Showing results by narrator "Luke Francis" in All Categories

When football fanatic and loveable loser Max Best saved an old codger from a mugging, he never expected to be rewarded with the ability to immediately pinpoint a player's specific skills—and use that knowledge to up his own levels. Ever since that fateful night, Max has devoted himself to the game far more than any mere fan, becoming not only a serious footballer in his own right but a leader both on and off the pitch.

Gina's body has floated down the River Esk. She was a farmer's wife. And it looks like an accident. But Michael Brady has his doubts. Brady's back in the police–and he needs to prove himself. Is it murder? Or does Brady need it to be murder? It's a year since his wife died. He's feeling lonely. And he's still trying to balance being a single dad and being a Detective Chief Inspector.

Through the changing seasons, amidst a sprawling ducal country estate, ex-steelworker George Purse's role as a gamekeeper goes beyond mere employment. With determination, he safeguards the birds, nurturing them with care, even as they become targets for the wealthy elite. As the Glorious Twelfth approaches, George must orchestrate flawless hunts for the Duke and his esteemed guests, ensuring their satisfaction while fending off the persistent poachers who threaten the delicate balance of the land.

☀️'A sparkling romance full of wit and warmth' Phillipa Ashley☀️ *** Could romance be waiting in the wings…? Lucie Hart is a fledgling actress, her confidence having been shattered by her manipulative ex. Making ends meet by performing Shakespearean monologues full of romance she...

Bloomsbury presents Forbidden Waters by Rob Parker, read by Luke R. Francis. It starts with the knife. Found at the bottom of a hidden lake in the Norfolk Broads, covered in blood and heart tissue so fresh the water hasn't yet washed it all away. What salvage diver Cam Killick has found is a...

Max Best was on a roll. After climbing the ranks at Chester FC with his burning desire, innate talent, and the "curse" of a sentient heads-up display with knowledge of all things footie, he was named the club's electrifying new director of football. Seizing the opportunity, he saved the day and led the team out of relegation. But that's when someone tried to murder him . . .

I loved my husband, Doctor Drew Devlin, but he betrayed me. And now he’s dead. As I put the key in the lock and open the door to the luxurious new home I’ve purchased with Drew’s life insurance money, I’m certain the worst days are behind me. My secret is safe, and I can’t wait to enjoy my new wealth and freedom.

Max Best is not living his—ahem—best life. His job's a drag, his home's a shooting gallery, his hopes are nil, and lately, even his beloved game of football has devolved from a chaotic, ecstatic delight into a cold, calculating equation complete with stats, tech terms, and mindless lingo. But then Max rescues a mysterious old man from a mugging. "Nick" seems friendly enough . . . until he innocently asks his savior, "Would you sell your soul to be a top football manager?" Naturally, Max says yes, and in that instant, everything changes.

'Finished in one sitting. Had no idea where it was going but knew there was something lurking. Incredible twist. Ends with a final lap of the ride when you think it is all over . . . I will be recommending this to friends' Ericka Waller At seven o'clock one Tuesday evening, in a perfectly...

Michael Brady was a high-flying detective, working on a high-profile case. And much too close to the truth. Someone arranged a hit-and-run. But they missed Brady. And hit his wife. And after six months sitting by her bed, he took the only decision he could take. He turned the machine off. Now he's back home in Whitby. Trying to rebuild his life. And be a good dad to his teenage daughter. But when his best friend is murdered Brady–unwillingly at first–is drawn into the investigation.

Orphaned at 18, a naïve and solitary Chris Pritchard joins the Metropolitan Police in search of a family, friends and a regular income. He is posted to Stoke Newington police station in London’s tough East End. Despite barely concealed contempt for her hapless new charge, his experienced instructor, WPC Dawn Matthews, puppy walks him through a journey, which is regularly amusing, frequently sad and occasionally bizarre. You will not listen to a more accurate account of how London was policed a generation ago.

I was the other woman. The mistress. Everyone blamed Doctor Drew Devlin’s death on me. And I’ve paid the price for loving the wrong man. Now, I have dark circles under my eyes because I can’t sleep at night. I lost everything–friends, family, my home and even my freedom. Drew’s devious wife Fern tore my whole world apart. And she thinks she’s got away with murder.

'Haunting, heartbreaking, quietly terrifying. Unforgettable' CHRIS WHITAKER Three of them adrift on the narrowboat. Mother, son, and wickedness. Peggy Jenkins and her teenage son, Samson, live on a remote stretch of canal in the Midlands. She is a writer and he is a schoolboy. Together, they...

Ancient woods are Britain's richest habitats: rare fragments of our landscape that teem with life from soil to canopy. They live in our collective imagination as quiet places, best left pristine and untouched. But their story has always been one of interdependence with people. Now, as ever...

It’s 20 years since Alice went missing. There’s never been any trace. Until now. Until some bones are found in a shallow grave on the cold, bleak North York Moors. But is it Alice? Or Becky? The other girl–who disappeared a month earlier…

The first chemists were Sri Lankan steel forgers in the first century BCE, alchemists who emerged in Roman Egypt; herbalists in Tang Dynasty China and engineers in eighth-century South America. The Enlightenment is usually credited with the origins of chemistry. But in truth, the science...

EXCLUSIVE Q&A AT THE END OF THE AUDIOBOOK WITH SIMON BAJKOWSKI AND NEDUM ONUOHA. The year is 2012. Manchester City have failed in an audacious attempt to appoint Pep Guardiola, the most sought-after manager in world football. They watch as he wins consecutive league titles with Bayern Munich...

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* This is the remarkable story of a local lad who grew up in the shadow of Upton Park and became ‘Mr West Ham’: a one-club man who lived the dream. A modern footballing legend, Mark Noble is the embodiment of what it means to be a Hammer, pouring his heart and...

Laura is married, she has a good home, and she is due to give birth to her first child any day now. But her perfect world is shattered when her husband comes home flustered and afraid. He's made a terrible mistake. He's done a bad thing. And now the police are going to be looking for him. There's only one way out of this. He wants to run. But he won't go without his wife. Laura knows it is wrong. They should stay and face the music. But she doesn't want to lose her man. She can't raise this baby alone. So she agrees to go with him.

Through her own – often bloody-minded – determination and the medical skill of others, April Ashley became the woman she had always believed herself to be. And for half a dozen decades she soared around, over and above momentous and turbulent times, difficult, and changing times when, finally, who you wanted to be and who you could be became the cultural topic of the day. She overcame opprobrium and penury and became renowned and celebrated for one specific achievement: being April Ashley.