Gordon Griffin
1) Raven black
Author
Series
Shetland volume 1
Summary
It is a cold January morning, and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a splash of colour on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour, Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when detective...
Author
Series
Shetland volume 4
Summary
When a woman's body is discovered at the renowned Fair Isle's bird observatory, with feathers threaded through her hair, the islanders react with fear and anger. With no support from the mainland and only his fiancae to help him, Shetland Detective Jimmy Perez soon realizes that this is no crime of passion--but a murder of cold and calculated intention.
Author
Summary
When an elderly woman is shot in a tragic accident, Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is called to investigate. The sparse landscape and the emptiness of the sea have bred a fierce and secretive people. As Jimmy looks to the islanders for answers he finds instead two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness have lasted generations.
4) White nights
Author
Series
Shetland volume 2
Summary
It's midsummer in Shetland, the time of the white nights, when birds sing at midnight and the sun never sets. Artist Bella Sinclair throws a party to launch an exhibition of her work and to introduce the paintings of Fran Hunter. The Herring House, the gallery where the exhibition is held, is on the beach at Biddista, in the remote north west of the island. When a mysterious Englishman bursts into tears and claims not to know who he is or where he's...
5) Ash & bone
Author
Series
Frank Elder Mystery volume 2
Summary
Retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder struggles with guilt when his teenage daughter's behavior deteriorates following a rape that he could have prevented, while Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch becomes suspicious that she is being stalked.
Author
Summary
It is 1940. The Spanish Civil War is over, and Madrid lies ruined, its people starving, while the Germans continue their relentless march through Europe. And as Britain stands alone, General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter into the war. Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett, ex-public schoolboy, traumatised veteran of Dunkirk, and, now, reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain the confidence of Sandy...
8) Sight unseen
Author
Summary
On a summer's day in 1981, a two-year-old girl is abducted and her seven-year-old sister killed by the kidnapper's van. These events will have a devastating effect on the lives of those involved--and on the lives of those who were merely bystanders.
Author
Summary
Presents Jonathan Swift's satire in which a shipwrecked Englishman encounters bizarre populations in unheard-of lands, including an enlightened race of horses that makes him see his fellow humans in a different light; and includes explanatory notes and a note on the text, which is based on the 1726 edition.
Author
Series
Summary
This first volume of G.K. Chesterton's mysteries marks the debut of a most unusual detective: Father Paul Brown, a short, stumpy priest with an extraordinary and uncanny ability to spot the evil that lies in human hearts. In these twelve stories, the cleric encounters ingenious characters like Hercule Flambeau, the elusive mastermind criminal, and Aristide Valentin, chief of the Paris police.
14) Silas Marner
Author
Formats
Summary
A miser finds redemption through caring for an abandoned child.
Author
Summary
Alone—it is wonderful how little a man can do alone! To rob a little, to hurt a little, and there is the end. The Original 1897 Classic. A curious man, wearing a long coat, a wide-brimmed hat, and whose face is entirely swathed in bandages save for an obvious fake pink nose, walks into an English inn to the shock and horror of many of the townspeople. Beakers and chemicals in tow, the man demands his solitude. It’s strange enough as it is until...
Author
Summary
Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera, first published in 1910, remained a perennial favorite throughout the twentieth century and into the early 2000s. It was adapted to several popular motion pictures and into one of the most successful stage musicals of all time. Its main character, Erik, is a romantic figure whose appeal reaches across different cultures and times. He is a sensitive soul, an accomplished composer and musician whose great...
18) Robinson Crusoe
Author
Summary
"Shipwrecked off the coast of Trinidad, Robinson Crusoe - a young man with a thirst for adventure - finds himself washed up on a remote tropical island with nothing but a few tools and animals for company. Castaway for thirty years, he must battle cannibals, mutineers and the elements in a tale so convincing that many readers at the time believed it to be non-fiction. A true page-turner, Robinson Crusoe is one of the most enduring novels in the English...
19) The Odyssey
Author
Series
Summary
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the "complicated"...