Showing results by narrator "Jeff Woodman" in All Categories

Nine-year-old Louis Drax lies in a coma in a hospital bed, re-living the events that led to his near-fatal fall into a ravine. Despite being attracted to the boy's mother Natalie Drax, Louis' doctor, Pascal Dannachet, begins reluctantly to question her version of Louis' accident and the apparent culpability of her missing husband. As the boy struggles to communicate from within his coma, the chilling truth emerges....

On an extravagant evening in May 100 years ago, the scandalous premiere of The Rite of Spring rocked the epicenter of culture and fashion - Paris - and sent aftershocks across the world. Not bad for a ballet! But this was no traditional scamper in tulle and pink toe-shoes, but a bold provocation by a trinity of avant-garde genius: composer Igor Stravinsky, choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky (the first male god of dance), and impresario Serge Diaghilev, founder of the Ballet Russes.

Consider for a moment 55 words. It's an absurdly tiny number. No, it's an impossible tiny number. It's what O. Henry might have conjured up if he'd only had the back of a business card to write upon. You'll find murder and suspense, horror and intrigue, love and betrayal, plus distant worlds and inner demons. All in a measly 55 words!

In May of 2004 the dead return to life and begin to hunt the living. Within a few weeks nations have fallen and the few survivors are scattered and desperate. Rise follows a group of survivors on their journey through the apocalyptic Canadian Rockies, the desolate and empty lands of northern British Columbia and Alberta.

Danger! It lurks at every corner! Volcanoes. Sharks. Pickup artists. Savage bike messengers. Keep this audio bundle on your phone, under the pillow, in the glove compartment, and anywhere else to help you survive the most harrowing predicaments—jam-packed with how-to, hands-on, step-by-step instructions on everything you need to know to face the perils of travel, work or romance!

The 19th addition of this annual anthology exhibits a collection of short fiction from award-winning Southern authors and rising stars including Edward P. Jones and Silas House. Each story’s derivation is explained in an illuminating note from the author following the rich and entertaining tales.

As far as romance goes, Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn is fairly incurable. Twice married, once divorced, once widowed - all by the tender age of 12 - he finally flees his small village and his pious, vengeful father. A lovelorn Candide, young Dr. Sammelsohn wanders optimistically through history - pursued by the amorous ghost of his dead wife.

A Pianist Under the Influence reflects on Biss' lifelong, intense, multilayered relationship with the composer's music and historical treatment. As Biss writes from the unique position of performer, scholar, and fan, his work is both a personal and professional love letter to the 19th-century composer. An engaging listen for anyone interested in the creative process, it also includes a guide for listeners who wish to delve further into the material.

High school sleuths P.C. Hawke and Mackenzie Riggs quickly regret their decision to take a difficult calculus class from a tough instructor at Columbia University. But even though she's mean, Professor Dunaway certainly seems an unlikely candidate for murder. Though there are plenty of suspects, a lot of things about this case just don't add up.

An attack on a Japanese warship brings Japan and China to the brink of war. Meanwhile top Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is sent on a mission to recover mysterious material from the wreckage of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. When Smith fails to return, CIA agent Randi Russell heads off on an unsanctioned mission to find him.

A victim of foul play, Firman Birdsong spends the Grand Opening of the Birdsong brothers’ chicken restaurant dead under a table—with his gravy covered, parsley-garnished body and his tomato-stuffed mouth. Biggie and her young grandson, J.R., investigate the murder. But as the suspect list swells, J.R. believes Biggie cares more about detecting than protecting him from a brewing custody battle—and the investigation takes an awful turn.

Bartholomew works for legendary showman P.T. Barnum as the world’s thinnest man. After a decade in the circus, Bartholomew feels his enthusiasm waning, until one evening when a mysterious woman arrives on the scene. Tasked with following her for Barnum, Bartholomew soon embarks on a magical journey of discovery.

Novelist, essayist, memoirist, playwright, screenwriter, actor, sexual liberationist, traitor to his class, balloon-popper of the pious and pretentious, the country's last true man of letters (they should now retire the title), Gore Vidal belonged to the Greatest Generation of American authors, and was the last great one to go. (He died on July 31st, 2012 at the age of 86.) The triumphant arc of Vidal's literary career wasn't solely a mastery of language, though that never hurts.

One evening in Washington, DC, several high-ranking members of government disappear in a mass kidnapping. Among the kidnapped is Nick Rendel, a computer software coding expert in charge of drone programming and strategy. He is the victim with the most dangerous knowledge, including confidential passwords and codes that are used to program the drones. If these are revealed, his kidnappers could reprogram the drones to strike targets within the United States.

Cultural and familial fireworks flare when the headstrong teenage daughter of a wealthy New Yorker falls passionately in love with a young man from New Orleans, and from a very different background indeed. What makes this story sizzle and soar are its time and place - the United States during the Civil War and Victorian England - and a couple of key facts about the protagonists.

The explosive growth and low cost of online trading has created a new class of investor who can now make a living buying and selling stocks over the Internet in a way that was once reserved for Wall Street's most powerful brokerage firms and investment banks. Before taking to this fast-paced, high-risk playing field, it's absolutely essential that you have a firm grasp of the rules and a solid game plan.

It's 1885. Anne Stanbury wakes up in a strange bed, having been kidnapped from her home. As the panic settles in, she realizes she has been committed to a lunatic asylum, deemed insane and therefore unfit to stand trial for an unspeakable crime. But all is not as it seems.

Caught in a riptide of haphazard underemployment, at turns violent and unpredictable, suffering under a bad economy with no family or friends to speak of, Stratton Brown longs for the chance to escape his small-town past and build a new life. He sets out for Chicago, where he meets a new and fresh hell: a nine-to-fiver in a nondescript, meaningless company, and an obsessive love affair with woman who may be a bit too attached to her abusive ex-boyfriend. Is this all America has to offer its 20-somethings?

Biggie Weatherford, the Miss Marple of Job’s Crossing, Texas, is back in this sequel to best-selling author Nancy Bell’s hilarious Biggie and the Poisoned Politician. This time around, Biggie tries to discover who killed the mortician. Shenanigans are afoot in Job’s Crossing. When the three-inch heel breaks off gay police deputy Butch Jenkins’ cowboy boot, thief Cooter McNutt escapes—until Aunt Vita straightarms Cooter and sits on him.

Outside, the wind is howling. Inside the empty house, Taddy is shivering beneath a ragged blanket. He has been alone ever since his aunt and uncle died suddenly from a terrible fever. As his uncle was taking his final breath, he warned of danger in nearby Alexandria. Now Taddy is hiding, afraid of the unknown. When two rough-sounding men sneak in to steal the furniture, they force Taddy into their horse-drawn cart. The next thing he knows, he’s in a tavern in Alexandria, working long hours for crumbs.