Showing results by narrator "Sam Stafford" in All Categories

A teenager longs for perfect skin. A scientist tends to fragile alien flora. A young man takes the night into his own hands. Each of these characters has a desperate desire. Can any of them be sated? Unsettling, revelatory, and laced with her signature dark humour, Eliza Clark's debut short story collection plumbs the depths of that most basic human feeling: hunger.

Ten-year-old Jasper has been waiting all spring for his beloved nightingale to return to his garden and sing. But it's not there, and neither is his sister, Rosie. His parents seem sad and preoccupied, so gathering his courage, his backpack and his treasured Book of Birds, Jasper sets out alone on a walk to find them both. The expedition takes Jasper through town and country, meeting a host of characters who are also searching for lost things.

Through the seventies and into the mid-eighties, a cohort of young climbers challenged the siege mentality of their seniors on high mountains in the Greater Ranges with fast moving, lightweight expeditions run on a shoestring. Brian Hall was one of them and, in High Risk, he describes their daring adventures and the counterculture they lived within, their rivalries and relationships, and the terrible price many of them paid.

There was no doubt that things had definitely looked better for Gabriel Atwood, one time Viscount Northwood. Mainly because everyone who knew him or of him almost certainly believed him dead—the bastard who'd betrayed him had made sure of that. His only hope was to seek aid from Nicholas Sinclair, his former mentor, now the current Duke of Blackmore, before his enemies realised that news of his demise had been greatly exaggerated.

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool's errand: to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. He knows it's a long shot, but Jay feels it's the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad's death the previous year. The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid's tentacles and drawn into the whale's mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs.

Eric's best friend, Finn Jones, was the world's biggest prankster. Now Eric can't believe Finn's not here anymore. ...Or is he? Eric seems to be getting messages from beyond the grave, and as he follows Finn's wild, cryptic instructions, his hope grows that he'll find Finn laughing at the end. The journey also brings memories—and a truth that seems impossible to accept.

1715, Eastham, Massachusetts: As the daughter of a wealthy family, Maria Brown has a secure future mapped out for her, yet it is not the future she wants. Young, headstrong, and restless, Maria has no desire to marry the aging, mean-spirited John Hallett, regardless of his fortune and her parents' wishes. As for what Maria does want–only one person has ever even asked her that question.

Meet our Eton Rogue: Seventeen-year-old Cary, now embarking on his extraordinary final year at Eton. Prince William has joined the school and the British tabloids are ravenous for headlines. Cary is the mole who's making thousands selling stories to the Sun newspaper—and while he's at it, he's secretly dating a housemaster's daughter.

Meet Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo. Or, for short, Eddie: an aspiring playwright who dreams of making it big in London's theatre world. But after repeated rejections from white talent agents, Eddie suspects her non-white sounding name might be the problem . . . Enter Hugo Lawrence Smith: good looking, well-connected, charismatic and . . . white. Very white. Stifled by his law degree and looking for a way out of the corporate world, he finds a kindred spirit in Eddie after a chance encounter at a cafe.

When a group who have met on a creepy Deddit thread decide to meet in real life, they only have one plan in mind: they are going to summon the Midnight Man. And once you start the Midnight Game, you must finish it—there's no other way out! Six strangers. One night. But how many survivors?

Everyone knows Nolan Hill as the legendary quarterback of the Chicago Bobcats - two-time Super Bowl champ and heartthrob to countless fans. But to Lottie Thompson, he's just the stubborn pain in the ass who refuses her physio treatment. She's worked hard to command respect in a male-dominated industry, and she's not about to let a 6ft, too-handsome-for-his-own-good football player run all over her.

It isn't unusual for crop circles to appear overnight on Hackpen Hill. In this part of Wiltshire, where golden wheat fields stretch for miles, the locals have gotten used to discovering strange mathematical patterns stamped into the earth. But this time, it's different. Not only because this particular design of dramatic spiralling hexagons has never been seen before. But because of the dead body positioned precisely in the centre of the circle. DI Silas Hart, of Swindon Police, is at a loss.

Toddington FC defender Tom Horrocks is never happier than when he's on the football pitch, but when it comes to love, he's hiding a big secret. Worried about his young daughter and sick father - and with his team finally in the Premier League - he avoids all media. Journalist Cosmo Roberts wants to change the world, so is angry when he's sent to a quiet northern town to cover a sport he sees as anti-gay. Then something about Tom catches his eye. Cosmo hates football. Tom hates journalists. Perhaps this time they've both met their match.

Adam lives a picture-perfect life: happy marriage, two young children, and a flourishing career as a doctor. But Adam also lives with a secret. Hospital CCTV, strangers' mobile phones, city traffic cameras–he is convinced that they are all watching him, recording his every move. All because of something terrible that happened at a drunken party when he was a student. Only two other people knew what happened that night. Two people he's long left behind. Until one of them, Clio–Adam's great unrequited love–turns up on his doorstep, and reignites a sinister pact twenty-four years in the making...

National Wash Your Nose Day, Feeding Tube Awareness Week, Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day… On January 1, 2022, Dan Brotzel decided to observe a different awareness day every day for a whole year. He had no idea what he was letting himself in for. Dressing up as a gorilla then a daffodil, growing a ‘tash (sort of), eating fish fingers with custard, working for a food bank and signing up for a marathon, Dan both learned a lot and amassed a huge collection of wristbands.

Two teen spies. One explosive mission. When their families mysteriously disappear, Swift and Hawk, teen experts in AI and robotics, are recruited by the top-secret Möbius Programme. Plunged into a life-and-death rescue mission, Swift and Hawk must race from hidden tunnels beneath London to the sinister island of Spøkelsøy, straight into the hands of a deadly enemy... An edge-of-your-seat spy thriller for listeners 9+ that can be enjoyed as a standalone audiobook or listened to as part of the adrenaline-fuelled Swift and Hawk spy series.

A dangerous snake attacks Prince Tamino in the forest but three noble ladies protect him. Together with the bird catcher Papageno, Tamino is supposed to free Princess Pamina because the dreaded Sarastro has imprisoned her in his castle. Tamino and Papageno receive a magic flute and a glockenspiel from Pamina's mother, the Queen of the Night. The brave rescuers must overcome difficult tests, but the daring rescue plan succeeds. In the end, Tamino and Pamina, Papageno and his new girlfriend Papagena are happily in each other's arms.

Behind each door lies something strange and terrifying. Here, the normal is made nightmarish, from howls of were-foxes to satanic car-boot sales. Creepy, terrifying and witty by turn, Silverweed Road deals in love, loss, isolation, loneliness, obsession, greed and revenge. As the screw turns with each story, Crook creates a world of pure imagination, constantly surprising, in a setting that is instantly recognisable but other-worldly at the same time.

Prince Siegfried comes of age and celebrates his 21st birthday in the palace gardens. The next day he is to finally choose his future bride at the court ball. Near the castle, on the shores of Swan Lake, the beautiful swan girl Odette emerges from the water in the moonlight. She is actually a princess transformed by the magician Rothbart. Siegfried is overwhelmed by her beauty and immediately swears his eternal love and loyalty. The curse of the evil wizard Rothbart is now supposed to be broken, but he has his own plans for Odette.

London, 1880s: High up under the eaves of her father's townhouse, twelve-year-old Emma Linden lives and never goes out. Her dream is to follow in the footsteps of Mary Anning, the famous fossil hunter. But Emma is kept hidden away from all the world, science and study, the tools that keep her mind well. When Emma's brother, James, begins to speak obsessively of a tiger gifted to the Natural History Museum, everything she holds certain begins to crumble. Their only refuge is Kersbrook, the magical family home on the Devon coast.