Showing results by narrator "Philip Battley" in All Categories

Captain Richard MacKintosh returned from Egypt wounded, not only in body but also in spirit, after making a getaway from the rebel band that held him and his military unit captive. Plagued by guilt for leaving his brothers-at-arms behind, he is determined to force the crown to garner their forces to search Egypt for them. He wanted—needed—to spend each waking moment finding the help he needed and nothing was going to make him lose focus. That was until he ran into an angelic face from his past.

Spring, 1593. A ballad is posted in the heart of London inciting violence. The Lord Mayor offers 100 crowns for the name of the author. Thomas Clarady wants that money and drags Francis Bacon into the game. At first it’s just a riddle to be solved. Tom talks to poets, while Francis analyzes the verse. Things take a dangerous turn when the authorities focus on two popular playmakers. One is cruelly tortured. Another is killed in dubious circumstances. Did he start a brawl that ended in tragedy? Or was he murdered by his dinner companions? The official story seems plausible, at first.

Father Mercier is on a mission to save the souls of the possessed in the Kingdom of France, but he makes a mistake when he pries a young woman from the arms of her loving family in the sleepy village of Crécy-la-Chapelle. For this is the home of Templar Knight Sir Marcus de Rancourt and his men, and the young woman is a friend. Once word is received of her abduction, Sir Marcus and his men spring into action to not only try and save their friend, but uncover the shocking secret behind what motivates this unholy exorcist and his loyal followers.

It was supposed to be a holiday, with nothing more challenging than babysitting, navigating familial politics, and arguing about the proper way to brew tea. But when dragon prince Thuan and his ruthless husband Asmodeus find a corpse in a ruined shrine and a hungry ghost who is the only witness to the crime, their holiday goes from restful to high-pressure. Someone is trying to silence the ghost and everyone involved. Asmodeus wants revenge for the murder; Thuan would like everyone, including Asmodeus, to stay alive.

Anthony Bacon returns after 13 years in France to live in his brother’s house at Gray’s Inn. Though seldom strong enough to leave his rooms, his gouty legs never hinder his agile mind. He’s built the most valuable intelligence service in Europe. Now the Bacon brothers are ready to offer it to the patron with the deepest pockets. Then Francis finds a body lying near Anthony’s coach. The clues point to Anthony’s secretary. Worse, the murdered man had been spreading rumors that could destroy Anthony’s reputation.

Warning! This story is an adult free zone. Why? Because it is simply too scary, or too horridly disgusting, for most adults. We know this is true. Kids can handle it. Usually. Adults can’t. Mostly. This is a folk tale for children, set once upon a time, in a place not so far from you. Meet the schoolboy Hunch - the village hunchback. Hunch lives in a small village surrounded by a tall forest. All the parents always tell the children, "Don't go in the woods!" When the children ask why, the adults always say, "Because strange creatures called Things live in there"!

Chance Hale is more interested in running around with women than following in his father's footsteps as head of the billion-dollar tech company Halcyon Enterprises. Called home for an important announcement, Chance seeks to liven up the weekend by bringing along an alluring young lady named Cadence Turing, who claims to be visiting his home planet, Arrhidaeus, from the planet Paraesepe. But when someone turns up murdered, all evidence points to Chance. Of all the house's guests, his weekend companion seems to believe she can prove his innocence, though she's hesitant to admit how.

Powerful new technologies enable us to see the details of how our neural systems work. We no longer need to speculate about how genes are expressed or the nature of consciousness. Now, we can understand how the brain functions from the bottom up, how we communicate, form ideas, and behave accordingly.

When it comes to women, the Duke of Danby is an audacious rake...but when it comes to ridding the kingdom of smugglers, he’s leading the charge. The Prince Regent has bankrupted the country more than once, and Danby isn’t about to go down with a sinking ship. The Honorable Eleanor Kent hides behind the image of a self-proclaimed spinster...though in truth she’s one of England’s most sought-after privateers. When their paths cross at a royal dinner...Danby suspects the stunning redheaded woman is more than she seems.

In 1789 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visits the grave of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, looking for a sign, a signal, an answer to an enigma that has haunted him since childhood: Was Bach murdered by a famous oculist? And years later, was Handel a victim of the same doctor? Allegro follows his investigation, from the salons of London to the streets of Paris, recreating an enthralling and turbulent time, full of rogues and brilliant composers, charlatans and presumptuous nobles. Running parallel to this search is the rise of Mozart, his knowledge and fame, his trials and losses.

They fight the good fight. They never back down. They come in quickly, quietly, and deadly. They’re K19 Allied Intelligence Team Two.

Geralyn Beauchamp presents Book 1 in the Doors of Muirara series.

When Jack Merrill becomes Earl of Haddington, inheriting not only a title but the devastating debt that came with it, his friends convince him that there is nothing for it but to gain quick wealth the really old fashioned way . . . marry into it! On the hunt for a wealthy bride, Jack stumbles upon Kitty Hayes, the sister of his former target Evelyn. To him, Kitty is everything Eve was not to him—full of a fire and spirit that challenges him. But Kitty is a married woman! Can he wait it out until she finds her freedom?

After spending six years to an oppressive husband, Evelyn Ashley-Cooper is free to be herself again, to live again...and to love again. Eve finds herself floundering under the veneer of perfection her domineering husband demanded, unable to unleash the vivacious girl she was once was.

When wounded Templar Knight Sir Marcus de Rancourt receives word that his sister is dying, he returns to a home he hasn't seen in twenty years, only to find his sister dead, and her children orphaned. Sir Marcus decides to take on the greatest challenge of his life and remain behind to raise the children, his loyal sergeant and squires insisting on joining him to work the land by his side.

Grace Stanton is beautiful, vivacious, and no innocent when it comes to men. Her carefree, happy life is disrupted when her family is summoned to the bedside of her grandfather, the dying Earl of Stanton, in England. There, circumstances force her into a marriage with the last person she ever thought to marry—Benedict Sedgwick, the newly appointed parish curate who wears threadbare clothes and blushes in the presence of women.

From an early age, Sarah Cranshaw has exhibited an unladylike interest in scientific pursuits. Whether it's memorising train timetables or stargazing on her telescope, such pursuits have earned her the nickname of bluestocking in her Oxfordshire village. But behind the eccentric demeanour she presents to the world, there lies a secret. For years, Sarah has been obsessed with the handsome but roguish Mr Templeton. She knows, of course, that she has little hope of earning his affection in return, but still she yearns for him.

As a duke, the boundaries and loyalties are clear. I may be the marquess of Wells with a stoic and rigid father on his deathbed, but I have desires and needs that break those boundaries. Falling for an assassin may be an issue. But I haven’t faced a problem yet that I can’t solve - other than assembling a crib.

What begins as an idyllic new society built for the freedom and equality of all who walk on four legs quickly becomes a nightmare. The cleverest animals take on more and more control while the hard working common animals are manipulated into doing all the work. Best intentions are twisted by the lure of power, and no animal is immune to the terrible consequences of its corrupting influence.

Morgan Locke, university student, has been hiding his debilitating illness with fair enough success when two unlikely emissaries arrive bearing the news that he is prince to a nation of creatures out of folklore. Ridiculous! And yet, if magic exists, could it heal him? The ensuing journey will resurrect the forgotten griefs of history, and before it's over, all the world will be remade by thorns and steel.