Showing results by narrator "Simon Vance" in All Categories

Charlie Howard isn’t only a part-time crime writer and part-time thief; he’s also a magician. For his next trick, he’ll relieve Josh Masters, the famous illusionist vying for the affections of Charlie’s friend Victoria, of $60,000 in casino chips stashed in his hotel safe. Revenge would be sweet - if there weren’t a dead redhead floating in Masters’ bathtub and if Masters hadn’t just disappeared in a puff of smoke after cheating at roulette. Convinced that Charlie was in on the scam, the casino’s owners give him an impossible mission....

In most fairy tales, princesses are beautiful, dragons are terrifying, and stories are harmless. This isn't most fairy tales. Princess Violet is plain, reckless, and quite possibly too clever for her own good. Particularly when it comes to telling stories. One day she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room and find a peculiar book. A forbidden book. It tells a story of an evil being - called the Nybbas - imprisoned in their world. The story cannot be true - not really. But then the whispers start....

Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.

With the fate of their homeland still in jeopardy, siblings Ella and Miro must face the Primate’s evil as he discovers a new technique: a way to extract essence from human blood. The Primate has been temporarily defeated, but his home was once inhabited by the Evermen, and their ancient secrets still remain there. As the mysterious Evrin sets out to destroy everything he can, the Primate stumbles upon an ancient book that tells of a hidden relic with unfathomable power - and he will stop at nothing to find it.

For professional cyclists, going faster and winning are, of course, closely related. Yet surprisingly, for many, a desire to go faster is much more important than a desire to win. Someone who wants to go faster will work at the details and take small steps rather than focusing on winning. Winning just happens when you do everything right - it's the doing everything right that's hard. And that's what fascinates and obsesses Michael Hutchinson.

Two hundred years ago a loyalist family fled to England to escape the American War of Independence and seemingly vanished into thin air. American genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to find out what happened, but it soon becomes apparent that a calculated killer is out to stop him.

As Jon prepares for the inevitable battle with Rohaer, strategies must evolve in response to the enemy’s overwhelming advantage. But Rohaer is not Jon’s only concern. Political players among his allies may plan to use the upcoming strife as an opportunity to grab power for themselves. Jon must protect their king from an internal betrayal at the same time that they’re defending their land from an unrelenting force bent on conquest.

Seventeen years ago, Criminal Inspector Ewert Grens was called to the scene of a brutal crime. A family had been murdered, and the only survivor - and witness - was the five-year-old daughter. The girl was placed in the witness protection program, and the case went cold, but years later, Grens is still haunted by the seemingly random slaying and the little girl who was spared. So when he learns that the apartment where the crime occurred is now the scene of a mysterious break-in, Grens immediately fears that someone is intent on silencing the only witness.

It all began with a simple seaside vacation, a brother and sister recapturing their childhood. Antoine Rey thought he had the perfect surprise for his sister Mélanie's birthday: a weekend by the sea at Noirmoutier Island, where the pair spent many happy childhood summers playing on the beach. It had been too long, Antoine thought, since they'd returned to the island—over thirty years, since their mother died and the family holidays ceased. But the island's haunting beauty triggers more than happy memories.

While putting away books from an estate sale purchase, rare book-dealer Steven Lukas finds a box he's never seen before wedged between books on a high shelf. In it he discovers what looks to be a small diary written entirely in code, a lock of hair, and old photographs of the Fairytale King. It isn't long however, before his excitement turns to fear as he realizes that mysterious others want the diary too - and will apparently kill to get it. Suspecting that his find may contain the secret truth behind Ludwig's death, Steven consults with art historian Sara Lengfeld. Soon they find themselves on the run together, investigating each of Ludwig's three castles for clues....

The battle lines have been drawn. The An’Dari and his allies have embarked upon their quest for one of the missing Stones of Aer. The lost artifact of legend may hold the key to saving those trapped in the Grey. Pursued by the enemy, the survival of an entire ancient race is in their hands. With the summer months fast approaching, defiant mercenary companies continue to clash with the forces of the new Protectorate Empire. The prince’s army, now camped at the Dwarven fortress of Celig Helme, hones its skills in preparation for all-out war.

When Calouste Gulbenkian died in 1955 at the age of 86, he was the richest man in the world, known as 'Mr Five Per Cent' for his personal share of Middle East oil. The son of a wealthy Armenian merchant in Istanbul, for half a century he brokered top-level oil deals, concealing his mysterious web of business interests and contacts within a labyrinth of Asian and European cartels, and convincing governments and oil barons alike of his impartiality as an 'honest broker'. Mr Five Per Cent reveals Gulbenkian's complex and many-sided existence.

A timely and revelatory new biography of Queen Elizabeth (and her family) exploring how the Windsors have evolved and thrived as the modern world has changed around them. In 2021, the Queen Elizabeth II finally appears to be at ease in the modern world, helped by the new generation of Windsors. But through Irving’s unique insight there emerges a more fragile institution, whose extraordinarily dutiful matriarch has managed to persevere with dignity, yet in doing so made a Faustian pact with the media.

A true-life thriller about the journey of one of the world's most precious manuscripts - the 10th-century annotated Hebrew Bible known as the Aleppo Codex - from its hiding place in an ancient Syrian synagogue to the newly founded Israel. Using his research, including documents that have been secret for 50 years and interviews with key players, AP correspondent Friedman tells a story of political upheaval, international intrigue, charged courtroom battles, obsession, and subterfuge.

Cleopatra is one of the most famous women in history - and thanks to Shakespeare, one of the most intriguing personalities in literature. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom delivers exhilarating clarity and invites us to look at this character as a flawed human who might be living in our world. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character: Just as we encounter one Anna Karenina or Jay Gatsby when we are in high school and college and another when we are adults, Bloom explains his shifting understanding of Cleopatra over the course of his own lifetime.

The Mercenary Code has been broken, and a new Protectorate Empire has arisen. In league with renegade mages known as the Fallen, the Protectorate will stop at nothing to expand its reach and unify the factions of Old Caledun by any means necessary. The few who escaped the coup are now in a tenuous struggle against the growing influence of this corrupt new Order.

Here are books 1, 2, and 3 in L. M. Boston's thrilling and chilling tales of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside, which have been entertaining audiences for half a century!

The world is facing a war to end all wars, a confrontation that will destroy everything Dion and Chloe hold dear. With Palemon's dragon army growing in number, time is running out... Dion is doing everything in his power to prepare his kingdom, but he knows it will not be enough. Although he needs Chloe's help, recent tragedy makes him terrified for her safety. Magic is dangerous. Only Palemon is too arrogant to see it.

Gideon is that close to striking it rich - again. The flaw that always seems to trip him up is that he is a con man, a swindler, and a thief. The entire galaxy seems to have it in for the poor crook. Of course, his task of staying alive isn't made any easier since he has to bring along his ex-girlfriend, who has become a zombie. Then again, maybe dragging along Rigel, the universe's dullest man from the galaxy's most dangerous planets is even worse? You choose. Will Gideon ever catch a break?

A blade fit for a hero. An army for a tyrant. A reckoning long awaited, and a tale reaching its end. The riveting conclusion to the Wolf of the North trilogy.