The Empty Noose

The Empty Noose
Author: Barbara Cool Lee
Publisher: Pajaro Bay Publishing
Total Pages: 194
Release:
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

When the movie star renting Maggie's house is accused of murder, she's the only one who believes he's innocent. Now all she has to do is prove it. Maggie McJasper is starting over in a little California beach town. She has a bead shop, a nice circle of friends, and a handsome movie star who keeps flirting with her. Life would be pretty great if she could just stop stumbling over dead bodies…. Do you like dogs, crafts, quirky friends, a slow-building romance between grownups who genuinely like each other, and a twisty little mystery with red herrings galore? Then this is for you. The Maggie & Jasper Capers are fun and flirty cozies, with no swearing or love scenes, and no gruesome violence to keep you up at night.

The Empty Noose

The Empty Noose
Author: Linda Root
Publisher:
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2019-06-20
Genre:
ISBN: 9781073401833

The King's First Minister Lord Robert Cecil, Earl of Salusbury, had set May 3rd as the date for the execution of the Jesuit leaders convicted of complicity in the Gunpowder Treason. He had delayed it twice before in hopes his army of Pursuivants would capture the remaining fugitive, flamboyant John Gerard in time for him to witness the grisly execution of the elderly Jesuit Superior, Henry Garnet, knowing he was to be the next to suffer. However, Gerard had eluded gallows justice more than once. His most notable effort had occurred while Elizabeth lived when the Jesuit escaped his Tower prison in an aerial fete involving linens and ropes. Other forces, not all of them English, had a rescue in the making involving the Scottish adventurer Will Hepburn's ship, La Belle Ecossaise. It was far short of an ironclad scheme. Sir William Hepburn had an unbridled distrust of the English and scant affection for the newly anointed King James I, ostentatious son of the Queen of Scots who for a few months almost forty years ago had been his infant stepbrother.Moreover, Hepburn had inherited his dead father Bothwell's abiding distrust of all things Catholic. When James was wee, Bothwell stood outside of the door during the Christening. He had made Queen Marie cry by refusing to marry her in a Catholic ceremony. Even if the powers seeking Will's cooperation found a way to manipulate him into participating in a most unlikely a rescue, Gerard's supporters would have to find him first and deliver him to a coastal port and row. Will knew more enough about the Earl of Salisbury and the Gunpowder Treason to feel safer in open waters than at the Stuart Court. Also, Hepburn had promised his guidwife Daisy Kirkcaldie never again to set foot on English soil. While Hepburn was an adventurer famous for his derring-do, Daisy was no one to be crossed. Moreover, even if the rescue party had the means to enlist Hepburn's sense of honor and engage Daisy's determination to ride into the breach, what if the charismatic English Jesuit John Gerard were to have conflicting passions of is own?

The Book of English Folk Tales

The Book of English Folk Tales
Author: Sybil Marshall
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1468315242

A stunning collection of English folklore featuring stories of beasts, giants, ghosts, saints, and the Devil, as well as moral tales and tales of origins. Master storyteller, social historian, and folklorist Sybil Marshall scoured English history to bring together a fascinating collection of folk tales in one glorious edition. Out-of-print for over thirty years, Overlook is re-issuing this bewitching book to enchant a new audience. From the great mass of folk tales that exists, Sybil Marshall has chosen a wide variety of stories, retelling them with wit and suspense. We have her tales of the little people and of giants, of the Devil and the saints, and supernatural and moral tales. Let Sybil Marshall lead you through the old English countryside, exploring the beliefs and legends of time gone by. This beautiful edition, complete with wood engraved illustrations by John Lawrence, will entertain, educate, and ensnare audiences of all ages. “A compilation of vivid, sometimes fearsome stories . . . The England we visit here has no afternoon teas or jolly rounds of cricket on lovely green lawns. In these pages, the sophisticated reader steps onto older, darker soil half-soaked in blood, superstition, and magic. . . . Wood engravings by John Lawrence deepen our sense of the blackened accretion of centuries in this fascinating collection.” —Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

Maggie and the Empty Noose

Maggie and the Empty Noose
Author: Barbara Cool Lee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: California
ISBN:

"When the handsome movie star renting Maggie's house is accused of murder, she's the only one who believes he's innocent. Now all she has to do is prove it." -- Provided by publisher.

The End of All Things

The End of All Things
Author: Charles Lane Roberts
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2011-02-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1452084793

There is no available information at this time.

King's Justice

King's Justice
Author: Cora Buhlert
Publisher: Pegasus Pulp Publishing
Total Pages: 35
Release: 2020-09-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1005193762

In the year of the forked serpent, Kurval came from beyond the sea, slew King Orkol and became King of Azakoria. But Kurval’s reign is not an easy one. The people of Azakoria despise him as an uncouth barbarian, the nobles plot against him and assassination attempts are a frequent occurrence. One day, a hooded assassin tries to stab Kurval during an audience. Kurval is shocked, when the assassin is revealed to be a young woman, Nelaira, daughter of a minor noble. But why would a girl of nineteen throw away her life on a futile assassination attempt? As Kurval investigates Nelaira’s motives, he finds that he does not want to hang her. But he is king now and a king has to do his duty. Or does he? The new sword and sorcery adventure by two-time Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert and her occasional alter ego, 1930s pulp writer Richard Blakemore. This is a romantic novelette of 9000 words or approx. 30 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.

The Republic of Thieves

The Republic of Thieves
Author: Scott Lynch
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 692
Release: 2013-10-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0553905589

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A bright new voice in the fantasy genre” (George R. R. Martin), acclaimed author Scott Lynch continues to astound and entertain with his thrillingly inventive, wickedly funny, suspense-filled adventures featuring con artist extraordinaire Locke Lamora. And The Republic of Thieves is his most captivating novel yet. NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE With what should have been the greatest heist of their career gone spectacularly sour, Locke and his trusted partner, Jean, have barely escaped with their lives. Or at least Jean has. But Locke is slowly succumbing to a deadly poison that no alchemist or physiker can cure. Yet just as the end is near, a mysterious Bondsmage offers Locke an opportunity that will either save him or finish him off once and for all. Magi political elections are imminent, and the factions are in need of a pawn. If Locke agrees to play the role, sorcery will be used to purge the venom from his body—though the process will be so excruciating he may well wish for death. Locke is opposed, but two factors cause his will to crumble: Jean’s imploring—and the Bondsmage’s mention of a woman from Locke’s past: Sabetha. She is the love of his life, his equal in skill and wit, and now, his greatest rival. Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow orphan and thief-in-training. But after a tumultuous courtship, Sabetha broke away. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke must choose whether to fight Sabetha—or to woo her. It is a decision on which both their lives may depend. Praise for The Republic of Thieves “Fast paced, fun, and impossible to put down . . . Locke and company remain among the most engaging protagonists in fantasy.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “The Republic of Thieves has all the colorful action, witty repartee, and devious scheming that fans of the series have come to expect.”—Wired “A fantasy world unique among its peers . . . If you’re looking for a great new fantasy series this is one you won’t want to miss. . . . In a word: AWESOME!”—SF Revu

Balthazar

Balthazar
Author: Kristen Collins
Publisher: Getty Publications
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2023-04-04
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1606067877

This abundantly illustrated book examines the figure of Balthazar, one of the biblical magi, and explains how and why he came to be depicted as a Black African king. According to the Gospel of Matthew, magi from the East, following a star, traveled to Jerusalem bearing precious gifts for the infant Jesus. The magi were revered as wise men and later as kings. Over time, one of the three came to be known as Balthazar and to be depicted as a Black man. Balthazar was familiar to medieval Europeans, appearing in paintings, manuscript illuminations, mosaics, carved ivories, and jewelry. But the origin story of this fascinating character uncovers intricate ties between Europe and Africa, including trade and diplomacy as well as colonization and enslavement. In this book, experts in the fields of Ethiopian, West African, Nubian, and Western European art explore the representation of Balthazar as a Black African king. They examine exceptional art that portrays the European fantasy of the Black magus while offering clues about the very real Africans who may have inspired these images. Along the way, the authors chronicle the Black presence in premodern Europe, where free and enslaved Black people moved through public spaces and courtly circles. The volume’s lavish illustrations include selected works by contemporary artists who creatively challenge traditional depictions of Black history.