Hello Lume readers,
Whether you’re after a powerful political thriller, an engrossing medieval history or a captivating collection of mysteries – this week’s new books have it all.
No More Dreams by William J. Coughlin
As the death of critically ill Justice Brian Howell, whose status as swing man on a perennially deadlocked Supreme Court makes him the most powerful man in America, becomes simply a matter of disconnecting his respirator, a desperate search for his successor begins.
It’s up to lawyer Jerry Green, as Special Counsel to the President, to head up the quest for a new swing Justice. But in his search, Green discovers more than he ever bargained for…
Powerfully written and intricately plotted, No More Dreams reverberates far beyond the marble chambers of the nation’s Capitol to expose the moral and spiritual disintegration of a society obsessed with survival over excellence.
The Shield and the Sword by Ernle Bradford
Known by many names through their centuries-long existence, The Knights Hospitaller of Saint John dedicated themselves to defending the poor and sick. First formed in Jerusalem during the Crusades of the eleventh century, the Order of Saint John grew in wealth and power, rivalled only by the Knights Templar.
In this fascinating study, Ernle Bradford charts the intriguing history of the Knights from their origins in the Holy Land to their subsequent relocation to Rhodes, the island of Malta and, eventually, England.
The Casebook of Inspector Blackstone: Part Two by Sally Spencer
Experience three cases for Inspector Sam Blackstone. Absorbing in their detailed depictions of Victorian England, gripping in their ingenious plots, this trilogy of historical whodunnits is the perfect box set for any mystery-lover. This omnibus includes:
Blackstone and the Burning Secret
If the arsonist’s true purpose is to make the government hand over one hundred thousand pounds, why does he seem so reluctant to apply the necessary pressure? Why does he content himself with burning down a single warehouse, when he could set an entire riverside wharf ablaze? And why firebomb a single sloop, when it would have been just as easy to destroy the whole fleet?
In order to answer these questions, Blackstone — aided by Dr Ellie Carr, a passionate disciple of the new science of criminal pathology — must follow a trail of death and destruction.
Blackstone and the Stage of Death
Five hundred people saw the murder — but no one knows who did it!
On the face of it, this is the simplest murder Blackstone has ever had to solve. The entire audience at the George Theatre saw Charlotte Devaraux stab William Kirkpatrick with a fake dagger. They gasped as he fell. But they gasped even more when they realized this would be his final curtain call. How did the murderer manage to exchange the fake dagger for a real one?
With a cast of unusual suspects, all of which have the motive and the wherewithal to commit the crime, Blackstone struggles to find which is truth and which is merely part of the act.
Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness
A sadistic killer is targeting teenage girls. A horrific pattern is emerging, with each new corpse horrendously mutilated – in precisely the same way. But the victims aren’t just any girls. They are the children of England’s aristocracy.
Inspector Blackstone, of the Metropolitan Police, seems to be the only man in the country who stands a chance of catching ‘the Northern Slasher’.
In this fascinating study, Ernle Bradford charts the intriguing history of the Knights from their origins in the Holy Land to their subsequent relocation to Rhodes, the island of Malta and, eventually, England.
