Showing results by narrator "Luke Thompson" in All Categories

A selection of enchanting stories by one of the world's best-loved children's authors, Enid Blyton. Ribby the Gnome has a very bad habit: he always borrows things and never brings them back! But when he takes a wizard's umbrella and doesn't return it, he's in for a horrible surprise. The...

*READ BETH O'LEARY'S BRAND NEW UNMISSABLE ROMANCE, THE NAME GAME, OUT NOW* 'Ingenious, heartwarming and romantic' SOPHIE KINSELLA 'Surprising and deeply satisfying' EMILY HENRY Three women. Three dates. One missing man . . . 8.52 a.m. Siobhan's looking forward to her date with Joseph. Breakfast...

'It looks like he died from injuries sustained during a fall...' Bestselling author Jasper Fforde begins an effervescent new series. It's Easter in Reading - a bad time for eggs - and no one can remember the last sunny day. Humpty Dumpty, well-known nursery favourite, large egg, ex-convict and...

'Comic genius' (The Observer) and the second Nursery Crime detective novel by the bestselling author Jasper Fforde. The Gingerbreadman: Psychopath, sadist, genius, convicted murderer and biscuit is loose in the streets of Reading. It isn't Jack Spratt's case. He and Mary Mary have been...

The murder of brutal landowner Fyodor Karamazov changes the lives of his sons irrevocably: Mitya, the sensualist, whose bitter rivalry with his father immediately places him under suspicion for parricide; Ivan, the intellectual, driven to breakdown; the spiritual Alyosha, who tries to heal the family's rifts; and the shadowy figure of their bastard half-brother, Smerdyakov. Dostoyevsky's dark masterwork evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur and everyone's faith in humanity is tested.

1899. As the new century approaches, English hack-writer Evelyn Dolman marries Laura Rensselaer, the daughter of a wealthy American plutocrat. But in the midst of a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, Evelyn's plans of a substantial inheritance are thrown into doubt. As the unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice at Palazzo Dioscuri - the ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo - a series of seemingly otherworldly occurrences exacerbate Evelyn's already frayed nerves: is it just the sea mist blanketing the floating city or is he losing his mind?

This collection of 25 short stories is populated by every sort of magical and mysterious creature, from a grumpy wizard who is ouwitted by an elf to pixie who rides on a rabbit. Enid Blyton remains one of Britain's favourite children's authors and her bumper short story collections are perfect...

A Christmas anthology from legendary historian and Christmas Cracker compiler John Julius Norwich. This year go carol singing in the Cotswolds with Laurie Lee or attend church with a grumpy Samuel Pepys. Make plum puddings for bemused French villagers with Elizabeth David; go present shopping with Virginia Woolf, or eat far too much with Agatha Christie. Celebrate Christmas at Chatsworth, in the workhouse or marooned in the ice with Shackleton....

The acclaimed account of post-Brexit British politics: a must-read for understanding how we've got to where we are today. 'Richly argued and brilliantly written... a deeply thoughtful analysis that should be mandatory reading for anyone seeking to understand where we have gone wrong.' -...

Meet fairies, witches and giants in this selection of 30 magical short stories by the world's best-loved storyteller. Perfect for children aged 5 and up! From to goblin games to never-ending wishes, there's mischief afoot in these fun-filled short stories by Enid Blyton! Who will be on the...

It’s 1992. Like every other seventeen-year-old boy, Joe has one eye on his studies, the other on his social life – smoking, Britpop, girls. He’s looking ahead to a gap year full of travel and adventure before university when his teacher – attractive, mid-thirties – takes an interest in...

Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in making Philip his heir, knowing he will treasure his beautiful Cornish estate. But Philip's world is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries. Then he suddenly dies in suspicious circumstances.

Run away, one drowsy summer's afternoon, with Holly Sykes: wayward teenager, broken-hearted rebel and unwitting pawn in a titanic, hidden conflict. Over six decades, the consequences of a moment's impulse unfold, drawing an ordinary woman into a world far beyond her imagining. And as life in the near future turns perilous, the pledge she made to a stranger may become the key to her family's survival....

Samuel Johnson is not in a happy place. He is dating the wrong girl, demons are occupying his spare room, and the town in which he lives appears to be cursed. But there is some good news on the horizon. After years of neglect, the grand old building that once housed Wreckit & Sons is about to reopen as the greatest toyshop that Biddlecombe has ever seen, and Samuel and his faithful dachshund Boswell are to be guests of honour at the big event.

How did descendants of Viking marauders came to dominate Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East? It is a tale of ambitious adventures and fierce freebooters, of fortunes made and fortunes lost. The Normans made their influence felt across all of western Europe and the Mediterranean, from the British Isles to North Africa, and Lisbon to the Holy Land. In Empires of the Normans we discover how they combined military might and political savvy with deeply held religious beliefs and a profound sense of their own destiny. 

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Criminally clever' Daily Mail 'The perfect holiday treat' Guardian This collection of tales by the No 1 bestselling author features all her best-loved characters: Dr Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson, Max Mephisto, Detective Harbinder Kaur and more. It features...

'Brilliantly gripping' Sunday Times; 'Compelling' Daily Mail; 'Heart-rending' Sunday Telegraph; 'Excellent' The Times; 'Engrossing' Independent The UK's only war crimes trial took place in 1999 and had its origins in the horrors of the Holocaust, but only now in The Ticket Collector from Belarus?...

Bloomsbury presents Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili, read by Luke Thompson. * AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST FOR 2024 * * SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2024 * ‘A spellbinding achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Poignant and often painfully comic’ OBSERVER...

THE STORY OF FATHERHOOD AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FATHER TODAY, BASED ON A DECADE-LONG STUDY OF NEW AND EXPECTANT FATHERS. As heard on Diary of a CEO podcast. Becoming a father is one of most common but also one of the most profoundly life-altering experiences a man can have. It is up there with...

Gripping historical mystery from the bestselling author of The Stranger Diaries. 'Griffiths writes with a smart, sharp eye and great elegance' Peter James Three girls have left. None have come back. Brighton, 1963. Edgar Stephens has been promoted to Superintendent and is married to his former...