Just after lunch on a Tuesday in April nine feet under water police diver Flea Marley closes her gloved fingers around a human h&. The fact that there's no body attached is disturbing enough. Yet more disturbing is the discovery a day later of the matching h&. Both have been recently amputated & the indications are that the victim was still alive when they were removed. DI Jack Caffery has been newly seconded to the Major Crime Investigation Unit in Bristol. He & Flea soon establish that the hands belong to a boy who has recently disappeared. Their search for him
- & for his abductor
- lead them into the darkest recesses of Bristol's underworld where drug addiction is rife where street-kids sell themselves for a hit & where an ancient evil lurks; an evil that feeds off the blood
- & flesh
- of others.. .



...

It was the dead thing they found hanging from a tree that changed the trip beyond recognition. When four old University friends set off into the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle they aim to briefly escape the problems of their lives & reconnect. But when Luke the only man still single & living a precarious existence finds he has little left in common with his well-heeled friends tensions rise. A shortcut meant to ease their hike turns into a nightmare scenario that could cost them their lives. Lost hungry & surrounded by forest untouched for millennia things couldnt possibly get any worse. But then they stumble across an old habitation. Ancient artefacts decorate the walls & there are bones scattered upon the floors. The residue of old rites for something that still exists in the forest. Something responsible for the bestial presence that follows their every step. & as the four friends stagger in the direction of salvation they learn that death doesnt come easy among these ancient trees... ...

When the call comes in Detective Peter Decker can hardly believe it. A rape at the yeshiva up in the canyon & hill country behind Los Angeles? True there had been some recent anti-Semitic vandalism but never any violence. Not only that but this was a strict Orthodox Jewish community self-enclosed & suspicious of outsiders. Not much chance theyd co-operate with the police. & he is right
- as Rina Lazarus the frustratingly fascinating young widow who found the victim proves when she talks about her world. Outsider he may be but Decker has a feeling in his policemans bones that the cost of privacy to this determined community could be murderously high...
...

Dark mystifying & powerful forces are at work in these two superb J. D. Robb short stories. Ritual When a naked knife-wielding ...

Taking tea is one of the quintessentially English occasions & who is a greater authority on the subject than the sumptuous Ritz London Hotel? This charming Edwardian-style book captures the essence of this traditional British pastime & provides us with all the expertise on the ceremony as well as the recipes. Stories about the legendary afternoon teas at The Ritz & fascinating details about the history of tea drinking are complemented with passages from such diverse writers as Charles Dickens to Oscar Wilde. Over fifty recipes are included for different kinds of afternoon tea specialities from delicate sandwiches strawberry shortcake & rose petal jam to crumpets & muffins for hearty teas in front of a roaring fire. The author gives an infallible guide to the many blends of tea & their suitability to particular occasions. Beautifully presented & delightfully illustrated this book is the perfect gift for tea drinkers everywhere. ...

Into the cut-throat world of Corinium television comes Declan OHara a mega-star of great glamour & integrity with a radiant feckless wife a handsome son & two ravishing teenage daughters. Living rather too closely across the valley is Rupert Campbell-Black divorced & as dissolute as ever & now the Tory Minister for Sport. Declan needs only a few days at Corinium to realise that the Managing Director Lord Baddingham is a crook who has recruited him merely to help retain the franchise for Corinium. Baddingham has also enticed Cameron Cook a gorgeous but domineering woman executive to produce Declans programme. Declan & Cameron detest each other provoking a storm of controversy into which Rupert plunges with his usual abandon. As a rival group emerges to pitch for the franchise reputations ripen & decline true love blossoms & burns marriages are made & shattered & sex raises its (delicious) head at almost every throw as in bed & boardroom the race is on to capture the Cotswold Crown. ...

Thomas Howard founded a dynasty & staked his place in history through a self-serving ruthlessness that allowed no rival to stand in his way. But the true rivals of the Tudor court were those who stood alongside him: his wife & his mistress who would battle to the end for him! As Queen Catherine's maid & daughter of the Duke of Buckingham the future seems bright for Elizabeth Stafford. But when her father gives her hand to Thomas Howard third Duke of Norfolk the spirited young woman must sacrifice all for duty. Yet Elizabeth is surprised by her passion for her powerful new husb&. & when he takes on a mistress she is determined to fight for her love & her honour! Naive & vulnerable Bess Holland is easily charmed by the Duke of Norfolk doing his bidding in exchange for gifts & adoration. For years she & Elizabeth compete for his affections. But they are mere spectators to an obsession neither can rival: Norfolk's quest to weave the Howard name into the royal bloodline. The women's loyalties are tested as his schemes unfold -- among them the litigious marriage of his niece Anne Boleyn to King Henry VIII. But in an age of ruthless beheadings no self-serving motive goes unpunished -- & Elizabeth & Bess will have to fight a force more sinister than the executioner's axe! ...

Of the greatest rivalries in world football few stir the emotions more than the Manchester derby
- City v United. Rivals
-

...

The King of Ethrea is dying & his only surviving heir is the Princess Rhian but if her enemies have their way the kingdom will not be ruled by a Queen. Ethrea a small island of strategic importance is known for its ability to keep the secrets of its business partners. Now civil war threatens as men of ambition eye the empty throne & the other nations are getting nervous.. .and greedy. If Rhian cannot secure the crown others will descend & conquer her lands. A toymaker & a mysterious exile from Mijak may be her only hope.. . ...

What a lot of islands the river makes said Ida. We must go exploring & sail around them all. & so begins a wonderful magical summer. Ida Oscar & Ping are staying with Idas great
- aunt at the ancient river
- encircled house of Green Knowe. They set out to chart the river in the canoe & soon discover that it has some surprising & mysterious secrets.

...