Showing results by narrator "Russ Bain" in All Categories

From an irresponsible baron whose body is discovered beneath a silver birch tree, to a classic detective duo solving a historic case as the lights go out across Europe, and an exclusive Tony Hill and Carol Jordan story, the characters McDermid conjures are enigmatic and dangerous. These evocative, atmospheric tales will shock and delight.

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes. You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a Sunday best hat. Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation.

1903. Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson have tickets to the newly arrived Egyptian Circus. Holmes is puzzled by his brother Mycroft's cryptic gift but is intrigued enough to attend the next production. The performers, dressed as wondrous half-animal, half-human gods from Egyptian mythology, display superhuman agility and stunts. But they speak no Arabic, sequester themselves in the stables after each show and take orders from a mysterious ring master who is yet to be seen. And then one of the performers is murdered.

1940: Dover waits for the Nazi invasion… but what if Hitler's agents are already here, among them? Canadian journalist Jessica Marshall is reporting from Dover as the town is on the brink of a German invasion. But her story never makes it into the paper… Meanwhile, Louis Renard, an intelligent, damaged man and onetime Scotland Yard murder detective, is recuperating from wounds received in the Dunkirk invasion, working in Dover's barely functioning police station.

Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation... But what does Bella think?

John, an impoverished Scottish minister, has accepted a job evicting the lone remaining occupant of an island north of Scotland—Ivar, who has been living alone for decades, with only the animals and the sea for company. Though his wife, Mary, has serious misgivings about the errand, he decides to go anyway, setting in motion a chain of events that neither he nor Mary could have predicted. Shortly after John reaches the island, he falls down a cliff and is found, unconscious and badly injured, by Ivar who takes him home and tends to his wounds.

After accepting a generous opportunity to start afresh, Leslie Wills, eagerly begins his journey to the Scottish Highlands of Elphin, a settled village that sits huddled amongst the mountains. The people are welcoming, and the scenery is breathtaking. But deep within its Highland paths, a location rests hidden from the public's eye. An atmospheric location that entices you to learn the truth of its troubled past. But once you bear witness to its sights and sounds, its presences will never allow you to forget.

Music is like no other business. It's about being at the right place at the right time, following your nose and diving in feet first. It's about being plugged into the mystical electricity and about surfing on the wild energy. And no one captures this wild feral spirit better than Alan McGee whose helter-skelter career through music has made him a major force. His ability to start a raw power ruckus brought the visceral danger back to a moribund mid-eighties music scene.

In a culture fraught with misinformation, Mastering AI pierces through the thicket of exaggerated claims, explaining how we arrived at this moment and mapping the likely long-term impacts on business, economics, culture and society this potent technology will have. This book will serve as a guide to those dangers — as well as highlighting the technology's transformative potential — and will pinpoint concrete steps that should be taken to regulate generative AI.

1838, England: When eighteen-year-old Frances Dickinson impulsively marries Lieutenant John Geils, all her hopes for her future are quickly shattered as she finds there is much about her husband she did not know. A cruel and violent man, John keeps Frances in isolation on his family's estate, while spending her fortune and preying upon their maids. Frances yearns to break free from her marriage but the law is not on her side. Only when John's abuse escalates can she set in motion a daring plan to secure her freedom.

When Lewis's family moves to a faraway town called Barrow, he can't quite put his finger on what feels so strange about his new home. Everyone is obsessed with superstition, and an old story about floods and witches and a curse, while a mysterious bird watches his every move. Then his family friend Moira arrives to stay. Only, there's something peculiar about Moira too. She doesn't know where she's from, or even when she's from, and strange things happen around her.

The year is 66 A.D. Nero rules the world as Caesar. Judea is a client state of Rome. The taxes are doubled and the Judeans refuse to pay. The Romans decide to raid the Judean's holy Temple treasury. The Judeans insult and mock the Romans for their avarice; the Romans respond by murdering thousands of Judeans.