Kirjahaku

Headstrong Catherine LeVendeur chooses love over churchly devotion when she marries the Saxon nobleman, Edgar, but when the mummified arm of St. Aldhelm is stolen, Catherine and Edgar must race to find the lost reliquary to save the honor and lives of those they love. Reprint.

A Catherine LeVendeur mysteryCatherine LeVendeur is a creature of twelfth-century France. Her life is a mirror of that time but she is a unique spirit, determined to make her way in the world and armed with a keen mind and a curiosity that often puts her in peril. Her life is both a reflection of the bonds placed upon a woman in her society and the ways in which a strong personality can triumph and succeed in spite of those strictures. Catherine is fiercely loyal to both her faith and her family . . . and this loyalty is sometimes sorely tested because of a dreaded family secret. Raised a devout Catholic, she knows that if her family's Jewish roots are exposed, all she loves will be destroyed. But how far will she go to protect that secret? When her dearest friend in the world, Astrolabe, the son of the fabled theologian Peter Abelard and Heloise, flees wrongful prosecution for the vicious murder of a young woman, Catherine's family takes him in to hide. But there are darker forces than murder at work here. Someone wishes to use Astrolabe to complete the destruction of his father's fame in the name of faith . . . and there are those who would see the destruction of the very order of Christian life.And Catherine's family is caught right in the middle of the conflict. While she has experienced love and loss, her life is committed to preserving what peace she can for those she loves. How far will Catherine go to save her friend, and what will this sacrifice do to her family's future?Heresy is the eighth title in Sharan Newman's critically acclaimed Catherine LeVendeur medieval mystery series. Sharan Newman has used extensive research to give us a fascinating panorama of twelfth-century France that is rich in historical detail, and she puts flesh to bone by creating portraits of people who are not so different from ourselves. Filled with fascinating details of medieval life and the intricate interplay between the Christian and Jewish cultures of the time, Heresy is a compelling mystery and a riveting historical rolled into one.

With Death Comes As Epiphany, the first in the Catherine LeVendeur mystery series, medievalist Sharan Newman has woven dark mystery and sparkling romance into a fascinating and richly detailed tapestry of everyday life in twelfth-century France, and one of the most moving love stories of all time: Abelard and Heloise. Catherine LeVendeur is a young scholar come to conquer her sin of pride at the Convent of the Paraclete, famous for learning, prayer, and its abbess, the fabled Heloise. When a manuscript the convent produced for the great Abbe Suger disappears, rumors surface saying the book contains sacrilegious passages and will be used to condemn Heloise's famous lover, Peter Abelard. To save her Order, and protect all she holds dear, Catherine must find the manuscript and discover who altered the text. She will risk disgrace, the wrath of her family and the Church, and confront an evil older than Time itself--and, if she isn't careful, lose her immortal soul. Winner of the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery

Catherine Le Vendeur's curiosity and passion for justice have sometimes led her to solve grisly murders and brave horrors... but this time the threat is to those she loves. Catherine's family business relies on her cousin Solomon to negotiate the treacherous path to riches. The fact that Solomon is her cousin is secret, however, because he's Jewish--and if their family connections were discovered, it could mean ruin or death. When Solomon's father, who rejected Judaism for the more socially acceptable Christianity, asks for his help, Solomon must come to a decision about who he is, and where he really belongs.

1140 Anno Domini: A wealthy countess lies dying at the Convent of the Paraclete, brutally beaten by unknown assailants. Despite entreaties, she is unwilling to name her killer. Beautiful Catherine LeVendeur, the Paraclete's most learned young novice-scholar, vows to find out the identity of the woman's attacker. When her beloved Edgar comes to lead her from the convent to a life of the flesh, Catherine is torn between her quest for justice and the pledge she made him. Catherine doesn't want to break any of the vows she's made-and if she abandons her crusade for the truth, others will die, and the convent she loves may be destroyed...

Winner of the Bruce Alexander Award for Best Historical Mystery Catherine LeVendeur is a creature of 12th century France whose life is a mirror of her times--but she is armed with a keen mind and lively curiosity. When Catherine's grandfather sends for his family to tell them their well is going dry, Catherine is alarmed. The family's wealth depends on its status, and if the well goes dry, their castle will fall. Her grandfather seems wracked with a fear deeper than that, though--and there's a mysterious woman appearing at odd moments who may or may not be the family's ancestral ghost. Catherine doesn't believe the magical legends her family has handed down, that they are the descendents of a knight of Charlemagne's and a faerie. She puts her faith and distrust in the human condition. When bodies being appearing--not ghostly specters, but freshly-dead humans--Catherine knows she's right, and must uncover the secrets of the witch in the well...

Portland, 1868. It is a rough hewn place, an exploding trading post that has dreams of becoming a metropolis. Horace Stratton, one of Portland's wealthiest heirs, has decided to come home for good after amassing yet another fortune in Shanghai. With him comes his wife Emily, a shy daughter of missionaries, and their teenaged son. On the brink of that happy return, Horace suddenly falls ill and dies in San Francisco. Emily and her son bring her husband home to Portland and they try to settle into this new culture.While they look as if they should belong, Portland is a strange and unsettling place for them. Emily is guilt-ridden, but sorrow is one of the few emotions she didn't feel when told of her husband's passing. For Emily had learned more about her husband's past than anyone would believe. And she discovers that all of his schemes did not die with him. His partners very much want Emily and her son to go away... by whatever means necessary. Emily will have to delve into her husband's seedy and painful past and set things right so that she can make a life for herself and her son in this strange land.

Guinevere is widely acknowledged as the most extraordinary woman in legend. From golden child to Queen of Camelot to passionate adulterer, her life is a vivid and fascinating saga. In this spellbinding climax to the tale of Guinevere--which began with Guinevere and continued in The Chessboard Queen--Sharan Newman, author of the highly acclaimed Catherine LeVendeur medieval mystery series, blends magic and history to create and unforgettable tale of passion and tragedy. Here we see the discovery of Guinevere's affair with Lancelot and her subsequent fall from grace; the near-futile quest for the Holy Gail; and the triumph of Galahad in a final battle with the villainous Mordred. Guinevere Evermore is a heartrending portrayal of a failed romance, a fallen woman, and the end of an era. Sharan Newman's reinterpretation of the Arthurian saga is as ambitious and persuasive as The Mists of Avalon and The Hollow Hills--and just as memorable. This edition also includes Newman's short story: The Palace by Moonlight.