Rex Graves flies to the Caribbean paradise of St. Martin to investigate the disappearance of Sabine Durand, a beautiful French actress. But the Scottish barrister didn't expect the turquoise waters and white sandy beaches to be filled with so much...nudity. Apparently, Sabine was staying at a naturist resort. Not even a few pints of Guinness can prepare Rex for all the bare bottoms, breasts, and other brazenly exposed body parts.Keeping his gaze well above the neck, Rex interviews Sabine's friends and uncovers unsavory details about her husband. Vernon, a hardnosed entertainment lawyer thirty years older than his flirtatious wife, was prone to jealously. Did he fly into a rage and kill Sabine? Or was she simply the victim of a tragic shark attack, as the local police suspect?The mystery heats up when Rex links a wealthy developer with unsolved serial killings of young women, who bear an eerie resemblance to each other—and to Sabine.Praise for Christmas is Murder:"A winner... a must for cozy fans." — Booklist (starred review)"Challinor's debut is a pleasant modern knockoff of [Agatha] Christie." — Kirkus ReviewsC. S. Challinor (Florida) was educated in England and Scotland, and has traveled extensively. Her short stories have been published in women's magazines in the United States and the United Kingdom.

When barrister Rex Graves invites a group of friends to Gleneagle Lodge, he doesn't anticipate the arrival of an old flame—much less a dead body or serial killer. Rex's houseguest and colleague Alistair, who recently made an unsuccessful attempt to convict a man for the notorious Moor Murders, now finds himself under the same roof as the killer. Rex must use his skills of intellect, observation, and logic to save Alistair's career and bring the murderer to justice.

Praise:

"Traditional mystery fans will appreciate the retro Agatha Christie style."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

SUMMARY:
Accompanied by his wife, their cat, and an actor friend, ourautobiographical narrator Ferdinand leaves Paris for Baden-Baden (aWorld War II hideaway for wealthy Germans), is then sent to abombed-out Berlin, and finally leaves for Denmark in search of the goldhe had stashed there prior to the war. With the Third Reich in ruinsand the Allied armies on Ferdinand's heels, North combines documentary realism with hallucinatory images, capturing the chaos of war and its toll on both victim and victimizer.

BOOK 3 IN THE ACCLAIMED REX GRAVES MYSTERY SERIESScottish barrister Rex Graves will never understand why the devil his son Campbell chose to go to college in Florida rather than attending university in bonny Scotland. During Rex’s visit across the pond, tragedy strikes when a student is found hanging from a rope in his locked dorm room. Did the poor lad commit suicide, or was it murder?With one student dead and his own son in danger, Rex Graves vows to learn the truth. In between trying not to worry about Campbell and trying to please his new love, Helen d’Arcy (while keeping ex-girlfriend Moira at bay), Rex conducts his own investigation. What he finds is a maze of sordid secrets in the university’s not-so-hallowed halls. Praise for the Rex Graves mystery series by C. S. Challinor: “A winner . . . a must for cozy fans.” —Booklist (starred review)“A clever variant on the locked room mystery. With a host of colorful characters, a dose of humor and a balmy locale, you will want to devour this well-plotted mystery.” —Mystery Scene

Product Description

When disaster strikes the liner Galatea, the crew and passengers find themselves adrift at sea. It appears that things cannot get worse until they discover that their would-be rescuers are treacherous pirates! The captives are taken to a secret island and forced to do hard labor. While plotting their escape, they learn that the island holds two secrets: one fabulous and one that threatens to destroy them all! Will they escape? What are the secrets of the island? These questions and more will be answered in The Pirate Island by Harry Collingwood.

About the Author

Harry Collingwood (1851-1922) served in the navy and later as an engineer. He traveled extensively finding copious for his wonderful adventure stories,

Review

Céline quite deliberately makes us feel the inescapable, mind-rotting horror of endless chaos, the fact of war as Americans have never known it. (Washington Post Book World )

Céline's explosive language and style is the very sign of his experience: its full impact explodes, as if by delayed reaction, before the eyes, and in the consciousness, of author, narrator, and reader alike. (Times Literary Supplement )

Lit with a flash of frighteningly lucid prophecy, and seen to be nothing less than the doom of the human race. . . . But what is oddest of all about Rigadoon, and what distinguishes it from Céline's other work, is its sense of peace, almost of consummation, at the sight of a Europe in rubble and flames. (The New York Times Book Review )

More than most modern authors, [Céline is] able to plunge directly into the burning center, where Europe, in rage and anguish, is tearing itself apart. In so doing, he captures the heat and energy of he final holocaust better than almost anyone. (The Nation )

Manheim’s translation succeeds in capturing the powerful immediacy of Céline’s prose. (Library Journal )

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

From Publishers Weekly

Upper-class sculptor Tate flees a bad breakup and her SoHo loft for a cheap apartment in Golgotham, New York City's supernatural ghetto, in Collins's bubbly urban fantasy series launch. Tate's new landlord, Hexe, is a warlock prince outcast for using only right-hand magic to help people, rather than the left-hand magic of curses. Soon after they rescue a were-cougar fleeing the fighting pits, Tate and Hexe fall in love. The first human on the block, Tate gains insight into gentrification while holding on to some unfortunate prejudices. Collins (Vamps) wins with images like centaurs harnessed to hansom cabs, but the humor is sometimes forced, as are regrettable attempts at local dialect ("until ya gets someone t'take it") and slang ("I'll never bend my knee to a nump-loving dexie!"). Readers will look for future installments to flesh out the intriguing setting, the true star of the series. (Dec.)
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Review

"An entertaining story that demonstrates an amazing breadth of imagination and introduces a fascinating alternate society...an intriguing introduction to an environment peopled with eccentric and memorable characters."
-NightOwlSciFi.com

"Collins is especially skilled at portraying the sweaty, nervous moments when everything goes wrong and help is too far away...a very well done portrayal of a strange neighborhood amid our all-too-mundane reality.
-SFRevu.com

"Nancy A. Collins has reminded me why I loved [urban fantasy] in the first place...a lot of fun."
-BSCReviews.com

"[A] great beginning to what appears to be a fantastic new urban fantasy series. I look forward to reading the second story to see what the author does with this incredible and complex neighborhood."
-HuntressReviews.com

"[Collins] does an excellent job of bringing Golgotham and its unusual occupants vividly to life, yet grounding the story in reality. Compelling characters and dangerous drama add up to dynamic and exciting fun!"
-Romantic Times (4 stars)

Product Description

Three men were still aloft when the battery, which had hoisted Spanish colors, opened fire upon us, the first shot severing our larboard main- topgallant back-stay. This damage, slight as it was, sufficed to effectually rouse Captain Pigot's hasty, irritable temper; and, hurrying the men down from aloft, he ordered the larboard broadside to be manned, and the guns to be directed upon the audacious battery. A couple of well-directed broadsides sufficed to silence its fire, and the boats were then immediately piped away.

But that was not the last of it -- not by half. The rover had a secret - a terrible, terrible secret.