When house renovators discover the remains of human bones, Detective Jack Malepo is called in to investigate. Nothing can prepare him for what he unearths at the scene and Jack is determined to find the culprit and bring him to justice. But how do you follow a trail that is 50 years old?
Some crimes are ordinary (e.g. robberies, assaults, embezzlement, and the like). And then there are crimes so horrific that they almost defy description. Innocent Bones relates two such crimes. Both involve perps who plan and execute with precision and patience. Both involve multiple victims who intrigued the killer for one specific reason, although the perp's motivations could not be more different in the two cases. Both involve an intelligent, moral, hardworking family man who serves his city as a rising and ultimately distinguished detective. You may read Innocent Bones in one sitting. It's that hard to put down.
The traditions associated with a pope's death have changed from when they were buried in the catacombs of Rome. Various ceremonies, rites and rituals developed over time, but a formal procedure was not initiated until the early 1300s and even then was not always strictly followed. This comprehensive reference book provides information on the deaths, funerals and burial places of each pope and antipope from St. Peter (Apostle) to John Paul I. (Innocent X was almost gnawed by rats because no one would bury him; Alexander VI was stuffed into a carpet and pummeled into his coffin; and the corpse of Formosus was physically put on trial...) The Introduction presents a brief history of papal funerals and tombs, and also covers modern burials. A unique feature of the book is its presentation of all papal epitaphs, in their original language and in English--many translated for the first time.
From the acclaimed author of the Vorrh Trilogy comes an epic odyssey following a group of mercenaries hired to escort a divine oracle on a long journey amidst a war between the living and the dead. Sheltering beneath Das Kagel, the cloud-scraping structure rumored to be the Tower of Babel, the sacred Monastery of the Eastern Gate descends into bedlam. Their ancient oracle, Quite Testiyont--whose prophesies helped protect the church--has died, leaving the monks vulnerable to the war raging between the living and the dead. Tasked by the High Church to deliver a new oracle, Barry Follett and his group of hired mercenaries are forced to confront wicked giants and dangerous sirens on their mission, keeping the divine creature alive by feeding it marrow and confessing their darkest sins. But as Follett and his men carve their way through the treacherous landscape, the world around them spirals deeper into chaos. Dominic, a young monk who has mysteriously lost his voice, makes a pilgrimage to see surreal paintings, believing they reveal the empire's fate; a local woman called Mad Meg hopes to free and vindicate her jailed son and becomes the leader of the most unexpected revolution; and the abbott of the monastery, influential as he is, seeks to gain even more power in this world and the next. Rich with action and fantastic creatures, Hollow ushers the reader through a world of ruin where holy secrets are unearthed, art mirrors life through a glass darkly, and death looms over everything. It is B. Catling's most accomplished and gripping tale yet. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL