Aberdeen 1631. University librarian Robert Sim takes receipt of a gift of books recently arrived from overseas mysterious works on alchemy & hermetics
- the pursuit of ancient knowledge. By nightfall he has been brutally murdered. His colleague & good friend Alexander Seaton is left with the task of hunting for clues as to his killers motive as well as locating the missing books. What did Sim discover in the package & what makes these books so dangerous? Crucible is a fantastic historical thriller that imagines deep-rooted deceptions & a secret whose revelation spells danger for anyone who comes close.
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Urban conflagrations such as the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 & the Great Boston Fire of 1872 terrorized the citizens of nineteenth-century American cities although rebirth in the aftermath offered a chance to shape the future. Ultimately urban dwellers & planners created sweeping changes in the methods of constructing buildings planning city streets engineering water distribution systems underwriting fire insurance & firefighting itself. The practical knowledge gained from fighting nineteenth-century fires gave form & function to modern fire protection efforts. Changes in materials & building design resulted directly from tragedies such as fires in fireproof hotels. Thousands of buildings burned millions of dollars were lost the fire insurance industry faltered & a tradition of volunteerism died out before municipal authorities accepted the necessary changes. The great fires formed a crucible of learning for firefighters engineers architects & underwriters. Bruce Hensler shows how the modern American fire service today is a direct result of the lessons of history. ...

It is Midsummer 1631. While Alexander Seaton & his fellow masters enjoy the holiday with their students Robert Sim librarian of Marischal College is murdered in a dark alleyway in town. While the university & town authorities investigate the murder Seaton is asked by the college principal to look into Sims private life. In the course of an investigation in which his personal feelings threaten to cloud his judgement & endanger his young marriage to Sarah he discovers a side to the librarian he could never have guessed at. It is only when a second apparently unrelated murder comes to light that Seaton begins to piece together the connections between a young weaver a consignment of books & events in a college in the Low Countries in order to unmask the perpetrator of the years-old deception that led to the two deaths. ...

NEW FOR 2011 Everything you need to know do & say to get the grade you want! Now in full colour updated for the new GCSE & available in a new student-friendly size York Notes for GCSE is now easier to use easier to read so it's easier than ever to get top marks. Written by examiners & teachers to give you an expert understanding of the text you're studying York Notes has the most in-depth coverage & analysis of everything from themes & contexts to characters plots & language. You'll get the low-down on everything you'll need to demonstrate how well you understand the text & write the best essays. There are sample answers essay plans & specialist guidance on understanding the questions you'll be asked in an exam together with an array of handy"es checklists study tips grade boosters & revision activities to help you learn revise efficiently & remember everything you'll need to write the very best answers. It's the ultimate guide to revision & exam success. For over 25 years York Notes has been helping GCSE students just like you achieve the very best grade they can in their exam. So if you're looking for straightforward easy-to-use advice on how to boost your grades to the next level York Notes for GCSE is the only guide you're going to need. ...

In a derelict cottage in L.A a young woman is found savagely murdered. Naked strung from two wooden posts the skin has been ripped from her face
- while she was still alive. On the nape of her neck is carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer. But thats not possible. Because two years ago the Crucifix Killer was caught & executed. Could this be the work of a copycat? Or is Homicide Detective Robert Hunter forced to face the unthinkable? Is the real Crucifix Killer still out there taunting Hunter with his inability to catch him? Robert Hunter & his rookie partner are about to enter a nightmare beyond imagining.. .
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The fingerprints say the murderer is the man whos just been executed.. . At 11.05 one December evening in Richmond Virginia convicted murderer Ronnie Joe Waddell is pronounced dead in the electric chair. At the morgue Dr Kay Scarpetta waits for Waddells body. Preparing to perform a post-mortem before the subject is dead is a strange feeling but Scarpetta has been here before. & Waddells death is not the only newsworthy event on this freezing night: the grotesquely wounded body of a young boy is found propped against a rubbish skip. To Scarpetta the two cases seem unrelated until she recalls that the body of Waddells victim had been arranged in a strikingly similar position.. . ...

This work is set in Scotland 1297. Passionate brave & fiercely loyal Margaret Kerr
- a young woman estranged from her husband
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The mountain paths are as treacherous as they are steep
- the more so in the dark & in winter. Even for the fit the journey is
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The Illustrated Police News is often dismissed as a crude publication which aimed to thrill the undiscerning reader with gruesome pictures. Cruel Deeds & Calamities sets out to correct that belief by demonstrating the diversity of its subject matter examining its social & political agenda & revealing the power & compassion in its images. The Illustrated Police News was a promoter of social change & a campaigner against the evils of cruelty poverty drink & crime. It anticipated by many years the features of todays journalism in the rapidity with which it provided pictures of current news events its appeal to the emotions & the involvement of its readers in the reporting process. This is the first book exclusively about the Illustrated Police News to reproduce the pictures as high quality images provide a balanced account of its content & cover the full period of its publication. There is substantial new research into how the paper was produced the men who made it a success & the stories behind the pictures. ...

Cruel Enchantment is a stunning collection of unique & breathtakingly beautiful erotic fairy tales. Winged demonesses otherworldly ...