From Publishers WeeklyYarbro's long-running series featuring the millennia-old vampire Saint-Germain continues to mix rich historical detail and erudite eroticism, though the horror element has become nearly invisible. Known now as Rakoczy Ferancsi, Comes of Santu-Germaniu, Saint-Germain has been exiled from his ancient lands and now resides at the court of the melancholy Queen Kunigunde of Bohemia in 13th-century Prague. He is regarded with suspicion by the local church hierarchy and with intense personal interest by three ladies of the court: the scheming Rozsa of Borsod, the passionate teenager Imbolya of Heves (a particularly unlikely match for 3,200-year-old Saint-Germain), and the determined Iliska of Szousa. Though the intensity of the storytelling has lessened substantially over the course of the series, Yarbro's compelling prose and meticulously researched setting still combine effectively for a vivid historical tale that will please series fans. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. From BooklistCount Saint-Germain is a vampire, though this is not the bloodthirsty vampire with which people are so familiar. Rather, the count does his best to live as humans do, and gets into as much, if not more, trouble than his mortal compatriots. This tale is set in the 1600s in Bohemia. The characters are richly described, and the way of life for the nobility and court are brought to life through the narration. Set in a location unfamiliar to most readers, the book's attention to details and development of characters make it a must-read. The fact that the main character is a vampire is really just a literary device to allow the author to explore a wide variety of time periods. Even if the reader has not enjoyed any other books in the Count Saint-Germain series, this one stands on its own merits, with very little to indicate that other stories of this character exist. For those who are interested in learning about times and periods outside of the typical English or French courts, this book will be a pleasure to read. --Rebecca Gerber Views: 23
The New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Evil is back with another masterful thriller featuring Ali Reynolds, an ex-television journalist who finds herself in a twisted web of mystery and murder.Fired from her dream job as a Los Angeles new anchor and still recovering from the truth about her cheating husband, Ali is content to lick her wounds far away in Sedona, Arizona. But before she can leave the past behind, she must return to L.A.: her ex, Paul, is in a hurry for a divorce so he can marry his very young, very pregnant fiancée. But the day before the final proceedings, Paul's bound and broken body is found in the Palm Springs desert. Ali finds herself the sole heir to his wealthy estate - and the prime suspect in his brutal murder. As the evidence piles up against her, she must navigate a torturous path strewn with danger - and bodies - to expose the real cold-blooded thriller. Views: 23
The Reverend Mother receives a decidedly gruesome gift in this compelling Irish historical mystery.Ireland. 1925. Like all who seek charitable contributions, Reverend Mother Aquinas is used to being gifted some fairly dubious items. But nothing like this. On opening the evil-smelling trunk, labelled 'old books', the Reverend Mother is horrified to discover it contains the dead body of one of Cork's richest merchants, wrapped in decomposing animal hides.Many had reason to loathe the hides and skins merchant: his rebellious, republican son; his frustrated, clever daughter; his neighbours; his business rivals; and those whose unbaptised babies were buried on the site of his new tanning yard. But when suspicion falls on a former lay sister from her convent, the Reverend Mother decides she must help find the real killer. Views: 23
The author of the acclaimed Sanctus trilogy conjures an eerie epic of good and evil, retribution and redemption—the first novel in the mesmerizing Solomon Creed series in which a man with no memory of his past must save a lost soul in a small Arizona town.On a hilltop in the town of Redemption, Arizona, the townspeople gather at an old cemetery for the first time in decades to bury a local man. The somber occasion is suddenly disrupted by a thunderous explosion in the distant desert. A plane has crashed, and it's pouring a pillar of black smoke into the air.As Sheriff Garth Morgan speeds toward the crash, he nearly hits a tall, pale man running down the road, with no shoes on his feet and no memory of who he is or how he got there. The only clues to his identity are a label in his handmade suit jacket and a book that's been inscribed to him: both giving the name Solomon Creed. When Morgan tells Solomon that he is in Redemption, Arizona, Solomon begins to... Views: 23
This atmospheric thriller is perfect for fans of Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson.A holiday weekend is ruined by a drowning in a picturesque village. The incident not only traumatizes Detective Cooper, a helpless witness to the tragedy, but leads him to become involved in the tangled lives of the victim's family.As he gets to know them, Cooper begins to suspect that one of them is harboring a secret that the whole family is desperate to cover up.Meanwhile, Detective Fry embarks on a personal journey back to her roots. As she finds herself drawn into an investigation of her own, Fry realizes there is only one person she can rely on for the help she needs.But that man is Ben Cooper, and he's back in Derbyshire, where his suspicions lead him toward a shocking discovery on the banks of another Peak District river. Views: 23
