Cassie Palmer may be the world's chief clairvoyant, but that doesn't mean people have stopped trying to kill her. And now, the self-styled god Apollo, the source of Cassie's power, is on the warpath - leaving her no choice but to face down her creator once and for all.
The Ancient Curse by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Audiobook, MP3)
In the middle of the night at the Museum of Volterra, young archeologist Fabrizio Castellani is immersed in his work - research into the famous Etruscan statue known as The Shade of Twilight. Completely engrossed, he is startled by the phone ringing. An icy female voice warns him to abandon his work at once.
Far from the land of her birth, Moirin sets out across Tatar territory to find Bao, the proud and virile Ch'in fighter who holds the missing half of her diadh-anam, the divine soul-spark of her mother's people. After a long ordeal, she not only succeeds, but surrenders to a passion the likes of which she's never known. But the lovers' happiness is short lived, for Bao is entangled in a complication that soon leads to their betrayal.
Lord Cazaril has been, in turn, courtier, castle-warder, and captain; now he is but a crippled ex-galley slave seeking nothing more than a menial job in the kitchens of the Dowager Provincara, the noble patroness of his youth. But Cazaril finds himself promoted to the exalted and dangerous position of tutor to Iselle, the beautiful, fiery sister of the heir to Chalion's throne.
Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Cazaril is forced to confront not only powerful enemies but also the malignant curse that clings to the royal household, trapping him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation
The Curse of the Kings – Victoria Holtby – Victoria Holt
Absolute top-notch Holt this one. Clearly inspired by The Curse of Tutankhamun (she even names a patch of land Carter’s Meadow, presumably after Howard Carter), Egypt is the perfect setting for a Holt mystery romance. The first half of the book though is set back in England, with Our Heroine, Judith, becoming obsessed with her glamorous archaeologist neighbour, Sir Tybalt Travers. Judith though is having to earn a crust working as a downtrodden companion to the horrible Lady Bodrean, and doesn’t think she has a hope of attracting Tybalt’s attentions. Of course she does, they get married, and she joins him on an archaeological dig ..
