Showing results by narrator "Philip Battley" in All Categories

I’ve got a reputation to mend—a lifestyle to correct. Hell, I’m no saint; I like my women. But I want this job more than anything. Walking the straight and narrow is going to be hard, but being an invincible is even harder. But the hardest job of all: not torturing the deadbeat thug who left a beautiful and innocent woman high and dry.

At once a sensual and irresistible mystery and a haunting work of psychological insight and emotional depth, The Whole World marks the beginning of a brilliant literary career for Emily Winslow, a superb, limitlessly gifted author.

Historic quarters in cities and towns across the middle of Europe were devastated during the Second World War—some, like those of Warsaw and Frankfurt, had to be rebuilt almost completely. They are now centers of peace and civility that attract millions of tourists, but the stories they tell about places, peoples, and nations are selective. They are never the whole story. Exploring seven old towns, from Frankfurt and Prague to Vilnius in Lithuania, Marek Kohn examines how they have been used since the Second World War to conceal political tensions and reinforce certain versions of history.

With a name like “Poseidon,” I’m feared on the spot. I come in like a force of nature, and destroy anyone who challenges me or hurts those I love. In my country, loyalty and rage runs deep. I know my obsession with Oleander will lead to my ruin, but every touch of her naked skin against mine strengthens my addiction to her. She’s both bellissima and brillante, with a fiery passion and a commitment, like mine, to save the world.

London, 1889. For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard's blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone's after it, including Ira's bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus.

Now trapped in the terrible world of Suburbia, Stanley Pargo is faced with a difficult choice: go his own way and face the beasts of the wilderness alone, or join a small cohort fighting to destroy a brutal monster known as the Chumbley. Both options all but guarantee Stanley’s untimely demise, and neither offers him the home he truly seeks, but if he doesn’t decide soon, the Chumbley will obtain a powerful stone capable of annihilating all who might thwart him.

"Escape the City of Gold, or live forever in chains". Raised in splendid isolation. Betrothed to a man she despises. Destined to rule over the greatest city on earth. She is the Golden Princess. Sarah dreams of love and adventure beyond her gilded prison, but tonight her dreams come true in the most terrifying way imaginable. A bloody power struggle erupts for the throne, and dawn finds the princess on the run with a bounty on her head.

First published in 1971, The Goodby People is perhaps the greatest novel ever written about post-Manson, pre-Disney Los Angeles.

Retired and ready. After years of raising children by myself, taking in others as my own, it’s time for me. I’m finally ready to leave M16, and start the life I’ve dreamed of with the woman I’ve wanted for so long. There’s no turning back, no hesitation. I found my angel, and now it’s time to make her mine. Nothing can keep me away from her for one more second. It’s now or never. It’s a Christmas neither of us will ever forget. But when I’m kidnapped and miss my long-awaited date, you’d think I’d be ready to murder my assailant with my own two hands. And that’s the problem.

I’ve built impenetrable walls—both digital and emotional—my entire life. After being betrayed in the worst way, I vowed never to let another woman close. Then Dr. Margot Sterling hacked her way into my systems and my life with infuriating ease. Now, we’re hunting a deadly AI weapons system while someone threatens her safety inside my ancestral home. Each day we work together, I find myself more drawn to her brilliant mind and quiet strength.

Meet Ellie. She's perfectly happy living a quiet life with her husband, Clive. (Well, she does sometimes wonder about the way he talks to her and about all the things she hasn't achieved yet. But she's happy enough.) Meet Dan. He's definitely content - content with his predictable, ordered existence, making harps in his isolated barn on Exmoor. Content being on his own, far away from other people and - crucially - far away from any risk of surprises.

Michelangelo is precise and perilous—a man to be respected. After spending four years in prison, serving time for the crimes I committed, I’m now ready to live a life very different from the one I previously led. Becoming an agent for K19 Allied Intelligence means I’ll play a part in taking down one of the world’s worst crime families—the Calabrian Syndicate. Like every other criminal society, the list of their acts against the innocent is long, the worst of which is human trafficking.

As the ruthless commander of Unit 23, I’ve dedicated my life to eliminating the world’s deadliest threats. Infiltrating crime syndicates and executing covert missions is all I’ve ever known. But when I meet Eliza Fox, my carefully constructed world begins to crumble. For the first time, I find myself longing for a life beyond the shadows. As our whirlwind romance blossoms, I’m thrust into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with my former mentor—a man I thought long dead. With everything I hold dear at stake, I must confront the ghosts of my past to secure our future.

Phileas Darlington (Darling to the locals) has been in the town of Apple Blossom with his brothers for mere weeks, and four of them have already fallen in love! Worse, they're getting married! This catastrophe has led poor Phileas to re-assess his duty as one of six brothers in line to inherit their father's title and estate in England. If his four brothers all stay in Apple Blossom, then he has to be the one to take on the responsibility. Poor Oliver, the youngest, can't do it. He hasn't got a clue.

Lady Cecilia Maitland has everything an unmarried woman could want: money of her own, high social status, and the ability to live life on her own terms. What she doesn’t have is the only man she ever loved. She turned down James’s proposal all those years ago and didn’t see him again...until he turned up at a house party in search of a patron. Cecilia knows she can provide him the monetary and social support he needs if they marry, but will he accept such an offer from the woman who broke his heart? And what will it cost her if he does?

Maddie Hayward has been actively looking for a husband for nearly three years, but no gentleman will spare her more than a smile. Everyone thinks she’s destined to wed Kit Mathison...except neither of them is interested in a romance with the other. When Kit and his family come to visit the Haywards for Christmas, the whole village expects a proposal—but Maddie has other plans. Can she convince everyone that her friendship with Kit will never be a courtship? Or will she have to choose between her closest friend and the chance at family of her own?

Rigby Rhymes wants one thing out of life: a grand adventure, just like the ones in her favorite books. Preferably one involving secret passageways, magic spells, and dashing, long-haired guys with swords. Unfortunately, she lives in the real world, and no wizards have stopped by to tell her...

Restored to a working body, Morgan Locke has returned to Troth to seek the legendary athenaeum at Vigil in the hopes it will produce a solution to the enchantment binding the elves. But elves are not the only creatures now stepping out of folklore: the demons are coming, and they bring with them the armies of the dead. If they do not want to see their world consumed, Morgan and his companions will have to find the answers, whether they come from books...or bloodshed. Time is running out....

Hampshire, 1938. Victor Silvius is confined in a private sanatorium after attacking prominent judge Sir Giles Drury. When Sir Giles starts receiving sinister threatening letters, his wife suspects Silvius. Meanwhile, Silvius’ sister Caroline is convinced her brother is about to be murdered... by none other than his old nemesis Sir Giles.

The story of my career has become a fight for survival. I thought I was exposing corporate weapons trading, but uncovering a conspiracy reaching to the Crown landed me under armed protection. My mysterious guardian has his own secrets—ones that could turn this deadly game into a personal betrayal. The deeper we dig, the more I realize the hardest choice isn't between life and death, but between the truth I've always served and the man I'm falling for.