When a jousting match at a medieval fair turns into old-fashioned murder, the Gourmet Detective sets out to unmask the killer. At Sir Gerald’s medieval festival, the castle is authentic, the jousting is rousing, and the wenches are the sauciest in the land. The only thing missing is decent food. And so Sir Gerald calls in London’s gourmet detective, an expert food finder, whose specialties include locating rare ingredients, designing historically accurate menus, and solving the occasional murder. And all three skills will be tested if he is to escape the age of chivalry alive. After the day’s first joust, the winning knight falls to the ground, poisoned. Someone is trying to exterminate the gentry of this ersatz fiefdom, and it will take a sure palate and a strong stomach to find out who. To save his own head, the detective must contend with flooding dungeons, stray arrows, and a cast of dwarf knights—all while struggling to design a menu fit for a king.

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tv=ti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. Riveting and rich with lyricism, Burial Rites evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

In the tradition of Mary Roach’s bestselling Stiff and Jessica Mitford’s classic exposé The American Way of Death comes this meticulously researched, refreshingly irreverent, and lavishly illustrated look at death from acclaimed author Harold Schechter. With his trademark fearlessness and bracing sense of humor, Schechter digs deep into a wealth of sources to unearth a treasure trove of surprising facts, amusing anecdotes, practical information, and timeless wisdom about that undiscovered country to which we will all one day travel. Topics include • Death anxiety–is your fear of death normal or off the scale? • You can’t take it with you . . . or can you? Wacky wills and bizarre bequests • The hospice experience–going out in comfort and style • Deathbed and funeral etiquette–how to help the dying and mourn the dead with dignity • Death on demand–why the right-to-die movement may be the next big thing • “Good-bye everybody”–famous last words • The embalmer’s art–all dressed up and nowhere to go • Behind the scenes at your local funeral home • Alternative burial choices–from coral reefs to outer space From the cold, hard facts of death to lessons in the art of dying well, from what happens in the body’s last living moments to what transpires in the ground or in the furnace, from near-death experiences to speculation on the afterlife, The Whole Death Catalog leaves no gravestone unturned.

Cecily Sinclair, owner of the Pennyfoot Hotel, is looking forward to the annual May Day festivities to liven up the off-season, but the celebration turns lethal when one of the hotel guests is found strangled with a maypole ribbon. Original.

Hard cover 6x9, blue cloth, with dust jacket, three files front matter (14 pages) text (107 pages), and dust-jacket

Like other fictional characters, female sleuths may live in the past or the future. They may represent current times with some level of reality or shape their settings to suit an agenda. There are audiences for both realism and escapism in the mystery novel. It is interesting, however, to compare the fictional world of the mystery sleuth with the world in which readers live. Of course, mystery readers do not share one simplistic world. They live in urban, suburban, and rural areas, as do the female heroines in the books they read. They may choose a book because it has a familiar background or because it takes them to places they long to visit. Readers may be rich or poor; young or old; conservative or liberal. So are the heroines. What incredible choices there are today in mystery series! This three-volume encyclopedia of women characters in the mystery novel is like a gigantic menu. Like a menu, the descriptions of the items that are provided are subjective. Volume 3 of Mystery Women as currently updated adds an additional 42 sleuths to the 500 plus who were covered in the initial Volume 3. These are more recently discovered sleuths who were introduced during the period from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1999. This more than doubles the number of sleuths introduced in the 1980s (298 of whom were covered in Volume 2) and easily exceeded the 347 series (and some outstanding individuals) described in Volume 1, which covered a 130-year period from 1860-1979. It also includes updates on those individuals covered in the first edition; changes in status, short reviews of books published since the first edition through December 31, 2008.

In this revised and updated edition of the bestselling Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, Dr. Walter Willett, for twenty-five years chair of the renowned Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, draws on cutting-edge research to explain what the USDA guidelines have gotten wrong—and how you can eat right. There’s an ever-growing body of evidence supporting the relatively simple principles behind healthy eating. Yet the public seems to be more confused than ever about what to eat. The never-ending promotion of celebrity and other fad diets gets in the way of choosing a diet that is healthy for both you and the planet that we all share. So forget popular diets and food trends. Based on information gleaned from the acclaimed Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Study, which have tracked the health and eating habits of thousands of women and men for more than thirty years, as well as other groundbreaking nutrition research, this revised and updated edition of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy provides solid recommendations for eating healthfully and living better and longer. Dr. Willett offers eye-opening new research on choosing foods with the best types of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and the relative importance of various food groups and supplements. He clearly explains why controlling weight, after not smoking, is the single most important factor for a long, healthy life; why eating some types of fat is beneficial, and even necessary, for good health; how to choose wisely between different types carbohydrates; how to pick the right protein “packages”; and what fruits and vegetables—not juices!—fight disease. Dr. Willett also translates this essential information into simple, easy-to-follow menu plans and tasty recipes. Revised and updated, this new edition of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy is an important resource for every family.