Crimson Rose

Determined to secure another London Season without assistance from her new brother-in-law, Mary accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation: to infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England. Every spy has a weakness, and for the Black Tulip that weakness is black-haired women - his 'petals' of the Tulip. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipates that his own heart will be caught as well. Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in the shadows of a treacherous garden of lies. As our modern-day heroine, Eloise Kelly, digs deeper into England's Napoleonic-era espionage, she becomes even more intwined with Colin Selwick, the descendent of her spy subjects.

A little gem of a memoir... The book adds up to more than a sum of its parts and lingers in the memory long after the final page. -- Sunday Telegraph Half a million people a day do it in the Telegraph. The Times claims almost as many, and the Guardian 300,000. Most people remember their first time, and everyone has a favourite. You can do it in bed, standing up, or on a train. You can do it alone, with a loved one or in groups. The Queen does it in the bath. It is not illegal, immoral or fattening. In fact it tops the Home Office list of approved entertainments for prison inmates. Crosswords are a very British obsession. Crosswords are a very British obsession. Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose is a personal reminiscence and a guide to solving crossword puzzles. But it is much, much more than a 'how-to' book. Each chapter is starts with a clue, and uses anecdote, history and autobiography to solve it, in the process describing something of what it means to love England. In the process, we encounter The Best Crossword Clue Ever, The Most Beautiful Clue in the World 'Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose' and the eccentric personalities behind such legendary compilers as the Guardian's Araucaria and The Times'Ximenes.

The last few years have not been kind to Rose. She has lost her husband and is currently residing with an abusive boyfriend. Furthermore, an enigmatic but very handsome man is stalking her. Ultimately, she finds that he is a supernatural being from heaven; or perhaps he has emerged from the depths of hell. Regardless, from his pointed teeth to his blood-kissed lips, Stefan is indeed a vampire, a creature Rose once thought only existed in folklore. He has emerged from the sinister darkness and come to claim her as his own. Stefan Hansen has seen the very worst of mankind. Before his transitioning, he had endured the horrors of World War II and the violent loss of his Jewish love. Thinking that the past was dead, he could not have been more wrong. And an apparition from his past was scheming to prove it with destructive intentions.

Seventeen-year-old Shannon Baker is the only one left to care for her feisty but ailing grandmother, Gladys. Medicare covers only so much, and Shannons job at Knotts Berry Farm barely helps. Even with the support of her best friend, Jessie, and the attention of her new lab partner, Sean, the situation looks grim. Then she meets Derek Knight. Hes more domineering than Sean, but he seems to be concerned about her well-being, while Sean has pulled away. Hesitant at first, Shannon finally warms to the idea of Derek. He promises to pay her bills and take care of her and Gladys if shell swear loyalty to him. Its a welcome change until Derek becomes too possessive, and Shannons suspicions about Derek and his fathers hotel heighten, while Shannon is haunted by a poem her mother wrote before she died. Now trapped in an elite gang, Shannon finds herself in the middle of a drug deal gone very wrong. She wants out. A mysterious, tuxedoed man might be the answer to her problems, but the price may be too high.

Now in paperback?a novel that ?handily fulfills its promise of intrigue and romance.?(Publishers Weekly) Determined to secure another London season without assistance from her new brother-in-law, Mary Alsworthy accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation. She must infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England. Every spy has a weakness and for the Black Tulip that weakness is beautiful black-haired women?his ?petals? of the Tulip. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipated that his own heart would be caught as well. Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past, and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in a treacherous garden of lies. And as our modern-day heroine, Eloise Kelly, digs deeper into England?s Napoleonic-era espionage, she becomes even more entwined with Colin Selwick, the descendant of her spy subjects.

Alone in the city without money and friends. Mother and father gone, her home sold over her head, deserted by her only brother - for Marion Warren the world seemed to stop. But her long years of nursing an uncomplaining father had taught her a great lesson. And she stepped bravely into a new life. Things seemed pretty black until the roses came...

When small-time actor Will Shakespeare is arrested for murder, Kit Marlowe must find the real killer in this “intricately plotted” Elizabethan mystery (Publishers Weekly). March, 1587. Christopher Marlowe’s play Tamburlaine, with the incomparable Ned Alleyn in the title role, has opened at the Rose Theatre, and a new era on the London stage is born. Yet the play is almost shut down on its opening night when a member of the audience, Eleanor Merchant, is struck dead by a musket ball fired from the stage. The man who pulled the trigger appears to be a bit player named Will Shakespeare. Convinced of Shakespeare’s innocence, Marlowe is determined to find out what really happened. When a second body is found floating in the River Thames, it becomes clear that Eleanor Merchant’s death was no accident, and that something deeper and darker is afoot. “Fans of the series and of Edward Marston’s amusing Elizabethan theater mysteries, featuring Nicholas Bracewell, will enjoy Kit Marlowe’s part in the drama at the Crimson Rose.” —Booklist