Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

MI5 agents Marina Griffin and Leo South are made to be together. But their mission's-end encounter with Ashkeloi gypsies in the Russian forest reveals a terrifying prophecy - a fate that will tear them apart, and re-echo into the lives of their sons, John and Mike. Thirty years later, a deadly climate shift has opened up a seaway through the Arctic, and nuclear war is imminent as the global superpowers make a grab for the oil reserves suddenly exposed.

Winter, Witchcraft and Devilish Deceit. Faced with the austerities of a bitterly cold English winter, the theatre is deserted and Westfield’s Men find themselves out of work. Fortuitously, the company is invited to perform at a country home in Essex; welcome news to the disgruntled players. The company decide it’s the perfect opportunity to trial their new play, The Witch of Colchester. However, when the group’s leading actor begins to fall mysteriously ill, the company fear witchcraft might be involved.

In the autumn of 1615 the Earl and Countess of Somerset were detained on suspicion of having murdered Sir Thomas Overbury. The arrest of these leading court figures created a sensation. The young and beautiful Countess of Somerset had already achieved notoriety when she divorced her first husband in controversial circumstances. The Earl of Somerset was one of the richest and most powerful men in the kingdom, having risen to prominence as the male 'favourite' of James I.

A woman is on trial for her life, accused of murder. The 12 members of the jury each carry their own secret burden of guilt and prejudice which could affect the outcome. In this extraordinary crime novel, we follow the trial through the eyes of the jurors as they hear the evidence and try to reach a unanimous verdict. Will they find the defendant guilty or not guilty? And will the jurors' decision be the correct one?

The body is found by the river, near a spot popular with runners. With a serial rapist at work in the area, DI Zigic and DS Ferreira are initially confused when the Hate Crimes Unit is summoned to the scene. Until they discover that the victim, Corinne Sawyer, was born Colin Sawyer. Was Corinne a victim of mistaken identity? With tensions running high, and the force coming under national scrutiny, this is a complex case and any mistake made could be fatal.

This quirky and unique book examines how the computer transformed type into something that anyone could use and have an opinion on; how a typeface, correctly used, may sell us almost anything; and how new types with names such as Sunday Flicker, Pinky Stone and Irongate (to name but three out of the hundreds issued this year) each attempt to keep the alphabet exciting and new.

From the moment his father was executed in the arena for an act of treason, former military tribune and condemned gladiator Marcus Valerius Pavo has burned with the desire for revenge. Now all that stands between Pavo and victory is a man considered by many to be the greatest gladiator to have ever lived: Hermes. But even with Optio Macro as his trainer and the help of the snakish imperial secretary, defeating Hermes appears an impossible task.

When council officer Chris Buckley is approached by an odd old man demanding help in healing a decades-old family rift, he sends the stranger away. But then the old man is murdered, and the police arrive on the Chris's doorstep asking questions to which he has no answers. As Chris begins to look into the circumstances of the murder, he uncovers a deadly secret in the silt and mud of the local canals that he'll realise was better kept buried.

Why would a killer ignore expensive jewellery and take a pair of turtledoves as the only bounty? This is only one of the questions that piques Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune's interest after a senior attaché with the Mexican Consulate is found murdered alongside the director of a local bird sanctuary. The fact that the director's death has opened up a full-time research position hasn't eluded Jejeune either. Could this be his escape from policing?

Twilit and sinister, oozing with ague, bad airs, boggarts and other spirits: in the mind’s eye marshes, bogs and swamps are dangerous, crepuscular—and only partly of this world. For centuries, wetlands, have been the object of our distrust: we’ve drained away their demons, encroached upon and denuded them, ripping away not only their fragile beauty, botany and birdlife but also the carefully calibrated lives of those that have come to understand and thrive in them. In Swamp Songs, Tom Blass takes us on a journey through these strange lands and waterscapes.

December 1916. Inspector Sam Blackstone is suspicious when he is called to the office of Superintendent Brigham - the new head of Special Branch. A German traitor wants £25,000 in exchange for intelligence on U-boat locations, and 'Max' has specifically asked for Blackstone to be the one to deliver the money - alone. Blackstone and his sergeant, Archie Patterson, are certain there's more to it, but Blackstone can't turn down the job.

At the brand-new Dino Park, Bob, Scoop, Muck and Lofty are all ready for the arrival of the model dinosaurs. The team must get them into position ready for Mayor Madison, who is coming to inspect the Dino Park before opening it to the public. Muck is nervous though; the dinosaur models seem very realistic, and they can even roar! When Scoop and Lofty decide to play a trick on Muck, it seems like the dinosaurs have come to life - but have they given Muck too much of a fright.

Dear Uncle Morton, The McDougalls are here. Mr McDougall won’t stop shouting. He has lost three sheep in a week. Now he wants to take your dragons away. Eddie has yet more trials by fire. This time, he’s dragonsitting on his uncle’s remote Scottish island home, getting some unexpected birthday party guests and taking the dragons with him on his half-term trip to London. What can possibly go wrong?

Against all odds, Aydin Torkal - aka Sleeper 13 - broke free from the terrorist group that took him as a child and raised him into a life of violence and hate. In the two years since, he's been tracking and killing all those responsible. But he's not done yet. Now living a secret life in London, he receives a surprise visit from Rachel Cox of MI6. She needs his help to infiltrate a sinister new terrorist cell who've taken root in the USA. Aydin is initially reluctant.

Award-winning science writer David Adam reveals how frontier neuroscience can enhance your intelligence. What if the route to better brain power is not hard work or thousands of hours of practice but to simply swallow a pill? In The Genius Within, best-selling author David Adam explores the groundbreaking neuroscience of cognitive enhancement.

Tobias Campion, rector of Moreton St Jude, is delighted to welcome the widowed Lady Chase as his parishioner. Although charming and generous-spirited, she harbours a secret sorrow: her son, Hugo, is missing, presumed dead. Her late husband's nephew, Sir Marcus Bramhall, making a prolonged, unwelcome visit to Moreton Hall, speaks darkly of bringing a court case to declare him the heir.

After a trophy-laden and record-setting club and international career, England’s greatest ever goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, could rightly look forward to an equally successful post-playing career. But a gambling habit forged in his playing days soon spiralled into a gambling addiction: a silent, self-destructive and ruinous obsession that destroyed relationships, his mental health and very nearly himself.

Rome has lost its greatest warrior; Aulus Cornelius is dead. Although he is hailed as a hero, the betrayal by cowardly governor Flaminus is not forgotten. Aulus' death has left his sons with grave responsibilities. While Titus swears vengeance against Flaminus, and to become as great a general as his father, Quintus chooses to pursue politics - under the guidance of Lucius Falerius, now the most powerful senator in Rome. Despite his fortune, Lucius is haunted by the prophecy that binds his fate to Aulus'. As he trains his son, Marcellus, he manipulates the Cornelius family to his own ends.

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.

Darkness falls. The undead rise to feast on the succulent blood of the living. For years vampires have fascinated great writers of the occult such as De Maupassant, Count Stenbock, E Nesbit and EF Benson. This is The Story Circle's collection of some of their spine-chilling tales told by award-winning actors.