Showing results by narrator "Peter Noble" in All Categories

Tony Brooks was unique. He was barely out of school when recruited in 1941 by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). After extensive training he was parachuted into France. Brooks' success was primarily due to his exceptional qualities as a secret agent, although he was aided by large and frequent slices of luck. This remarkable, detailed and intimate account of a clandestine agent's dangerous wartime career combines the historian's expert eye with the narrative colour of remembered events.

Funny, moving and sharply observed, these stories are confirmation of Boyd's status as one of English fiction's finest writers. Here are 24 gripping tales told in bold, distinct voices from Brazil to Africa and from Nice to Hollywood. This eclectic collection by the acclaimed author of Restless and Brazzaville Beach is a must for any lover of the short story.

Certain Signs That You Are Dead is the fourth psychological thriller in Torkil Damhaug's Oslo Crime Files, a tense and dark quartet for fans of Camilla Lackberg and Jo Nesbo. Every killer leaves a trace. In Akershus University Hospital, a patient disappears into thin air. That evening, his body is found in a basement box-room, his throat cut. When retired forensic pathologist Jennifer Plåterud is called in to examine the dead man, she has no idea just how closely she is involved in the murder herself.

This fresh new account of the liberation, packed with revelation, tells the story of those heady days of suspense, danger, exhilaration – and vengeance – through the eyes of a range of participants, reflecting all sides of the conflict: Americans, French and Germans; resisters and collaborators. Among them are famous names like Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger and Pablo Picasso, but also some fascinating unknowns including a medic turned Resistance gunwoman, an androgynous Hungarian sculptor and a French bluestocking who quietly set about saving the nation’s art treasures from the Nazi looters.

The Army That Never Was: D-Day and the Great Deception tells the remarkable story of the deceptions, hoaxes, and misdirection carried out by the Allies ahead of the most pivotal moment of the Second World War—the D-Day invasion.

Together in one special volume, selections from the best of beloved, best-selling author C. S. Lewis' classic works for listeners contemplating the 'grand miracle' of Jesus' resurrection. Preparing for Easter is a concise, handy companion for the faithful of all Christian traditions and the curious to help them deepen their knowledge and consideration of this holy season - a time of reflection as we consider Jesus' sacrifice and his joyous rise from the dead.

Freelance private detective Thomas "Ravn" Ravnsholdt is attempting to move on with his life following the murder of his girlfriend. But when wealthy business mogul Ferdinand Mesmer enlists his help finding his son, Ravn reluctantly takes on what he thinks will be a straightforward missing person case. A decade ago, Jacob Mesmer founded the mysterious and scandal-scarred religious sect "God's Chosen." Now he's vanished without a trace. As Ravn digs deeper, he discovers the previous private eye assigned to the case has also disappeared.

Summer 1630. The Swedish army is fighting its way down through Germany, with Jack Fiskardo and his company of scouts, or 'discoverers', fighting the guerrilla war ahead of the main advance. There are new allies to be made, new perils to overcome, new enemies to outwit and new adventures to pursue; but there is also a fortune for the taking, a mystery to be solved, and a destiny to fulfil—one that will see Jack brought face-to-face at last with his sworn enemy, Carlo Fantom.

On the moonless night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushes out into the flat water of the Channel. They are to seize the German-held port of Dieppe and hold it for at least 24 hours, showing the Soviets the Allies were serious about a second front and to get experience ahead of a full-scale invasion. But confidence turned to carnage with nearly two thirds of the attackers dead, wounded or captured. Operation Jubilee has drama from start to finish, human folly and tragedy in spades and a fast, tight narrative with heroes at every level.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Earth’s population was devastated by an alien virus. Those who survived were changed forever. Some, known as jokers, were cursed with bizarre mental and physical mutations, others, granted superhuman abilities, became the lucky few known as aces. Queen Margaret, who came to the English throne after the death of her sister, Elizabeth, now lies on her death-bed. Summoning the joker ace Alan Turing, she urges him to seek the true heir: Elizabeth's lost son. He was rumoured to have died as a baby but, having been born a joker, was sent into hiding.

Ecko: Rising is a unique genre-bending fantasy sci-fi epic following a savage, gleefully cynical anti-hero. After awakening in a dimension-jumping inn to find himself immersed in his own sardonic fantasy world, Ecko strives to conquer his deepest fears and save the world from extinction. Ware is the publicist and event organiser for cult entertainment retailer Forbidden Planet. She has worked closely with a wide-range of genre authors and has been immersed in the science-fiction and fantasy community for the past decade.

The year is 1652. General George Monck has been through an awful lot since he sat as a prisoner in the Tower of London eight years before. He had led his men admirably through campaigns in Ireland and Scotland, but still storm clouds surround his future. He had been away from his beloved Anne for many months and had come to London to find whether Ratsford was alive, and still proving to be an obstacle to their proposed marriage, or dead.

Brussels. A panorama of tragic heroes, manipulative losers, involuntary accomplices. In his new novel, Robert Menasse spans a narrative arc between the times, the nations, the inevitable and the irony of fate, between petty bureaucracy and big emotions. As the 50th anniversary of the European Commission approaches, the Directorate-General for Culture is tasked with planning and organising a fitting celebration. The project will serve the wider purpose of revamping the commission's image at a time of waning public support....

An assassin’s bullet. A deadly conspiracy. But who is calling the shots? When an attempted assassination sparks a chain reaction of explosive events across London, Britain’s elite security forces seem powerless to stop the chaos threatening to overwhelm the government. As the dark and deadly conspiracy unfolds, three strangers find their fates entwined: Joe Dempsey, a deadly military intelligence officer; Sarah Truman, a CNN reporter determined to get her headline; and Michael Devlin, a Belfast-born criminal barrister with a secret past.

The Heliothane Dominion is triumphant in the solar system after a bitter war with their Umbrathane progenitors. But some of the enemy have escaped into the past, intent on wreaking havoc across time. The worst of these is Cowl, an artificially forced advance in human evolution but one who is no longer human. Polly, desperate to obtain funds to support her habits, is unprepared for her involvement with Nandru Jurgens, a Taskforce soldier, and the killers pursuing him.

This fresh and inspiring look at the meaning of discipleship covers the essentials of the christian life, including: faith, hope and love; forgiveness; holiness; social action; life in the Spirit.

First published in January 1845, the poem is noted for its musicality, stylised language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further distress the protagonist with its constant repetition of the word nevermore. The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious and classical references.

A man obsessed with the cleansing power of fire is destroying everything that reminds him of his youth. He calls himself the Fire Man. That same Easter, a teenager is threatened by his girlfriend's tradition-bound family. Karsten's attempts to protect himself put him and his sister, Synne, at even greater risk. Then he disappears altogether. Eight years later Synne is determined to find out what happened that night. But her investigation will ignite smouldering and dangerous memories.

Ruthless and ambitious, Lord Phylos has control of Fhaveon city, and is using her forces to bring the grasslands under his command. His last opponent is an elderly scribe who’s lost his best friend and wants only to do the right thing. Danie Ware is the publicist and event organiser for cult entertainment retailer Forbidden Planet. She has worked closely with a wide-range of genre authors and has been immersed in the science-fiction and fantasy community for the past decade.

Under Occupation is based on a true story. After the German victory in 1939, thousands of Poles were sent to Germany as slave labourers. From Germany, the Poles found ways to transmit intelligence back to the British in London. Under Occupation takes place in occupied Paris in 1942, with scenes in Germany and Romania. The hero of the book is Paul Ricard, a French writer of genre - spy and detective - novels.