Showing results by narrator "Stewart Crank" in All Categories

"Bring back the lynx? Over my dead body!" A mutter passed through the crowd of environmental protestors, and Rory stepped forward. "Your hunting has destroyed our hills and left them treeless wastes, devoid of wildlife. It’s time that changed." Lord Purdey’s lip curled in a sneer. "Listen, you lentil-eating cat lover, Scotland is owned by me and men like me. If we want to kill anything that moves and bulldoze your beloved hills flat, we will."

AD 383. Emperor Magnus Maximus orders the northern legions of Britannia to withdraw. The lumbering retreat is fraught with danger, as local tribes and warlords seek to capitalize on the power vacuum left by the Romans. This is the story of Atticus, the 15-year-old son of a cohort tribune from the sixth legion. Trapped behind the walls of a garrison, with only an aging centurion and his men for protection, Atticus must use both ingenuity and bravery to survive.

Teenage climber Ryan Hart is still in Nepal, working at a refugee center with his Tibetan girlfriend, Tashi. His obsession with summiting Mount Everest is as strong as ever, but a climbing accident puts his plans on hold. As soon as Ryan recovers, he and Tashi journey deep into the Himalayas. As they arrive at Base Camp, a violent terrorist attack kicks off. Ryan and his friends are held hostage. Escape is their only option, but all the trails are guarded. They must head for Everest's deadly slopes.

Ryan Hart is an 18-year-old adventurer on a mission. To get himself to Mount Everest and check out the truth about the world's highest peak. Friends have told him dark stories about the mountain, outrageous things that he wants to see for himself. Just a few hours after Ryan arrives at Everest Base Camp a lethal earthquake strikes. Avalanches pound the glacier, burying Ryan's climbing buddy and killing many others.

Braddick is back. Following a storm, a body is washed up on a beach, intricately wrapped in wire mesh. DS Marcus Braddick is struck by the similarities to a triple murder case from seven years before - a case that eluded his predecessor, Alec Ramsay. Across the city, a teacher is accused online by a predator hunting group. As his life unravels, a killer stalks the hunters. Braddick and Ramsay have to work out how the two worlds are entwined and discover who are the innocent and who are the guilty before it’s too late....

Suicide. Drugs. Murder. DI Braddick is put on the case when a hijacked drug deal has resulted in murder and an eyewitness goes missing. When victims are discovered strung up from the rafters of an abandoned fish factory on the Anglesey coastline, the police are baffled as to what went on. A deserted trawler found at the scene helps Braddick put the pieces together. Could this be the work of a notorious Russian crime family? When an undercover officer goes missing, everything points to an informer for the family, and it is clear they will stop at nothing to silence the leak.

Ben Greenwood’s life turned upside down the day his parents vanished—leaving behind nothing but questions. But when a mysterious letter arrives out of the blue, it changes everything. The letter points Ben toward a strange organisation he’s never heard of: the Royal Institute of Magic. Suddenly, he’s thrown into a realm where spells are bought and sold, magical creatures roam the streets, and danger lurks around every corner.

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They provide a portrait of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. Each of the stories offers glimpses into the lives of ordinary Dubliners, and together they paint a portrait of a nation. Ireland was at a crossroads of history and culture at that time, pursuing a search for national identity and purpose.

On 22 May 2017, a bomb exploded in the middle of a crowd of young fans leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more were injured. Saffie-Rose Roussos, aged eight, was the youngest victim to die in the attack. She had been at the concert with her mother, Lisa, and her elder sister, Ashlee.

Roxi is a rescue dog with a nice life. She wants all the animals in the world to have a nice life too. In this story, Roxi heads down Elephant-Trunk-Road, where she finds happy and sad elephants. With her superhero powers and her message about kindness, Roxi helps the sad elephants and her story has a happy ending.

The mansion of larger-than-life business magnate Titus McAvoy hums with the energy of his servants Nessa and Aoife, two Irish maids bonded through their journey to America, and a dream of escape. When preparation for one of Titus's famous parties sends the pair to the beach, Aoife stumbles upon a strange find on the shoreline. She instinctively pockets it, unaware that it is the key to her and Nessa's freedom. Ambergris holds more worth than silver or gold.

John, Scout, and the rest of Joyce's crew flee across the deserts and magical wastelands, holding the plans to make motivators: devices that provide unlimited magical power to any mage. Devices owned only by Greyshade, the man who saved the world after the apocalypse. Devices he blames for bringing the apocalypse in the first place. Devices he'll do anything to keep secret. Now, instead of bounty hunters, Greyshade is sending armies and magical assassins after them. And if that's not enough, he's leading this vast force himself.

The relics of St. Nicholas are among the most divine and prized possessions in the Christian world, said to hold the power to heal the most incurable diseases and protect those who come in contact with them. Biblical archeologist Maggie Shepherd has the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to extract and study one of these priceless artifacts buried in the tomb of the man who is now known as Santa Claus. In just a few weeks, on Christmas Eve, the Pope will present the venerated relic of St. Nicholas to the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Moscow in the hope of reuniting East and West.

Magazine editor and part-time archaeologist, Gill McArdle is getting it together. Or at least, he thinks he is, until the death of a friend throws his life into turmoil. He’s on Orkney, researching an elaborate stone carrying an ancient religious motif. But he’s perplexed as the carving long predates any previous incidence of the symbol’s first use. Either someone is tampering with Orcadian archaeology, or Gill is facing a puzzle that can’t be resolved.

The bond that changed everything is put to its final test. It has been more than twenty years since the Kindred came to live in Rockwood. Most of the villagers have embraced the Kindred and all that they have to teach, but there are those who fear the Kindreds' influence, and so have drifted away to live as outcasts. The outcasts suffer, living as they do, but they refuse help, even from the Horse-Bonded.

My heart is thumping with fear as I stare out at the snow-capped mountains. This ski trip to the French Alps was meant to be a chance for me and my two sisters to put the past behind us after years of not speaking. Instead, I'm expecting the police to knock on the door of our chalet. I'd planned for our families to get to know each other, sipping hot chocolate while laughing together around the fireplace. I didn't think our winter getaway would end in murder.

When the adult children of five billionaires are abducted by a shadowy group, their parents face an unthinkable ultimatum: pay the highest price, or lose their loved ones forever. But as fortunes crumble and alliances fracture, secrets rise to the surface. On a remote island prison, the hostages are pushed to their limits, uncovering betrayals while the manipulative mastermind pulls the strings. Time is running out, and the stakes are higher than anyone imagined.

Following the coronation of Charles III, Scotland’s most revered artefact, ‘The Stone of Destiny’ arrives at its long-term home in Perth Museum. Desperate to rebuild his shattered credibility, Gill is working hard on several stories along the Firth of Forth. But he’s presented with a problem when the discovery of an ancient inscription in a ruined church throws question marks against the authenticity of The Stone. On the trail of an age-old story, Gill finds himself opposed by someone prepared to kill to prevent the truth from being revealed.

I gasp out loud as I step through the door of the beautiful country hotel. My hands fly to my mouth in shock as I see the room is filled with my friends and family, my grown-up daughters and grandchildren at the center, gathered to celebrate my special birthday. Everyone raises their glasses to toast me. I should be enjoying the moment, but I'm on edge and I can't relax. Who organized this surprise party? How did they know I was going to be here?

Gill McArdle is on the island of Iona searching for the burial places of kings. What begins as an archaeological survey risks descending into a treasure hunt and Gill suspects subterfuge from new enemies as well as old. And when a find on Iona sheds a little light on the nature of ‘The Torn Isle’, Gill doesn’t like what he sees.