Solange Drake will not claim her birthright; she will not be queen as vampire tradition dictates. But change always comes at a cost.. . Possessed by a vengeful twelfth-century witch Solange commits heinous crimes against the vampire tribes that she pledged to empower. Motives are questioned. Trust is broken. The treaty between the Drakes & the Helios-Ra is under threat. Solange must escape the folds of memory & time & fight for the fate of the royal crown
- & win. Her destiny & her heart depends on it. The deliciously dark & dramatic finale to the much-loved Drake Chronicles series.
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The discovery of an unidentified decomposed corpse in a railway wagon marks the beginning of Zen's most difficult & dangerous case. Set against the backdrop of the 3000-year-old city of Catalina in the shadow of Mount Etna Blood Rain" finds Aurelio Zen at his most desperate & driven." ...

Clones Rachel & Theo now live thousands of miles apart. They keep in touch but things just aren't the same. When Rachel discovers that evil scientist Elijah is still working in secret for a section of the government & about to murder Daniel she sets out to rescue the little boy but her plans backfire with disastrous consequences. Across the Atlantic Theo becomes suspicious when Rachel misses their weekly internet chat. He discovers a report online saying she's killed herself & travels to Scotland to find her certain that she has been kidnapped. A clue leads him to Elijah's mysterious clinic where the sinister Aphrodite Experiment is underway. But what is Elijah really planning? Why does he need to track Rachel down so badly? & will Rachel & Theo be able to pay the ultimate ransom that he demands? ...

Set at the time of the Russian Revolution the end of a centuries old dynasty the rise of the Bolsheviks sent shockwaves around the world. This is the story of one man who was there. Its real history
- about the riches & excesses the glory of the Russian nobility Nicholas & Alexandra their haemophiliac son Alexei notorious Rasputin Lenin & Trotsky who ruled from palaces where the Czars had once danced till dawn. The man was real too his name was Arthur Ransome. He was a writer accused of being a spy perhaps even a double agent & he left his wife & beloved daughter & fell in love with Russia & a Russian woman Evgenia. Fictionalising history & blending it with real life part i is told as a fairy tale. Wise & foolish kings princesses enchantresses (characters more suited to fairy tale than reality) wishes & magic Russia with its vast cold plains & mighty cities its riches & poverty all play a part in the downfall of the Czars & rise of the new order. Part ii is about betrayal
- Ransome the spy bleak & threatening. Part iii is a love story a fairy tale ending
- of Ransomes love for his daughter Tabitha & for Evgenia.


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The Battle of Towton in North Yorkshire fought during the Wars of the Roses was reputedly the bloodiest battle ever seen on English soil. In 1996 a mass grave of soldiers was discovered there by chance. This was the catalyst for a multi-disciplinary research project still unique in Britain ten years after the initial discovery which included a study of the skeletal remains the battlefield landscape the historical evidence & contemporary arms & armour. The discoveries were dramatic & moving; the individuals had clearly suffered traumatic deaths & subsequent research highlighted the often multiple wounds each individual had received before & in some cases after they had died. As well as the exciting forensic work the project also revealed much about medieval weaponry & fighting. Blood Red Roses" contains all the information about this fascinating discovery as well as discussing its wider historical heritage & archaeological implications. The second edition features new chapters by a re-enactor & a history teacher which apply the research from the initial study to produce a veritable living history." ...

When Daily Telegraph" correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to cover Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed with the idea of recreating H. M. Stanley's famous expedition
- but travelling alone. Despite warnings that his plan was 'suicidal' Butcher set out for the Congo's eastern border with just a rucksack & a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Making his way in an assortment of vessels including a motorbike & a dugout canoe helped along by a cast of characters from UN aid workers to a campaigning pygmy he followed in the footsteps of the great Victorian adventurers. Butcher's journey was a remarkable feat but the story of the Congo told expertly & vividly in this book is more remarkable still."
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The UK is gripped by the threat of gang violence
- the media is building on that hysteria convincing us that knife crime is rife
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How the Wars of the Roses were won & lost by the political & dynastic skills of the royal women: this is the true story behind Philippa Gregorys dramatic novels about fiery Queens & the perils of power. After archaeologists unearthed the remains of Richard III in a Leicester carpark his pivotal era is once again ripe for valuation. The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved: Richard Duke of York Henry VI Edward IV & Henry VII. But the reality as Sarah Gristwood shows was very different. These years were also packed with womens drama &
- in the tales of conflicted marriages & monstrous births
- simmering with female politics. In this completely original retelling acclaimed author Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the cataclysmic civil war. She examines Cecily Neville the wife of Richard Duke of York who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield; Elizabeth Woodville a widow with several children who married Edward IV in secret & was crowned queen consort; Margaret Beaufort mother of Henry VII whose ambitions centred on her son & whose persuasions are likely to have lead her husband Lord Stanley previously allied with the Yorkists to play his part in Henrys victory. Until now the lives of these women have remained little known to the general public. Sarah Gristwood tells their stories in detail for the first time. Captivating & original this is historical writing of the most important kind.

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The true story of the White Queen & more this is a thrilling history of the extraordinary noblewomen who lived through the Wars of the Roses. The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved: Richard Duke of York Henry VI Edward IV Richard III & Henry VII. But these years were also packed with womens drama &
- in the tales of conflicted maternity & monstrous births
- alive with female energy. In this completely original book Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the Wars of the Roses. She examines among others Cecily Neville who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield; Elizabeth Woodville the commoner who married Edward IV in secret; Margaret Beaufort mother of Henry VII whose love & ambition for her son knew no bounds. Until now the lives of these women have remained little known to the general public. Sarah Gristwood tells their stories in detail for the first time. Captivating & original this is historical writing of the most important kind.

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Before Stieg Larsson there was Asa Larsson.. .the follow up to The Savage Altar" " The Blood Spilt" is a truly absorbing atmospheric & fast-paced thriller featuring lawyer Rebecka Martinsson a fantastic character in the mould of " The Silence of the Lambs" Clarice Starling. It is midsummer in Sweden
- when the light lingers through dawn & the long winter comes to an end. Now in this magical time a brutal killer has chosen to strike & the murder of a female priest sends shockwaves through the community. It has been almost two years since attorney Rebecka Martinsson returned to her birthplace Kiruna in order to stop an eerily similar murder spree. Now she is back in Kiruna where a determined policewoman works on the case & the people who loved or loathed the victim mourn or revel in her demise. As Rebecka is drawn into a mystery that soon will claim another victim the dead womans world consumes her: a world of hurt & healing sin & sexuality & above all of lethal sacrifice. " Nail-biting...A suspense-filled mystery by yet another talented Swedish writer. (" Sunday Telegraph" on " The Savage Altar"). "A labyrinthine conspiracy superlative storytelling". (" Independent" on " The Savage Altar"). Asa Larsson was born in 1966 & lives in Sweden. Her first novel " The Savage Altar" was a Top 10 bestseller in Sweden winning the Best First Crime Novel award & is available from Penguin now."
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