J. Sansom. Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and reformist in London during the reign of Henry VIII. His investigation skills are tested in four cases where both his life and the lives of others are threatened. In "Dissolution" he travels to Scarnsea Monastery where one of Thomas Cromwell's Commissioner has been brutally murdered. Shardlake must expose the killer but his inquiries soon force him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes. In "Dark Fire" Shardlake returns to London and a new assignment from Cromwell. The formula for Greek Fire, a legendary Byzantine weapon, is discovered by an official of the Court of Augmentations. Shardlake is sent to retrieve the formula but instead finds the official and his alchemist brother murdered and the formula missing. "Sovereign" takes Shardlake to York, following Henry VIII and his Progress to the North. The murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in a mystery connected not only to a prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And in "Revelation" when an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake promises his widow to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to connections with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Shardlake follows the trail of a series of horrific murders that shakes him to the core, and which are already bringing frenzied talk of witchcraft and a demonic possession - for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer...? Praise for the series: 'Dissolution is a remarkable, imaginative feat. It is a first-rate murder mystery and one of the most atmospheric historical novels I've read in years' - "Mail on Sunday". 'One of the author's greatest gifts is the immediacy of his descriptions, for he writes about the past as if it were the living present' - Colin Dexter.

    Not always a heroic figure, Virgil was a scholar, visionary and author of the epic, "The Aeneid". This bawdy tragi-comedy is the tale of a brilliant man struggling to follow his muse in a turbulent period of history.

    A microcosm of the deep horrors of civil war, the Shelton Laurel Massacre as it came to be known, pitted neighbor against neighbor, touching every family with violence at their own front door. Told by those who lived it– Confederate and Unionist alike--Keith, who ordered the execution, Polly, whose children’s death precipitated the massacre, Judy and Marthy, who bore torture to protect their men, and Sim, conscripted by the Confederates and haunted by his part in the Massacre—the novel offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of five people tangled in history’s web, caught up together in love and hate. And all five will bear the mark of the massacre long after the event, struggling to come to terms with the bleak consequences of civil war. Based on an actual event and historical characters, And the Crows Took Their Eyes is a richly imagined portrait of a dark and bitter time—illuminated by gleams of humanity at its best

    Marriage to David Clarke and a family is all she wants. Her Pa has other ideas. He insists on taking the Oregon Trail to a better life and favors Harold Chapman as Eva’s suitor. Marriage to Harold will provide Eva with everything she needs except .... love. Can David overcome the prejudices of the past, the challenges of the present to give Eva the future she desires? Oregon Dreams Johanna Thompson understands her father’s wish to go to Oregon. Can she use the time together to convince him to let her follow her dream? Rick Hughes inherits two small children, a wagon and a dream to go to Oregon. But it’s not his dream. Johanna and Rick need to work together to save their families from disaster but doing so could comprise both their dreams. Can they find a way to overcome the difficulties on the trail and find a new life together? Oregon Destiny Becky Thomspon doesn’t take no for an answer. She knows what she wants and his name is Scott Jones. Scott Jones’s future was stolen along with his heart. He cannot love Becky, but can he keep her safe? After months of illness, deprivation and betrayal, with the end in sight have their problems only started?

    The boys wear pink Izod shirts, the girls wear big hair, everyone has a stash box, and AIDS is just an ugly rumor rumbling like a thunderstorm from the cities. A teenage runaway wanders the side of the road, a heartbeat away from despair, and is rescued by a long-haired angel on a Harley. But that's just the beginning of their story. Josiah Daniels wanted peace and quiet and a simple life, and he had it until he rescued Casey from hunger, cold, and exhaustion. Then Joe's life is anything but simple as he and his new charge navigate a world that is changing more rapidly than the people in it. Joe wants to raise Casey to a happy and productive adulthood, and he does. But even as an adult, Casey can't conceive of a happy life without Joe. The trouble is getting Joe to accept that the boy he nurtured is suddenly the man who wants him. Their relationship can either die or change with the world around them. As they make a home, negotiate the new rules of growing up, and swerve around the pitfalls of modern life, Casey learns that adulthood is more than sex, Joe learns that there is no compromise in happy ever after, and they’re both forced to realize that the one thing a man shouldn’t be is alone.

    A lifetime ago. Before the murder of her father. Before she became Kota Rani, the wise regent who rules over Kashmir with a firm hand.As invaders and immigrants disturb the tranquillity of her land, Kota must find a way to protect her people. But at what personal cost? Can she weather the political intrigues and power-play of the court? Will she succeed in preserving the splendour and diversity of her society? Will social hypocrisy and notions of what a woman should be keep Kota from being the sovereign she knows she is?Set in fourteenth-century Kashmir, The Last Queen of Kashmir is the sweeping saga of a civilization in peril. It is also the tale of one of the greatest queens of the land - one that will speak to the men and women of today.

    Or so my father would have me believe. I’m imprisoned in a world I hate and fear. As heir to my father’s title, I’m expected to marry, but my secret desires may keep me from fulfilling those expectations. One night a stranger kisses me. In his touch, I see the possibility of a life beyond my prison. My name? Just call me Angel and this is my evolution."

    In reality, he is a man haunted by an unusual past and running from his own nature. While the Reformation transforms much of Europe, it has yet to touch Hesse-Davia; this is a land mired in superstition with cruel punishments for crimes such as witchcraft and sodomy. While traveling to the dying king’s bedside to offer his medical expertise, Nikolai is set upon by a bandit. Reaching the king’s ancient stronghold, he discovers his mysterious brigand is the beautiful, arrogant Prince Aleksey. Aleksey is everything Nikolai is not: unguarded, passionate and willful. Despite their differences, Nikolai feels an irresistible desire for the young royal that keeps him in Aleksey’s thrall. But Hesse-Davia is a dangerous world for a newly crowned king who wants to reform his country—and for the man who loves him.

    When she comes of age, Eleanor is married to Frances Tait, a missionary, and she is delighted to have a husband who shares her passion for helping others. It is not long before Eleanor starts a family of her own. But when Mr Tait’s work takes their family far from home, her children face dangers that Eleanor could never have imagined. She will need to put her family first, before everything else, if she wants to protect them… A gripping saga from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Coal Miner's Daughter

    Having worked both as a U.S. marshal and a bounty hunter he ruthlessly pursues villains who plague the West. The son of a clergyman, Cully has strayed from the faith but not from righteousness.As committed as Cully is to law and justice, shrewd and ruthless outlaw “Smiley” James lives a life of crime. With his hardened gang of killers he has created a horrific mail-order bride scam. Young women are lured from the East to become brides for ranchers or businessmen in the West. When they arrive they are taken captive and forced to work in a profession that has nothing to do with wedding rings.James fancies himself as a rich businessman and is more than willing to kill anyone and everyone who gets in his way. Cully is hired to find a young mail-order bride from Philadelphia who has gone missing. The evidence leads to Smiley and his gang. Cully is outnumbered and out-gunned. This is not the first time he has faced long odds, and it may be the most dangerous and bloodiest hunt of his career.Note: Each book in the Cully the Bounty Hunter series is a standalone story that can be read out of order.

    Handsome marshals, Texas Rangers, gunslingers, and wealthy landowners meet their matches with the daring women they happen to fall in love with, and you won’t want to put this boxed set down until you’ve read the very last story! Authors Cheryl Pierson, Celia Yeary, Kaye Spencer, Tracy Garrett, Patti Sherry-Crews, and Agnes Alexander spin six incredible novel-length love stories filled with danger, excitement, and romance that will keep you turning page after incredible page until the very end. Saddle up and kick back for some excellent reading, as star-studded romance finds you UNDER A WESTERN SKY! FIRE EYES by Cheryl Pierson Beaten and wounded by a band of sadistic renegades that rules the borderlands of Indian Territory, U.S. Marshal Kaed Turner understands what the inevitable outcome will be for him: death. But Fate and a war party of Choctaw Indians intervene, delivering him instead to a beautiful angel with the skill to heal him. Jessica Monroe has already lost a husband and a brother to these outlaws. Can she afford to gamble with her heart one last time? ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS by Celia Yeary To escape an arranged marriage, beautiful, proper Cynthia Harrington impulsively marries Ricardo Romero, a sensual Spaniard who ranches on the edge of the Texas frontier. She struggles to gain a foothold in the hostile household, determined to make a place for herself—but will she also find a way to make her husband love her? TEXAS GOLD by Tracy Garrett Texas Ranger Jake McCain is hot on the trail of a band of murderous outlaws when they ambush him and leave him for dead in the blinding snow. The last thing Rachel Hudson expects the blizzard to bring is a wounded Ranger with a pack of trouble. She and Jake have more than a powerful mutual attraction in common—the dangerous gunmen he’s been chasing intend to steal Rachel and her brother, Nathan. But Jake’s not about to lose the woman who means everything to him—Rachel, his TEXAS GOLD…(Previously published as TOUCH OF TEXAS) THE COMANCHERO’S BRIDE by Kaye Spencer Beautiful heiress Elizabeth White is exiled to Texas until she agrees to marry the prominent politico her parents have chosen for her—Grayson Beal. When Elizabeth is approached at a fiesta by dark-eyed, handsome Mingo Valderas, her heart will never be her own again. But Mingo has a reputation as a Comanchero—a man who is as fast with his knives as he is with his gun. Still, Elizabeth gives her trust to him, and their whirlwind courtship begins. Beal will stop at nothing to claim Elizabeth—and only one man can protect her. Elizabeth and Mingo stay one step ahead of Beal…but will that be enough? MARGARITA AND THE HIRED GUN by Patti Sherry-Crews Pampered Margarita McIntosh is sent away by her father for her own safety—from what, she’s not sure. The long journey ahead and the secret she carries in her saddlebag could be the death of her. A rough Irish gunman, Rafferty, is entrusted with getting her to her destination—for a reward—his ticket to a new life. But will Rafferty’s protection be enough to save their lives? And will the heat of their passion seal their future—if they do survive? XENIA’S RENEGADE by Agnes Alexander An urgent plea for help from a family member calls for action from Xenia Poindexter and her sister. But traveling west to save their uncle, a raid on a stagecoach way station would have seen them dead if not for handsome half-Sioux rancher, Ty Eldridge.

    When a group of young Americans jump ship and start the first surf camp in a downtrodden and practically deserted Waikiki, Head Missionary Hiram Bingham becomes apoplectic with rage. A cast of memorable characters fill this novel with many plot twists and ideas that are as relevant today as they were almost two hundred years ago. In 1824 sixteen year old, orphaned William Goode was put aboard ship in New Orleans as an apprentice seaman against his will. A young man with unique abilites, he began an adventure that took him to Hawaii, forging friendships and making enemies along the way. Spanning more than a decade, this fast paced narrative is written in a blend of James Michener and James Patterson, full of accurate history and a rousing ensemble of characters presented in a page turning style. The Calvinist missionaries want to make sure no one is having any fun while William and his friends just want to work their little farm of taro patches and fish ponds and go surfing free from religious oppression. From the beaches of early Waikiki to the chilly winters of Boston, this novel moves back and forth, around the Horn and across the vast Pacific, with enterprising surfers, a beautiful Hawaiian princess, runaway slaves, and a renegade priest. You will fall in love with Hawaii, fall in love with the characters, and see Hawaiian history in a whole new way.

    Civil War pits countrymen against one another and tears a nation asunder. Life and death are held in the balance where everyone is a slave to something. In a time when war brings the South to its knees, two women will forge a friendship in the fires of redemption and thrust Ironwood into a new future – where the battle for freedom has merely begun. Book Two: Heir of HopeA hidden diary. Dreams of the past. And a hope for a new future. Emily Burns grew up an orphan, so she never expected to inherit a southern plantation. When she discovers an old diary hidden in the attic, her life becomes strangely entwined with her Civil War ancestor and she soon begins to wonder how a woman long dead can keep showing up in her dreams.Book Three: Missing MercyThe venture ahead could leave their friendship behind.Made a safe-haven after the Civil War, Ironwood Plantation is a refuge of equality for former slaves. But twenty years and a new generation later, they have become an isolated community with little contact with the rest of the world.In a time where prejudices try to define them, Mercy Carpenter and Faith Harper must push the boundaries of their beliefs and trust in the God who holds the keys to freedom.

    Was she killed outright, or did she choose to leave?Determined to find out the truth, Jean embarks on a mission to discover what really happened to her mother, but she is not prepared for the web of family secrets and lies that her investigation uncovers. Will she find any answers? And will they be the ones she was hoping for? An enthralling saga of love and heartache in 1950s Liverpool, perfect for fans of Pam Howes and Kitty Neale.

    Perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Nadine Dorries. 1903. As Rob Berkeley comes home to Berry Edge, ten years after his brother's terrible death, he brings with him memories that Faith Norman, his dead brother's fiancée, would rather forget. Rob, driven by guilt, is determined to bring the family business, the foundering steelworks, back to full strength. But every time he sees Faith, he is remained of the part he played in her bereavement and the debt he owes her and Berry Edge. The secrets he hides from the community around him could threaten his very future, and jeopardise his growing feelings for Faith . . .