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The Chocolate Maker's Wife: A Novel
By Karen Brooks. 2019
Australian bestselling novelist Karen Brooks rewrites women back into history with this breathtaking novel set in 17th century London—a lush,…
fascinating story of the beautiful woman who is drawn into a world of riches, power, intrigue…and chocolate.Damnation has never been so sweet...Rosamund Tomkins, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, spends most of her young life in drudgery at a country inn. To her, the Restoration under Charles II, is but a distant threat as she works under the watchful eye of her brutal, abusive stepfather . . . until the day she is nearly run over by the coach of Sir Everard Blithman.Sir Everard, a canny merchant, offers Rosamund an “opportunity like no other,” allowing her to escape into a very different life, becoming the linchpin that will drive the success of his fledgling business: a luxurious London chocolate house where wealthy and well-connected men come to see and be seen, to gossip and plot, while indulging in the sweet and heady drink.Rosamund adapts and thrives in her new surroundings, quickly becoming the most talked-about woman in society, desired and respected in equal measure.But Sir Everard’s plans for Rosamund and the chocolate house involve family secrets that span the Atlantic Ocean, and which have already brought death and dishonor to the Blithman name. Rosamund knows nothing of the mortal peril that comes with her new title, nor of the forces spinning a web of conspiracy buried in the past, until she meets a man whose return tightens their grip upon her, threatening to destroy everything she loves and damn her to a dire fate.As she fights for her life and those she loves through the ravages of the Plague and London’s Great Fire, Rosamund’s breathtaking tale is one marked by cruelty and revenge; passion and redemption—and the sinfully sweet temptation of chocolate.A Room Full of Bones: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 4 (The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries #4)
By Elly Griffiths. 2011
WINNER OF THE 2016 CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY. Halloween night, and the dead are closer than ever for Dr…
Ruth Galloway. She is used to long-dead bodies, but a fresh corpse in the middle of a museum is a new challenge. The fourth beguiling Dr Ruth Galloway mystery.'A wonderfully rich mix of ancient and contemporary' GuardianIt is Halloween in King's Lynn, and forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway is attending a strange event at the local history museum - the opening of a coffin containing the bones of a medieval bishop. But then Ruth finds the body of the museum's curator lying beside the coffin. Soon the museum's wealthy owner lies dead in his stables too. These two deaths could be from natural causes but DCI Harry Nelson isn't convinced, and it is only a matter of time before Ruth and Nelson cross paths once more. When threatening letters come to light, events take an even more sinister turn. But as Ruth's friends become involved, where will her loyalties lie? As her convictions are tested, she and Nelson must discover how Aboriginal skulls, drug smuggling and the Aboriginal ritual of The Dreaming may hold the answer to these deaths - and be the key to their own survival.The House at Sea's End: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 3 (The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries #3)
By Elly Griffiths. 2011
WNNER OF THE 2016 CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY. The shadow of the Second World War looms dark over the…
third chilling mystery for Dr Ruth Galloway. Some buried secrets shouldn't be uncovered.'A melancholy setting, an eerie discovery, a lone investigator... perfect for the long winter evening' Financial TimesDr Ruth Galloway is called in by a team of archaeologists investigating coastal erosion on the north Norfolk coast, when they unearth six bodies buried at the foot of a cliff. They seem to have been there a very long time. Ruth must help discover how long, and how on earth they got there. Ruth and DCI Nelson are drawn together once more to unravel the past. Tests reveal that the bodies have lain, preserved in the sand, for sixty years. The mystery of their deaths stretches back to the Second World War, a time when Great Britain was threatened by invasion. Ruth thought she knew the history of Norfolk - she's about to find out just how wrong she was, and how far someone will go to keep their secrets buried.The Janus Stone: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 2 (The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries #2)
By Elly Griffiths. 2010
A gruesome discovery at an old children's home lays bare terrible secret's from Norwich's past in the second gripping mystery…
for Dr Ruth Galloway.'The setting is enticingly atmospheric . . . a really intelligent murder story' IndependentDr Ruth Galloway's forensic skills are called upon when builders, demolishing an old house in Norwich, uncover the bones of a child - minus the skull - beneath a doorway. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? Ruth links up with DCI Harry Nelson to investigate. The house was once a children's home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the place. He tells him that two children did go missing forty years before - a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child's bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is desperate to put her off the scent by frightening her to death...The Crossing Places: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 1 (The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries #1)
By Elly Griffiths. 2009
Start right here! Discover the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and become obsessed with one of the most popular crime series…
in Britain.'Galloway now seems as real as Marple and Morse' The Times'I've never before read a crime novel in which archaeology and detection blend as successfully as in The Crossing Places' ShotsDr Ruth Galloway is called in when a child's bones are discovered near a prehistoric site on the north Norfolk salt marshes. Are they the remains of a local girl who disappeared ten years earlier - or are the bones much older?DCI Harry Nelson refuses to give up the hunt for the missing girl. Since she vanished, someone has been sending him creepy anonymous notes about ritual sacrifice. He knows that Ruth's expertise and experience could help him finally to put this case to rest. But when a second child goes missing, Ruth finds herself in danger from a killer who knows she's getting ever closer to the truth.'Captivating! A quick, thrilling read that ends making you want to read Book 2 immediately!' 5* READER REVIEW'I really enjoyed this book, the story kept me gripped to the end! Would definitely recommend it' 5* READER REVIEW'Ruth is such an empathetic character, clever and warm yet she has human weaknesses' 5* READER REVIEW'I envy those coming of the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. They are in for a total treat' 5* READER REVIEW'Atmospheric and character-driven, I'd no sooner finished this first book in the Dr Ruth Galloway series than I was reaching for the second' 5* READER REVIEWThe thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and…
mystery' ESSIE FOX'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES Rome, 1659.Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.Praise for The Book of Secrets:'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge'HELEN FIELDS'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!'D V BISHOP'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book' TARIQ ASHKANANI'Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers' AJ WEST'A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times' CATE QUINN'Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning' RACHEL WOLF'Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought' FREYA BERRY'Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!' REBECCA NETLEYThe thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and…
mystery' ESSIE FOX'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES Rome, 1659.Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.Praise for The Book of Secrets:'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge'HELEN FIELDS'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!'D V BISHOP'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book' TARIQ ASHKANANI'Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers' AJ WEST'A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times' CATE QUINN'Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning' RACHEL WOLF'Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought' FREYA BERRY'Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!' REBECCA NETLEYThe Long Song: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
By Andrea Levy. 2010
Now a major BBC TV drama, starring Tamara Lawrance, Lenny Henry and Hayley Atwell.A Sunday Times bestseller (2011), shortlisted for…
the Man Booker Prize, The Long Song by Andrea Levy is a hauntingly beautiful, heartbreaking and unputdownable novel of the last days of slavery in Jamaica, for those who loved Homegoing, The Underground Railroad, or the film 12 Years a Slave.'A marvel of luminous storytelling' Financial TimesYou do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July's mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides - far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse.Perhaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.The figure of the detective: a literary history and analysis
By Charles Brownson. 2014
"This book begins with a history of the detective genre, coextensive with the novel itself, identifying the attitudes and institutions…
needed for the genre to emerge in its mature form around 1880. The theory of the genre is laid out along with its central theme of the getting and deployment of knowledge. Sherlock Holmes, the English Classic stories and their inheritors are examined in light of this theme and the balance of two forms of knowledge used in fictional detection--cool or rational, and warm or emotional. The evolution of the genre formula is driven by changes in the social climate in which it is embedded. These changes explain the decay of the English Classic and its replacement by noir, hardboiled and spy stories, to end in the cul-de-sac of the thriller and the nostalgic Neo-Classic. Possible new forms of the detective story are suggested." -- Provided by publisher