Audiobooks narrated by Robin Laing

Paranoia: A Journey into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety

'A TRULY IMPORTANT BOOK’ JOHN HUMPHRYS What is paranoia? What makes us mistrustful? How can this be overcome? Daniel Freeman, Professor of Psychology at Oxford, has spent thirty years at the vanguard of paranoia research and treatment. This remarkable and moving book tells the story of that journey. For decades, conventional wisdom held that paranoia was only experienced by people with severe mental health problems and little could be done to rectify its disastrous effects. Paranoia gives us a front row seat as Freeman turns the traditional view on its head. He develops life-changing treatments for clinical paranoia – often using state-of-the-art technology like virtual reality. He reveals that suspicion is rife in society, with paranoia widespread, conspiracy theories rampant and emotion all too often trumping evidence. He discovers the causes of mistrust, including the role of genes, trauma, lack of sleep, worry, low self-confidence, cannabis use and hearing voices, and delves into the murky world of Covid-19 conspiracy theories. Lighting up the narrative throughout are the rarely heard voices of people whose lives have been almost wrecked by paranoia – and then in many cases transformed by Freeman’s groundbreaking treatments. This is also a practical book. Freeman shows how we can measure our own levels of mistrust. He explains how we can remedy things if those levels are higher than we’d like, because although mistrust can seem engrained, things can change for the better. Ultimately, it can be overcome. Compelling and compassionate, this is a gripping tale from the front line of suspicion – an impassioned plea for the urgent rebuilding of trust between us all.

Daniel Freeman (Author), Robin Laing, TBD (Narrator)

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The Guy de Maupassant BBC Radio Drama Collection: Full-cast dramatisations of Un Vie, Bel Ami & more

BBC Radio adaptations of selected novels and short stories by the great 19th century French writer - plus bonus programmes Guy de Maupassant is renowned as one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protégé of Flaubert, he was celebrated for his naturalistic fiction, and wrote over 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books and one volume of verse in his short but highly productive lifetime. He died in an asylum aged just 43. This collection brings together dramatisations of some of his finest works. Adapted by Sony Award-winning dramatist Frances Byrnes, Bel Ami chronicles the corrupt rise of charming, ruthless journalist Georges Duroy (Jonathan Slinger). It is followed by Maupassant's most famous short story, 'The Dumpling', a satirical tale of a group of coach travellers fleeing occupied Rouen during the Franco-Prussian war. Dramatised for the first time on radio, it stars Miriam Margolyes. Set in Le Havre, Pierre et Jean centres around the jealousy that springs up between two brothers when a family secret is uncovered. Benedict Sandiford stars as Pierre, with Tim Treloar as Jean. Maupassant's tragicomic debut novel, Une Vie, starring Aimee Ffion Edwards, tells the story of Jeanne, a naive convent-educated aristocrat who dreams of romance, but finds marriage and adulthood treacherous and rotten. The haunting wintry tale 'The Inn' is next, in which young mountain guide Ulrich (Robin Laing) finds himself in sole charge of a remote Alpine hotel. A hidden past is also at the heart of 'Mademoiselle Pearl', a poignant love story starring Claire Neilson and Frank Middlemass. Alongside it is 'The Hand', the macabre supernatural tale of an English aristocrat, his gruesome trophy and his vengeful nemesis. Denis Quilley stars as Sir John Rowell. Also featured are two bonus dramas and a documentary about the great author. Confessions of a Hedonist is a phantasmagorical journey through five of Maupassant's most personal stories: 'A Strange Night Out', 'Mouche', 'Laid To Rest', 'Cockcrow' and 'Le Horla'. Adapted and translated by Simon Scardifield, it stars Elliot Cowan and Holli Dempsey. How an Umbrella Changed Everything, written by Shirley Cooklin and based on an idea by Maupassant, tells of a childless couple whose obsessive frugality has fateful repercussions. Nigel Lambert and Sheila Grant star as Charles and Clothilde Oreille. Finally, Meridian: Guy de Maupassant - Master of the Short Story explores Maupassant's life, work and lasting legacy. First published 1880 ('The Dumpling'), 1883 (Une Vie, 'The Hand'), 1885 (Bel-Ami), 1886 ('The Inn', 'Mademoiselle Pearl'), 1887 (Pierre et Jean, 'Le Horla'), c1890 ('Mouche', 'A Queer Night in Paris', 'Laid to Rest', 'Cockcrow') Production credits Written by Guy de Maupassant Contents: Bel Ami The Dumpling Pierre and Jean Une Vie The Inn Mademoiselle Pearl The Hand Maupassant's Confessions of a Hedonist How an Umbrella Changed Everything Meridian: Guy de Maupassant - Master of the Short Story © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Guy De Maupassant (Author), Adam Nagaitis, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Denis Quilley, Elliot Cowan, Frank Middlemass, Full Cast, Holli Dempsey, Miriam Margolyes, Robin Laing (Narrator)

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Traditionalism: The Radical Project for Restoring Sacred Order

Brought to you by Penguin. Traditionalism is the shadowy philosophy that has influenced so much of the twentieth century and beyond: from the far right to the environmental movement, from Alexander Dugin to Prince Charles. It is a new way of seeing the world: one that rejects modernity and instead turns to sacred truth, perennialism and tradition as its guide. This major new study peels back the curtain on Traditionalist philosophy and the thought of its proponents - René Guénon, Julius Evola and Frithjof Schuon - and their many and varied followers. Examining the Traditionalist critique of modernity, Traditionalism's unique ideas about self-realization, religion and politics are set out here clearly and comprehensibly. Traditionalism's projects in art, nature, gender and interfaith dialogue are also analysed here, showing how wide and pervasive this little-known movement has become. Mark Sedgwick is the world's leading historian of Traditionalism and this is an expansive and mind-expanding guide to understanding this missing puzzle-piece of our intellectual world. ©2023 Mark Sedgwick (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Mark Sedgwick (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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Architects of Terror: Paranoia, Conspiracy and Anti-Semitism in Franco’s Spain

From the preeminent historian of 20th century Spain Paul Preston, Architects of Terror is a new history of how paranoia, conspiracy and anti-Semitism was used to justify the military coup of 1936 and enabled the construction of a dictatorship built on violence and persecution. It is the previously untold story of how antisemitic beliefs were weaponised to justify and propagate the Franco overthrow of liberal Spain. The Spanish military coup of 1936 was launched to overturn the social and economic reforms of the democratic Second Republic, and its educational and cultural challenges to the established order. The consequent civil war was fought in the interests of the landowners, industrialists, bankers, clerics and army officers whose privileges were threatened. However, a central justification for a war that took the lives of around 500,000 Spaniards was that it was being fought to combat an alleged scheme for world domination by a non-existent ‘Jewish- Masonic-Bolshevik Conspiracy’. Despite the fact that Spain had only a tiny minority of Jews and Freemasons, Franco and his inner circle were ardent believers in this fabricated conspiracy and spread the notion that the survival of Catholic Spain, as well, of course, of the establishment ’ s economic interests, required the total annihilation of Jews and Freemasons. Architects of Terror is the story of how fake news, mendacity, corruption and nostalgia for lost empire generated violence and hatred. The book presents vivid portraits of the key ideologues who propagated the myth of the Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevik Conspiracy and of the military figures who implemented the atrocities that it justified. Among the convictions shared by these individuals was their belief in the idea that Freemasonry was responsible for Spain ’ s loss of empire and in the factual veracity of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the notorious fiction about the global domination of the Jews. This is a history that reverberates in our own political moment

Paul Preston (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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Surgeon at War: A Frontline Surgeon's Compelling Account of the Second World War

Stanley Aylett's remarkable account of six years' service as a front-line surgeon with the British Army is that rare thing: a complete narrative from the first week of the Second World War until months after the final capitulation of Nazi Germany. That war was the last Western conflict in which military surgeons performed operations immediately behind the front line, often in makeshift theatres set up in tents or abandoned, battle-scarred buildings. Surgeon at War records the resilience and resourcefulness of the medical teams, drawing on the author's extensive diaries to describe the first advance into France at the start the war 1939; the chaos of the retreat to Dunkirk and subsequent evacuation of British and French forces; the sea voyage round the Cape to join the Eighth Army in Egypt; leading a Field Service Medical Unit in the Western Desert; the Allied invasion of France following the D-Day landings; crossing the Rhine into Germany; and VE Day, which Lieutenant-Colonel Aylett spent amid the horror of the Sandbostel concentration camp in northern Germany. Stanley Aylett signed up in the week war was declared, and survived to tell his story, edited here by his daughter with extensive use of his own photographs and letters home. It is a narrative of courage, duty and endurance amid the fog of war, but above all a tribute to the skill and humanity of those whose daily lives revealed mankind at both its best, and its worst.

Stanley Aylett (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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The Last Girl to Die

‘Fantastic. Excellent. Incredible. I could not put this one down for the life of me.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review A stunner! Without a doubt, one of the best crime novels of the year!’ – No.1 international bestseller Jeffery Deaver In search of a new life, seventeen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque. Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before. The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die? Beautifully haunting with twists and turns you’ll never see coming, The Last Girl to Die is your next obsession waiting to happen. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride and L.J. Ross. ‘Oh my goodness, I absolutely and totally loved this book. Outstanding and compelling, it gave me whiplash from all the twists and turns.’ – million-copy bestseller Angela Marsons Readers absolutely LOVE The Last Girl to Die! ‘Fantastic. Excellent. Incredible. I could not put this one down for the life of me.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What rollercoaster ride this was. I love it when a book shocks me the way this did.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Breathtaking. Twists and turns galore. I couldn’t put it down, I loved it.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A tense, twisty, phenomenal read!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Haunting. Breathtaking shocks, horror, unforeseen twists, and an emotionally shattering conclusion.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Twisty, unpredictable and kept me guessing the whole time.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Breathtakingly brilliant… The ending left me stunned.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Remote, forbidding, atmospheric, tinged with superstitions and folkloric rituals…A gripping read.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Helen Fields (Author), Jaimi Barbakoff, Robin Laing (Narrator)

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Killing the Music: DI Declan Walsh Crime Thrillers Book 7

The seventh book in a series of procedural crime thrillers by #1 New York Times bestselling writer Jack Gatland, Killing The Music is perfect for fans of L.J Ross, Ian Rankin and Alex Smith. When Dave Mansford, founding member of 80's band Alternator is electrocuted live on stage during a comeback concert, DI Declan Walsh and the team of the Last Chance Saloon are brought in to investigate whether it was a simple accident, or vicious murder. However, as they investigate further they find the surviving members of Alternator in the middle of a multi-million-dollar rights sale, a band whose lead singer disappeared in 1998 and has never been declared dead, and whose biggest success, the 1987 album Secrets and Lies seems to be cursed. With the bodycount climbing and with everyone keeping to their own version of events, can Declan discover what truly happened in a London recording studio over thirty years ago, and why everyone who was there that night has to die?

Jack Gatland (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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The Goldenacre

The Goldenacre – a masterpiece by the painter and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh – has been given to the people of Scotland. The beautiful canvas, the last work by the artistic genius, enthrals the art world, but behind it lies a dark and violent mystery. Thomas Tallis, an art expert with a trouble past, is trying to uncover the truth about the painting's complex history, while dogged newspaper reporter Shona Sandison is investigating a series of shocking murders in Edinburgh. Both investigators soon become engulfed in the machinations of money, crime and identity in a literary thriller set amid the seen and unseen forces at work in modern Scotland. “A riveting, brutal journey into the high stakes world of legacy art and inherited wealth.” DENISE MINA, author of the Garnethill trilogy and The Long Drop “Beautifully written, with a brilliantly vivid sense of place and a killer twist, The Goldenacre is one to savour.” LIAM MCILVANNEY, author of The Quaker 'Art, music, politics, and murder, set against a backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world - what's not to love? A complex and compelling plot, with intruiging characters that I very much hope we will meet again.' Lesley Kelly, writer of the Health of Strangers series and A Fine House in Trinity 'Phil Miller's Edinburgh is a city of secrets, an introverted place filled with characters so real in their humanity and yet somehow askew, imbued with the touch of supernatural shadows but also unshakeable goodness. Elegiac, moving, but always richly humane, Goldenacre is a welcome addition to Scottish noir' Jacky Copleton, author of A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

Philip Miller (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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The Voids

A book to look out for in 2022 for BBC, i-D MAGAZINE, and FOYLES ‘After a couple of weeks, I found myself standing outside the voids in the middle of the night listening for human activity, for any sign of life at all. Voids are flats that have been vacated, that will never be lived in again. But there never were any signs of life. Only the wind whistling through vacant interiors.' In a condemned tower block in Glasgow, residents slowly trickle away until a young man is left alone with only the angels and devils in his mind for company. Stumbling from one surreal situation to the next, he encounters others on the margins of society, finding friendship and camaraderie wherever it is offered, grappling with who he is and what shape his future might take. “Luminous … a writer capable of revealing the humanity in everyone … In an era when contemporary fiction is leaning ever more towards identity and relatability, it's gratifying to know there's still a place for a literary ride as wild as this.” BENJAMIN MYERS, THE GUARDIAN

Ryan O'connor (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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A Ritual for the Dying: Detective Inspector Declan Walsh Crime Series Book 6

Thrice cursed. Thrice bound. Thrice damned. When the body of a famous television academic is discovered in Greenwich Park, carefully positioned beside a megalithic stone fountain and missing a hand, DI Declan Walsh and the team of the Last Chance Saloon find themselves not only involved in a case that connects to the supernatural, but one that also involves 17th century architects, Ley Lines, nuclear reactors and a secret, black market organisation that specialises in particular occult items; some that date all the way back to both Aleister Crowley and the Elizabethan Magician, Dr John Dee himself, and connected to a missing treasure. But as the team hunt a killer, one that uses ritualistic locations and weapons to perform their murders, Declan will journey on a heretical treasure hunt through an underground pagan and spiritual subculture of witches, shamans, druids, magicians and heathens, a world of esoteric luncheons and virtual sabbats, and where curses are believed real, and the dead indeed talk... ...But is one of those dead voices that of his one-time love, Kendis Taylor? The sixth book in a series of procedural crime thrillers by #1 New York Times bestselling writer Tony Lee writing as Jack Gatland, A Ritual For The Dying is perfect for fans of J.D Kirk, L.J Ross, Ian Rankin, Damian Boyd, Alex Smith, David Gatward and Ann Cleeves, among others.

Jack Gatland (Author), Robin Laing, TBD (Narrator)

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One for Sorrow

‘Omg! Wow! What a great book! Suspense, intrigue, action and a great who-done-it with a crazy twist!! I did not see that coming! What a story!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A breathtaking thriller with a devastating conclusion. I can't stop thinking about it.’ – Bestselling author Susi Holliday One for sorrow, two for joy Edinburgh is gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known: a lone bomber is targeting victims across the city, and no one is safe. Three for a girl, four for a boy In their jobs, DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach deal with death every day. But when it becomes clear that every bomb is a trap designed to kill them too, the possibility of facing it themselves starts to feel all too real. Five for silver, six for gold With the body count rising daily and the bomber’s methods becoming ever more horrifying, Ava and Luc must race to find out who is behind the attacks – or pay the ultimate price… Seven for a secret never to be told… With twists and turns you’ll never see coming, prepare to be gripped by this devastatingly good thriller. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride and MJ Arlidge. Readers are OBSESSED with One For Sorrow! ‘Oh my goodness, what an absolute cracker. It has everything you want: the plot, the twists, the suspense, the characters, the setting….and that totally amazing ending which dealt me a punch to my abdomen.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Please just read this. I could not put it down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘If only there were more than 5 stars. I could not turn the pages fast enough.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely bloody brilliant! A must-read.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I absolutely loved this book. It can be read on its own, but do yourself a favour and read the entire series.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely BRILLIANT! Had me gripped from the very first page and I couldn't put the book down. I am DESPERATE for the next instalment!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow, this hits you in the feels from page one! If I could give it more than five stars, I would!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A masterclass in thriller writing.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A wild ride! It sucked me in immediately. My stomach was in knots, and I was up way too late because I could not stop reading. Unputdownable!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Helen Fields (Author), Robin Laing (Narrator)

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To Hunt a Magpie: Detective Inspector Declan Walsh Crime Series Book 5

The fifth book in a new series of procedural crime thrillers featuring DI Walsh and the team of the Last Chance Saloon, To Hunt A Magpie is perfect for fans of L.J Ross, Ian Rankin, Damian Boyd and Ann Cleeves. Thirty years ago a group of five child detectives; Tommy, Luke, Tess, Jane and Daniel, along with their dog, Dexter made the national press with their crime solving. Nicknamed the Magpies, their adventures were written up as novels by author Reginald Troughton and released to children around the world, including a ten-year old Declan Walsh. But now, someone is targeting the Magpies, with Reginald brutally murdered while writing a last, 'lost' adventure. And DI Declan Walsh and the team of the Last Chance Saloon must not only solve Reginald's murder with the 'help' of these rusty amateurs, but at the same time save the surviving members of the Magpies from a devious and determined killer with a chilling connection.

Jack Gatland (Author), Robin Laing, Robin Lane (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Robin Laing