Showing results by narrator "Charles Johnston" in All Categories

Summer 1931: After finding the battered corpse of a spiritualist medium at an archaeological site on the Suffolk coast, the Reverend Lucian Shaw is thrust into a dark and deadly mystery. Was the medium a victim of the evil forces he claimed to have harnessed for his own use, or is there a rational explanation for his demise? Discovering a trail of blackmail and intimidation leading from the foothills of the Himalayas to an English seaside town, Reverend Shaw must battle his own inner demons and struggle with the deepest questions of faith before he is able to unmask the killer.

Set two seasons after the coronavirus devastated the summer game, Close of Play is a humorous rustic rural romp looking at what happens when property developers want to turn a village cricket ground into a new housing estate. The planning laws offer no protection. Protests do not help. And when the players can earn £40,000 each by selling off the land, everything seems lost. Until they decide to settle the issue by holding a £1 million village cricket match.

When a violent storm blasts England’s south coast, it’s up to retired Italian detective Giuseppe Bianchi to sift through the devastation and piece together the tragic events left behind in the storm’s wake.

October, 1931: an anonymous telegram summons the Reverend Lucian Shaw, country parson and former army chaplain, to the deathbed of his elderly uncle in the remote Scottish Highlands.

A brazen daylight robbery at Christie's becomes the talk of London, but Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are no longer in the business of solving crime. Holmes has retired to Sussex, to keep bees, and Watson, recently widowed, has returned to general practice. But when Watson, desperate for distraction, agrees to accompany his old friend to Vienna, to visit eminent neurologist, Sigmund Freud, it is not long before the pair are pulled back into the murky world of ruthless criminals bent on abduction, intimidation and murder.

In a crumbling post-Roman Britain, Vitalinus, later Vortigern, rises to power through political manoeuvring and mercenary allies. He faces challenges from religious figures like St Germanus and ambitious nobles like Aurelius Ambrosius, culminating in a battle for control. During the transition from Roman order to a fragmented, warlord-ruled society the Jutes, led by Hengist, arrive, seeking land and influence, leading to further conflict and alliances, ultimately shaping the destiny of Britain and the rise of Arthur. The last gleam of light in the twilight of Roman civilisation.

Three murder mysteries. One diarist. Two brilliant but unlikely sleuths. Step into the dark heart of Restoration England with celebrated diarist, Samuel Pepys, and his loyal inquisitors, Abigail Harcourt and Jacob Standish, as they unravel deadly plotting behind respectable façades.

These poems range across a number of topics related to marriage: parenthood, family, friendship, sex, divorce and bereavement and refer from time to time to marriages in literature, opera and the Old Testament. The verse is accomplished, the analysis of marriage both instructive and entertaining, the compassion and wisdom remarkable.

This is a tale of witches and wishes, tales and trees, stepmothers, spells and a girl who sleeps in the ashes by the fire.... But it's not the one you know.

"I know of no gamekeepers who are not countrymen to their fingertips. They observe, they consider, they cherish, and they do more than most to look after out woodlands and hedgerows, our moorlands and fens. Theirs is not an easy job—out in all weathers and misunderstood by many townies who are further removed from the countryside and its workings than they have ever been, thanks to increasing technology which keeps them housebound."

Is it true that every life is the stuff of novels? Or are some people just too ordinary? This is the question a struggling Parisian writer asks when he challenges himself to write about the first person he sees when he steps outside his apartment. Secretly hoping to meet the beautiful woman who occasionally smokes on his street, he instead sets eyes on octogenarian Madeleine. She’s happy to become his subject, but first she needs to put her shopping away. Wondering if his project is doomed to be hopelessly banal, he soon finds himself tangled in the lives of Madeleine’s family.

2019. Russia's Web Brigades have created a divided West, but both the European and the American intelligence services are getting wise to their tactics. When Stanislav Kuznetsov, the FSB’s Director of Overseas Strategic Affairs, entrusts a group of young idealists with the task of devising the next phase in the disruption of Russia’s enemies, little does he suspect that six weeks later, they’ll come up with a plan to suborn the British Broadcasting Corporation. His first reaction is mingled incredulity and exasperation. Have they taken leave of their senses?

Selected poems from a couple of decades in South East London.

In his darkest hour, hiding in the depths of the Somerset marshes in AD 878, King Alfred devises a scheme to save his kingdom from the Vikings threatening to overwhelm the country. His spectacular success, beginning with the triumphant battle of Ethandun, involves creating a sense of nation among his subjects.

If you are a manager or leader in an organization - company, public service, or NGO - or you are simply interested in how to make your organization work better, then this book is for you. If you have the feeling that you are skating over the surface of what is really going on in your organization, if you know that there is something more vital that you are missing out on, if you’re frustrated by applying the same management fads over and over, just with different labels on, then perhaps you are open to looking deeper into what makes organizations function, fail, and flourish.

Divorce is one of the most stressful life events encountered. Focusing on the man, this book covers the author's experiences in his divorce and gives practical advice on the pitfalls, and how to avoid them.

Father Fred is not without guile, but that doesn't mean he won't half get up to some naughty mischief! His hearing aid goes missing at a festival, and that's where the doggy comes into this adventurous story indeed. Mystery and shenanigans abound.

Are you sick and tired of the rant and rave about Bitcoin but not having a clue about what's going on? This is a perfect entry point! In this book, we will equip you with all the tools you need to start you cryptocurrency escapade. This audiobook explains what is crypto, how to get started, the fluctuation of the market, and more!

Have you ever had a reoccurring nightmare? What if the nightmare was more than a dream? In this story our protagonist discovers that his night terror is more is a glimpse into his past. An unforgivable crime haunts him in his present life. This short story is part of a series of short supernatural and horror stories. A quick, spooky listen that will leave you haunted.

An essay by Edward Lucie-Smith on David Hockney's portraits exhibited at the Royal Academy's "82 Portraits and One Still-Life", and also "David Hockney and the Yorkshire Landscape" at RA in 2012.