The Shadow in the North

Once Upon a Time in the North

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 16 mins)
• By Philip Pullman
• Narrated By Philip Pullman, Full Cast

When Lee and his daemon, Hester, land in the Arctic town of Novy Odense, they quickly become embroiled in an out-and-out political brawl. So when Iorek offers to help, Lee is only too happy to accept. Together they take on a slippery politician, his monstrous gas-powered gun and a murderous gunfighter. And so begins a friendship that will continue throughout their lives.

The Reptile Room: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 2

• UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 11 mins)
• By Lemony Snicket
• Narrated By Tim Curry

This story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire orphans spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle. But don't be fooled.

The three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odour, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the reappearance of a person they'd hoped never to see again.

The Ruby in the Smoke

• UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 33 mins)
• By Philip Pullman
• Narrated By Anton Lesser

An unabridged reading of Philip Pullman's nerve-shattering thriller, set in the murky streets and opium dens of Old London. When 16-year old Sally's father drowns in suspicious circumstances, she is left to fend for herself in Victorian London. Although she doesn't know it, she is already in terrible danger.

The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials Trilogy, Book 2

• ORIGINAL (8 hrs and 55 mins)
• By Philip Pullman
• Narrated By Philip Pullman, cast

Here is a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the second book in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials. The story begins in Oxford, where Will Parry is desperate to discover the truth about his disappeared father.

Dead Man's Chest: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 31 mins)
• By Kerry Greenwood
• Narrated By Stephanie Daniel

Travelling at high speed in her beloved Hispano-Suiza, accompanied by her maid and trusted companion, Dot; her two adoptive daughters, Jane and Ruth; and their dog, Molly, The Hon Miss Phryne Fisher is off to Queenscliff. She'd promised everyone a nice holiday by the sea with absolutely no murders, but when they arrive at their rented accommodation that doesn't seem likely at all.