Nora Brooke drowned last year. Her heart stopped: long enough to leave, deep inside, a shadow of death that opened her to other shadows. Coming to Holdfast Island for remedial school, Nora finds a garden in the woods: an old, overgrown prison yard. She enters by a gate that then vanishes, glimpses a restless figure who is suddenly gone, and finds thousands of blue flowers like watching eyes. She finds friends, especially irrepressible Jack McKie. And Adam: seen in the prison ruin and met underwater while swimming, when Nora nearly drowns again. A local boy, they think, until they learn of an old tragedy. Three teens died here: Ursula stabbed, Graham hanged, Adam drowned. Triple suicide? Or murder? Adam says he loved Ursula but lost her. Now he's bound here. Questions swarm. Why does Nora sleepwalk nearly to her death? Why is Jack suddenly accident-prone, like Graham? Who haunts the prison, where the warden, Adam's grandfather, was called the Hangman? What will happen if Nora sets Adam free?

Hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is being practiced in the small town of Schongau in 1659 after a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder.

PONSON DU TERRAIL'S COMPLETE ROCAMBOLE SAGA IN NEW, UNABRIDGED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS ROCAMBOLE 9 – ROCAMBOLE AND THE HANGMAN'S ROPE (La Corde du pendu) Rocambole, reunited with his followers in London, is plotting to free William from the Bedlam mental hospital. William’s fortune was stolen by Sir Archibald, who then sent William to Bedlam. The mental hospital’s director however has a fixation for the “hangman’s rope”, and he will do everything to obtain it. Rocambole takes advantage of his obsession to achieve his own ends. Unfortunately this series was left unfinished by the untimely death of Ponson du Terrail in 1871 aged only 41. This volume includes new unabridged English translations of the original French texts: “La Corde du pendu - Tome I” “La Corde du pendu - Tome II” Text translation and layout, artwork, introductory notes, author’s biography, synopses and chronology: © 2023 Roland Radaelli and IP Rights Ltd THE COMPLETE SAGA IN NEW UNABRIDGED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS The Rocambole Saga The Rocambole adventures were first published in instalments in various French feuilletons, as supplements to newspapers. This was an extremely popular format in 19th Century France as well as in other countries. Novels such as Dumas’ “The Count of Montecristo”, Sue’s “The Mysteries of Paris” and Feval’s “Le Bossu” (“The Hunchback”) were first published in instalments and later reprinted as books. From 1857 to 1870, the year before the author’s death, Ponson du Terrail wrote thousands of pages chronicling Rocambole’s adventures, first as a master criminal, then as a defender of justice. The novels also offer an eye-opening account on how society was structured in 19th century France with stark divisions between nobility, rich businessmen and the working classes. Far from being outdated, these novels feel as fresh today as when they were written over 150 years ago. About the Author Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail was born in France in 1829. From 1850 he started writing serials for several newspapers and in 20 years will write over 200 novels! In 1857 he created the character of Rocambole, which will go on to achieve great success all over the world. The word “rocambolesque” is still used nowadays in many languages to describe fantastic, incredible adventures and scheming plots. With Germany’s invasion of France in 1870, Ponson du Terrail joins the resistance but a sudden illness strikes him and he dies in January 1871. The ROCAMBOLE SAGA in our catalogue includes the following ebooks: Series 1 - Legacy of Blood Series 2 - Knaves of Hearts Series 3 - Adventures of Rocambole Series 4 - Rocambole's Redemption Series 5 - Rocambole's Resurrection Series 6 - Rocambole's Last Word Series 7 - Rocambole in London Series 8 - Rocambole in Prison Series 9 - Rocambole and the Hangman's Rope

‘They wanted me dead. I don’t mean physical death. I’m not afraid of that any more ... The death they wanted for me was spiritual – I think that’s what I mean – to have me beset by fears, doubts; the insecurities of action and word that take their toll and make you live a life of death.’

If you had to interview the candidates for a country's new hangman, what questions would you ask them? If your family was on the verge of starvation, and becoming a hangman was the only job available, would you apply? If you were hired, what would you do if the prisoners looked like your loved ones? If you knew that another good man was taking the job out of desperation, would you do anything to prevent him from getting it? What if that man's recruitment would somehow guarantee your own survival, would you encourage his candidacy? All these questions were asked of people who never thought they would find themselves in such a position, until they became mired in the chaos surrounding the hangman's replacement.

Three wise-cracking mysteries in one where YOU are the supersleuth! Saxby Smart, private detective, is back with three more puzzling cases: a terrifying visit to The Hangman's Lair to recover stolen money, blackmail is threatened in The Diary of Fear, and in Whispers from the Dead, Saxby must unravel the mystery surrounding a stranger's unearthly powers . . . In this fourth exciting book Saxby Smart - schoolboy detective - gives you clues which help solve the mystery. Are you smart enough to work out the answers?

From crime fiction's next big thing (The Sunday Telegraph), comes the strange and exciting third entry in the Detective Inspector McLean series.