THE SUNDAY TIMES & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful
- & most secretive
- of

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Sifting myth from history, Piers Paul Read reveals the Templars ` the multinational force of warrior monks, in their white tunics with red crosses over chainmail. They were not only unique among Christian institutions but constituted the first uniformed standing army in the western world & became pioneers of international banking. Expropriated by Philip IV of France in 1307, & confessing under torture to blasphemy, heresy & sodomy, the Order was finally suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312. In a narrative that incorporates the story of the crusades & the many colourful characters who had links with the Templars, Piers Paul Read examines the question of their guilt & identifies their relevance to our own times. `A highly readable & nicely paced book that draws on the lessons of modern historical scholarship while also communicating a sense of narrative excitement & drive` ` Evocative, measured & engaging` Evening Standard ` Magnificent in every way` Mail on Sunday ...

Shorlisted for the Costa Award for First Novel 2010 & a controversial No.1 bestseller in India, The Temple-goers introduces us to a sensational new story-telling talent
- & a shocking new side of Indian society. It tells the story of two young men from very different sides of the tracks: one cast adrift in a world of fashion parties, media moguls & designer labels, the other who reveals to him the city`s hidden & squalid underbelly. But when a body is found floating in the canal & one of them is accused of the murder, some deeply unsettling truths begin to emerge, exposing their friendship & the dark & troubled heart of the city in which they live.
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Honda, a brilliant lawyer & man of reason, is called to Bangkok on legal business, where he is granted an audience with a young Thai princess
- an encounter that radically alters the course of his life. He is convinced she is a reincarnated spirit, & undertakes a long, arduous pilgrimage to the holy places of India, where, in the climatic scene, he encounters her once more, only to have his newfound beliefs shattered & his life bereft of all meaning.
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Because of the boyhood trauma of seeing his mother make love to another man in the presence of his dying father, Mizoguchi becomes a hopeless stutterer. Taunted by his schoolmates, he feels utterly alone untill he becomes an acolyte at a famous temple in Kyoto, where he develops an all-consuming obsession with the temple`s beauty. This powerful story of dedication & sacrifice brings together Mishima`s preoccupations with violence, desire, religion & national history to dazzling effect. ...

When important information is leaked from inside the Venetian Questura, Commissario Guido Brunetti is entrusted with the task of uncovering which of his colleagues is responsible. But before Brunetti can begin his investigation, he is surprised by the appearance in his office of a friend of his wife`s, who is fearful that her son is using drugs. A few weeks later, Tullio Gasparini, the woman`s husb&, is found unconscious with a serious head injury at the foot of a bridge, & Brunetti is drawn to pursue a possible connection to the boy`s behaviour. But the truth is not straightforward. Following various contradictory leads, Brunetti navigates his way through a world of mysterious informants, underground deals & secret longstanding scam networks, all the while growing ever more impressed by the intuition of his fellow Commissario, Claudia Griffoni, & by the endless resourcefulness of Signorina Elettra, Vice-Questore Patta`s secretary & gate-keeper. With Gasparini`s condition showing no signs of improvement, & his investigations leading nowhere, Brunetti is steadied by the embrace of his own family & by his passion for the classics. He turns to Sophocles`s Antigone in an attempt to understand the true purpose of justice, &, in its light, he is forced to consider the terrible consequences to which the actions of a tender heart can lead. ...

Important information is leaking from inside the Venetian Questura, & Commissario Guido Brunetti is tasked with uncovering the culprit. But before Brunetti can begin his investigation, a friend of his wife’s comes asking for his help, fearful that her son is using drugs. A few weeks later, the woman’s husband is found unconscious at the foot of a bridge. Following various contradictory leads, Brunetti navigates his way through Venice`s underworld in an attempt to understand who is responsible for the vicious attack. But as he gets closer to discovering what happened, Brunetti is faced with a difficult truth: sometimes, it’s the best intentions that lead to the darkest of consequences... ...

Cesare is a seventy-seven-year-old widower & cynical troublemaker. He has lived his whole life by his own rules & has no intention of changing now. Aside from an intermittent fling with a nurse called Rossana, he spends his days avoiding the old cat lady next door & screening calls from his children. But when the enigmatic Emma moves in next door with her strange & sinister husb&, Cesare suspects there is more to their relationship than meets the eye. He enlists the other residents to help him investigate & soon discovers a new & unexpected sense of purpose that leads him to risk everything for a future he had never thought possible. Laced with humour & pathos in equal measure, this is a delightful book to savour, for young & old alike. ...

` Sad, funny, wise & unblinkingly honest, this is truly wonderful.` Daily Mail Cesare is a seventy-seven-year-old widower & cynical troublemaker. He has lived his whole life by his own rules & has no intention of changing now. Aside from an intermittent fling with a nurse called Rossana, he spends his days avoiding the old cat lady next door & screening calls from his children. But when the enigmatic Emma moves in next door with her strange & sinister husb&, Cesare suspects there is more to their relationship than meets the eye. He enlists the other residents to help him investigate & soon discovers a new & unexpected sense of purpose that leads him to risk everything for a future he had never thought possible. Laced with humour & pathos in equal measure, this is a delightful book to savour, for young & old alike
- perfect for fans of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window & Disappeared & The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.` Immensely charming... Uplifting & very much on the side of life.` Mail on Sunday
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In Kenya`s ` Happy Valley` no one paid too much attention to the privileged colonial set as they farmed their estates, partied until dawn & indulged in extra-marital affairs. Not until Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll, was shot dead at the wheel of his Buick in the early hours of 24 January 1941. Some said the good-looking womaniser had it coming. He was a philanderer who could have had any number of enemies who wanted revenge. Ageing Jock Delves Broughton stood trial for Erroll`s murder but was acquitted & the mystery remained unsolved
- until now. American heiress Alice de Janze had been conducting a clandestine affair with Joss for years. Married into French aristocracy, her stunning beauty was to prove a fatal lure to men of adventure. Previously tried by a French court for shooting one of her lovers, scandal followed her wherever she went. She arrived in Kenya as a newly married Countess in the 1920s, but by 1941 she had turned forty & the years of partying had taken their toll. Pushed aside by Erroll for younger lovers, Alice was thrown into desperation, resulting in Errol`s murder & her own tragic demise. The Temptress not only solves the mystery of Josslyn Hay`s murder with the utmost conviction
- it eloquently paints a portrait of a volatile, captivating woman.

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