Long-listed for the prestigious Davitt and Ned Kelly Awards for Crime fiction this Amazon Best Seller is a brain-teasing conspiracy thriller for the adventurous reader. 'By the Power of these keys the Head of the Church will be made the Lord of Hell'In late 2012 a cryptic invitation leads a crime novelist to Venice's Island of the Dead. Seventy four years later a similar cryptic invitation brings Grail Historian Otto Rahn to an apartment in Berlin. What awaits him will change his life forever. What ensues is a hunt for Le Serpent Rouge, a notorious book of black magic written by a Pope, a book Himmler wants to add to Hitler's library. But there are others looking for the grimoire. A shadowy circle of men are watching Rahn's every move, and they will stop at nothing to possess the book and the legendary key that unlocks its terrifying power...a power that has the potential to effect the future. The Sixth Key has been described as a three dimensional game of chess with real characters, a time machine that will blow your mind and change the way you see the world and the impulses behind war forever.Review'Chilling, Thrilling, and Willing!' The Canberra Times'It had me hooked from the first page.' - Sisters in Crime'An Addictive Thriller' - Libri Blog'In the tradition of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, Adriana Koulias weaves a tale of esoteric intrigue in The Sixth Key.' - The Cairns Post'Koulias weaves an elegant plot that keeps you guessing until the last page.'
- Good Reading Magazine'Ms Koulias captures the attention of the reader with plot twists and good narrative tension. It is unpredictable to the very end.' - Letteratura & Cinema'...Richly dense, well constructed novel, with a dynamism and excitement that make the pages typically cinematic, sliding like the frames of an Indiana Jones film.' - Libri di Scriveri From the AuthorAUTHOR INTERVIEW:Who is your target audience?AK: I write books that I would read myself and I like complex mysteries, multi layered thrillers that are textured; books that need your full attention. My goal is to engage the reader and to have him or her participate in the imaginative process. I also love playing around with language and usually try to tailor it to the era of my story. So, I guess this means that those who are after a fast read don't usually 'get' my books. I suppose I write for people who like milieu and atmosphere, who love language and historical mysteries tinged with the supernatural and religious.What do you hope your readers will get out of your booksAK: I hope that at the end of reading my books my readers will have questions about the world we live in, about history and what we consider truth and fiction, because they have been given a different perspective.Is there more coming?AK: I am writing the fifth book in the series right now, making my Quartet a Quintet: Ghost Club and the Devil's Alphabet is a story set in London in 1888 around two real historical characters George Albert Smith (the father of UK Cinema) and Douglas Blackburn (who invented short hand). They were both entertainers on the Brighton stage and are involved with mesmerism and hypnotism. They become entangled in a web of intrigue surrounding the death of a mutual friend when they stumbled unwittingly on a strange club that appears to be involved in the Jack the Ripper Murders. I'm having a lot of fun writing it!What makes your books unique/outstanding?AK: They are a series but they can be read in any order because they are only loosely woven together and so each book can stand alone. They interconnect like puzzle pieces. What is your writing process?AK: I work a 10 hour day. I have a rough sketch of what I'm going to write, the themes and characters and the plot and then I just write. After that I do a lot of editing and I end up with a multitude of drafts which eventually I hone into a book. I guess my books are narrative driven and that means I'm often surprised to find out things about my characters that I didn't know! How do you cope with criticism?AK: Well, that is very hard because we all love our work to be loved, but in truth it is unavoidable and it is even something you should be proud of! Yes! As writers we create concepts that may not fit with the concepts already living in the readers for various reasons. What writers should keep in mind is that if writing is to develop as an art then popularity can't be the focus. Writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Herman Hesse were ahead of their times and some of their books were terribly unpopular until the readers caught up with their work and then they were touted as geniuses. The truth is by the time a book becomes popular and is praised universally it is already outdated. That isn't to say that popularity isn't a great byproduct and a consolation! But it should not be the main focus of writing in my view. When I see a criticism that is very emotive, I realise that at least I have touched something in that person because I have been frustrated with a book myself, which many years later I have picked up and have found life changing! It is all in the standpoint. In fact, my favourite quote, given to me recently by a friend is from Lessing's introduction to "The Golden Notebook": Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty." I do believe that to be true. If a book bores you in your 40s and 50s you might have to wait until your next life! :) Views: 35
Spunky Allison McClare is determined to be a fearless, independent woman, resorting to a mammoth hat pin for protection on her way to and from the school where she teaches. But when she takes a notion to explore the wild Barbary Coast she quickly discovers she is no match for rum-soaked brute strength. Detective Nick Barone would rather do almost anything than teach this petite socialite jiu-jitsu, but it seems he has little choice in the matter. Sparks fly every time the two meet until a grudging friendship develops into something deeper. But when Nick suddenly leaves town, Allison realizes he's a fraud just like all the rest of the men she's cared for. Does she dare love again?The lushness of the glorious Gilded Age beautifully showcases Lessman's passion as a writer in this engaging love story written with humor and heart. From the glamour of San Francisco's Nob Hill to the seedy gambling dens of the Barbary Coast, Dare to Love Again is a journey to find a love that never fails. Fans will love revisiting the world of the cousins McClare, and new readers will seek more of Julie's passion-filled novels. Views: 35
"A master of her craft." —RT Book Reviews"An incredible storyteller." —Los Angeles Daily News Queen Victoria's London is a teeming metropolis of pageantry, forbidden desire, and danger—especially in the East End, a hotbed of vice, witchcraft, and murder. What widow Lady Maggie Graham does there more than greases the rumor mill. When she agrees to wed the Viscount Langdon, there are those who would act upon their suspicions . . . Experience has taught Lord Jamie well. He has seen his fair share of women behave inappropriately—enjoying risqué amusements in secret theatres, running about disguised in the seediest parts of the city—and then they call you vile names for coming to their rescue. And no woman is more shameless, more cunning, more intoxicating than Lady Maggie . . ."Heather Graham sparkles!" —Kat Martin, New York Times bestselling author Views: 35
'In Venice the past was more reticent. Beyond the tourist sights, San Marco and the Rialto, it lurked in the shadows, seeping out of the cracked stones like blood from ancient wounds, as if death itself was one more sly performance captured beneath the bright all-seeing light of the lagoon' It's February, and Carnival time in Venice. Forensic pathologist Teresa Lupo visits the city to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her beloved bohemian Aunt Sofia. But from the moment she is greeted off the vaporetto by a masked man dressed in the costume of The Plague Doctor, Teresa starts to suspect that all is not well. The puzzle deepens when a letter reveals a piece of fiction in which both Sofia and Teresa appear. Even more strange, are the links to the past which gradually begin to surface. Are the messages being sent by Sofia herself? Her abductor? Or a third party seeking to help her unravel the mystery? The revelation is as surprising and... Views: 35
Andrew Alexander will do anything to protect those he loves... After a tragic yachting accident leaves him wracked with guilt and despair, Andrew Alexander becomes certain he doesn't deserve to be around his own family, let alone the beautiful, forthright Astrid Worthington. He wanders for years, only allowing himself respite from his self-imposed exile when he thinks Astrid safely married. He returns home to find instead that the only woman he's ever loved has been recently—and mysteriously—widowed. ...especially from himselfWhen Andrew leaves, Astrid refuses to pine. She finds an amiable husband and contents herself with a cordial if unexciting marriage. But her husband's sudden death and Andrew's reappearance threaten to break her heart all over again. When Astrid's life is threatened, she finds Andrew will do anything to protect her not only from her enemies, but also from the truth of his dark past.Award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes's gorgeous writing and lush Regency world will stay with you long after you turn the final page.** Views: 35
For Cecilia, Valentine’s Day stands as a glaring remind of what she is-alone and in love with her best friend’s brother, Lee.
When Lee asks Cecilia for computer help with signing up for an on-line dating service, will this be her chance to get him out of her head and her heart for good?
But, does Cupid have his own Valentine surprise in store for this couple? Views: 34
True love is for fairy tales. At least that is what Miss Hannah Knight believes. Her formative years were filled with difficulties, but she carries one memory with her always—even through the darkest times. The summer she spent at Manchester Castle where she started to dream of a happily-ever-after in the arms of the man who holds her heart. War has left Garrick Edwards cynical. He never expected to inherit the title and become the Earl of Manchester, but his brother drank himself into an early grave leaving a daughter behind and a mountain of debt. Reluctantly, he returns to his ancestral home. When he arrives he finds Hannah there. Her letters during the war had given him hope when there was none; however he doesn’t believe he deserves her love. As they rekindle their friendship they find hope they thought they’d both lost. In the bottom of their hearts they cling to that hope and start to wonder if some dreams can come true. The question is will they be brave enough to reach for them… Views: 34
A grand historical novel about Gertrude Bell, one of the most influential women of the twentieth century.She was the most celebrated adventurer of her day, the brains behind Lawrence of Arabia, an adviser to kings and desert sheikhs, and the British government's secret weapon in WWI in the campaign against the Turks. A brilliant academic, mountaineer, explorer, linguist, politician, and towering literary figure, Gertrude Bell is the most significant unsung heroine of the twentieth century.Alan Gold's meticulously researched novel accurately opens history's pages on a peerless woman who broke all molds on how Victorian women were supposed to behave—socially, intellectually, and physically. Guiding the events of the day in open, sanctioned diplomacy and adventure all across the Middle East, her influence on the men at the vanguard of history, and her unparalleled skill in sculpting the pathways and influences of the English, French, and Arab allies on the... Views: 34
THE DEVIL DEVERE Book #4 (Note: This is part II of Diana and DeVere's story as begun in THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. The entire series is designed to be read in order like a serial novel)Once burned twice shy... but when old flames come together...passion reignites...When burned once... Arriving in London as her goddaughter's chaperone, Baroness Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley wants to avoid her erstwhile lover at all costs.Once nearly consumed by passion, four years has reduced the former inferno to bitterness and ashes.By an old flame... A world-weary master of seduction, Ludovic "The Devil" DeVere is bored with his chosen life of debauchery.When Diana's charge disappears, she is forced to seek help from the devil's lair, and their mutual desire reignites with undeniable ferocity.Fire is best fought with fire... While DeVere is hell-bent to have her back for keeps, Diana is equally determined to bring him to his knees...by acquiring some sensual secrets of her own. ReviewStory Rating: 5 AMAZINGINGLY BRIGHT STARS!Character Rating: 5 of the BRIGHTEST STARS IN THE SKY!Romance Rating: 5 SPARLKING STARS!Heat Level: 5 BLAZING HOT STARS!Overall Rating: MORE STARS THAN THE GALAXY!!Can you tell that I LOVED this book? -Swept Away by Romance5 STARS "Victoria Vane provides just enough period detail to make her readers feel like we're actually there, not merely reading a story, but living it. A part of it. Many authors write historical romance, but not many do it as well as this author does. And can I just mention, this book has one of the steamiest, most sensual and sexually intimate scenes I've read. Beautiful and very, very hot." - Blithely Bookish 4.5 STARS "Victoria Vane has written and delivered a delightful series and The Devil's Match is the perfect conclusion to this group ...It is filled with sizzling passion, heartbreak, humor and triumph ... A Devil's Match has all that written within the scrumptious Georgian setting and with Ms Vane's trademark eye for detail that make her stories come alive." Rogues Under the Covers 5 STARS "THE DEVIL'S MATCH by Victoria Vane is the cherry on the top of the best series of Georgian historical romance novellas I've ever read. THE DEVIL'S MATCH is hot enough to fry your ereader, heat your own wild imagination and leave you as satisfied .." Unwrapping Romance 5 DeVere-ly Delicious Stars!!! The Devil's Match set me on FIRE!! The writing is SUPERB!! The dialogue shines, and with every word you become more attached and invested in the characters. Victoria Vane injects witty, snarky humor and she is the "Mistress of Sensuality". - Swept Away by RomanceFrom the Inside FlapDeVere's gaze narrowed. "Why so concerned for my brother? One might think you have feelings for Hew.""What if I did?" she retorted. "It's no business of yours! Besides, your abominable machinations have already destroyed any potential of that."DeVere rose and came to her, perching himself on the arm of the settle. "My honorable and straitlaced brother could never satisfy a woman like you, Diana. He could never plumb the depths of your passion...unlock your secret desires."His voice was low and seductive, and the flickering blue fire in his eyes heated her insides. Diana fiercely tamped down the smoldering sensation that threatened to reignite feelings she'd struggled to suppress. "And what would you know of my wants and desires after four years?""A great deal." He gave her a slow, confident smile. "Given that I was the one to unleash them."Diana averted her face with a bitter laugh. "Thus you presume to have an exclusive claim to me?""Has any other exerted one?" he asked softly. He reached out a hand and traced a long, manicured finger along her jaw. "You are still unwed, Diana. Have you taken another lover in my absence?""It is none of your business whether I have or not, and you are grossly impertinent to ask."He laughed long and low. "I think I have my answer."She glared at him, and thus they remained, silently challenging one another for an interminable beat. Then suddenly his mouth was on hers, taking, possessing, as if it was indeed, his singular privilege.Diana leaned into him, teasing his lower lip with her tongue and sucking it eagerly into her mouth before sinking her teeth into it. Hard. Savoring the coppery taste of his blood."What the hell!" DeVere jerked back with a cry. He touched his lip and examined the crimson stain on his fingertip, his expression a mix of outrage and bemusement."You took without invitation,"Diana said. "It was a warning not to do so again." Views: 34
