Showing results by narrator "John Keating" in All Categories

It is said that a picture may be worth a thousand words, but an old photograph can inspire many more. In this beguiling book, Alexander McCall Smith casts his eye over five chanced-upon photographs from the era of black-and-white photography and imagines the stories behind them. Who were those people, what were their stories, why are they smiling, what made them sad?

ALA notable author Iain Lawrence pens a moving tale with a Dickensian atmosphere about a young man's life aboard a cruel 19th-century prison ship. 14-year-old Tom Tin is forced to scavenge on the grimy streets of London after his father is sent to debtor's prison. Tom's survival is threatened by the sinister lowlifes that inhabit his hopeless world. But when he is unjustly arrested for murder, he finds a place that is even worse than the dark city streets.

On Gwyn's ninth birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him - a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound magic, Gwyn throws the brooch to the wind and receives a silvery snow spider in return. Will he be able to use this special spider to bring his missing sister, Bethan, home?

The Irish played a huge role in the American Revolution, not just on the battlefield but also in the field hospitals and in the framing of the Declaration of Independence. Niall O'Dowd, author of Lincoln and the Irish and A New Ireland, takes listeners on a journey into the unexplored contributions of the Irish in the American Revolution and behind the scenes of the relationships of some of those men and women with the first president of the United States.

Lyonesse: a world formed by magic, where a dark power struggle is underway between an ancient sorceress with her shadow army and the human subjects of Lyonesse's power-mad wizard. The only spark of hope is a prophecy that tells of a Defender who will one day come and set things to right. Young Meb doesn't think she's obligated to be the prophesied Defender of Lyonesse, but she is adept at the universe-folding skill of Planomancy and has been trained by a world-walking troubleshooter of the multiverse, the great Dragon Fionn himself.

When the Heron brotherband become the Skandian duty ship to the Kingdom of Araluen, they're excited at the challenges ahead. Hal, Stig, Thorn, and the Herons eagerly set off for the trip - with an unexpected new crew member aboard. But an enemy from their past returns, causing the Herons to be thrown into a dangerous quest to free captured Araluens from the slave market in Socorro. Even with the help of an Araluen Ranger, the task may be too much.

In this explosive seventh instalment in the action-packed Brotherband Chronicles, the Herons battle pirates amid stormy seas as the fate of an empire rests on their shoulders. Hal and the brotherband are back home in Hallasholm when a knock on the door brings an unexpected visitor: Stig's long-absent father, Olaf. The Empress of Byzantos's son has been kidnapped by pirates, and palace guard commander Olaf has been held responsible. The only way to redeem himself is to rescue the boy.

Inside his home in Derry, Joe Logan's life is ruled by his tormented father; outside, by the tension and violence of the Troubles. Sometimes his father makes him run errands despite the nearby reports of gunfire. Other times his mother, afraid to be alone with her volatile and war-wounded husband, confines Joe to the home. A bright and sensitive young man, Joe finds solace and freedom in writing - a pursuit encouraged by Kathleen Doherty, a young teacher at a nearby school whom he meets and befriends.

Sixteen delightful holiday short stories by some of your favorite Soho crime authors! This captivating collection of short mysteries and crime capers - which features New York Times best-selling authors, Crime Writers Association Gold and Diamond Dagger winners, and Edgar Award nominees - contains laughs aplenty, the most hardboiled of holiday noir, and heartwarming reminders of the spirit of the season.

When Hannah learns that famed chef Daniel Costello is facing accusations of sexual assault, she's thrown back to the summer she spent waitressing at his high-end Dublin restaurant when she was a young college student—the plush splendor of the dining rooms, the wild parties after service, the sizzling tension of the kitchens. But Hannah also remembers how the attention from Daniel soon morphed from kindness into something darker. Now the restaurant is shuttered and Daniel tries to understand how his life is now completely out of his control

When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind.

King Duncan and Princess Cassandra are trapped high in the south tower of Castle Araluen. In the north, Sir Horace and Ranger Commandant Gilan are besieged in an old hill fort as they wait for the Red Fox Clan's next attack. Ranger's apprentice Maddie must find the Heron brotherband and convince them to join her, so she can give her father the help he needs to break out from the hill fort and ride to confront the traitor. Will they reach Castle Araluen in time? And when the battles have been fought and the dust has settled, who will rule the Kingdom of Araluen?

Ethan McOwen is an Irish immigrant whose endurance is tested in Brooklyn and the Five Points at the height of its urban destitution; he is among the first to join the famed Irish Brigade and becomes a celebrated war photographer. Marcella, a society girl from Spain, defies her father to become a passionate abolitionist. Mary and Micah are slaves of varying circumstances, who form an instant connection and embark on a tumultuous path to freedom. All four lives unfold in two beautiful love stories, which eventually collide.

Five years have passed since the victory over Bryn's aunt Caoimhe and her murderous Vonnyen army. Peace has returned to Razuclan. Bryn and his friends have lost touch and are all leading their own lives. But the evil beings on the neighboring continent lust for revenge. They need the powers of the last of the Boyd family and will stop at nothing to make sure he fulfills his destiny.

Imagine an Age of Exploration full of alchemy, human dissection, sea monsters, betrayal, torture, religious controversy, and magic. In Europe, the magic is thin, but at the edge of the world, where the stars reach down close to the Earth, wonders abound. This drives the bravest explorers to the alluring Western Ocean. Christopher Sinclair is an alchemist who cares only about one thing: quintessence, a substance he believes will grant magical powers and immortality. And he has a ship....

Join Buzz as he searches for a smart animal to take to The Amazing Pet Show. His father says flies can't be pets, but Fly Guy is not your ordinary fly!

Tom Tin, an innocent convict, is aboard a ship bound for Australia where he will serve a lengthy sentence in prison. To avoid this horrible fate, Tom jumps ship to nearby islands, but finds that the refuge he hoped for may just be another struggle for his freedom - and his life. Acclaimed author Iain Lawrence delivers another exotic adventure tale for young readers.

The great warrior Bran has been called home from the battlefield to his mother's deathbed, where he vows to solve the strange mystery surrounding what fatally attacked her in the night. He travels to the Crossroads, seeking the wise counsel of Talhaiarn, high priest and advisor to his clan, where he learns similar attacks have been reported by clans to the north and east—horrors that Talhaiarn determines are the dark handiwork of the powerful Cerridwen, a rogue priestess of the sisterhood that dwells on an island surrounded by the misty waters of Lake Tegid.

'Brother', by Nigel Fairs. Auron scientist Gustav Nyrron is back aboard the Liberator, on his way home. But Avon does not trust him, and soon a drugged Nyrron wakes to find himself in Avon’s clutches on a devastated world. In this desert, their pasts are waiting for them...and a devastating truth that will shake their very beliefs to the core. 'Poison', by Iain McLaughlin. Federation Freighter Antares is a ship with many secrets. Why is it making regular runs to a heavily guarded frontier world?

In this new installment of Ken Bruen's beloved Jack Taylor series, the whiskey-swigging Irish detective investigates a series of violent attacks on the local convent's nuns.