Hodder & Stoughton A Comedy of Terrors Davis Lindsey

The masterful new Roman epic from the bestselling author of the Falco series • Afflicted by classic paranoia, the self-styled Master and God sees enemies everywhere. As he vents his suspicions, no one is safe • A reluctant hero, Gaius Vinius Clodianus is hand-picked for high rank in the Praetorian Guard a brave man striving for decency in a world of corruption and deceit • Flavia Lucilla, tending the privileged women at court, hears the intimate secrets of a ruler who plays with the lives of his subjects as if he were indeed a careless god • In the dark shadow of Domitian's reign, Clodianus and Lucilla play out their own complex tale of resilience, friendship and love • Unwilling witnesses to Domitian's descent into insanity, these ordinary people must choose between their sworn duty to protect the Emperor and an act of courage that will change the future of Rome

Private investigator Flavia Albia is always drawn to an intriguing puzzle - even if it is put to her by her new husband's hostile ex-wife • On the Quirinal Hill, a young girl named Clodia has died, apparently poisoned with a love potion. Only one person could have supplied such a thing: a local witch who goes by the name of Pandora, whose trade in herbal beauty products is hiding something far more sinister • The supposedly sweet air of the Quirinal is masking the stench of loose morality, casual betrayal and even gangland conflict and, when a friend of her own is murdered, Albia determines to expose as much of this local sickness as she can - beginning with the truth about Clodia's death

We first met Flavia Albia, Falco's feisty adopted daughter, in The Ides of April • Albia is a remarkable woman in what is very much a man's world: young, widowed and fiercely independent, she lives alone on the Aventine Hill in Rome and makes a good living as a hired investigator. An outsider in more ways than one, Albia has unique insight into life in ancient Rome, and she puts it to good use going places no man could go, and asking questions no man could ask • Even as the dust settles from her last case, Albia finds herself once again drawn into a web of lies and intrigue. Two mysterious deaths at a local villa may be murder and, as the household slaves are implicated, Albia is once again forced to involve herself. Her fight is not just for truth and justice, however; this time, she's also battling for the very lives of people who can't fight for themselves

Flavia Albia's day-old marriage is in trouble - her new husband may be permanently disabled and they have no funds. So when Palace officials ask her to help expose a plotter in their midst she is obliged to accept their commission • The plot could not be bigger. Ever since he died in AD 68, apparently by his own hand, Rome has been haunted by reports that the Emperor Nero is in fact very much alive and about to return to claim his throne • Two Nero pretenders have emerged in the East and met grisly fates. But now, as the Emperor Domitian, whose tyrannical, paranoid reign grows ever more unpopular, fights a war in faraway Dacia, there emerges a far more sinister contender. What's more the rumour is that this false Nero is already in Rome. Plunged into the conspiracy, Flavia must infiltrate the house of the Parthians who have smuggled in this new impostor, negotiate with spies, dodge the assassins sent by the Palace traitor, and somehow cope with her stricken husband

Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of a famous investigating family. In defiance of tradition, she lives alone on the colourful Aventine Hill, and battles out a solo career in a male-dominated world. As a woman and an outsider, Albia has special insight into the best, and worst, of life in ancient Rome • A female client dies in mysterious circumstances. Albia investigates and discovers there have been many other strange deaths all over the city, yet she is warned off by the authorities. The vigils are incompetent. The local magistrate is otherwise engaged, organising the Games of Ceres, notorious for its ancient fox-burning ritual. Even Albia herself is preoccupied with a new love affair: Andronicus, an attractive archivist, offers all that a love-starved young widow can want, even though she knows better than to take him home to meet the parents

It is the dawn of a new world • Henry Tudor has vanquished Richard III and claimed the throne of England, taking possession of a secret map. At the glittering court of the Medici in Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruler of the republic and head of the mysterious Academy, is engaged in a dangerous game of power with the Vatican. In Spain, the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, have declared a crusade against Islam, forcing the Moors from Granada. Europe stands upon the brink of war, at the edge of a discovery that will change everything • Jack Wynter is clinging to the wreckage of the life he dreamed of living, his father's execution by Richard III destroying his hope of overcoming his status as an illegitimate son. The map entrusted to him by his father is gone, stolen by his hated half-brother, Harry Vaughan

Carrie Preston is used to hard work - oldest of ten, with an incompetent mother and a drunken father, she struggles to find food for her siblings. But nothing could have prepared her for the day fate deals her family the cruellest of hands, rendering them more desperate than ever • In a harsh world, small acts of kindness can bring great hope -Eli Beckett's offer of a job at the Dragon pub promises a better future for Carrie, especially as Eli's uncle has offered his nephew some spare land to build a music room • With the great cities of England alive to the sound of music halls, the locals of Hedderby are soon looking forward to their own place of celebration and merriment. Yet not everyone in the town shares this excitement, and some will stop at nothing in the pursuit of selfish gain

In Hands of Time, watchmaker and historian Rebecca Struthers welcomes us into the hidden world of watchmaking, and to a history of time that spans centuries and continents • The invention of timepieces was more significant for human culture than the printing press, or even the wheel. They have travelled the world with us, from the depths of the oceans to the summit of Everest, and even to the Moon. They regulate our daily lives and have sculpted the social and economic development of society in surprising and dramatic ways • From her workshop bench, Rebecca explores the ways in which timekeeping has indelibly shaped our attitudes to work, leisure, trade, politics, exploration and mortality, and introduces us to some extraordinary devices, each with their own story to tell

It is the women who are keepers of tales • Atmospheric, intoxicating and filled with intrigue, this sweeping novel is an epic story spanning the centuries, that links three women together across history • Libby Snow spent her childhood hearing stories and legends from long ago. Now an archaeologist, her job is to dig deeper into the past, but her excavation at Ullaness, on Scotland's west coast has a very personal resonance. For the headland of Ullaness holds not only the secrets of the legend of Ulla, the Norsewoman, but also begins the strange story of Ellen • Libby's grandmother passed on these tales - of love, betrayal and loss - but the more Libby learns at Ullaness, the more twisted the threads become. When human remains are discovered in the dunes, it becomes clear that time, and intention, have distorted accounts of what happened there

1912-1940 • A generation fallen • A country that will never be the same again • Nowhere in England avoids the searing loss of young men during the First World War and the remote Devon village of Shallowford is no exception. Many never return and the lives of those who do come back are changed forever • Paul Craddock must try to rebuild the estate and, with more difficulty, the bonds broken between the people who belong there. It is a time of huge social change and there are challenges in peace as hard to surmount as those of war. And before they are met, Germany once again threatens the stability of Europe and a way of life so hard won

Adventure of the Goblin Dog is a stand-alone Magic Faraway Tree adventure by the world's best-loved children's author, Enid Blyton • Discover the magic! Travel to the top of the Magic Faraway Tree with Peter and Mary on their quest to rescue a princess • Back in print for the first time in a generation, this is a wonderful introduction to the world of the Magic Faraway Tree. Explore Fairyland in this magical story, where you'll encounter the Goblin Dog, rescue a princess and visit the Land of Storytellers • This story first appeared in 1936 and was made part of the Magic Faraway Tree world in 1952, featuring different children discovering the Faraway Tree. The Magic Faraway Tree series is one of Enid Blyton's best-loved and most enduring creations