Duchess of Cornwall Close: sheltered accommodation, a mix of bungalows and flats, newly built and not quite finished. Despite the bitterly cold weather, elderly residents are moving in. Then, one snowy night, an old lady is murdered - dragged from her bed and strangled with a length of flex. DCS Simon...

A Genius performance by Penelope Keith!

Agatha Raisin's neighbouring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company - which intends to tap into the village spring - sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps...

Alastair Cunningham wakes up in hospital with almost total amnesia. But he knows that something terrible happened in his past, something that haunts him still. A young family friend, Clemence, is called in to help rekindle his memory. Retreating with Alastair to his remote cottage, Clemence finds a peculiar...

The Birling family are spending a happy evening celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft - a marriage that will result in the merging of two successful local businesses. Yet just when everything seems to be going so well, they receive a surprise visit from an Inspector Goole who is investigating the...

Barchester Towers is Anthony Trollope's comic masterpiece. Ranged either side of the unfathomable Victorian divide between the High Anglican clergy and their modern, evangelical brethren we meet the saintly Septimus Harding and the furious Archdeacon Grantly and, opposing, the fearsome ...

The 12th heart-pounding thriller in Stephen Leather's best-selling Spider Shepherd series. In what could be his highest-profile mission ever, Dan 'Spider' Shepherd is called in to prevent the assassination of a head of state on British soil. As an MI5 agent, Spider is used to going undercover, but when he's asked..

Sami Macbeth is not a master criminal. He's not even a minor one. He's not a jewel thief. He's not a safe-cracker. He's not an expert in explosives. Sami plays guitar and wants to be a rock god but keeps getting side-tracked by unforeseen circumstances. Fifty-four hours ago Sami was released from prison.

In Broken Harbour, a ghost estate outside Dublin - half-built, half-inhabited, half-abandoned - two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care. Scorcher Kennedy is given the case because he is the Murder squad's star detective. At first he and his rookie partner, Richie, think...

Summer in Frantham had been long and lazy, and DI MacGregor had enjoyed the peace after a traumatic year. In the Martin household at Peverill Lodge, change is afoot. Tim is now engaged and preparing to move out, an event Rina views with mixed feelings. And there is news of the revival of her television...

I close my eyes and feel my heart begin racing. Someone is coming. They're going to find me. A mother and her teenage daughter are found brutally murdered in a remote farmhouse, one defiled by multiple stab wounds and the other left lying like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her Prince. Reluctantly...

The house guests at Styles seemed perfectly pleasant to Captain Hastings. There was his own daughter, Judith; an inoffensive ornithologist called Norton; dashing Mr Allerton; brittle Miss Cole; Doctor Franklin and his fragile wife, Barbara; Nurse Craven; Colonel Luttrell and his charming wife......

The girl emerged from the woods, barely alive. Her story was beyond belief. But it was true. Every dreadful word of it. Days later, another desperate escapee is found - and a pattern is emerging. Pairs of victims are being abducted, imprisoned then faced with a terrible choice: Kill or be killed. Would you rather...

It is a ferociously stormy night on the Island when 15-year-old Suzie is brutally stabbed to death. She is discovered by locals, held in the blood-smeared arms of Olly Matken, a schizophrenic teenager. "I didn't hurt her!" he says. "All I did was protect her from the devil." When psychologist Karen Taylor sees...

The year is 1999, and Internet companies are springing up everywhere. Anything seems possible for those who think big. So when David Lane - a quiet, cautious banker - is invited by his old friend Guy Jordan to help start up ninetyminutes.com, he decides that for once he will do something daring, something..

Written from the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaa rd examines the biblical story of Abraham, instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind.

A successful British television producer who fancies himself a Hollywood mogul, Sam Jackson makes enemies easily and delights in the fact. It is no great surprise that such a man should meet a violent death. Detective Chief Superintendent Lambert and Detective Sergeant Hook deduce that the person who...

What happens to a village when most of the houses are sold off as second homes, leaving only a handful of full time residents? Squatters move in. What happens to a family when one of them turns bad? The rest live in fear. What happens when Captain Nancy Smith returns from peace-keeping duties in...

It was a deal to die for. And somebody will. Paul Murray is an ex-Olympic runner, so his training is perfect for the rigours of multi-million dollar bond trading in the City of London. The pace is breakneck, the smell of success intoxicating. Then the body of his colleague Debbie is fished out of the Thames and Paul's...

Detective Inspector Helen Grace has spent her whole life running. From the past. From herself. From everyone who's ever tried to get close to her. She's spent her whole life hiding. Behind the badge. Behind her reputation as one of the country's best detectives. Until - framed for murder - she became one of...

Cambridge, 1924. Detective Inspector John Redfyre’s dog discovers a corpse in the graveyard adjoining St. Jude's College. An army greatcoat and well worn boots suggest the dead man may have been a former soldier, though the empty bottle of brandy and a card bearing the words 'An Invitation to Dine' on the...

Kipling creates a harmonious picture of India that unites the secular and the spiritual, the life of action and that of contemplation. It is the story of the orphaned son of an Irish soldier, Kimball O'Hara, who spends his childhood as a vagabond, traveling through India with an old Tibetan lama, enthralled by...

November 1983: Three hundred feet beneath the Atlantic, submarine Lieutenant Bill Guth and his fellow officers suddenly receive the order they've long-dreaded - to launch their nuclear missiles in a retaliatory strike against the USSR. But in the unexpected chaos that follows, one person on board lies dead....

Perfect for fans of Jo Nesbo and Mo Hayder, Liar Liar showcases all the hallmarks of Arlidge's taut and rapid-fire writing, including his protagonist, DI Helen Grace, and the Southampton based team. Faced with yet another ruthless serial killer, one with a penchant for pyromania, DI Helen Grace is an unwilling...

Why would a man escape from prison the day before he's due to be released? Audie Palmer has spent a decade in prison for an armed robbery in which four people died, including two of the gang. Seven million dollars has never been recovered and everybody believes that Audie knows where the money is.

Five years ago Randall Gyre was convicted of the brutal rape of a young student, Lizzie Fane, on the Isle of Wight. Handsome, rich, slick-talking, Gyre had avoided prison for years before that, despite a string of accusations. Forensic psychologist Karen Taylor is certain that Gyre will attack again, and this time he..

There are some fates worse than death... Called to a Southampton nightclub, Detective Inspector Helen Grace cuts the duct tape from the asphyxiated victim and discovers she knows him. A man from the double life she has concealed from her superiors, Helen is determined to find his murderer - while keeping...

It is 1939. War threatens Europe. But the hostilities that occupy the attention of Lucia and Georgie are with Elizabeth Mapp-Flint. It seems that Lucia's domination of the little Sussex town is under serious threat. But setbacks are only temporary inconveniences for our dauntless heroine.

Who better than Sir Patrick Moore to introduce us to the fascinating world of astronomy? As the presenter for well over 50 years of The Sky at Night, he has become synonymous with this area of science.

The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Southampton's red light district - horrifically mutilated, with his heart removed. Hours later - and barely cold - the heart arrives with his wife and children by courier. A pattern emerges when another male victim is found dead and eviscerated, his heart delivered soon...

THE HUNT BEGINS… Two men are responsible for the death of Hector Cross’ wife and only one is left alive: Johnny Congo – psychopath, extortionist, murderer, and the bane of Cross’s life. He caught him before and let him go. Now, Hector wants him dead. So does the US government. Congo is locked up ...

Even for Private Investigations, the world’s top detective agency, it’s tough to find a man who doesn’t exist . . . Craig Gisto has promised Eliza Moss that his elite team at Private Sydney will investigate the disappearance of her father.

Twin Lakes is a complex of holiday homes in a scenic part of England. "Rest Assured", says the sign at its entrance. And the people fortunate enough to occupy the luxury homes are indeed able to relax in a beautiful setting. Then a series of mysterious threatening notes are delivered to one of the lakeside...

Rod Stewart was born the working-class son of a Scottish plumber in North London. Despite some early close shaves with a number of diverse career paths, ranging from gravedigging to professional football, it was music that truly captured his heart – and he never looked back.

The hustle and bustle of the great St Peter's Fair, where merchants from all over England bring their goods to trade and barter. And then a death, Master Thomas, stripped of his handsome gown and dignity. As always there is Brother Cadfael searching for the murderer - and the truth.

My name is Piper Hadley and I went missing on the last Saturday of the summer holidays three years ago. When Piper and her friend Tash disappeared, there was a huge police search, but they were never found. Now Tash, reaching breaking point at the abuse their captor has inflicted on them, has escaped...

The 15th thriller in the Spider Shepherd series promises even more enthralling action from the Sunday Times best seller Stephen Leather. He is one of the world's most ruthless terrorists, codenamed Saladin. He plans and executes devastating attacks, and then, ghostlike, he disappears. Ten years ago he blew a...

Read by Jonathan Agnew with a foreword read by the magnificent Stephen Fry with surprise contributions from Jonathan's test-match special colleagues! Perfect for cricket fans everywhere, Thanks Johnners is a warm and witty tribute to Brian Johnston and his time at the helm of Test Match Special.

A cold case could hold the chilling answer to deadly secrets for Simon Serrailler in this addictive thriller from the bestselling author of The Woman in Black Heavy rain falls on Lafferton. As the rain water slowly drains away, a shallow grave – and a skeleton – are revealed. It doesn't take long to identify the...

Ivor Tesham is a handsome, single, young member of Parliament whose political star is on the rise. When he meets a woman in a chance encounter–a beautiful, leggy, married woman named Hebe–the two become lovers obsessed with their trysts, spiced up by what the newspapers like to call “adventure sex.”

Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award, The Dark Room is the psychological thriller from crime queen Minette Walters. Something else had happened . . . Something so terrible that she was too frightened to search her memory for it . . . The newspapers reported the case with relish. Jane (Jinx) Kingsley, fashion...

Much against her better judgement, Rina Martin accepts an invitation to join her protégé, Tim, and his fiancee, Joy, at Aitkensthorpe, a country house with a sinister reputation. Gathered there are a collection of scientists, magicians and experts in the esoteric; their plan is to re-enact an incident from 1872 that...

Have you ever wanted to bury a secret so deeply that no one will find out about it? With private security firms supplying bodyguards in every theatre of war, who will notice the emergence of a sexual psychopath from the ranks of the mercenaries? Reuters correspondent Connie Burns is no stranger to the world’s...

*** Due to the age of this cassette there is a little distortion during the first few mins of each side. It is only the fact that this is, as far as we can tell, the only copy of this production available anywhere, that has lead us to offer it for sale. Oh yes, and the fact that it is brilliantly done! ***

A woman wakes. Immediately she knows she's not in the bed in which she slept. It's just the beginning of her nightmare. Across town a child discovers a woman's body buried beneath the beach. Then another victim is found. Neither friends nor family had even reported either woman missing. How could...

Who was Billy Blake, other than a homeless alcoholic who wandered the streets? Why was he found dead from starvation in the garage of a wealthy woman, whose merchant-banker husband had absconded five years earlier with £10 million? Having thwarted press interest at the time, six months after the bizarre...

When a country doctor comes to Sherlock Holmes with a far-fetched tale of a sudden death, a devil dog and an ancient curse, Holmes is sceptical. Could the demise of Sir Charles Baskerville really have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound which is said to have haunted his family for generations?

Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Award for best first novel, The Ice House is the mystery thriller from crime queen Minette Walters. It was evident, if there were no other entrance to the ice house, that the body had at some point traversed this thorny barrier . . . The big question was, how...

From his childhood love of animals, through his training and first steps in the profession and the pressures and challenges faced by vets, dealing with unexpected exotic pets - and handling excitable humans too - Julian Norton has seen all sides of the veterinary world and writes about it all with humour...

A Genius Performance by Derek Jacobi The stories include; Silver Blaze; The Yellow Face; The Stock-Broker's Clerk; The "Gloria Scott"; The Musgrave Ritual; The Reigate Puzzle; The Crooked Man; The Resident Patient; The Greek Interpreter; The Naval Treaty; The Final Problem

Little Nell and her grandfather live a contented life, enjoying each others companionship and the delights of their wonderful shop of curiosities. Overshadowing their happiness, however, are money woes and the mean and voracious intents of their landlord the repulsive dwarf Quilp.  Naxos

On top investment bank Bloomfield Weiss's training programme in New York, Chris and Lenka had become part of a close-knit gang of ambitious trainees. But then one of the gang died during a drunken boat-trip, and the rest were left to cover up the truth. Ten years later a helpless Chris watches Lenka die in a...

Following on from the child abduction in her previous novel The Pure in Heart, Susan Hill explores the crazy grief of a widowed husband, a derangement that turns to obsession and threats, violence and terror. You should listen to Susan Hill's brilliant Simon Serrailler trilogy in the correct order which is as follows...

When Judith Perle's husband dies, the young widow bestows one of her properties a house in the Monk's Foregate on the Abbey of Shrewsbury. The only rent is a single white rose, to be delivered annually upon the day of the translation of St Winifred. But as a beautiful woman with a substantial dowry, Judith...

Mathilda Gillespie's body was found nearly two days after she had taken an overdose and slashed her wrists with a Stanley knife. But what shocked Dr Sarah Blakeney the most was the scold's bridle obscuring the dead woman's face, a metal contraption grotesquely adorned with a garland of nettles and...

The photo shows a boy who was murdered a year ago.The caption says, "I know who killed him". Detective Stephen Moran hasn't seen Holly Mackey since she was a nine-year-old witness to the events of Faithful Place. Now she's 16 and she's shown up outside his squad room, with a photograph and a story.

Simon Serrailler has just wrapped up an exhausting and difficult case for SIFT – Special Incident Flying Taskforce – and is on a sabbatical on a Scottish island when he is recalled to Lafferton. Two local prostitutes have vanished and are subsequently found strangled. By the time he gets back, another girl has...

November 1978. Britain is on strike. The dead lie unburied, rubbish piles in the streets, and somewhere in West London a black woman dies in a rain-soaked gutter. Her passing would go unmourned but for the young woman who finds her and who believes, apparently against reason, that Annie was murdered...

Antoinette Conway is still on the Murder squad, but only just. She's partnered up with Stephen Moran now, and that's going well - but the rest of her working life isn't. Antoinette doesn't play well with others, and there's a vicious running campaign in the squad to get rid of her. She and Stephen pull a case that at...

Gunmen are terrorising young women in the Cathedral town of Lafferton. What - if anything - links the apparently random murders? Is the marksman with a rifle the same person as the killer with a handgun? Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler falls back on well tried police methods such as...

'Michael Ridpath is trouncing the Scandinavians on their home turf. This is international thriller writing at its best.' PETER JAMES Iceland, 2017: When a young Italian tourist is found brutally murdered at a sacred church in northern Iceland, Magnus Jonson, newly returned to the Reykjavík police force, is called ...

Widely considered one of the first mystery novels, The Woman in White is a psychological thriller with a Victorian sensibility. Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed completely in white. After saving her from capture by her pursuers, he determines to solve the...

For me it all goes back to that night, the dark corroded hinge between before and after, the slipped-in sheet of trick glass that tints everything on one side in its own murky colours and leaves everything on the other luminous and untouchable. One night changes everything for Toby. A brutal attack leaves him...

Virtual reality is the technology of the future, and Mark Fairfax’s brother Richard runs the leading company in the field worldwide. He has also been murdered. Mark is a City trader: sharp, young, ambitious. He is left to pick up the pieces at his brother’s company in Scotland’s 'Silicon Glen'. Struggling to...

The Russian oligarchs are the world's new elite. They treat the world as their plaything, travelling without borders and living lives of unimaginable luxury without fear or restraint. But when an assassin starts killing off some of the world's richest men, an oligarch with friends in highplaces seeks the protection...

Inspector Zen has a problem: an impossible murder, recorded on the closed-circuit video of Oscar Burolo's top-security Sardinian fortress. As Zen gets to work, he is once again plunged into a menacing and violent world where his own life is soon at risk.

Sir Dan Blackwater, well known businessman and philanthropist is found dead one morning. Pinned to the kitchen table with butcher's knives, he has been castrated in what looks like a gruesome act of revenge. The only other person on the scene is his own PA, Sheena. But when DCI Charlie Trench brings her in...