Showing results by narrator "Simon Mattacks" in All Categories

Said to make whoever holds it unstoppable in battle, the sword Excalibur has been coveted across the ages and thought lost for more than a thousand years. With a cryptic message to Archaeologist Nina Wilde, this may be about to change. Historian Bernd Rust believes he can locate Excalibur...and that the sword is the key to harnessing an incredible source of energy. Nina is sceptical - until she and Rust are attacked by mercenaries determined to steal his research.

Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a shocking message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their home was once a real-life murder house, with the evidence still concealed within the four walls.

When Italy’s greatest opera singer, Rodolfo Argento, is killed in a terrible car accident, the police initially rule his death a tragic accident or suicide. But his elderly mother, Violetta, believes this to be poppycock! Her son was a brilliant driver and had too much to live for. She suspects foul play and turns to Private Investigator, Dan Armstrong to discover the truth. So Dan and Oscar travel to Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, to find out what really happened. There Dan discovers Rodolfo’s private life could have come straight out of a Shakespeare play.

Nestled high in the Tuscan hills lies Villa Volpone, home to renowned crime writer Jonah Moore and his creative writing course. It’s also the last place retired DCI Dan Armstrong expected to spend his retirement! Dan’s no writer, but maybe this break will help him to think about the next chapter in his own life story? But only days into the course, Jonah Moore is found stabbed to death with his award-winning silver dagger! And Dan finds himself pulled out of retirement with a killer to catch.

When millionaire magnate, Rex Hunter is found with his head bashed in on the eighth hole of his prestigious golf and country club in beautiful Chianti, it’s a clear case of murder. Hunter was rich and successful and the envy of many, so retired DCI Dan Armstrong thinks the case will be a hole in one to solve.But as Dan and his trusty sidekick Oscar begin to dig deeper into Hunter’s lifestyle, they discover a man despised by many. A renowned womaniser, ruthless boss and heartless family man, it seems no one is particularly sorry to see Hunter dead.

Rory Connor was a gambling man and he had a gambler's luck. From the day he was born, his mother had known that Rory would be the one to make something of his life. At seven years old he was earning money from odd jobs and by 14 he was in full-time work. By the time he was 19, he had escaped the factory to become a rent-collector. Now, at 23, ambition was in full flow and he was always looking to bigger and better games to play.

Private investigator Dan Armstrong is no stranger to working with criminals, but when he’s approached for help by Bianca Moretti, he’s on high alert. Bianca is intelligent and beautiful, and Dan likes her, but he also once sent her to prison…Bianca explains that a guest has been found dead at her father’s luxurious and private retreat on the beautiful Italian Riviera. The police are sure the death is accidental, but Bianca is convinced the man’s been murdered. Dan’s sure he can get to the bottom of things…as long as Bianca is telling him the whole truth.

Life as a private investigator in the suburbs of Florence isn’t always as glamourous as Dan Armstrong imagined it to be, until he is asked to investigate a recent spate of violent attacks on a Hollywood movie set in Florence. The star of the show, movie-star royalty Selena Gardner, fears her life is in imminent danger. As Dan investigates, he discovers secrets and scandals are rife within the cast and crew. But with no actual murder, Dan believes these attacks could simply be warnings to someone…until the first body is found.

With her new billionaire boss in town, Sophie's determined to swap the No-Jobs she meets on Tinder for her very own Steve Jobs. But will looking like a million dollars be enough to kick-start a Fifty Shades adventure? A ring in his pocket and dressed to kill, Calum's planning to get down on one knee. Though if Mia doesn't say 'yes', he's not sure he'll ever get back up. Julie's got a surprise for Mark - though it's something she's not even sure she wants.

For archaeologist Nina Wilde it's the opportunity of a lifetime. Her studies of an ancient text have convinced her that a tomb containing the remains of legendary warrior Hercules may actually exist. If she can locate it, it will be the most important historical find ever to be unearthed. As Nina and Eddie Chase, her ex-SAS bodyguard, begin their search, it's clear that others want to find the tomb - and the unimaginable riches contained within. Then Chase's attention is diverted by the reappearance of a face from his past.

December 1940. New Year's Eve draws closer, but crowds will not be gathering on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral to celebrate. After a quiet Christmas, the area has suffered London's most devastating air raid since the start of the Blitz and waves of incendiary bombs have burnt the heart of British book publishing to the ground. Detective Inspector John Jago finds a desolate woman sitting among the ruins of her family business and must break the news – her husband's been found shot dead at their home in Soho.

Dan Armstrong hasn’t done much retiring since moving to Tuscany, and with his new career as a successful private investigator taking off, it seems murder seems to follow him. He’s hoping a much-needed trip to beautiful Portofino will give him the break he needs and quality time with girlfriend Anna. Portofino is a celebrity paradise, and holidaying on a nearby superyacht is a group of British media stars, all famous for being infamous. Dan isn't impressed by their status or wealth, but when he overhears an argument between two of the group, he suspects something fishy could be going on…

Alex Reeve - known as OPERATIVE 66 - is a former special-ops soldier and one of the UK's most lethal weapons. Previously a member of SC9, an elite covert unit with a remit to assassinate the country's enemies, Reeve was framed for treason and now lives a nomadic existence - as the merciless killers he once trained alongside hunt him down. For a chance of a normal life, Reeve must expose and dismantle the sinister SC9. So when a series of brutal killings in Germany have all the hallmarks of an SC9 tactic.

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive. Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily.

As Germany goes to war, the Nazis tighten their terrifying grip. Paranoia in the capital is intensified by a rigidly enforced blackout that plunges the city into oppressive darkness every night, as the bleak winter sun sets. When a young woman is found brutally murdered, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is under immense pressure to solve the case, swiftly. Treated with suspicion by his superiors for his failure to join the Nazi Party, Schenke walks a perilous line—for disloyalty is a death sentence.

When London’s finest jazz musicians, the Dizzy Heights, are booked to play the glitzy Midsummer Ball at a country house in Oxfordshire, they expect a weekend filled with flappers and toffs having a roaring good time. But the festivities at Bilverton House take a turn for the worse when the group are stranded by a summer storm. And when a member of the Bilverton family turns up dead in a locked room in an apparent suicide, Skins, Dunn and Ellie realize this is going to be a much tougher gig than they thought.

Dan Armstrong and the new love of his life, Anna, are heading to a hotel deep in the gorgeous Tuscan countryside for a long weekend, looking forward to some time away from the stresses of their day jobs. With the beautiful and historic city of Siena just around the corner, it promises to be relaxing and enjoyable. What could possibly go wrong? But when a mutilated body is discovered in the hotel grounds Dan is called in to help with the investigation. But who or what could have been responsible for such a vicious attack? Was it the work of wild animals, or is there a brutal murderer at large?

Former special ops soldier Alex Reeve is Operative 66. One of the UK's deadliest weapons, he is part of the mysterious C6 - an elite and top-secret security service with a remit to neutralise the country's most dangerous enemies. But now Reeve is in the firing line. Framed as a traitor, Reeve is forced to flee as every operative is instructed to kill the 'rogue asset'. On the run from his own government, alone and under the radar, Reeve must survive off grid with fearsome assassins on his trail. He doesn't know why he's a target. Or who betrayed him.

A retired teacher is found dead in her Somerset home on a cold January night. At first glance, it is a routine unexplained death and a simple referral to the coroner, until a neighbour reports an unscheduled visit from an occupational therapist an hour before the body was discovered. Detective Chief Inspector Nick Dixon is convinced the elderly woman has been strangled—a cause of death confirmed by the pathologist—and a murder investigation is launched.

Alex Reeve was Operative 66. A former special-ops soldier and one of the UK's deadliest weapons, he was a member of the secretive SC9 - an elite security service with a remit to neutralise the country's most dangerous enemies. Falsely accused of treason, Reeve was forced to hide in the shadows as the brutal assassins he once trained alongside sought to eliminate the 'rogue asset' at any cost. But tricked into revealing himself, Reeve is suddenly dragged into a lethal conspiracy involving the British state, shadowy Russian agents...and his own father.