Showing results by author "Anne" in All Categories

1399: Constance of York, Lady Despenser, proves herself more than a mere observer in the devious intrigues of her magnificently dysfunctional family, the House of York. Surrounded by power-hungry men, including her aggressively self-centred husband, Thomas, and ruthless siblings, Edward and Richard, Constance places herself at the heart of two treasonous plots against King Henry IV. Will it be possible for this Plantagenet family to safeguard its own political power by restoring either King Richard II to the throne, or the precarious Mortimer claimant?

Recently returned to England, Leo, the new Earl of Salcott, discovers he's been thrust into the role of guardian to an heiress, the daughter of a notorious rake. Even worse, his wealthy ward has brought her half-sister, the beautiful but penniless Isobel, with her. Leo must find Clarissa a suitable husband, but her illegitimate half sister, Izzy, is quite another matter. Her lowly birth makes her quite unacceptable in London's aristocratic circles. However, the girls are devoted to each other and refuse to be separated. Even worse, sparks fly every time Leo and Izzy interact.

Electrifying, erotic, terrifying - the fourth novel in the Vampire Chronicles is as rich, as violent, as sensual as the runaway best sellers that precede it. The burden of immortality is weighing upon the vampire Lestat. In a desperate bid to end his everlasting life, he attempts suicide by flying into the sunrise above the Gobi Desert. The attempt fails, but it intensifies his desire to be human again. Just as Lestat resigns himself to the body of a killer, he is approached by the body thief, a creature who covets Lestat's monstrous power and can give him what he wants.

1816. Mary, 18 years old, is staying in a villa on Lake Geneva with her lover Percy Shelley. She is tormented by his infidelities, haunted by the loss of her baby daughter. Then one evening with friends, as storms rage outside and laudanum stirs their imaginations, Lord Byron challenges everyone to write a ghost story, and something fierce and wild awakens in Mary. Memories surface of the long, strange summer she once spent with a family in Scotland, where she found herself falling in love with the enigmatic Isabella Baxter. She learned tales of mythical beasts, witches and spirits.

An early morning adventure out stealing horses leaves Trond bruised and puzzled by his friend Jon's sudden breakdown. The tragedy which lies behind this scene becomes the catalyst for the two boys' families gradually to fall apart. As a 67-year-old man, and following the death of his wife, Trond has moved to an isolated part of Norway to live in solitude. But a chance encounter with a character from the fateful summer of 1948 brings the painful memories of that year flooding back, and will leave Trond even more convinced of his decision to end his days alone.

Menu du jour pour les policiers de la BAC : famille dysfonctionnelle et viande hachée à discrétion. Après avoir fêté le nouvel an chinois, qui ouvre l’année du cochon, l’inspectrice Olmo disparaît dans des conditions inquiétantes. A son réveil d’un sommeil comateux, trois hommes gravitent autour de son lit, qui attendent de prendre part au festin. Elena Blanco reprend du Service au sein de la Brigade d’analyse de cas pour mener une enquête qui les conduira dans une ferme sordide recelant des secrets inavouables.

Par une journée d’été caniculaire, l’inspectrice Blanco fait irruption dans la villa d’une famille madrilène de la classe moyenne pour se ruer dans la chambre du fils. La scène diffusée en direct sur l’écran d'ordinateur de l’adolescent dépasse l’entendement. Une implacable incursion dans l’univers du dark web et de ses "snuff movies", ces films trash dans lesquels les victimes ne sont pas des acteurs...

Damaris Chance's unhappy past has turned her off the idea of marriage forever. But her guardian, Lady Beatrice Davenham, convinces her to make her coming out anyway - and have a season of carefree, uncomplicated fun. When Damaris finds herself trapped in a compromising situation with the handsome rake Freddy Monkton-Coombes, she has no choice but to agree to wed him - as long as it's in name only. Her new husband seems to accept her terms, but Freddy has a plan of his own: To seduce his reluctant winter bride.

A slightly more immature Elizabeth Bennet meets Fitzwilliam Darcy London two years earlier than in canon. As a second son, Darcy has chosen the life of a barrister so there are fewer obstacles in their way, and they quickly fall in love. Using the fortune left to him upon his father's death, he invested with Gardiner to make his own fortune, making it easier for the two to wed, along with a legacy set aside for second sons by Darcy's grandfather, the late Earl of Matlock

Daniel Pitt is delighted that his sister is visiting London with her American husband, Patrick, a policeman, and their young daughters. But Patrick's trip has another purpose, for which he enlists Daniel's help. Philip Sidney, a young British diplomat, is accused of robbery and assault in Washington, but he has taken diplomatic immunity and fled to England. The perfect opportunity to obtain justice presents itself when Sidney is accused of a small embezzlement at the British embassy in the USA, but as Daniel digs deeper into the case it becomes clear that vengeance is involved.

There has never been a dragon quite like Ruth - he's small, agile, able to communicate with fire lizards and has an uncanny ability to know exactly when he is. His bond with the young Lord Holder Jaxom is uniquely strong thanks to their unlikely connection and the fact that nearly everybody else on Pern thought the diminutive dragon wouldn't survive to adulthood. With Jaxom set to inherit control of his Hold, the pair is banned from fighting Thread, their flying time strictly limited at the insistence of the Weyrleaders and Lord Holders.

William Wisting is in a race against time. When a severed head is found on a stake in the quiet town of Larvik, Police Inspector William Wisting is called in to investigate. The killer is trying to send a message. All roads lead back to the Night Man. As the media closes in on the biggest story of the year, Wisting's journalist daughter Line receives a tip. Soon, it becomes clear that there is more to this case than anyone thought. A criminal network has lodged itself deep into the roots of the city, and it's up to Wisting to take down the elusive and dangerous Night Man.

Bird by Bird is the bible of writing guides - a wry, honest, down-to-earth book that has never stopped selling since it was first published in the United States in the 1990s. Best-selling novelist and memoirist Anne Lamott distils what she's learned over years of trial and error. Beautifully written, wise and immensely helpful, this is the book for all serious writers and writers-to-be.

Banking on It is the firsthand account of one woman's quest to rebuild Britain's broken banking system. After a lengthy career at the top of some of Britain's leading banks, Anne Boden had become disillusioned with the status quo - the financial crash had broken trust in the whole sector, but there seemed to be little appetite to make the most of emerging technologies to revolutionise customer experience. Increasingly frustrated with the inertia within the industry, she decided to shake things up herself by doing something totally radical - setting up her own bank.

Roslyn Blackthorne is dead. Technically. I faked my death to get out of a loveless marriage, but that was only half the battle. To ensure my vampire duke can never find me, I have to run far and fast enough so he can’t catch me. Because if he does, it’s over. Not just my life—for real this time—but my entire family’s.

At the novel's centre: the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, hero, leader, irresistible force, irrepressible spirit, battling (and ultimately reconciling with) a strange otherworldly form that has taken possession of his undead body and soul. This ancient and mysterious power and unearthly spirit of vampire lore has all the force, history and insidious reach of the unknowable universe.

The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn't the drink that killed him - although that certainly helped - it was what happened to him as a boy in his grandmother's house in the winter of 1968.

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn see the new, closer companionship as beneficial - both personally and practically.