When a woman's skeleton turns up in the small Welsh hamlet of Gallows Cottage, a group of three very different policemen uncovers a two-hundred-year-old conspiracy of silence haunting the guilty and innocent alike. From Publishers WeeklySet in north Wales, this uneven first novel describes the murder investigation of a woman hanged in the woods, her decaying body found 18 months after her death. Chief inspector Michael McKenna directs the police work, and when his pathologist unearths near Gallows Cottage the 1793 remains of another hanged woman, the locals recall the centuries-old story of Simeon, the mad avenger of his wife's wrongful execution. Although the theme of soured marriages connects past and present nicely as the murder plot develops, and as McKenna eventually separates from his wife, the overlong exposition omits some key suspects, including the culprit, until surprisingly late in the narrative. McKenna's personality remains somewhat vague?outside a sort of generalized dourness. Plentiful descriptions, drawn-out conversations and some extraneous scenes also slacken the pace. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the AuthorBorn into an Anglo-Welsh family, and brought up in rural Cheshire and Derbyshire, Alison Taylor studied architecture before commencing a career in social work and probation. She has been instrumental in exposing the abuse of children in care, and has written a number of papers on childcare and ethics. Resident for many years in North Wales, she is married with two children. Her interests include classical and Baroque music, art and riding. She is currently working on a second novel and researching a biographical study of Beethoven. Views: 49
He took me. Trapped me like an animal. I was used and spat out again by a beautiful Demon. I didn���t know that he was an incubus, desperate for my love. I was one of the lucky ones. I managed to escape. I will make him pay. I will watch him burn. Views: 49
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA Views: 49
Ten terrifying tales that will haunt you forever . . .Read the spine-tingling story of a baby-sitter who loves evil tricks . . . the terrifying tale of a boy who dared to lie down in the tomb of an ancient mummy . . . the ghastly story of two boys just dying to have the scariest Halloween ever?.?.?.?and more.These are the original stories that inspired the hit TV show R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. This bone-chilling collection of ten of the author's most frightful tales is guaranteed to give you chills in the night and turn any dream into a nightmare. Views: 49
SUMMARY:For 4,000 years, the lavish crypt of the Pharaoh Mamose has never been found...until the Seventh Scroll, a cryptic message written by he slave Taita, gives beautiful Egyptologist Royan Al Simma a tantalizing clue to its location. But this is a treasure cache others would kill to possess. Only one step ahead of assassins, Royan runs for her life and into the arms of the only man she can trust, Sir Nicholas Quenton-Harper-a daring man who will stake his fortune and his life to join her hunt for the king's tomb. Together, they will embark on a breathtaking journey to the most exotic locale on earth, where the greatest mystery of ancient Egypt, a chilling danger and an explosive passion are waiting. Steeped in ancient mystery, drama and action,The Seventh Scrollis a masterpiece from a storyteller at the height of his powers.Biography From Wikipedia - Wilbur SmithBorn: 9 January 1933 (age 78), Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia1Occupation: NovelistGenres: Natural, AdventureWilbur Addison Smith (born January 9, 1933 in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia, now Kabwe, Zambia) is a best-selling novelist currently residing in London. His writings include 16th and 17th century tales about the founding of the southern territories of Africa and the subsequent adventures and international intrigues relevant to these settlements. His books often fall into one of three series. These works of partial fiction help to explain the rise and historical influence of the Dutch and English whites in southern Africa that eventually claimed this diamond and gold rich and disputed territory as home.As a baby, he was sick with cerebral malaria for ten days, but made a full recovery. He spent the first years of his life on his father's cattle ranch which consisted of 12,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of forest, hills and savannah. On the ranch his companions were the sons of the ranch workers, small black boys with the same interests and preoccupations as Wilbur Smith. With his companions he ranged through the bush, hiking, hunting, and trapping birds and small mammals. His mother read to him every night and later gave him novels of escape and excitement, which piqued his interest in fiction; however, his father dissuaded him from pursuing writing.He went to boarding school at Cordwalles Preparatory School in Natal (now Kwa-Zulu Natal). While in Natal he continued to be an avid reader and had the good fortune to have had a wonderful English master who made Wilbur Smith his protege, and would discuss the books had Wilbur had read that week. Unlike Wilbur's father and many others, the English master made it clear to Wilbur that being a bookworm was praiseworthy, rather than something to be ashamed of and let Wilbur know that his writings showed great promise. He tutored Wilbur on how to achieve dramatic effects, to develop characters and to keep a story moving forward.Next he went to Michaelhouse (St Michael's academy for young gentlemen) situated on the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. He never felt like he "fit-in" with the people, goals, and interests of the other students at Michaelhouse. On a positive note, he did start a school newspaper at Michaelhouse for which he wrote the entire content, except for the sports pages. His weekly satirical column became mildly famous, and were circulated as far as afield as Wykham Collegiate and St Annes.Later Wilbur attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He became a journalist, writing about social conditions in South Africa, but his father's advice to "Get a real job" prompted him to resentfully become a tax accountant (chartered accountant). After he qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he married and had two children. The marriage ended badly and the divorce led to alimony and child support payments that left him penniless at only twenty four years of age.He turned back to his first love, fiction and this time he determined to write it, and to his delight found that he was able to sell his first story to 'Argosy' magazine for seventy pounds, which was twice his monthly salary. His first attempt at a novel, 'The Gods First Make Mad', was rejected so for a time he returned to work as a tax accountant, until the urge to write once again overwhelmed him.His first successful novel 'When the Lion Feeds' was published in 1964, written while he worked for Salisbury Inland Revenue. It tells the story about a young man, Sean Courtney and his twin brother Garry. The character's name was a tribute to Wilbur Smith's Grandfather Courtney James Smith who had had commanded a Maxim gun team during the Zulu Wars. Wilbur Smith's grandfather, Courtney James Smith, had a magnificent mustache and could tell wonderful stories that had helped inspire Wilbur. The novel, When the Lion Feeds tells the story of Sean and Garry growing up on an African cattle ranch. The story wove in facts about Wilbur Smiths own father and darling mother. He added in early African history and included the perspective of black people and white. He wrote about hunting, gold mining, carousing, women, love, sex, and hate. This time he left out all the philosophies and radical politics and rebellious posturing that had been the backbone of his first attempt a novel. The book gained a film deal and its success encouraged him to become a full-time writer. His publisher and later agent, Charles Pick, gave him advice he never forgot: "Write for yourself, and write about what you know best." Pick also told him ""Don't talk about your books with anybody, even me, until they are written." Smith states that "Until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind. It can be blown away by a careless word."He married again following the publication of his first novel, and had another child, but this too ended in divorce. Initially, he vowed never to marry again, but after a time he longed for companionship. He met a young divorcee named Danielle Thomas who was not only very beautiful and intelligent, but had been born in the same town and had read all of Wilbur Smith's books, and thought that they were wonderful. He was enchanted and in 1971 he married dedicating his books to her until her death from brain cancer. It had been a long and painful illness from the time of discovery of the brain tumor in 1993 until her death in 1999.In a bookstore in London he met a beautiful, clever, hard-working, Tadjik girl, Mokhiniso Rakhimova 39 years younger than Mr Smith. Mokhiniso had received her law degree from Moscow University. He fell in love once again and they married in May 2000.He states that Africa is his major inspiration, and currently he has over 30 novels published. Smith now lives in London, but avows an abiding concern for the peoples and wildlife of his native continent.In 2002, Wilbur Smith was granted the Inaugural Sport Shooting Ambassador Award by the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities. Views: 49
A new crime–thriller full of suspense from Sujata Massey, the acclaimed author of The Bride's Kimono and The Floating Girl.Antiques dealer Rei Shimura is in San Francisco visiting her parents and researching a personal project tracing the story of 100 years of Japanese decorative arts through her own family's experience. Her work is interrupted by the arrival of her boyfriend, lawyer Hugh Glendinning, who is involved in a class action lawsuit on behalf of aged Asian nationals forced to engage in slave labour for Japanese companies duringWorld War II.These two projects suddenly intertwine when one of Hugh's clients is murdered and Rei begins to uncover unsavoury facts about her own family's actions during the war. Rei unravels the truth, finds the killer, and at the same time learns about family ties and loyalty and the universal desire to avoid blame. Views: 49
The 90s - home of boy bands, individualism, teenage angst, ultra skinny models, and "Whatever!"...
In a decade when image matters, when the so-called Generation X is
swelling with 'future perfect' hopes and pride, 16-year-old Roshell
McRady dances her way through High School, never quite admitting that
she's ashamed of her trailer park family home. Meanwhile she listens to
Madonna while conjuring creative Top Ramen recipes to feed her younger
cousins; she empties enough hairspray until her bangs are feathered and
vertical like a lethal weapon; and she agonises over how to convince
Gabriel Harrison, the new Mystery Guy in town, to invite her to the prom
- a night which threatens to turn into a disaster.
But then life takes a dramatic turn for Roshell, and her life changes forever.
A love story emerges from the anguish of Roshell's life, and when she
leaves school and finds work at a casino, things don't get any less
complicated for her - until one night a powerful dream marks out the
exact path that she must take.Embracing You, Embracing Me is unmistakeably a product of the
90s, sassy and evocative without being nostalgic. For teenagers in 2011,
it's a springboard into a vivacious past of not so long ago. Views: 49
A classic murder mystery by acclaimed crime writer Bernard Knight. When super-rich Margaret Walker is found dead after a wild party, people assume it was an overdose - until a knife wound, almost invisible, is discovered on her body. But who would have wanted to murder her? As the investigation progresses, it is discovered that some of the party guests may have had a motive to kill Margaret...but were those motives enough to make someone a murderer - or was it a case of mistaken identity? Views: 49
Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. It goes with the turf when you’re an undercover cop. Now working for the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Shepherd is pitting his wits against the toughest criminals in the country. But when the man who once saved his life is kidnapped in the badlands of Iraq, thrown into a basement and threatened with execution, Shepherd has to decide whether his loyalties lie with his country, his career, or his friend. Views: 49
Her name is Martha Baird. Most know her as Etta Place, the fearless woman who rides with notorious outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Told in Etta's voice, "Sundance, Butch and Me" is history transformed. From daring train robberies and hair-raising escapes from the law, to her attraction to Sundance and love for Butch, experience the drama, passion, and adventure of the American West's most legendary woman.PRAISE FOR SUNDANCE, BUTCH AND ME:"...a realistic portrayal of historic events that touches the imagination and stirs the spirit." ~The Literary Times"...meticulously researched... a skillful first-person narrative." ~Publishers WeeklyREAL WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN WEST, in series orderLibbieSundance, Butch and Me Views: 49
Samantha Fox is awkward, clumsy and totally in need of a new boyfriend by this weekend. Her younger, prettier sister is getting engaged . . . and all set to make “old maid big sister” Sam feel all crummy and shelved. Enter Brian Morton. He is bewilderingly gorgeous, fantastically rich, razor-tongued snarky and utterly promiscuous. Views: 49
