All her life, Moss has lived in the Tower of London with her father, who serves as the executioner for King Henry VIII. Prisoners condemned to death must face Pa and his axe—and Moss catches their severed heads. Her father insists he has no choice: if he leaves the Tower, he will be killed. But Moss can't bear to be the executioner's daughter any longer. When she finally finds a way out of the Tower, she discovers the river holds more dangers than she imagined—including the Riverwitch's curse. The Riverwitch once helped Moss's family in exchange for a terrible bargain; now she expects Moss to pay the debt.

The riveting tale of an executioner's daughter who struggles to find a different path in life Born into the family of an executioner, Lily has always been sheltered by her mother from the horrors of her father's occupation. But when her ailing mother takes a turn for the worse, Lily is suddenly thrust into the paralyzing role of executioner's assistant. Aside from preparing healing concoctions for the suffering and maimed, Lily must now accompany her father at the town executions, something she has never done before. Though she loves her father, the emotional burden of his disturbing profession is just too much for her to bear. Lily must find a way to change her destiny, no matter the consequences. Set in medieval England, this well-researched and beautifully written novel tells the story of one girl's fight to rise above her fate.

Hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is being practiced in the small town of Schongau in 1659 after a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder.

The Executioner’s Tale is a vigilante plot with a twist: justice is in the shape of a female pensioner – a reluctant one at that, who is accidentally drawn into the role of executioner. “I believe most people have considered murder at one time or other in their lives. Some actually go so far as imagining the act. A very few put their fantasies into action. An accident made me one of that number.” This is the fictionalised autobiography of a serial killer, or, as she would see herself, ‘an instrument of justice’. The first death is accidental, when she confronts the husband of her neighbour, a notorious wife-beater. But at this point she realises that her age, rather than being a negative, is actually a positive. No one would look at an older woman with suspicion: in fact, most people barely notice the elderly at all. So begins her new ‘career’. “I’m not a monster. I am someone who crossed a line and chose not to step back.” One of the significant factors is her loss of faith, but in its place she adopts the utilitarian principle of ‘the greatest good’. All the ‘victims’ are, to her mind, worthy of removal, and range from murderous nurses to paedophiles and drug dealers. In fact, every killing is made to protect or save the vulnerable. Our anonymous subject sees that the courts so often do not, or cannot, provide this justice, and believes in the Old Testament ideal of ‘an eye for an eye’ – or at least a punishment to fit the crime... The Executioner’s Tale is a gripping, refreshingly original crime novel whose heroine Ginny dubs ‘a modern Miss Marple’ who goes beyond detection to judge – and executioner.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Musette Lefvre, a peasant girl from a French provincial village abandoned by her father after the death of her mother, is put into the care of the local priest. Childhood traumas force her to flee to the capital, where the anonymity of eighteenth-century Paris encourages her capricious and impetuous nature. She delights in the follies and allegiances of a city dancing toward the madness of revolution. The Executioners Daughter tells the story of this young woman who initially enjoys a privileged life in the great city, supported by a wealthy guardian. The famous seamstress Mademoiselle Bertin employs her, and through that engagement, Musette meets Queen Marie Antoinette. The young woman enjoys the friendship and protection of several influential figures of the day. Her life is good, but then fate entangles her in a brutal world, and she must fight for her survival. Taken hostage and held in the horrifying beggars slum called the Cour des Miracles, Musette is robbed, degraded, and threatened with rape. She manages to kill her oafish guard and escape on foot, merging inconspicuously with the turbulent crowds of people inflamed by revolutionary rhetoric and intent on capturing the dreaded Bastille. The revolution had started, and France teeters on the edge of an abyss. Unwittingly, she becomes involved in upheavals that threaten her life and liberty. She spends time in prison for protecting the daughter of an migr, and as daily life crumbles, she seems set on a path of self-destruction, unable to extricate herself from the dangerous entanglements of revolutionary Paris. During the storming of the Tuileries Palace, Musette and her friends are captured and confined in the dreaded La Salptrire prison. Later, during the taking of that prison and the accompanying massacre, she escapes the turmoil of the city and flees to the countryside, where she eventually finds refuge with a caring elderly couple. She is safe at last, but of her friends in Paris, she has no news. The past had scarred her heart, and she wondered if she could ever build a future for herself.