The twenty-sixth novel in Michael Jecks?s medieval Knights Templar series. 1325: Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Simon Puttock are in France guarding King Edward?s son on his perilous journey to meet the French king, Charles IV. But they are unaware that King Edward?s wife Isabella is disaffected and plotting her revenge? What first appears a simple diplomatic mission is fast becoming lethally dangerous. Meanwhile, two murders in Paris are causing alarm. Is there a connection between the killings and the shadowy `King? of thieves? Simon and Baldwin know the future of the English crown is at risk. And in order to protect it they must put their own lives in jeopardy.From Publishers WeeklyFans of well-researched historicals will welcome Jecks's 26th Knights Templar mystery (after 2008's The Prophecy of Death). In 1325, England's Edward II prepares to pay homage to the French king, Charles IV, in order to retain two precious territories in France. At the last minute, Edward decides to send his willful and untested teenage son in his place, with orders to Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Baldwin's longtime friend, Simon Puttock, to watch over his son on the journey. In Paris, Queen Isabella, Charles's sister and Edward's wife, is trying to keep the peace, though she bitterly resents her husband's relationship with his intimate adviser, Sir Hugh le Despenser. Meanwhile, the Procureur of Paris, Jean de Poissy, has two murders to investigate—that of a man who was on a mysterious visit to the Louvre palace, and that of a naked woman found near the palace. Frequent scene shifts help move the complex, multilayered plot. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Fans of well-researched historicals will welcome Jeck's 26th Knights Templar mystery." —Publishers Weekly"The whole series belongs in any collection where historicals are popular." —Library Journal"Memorable characters, steadily absorbing period background . . . a commendable achievement." —Kirkus Reviews"The most wickedly plotted medieval mystery novels." —The Times"Really difficult to put down." —Historical Novels Review"Each page is densely packed with cuckolding, coarseness, lewdness, lechery, gore galore, but also with nobility. A heady mix." —North Devon Journal"A gem of historical storytelling." —Northern Echo"Complicated, well-populated, written with cross-cutting gusto, and accompanied by scholarly extras." —Ellery Queen Views: 30
'Munro is still one of our most fearless explorers of the human being, as she descends, time and again, headlamp on full beam, pickaxe and butter-knife at the ready'The TimesSpanning her last five collections and bringing together her finest work from the past fifteen years, this new selection of Alice Munro's stories infuses everyday lives with a wealth of nuance and insight.Beautifully observed and remarkably crafted, written with emotion and empathy, these stories are nothing short of perfection. A masterclass in the genre, from an author who deservedly lays claim to being one of the major fiction writers of our time. Views: 30
Al-Tounsi is the debut novel by the award-winning playwright, Anton Piatigorsky, and tells the story of the US Supreme Court's handling of a landmark case involving the rights of detainees held in a US military base. Although the novel follows the case as it maneuvers through the minds and hands of the Justices—the larger-than-life Killian Quinn in the throes of a dangerous affair, the ambitious but insecure Gideon Rosen desperate to make his mark on history, the famed feminist Sarah Kolmann staring down the prospect of losing her husband to cancer—it is ultimately shepherded by one Justice in particular, Rodney Sykes, who begins the novel in emotional crisis. After his wife's sudden death a year earlier, his relationship with Cassandra, his grown daughter, is in tatters, and he feels unable to repair it. As news of Cassandra's affair with her boss, a prominent circuit court Judge, comes to light, Rodney confronts his own repression and demons, and gradually allows his... Views: 29
A haunting, evocative tale about the power of storytellingA brutal civil war has ravaged the country, and contagious fevers have decimated the population. Abandoned farmhouses litter the isolated mountain valleys and shady hollows. The economy has been reduced to barter and trade. In this craggy, unwelcoming world, the central character of Scribe ekes out a lonely living on the family farmstead where she was raised and where her sister met an untimely end. She lets a migrant group known as the Uninvited set up temporary camps on her land, and maintains an uneasy peace with her cagey neighbors and the local enforcer. She has learned how to make paper and ink, and she has become known for her letter-writing skills, which she exchanges for tobacco, firewood, and other scarce resources. An unusual request for a letter from a man with hidden motivations unleashes the ghosts of her troubled past and sets off a series of increasingly calamitous events that... Views: 29
Centering on a conflict between a self-made millionaire and an idealistic reformer in turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York, A Hazard of New Fortunes insightfully renders the complexities of the American experience at a time of great social and economic upheaval and transformation. In its depiction of wealth, poverty, and New York City life, it remains a strikingly contemporary work.Reproduced here is the authoritative Indiana University Press Edition edited and annotated by David J. Nordloh, with full scholarly commentary and extensive textual apparatus. Views: 29
The collected fiction of "one of the most original imaginations in modern Europe" (Cynthia Ozick) Bruno Schulz's untimely death at the hands of a Nazi stands as one of the great losses to modern literature. During his lifetime, his work found little critical regard, but word of his remarkable talents gradually won him an international readership. This volume brings together his complete fiction, including three short stories and his final surviving work, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass. Illustrated with Schulz's original drawings, this edition beautifully showcases the distinctive surrealist vision of one of the twentieth century's most gifted and influential writers. Views: 29
Little Grace is all grown up with a baby of her own on the way, but the fairy tale magic that follows her family is not done with them yet! A devastating loss has hit the Burkhearts, shaking the entire family to its very core. There is little time to grieve before evil witches, werewolves, vampires and a force that Grace can't even imagine try to ruin the family. Can Grace make everything right? Can the family band together and defeat the evil that threatens to destroy them? Read this third installment in the series and see if everything can be righted with just one wish. Views: 29
This is one of Mr. Keeler's finest mystery novels, developing his 'Webwork plot' construction - an intricate edifice built up on one of the most startling and ingenious ideas in mystery literature.Through the diabolical scheme to separate a man from his inheritance, Mr. Keeler throws a fascinating sidelight upon a criminal use of modern psychology.Real—thrilling mystery—told by a master of mystery stories. Views: 29
This book is fantastic it is about a very poor boy named Charlie Bucket. He always goes to school with out a jacket because they don't have money to buy Charlie things. The setting of the book is an unnamed city; small wooden house on the edge of a great city,a fabled chocolate factory. The conflict is five children who have found golden tickets compete to see who will take over Mr. Wonka's chocolate factory. It all started when the newpaper announces that the Wonka chocolate factory will hide five golden tickets in the Wonka chocolate bars. Charlie desperately hopes he will find a golden ticket. The problem is that each year he gets a chocolate on his birthday, and he doesn't have money to buy one. Charlie father loses his job and the poor family is on brink of starvation. Charlie finds a dollar bill on the street, and before he tells his mother, he goes to buy two chocolate bars. One of the bars contains the fifth golden ticket. Charlie and his Grandpa Joe go to the Wonka Chocolate Factory. When the are finally there Mr. Wonka tells everybody to be careful,and not touch any thing from the factory. Then Augustus Gloop falls into the hot chocolate river while attempting to drink it, and gets sucked up by one of the pipes. Veruca Salt is determined to be a bad nut by nut judging squirrels who throw her out with the trash. Violet Beauregarde grabs an experimental piece of gum and chew herself into a giant blueberry. She is removed from the factory. Mike Teavee shrinks himself and his father has to carry him out in his breast pocket. So Charlie is the only one that is left in the factory. Mr. Wonka tries to find a person that would keep the chocolate factory. Mr. Wonka decided to give away his factory because he is too old. Then he decides that Charlie is the one who will run the factory exactly the way he has always run it. Finally Mr. Wonka congrarulates him for winning the entire factory for himself and his family. Views: 29
In his third collection, Andre Dubus plumbs the dark depths of the human condition The ominous tone of this exquisite collection is established at its onset, as a bereaved father stalks the man who murdered his son. Three stories later, a college student suffers a violent death at the hands of her boyfriend. And in later episodes, relationships falter and fail, not all fatalities being of the flesh. Featuring some of the Dubus canon's most haunting narratives, Finding a Girl in America is a remarkable lesson in the depiction of the darker side of human nature. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Andre Dubus including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's estate. Views: 29
Nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards, “Surfacing” is the story of Anthony, an emotionally scarred researcher who finds it easier to talk to whales and to aliens than to members of his own species. Until a stranger named Philana enters his life, with a terrifying problem of her own that dares him to break through the surface of his world. Views: 29
From one of Britain's leading writers comes a biting satire about a country founded on Nihilism and a government gone mad Nihilon is a country where honesty is outlawed, drunk driving is mandatory, and nihilism reigns supreme. Five researchers are sent into the midst of this chaos to compile a new guidebook about the peculiar, unexplored land and its all-powerful leader, President Nil. Adam, Benjamin, Jaquiline, Edgar, and Richard attempt to gather information—but find themselves swept up by a nation turned upside down. As they navigate their way to the capital through artificial mist created by President Nil to disorient his people, the writers are stopped by ordinary citizens whom they quickly discover cannot be trusted. Adam accidentally starts a ground war, Benjamin is forced to buy a car, and Jaquiline discovers that robbery is not only legal, but encouraged. The researchers, who arrived as tourists, will find that although it is easy... Views: 29
Cara Kelly should have left the faery realm now that it has a king to rule all, but nothing is that simple. The real king is trapped in the Fade, and Cara’s journey is just beginning. Guilt-ridden by the fact Brendan’s soul was sacrificed for hers, she’s determined not to desert him after his one pure act of goodness. Time is running out; even if she makes it past all of the dangers of the Darkside, a shade might await her in the Fade. Running from enemy and friends alike, she sets out on a path that will lead headfirst into danger. Even if Cara makes it to the Fade, even if a goddess watches over her, she doesn’t trust all of her companions, she still has to find a way home, and freeing Brendan could cause a war between the faeries she cares about. And all the while, Chaos grows unchecked. Views: 29
