Scottish Short Stories

With Billy Johnston arrested for his recent crime, Leger and the clowder assumed he would be behind bars and they could all move on with their lives. However, it was not to be, and after being released he becomes the victim of a revenge attack. Naturally, Nicole is at the top of the list of suspects but Leger knows she is innocent and sets out to find the real attacker in the hope that this will divert everyone's attention away from Nicole. What he finds out however, may bring him face to face with an old enemy he had hoped to never see again. Meanwhile, in need of a distraction from her ...

Spring is about to arrive in Glasgow, but it's already been a busy year and Leger needs a break, especially after he cheats death through sheer luck and uses up one of his lives. When he turns to Annabella for sympathy, he finds her cold and distant - a clear signal that something is wrong. After some coaxing she confides that she has been robbed and threatened by her attacker. If she contacts the police, they will kill Leger. Terrified, she retreats into herself and Leger vows to catch the culprit. However, it's not going to be as simple as that. The reappearance of an old friend distracts...

Having decided life in the highlands, however temporary, is not for her, Annabella has given care of Leger to her niece Carol while she is Christmas shopping in Germany. Leger strongly objects to the decision, but has no choice in the matter. Leger is frequently left out in the chilly December rain with no catflap to use and questions Annabella's judgement, until one day he meets Saffron, a neglected child who lives across the street. The pair connect on a deep level in a short time, with Saffron more than once coming to Leger's aid. So when Saffron's mother is murdered one night, and Leger...

Life has been hard on Jeanne Harvesson. First she lost the only man she'd ever loved and then she lost her husband, the man who'd been kinder to her than any other. Now, to fulfill his last wish, she risks losing the only thing she has left -- her pride. Eric MacNicol sacrificed his chance for happiness with the woman he loved, only to watch her wed another as if he'd meant nothing to her. Now he's forced to escort her on a dangerous quest that only proves how little she ever cared for him. Two stubborn, star-crossed lovers face the journey of a lifetime, but will they return unchanged by ...

A fascinating and varied collection of 50 great classic short stories, including ghost stories, crimes, humorous tales and passionate romance.

Disillusioned, with their dreams of running an island hotel shattered, the McInnes family return to Glasgow. Hugh and Annabella are planning to go travelling, leaving Leger in the care of the Goldsworthy family while they are gone. He wastes no time on self-pity though and throws himself back into his work. Shortly before arriving back in the city, he learns Nicole has been attacked. With the police taking too long to track down the culprit, Leger and Bob get on the case. However, Isabella can't stop flirting, Ginger is acting out of character and Amber is taking risks that put lives in ...

Leger witnesses the kidnapping of a small child and pursues the victim and the perpetrator onto a long-distance train. Unknown to Leger, he is followed by Annabella and Nicole who are determined to get him off the train. Leger must uncover the truth about this kidnapping and put right the wrongs, with a little help from another non-human passenger. What Leger doesn't realise is, he isn't the only one watching this situation closely...

Leger and his family have been unsettled for a few weeks. He is particularly worried about Annabella, especially when she starts talking about no longer being here. She tries to settle her anxious mind by treating herself to some new jewels, but just a few hours after purchasing them, someone steals them. Leger has his suspicions about who the culprit is, but unmasking them will risk the newfound closeness he has developed with his mother. Forced to make a choice between his loyalty to his human mother and his feline one, Leger finds that the decision is taken out of his hands.

On Christmas Eve, Leger suffers the indignity of getting stuck trying to escape from a top floor window in front of a cluster of carol singers. So, he chooses to spend the most magical night of the year at his girlfriend, Ginger's home. This decision may be one he will live to regret as they wake up on Christmas morning with a basket of newborn kittens next to them. Leger vows to find the mother of the kittens before they lose their bond with her completely but it won't be easy. He has no idea where to start and nobody in the neighbourhood was pregnant in the first place. How will he begin ...

The neighbours of Glasgow's Creamery Crescent are taking a festive break. Of course, no trip would be complete without their pets so Leger and his closest friends travel north to enjoy the Christmas period in a secluded cottage in the Highlands. The celebratory mood changes when Nicole Goldsworthy witnesses a man and woman burying a body in a shallow grave. The murderers attempt to knock her down in their car but with help from her animal friends, old and new, Nicole survives the hit and run. The situation is complicated further by the arrival of Poppy, who followed the group from Glasgow ...

There have been many changes in Leger's life recently and Annabella is now leaning on him for support so much that she won't go anywhere without him. So, on a chilly September afternoon, Leger finds himself leashed to Annabella and travelling in her bag on her way to have lunch with Nicole in Glasgow's west end at a cafe that accepts animal diners. However, when they get there, they find the cafe empty and a violent robbery taking place in the kitchen. Can Leger help the two women track down the perpetrator with no knowledge of the area and no clues to work with except the getaway vehicle -...

Leger McInnes is ready to retire. He still loves detective work, but after a lifetime of investigating crimes in the local area and beyond, his priorities have changed. Ginger has lost her sight, Bob has seizures, Nicole suffered sepsis and now his beloved Annabella has found a frightening lump. It's time for Leger to move onto his next life as a nurse. However, there's just one last job to do before he retires and that's to find the people who robbed Meg, his next door neighbour. All the suspicion seems to fall on Ingrid, a mysterious woman who has turned up on their doorstep claiming to ...

Leger's beloved companion, Annabella, is wrongly accused of armed robbery. To clear her name, Leger must head out of the suburbs and go downtown where he will make new friends and face fresh dangers. He is reluctant to leave the neighbourhood at all as Ginger is pregnant with his kittens and due to give birth any day. However a betrayal by one of his close circle of friends convinces him it is best to concentrate on freeing Annabella but when Ginger's daughter Amber learns the truth there are tragic consequences. Will Leger be able to track down the real robber? Will he make it home in time...

It is 1813 in Northern Spain. The crew of a British warship is attempting to make contact with the local resistance fighters who are battling the French. They send a brave crewman, known as Cuba Tom, to try to make contact with the local chief of the Guerrillos, but he fails to return. So a young naval officer, Edgar Byrne, sets off to try to trace him. The trail leads him to a strange inn which is run by two very sinister old women...

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak, and a search for a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted by various converging ideas and influences.

Throughout his life, Noel Coward the master songwriter, 'derived a considerable amount of private pleasure from writing verse'. Much of it is gathered in this first ever audio collection. From moving war-time encounters to satirical barbs at familiar Coward targets and personal reminiscences, this delightful collection is a perfect blend of vintage Noel Coward sure to be enjoyed by faithful fans and new listeners alike.

April Fools' Day has arrived and Leger can't help himself from playing tricks. With his new-found reading skills, as basic as they are, he manages fool Ginger's human, John, into believing he is a psychic cat who can predict the winner of dog races. Thinking Leger is the key to untold riches, John takes Leger's signs and signals seriously and plans to gamble with Leger's help. However, a trip to the local pub, and the slot machine there sheds light on the shady dealings of of the pub's owner.

Leger isn't the detective this time - he's the witness. After saving Poppy from an attack, Leger must guide troubled teenager Daniel Goldsworthy on the right path to discovering the crime has been committed, solving the mystery and putting the perpetrator behind bars. However, it proves an almost impossible task since Leger himself has a lot to deal with. Between a potentially lethal trapped hairball causing him extreme pain, a group of friends who are determined to do his job for him and a mischief of vigilante mice, Leger finds it difficult to tackle the task. Will Leger put his own ...

The seasons have changed in Scotland and rather than prowl in the cold, Leger has chosen to spend his evenings dining at his good friend Winter's home or sleeping in front of the fire. But peaceful nights watching snow fall from the windowsill will have to wait as there is a new case to solve. His friend Winter has gone missing! Leger has his paws full and is distracted from the job in hand. He has a new hibernation spot to find for an insomniac hedgehog friend, hears news of an unexpected pregnancy and as ever, Leger struggles to communicate with his human companion, Annabella. If he did ...

Two days before Hogmanay, after the Christmas glitter has settled, a mysterious new neighbour is poisoned. Knowing that Amber and this young man could not have met the same fate by coincidence, Leger begins the investigation into what happened, with Lily's help. When that leads him to the newly opened Queen Languoreth pub, he comes face to face and clashes with the new manager. To put his own safety and Annabella's happiness first, he resolves never to go back to the pub, even if this means that another life could be at stake. However, Lily has other ideas.