Showing results by narrator "Joel Froomkin" in All Categories

When magistrate Patrick Colquhoun orders a habitual thief and ne'er-do-well transported to Botany Bay, he doesn't realize a 14-year-old boy has been left behind to follow in his father's footsteps - not until young John Pickett is hauled into Bow Street for stealing an apple from the produce market at Covent Garden. Feeling to some extent responsible for the boy, Mr. Colquhoun prevails upon Elias Granger, a prosperous coal merchant, to take him on as an apprentice.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Mysterious Affair at Styles and experience the compelling world of classic detective fiction, starring Belgian Hercule Poirot, private detective extraordinaire.

The stories collected in the twelve volumes of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books of Many Colors have captivated generations of readers. In The Blue Fairy Book, the first in his legendary series, Lang compiled and edited tales from the Brothers Grimm, Madame d’Aulnoy, and French, Scandinavian, and Middle Eastern sources. He captured the folkloric traditions and dark origins of dozens of the world's best-known fairy-tale characters, including Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow-White, Cinderella, and Rumpelstiltskin.

Once upon a time, it ran through their veins, too: Xeno, York, Zayn, and Dax. The Breakers and I were a crew until bad decisions and circumstance ripped us apart. Now the Breakers are back. And they’ve brought trouble. They’re not here at the Stardom Academy to dance. They’re here on a mission for Jeb, the leader of the Skins. He wants something. And me? I’m just a pawn in their game.

Maxine Parker expected to lose her life when the Vampire King swept through her city like a plague. She did not expect to lose her heart to him as well. Caught between her desire to protect the living and her love for Dracula, she suddenly finds herself the enemy of the hunters who had once been her allies. As the Vampire King unleashes his army of the damned and turns Boston into a sea of carnage, she must decide if she can love the monster for what he is or if she must be the one to end his bloody crusade through history once and for all....

Mason Dixon is a vlogger making hilarious videos about hunting down monsters in the wilds of Missouri. But his vlog is just a ruse to spread disinformation so he can secretly relocate endangered cryptids. Join the team with Mason, his sidekick Emma, and their tech guru Himari as they battle humans and monsters alike to protect these vulnerable creatures. Snarky humor meets full-throttle action in this can’t miss urban fantasy adventure!

As the son of the Morrigan and heir to the vacant Unseelie throne, Valroy itches to shed the mantle of prince and take his place as king. To his great regret one ancient tradition stands in his way, demanding he first take a bride. With all the members of the Unseelie court proving to be insufferable, what is a prince to do? Steal a human, of course.

Can you ever have too much of your favorite food? John Midas is about to find out.... The Chocolate Touch has remained a favorite for millions of kids, teachers, and parents for several generations.

When the prize is death, some games are better lost than won. If she loses, she becomes his queen, and he unleashes war across Earth and Tir n’Aill alike. If she wins, he dies. The answer seems clear. But then why can’t she bring herself to want victory? The longer Abigail wanders through his Maze of Shadows, the less sure she becomes of anything—allies, enemies, wrong, right, evil, good, hate…and love. With every twist and turn, her heart is more fully trapped in his snare.

Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all...but in reality, he's scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control. Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection...but even he can't help but feel a little broken inside. When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged.

The plan is finally set: a divine, multi-pronged ambush targeting Providence where it's weakest. Five gods. Five demons. Five simultaneous strategic executions. Against a brutal corporate autocracy, the odds are worth the risk. But even as deities start falling, it becomes clear the company hasn't given up all its secrets. In the opening left behind, background forces converge, exposing other plans than Loki's. With the balance of power crashing, creation steers with it.

"Villains by choice." Betrayed. Melody is nowhere to be found, Liam is in jail, and the Callahan family is cracking, just as Avian Doers, the FBI Director and puppet master behind their downfall, planned. But just because they're down doesn't mean they're out. To fight back, Liam and Melody will have to put everything on the line. The kid gloves are coming off, and no one is getting out alive.

Harvey Milk - eloquent, charismatic, and a smart-aleck - was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, but he had not even served a full year in office when he was shot by a homophobic fellow supervisor. Milk's assassination at the age of 48 made him the most famous gay man in modern history; 20 years later, Time magazine included him on its list of the hundred most influential individuals of the 20th century.

The time: the waning years of the 1990s at the dawn of the millennium. The place: an isolated rural town called Auburn, which could be anywhere at all - a town where everyone knows everyone else - where dark secrets run through its veins like blood. Everyone knows that 16-year old Mikey Childress is "different." A target for bullies since he was a small boy, everything Mikey does attracts abuse: the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he looks. Everyone knows he's not like the other boys in Auburn - the boys who play hockey, who fight, the boys who pursue girls.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Mystery of the Blue Train and experience the compelling world of Poirot.

As author Ethan Mordden looks back at Chicago's various moving parts - including the original 1926 play that started it all, a sexy silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a talkie remake with Ginger Rogers, the musical itself, and at last the movie of the musical - we learn how the American theater serves as a kind of alternative news medium, a town crier warning the public about the racy, devious interior contradictions of American society. Opinionated, witty, and rich in backstage anecdotes, All That Jazz brings the American musical to life in all its artistry and excitement.

The Sour Grape holds grudges for every reason under the sun. Lime never returned a scarf they borrowed? Grudge! Orange never called back? Grudge! But when a friend holds a grudge against the Sour Grape without listening to an explanation, the Sour Grape realizes how unfair grudges can be. Could a bunch of forgiveness and compassion be enough to turn a sour grape sweet?

While there are plenty of other books out there that explain how to give a spanking or tie a half-hitch, Playing Well With Others is the first book that explains kink culture - the munches, parties, leather bars, conferences, workshops, fetish nights, exploratoriums, and all the other gatherings of kinksters that turn BDSM and leather from a bedroom predilection to a lifestyle and a community.

When radio presenter Casey Fallon answers the call, she assumes it’s a prank. But then a woman’s body is discovered, and she finds herself up against a cruel and calculating killer who wants her to find his victims before they take their last breath. Fifteen years ago, Casey was a key witness in the trial of serial killer Steve Noakes, and her evidence helped put him behind bars for the murders of five women. Someone remembers what happened that summer - someone who is desperate for revenge, someone who won’t stop until Casey has been punished.

Sketch artist Tino Ciccotelli is passionately dedicated to helping victims of violent crime. For years he's translated their descriptions of attackers into "WANTED" posters. While listening to the victims' pain is emotionally draining, Tino accepts this as part of the job--until he discovers that he and his newest client have a personal connection. He is devastated to see Dorothy's injuries and determined to help the police catch her attacker, but he must also deal with the return of her niece, his first love who left him when their lives were just beginning.