Showing results by narrator "Rupert Degas" in All Categories

A terrifying ghost is haunting the ancient mansion of Canterville Chase, complete with creaking floorboards, clanking chains and gruesome disguises - but the new occupants seem strangely undisturbed by his presence. Deftly contrasting the conventional gothic ghost story with the pragmatism of the modern world, Wilde creates a gently comic fable of the conflict between old and new. Rupert Degas's hilarious reading brings the absurdity and theatricality of the story to life.

"Escape to Tasmania" they said. But what was supposed to be a dream for Ric Peters and Elaina Williams has turned into a nightmare. The Devil's Island is living up to its name, serving up the ghosts of its dark past, while Ric is haunted by his own demons. The truth is unraveling, and death is closing in from all sides. And now, it's stalking Elaina.

In this new collection, Richard Thomas has crafted 14 stories that push the boundaries of dark fiction in an intoxicating, piercing blend of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Equally provocative and profound, each story is masterfully woven with transgressive themes that burrow beneath the skin.

Jasper Lightner is a decorated Crimean War hero and the most admired inspector in London's Metropolitan Police. Along with a chest full of medals, he's got a head injury that's left large chunks of his memory missing. But Jasper's biggest problem is his father, the Duke of Kersey, who is enraged by a series of front-page newspaper stories extolling Jasper's exploits. Jasper is sent packing to New York City on a yearlong assignment to train detectives and discovers a police department hovering on the brink of armed conflict.

On a beautiful island far away, on a sea that ripples with magic, Monty never knows what he might find. Monty lives on a perfect island in the middle of a magical sea. Sometimes the sea throws up something interesting...and Monty goes on an amazing adventure! Monty, Tawny and friends receive some startling news: Scary Mary and her pirate crew are on their way, looking for a new island to call home. What can they do? Hiding is not an option - especially when Bunchy accidentally turns the whole island stripey with her new magic wand.

It is 2003. Invalided out of the SAS, Chet Freeman makes his living in high-end security, on a temporary contract for an American corporation called the Grosvenor Group. He catches a young woman, a peace campaigner, eavesdropping on a meeting the Group is holding with the British prime minister. The Group's interests include arms manufacture, and what Chet and the young woman overhear seems to imply that it is bribing the prime minister to take his country into an illegal war. Could this possibly be true?

It is a fine day for dwarf watching - at least that is what Gracie Gillypott and Prince Marcus think when they set out, quite unaware that Princess Marigold of Dreghorn has set her sights on Marcus, and decided to "follow him to the ends of the earth" - fan, frilly petticoats, and all. All is not well. The dwarves are overworked and underpaid, having been expected to produce extra gold for wedding crowns for the wedding of Fedora and Prince Tertius.

Leif is not unlucky. Yes, he does split his trousers at least once a week. And yes, he's always tripping up. But he's determined to become a true Viking hero, just like his father. Can he unravel the riddles of a witch to find a magical shard of rock that has fallen from a shooting star and wield its magical powers? He will have to journey deep into the heart of polar bear country, outwitting all kinds of mythological creatures along the way.

The award-winning Restoration is one of Rose Tremain's most popular works, and showcases her remarkable talent for capturing historical settings and personalities. Set during the English Restoration in the decadent court of King Charles II, the novel weaves a story of corrupted innocence, betrayal, love and hope against a fascinating historical backdrop.

With a horse between his thighs and a weapon in his grip, the dashing Brigadier Etienne Gerard, Colonel of the Hussars of Conflans, gallops through the Napoleonic campaigns on secret missions for his beloved Emperor and his country. He encounters danger and hair-breadth escapes but never loses his bravado, his eye for a pretty girl, his boastfulness, or his enormous vanity. Gerard is Conan Doyle’s most lovable character.

Sister Felicity does not return to her room after prayers. The nun is found strangled in the confessional box. She is only the first of St. Cecilia’s faithful to meet a gruesome end. The killer will not stop until this place of God is destroyed. It is up to DI Gilbert Markham and his loyal deputy DS Noakes to stop the murderer. Cruel secrets come to light that force Markham’s girlfriend Olivia to face her own past. The body count in the monastery continues to rise, and once again, a violent evil proves devastatingly close to home. 

On the world of Amadis, veteran Imperial Guard officer Regan Antigone is being honoured for his role in the planet's liberation from the forces of Chaos, some 25 years earlier. But when his old comrade, Master Tigrane of the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter, arrives to join the festivities and asks to hear the glorious tale told once more, Antigone falters.

Albert Beauchamp disappeared just before Christmas in 1856. When he reappears more than a year later, he's in several pieces, packed in salt in a shipping crate in New Orleans. NYC inspectors Jasper Lightner and his partner, Hieronymus Law, are called in to investigate - but the further they dig into the wealthy financier's background, the dirtier the story gets.

Best known for his masterpiece of horror, Dracula, Bram Stoker wrote a number of other novels and many short stories, all on supernatural themes or filled with a physical terror reminiscent of Poe. "Dracula’s Guest" was originally part of the great novel, but was excised and published separately. Some of these stories, such as "The Squaw", "The Judge’s House" and "The Burial of the Rats", rank very high among classic tales of the macabre.

On a tiny island far away, in a sea that ripples with magic, Monty never knows what he might find.... Everyone loves Bring-and-Buy Day, when Trader Jolly visits the Island with all the supplies Monty and his friends need. But this Bring-and-Buy Day is different. Instead of Trader Jolly, there's a sneaky new trader called Beady Bold. And he's arrived with a boatload of trouble. The yum-yams are yummy, but they're hiding a very scary secret. All seems lost until Monty comes up with a daring plan.

Days after his car erupts in a ball of flame, Nick Stone narrowly cheats death a second time when a gunman opens fire on him from the back of a motorcycle. Who knows his movements? Who wants him dead, and why? Stone's only chance of survival is to carry the fight to his attackers - but first he must uncover a trail of clues that leads from his own dark and complex past into the heart of a chilling conspiracy that threatens us all...Nick Stone's 11th adventure is McNab at his explosive best.

Titus Awakes is the fourth and last novel in the Gormenghast series and was finished by Peake’s widow, Maeve Gilmore. In this last novel, Titus has left the world of Gormenghast behind, but he remains haunted by memories of his former life. Journeying from snow-covered mountains to archipelagos strewn with coral reefs, he awakens his senses but fails to conquer his aching sense of solitude.

Lorenzo Cumi is a 14-year-old misfit. To quell the anxiety of his concerned, socially conscious parents, he tells them he’s been invited on an exclusive ski vacation with the popular kids. On the morning of the trip, Lorenzo demands that his mother drop him off before they arrive at the train station, insisting that his status will be compromised if he shows up accompanied by his mother. Reluctantly, she agrees, and as soon as she is safely out of the vicinity, he turns around and makes his way back to his neighborhood, to put his real plan in motion.

Dr. Warr’s decayed corpse is found in the woods. He worked at the local psychiatric hospital before vanishing over a year ago without a trace. People blamed his disappearance on a mental breakdown. There have always been whispers about Newman Hospital—staff brutality, deliberate misdiagnosis. DI Gilbert Markham and his right-hand man, DS Noakes, begin asking questions. They are met with a chilling silence. It seems the people in power know more than they are letting on. Another staff member is found in the annals of the hospital, strangled to death. 

The California desert. A four-year-old boy disappears, plunging his parents into the public hell of a media witch-hunt. But the desert is inexplicable and miraculous, and the family's fate is bound up with that of all those who have travelled before them through this brutally powerful landscape. Multilayered and a compulsively readable, Gods Without Men is a heartfelt exploration of our search for pattern and meaning in a random and chaotic universe.