet when a temporary research post takes her to George Muntz College, just yards from her Birmingham home. Her new employer offers pleasant, even lavish, facilities and state-of-the-art equipment. Perhaps, though, all is not as comfortable as it seems, as Melina, a computer technician, may have been about to explain. For once Sophie doesn’t have time to listen. But when Melina is found dead, it’s soon clear that other people are keen to hear what Sophie herself has to say .