Showing results by narrator "Luke Francis" in All Categories

Max Best is not living his—ahem—best life. His job's a drag, his home's a shooting gallery, his hopes are nil, and lately, even his beloved game of football has devolved from a chaotic, ecstatic delight into a cold, calculating equation complete with stats, tech terms, and mindless lingo. But then Max rescues a mysterious old man from a mugging. "Nick" seems friendly enough . . . until he innocently asks his savior, "Would you sell your soul to be a top football manager?" Naturally, Max says yes, and in that instant, everything changes.

Bloomsbury presents Forbidden Waters by Rob Parker, read by Luke R. Francis. It starts with the knife. Found at the bottom of a hidden lake in the Norfolk Broads, covered in blood and heart tissue so fresh the water hasn't yet washed it all away. What salvage diver Cam Killick has found is a...

George and Lucas can't stand each other - which makes it very awkward being on the same Cambridge University rowing team. After all, they are polar opposites. The uber-charming, womanising George got parachuted into Cambridge from America for his sporting prowess, not his subpar grades. Economics whizz and sarcasm expert Lucas, meanwhile, worked for everything he's got, which sadly does not include a boyfriend. When George's secret leaks to the press, he is told that this year, he'll have to sit his exams fair and square - Cambridge's reputation is on the line.

Her body is found on Wednesday morning. Hanging from a tree. Halfway between May Beck and Falling Foss. Brady’s got one clue. And only one clue. Five tarot cards. But are they a message for him? A warning for the dead woman? Or a reading for a client? Is the answer in her past? Or in someone else’s future?

The first chemists were Sri Lankan steel forgers in the first century BCE, alchemists who emerged in Roman Egypt; herbalists in Tang Dynasty China and engineers in eighth-century South America. The Enlightenment is usually credited with the origins of chemistry. But in truth, the science...

When football fanatic and loveable loser Max Best saved an old codger from a mugging, he never expected to be rewarded with the ability to immediately pinpoint a player's specific skills—and use that knowledge to up his own levels. Ever since that fateful night, Max has devoted himself to the game far more than any mere fan, becoming not only a serious footballer in his own right but a leader both on and off the pitch.

Through the changing seasons, amidst a sprawling ducal country estate, ex-steelworker George Purse's role as a gamekeeper goes beyond mere employment. With determination, he safeguards the birds, nurturing them with care, even as they become targets for the wealthy elite. As the Glorious Twelfth approaches, George must orchestrate flawless hunts for the Duke and his esteemed guests, ensuring their satisfaction while fending off the persistent poachers who threaten the delicate balance of the land.

I loved my husband, Doctor Drew Devlin, but he betrayed me. And now he’s dead. As I put the key in the lock and open the door to the luxurious new home I’ve purchased with Drew’s life insurance money, I’m certain the worst days are behind me. My secret is safe, and I can’t wait to enjoy my new wealth and freedom.

Through her own – often bloody-minded – determination and the medical skill of others, April Ashley became the woman she had always believed herself to be. And for half a dozen decades she soared around, over and above momentous and turbulent times, difficult, and changing times when, finally, who you wanted to be and who you could be became the cultural topic of the day. She overcame opprobrium and penury and became renowned and celebrated for one specific achievement: being April Ashley.

'Finished in one sitting. Had no idea where it was going but knew there was something lurking. Incredible twist. Ends with a final lap of the ride when you think it is all over . . . I will be recommending this to friends' Ericka Waller At seven o'clock one Tuesday evening, in a perfectly...

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* This is the remarkable story of a local lad who grew up in the shadow of Upton Park and became ‘Mr West Ham’: a one-club man who lived the dream. A modern footballing legend, Mark Noble is the embodiment of what it means to be a Hammer, pouring his heart and...

EXCLUSIVE Q&A AT THE END OF THE AUDIOBOOK WITH SIMON BAJKOWSKI AND NEDUM ONUOHA. The year is 2012. Manchester City have failed in an audacious attempt to appoint Pep Guardiola, the most sought-after manager in world football. They watch as he wins consecutive league titles with Bayern Munich...

Bloomsbury presents The Troubled Deep by Rob Parker, read by Luke R. Francis. 'Compelling and so atmospheric ... the perfect new crime series to dive into' HEAT 'Rob Parker is a master of the stone-cold twist' JANICE HALLETT 'Brilliant pacing ... a great addition to your to-be-read stacks' PRIMA...

Avelyn Brocken is a Jesuit at the Vatican. Originally from the salt mining town of Hreodwater in East Anglia, his only ambition is never to go back. But when rumours of miracles being performed there are followed by a bizarre video showing that someone trying to leave then enclave has been turn...

*THE MUST-HAVE BOOK THIS FATHER'S DAY* *From the acclaimed author of Ragged Edge* Road racers don't race for money; they race for the sheer rush of it. Skimming stone walls at speeds of over 200mph on bumpy, treacherous public roads with no room for errors offers a buzz like nothing else on...

Billy and Sandra were childhood sweethearts. Writing their names on a lovelock. Fastening it to the end of Whitby pier. Throwing the key into the sea. A lifetime together. A happy retirement in a peaceful hamlet on the North Yorkshire Moors. Until the day they were brutally murdered.

'Haunting, heartbreaking, quietly terrifying. Unforgettable' CHRIS WHITAKER Three of them adrift on the narrowboat. Mother, son, and wickedness. Peggy Jenkins and her teenage son, Samson, live on a remote stretch of canal in the Midlands. She is a writer and he is a schoolboy. Together, they...

Not too long ago, Max Best was stuck in a dead-end job, trudging from one day to the next and mourning the fact that his burning love of soccer was getting buried in a landslide of cold statistics and intangible tactics. Then, after saving an old man from a mugging, he was "cursed" with the ability to instantly ascertain a soccer player's attributes on sight and use that knowledge to upgrade his own skills. Now he's making a name for himself as an amateur team manager, but it's not enough for him to ditch his dud of a job.

I was the other woman. The mistress. Everyone blamed Doctor Drew Devlin’s death on me. And I’ve paid the price for loving the wrong man. Now, I have dark circles under my eyes because I can’t sleep at night. I lost everything–friends, family, my home and even my freedom. Drew’s devious wife Fern tore my whole world apart. And she thinks she’s got away with murder.

It’s 20 years since Alice went missing. There’s never been any trace. Until now. Until some bones are found in a shallow grave on the cold, bleak North York Moors. But is it Alice? Or Becky? The other girl–who disappeared a month earlier…