James Lailey has narrated 14 audiobooks on Listento.it by 12 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 69 ratings. The most-rated is The Stranger's Wife.
The Stranger's Wife
Summary
Beth and Cath are leaving their husbands. This is a story about two very different women. One is wealthy and having an affair with a man who gives her the kind of love that her cold, detached husband does not. One is living hand to mouth, suffering at the hands of a violent partner who would rather see her dead than leave him. You may think you know these women already and how their lives will unfold. Beth will live happily ever after with her little girl and her soulmate. Cath will go back to her abusive husband. And these two women will never cross paths. But you will be wrong. On the 3.15pm train from London to Bristol, Beth and Cath are about to meet and discover they share one shocking thing in common. A clever, engrossing and absolutely enthralling listen about what really lies beneath the surface of a marriage. Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be hooked on The Stranger’s Wife.
©2020 Anna-Lou Weatherley (P)2020 Audible, Ltd
The Couple on Cedar Close
Summary
One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it’s her first time meeting the neighbours. And it’s the first time she discovers her husband, Robert, is having an affair. Cedar Close has always been a nice place to live - a quiet suburban street where everyone looks out for one another and bad things don’t happen. Until late one evening, when Robert Mills is found dead in his bedroom. Downstairs, in their beautiful kitchen, his wife, Laurie, sits alone in the dark with her head in her hands. She can’t remember the last few hours, but she knows she didn’t kill Robert. The trouble is, no-one believes her.... An utterly gripping thriller about the dark secrets that lie behind closed doors. Perfect for fans of JP Delaney’s The Girl Before and Gone Girl, The Couple on Cedar Close will keep you listening late into the night.
©2019 Anna-Lou Watherley (P)2019 Audible, Ltd
Black Heart
Summary
When Nigel Baxter, a middle-aged married banker with an unremarkable past, is found dead in the bath of a plush hotel suite, his wrists slit, it looks as if he's taken his own life. At first. But when Detective Inspector Daniel Riley is assigned to the case, he soon realises all isn't as it first appears to be. When a postmortem shows Baxter was poisoned, Riley suspects foul play. And then there's the odd addition of a teddy bear left at the crime scene.... Struggling to come to terms with the loss of his fiancée, Rachel, in a freak motorcycle accident and the baby she was carrying inside her, Riley throws himself into the case in a bid to distract himself from his grief. And his infamous intuition is telling him something is off, really off on this one. With the help of his dedicated team, Riley begins to delve into Baxter's life and soon realises that the amenable family man has been indulging in the 'services' of some dubious websites, ones where young women hook up with older men in return for 'favours', and there's one woman in particular he'd like to speak to. A woman calling herself Goldilocks....
©2018 Anna-Lou Weatherley (P)2018 Audible, Ltd
Sister
Summary
The Oslo Detectives are back in another slice of gripping, dark Nordic noir, and their new colleague has more at stake than she's prepared to reveal.... Oslo detective Frølich searches for the mysterious sister of a young female asylum seeker, but when people start to die, everything points to an old case and a series of events that someone will do anything to hide. Suspended from duty, Detective Frølich is working as a private investigator when his girlfriend's colleague asks for his help with a female asylum seeker who the authorities are about to deport. She claims to have a sister in Norway and fears that returning to her home country will mean instant death. Frølich quickly discovers the whereabouts of the young woman's sister, but things become increasingly complex when she denies having a sibling, and Frølich is threatened off the case by the police. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that the answers lie in an old investigation, and the mysterious sister, who is now on the run.... A dark, chilling and up-to-the-minute Nordic noir thriller, Sister is also a tense and well-plotted murder mystery with a moving tragedy at its heart, cementing Kjell Ola Dahl as one of the greatest crime writers of our generation.
©2020 Orenda Books Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd
Sea Change
Summary
This is the story of the battle between appeasers and anti-appeasers in the period before - and just after - the start of the Second World War, and the formation of the 1940 coalition government which, like the election of 2010, abruptly ruptured all previous political alignments. Based on real events, this is a fascinating and little known tale of idealism, blackmail, and political skulduggery. Starring Charles Edwards, Kim Wall, John Rowe, Richard Dillane, Carl Prekopp, Adam Billington, Gerard McDermott, James Lailey, and Adjoa Andoh. Other parts played by Christopher Webster and Rikki Lawton. Directed by Marc Beeby.
©2012 John Fletcher (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd
Birkett and the Red Stains on the Carpet
Summary
Norman Birkett, the most celebrated advocate of the inter-war years, defends a doctor accused of murdering and dismembering his wife and maid. Starring Neil Dudgeon as Birkett, with Bonnie Engstrom, Alun Raglan, Adam Billington, Sagar Arya, Gerard McDermott, James Lailey, Rikki Lawton, Christopher Webster, Victoria Inez Hardy and Alex Rivers. Written by Caroline and David Stafford.
©2012 Caroline Stafford (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd
Birkett and the Blind Soldier
Summary
The casebook of Norman Birkett KC (1883-1962) covers pretty much every story that entertained the readers of News of the World between the wars. Birkett was a busy man who, in those days before legal specialisation, could at any one time be dealing simultaneously with a juicy murder, a society divorce or a livid libel action. In this episode, a blind WWI veteran, accused of murdering his wife, is defended by the celebrated advocate.
Starring Neil Dudgeon as Birkett, with Bonnie Engstrom, Alun Raglan, Adjoa Andoh, Carl Prekopp, Paul Moriarty, Adam Billington, James Lailey, Gerard McDermott, Rikki Lawton, Alex Rivers and Victoria Inez Hardy. Written by Caroline and David Stafford.
©2012 Caroline Stafford (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd
White Horse
Summary
A thrilling new whodunnit series, fast-paced and funny, featuring a detective as sharp as his suits and a heroine who’s trouble. 3,000 years ago Iron Age people carved a white horse on the Downs near Uffington Castle, and now someone has dumped a body there. Laid out like a ceremonial killing, Detective Inspector Leo George isn't convinced that the murder is what it appears. He suspects the young female victim may have been a member of the Children of the White Horse, a secretive valley commune, but none of the cult members are talking. That is until he discovers his friend, Jess Bridges, is undercover in the commune, attempting to persuade a wayward young woman to leave the cult. Leo is confronted by the fact that Jess is heading right into the heart of a mystery that has less to do with ancient gods than it does modern vices, and there is nothing old about spilling blood....
©2020 Joss Stirling (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Out of the Hitler Time
Summary
The BBC radio adaptations of Judith Kerr's internationally acclaimed trilogy - plus bonus documentary. Based on her own childhood experiences, Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a timeless classic loved by children and adults alike. By turns heart-rending and heart-lifting, it is even more resonant today than when it was first published in 1971. This story of a Jewish family that escapes Germany just as the Nazis come to power is seen through the eyes of their young daughter, Anna, and traces their perilous journey - splintered by conflict, driven by fear and eventually rewarded with reunion. The two sequels, Bombs on Aunt Dainty and A Small Person Far Away, follow Anna as she grows up, settles in London and, many years later, returns to Berlin to confront the past. These three radio plays are the very first dramatisations of Kerr's trilogy and feature a stunning cast including Anna Madeley, Paul Moriarty and Adjoa Andoh. Also featured is a bonus edition of World Book Club, in which Harriett Gilbert talks to Judith Kerr about her life and work. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 1933. Leaving her beloved Pink Rabbit behind, nine-year-old Anna leaves her Berlin home to flee with her family across the Swiss border. As they cross Europe in search of sanctuary, she quickly adapts to being a refugee - but will she ever feel she belongs anywhere? Bombs on Aunt Dainty 1940. Teenage Anna is enjoying her new life in London and looking forward to embarking on a secretarial course. But then her brother, Max, is interned as an enemy alien - and as the Blitz begins in earnest, she fears for the future of her family. A Small Person Far Away 1956. Happily married and living in West London, Anna gets a worrying telegram. Her mother, who has been living back in Berlin for seven years, has pneumonia, and Anna must go to her at once. With the Cold War heating up, can Anna bear to return to the city of her birth? World Book Club: Judith Kerr - When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit The German-born author talks to Harriet Gilbert about her much-loved novel, answering questions from the audience about writing from a child's perspective, assimilating into British society and staying happy despite the hardships she endured. Credits Published by Penguin Random House Ltd Licensed by BBC Studios Distribution Ltd MCPS Production credits Written by Judith Kerr When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit text copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1971 Bombs on Aunt Dainty first published in Great Britain as The Other Way Round by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd in 1975. Text copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1975 A Small Person Far Away text copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1978, 1989 Dramatised by Beaty Rubens Directed by David Hunter Cast Young Anna - Lauren Mote Older Anna - Anna Madeley Young Max - Hugo Docking Older Max - Adam Billington Mama - Adjoa Andoh Omama - Eleanor Bron Papa - Paul Moriarty Elsbeth - Xenia Mainelli Julius/Ken - James Lailey Aunt Sarah - Sheila Steafel Fraulein Lambeck/Barbara - Tracy Wiles Herr Rosenfeld/Cotmore - Gerard McDermott Other cast: Alex Rivers, Christopher Webster, Thelma Ruby, Susan Engel, Joanna Monro, Ann Beach, Harry Livingstone, Jack Holden, Malcolm Tierney, Simon Treves, Carl Prekopp, Sara Kestelman, Emerald O'Hanrahan, Peter Hamilton Dyer First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11th-25th March 2012 World Book Club: Judith Kerr - When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Presented by Harriett Gilbert With Judith Kerr Produced by Karen Holden First broadcast BBC World Service, 6th March 2016.
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Black River
Summary
A thrilling new whodunnit series, fast-paced and funny, featuring a detective as sharp as his suits and a heroine who’s trouble. The River Thames always gives up its dead.... There’s a killer picking off victims from the wild swimming spots on the upper reaches of the Thames. The case takes Detective Inspector Leo George into the path of Jess Bridges, a private investigator who lives life close to the edge. Their enquiries lead them to author, Jago Jackson, whose book on secret wild swimming spots has turned him into a social media celebrity. Is Jago’s book the blueprint that the murderer is following? If so, does that make Jago a target or the killer himself? Either way, the duo find themselves swimming in some very dangerous waters....
©2020 Joss Stirling (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (Dramatised)
Summary
A brand new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of a classic Raymond Chandler mystery featuring private eye, Philip Marlowe.
Down-and-out drunk Terry Lennox has a problem: his millionaire wife is dead and he needs to get out of LA fast. So he turns to his only friend in the world: Philip Marlowe, Private Investigator. He’s willing to help a man down on his luck, but later, Lennox commits suicide in Mexico and things start to turn nasty. Marlowe finds himself drawn into a sordid crowd of adulterers and alcoholics in LA’s Idle Valley, where the rich are suffering one big suntanned hangover. Marlowe is sure Lennox didn’t kill his wife, but how many more stiffs will turn up before he gets to the truth?
©1953 Raymond Chandler Limited (a Chorion company) (P)2011 AudioGO Ltd
Death Deserved
Summary
Police officer Alexander Blix and celebrity blogger Emma Ramm join forces to track down a serial killer with a thirst for attention and high-profile murders, in the first episode of a gripping new Nordic Noir series.... Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number one has been pinned to the TV. Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missing-persons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation 19 years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated...evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing.... Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flare for the dramatic and thirst for attention. Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it....
©2019 Orenda Books Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd
Smoke Screen
Summary
Oslo, New Year’s Eve. The annual firework celebration is rocked by an explosion, and the city is put on terrorist alert. Police officer Alexander Blix and blogger Emma Ramm are on the scene, and when a severely injured survivor is pulled from the icy harbour, she is identified as the mother of two-year-old Patricia Smeplass, who was kidnapped on her way home from kindergarten 10 years earlier and never found. Blix and Ramm join forces to investigate the unsolved case, as public interest heightens, the terror threat is raised and it becomes clear that Patricia’s disappearance is not all that it seems....
©2019 Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger; Translation © Megan Turney, 2021 (P)2021 Isis Publishing Ltd
Palm Beach, Finland
Summary
Sex, lies and ill-fitting swimwear...sun protection factor 100. Jan Nyman, the ace detective of the covert operations unit of the National Central Police, is sent to a sleepy seaside town to investigate a mysterious death. Nyman arrives in the town dominated by a bizarre holiday village - the ‘hottest beach in Finland’. The suspect: Olivia Koski, who has only recently returned to her old hometown. The mission: find out what happened, by any means necessary. With a nod to Fargo and dark noir, Palm Beach, Finland is both a gripping thriller and a black comedy about lust for money, fleeing dreams and people struggling at turning points in their lives - chasing their fantasies regardless of reason.
©2018 Antti Tuomainen (P)2018 Audible, Ltd