Showing results by narrator "Mark Meadows" in All Categories

German Detective Maier travels to Phnom Penh, the Asian kingdom's ramshackle capital, to find the heir to a Hamburg coffee empire. As soon as the private eye and former war reporter arrives in Cambodia, his search for the young coffee magnate leads into the darkest corners of the country's history, and through the history of the communist revolution to the White Spider, a Nazi war criminal, who hides amongst the detritus of modern Cambodia and reigns over an ancient Khmer temple deep in the jungle.

Florence, 1691. The Renaissance is long gone, and the city is a dark, repressive place, where everything is forbidden and anything is possible. Knowledge is still the property of the few, and they guard it fiercely. Art, sex and power - these, as always, are the obsessions. Facing criminal charges, Gaetano Zummo is forced to flee his native Siracusa at the age of 20, first to Palermo, then Naples, but always has the feeling that he is being pursued by his past, and that he will never be free of it.

Chris Beckett's thought-provoking and wide-ranging collection of contemporary short stories is a joy to listen to, rich in detail and texture. From stories about first love, to a man who discovers a labyrinth beneath his house, to an angel left alone at the end of the universe, Beckett displays both incredible range and extraordinary subtlety as a writer. Every story is a world unto itself - each one beautifully realized and brilliantly imagined.

1813. Haunted by her father's death and tired of watching her mother struggle, Meg Marsh will do anything to keep a roof over her family's head. Even if that means getting involved in a dangerous smuggling operation. When Meg catches the eye of a dashing gentleman above her station, things start to look up, and she can't help but start dreaming of a life away from the shingle and boats of Castle Bay. Blinded by flattery and coin, Meg can't see the danger on the horizon - and the cost just might be her life.

You take one risk. Now those you love must pay.... Dom Turner is a dependable husband, a loving father. A man you can rely on. But it takes only one day to destroy a seemingly perfect life. Emma thought she could trust her husband, Dom. She thought he would always look after her and their daughter, Daisy.... Then one reckless act ends in two innocent deaths - and Dom's family becomes the target of a terrifying enemy. There's nowhere to hide. They're on the run for their lives.

Arriving at their idyllic and newly renovated Highland home, worthy of TV's Grand Designs, wealthy 30-somethings John and Laura Payne hope they are leaving their problems behind in the city. But the couple's presence disturbs neighbour and local eccentric Luther Grove, forcing him to confront long-buried secrets - secrets that draw him inextricably to Laura and trigger an instant conflict with John.

Henry’s confession of spying on Russians in London doesn’t get the reaction he expects. Nea has her own dark secrets to guard and refuses to see her patient again. Now frightened and on his own, a chain of events leads to murder. Having stumbled upon a poison at the heart of the British establishment, Henry fears for his life and decides to lie low at his holiday home in Lisbon. A professional killer catches up with him and a terrifying chase across Europe ensues.

This gripping and vivid book is the first comprehensive world history of the most important transport innovation of the modern age. Steven Parissien examines the impact, development and significance of the automobile over its turbulent and colourful 130-year history, but this is not just the story of horsepower and performance. It is a tale of people, of flamboyant entrepreneurs, shrewd businessmen and gifted engineers; of outstanding success and abject failure.

'Charming, touching, surprising and ultimately uplifting. Funny, moving . . . I defy anyone to finish this story without tears in their eyes' Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project 'Hilarious but heart-wrenching' Daily Mail Lucio Battistini knows the three most important days of his life...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library. “A quirky romcom dusted with philosophical observations….A delightfully witty…poignant novel.” —The Washington Post “She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip...

Vaccines are a debate, whether we want them to be or not. With a clear-eyed approach to their science and history, How Vaccines Work demystifies the strange and intricate world of vaccines: it explains what a vaccine is, how they are developed and what happens when they meet our bodies.

It all starts when a mysterious train appears in the park. Before they know what’s happening, Joe and Scarlett are whisked away on a journey back in time. Magically transported to World War II, they’re given a mission: to save a young boy’s life.But with bombs falling on London they find they are counting down to disaster...An exciting time-slip story from award-winning author Sophie McKenzie.

Masculinity has reached a moment of crisis. From the erosion of unifying institutions, such as marriage, to a rise in male suicide rates, the last century and a half has been a particularly turbulent time to be a man. Increasing numbers of men are finding themselves anchorless, uprooted from the conventions and certainties of their forefathers. Today masculinity itself has come under attack, relentlessly maligned in the media. Now, more than ever, the long and perilous journey from infant to old age is fraught with strange complexities, moral dichotomies and maddening contradictions.

Michael Bromley, Duke of Woriton, has a passion, but it’s not for chasing ladies or gambling till dawn. No, his is the far more dangerous pursuit of the science of chemistry. But he’s certainly capable of taking care of his aunt’s perfectly behaved poodle, Lancelot, while she’s on holiday. Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering, third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second spectacular Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all—and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. But none of them can plan for a chaotic encounter in the park.

Bergen Private Investigator Varg Veum is perplexed when two wildly different cases cross his desk at the same time. A lawyer, anxious to protect her privacy, asks Varg to find her sister, who has disappeared with her husband, seemingly without trace, while a ship carrying unknown cargo is heading towards the Norwegian coast, and the authorities need answers. Varg immerses himself in the investigations, and it becomes clear that the two cases are linked, and have unsettling - and increasingly uncanny - similarities to events that took place 36 years earlier.

Jonathan is a private investigator in a decaying Eastern European city, consumed by his work and his failing marriage. Approached one day by an elderly couple, he is presented with a faded photograph of their daughter, missing for nearly two decades. Troubled by the image of the little girl, who was the same age when she vanished as his own daughter is now - he is compelled to find her.

Jamie is under pressure from his father to succeed. In the competitive world of squash, his dad is determined that where he failed, Jamie should succeed. The emotional and physical bullying that Jamie has to endure makes him recoil into himself until he feels backed into a corner and doesn't know where to turn. Then he discovers the girl hiding in his shed and sees an opportunity, not only to help her, but to get away from his own life, too. Together they go on the run - but danger is coming after the girl and it's surely only a matter of time before they're both discovered.

Falkenberg, Sweden. The mutilated body of talented young jewellery designer, Linnea Blix, is found in a snow-swept marina. Hampstead Heath, London. The body of a young boy is discovered with similar wounds to Linnea's. Buchenwald Concentration Camp, 1944. In the midst of the hell of the Holocaust, Erich Hebner will do anything to see himself as a human again. Are the two murders the work of a serial killer, and how are they connected to shocking events at Buchenwald?

Sequel to international best seller Block 46 and next in the award-winning Roy & Castells series. Whitechapel, 1888: London is bowed under Jack the Ripper's reign of terror. London 2015: actress Julianne Bell is abducted in a case similar to the terrible Tower Hamlets murders of some 10 years earlier and harking back to the Ripper killings of a century before. Falkenberg, Sweden, 2015: a woman's body is found mutilated in a forest, her wounds identical to those of the Tower Hamlets victims.

Lake Como, 1945. Mussolini and his mistress are captured and shot by local partisans. The precise circumstances of Il Duce's death remain shrouded in confusion and controversy. Milan, 1992. Colonna, a depressed hack writer, is offered a fee he can't refuse to ghostwrite a memoir. His subject: a fledgling newspaper financed by a powerful media magnate.