Showing results by narrator "Matt Addis" in All Categories

'[Day has] succeeded in making that most familiar of birds seem mysterious, almost magical, and illuminated, brilliantly, the urge towards home' Malachy Tallack A feral history of home, and our relationship with that most unloved bird. As a boy, Jon Day was fascinated by pigeons, which he used...

All Hallow’s Eve, 1144. The savaged body of Durand Wuduweard, the solitary and unpopular keeper of the King’s Forest of Feckenham, is discovered beside his hearth, his corpse rendered barely identifiable by sharp teeth. Whispers of a wolf on the prowl grow louder, and Sheriff William de Beauchamp’s men, Hugh Bradecote and Serjeant Catchpoll, are tasked with cutting through the clamour....

When a group of international activists arrive on the Faroe Islands intent on stopping the traditional whale hunts, or grindadrap, tensions between islanders and protestors run high. And when a woman is found murdered only hours after a violent confrontation at a whale drive, the circumstances seem purposely designed to create even more animosity between the two sides. For Faroese detective Hjalti Hentze and DI Jan Reyna, the case quickly exposes personal connections and conflicts of interest.

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), the founder of the Vietminh and President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was the archetypical Communist and anti-colonial revolutionary of the twentieth century. He played a key role in the formation of the French, Chinese, and Vietnamese Communist movements and fought successfully against Japanese, French and American imperialism, becoming a hate-figure of the American state during the Vietnam War

January, 1145. Godfrey Bowyer, the best but least likeable bow maker in Worcester, dies an agonising death by poisoning. Although similarly struck down after the same meal, his wife, Blanche, survives. The number of people who could have administered the poison should mean a very short investigation for the sheriff’s men, Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin, but perhaps someone was pulling the strings, and that widens the net considerably.

December 1938. Moscow. Josef Stalin has lost some gold. He is not a happy man. He asks his henchman, Beria, to track it down. September 1940. London. Above the city the Battle of Britain rages, and the bombs rain down. On the streets below, DCI Frank Merlin and his officers investigate the sudden disappearance of Polish RAF pilot Ziggy Kilinski while also battling an epidemic of looting unleashed by the chaos and destruction of the Blitz..

Babylon, Shangri-La, Xanadu...all these great cities have one thing in common: They are difficult to get to. Aberystwyth, by contrast, is just around the corner. Why not sample the delights of this beautiful and oh, so iconic seaside town in the company of Malcolm Pryce, author of the acclaimed Aberystwyth Noir detective books?

Auntie Poldi can think of no finer place to wait for death than Sicily. All she asks is a sea view, fine wine (and plenty of it), and her family close around. When death instead takes her handsome young friend Valentino - and under mysterious circumstances at that - Poldi will not take it lying down. Perhaps it's in her blood, but Auntie Poldi's hunting instincts have never felt more alive. Justice must be served - if it's the last thing she does....

The much-feared and hated Eudo - the Lord Bishop of Winchester's clerk - is bludgeoned to death in Pershore Abbey and laid before the altar in the attitude of a penitent. Everyone who had contact with him had reason to dislike him, but who had reason to kill him? The Sheriff of Worcestershire's thief taker, wily Serjeant Catchpoll, and his new and unwanted superior, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, have to find the answer. And as the walls of the abbey close in on the suspects, the killer strikes again....

Most of us spend a significant part of the day in front of a screen. Our work and social lives play out through our computers, tablets and phones: on email, social media, video conference calls and gaming servers. But what is all this screen time doing to our health, our sleep, and our relationships? Professor Pete Etchells studies the way we use screens, and how they can affect us. In UNLOCKED, he delves into the real science behind the panic about our alleged device addiction and withering attention spans.

The hedgehog is feeling rather lonely, so one day he decides to invite all the other animals for a party. But the hedgehog is also rather a shy, reserved animal and is terribly worried about doing or saying something he shouldn't, and about all the things that could go wrong. What if nobody comes? What if too many of them come? What if the elephant shows up and breaks all the furniture? Will anyone be able to hear the hedgehog talk above the frog's croaking? Maybe inviting the others over wasn't such a good idea after all.

A thrilling tale of suspense from the CWA Diamond winner and bestselling author of the Roy Grace series. 'Britain's answer to Stephen King and Michael Crichton.' Sunday Telegraph Susan and John Carter are crazy about each other and life is perfect but for one thing - they are on the brink of...

The epic story of the Mortymer family continues in this thrilling sequel to The Rape of the Fair Country set around the Rebecca Riots, when economic turmoil and unjust taxes plunge the people of south Wales into dire poverty, putting many on the brink of starvation. A time when young men ride through the night smashing and burning the symbols of their oppression. The Mortymer family have left their home in the iron-making country of Blaenafon, retreating to the old farmlands of the west.

London, 2095. Sixty years after rising seas drowned the old world, a corrupt system of servitude keeps the new one afloat. Alexander Lytton is now a pawn in his captor's hands. Stripped of his freedom and forced into a life of prostitution in Ghost Eye City, he clings to the memory of who he once was.

Captain William Hawksmoor of the Royal Navy never expected to inherit Kingscastle and is none too pleased when he does so. Especially when he learns that he must marry within a year or be forever dealing with trustees. As the new marquis of Athelney, the captain takes command of Kingscastle and discovers much to be done to set it in order. He must also contend with his aunt Lady Willoughby Hawksmoor, who is determined that her daughter will be his wife.

Midsummer, 1145. Walter, the steward of Evesham Abbey, is found dead at the bottom of a well pit. The Abbot, whose relationship with the lord Sheriff of Worcestershire is strained at best, dislikes needing to call in help. However, as the death appears to have not been an accident, he grudgingly receives Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin. The trio know to step carefully with the contentious undercurrents at play.

When the former crusader knight Geoffrey Mappestone and his friend Roger of Durham try to slip out of England to the Holy Land, a ferocious storm destroys the ship they are on and casts them ashore. The two knights are unwillingly thrust into the company of other shipwrecked passengers, and while attempting to evade the unwelcome attention of the more dangerous members of the group, they become unwillingly drawn into a plot to overthrow the king and return England to Saxon rule...

Compiled in Middle Welsh during the 12th and 13th centuries, The Mabinogion is a mesmerizing panorama of fantasy, romance, tragedy and humor. Blending Arthurian romance, Welsh legend and mythology, it tells tales of heroic knights, fair maidens, dramatic battles and magical beasts across 12 fantastical stories.

Isabelle Wareham, whilst caring for her beloved widowed father, has not seen much of the world. After his death, Isabelle finds she is no longer her own mistress but under the guardianship of her unscrupulous brother-in-law, Lord Dunsfold, who sees her as a way to improve his own fortunes. The outlook looks bleak until events throw Isabelle and the impoverished Earl of Idsworth together. However, Dunsfold is determined to force her into a more lucrative match and Isabelle will need to rise above her circumstances to reach her chance of happiness.

Spring 1944, the south coast of England. The Fifth Battalion, Wessex Regiment, wait patiently and nervously for the order to embark. There is boredom and fear, comedy and pathos as the men all drawn from different walks of life await the order to move. With an economy of language that belies its emotional impact, From the City, from the Plough is a vivid and moving account of the fate of these men as they embark for the beaches of Normandy and advance into France, where the battalion suffers devastating casualties.