Death Beneath A Troubled Roof

When the sudden illness of her father-in-law pulls Victoria Sedgewick away from London, she finds herself at the gloomy Yorkshire estate of her late husband's family. There she discovers that her relations are in danger from a bitter darkness that threatens to engulf them all. With the help of Branwell Keats, Victoria investigates a plot as dramatic and haunting as the isolated landscape...

"A very talented writer." —Sharon Kay Penman, NYT bestselling author of Devil's Brood England, 1044. Harold Godwineson, a young, respected Earl, falls in love with an ordinary but beautiful woman. He marries Edyth despite her lack of pedigree, pitting him against his turbulent family and his selfish King, Edward. In France, William, the bastard son of a duke, falls in love with power. Brutal and dangerously smart, William sets his sights on England, finding ambition a difficult lust to conquer. In 1066, with the old King Edward dying, England falls vulnerable to the winds of fate-and the stubborn will of these two powerful men. In this beautifully crafted tale, Helen Hollick sets aside the propaganda of the Norman Conquest and brings to life the English version of the story of the last Saxon King, revealing his tender love, determination, and proud loyalty, all shattered by the unforgiving needs of a Kingdom. Forced to give up his wife and risk his life for England, the chosen King led his army into the great Battle of Hastings in October 1066 with all the honor and dignity that history remembers of its fallen heroes. "A novel of enormous emotional power...Helen Hollick is a fabulous writer of historical fiction." -Elizabeth Chadwick, author of To Defy a King What Readers Are Saying: "We all know the ending! But Helen Hollick's masterful and moving account of Pre-Conquest England still carries the reader along on an enthralling journey to that moment...it made me cry in all the right places. Helen Hollick is a consummate storyteller." "An epic work, grand and sweeping. I've read many versions of the events of 1066 but this is one of the best." (This book was previously published in the U.K. as HAROLD THE KING)

Jessica Fletcher meets Tim Burton in this creative and witty cozy mystery series filled with unconventional characters, a year-round Christmas setting, and a unique heroine who’s married to the real-life Santa Claus—and this time, there are two holidays in the mix. At Castle Kringle, the elves are excitedly arranging their first ever Thanksgiving day feast. April’s husband, Nick—the real Santa—has some misgivings, since it’s tough to get ready for Christmas when everyone is obsessed with helium balloons and pie recipes. Chaos erupts when Gobbles, the live turkey imported for the castle feast, is bird-napped. That crime is quickly overshadowed at a pre-Thanksgiving potluck when Nick’s cousin, Elspeth, face-plants into her mashed potatoes—dead. Someone poisoned Elspeth, and April believes Constable Crinkle is hauling the wrong suspect off to jail. An ominous message, written in what seems to be blood and urging April to stop investigating, only convinces her more. But who’s really to blame? Where is Gobbles the turkey? And can April solve a double helping of mystery in time for everyone to sit down to a non-deadly dinner together? Praise for Mrs. Claus and the Evil Elves “Funny, well-paced . . . Ireland’s bizarre series conceit works, a tribute to her deft juggling of sleuthing and satire. Fans of Leigh Perry’s Family Skeleton mysteries will be tickled.” —Publishers Weekly

A Major New Translation The Red and the Black, Stendhal’s masterpiece, is the story of Julien Sorel, a young dreamer from the provinces, fueled by Napoleonic ideals, whose desire to make his fortune sets in motion events both mesmerizing and tragic. Sorel’s quest to find himself, and the doomed love he encounters along the way, are delineated with an unprecedented psychological depth and realism. At the same time, Stendhal weaves together the social life and fraught political intrigues of post–Napoleonic France, bringing that world to unforgettable, full-color life. His portrait of Julien and early-nineteenth-century France remains an unsurpassed creation, one that brilliantly anticipates modern literature. Neglected during its time, The Red and the Black has assumed its rightful place as one of the world’s great books, and Burton Raffel’s extraordinary new translation, coupled with an enlightening Introduction by Diane Johnson, helps it shine more brightly than ever before.

In the northern dell of Nöstervalley, visitors are rare, but two large and hungry trolls have come down from the mountains to feast. This startling event launches Ruferto Basaretti on an impossible journey full of peril, intrigue, and chaos stretching across much of the changing world. Technologically advanced races once ruled this world. To their great annoyance, the era of the humans is at hand, and they see humans as barely more acceptable than goblins. Choosing avoidance has many humans believing the elder races are fanciful stories designed to scare children into behaving. Ancient races walk among human society. Some do it for profit; some because they believe they should bring the plague of humanity to a bloody end. Meeting between cultures can bring about unexpected cascading change. This is such a story.

When Miss Jane Pemberton joins her uncle's household as a companion to her invalid cousin, she does not realize what a dangerous world she is stepping into. From the moment she enters the house, Jane senses secrets and unresolved tensions hanging like a shadow over the Pemberton family. Worse, citizens of the sleepy, seaside town of Ebonport do not lead the peaceful lives Jane expected. They seem to hide beneath shadows of their own, motivated by avarice and revenge. When a shocking murder rocks this uneasy society, Jane vows to protect her uncle's family-whether they deserve it or not.