Ninety-five years ago the enormous interplanetary space vehicle, the Pacifica, with a numerous crew, suddenly and inexplicably disappeared as it neared the planet Pluto. None of the probes directed towards the planet after the disaster found any evidence that the vessel and its crew had ever existed. Now, a century later, the wreck of the huge ship has been sighted, lying shrouded in the hazy-black starlight on the Plutonian surface. A shuttle has been fitted for the dangerous journey to the seventh planet, and with three crewmembers aboard, has made the first attempt to reach Pluto since the loss of the Pacifica. As the shuttle approaches the planet, it also 'suddenly and inexplicably' disappears and is lost. Although the crew of three is believed to have perished, they have not, and will carry on with their mission: to determine how the Pacifica met its fate. The truth, however, may be found only beyond reason, or even beyond imagination, and the three astronauts may wish that they never sought answer to this great mystery.

Contemporary misogyny and antisemitism have their roots in the demonization of women and Jews in medieval Christendom. In church art and mass preaching, the construct of the devil as an outcast from heaven and the source of all evil was linked both to the conception of women as sensual and malicious figures betraying man's soul on its arduous journey to salvation and to the notion of Jews as treacherous dissidents in the Christian landscape. These stereotypes, widely disseminated for over three hundred years, persist today. The exemplum, or cautionary story incorporated into preachers' manuals and popular homilies, was an important mode of religious teaching for clerical and lay folk alike. Sermon narratives drawn from Hindu mythology, Arab storytelling, and secular folktales entertained all classes of medieval society while dispensing theological and cultural instruction. In Devils, Women, and Jews, the vital genre of the medieval sermon story is, for the first time, made accessible to specialists and nonspecialists alike. Rendered in modern English, the tales provide an invaluable primary resource for medievalists, anthropologists, psychologists, folklorists, and students of women's studies and Judaica. Critical introductions and explanatory headnotes contextualize the tales, and comprehensive endnotes and a bibliography allow readers to follow up analogue and subject studies in their own areas of interest.

Welcome to the chilling, hair-raising world of Sarah Rayne, the master of British contemporary gothic horror with this standalone modern horror novel – perfect for fans of eerie and skin-crawling reads with supernatural elements! “Rayne spins eerie yarns within yarns like a latter-day Isak Dinesen or Wilkie Collins” KIRKUS REVIEWS “Equal parts Daphne du Maurier, Josephine Tey and Ruth Rendell . . . Rayne possesses superb story-telling skills” US MYSTERY GUILD “Highly enjoyable mainstream horror fare from a genre veteran” BOOKLIST “Rayne writes with panache and imagination” KIRKUS REVIEWS “Rayne is a fine writer, a sure-handed plotter and skillful character builder” BOOKLIST “Colorful characters and a mastery of slow-burning suspense” KIRKUS REVIEWS “Rayne perfects the craft of deftly chosen details, simmering suspense and chilling surprises” KIRKUS REVIEWS _______________________ When musician Isarel West plays a seemingly harmless piece of music, he unknowingly unleashes a sinister force with horrifying consequences in this creepy contemporary gothic horror novel. On inheriting his father’s tumbledown Irish cottage, Isarel West, a university lecturer and musician, discovers some old sheet music composed by his late grandfather: a notorious and scandalous composer from the 1930s, nicknamed ‘Judas’ because of his allegiance to the Third Reich. Isarel starts to play the music entitled ‘The Devil’s Piper’, which some people believed his grandfather had based on the Black Chant – a sequence of music that legend says can call an ancient power from the grave. But little does he know the sinister force that the music conjures up – a force that brought misery and tragedy to others throughout centuries. Isarel sets out to trace the dark legend to its source. As he does so, the truth about the ancient music begins to unfold. For the legend is true! And now, in the present, the Black Chant has fallen into the hands of a group of people who will once again make evil use of it . . . Fans of LEIGH BARDUGO’s Alex Stern series, T. KINGFISHER’s Sworn Soldier series and SHIRLEY JACKSON’s The Haunting of Hill House will be equally as thrilled and spooked by Sarah Rayne’s The Devil’s Piper. READERS ARE HOOKED ON THE DEVIL’S PIPER: “A quality novel of supernatural power through the ages . . . blending well-fleshed characters and a strong story” Bradford Telegraph & Argus “Sinister, haunting, creepy . . . I loved that feel to it” Trav, 5* Amazon review “A brilliant book that I just couldn't put down . . . Best book I have read for ages!” Samantha-Jane O., 5* Goodreads review MORE STUNNING SARAH RAYNE HORROR STANDALONES: 1. Blood Ritual 2. The Burning Altar 3. Thorn 4. Changeling 5. Wildwood

A bad Demon gone good is trying to escape from the clutches of Hell. To prevent its return to the fiery pit it must recruit the help of one human to solve a centuries-old riddle hidden deep within the illuminated pages of the ancient Book of Kells. But it's not just the riddle with which the Demon needs help; a long-lost shrine is the only key to closing the portal to Hell until Judgment Day, and only one person can locate it-Sheila Myhra. Reluctantly joining forces with the Demon, Sheila must battle her own fears as well as two other Demons that will stop at nothing to prevent the shrine from being recovered. Sheila pits her new-found powers against an adversary as old as time itself with an accomplice that she cannot trust. If she solves the riddle, the Demon is free to roam the Earth at will. If they fail, the gateway between Earth and Hell itself will be torn open, and Sheila will be the first sacrifice.