In the summer of 1138, war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud takes Brother Cadfael from the quiet world of his garden into a battlefield of passions, deceptions, and death. Not far from the safety of the abbey walls, Shrewsbury Castle falls, leaving its ninety-four defenders, loyal to the Empress, to hang as traitors. With a heavy heart, Brother Cadfael agrees to bury the dead, only to make a grisly discover: ninety-five dead bodies lie in a row – the extra victim has been cruelly strangled, not hanged. But one death among so many seems unimportant to all but the good Benedictine. He vows to find the truth behind disparate clues: a girl in boy’s clothing, a missing treasure, and a single broken flower… more »

Orphaned at a young age, Julia of Childress has become the angel of the kitchen at the Convent of the Brides of Virtue. She may be renowned for whipping up meals that can make any mouth water, but all Julia wants is a kitchen of her own-and a husband for whom to cook. Unfortunately, the abbess has other plans-such as transforming Julia into a proper nun.

Griffin de Grandaise will do anything to make Julia his personal chef-even keep his vow to return her to the convent in one year…virtue intact. But nothing prepares him for Julia’s sumptuous meals-or for the maddening way she drives him wild. To make matters worse, it’s obvious Julia is determined to get him to propose a more lasting arrangement-and it will take every ounce of Grifffin’s will power to resist. [From book jacket of mass market paperback edition, with some minute paraphrasing]

“Beware my claw, for I’ve come to inflict justice!” After years of captivating fans from the pages of Hellboy and B.P.R.D., the pulp-style adventures of Lobster Johnson take the limelight in this collection of The Lobster’s first solo series. Written and featuring a cover by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, and drawn by Jason Armstrong (Ferro City, The Sensational Spider-Man), Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus is a wild ride full of fearsome monsters, mad scientists, and threats from the world beyond.

From the murky Thames to the misty Moors of the North, murder stalks Welsh soldier-sleuth Owen Archer and his dearest friend…

It is 1367. When Sir William of Wyndesore’s page is found drowned in the icy Windsor Castle moat, some say he was done away with by Ned Townley-soldier, spy, and jealous lover, But Ned’s struggle to prove his innocence to his ladylove, Mary, is thwarted by his abrupt dispatch to Yorkshire on a royal mission.

Soon an unseen hand speeds Mary to a watery grave, while hot-tempered Ned vanishes in the northern wilds. And Archer, his old comrade-in-arms, must pursue him through a tangle of threats and butchered corpses, to save his life…or to bring him to justice. Owen, with his one sound eye, can see more than most with two, but what the bold ex-archer spies-with the help of his apothecary wife Lucie-will enmesh him and his friend in the dark and bloody intrigues of Church, crown, and court.

The year is 1836. Europe is modernizing, and the sultan of the Ottoman Empire feels he has no choice but to follow suit. But just as he’s poised to announce sweeping political change, a wave of murders threatens the fragile balance of power in his court. Who is behind the killings? The sultan announces, “Send for Yashim.” Detective and eunuch Yashim depends on the wisdom of a dyspeptic Polish ambassador, a transsexual dancer, and the Creole-born queen mother. And, as Yashim investigates, he begins to worry that these murders are just a prelude to the Janissaries staging a brutal comeback. And if they are, how can they be stopped without throwing Istanbul into political chaos?

In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building a shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

My ridiculously long name is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie. Thirty-fourth in line for the throne, I am, as they say, flat broke. When my brother, Binky, Duke of Glen Garry and Rannoch, cut off my meager allowance, I bolted from Scotland – and my engagement to Fishface (I mean, Prince Siegfried)- for London, where I have:

1. built a fire in the hearth -entirely on my own, thank you very much
2. fallen for an absolutely unsuitable Irish peer
3. made a few quid housekeeping incognita, and
4. been summoned by the Queen herself to spy on her playboy son

Less than thrilled with this last bit, I’m wondering what to do when an arrogant Frenchman -who was trying to swipe our family estate! – winds up dead in my bathtub. Now, my new job is to clear my very long family name…

Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equipped. The battle of Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower. Then Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle; its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking–and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantities to the Confederates.

The name of the weapon is the AK-47.

Susanna, Lady Appleton, is ordered by Queen Elizabeth to assist Eleanor Madderly with an herbal she is preparing. The queen?s emissary failed to mention that a man had been murdered at Madderly Castle–and that part of Susanna?s mission is to solve that crime. Traitorous forgery, hidden identities, and secret passages all make her task the more dangerous. more »

London, 1852. On the shocking discovery of a passenger’s body on the Great Western Railway excursion train, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck and his assistant, Sergeant Victor Leeming, are dispatched to the scene. Faced with what initially appears to be a motiveless murder, Colbeck is intrigued by the murder weapon – a noose. When it emerges that the victim had worked as a public executioner, Colbeck realizes that this must be intrinsically linked to the killer’s choice of weapon.

However, the further he delves into the case, the more mysterious it becomes. When a second man is strangled with a noose on the train, Colbeck knows that he must act quickly; can he catch the murderer before more lives are lost?