Valentine's Day is approaching, a busy time for Lake District florist Simmy Brown, and she has a number of anonymous orders to deliver. But the orders and their apparently innocuous messages cause great distress. When one of the recipients goes missing, Simmy must face the possibility that evil intent is at play.

Two teen-age brothers vanish walking home from school, and are found dead more than twenty miles from their posh Trinity School on the upper west side of Manhattan. They set out to walk home to their family’s Fifth Avenue mansion, near 96thStreet. Were they kidnapped? No ransom demand is ever made. How did the boys get to Westchester County? They both died from blunt force trauma, probably from falling from a tree or a cliff. Based on a real family tragedy from the late Middle Ages but set in today’s New York, Monte Carlo and Westchester County, the story of who did what to whom in the troubled Coniston family is surprising and chilling.

“Rich in psychological insight . . . Tope is particularly skilled in creating interesting and unique characters.” –Deadly Pleasures Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and business at Persimmon “Simmy” Brown’s flower shop is booming. But when Simmy fulfills a string of anonymous delivery orders, she is startled to realize that each contains a secretly menacing message for the recipients. When one of the people who receives a bouquet disappears, it seems that her worst fears have been confirmed. As if that isn’t enough, Simmy’s friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she fears has grown too close to one of her university tutors. When Kathy attempts to reason with her daughter she finds that Joanna’s older lover may be even more dangerous than she had imagined. With both Kathy and Joanna in peril, Simmy and her friends find themselves caught up in a web of deception, blackmail and murder . . .

Autumn clouds are drawing in over the village of Askham, at the edge of the picturesque Lake District, and mourners, including Simmy Henderson, are heading to the funeral of Humphrey Craig. Taking a quiet moment later to visit the grave and admire the flowers with her florist's eye, Simmy meets two women: academic Lindsay Wilson and ninety-year-old matriarch Pauline Parsons. Just twenty-four hours later, Mrs Parsons is found dead on Askham Fell, and Simmy faces questioning at Penrith police station. An accusation has been made, but if Simmy is to avoid arrest for a murder she did not commit, she will have to uncover the killer herself.

Thea Osborne reconnects with her friend Emmy while on a visit to the church in Baunton, near Cirencester with her stepdaughter Stephanie. Emmy, now married to local farmer Nick Weaver, asks Thea to, help them find their missing niece, Ginny. But before Thea can get started, she stumbles upon the recently killed body of Alice, a woman they had briefly seen in Cirencester the day before. Stephanie concentrates on searching for Ginny via social media while Thea is diverted into helping the police with the murder investigation. It soon becomes clear that Ginny and Alice are linked in a sinister way.

Winter has arrived in the town of Windermere, and has bought with it the death of Frances Henderson, the best friend of Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's mother. Having known the Henderson family all of her life, Simmy must cope with the loss of an important figure from her childhood, as well as the confusion at being bequeathed something in Frances's will. When Frances's husband is violently murdered in his home, Simmy must face the fact that the family she was once so close to as a child, holds some dark and sinister secrets.

Simmy Brown has a lot on her mind. Not just keeping her florist business afloat, her father's failing health, the challenge of developing a long-term relationship with Christopher, but also the approach of Mother's Day, a busy and painful day for her. But in taking an order for a retirement party in Staveley, she is pulled into her most challenging investigation. When a daughter starts accusing her own mother of murder, Simmy, Ben and Bonnie find themselves taking different sides of the investigation. With her relationships under strain, Simmy is tried on all fronts. However, she has to learn to leave her own concerns behind to discover just who the killer is.

Originally published in 1963, this book was the first to survey the rural transport problem as a whole, and it includes the results of extensive research in an important but until then neglected field. The issues of increased car ownership and the reduction of train and bus services and the social impact of this is discussed, as well the question of subsidies in the UK as a whole. Three area specific studies deal with the Lake District, Northumberland and Devon.

The Trail is a crime thriller. A missing person enquiry leads Manchester DCI Rick Castle to Nepal. Manchester. DCI Rick Castle is inspecting his bees when his boss phones. A minor cannabis dealer has been reported missing. His father’s a war hero. Rick flies to Nepal, and heads up the trail. Through villages of staring children and fluttering prayer-flags. Brilliant blue skies, and snow-capped mountains. He finds a dead body. Then a second. Nothing in this world was ever straightforward. Nothing. Finally, he puts himself in the firing line, and has a decision to make. Is it the right one? The moral one? "Intelligent and pacy thriller . . . a taut, keenly-observed tale of revenge, perseverance and the struggle against injustice." Paula Hawkins, author of Girl on a Train "The Trail is a stunning debut from an exciting new addition to the world of crime fiction. James Ellson combines depth of characterisation and authentic police procedural detail with a talent for evoking a sense of place, particularly in his vivid portrayal of Nepal. An original plot lifts Ellson's first book above the level of most contemporary crime novels. And readers will be longing to hear more from his complex protagonist DCI Rick Castle!" Stephen Booth, author of the Cooper and Fry crime fiction series

various places of the world. Thus, it is hoped that this up-to-date subseries would increase the "awareness" of the world's citizens and encourage governments to devote more attention and resources to address this issue. The series editors thank the international panel of contributors for bringing this timely series into completion. We also wish to acknowledge the very insightful input of the following colleagues: Prof. A. L. Page ofthe University of California, Prof. T. C. Hutchinson of the University of Toronto, and Dr. Steve Lindberg of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We also wish to thank the superb effort and cooperation of the volume editors in handling their respective volumes. The constructive criticisms of chapter reviewers also deserve much appreciation. Finally, we wish to convey our appreciation to my secretary, Ms. Brenda Rosier, and my technician, Ms. Claire Carlson, for their very able assistance in various aspects of this series. Aiken, South Carolina Domy C. Adriano Coordinating Editor Preface to Acidic Precipitation, Volume 4 (Advances in Environmental Science) Acidic precipitation and its effects have been the focus ofintense research for over two decades. Initially, research centered on the acidity status and acidification of surface waters and consequent impact on the status of sports fisheries; evidence suggested impacts on fisheries in Sweden and Norway, and in North America, in eastern Ontario, Quebec, and in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.