"While Brother Cadfael has bent Abbey rules, he has never broken his monastic vows—until now. Word has come to Shrewsbury of a treacherous act that has left 30 of Empress Maud's knights imprisoned during England's dynastic war between two grandchildren of William the Conqueror. All have been ransomed except Cadfael's secret son, Olivier. Conceived in Cadfael's soldiering youth and unaware of his father's identity, Olivier will die if he is not freed. Cadfael is determined to find him but must leave the monastery without his abbot's blessing."
"In summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maudhave temporarily exhausted each other. Brother Cadfael, herbalist-sleuth of Shrewsbury's Benedictine Abbey, agrees to accompany wise young Brother Mark on Church business in Wales. But the brothers soon find themselves caught up in yet another feud. A Welsh prince has banished his brother, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally, and the country teeters on the brink of civil war. Cadfael is captured by Dane mercenaries and becomes entangled in the affairs of a young woman desperate to escape an arranged marriage. Before he can untangle such domestic passions, Cadfael has to survive the royal brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos."
"It's Christmas, and a local visiting dignitary suddenly takes ill immediately following his decision to bequeath his manorial estate to the abbey. Luckily, the abbey boasts the services of the herbalist Brother Cadfael, who hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted with two surprises: the man's wife is Richildis—whom Cadfael loved before he took his vows—and the poison is monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's stores. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder."
"In the summer of 1139, there is a pause in the civil war racking the country. St. Peter's Fair attracts merchants from across England and beyond, promising to bring some much-needed gaiety to Shrewsbury—that is, until the dead body of a wealthy merchant is found in the river Severn. Brother Cadfael offers to help the merchant's lovely niece uncover the murderer, but as he searches for the killer, the merchant's wares are ransacked and two more men are murdered. Brother Cadfael suspects the girl almost certainly knows more than she is telling, and he desperately races to save her, knowing that betrayal can come from any direction—and even good intentions can kill."
"Heresy, murder, and the contents of a mysterious treasure chest challenge Brother Cadfael—12th-century herbalist, sleuth, and sometime cupid—in his 16th chronicle.
In the summer of 1143, William of Lythwood arrives at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, but it is not a joyous occasion—he's come back from his pilgrimage in a coffin. William's body is accompanied by his young attendant Elave, whose mission is to secure a burial place for his master on the abbey grounds. An already difficult task is complicated when Elave drunkenly expresses his heretical opinions, and capital charges are filed. When a violent death follows, Sheriff Hugh Beringar taps his friend Brother Cadfael for help."
"It was the start of a grand adventure in a land of antiquity: a rare opportunity to visit biblical places rich in tradition and shrouded in mystery. But in the middle of Beirut, a world away from everything she knows, Dinah Van der Lyn suddenly hears angry voices through the wall of her hotel. The voices are followed by a crash and cries for help—in English. The brutal shattering of an evening's stillness becomes a prelude to terror.
Without warning, Dinah is drawn into something unholy transpiring in the sacred city. Her search for the answers hidden in the shadows will take her to the fabled cities of Sidon, Tyre, Damascus, and Jerusalem. And as she races through ancient, twisting streets, teeming with secrets and peril, she is forced to trust an enigmatic stranger, a man who may be leading her to safety—or to her doom."
"Boston hoodlum Julius Ventura wants to find his daughter's missing husband. At least that's how he puts it to Spenser and Hawk, even though it's clear that Julius isn't telling the whole truth—or maybe not any part of the truth. Something about the case appeals to Spenser's passion for justice, though, and he launches an odyssey that leads him and Hawk into the netherworld of organized crime.
From the throne room of crime lords to the Vegas strip, from larceny to homicide, Spenser and Hawk soon discover that what's at stake in this game is control of gangland Boston. Against the bright lights and seamy side streets of Las Vegas, they find themselves dead center in a circus of violence whose shadowy ringmaster is all too familiar."
"The lethal stuff of legends
For Jessica Tregarth, an unexpected invitation to visit her grandfather in England comes as a wonderful surprise, an opportunity to open doors to a family history that have always been closed to her. But her arrival is greeted by mysterious villains who pursue her through Cornwall, their motive and intentions unknown. Jessica's only clue is an antique heirloom she possesses, an ancient ring that bears the Tregarth family crest. Her only ally is handsome gothic novelist David Randall—her self-proclaimed protector—who appears seemingly out of nowhere to help her solve a five hundred-year-old puzzle.
Something out of the cloudy mists of Arthurian lore has come back to plague a frightened American abroad, and a remarkable truth about a fabled king and a medieval treasure could ultimately make Jess Tregarth very rich—or very dead."
"Eight vulnerable girls and their helpless teachers are forced off a school bus and held hostage. The madman who has them at gunpoint has a simple plan: one hostage an hour will die unless the demands are met. Called to the scene is Arthur Potter, the FBI's best hostage negotiator. He has a plan. But so does one of the hostages-a beautiful teacher who's willing to do anything to save the lives of her students. Now, the clock is ticking as a chilling game of cat and mouse begins."
"In a remote English country mansion, modern devotees of the infamous King Richard III, immortally villainized by Shakespeare, have gathered for a grand weekend of role-playing and Ricardian scholarship. Jacqueline Kirby, an attractive American librarian attending the festivities, anticipates only one mystery to be raised: the five-hundred-year-old question of whether Richard truly killed the little princess in the Tower of London.
Jacqueline is amused at the group's eccentricities-until history begins to repeat itself. A dangerous practical joker recreates famous fifteenth-century murder methods: beheading, poisoning, smothering, and even drowning in a butt of malmsey. As the jokes become more and more macabre, one at last proves fatal.
Racing to untangle the murderous puzzle, Jacqueline puts all her observations together for a dazzling solution that will surprise even the most attentive listener."
"She may be a bestselling author, but ex-librarian Jacqueline Kirby's views on the publishing biz aren't fit to print. In fact, she's thinking of trading celebrity for serenity and a house far away from fiendish editors and demented fans, when her agent whispers the only words that could ever make her stay: Naked in the Ice.
Seven years ago, this blockbuster skyrocketed Kathleen Darcy to instant fame. Now the author's heirs are looking for a writer to pen the sequel. It's an opportunity no novelist in her right mind would pass up, and there's no doubting Jacqueline's sanity…until she starts digging through the missing woman's papers—and her past. Until she gets mixed up with Kathleen's enigmatic lover. Until a series of nasty accidents convince her much too late that someone wants to bring Jacqueline's story—and her life—to a premature end."
"On a trail that leads from modern wonders to ancient mystery, a determined young woman and an arrogant 'prince' must uncover shocking secrets carefully guarded in a beautiful Danish city.
Elizabeth Jones, vacationing from her New York publishing job, is off to do touristy things in Denmark: gawk at the Little Mermaid, stroll in the Tivoli … look for a missing person?
By a strange twist of fate—and luck—the plane ride introduces Elizabeth to her idol, Nobel Prize–winning historian and famed eccentric Margaret Rosenberg, as well as to her long-suffering but handsome son, Christian. But luck can change in an instant. Margaret soon vanishes in Copenhagen, so Elizabeth joins the irascible Christian in searching the city, from underground crypts to the graves of queens. What they encounter is a baffling ransom demanding a bathrobe, not money, and what they dig up will connect a modern disappearance with an ancient artifact, along with the oldest of motives for crime."
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