British Literature

In this comprehensive anthology, former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion has gathered together exceptional poems from the 14th century through to the present day, creating an extraordinary poetic journey for the listener. From the love poems of Shelley and Keats to the grim war elegies of Owen and Sassoon, there is a poem here for every sentiment, each with something different to offer.

Three-year-old Rosie Logan is missing. Her mother, Maria, turned away for just one moment and now her life is changed forever. It falls to PC Lucy Halliday and her police dogs, Moss and Iggy, to find the girl, under the direction of Lucy's boss and friend, DCI Jack Ellis. The case brings up old trauma for Jack. His childhood best friend, Theo, went missing when he was eleven and was never found. This is Jack's chance to make things right. He won't fail Rosie like he failed Theo.

DI Kate Young has known for years that her boss, Superintendent John Dickson, is a violent and evil man. But when she finally confronts him and accidentally shoots and kills him, she’s forced to cover her tracks before anyone can pin his death on her. With revelations about his corruption soon to become public knowledge, Kate sets up a trail of evidence to make it seem that Dickson has conveniently vanished… But Kate knows the corruption doesn’t end with Dickson.

A chilling encounter on London's Necropolis Railway leads to murder, and a man escapes the gallows after a witness gives sensational evidence. After this string of strange, fatal events, journalist Jacob Flint discovers that he has been framed for murder. To save himself, he flees to Mortmain Hall, a remote estate on the northern coast. There, an eccentric female criminologist hosts a gathering of eclectic people who have all escaped miscarriages of cruel justice. This strange group puts Jacob a little on edge, but they may be his only hope to clear his name.

St Abra's church is harboring a dark secret. Several elderly parishioners have been found dead in the church's confessions booth, all appearing to have suffered fatal heart attacks. But when another, much younger body is discovered in exactly the same way, Detective Sergeant Blake Harte must investigate how it is possible for the confessions booth to be killing off its occupants. Dark forces are at play, forcing Blake to believe it's more than just tragic coincidence.

When young, pretty Eliza Anderson walks through Grace McKenna’s door begging for help finding her missing sister, it sparks the Portobello Detective Agency’s most dangerous investigation to date. The trail leads Grace and her team to a plush clinic nestled in Scotland’s remote wilderness. On the surface, Whiteadder House seems too good to be true, offering miracle cures and luxury comfort at no cost. But as they dig deeper, the cracks in its gleaming façade start to show.

Georgina Drake’s job photographing beautiful Hartington Hall takes a dramatic turn when she enters the ancient ice house to find the lady of the manor dead on the floor. The second wife of the irascible owner of the hall, Karen Berry had plenty of enemies. Her death could have been an accident, but when Georgina hears how Karen had argued with her husband, alienated her two step-daughters, and fired the long-standing housekeeper for theft, she’s not convinced.

Marty Wingate presents Book 7 in the Potting Shed Mysteries series.

DC Sophie Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Viciously bludgeoned one night in a dark alley, she is left fighting for her life in hospital, leaving no clues as to why she was there or what might have motivated the attack. For Detective Karen Hart, fiercely protective of her young protégée, this is already deeply personal: an attack on Sophie is an attack on the whole team. When a car workshop near the crime scene is linked to local mobster Quentin Chapman, the man Hart has spent years trying to bring down, it’s hard not to jump to the most obvious conclusion.

It's an invitation Steph can't refuse when she's handpicked to compete at the prestigious National Trust property Coleton Fishacre. With the country's top garden designers as rivals and a stunning historic estate for inspiration, it feels like a dream come true. But things quickly turn thorny when the youngest competitor falls mysteriously ill and Steph suspects foul play. Her fears are confirmed when a scream echoes through the gardens, leading her to the horrific sight of a dead body at the foot of the cliff.

When Georgina Drake trades London for the tranquil Norfolk countryside, she has simple plans: master pilates, rent out her converted barn to holidaymakers, and slowly heal from a terrible loss. But when she discovers the body of her latest guest—arrogant Cambridge professor Roland Garnett—everything changes. With the police eyeing Georgina as a suspect and the poisoned curry that killed Garnett somehow linked to her friend’s farm shop, she has no choice but to investigate for herself.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the wife of parliamentary candidate Tom Perry is brutally murdered in an apparent burglary gone wrong. With the by-election campaign about to start in earnest, and the festive season in full swing, torrential rain brings with it flood warnings on the Somerset Levels. Suspended on full pay and transferred to the cold case unit, Detective Inspector Nick Dixon is languishing on the sidelines as the investigation into Elizabeth Perry’s murder unravels and the floodwaters rise.

A selection illustrating the breathtaking variety of Byron’s poetry. Read by Linus Roache, star of the critically acclaimed film Wings of the Dove, this collection includes She Walks in Beauty, The Destruction of Sennacherib, The Vision of Judgment and selections from Childe Harold, The...

A man's body is found on a canal towpath. In his pocket, a magnetic letter in the shape of an E. Days later, a second victim is murdered, this time with the letter V tucked into her clothing. When the letter E is located near to a third victim, DI Allie Shenton and her colleagues are sent into full alert. Is their killer spelling a word, a name or are the letters an anagram? One thing's for certain as the body count rises—the eerie, childlike clues point to a pattern that doesn't look like stopping.

London 1884. When a thief robs Fleet Street reporter Penny Green, she finds herself caught up in a horrifying murder. Someone is terrorizing the residents of St Giles Rookery, and Scotland Yard sends Inspector James Blakely to investigate. When the serial killer claims a victim outside the slums, Victorian London is sent into panic. Can Penny's friendship with the people of St Giles uncover the culprit? She and James must overcome their complicated relationship to work together, but each new murder threatens to derail their work for good.

With her personal life in disarray, Julia Lanchester feels she has no option but to quit her job on her father's hit BBC Two nature show, A Bird in the Hand. Accepting a tourist management position in Smeaton-under-Lyme, a quaint village in the English countryside, Julia throws herself into her new life, delighting sightseers (and a local member of the gentry) with tales of ancient Romans and pillaging Vikings. But the past is front and center when her father Rupert tracks her down in a moment of desperation.

He will find the truth. Even if it kills him. Five months ago, DCI Robert Kett’s wife Billie was snatched from a London street. Five months of no leads, no evidence, and no suspects. Until now. When a routine police search uncovers a chamber of horrors beneath one of the city’s most expensive houses, detectives find a clue that points to Billie’s fate, and to the identity of her kidnapper - an enigmatic killer known as the Pig Man.

There was only one reason Manchester-based private eye Kate Brannigan was prepared to let her boyfriend help out with an investigation into a car sales fraud - nothing bad could happen. But by now Kate should know that with Richard you have to expect the unexpected. With Richard behind bars, Kate must look after his eight-year-old son - who proves even more troublesome than his father. Kate finds herself dragged into a world of drug traffickers, child pornographers, fraudsters, and violent gangland enforcers in the most terrifying investigation of her career.

Recent college graduate Lauren Charleston heads to London for a prestigious media graduate internship that is part of a well-laid plan for career success. Falling for a playboy billionaire with the nickname of Icky Ollie? Not part of said plan. Tech developer Oliver Pratt makes tabloid headlines for his wild ways, seen with a myriad of women - including a princess. He's exactly the type of man Lauren detests - especially in light of her past with men. But Lauren might find exactly what she needs in Oliver if she can see beyond the surface - and face her own past, too.

When DCI Freya Bloom and DI Ben Savage are called to an abandoned farmhouse in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, they expect the worst. The caller to emergency services had reported finding a man’s body. Yet, except for an old tent and a few personal possessions, the old house is empty. The investigation comes to a grinding halt before it’s even begun. With no body, there is no crime, and Freya’s efforts to quietly pursue the incident stall when another call comes in.