Showing results by narrator "Dan Bottomley" in All Categories

Be careful what you wish for... Peter and his half-brother Adrian live in the shadow of Old Splinter – the ruined mansion on the hill, where legends of ancient relics and dark magic swirl. And the cracks are starting to show in their once-happy family. Faced with the daunting task of...

Stella Starflake Pearl is eagerly anticipating her next expedition. Suddenly disaster strikes when Stella's father, Felix, is snatched by a fearsome witch. Stella must bring her magic ice princess tiara to Witch Mountain or she will never see Felix again! But no one ever returns from Witch...

This year the secret service made a major mix up, they mistook a 13-year-old boy called Kevin for a secret agent (I know, so much for an 'intelligence' agency). This was the sort of kid that would try and zip wire across a building and end up falling head first into a fountain with his bum on...

A death in custody. A life in jeopardy. When Ben Holdsworth dies alone in a police cell, riots erupt in Manchester. But after a post mortem, the authorities have decided nobody was to blame. DI Ridpath is asked to investigate by the coroner before an inquest, and immediately uncovers some...

Ron Fawcett is a natural-born climber. In 1969, while still at school in his native Yorkshire, he tied into a climbing rope for the first time and was instantly hooked. From that moment on, it seemed nothing else in his life mattered nearly as much as his next vertical fix... Fawcett found the pressures of the limelight too much to bear, and at the end of the 1980s he faded from view. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story, of how his love of nature and the outdoors developed into a passion for climbing that took him to the top - and almost consumed him.

The controversial science that claims to have revolutionised economics. For centuries, economics was dominated by the idea that we are rational individuals who optimise our own ‘utility’. Then, in the 1970s, psychologists demonstrated that the reality is a lot messier. We don’t really know...

In the third magical Stella Starflake adventure the explorers meet gargoyles, sea-gremlins, mermaids, red devil squids - even a Gentleman Flamingo! Ice princess Stella Starflake and her father Felix are in trouble: President Fogg has expelled them from the Polar Bear Explorers' Club and banned...

They are waiting for death. He is waiting to kill them. In May 2020, fourteen-year-old Andrew Golding went out for a walk following a row with his mum. He was never seen again. Four years later, when the press discovers police errors in Andrew Golding's case, DI Ridpath is called in to...

To love and to cherish, till death did them part... Two desiccated bodies are found in each other's arms in the bricked up room of a derelict Victorian warehouse. After six months of work, the police have nothing and Ridpath is finally called in to investigate. Dubbed the Romeo and Juliet...

The system is broken - and it wants you dead! An elderly ex-soldier is found dead in his home starved, alone and long forgotten. No one notices. No one cares. The same day, a man walks into a Manchester police station and calmly confesses: "I just killed my father." DI Thomas Ridpath is called...

Three severed hands. No clues. A race against time. Three embalmed hands are discovered in a disused Victorian house. Is it a gangland ritual? The work of a cult? Or just a prank played by Medical Students? And what happened to the bodies? Meanwhile the Coroner needs to issue a Presumption of...

From the winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Book Award, the third instalment of Podkin's epic battle against the Gorm. The bard looks up at the three figures. They have black hooded cloaks and long robes. From the holes in their masks, three pairs of eyes watch him: cold, calm, emotionless...

Podkin is now Keeper of the Gifts - which is a tremendously important job and just a tiny bit boring. It doesn't help that there are still three gifts missing - Podkin can't stop himself from thinking about that. So when the Godseye Mirror begins to shimmer and shift revealing a motley crew of...

People know that the sun is being stolen by tech-billionaire Howard Hansom, who's been spinning everyone a massive lie. The only person who can stop him from plunging the world into darkness is the mysterious White Rose. She must keep her identity a secret, so she's been sending out coded...

A web of lies. A confusion of secrets. A maze of murder. In a quiet Manchester suburb, a man sets himself on fire in a petrol station. Nearby, a fourteen-year-old girl murders her mother in cold blood. At the Coroner's Officer, Detective Inspector Ridpath is called in to investigate both of...

A collection of atmospheric short stories from the international bestseller Val McDermid. The perfect festive gift for any book lover, featuring classic tales alongside exclusive, never-before-seen material __________ Val McDermid is a master of the dark and sinister story, and these powers are...

Podkin is the son of a warrior chieftain. He knows that one day it will be up to him to lead his warren and guard it in times of danger. But for now, he's quite happy to laze around. Then Podkin's home is brutally attacked, and the young rabbits are forced to flee. With danger all around them...

Get ready for an epic mission INSIDE a water dragon in Alex Neptune's third fast and funny adventure - perfect for fans of Percy Jackson and Dragon Realm! The sea creatures near Haven Bay are acting very strangely, attacking boats, and Alex senses some dark power is controlling them. When he...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION “A gentle and compassionate novel that explores the nuances of queer love and friendship.” The Guardian, Derek Owusu “a tenderly written meditation on art, love and life that’s as much about the search for self as for connection.”...

Nowhere is safe. No one can be trusted. A bloodied body is found in a Manchester Immigrant Removal Centre. The investigating officer and the pathologist seem certain: a suicide. But for DI Ridpath something doesn't add up. As the evidence starts to unravel, and with few leads, the pressure is on...