Showing results by narrator "Jonathan Keeble" in All Categories

Born and raised in the South Yorkshire mining village of Hoyland Common, it seemed all too likely that Richard Hines would end up working in the pits, especially when, unlike his older brother Barry, he failed the 11+. Crushed by this, and persecuted by the cruelty of his teachers, Richard spent his time in the fields. One morning, he came across a nest of kestrels. Instantly captivated, he sought out ancient falconry texts from the local library.

Fiona Ross, who had just flown in from Australia, entered divisional HQ in Carnford to report the disappearance of her close friend, Gillian Harvey. The police were far from satisfied that this was an incident that concerned them. But when they learned Gillian was wealthy while her husband, a dairy farmer, was not; that he had wanted to spend her money on building a feed barn and she had refused; that he had little love left for her, but possessed a great deal for a widower; then their attitude changed.

Ensign Sebastian Early is a young soldier sent to South Africa with his regiment, the 24th Foot. The death of his friend results in Seb taking over the job of Provost-Marshal, the policeman for Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford’s army. Seb has taken the post out of regard for his dead friend, but would really prefer to be soldiering with his regiment on the front line. Instead he finds himself investigating a bizarre murder of a captain, even though his C.O. believes the man committed suicide, and the theft of a major’s gold watch.

When a favour to a friend leaves Cal Jardine caught up in the Spanish Civil War, he finds that he must take a bunch of athletes and turn them into fighters. He meets the revolutionary, Juan Laporta, and if they do not make a perfect combination as fighters they form an effective one, both in Barcelona and then as they advance into the interior. But trouble is brewing in the person of communist diehard Manfred Drecker which threatens the fight and Cal himself.

Martin Beaumont is the uncompromising owner of a successful vineyard that lies in the peaceful Gloucestershire countryside. He has built the company steadily over the years, with a small but dedicated team by his side. However, he is forceful with his views on the business, much to the resentment of his more senior members of staff. So when he is found dead in his car, DS Hook and the rest of the team don’t have to look very far to find their suspects.

Firsthand accounts by those who planned and took part in the Normandy landings, and eyewitness reports from BBC correspondents travelling with the troops on 6 June, 1944. In 1940, after the evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk, Winston Churchill vowed that Allied Forces would return to "cleanse Europe of the Nazi Pestilence". The logistics of Operation Overlord were daunting, but an inspired campaign of deception successfully diverted Hitler’s attention away from the Normandy beaches until it was too late.

Our eponymous hero finds himself shipwrecked on an African desert island after a tumultuous storm, and following the realization he is the only survivor, is faced with the prospect of years of isolation. However, he throws his energy into familiarizing himself with his new habitat: he hunts, learns how to make pottery and even adopts a parrot. And after encountering a group of cannibals, Robinson Crusoe finally finds a companion.

Two young boys stumble on a dead prostitute. She's on Sean Denton's patch. As Doncaster's youngest community support officer, he's already way out of his depth, but soon he's uncovering more than he's supposed to know. Meanwhile Karen Friedman, professional mother of two, learns her brother has disappeared. She desperately needs to know he's safe, but once she starts looking, she discovers unexpected things about her own needs and desires.

The Chasebridge Killer is out, racial tension is rising and the mutilated body of a young Muslim man is found in the stairwell of a tower block in Doncaster. As he gets drawn into the case, Sean Denton's family life and his police job become dangerously entwined. Meanwhile a young woman is trying to piece her life back together, but someone is out there - someone who will never let her forget what she's done.

It is the middle of a long night shift for PC Sean Denton and his partner, PC Gavin Wentworth, when they are approached by a dishevelled-looking woman desperate that they follow her. She leads them to the old Chasebridge High School, where they find the dead body of a refugee. The investigation, which points to the neighbouring greyhound stadium, finds Denton caught up in a world of immigration, drugs and sexual abuse and is one in which his private life becomes increasingly entwined.

Damien Daniels has been murdered, shot through the chest by an unseen marksman. It looks like a professional job, but there are no clues as to who pulled the trigger. The only witness to the shooting, Gideon Blake, is unable to provide any information that would help the police.

Can Matt Shepherd find the truth behind what appears to be a motiveless murder? As Matt begins to uncover some dark secrets - secrets that someone will kill to protect - he soon learns that loyalty at all costs carries a lethal price.

Edward Trencom has bumbled through life, relying on his trusty nose to turn the family cheese shop into the most celebrated fromagerie in England. But his world is turned upside down when he stumbles across a crate of family papers. To his horror, Edward discovers that nine previous generations of his family have come to sticky ends because of their noses. When he investigates further, Edward finds himself caught up in a Byzantine riddle to which there is no obvious answer.

Black Beauty, the friendly, patient stallion with a white blaze upon his forehead, is one of the most familiar figures in children's literature. After the first lively carefree years in the fields, Black Beauty learns to accept the saddle and bridle and the rule of her masters. But a succession of misfortunes shows that the life of a horse can be harsh and painful. This touching portrait, full of drama and sadness, is as moving now as when it was first written in 1877.

This is the story of John Stone, financier and armaments manufacturer, a man so wealthy that in the years before World War One he was able to manipulate markets, industries and indeed whole countries and continents. A panoramic novel with a riveting mystery at its heart, Stone's Fall is a quest to discover how and why John Stone dies, falling out of a window at his London home.

Letters, postcards, notes and telegraphs from the great and the good, the notorious and the downright wicked, shine a spotlight on a range of historical events and movements providing an immediate link to the immediate and much more distant past. This audiobook includes letters from: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mikhail Gorbachev, Lucien Freud, Barbara Hepworth, Nelson Mandela, Caitlin Thomas, Mary Whitehouse, Gandhi, George Washington among many others.

A unique investigation of the most important cases of the twentieth century, this exploration of the world's most glamorous and dangerous job - including information newly released under the Freedom of Information Act - will keep you enthralled until the last page. Neil Root's insightful book focuses on the personalities of many enigmatic figures, discusses their motivations and influences, and asks whether they were heroes, traitors or just scapegoats.

In a forgotten valley on the Devon-Somerset border, the seasons unfold, marked only by the rituals of the farming calendar. Twelve-year-old Leopold Sercombe skips school to help his father, a carter. Skinny and pale, Leo dreams of a job on the estate's stud farm. He is breaking a colt for his father when a boy dressed in a Homburg, breeches and riding boots appears. Peering under the stranger's hat, he discovers Miss Charlotte, the Master's daughter. 

4th May, 1970. President Nixon has ordered American ground forces into Cambodia. By the end of the day four students will be shot dead in the grounds of Kent State University. On the other side of the Atlantic, maverick psychiatrist Dr Zack Busner has been tricked into joining a decidedly ill advised LSD trip. Five years later, sitting in a nearby cinema watching Steven Spielberg's Jaws, Busner realizes the true nature of the events that transpired on that dread-soaked day.

Cyrano de Bergerac is in possession of a cadet position in the French Army, a poet's soul, and a very, very large nose. He is also in love with Roxane but believes himself too ugly to be loved by her in return. When the handsome but unpoetic new cadet, Christian, falls for the beautiful Roxane , he asks Cyrano to help him win her heart....