Mystery Reads

B. J. Harrison does not tire of the adventurous and mysterious settings in his choice of narratives. This time, the horror element is a bit subdued, though Edgar Allan Poe makes up for the lost thrills with his haunting poems "The Raven", "Annabel Lee", and "The Sleeper". P. G. Wodehouse appears with four works, scoring points for his humor.

Apart from the ubiquitous presence of the authors who work in the short story tradition, the Second Season introduces poems and novellas. The romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge is here with his haunting and supernatural sea adventure "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", while Rudyard Kipling tests the human condition with his famous poem "If". Perhaps the most potent addition in this second part is Joseph Conrad’s timeless novella "The Heart of Darkness", exploring the darkest recesses of the human soul. B. J.

Detective Inspector Ken "Chunky" Mason finds himself trapped between a rock and a hard place when history and current events conspire against him. A dead body, blackmail, conflicts of interest. He’s almost at the end of his tether, when events take an unexpected twist.

Summer 1977. The police have barely got their heads around an arson attack when a second occurs. Where’s the evidence? A detective is following up a hunch when the arsonist strikes again. This time, the attack on an Orphanage leads to the loss of life of children and adults. An arrest is made. The suspect ticks some of the boxes, but detective "Chunky" Mason isn’t sure they’ve got their man. As the investigation steps up a gear Mason begins to unearth an unpalatable truth.

Huck is a young boy who embarks on a long and adventurous journey along the Mississippi River together with the runaway slave Jim. Their trip is marked by many obstacles, the different people they meet from various social classes, and the beautifully idyllic scenary of the riverfront and the surrounding forest. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" will take you on a journey that will grab your attention and keep you entertained until the very last page. B. J.

"There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it." After being unwillingly transported back to Earth, John Carter finally finds a way back to Mars, exited to be reunited with his beloved wife Dejah Thoris after a ten-year separation. Unfortunately, John Carter arrives at the one place on Mars you can never leave: the Barsoomian afterlife. Heroric, cheesy and imaginative, 'The Gods of Mars' is even more entertaining than 'A Princess of Mars'. When it comes to these Martian adventures, there is no such thing as a small taste.

"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." In the winter of 1801, a man named Lockwood rents a home in Northern England. When he meets his unfriendly landlord, Heathcliff, who lives in the old nearby manor Wurthering Heights, Lockwood is curious to know why he seems so troubled. By asking his housekeeper, Lockwood finds out much more than he bargained for. One of the most controversial and debated love stories of all times, 'Wuthering Heights' is one of those classics you just have to read.

When four unconnected serial killers simultaneously commit identical murders across four different US cities, FBI Special Agent Shannon Wallace faces an unprecedented threat—a cooperative of killers working in unison. Each homicide is witnessed by a survivor, and now these lucky ones need to decide how to tell their stories to the world. Their posts about the horrific murders create a media storm and a new term is soon coined for the killers: The Alliance.

Cricket Crosby is back . . . and she's licensed to snoop! Fresh off divorce and a private investigator's course, Cricket's ready to balance running her antiques store with proving her PI chops . . . if someone will take a chance on her. When a local PI catches a case involving the theft of luxury goods, he hires the former debutante to go undercover to trap a thief. But snooping during PTA meetings and cotillion parties is harder than it looks, especially when Cricket's missteps cause a hunky police detective to cast suspicion on her new bestie, Ruby Balthazar.

In 1990, within the deceptively peaceful woods of her Sussex neighborhood, Mia witnesses the brutal murder of her mother and wakes up in a shallow grave. A man confesses to the murder and later dies in prison, but Mia never comes to terms with her mother's death. After another brush with tragedy in 2021, Mia and her boyfriend Rich move from London to a small Spanish village where they can begin a new life. At first, Val Verde seems to be everything they could wish for. But when a body is found in the olive grove outside of town, they realize that their would-be safe haven harbors a secret.

When Abbie Coleman is asked to host a relaxing wellbeing retreat at the Hummingbird Hotel after a stressful photoshoot on board celebrity fashion designer Pierre Fontaine's luxury yacht, she knows it's the perfect opportunity to showcase the peace and tranquility on offer. But when a member of the local goat fraternity is discovered in a guest's room munching on a pair of his paisley boxer shorts, and a delicious avocado and kale smoothie has unexpected soporific properties, Abbie must once again join forces with local vineyard owner to unravel the mystery and save the hotel.

It's the year 2035 and fiction has been banned by the government for five years. Writing novels is a crime. Reading fairytales to children is punishable by law. Fern Dostoy is a criminal. Officially, she has retrained in a new job outside of the arts but she still scrawls in a secret notepad in an effort to capture what her life has become: her work on a banned phone line, reading bedtime stories to sleep-starved children; Hunter, the young boy who calls her and has captured her heart; and the dreaded visits from government officials.

Sent away to convent school at the age of six, Irini McGuire has never really known her celebrated archaeologist mother, Bridget, who lives on the paradise island of Santorini. So, when Irini receives news that Bridget has been injured at a dig and is in coma she knows it is time to return to the island of her birth. Discovering her mother's notes, and driven by rumours that her mother's injury was no accident, Irini starts to reveal the dark secrets behind her family's separation. Can she unearth the truth about her parents and her past before it is too late?

"The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens" is a precious collection of Christmas tales. Christmas spirit, joy, excitement, cheer and Christmas trees against low classes living in despair and poverty. There are two sides to the story but the holiday and its meaning come from the heart no matter what the social status is. "The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens" is a collection which makes the reader immerse in a parallel universe, so complex in its nature that it almost seems unreal.

"The Colour Out of Space", "The Call of Cthulhu" and 15 more stories are combined in the collection "The Dunwich Horror and Other Tales". Horror, supernatural occurrences, science fiction and fantasy intertwine in order to give you goosebumps and send shivers up and down your spine. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories. He masterfully plays with a wide array of voices and accents and has since then produced over 500 audiobooks.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" tells the story of Horne Fisher and the burden he had to carry throughout his whole life. He knew too much about politicians and aristocracy, about corruption and covered crimes. The prime minister of England was a friend of his father, the foreign minister married his sister. Without even intending to, he found out many things about the private life of politicians, which is very different from what is presented to the people. The question is, what is Fisher going to do with all this information? B. J.

A governess is hired by a bachelor to take care of his nephew and niece. She has barely arrives at the house that she starts seeing ghosts and having other supernatural visions. She decides to share her frightening experience with the maid of the house, Mrs. Grose. The maid, however, is not surprised and tells the governess that the ghosts are those of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel.

Dr. James Mortimer asks Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for advice, after finding his friend Sir Baskerville dead. According to the official version, Baskerville died from a heart attack, but Mortimer thinks that something terrible happened to his friend. He believes the supernatural hound that has been chasing the Baskerville family down for many years is responsible for his death. Sherlock Holmes takes on the difficult task of solving the mystery surrounding Sir Baskerville’s death.

Liv Travers never knew real friendship until she met fellow mums Beth and Binnie. The three women become inseparable as they muddle through early parenthood together. Then along comes Ange. Ambitious, wealthy and somehow able to do it all. Under Ange’s guiding presence, the group finds new vigour and fresh aspirations. But Liv can’t keep up and is increasingly edged out. When the four families take a three-week trip to a luxurious holiday resort, Liv seizes the opportunity to reclaim her place at the heart of the group, only to discover the true cost of a friendship with Ange.

Ashley Brooks’s life isn’t working out as planned. After years of struggling to make it in Hollywood, she’s still waiting for her big break. When fate leads her to the doorstep of legendary casting director Louisa Lake George, Ashley thinks her luck is about to change: the prickly old pro knows about a role she’s perfect for. The aspiring actress never gets to thank her, though, because the day after the audition, Louisa is dead. The bigger shock—she left all her money to Ashley.