Showing results by narrator "Gordon Griffin" in All Categories

When a letter arrives at Tradmouth police station addressed to a DCI Norbert it causes quite a stir. For though DCI Norbert has long since moved on, the letter claims to have evidence that the man convicted of murdering the Rev. Shipbourne, Vicar of Belsham, during a robbery in 1991 is innocent. Despite having a full caseload, DI Wesley Peterson is forced to at least follow up on the claims. Meanwhile, archaeologist Neil Watson is excavating a site in Pest Field. He discovers a mass grave that leads him to conclude that the site is one of an ancient medieval plague pit. But, more disturbing, is the discovery that the grave is home to a more recent resident....

Why did literary legend Wynn Staniland suddenly become a recluse in the 1980s? Most assumed he stopped writing because of his wife's bizarre suicide. And now a promising young author called Zac Wilkinson is working on Staniland's biography and hopes to reveal the true story to a waiting world. When Wilkinson is found brutally murdered, DI Wesley Peterson finds links to the unexplained poisoning of a middle-aged couple - and Staniland appears to be the connection.

A scurrilous newspaper has built up a large following by publishing details of political and sexual scandals. It is remarkably well-informed and has therefore created a whole host of enemies. When the editor is killed and the printing press smashed to bits, the Invisible Detectives are hired by the man who financed the production of the paper. He wants the killer brought to justice and the scandal sheet revived. Peter and Paul Skillen find themselves in great danger as they unearth an enormous amount of scandal and corruption before the villains are brought to book.

In this first instalment of the Bow Street Rivals series a riot breaks out in Dartmoor prison, enabling some American inmates to escape. The twin detectives Peter and Paul Skillen catch wind of a projected assassination but the target is unknown. Trouble ensues when a woman from the Home Office vanishes; a mysterious lady turns up at the archery shooting gallery; and Paul’s gambling addiction worsens.

180 AD. North of the Wall, Sarmatian warrior Kai and his adopted tribe, the Votadini, struggle for survival, cast into unfamiliar lands by Roman reprisals. When news arrives that an old enemy is in charge of the Votadini's hated foes, a confederation of tribes known as the Painted People, and has roused them to action, Kai heads south towards the Wall, hoping to ally with the Romans against this resurgent threat. Meanwhile, the Romans have heard tales of butchery and mayhem beyond the Wall.

In the hard, unforgiving land at the northernmost point of the Roman Empire lies a great wall. Once, the edge had been but a thing of thoughts and dreams, but one day the great Emperor from across the water had grown tired of such borders. So, a wall was raised from the earth at his command. From afar, it looked invincible. Yet every wall has its weaknesses—if one looks close enough. In its shadow gather five thousand fearsome soldiers. Men bred to fight and kill. The Sarmatians have suffered capture and defeat, but under a new command they are prepared to fight again.

January 1901. Abigail and Daniel Wilson, often lauded as "The Museum Detectives," are on their way to the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. Their explorations of the pyramid, including the Robbers' Tunnel, take a very sinister turn when they come upon the dead body of a man who has been brutally garrotted. Investigations by the local police reveal him to be Simeon McGruder, a wealthy American who is financing an excavation of the pyramids.

George Surridge, director of the Birmington Zoo, is a man with many worries: his marriage is collapsing; his finances are insecure; and an outbreak of disease threatens the animals in his care. As Surridge's debts mount and the pressure on him increases, he begins to dream of miracle solutions. But is he cunning enough to turn his dreams into reality - and could he commit the most devious murder in pursuit of his goals?

AD 173. The Danube lies frozen. On its banks gather the clans of Sarmatia, their riders winter starved by sickly herds and blighted crops. Petty feuds cast aside and their disparate numbers united in the face of a great enemy. For across the frozen waters stands the mighty Roman Empire, and its Legion marches ever closer.

An extraordinary wartime memoir, combining the best kind of adventure story with a coming-of-age testimony of unforgettable resonance and poignancy.

September 2011, Halkidiki, Northern Greece: A solitary 86-year-old man gazes across an Aegean headland, knowing that he must finally confront his past. He begins to write...September 1939, Nieppe, Northern France:14 year-old Stephen is living with his family, 25 kilometres from Ypres. His French mother battles with her encroaching blindness.

Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale in which an ugly beast must earn the true love of a beautiful girl to free him from the spell of an evil fairy. The first published version was written by French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in the middle 18th century. It was a novel-length story intended for adult readers and addressing the issues of the marriage system of the day in which women had no right to choose their husband or to refuse to marry.

First published in 1911, The Innocence of Father Brown contains stories involving one of the greatest characters in the history of detective fiction: Father Brown. He is a Roman Catholic priest who has an uncanny insight into human evil. Rather than the large serial villains in, for example, Sherlock Holmes stories, the mysteries Father Brown solved were more local murders by small-town crooks, narrowing the suspect list down to those in the area of the crime.

Cast out in disgrace from the family estate, dashing young Sir Gervase Escot was drawn towards the great castle at Malling. For there lived the much-courted beauty, Lady Elaine, to whom Gervase was once to have been betrothed. Rescuing a young girl from robbers, Gervase discovered that she was Elaine’s sister, the Lady Beata - a rebellious girl pledged from birth to the Church, taking with her an enormous dowry to redeem her father’s pride. Would Gervase ever be able to reveal his true identity to Beata?

For Dick and Tammy, life was a struggle. Although Dick’s family were wealthy, Dick wanted to prove to himself that he was capable of supporting his wife and two children himself. With both finances and marriage failing, Tammy turns to a family friend, Adam, for support when she realises that baby Richard is not responding as he should. After visiting the doctor, all three are devastated to learn that baby Richard is severely deaf. Will this be the final straw?

Liverpool lawyer Harry Devlin never knew that five short lines could change his life - until he receives a notice announcing his sudden death on Midsummer's Eve. Someone wants him dead and he has only seven days to find out who it is.

It is a shock to the staff at the Barleybridge Animal Hospital when Dan, one of the farm vets, is seriously injured in a car accident. It is even more of a shock when Scott Spencer, back from Australia, steps in to cover for him. Scott slips seamlessly into the Practice routine, not guessing what secrets are about to be revealed: secrets that will turn his life upside down and amend his callous attitude towards women.

Elizabeth Glendinning QC has lost faith in the legal system to which she has given her life. In an attempt to restore it, she has secretly devised a scheme to bring a guilty man back to court -- Graham Riley, whom she had successfully defended some ten years previously. As part of an elaborate contingency plan, Elizabeth leaves the unsuspecting Anselm with a key to a safety deposit box, to be opened in the event of her death. Three weeks later she is found dead in the East End of London.

Barbara Roberts, pretty, mischievous and 17, has grown up wanting for nothing. But a long-buried family secret that threatens her happiness is about to be uncovered. Will it deny her the one man she truly loves? And outside of the close-knit mining community of Hillsbridge, war once again looms on the horizon. Youngest of the Hall clan, fate is about to propel Barbara into maturity....

1926. The Great War is over, and Amy Hall is struggling to make a success of the business her late husband has left her. But her strong will and stubborn nature won’t let her give up. With the handsome, ruthless Ralph Porter waiting for Amy to slip up so that he can absorb her ailing business into his empire, she must be vigilant. Amy has always been a fighter, but coming to terms with a shocking secret in her husband’s past and holding her own in a changing world will push her to the edge of her endurance....

A short story from British Library Crime Classic The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. 'It’s a very rare thing for a murder to be committed actually in the presence of a police officer.' Or so it was thought.... After the police fail to trace the writer behind a series of threatening letters to wealthy industrialist Sir Charles Leighton, he demands constant police protection. And thus it is up to Inspector Lang to accompany the man to a bridge party on New Year’s Eve - and track down his killer....