Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

A DI Hardcastle Investigation - June 1917. Ernest Hardcastle, head of the Whitehall CID, is called to investigate the murder of Sir Nigel Strang, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Munitions, in his office. Given his work, Hardcastle wonders whether the Germans might be responsible. Then another murder leads Hardcastle to a worker at Woolwich Arsenal, who is suspected of passing information to the enemy. But is there a connection? Hardcastle must find out...

Poo comes in all shapes and sizes. Every animal has its own special sort, and some have fascinating uses for it. Wombats use their cube-shaped droppings to mark their territory; potato beetles build a shield of dung for defence; male hippos spray out a faecal shower to attract mates; and rabbits and dung beetles eat their pellets for extra nutrition. We might call it "waste" but in fact, poo is among the most useful stuff on Earth.

For Pyke and his crew it should have been just another heist. Travel to a backwater desert planet, break into a museum, steal a tracking device then use it to find a ship buried in the planet's vast and trackless sandy wastes. Except that the museum vault is a bioengineered chamber, and the tracking device is sought after by another gang of treasure hunters led by an old adversary of Pyke's, the devious Raven Kaligara. Also, the ship is a quarter of a million years old and about two kilometres long, and somewhere aboard it is the Essavyr Key....

A fork of lightning and a crash of thunder herald the completion of a heinous crime. In woodland belonging to the eccentric Lord Wychbold, a body has been crucified on a tree. On Easter Day, the Reverend Tobias Campion returns from morning service at St Luke's and discovers the corpse, already beginning to putrefy. A crown of thorns frames his face, bludgeoned beyond recognition, and a loincloth preserves what is left of his modesty.

The Real Crime. Hans Holbein, King Henry VIII's portrait painter, died in the autumn of 1543. A century later a chronicler reported that the artist had succumbed to plague, yet there is no contemporary evidence to support this. Suspicions have been raised over the centuries, but the mystery of what actually happened remains unsolved to this day. Our Story. Young London goldsmith Thomas Treviot is awaiting a design for a very important jewellery commission from Hans Holbein.

Jon Bartlett's path is clear before him: finish his last year of schooling, then off on the family's ships to learn the intricacies of interstellar trade. But a message of tragedy at home comes for him, and his expected life is flung far out of reach and he's cast into a role he never wanted.

Big Ben chimes in the first seconds of the first day of 1900, the start of a fresh century. Inside London's oldest gaol, preparations are afoot to hang Victorian England's deadliest assassin, a man wanted for two decades' worth of murders. Cold-blooded killer Simeon Lynch has lived a brutal and glorious life in the employ of the House of Moriarty - the most feared criminal enterprise in the world. Now, as he faces the noose, Simeon learns dark truths about his master, about Sherlock Holmes and about his own past.

A positive spin on the supernatural, ‘Pirates’ sees ageing industrialist Peter Graham return to his former family home in Cornwall after more than 40 years. The ghosts of the house represent happy memories of his childhood.

Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Page and Scott Ashby were murdered, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime but, decades later, questions still linger. For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood friends. Hoping to uncover new evidence, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don't want the case reopened, especially Charlie's mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.

Few sporting records capture the imagination quite like that of the highest individual score in Test cricket. It is the blue riband record of batting achievement, the ultimate statement of stamina and skill. From Charles Bannerman, who scored 165 for Australia against England in the inaugural Test match in 1877, to Brian Lara, who made 400 not out for West Indies against England in 2004, the record has changed hands 10 times.

Thanks to the stratagems of Bohemund de Hauteville, leader of the Apulian Normans, the Crusade has taken the city of Antioch, and just in time. Once the besiegers, Bohemund and his men are about to become the besieged - a huge Turkish-led army, commanded by the fearsome General Kerbogha, is fast approaching. Provisions are desperately needed, but the surrounding countryside is near barren and the storerooms of Antioch much depleted. The Crusaders will not hold out for long without falling prey to starvation.

When insurance investigator David Braun probes a particularly violent break-in, the crime scene raises more questions than it answers. Turning to Susan Milton of the London School of Antiquities for help, they find themselves the target of a ruthless and elusive killer as they risk their lives to expose a horrifying centuries-old secret.

Imogen Tolliman never knew her mother. And when an accident robs Immi of her father too, she goes to live with her grandfather Tollie in his picturesque lock-keeper’s cottage by the Aysbury marina. Tollie is the star of the Santa Ahoy Special each Christmas - a festive boat ride along the canal that enthralls both children and adults alike. And as Immi grows up, she starts to appreciate the magical community she is lucky enough to live in.

The sixth book in the beloved Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey. The spiritualist movement has captivated a segment of Victorian London: manifestations, the occult and 'sensitives' are in vogue. Unfortunately, those ready to believe are vulnerable to fraud. When séance sites become targets for theft, Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray are on the case. But then someone murders the medium, and the two find themselves rubbing shoulders with some rather eccentric suspects.

Forbidden in Victorian England, the grim and violent world of bare-knuckle fighting has gone underground. So when a headless body is found floating in the Thames, his hands “pickled” for fighting, Sergeant Cribb knows he is facing a challenge. Desperate for information, they select the young constable Henry Jago to infiltrate the gang, subjecting him to a rigorous programme of purging, pickling and training. Cribb is certain that the losing fighters are being killed or worse, so getting Jago out just in time is crucial....

Ben Jewell has hit a breaking point. His 10-year-old son, Jonah, has severe autism, and Ben and his wife, Emma, are struggling to cope. When Ben and Emma fake a separation - a strategic decision to further Jonah's case in an upcoming tribunal - Ben and Jonah move in with Georg, Ben's elderly father. In a small house in North London, three generations of men - one who can't talk, two who won't - are thrown together.

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.

Newly appointed as land agent to the youthful Lord Croft, Matthew Rowsley finds plenty to keep him busy as he attends to his lordship's neglected country estate. But he's distracted from his tasks by the disappearance of a young housemaid. Has Maggie really eloped with a young man, as her mother attests - or is the truth rather more sinister? What's been going on behind the scenes at the grand country estate and where has his lordship disappeared to?

I'm a doctor. Mobster. Killer. My hands are covered in filth. I don't have the right to touch anything as clean and pure as Ellison MacAllister. I distance myself...always remaining obscure, composed, restrained. Careful to never allow my eyes to linger too long. Careful to hide my interest. Careful to keep my burning desire buried beneath the surface. I do it for her - suffer in silence - because it's what is best for the woman I love. And she has no idea.

It is 2002 and Private Investigator Makana is shaken out of his grief when a routine surveillance job leads him to the horrific murder of a teenage girl. In a country where honour killings are commonplace and the authorities turn a blind eye, Makana determines to track down the perpetrator. Seeking answers in the dead girl’s past he travels to Siwa, where an old enemy lurks in the shadows. Makana discovers that the truth can be as deadly and as changeable as the desert beneath his feet.