Modern Fiction

You don’t become a notorious British comedian without rubbing a few people the wrong way. Ben Martindale has decamped to Australia until the media frenzy surrounding his latest scandal dies down. When he meets Amy, a perky blonde barber who dresses like a 1950s pin-up, he knows he’s hit gold in t...

Darkus and his friends continue their unforgettable adventure in this final instalment of the Beetle trilogy. Arch-villainess Lucretia Cutter has a secret Biome hidden in the Amazon rainforest: can Darkus and his friends, human and beetle alike, find it before it's too late? If they can't stop Lu...

The Kalashnikov AK47. A symbol of freedom fighters and terrorists across the globe. Undercover officer Andy Knight has infiltrated an extremist group intent on bringing the rifle to Britain - something MI5 have been struggling for years to prevent. He befriends Zeinab, the young Muslim student fr...

It was a 'team-building' weekend for lawyers, advertising execs, businessmen - oh, and a journalist. Amid the paintballing and flowing Shiraz, the organisers pulled some surprises - stalkers in the forest, power cuts in the night, disappearing staff, disappearing guests. When the only access for ...

Agatha Raisin returns for her 30th adventure . . .When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is about to become involved in a particularly gruesome murder. Looks, however, can be deceiving, as Agatha discovers when she is employed to inv...

The complete series 1-3 of the BBC Radio 4 narrative comedy featuring Beauty Oolonga's adventures as a care worker, starring Jocelyn Jee Esien.Beauty of Britain breaks the embarrassed silence about what happens to us when we get old and start to lose our faculties. It shows the process in all its...

Darkus is miserable. His dad has disappeared and now he is living next door to the most disgusting neighbours ever. A giant beetle called Baxter comes to his rescue. But can the two solve the mystery of his dad's disappearance, especially when links emerge to cruel Lucretia Cutter and her penchan...

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?Jack has looks and wealth, Grace has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love. Others might ask why G...

When Esther Greenwood wins an internship at a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling...

Bella Parkinson is the most promising actress in London, bright, sexy… and hopelessly scatterbrained. Rupert Henriques is dashingly handsome and wealthy enough to buy her every theatre in London if she wanted it; he cannot wait to marry her. But Bella has a secret from her past - and the one man ...