From master of suspense Ellis Peters come two chilling tales of justice, deception, and revenge The jury foreman trembles as he delivers the verdict. After a grueling trial, the erudite and elegant Louis Stevenson has been found guilty of murder—and sentenced to death. A ripple of excitement goes through the courtroom, and Stevenson rises to make a final statement. He's innocent, he insists, and for condemning him, he swears cosmic vengeance on four men: the prosecutor, the foreman, the judge, and the true killer of Zoë Trevor. On their heads, he places the Assize of the Dying, a medieval curse that ensures they'll be dead within a month. In "The Assize of the Dying" and "Aunt Helen," Ellis Peters is at her best—and murder and elegance go hand in hand. Views: 31
RetailFrom the critically acclaimed author of Bloodroot, a gripping, wondrously evocative novel of a family in turmoil, set against the backdrop of real-life historical event—the story of three days in the summer of 1936, as a government-built dam is about to flood an Appalachian town, and a little girl goes missing. A river called Long Man has coursed through East Tennessee from time immemorial, bringing sustenance to the people who farm along its banks and who trade among its small towns. But as Long Man opens, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to dam the river and flood the town of Yuneetah for the sake of progress—to bring electricity and jobs to the region—are about to take effect. Just a few days remain before the river will rise, and most of the town has been evacuated. Among the holdouts is a young, headstrong mother, Annie Clyde Dodson, whose ancestors have lived for generations on her mountaintop farm; she’ll do anything to ensure that her three-year-old daughter, Gracie, will inherit the family’s land. But her husband wants to make a fresh start in Michigan, where he’s found work that will bring the family a more secure future. As the deadline looms, a storm as powerful as the emotions between them rages outside their door. Suddenly they realize that Gracie is nowhere to be found. Has the little girl simply wandered off into the rain? Or has she been taken by Amos, the mysterious drifter who has come back to Yuneetah, perhaps to save his hometown in a last, desperate act of violence? Suspenseful, visceral, gorgeously told, Long Man is a searing portrait of a tight-knit community brought together by change and crisis, and of one family facing a terrifying ticking clock. A novel set in history that resonates with our own times, it is a dazzling and unforgettable tour de force.** Views: 31
In Europe, rumours of war are rife once again, as Matthew Hervey returns to the Peninsula to fight a new battle, and to confront the ghosts of his first campaign…
The year is 1826, and the fragile peace in Europe following the defeat of Napoleon is threatened by Spanish aggression in the Peninsula. Matthew Hervey, newly returned from India, joins a party of officers sent to make an assessment and lend support to their Portuguese allies. His place on the expedition is secured with the help and influence of his new friend, Lady Katherine Greville.
But the Peninsula is a place redolent with memories. For it was here as a seventeen-year-old Cornet that Hervey had his first taste of military action. The French forces had pushed the British into an ignominious retreat, losing morale as quickly as ground, until under the leadership of Sir John Moore the army made a defiant stand at Corunna. In the epic battle that followed, Hervey and the Sixth Light Dragoons played their part in one of the Napoleonic War’s most famous military scenes. As the wave of the French onslaught broke against the solid rock of British resolve, the tide of war was turned once and for all in England’s favour.
Now, with the Spanish threatening the fortress at Elvas, and as Hervey makes ready for the battle once again, the sights and sounds of the Peninsula bring back a flood of memories. But it is not only Spanish aggression and ghosts from his past that Matthew must confront; Lady Katherine has arrived in the Peninsula and is looking for rewards in return for services rendered. Views: 30
1845: Felix Schneider, an immigrant from Germany, cheers the New York Knickerbockers as they play Three-Out, All-Out.1908: Walter Snider, batboy for the Brooklyn Superbas, arranges a team tryout for a black pitcher by pretending he is Cuban.1945: Kat Snider of Brooklyn plays for the Grand Rapids Chicks in the All-American Girls Baseball League.1981: Michael Flint finds himself pitching a perfect game during the Little League season at Prospect Park.And there are five more Schneiders to meet.In nine innings, this novel tells the stories of nine successive Schneider kids and their connection to Brooklyn and baseball. As in all family histories and all baseball games, there is glory and heartache, triumph and sacrifice. And it ain't over till it's over. Views: 30
When a drought settles on Thornton Creek, Rebecca and Daniel must learn that God always provides, even in the toughest of times. Book two of the Queensland Chronicles set in the early 1900s. Views: 30
On the same day Greek American marine biologist Amelia Drakos receives word that funding for her beloved Seahorse Laboratory has been cut, she discovers that her deceased father had lived a secret life.With foreclosure and unemployment looming, as well as the fallout from a brief, confusing love affair, Amelia reluctantly becomes curator for Minnesota's Mall of America Sea Life Aquarium. At the same time, a string of perplexing e-mails from someone with her late father's name, Ted Drakos, arrive. Ted claims that he has important information about an inherited property on Lake Superior. And that he is her older brother. When Amelia and Bryce, a long-time friend, go to check out the property, they discover week-old, orphaned, husky/wolf-hybrid pups under the dilapidated porch. Amelia adopts the pups and takes them back with her to Minneapolis, where they introduce chaos into her already crazy life. Amelia and Bryce soon find themselves embroiled in the midst... Views: 30
Set in an imaginary future country carved out of Italy, “Goodbye, Padania” is the story of a young woman’s attempt to go beyond the role that fate has apparently designed for her: contract killer. Against the background of the death agonies of a pariah state, Daria Rigoletti transforms herself first into a people-smuggler and then into a cult leader, but circumstances combine against her. Views: 30
"THE PEOPLE COULD FLY," the title story in Virginia Hamilton's prize-winning American Black folktale collection, is a fantasy tale of the slaves who possessed the ancient magic words that enabled them to literally fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to "fly" away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.Leo and Diane Dillon have created powerful new illustrations in full color for every page of this picture book presentation of Virginia Hamilton's most beloved tale. The author's original historical note as well as her previously unpublished notes are included.Awards for The People Could Fly collection:A Coretta Scott King AwardA Booklist Children's Editors' ChoiceA School Library Journal Best Books of the YearA Horn Book FanfareAn ALA Notable BookAn NCTE Teachers'... Views: 30
An ingenious, gripping thriller for readers of P.D. James and William BoydAn anonymous letter accuses a prominent academic, Peter Henderson, of a grotesque murder: the calculated killing of Jenny, his disabled partner, believed by everyone to have died peacefully two years ago.Time has moved on. Grief and loss were tempered by a comforting thought: Jenny was spared a long and painful illness. Knowing the truth behind the soothing lie, Father Anselm—former barrister, current clergyman—must move cautiously to expose the killer and the killing without harming young Timothy, Jenny and Peter's son. But Jenny's father is looking out for his grandson, and he is capable of anything if he thinks it's for the best. He has set out to execute Peter Henderson.Death, dying, and killing have never been so complicated. Views: 30
