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Audiobook narrated by Roger Davis.
Published in 1987, this is a sweeping look at English history from the prehistoric to the (near) present, told through the stories of half a dozen families through the generations, in and around Salisbury. It starts at the end of the last great ice-age, rumbles through the building of Stonehenge, the Roman period, the Viking invasions and Alfred the Great, then skips past the Norman Conquest to the Anarchy. The families are the Forests, the Wilsons, the Shockleys, the Masons, the Porters and the Norman Godefrois (Godfreys). Their fortunes and expectations rise and fall and rise again. The story carries forward through the Black Death, the Reformation, the Civil War, Bonaparte, the British Empire and two World Wars to 1985. It’s L-O-N-G, nearly fifty-four hours of narration handled almost invisibly by Roger Davis, who might not be the most exciting narrator in the world, but is reliably clear and steady, which works well with a story of this length.

Audiobook narrated by Georgia Tennant.

I confess this is the third time I’ve read this, once in paperback and twice via Audible with different narrators. This is Cooper's first book in the Rutshire Chronicles series. It concentrates on showjumping, primarily the rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Back and Jake Lovell. I read this a long time ago, so enjoyed revisiting it via Audible. It's set in the 70s, which was when it was written, but has now become 'historical'. Yes, Jake Lovell and Rupert Campbell Black are showjumping rivals, but it goes deeper than that. They were enemies at their very posh school where Rupert was an entitled rich boy and Jake was a charity case - there because his mum worked in the kitchens. Rupert bullied Jake and after his mother committed suicide Jake drifted, but he is a natural with horses. He marries Tori Maxwell for her money, so he can set up his own showjumping yard, and she makes him a good wife, though he doesn't realise how good until it's almost too late. Rupert is a fierce and bold rider. He and Jake are both brilliant, but polar opposites. Riders covers their careers and their clashes, rivalry on horseback and in the bedroom, with additional character sub plots such as (Rupert's best friend) Billy Lloyd-Foxe and his love-life, and Tori's sister Fen's riding success under Jake's tutelage (and a secondary love story).. The rivalry ends at the Los Angeles Olympics. Yes, there's sex, gloriously smutty and good-hearted, and lots of horses, so essentially it's a pony book for grown-up girls. Pullein-Thompson sisters, eat your heart out. Beautifully narrated by Georgia Tennant.

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters.
Everything was going so well… until it wasn’t. Queen Mab of the Winter Court calls in a favour from Harry and all of a sudden he’s trapped between the Winter and Summer courts with a bunch of demons on his tail. Things in Harry’s past are about to bite him on the bum. Oh joy! And all he has to do is find and save criminal gang leader Johnny Marcone, who has never been Dresden’s favourite person. Then enter the ‘Archive’ (in the guise of a child known as Ivy), who is in danger from a bunch of fallen angels. Mayhem ensues. James Marsters reads this series extremely well.

Audiobook narrated by Matt Addis.

December, 1145. Hamelin Isenmongere, a trader in iron and charcoal from Gloucester, is found dead on Worcester’s quayside, his head smashed in. At his home, the woman who keeps house for him is lying brutally raped and murdered, and the house turned upside down by a hasty search. Someone is looking for something, but who and what? Then Isenmongere is discovered to be a courier, passing information on to his lord in Gloucester. Someone in the castle is the possible traitor, someone who can read and write. Suspicion falls on the scribes, but the self-important castellan (who resents Bradecote) keeps clouding the waters. Is he the traitor? Bradecote would like to think so, but it’s the evidence that counts. With the body count rising, Bradecote, Catchpoll and Under-Serjeant Walkeling must find the clever killer and the traitor. An absorbing mystery well read by Matt Addis

Audiobook narrated by Georgia Tennant.

I read this many years ago but decided to revisit it as an audiobook. Georgia Tennant reads very well. To be honest this starts a bit slowly with Perdita McCloud, an unsympathetic brat of a schoolgirl, who is a nightmare at school and at home, obsessed with polo and Ricky France-Lynch, top polo star with a handicap of 9. We're introduced to various characters, skipping about between Rutshire's finest, (some familiar from previous books, but mostly only mentioned here as side characters). And then the story starts. Ricky's wife, Chessie, leaves him for another (very rich) man. Driving while drunk Ricky has an accident in which their three year old son is killed. Skipping a few years Perdita (still bolshy) starts working for Ricky, still madly in love with him, but also a wildly ambitious (and talented) polo player. There are several love/hate stories going on at the same time in a twisted knot of illicit love tangles and revenge plots and rivalry. A bit like Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, part of the plot of Rivals is playing out in the background, threading through everything, though Rupert Campbell-Black has only a fairly minor role in this until near the end. Ricky wants his ex-wife back. Perdita wants Ricky. Luke wants Perdita. Daisy, Perdita's mother, wants Drew - until she realises what a bastard he is and then... Well, no spoilers. It's one of Jilly Cooper's Rutshire romps, so you know the truly deserving are going to get their hearts' desire, and the truly undeserving are going to get their comeuppance, but it's getting there, that's the fun. Plenty of horses, polo matches, hard riding, broken bones, sex and scandal, but essentially good-hearted. A pony book for grown-ups.

The Honourable Miss Clara Vetry has a disastrous London season, ending it by assaulting the Price Regent for his lecherous advances. She's ruined. No one will dare to marry her now. Packing her beloved books she heads out to stay with a relative, but seizes an opportunity when it presents itself, and gets on a coach to Scotland that's supposed to be carrying the Laird of CaerLeven's new housekeeper. Unfortunately all she knows about housekeeping is how to direct servants to do it, and when she arrives at Castle CaerLeven she discovers the laird, Caelan, is living in a pig sty of a castle, uncared for and filthy. The handsome (of course) Caelan was widowed two years previously and all the locals assume that he's in deep mourning (he's not) but all he really wants is to be left to himself so he can indulge in (naked) fly fishing and writing his book. Naturally he falls for Clara, and when her true identity is revealed he's forced to marry her - or rather she's forced to marry him. He's already in love with her, but how is he going to win her heart as well as her hand? This is a light fluffy story with two untypical, engaging protagonists and written with a sure hand. I was in the mood for something light and this was just the ticket.

Shiverick joins a conclave of wizards who meet every so-many years on a strange beach. Their aim is to show off to their fellows, but Shiverick never does magic in public so the other wizards are forever accusing him of not being a real wizard (despite his age of beyond 300 years). There's a murder, and an obvious culprit, but who's really to blame. Shiverick sorts it out. A neat short story.

Set in Camorr in Locke Lamora's formative years being schooled by Father Chains. For a period each year Father Chains' boys (Gentlemen Bastards in traning) are sent out to work in other environments as part of their education, which is how Locke finds himself emptying slops in the Unbroken Jar, a shady tavern in a bad part of the city, with the instructions to 'be ordinary'. However, he still has to earn enough for Father Chains to pay the expected dues to Capa Barsavi their local crimelord. When Locke unwisely lends two thirds of his meagre stash to Mazoc Szaba, a down-and-out ex mercenary he feels sorry for, he loses it immediately, which causes a serious predicament. Szaba is good for the debt, fortunately, but then Locke steps up again, when his friend needs him. Funny and tragic in equal measure, this is a return to the grimy cobbledstones of Camorr that we all loved in The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Due for publication 10^th September 2026. I had an advance copy from the publisher and was delighted to have the opportunity to review it because I love this series.

Daniel Mackmain is the son of a dryad and a mortal, so he doesn't exactly have powers, but he has skills beyond carpentry (which is how he earns a living). He can see dryads and other supernaturals, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. He's physically robust and he heals quickly - which is a good job because he's always getting into trouble, usually prompted by the Green Man, who often sends him into situations to troubleshoot. He's very intertwined with the folkloric/supernatural world, and his girlfriend, Fin, is a swan shapechanger.

In this book, Dan takes a couple of weeks leave from his job and heads off to Ireland with a task given to him by the Hunter - to whom he owes a debt. Finding out what the task is is usually the first problem. Fin's sister and her new husband are infanticipatng, so there's a family aspect to this, too, but Dan is drawn into an adventure with Irish wolf-changers and a pair of American interlopers. He's trying to help without overstepping the mark, conscious of his English roots. His dryad friends won't trespass on Irish soil, so his usual 'dryad network' isn't available to him and he's wary of offending the local fair folk. He's very much on his own and a bit out of his depth, but he has a couple of locals to work with. Excellent characters, plenty of tension and a mystery to solve.

This is a fabulous series. Each book is complete, but you'll probably get even more enjoyment if you read some (or all) of them, starting with The Green Man's Heir. Highly recommended.

Narrated by Anthony Palmiri & Rachel Leblang

Dark Lord, Kazimir Blackrose needs a bride descended from a specific heroic bloodline in order to access the power of an ancient artefact. So being a Dark Lord, rather than going wooing, he decides to shortcut the whole process and simply kidnap a suitable maiden. Unfortunately instead of a terrified and pliant maiden, he gets Lady Arabella who has already scared off several unsuitable suitors of her father’s choosing, and doesn’t intend to be treated like property.

So far, so good. The sexual tension was building nicely… and then…

They began to bonk. And they didn’t stop. They bonked excitedly, destructively, energetically, explosively, and more to the point, graphically. (Lots of c-lits and c-ocks.)

I’m not prudish, and I don’t mind a bit of sex in a book, especially when it moves the story forward, but there comes a point when it becomes boring and you want to yell at the characters to get on with the bloody story. Maybe they did get on with the story, but I’m afraid I abandoned this book somewhere around the middle.

Reading his own book, Mortimer takes four distinct periods of English history: the Middle Ages (specifically 14th C), Elizabethan, Restoration, and Regency periods. For each one he goes through a quickfire A to Z, from the Armada to Xenophobia via Cleanliness and Toilet paper. There's no great depth here, and no great deeds of monarchs, but each point is succinct and interesting and could easily lead you on to delve deeper. It covers much of the ground that his Time Travellers' Guides do, but the audiobook is in a very digestible form, read by the author himself. I don't read much non-fiction from cover to cover (usually dipping in and out for research etc.) but this is worth taking time for.

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters

Someone is killing magic practitioners in Chicago, not strong wizards, mostly females in small covens, members of the weaker magial underclass. Many of them look like suicides, so no one has noticed, until Murphy calls in Harry Dresden, Chicago's wizard-for-hire. When suspicion points its fickle finger at Harry's White Court vampire half brother, Harry doesn't know what to think. His brother has finally moved out of Harry's flat, seems to be doing quite well for himself and is feeding. (White Court vamps feed on psychic energy, not bood.) Expect ghouls, White Court vampires. There will be some familiar characters, Murphy, Molly (Harry's new apprentice) and Mouse the temple dog, plus Lashiel, the fallen angel, Thomas, Bob the Skull, Ramirez, also a wizard, Harry's gangster frenemy, Marcone, and (unexpectedly) Harry's ex girlfriend from his teen years. And through all this Harry is looking for a serial killer. There's a massive battle and a nice roundup. James Marsters, as usual, reads the book very well. I loved Paul Blackthorne in the TV series, but Marsters has become the voice of Harry Dresden

Set on a colony planet , Demmos, which has been settled by Native Americans followed by a second wave of settlers, the 'lives-in-houses,' from New Earth, who have taken advantage of the Indios' hard work and superimposed their own culture. Jonathon is a half-Indio (on his mum's side) living in a lives-in-houses settlement because of his dad's job. Bullied at school, he plays dumb despite being super-intelligent, but when the colony splits from New Earth, and he's no longer afraid of being taken off-planet to school, he starts acing exams. He's fifteenish when aliens invade, and no help is forthcoming from New Earth. He teaches himself the alien's language and transitions to intelligence gatherer much valued by the remains of the planetary government. Further incursions force him into the role of resistance leader and freedom fighter, The Mallek, but things take a strange turn when he decides to fight the alien invasion from the inside. Not only a single coming-of-age story but a multiple coming-of-ages story as Jonathon grows up, and then grows again. A fascinating story of culture clash, misunderstandings, and a point of change brought about by one young man.

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters
It begins with a White Council judicial execution of a young warlock accused of black Magic. Harry, now a warden of the Council, is not happy. In short order he is inveigled by Molly (his friend Michael's daughter) into bailing her boyfriend out of jail. The two are volunteering at a horror convention. When people are attacked by real-life movie monsters, Harry tries to turn the summoning back on itself, but for some reason it rebounds on Molly who is taken into Queen Mab's 'fairyland' - to the Winter Court. Harry and Charity (Molly's mother and never a friend to Harry) go after her with Murphy and Thomas, Harry's half-brother (and a White Court vampire). The brown stuff hits the whirly thing when it becomes obvious that Molly has used black magic and broken one of the immutable laws of magic. The Council's punishment is death. Will Harry be able to save her? Well you can probably guess the answer, but the journey is well worth taking. James Marsters makes and excellent Harry Dresden.

Myfanwy Thomas awakes in the rain surrounded by dead people and with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Luckily there’s a note in her pocket giving her directions of where to go and what to do next. It turns out that she’s a Rook, a high ranking member of the Chequy – a secret organisation that deals with magical threats to Great Britain. Gradually her backstory comes out as the notes from the person she used to be tell a story of treachery and forewarning. Her new self, somewhat more assertive than the previous version of Rook Thomas, has to hit the ground running, without letting slip that she’s amnesiac, and that she knows there’s someone in the organisation out to get her. Aided only by her ferociously efficient secretary, and slowly becoming aware of her own formidable powers she discovers that despite everything she actually likes the job, but then there’s a potential invasion and takeover by a bunch of mad, bodily enhanced Belgian Grafters, and that traitor in the Chequy turns out to have an accomplice, or several. Fast paced and intriguing this was recommended by a friend and I’m glad I read it.

Audiobook read by Juliet Stevenson.

A tapestry of interlinked stories on the banks of the Thames, set in the late Victorian period. It begins on a Winter Solstice night, when a desperately injured man appears in the doorway of the Swan Inn at Radcot with a dead child in his arms. The Swan is an inn where stories are told, and change and proliferate, thanks to Joe and his wife Margo. Rita, the local nurse/midwife discovers that the child is not quite as dead as she seems, but though she recovers she never speaks and can't tell her own story. Rita Sunday nurses the injured man (Henry Daunt, a photographer) and the child. At first it is assumed that the child is the injured man's daughter, but it turns out she isn't,. There are three subsequent claims on her. The Vaughans (especially the wife, Helena) believe she is their kidnapped child lost 2 years earlier. Lily White believes she is her (drowned) sister, but that seems unlikely as the age gap doesn't add up. Armstrong, the kindly and well educated black farmer, believes the child to be his granddaughter, thrown into the river by his son's abandoned wife before she committed suicide. The actual story unfolds gradually untile we eventually find out what really happened to the Vaughan's kidnapped child and who is responsible. Within this is a slow-burn love story as Daunt falls for Rita.

This is not so much historical fantasy as magical realism. The story has a fairy-tale like quality. Superstition is woven throughout, and the magical realism is handled with a light touch. The child herself never speaks, and remains a mystery, especially at the conclusion of her story arc. Is the magic real or imagined? The story unfurls very slowly, (almost a little too slowly at times) but the excellent reading by Juliet Stevenson brings it to life beautifully.

This reunites two characters from Bookshops and Bonedust - Viv the Orc who runs a coffeeshop and pottymouth Fern, the Ratkin bookseller. After a gap of some years Fern sells her bookshop to move to Thune to start up a new bookshop in premises next to Viv's establishment. But Fern is having a mid-life crisis. She gets drunk one night and stumbles into the back of a wagon owned by a legendary warrior elf, who is trekking over mountains to take a twisty goblin in for the bounty. The rest of the book is Fern's adventures and the resolution, including the goblin's story. This is Fern’s mid-life-crisis story, and she has to make up her mind where she wants to be and what she wants to do.

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters.

Harry Dresden is the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book, so the cases that come his way are weird and often extremely dangerous. It's a year or so on from the happenings in Blood Rites. Harry has a white-vampire half brother (Thomas) and that sweet, tiny puppy, Mouse, is now up to Harry's hip and still has some growing to do. Luckily he seems to have an innate sense of danger, which helps enormously. Harry's police pal, Murphy is out of town with a new boyfriend, which kinda makes Harry realise he's jealous. Harry is still suffering from a badly burned and almost useless left hand. Got it so far? Okay, then. Mavra, Red Court Vampire and Harry's sworn enemy inveigles Harry into finding 'The Word of Kemmler' by threatening to set Murphy up as a proven murderer. Harry saves Butters a mild- mannered medical examiner from a necromancer also looking for 'The Word,' and takes him home to Thomas and Mouse in order to protect him. Searching for the book of the Ealking, Harry meets Sheila in a local bookstore (she's dangerously helpful and it's no coincidence that her name sounds almost like a back-to-front version of Lasciel, the demon Harry thought he'd buried for good. He learns that there are three rival groups of necromancers looking for both the Erlking and The Word of Kemmler. Halloween is approaching and should one of them get both books and summon the Erlking (leader of the Wild Hunt) they will have the powers of a god. Danger finally averted (at some cost), Harry delivers the Word to Mavra with a warning to leave his friends alone, intending to destroy her once and for all. Though lacking Murphy, and Christian Knight, Michael, the newer characters in this book (Butters, Thomas, Mouse) are well drawn and this is a tense and exciting outing for Harry. As usual, James Marsters it pitch-perfect with his narration. I've already ordered the next in the series.

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters.
Harry Dresden is Chicago's only professional wizard dealing with weird and often extremely dangerous cases. Blood Rites opens with Harry fleeing burning monkey poo while carrying a box of puppies. When he delivers the puppies to their owner, he accidentally keep one that has escaped the box in the back of his car, a tiny puppy called Mouse who rides around in Harry's pocket for much of the book. White vampire, Thomas, persuades Harry to take a job guarding the crew and actors on an 'adult' film set endangered by an evil curse which seems to attacking the women in the film-maker's life. Harry gets involved with Thomas's white vampire family despite the dangerous antagonism of Thomas's sister and father, and despite the state of war that currently exists between wizards and all vampires. We learn something of Harry's past, and he makes a life-changing discovery. No spoilers: read it for yourself. James Marsters audio narration is nothing less than perfect. He gets Harry's voice just right.

Audiobook narrated by James Marsters.

Harry Dresden is the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book, so the cases that come his way are weird and often extremely dangerous. In Death Masks an ancient vampire is out to kill him on the pretext that it will end the ongoing war between the Wizards’ White Council and the vampiric Red Court. Harry’s former lover, Susan, now half-vampire herself shows up after a period of silence, and to complicate matters Harry takes on a case to locate and return the stolen Turin Shroud. His ally from the Chicago police, Murphy, is off the case thanks to an asshole of a boss, but Harry has some help from Michael and a bunch of knights on the side of God. Harry’s landed in a whole world of hurt this time, both physical and emotional. Fast-paced and engaging this is beautifully read by James Marsters (Spike from Buffy). He gets Harry’s voice just right, sharp-tongued with a touch of world-weariness. Highly recommended.

In the anthology Shadowed Souls

Set in the world of Harry Dresden, and featuring Molly, Michael’s daughter, now a Queen of Faerie. Mab, Queen of the Winter Court of the Fey directs her to collect the missing tribute from the Miksani in the town of Unalaska, Alaska. There’s a problem, however (there always is). When Molly crosses local thug Clint in a bar, she’s ‘rescued’ by wizard Carlos Ramirez (even though she probably didn’t need rescuing.) Clint and his cronies are not as human as they seem. Some of the town’s children are missing and Molly (with Ramirez) has to retrieve them before she can collect the tribute. There’s an unexpected twist at the end.

Audiobook narrated by Barrett Whitener

I’ve been listening to this in bits between reading other books. As a collection of short stories, it’s perfect for that. This omnibus edition collects together tories which first appeared in print many years ago in magazines. Callaghan’s Crosstime Saloon is the place people find when they need it. They have stories to tell, and the denizens of the place listen without judgement. Some of the tales are sad, some silly, some reveal aliens, some reveal unhappy people finding catharsis. In Callaghan’s own words ‘Shared pain is lessened and shared joy is increased. The narrator makes a decent go of it except when he tries to voice Callaghan himself. I think it’s supposed to be an Irish accent, but I’d rather not dwell on it. If you thought Angel’s Irish accent in Buffy was bad, this knocks it out of the park. It doesn’t really detract from the enjoyment, though,

Joanne Walker is a no-nonsense mechanic working for the police department. She has no interest in the mystical, but she’s half Naïve American, half Irish and both sides of her ancestry are catching up with her fast. When it comes down to accepting what she is or dying, there’s really only one sensible choice and so she ends up trying to catch a demigod serial killer with the help of a coyote spirit guide, an elderly cab driver and the one officer on the force who doesn’t laugh about the idea of the Wild Hunt terrorising an American city. This is urban fantasy at its finest. The plot fairly zips along and the characters are relatable. Catie Murphy has delivered another excellent book.

A cosy murder mystery, set in a tiny village somewhere near Skipton, featuring a load of Women’s Institute ladies, a dead vicar, a frazzled cop (recently moved to Yorkshire from the Deep South (London), a few potential villains and a couple of talking dragons who want to get involved in the investigation. A light read.

Supposedly the best opening line* of any novel ever: ‘It was the day my grandmother exploded…’ Prentice McHoan has been drawn back to his small Scottish coastal village for his gran’s funeral. The story unfurls from there both forwards and backwards in time as we learn about his family, his loves (and hates) and the other people in the village whose lives are intertwined. He’s at loggerheads with his dad (over religion), his uncle Rory has been missing for years, and the girl he fancies is getting off with his older brother. It’s a coming of age story which jumps timelines mercilessly, often without warning, so you’d better be prepared to keep up, but it all ties together in the end. The Crow Road is a Scottish term for death.

* Re opening lines – I still think John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids takes some beating: ‘When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there’s something seriously wrong somewhere.’

This is the start of Chaz Brenchley’s Outremer series which is set in an alternative version of the Crusades. Set in a harsh desert landscape, the Order of the Knights Ransomer are the religious sword arm of the kingdom, fighting to hold back nomadic tribes trying to reclaim their lost lands, Marron is a young devout man, a knight in training, who has swallowed the religious doctrine hook, line and sinker. He’s treated harshly and bemoans his lot, but eventually starts thinking for himself. Unfortunately that’s pretty much the definition of heresy, and the penalty for that is a horrible and lingering death. Running parallel to Marron’s story is that of Julianne, journeying to the Ransomer’s fortress of Roq on her way to marry a man she’s never met. There are five more books in the series.

After the shocking death of her mother in an accident, Max returns to the tiny bookshop in the magical village of Lampton, where she grew up. There are reminders of her mum everywhere, and Max feels wholly inadequate to follow in her mum’s footsteps as bookshop owner, though she knows that’s what her mum really wanted to happen. And then there’s her ex-best friend, Cam, the half-elf who works in the bakery. Max has spent ten years distancing herself but now needs to reconcile. Max has to decide whether to stay in Lampton or to return to her successful accountancy career (and lovely boyfriend) in London. And that’s it, really. It’s a dissection of grief. The storyline is slight, and the pages filled with repeated angst. And did I say there was repeated angst? And there just might have been angst… repeated. Sorry, I fancied reading a cosy story, but picked the wrong one. Not for me.

Penric is challenged when a young Cedonian cavalry officer, who has been blinded, turns up on his doorstep, sent by Pen's brother in law (whose blindness Pen cured in a previous story. The causes of the blinding are not the same, and Pen can do nothing, but... in a small hill village a hedge-sorceress lies dying, so her demon will need another home. Could this give the young officer a chance? Combining medicine with magic is a tricky business, as Pen well knows. Another novella (number 16) .from the Penric and Desdemona series. Always a pleasure to read a new offering from LMB.

Due for publication 16^th July 2026. I had this as an advance reading copy via Netgalley

Garrodigh is a four-headed dragon with only three heads left. The fourth got blown off by an enemy cannonball. Centrehead wants to rain fire on all humanity, Bottomhead is not a thinker. Free food and a few scritches will cheer him up. Upperhead thinks he’s human. Garrodigh, pretending to be a tame dragon, sneaks into a human dragon rider academy in search of some free food and a place to sleep for a few days. He’s surprised to find that the humans fix his busted foot and salve his torn wings… but he still wants to kill them all. And then Rania turns up. She’s desperate for a dragon and is prepared to overlook Garrodigh’s quirks.

You can see where this is going, but the beauty of it is the journey. The three dragon heads have distinct personalities. Centrehead tries to keep his three personalities together. This took a tiny bit of getting into at first but the dragon's journey was engrossing, quirky and charming. Highly recommended.

Due for publication 6^th August 2026.

This follows straight on from the first Smallhope & Pennyroyal book with Lady Amelia Smallhope still recovering from a near-fatal shooting. She’s at home, keeping an eye on the estate (Starlings) and her nephew, George. She’s looking forward to a quiet time with master-butler, Pennyroyal, who has acquired a cottage just a short walk away from Starlings, over the fields. Pennyroyal is her business partner, but oh so much more… until… he gets a phone call he never expected. His sister, killed in the Middle East years ago when she was in the army, has been found, traumatised, but alive. Smallhope gives him the space he needs to help his sister’s rehab, but there is something seriously wrong somewhere, and Smallhope & Pennyroyal have to figure out what, and why, and how to fix things. This is Jodi Taylor’s usual mysterious, enthralling story with the return of much-loved characters. Expect, time-travel, family problems, a bit of gut-wrenching, some soul searching, a daring rescue, and a little bit of help from St Mary’s medical department. I had an advance reading copy from Netgalley, and loved it. I will probably go and put the audiobook on pre-order for a second ‘read.’

Audiobook narrated by Alice Sockett

Elizabeth Bennet has returned home after rejecting Darcy's ill-worded proposal of marriage. From then on things take a slightly differet turn from the original. Lizzy's godfather makes provision for her and her family in his will, in the event of Mr Bennet's death and the Longbourn Estate going to Mr Collins. But in return she must set up a charitable trust with the rest of his money. Misinformation abounds when people think she has inherited the whole estate, and Darcy steps in behind the scenes. Yes, it all ends happily, but the route to the happy ending is different. A pleasant listen, with Alice Sockett's gentle narration supporting the story very well.

In a universe where our gas giants have been repurposed by an alien intelligence to make disjointed habitable segments of a dyson sphere around our sun and its third planet, Copernicus Brown (and his bounty hunting crew on the sentient ship Jitterbug) make a big mistake in intervening to rescue a space ship from pirates. They rescue the sole survivor, Amber Roth, who is definitely not a damsel in distress. Roth is carrying a data chip with vital information about an impending invason force, and various political factions want to be the first to get hold of it. Expect political intrigue, fratching factions, space battles, and a twist when something turns out to be not at all what was expected. There might even be a bit of twisty time travel involved. This is obviously a lead into mre books featuring the Jitterbug and her crew, but it does have a good stopping point (no cliffhangers) with the crew boldly going... etc. got a bit lot in some of the time travel explanations, but the characterisation was excellent and the pace kept me turning pages.

Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.

Sophie, Freddie, Hugo and Charlotte (the enhanced Labradoodle) return to a version of their own world to regroup and work out what to do next. It's not quite the universe they left, however. Sophie discovers that her parents are still alive in this version of reality. They head to Victorian England to steal the walking stick/control device from H.G. Wells who in this universe is not murderous. Unfortunately Miss Hattie Wells has arrived from another universe, courtesy of Janus, and she's a professional assassin, though one with a bit more brain than previous iterations of Wells. They spend most of the book in the Victorian period with one of Freddie's aunts (who,of course doesn't know him yet, but accepts him anyway.

This is the final book in the Shorten Chronicles, so I feel a comment on the whole six book set is in order/ It started well, the fist three books were interesting and kept me listening. The last three books, however, seemed to draw the story out too far. The whole story in books four, five, and six could have been wrapped up in one, condensing the too-long visit to Rome and the extended visit to Victorian London into shorter and more succinct episodes. The writing was smooth, and the narration excellent, but the length of the plot didn't support its content. Having said that, it was easy listening and not unenjoyable.

Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.

Sophie, Freddie, Hugo and Charlotte are separated from Shorten and Baby Bella due to the whim of Janus, the god-like AI entity that controls the time travelling ship they've been using. There is another ship, but it's more dangerous to travel on - and at least one iteration of their group (from another universe) has died on it already. They determine to go to ancient Rome to get (steal) the device that will control Janus, revert him to factory settings and remove his sentience. The device looks like a walking stick but it's so much more. They spend most of the book going from near-miss to near-miss as several iterations of evil HG Wells tries to kill them on Janus' behalf. In the end they fail in their mission and Bella is just as far away as before. I found the Roman adventure somwhat pointless - a lot of running around for no result, and I'm starting to think this series has gone on for too long. The first three Shorten books were tighter and more to the point. But there's only one more book, so... onward.

Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.

Sophie, Freddie, Hugo, Charlotte the DNA enhanced Labradoodle are back in 1920s Shorten, this time with Sophie's daughter, baby Bella. There was a novella unavailable on Audible, in which Sophie discovered that Bella was Freddie's, and married Hugo. Unfortuinately Sophie killed a revolutionary leader (self defence) and now his faction wants her dead. It brings much trouble to Shorten manor.

Kindle edition. Due for publication May 2026.

Set in the world of the Greatcoats, and featuring some peripheral characters from earlier stories, Rijou's infamous judicial duels are often just a method of legalised murder. How can a mild-mannered jeweller protect himself from a champion duellist who deals death for fun? The Court of Blades has become corrupt and cruel. Enter a mysterious duellist, calling herself Lady Consequence. Once she had another name, and a wealthy and influential family well-known in Rijou, until betrayal struck them down. Now, seven years later, all she has left is a desire to save her younger brother. But there is another - a sister of sorts - also raised to the sword. Each sister believes the other dead, but each has a part to paly. This is a novel of betrayal, corruption, family, identity, and mind games perpetrated by a master. I love the world of the Greatcoats, and though this is perhaps not my favourite, it's still well worth reading.

Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.

Back home in 2017, Sophie and Hugo realise that they love each other and immediately get together when safely back in Hugo's parent house. They don't realise that Freddie has managed to follow them from 1925, and he is devastated to find the love of his life and his best friend sleeping together. With immovable 1925 attitudes about girls staying pure, Freddie is angry and unforgiving. When Sophie and Hugo try to take him back to his own time his thought 'do your worst' are taken up by the sentient lift, and they are dropped into Medieval Europe with Mongol Army on the rampage. Sophie, Freddie and Charlotte have enhanced strength in this world, though Hugo does not. Trying to escape. Sophie and Freddie are dropped (literally) into and impossible situation in which they are sure they will die, and one thing leads to another. Sophie is badly injured, but they managed to access the lift and get back to 2017 where, in hospital, they all learn she's pregnant. Who's the father?

Apparently there's a novella that addresses this problem, but it's not available as an audiobook. Too bad.

Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.

Sophie Arundel and Hugo Harrington are still stuck on an alternate 1925 but rebellion unfolding all around them. Sophie has fallen for Hugo, but he's found a potential bride who has enough money to support them both. Sophie is being courted by Freddie who has loved her since Day One. Revolution threatens the manor, making it even more difficult to find the way home. Sophie gives in, and with Hugo already engaged, agrees to marry Freddie, but she still wants to crack the gate problem so that Hugo can go home, even though she intends to stay with Freddie. Finally Sophie thinks she's cracked it, but one of the earlier travellers has a secret, and will do anything to prevent her and Hugo from leaving. Katy Sobey does a decent job with the narration.

Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.

Sophie Arundel and her labradoodle, Charlotte, step into a lift on her first day at university in 2017, and stumbles out in 1925. Also in the lift was Hugo, a privileges annoying student she knows from school. 1925 is a different world, literally. It's a different timeline in which the First World War never happened and chaos is turning into revolution. Sophie and Hugo fine refuge at Shorten Manor with Anne, her husband, Richard, and their son, Freddie - very much a product of his upbringing. Anne came through the portal herself, half a lifetime ago, so she's able to help Spohie adjust to the era of servants, propriety and gossip. Can Sophie and Hugo work out how the lift works and find their way home before the lifestyle engulfs them. None of the other half-dozen travellers has ever managed to go home, though it seems that they don't want to. Katy Sobey has a girlish voice, but it works well in this context

Full cast with Colin Salmon as Avon, Keely Hawes as Anna Grant

Oxford University 2230 and a young Kerr Avon is horrified when his professor steals his work and claims a breakthrough in computing as his own, Set against the background of Roj Blake's Freedom Party is struggling against a corrupt regime. A short listen but nicely done.

Audiobook narrated by Matt Addis.

It's January 1144. Bradecote is about to remarry after the death of his frxt wife. His new lady, Christina, decides to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Eadgyth at Polesworth, in the company of the Archbishop of Canterbury's envoy and his entourage of Benedictine monks. Should be a safe way to travel. right? Unfortunately not. The monks are kidnapped by a dangerous psychopath who wants to exchange them for a forger locked up in the sheriff's prison. Unfortunately the sheriff won't give in to their demands, so Bradecote and Catchpoll have to find the kidnapped monks and rescue Christina before the psychopath does his worst, and preferably before Bradecote cracks under the pressure. Ably read by Matt Addis.

Audiobook Narrated by Peter Kenny

There's a war raging throughout the Galaxy as the Iridians (and others) fight against the Culture. Horza, a human changer, and mercenary, works for the Iridians despite not believing in their gods or philosophy. He's tasked with finding and securing the Mind, an autonomous super AI created by the Cuilture, which has ended up on Schar's World, the planet of the dead. Balveda is a Culture agent with the same objective. They both end up on a 'free trader' ship the Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) and after a couple of disastrous raids directed by the captain Kraiklin, Horza takes over and persuades the crew, including his lover, Yalson, to go to Schar's World, where they meet hostile Idirans in the tunnels deep below the world. I was disappointed with the ending, but it's a cracking read - a fast-paced space-opera/adventure well read by Peter Kenney who does subtle accent changes and voices brilliantly.

Audiobook read by R.C. Bray.

I didn't get very far with this. It was too militaristic without much characterisation, and violence was the first answer to every problem

Audiobook narrated by Matt Addis.

I've listened to most of the currently available Bradecote and Catchpoll books, so it was lovely to get hold of the first one. After a skirmish with outlaws in the Sheriff of Worcestershire's company of knights and men-at-arms, Hugh Bradecote would simply like to go home and rest, but the Sheriff's men stay the night at Pershore Abbey where the abbot asks for help to solve a murder. The Bishop of Winchester's envoy has been found dead, prostrate in front of the high altar. The sheriff appoints Hugh as deputy under-sheriff and teams him up with wily Serjeant Catchpoll, experienced thief-taker. The two men don't hit it off immediately. Hugh is a bit sniffy about working with someone of Catchpoll's lowly status, and Catchpoll doesn't wan an inexperienced nobleman getting between him and the killer. But gradually as the investigation progresses, the two man begin to develop a grudging respect for each other. Matt Addis reads this whole series brilliantly. He gets the voices just right from Bradecote's fluent English and Caatchpoll's yokel burr which hides a sharp mind.

Audiobook narrated by Gabrielle Baker.

Did not finish.

On the face of it, this book is the type I'd grab for a bit of light relief, however I didn't get on with the narration. DrawRing room - ugh!

Audiobook narrated by Joe Jameson.

Jim Hawkes retreats to Devon on the brink of a breakdown. His fiancee died two years earlier, in traumatic circumstances, and he's held it together so far, but he's had enough. He quits his well-paid banking job and flees to a cottage in Slyford St James. But instead of the peace he was seeking there are things that go bump in the night, the ghost of a murdered girl, objects that won'r stay where they should be, and s dead vicar. His new village friends, Jed and Emma hold a seance and Jim discovers a talent for seeing the spirit world, which he very much doesn't want. But it seems he must solve the mystery of the child's murder, while protecting tose around him (including the pub landlord's charming daughter. I enjoyed this supernatural mystery. Joe Jameson is always a reliable narrator and was one of the reasons I picked the in the first place.

Narrated by Matt Addis.

September 1145. Two small boys discover the corpse of a Templar knight in the Forest of Wyre on Worcestershire’s northern border. The corpse carries a parchment revealing the identity of a traitor. (We’re in the time of the Anarchy, when Stephen and Mathilda are slugging it out for the crown.) Bradecote, Catchpoll and Walkelin are sent to investigate. Because of what the children saw, the locals believe the knight has been killed by the Raven Woman, a mythical bird shapechanger who haunts the forest. William of Riversford denies knowing who the corpse is, but Bradecote doesn’t quite believe him, and his instinct turns out to be correct. The corpse is Ivo de Mitton who fled the country many years ago accused of killing his family and burning down their house, all but the youngest who is now grown and is the last of his family in charge of Mitton. There’s a parchment on the corpse suggesting that a prominent Lord is planning to turn traitor against Stephen. But something is off. The Sheriff’s trio find the investigation throws up more questions than answers, Was there a second knight? Who is the Raven Woman? Did Ivo kill his family all those years ago? The story gives up its answers slowly and effectively as the corpses mount, stretching out the dramatic tension. Matt Addis’s reading is excellent as usual. I’ve been binge listening to these books, but this seems to be the most recent, so apart from a couple I missed along the way, I’ll have to wait for the next one.

It’s Summer 1145. Bradecote and Catchpoll, complete with Under Serjeant Walkelin are sent to solve the murder of Walter, the steward of Evesham Abbey. There are tensions between the Sheriff and the Abbot, between Bradecote and the current castellan, and between the Abbey and the castle. It turns out that the Abbey’s steward is not the good man the Abbot thought he was, but a reprehensible individual, guilty of many different crimes. A second murder implicates the castle’s serjeant, who seems to be out of control. Is there a connection? It’s a twisty story which puzzles the Sheriff’s officers until the final revelation. Bradecote and Catchpoll eventually not only solve the present murders but a historical one, too. It’s nice to hear Matt Addis reading the story after Jonathan Keeble’s reading of the previous book I listened to.

Audiobook narrated by Jonathan Keeble.

June 1144. A body found in woodland turns out to be a Welsh messenger on his way to see Earl Robert of Gloucester. Bradecote and Catchpoll are sent into Wales, but the murdered man, though sent on an important errand into England, turns out to be a lecherous menace to any women he sets eyes upon. In the end the answer to the murder lies not in the message, but the messenger himself. Jonathan Keeble reads it well enough, but he’s not as good as Matt Addis who has read all the other Bradecote and Catchpolls that I’ve already heard. I know what the main characters' voices sound like - and in this, they don't. Also it's one of the bland covers. Why change cover style and why change narrator? Seems a bit odd. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good story.

April 1144. A distinctively dressed corpse is fished out of Flatbury Mill leat on the river. It turns out that he is an Evesham horse dealer who has been stabbed and tipped into the river upstream. Investigations lead Bradecote and Catchpoll (with under-serjeant Walkelin) at first to his young wife (who has a couple of lovers) and the man’s brother, but then they discover that the dead man’s sister has married the ill-tempered lord of Harvington and has died in mysterious circumstances, without her family being invited to the funeral. Is that another murder? There’s a dispute over the ownership of a mill between the lord of Harvington and the Abbey in Evesham, and Harvington has recently hanged a scribe for theft—the same scribe who verified the mill-lease as belonging to Harvington. When a Harvington serving girl is also killed, Walkelin is falsely accused. Bradecote and Catchpoll must mount a rescue before unravelling the knotty mystery and solving the various crimes. As usual, Matt Addis’s reading is excellent and the twisty plot engaging. Just a puzzled reader's question: why change the style of the covers? This is very bland.