Has a notorious murderer returned to the streets of Ancient Rome? In the fourth novel in Paul Doherty's acclaimed Ancient Roman series featuring Claudia, a killer stalks the streets of Rome. Perfect for fans of Lindsey Davis and Steven Saylor. 'An engrossing and informative read' - Publishers Weekly September 314AD, and once more death strikes the sprawling streets of Imperial Rome. When two prostitutes are found murdered - their bodies ripped open and their right eyes gouged out - it is feared a notorious killer, the Nefandus, has returned. Rumoured to be an imperial officer, he once waged bloody murder amongst Rome's prostitutes but vanished before his identity could be discovered. Has he reappeared, or is someone working in his guise? Desperate to retain order, the Empress Helena turns to her most trusted agent, Claudia. Helena commands her to discover the truth behind the Nefandus, before Rome descends further into chaos and confusion. What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Paul Doherty's books are a joy to read' 'The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of [Paul Doherty's] books' 'A great read - I recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery'
The creator of the Forgotten Realms leads readers through a rollicking fantasy adventure and murder mystery set in the city of Waterdeep Revealed in death to have been Masked Lords, three more citizens had been murdered over the preceding day and night: the Sembian wine-seller and collector Oszbur Malankar; the half-elf sorceress and artisan Dathanscza Meiril; and the moneylender, landlord, and investor Ammasker Gwelt. All of Waterdeep now knew someone was killing the Lords of Waterdeep, one by one. Yet that was about where truth ended and speculation—however plausible—began. The broadsheets were full of wild conjecture. Who's behind this? The ousted Lord Neverember? The Zhentarim, the Cult of the Dragon or some other Outland Power? The Xanathar? Some cabal of guilds or nobles planning a coup? The rumors would rage on, whether the Open Lord Laeral Silverhand did something or not. That was the trouble with rumors; once loosed, they roamed free like snarling, untamed beasts, with no simple way of stopping them. And all rumors aside, Waterdeep has become . . . a City of Murderers. Death Masks is loosely connected to the Elminster series and Sage of Shadowdale series.
Edgar Award-shortlisted author Ashley Weaver returns with Death Wears a Mask, the witty and stylish next installment in the delightful 1930s Amory Ames mystery series “Amory Ames and her rakish husband Milo might just be the new Nick and Nora Charles.” —Deborah Crombie It was amazing, really, what murder had done for my marriage . . . Following the murderous events at the Brightwell Hotel, Amory Ames is looking forward to a tranquil period of reconnecting with her reformed playboy husband, Milo. She hopes a quiet stay at their London flat will help mend their relationship. However, Amory soon finds herself drawn into another investigation when an old friend of her mother’s asks her to look into the disappearance of valuable jewelry snatched at a dinner party. Amory agrees to help lay a trap to catch the culprit at a lavish masked ball. But when one of the illustrious party guests is murdered, she is pulled back into the world of detection, caught up in both a mystery and a set of romantic entanglements where nothing is as it seems. Also out now in the Amory Ames mysteries: Murder at the Brightwell and A Most Novel Revenge
A troubled English boy sets out to uncover the truth about his father’s death, from the Edgar Award–winning author of the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael. Following the death of his father at an archaeological dig in Greece, young Crispin Almond returned to England and the mother he barely knew. Now a difficult, morose, and unreachable teenager, he has been expelled from every school he’s attended. At her wits’ end, his mother decides Crispin needs a positive male role model and turns to a former friend, who disappeared from her life sixteen years earlier when she rejected his proposal of marriage. Hired by the woman he always loved to be her son’s tutor, Evelyn Manville is determined to break through Crispin’s protective shell. But the closer he gets to the troubled teen, the more unsettling their relationship becomes. Because, despite having no evidence, Crispin believes his father’s death in Greece was no accident, and he’s been secretly manipulating events to prove it. And now his plan could be drawing a murderer into all of their lives. With Death Mask, the Edgar, Agatha, and Gold Dagger Award–winning author of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries delivers a stand-alone novel that is “a literate and original piece of work” (Kirkus Reviews).
Kinue Nomura survived World War II only to be murdered in Tokyo, her severed limbs discovered in a room locked from the inside. Gone is the part of her that bore one of the most beautiful full-body tattoos ever rendered. Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor who was first to discover the crime scene, feels compelled to assist his detective brother, who is in charge of the case. But Kenzo has a secret: he was Kinue’s lover, and soon his involvement in the investigation becomes as twisted and complex as the writhing snakes that once adorned Kinue’s torso. The Tattoo Murder Case was originally published in 1948; this is the first English translation.
Scream meets Happy Death Day in this terrifying stand-alone horror novel from YA scream queen Danielle Valentine. "This terrifying book reads like a horror movie. No, wait. It has the suspense and shocks and screams of TEN horror movies in one. Great nasty fun!" —R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps and Fear Street Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister’s murder trial. And in the year since Claire’s death, Alice’s life has completely fallen apart. Her parents have gotten divorced, she’s moved into an apartment that smells like bologna, and she is being forced to face her sister’s killer and a courtroom full of people who doubt what she saw in the corn maze a year prior. Claire was an all-American girl, beautiful and bubbly, and a theater star. Alice was a nerd who dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist and would rather stay at home to watch her favorite horror movies than party. Despite their differences, they were bonded by sisterhood and were each other’s best friends. Until Claire was taken away from her. On the first day of the murder trial, as Alice prepares to give her testimony, she is knocked out by a Sidney Prescott look-alike in the courthouse bathroom. When she wakes up, it is Halloween night a year earlier, the same day Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer before he claims another victim.
Forty-year-old William Coday lived the quiet life of a scholar. He spoke six languages and held degrees in history, literature, and library science. As a librarian in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was known to be unfailingly kind and helpful. But you can't always judge a book by its cover... When Coday failed to show up for work one day, a concerned colleague looked for him at his apartment...only to discover the body of Gloria Gomez. Coday's ex-girlfriend, Gomez had been bludgeoned to death with 144 blows by two hammers and a knife. Police at the scene had little doubt that Coday was the killer. But other, darker secrets from Coday's past had yet to come to light... In one of the most shocking crime cases and legal appeals in Florida history, an extraordinary courtroom battle began.What the jury did not know was that Coday, when he lived abroad, had beaten another ex-girlfriend to death; the courts there had deemed him insane. Who was William Coday: Mentally unstable? Or perfectly capable—and guilty—of murder in the first degree? Soon it would be up to prosecutors to prove who the real man was BEHIND THE MASK. Behind the Mask is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
His great battles against the sea raiders in the Nile Delta have left Pharaoh Tuthmosis II weak and frail, but he finds solace in victory and the welcome he is sure to receive on his return to Thebes. Across the river from the Egyptian capital, however, not all take pleasure in his homecoming. Reunited with his wife, Hatusu, and his people, Tuthmosis stands before the statue of Amun-Ra, the roar of the crowd and the fanfare of the trumpets ringing in his ears. But within an hour the Pharaoh is dead, and his unfinished tomb ritually polluted by a witch. The people of Thebes cannot forget the murder and the desecration any more easily than they can forget the frightful omen of wounded doves flying overhead. Rumor runs rife, speculation sweeps the royal city, and Hatusu vows to uncover the truth. With the aid of Amerotke, a respected judge of Thebes, she embarks on a path destined to reveal the great secrets of Egypt. The Mask of Ra is a compelling and dramatic novel set against the background of Egypt's eighteenth dynasty--a time of great change, as warlike Pharaohs fought to control not only the tribes on their western and southern borders, but to bring their subjects firmly under their rule.