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The Fortune Hunters
by Joan AikenAn inheritance comes with its own sinister dangers...'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewAnnette, an increasingly amnesiac magazine editor who has inherited an unexpected fortune, leaves London for a new life in a cottage in the country, but falls prey to a series of strange characters who threaten to deprive her of not just her money, but her sanity too. There's a world-famous artist with a dark secret; a New Zealander on an archaeological dig; and a strange neighbour wheeling an invalid 'child' on a lonely road...Set in the picturesque Sussex town where the author was born and spent her early years in a haunted house, this gothic thriller builds to a terrifying climax as the heroine pits her wits against the sinister forces that surround her.
The Fortune Hunters (Murder Room #638)
by Joan AikenAn inheritance comes with its own sinister dangers...'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewAnnette, an increasingly amnesiac magazine editor who has inherited an unexpected fortune, leaves London for a new life in a cottage in the country, but falls prey to a series of strange characters who threaten to deprive her of not just her money, but her sanity too. There's a world-famous artist with a dark secret; a New Zealander on an archaeological dig; and a strange neighbour wheeling an invalid 'child' on a lonely road...Set in the picturesque Sussex town where the author was born and spent her early years in a haunted house, this gothic thriller builds to a terrifying climax as the heroine pits her wits against the sinister forces that surround her.
The Green Flash and Other Tales of Horror, Suspense, and Fantasy
by Joan AikenThis collection of short stories includes some of Aiken's best spooky gothic tales and fantasy stories. Suitable for young adult readers as well as adult readers.
The Haunting of Lamb House
by Joan AikenThis is the story of three people who live in Lamb House, in London, and their encounter with the supernatural that abides there.
The Haunting of Lamb House
by Joan Aiken"LAMB HOUSE is in Rye, an ancient town of East Sussex, England. It is very much a real place, even a famous one, yet The Haunting of Lamb House is as elusive to review as it must have been to write. It is safe to say that no one but Joan Aiken could have written it, not only because she was born in Rye and has the town in her bones as it were, but also because she has the power -- shown in her other books -- of evoking strange, often eerie events of the past and making other times, places and people vividly alive. This book goes further: She has taken the real history of Lamb House and interwoven happenings that are purely imaginary, working so skillfully that even those who have lived there can hardly tell which is which!"So wrote novelist Rumer Godden, who also lived in Lamb House. She went on:"For those who do not sense such things, The Haunting of Lamb House is a most skillful and intriguing interweaving of fact and fiction; to those who do, it is a memorable evocation. In either case it is a little masterpiece."Lamb House in Joan Aiken's birth town of Rye in Sussex is said to be haunted. This is her story of what might have happened to cause the haunting: using the imagined diary of an earlier Mayor of Rye, Toby Lamb, whose father built the handsome Georgian house, and later episodes that might have occurred during the occupancy of two of its famous literary tenants - Henry James and E.F. Benson.Joan Aiken was born in another haunted house owned by her father Conrad Aiken: Jeake's House, just around the corner in Mermaid Street, Rye, which she also wrote about in Return to Harken House."Joan Aiken has written a clever book, kindling a whole world of feeling out of small macabre details, presenting to the senses a series of apprehensions of reality which seem to touch a completeness beyond themselves. An impressive achievement; I shivered as I admired" Robert Nye, The Guardian"Joan Aiken's artful web of truth and fancy is divided into three histories of haunting - the first employs Aiken's considerable skill in a vivid evocative rendering of the old town of Rye when the house was built...followed by the twenty years of Henry James' residence. The end is worth waiting for...where E.F.Benson encounters hideous apparitions and even an exorcism in the last enthralling twenty pages" Miranda Seymour, T.L.S."Aiken has conjured up a deliciously scary ghost story...her mastery of style serves her well in the creation of three separate voices. Those familiar with Henry James's writing especially The Turn of The Screwwill derive special enjoyment from this novel, but there are shivers enough for any reader willing to acknowledge the possibility of ghosts and the reality of evil" U.S. Library Journal"In three interlocking ghost stories this veteran British novelist places a fictional haunting within the history of a real house, and displays a masterly way with several contrasting narrative styles, sympathetically evoking some ghostly presences...the wayward spirit of the house and the growing number of literary presences which gradually take possession" Publisher's Weekly
The Scream
by Joan AikenWhen Davey and his family moved to the city from the island of Muckle Burra off the coast of Scotland, they left his grandmother behind. But now his parents are dead-after a car accident that left Davey confined to a wheelchair-and Gran has moved in to take care of him and his sister, Lu-Lyn. But Lu-Lyn believes that both she and Gran are "Ridders" who have strange, dark powers and must return to the island... or has a dangerous force already followed them here?Davey must embark on a terrifying journey that will reveal the true secret of his grandmother's rare gift-and the limitless power of his own potential.Joan Aiken mixes myth and magic in this mysterious short novel inspired by the Munch painting, The Scream."An eerie story from this bestselling children's author: 'Superbly chilling...this is one of her best" Independent on Sunday "A tense, exciting and disturbing new story from Joan Aiken, whose magical, fantastic and supernatural books for children are among the best ever written" World of Books"A prolific and much-beloved children's author, Joan Aiken is perhaps best known for her classic "Gothic" adventures, chief among them The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Midnight is a Place. The Scream, which features Edvard Munch's famous painting of the same name, was written later in the author's career, and makes for an agreeable "shivery" read" LibraryThing"Joan Aiken, one of the most brilliant children's writers of her generation, delivers a dark and potent reading experience in this short, disturbing story. After their parents' fatal accident, David and his sister live with their grandmother, a fearsome woman who possesses the power of the Evil Eye. Gran's mysterious links to the old legends and magic of a remote Scottish island seem destined to lead to another tragedy" Amazon Review"Joan Aiken is just ridiculously talented in terms of the scope of her writing and this is truly demonstrated by her ability to create a chilling and compelling narrative in such a short book" Goodreads Review
The Shoemaker's Boy (Gripping Tales #4)
by Joan AikenAs Jem, the Shoemaker's boy, works at night in his father's shop he has three strange visitors asking for some silver keys. Jem must keep the silver keys safe, but how...?
The Silence of Herondale: A missing child, a deserted house, and the secrets that connect them
by Joan AikenA child in danger, an isolated house - and a killer on the loose...'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewSnow-covered fields and moors stretch away on all sides of Herondale House. Despite rumours of an escaped killer on the run, Deborah Lindsay knows that she must control her terror - she has a young charge, 13-year-old prodigy Carreen, to care for.But the isolated Yorkshire farmhouse already holds the terrible secret of one death - and an increasing number of sinister 'accidents' lead Deborah to wonder how long it would be before evil strikes again ...'A splendidly romantic first thriller' Times Literary Supplement
The Silence of Herondale: A missing child, a deserted house, and the secrets that connect them (Murder Room #730)
by Joan AikenA child in danger, an isolated house - and a killer on the loose...'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewSnow-covered fields and moors stretch away on all sides of Herondale House. Despite rumours of an escaped killer on the run, Deborah Lindsay knows that she must control her terror - she has a young charge, 13-year-old prodigy Carreen, to care for.But the isolated Yorkshire farmhouse already holds the terrible secret of one death - and an increasing number of sinister 'accidents' lead Deborah to wonder how long it would be before evil strikes again ...'A splendidly romantic first thriller' Times Literary Supplement
The Stolen Lake (The Wolves Chronicles #4)
by Joan AikenIn this fantasy adventure, a young girl visits a land where birds carry off men, fish eat human flesh, and she must rescue a pilfered lake. Readers who have followed Dido Twite&’s escapades in Black Hearts in Battersea and Nightbirds on Nantucket will welcome her return in her wildest escapade yet. Now back in print, The Cuckoo Tree and The Stolen Lake continue the Wolves Chronicles, the exhilarating and imaginative series that stemmed from Joan Aiken&’s classic The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. A dazzling piece of dramatic, snowballing adventure, The Stolen Lake is full of fantastical details: revolving palaces, witches who are also court dressmakers, an apocalyptic volcanic eruption, and an infernal country with a noticeable lack of female children. On her way back to London aboard the British man-of-war Thrush, twelve-year-old Dido Twite finds herself and the crew summoned to the aid of the tyrannical queen of New Cumbria. A neighboring king has stolen the queen&’s lake and is holding it for ransom, and it&’s up to Dido and the crew to face fire, flood, execution, and wild beasts to get the lake back—or else.Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl &“Aiken lures us into historical fantasy . . . our interest never slows.&” —School Library Journal &“The adventure Miss Aiken has dished up . . . in The Stolen Lake is zanier and more devilishly fiendish than ever.&” —New York Times
Weather Witches and Wise Women
by Joan AikenIn this new collection taken from her very first short stories, written while she and her young family were living in a bus, shortly after the end of the second world war, up until her most recent, Joan Aiken draws on the characters of women from folk and fairy tales who may have had to keep their own light under a bushel, but who use their understanding of the ways of the world, and often their sense of humour to help not just themselves, but others who are lonely and unhappy. Often delightfully tongue in cheek, Joan Aiken presents stories of shop girls who can sell you a pinch of weather, or lonely spinster piano teachers who can confront the devil and his pop group in a dark alley. Old ladies, browbeaten wives, silent mothers, unhappy daughters - all are given a chance to speak their thoughts, and even practise a little magic in Joan Aiken's modern folk tales, particularly in her last collection, called Mooncake. Stories from her whole writing career are included in this collection.
Life As Carola
by Joan GrantHISTORICAL NOVEL? OR ONE OF THE MOST ASTOUNDING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES EVER WRITTEN?The memories of a wanderer in the stormy and licentious era of Renaissance Italy...Carola, the illegitimate child of an Italian nobleman, spent her childhood in a castle near Perugia until the day Fortune cast her into the hostile outer-world of 16th-century Italy. As a member of a group of strolling players, Carola was to gather both harsh experience and gentle wisdom from the strong man Bernard, from the harlot Lucia, from the hunchback-jester Petruchio, and from Sofia, who would be burned as a witch. Finally, when she finds her long-sought peace in love, the freedom she has won carries her triumphantly beyond the barrier of death and from her Life As Carola."Here is an unusual book that shines with fire...that is packed with incident, that is vivid, dramatic and skillfully put together--and yet one that this reviewer finds harder to value correctly than any that has ever fallen into his hands."--New York Times"During the last twenty years, seven books of mine have been published as historical novels which to me are biographies of previous lives I have known."--Joan Grant, from her autobiography Far Memory
Picnic at Hanging Rock: A Novel (Australian Children's Classics)
by Joan LindsayThe classic novel about the disappearance of three boarding school girls that inspired the acclaimed film It was a cloudless summer day in the year 1900. Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of the secluded volcanic outcropping. Farther, higher, until at last they disappeared. They never returned. . . . Mysterious and subtly erotic, Picnic at Hanging Rock inspired the iconic 1975 film of the same name by Peter Weir. A beguiling landmark of Australian literature, it stands with Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides as a masterpiece of haunting intrigue.
Tout ce que l’on ne voit pas
by Joan Llensa“Tout ce que l’on ne voit pas” est un recueil d’histoires effrayantes qui nous emmènent aux limites de notre réalité. Jorge Magano Certains disent que la vraie terreur naît de ce que nous avons en nous. Et s’il est vrai que la société a évolué à pas de géants, ce n’est pas le cas de nos plus grandes craintes. Ouvrir la porte à “Tout ce que l’on ne voit pas” signifie pénétrer dans un monde dangereux et obscur qui nous terrorise. 23 récits courts qui, dans des contextes différents, attiseront vos peurs. Un voyage dans une ambiance tendue qui vous amènera à remettre en question la réalité telle que vous la connaissez. Voisins, immortalité, vengeance, réincarnation, enlèvement, mauvais traitements… Des thèmes qui se mêlent au surnaturel, au mysticisme et à l’imagination, et qui vous feront douter de ce que vous considérez comme acquis jour après jour. Joan Llensa ne veut pas faire peur. Ce jeune auteur veut montrer ce qui se cache sous nos yeux, surprendre le lecteur et traverser avec lui la mince frontière qui sépare la lumière de l’obscurité, la réalité du mystère. Dans chaque histoire, vous découvrirez un monde que vous ne pensiez pas si proche et que vous n’oublierez plus, même une fois le livre fermé. Auras-tu le courage de traverser? Au top des livres les plus vendus en Espagne, Italie et au Mexique depuis sa publication.
Backstage with a Ghost
by Joan Lowery NixonBrian and Sean investigate a series of suspicious accidents at a theater waiting to be torn down.
Check In to Danger
by Joan Lowery NixonWhile staying at a resort hotel, Brian and Sean investigate the ongoing theft of expensive cuts of meat from the hotel's kitchen.
Ghost Town: Seven Ghostly Stories
by Joan Lowery NixonStagecoach robberies. Shoot-outs. Striking it rich. Throughout the Wild West small towns were formed, thriving with men and women from the East and gold from the mines. Notorious outlaws, desperadoes, and gunslingers rustled up trouble in town after town. When the gold disappeared, the outlaws, as well as the local folks, abandoned their towns. Or did they? There are still sounds, not just the paint peeling from the deserted storefronts, or the tumbleweeds whispering as they somersault down the empty streets. There are voices, whispering stories--are they real or imagined? Stories like the one about the Lost Mine in Maiden, Texas, or the Bad Man from Bodie, California, who's still searching for his lost finger...
Haunted Island
by Joan Lowery NixonChris and Amy doubt Amos when he tells them he lived through a terrible night on Haunted Island. Now he wants them to go and set the ghosts to rest.
Secret, Silent Screams
by Joan Lowery NixonA high school senior is convinced her friend Barry did not commit suicide but was a murder victim, and she endangers her own life to prove it.
The Haunted House on Honeycutt Street (Nic-Nacs and the Nic-Nac News Series)
by Joan Lowery NixonFour friends who live on Honeycutt Street join together to publish a newspaper and, in time, solve mysteries.
The Grimsbane Family Witch Hunters
by Joan ReardonNetflix&’s Wednesday meets Jodi Lynn Anderson&’s The Memory Thief in this &“spooky, fast-paced&” (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade adventure about a girl&’s quest to save her cursed brother that takes her through perilous, monster-filled woods.The Grimsbane women have been hunting witches and monsters for generations—ever since the Watcher, the most powerful witch in the Midwest, cursed the Grimsbane men to die untimely and unusual deaths. Part-time skater, full-time troublemaker Anna Grimsbane may be only twelve, but she&’s been learning about hunting her whole life and is tired of waiting to do the real thing. She and her twin brother Billy are about to turn thirteen, the age the curse takes hold, and Anna wants to be on the front lines fighting to break it. Only hours before he&’ll become an accident-prone walking disaster, Billy runs away to find the Watcher himself. The Grimsbane women are all out on patrol, leaving it up to Anna and her friends Suvi and Rosario to find Billy before his recklessness hastens his demise. But the woods are crawling with cryptids, most of whom hate humans, and all of whom hate the Grimsbanes. And the deeper Anna gets into the forest, the clearer it is that reading about witch hunting is no replacement for practical experience. Anna feels in over her head, especially as she starts to suspect she knows much less about her family history than she&’d thought. As she races against the clock to find Billy before midnight, it becomes all too evident that he isn&’t the only Grimsbane at risk for a grisly death tonight.
Memory and the Gothic Aesthetic in Film (Palgrave Gothic)
by Joana Jacob RamalhoThis open access book defines the cinematic Gothic as an aesthetics of memory and exile. Guided by three intersecting concepts – memory, travelling, and touch – it suggests that the cross-border movements of exiles, émigrés, and professional travellers had a crucial impact on the emergence, development, and dissemination of the Gothic. This approach expands the canon to overlooked films, filmmakers, and national traditions. Drawing on film, memory, and gothic studies, the book urges the reader to think across other disciplines, including phenomenology, neurology, cognitive neuroscience, and disability studies. From hands to pianos, accordions, gloves, amnesia, and wounded bodies, the volume proposes a reappraisal of the Gothic by redrawing its scope, retracing its origins, and refocusing attention on surfaces as sites of socio-political meaning.
O Segredo de Sullivan
by Joana Marques de Almeida Robin MurphyA Dra. Marie Bartek aprecia a vida simples que leva na Ilha de Sullivan, onde trabalha como veterinária, até ao momento em que as suas capacidades psíquicas, depois de dezoito anos adormecidas, voltam de súbito a manifestar-se. Perturbada pela proximidade dos espíritos que a assombram continuamente, Marie confia na sua melhor amiga. Juntas, fundam um grupo que investiga fenómenos paranormais, a que dão o seguinte nome: Sociedade Paranormal da Ilha de Sullivan (SPIS). À medida que novas e inesperadas amizades se formam, Marie aprende a canalizar melhor os seus poderes. Quando finalmente descobrem que os espíritos estão a tentar avisá-la de que há uma presença maléfica na ilha, Marie e os seus amigos fazem tudo ao seu alcance para que o assassino seja apanhado. Conseguirá Marie, mesmo com a ajuda da equipa da SPIS, encontrar o criminoso e detê-lo antes que mais vidas sejam destruídas?
Blood Queen (Shakespeare's Queens)
by Joanna CourtneyCold. Ruthless. Deadly. The myth of Lady Macbeth looms large. But behind the villainous portrait stands a real woman. This is her story . . . Scotland, 1020 AD. King Malcolm II lies on his deathbed, and the most powerful families make a violent claim for the Scottish throne . . .On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, a flushed and nervous Cora MacDuff waits to marry her sweetheart, Macbeth. But her dreams are stolen from her, and the night she was hoping for turns into a brutal slaughter. In order to reclaim the life she was promised, Cora must learn to use every weapon at her disposal - even those she loves . . . The beginning of a brand new Historical fiction series by the bestselling author of the Queens of Conquest series, her new trilogy unearths the real women behind Shakespeare's most infamous queens . . . If you love Elizabeth Chadwick and Anne O'Brien you will adore Joanna CourtneyWhat readers are saying about Joanna Courtney:'I was hooked from the very first page and didn't want to put it down. Joanna Courtney is a new talent in the world of historical fiction and one that I would highly recommend. I look forward to reading more by this fantastic author' Bookbabblers'A strong sense of atmosphere and place and time. I really got into the story, in fact I was so gripped by it at one point that I missed my bus. It was a really good, exciting, read. I cannot wait to read the next two books.' Michelle Birkby, author of The House at Baker Street'Amazing' (Miranda Dickinson)'Courtney's novel breathes new life into this complex character,...A thrilling introduction to Courtney's new trilogy on Shakespearean queens.' - The Lady 'A glorious, rich, epic story of love, friendship and sacrifice which will sweep you up and transport you to another time. I absolutely loved this and can't wait for the next book in the series' (Rachael Lucas, author of Sealed With A Kiss and Coming Up Roses)'An absorbing and emotional debut novel' (Candis magazine)'A thrilling and atmospheric read with strong female characters' (MyWeekly)'A beautifully written multi layered tale with a tremendously authentic sense of place and time . . . an epic feel . . . highly recommended' (LizLovesBooks)'The story reaches a heart-rending climax. A must read. I loved it' (Freda Lightfoot, author of The Amber Keeper)'With lovely writing and a terrific sense of narrative drive, Joanna Courtney portrays an era of change through a story about a long forgotten Queen. In The Chosen Queen, Edyth is a heroine who inhabits a convincingly re-created historical world, peopled with personalities whose lives leap from the page. Superb! (Carol McGrath, author of The Daughters of Hastings trilogy)An outstanding opening to this new series set to rival historical fiction heavyweights like Philippa Gregory and Susanna Dunn (Lisareadsbooks)
Blood Queen (Shakespeare's Queens)
by Joanna CourtneyTwo years after the death of the Earl of Riverdale, his family has overcome the shame of being stripped of their titles and fortune, except for his onetime countess, Viola. With her children grown and herself no longer part of the social whirl of the ton, she is uncertain where to look for happiness, until quite by accident her path crosses once again with that of the Marquess of Dorchester, Marcel Lamarr. Marcel Lamarr has been a notorious womanizer since the death of his wife nearly twenty years earlier. Viola caught his eye when she herself was a young mother, but she evaded his seduction at the time. A prize that eluded him before, she is all the more irresistible to him now although he is surprised to discover that she is as eager now for the excitement he offers as he is himself. When the two defy convention and run away together, they discover that the ties of respectability are not so easily severed, and pleasure can ensnare you when you least expect it ...