Ruth Russell, an astronomer working at the Maurice Frazer Observatory, is enjoying herself in Rome—that is, until her lover, Charles Digham, a fashion photographer and writer of obituary verses, has his camera stolen. The thief ends up as a headless corpse in the zoo park tolleta. Johnson Johnson, enigmatic portrait painter, spy and sleuth, is in Rome to paint a portrait of the Pope and is therefore on hand to investigate in one of Dunnett's usual thrilling and convoluted plots that grips the reader from cover to cover. There is something far more deadly at stake than just the secrets of a couture house ... Views: 59
When earthlings discover that the galaxy is teeming with advanced societies with the secrets of interstellar travel, one of them steals the technology, triggering a massive manhunt across the stars. HIDE-AND-GO-SEEK AMONG THE PLANETS Five bracelets of solid gold-five clues that began an interstellar treasure hunt. And as the luck of the Irish would have it, Paddy Blackthorn found himself the chief hunter-and the chief hunted. He had only the cryptic messages imprinted in the five armbands so involuntarily left him by the five planetary rulers. He had also the help of a little, black-haired Earther girl to figure out their secrets. But it was no children's game they were playing. Old Mother Earth, now abandoned by her spawn, foundered on the verge of extinction. Only the treasure Paddy sought would suffice to rescue the home planet-and incidentally to rule the rest of the cosmos. Views: 59
The brand-new Rafferty and Llewellyn Mystery - Loves, labours, losses and not to mention a spattering of the occult are all part of an education at the prestigious Griffin School, but when a reunion culminates in the death of a high profile former student, DI Joseph Rafferty and his ever erudite partner, Sergeant Dafyd Llewellyn, are called in to unearth the truth behind the school's picturesque facade. Views: 59
Renowned forensic profiler Dr. Sophia
Channing has analyzed the most notorious psychopaths in the country. So she's a
natural to join Iowa's DCI task force to hunt the vicious sadist who has
tortured and killed six women. Her insight into the killer's mind is just
what's needed to stop him before he strikes again.
DCI Agent Cam Prescott has had tough
cases before. But trailing this serial killer will require all his focus. He's
haunted by the discovery of the six bodies buried in shallow graves in rural
Iowa—and determined that there won't be a seventh. But when the killer sets his
sights on Sophia, Cam fears he won't be in time to stop a madman from numbering
yet another victim…
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Joseph Fairweather languishes in a mental institution because he has a theory about time and space that's just plain crazy. Across the ocean in an abandoned warehouse by the River Thames, Eadgyth Whitchurch lies bound hand and foot, soon to be thrown into the river by the London branch of the Tong of the Lean Grey Rats That Swarm the World, just because she overheard a phone conversation she shouldn't have. Meanwhile, back in the States there's a slab of ancient stone that seems to disappear and reappear according to some laws of nature we know nothing about. What's going on here? Views: 59
There is eerie trouble once again in the Cornish village of St Boan, often known as Thunder's Pocket. Some hundred-year-old water pipes are being replaced and the digging has disturbed the ghosts of the past, namely the twins Matthew and Ben Pernel who were killed in mysterious circumstances and their musician father blamed. The three are now trying to be reunited but less innocent forces are also at work and the present townspeople are involved as the unhappy incidents of a hundred years ago are relived. Aunt Lal calls on her nephew Ned to help. She believes only he can bring the Pernels together again and thus truly bury the past. But even Ned is not immune to the horrors of the disturbed spirits. A thrilling sequel to In Thunder's Pocket by this prestigious author. Views: 59
### Product Description It started as a dream—a redheaded warrior king fought and died for his men centuries ago. The dream would lead archaeologist Annja Creed to the king's undisturbed corpse...and one of England's greatest mythical artifacts. Deep in an archaeological dig in England's Midlands, Annja locates a braided necklace around a mummiï¬ed king's neck. Made of an unusual material—not quite obsidian, but gleaming with multihued color—the torc is an astonishing ï¬nd. But someone knows exactly what the torc means. And he will do anything to get his hands on the Tear of the Gods. When the dig is compromised and innocent archaeologists are slain, even Annja herself is left for dead. Now she is fleeing for her life, not knowing the terrifying truth about the relic she risks everything to protect—or the devastating consequences should it fall into the wrong hands.... ### Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Myrrdin sat high astride his horse and stared down the slope of the hill at the Roman army amassing in the valley below. What was left of his command was gathered at his back, but it was pitifully small compared to the enemy presence before him. It was hard to believe that things had gone wrong so swiftly. Less than a week before, he[HTML_REMOVED]d been war leader to Queen Boudica herself and had led an army of more than eighty thousand souls across Britannia, carving a path of destruction in their wake. They had destroyed the colony at Camulodunum and had marched against first Verulamium, and then Londinium itself, sacking each city and slaying as many of the invaders as they could find. Blood flowed like a river wherever they went, appeasing the anger of the gods at the presence of the Roman invaders and bestowing blessings upon the Iceni as a result. Nothing, it seemed, could stand in their way. Nothing, that was, until the coming of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. Even thinking of the Roman[HTML_REMOVED]s name was enough to make Myrrdin curse aloud and spit on the ground. He longed to carve the man[HTML_REMOVED]s flesh from his bones and feed it the crows. He prayed to the gods that he would get his chance before the battle was over. What a difference seventy-two hours made. Less than five thousand men remained of the army that had met Paulinus and the soldiers of the XIV _Gemina _on the field of battle three days before. Few, if any, of his senior commanders still lived, for they had stood their ground and fought on even when the battle had turned in the Romans[HTML_REMOVED] favor. Myrrdin would have gone down fighting alongside them if the queen hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t ordered him to retreat, to ensure that someone still remained who could rally the remnants of the Iceni and see to it that their people[HTML_REMOVED]s sacrifice was not in vain. How he wished he had never left her side! He reached up and fingered the torc he wore about his neck, the one Boudica had entrusted to him before the battle. She[HTML_REMOVED]d always claimed it to be the root of her power, that the metal from which it was formed, the metal given to them by the very gods themselves, protected her time and time again. But Boudica was dead now, poisoned by her own hand while in Roman custody rather than be handed over to Paulinus[HTML_REMOVED]s troops as a plaything for their amusement. When word reached him earlier that morning of her fate, he wept, wondering if he[HTML_REMOVED]d condemned her to death simply by taking the torc. Not that it mattered now; what was done was done. Myrrdin was a good enough tactician to know that at this point there was no way the Iceni could win. They were outnumbered and the Romans were not only better armed but better armored, as well. If he hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t been able to beat them with eighty thousand warriors at his command, there was no way he was going to be able to do so with only five thousand. But there was no question of retreat. He would rather die on the field of battle, sword in hand, than be hunted down like a dog in the weeks to come. And perhaps, Awran willing, he could take a few Romans with him as an offering before it was his time to die. He let his gaze roam over the soldiers gathering on the field below. Unlike his ragtag band of warriors, who often wore as little into battle as possible, the Romans were all dressed in identical coats of chain armor worn over a short jerkin with thick-soled leather sandals on their feet. They each carried two iron-tipped spears, pilums he[HTML_REMOVED]d heard them called. The short swords were designed primarily for stabbing in close-quarter combat. The soldiers also held large rectangular shields, big enough to cover a man from ankle to chin. The legion[HTML_REMOVED]s standard, a charging boar on a field of crimson that was so dark as to be almost purple, flapped in the afternoon breeze, the Romans arrogantly claiming this land on behalf of the Emperor. Myrrdin turned and surveyed the men assembled behind him. What a sharp contrast to those they were about to face. Where the Romans were tall and muscled from years of disciplined labor, his men were smaller and wiry in nature, built for speed and dexterity. Where the Romans were armored and carried multiple weapons, many of his men were naked or nearly so, their fair skin decorated in blue woad. They clutched swords made of iron and carried small, round shields of leather stretched over wooden frames. Of his illustrious horse soldiers, less than fifty remained. They sat stiffly in the saddle off to his right, weary from the days of fighting and the long chase they had endured so far, yet none hesitated to return his gaze or gave any sign they would shy away from the confrontation to come. As he turned away, one thought was prominent in his mind. We don[HTML_REMOVED]t stand a chance. Myrrdin shook his head, clearing it of such defeatism. The simple fact was he no longer had any choice; there was nowhere else to run. He[HTML_REMOVED]d never get his men through the bogs on the other side of the hills before the enemy could catch up with them. He had no choice but to stand and fight. Like all good commanders, Myrrdin wanted that fight on his terms, not the enemy[HTML_REMOVED]s, which was why he[HTML_REMOVED]d assembled his men along the crest of the hill while the Romans attempted to set up camp in the valley below. He hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t been able to choose the field on which they would meet, but he[HTML_REMOVED]d be damned if he wouldn[HTML_REMOVED]t choose the time. And that time was now, before the enemy got themselves organized and settled in. He brought his horn to his lips and blew a long blast. The sound echoed across the valley, like a great voice shouting from the hilltop, and Myrrdin smiled in defiance as he watched the Roman soldiers milling about in response. Behind him, his men took up the call to battle, pounding the flats of their swords against their shields, calling up a frightful racket, letting the spirits know that there would soon be newcomers, friend and foe alike, entering the land of the dead. Bare-breasted women moved among the ranks, screaming in hatred at the Romans massed below and whispering words of encouragement to their men, stoking the twin fires of courage and power. Myrrdin let it build for a few minutes, allowing his men to whip themselves into a killing frenzy, and then, when he judged the time was right, he raised his right arm above his head, his fist clenched for all to see, and then brought it slashing downward. Like a breaking wave his army surged into motion, pouring down the hill toward the enemy, shrieking their war cries as they went. With a joyous shout, Myrrdin spurred his horse and joined them, thundering down toward the rapidly forming enemy line. Behind him came the rest of his horse soldiers, their voices raised in harmony with his own. Ahead of them the Romans stood shoulder to shoulder in a long, unbroken line, waiting with disciplined ease for the enemy to make contact, their oversize shields held before them to form a wall. As the Iceni warriors closed in, the Romans unleashed a blistering rain of stones and spears from behind the protection of that wall, hoping to blunt the force of the attack. The Iceni had faced the Romans before, however, and they were ready, having expected just such a move. Almost as one they bent low over their mounts, their heads sheltered by the animals[HTML_REMOVED] long necks, and as a result the majority of them made it through the storm unscathed. Mere yards separated the two forces and Myrddin felt his lips peel back from his teeth as he bared them at the enemy like a wild animal defending its den. Heart racing, blood pumping, he let out another shout of defiance and drove his horse right into the ranks of the enemy, smashing aside that wall of shields, trampling those foolish enough to stand firm in the face of the attack under the hooves of his battle-hardened mount. Beside him, his horse warriors did the same, smashing aside the Roman line, creating a breach for their foot soldiers to exploit as they caught up with the charging cavalry. In seconds the orderly nature of the Roman defense had dissolved into chaos. The air was full of the coppery scent of fresh blood, the smell of leather and sweat, the screams of the injured and the dying. Myrrdin slashed about him with his sword, hacking at anyone who got close enough, striking down as many of the enemy as he could, driving his horse relentlessly forward, doing all he could to widen the gap, to give his people a fighting chance at survival. If they could break through the other side of the Roman battle line, some of them might survive to fight another day. A tall Roman rose up on his right side, his battle-ax already in motion, but Myrrdin took the blow on the buckler strapped to his left arm. The shield shattered, smashed to pieces by the force of the blow, but it served its purpose, giving Myrrdin time to thrust his sword deep into the other man[HTML_REMOVED]s chest, killing him where he stood. The Iceni chieftain turned in the saddle, searching for his next foe. The spear came out of nowhere, whistling through the air with all the grace of a weapon of war doing just what it had been designed to do. It struck him high in the right side. As luck would have it, he[HTML_REMOVED]d been in the midst of turning and the projectile drove into the narrow gap his mail coat failed to cover at his armpit, burying itself deep in his chest. It was like being buried in an avalanche of ice, his sword falling away from fingers gone suddenly numb, his grip on the saddle loosening as he lost the feeling in his legs, and he tumbled from his mount to lie in the mud of the battlefield as the fight raged on around him. As his vision began to narrow and the darkness closed in, Myrrdin could have sworn he felt the torc about his neck pulse in time with his heartbeat. Annja Creed studied the decapitated heads on the table in front of her. Two of them had their eyes closed, as if they[HTML_REMOVED]d died peacefully in their sleep, but Annja knew better than to trust in simple appearances. There had been nothing peaceful about their passing; the fact that they were sitting on the table minus the rest of their bodies was proof of that, she thought wryly. The eye... Views: 59
"The Last Templar" miniseries is now available on DVD! For more information, click here. "It has served us well, this myth of Christ." Pope Leo X, 16th Century In a hail of fire and flashing sword, as the burning city of Acre falls from the hands of the West in 1291, The Last Templar opens with a young Templar knight, his mentor, and a handful of others escaping to the sea carrying a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. The ship vanishes without a trace. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights emerge from Central Park and ride up the Fifth Avenue steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the blacktie opening of a Treasures of the Vatican exhibit. Storming through the crowds, the horsemen brutally attack anyone standing between them and their prize. Attending the gala, archaeologist Tess Chaykin watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one... Views: 59
