The Falcon of Palermo opens with the nations of modern Europe just beginning to take shape, while the papacy clings to its temporal power. Into this era of shifting borders and alliances steps a leader who will become legendary — the brilliant maverick, Frederick II. After losing his parents, Emperor Henry Hohenstaufen and Queen Constance, by age four, a young, neglected Frederick runs among the urchins in the Muslim quarter while German warlords overrun Sicily. To restore order the Pope sends Archbishop Berard, a warmhearted man who gradually develops a deep bond with the gifted boy. Fluent in Arabic and strongly influenced by Muslim culture, Frederick aims to return Sicily to her former glory. However, when elected Holy Roman Emperor in a surprise move by the German princes, his vision grows. Once established as the unchallenged ruler, Frederick works to create an empire equal to that of Rome. Marked by his struggle with the Papacy for the domination of Europe, his glorious...

'Bishop?' The voice was a little quaver; for a moment he couldn't place it.'Yes? This is...?''It's Lula Rexford Bishop. I'm sorry to bother ya'll on Christmas but I'm really worried about T-Rex.''What's wrong Lula? Is he sick?''He ain't here, is the problem, and he said he'd be back three hours ago! He took his bike out for a spin- got him some new do-dads for it, for Christmas, you know, and wanted to go ride, maybe show it off a little to a couple of friends. I've called all of them, and only one has seen him- and he left there about six-thirty.''Well, he's a young man with a lot of friends- he might be anywhere. Maybe he got involved talking to somebody, or something. You know how it goes with guys.''No, Bishop, I got this creepy feelin,' like something's wrong with him.' Lula Rexford's worst fears are confirmed when T-Rex's crumpled body is found on a lonely mountain trail in the snow. As he struggles for life, comatose in the hospital, the...

An intelligent, sexy novel about best friends, about settling down and about throwing it all away... When you fall in love do you follow your heart or use your head? Thea Luckmore believes in love – the magic spark of true, old-fashioned, romantic love. She's determined only ever to fall head over heels, or rather, heart over head. Alice Heggarty, her best friend, is always falling in lust – with dashing rogues who invariably break her heart. As yet another disastrous relationship ends, Alice makes a decision. It's time to marry and she knows just the man. For Thea, Saul Mundy promises to be the perfect fit and Thea finds herself falling in love and loving it. But though newly wed Alice encourages Thea to settle down and conform, she finds that she's not as keen as she thought on playing by the rules. Alice starts to break them left, right and centre... At the same time, Thea's world, in which love reigns supreme, is shaken to core. When it comes to love, should you listen to your head, your heart, or your best friend?

Rose Lloyd was the last to suspect that Nathan, her husband of over twenty years, was having an affair, and that he was planning to leave her. But the greatest shock was yet to come: for his mistress was Rose's colleague and friend, Minty. Then Rose started thinking about the man she married. Twenty years ago she had to make the choice between two very different lives. Could she recapture what she nearly chose back then, and bring new meaning to her life now?

From the author of the bestselling The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, an exuberant and poignant new novel of passions, family, and forgivenessWhen a late life love affair blooms between Mr. Forrest Payne, the owner of the Pink Slipper Gentleman's Club, and Miss Beatrice Jordan, famous for stationing herself at the edge of the club's parking lot and yelling warnings of eternal damnation at the departing patrons, their wedding summons a legend to town. Mr. El Walker, the great guitar bluesman, comes home to give a command performance in Plainview, Indiana, a place he'd sworn—and for good reason—he'd never set foot in again.But El is not the only Plainview native with a hurdle to overcome. A wildly philandering husband struggles at last to prove his faithfulness to the wife he's always loved. A young transwoman lights out for show biz and Chicago to escape her father's wrath and live an authentic life. And among those in this tightly...

SUMMARY:In this new dark Age, myth and legend has become reality; nothing is quite as it seems. The plague came without warning. Nothing could stop its progress: it's first symptom is black spots at the base of the fingers; an agonising death quickly follows. But this is no ordinary disease . . . Caitlin Shepherd, a lowly GP, is allowed to cross the veil into the mystical Celtic Otherworld in search of a cure; her search takes her on a quest to the end of a land of dreams and nightmares to petition the gods. So Caitlin is humanity's last hope, but she carries a terrible burden: a consciousness shattered into five distinct personalities . . . and one of them may not be human. THE QUEEN OF SINISTER is the latest instalment in Mark Chadbourn's riveting 'Dark Age' sequence: a masterful blend of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend in a modern setting.

Millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, Brian’s Winter , and Brian’s Return know that Brian Robeson is at home in the Canadian wilderness. He has stood up to the challenge of surviving alone in the woods. He prefers being on his own in the natural world to civilization. When Brian finds a dog one night, a dog that is wounded and whimpering, he senses danger. The dog is badly hurt, and as Brian cares for it, he worries about his Cree friends who live north of his camp. His instincts tell him to head north, quickly. With his new companion at his side, and with a terrible, growing sense of unease, he sets out to learn what happened. He sets out on the hunt.

Jessie and Carl have made a terrible mistake. They should have been more careful. When Jonah came to their cabin in the Maine woods, asking to use the phone, they should never have let him in. But he told them his campsite had been robbed and he was stranded with no money and no gear. Jessie took pity on him. She was thinking about her own missing daughter, Sylvie, and hoping she was receiving the same kindness—wherever she was.So, they invite him in, share their dinner with him, offer him a bed for the night. And they discover that this stranger at their table knows all about them. About Sylvie, their troubled daughter; about the secrets they haven't revealed to each other during forty years of marriage. By morning, they realize the young man has no intention of leaving.Jessie and Carl are now captives in their own home.The reader, too, is held captive by this novel that seems to unfold in real time. Over the next twenty-four hours, as Jonah's threats escalate,...

A respected senator from Georgia, Will Lee has aspirations of more.But a cruel stroke of fate thrusts him onto the national stage well before he expects, and long before he's ready, for a national campaign.The road to the White House, however, will be more treacherous -- and deadly -- than Will and his intelligent, strikingly beautiful wife, Kate, an associate director in the Central Intelligence Agency, can imagine.A courageous and principled man, Will soon learns he has more than one opponent who wants him out of the race. Thrust into the spotlight as never before, he's become the target of clandestine enemies from the past who will use all their money and influence to stop him -- dead. Now Will isn't just running for president -- he's running for his life.

For centuries they've lived in secret among northern England's green and misted hills. Creatures of extraordinary beauty, power, and sensuality, they possess the ability to shape-shift from human to dragon and back again. Now their secret-and their survival-is threatened by a temptation that will break every boundary. Dubbed the Smoke Thief, a daring jewel thief is confounding the London police. His wealthy victims claim the master burglar can walk through walls and vanish into thin air. But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, knows the truth: the thief is no ordinary human but a "runner" who's fled Darkfrith without permission. As Alpha leader of the dra´kon, it's Kit's duty to capture the fugitive before the secrets of the tribe are revealed to mortals. But not even Kit suspects that the Smoke Thief could be a woman. Clarissa Rue Hawthorne knew her dangerous exploits would attract the attention of the dra´kon. But she didn't expect Christoff himself to come to London, dangling the tribe's most valuable jewel-the Langford Diamond-as bait. For as long as she could rememb er, Rue had lived the life of a halfling-half dra´kon, half mortal-and an outcast in both worlds. She'd always loved the handsome and willful Kit from the only place it was safe: from afar. But now she was no longer the shy, timid girl she'd once been. She was the first woman capable of making the Turn in four generations. So why did she still feel the same dizzying sense of vulnerability whenever he was near? From the moment he saw her, Kit knew that the alluring and powerful beauty was every bit his Alpha equal and destined to be his bride. And by the harsh laws of the dra´kon, Rue knew that she was the property of the marquess. But they will risk banishment and worse for a chance at something greater. For now Rue is his prisoner, the diamond has disappeared, and she's made the kind of dangerous proposition a man like Kit cannot resist.

Some wars you just can't win alone. The Red Country is the third Chronicle of Rihannar, successor to Everrran’s Bane and The Moving Water. Cover Art by Caroline Husher

Was medieval England full of knights on horseback rescuing fainting damsels in distress? Were the Middle Ages mired in superstition and ignorance? Why does nobody ever mention King Louis the First and Last? And, of course, those key questions: which monks were forbidden the delights of donning underpants... and did outlaws never wear trousers?Terry Jones and Alan Ereira are your guides to this most misrepresented and misunderstood period, and they point you to things that will surprise and provoke. Did you know, for example, that medieval people didn't think the world was flat? That was a total fabrication by an American journalist in the 19th century. Did you know that they didn't burn witches in the Middle Ages? That was a refinement of the so-called Renaissance. In fact, medieval kings weren't necessarily merciless tyrants, and peasants entertained at home using French pottery and fine wine. Terry Jones' Medieval Lives reveals Medieval Britain as you have never seen it...

Is she insane or is there really an immortal man who can change time and the world through controlling storms, a man that she falls in love with as he takes her beyond storms.