Showing results by narrator "Lloyd Matthew Davies" in All Categories

Vivian Whitlock's social media empire is about to crumble. She's closing in on thirty, and her fans are moving on to their "weddings and babies" era. About to be dropped by her management team, she pretends she and her secret boyfriend are ready to take the plunge. There's just one problem: he doesn't exist.

Nobody liked Gloria Wiggins, a woman who regarded anyone who did not acquiesce to her jaundiced view of the world with disdain. James Baxter, the previous vicar, had been one of those, and her scurrilous outburst in the church one Sunday had hastened his death. And now, years later, the woman was dead, hanging from a beam in her garage. Detective Inspector Tremayne and Sergeant Clare Yarwood had seen the body, interviewed the woman's acquaintances, and those who had hated her.

If it hadn't been for the circumstances, Detective Inspector Keith Tremayne would have said the view was outstanding. Up high, overlooking the farmhouse in the valley below, the panoramic vista of Salisbury Plain stretching out beyond. The only problem was that near where he stood with his sergeant, Clare Yarwood, there was a body, and it wasn't a pleasant sight.

Originally published in 1927, these short stories represent the fifth and final collection of Arthur Conan Doyle's tales featuring Sherlock Holmes. Included are stories originally published in Strand Magazine beginning in 1921 and stretching through 1927.

Tim Mason’s gripping new novel finds Inspector Charles Field hunting a ruthless serial killer who is terrorizing Florence Nightingale and her nurses in Crimea in 1855. But when the main suspect turns up dead, Field determines the case is closed. Or is it? Twelve years later in London, amidst the turmoil surrounding the expansion of voting rights, Field discovers a woman’s body, mouth covered by the killer’s signature embroidered rose. Did Field suspect the wrong man before, or is he dealing with a copycat?

Settled down in his beloved Mortlake once again, philosopher and astronomer John Dee is enjoying the quiet life when Her Majesty’s spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham darkens his door, instructing him to befriend a certain Polish count with an interest in alchemy and angelic communication. But when Dee and the count are caught breaking the law, trying to convene with angels, they are exiled, and must make their way to the court of Rudolf, Holy Roman Emperor, in far-off Prague.

The author of more than 25 plays, 10 nonfiction books, seven novels, five children's books, and four books of poetry, A. A. Milne was notable for more than just his creation of the Hundred Acre Wood. This collection illustrates just how Milne's mind worked and offers witty, creative, and entertaining insight into his everyday life.

For Lee "Kix" Thompson, life is about having fun - even when times are tough. Growing Out of It is the tale of one "nutty boy" not really growing out of it at all. From getting up to no good as a teenager to his many musical (mis)adventures in the 1970s, Lee's memoir of his formative years captures his enduring love for his north London stomping ground, where he first met the other members of Madness.

All Nick wants to do is take his dying father for a perfect father-son weekend in the Scottish Highlands. It’s not much to ask, is it? A log cabin, a roaring fire, a bottle of fine whiskey, and two days to paper over the cracks in their relationship. However, Nick didn’t plan on making the trip with a dead neighbour in the back of his car. Or the neighbour’s dog. He really didn’t plan on being pursued by a psychotic female assassin intent on collecting body parts.

The year is 1631. Charles d’Artagnan flees the ashes of his life in Gascony, seeking better opportunities in Paris. With his land seized by armed peasants and his family among the countless dead, he has nothing left to lose and little to gain beyond mere survival. Magic — once a useful tool for those rare individuals who still possess it — has become a weapon of incomparable power and destructiveness employed by France’s bitter rival, Spain.

It began with a handful of East Berlin teens who heard the Sex Pistols on a British military radio broadcast to troops in West Berlin and it ended with the collapse of the East German dictatorship. Punk rock was a life-changing discovery: in an authoritarian state where the future was preordained, punk, with its rejection of society and DIY approach to building a new one, planted the seeds for revolution.

Professor Moriarty recounts his first encounter with Sherlock Holmes during the Adventure of the Red-Headed League. You didn't know Moriarty was involved? Neither did Holmes! This short story won Honorable Mention in an international short story competition and was later published in the Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine.

Investigating a web of international conspiracy and destruction, it's up to H to untangle the threads. Under the direction of the head of the Japanese Secret Intelligence Service and with the help of an alluring French special agent, H is drawn into perilous situations and sensual affairs in exotic locations. He must discover the link between a respected German billionaire philanthropist and a shadowy international assassin to prevent them from changing world history before it’s too late.

Spain, 1639. When Len de Montemayor’s family is killed, she thinks her life is over until an aristocratic family rescues her. Len finds a soul mate in their son, Piers, and as they grow up together, their friendship becomes a love so intense that it comes with a promise: it will last forever. But with the outbreak of civil war, a dutiful Piers knows his fate is with the Royal Navy, leaving Len waving from the shore as he sails toward an uncertain future.

When Brody Taylor receives a "death letter" from a fellow elite hacker, sent a week after his murder, its contents present Brody with an offer even he can’t refuse. With the investigation being led by his girlfriend, DI Jenny Price, Brody faces an unexpected personal and professional conflict of interest. Meanwhile, unaware of the victim’s true occupation, Jenny is stumped. How and why would a disabled Afghan War veteran be poisoned in his own home by one of the world’s most deadly snakes?

The Host wants to know what the Academy was trying to hide and why the Fallen agreed to it. They want the Instrument of War, the one thing that can tip the Eternity War in their favor and put an end to the stalemate. Any impact on the Academy staff, students or buildings is just collateral damage. Mitch would like to forget that the last year ever happened, but that doesn't seem likely with Little Red Riding Hood now teaching Teratology. The vampire isn't quite as terrifying as he first thought, but she's not the only monster at the Academy.

A millionaire businessman and his loving family; two young conmen and an unspoken bond; and a pair of hardened hit men - these three groups are from different worlds, but one event will bring those worlds together and change their lives forever.

Raised in the world-leading Academy of Magic rather than by his absentee parents, Mitch has come to see it as his home. He's spent more time with his friends than his family, and the opinion of his math teacher matters far more than that of his parents. His peaceful life is shattered when a devastating earthquake strikes and almost claims his little brother's life. But this earthquake is no natural phenomenon - it's a result of the ongoing war between Heaven and Hell.

Faery royalty have always married for duty rather than love. Prince Chrysanths should be no different - except with a human for a father, the prince known as Puck already is different. When he is betrothed against his will to Prince Sky, Puck flees to his father in the human world, only to have Sky follow. Prince Sky Song of the Clouds isn't thrilled with the prospect of marriage either, but is bound by duty to follow through - if he can't win Puck over, the faery realm might very well dissolve into utter chaos.

This is two fictional short stories, each originally written in serial form across many days on DavidMegill.com. The first story, "Batman was Here," is broken into days and covers one week of an unusual relationship. The second story, "Otis," is broken into "floors" of a building and is a bit of a mystery, filled with odd characters and strange intersections.