Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

A single death could plunge the Empire into chaos... Silus, a member of Emperor Caracalla's elite assassins, the Arcani, is dispatched to Numidia. Rumours of assassination plots against Marcellus, the Emperor's closest aide, are rife. Silus must stop them. But the forces arrayed against the Arcani are now as powerful as they are clandestine. Inducted into the Emperor’s bodyguard, his Lions, Silus soon discovers secrets that should have stayed hidden. And as the Emperor becomes ever more reckless in battle, Silus unearths a conspiracy that runs deeper than his worst nightmares.

Bloomsbury presents Riding With The Rocketmen by James Witts, read by David Thorpe. 'Humble and very funny' – Ned Boulting 'Essential reading for any Étape rider' – Daniel Friebe, co-host of The Cyclist Podcast An Everyman dropped into the world of Supermen... Can this amateur cyclist...

'Ross Greenwood doesn’t write clichés. What he has written here is a fast-paced, action-filled puzzle with believable characters that's spiced with a lot of humour' Kath Middleton A brutal double murder on a Norfolk beach horrifies the town of Cromer. The way the victims died is chilling and...

Patrick Hamilton is renowned for his gritty, slice-of-life tales chronicling the hopes, dreams and obsessions of London's working class in the inter-war years. This collection brings together his key pieces, together with some lesser-known classics and a bonus 2004 documentary exploring his achievements and legacy.

The ordered calm of Gloucester Abbey is shattered by the murder of one of the monks. The Abbey becomes paralysed with fear and the Abbot is ill-equipped to deal with such a heinous crime, especially as suspicion inevitably falls on the brothers themselves. Ralph Delchard, a former soldier in the era-defining Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, an accomplished lawyer, are investigating a local land dispute when news of the vicious murder reaches them.

You have 87 seconds to save yourself from drowning. Can you? A young woman in a strapless blue summer dress lies on the cobblestones next to the canal. With her eyes half open, it looks like she's had one too many Bacardi Breezers and is going to wake up with a killer hangover. Except she won't wake up ever again... and her lifeless body has been pulled from Christianshavn canal, right in the centre of Copenhagen. Investigator Georg Guldmann watches with dismay as the zip of the bodybag is pulled close.

'Ross Greenwood doesn’t write clichés. What he has written here is a fast-paced, action-filled puzzle with believable characters that's spiced with a lot of humour' Kath Middleton There’s a killer on the streets, and no one is safe… First there was the drowned man, but maybe his death was...

Two men out for revenge. But only one can win. When an inmate is found unresponsive in his high security cell at Belmarsh prison, he’s rushed to hospital for treatment. The prisoner is human trafficker and international fixer Tristan Huxley, a man a lot of people have good reason to want dead...

Henry Beaumont keeps a renowned pack of foxhounds, quick, brave and ruthless at the kill. One December hunt, the dogs uncover more than a fox in the woodlands - brushing aside dead leaves, Beaumont finds the crushed body of Martin Reynard, a former member of his household. Enraged, Henry, though he has no experience in such matters, swears to find the killer, but his impetuosity and rudimentary investigative skills lead him to arrest a man of questionable guilt. Fortunately, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, in the area to settle a land dispute, are available to lend their expertise.

December 1940. With the Luftwaffe pounding the city nightly, Londoners seek refuge in underground stations. Aldwych has been taken out of service to provide shelter for the British Museum's priceless Elgin Marbles, as well as civilians escaping the bombing. When the body of a young man is discovered on the tracks, wearing evening dress but barefoot, Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson are on the case. Before long, more bodies are discovered, and Coburg's wife Rosa becomes a target for the brutal killer.

1861, Victorian England. When Matthew and Harriet Rowsley are invited to a party at Clunston Park by Matthew's cousin, Colonel Barrington Rowsley, Harriet is nervous - surely the aristocratic guests will snub her? Her fears are realised on their first evening when the only person who deigns to speak to her is the spiteful Grafin Weiser and confirmed when she commits a faux pas at the cricket match the following day. Grafin Weiser is then found murdered and the finger is quickly pointed at Clara, an eleven-year-old maid, as the culprit.

It all began with sheep-stealing. A hateful act among the shepherds of the fells, and yet not a matter of life and death. Then came arson and with the leaping of the flames, death and disorder reached the peaceful moors. Holidaying with his friends the Hoggetts in High Gimmerdale while on a trip to find some farmland for his retirement, Robert Macdonald agrees to help in investigating the identity of the sheep-stealers, before being dragged into a case requiring his full experience as Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard.

When fire destroys their London theatre, Lord Westfield’s players must seek out humbler venues in the countryside. But company manager Nicholas Bracewell is distracted by a shocking tragedy: a mysterious messenger from his native Devon is murdered by poison. Though the messenger is silenced, Nicholas understands what he must do: return to his birthplace and reconcile some unfinished business of the past.

When Nicholas Bracewell finds himself once again in the parlour of his lost love, Anne Hendrik, he was not expecting her entreaties to embroil him in the murder of a beloved choir master. Between tales of cruelty, forgotten maps of London and a butcher determined to rescue his son, it is yet another mystery for the book keeper to untangle. But will his quest endanger Lord Westfield’s Men?

After a calamitous performance and the death of one of their own, Lord Westfield’s Men are more than despondent. So when the mysterious Simon Chaloner follows Nicholas Bracewell home with an offer of a new play, anonymously penned, his offer seems too good to refuse. It is a story of a simple death used to conceal a greater treachery, perhaps even treason. But they could never have known how dangerous one play could be. Or how telling the tale of a murdered mathematician might put them all in jeopardy.

In the tenth installment of this dramatic Elizabethan series, Westfield’s Men are flying high after a celebrated performance of The Insatiate Duke at the Queen’s Head. However, victory is bittersweet as the company is soon faced with dissolution and the loss of their theatre; were it not for one of the company’s rising stars. After acquiring a new benefactor, the company plan to build their own theatre. However, before they have the chance to find out who this guardian angel is, one of the group is found brutally murdered.

Theatre troupe Westfield’s Men take on a new actor, Francis Quilter, after reaching new heights of success. But with the new member brings new trouble. Quilter’s father, Gerard, is on trial for the murder of an enemy, but he denies the charge and Nicholas Bracewell sets about proving his innocence. However, Bracewell’s loyalty to Francis drives a wedge between the players. Who will clear the Quilter family name? On their quest for the truth, they stumble across an unlikely ally, who may just hold the answers they’re looking for.

Winter, Witchcraft and Devilish Deceit. Faced with the austerities of a bitterly cold English winter, the theatre is deserted and Westfield’s Men find themselves out of work. Fortuitously, the company is invited to perform at a country home in Essex; welcome news to the disgruntled players. The company decide it’s the perfect opportunity to trial their new play, The Witch of Colchester. However, when the group’s leading actor begins to fall mysteriously ill, the company fear witchcraft might be involved.

Cambridge, 1860. Bill's head is full of questions, and it always seems to get him into trouble. Especially when one of his experiments causes his father to lose his job. Bill raises a little money for his family selling interesting fossils he has found. But it's not much. Then someone else needs his help - fast. Bill has discovered something something that could be the answer to his problems. But for the rest of the world, it is something that questions everything.

This is the secret report of disgraced former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago, written on the mail ship Tankerville en route to Philadelphia. His mission is to aid the civil servant charged with carrying a vital treaty to Congress that will prevent the Americans from joining with the French in their war against Britain. When the civil servant meets an unfortunate end, Laurence becomes the one person standing between Britain and disaster. It is his great chance to redeem himself—except that his predecessor has taken the secret of the treaty's hiding place to his watery grave.