Showing results by narrator "Philip Battley" in All Categories

A box set of four full-length interconnected steamy historical romances set in England and America from the 1830s to the 1860s following two generations of the powerful and wealthy Stanton family.

Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot.

As he teetered on a narrow rock ledge, a yak's bellow short of the stratosphere, with a rubber mask strapped to his face, a pair of mittens the size of a sea lion's flippers, and a drop of two kilometres below him, it's fair to say Mark Horrell wasn't entirely happy with the situation he found himself in. He had been an ordinary hiker who had only read books about mountaineering. When he signed up for an organized trek in Nepal with a group of elderly ladies, little did he know that ten years later he would be attempting to climb the world's highest mountain.

With her commission in her coat and a well-found deck beneath her feet, Catherine Cook, granddaughter of the great explorer, prepares to set sail. With her new frigate and her master and commander’s warrant, Kate is ready to begin her career in the Royal Navy. Yet as every sailor knows, not all seas run smoothly. As Kate and her crew set out to defend British and American shipping from French and Spanish marauders, the young, improbable captain is sailing straight into deadly peril. For her old nemesis, Pierre Meraux, survived their last encounter and is out for vengeance.

When Nicholas Elyot and his friends set out to spend the Christmas season in the country, they are prepared for a hard journey in winter. They are also wary of violence on the road, for these are troubled times after the Great Pestilence, when bands of dispossessed and desperate men roam the countryside of England. It is not surprising, therefore, when the troubadours hired to provide entertainment at Leighton Manor are attacked in Wychwood. Yet why should this group draw the attention of outlaws, who are searching for something? Is one of the troubadours not quite what he seems?

Magellan Brighton may be a musical prodigy with limitless talent, but her soul yearns for something more than playing in concert halls or at weddings. As the world is on the brink of a catastrophic polar shift, she mysteriously vanishes while playing an ancient organ and awakens in 1829. The answers to why lie in a lost diary belonging to Gwynedd, Merlin’s forgotten twin sister.

Addison Harper is back, and with another dead body at his feet. Only this time, the entire town saw it happen. Milverton is in the running for the Terrific Town Award, so a dramatic death at the opening ceremony is far from ideal. Addison had only been lending a hand, but now finds himself much more involved than he'd ever hoped. To think his biggest worry before had been his upcoming date with Sergeant Jake Murphy.

A scenic walk in nature isn't Addison Harper's idea of a good time, but with Sergeant Jake Murphy leading the way, he's willing to give it a go. After a picnic as delicious as his date, things are really looking up—that is, until Addison stumbles over something in the undergrowth. Bad news: it's a dead body. Worse news: it's his ex. And the last time they saw each other, a room full of people witnessed Addison wish him dead.

Murder on Milverton Square is the first in a wonderful new cozy mystery series set in an enchanting small town nestled amongst stunning New Zealand scenery. The Milverton Mysteries features a chaotic cast of local busybodies, delicious baked treats, a demanding and disdainful ginger cat, a very slow-burn romance with a rather appealing policeman, and of course, murder.

His Grace, Martin MacGalloway, has well-earned the reputation as the most celebrated rake on the entire isle of Britain. But upon his father's sudden death, he heads for Scotland, where he finds his inheritance in a shambles, his sisters without prospects, and his brothers relying on his patronage—and he's not about to conquer his problems alone. Penniless, Lady Julia St. Vincent has no choice but to dress as a man and accept a position as steward to the Duke of Dunscaby. The more time she spends with the duke, the more difficult it is to ignore the flickers of passion in her heart.

Oxford, Autumn 1353. St. Frideswide's Fair is a great annual event in Oxford, bringing together merchants and buyers from all over England and Wales, and from as far away as Flanders and France. Yet the earnings from the fair, granted to the Priory of St. Frideswide centuries before, are resented by the town, and resentment can turn to violence. Under the unscrupulous Prior de Hungerford, even more trouble is brewing.

Oxford, late summer, 1353. On hearing that his cousin is short-handed for the harvest, Nicholas Elyot takes a group of friends back to the family farm to help. When a deer hunt in Wychwood ends in tragedy, suspicion is directed toward the huntsman, a boyhood friend of Nicholas. But the victim has made many other enemies, any one of whom could have shot the fatal arrow. Can Nicholas uncover the real killer before it is too late?

Meet Ellie. She's perfectly happy living a quiet life with her husband, Clive. (Well, she does sometimes wonder about the way he talks to her and about all the things she hasn't achieved yet. But she's happy enough.) Meet Dan. He's definitely content - content with his predictable, ordered existence, making harps in his isolated barn on Exmoor. Content being on his own, far away from other people and - crucially - far away from any risk of surprises.

Mr. George Knightley. According to Emma Woodhouse, you won’t see one in a hundred who is so clearly the gentleman. Respected by all, he’s kind, unpretentious, and scrupulously honest, with an air so remarkably good that it’s unfair to compare other men to him. We also know he’s been his “own master” from a young age. But Jane Austen tells us little more.

When the novice Emma Thorgold goes missing from Godstow Abbey in the summer of 1353, the hunt is on throughout the Oxfordshire countryside. Bookseller Nicholas Elyot and scholar Jordain Brinkylsworth are anxious to help the girl, but her stepfather has other intentions. Why is he so determined to shut her away for life? Or worse? And will she be found unharmed?

Catherine Cook, unclaimed granddaughter of the great explorer James, Cook is on her way to America to re-connect with her mother’s family when fate intervenes and thrusts her into ultimate peril. All of her life, Kate has yearned to go to sea and to command a sailing ship in the Royal navy…an impossible dream for a young woman in 1797.

A haunted lighthouse. A Justice accused of murder. And a single question—What is The Scour? In the dying port town of Gdansburg, Sir Konrad Vonvalt finds the unthinkable: a fellow Justice imprisoned for the murder of a young boy. Despite the furious insistence of the townsfolk, the only...

Oxford, Spring - 1354. When the series of accidents to the building of the chapel at Queen’s College begin, they do not appear a cause for concern, but they grow more serious, and stonemasons are injured. Nicholas Elyot becomes involved after it is discovered that an intruder has reached the college by way of his garden. When Jordain Brinkylsworth’s youngest student goes missing, it seems at first that his disappearance is unconnected, yet he is one of the ‘poor boys’ supported by Queen’s. Surely this serious and studious boy cannot be responsible for the troubles?

Lucius Anselme, the new Marquess of Windmere, is no stranger to responsibility. He visits his new estate in the Berkshire countryside a man with a plan: Set Tamarix Hall to rights and return to London in time to enjoy everything the season has to offer—the theatre, the balls, the women. What he doesn’t plan for is making the acquaintance of Miss Cressida Ambrose. She’s clever, beautiful, and just the kind of young lady who might tempt him if he wasn’t wholeheartedly opposed to matrimony.

It started with a downed Nazi submarine and moved into the jungles of Nicaragua...now, the ultimate plan behind the deadly U-boat cargo and one man’s attempt to seize power in Central America teeters on the edge. All it takes is a single nudge to tip the balance.... Scott and Lisa are enjoying a sailing race when Jarvis is approached by a Miami business man. Ramon Tavares suspects that his fishing and shipping businesses are being used to smuggle cocaine into the country, and he needs private investigators Scott Jarvis and Lisa Gonzalez to discover who’s behind it.