Richard I has been known mainly as an absentee king, leaving England to rot while he was off gallivanting in the Holy Land. This novel --- a stirring brew of 12th-century politics, religion and romance --- tells a more intriguing story.

They were called "The Devil's Brood," though never to their faces. They were the four surviving sons of Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine. With two such extraordinary parents, much was expected of them.

But the eldest-charming yet mercurial-would turn on his father and, like his brother Geoffrey, meet an early death. When Henry died, Richard would take the throne and, almost immediately, set off for the Holy Land. This was the Third Crusade, and it would be characterized by internecine warfare among the Christians and extraordinary campaigns against the Saracens. And, back in England, by the conniving of Richard's youngest brother, John, to steal his crown.

In LIONHEART, Sharon Kay Penman displays her remarkable mastery of historical detail and her acute understanding of human foibles. The result is a powerful story of intrigue, war, and surprisingly effective diplomacy, played out against the roiling conflicts of love and loyalty, passion and treachery, all set against the rich textures of the Holy Land.

After barely escaping from an outrageous shootout, ex-cop Charlie Hardie is kidnapped by a team of undercover operatives and forced to guard an underground prison that houses the most dangerous criminals on earth. Or so he's told.

After barely escaping from an outrageous shootout, ex-cop Charlie Hardie is kidnapped by a team of undercover operatives and forced to guard an underground prison that houses the most dangerous criminals on earth. Or so he's told.

After barely walking away with his life from a shootout that will go down in Hollywood history, ex-cop Charlie Hardie discovers things can, in fact, get even worse. He is kidnapped by a team of team of undercover operatives and forced to stand guard over an underground prison that houses the most dangerous criminals on earth. 

Or so he's told. As Hardie goes deeper, and finds himself behind bars, he begins to wonder: who is running the asylum and are the good guys the ones behind bars or the ones walking the halls? But, Hardie knows that the world outside hasn't stopped and that his family is in peril as he languishes in this pseudo-prison.

Soon, Hardie is plotting a desperate escape that will visit a Pandora's box of mayhem upon the state of California. He'll make some new enemies. But he'll take care of many more. Because nobody does justice like Charlie Hardie. And if you threaten his family, you better believe there'll be hell to pay.

Bestselling British historian and novelist Alison Weir reconstructs the real story of the much-misrepresented Mary Boleyn. Mary was a woman whose star rose and fell in the glittering Tudor court, whose life ended in banishment and relative obscurity when she dared to marry for love.

Alison Weir reconstructs the real story of the much-misrepresented Mary Boleyn. Mary was a woman whose star rose and fell in the glittering Tudor court, whose life ended in banishment and relative obscurity when she dared to marry for love.

Sister to Queen Anne Boleyn, she was seduced by two kings and was an intimate player in one of history’s most gripping dramas. Yet much of what we know about Mary Boleyn has been fostered through garbled gossip, romantic fiction, and the misconceptions repeated by historians. Now, in her latest book, New York Times bestselling author and noted British historian Alison Weir gives us the first ever full-scale, in-depth biography of Henry VIII’s famous mistress, in which Weir explodes much of the mythology that surrounds Mary Boleyn and uncovers the truth about one of the most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age. 
 
With the same brand of extensive forensic research she brought to her acclaimed book THE LADY IN THE TOWER, Weir facilitates here a new portrayal of her subjects, revealing how Mary was treated by her ambitious family and the likely nature of the relationship between the Boleyn sisters. She also posits new evidence regarding the reputation of Mary’s mother, Elizabeth Howard, who was rumored to have been an early mistress of Henry VIII.
 
Weir unravels the truth about Mary’s much-vaunted notoriety at the French court and her relations with King François I. She offers plausible theories as to what happened to Mary during the undocumented years of her life, and shows that, far from marrying an insignificant and complacent nonentity, she made a brilliant match with a young man who was the King’s cousin and a rising star at court.
 
Weir also explores Mary’s own position and role at the English court, and how she became Henry VIII’s mistress. She tracks the probable course of their affair and investigates Mary’s real reputation. With new and compelling evidence, Weir presents the most conclusive answer to date on the paternity of Mary’s children, long speculated to have been Henry VIII’s progeny.
 
Alison Weir has drawn fascinating information from the original sources of the period to piece together a life steeped in mystery and misfortune, debunking centuries-old myths and disproving accepted assertions, to give us the truth about Mary Boleyn, the so-called great and infamous whore.