Everyone’s got secrets. But are they worth killing for…?
The residents of Clerehaven seem to enjoy the picture perfect, English village life.
Although the villagers differ in age, history and social status, they all form a cheerful community where friendships are forged and support is given.
That is until Jaynie Turner arrives…
Beautiful, vain, and utterly self-absorbed, Jaynie is not the easiest person to make friends with.
In fact, most of Clerehaven loathe her.
That dislike, however, does not deter Jaynie.
Recently divorced, she sets out to build a new life and a role for herself in the village.
To do this, she undertakes extensive ‘research’, digging deep into Clerehaven’s history and that of the well-to-do Lynchet family, to whom she claims a tenuous connection.
Unfortunately, Jaynie’s so-called ‘research’ uncovers more than an ordinary family history.
And it’s not long after that Jaynie’s body is discovered.
She’s been murdered.
Inspector Sheldon Hunter is given the job of tracking down her killer, but it’s no easy task.
Whilst Jaynie was clearly disliked by her neighbours, it is hard to see that anybody had a motive to kill her.
But as Hunter and his team look further into the affairs of Clerehaven’s respectable, middle-class community, they begin to uncover a history that seethes with snobbery, loathing, and fear.
The seemingly idyllic village’s past is riddled with lies and suspicious deaths.
As Hunter gets closer to the horrific truth at the heart of Clerehaven, he upsets the social status quo in ways that Jaynie Turner could only have dreamed of.
But can he overcome the hostility of the local community and prove who killed her?
Death* Out of Season is a deftly-written, fast-paced and gripping tale in the very best tradition of English village crime stories. It is also the first of *Meg Elizabeth Atkins’ books to feature the charismatic Inspector Sheldon Hunter.
*Meg* Elizabeth Atkins* has won many plaudits for her fiction on both sides of the Atlantic, and reviewers have compared her to *Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. In several of her earlier novels, such as Samain, Palimpsest and Tangle, she has explored the disturbing undercurrents beneath the polite surface of English middle-class life, and in Cruel as the Grave forces erupt through the repression and containment of daily existence with violent consequences.
Meg Elizabeth Atkins lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village. She teaches creative writing and her other books include By The North Door, Cruel As The Grave and Samain.
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**About the Author
Meg Elizabeth Atkins has been compared to Elizabeth Bowen and Barbara Pym for the elegance of her writing. She lives with her husband in a North Yorkshire village where she teaches creative writing and also writes non-fiction books such as Haunted Warwickshire. Views: 239
Like father, like son.
Intelligent, popular, handsome, and wealthy, sixteen-year-old Nick Andreas is pretty much perfect--on the outside, at least. What no one knows--not even his best friend--is the terror that Nick faces every time he is alone with his father. Then he and Caitlin fall in love, and Nick thinks his problems are over. Caitlin is the one person who he can confide in. But when things start to spiral out of control, Nick must face the fact that he's gotten more from his father than green eyes and money. Views: 236
1820s Britain: after the wars with France, when unemployment was high and soldiers could be paid off, when the government was desperately afraid of social unrest, any crime was drastically punished and thousands were hung. But one could petition the King and an investigation might ensue. The man in the dark cell in Newgate Prison was due to hang in a week. He had been found guilty of murdering the aristocrat whose portrait he was painting. He claimed to be innocent - but then the hangman had never hung a guilty man, he said. But even in 1820, the Home Secretary could occasionally use his powers to grant mercy if his investigator found cause and Rider Sandman, once of the First Foot Guards, is given the job. Rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, has family debts to repay but when his first steps in the investigations produce a sizeable bribe to look the other way, this only arouses his smouldering anger over the condition of England, a country which he and others in Wellington's army had fought to preserve. Stepping between gentlemen's clubs and taverns, talking to aristocrats, fashionable painters, their models, and their mistresses, dodging professional cut-throats and deceptive swordsmen, Sandman uncovers a conspiracy of silence, a group whose proudest boast was that they would do anything for any one of them. Sandman is a wonderful character, as yet undaunted by the sleazy streets, dank jails or the looming scaffold, and uncorrupted by politicians, sneering gentlemen or frightening bruisers, an investigator in the making and a brilliant, but very different, hero for all Bernard Cornwell fans.
Bernard Cornwell worked for BBC TV for seven years, mostly as producer on the Nationwide programme, before taking charge of the current Affairs department in Northern Ireland. In 1978 he became editor of Thames Television's Thames at Six. Married to an American, he now lives in the United States. Views: 236
"America's best true-crime writer" (Kirkus Reviews), Ann Rule presents an all-new collection of crime stories drawn from her private files -- and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences.
LAST DANCE LAST CHANCE
Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But appearances, as this shocking insider account of Pignataro's tailspin from physician to prisoner proves, can be deceiving -- and, for the doctor's wife, very nearly deadly. No one was safe if they got in his way. With scalpel, drugs, and arsenic, he betrayed every oath a physician makes -- until his own schemes backfired. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule. Along with other shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly is: pure evil. Views: 234
Todd and Christy have different ideas about how soon they should marry and what direction their lives will take after their wedding day. As advice pours in from all direction, Christy wonders if their relationship will survive the strain of outside influences. Not only does she have a wedding to plan, but she's also striving to pass her final college exams in order to graduate. In the midst of it all, Christy discovers a startling truth about herself and her love that makes her wonder if she can promise Todd forever. Views: 233
JOSIE'S LITTLE SECRET? When Travis Randell first spied the raven-haired pregnant beauty on his family's land, he was hell-bent on having her arrested for trespassing! Seeking refuge at the Circle B Ranch after his greedy partner--and former fiancée! --ruined him, Travis was in no mood to welcome strangers. But Josie Gutierrez was no stranger. Josie was the photographer for the new guest ranch brochure. And it wasn't Josie's camera that distracted Travis...it was her deep hazel eyes and intoxicating smile. Travis found himself drawn to her and her unborn child. But would Travis still believe in this picture-perfect love when he learned the real reason Josie came to the Circle B? Views: 233
An acclaimed master of suspense creates a heroine you will never forget in this superbly chilling novel of a woman who begins a desperate undertaking that may transform her life -- or end it.
What happens if your worst fears aren't all in your mind?
Rae Newborn is a woman on the edge: on the edge of sanity, on the edge of tragedy, and now on the edge of the world. She has moved to an island at the far reaches of the continent to restore the house of an equally haunted figure, her mysterious great-uncle; but as her life begins to rebuild itself along with the house, his story starts to wrap around hers. Powerful forces are stirring, but Rae cannot see where her reality leaves off and his fate begins.
Fifty-two years old, Rae must battle the feelings that have long tormented her -- panic, melancholy, and a skin-crawling sense of watchers behind the trees. Before she came here, she believed that most of the things she feared existed only in her mind. And who can say, as disturbing incidents multiply, if any of the watchers on Folly Island might be real? Is Rae paranoid, as her family and the police believe, or is the threat real? Is the island alive with promise -- or with dangers?
With Folly, award-winning author Laurie R. King once again powerfully redefines psychological suspense on a sophisticated and harrowing new level, and proves why legions of readers and reviewers have named her a master of the genre.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 231
Now the land of Balaia, still riven by war, must live with the consequences. The Dawnthief spell -- designed to destroy the world, but cast to save it -- has torn a hole in the sky, a pathway into the dragon dimension, and, through it, unfriendly eyes are turning to Balaia.
With war already sweeping the land, there are no armies to send against the dragons. All that stands between Balaia and complete dominion by these tyrannous beasts is a tiny, but legendary band of mercenaries: The Raven.
And if they fail, Balaia will fall beneath the wings of countless dragons...
James Barclay has created a fantasy epic of rare intensity and blistering pace peopled by characters you can believe in. Views: 230
Mit tennél, ha újraírhatnád a múltad?
Három tehetséges fiatal lányt egymás mellé sodor a sors New York Cityben: mindegyikük szerencsét próbálni jött, hírnévre, elismerésre vágynak az ismeretlen és mégis lehetőségekkel teli nagyvárosban. Útjaik szétválnak, és 19 évvel később találkoznak csak újra, hogy együtt ünnepeljék 40. születésnapjukat egy Maine állambeli nyaralóban. Sok minden megváltozott – anyák, feleségek, szeretők lettek, és számot kell vetniük azzal, hogy nem teljesítették az egykor maguknak kitűzött célt… Azonban feltűnik a színen a titokzatos Madame Zoya, akinek a segítségével visszautazhatnak a múltjukba és változtathatnak régi döntéseiken. Views: 230
A STRANGE MESSAGE Uproarious laughter from the girls with the wild flowers arousedCora. Rob Roland was gone. Had she fainted? Was that roaring in her ears just awakened nerves? "Cora! Oh, Cora! We had the most darling time," Bess wasbubbling. "You should have been along. Such a dear old farmer.He showed us the queerest tables. And he had the nicest son.Cora - What is the matter?" "Oh," lisped Ray, "another Co-Ed message over the telephone." "Cora, dear," exclaimed Gertrude, "we should not have left you all alone. Are you ill?" "Cora! Cora!" gasped Adele. "Cora, dear!" sighed Tillie. "Oh, Cora!" moaned Belle. "What has happened?" "Cora, darling," cried Maud, "who has frightened you?" "Cora Kimball," called Daisy, "have you been drinking too much tea?" "Too little," murmured Cora. "Will some of you girls leave off biting the air, and make a good cup of tea?" There was a wild rush for the alcohol lamp; every one wanted to make the good cup of tea. "I saw a runabout moving away as we came up," said Ray. "I hope,Cora, your caller was not obnoxious." "Oh, just an autoist," replied Cora indifferently. "I did not take the trouble to brew tea for one solitary man." The color was coming back into her cheeks now, and with the return of animation her scattered senses attempted to seize upon the strange situation. Jack and Clip to be arrested for abduction! Could that fellow have known what he was saying? If only Jack would call her up on the telephone. She had left word for him to do so, no matter how late the hour might be when he should return home. "Now drink every sip of this," commanded Adele, as she turned on the lights and fetched Cora a steaming cup of the very best Grotto Hyson. "There is nothing for shaken nerves better than perfectly fresh tea, and, you see, we make it without soaking the leaves." "It is delightful," said Cora, sipping the savory draught. "I must learn how to make tea this way - it is so different from the home-brewed variety." Gertrude sat close to the reclining girl. "Is there nothing I can do, Cora?" she asked. "No message I can send?" "Yes," whispered Cora; "you can manage to get the girls out of here before you and I leave for the night. I want to use the telephone privately." Gertrude understood. She had not been a roommate with Cora Kimball for two years without knowing something of her temperament. She pressed her friend\'s hand gently, then said loud enough for the others to hear: "We will soon have to get our machines under cover. Tillie says her grandfather has all sorts of sheds over around his country place. In fact, he has a regular shed-farm. Cora, I am just dying to try running a motor. Would you trust me to get the Whirlwind in the shed safely?" "Of course I would, Gertrude," and Cora jumped up from the wicker divan. "I would suggest that some one go along, though - perhaps Ray. She has had some experience, and you know the Whirlwind" "Is not a prize-package machine," interrupted Gertrude. "All right, Cora. I will humbly take instructions.... Views: 229
Feng shui practitioner Salome Waterhouse can spot a bad vibe from a mile away. Usually a simple rearranging of a room can patch things up. But occasionally, she has to delve a little deeper... In A Deadly Arrangement, the first book in the series, Salome inherits her grandfather's infamous Perfume Mansion, a place stinking of bad energy. She chooses to rent it out to artist Palmer Fordham. But before she has a chance to apply her feng shui principles, she finds Palmer dead. Now, Salome is the prime suspect in the wrong place at the wrong time. Talk about bad feng shui... Views: 228
An unforgettable American story, Dances With Wolves was an international bestseller that has become a modern classic. The 1990 film adaptation won seven Academy Awards. In The Holy Road, master storyteller Michael Blake at long last continues the saga. Eleven years have passed since Lieutenant John Dunbar became the Comanche warrior Dances With Wolves and married Stands With A Fist, a white-born woman raised as a Comanche from early childhood. With their three children, they live peacefully in the village of Ten Bears. But there is unease in the air, caused by increased reports of violent confrontations with white soldiers, who want to drive the Comanche onto reservations. Disquiet turns to horror, and then to rage, when a band of white rangers descend on Ten Bears' village, slaughtering half its inhabitants and abducting Stands With A Fist and her infant daughter. The three surviving great warriors--Wind In His Hair, Kicking Bird, and Dances With Wolves--decide they must go to war with the white invaders. At the same time, Dances With Wolves realizes that only he can rescue his wife and child. Told with the same sweep, insight, and majesty that have made Dances With Wolves a worldwide phenomenon, The Holy Road is an epic story of courage and honor. These new, hardcover editions published by Hrymfaxe LLC are signed individually by the author Views: 228
