Its 1308 & England hovers on the brink of civil war. Edward II his wife Isabella & the royal favourite Peter Gaveston Earl of Cornwall have been forced to retreat to the Kings folly. Just an arrowshot away lie the Great Lords & Philip IV of France who are demanding that the Earl of Cornwall be charged with high treason. Edward is trapped & worse he has learnt that Philip has the Poison Maiden on his side a formidable spy who did untold damage during his fathers reign. As Edward tries in vain to unmask the identity of the spy Mathilde handmaiden to the Queen also attempts to identify the source of this threat. Soon the crisis spills over into violence. The Lords attempt to take Gaveston by force & the King & his Court including Mathilde are forced to flee. As the enemy closes in Mathilde finds herself embroiled in a life & death struggle for the English crown. ...

This title is seventh in the brilliantly addictive series of murder mysteries by an acclaimed & popular writer. Its Book Week & Poppy & Graham are helping out at their local literacy festival. However when the authors start getting anonymous notes featuring cartoons of themselves suffering grisly deaths the intrepid pair realize that the world of childrens books is murkier than they could ever have imagined. Theyll have to move quickly to discover whos at the bottom of it
- before fiction turns into fact...
...

Locked in a coffin-like darkness there is nothing to distract me from my memories of killing Reyad. He deserved to die--but according to the law so do I. Here in Ixia the punishment for murder is death. & now I wait for the hangman's noose. But the same law that condemns me may also save me. Ixia's food taster--chosen to ensure that the Commander's food is not poisoned--has died. & by law the next prisoner who is scheduled to be executed--me--must be offered the position. ...

How much is your life worth? In the Territory of Ixia control is maintained through the Code of Behaviour forbidding the practice of magic but danger lurks in mysterious places... Imprisoned for murder Yelena Zaltana's punishment is death unless she accepts the position of the Commander of Ixia's food taster...and risks assassination from poison daily. In a world where magic equals death & freedom is for the lucky few the battle for Yelena's life has just begun. ...

A tense story of a spy undercover during the First World War Andrew Williams recreates the early years of the Secret Service as evocatively as anything by John le Carr? or Robert Harris. The Poison Tide is the first in a series of novels set in that world & 'possesses a richness of characterisation & intelligence that few thrillers can match' Sunday Times. 1915. German guns are on their way to Irel&. The British government faces its worst nightmare; insurrection at home while it struggles with bloody stalemate on the Western Front. British spy Sebastian Wolff of the new Secret Service Bureau is given the task of hunting down its enemies: one a traitor reviled by the society that honoured him as a national hero; the other a German-American doctor who instead of healing the sick is developing a terrifying new weapon that he will use in the country of his birth. Wolff's mission will take him undercover into the corridors of power in Berlin then across the Atlantic in a race against time to prevent the destruction of the ships & supplies Britain so desperately needs to stave off defeat. ...

1831: as England emerges from the post war depression the country is changing & the birth pains of the Reform Act bring it to the brink of revolution. The violent times breed violent acts both outside & inside the Morland family. Sophie's life is shattered by a hideous crime. Rosamund learns that achieving her dreams brings as much pain as pleasure. Heloise mourning her beloved James lets control of Morland Place fall into chaos- Benedict has to flee his home & makes a life amongst the railway pioneers while Nicholas now has the freedom to indulge the dark side of his nature. & amongst them all stalks the deadly invisible threat of cholera. ...

December 1194. The well-born ladies of Exeter are not having a good week. First Christina Rifford the daughter of a rich merchant is raped. Then just months before her marriage Lady Adele de Courcy is found dead in one of the poorest areas of the city. The common factor is Godfrey Fitzosbern the local silversmith. But despite Crowner Johns suspicions & the vengeful accusations of the families it is Johns duty to protect Godfrey until he can find definite proof of his guilt. Aided by his mistress Nesta hindered by his social-climbing wife Matilda & her power-hungry brother Sheriff Richard de Revelle John slowly begins to put the pieces together. But a final brutal act of violence will bring a new twist to the investigation.. . ...

Floridius freelance soothsayer is afraid that he has lost his talent for seeing the future. Threptus wants to find some titbits of information that his mentor can use to convince people he still has the gift but will a poisoned honey cake lead to disaster along the way? Join Threptus & Floridius on their hilarious & action-packed adventures among Romes superstitious underclass & dont miss this ruder funnier & still historically accurate companion to The Roman Mysteries. ...

When a customer of William Doughtys chemist shop dies of strychnine poisoning after drinking medicine he dispensed William is blamed & the family faces ruin. Williams daughter nineteen year old Frances determines to redeem her ailing fathers reputation & save the business. She soon becomes convinced that the death was murder but unable to convince the police she turns detective. Armed only with her wits courage & determination & aided by some unconventional new friends Frances uncovers a startling deception & solves a ten year old murder. There will be more deaths & a secret in her own family will be revealed before the killer is unmasked & Frances will find that her life has changed forever. ...

The Poisonwood Bible" tells the story of an American family in the Congo during a time of tremendous political & social upheaval. The story is told by the wife & four daughters of Nathan Price a fierce evangelical Baptist who takes his family & mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them all they believe they will need from home but soon find that all of it
- from garden seeds to Scripture
- is calamitously transformed on African soil. This tale of one family's tragic undoing & remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa is set against one of history's most dramatic political parables. " The Poisonwood Bible" dances between the darkly comic human failings & inspiring poetic justices of our times. In a compelling exploration of religion conscience imperialist arrogance & the many paths to redemption Barbara Kingsolver has written a novel of overwhelming power & passion."

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