Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

March 1946. The railways are falling apart, rationing is getting worse and black marketeers are at work. For Violet McIntyre, a dressmaker living in Woodford Halse, it is a struggle to make ends meet. Her life becomes inextricably linked to an investigation that Detective Inspector Charles Vignoles of the Railway Detective Department is pursuing.

A fork of lightning and a crash of thunder herald the completion of a heinous crime. In woodland belonging to the eccentric Lord Wychbold, a body has been crucified on a tree. On Easter Day, the Reverend Tobias Campion returns from morning service at St Luke's and discovers the corpse, already beginning to putrefy. A crown of thorns frames his face, bludgeoned beyond recognition, and a loincloth preserves what is left of his modesty.

Nineteen twenty-nine. On receipt of an unexpected inheritance, small-time crook Horace Butterfield buys a large house in rural Essex. Buying an enormous antique chandelier in order to enhance his brand-new ballroom, he is intrigued by the dealer's story behind its provenance: a young woman who was forsaken by her lover is said to have hanged herself from it. But tragedy is set to strike. Horace's marriage collapses when he embarks on an ill-advised affair with a pretty young fortune hunter.

Skeletons have a habit of revealing themselves eventually.... When a human skeleton is discovered on the boundary of a 20-year-old property development, it seems there are a large number of people who may know the identity of the corpse and how it got there. But 20 years is a long time, and those individuals were very different people back then. Skeletons are being revealed in all senses, and there are many prominent local figures who are beginning to feel uncomfortable and afraid.

Big Ben chimes in the first seconds of the first day of 1900, the start of a fresh century. Inside London's oldest gaol, preparations are afoot to hang Victorian England's deadliest assassin, a man wanted for two decades' worth of murders. Cold-blooded killer Simeon Lynch has lived a brutal and glorious life in the employ of the House of Moriarty - the most feared criminal enterprise in the world. Now, as he faces the noose, Simeon learns dark truths about his master, about Sherlock Holmes and about his own past.

Arthur Dreyfuss is a young mechanic at a garage in the little community of Long, France. He has a small flat and leads a simple life. So, imagine his surprise when he opens his door one evening to find a distraught Hollywood starlet standing before him. But although feigning an American accent, this woman is not all that she seems. For her name is actually Jeanine Foucamprez - and her story is very different from the glamorous life of a star.

Spring, 1648. When Thomas Hill, a bookseller living in rural Hampshire, publishes a political pamphlet he has little idea of the trouble that will follow. He is quickly arrested, forced on a boat to Barbados and condemned to life as a slave to two of the island’s most notoriously violent...

The king’s coronation brings hope. Until a murderer strikes. Spring 1661: After years of civil war followed by Oliver Cromwell's joyless rule as Lord Protector, England awaits the coronation of King Charles II. The mood in London is one of relief and hope for a better future. But when two...

Justinian, the Byzantine emperor, is desperate to revive the empire's glory. Among his actions to this effect is the dispatch of his brave general, Belisaurius, to fight the Persians in the East. But Justinian fights paranoia and grows concerned that Belisaurius will become a threat to his power and person.

Ruari, son of Irish media owner J J Breslin, is in desperate danger, at the mercy of ruthless kidnappers making impossible demands. His terrified mother contacts the only person she knows can help her son: Harry Jones, her former lover, who she walked out on many years ago. Now memories of their passionate affair, the guilt, hurt, anger, and humiliation come flooding back.

A distinguished senator has gone into hiding after being accused of treachery, leaving his family to fend for themselves. His elder son Quintus has become a gladiator, while young Lucius works as a servant in the gladiator school. When the gladiator troupe is sent to Pompeii to take part in the games, Lucius is befriended by Valens, the sponsor of the games, who offers to help him find his father. Meanwhile, strange rumblings and tremors are felt in the town, and a seer is warning that the ‘end of days’ is approaching.

Fifth century of the Byzantium Empire. Flavius Belisaurius is son of the governor of Dorostorum City, and his father has two goals: to keep out the barbarians and to expose the deep roots of secular and ecclesiastical corruption. Seeking to prevent a raid, the Governor enlists the help of the powerful magnate, Senuthius Vicinus. Vicinus's corruption is widespread but his support is crucial to win the battle.

Twin Lakes is a complex of holiday homes in a scenic part of England. “Rest Assured”, says the sign at its entrance. And the people fortunate enough to occupy the luxury homes are indeed able to relax in a beautiful setting. Then a series of mysterious threatening notes are delivered to one of the lakeside homes. DS Bert Hook conducts an informal investigation and the notes cease to appear. All is peaceful once more until a brutal death shatters the peace.

When Jack Colby hears a rumour that Old Herne’s, the club for aviation and classic car veterans, is closing, he is appalled. He has been commissioned to investigate the theft of the Porsche car belonging to its manager, the popular Mike Nelson, but now far worse problems threaten the club when brutal murder proves to be on the agenda. Jack finds himself caught between two families.

1963: The year the Beatles first top the charts. The year Martin Luther King has a dream. The year Truman Bird moves his family from their home in Brighton to a dilapidated caravan in the Ashdown Forest - then disappears. Truman's a charmer, a chancer, a liar. He's always got away with it, too. But now he's gone a dangerous step too far and only has one day to put things right - before he loses everything. For Truman's wife, Christie, life has not turned out the way she'd imagined.

When Jack Colby, car detective, hears the voice of his former wife, Eva, on the phone he fears the worst. The body of her husband, Mexican band leader Carlos, has been found and Eva becomes the chief suspect. Car detective Jack goes into action - although he is hindered by a second case, as the beautiful 20-year-old Daisy is determined that his efforts should be devoted to finding her stolen Morris Minor.

When young Charles Benson arrives in Toftham, a sleepy Norfolk market town, on a miserable Sunday afternoon in January 1952, he has only the vaguest idea what Fate has in store for him. It is at the hands of the editor of the Toftham and Wettleford Journal, Mr Juby, that Charles is introduced to local reporting and Norfolk ways.

Darkness falls. The undead rise to feast on the succulent blood of the living. For years vampires have fascinated great writers of the occult such as De Maupassant, Count Stenbock, E. Nesbit, and E.F. Benson. This is The Story Circle's collection of some of their spine-chilling tales told by award-winning actors.

Jeremy Strong described Ivan's first Casper Candlewacks book as a "funny and engaging debut". This is the triumphant follow-up from the funniest new voice in fiction and once again unsung hero, Casper must save the day. Most villages have an idiot but Casper's village is full of them. So being...

Casper Candlewacks is the only boy with any sense in a village full of idiots… the fourth and final instalment in the hilarious Casper Candlewacks series. Praise for Casper Candlewacks in Death by Pigeon: “a funny and engaging debut” JEREMY STRONG Most villages have an idiot but Casper's...