When an Edinburgh car showroom is torched, leaving a fortune in luxury sports cars destroyed and one badly charred body, Skinner finds himself on the same side as a man he's been trying to nail while they both search for the man's wife's killer.
In his latest caper, Bernie must come up with a priceless Mondrian as ransom for his friend's kidnapped cat--and finds himself entangled in a web of murder, deception, and unexpected passion....
Once is the latest in the welcome new phase of James Herbert's career after he distanced himself from the straightforward "horror" tag afforded to him by earlier novels such as the Rats trilogy and cannily reinvented himself as a writer with considerably more psychological insight and elegance of style.
The year is 878. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, has helped the Saxons of Wessex defeat the invading Danes. Now, finally free of his allegiance to the victorious, ungrateful King Alfred, he is heading home to rescue his stepsister, a prisoner of Kjartan the Cruel in the formidable Danish stronghold of Dunholm. Uhtred's best hope is his sword, Serpent-Breath, for his only allies are Hild, a West Saxon nun fleeing her calling, and Guthred, a slave who believes himself king. Rebellion, chaos, fear, and betrayal await them in the north, forcing Uhtred to turn once more, reluctantly, to the liege he formerly served in battle and blood: Alfred the Great.
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lilian Jackson Braun
Qwilleran is not happy with his new assignment to write about interior decorating in a new weekly magazine. Then someone burgles the residence featured on the front cover and kills the lady of the house. Suddenly, Quill finds himself and his feline friend in the midst of a murder investigation.
