Showing results by narrator "Gordon Griffin" in All Categories

Gogol's great comic masterpiece paints an hilariously satirical picture of provincial life in 19th century Russia. Its publication in 1847 not only provided inspiration for succeeding generations of Russian writers, but fanned the already flickering flames of social discontent which were eventually to flare up and consume Russia in the revolution of 1917.

"I had not lived in the former pit village of Lynemouth since 1961 but the winding road north from Newcastle will always be the same nostalgic highway, each twist charged with vivid memories and powerful emotions...." So begins a story full of wonderful humour, emotional candour, and hardy tales of tough times - a quietly epic family saga set amid the pit villages of the Northeast. It stretches from the 1920s, before Sid's parents had even met, to the final closing of the mine and his mother's death, in 1999.

On a cold January morning, a nightmare awaits in a small Sussex village. A deranged young man goes on the rampage, shooting everyone in his path before taking his own life. It is a senseless, tragic event, but sadly not an unfamiliar one. At least, that's what everyone thinks. Only Julia Trent - believed to be the sole survivor - knows there was a second man involved.

A fiercely intelligent and moving second novel from the author of the acclaimed The Wilderness. Leonard Deppling returns to the capital from Scotland, where he has spent the past year nursing his dying father. Missing from the funeral was his younger brother William, a former lecturer and activist who lives with his wife and two young sons. Leonard is alone and rootless, he moves in with William hoping to unite their family and renew their friendship.

A body neatly wrapped in brown paper is found by the gardener, Mr Turtle, on his garden rubbish heap. The police are again summoned to the convent, and we meet again the now Deputy Commissioner Pearson, along with many of the characters so charmingly and empathetically described in the first audiobook.

The opening of an archaeological exhibition brings with it intrigue and evil as a fabled cursed golden death mask lives up to its dark past and death strikes at the exhibition. While digging up pieces of history, these archaeologists have also been burying secrets - deadly ones - and it's up to Jasper to uncover the truth before the murderer strikes again.

A short story from British Library Crime Classic Deep Waters. Four amateur yachtsmen are toasting the completion of a trip from Falmouth to Spain in adverse weather conditions with a well-earned glass of cognac. But with just one mouthful, one of the friends drops dead. Who could be behind the poisoning, and why?

James Pattinson was best known for his novels of adventure on the high seas, and this short story follows his maritime theme. When a man goes overboard on the M.V. Southern Star with just one witness, Captain Perry and his old friend Barton Rice must investigate.

Detective John Bell plans to have a well-earned rest when he is invited to holiday with his friends the Ridsdales upon their houseboat on the Thames. But when Lady Ridsdale’s diamond bracelet is stolen in the night, his holiday is cut short and he must determine who amongst their party could be responsible.

The Gift of the Emperor features Hornung’s most famous character, gentleman thief A. J. Raffles. When his friend and struggling journalist Bunny Manders tells Raffles of his recent article detailing a priceless pearl gifted to Queen Victoria by a European emperor, Raffles quickly sees an opportunity to get his hands on it and invites Bunny to accompany him on a sea voyage to Italy.

Bullion! is the ultimate locked-room mystery. A ship transporting gold bullion is travelling from Melbourne to London. The gold is packed into chests and stored in a separate locked and sealed room. But mysterious whispering is heard in the night and chests seemingly disappear and return, leading the crew to think they’re losing their minds. Can the second mate get to the bottom of the mystery?

Smuggler Guy Lunt is missing his former companions who were caught by the law on their last job. Not only that, he is struggling to make the payments on his smart new motor cruiser, Seasprite. But then he meets a stranger who has the perfect plan....

This is Freeman’s third mystery featuring pathologist-detective Dr John Thorndyke. Whilst presenting a new invention for increasing the efficiency of gas-buoys with his laboratory assistant Polton, Thorndyke is dragged into a mystery involving an elderly seafaring man who has gone missing in the fog.

Few authors are as closely associated with sea stories as C. S. Forester, creator of Horatio Hornblower. In this rare venture into the short-story genre, a lawyer thinks he has formulated the perfect way to dispose of a body, but it backfires in an amusing, ironic fashion.

A ghost is haunting the little Hertfordshire village of Cheriton.... In this fun short story, we meet quirky Detective Quentin Drex and his novel robot assistant as he investigates whether the legend of the Silver Bride is behind recent deaths at Cheriton Hall.

This story recounts Sherlock Holmes’ very first case. Having previously treated his deduction skills as a hobby at college, he must quickly turn detective to help a friend in need. An old acquaintance has paid Victor Trevor’s father a visit and seems to be blackmailing him. Holmes must decode a mystery letter to understand why.

Detective Inspector Humbleby explains to series-favourite Gervase Fen why the police like blackmail cases when relaying the story of two American brothers, Saul and Harry Colonna, and their boating fun that ended in disaster.

A short story from British Library crime classic Deep Waters. Narrated in the first person by Robert Beringer, a writer of sea stories, 'A Question of Timing' describes how he narrowly stops a murder on the bank of the Thames.

New faces don’t go unnoticed in small Cornish fishing villages, but when two strangers turn up in Pendennick, they soon make their presence known when they attempt to steal a boat, holding a local at gunpoint....

A short story from British Library Crime Classic Deep Waters. When a man is found dead on his yacht on the Thimble River, an inlet off the Solent, series detective David Wintringham must draw on his nautical knowledge to track down the killer....