Gordon Griffin has narrated 136 audiobooks on Listento.it by 63 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 116 ratings. The most-rated is The Razor's Edge.
The Secret Life of Bletchley Park
Summary
Bletchley Park was where one of the war’s most famous - and crucial - achievements was made: the cracking of Germany’s “Enigma” code in which its most important military communications were couched. This country house in the Buckinghamshire countryside was home to Britain’s most brilliant mathematical brains, like Alan Turing, and the scene of immense advances in technology - indeed, the birth of modern computing. The military codes deciphered there were instrumental in turning both the Battle of the Atlantic and the war in North Africa. Plenty has been written about the boffins, and the code breaking, fictional and non-fiction. Sinclair McKay’s book is the first history for the general listener of life at Bletchley Park, and an amazing compendium of memories from people now in their 80s - of skating on the frozen lake in the grounds, of a youthful Roy Jenkins, useless at code breaking, of the hijinks at nearby accommodation hostels - and of the implacable secrecy that meant girlfriend and boyfriend working in adjacent huts knew nothing about each other’s work.
©2012 Sinclair Mckay (P)2012 Audible Ltd
The Clerkenwell Affair
Summary
In the spring of 1666 everyone's first reaction to a sudden death at the palace of White Hall is that the plague has struck, but the killing of Thomas Chiffinch was by design, not disease. Chiffinch was holder of two influential posts - Keeper of the Closet and Keeper of the Jewels - and rival courtiers have made no secret of their wish to succeed to those offices. To Thomas Chaloner, ordered to undertake the investigation, such avarice gives a whole host of suspects an ample motive for murder. The same courtiers are at the heart of the royal entourage endorsing the King's licentious and ribald way of life, and Chaloner has some sympathy with the atmosphere of outrage and disgust at such behaviour. London's citizens, already irked by the wealthy fleeing to the country at the outbreak of the plague, have scant patience with the Court on its return. The city is abuzz with rumours of dissent and rebellion, fuelled by predictions from a soothsayer in Clerkenwell of a rain of fire destroying the capital on Good Friday. Chaloner initially dismisses such talk as nonsense, but as he uncovers ever more connections to Clerkenwell among his suspects, he begins to fear that there is also design behind the rumours - and that, come Easter Day, the King and his Court might find themselves the focus of yet another rebellion.
©2020 Susanna Gregory (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK
Inheritance Tracks
Summary
Four strangers arrive at the solicitors’ office of Puckle, Puckle, and Nunnery. They have never met and have no idea why they have been invited. But they - along with a missing man - are descendants of the late Algernon George Culver Mayton, the inventor of 'Mayton’s Marvellous Mixture', and each entitled to a portion of the Mayton fortune. But before they can split the money, the missing man must be found. They begin their search, but then Detective Sloan receives a call that one of the legatees has died following an attack of food poisoning. Now detectives Sloan and Crosby must determine whether the deceased merely ingested a noxious substance by accident or if the legatees are being picked off one by one.
©2019 Catherine Aird (P)2019 Soundings
The Bluebell Killer
Summary
Kings Richington is an affluent, self-satisfied little town, nestling on a quiet stretch of the Thames. So when a mutilated body is found floating in the river, the influential residents close ranks and demand a discreet police cover-up. DI Jack Dawes is assigned to the case and soon upsets some powerful people but their attempts to put a stop to his intrusive enquiries are foiled when the town is shaken by more murders. The wealthy inhabitants of Kings Richington seem a model of respectability but no detective worth his salt puts much faith in outward appearances and, despite orders to the contrary, Jack is determined to penetrate the facade. What he finds exposes dark depravity within their sanctimonious world…
©2010 Frances Lloyd (P)2010 Soundings
The Money Tree Murders
Summary
Detective Inspector Michael Angel and his team are sent to investigate the murder of a young woman, and inquiries indicate that she had discovered the operation of a money tree swindle at Zenith Television. Angel begins his interviews and is faced with a cast of eccentric characters amongst whom are the peculiar Abercrombie, who tows a boxcar and scavenges for fuel to heat his cottage, and a middle-aged couple who believe their house to be haunted by the ghost of an alcoholic dentist and his family who died in 1760. As the investigations become more mystifying and dangerous, Angel races to solve the puzzle and stop more mayhem and murder.
©2014 Roger Silverwood (P)2015 Soundings
The Last Secret of the Temple
Summary
From the bestselling author of The Lost Army of Cambyses, the new Inspector Khalifa thriller. When the body of hotel owner Piet Jansen is discovered amid the ruins of an archaeological site by the Nile, it looks like a routine investigation for Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor Police. But the more he learns about Jansen, the more he is reminded of the brutal murder, some years earlier, of an Israeli woman at Karnak for which he always suspected the wrong man was convicted. Ignoring the objections of his superiors, Khalifa re-opens the case, but to do so, he finds he's obliged to team up with a bigoted, hard-drinking Israeli detective.
©2006 Paul Sussman (P)2006 W F Howes Ltd
The 12.30 from Croydon
Summary
We begin with a body. Andrew Crowther, a wealthy retired manufacturer, is found dead in his seat on the 12.30 flight from Croydon to Paris. Rather less orthodox is the ensuing flashback in which we live with the killer at every stage, from the first thoughts of murder to the strains and stresses of living with its execution. Seen from the criminal's perspective, a mild-mannered Inspector by the name of French is simply another character who needs to be dealt with. This is an unconventional yet gripping story of intrigue, betrayal, obsession, justification and self-delusion. And will the killer get away with it?
©2016 Estate of Freeman Wills Crofts (P)2016 Soundings
The Paddington Mystery
Summary
A special release of the very first crime novel by John Rhode, introducing Dr Priestley, the genius detective who would go on to appear in more than 70 best-selling crime novels during the golden age. When Harold Merefield returned home in the early hours of a winter morning from a festive little party at that popular nightclub the Naxos, he was startled by a gruesome discovery. On his bed was a corpse. There was nothing to show the identity of the dead man or the cause of his death. At the inquest, the jury found a verdict of ‘death from natural causes’ - perhaps they were right, but yet? Harold determined to investigate the matter for himself and sought the help of Professor Priestley, who, by the simple but unusual method of logical reasoning, succeeded in throwing light upon what proved to be a very curious affair indeed. This Detective Club classic is introduced by crime writing historian and expert Tony Medawar, who looks at how John Rhode, who also wrote as Miles Burton and as Cecil Waye, became one of the best-selling and most popular British authors of the golden age.
©2018 John Rhode (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers
Antidote to Venom
Summary
George Surridge, director of the Birmington Zoo, is a man with many worries: his marriage is collapsing; his finances are insecure; and an outbreak of disease threatens the animals in his care. As Surridge's debts mount and the pressure on him increases, he begins to dream of miracle solutions. But is he cunning enough to turn his dreams into reality - and could he commit the most devious murder in pursuit of his goals? This ingenious crime novel, with its unusual 'inverted' structure and sympathetic portrait of a man on the edge, is one of the greatest works by this highly respected author.
©2015 Estate of Freeman Wills Crofts (P)2015 Soundings
Hanging Murder
Summary
1894. Mr Simeon Crosby, a retired executioner, comes to Wigan with his wife and brother to give a talk on his life’s work. Whilst he has an eager following, there are also many people who strongly object to Crosby’s profession and do not wish his melancholy shadow to be cast over their town. Protests have been organised and threats have been made. Detective Sergeant Brennan is tasked with overseeing the security of the controversial visitor and all seems to be going to plan...until a murder is committed on the night of Crosby’s talk. As Brennan and his brawny constable Freddie Jaggery begin their lines of inquiry, they become overwhelmed with suspects and frustrated at the ambiguity of the evidence.
©2019 A. J. Wright (P)2019 Soundings
Deep Waters
Summary
The stories in this collection will dredge up delight in crime fiction fans, as watery graves claim unsuspecting victims on the sands of an estuary and disembodied whispers penetrate the sleeping quarters of a ship's captain. This British Library anthology collects the best mysteries set on choppy seas, along snaking rivers and even in the supposed safety of a swimming pool, including stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, C. S. Forester, Phyllis Bentley and R. Austin Freeman.
©2019 Martin Edwards (P)2020 Soundings
Broken Music
Summary
It is 1919, and Great Britain is still struggling to its feet after the First World War. Progress is slow, even in quiet spots like the village of Broughton Underhill. But moving on is impossible when former police sergeant Herbert Reardon returns to the village, determined to finally find out what happened the night that his daughter was found drowned. However, as Reardon begins to investigate, it becomes clear that secrets still abound. When Edith Huckaby, a maid from Oaklands Park, is found murdered in exactly the same spot, Reardon is convinced that the two cases are linked. As Reardon tries to discover the truth, his suspects and witnesses are painstakingly trying to rebuild their lives, in a world that has been changed forever.
©2009 Marjorie Eccles (P)2010 Soundings
Death on the Riviera
Summary
When a counterfeit currency racket comes to light on the French Riviera, Detective Inspector Meredith is sent speeding southwards out of the London murk to the warmth and glitter of the Mediterranean. Along with Inspector Blampignon, an amiable policeman from Nice, Meredith must trace the whereabouts of Chalky Cobbett, crook and forger. Soon their interest centres on the Villa Paloma, the residence of Nesta Hedderwick, an eccentric Englishwoman, and her bohemian house guests, among them her niece, an artist, and a playboy. Before long, it becomes evident that more than one of the occupants of the Villa Paloma has something to hide, and the stage is set for murder.
©2016 Estate of John Bude (P)2016 Soundings
The Christmas Card Crime
Summary
A Christmas party is punctuated by a gunshot under a policeman’s watchful eye. A jewel heist is planned amidst the glitz and glamour of Oxford Street’s Christmas shopping. And lost in a snowstorm, a man finds a motive for murder....
This collection of mysteries explores the darker side of the festive season, from unexplained disturbances in the fresh snow to the darkness that lurks beneath the sparkling decorations. With neglected stories by John Bude and E. C. R. Lorac, as well as tales by little-known writers of crime fiction, Martin Edwards blends the cosy atmosphere of the fireside story with a chill to match the temperature outside. This is a gripping seasonal collection sure to delight mystery fans.
©2018 Martin Edwards (P)2018 Soundings
The Fruit Gum Murders
Summary
Inspector Angel and his team are faced with a baffling case when a fruit gum found at a murder scene becomes a significant clue in their investigation. The discovery of a hospital porter, also poisoned, indicates that the killer has struck more than once, and Angel is thrown headlong into a world of blackmail and deeply buried family secrets.
©2014 Roger Silverwood (P)2015 Soundings
The Stranger House
Summary
For years, the Stranger House has stood in the village of Illthwaite, offering refuge to travellers. People like Sam, a brilliant young mathematician, who believes that anything that can't be explained by maths isn't worth explaining. And Miguel, a historian running from a priests' seminary, who sees ghosts. Sam is an experienced young woman, Miguel a 26-year-old virgin. But both want to dig up bits of the past that some people would rather keep buried. As they uncover intertwining tales of murder, betrayal, and love, they must put aside their differences to find the dark mysteries at the heart of this ancient place.
©2006 Reginald Hill (P)2006 W F Howes Ltd