Alex Kirk grew up in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, which has brilliant beaches and the best fish and chips in the entire world. 
 
He has worked in a fish finger factory, as a plumber, a gardener, an English teacher, and for the last twenty-five years as a screenwriter, actor and comedian. Alex has written comedy shows for both radio and television, as well as being part of the writing team behind the wonderful Paddington 2 and Wonka. As an actor he has appeared in many TV productions such as My Family, Fresh Meat, The Detectorists and Coronation Street. 
 
He now lives in London with his family and a cat called Jonesey. This is his very first book.

Alex Kirk

Alex Laird is a medical herbalist with more than 20 years' experience. Trained in biomedicine and plant pharmacology, she treats patients in the only NHS herbal clinic based in a UK hospital at Whipps Cross. Alex is a visiting lecturer, and has published clinical research, and is the co-founder of the charity Living Medicine.

Alex Laird

Alex Latimer is an author and illustrator living in Cape Town, which is why he regularly has to shoo baboons out of his lounge. 
 
Alex's book Lion VS Rabbit won the Hampshire Picture Book Award 2014

Alex Latimer

Alex Livingston

Alex Manson-Smith is a journalist and copywriter. She has written lifestyle features for The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Evening Standard and Observer, as well as award-winning commercials for Google, YouTube and Nike.

Alex Manson-Smith

Alex Marshall grew up in the area where London sinks into Essex. He's an award-winning journalist who has been writing about music and politics for over a decade, and who has been published in the Guardian and by the BBC, amongst others. He started investigating national anthems back in 2008. This is his first book.

Alex Marshall

Alex Maunder

Alex McBride is a criminal barrister. He is the author of the 'Common Law' column in Prospect magazine and has contributed to the New Statesman and various BBC programmes, including From Our Own Correspondent.

Alex McBride

Alex McCarthy was born in Cardiff and grew up in South Wales. An alumna of London Contemporary Dance School, she worked as a dancer and choreographer for a number of years on stage, TV and film. In 2017, following a career change and several years of writing, Alex began to write this novel. She has a daughter and stepdaughter, and lives in Wales.

Alex McCarthy

Alex Michaelides was born in Cyprus to an English mother and a Greek-Cypriot father. He has an M.A. in English from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. 
 
The Silent Patient, his first novel, was a Sunday Times bestseller, and debuted at no. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and has sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide. The rights have been sold in a record-breaking 50 countries and it has been optioned for film by Plan B. His second novel, The Maidens, was an instant Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for television by Miramax Television and Stone Village. His third thriller, The Fury, was an instant New York Times bestseller, a Sunday Times bestseller, and a Waterstones Thriller of the Month pick.

Alex Michaelides

Alex Montgomery

Alex Morris

Alex North was born in Leeds, where he now lives with his wife and son. He studied Philosophy at Leeds University, and prior to becoming a writer he worked there in their sociology department. The Whisper Man was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and is being published in more than 30 languages.

Alex North

Alex O. Imas is Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago School’s Booth School of Business. He is the recipient of the 2023 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Review of Financial Studies Rising Scholar Award, the New Investigator Award from the Behavioral Science and Policy Association, the Hillel Einhorn New Investigator Award from the Society of Judgment and Decision Making, the Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award, and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Behavioral Economics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Alex O. Imas

Alex Owen

Alex Patrick was born in the Kentish town of Dartford in the South-East of England and has been drawing for as long as he can remember. His lifelong love for cartoons, picture books and comics has shaped him into the passionate children’s illustrator he is today. Alex loves creating original characters - he brings an element of fun and humour to each of his illustrations and is often found laughing to himself as he draws.

Alex Patrick

Alex Pavesi lives in Surrey, where he writes full time. He previously worked as a software engineer and before that obtained a PhD in Mathematics. He enjoys puzzles, long walks and recreational lock picking. His debut novel Eight Detectives has been published in more than twenty languages, and was picked by the Sunday Times and the New York Times as one of their books of the year.

Alex Pavesi

Alex Pellew

Alex Pole

Alex Renton is an award-winning writer and reporter whose career has ranged from theatre criticism, food writing and the investigation of child abuse to work as a political correspondent and war reporter in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He is also the author of Planet Carnivore and Blood Legacy.

Alex Renton

Alex Richie

Alex Riley is an award-winning science writer and the author of A Cure for Darkness: The Story of Depression and How We Treat It, his first book. He received a best feature award at the 2019 Association of British Science Writers Awards for his reporting on The Friendship Bench, a project that began in Zimbabwe in 2006 and has since provided mental health care to thousands of people in New York. Since leaving academia in 2015, he began writing popular science articles for magazines such as New Scientist, PBS's NOVA Next, BBC Future, Mosaic Science, Aeon, and Nautilus Magazine. He lives in Bristol.

Alex Riley

Alex Scarrow used to be a rock guitarist, then he became a graphic artist, then he decided to be a computer games designer. Finally, he grew up and became an author. He has written a number of successful thrillers and several screenplays, but it's YA fiction that has allowed him to really have fun with the ideas and concepts he was playing around with designing games. Alex lives in Norwich.

Alex Scarrow

Alex Scott MBE is an award-winning broadcaster and former professional footballer. She helped Arsenal in their historic 'quadruple' season, in which they won all of their trophy competitions, and was later appointed as the team's captain. She represented England in 140 appearances with the Lionesses, retiring as the second most-capped England player across the men's and women's game. 
 
Alex is one of the UK's most in-demand presenters, appearing on The One Show, Children in Need, Sport Relief and ITV's The Games. In 2021, she made history as the first permanent female host of BBC's Football Focus. She is an ambassador for the BBC's mental health platform, Headspace, and holds honorary doctorates from the University of East London and University of Hertfordshire.

Alex Scott

Alex Sharp

Alex Shearer

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, PhD, has spent two decades studying people, technology, and the worlds they make. A Silicon Valley-based futurist and consultant, he has worked with governments and Fortune 500 companies; spoken at venues ranging from CIA headquarters to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to the Googleplex; and held academic positions at Stanford and Oxford universities. His is the author of the bestselling Rest and Shorter, a guide for companies on how to work less and get more done. Follow @askpang on Twitter and Instagram, or visit strategy.rest.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Alex Stone

Alex Tapscott

Alex Thompson

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Paul Magrs

In the icy wastes of the Murgin Pass, the Doctor and Mike take refuge in a remote lodge alongside Albert Tiermann, storyteller to the king. But the owner’s hospitality is repaid with a grisly attack, and suddenly death is amongst the small party. What is the significance of a book of fairy tales, one of which prophesies the Doctor’s encounter with an Ice Queen monster? What long-held secret is Albert Tiermann holding back? And what dark figure stalks the snowy mountainside? The answers to these questions add up to a terrifying encounter with a strangely familiar foe. With Tom Baker as the Doctor, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Samuel West as Tiermann, Carole Boyd as Frau Herz, Jan Francis as the Ice Queen, Tom Lawrence as Hans, and Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, A Shard of Ice is the third of five linked stories written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs.

Doctor Who Demon Quest 3: A Shard Of Ice

Ben Willbond

Justin Edwards

Here are all six episodes of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by and starring Ben Willbond and Justin Edwards about two incompetent science teachers who work at a college that specialises in drama, and whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new boss.   Forresters Sixth Form College has a highly successful drama department run by the odious Danny Woods. For years, the science department was a forgotten and neglected area where Colin and Kenneth could brew their own ales in peace and quiet. Kenneth even devised a self-assessment system where one class taught itself. Then Dr Oates, the head of department died from a massive coronary - probably induced by a butter chicken-laden diet. Alison Hatton, his replacement, is keen and wants to bring in new students. Nothing will be the same again.   Stars Ben Willbond as Colin, Justin Edwards as Kenneth, Raza Jaffery as Danny and  Rebecca Front as Alison.

Double Science (BBC Radio 4 Comedy)

Brian Johnston

When Brian Johnston died in 1994 at the age of 81, the Daily Telegraph described him as ‘the greatest natural broadcaster of them all’. In this delightful reading from his autobiography 'It’s Been a Lot of Fun', Brian recalls his schooldays at Eton and Oxford, his early career in the family coffee business in the City, Hamburg and Brazil, and his service as a Technical Adjutant in the Grenadier Guards during World War II.   In January 1946 Brian joined the BBC Outside Broadcasts Department. For the next 48 years he presented hundreds of programmes on radio and television, from 'Let’s Go Somewhere' to royal weddings and 'Down Your Way', but he was probably best known as a cricket commentator and he became a national institution on 'Test Match Special'.   Recorded in 1990 when he was 77, Brian tells some of his favourite stories and gaffes in this cheerful look back at a unique career behind the microphone, a life full of lucky breaks and private disappointments, but always a lot of fun.

Johnners' It's Been A Lot Of Fun

Myles Rudge

‘Stop Messing About - the first all-nude radio show. Nervous listeners are advised to keep their eyes closed... and it’s forbidden to take photographs.’ Taking over the mantle of 'Round the Horne', 'Stop Messing About' carried on the comedy tradition, which reunited Kenneth Williams with his 'Carry On' co-star Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick. These four episodes include the story of a young politician, who can put his hand to anything. It also features the Homey Secretary and his friend Black Rod (who bear a bona similarity to Julian and Sandy), and whose performances on the floor of the House leave a lot to be desired... There’s also a dirty wartime romp and the tale of a naughty gnome. We’re introduced to Varda Marvello the Mind Reader, and a movie spoof called '2002: A Space Oddity'. Featuring Douglas ‘Hot Lips’ Smith and 'Crackerjackanory With Mother', 'Stop Messing About' is packed with outrageously funny sketches, parodies and saucy songs. Join Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Joan Sims as they go beyond 'Round the Horne'.

Kenneth Williams' Stop Messing About (Classic BBC Radio Comedy)

Martin Jameson

This full-cast dramatisation by Martin Jameson for BBC Radio 4 is a fictionalised account of the incident in 1964 when a group of students attempted to kidnap the then-Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, in Scotland.  Originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 15 July 2009, this dramatisation stars Tim McInnerny as Sir Alec, Chris Starkie as Robbie, Benjamin Askew as Eric, Michelle Duncan as Sheila and Grainne Dromgoole as the girl. With Annabelle Dowler and David Hargreaves. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.

Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister, The (BBC R4)

Amanda Whittington

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation written by Amanda Whittington, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 23 February 2009.  The tumultuous tale of the trial of Lady Jane Grey, proclaimed Queen of England in 1553 at the age of 16, nine days later locked in the Tower and, within a year, dead.  ‘Loo Brealey puts in a superb performance’ (Observer) as Lady Jane Grey, with Emma Stansfield as Nurse Ellen, Helen Schlesinger as Frances and Agnes Bateman as the young Jane. Also stars Janice Acquah, Paul Rider, Robert Lonsdale, Stephen Critchlow, Malcolm Tierney and Zebedee Soanes.

Nine Days Queen, The BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play)

Alexander McCall-Smith

A full-cast BBC Radio Scotland comedy dramatisation written by Alexander McCall Smith.  An Edinburgh couple on holiday in the Highlands discover that centuries-old tensions are still very near the surface. Starring John Buick, Kenny Blyth, Monica Gibb and Paul Young.

The Misunderstanding Of Glencoe

L. Frank Baum

Linda Marshall’s BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of L. Frank Baum's children's classic, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Originally broadcast as part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season.  When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy and her dog Toto are lifted to the magical world of Oz, the strange land of the Munchkins. There she embarks upon a perilous journey befriending the Tinman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion who join her quest to find the wonderful Wizard of Oz and her way back home.  This timeless story that has enchanted generations of readers both young and old is brought to life in this dramatisation starring Amelia Clarkson as Dorothy; Jonathan Keeble as the Wizard of Oz, Kalidah and Uncle Henry; Kevin Eldon as the Scarecrow; Burn Gorman as the Tinman; Zubin Varla as the Lion and Emma Fielding as the Witches of the North, South and West and as Aunt Em. Also stars Andrew Westfield and Graeme Hawley. With Original Music by Olly Fox and directed by Nadia Molinari.

Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, The (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

Edith Wharton

A full-cast dramatisation of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a passionate love affair which breaks all the rules of the restrictive high society of 1870s New York.  In the exclusive world of upper-class New York, in which attendance at balls and dinner passes for occupation, Newland Archer anticipates his marriage to May Welland, a beautiful young girl from a suitable family 'who knows nothing and expects everything'. Into this well-ordered community May's cousin, the captivating and exotic Countess Olenska, arrives. She has returned from Europe after the collapse of her marriage and alternately enchants and outrages New York society with her cosmopolitan lifestyle. Newland is sympathetic to her escape from a loveless marriage, and as his sympathy deepens into love he not only gains insight into the brutality of society's treatment of women, but also discovers the real anguish of loving outside its rules.   Dramatised by Jane Rogers, starring Andrew Wincott and Susanne Bertish.

Age Of Innocence

Geoffrey Chaucer

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde' by poet and writer Lavinia Greenlaw.  One of the great works of English literature, this powerful, compelling story explores love from its first tentative beginnings through to passionate sensuality and eventual tragic disillusionment. Lavinia Greenlaw's new version for radio brings Chaucer's language up-to-date for a modern audience while remaining true to his original poetic intention.  After seeing the beautiful widow Criseyde at the temple in Troy, Troilus falls instantly in love with her. Inexperienced in love, he is unable to act on his feelings and locks himself in his room to compose love songs. Criseyde's Uncle Pandarus becomes the matchmaker for the couple, but what will happen when Criseyde is handed over to the Greeks at the gates of Troy to join her 'traitor' father?  The cast includes Tom Ferguson as Troilus, Maxine Peake as Criseyde and Malcolm Raeburn as Pandarus. Also starring Kathryn Hunt, Kevin Doyle, Terence Mann and Declan Wilson. Directed by Susan Roberts.

Chaucer's Troilus And Criseyde

Chris Harrald

Chris Harrald's Sony Radio Academy Award-winning play takes a light-hearted look at a chaotic day in the life of an emerging poet.  One morning in September 1957, Philip Larkin receives a very official looking letter which sends him into a spin. The events that unfold provide a delicious insight into Philip’s character, with a tremendous sense of period.  The Sony Gold citation said: 'Assured direction, excellent performances and concise, skilfully-researched writing all made this deceptively straightforward story a masterpiece. Funny and touching by turns, a single, seemingly insignificant incident in the life of Philip Larkin brought out the humanity and humour of a poet whose personal life is not commonly associated with either.'  Starring Adrian Scarborough as Philip Larkin with a cast including Anne Reid, Lynne Verrall, Stephen Critchlow and Chris Pavlo.

Mr Larkin's Awkward Day

A Sony Radio Academy Award-Winning Play

Anthony Trollope

This novel, described as a '... brilliantly choreographed legal thriller' (Mail on Sunday), centres on the pathos of the main character, Lady Mason. Youthful marriage choices, middle-aged marital crisis, love and loss revolve around the legal action and the complex portrayal of Lady Mason, who is both sympathetic and wily. The novel proposes a standard of morality higher than that embodied in the practice of an English court of law. With its concern for social issues and its extensive coverage of middle-class and landed life, 'Orley Farm' is a novel that demands attention in the rich field of nineteenth century fiction. Trollope wrote in his Autobiography that his friends considered this 'the best I have written'. With Tim Pigott-Smith as Anthony Trollope and Samantha Bond as Lady Mason, this production also stars Ronald Pickup, Dan Stevens, Amanda Root, Jonathan Christie and Lydia Leonard. Directed by Tracey Neale.

Orley Farm (BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial)

Jaroslav Hašek

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Christopher Reason of the satirical Czech novel by Jaroslav Hasek.  This tale charts the exploits during the First World War of 'European Forrest Gump', Svejk, in his progress through the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian army.   Good-natured and garrulous, Svejk becomes the Austrian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of the First World War - although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. This story of a 'little man' caught in a vast bureaucratic machine combines dazzling wordplay and piercing satire to create a hilariously subversive depiction of the futility of war.  Starring Sam Kelly as Svejk and Adrian Lukis as Lukas. Directed by Gary Brown.

The Good Soldier Svejk

Thomas Hardy

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Jon Sen of Thomas Hardy's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers in the West Country. 
 
'Two on a Tower' is Hardy's ninth novel and contains perhaps his most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide, and also the fullest expression of his fascination with astronomy and science. This story of passion and sacrifice begins when Lady Viviette Constantine discovers the handsome young astronomer Swithin St Cleeve on the lonely tower on her estate. 
 
Starring Maggie O'Neill as Lady Constantine, Blake Ritson as Swithin St Cleeve, Conrad Nelson as Parson Torkingham and with Amy Humphreys, Stephen Tomlin, Pauline Jefferson, Richard Heap and Carter Dowland. 
 
Directed by Stefan Escreet.

Two On A Tower (Bbc Radio 4 Classic Serial)

Michael Moorcock

Miggea – a world on the very edge of reality. The cusp between this universe and the next. And the venue for the grand finals of the competition to win the fabled Arrow of Law.  The Doctor and Amy have joined the Terraphiles – a group obsessed with Earth’s history, and dedicated to re-enacting ancient sporting events. They are determined to win the Arrow. But just getting to Miggea proves tricky. Reality is collapsing, ships are disappearing, and Captain Cornelius and his crew of pirates are looking for easy pickings.   Even when they arrive, the Doctor and Amy’s troubles won’t be over. They must find out who is so desperate to get the Arrow of Law that they will kill for it. And uncover the traitor on their own team. And win the contest fair and square. And, of course, they need to save the universe from total destruction...   Featuring the Doctor and Amy as played by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in the hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who: The Coming Of The Terraphiles

Valentine Dyall

Various

Four gripping episodes from the famous 1940s BBC Radio horror series.   Includes: 'The Pit and the Pendulum' by Edgar Allen Poe (18 September 1943); 'The Speaking Clock' by John Dickson Carr (13 April 1944);  'The Clock Strikes Eight' by John Dickson Carr (18 May 1944);  'And the Deep Shuddered' by Monckton Hoffe (20 November 1945).   'Appointment With Fear' ran for a total of ten series between 1943 and 1955, with Valentine Dyall – ‘The Man in Black’ – introducing nine of them. The four episodes here are the sole surviving ones from the BBC archive.   'The Pit and the Pendulum' is a terrifying tale of torture told by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, while 'The Speaking Clock' tells of a man who commits murder and gets away with it. In 'The Clock Strikes Eight', we learn from Dr Gideon Fell the awful truth about the Barton case, while 'And The Deep Shuddered' is a haunting tale of a survivor of a maritime disaster who subsequently goes insane.   Dramatised with a full cast, these four sinister stories will chill your blood and strike terror into your heart.

Appointment With Fear

David Attenborough

David Attenborough reads his own bestselling memoir 
 
'An enthralling autobiography from one of the linchpins of television' Good Book Guide 
 
David Attenborough is the acknowledged voice of nature, loved and revered worldwide for his groundbreaking wildlife documentaries. Over the course of his long BBC career, David has risen from trainee producer to award-winning film-maker, and in Life on Air, he tells the extraordinary stories of the people and animals he has met along the way. 
 
We hear of his earliest days in television; his stint as Controller of BBC2, during which he introduced colour TV to Britain; and his encounters with luminaries such as Montgomery, Anthony Eden, Benjamin Britten and the Queen. Here, too, are tales of his travels to some of the most far-flung corners of the globe, including New Guinea, Borneo, Paraguay and the Australian outback, and the rare creatures he captures on film: from the exotic birds of paradise and the elusive Indri lemurs to the endangered Komodo dragon. 
 
Featuring behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of his landmark natural history series, beginning with the pioneering Zoo Quest and concluding with Life in Cold Blood, this wonderful memoir - read by David Attenborough himself - recounts the highlights of a remarkable life in broadcasting. 
 
Production credits 
Read by David Attenborough 
 
© 2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

David Attenborough Life On Air: Memoirs Of A Broadcaster

Someone has painted the Doctor's likeness into a famous poster by Toulouse-Lautrec, leading Mrs Wibbsey and him to Paris in the 1890s. There the streets are thronged with artists and their muses - ladies of the night such as the young girl La Charlotte. But a murderer is also at large, and Lautrec's name is whispered with fear and suspicion. As they become immersed in the delights of the Moulin Rouge and the shadows of Montmartre Cemetery, the travellers gradually uncover the gruesome truth about the missing women of Paris. They also realise that someone has been expecting them... With Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Mark Meadows as Lautrec, Finty Williams as La Charlotte, Rowena Cooper as La Concierge, Rupert Holliday Evans as the Artist and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, The Demon of Paris is the second of five linked stories written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs.

Doctor Who Demon Quest 2: The Demon Of Paris

Brian Johnston, aka ‘Johnners’, the BBC’s long-time cricket commentator, is the umpire in this test of wit and general knowledge, as two teams try to score the highest number of runs under his watchful eye.   In these four episodes, team captains Tim Rice and Willie Rushton are joined by Stephen Fry, Paul Merton, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Bill Tidy, Caroline Quentin, Bernard Cribbins and Robin Bailey.   But which questions will they go for? The easier ‘single’ worth just one run? Or will they try the harder question and attempt a ‘boundary’ (four runs)?   Can the batting team reach six questions (an ‘over’) before the other team gets a go? And there’s every chance that calls of ‘Howzat!’ or ‘Bouncer!’ can interrupt play...   With questions that include trivia and unusual facts, hear the stumps fly and the wickets fall in these four wonderful episodes.

Johnners' Trivia Test Match

Agatha Christie

Elspeth McGillicuddy is down from Scotland for a holiday and boards the 4:50 train from Paddington station to visit her friend, Miss Marple. During the journey, another train pulls alongside, and through the window Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a tall, dark man strangling a blonde woman.   She reports what she has seen, yet no one takes any notice. There is no report of any murder, no dead woman found on any train, and the police have no record of any persons reported missing that match the description.   Only Miss Marple believes her account, and realising that the body must have been thrown off the train, with the help of maps and train timetables she pinpoints the exact spot where the body must be.   With the help of her young friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow, she goes about the tricky task of uncovering a murder - and a cunning murderer...   Agatha Christie's intricate mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Ian Lavender as Inspector Craddock, Joan Sims as Mrs McGillicuddy and Susannah Harker as Lucy Eyelesbarrow.

4.50 From Paddington

'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30pm. Friends please accept this, the only intimation.' Nestled among the usual notices about dogs for sale and appeals for domestic help, the startling entry in the personal column of the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette has the entire village agog with curiosity. Is it a game? And who is meant to attend? The mistress of Little Paddocks, Letitia Blacklock, is also taken completely by surprise. Suspecting her nephew of a practical joke, she's sure of one thing: half the village will be converging on the house expecting a glass of sherry. Sure enough, the evening sees a crowd of residents standing expectantly in the drawing-room. Then the clock strikes the half-hour, the lights go out, and three gunshots ring in the dark. When the lights go back on, the promised murder has been committed. Can Miss Marple work out what has happened and why? One of Agatha Christie's most intriguing mysteries is dramatised with a full cast including Ian Lavender and Jamie Glover.

A Murder Is Announced

Wealthy businessman Rex Fortescue is found dead with rye grain in his pocket. His death is followed in quick succession by a woman dying while eating bread and honey, and a maid in her garden.   Inspector Neele, in charge of investigating the spate of murders, consults with Miss Marple, who has an interesting and surprising theory to offer. She senses the murderer is dispatching his victims on the basis of the children's nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence'.   The similarities are numerous - not least the fact that Rex means 'king', and as a financier, he could be said to have been in his counting house when he died. Soon the blackbirds of the rhyme put in an appearance, not to mention a whole shoal of red herrings. What secrets are lurking at the heart of the Fortescue family?   Miss Marple finds herself enmeshed in one of the strangest cases of her life... An intriguing mystery from the Queen of Crime, dramatised with a full cast including Nicky Henson and Derek Waring.

A Pocket Full Of Rye

'You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed? It's the only solution.'   Even when on holiday in Jerusalem - the so-called City of Peace - Hercule Poirot can't seem to escape the strains of death and murder. His first evening at the King Solomon Hotel finds the above phrase floating into his room from outside. What does it mean? Who is the speaker, and just how seriously should it be considered? Whilst Poirot struggles to resist the lure of a fresh mystery, he cannot suppress the foreboding in his heart.   Also in residence at the hotel are the Boyntons, a nervous American family held tightly in the grip of their matriarch. Then there is the young medic Sarah King, plus Dr Theodore Gerard, an expert in the subject of schizophrenia. These and other guests are thrown together on an organised trip to the ancient city of Petra.   Whilst love apparently blossoms for Miss King, death visits another member of the party. It is clearly murder, and there are a number of likely suspects. Only one man has the skill to distinguish between them: Hercule Poirot.   Agatha Christie's exotic mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Jill Balcon and Miriam Karlin.

Appointment With Death

Jane Marple is being treated to a few days' holiday by her niece, staying at Bertram's Hotel - a dignified, establishment tucked away in a back street of busy Mayfair. It is a place where sedate upper-class ladies, retired military gentlemen and the higher echelons of the clergy can indulge in the comforts of a bygone age.   But Miss Marple begins to feel uneasy. Something sinister lurks beneath the polished veneer. Why are so many major crimes associated in some way with the hotel and those eminently respectable people staying there?   Instead of rest and relaxation, Miss Marple finds herself hard at work as she attempts to discover what goes on behind closed doors.   Siân Phillips and Maurice Denham are among the cast of this absorbing mystery, starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple.

At Bertram's Hotel

Hercule Poirot, along with three other luminaries from the world of crime detection, is invited to dinner by the renowned London socialite Dr Shaitana. Also on the guest list are four members of what Shaitana calls his Black Museum - a collection of murderers who have each succeeded in 'getting away with it'.   An elegant dinner is followed by a game of bridge, in which Shaitana himself does not participated. But just after midnight, when the guests prepare to leave, they make a terrible discovery. Their host is dead in his armchair, stabbed in the chest.   The four sleuths are thus faced with one murder and a quartet of likely suspects. Working both together and independently, they investigate the pasts of the Black Museum's finest in order to determine the most likely killer.   Poirot finds that many hindrances and distractions are thrown in his way, as he attempts to read the meaning of the cards which each suspect has placed on the table.   Agatha Christie's intriguing mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Stephanie Cole and Donald Sinden.

Cards On The Table

With World War II at an end, Charles Hayward is finally free to marry the woman he loves, Sophia Leonides. However, she refuses - the unexplained death of her grandfather, wealthy businessman Aristide Leonides, draws her back to the suffocating environment of her family home.   Charles follows, but his arrival coincides with the discovery that Aristide's death was murder. The ensuing investigation drags Charles into the dark heart of the family, and its deadly secrets and dangers.   Even if Charles escapes with his life, will he survive the corrosive effect of the family itself?   This thrilling BBC radio drama stars Rory Kinnear as Charles and Anna Maxwell Martin as Sophia.

Crooked House

To distract himself from his fear of flying, Hercule Poirot observes his fellow passengers on the noon flight from Le Bourget to Croydon. On his right sits a pretty young woman, clearly very aware of the handsome man opposite her; ahead of him is a nervous aristocrat and her maid; and across the aisle is a writer of detective novels, troubled by an aggressive wasp. Lulled into drowsiness by a sedative he has taken, Poirot abruptly awakens when the woman behind him is found dead. A reaction to a wasp-sting is suggested, but Poirot discovers that a poisoned dart is the real cause - and a blow pipe is discovered stuffed down the back of his own seat.   The murderer can only be one of the eleven passengers in the rear of the plane, or one of the stewards. The dead woman was a moneylender to the upper classes, so the Countess, addicted to cocaine and gambling, is an obvious suspect. Or could it be the detective writer, trying out a plot for his new book? No-one is above suspicion: not even Poirot himself. He must unravel this baffling mystery - if only to clear his own name...   John Moffatt stars as the great Belgian detective, with Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp.

Death In The Clouds

Linnet Ridgeway has led a charmed life. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth and a devoted husband, she has everything anyone could wish for. But as the happy couple set out on an idyllic honeymoon cruise on the Nile, storm clouds are gathering...   Linnet's former friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort, follows her and Simon wherever they go and Linnet senses she is in danger. At first her fears seem groundless. But an attempt is made first on her life and then on her husband's. Eventually the killer is successful, and Linnet is found horribly murdered.   With an obvious suspect who cannot possibly have committed the crime, it is up to Hercule Poirot to probe the depths of a remarkable criminal mind and discover the dark secret behind what is only the first in a series of inexplicable deaths.

Death On The Nile

Famous crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, visiting her friend Judith Butler in the little town of Woodleigh Common, is invited to a Hallowe'en Party put on by society hostess Mrs Rowena Drake for the local teenagers.   During her preparations for the party, the conversation turns to Ariadne's grisly novels. One of the teenagers, Joyce Reynolds, boasts that she once witnessed a murder, although she didn't realise at the time what she'd seen.   Convinced that she is just trying to attract attention, no-one believes her - but later she is found tragically drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. Distraught, Ariadne decides to call upon the services of her old friend Hercule Poirot to solve the case.   Assuming that Joyce was killed because of what she said, Poirot knows he must find out if the teenager was telling the truth. If so, there is not just one death for him to investigate, but two...  Starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot, with Stephanie Cole as Ariadne Oliver.

Hallowe'en Party

Tyrannical millionaire Simeon Lee has been estranged from most of his family for years. But now, on Christmas Eve, the old man calls them all together once more. Unable to disobey, the children gather uneasily and wonder what their father's intentions are. Does he want to clear up past misunderstandings or cause fresh mischief?   Before they can find out, a deafening crash is heard overhead. Rushing upstairs, they discover a shocking sight: Simeon Lee is lying in a pool of blood, his throat cut. But it is the strangest thing - the door has been locked from the inside and there is no trace of the murderer.   With so many possible suspects, it is lucky for Superintendent Sugden that the Chief Constable has his old friend Hercule Poirot staying with him. It seems to be an impossible case. But, as Poirot knows only too well, things aren't always as they seem.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Inspector Maigret

DI Tony McLean of the Lothian and Borders Police knows Edinburgh like the back of his hand - an invaluable advantage when simultaneously pursuing depraved and dangerous criminals, and dodging overbearing superiors. Alongside a few trusted colleagues like DS 'Grumpy Bob' Laird and DS Kirsty Ritchie, McLean is an unorthodox force to be reckoned with . . .

Inspector McLean

Inspector Sejer

Inspector Taleb Series

Inspector Webb

Instinct Series

Intercrime

Invisible Series

Irish Classics

Iron Seas

Charismatic, handsome, and fiercely loyal, Isaac Bell is a no-nonsense private detective at the Von Dorn Detective Agency. Travelling all over early 20th century America in pursuit of justice for his clients, chasing down a steam train in a sports automobile is all in a day's work for Bell. And while he's on the trail of thieves, killers, and sometimes much worse, he'll have to use his every last wit to stay ahead of those he seeks, and to stay alive. . .

Isaac Bell

Witness the political struggles and tragedies of Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand and their children as ambitions take over in a time of civil war.

Isabella & Ferdinand Trilogy

It's Time to...

Izzy Dobson

I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again

Mo Hayder's Jack Caffery series is not for the faint-hearted. 
DI Jack Caffery specialises in the most gruesome, twisted and terrifying crimes. Against the clock to find the killer before the next murder is committed, Caffery is young, unshockable and driven.

Jack Caffery

Jack Reacher is a former major in the US Military Police who, since leaving the army, has drifted round the wide open spaces of America, hitchhiking or on buses, wherever the whim takes him. He has no permanent address, no job, no family ties, no car, no luggage, no mobile phone, no credit card - all he carries with him is a folding toothbrush. 
Reacher is never looking for trouble, but somehow trouble always find him. He is the ultimate hero for our troubled times, with a keen moral compass and sense of justice, even if he is often prepared to take the law into his own hands: he says he doesn't want to put the world to rights, he just doesn't like people who put it to wrongs.

Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher Short Stories

Jack Ryan

Jack Ryan Jr

Jack Slater

Jack Stalwart

Jack Tanner

Jack and Millie

Jackson Brodie is a private investigator, originally from Yorkshire. A former soldier and policeman he now makes his money working from investigating infidelity and finding missing cats. Jackson's tough-guy exterior belies a deeply empathetic heart. He's unable to resist coming to the rescue and increasingly he becomes a magnet for the bereaved, the lost and the dysfunctional. His ability to connect comes from his own tragic childhood that still haunts him. 
 
Jackson Brodie has appeared in four of Kate Atkinson's novels. Each can be read in isolation but are best enjoyed in order of publication: Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News?, Started Early, Took My Dog.

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