Showing results by narrator "Alister Austin" in All Categories

I'm one scrappy wizard. As someone with barely a flicker of magic, I've spent my life being mocked and surviving fights with bullies. But when my parents die in an accident, and I find myself responsible for our whole wizard house and family, I know my usual tactics aren't going to cut it. The situation veers from bad to catastrophic when my backstabbing cousin stages a coup and takes my family hostage. I barely manage to flee, but the only supernatural willing to help me is Killian Drake - the most feared vampire in the region.

I thought life would be easier after I unsealed my magic. Spoiler: it's not. I want to free my family from my traitorous cousin, but with all the allies he's got guarding his back, even my new powers won't be enough to beat him. My best bet is to use my parent's signet ring to prove my claim of leadership. It's clear that war will break out soon if something doesn't change. So, I'm a wizard searching for a ring, while trying to survive living with a bunch of vampires and their deadly, suddenly touchy-feely leader. Yeah, life is definitely not easier.

Critical Path is Fuller's master work - the summing up of a lifetime's thought and concern - as urgent and relevant as it was upon its first publication in 1981. Critical Path details how humanity found itself in its current situation - at the limits of the planet's natural resources and facing political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises.

Ever had ex-housemates you can't get rid of? When Killian and the rest of the Drake vampires kicked me out of their mansion without any explanation, I felt beyond betrayed. I was livid! But I refused to waste my energy thinking about them. Thanks to all the free training I got while living with vampires, I had the skills I needed to finally free my family. I even got my house back! Best yet, I can pass on the magic techniques and fighting skills I've learned to all the wizards in our group.

Until now there hasn't been a critical, authoritative, in-depth portrait of Metallica. Mick Wall's thoroughly researched, insightful work is enriched by his interviews with band members, record company execs, roadies, and fellow musicians. He tells the story of how a tennis-playing, music-loving Danish immigrant named Lars Ulrich created a band with singer James Hetfield and made his dreams a reality.

Manias, Panics, and Crashes is a scholarly and entertaining account of the way that mismanagement of money and credit has led to financial explosions over the centuries. This seventh edition of an investment classic has been thoroughly revised and expanded following the latest crises to hit international markets. Renowned economist Robert Z. Aliber introduces the concept that global financial crises in recent years are not independent events, but symptomatic of an inherent instability in the international system.

In Manchester, two hardened gang members on the run take Catherine Blake and her one-year-old son hostage at gunpoint. She is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Held in a Transit van, Catherine needs a plan fast. But it means diving into her captors’ risk-drenched world, and playing them at their own game. Catherine has been through cancer, miscarriages and five draining years of IVF in order to have her son Ethan. He is the most precious thing in the world. She may be terrified out of her wits, but she’d do anything to protect him. Anything, no matter the cost. Brace yourself.

DS Kevin Coupland, still coming to terms with his wife’s illness, has a new DCI to contend with. DS Alex Moreton, due to start her maternity leave at the end of the week, has a replacement DC snapping at her heels. When another witness is murdered Coupland comes under increasing pressure to track down the killer but then tragedy strikes, testing him to the limits. Someone is intimidating the remaining witnesses with a cold-blooded callousness that smacks of a professional.

Most people watch others climb the career ladder and assume they must possess a natural talent that only a lucky few are blessed with. The truth is that the skills needed to get ahead of 99 percent of other candidates can be learned. With practice, it can transform anyone’s chances of securing the job of their dreams.

Britain's most infamous criminals: the Kray twins. The extent of their activities has always been uncertain. But now, it is time for the conclusive account of their story, from their East End beginnings, to becoming the kingpins of London's underworld. This objective account, compiled by best-selling crime author and criminal lawyer James Morton, cuts through the conflicting versions of their stories and answers burning questions still being asked 50 years after their infamous conviction.

Following an allegation that he was behind a prisoner's murder in HMP Manchester, DS Kevin Coupland enlists the help of the one man everyone is certain has set him up - Kieran Tunney, a notorious crime boss already under investigation. When Coupland reviews several cases, he suspects they are linked in a way he cannot believe is possible. If his suspicions are correct, then he must act fast to stop the unthinkable from happening - even if that means putting himself in the firing line.

When he stopped a serial killer in his tracks earlier in the year he thought that would be the end of it, but for DS Kevin Coupland his nightmare has just begun. A child’s body is discovered hidden in a bag, kicking off a major investigation for Salford Precinct’s murder squad. Soon the National Crime Agency roll into town and Coupland is under strict instructions to play nice. 

In this gorgeous stand-alone cozy fantasy romance perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft, a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales—as two princes vie for her heart. Magic is fading from Wales—choked off by King Offa’s Dyke, the...

The murder squad’s resources at Salford Precinct Station are stretched to the limit. DS Kevin Coupland is called out to a fatal fire at a local residential home for vulnerable people and immediately suspects arson. One of the victims is the sister of local gangster Kieran Tunney, sparking revenge attacks which threaten to bring the city to a standstill. For Coupland the clock is ticking.

The Athlete’s Gut is an in-depth look at a system that plagues many athletes. This guide offers a much-needed resource for troubleshooting GI problems. The majority of endurance athletes suffer from some kind of gut problem during training and competition. Symptoms like nausea, cramping, bloating, side stitches, and the need to defecate can negatively impact an athlete’s performance. Why are gut problems so common during exercise? And what can athletes do to prevent and manage gut symptoms that occur during training and competition?

Taking inspiration from the fable of the hare and the tortoise, internationally renowned trainer Matt Little recognises that there is no fast path to success. By focusing on immediate results, we can gloss over process in a race to get ahead, skipping over the lessons and experiences that we all need to build solid foundations for our achievements. Matt shows that taking the slow lane can not only help you reach your goals more effectively, it can make your successes more sustainable by increasing your motivation, energy and resilience.

In 2003, Russian physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov found a way to produce graphene the thinnest substance in the world by using sticky tape to separate an atom-thick layer from a block of graphite. Their efforts would win the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics, and now the applications of graphene and other two-dimensional substances form a worldwide industry.

Sharon Mathers suffered a brutal blow to the head following a night out with friends from work. Teamed with DC Ashcroft who has transferred from the Met under a cloud, Coupland struggles to find a motive for the killing when two days later another body is found, this time at the bottom of a footbridge at Salford Station. Could the same person be responsible? 

This striking new collection exemplifies the way in which Mendelsohn - a classicist by training - uses the classics as a lens to think about urgent contemporary debates. There is much to surprise here. Mendelsohn invokes the automatons featured in Homer’s epics to help explain the AI films Ex Machina and Her and perceives how Ted Hughes sought redemption by translating a play of Euripides (the ‘bad boy of Athens’) about a wayward husband whose wife returns from the dead. 

Tracey Kavanagh was her usual upbeat self - right up until the moment she drowned her son and tied a rope around her neck, killing herself and her unborn child. For Alex Moreton, this case couldn't have come at a worse time. Battling with her partner over whether to have another child, she is superstitious about pushing their luck - they're happy enough as they are...aren't they?