Showing results by narrator "Ben Higgins" in All Categories

Sadler's Wells, 1933. Disciplined and dedicated, Olivia is the perfect ballerina. But no matter how hard she works, she can never match identical twin Clara's charm. As rehearsals intensify for the ballet Coppélia, the girls feel increasingly like they are being watched. And, as infatuation turns to obsession, everything begins to unravel.

This is the shocking story of a life secretly shattered by pathological gambling addiction and the first steps to putting the pieces back together. For more than 12 years, Patrick Foster lived a double life. Turning 31, a popular and sociable young teacher and former professional cricketer, he had a lovely girlfriend and a supportive family. But he was hiding a secret and debilitating gambling addiction from even those closest to him.

Nick and Delaney each think they've planned the perfect romantic getaway – a mystery holiday designed by a travel matchmaking service. But when the itineraries go astray, Nick walks into a hotel suite that's already occupied – just not by his fiancée. Two frantic phone calls later, Nick and Delaney discover the truth: their partners are together in Reykjavík and they're stuck sharing a room in one of the most romantic places on earth. As they scramble to fix the mix-up, fate steps in and they start to wonder if the wrong holiday might just be the right one after all.

When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls. Online journalist Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge.

Callum Murphy thought he was happily married to a corporate consultant. But when police show up at Callum's work site, informing him of his wife Lea's death – his world starts to crumble. Within a few hours, Callum is told that Lea was, in fact, an MI6 agent who was killed because of intelligence only she had, strangers with guns break into his home and he's forced to run for his life. Thrust into a terrifying chase across Europe, Callum has to dodge British police and shadowy MI6 operatives who believe he knows more than he's letting on.

Welcome to the Ever After Agency – a clandestine organisation offering bespoke solutions to romantic problems. Whether you're looking for the love of your life, a fresh romantic start, or just want to keep up appearances, the agency can tailor a solution to meet your needs. When Tristan Fellows walks into the agency, Poppy Dean knows she's in for a challenge. A typical bachelor, Tristan has no intention of falling in love, but in order to receive his 30-million-pound inheritance, he must find himself a wife before his 35th birthday.

In the space of a single day, Harry Taylor achieves the impressive feat of losing a girlfriend, his London flat and his bookshop job. So, when his cousin Lucas invites him to his home in the seaside village of Little Bluewater Bay to recuperate, Harry jumps at the chance.

I’m not being paranoid. It’s all there in the crossword clues…in black and white. There’s no doubt the threat is real. Today, the answers spell out my murder. Is Nathan, my estranged crossword-setter husband, really planning to kill me? Or is it someone closer to home? I check the door is bolted, slither to the ground, and count down the seconds to noon. There’s nothing left to do, and no one I can call.

Leaving school and starting his career at Decca Records in 1958 at the age of sixteen, Tony King would soon find himself becoming close friends with Elton John, rekindling John Lennon and Yoko Ono's relationship, mediating a quarrelsome Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and spending time with Freddie Mercury in his final days - a far cry from his childhood days in Eastbourne. Living in an era of seismic social, technological and cultural transformation, King experienced these defining moments as a stalwart in London and New York's gay scenes.

This time, there is a plot. That's the plot of the story. Or is it? The plot of the story could also be that Uncle Gobb has an evil plot. And his plot is about a plot. A plot of land. Are you following? Good! The plot of land is behind Malcolm's school, and it is where Uncle Gobb wants to set up his own rival Dread Shed School of Facts. Oh no! Malcolm is going to need to come up with his own plot to stop Uncle Gobb's plot. So maybe that, in fact, is the actual plot of this story. You'll just have to listen to this audiobook to find out!

Even though Malcolm managed to bamboozle and confuzle Uncle Gobb in the last book (hooray!), it was only temporary (boo!). Uncle Gobb is still living with him - and still roaring at him about peas, poetry and Peter Parker. This time, the plan to get rid of Uncle Gobb has to be mega. It has to be epic. It has to involve America, the Jumblies, the Genie (of course), Aunty Brenda the Mender and Malcolm's long-lost dad. But Malcolm doesn't know that Uncle Gobb also has a plan. A plan to get rid of Malcolm once and for all.

Professor Matt Hunter is an atheist ex-minister and expert on religion, brought in by the police to advise on cases where there is a supernatural overtone. When they receive a report of strange whispers behind a blood-soaked door, they are baffled to discover a man, who will only speak in whispers under his breath, with the name Baal-barith tattooed on his chest.

Jane Ferguson suffers from horrific nightmares which she claims not to be able to explain. And when her traumatised six-year-old daughter finds Jane dead, hanging by the neck in the hallway of the family's seaside home, it is assumed she took her own life. But routine police enquiries reveal evidence indicating that Jane has been murdered, and her businessman husband, Felix, commodore of the local yacht club, becomes the chief suspect. Called in to launch a major inquiry, Detective Inspector David Vogel, discovers that nothing connected with Jane Ferguson's death is as it seems.

During a communion service, the teenage son of a vicar attacks his father with an axe. The horrified congregation watch the son escape, and rumours arise that the boy was involved in devil worship. Professor Matt Hunter is brought in to advise, yet he quickly suspects the church attack may have a far more complex cause. Meanwhile, a 10-year-old boy called Ever grows up in a small Christian cult.

When Sir John Fairbrother, head of one of the world's biggest private banks, burns to death, along with his nurse, in a catastrophic fire at his Somerset manor house, Detective Inspector David Vogel finds himself dealing with a complex and mystifying sequence of events. If arson was involved, as Vogel believes, the obvious suspect is Sir John's chauffeur/gardener, George Grey...but is he guilty? Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and bring those responsible for the fire and two further suspicious deaths to justice, Vogel uncovers a tangled web of intrigue.

Fifteen years ago, 29 Barley Street, South London, became notorious as the scene of alleged poltergeist activity which led to the death of young Holly Wasson. The shadow cast by this episode is still felt in the town and amongst the gang of friends who were caught up in the tragic event. When one of the group dies in horrific and strange circumstances, Matt Hunter, former minister and now professor of sociology, is called in to investigate.

Matt Hunter lost his faith a long time ago. Formerly a minister, now a professor of sociology, he’s writing a book that debunks the Christian faith while assisting the police with religiously motivated crimes. On holiday with his family in Oxfordshire, Matt finds himself on edge in a seemingly idyllic village, but when a local girl goes missing, he's caught up in an investigation that brings memories to the surface he would prefer to stay buried deep…He must draw on his theological knowledge to catch the killer.

Malcolm is, in all ways, an ordinary boy. This is a perfectly ordinary story featuring one perfectly ordinary 10-year-old, his very bossy uncle, some baked beans, a school which tries to make interesting things boring, the famed Italian city of Ponky and a genie who appears when you rub your nose. It also includes lots of very useful facts - many of which are untrue.

Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life. Born in 1986 as Halley’s Comet crossed our skies, he is destined to go out with it when it returns in 2061. Until then he can't die. He has proof. And until then, he can account for every day and every pound and penny he makes in his lucrative but dull job in the City of London. His future is mapped out, he has a plan to be forever remembered, and he even has Gemma to share it with. But when Robin's sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel.

Since moving to a new city, once-adventurous Steph is doing her best to prove to her friends and family back home that her life is as fulfilling and envy-inducing as ever. The truth? She is broke and has found that making new friends isn't as easy as she expected. Eric has lost his way in life...