Showing results by narrator "David Monteath" in All Categories

James Harrison has recently moved to a restored hunting lodge in Sutherland with his gorgeous private nurse Gloria Dainty. When Hamish visits Mr. Harrison to welcome him to the neighborhood, the old man treats him very rudely. Gloria apologises for her employer's behavior, and Hamish takes the plunge and invites her out for dinner. On the appointed evening, Hamish waits for Gloria at the restaurant. And waits. But Gloria never shows up. Four days later, Gloria's body washes up on the beach near Braikie.

From the best-selling author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, a ghost story, a psychological thriller and a tale of love rediscovered. Elizabeth has been married to Michael for ten years. She has adjusted to a fairly monotonous routine with her wealthy, decent but boring husband. Part of this routine involves occasional visits to Beinn Caorrun, the dank and gloomy house in a Scottish glen that Michael inherited. There are memories there that Michael will not share with her. But then Michael begins to change. It starts when he thinks he sees, in a picture, the figure of a girl on a landing.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection The Edinburgh Mystery. Set on a country estate in the Scottish Highlands, a deer hunt ends in tragedy in this short story from a P.M. Hubbard, an Englishman who relocated to Scotland in later life.

Since time immemorial, people have passed through these misty mountains as they traveled between the Scottish lowlands and highlands. The old ways through the mountains - the Mounth passes, as they are collectively called - are the subject of this book. Twelve roads are profiled, from the Causey Mounth on the eastern coast to the Monega Pass deep in the heart of Scotland. Each route is considered from an historical perspective, followed by a guide to walking the road (or what remains of the road) today.

It's December 1967, and the town of Kinloch is cut off by heavy snow. With all roads closed, the only way to feed and water the townsfolk is for the fishing fleet to sail to Girvan for much needed supplies. But the skipper of the Girl Maggie, Sandy Hoynes, has a problem. First Mate Hamish has, to everyone's astonishment, been chosen as Young Fisherman of the Year by a Glasgow newspaper. Marooned in the town and with one eye on a scoop, their reporter decides to join the fishing crew on their mercy mission.

Orkney, 1940. Five hundred Italian prisoners-of-war arrive to fortify these remote and windswept islands. Resentful islanders are fearful of the enemy in their midst, but not orphaned twin sisters Dorothy and Constance. Already outcasts, they volunteer to nurse all prisoners who are injured or fall sick. Soon Dorothy befriends Cesare, an artist swept up by the machine of war and almost broken by the horrors he has witnessed. She is entranced by his plan to build an Italian chapel from war scrap and sea debris, and something beautiful begins to blossom.

In the aftermath of her husband’s shocking murder, Patsy Diamond wants answers. Who was Nick really? Where is all his money? And who killed the man she once loved? Patsy knows exactly who to go to first—Nick’s pregnant mistress, Natasha. Natasha might seem young and innocent, but Patsy’s certain the girl is hiding something. And the only way to find out what is to keep Natasha close and make her part of the Diamond family. With the two women forming an unlikely bond, they begin to dig deeper into Nick’s secret life and discover things that shock...and terrify them.

When a woman's skeleton is discovered in a shallow grave DCI Andy Gilchrist is tasked with finding her murderer. But a psychic's warnings and markings on a rusted cigarette lighter found among the rotted remains set Gilchrist off on a trail that will take him back 35 years back. When dental records from an extracted tooth force Gilchrist to confront the unthinkable - that his brother was her killer - he keeps his fears to himself, only to be suspended on suspicion of destroying evidence. But Gilchrist battles on

The middle of winter in St Andrews. When a young woman's half-naked body is found on Fife's Coastal Path, frozen and with remnants of a rope manacle around her wrist, DCI Andy Gilchrist is given the case. Gilchrist's investigation uncovers a bloody trail of shootings and executions that lead him to the heart of a trafficking war.

First published in 1885, Markheim blends crime, horror and the supernatural. The titular character, Markheim, visits an antiques dealer on Christmas Day to find a present for his beloved, but when the dealer’s back is turned, he stabs him to death and begins to ransack the shop for money. But he is disturbed by a spirit who knows all about Markheim’s life and forces him to consider his choices and the nature of good and evil.

It’s December 1968. Having cheated Sandy Hoynes out of a rowing race and navigation certificate when they were young, Dreich MacCallum makes an unexpected return to Kinloch. With the Girl Maggie up on the slip awaiting urgent repairs, Hoynes takes to his bed, the memory of it all too much. When first mate Hamish persuades his skipper to get up and put the fishing boat back into the water, there are unexpected consequences that put Hoynes’ liberty and reputation at risk. Has Dreich won the day again? But the spirits of the past have yet to have their say.

It's 1968, and the fishermen of Kinloch are preparing to celebrate the old New Year on the 12th of January. The annual pilgrimage to the Auld Stones is a tradition that goes back beyond memory, and young Hamish, first mate on the Girl Maggie, is chuffed that he's been invited to this exclusive gathering - usually reserved for the most senior members of Kinloch's fishing community.

In a remote corner of Scotland, something momentous is underway. When Effie's father receives a government notice to quit Kirk Farm, the lives of the Ross family and those of the whole community are utterly disrupted. But for Effie - irrepressible, beautiful, vital - wartime changes bring her close to Toni, an Italian prisoner of war sent to work on the farm. Before long, the young couple are planning a future together when the war is finally over. It’s a future that's under threat from the start. For there are those among them who cannot quite be trusted.

Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient spiritual commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there, and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history. When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution....

Cameron's life of shifting between the Humanian and Daemonic worlds is under threat. Two sinister figures want to destroy the Parallel - the void between worlds populated by daemons, dark creatures, old gods, and werewolves - and everyone in it. To save the Parallel, Cameron must make the ultimate sacrifice. But what is he prepared to lose?

Our world is only the beginning... Cameron's father is dead and his inheritance is... rather unusual. He has power to world shift: travel between the Human and Daemonic realms and the Parallel - a void where the worlds meet. Between befriending werewolves and battling daemons, Cameron's new life is already pretty complicated, but things are about to get even more dangerous.

As a young boy, Malcolm Alexander knew exactly what, and who, he wanted to be. He dreamed of becoming a doctor; he was mesmerised by the process of illness and obsessed with preventing it. He wanted to help others. In his 40s, Malcolm gave up his job in suburban Glasgow when a persistent seed that had been growing inside him started to bloom, disrupting the foundations of his life. When he saw the job advert, 'urgent: island doctor needed', he applied immediately. What he didn't anticipate was how much Orkney would affect his family, for better or worse.

Your partner has had a mysterious accident, leaving them with no memory. They don't remember anything: how you met, your first kiss, not even your wedding day. An experimental medical treatment promises a cure. A chance to relive the memories. Going through with it might bring you back together. But discovering the truth about the accident will tear you apart. Do you walk away? Or open Pandora's box?

Deep in the mountains of north-east Scotland lies Glen Conach, a place of secrets and memories, fable and history. In particular, it holds the stories of three different eras, separated by centuries yet linked by location, by an ancient manuscript and by echoes that travel across time.

You no longer have to enter the Dragon' Den to get expert startup advice. In Secrets of a Serial Entrepreneur, Shaf Rasul distills his vast experience and knowledge into a practical business startup guide that takes you smoothly and successfully from idea to exit. Are you in? With tips and advice from Shaf, as well as examples and anecdotes from inside and outside the den, you'll discover exactly what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.