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The Real Mother: A Novel
by Judith MichaelJudith Michael is beloved around the world for powerful stories of love and family. Now this renowned author returns with a richly emotional tale of the many kinds of love and the collision of good and evil that threatens to tear a family apart.Sara Elliott has been forced to give up the life she's dreamed of to return home to Chicago and take charge of her sisters and brother. She finds a job and settles into the house she grew up in, building a life for ten-year-old Doug and teenagers Carrie and Abby.But Sara has another brother, Mack, now twenty, who left home three years earlier. Suddenly he reappears, cheerful and unconcerned, as if he had never broken his promise to stay and help Sara with the children and the house. With bewildering volatility, Mack swings from kindness to cruelty, affection to hostility, keeping the family always on edge, his past and present a mystery. But with expensive gifts, storytelling, and the excitement of his presence, he is winning over the children, and sometimes the four of them stand together against Sara.Mack challenges all Sara has achieved in trying to be a mother and keep her family together. And he does it at a time when she is confronted by crises at work that spill over into her home. Suddenly, events seem to be speeding past and Sara feels she cannot slow them down to regain control.And then, when she thinks her life has room only for work and family, she meets Reuben Lister, a client from New York. As Sara helps him find and furnish a house and explore the city, they discover a closeness neither has known before and share new ways of dealing with conflicts each has always faced alone. Together, Sara and Reuben find answers to the questions: What is a mother? What is a parent? What is a family?This is Judith Michael's most poignant exploration of the pressures and joys facing modern adults and children, in a story that will resonate with everyone for its universal themes and discoveries.
The Real Mrs. Price: A Novel (Blink, Texas Trilogy #1)
by J. D. MasonLucy Price is living the American dream. She has been married to her successful husband and businessman, Edward Price for a year and couldn’t be happier until she learns that Eddie is a dangerously ruthless man, heavily involved in illegal activities that threaten not only her marriage, but her life. Eddie abruptly disappears, but not before warning Lucy that if she wants to keep breathing she'd better keep her mouth shut. Six months later, word of her husband surfaces when she learns that he is presumed murdered in a small Texas town, apparently killed by his “wife”, Marlowe Price.Marlowe is no stranger to trouble. An outcast in her own community for being one of those "hoodoo women," who can curse you or cast you under her beguiling spell, Marlowe is shunned at every turn. Six months ago, a whirlwind romance in Mexico led Marlowe to marry the man she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. For Marlowe and Eddie, there is no such thing as trouble in paradise. But late one night, when Marlowe witnesses her husband putting the body of a dead man in the trunk of his car, the illusion comes crashing down around her and she knows she has to move fast before the devil comes calling once again.Now, Lucy and Marlowe must come together to find out where and who Eddie really is, and help each other through the threat he poses. There's nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned...except for two women scorned who are willing to put their pasts behind them and band together to take one bad man down...
Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #1)
by Charlaine Harris'Harris draws the guilty and the innocent into an engrossing tale while inventing a heroine as capable and potentially complex as P. D. James's Cordelia Gray' (Publishers Weekly)#1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris introduces a librarian whose bookish bent for murder gets her involved in a real-life killing spree . . . Lawrenceton, Georgia, may be a growing suburb of Atlanta, but it's still a small town at heart. Librarian Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden grew up there and knows more than enough about her fellow townsfolk, including which ones share her interest in the darker side of human nature . . . With those fellow crime buffs, Roe belongs to a club called Real Murders, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It's a harmless pastime - until the night she finds a member dead, killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. As other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Roe will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game, one that casts all the members of Real Murders, herself included, as prime suspects-or potential victims . . . 'Clearly focused plot, animated description of character and real estate, and sparkling prose commend this breath of fresh air to all collections' (Library Journal)'Great bloody fun' (Barbara Paul)
Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Novel (Aurora Teagarden #1)
by Charlaine HarrisAurora Teagarden, small town librarian and true crime buff, is looking forward to the monthly meeting of the Real Murders Society, a group of fellow crime enthusiasts who share a unique interest in historical murders. The Society meetings are the highlight of Roe's social life in sleepy Lawrenceville, Georgia, and she's ready for a quiet night of discussion, coffee, and cookies. But after she finds the body of a Society member in a staged crime scene eerily similar to the one the group was supposed to discuss that very night, Roe finds herself at the center of a murderous story of her own.As the killer strikes again, it's obvious that members of the Real Murders Society have become targets of a knowledgeable copycat. With the help of handsome police detective Arthur Smith and the town's dashing new resident, mystery novelist Robin Crusoe, it's up to Roe to discover if the murderer is one of the group's own and to piece the perplexing puzzle together before another body appears.From #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris, this first book in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series combines the excitement of solving the crime and the charm of Southern hospitality. Real Murders, A Bone to Pick, Three Bedrooms, One Corpse and the rest of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries have been adapted into film for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #1)
by Charlaine HarrisThough a small town at heart, Lawrenceton, Georgia, has its dark side-and crime buffs. One of whom is librarian Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, a member of the Real Murders Club, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It's a harmless pastime-until the night she finds a member killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. And as other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Roe will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game, one that casts all the members of Real Murders, herself included, as prime suspects-or potential victims.
The Real Silent Witnesses: Shocking cases from the World of Forensic Science
by Wensley ClarksonWITH A FOREWORD BY NIGEL McCRERY, CREATOR OF SILENT WITNESSGoing beyond the popular TV show, this is the true story of forensic science from those who solve crimes without witnesses. How do you identify a serial killer?What are the tell-tale signs of guilt?Can we now solve the unsolvable?Since even before the first season of Silent Witness in 1996, forensic science has played an increasingly important role in the investigation of violent crimes.With a boom in cold-blooded cases throughout the 1980s, police began to rely on DNA evidence to help them find perpetrators and since then forensic science has taken off as a powerful tool in solving murders. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us beyond the headlines to examine the real-life stories where forensics have played a crucial role. He speaks to experts who have worked on the most gruesome, most chilling and most shocking crime scenes and explains how notorious criminal cases from across the world were solved.And he shows how the silent witness is often the one who screams the loudest.
The Real Silent Witnesses: Shocking cases from the World of Forensic Science
by Wensley ClarksonWITH A FOREWORD BY NIGEL McCRERY, CREATOR OF SILENT WITNESSGoing beyond the popular TV show, this is the true story of forensic science from those who solve crimes without witnesses. How do you identify a serial killer?What are the tell-tale signs of guilt?Can we now solve the unsolvable?Since even before the first season of Silent Witness in 1996, forensic science has played an increasingly important role in the investigation of violent crimes.With a boom in cold-blooded cases throughout the 1980s, police began to rely on DNA evidence to help them find perpetrators and since then forensic science has taken off as a powerful tool in solving murders. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us beyond the headlines to examine the real-life stories where forensics have played a crucial role. He speaks to experts who have worked on the most gruesome, most chilling and most shocking crime scenes and explains how notorious criminal cases from across the world were solved.And he shows how the silent witness is often the one who screams the loudest.
The Real Thing
by Susann OrielTop art expert Gemma Gilmore can easily spot a fake from across a crowded gallery. So she wonders why the smoking-hot man standing alone in the far corner of the auction room isn’t bidding. She and her killer five-inch pumps vow to find out.Mac Buchanan is on an undercover assignment that leaves no room for small talk and soft emotions. When one of the expensive paintings Gemma authenticated turns out to be a fake, he’s the prime investigator, and he’s determined not to let her breathtaking sex appeal whitewash a serious crime.But even facing off over a $50 million art fraud case isn’t enough to contain their blazing sexual chemistry. Time and again, passion draws them together, but they’re driven apart by an ever-increasing web of lies, set-ups, and betrayals.When the truth behind the fraud is revealed, will their relationship shatter or will they discover their intense connection is the real thing?Sensuality Level: Spicy
Real Tigers (Slough House #3)
by Mick HerronLondon: Slough House is the MI5 branch where disgraced operatives are reassigned after they've messed up too badly to be trusted with real intelligence work. The "Slow Horses," as the failed spies of Slough House are called, are doomed to spend the rest of their careers pushing paper, but they all want back in on the action.When one of their own is kidnapped and held for ransom, the agents of Slough House must defeat the odds, overturning all expectations of their competence, to breach the top-notch security of MI5's intelligence headquarters, Regent's Park, and steal valuable intel in exchange for their comrade's safety. The kidnapping is only the tip of the iceberg, however--the agents uncover a larger web of intrigue that involves not only a group of private mercenaries but the highest authorities in the Secret Service. After years spent as the lowest on the totem pole, the Slow Horses suddenly find themselves caught in the midst of a conspiracy that threatens not only the future of Slough House, but of MI5 itself.From the Hardcover edition.
Real Tigers: Slough House Thriller 3 (Slough House Thriller #3)
by Mick Herron*Discover The Secret Hours, the gripping new thriller from Mick Herron and an unmissable read for Slough House fans*SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLDSBORO GOLD DAGGER AND THE IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER SHORTLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIAR CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR'If you read one spy novel this year, read Real Tigers' The Spectator'The finest new crime series this millennium' Mail on SundayCatherine Standish knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks.She's worked in the Intelligence Service long enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back.What she doesn't know is why anyone would target her: a recovering drunk pushing paper with the other lost causes in Jackson Lamb's kingdom of exiles at Slough House.Whoever it is holding her hostage, it can't be personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it is about Jackson Lamb.And say what you like about Lamb, he'll never leave a joe in the lurch.He might even be someone you could trust with your life . . .
The Real-Town Murders
by Adam RobertsAlma is a private detective in a near-future England, a country desperately trying to tempt people away from the delights of Shine, the immersive successor to the internet. But most people are happy to spend their lives plugged in, and the country is decaying.Alma's partner is ill, and has to be treated without fail every 4 hours, a task that only Alma can do. If she misses the 5 minute window her lover will die. She is one of the few not to access the Shine.So when Alma is called to an automated car factory to be shown an impossible death and finds herself caught up in a political coup, she knows that getting too deep may leave her unable to get home. What follows is a fast-paced Hitchcockian thriller as Alma evades arrest, digs into the conspiracy, and tries to work out how on earth a dead body appeared in the boot of a freshly-made car in a fully-automated factory.
Real Vampires Say Read My Hips
by Gerry BartlettBe Careful What You Wish For. . . Curvy vampire Glory St. Clair has a lot of things on her wish list: a perfect figure, to eat chocolate again, and to marry her hunky Highlander Jeremiah Campbell of course. Then there's the family she's always wanted. At least she's about to marry Jerry--until her mother kidnaps her the week before the wedding. What's a girl to do? She's in Olympus and a goddess. Glory doesn't mind waking up with a perfect figure and an appetite for hamburgers, but where are her fangs? Seems blood suckers aren't welcome in Olympus. And her powerful grandfather wouldn't approve of her former lifestyle. He's eager to meet her and arrange an "appropriate" marriage. Glory is desperate to go home to the man she loves. Will her powerful family ever let her go? When Jerry arrives in Olympus determined to fight for her, Glory is afraid they will never have the forever life together they'd planned. It will take all of her goddess powers to make this final dream come true.
Real World
by Natsuo KirinoA stunning new work of the feminist noir that Natsuo Kirino defined and made her own in her novelsOutandGrotesque. In a crowded residential suburb on the outskirts of Tokyo, four teenage girls indifferently wade their way through a hot, smoggy summer and endless “cram school” sessions meant to ensure entry into good colleges. There’s Toshi, the dependable one; Terauchi, the great student; Yuzan, the sad one, grieving over the death of her mother—and trying to hide her sexual orientation from her friends; and Kirarin, the sweet one, whose late nights and reckless behavior remain a secret from those around her. When Toshi’s next-door neighbor is found brutally murdered, the girls suspect the killer is the neighbor’s son, a high school boy they nickname Worm. But when he flees, taking Toshi’s bike and cell phone with him, the four girls get caught up in a tempest of dangers—dangers they never could have even imagined—that rises from within them as well as from the world around them. Psychologically intricate and astute, dark and unflinching,Real Worldis a searing, eye-opening portrait of teenage life in Japan unlike any we have seen before.
Reality Check
by Peter AbrahamsQB of the varsity football team. Passing grades in all his classes. Dating the hottest--and smartest--girl at school. Summer job paying more than minimum wage. Things in Cody's world seem to be going pretty well. Until, that is, his girlfriend, Clea, is sent off to boarding school across the country, and a torn ACL ends his high school football career. But bad things come in threes--or in Cody's case, sixes and twelves--and the worst is yet to come. While limping through town one day, Cody sees a newspaper heading: "Local Girl Missing." Clea, now his ex, has disappeared from her boarding school in Vermont, and the only clue is a letter she sent to Cody the morning of her disappearance. With that as his guide, Cody sets out to find out what happened. Once in Vermont, he unearths the town's secrets--and finds out that football isn't the only thing he's good at. Reality Check is another edge-of-your-seat suspense novel by the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author of Down the Rabbit Hole.
Reality Check in Detroit
by Roy MacgregorThe Screech Owls are invited to compete in a four-day skills competition in Detroit. Along with another team, they will be participating in a reality show called Goals & Dreams. They're staying at a fancy hotel, being showered with hockey swag, given Hollywood nicknames, and posing for the film crew -- Hockeytown doesn't look bad at all! That's until they meet the other team and start noticing how differently they're being treated. Are the producers engineering certain tensions and situations to pump up the show? The Screech Owls don't like to be manipulated . . .
Reality Ends Here
by Alison GaylinFrom the Edgar-nominated author of Into the Dark comes the riveting and witty story of a teenage girl caught between her image-obsessed family—stars of a hit reality show about her sextuplet siblings—and the long-buried truth about her biological father.With a major crush on an adorable pop star, annoying younger siblings, and a mom and stepdad who are too strict, Estella Blanchard is a typical teenage girl—except that her daily struggles are plotlines on the reality show Seven Is Heaven, which relentlessly documents her life as the older half-sister of sextuplets. Estella’s an Oscar-worthy actress at hiding her true feelings from the camera. However, she can’t outrun the spotlight when she receives a Christmas present from her biological father...who died ten years ago under mysterious circumstances. Blamed for this “sick prank,” Estella is placed in an unorthodox support group for troubled child stars—including a twenty-three-year-old has-been, a backstabbing drama queen, and a super-cute (but very off-limits) boy bander. And, as weird as the group is, when a creepy paparazzo starts stalking her, claiming that her dad is actually alive, Estella's going to need their help to uncover the truth and stay alive.
A Really Cute Corpse
by Joan HessWhen Claire Malloy's best friend Luanne Bradshaw goes down with a badly sprained ankle, someone must fill in her shoes as Thurberfest Beauty Pageant coordinator and usher a bevy of aspiring beauty queens through the two-day event. Enter Claire Malloy to the rescue. But this is one job Claire would gladly be fired from. Now, already fending off a hostile theater-owner, an overly-aggressive personal trainer, an incontinent show-dog, a fifteen-year-old daughter with more growing pains than she can count, and a talent contest in need of some talent, Claire must face one more problem--someone is trying to kill the reigning Miss Thurberfest. When a ghastly murder scene signals the culprit's success, Claire's investigative instincts take over, but when she digs too close to the truth, the race is on to discover the killer's identity before Claire herself is crowned the next victim...
Really Dead: A Ria Butler Mystery
by J. E. FormanMurder isn’t something that just happens on TV. Travel writer Ria Butler has to outsmart a killer on the set of a reality TV show. Ria is supposed to be looking at blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos. Instead, she circumnavigates her unsettled relationship with investigative reporter Glenn Cooper and flies to the set of the TV show that her brother is producing in the British Virgin Islands. On location, she learns a production assistant has gone missing — only her tattooed foot has been found. While Ria tries to outwit a killer, Glenn tries to outlast Ria’s commitment detour, and a producer tries to outplay the police. When the reality series goes to air, it really does have the most dramatic finale ever — and someone is Really Dead.
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey: A Novel
by Astrid DahlA propulsive page-turning thriller following the hit reality TV show Garden State Goddesses where secrets are uncovered, intense rivalries surface, and a startling murder propels a producer on a riveting quest for the truth.On this season of Garden State Goddesses: Getting canceled means getting killed.When Hope Bennett marries Carmela&’s brother, Leo, she becomes not only a Fontana, but a Garden State Goddess—and not everyone is happy. Secrets will be revealed, decades-long rivalries will surface, and a sudden murder will lead to a reality reckoning no one is prepared for—least of all the show&’s producer, Eden, who must race to catch a killer and save the most dramatic season of all time.&“Juicy, gossipy, and deliciously vicious, one thing is certain: this New Jersey neighborhood has enough secrets to guarantee renewal. Readers will be clamoring for season two of this funny, dark guilty pleasure.&” —KATY HAYS, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters &“Like the best, most addictive reality TV, The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is about people behaving badly—lying, cheating, back-stabbing, and worse. I started reading for all the juicy drama, but it was the murder mystery that had me racing through pages at the end.&” —ANA REYES, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines &“Secrets, gallows humor, campy reality TV stars, and an Instagram gossip account called Shady Di—Astrid Dahl&’s The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is the kind of book I wanted to live inside. LOLing and gasping my way through, I nearly wished I&’d written it myself!&” —ANNA DORN, author of Perfume & Pain
Really the Blues: A Mystery
by Joseph KoenigEddie Piron thinks that performing in jazz clubs in Nazi-occupied Paris is bad enough, but when the drummer in his band is found facedown in the Seine and the police start asking questions, he realizes that his trouble is only beginning Paris, 1941. American jazz musician Eddie Piron has lived in the city of light since before the war began. But Paris under occupation is not what it once was, and things are looking a lot darker for a man like Eddie. The great jazz artists of the day, like Django Reinhardt, are lying low or being swept away under the racial policies of the Nazis. But the SS has a paradoxical taste for the "negermusik" and their favorite gathering place is La Caverne Negre, where Eddie leads the band. One night the drummer for "Eddie et Ses Anges", an indifferent musician but an essential part of the band, disappears. When his body is found in the Seine the next day, Eddie becomes entangled in the murder investigation. He soon finds himself in the clutches of a mercenary intelligence broker who discovers why Eddie Piron is really in Paris--and what he's really hiding.
Really Truly (A Pumpkin Falls Mystery)
by Heather Vogel FrederickThe Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes grapple with pirates and mermaids in the third cozy mystery of the Edgar Award–nominated middle grade series from the author of the beloved Mother-Daughter Book Club books.Truly Lovejoy is excited for the perfect summer in Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire: swim practice outside, working at the bookstore, one-on-one time with her mom, and best of all, time with the dreamy RJ Calhoun who may just like Truly back. But the idyllic falls apart when she&’s sent off to mermaid academy—sparkly tail and all. Luckily, a mystery is never too far behind the Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes, and synchronized swimming turns into a hunt for a sunken ship and an investigation of the founding of Pumpkin Falls…which may have involved more pirates than originally thought. And as the Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes get closer to the heart of the mystery and Truly gets closer to her mermaid debut, she may just learn to come out of her shell.
The Realm Enforcers Bundle: Books 1-3 (Realm Enforcers)
by Rebecca Zanetti“Zanetti’s Realm Enforcers series is hot with a capital “H”!” ~RT Books Reviews If you love Rebecca Zanetti’s Dark Protectors, try the wicked hot Realm Enforcers, together for the first time . . .WICKED RIDESeattle vice cop Alexandra Monzelle’s short skirt and sex-kitten heels are tools to lure her suspects into talking about the deadly new drug hitting the streets. But Kellach Dunne is complicating matters. An affair with an immortal like him could undo everything—including every bit of her resistance . . .WICKED EDGEWhen Coven Nine Enforcer Daire Dunne spots Cee Cee across a Titan’s of Fire party, it’s not long before she’s back in his apartment. Where after one overheated kiss, she drugs Daire and steals valuable files that can’t fall into enemy hands. The second he comes to, the hunt is on . . .WICKED BURNIrish witch Simone Brightston didn’t get to her position on the high council without serious power. But of all the men she’s known, Nikolaj Veis is the hardest to intimidate. So when he pulls up on a roaring bike and tells her to climb on or fight it out, the only thing to do is grab a handful of jacket and hold on tight . . .Praise for the Dark Protectors series“Non-stop action and a hero to die for!” —Alexandra Ivy “Sizzling sex scenes and a memorable cast.” —Publishers Weekly on Claimed “A fast-paced, excitement-filled explosion of action . . . Zanetti keeps getting better.” —RT Book Reviews on Marked, 4.5 Stars, Top Pick “Fast-paced romance . . . very compelling. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal
Realm of Darkness (Hugh Corbett 23)
by Paul DohertyPaul Doherty's twenty-third medieval mystery featuring Sir Hugh Corbett is a gripping and gruesome tale of murder and mayhem sure to appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Bernard Cornwell.Spring, 1312. Edward II of England is absorbed with his favourite, Peter Gaveston, while his young wife, Isabella, is about to give birth. Isabella's father, the ruthless Philip of France, dreams of a grandson wearing the Crown of the Confessor and starts to meddle - even if that means murder...Amaury de Craon, Philip's Master of Secrets, is despatched to carry out his deadly deeds and Edward II summons Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, to intercept. Both master spies lodge at the Benedictine abbey of St Michael's in the forest of Ashdown. Supposedly a house of prayer, the abbey holds sinister secrets and treasures which include the world's most exquisite diamond, The Glory of Heaven. However, shortly after their arrival, the diamond is stolen and its guardian murdered. Other macabre incidents follow, Satan is seen walking through God's Acre and a nearby tavern is burnt to the ground and no one escapes. Corbett, assisted by his henchmen, prepares to navigate this hazardous maze of murder...(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Realm of Darkness (Hugh Corbett 23)
by Paul DohertyPaul Doherty's twenty-third medieval mystery featuring Sir Hugh Corbett is a gripping and gruesome tale of murder and mayhem sure to appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Bernard Cornwell.Spring, 1312. Edward II of England is absorbed with his favourite, Peter Gaveston, while his young wife, Isabella, is with child. Isabella's father, the ruthless Philip of France, dreams of a grandson wearing the Crown of the Confessor and starts to meddle - even if that means murder...Amaury de Craon, Philip's Master of Secrets, is despatched to carry out his deadly deeds and Edward II summons Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, to intercept. Both master spies lodge at the Benedictine abbey of St Michael's in the forest of Ashdown. Supposedly a house of prayer, the abbey holds sinister secrets and treasures which include the world's most exquisite diamond, The Glory of Heaven. However, shortly after their arrival, the diamond is stolen and its guardian murdered. Other macabre incidents follow, Satan is seen walking through God's Acre and a nearby tavern is burnt to the ground and no one escapes. Corbett, assisted by his henchmen, prepares to navigate this hazardous maze of murder...What readers say about Paul Doherty:'Good plots, clever twists and mostly impossible to work out''Paul Doherty's depictions of medieval England are truly outstanding''Another brilliant story in the excellent Hugh Corbett series by a superb historical author'
Realm of Darkness (Hugh Corbett 23)
by Paul DohertyPaul Doherty's twenty-third medieval mystery featuring Sir Hugh Corbett is a gripping and gruesome tale of murder and mayhem sure to appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Bernard Cornwell.Spring, 1312. Edward II of England is absorbed with his favourite, Peter Gaveston, while his young wife, Isabella, is with child. Isabella's father, the ruthless Philip of France, dreams of a grandson wearing the Crown of the Confessor and starts to meddle - even if that means murder...Amaury de Craon, Philip's Master of Secrets, is despatched to carry out his deadly deeds and Edward II summons Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, to intercept. Both master spies lodge at the Benedictine abbey of St Michael's in the forest of Ashdown. Supposedly a house of prayer, the abbey holds sinister secrets and treasures which include the world's most exquisite diamond, The Glory of Heaven. However, shortly after their arrival, the diamond is stolen and its guardian murdered. Other macabre incidents follow, Satan is seen walking through God's Acre and a nearby tavern is burnt to the ground and no one escapes. Corbett, assisted by his henchmen, prepares to navigate this hazardous maze of murder...What readers say about Paul Doherty:'Good plots, clever twists and mostly impossible to work out''Paul Doherty's depictions of medieval England are truly outstanding''Another brilliant story in the excellent Hugh Corbett series by a superb historical author'