Showing results by narrator "Elliot Chapman" in All Categories

South Africa, 1899 - the smouldering hostility between the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal is about to burst into flame. War is coming and no one can prevent it. Colonel Penrod Ballantyne, hero of Abu Klea and Omdurman, is sent to Mafeking to recruit and train men for the fighting ahead. Amber, his wife, the successful novelist, accompanies him - eager to see more of the country her husband is about to risk his life for.

In the burning heat of the Sudanese sun, the city of Khartoum is under siege from the fearsome forces of the Mahdi, the charismatic leader of those who tire of the brutal Egyptian government. In Khartoum, along with thousands of innocent citizens, are trapped the fanatical General Charles Gordon, intrepid soldier Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, English trader Ryder Courtney and the British consul and his three beautiful daughters.

Cairo, 1887. A beautiful September day. Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand. The future is theirs for the taking. But when Penrod's jealous former lover, Lady Agatha, plants doubt about his character, Amber leaves him and travels to the wilds of Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. On a mission to establish a silver mine, they make the dangerous journey to the new capital of Addis Ababa, where they are welcomed by Menelik, the King of Kings.

A Falcon Flies is the first best-selling novel in Wilbur Smith's epic tale of Africa, The Ballantyne Novels. In search of a father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St John's magnificent clipper to speed them to Africa. But long before they sight that mighty continent, Robyn knows that she and Mungo will battle with all the fury of natural enemies - and love with all the desperation of those unable to evade the commands of fate.

The son of a wealthy plantation owner and a doting mother, Mungo St John is accustomed to the wealth and luxuries his privilege has afforded him. That is until he returns from university to discover his family ruined, his inheritance stolen and his childhood sweetheart, Camilla, taken by the conniving Chester Marion. Fuelled by anger and love, Mungo swears vengeance and devotes his life to saving Camilla - and destroying Chester.

The Angels Weep is the third best-selling book in Wilbur Smith's Ballantyne Novels - an epic exploration into the dark past of colonial Africa. At the dawn of a new century, the pioneers of Rhodesia have staked their claims and stocked their farms in the land they have carved as their own. But in the hills, the Matabele indunas are preparing for the bloody rebellion which will scar the opponents for ever - and etch for them the same tragic legacy for generations to come....

Following on from the events begun in A Falcon Flies, Men of Men continues Wilbur Smith's epic story of the Ballantynes. It is the age of empire, of blood and conquest, of boundless excitement and possibility. Striding in the footsteps of the pioneers is Zouga Ballantyne. His dream begins in the danger and drudgery of the diamond pits and ends up on the rich grasslands of Matabeleland - but not before a king and a proud warrior nation have paid the price of history....

Craig Mellow, acclaimed author but unhappy exile, seizes the chance to return to Zimbabwe when he is given a spying mission for the World Bank. Accompanied by beautiful photographer Sally-Anne Jay, he is at first unaware of the dangerous currents of tribal conflict that swirl below the calm surface of Zimbabwean politics. Then he stumbles upon a highly organised ivory-poaching operation which masks the treacherous plot to sell the country he once fought for into slavery....

They called them the Orchid Girls. Grace. Molly. Charlotte. One of them is in love. One of them is a liar. One of them is dead. On a jagged Dorset cliff, wind whipping their hair, waves crashing on the rocks below, three friends became two when Charlotte’s body was pulled out of the sea. Fifteen years later Grace and Molly are worlds apart. Grace has a glittering career and a loving husband. Molly is a lonely, unemployed alcoholic. Grace has everything to lose. Molly has nothing.

The Runner’s Code explores the unwritten rules of everyday running and is essential reading for anyone who marvels at marathons, tears round the track or simply plods round the park. Filled with smart advice and brilliantly knowing humour, this unique celebration of running takes the newbie and veteran alike through the secret, nuanced and blindingly obvious rules of running to answer all the important questions.

Running: Cheaper Than Therapy is a celebration of the pastime that always makes you feel better, covering every aspect of running life from jogging etiquette and the things we both love and hate about it, through to the weirdest and most wonderful marathons around the world. Also included are the funniest spectator signs ever, cool advice that could improve your PB and brilliantly insightful running philosophies.

Jack and his friends, Amelia and Xander, are in Zanzibar diving for lost treasure to support Jack's mother's coral protection project. Going further than usual on their last day, their dive boat is lured into a trap and captured by Somali pirates. Determined that his mother shouldn't pay a ransom for their release, Jack won't give up his attempts to escape. Transferred to a militia training camp for boy soldiers, the trio's only hope is the resourceful Somali boy called Mo who befriends them.

A mysterious advert in a newspaper promising to restore hope to the hopeless brings together four strangers. None realising they will end up investigating a twisted and troubling crime that threatens their very futures. Mitch, a former Crime Scene Investigator, Olivia, a brilliant PhD student, and Florence, a middle-aged solicitor, find themselves working with an enigmatic newspaper Editor who refers to himself only as Ed.

In this third high-octane instalment, Jack and his friends are skiing in the Alps when Jack is engulfed by an avalanche.

Ex-flying ace James ‘Max’ Maxted’s attempt to uncover the secret behind the death of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, has seemingly ended in failure - and his own death. Unaware of Max’s fate, the team continue to pursue their only lead, travelling to Japan in search of a mysterious prisoner held by Sir Henry’s old enemy, Count Tomura. Once there, they encounter former German spymaster Fritz Lemmer, now rebuilding his spy network in the service of a new, more sinister cause.

Spring, 1919. James ‘Max’ Maxted, former Great War flying ace, returns to the trail of murder, treachery and half-buried secrets. Having left Paris after avenging the murder of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, he is convinced there is more - much more - to be discovered about what Sir Henry had been trying to accomplish. And he suspected elusive German spymaster Fritz Lemmer knows the truth of it. Now, undercover in Lemmer’s service but with his loyalty pledged to the British Secret Service, Max sets out on his first - and possibly last - mission for Lemmer.

1919. The eyes of the world are on Paris, where statesmen, diplomats and politicians have gathered to discuss the fate of half the world’s nations in the aftermath of the cataclysm that was the Great War. A horde of journalists, spies and opportunists have also gathered in the city, and the last thing the British diplomatic community needs at such a time is the mysterious death of a senior member of their delegation.

Seventeen-year-old schoolboy Kim is an idle drifter at one of Britain's most extraordinary institutions, Eton College - crammed with over a thousand boys and not a girl in sight. His head is full of the Falklands War and a possible army career - until the day he hears his new piano teacher, the beautiful but pained India, playing Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Kim's life is destined never to be the same again.

When the cold, lifeless body of a policeman is pulled from the river Thames in the early hours of the morning, it appears at first glance to be a terrible accident. But when old diary pages predicting the exact details of the crime start appearing online, criminal psychologist Nathan Radley, the owner of the diary, becomes the number one suspect in the most disturbing murder investigation the London police have ever seen. Nathan’s partner, Detective Katie Rhodes is sure he’s innocent, because she was with him the night of the attack.

When a young mother is found dead in her home with mysterious symbols drawn on her body, DI Katie Rhodes is shaken to her core; something is telling her that the clues link back to her old partner, Nathan Radley. Formerly one of the best criminal psychologists on the police force, Nathan was renowned for getting deep into the minds of the murderers he hunted. But for the past year he has lived in isolation, terrified of losing control over his own dark desires....