Showing results by narrator "Simon Slater" in All Categories

A young local student has apparently committed suicide. Her body is found in an abandoned car on a lonely country road. She didn't own a car. Didn't even drive. How did she get there? Where did she die? Who moved her, and why? Meanwhile a man in his 60s is found dead in a gully up on the wild moorland. He is wearing an expensive suit and carrying no identification. Post-mortem findings indicate he died from injuries sustained during the fall. But what was he doing up there? And why are there no signs of a car in the vicinity?

Late November, 1980. Student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police officers. As he discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing, he realises two things in quick succession: he is undoubtedly a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, and he has own suspicions as to what might have happened. Late November 2019. An dig near Scotch Corner unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains the archaeologist is looking for.

WITH PASSION AND DARING, THEY SEIZED THE PROMISE OF A NEW LAND... The seventh book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country built on blood, passion, and dreams. The upheavels in the new colony are frequent and radical. A governor has recently been fired, a rebel government has been forced to retreat, and a new governor has arrived in Australia. Will this mean redemption for the freed prisoners in the exile colony? The country needs its loyal fighters — and Jenny Hawley and her family certainly belong there in spite of their past.

Four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, meet to carry out his peculiar last wish: to have his ashes scattered into the sea at Margate. For reasons best known to herself, Jack’s widow, Amy, declines to join them. On the surface a simple tale of an increasingly bizarre day’s outing, this Booker Prize-winning, internationally acclaimed novel is a resonant and classic exploration of the complexity and courage of ordinary lives.

The fourteenth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. Against overwhelming odds they fought to tame a savage land, now they must fight to keep it. Dora Lucas, Francis De Lancey, the Yates brothers and Luke Murphy meet in the goldfields near Bathurst. All with different motives, but all drawn to the opportunities of the gold rush. Meanwhile, in Ballarat, trouble is brewing amongst the miners. Will they find riches and reach their goals or will the chaotic tide of the gold rush lead to unexpected places.

Late November, 1980. English student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police. He soon discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing. Nick quickly realises he is a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, but Nick has his own suspicions. Meanwhile, in late November 2019, an archeological dig near Scotch Corner unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains she is looking for.

A Dedicated Man is the second novel in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, following on from Gallows View. Near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale, the body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a dry stone wall. Harry Steadman has been brutally murdered. But who would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called in to investigate and soon discovers that disturbing secrets lie behind the apparently bucolic facade.

At 8 a.m., the first shots are fired. At 1 p.m., the police establish the gunman has a hostage. By 5 p.m., a siege is underway. At 9 p.m., DI Helen Birch walks, alone and unarmed, into an abandoned Borders farmhouse to negotiate with the killer. One day. One woman. One chance to get everyone out alive.

The twelfth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. Against overwhelming odds they fought to tame a savage land, now they must fight to keep it. The struggle continues – a struggle to harness an alien wilderness, to lay the bold foundation for their dreams. But powers outside the Australians‘ control are threatening to put all they have accomplished in jeopardy. A new generation of Australians comes into its own, more newcomers arrive, and together, they all must battle to forge the glorious destiny that is rightfully theirs.

During a blistering summer, drought has depleted Thornfield Reservoir, uncovering the remains of a small village called Hobb's End - hidden from view for over 40 years. For a curious young boy, this resurfaced hamlet is a magical playground...until he unearths a human skeleton. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is given the impossible task of identifying the victim - a woman who lived in a place that no longer exists, whose former residents are scattered to the winds.

The Summer That Never Was is the 13th novel in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, following on from Aftermath. A skeleton has been unearthed. Soon the body is identified, and the horrific discovery hits the headlines. Fourteen-year-old Graham Marshall went missing during his paper round in 1965. The police found no trace of him. His disappearance left his family shattered and his best friend, Alan Banks, full of guilt.

It was facts that helped him explain how the world works. But it was curiosity and commitment that made the late Hans Rosling, author of worldwide best seller Factfulness, the most popular researcher of our time. How I Learned to Understand the World is Hans Rosling's own story of how a young scientist became a revolutionary thinker and takes us from the swelter of an emergency clinic in Mozambique to the World Economic Forum at Davos. 

It should have been a cosy scene - log fire, sheepskin rug, Vivaldi on the stereo, Christmas lights and tree. But appearances can be deceptive. For Caroline Hartley, lying quietly on the couch, has been brutally murdered. Inspector Alan Banks is called to the grim scene. And he soon has more suspects than he ever imagined. As he delves into her past, he realizes that for Caroline, secrecy was a way of life, and her death is no different. His ensuing investigation is full of hidden passions and desperate violence....

A shocking mass murder occurs at a wedding in a small Dales church, and a huge manhunt follows. Eventually the shooter is run to ground, and things take their inevitable course. But Banks is plagued with doubts as to exactly what happened outside the church that day and why. Struggling with the death of his first serious girlfriend and the return of profiler Jenny Fuller into his life, Banks feels the need to dig deeper into the murders.

IN THE MIDST OF BLOODSHED AND REBELLION A NEW GENERATION STRUGGLED TO BE BORN... The fifth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country built on blood, passion, and dreams. In the British colony of Australia, the obstacles are challenging and never-ending. The new governor, Bligh — better known for his command on the Bounty and the mutiny against him — has already gained a relentless enemy: The New South Wales Corps, also known as The Rum Corps due to their profitable side business.

The second book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country built on blood, passion, and dreams. Life in the new colony of Australia is tough — tough for those who are free and even tougher for the prisoners. Many succumb to disease and starvation. Many try to escape, but only few succeed, and those who fail are brutally punished. Yet some, including Jenny Taggart, are determined to make this savage land their own. She is betrayed in friendship and in love, but she never parts with her vision: a future as a free woman.

When Alan Banks receives a disturbing message from his brother, Roy, he abandons the peaceful Yorkshire Dales for the bright lights of London to seek him out. But Roy seems to have vanished into thin air. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot is called to a quiet stretch of road just outside Eastvale, where a young woman has been found dead in her car. In the victim's pocket, scribbled on a slip of paper, police discover Banks' name and address.

It was 2:47 a.m. when Chief Inspector Alan Banks arrived at the barn and saw the body of Keith Rothwell for the first time. Only hours earlier two masked men had walked the mild-mannered accountant out of his farmhouse and clinically blasted him with a shotgun. Clearly this is a professional hit - but Keith was hardly the sort of person to make deadly enemies. Or was he? For the police investigation soon raises more questions than answers. And who, exactly, is Robert Clavert?

For Michael Parkinson it was never really in doubt that he would spend his life in sport. His father, a fearsome fast bowler himself, indoctrinated young Michael from an early age into the Yorkshire cricket tradition and supporting Barnsley FC. All he ever wanted was to play cricket for Yorkshire and England. My Sporting Life is Sir Michael's love letter to sport, to the heroes and legends of his Yorkshire youth, to the characters of the international games he watched and wrote about, and to the very idea of sport itself.

The twentieth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. Jon Fisher and Harry Ryan return to Australia. At their return, Jon Fisher learns of the problem that his family are facing with the conflict of the wealthy squatters and the so-called 'selectors'. The threat of war and internal fighting looms over the family as we near the turn of the century.