Showing results by narrator "David Thorpe" in All Categories

Forbidden in Victorian England, the grim and violent world of bare-knuckle fighting has gone underground. So when a headless body is found floating in the Thames, his hands “pickled” for fighting, Sergeant Cribb knows he is facing a challenge. Desperate for information, they select the young constable Henry Jago to infiltrate the gang, subjecting him to a rigorous programme of purging, pickling and training. Cribb is certain that the losing fighters are being killed or worse, so getting Jago out just in time is crucial....

I’ve watched him from afar for years. And he has no idea. I take joy in that. Through my observations, I’ve learned what makes this charming villain tick. Whisky. Power. Beautiful women. And Sex. Lots of it. Sometimes you must get into bed with the enemy for the greater good. And that’s what I’ll do; it’s all part of making Sinclair Breckenridge fall in love with me so I can penetrate his inner circle. There’s hell to pay. I’m a dark horse. The perfect storm. I am Bleu MacAllister. And I’m coming for him.

Wall of Hadrian, Britannia, AD 367. Tribune Sixtus Victorinus is scouting north of the Wall when he first sees the smoke. Riding south he finds a province in chaos, the local populace in flight, the soldiers absent. Britannia is ablaze, overrun with barbarians and Valentia is the word on everyone’s lips. But no one seems to have the first clue what it means... Victorinus may have let his life run to ruin and drunk his youth away, but now he must forge himself into the soldier he always wanted to be, the hero his children think he is.

Passengers boarding the 10.35 train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston have no idea that their journey is about to be brutally curtailed. Holly has just landed her dream job, and Jeff is heading for an interview after months of unemployment. They end up sitting next to each other.

It's 1882, and Albert Moscrop, who is spending his holiday in Brighton observing human nature through a telescope, gradually moves into the circle of the Prothero family, who he has been fascinated by - especially the beautiful Zena Prothero, whose husband appears to take her for granted. But through this connection, he becomes involved in a sensational murder.

Hotel Marvelo's reputation as a safe haven from the pressures of a magical world is unblemished. Until, that is, the wizard Henry Gravelaxe, is discovered dead in the spa. But who is the murderer? As soon as his parents are blamed, Finnian Marvelo knows that he must do everything he can to clear their names. Together with his siblings Juniper and Teddy, Finnian sets about using his exhaustive knowledge of the hotel to interview the guests and hunt for clues to reveal the truth.

On top investment bank Bloomfield Weiss’ training programme in New York, Chris and Lenka had become part of a close-knit gang of ambitious trainees. But then one of the gang died during a drunken boat trip, and the rest were left to cover up the truth. Ten years later a helpless Chris watches Lenka die in a Prague street. With his friend and business partner dead, Chris not only has to fight to keep his company afloat in the face of nervous investors but must also discover who is behind Lenka’s murder.

A playwright is murdered, seemingly in connection with the suspected blackmail of his friend—a rising young MP who, without explanation, disappeared from public view before his untimely death. With a number of high-profile suspects to investigate, the key to solving the case rests on a written clue left behind by the killer....

The new mystery featuring Detective Inspector Hardcastle in this popular First World War series - September 1916. A Zeppelin with a deadly payload is aimed at Victoria station, but when the bombs miss their mark and instead destroy a nearby house in Washbourne Street, mystery ensues for DI Hardcastle. The body of a woman is discovered, who was not only unknown to the tenants of the building but also appears to have died before the bombs were even dropped…

Disgraced former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago and his larger-than-life employer the journalist William Philpott have escaped America - and Philpott's near imprisonment for libel - by the skin of their teeth. They return to Laurence's home town of Helston in Cornwall in the hope of rest and recuperation, but instead find themselves in the middle of a tumultuous election. Only two men may vote in this rotten borough, and when one of them dies in suspicious circumstances, Laurence is ordered to investigate on behalf of the town's political patron, his old master the Duke of Leeds.

150 AD. Alaric, once lord of the Ravensworn is no longer feared nor revered. It has been six long years since his great defeat. He now lives life in the shadows. All hopes of glory and eternal rest in the Heroes Hall are gone. Alaric is alone. An outlaw to his land. When a band of horsemen appear on the horizon, eager to recruit the man they still believe to be a lord of war. And so Alaric is pulled back to a life he thought had forsaken him. For in the far north of Germania lies a tribe in desperate need of aid.

Tobias Campion, rector of Moreton St Jude, is delighted to welcome the widowed Lady Chase as his parishioner. Although charming and generous-spirited, she harbours a secret sorrow: her son, Hugo, is missing, presumed dead. Her late husband's nephew, Sir Marcus Bramhall, making a prolonged, unwelcome visit to Moreton Hall, speaks darkly of bringing a court case to declare him the heir.

Amy Knowles has always been the plain sidekick to her pretty best friend, Jules. And whilst the tearoom they both work in on the Monkpark Hall estate in Yorkshire is not exactly awash with eligible bachelors, it's obvious where the male attention is concentrated. There is one man who notices Amy. Joshua Wilson also works at Monkpark, where he flies his birds of prey for visitor entertainment.

As a secret agent for the British government, Anthony Brooke wants to expose a gang responsible for blackmailing innocent people and gruesome murders. But when they plot a kidnap, Anthony must race to reach the little girl before they do. Milly will not be easy to retrieve, for she is in a Belgian convent, in German-occupied territory. To rescue her, Anthony must go behind enemy lines, crawl under the wire, face ruthless guards and break into the convent.

The third novella in Simon Scarrow's Roman Arena series sees gladiator Pavo and mentor Macro fight for their lives amid a bloody revolt. The imperial gladiator school in Capua: once the pride of the Roman Empire, lately driven to the brink of ruin by a greedy lanista. Now the school welcomes its...

Virtual reality is the technology of the future, and Mark Fairfax’s brother Richard runs the leading company in the field worldwide. He has also been murdered. Mark is a City trader: sharp, young, ambitious. He is left to pick up the pieces at his brother’s company in Scotland’s 'Silicon Glen'. Struggling to keep the business in the black, and with corporate predators closing in, Mark must learn fast and trust no one. With his brother’s killer on the loose, bankruptcy may prove to be the least of his problems.

When council officer Chris Buckley is approached by an odd old man demanding help in healing a decades-old family rift, he sends the stranger away. But then the old man is murdered, and the police arrive on the Chris's doorstep asking questions to which he has no answers. As Chris begins to look into the circumstances of the murder, he uncovers a deadly secret in the silt and mud of the local canals that he'll realise was better kept buried.

Henri Koskinen firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with Laura Helanto and her daughter. As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process. Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count.

Seven friends. One killer. You can run, but you can’t hide… It’s Boxing Day and your friendship group has planned a hike. You know tensions are running high. You’ve heard the rumours flying around. But this trip is a chance for you to reconnect. As you head into the reserve, everyone is quiet. It almost feels like you’ve imagined the rift. But as the sun sets, you hear a gun shot. One of your group is dead. And someone you know killed them…

The World War II codebreaking station at Bletchley is well known and its activities documented in detail. Its decryption capabilities were vital to the war effort, significantly aiding the Allied victory. But where did the messages being deciphered come from in the first place? This is the extraordinary untold story of the Y service, a secret even more closely guarded than Bletchley Park. 'Y service' was the code for the chain of wireless intercept stations around Britain and all over the world.