Showing results by narrator "Stephen Thorne" in All Categories

Fascinating, frightening or just plain frustrating? These eight gripping stories show detective work as it really is - and sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction. Hear about the ghostly dream that helped to solve a baffling murder mystery, some clever detectives' tricks that led to the conviction of the 'Laurel and Hardy' jewel thieves, and the crafty blackmailer who nearly got away with the perfect crime.

When rare-manuscript expert Joseph Barkeley is hired to authenticate and purchase the original draft and notes for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, little does he know that the reclusive buyer is a member of the oldest family in Transylvania. After delivering the manuscript to the legendary Bran Castle in Romania, Barkeley - a Romanian orphan himself - realizes to his horror that he’s become a prisoner to the son of Vlad Dracul.

When Hungarian professor Erno Rubik invented the Rubik's Cube (or, rather, his Cube) in the 1970s out of wooden blocks, rubber bands, and paper clips, he didn't even know if it could be solved, let alone that it would become the world's most popular puzzle. Since its creation, the Cube has become many things to many people: one of the best-selling children's toys of all time, a symbol of intellectual prowess, a frustrating puzzle with 43.2 quintillion possible permutations, and now a worldwide sporting phenomenon.

It's easy to imagine how you'd raise a boy - all the golf outings, lawnmower lessons, and Little League championships you'd attend - but playing dad to a little princess may take some education. In Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl, Brian, a father of three girls, shares his tactics for surviving this new and glittery world. From baby dolls and bedtime rituals to potty training and dance recitals, he leads you through all the trials and tribulations you'll face as you're raising your daughter.

The start of a brand new WWII series from Iain Gale, author of Alamein. A masterly portrayal of World War Two heroism, with vivid action and stirring personal journeys.A small team of soldiers, left behind to cover the British retreat, are ordered to blow the bridge as late as possible to stem the German tank pursuit. Although successful, the operation kills desperate refugees fleeing the scene. Who will be made to face the court-martial: the men carrying out the orders or their commanding officer?

What is war really like? Here are stories of sacrifices and massacres, of battles fought on horseback and in the trenches, at sea and on land. Find out about the savage school teacher who betrayed his students to the Roman soldiers, the American hero who led his country to independence only to be abandoned after the battle was won, and the football game between two fierce enemies that halted the First World War for a day. Discover how people survive in times of war in these incredible but true war stories.

This enthralling audiobook takes us on a tour of the most dangerous, exciting, and often eccentric escapades of literature's sailing stars and how these true stories inspired and informed their best-loved works. Arthur Ransome, Erskine Childers, Jack London, and many others are featured as we find out how extraordinary fact fed into unforgettable fiction.

Peter Lamb and his men are halted in their retreat to England and forced to join British forces holding the pass at Thermopylae. But their tough experiences in France have not prepared The Jackals for the savage hand-to-hand fighting in the mountains. Lamb’s limited knowledge of command leaves him unsure about how to organise the New Zealand and Greek partisan soldiers who are added to his troop. When they land in Crete, Lamb becomes suspicious of some of the civilians who, on fleeing Greece, have taken cover with the Jackals.

Fourteen mysteries to test your inner sleuth! This collection includes "The Stolen White Elephant" by Mark Twain, narrated by Mauro Hantman; "The Fenchurch Street Mystery" by Baroness Orczy, narrated by Davina Porter; "Problem of the Superfluous Finger" by Jacques Futrelle, narrated by Stephen R. Thorne; "The Blue Sequin" by R. Austin Freeman, narrated by Simon Vance; "An Intangible Clue" by Anna Katharine Green, narrated by Angela Brazil; and "The Oblong Box" by Edgar Allan Poe, narrated by Mauro Hantman, among others.

When the chance to escape the dull life of his orphanage comes, Yanis seizes it. But what does he really know about his new master, or his mission in the frozen, secretive East?

What would you do if disaster struck? Would you be a hero...or a coward? These are the true stories of people involved in many different kinds of disaster, and how they behaved in life-or-death situations. Hear about a single act of revenge that sacrificed hundreds of lives; how a tragic disaster at sea turned one man into a hero; the train crash that should never have happened and other real-life dramas.

Nuclear brinksmanship, psychological warfare, spies, double agents, femmes fatales, and dead drops… The Cold War - a terrifying time when nuclear war between the world's two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button - provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today's most celebrated mystery writers.

On Christmas Eye, in the year 1907, Mr Batchel, who would have liked to sleep well lay hopelessly wide awake. A brilliant moon shone into his room - he heard the clocks strike the hour of midnight, and having now lost all hope of falling asleep, he rose from his bed and passed into the library, with the intention of reading himself sleepy - if he could.

A train bound for a mysterious destination stops in the middle of a meadow. As the hours pass and the cause of the delay remains unknown, we meet the various passengers. There is a priest, a former president, a lonely waitress, an elderly couple, and a young orphan boy, each pondering the significance of the journey thrust upon them and what awaits them at their destination. Will they find order? Loneliness? Love?

Two people are kidnapped and used in horrific experiments by hideous, lizard-eyed aliens. Strange beings descend in a beam of light to rescue a girl and her father. An alien space craft crashes in Roswell, USA...but some people seem determined to keep it a secret. Is there intelligent life on other planets? Have beings from outer space visited Earth? Look at the facts and make up your own mind: Is there really someone out there?

Included in this collection: "Who Killed Zebedee" by Wilkie Collins, read by Sean Barrett; "Blue Suit" by Edgar Wallace, read by Paul Panting; "A Mysterious Case" by Anna Katharine Green, read by Liza Ross; "The Crooked Man" by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Stephen Thorne; "Vendetta" by Guy de Maupassant, read by Liza Ross; "The Sapient Monkey" by Headon Hill, read by Paul Panting; and more....

Until he was nine years old, when he was adopted into a loving family, Jody was a little boy whose only experience of love was a painful, twisted hell. Now, two decades later, he moves from one woman to another, pointedly avoiding love - the thing he wants most but has never known how to give or take. Jody trusts only his wise and faithful dog Einstein to truly understand him and the darkness that haunts his life even in the bright light of a summer’s day. A chance meeting with Tess, an elderly woman still mourning her long-dead son, sends Jody on a journey back to the tortured memories buried deep below his scars.

When Mr James Massey moves to the Parish of Hilby and becomes the new tenant of Wood Farm he is soon the centre of attention. Invited to events within the small Norfolk Village, Massey finds himself attending village concerts, high tea at the grange and even dinner at the vicarage. As the residents warm to him so too do the hearts of two women, Helen Smythe and Pollie Freeman.

Staying happily married has become a difficult proposition in recent times. Although the institution is still firmly embedded in our culture, divorce rates have steadily climbed since the 1960s. While some marriages are truly divorce-worthy, many other broken marriages can be saved. Recent emphasis on personal needs and greater social acceptance of divorce and alternative lifestyles may have weakened the resolve of partners to work through their problems.

Minerva Parkinson has just received distressing news: she's dying. Though she and her husband Henry have been married for many years, their marriage has grown listless, and she therefore chooses to keep her dire prognosis to herself. With the hopes of leaving Henry with fond memories of her, she buys a houseboat to fulfill his dream of a riverboat trip, and they set off down the Missouri River. Things are looking good until they meet two strangers, a young woman named Nora and a mysterious man named Mr. Mortimer, who possesses knowledge beyond the worldly realm.