Showing results by narrator "Todd McLaren" in All Categories

The modern US Army was largely created in the years between the two world wars. Prior to World War I, officers in leadership positions were increasingly convinced that building a new army could not take place as a series of random developments but had to be guided by military policy. In 1920, Congress accepted that idea and embodied it in the National Defense Act.

On a bitterly cold morning in January 1963, Daisy Zick was brutally murdered in her Battle Creek home. No fewer than three witnesses caught a glimpse of the killer, yet today, it remains one of Michigan's most sensational unsolved crimes. The act of pure savagery rocked not only the community but also the Kellogg Company, where she worked. Here, Blaine Pardoe artfully takes the listener into this true crime thriller.

In the American healthcare system, ignorance is not bliss. We are all paying the price for ever-increasing medical costs and the accompanying loss of quality care.

Elaine Quartermaine’s life was never much to talk about. Growing up in pre-Victorian London had made her a survivor if nothing else. Until she died! Or...thought she had died, and then she woke up somewhere else in someone else’s body.

For Sage Alexander, life was forever changed when he realized that the Angelic embodiments he could always see, the magnificent heavenly powers that he possessed, and the destiny he had always been told he had to fulfill were all real and true, and that his promised powers were necessary to defeat the Seven Princes of Hell. After saving his father from the clutches of Greed incarnate and destroying Prince Mammon, Sage has come to realize his place within the Angelic Council and the world as a protector to humanity.

The world is darker than it seems. Demons, vicious half-humans and evil creatures of myth and legend prowl the Earth, unseen to human eyes but not to the eyes of 14-year-old Sage Alexander. Descended from humans and angels, Sage has the power to see and fight all these creatures, and in fact he must. The human race is in danger, controlled unknowingly by the Seven Princes of Hell, the seven deadly sins. Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, and Pride all breathe their sin into weaker human ears and take those willing souls for their own, as they have for centuries.

The CIA has learned that the Kremlin is about to launch a sophisticated propaganda operation aimed at discrediting and disrupting the United States and ultimately restoring Russia to great nation status. Intercepted intelligence suggests that the operation will hinge on a single, breaking news event in Eastern Europe, supported by a sustained campaign of disinformation and cyberattacks.

Following the fatal shooting in broad daylight of unarmed African American Michael Brown by a white cop in August 2014, Ferguson, Missouri, became the scene of protests that pitted law enforcement against locals and Black Lives matter activists. The media firestorm has not waned, and, in fact, has grown stronger in light of all the recent violence by and against police officers nationwide. According to Ferguson's former police chief Tom Jackson, the uninformed media actually fans the flames of unrest and exploits the situation.

What could possibly go wrong with Charles attending a vintage wine auction preview? This is the Gotcha Detective Agency, after all, and what goes wrong makes Mimi and Charles's head spin. And not from too much wine. Mimi, Charles, and Nick fall into a twisted tale of wine fraud and murder in this latest installment of the Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery series.

Burned-out software engineer Jake Martin and his golden retriever, Fred, live in a mountain cabin far enough from Denver to escape the rat race but not far enough to escape its crime. While remodeling an old house, he uncovers a stack of love letters that will turn his world inside out. When word of the letters gets out, people start dying, including the owner of the house Jake was remodeling. With his main source of income gone, he lets his friend and neighbor, Bonnie Jones, talk him into searching for the killer after they are offered a large retainer.

The Aliomenti village is in ruins, destroyed by one of their own, its population nearly eliminated in the calamity. From the ruins, the Aliomenti rise to international prominence, influencing buyers and sellers, warriors and bureaucrats, as they patiently and invisibly expand their empire. Will Stark serves as the driving force behind that expansion. Whether he's creating their innovations or offering subtle hints, few of their revolutionary progressions are made without his influence.

Since the dawn of civilization, it's been mankind's greatest dream: immortality and eternal youth. Dramatic advances in medical science have finally made it possible. But in order to preserve everyone's youthful state, they must undergo an irreversible operation before passing into adulthood. A special hormone patch maintains each person's body in the form of a preadolescent 11-year-old.

Adrian Brézé defied his own dark heritage as a near-purebred Shadowspawn for years, until his power-hungry sister, Adrienne, kidnapped his human lover, Ellen. Now, Adrienne is dead, and the Council of Shadows is gathering its strength. To stop the Council from launching an apocalypse, Adrian and Ellen must ally with the Brotherhood, a resistance group dedicated to breaking the Council's hold on humankind... by any means necessary.

FBI agent Jack Ferico’s father is dying. His last wish? To see his estranged son, Danny, before he dies. Jack never got along with his older brother, but agrees to bring him home. Trouble is, Danny has disappeared without a trace. Jack’s search uncovers secrets, hidden agendas, and a danger more serious than he ever imagined. Danny specialized in stealth technologies at an international think tank. National security agencies suspect Danny sold classified technologies to the wrong people.

Stashie is a heart reader. She wields a dangerous magic: one that reveals the truth at the heart of a person. So when the old king needs to know which of his sons has he pure heart, and which must be killed, he turns to heart readers to tell him the truth. But Stashie is a victim of vicious Gerneral Tarne, the country's military leader. The empire's killing machine ruined her life - this is her chance for revenge.

Frederick Radcliff is a descendant of the family that founded Atlantis's first settlement, and his grandfather Victor led the army against England to win the nation's independence. But he is also a black slave, unable to prove his lineage, and forced to labor on a cotton plantation in the southern region of the country. Frederick feels the color of his skin shouldn't keep him from having the same freedoms his ancestors fought and died for.

There is a river on Dangchao Waypoint, a small world out beyond Die Bold. It is a longish river as such things go, with a multitude of bayous and rapids and waterfalls, and it runs through many a strange and hostile country. Going up it, you can lose everything. Going up it, you can find anything. The Hound Bridget ban has vanished, and her employer, the Kennel (the mysterious superspy agency of the League), has given up the search.

Sardonic, chain-smoking, java-addicted FBI Special Agent Andy Fisher is called to look into the possibility that a terrorist group claims to have acquired an "E Bomb" - which can disable all electronic systems within a 10-mile radius - from North Korea. Fisher doubts that the North Koreans could actually make a working lawnmower, let alone an E Bomb. But the threat is more immediate than he suspects: The terrorists are already proceeding toward their objective.

The name Edgar Allan Poe conjures up thoughts of hearts beating long after their owners are dead, of disease and plague amid wealth, and of love that extends beyond the grave. The richness of Poe's writing, however, includes much more than horror, loss, and death. Poe's stories teem with irony and black humor, in addition to plot twists and surprise endings.

No one’s mourning the death of Cuba’s dictator, Fidel Castro. His heirs, including daughter Carla, are jockeying for power. Guerrilla rebels threaten to topple the teetering government. But there’s more at stake than just the island nation. Il Jeffe’s legacy includes a long-hidden atomic missile, left over from the Kennedy-era Bay of Pigs crisis - which guerrilla leaders threaten to use against any American interference. Ace pilot Marine Lt. Edward Garcia is tasked to find the launch site.