Showing results by narrator "Simon Darwen" in All Categories

Lann knows nothing of his mysterious past, but by his 15th birthday he will come face to face with destiny. For Lann must wield the Dreadblade, an ancient sword forged to defeat terrible monsters. Across the mountains a King has been murdered. His daughter, Astrid, is a warrior with no desire to bear the crown. Only she can uncover her father’s killer before her brother is framed for the crime. Evil is stirring. Lann and Astrid are the kingdom’s last defence. Together, they must face the greatest darkness their world has ever known.

Knox has been paid to do a job - not an unusual thing in his world. A former SAS soldier, now a man with elite skills for hire. But what he didn't foresee was the deep, tangled web of deceit, lies and danger that lay ahead. It should have been easy - watch over the daughter of a billionaire. Protect her and take out any threat before they killed their target. Simple, but simple in his line of work rarely turned out that way. Knox will need all his skill and wits in this fast-paced adventure.

After single-handedly intervening in a deadly terrorist attack in Mali, SAS Warrant Officer Jamie 'Geordie' Carter is denounced as a lone wolf by jealous superiors. Now a Regiment outcast, Carter is given a second chance with a deniable mission: locate SAS hero-gone-rogue David Vann. Vann had been sent into Afghanistan to train local rebels to fight the Taliban. But he's since gone silent, and expected attacks on key targets have not happened.

In this gripping and remarkable memoir, Peter tells his extraordinary life story in fascinating detail. From removing protestors, including the infamous 'Swampy', from inside dangerous tunnels to the scenes of some of the UK’s most notorious crimes, he describes how he has developed into a highly regarded and highly skilled search specialist, whose job is to assist investigators and police as they search crime scenes and bring serial killers to justice.

It is 20 years in 2021 since Malorie Blackman's groundbreaking series began with Noughts & Crosses, which charted the deeply forbidden romance between Sephy (a Cross) and Callum (a nought) - a love affair which had repercussions for their families for generations. Endgame, the breathtaking conclusion to the series, influenced by the unprecedented global events of recent years, is full of twists and turns and emotions, with its incredible characters reaching a dramatic conclusions to their stories.

Murder, jealousy, and deceit underscore three interlocking mysteries as Holmes and Watson take on a high-profile case at Windsor Castle, a boy drowned in the Serpentine, and a crusading women’s rights activist who suspects a traitor in her organisation. The cases send them into danger into locales as varied as the palace itself, a dockland cannery, an arts and crafts atelier, and a gypsy encampment. But is there peril underfoot as well – right at 221B Baker Street?

You don’t have to be brilliant to produce brilliant work. Many of the characters you will meet in this book failed at school, lacked natural talent, were not especially gifted or were repeatedly sacked. But their methods produced brilliant work - and they will work for you, too. Make Brilliant Work is the essential book from Rod Judkins, author of the international best seller The Art of Creative Thinking.

Journalist Jelmer Mommers knows most people prefer not to talk or even think about climate change, and that is exactly why he wrote this book. Denial and despair are not the only possible responses to the current crisis. Drawing on the latest science, Mommers describes how we got here, what possible future awaits us, and how you can help make a difference.

It’s 1890, and the newly famous Sherlock Holmes faces his worst adversary to date - a diabolical villain bent on destroying some of London’s most admired public figures in particularly gruesome ways. A further puzzle is that suicide closely attends each of the murders. As he tracks the killer through vast and seething London, Holmes finds himself battling both an envious Scotland Yard and a critical press as he follows a complex trail from performers to princes, anarchists to aesthetes.

At the age of 23, Brian Wood was thrust into the front line in Iraq, in the infamous Battle of Danny Boy. Ambushed, he led a charge across open ground with insurgents firing at just five soldiers. On his return, he was awarded the Military Cross. But Brian's story had only just begun. Struggling to reintegrate into family life, he suffered from PTSD. Then, five years later, a letter arrived: it summoned him to testify at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into allegations of war crimes by British soldiers during the Iraq invasion of 2003.

Over five years covering climate change, Jelmer Mommers has learned that the subject is a great way to ruin a conversation. Most people prefer to look away, which is understandable when we discuss climate change as an apocalypse. But the crisis does not offer a definitive end. There are always ways we can mitigate, prevent and reverse the damage.

Cristiano and Leo is the fascinating account of the lives and rivalry between two of the best footballers to ever play the game, Ronaldo and Messi. The rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi has defined football to a generation of fans - everyone has an opinion on who is the greatest. Do you prefer Ronaldo, whose work ethic and physique have been honed for one purpose - scoring goals? Or Messi, whose superhuman natural talent means he can do the seemingly impossible with a football?

Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. He has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings and listens as the men and women he works with explore new ways to think about their situation. Could we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness? Could someone in prison ever be more free than someone outside? These questions about how to live are ones we all need to ask, but in this setting they are even more urgent.

You don’t have to be brilliant to produce brilliant work. Many of the characters you will meet in this book failed at school, lacked natural talent, were not especially gifted or were repeatedly sacked. But their methods produced brilliant work - and they will work for you, too. Make Brilliant Work is the essential book from Rod Judkins, author of the international best seller The Art of Creative Thinking.

Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. He has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings and listens as the men and women he works with explore new ways to think about their situation. Could we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness? Could someone in prison ever be more free than someone outside? These questions about how to live are ones we all need to ask, but in this setting they are even more urgent.

In this gripping and remarkable memoir, Peter tells his extraordinary life story in fascinating detail. From removing protestors, including the infamous 'Swampy', from inside dangerous tunnels to the scenes of some of the UK’s most notorious crimes, he describes how he has developed into a highly regarded and highly skilled search specialist, whose job is to assist investigators and police as they search crime scenes and bring serial killers to justice.

After the death of his wife, a father raises his two sons alone. His bond with Fus, the eldest, and Gillou, the youngest, is a close one. But their town is not one of opportunity, and it soon becomes clear that the boys are heading down different paths. Gillou sets his sights on university in Paris. Fus, despite his socialist upbringing, falls in with the local far-right group. Though he joins mostly for the camaraderie, their activities, which might on the surface appear harmless, lead to a violent confrontation.

When destinies collide, who will emerge victorious? Lann is hunting monsters. It’s his destiny as bearer of the Dreadblade. But Lann would rather hunt down Kelewulf, the young necromancer who released them into the world. Consumed by his aunt’s death, he can think of nothing but revenge. Across a dark sea, Kelewulf is mastering magic. He has persuaded the High Priestess of Hasz to tutor him. But he’s hiding a more dangerous goal: finding the heart of a god. With this terrible object in hand, he’ll return darkness to the world forever....

In Look Again, Bailey describes growing up in working-class East London, where his dyslexia led to him being written off as stupid at school but his drive and ambition led to his meteoric rise as a photographer. He writes about life in '60s London and New York, his friendship with photographers Donovan and Duffy and annoying his rival Lord Snowdon. His love-life was always headline-worthy. He propelled his girlfriend, model Jean Shrimpton, to stardom - and was threatened with a shotgun by her father. When he married Catherine Deneuve, Mick Jagger was his best man.

Winter, an ex-MI5 operative, battles to clear his name after being wrongly accused of colluding with diamond smugglers. When suspended, he vows to discover how the smugglers repeatedly avoided the traps set by his team. But as his wife undergoes cancer treatment, he finds it hard to balance time at her bedside with action to vindicate himself. An email from their high tech equipment supplier soon sets Winter on the trail of a Mossad spy whom he discovered is somehow involved. The chase takes him from the windswept Romney Marsh of Southern England to Helsinki and Finland’s snowy interior and rapidly places him in the path of a Syrian assassination squad.