Showing results by narrator "Simon Mattacks" in All Categories

Avalon is under siege. A shadowy cabal, headed by a mysterious figure known only as "My Liege", has launched a series of deadly attacks across the globe, catching innocent human bystanders in the crossfire. Emerging from the debris of battle, Nate Garrett, the 1600-year-old sorcerer also called Hellequin, and his friends must stop My Liege once and for all. But powerful forces stand in their way. To save Avalon, they will need to enlist the help of Mordred, once Nate's greatest nemesis.

A celebration of individuality, diversity, and nonconformity, On Liberty still makes a persuasive argument for what John Stuart Mill believed to be humankind’s essential liberties: the freedoms of speech, assembly, and the pursuit of pleasure, so long as one’s actions do not impede the liberty of another. These freedoms, he maintained, result in a far more successful society than one ruled by the tyranny of the majority. This treatise on personal liberty has inspired debate since its publication in 1859, and has provided the foundation for modern liberal political thought.

There’s nothing too unusual about a father asking his son for a favor—unless, of course, the father in question has been dead for five years. Thomas, a young virtuoso pianist living a quiet, carefully structured life in France, is stunned when his late father, Raymond, suddenly appears in his home. He’s not a ghost in the traditional sense—he’s real enough to ask for help. His request? That Thomas travel with him to San Francisco to find Camille, the long-lost love of his life.

Dan Armstrong hasn’t done much retiring since moving to Tuscany, and with his new career as a successful private investigator taking off, it seems murder seems to follow him. He’s hoping a much-needed trip to beautiful Portofino will give him the break he needs and quality time with girlfriend Anna. Portofino is a celebrity paradise, and holidaying on a nearby superyacht is a group of British media stars, all famous for being infamous. Dan isn't impressed by their status or wealth, but when he overhears an argument between two of the group, he suspects something fishy could be going on…

During Britannia's tribal age, vengeance is brutal, bloody and will come for even those who think themselves invincible. Family feuds must be settled, whatever the cost. Both Seeress Meddi of the Eorlingas and Wærmund of the Gyrwe have old scores to settle. Meddi for her tribe to survive and thrive, and Waermund to cast himself from his father's shadow once and for all. But unbeknownst, Meddi and Wærmund share a common enemy who threatens them both – the elusive Elen and her ally is someone Wærmund has travelled the breadth of Britannia to outrun.

Everyone remembers where they were when they heard that AJ Silver had died. In summer 1996, there was no avoiding the story that America's biggest teen pop sensation had plunged to his death on a rollercoaster at a family-run amusement park in rural England. Now, 27 years have passed, and – even if you’re too young to remember the event – you’ve probably heard AJ Silver's songs topping the charts again. So what better time to take a forensic look at what happened that summer?

As grape harvest season rolls around, retired DCI Dan Armstrong and his beloved canine companion, Oscar, are looking forward to a nice quiet September. But when Dan is contacted about a mysterious death out in the Tuscan Hills, it seems that work must come before pleasure. At first it appears that the body found lying outside a prestigious winery has been the result of a tragic hit and run. But then the police discover that this is a cover up for murder…but who would kill in such an idyllic spot and why?

When Italy’s greatest opera singer, Rodolfo Argento, is killed in a terrible car accident, the police initially rule his death a tragic accident or suicide. But his elderly mother, Violetta, believes this to be poppycock! Her son was a brilliant driver and had too much to live for. She suspects foul play and turns to Private Investigator, Dan Armstrong to discover the truth. So Dan and Oscar travel to Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, to find out what really happened. There Dan discovers Rodolfo’s private life could have come straight out of a Shakespeare play.

Thomas Finbow, falconer to Sir Robert Vicary, is sent to the remote Salisbury Plain by his master to assist on the estate of the impoverished Sir Giles Buckeridge. Thomas is to train a ramage hawk – an immature, half-wild bird – and to teach the arts of falconry to Sir Giles’s young ward, Gervase. It soon becomes clear, however, that Sir Giles has much bigger problems than falconry as he is struggling to secure respectable futures – and provide sufficient dowries - for his three spirited daughters.

When Nathaniel Pickering, Lady Margaret's older brother is found murdered, Thomas takes her away to London, in search of gyrfalcons. Thomas's astute mind is unable to ignore the clues, and in uncovering some dark secrets, he places himself - and his mistress - in grave danger. Now a target himself, Thomas must face some of London's most notorious criminals, in a battle of both brain and brawn.

When invited to attend the Barrowhill Pleasures at the seat of the extravagant and pompous Earl of Reigate, Sir Robert Vicary of Petbury brings Thomas, his trusted falconer along with him to enjoy the festivities. But things take a very deadly turn when three of the Earl's guests are murdered, and the Earl seems eager to cover the deaths up at all costs. As the festivities continue, a killer is on the loose, and Thomas must keep a keen eye on the guests. One of them is not what they seem, and he must discern who before the Earl himself becomes the next target.

The Birthday Boys tells the story of Scott's doomed expedition through the voices of five men on the voyage. As Scott, Petty Officer Taff Evans, ship's doctor Edward Wilson, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Captain Lawrence Oates step forward for their place in the narrative, the reader is gripped by the characters themselves alongside the vividly evoked period.

As Autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into chaos: in the space of a week, two teenagers, the son of the island's mayor and that of a powerful businessman, are brutally murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics with crowns of candles atop their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia. Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö, where her husband has grown up, trying to come to terms with the death of their only daughter in a car accident...

January 1941. When Detective Inspector John Jago is called to a house in London's Bloomsbury, he finds the body of a woman who's been attacked and left to die, her only crime seemingly being her kindness to strangers. She's taken victims of the Blitz and the war that's torn Europe apart and given them refuge in her home, but now she's a victim too—of murder. As Jago tries to find out who killed her and why, he uncovers a tangle of damaged hearts and minds.

Private investigator Dan Armstrong can't believe his luck when he's invited to the luxury villa of none other than Alice Graceland, movie legend and queen of the silver screen. Alice isn't looking to bankroll Dan's writing, but instead she wants him to play host at a murder mystery evening with a glamorous (but suspiciously tense) collection of Hollywood royalty. It should be a meeting of old friends - but just how friendly are they? As the murder mystery evening takes a sinister turn, Dan and Oscar find themselves navigating more than the city's canals to find the truth.

1594, Bishopsgate Ward, London. Within the walls and without, unease and uncertainty lurk beneath the noise and bustle of a smoky, teeming city. Matthew Cutler, newly widowed and caring for two spirited daughters, takes his position as constable for the parish of Spitalfields very seriously. So when Paulo Brisco, a quiet Venetian perfumer is found brutally murdered in his own shop, Cutler throws himself into his first major crime, and one which threatens to set all Bishopsgate alight.

1957. A catastrophe occurs at the pharmaceutical lab in Coventry where 16-year-old Wilf is working for the summer. A catastrophe that needs to be covered up at all costs. 2017. Phiney is shocked by the death of her grandfather, Wilf, who has jumped from a railway bridge at a Coventry station. Journalist Mat Torrington is the only witness. Left in utter disbelief, with a swarm of unanswered questions, Phiney, Mat and Wilf's wife, Dora, begin their own enquiries into Wilf's death.

Early on a cold Somerset morning, ten year old Alesha Daniels is reported missing by her father, a violent alcoholic. Her mother, a known drug addict, is found unconscious, but it’s her mother’s boyfriend the police are keen to trace. As the hunt for Alesha gathers pace, a second local girl is taken, plunging another family into the depths of despair.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the wife of parliamentary candidate Tom Perry is brutally murdered in an apparent burglary gone wrong. With the by-election campaign about to start in earnest, and the festive season in full swing, torrential rain brings with it flood warnings on the Somerset Levels. Suspended on full pay and transferred to the cold case unit, Detective Inspector Nick Dixon is languishing on the sidelines as the investigation into Elizabeth Perry’s murder unravels and the floodwaters rise.

A man has been mutilated and left to drown on the incoming tide, handcuffed in his van. With the murder bearing a striking resemblance to a string of sadistic killings carried out with surgical precision in 1990s gangland Manchester, it can mean only one thing: the killer is back. Transferred to the Major Investigation Team, DI Nick Dixon is assigned a new partner and sent to Manchester. Meanwhile, the gruesome murders in Somerset continue.