Matthew Lloyd Davies has narrated 124 audiobooks on Listento.it by 79 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 378 ratings. The most-rated is Five Bloody Hearts.
Ambassador 1: Seeing Red
Summary
24 October 2114: the day that shocked the world. Young diplomat Cory Wilson narrowly escapes death in the assassination of President Sirkonen. No one claims responsibility but there is no doubt that the attack is extraterrestrial. Cory was meant to start work as a representative to Gamra, the alien organization that governs the FTL transport network, but now his new job may well be scrapped in anger. Worse, as Earth uses military force to stop any extraterrestrials coming or leaving, as 200,000 extraterrestrial humans are trapped on Earth, as the largest army in the galaxy prepares to free them by force, only Cory has the experience, language skills, and contacts to solve the crime. But he's broke, out of a job, and a long way from Earth.
©2012 Patty Jansen (P)2016 Patty Jansen
Hooflandia
Summary
When Jeremy Clovenhoof decides to set himself up as president for life of his own breakaway country, he knows he’ll need money, lots and lots of money. That might be a bit difficult, particularly since the Inland Revenue has just presented him with an enormous tax bill and Heaven and Hell have sent Joan of Arc and Rutspud of the Sixth Circle to bring him under control. But nothing can keep this devil down. He’s got the business acumen and the spunk to make a fortune and found the independent nation state of Hooflandia. Come see the really big wall! Enjoy the nudist beach! Visit the combined log flume and waterboarding torture center! The seventh book in the Clovenhoof series, Hooflandia is a ridiculous romp, featuring ventriloquist dummies, cut-price funerals, sexy archbishops, robot cars, musical butt plugs, tax avoidance, and a million angry nuns.
©2018 Heide Goody and Iain Grant (P)2020 Heide Goody and Iain Grant
Holymoly
Summary
Stephen and his friends spent their teenage years immersed in the fantasy gaming worlds of wizards and warriors, undertaking quests to fight evil occultists, vanquish terrible monsters, and rescue damsels in distress. Now, 20-something years later, there is a real-life quest. Life as a monk has hardly prepared Brother Stephen for the mission ahead. Demon Rutspud is definitely not a damsel, but he is in distress. The evil occultists are real and if Stephen doesn’t rescue Rutspud from a fate worse than death, no one will... Sword-wielding Satanists, stir crazy demons, super-smart squirrels, magical garbage, and a suitcase that cannot be stopped run riot in a story about the bonds of friendship and dark deeds in suburban cellars.
©2018 Heide Goody and Iain Grant (P)2020 Heide Goody and Iain Grant
Out of Hours
Summary
Everyone is out of time.... Morag Murray is about to give birth to the Venislarn anti-Christ, and her baby is eager to be born. With only the possessed doll Steve the Destroyer to help her through her labors, she knows that when this child is born, the earth will face its final day. Nina Seth is literally out of her own time. An evil sorceress is causing havoc in 18th-century England. With only Steve the Destroyer to help her prevent the premature end of the world, this clueless time-traveler has to save the past and find a way back to the present. Vivian Grey is in hell - literally - and caught in a political conflict between warring Venislarn gods. With many human lives at stake, Vivian and Steve the Destroyer must join forces if they’re both to survive. Rod Campbell knows that the world will end at midnight if he doesn’t rescue Morag from the secret organization that wants to use her as a pawn in its war against the Venislarn. The clock is ticking down to Judgement Day, and he hasn’t got a clue where she is. One day and one night to save the world (again), and no one’s getting paid overtime.
©2020 Heide Goody and Iain Grant (P)2020 Heide Goody and Iain Grant
Fatal Finds in Nuala
Summary
In the fourth book in this popular and charming series, set in the 1930s amid the rolling green hills of colonial Ceylon, it is monsoon season in the Hill Country. One stormy night, a ghostly encounter on a lonely road leads Inspector de Silva into a case of murder and a mystery that stretches back to Ceylon’s distant past. To uncover the truth, he will have to face death and his inner demons. If you love entertaining and absorbing mysteries, spiced with colorful characters and a dash of humor, don’t miss the Inspector de Silva Mysteries.
©2018 Harriet Steel (P)2020 Harriet Steel
Revolver
Summary
Acquired wisdom has always put Sgt. Pepper at the head of the class, but it was Revolver that truly signaled The Beatles' sea change from a functional band to a studio-based ensemble. These changes began before Rubber Soul but came to fruition on Revolver, which took an astonishing 300 hours to produce, far more than any rock record before it. The making of Revolver - hunkered down in Abbey Road with George Martin - is in itself a great Beatles story but would be nothing if the results weren't so impactful. More than even Sgt. Pepper and Pet Sounds, Revolver fed directly into the rock 'n' roll zeitgeist, and its influence could be heard everywhere: from the psychedelic San Francisco sound (Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead); to the first wave of post-blues hard rock (Sabbath, Zeppelin); through movie soundtracks and pretty much everything that followed it - including every generation of guitar-based pop music and even heavy metal. More than any record before or after, Revolver was the game-changer, and this is, finally, the detailed telling of its storied recording and enormous impact. Winner of the 2013 ARSC Award for Best Research in Recorded Rock Music: Best History.
©2012 Robert Rodriguez (P)2021 Tantor
Dr. Bones and the Lost Love Letter: Magic of Cornwall, Book 2
Summary
There's no such thing as privacy in the tiny village of Birdswing. Everywhere Dr. Benjamin Bones turns, someone is spying from a window, listening through a wall, or gossiping over a garden fence. "The birds sing in Birdswing," says the vicar, Father Cotterill; and in February 1940, this is more true than ever. Waiting for Hitler to make his move and turn this "Phony War" into the real thing, Ben's fellow villagers are desperate for a distraction. But his blossoming affair with Lady Juliet must remain absolutely secret. So when a seemingly trifling "case" arises—a love letter misplaced for almost 30 years, still in search of its intended recipient—Ben and Juliet jump at the chance to investigate, simply to steal a bit of time together. But as they try to deliver the letter, they discover two lonely people who might get a second chance at love...through the magic of Cornwall. Author's Note: This novella takes place after Dr. Bones and the Christmas Wish. For optimal pleasure, please listen to in the following order: 1. Marriage Can Be Murder 2. Divorce Can Be Deadly 3. Dr. Bones and the Christmas Wish 4. Dr. Bones and the Lost Love Letter
©2017 on Stephanie Abbott (P)2017 Stephanie Abbott
The Decameron Project
Summary
A stunning collection of short stories originally commissioned by The New York Times Magazine as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, from 29 authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danticat, this year's National Book Award winner Charles Yu, and more. When reality is surreal, only fiction can make sense of it. In 1353, Giovanni Boccaccio wrote The Decameron: 100 nested tales told by a group of young men and women passing the time at a villa outside Florence while waiting out the gruesome Black Death, a plague that killed more than 25 million people. Some of the stories are silly, some are bawdy, some are like fables. In March 2020, the editors of The New York Times Magazine created The Decameron Project, an anthology with a simple, time-spanning goal: to gather a collection of stories written as our current pandemic first swept the globe. How might new fiction from some of the finest writers working today help us memorialize and understand the unimaginable? And what could be learned about how this crisis will affect the art of fiction? These 29 new stories, from authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danticat, Charles Yu, Rachel Kusher, Colm Toibin, and David Mitchell vary widely in texture and tone. Their work will be remembered as a historical tribute to a time and place unlike any other in our lifetimes, and will offer perspective and solace to the listener now and in a future where COVID-19 is, hopefully, just a memory. Table of Contents: “Preface” by Caitlin Roper “Introduction” by Rivka Galchen “Recognition” by Victor LaValle “A Blue Sky Like This” by Mona Awad “The Walk” by Kamila Shamsie “Tales from the LA River” by Colm Tóibín “Clinical Notes” by Liz Moore “The Team” by Tommy Orange “The Rock” by Leila Slimani “Impatient Griselda” by Margaret Atwood “Under the Magnolia” by Yiyun Li “Outside” by Etgar Keret “Keepsakes” by Andrew O’Hagan “The Girl with the Big Red Suitcase” by Rachel Kushner “The Morningside” by Téa Obreht “Screen Time” by Alejandro Zambra “How We Used to Play” by Dinaw Mengestu “Line 19 Woodstock/Glisan” by Karen Russell “If Wishes was Horses” by David Mitchell “Systems” by Charles Yu “The Perfect Travel Buddy” by Paolo Giordano “An Obliging Robber” by Mia Cuoto “Sleep” by Uzodinma Iweala “Prudent Girls” by Rivers Solomon “That Time at My Brother’s Wedding” by Laila Lalami “A Time of Death, the Death of Time” by Julián Fuks “The Cellar” by Dina Nayeli “Origin Story” by Matthew Baker “To the Wall” by Esi Edugyan “Barcelona: Open City” by John Wray “One Thing” by Edwidge Danticat
©2020 The New York Times. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
Not Just Friends
Summary
Is it worth risking a friendship for a chance at love? Leaving home to go to university is an exciting phase in anyone’s life. One that’s full of new places, new friends, and new experiences. But Lewis isn’t prepared for the sudden and intense crush he develops on his out-and-proud flatmate, Max, because Lewis had always assumed he was straight. Max starts dating another guy, and Lewis’ jealousy at seeing them together forces him to confront his growing attraction. When Max’s relationship goes awry, Lewis is the one to comfort him, and one thing leads to another. After a night together, Lewis is devastated that Max wants to go back to being just friends. Lewis tries his best to move on, and their friendship survives, but the feelings he has for Max don’t go away. He faces other challenges as he deals with coming out to his parents and needs Max’s support more than ever. But Lewis isn’t the only one who’s conflicted. When Max finally admits he cares for Lewis, too, Lewis must decide whether he dares risk his heart again on being more than just friends.
©2019 Dreamspinner Press (P)2019 Dreamspinner Press
Her Majesty's American
Summary
The union jack takes to space! All-new alternate history science fiction from New York Times best-selling author Steve White. In an alternate future where the British empire never crumbled, the spaceships of Her Majesty’s Navy work to keep the spaceways safe. Commander Robert Rogers of the Royal Space Navy is a defense intelligence officer known for his unconventional ways. Rogers is American born and raised, a loyal citizen of the Viceroyalty of North America. He’s a descendant of the founder of the highly effective, pro-British Rogers’ Rangers during the Colonial unpleasantries of 1776, and he’s inherited his ancestor’s intelligence and drive in spades. But there are those among the stars who are not so happy being subjects of the British Empire. In the Tau Ceti system, a cauldron of trouble brews as a terrorist faction of the rebellious Sons of Arnold attacks the empire from within, and warships of the theocratic Caliphate enter the system, prepared to do their worse to destroy the hated empire head-on. Yet standing against the coming anarchy and tyranny is one intrepid spy prepared to risk all for queen and empire: Commander Robert Rogers, her majesty’s American.
©2018 Steve White (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
Blue Murder
Summary
The New York Times best-selling series. In London's fashionable Chelsea, a Halloween bash goes terribly wrong. Emmeline Wardle, daughter of a frozen-foods baron, throws a party that results in the demise of two university schoolmates. Handsome golden boy Trevor Parsons is dead. So is pasty computer nerd Clive French. Both died on the Wardle estate within minutes of one another, and both died the same way - an axe to the skull. Given the social connections of all involved, New Scotland Yard sends a real baron to investigate: Chief Superintendent Anthony Hetheridge, also known as Lord Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave. This time around, Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield and her partner, Detective Sergeant Deepal "Paul" Bhar, have their work cut out. Bhar must contend with Emmeline Wardle, a spoiled blonde with a penchant for the finer things, including a certain illegal white powder. Kate must decide if Kyla Sloane, model-pretty and delicate, is being truthful about the events of that fateful night and if Kyla's connection to a former lover of Bhar's means nothing - or everything. Return to the world of Ice Blue in Blue Murder, the second of the Lord & Lady Hetheridge series. In addition to solving the double murder in Chelsea, Anthony Hetheridge plans on proposing marriage to Kate for the second time. He has the ring. Now all he needs is the proper moment....
©2012 Stephanie Abbott (P)2015 Stephanie Abbott
The Book of Extraordinary New Sherlock Holmes Stories
Summary
Holmes and Watson return in these new detective fiction stories New adventures of the iconic sleuth, an icon of detective fiction. Readers, listeners, investigators, and artists have come across Sherlock Holmes and his mythical stories of crime and adventure for generations. Now comes an outstanding anthology of never-before-seen short fiction stories featuring the much-loved powers of deduction and unerring quest for the truth - however improbable it might first appear. A cornucopia of Sherlock Holmes characters, dark deeds, and derring-do. Collected by one of the genre's eminent editors, this volume features the mythical detective alongside favorite Sherlock Holmes characters, John Watson and Doctor Moriarty. With further examples of Holmes and Watson, fast-paced puzzles, and investigations accompanied by fascinating investigators, The Book of Extraordinary New Sherlock Holmes Stories brings together some of the most renowned American and British crime and thriller authors of today.
©2020 Maxim Jakubowski (P)2020 Tantor
A Knife in the Fog
Summary
September 1888. A 29-year-old Arthur Conan Doyle practices medicine by day and writes at night. His first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, although gaining critical and popular success, has only netted him 25 pounds. Embittered by the experience, he vows never to write another "crime story". Then a messenger arrives with a mysterious summons from former Prime Minister William Gladstone, asking him to come to London immediately. Once there, he is offered one month's employment to assist the Metropolitan Police as a "consultant" in their hunt for the serial killer soon to be known as Jack the Ripper. Doyle agrees on the stipulation his old professor of surgery, Professor Joseph Bell - Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes - agrees to work with him. Bell agrees, and soon the two are joined by Miss Margaret Harkness, an author residing in the East End who knows how to use a Derringer and serves as their guide and companion. Pursuing leads through the dank alleys and courtyards of Whitechapel, they come upon the body of a savagely murdered fifth victim. Soon it becomes clear that the hunters have become the hunted when a knife-wielding figure approaches.
©2018 Bradley Harper (P)2018 Tantor
The Queen of Gold and Straw
Summary
Greta knows two things to be true. The first: Trolls don't venture into the forest, especially during the day. The second: Kings don't save peddlers' daughters from those trolls, and they certainly don't deposit them atop royal horses and personally escort them home. But sometimes, they do. And sometimes afterward, life gets very complicated.... The Queen of Gold and Straw is a romantic fairy tale retelling full of humor, first love, new love, promises, lots of straw, and - of course - gold. Contains mature themes.
©2018 Shari L. Tapscott (P)2019 Tantor
Something Blue
Summary
Anthony Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave and chief superintendent for Scotland Yard, will marry Kate Wakefield in three weeks. It's inevitable - the invitations are out, the flowers are ordered, the cake is chosen. But murder waits for no man - and no wedding. In London's prestigious West End, a disgraced CEO has been murdered at Hotel Nonpareil, an exclusive destination. No one, it seems, liked Michael Martin Hughes. Not his estranged wife, Thora, or his defiant son, Griffin. Not Hotel Nonpareil's manager, its head of security, or perhaps even the two most important women in Hughes' life: his future bride, Arianna; and his secret girlfriend, Riley. And before Hughes died, he incurred the wrath of none other than Sir Duncan Godington, longtime nemesis of both CS Hetheridge and DS Paul Bhar.
©2013 Stephanie Abbott (P)2016 Stephanie Abbott
Passing Through
Summary
Leo is a lonely workaholic with no time for romance in his life. His job in London takes all his energy and commitment. When he goes to Cornwall to stay with his terminally ill uncle, Edwin, love is the last thing Leo expects to find. Tris lives in a cottage on Edwin's land. Gay, but still half in the closet, he and Leo bond over their affection for Edwin, and the pull of attraction between them proves too strong to ignore. In Tris's arms, in the wilds of Cornwall, Leo finds a peace he'd forgotten existed. On his return to London, Leo finds himself grieving for more than just the loss of his uncle. When some unexpected news gives Leo the chance to return to Cornwall, he's afraid it will be too late to rekindle things with Tris. But having learned much from his stay with his uncle, Leo doesn't want to look back and wish he'd done things differently. It's time to seize the day - if it's not already too late.
©2015 Jay Northcote (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press
The Devil Is Afraid of Me
Summary
"We can do nothing against you because you are too protected!" So declared a frustrated host of devils to Father Gabriele Amorth, the priest exorcist in Rome who spent 30 years battling the Devil and his minions by performing more than 60,000 exorcisms. All the while, he deftly used modern media to awaken our disbelieving modern culture and even the Church to the reality of the Devil and his nefarious actions at all times and everywhere. In this eye-opening book, angelologist Father Marcello Stanzione tells the fascinating story of Father Amorth and his life as an exorcist. You'll learn of his daily schedule and how he managed to perform dozens of exorcisms each week. You'll find out what his exorcism room looked like, and how various devils responded to his bold practice. Best of all, you'll hear Father Amorth's own startling explanations of many truths about the Devil that our culture has forgotten and about the canny methods the Deceiver has adopted in recent years to corrupt believers and unbelievers alike. "We can do nothing against you because you are too protected!" cried the devils that Father Amorth battled. Let Father Amorth teach you in this book how you, too, can be protected!
©2019 Edizioni Segno; English translation copyright 2019 by Charlotte J. Fasi (P)2020 Tantor
Beelzebelle
Summary
To the devil a daughter! Parenthood can come as a shock to some. It’s especially shocking if you are Satan, the Prince of Hell, and are trying to live a quiet life of semi-retirement in suburban England under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof. Clovenhoof quickly finds that being a single parent involves more than lullabies and nappies and has to contend with social disapproval, paternity tests and, possibly, the end of the world. The fifth novel in the Clovenhoof series, Beelzebelle is an anarchic adventure, featuring a psychotic monkey au pair, runaway coffins, badly stuffed animals, strip dominoes, fire-breathing ferrets, pimped-up prams, well-meaning middle-class mums, apocalyptic floods, the largest act of public nudity Birmingham has ever seen, and way too much homebrew Lambrini.
©2016 Heide Goody and Iain Grant (P)2020 Heide Goody and Iain Grant
Ambassador: Seeing Red, The Sahara Conspiracy and Raising Hell
Summary
The bundled edition of the first three books in the popular Ambassador series. 1: Seeing Red - Cory Wilson is about to start his new job as representative to gamra, the alien organization that controls the network for wormhole travel, when a political murder may well end his career before it starts. In Coldi society, you can get killed for looking a superior in the eye. Never mind accusing him of murder. 1A: The Sahara Conspiracy - Cory is asked to deal with the alien mafia on Earth, and stumbles across a plot that endangers Earth's fragile peace. You did not hear me say "nuke from orbit". 2: Raising Hell - The wormhole network goes down, and Cory's friend and leader of the largest populated world Asto is caught off-world. Dangerous politics are afoot on Asto, and Cory decides to help his friend. Yeah. Famous last words. This series will appeal to readers who like alien societies that are familiar and disturbingly different at the same time, dangerous political intrigue, edge-of-seat action and characters who are never entirely good or entirely bad. Once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. There are eight books in the series, with more on the way. Why not try this one now?
©2017 Patty Jansen (P)2018 Patty Jansen
Oddjobs 2
Summary
The Venislarn. Vastly intelligent aliens from another dimension or dribbling insane gods from a distant realm? It’s impossible to tell. What’s certain is that they’re here and they’re going to destroy our world. But, hey, there’s no mileage to be gained from telling the kiddywinks that monsters are real…. The consular mission to the Venislarn are the god appeasers and the end-of-life carers for an oblivious planet. It may be the end of the world as we know it, but there are procedures and policies in place, and everything should go according to plan. But, in the city, someone’s buying souls door to door, dealing in the kind of magical drugs that guarantee a really, really bad trip, and if something isn’t done about it, the end of the world might just happen a lot sooner than planned. Sequel to the hilarious Oddjobs, this is a workplace comedy like no other, featuring face-eating grannies, telepathic spiders, bloodthirsty school kids, murder on the dance floor, sex-crazed pond life, and actual stockbrokers from hell. The weekend can’t come soon enough (if it comes at all).
©2017 Heide Goody and Iain Grant (P)2019 Heide Goody and Iain Grant