Showing results by narrator "Des Fitzgerald" in All Categories

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy made a speech to the Fort Worth, Texas, Chamber of Commerce; he was assassinated later that afternoon. Kennedy had traveled to the state to unite Texas Democrats where party leaders were feuding and extremists were contributing to political tensions. Kennedy knew an intra-party feud in Texas could jeopardize his chances of carrying the state for his 1964 re-election campaign.

Terry Lyon, assistant head keeper of Southwood Zoo, trusts animals because most people think he’s a waste of space. But as the zoo lurches towards bankruptcy, his future looks bleak. As if managing hungry elephants and contrary polar bears wasn’t complicated enough, the humans in Terry’s life pose their own challenges. Having had to move back in with his parents after his divorce, life becomes complicated when Terry’s ex Margaret starts seeing his best friend Richard.

A serial killer is stalking the streets of Sydney, hell-bent on recreating scenes from the Fabrica, the 16th-century foundation text of modern European anatomy. His cold, methodical attacks have the city on edge, but the serial killer may not even be the darkest player. Desperate for a breakthrough, decorated homicide detective David Murphy draws into the case his art-historian sister, Joanna, and his wife, Sylvia. Unravelling the mystery of who is behind the killings pushes each beyond the limits of what they thought possible.

Many years ago, magic prevailed in Britain. It was a time when women were chosen by Mother Nature herself; a time of witchcraft, of the brotherhood of the Gwithiaz and of the terrifying Creatures. It has become a piece of forgotten history. Now, magic has returned and Kiera is the first witch the world has seen in centuries. Jack has been chosen to learn the ways of the Gwithiaz. Together they must master their crafts and overcome their differences if they are to survive the dark enemy lurking in the shadows.

Hailed as "a fearless exposer of folly, vice and crime" when it first hit the streets in the 1890s, Truth was later condemned by a High Court Judge as "a wretched little paper, reeking of filth, injurious to the health of house servants and young girls". Much later it earned the nickname "The Old Whore of La Trobe Street". Truth was called many things but it was never boring.

Step back into the shadow cast by the world again in this collection of 24 eclectic short stories ranging from satire through to horror and science fiction.

Strangers did not, as a rule, find their way to Chez Dom - a small, rundown Tunisian cafe on Paris' distant fringes. Run by the widow Houria and her young niece, Sabiha, the cafe offers a home away from home for the North African immigrant workers working at the great abattoirs of Vaugiraud, who, like them, had grown used to the smell of blood in the air. But when one day a lost Australian tourist, John Patterner, seeks shelter in the cafe from a sudden Parisian rainstorm, the quiet simplicities of their lives are changed forever

We know the European story from diaries, journals and letters. For the first time, this is the other side. Who were the people watching the Endeavour sail by? How did they understand their world and what sense did they make of this strange vision? And what was the impact of these first encounters with Europeans? The answers lie in tales passed down from 1770 and in truth-telling of the often more brutal engagements that followed.

On an ordinary night in an ordinary year, Tommy Llewellyn's doting parents wake in a home without toys and nappies, without photos of their baby scattered about, and without any idea that the small child asleep in his crib is theirs. That's because Tommy is a boy destined to never be remembered. On the same day every year, everyone around him forgets he exists, and he grows up enduring his own universal Reset. That is until something extraordinary happens: Tommy Llewellyn falls in love. Determined to finally carve out a life for himself, Tommy sets out on a mission to finally trick the Reset.

Frank Moorhouse was legendary in Australian literary and cultural life, the author of a huge and diverse body of work - essays, short stories, journalism, scripts, the iconic Edith Trilogy - an unapologetic activist, intellectual, libertarian and champion of freedom of speech and sexual self determination. Though he lived his life publicly, his private stories have not been shared, the many paths he forged left unexamined, until now. This landmark study is the fascinating story of how one of Australia's most original writers and pioneer of the discontinuous narrative came to be.

A captivating collection of six stories from Australia's master storyteller Judy Nunn. The Long Weekend, The Wardrobe, The Otto Bin Empire: Clive's Story, Changes, The House on Hill Street and Just South of Rome.

Are you in turmoil over a decision you’re making? This audiobook can help you. Over 30 years ago, the author was eaten alive by a life decision and made a small but miraculous discovery: a powerful, step-by-step process for making decisions that he now calls the reflection method. Deceptively simple, it's helped him sort and evaluate options and make the best decisions of his life - ones that he’s never regretted.

Mary Brown is the star of the Adorable Fat Girl series: she's gorgeous, curvaceous, and wants to find a boyfriend. But where's she going to meet someone new? She doesn't want to hang around pubs all evening (actually that bit's not true), and she doesn't want to have to get out of her pyjamas unless really necessary (that bit's true). There's only one thing for it - she will launch herself majestically onto the dating scene.

The Kane family, Lorcan, Naiyana and their young son, relocate from Perth to Kallayee, an abandoned mining town in the Great Victoria Desert to start over again, free from their chequered past. The town seems like the perfect getaway: peaceful, quiet, remote. Somewhere they won’t be found. But life in Kallayee isn’t quite as straightforward as they hope. There are noises in the earth, mysterious shadows and tracks in the dust, as if the town is coming back to life. But the family can’t leave. No one can talk sense into them. And now, no one can talk to them at all.

Clara has been given a second chance at life after the loss of her husband. She is engaged to the father of her child, and with their union she will also gain a stepson. Things appear to be looking up for their family until she receives intriguing messages on a typewriter that belonged to her fiancé's late-wife. At first, the notes appear to be innocent, until things go very, very wrong.

A non-human, alien mummy was recently found in Peru that could be the greatest discovery of all time. The remarkable ancient mummified body, dubbed Maria, has three fingers on each hand. It was discovered in Nazca, Peru. While mummies can excite historians, this particular find may alter the story of human origins forever. Dating back 1600 years or more, some experts say it is evidence of an ancient reptilian race.

When hired as an official destination photographer for Sizzle Island, Ava Cole isn’t prepared to be pulled into a whirlwind week of seduction by a billionaire tech genius. Believing the urban legends that surround Hunter Constantine and the Apollyon Corporation, Ava lets her mind wander to ideas of being ravaged by a sexy vampire, but is it all in her head? Of course, it is. The heir to the corporate empire is a handsome prankster who likes making mischief for his own enjoyment while forced to be tucked away from the world.

Six Feet Over: How Dead People Date is the resurrection that followed the burial in Love Is Dead. If that book helped you confront the counterfeit—this one shows you how to live in what’s real. Where Love Is Dead helped you put to rest toxic patterns, soul ties, and the broken theology around love, Six Feet Over picks up the shovel and starts building something holy from the ruins. This isn’t a cute sequel. This is your survival guide for dating after deliverance.

When Marie Brisbee, a thirty-five year old archaeologist and lonely-hearted romantic, gets news that her friend is in trouble during an expedition, she packs her bags and sets off to the tropical island of São Tomé to help her. Soon, Marie finds her life filled with danger as thieves and deadly bandits alike try to get the only map that leads to a precious treasure.

Coral "Memory" Holmes, a young female genius, wakes up in front of a log cabin in the woods with two bullet holes in her left buttock and retrograde amnesia wiping out this day of her life. Not knowing who is trying to kill her or why, she has to survive in the wilderness while on the run.