A teenage assassin kills with a single kiss until she is ordered to kill the one boy she loves. This commercial YA fantasy is romantic and addictive—like a poison kiss—and will thrill fans of Sarah J. Maas and Victoria Aveyard. Marinda has kissed dozens of boys. They all die afterward. It’s a miserable life, but being a visha kanya—a poison maiden—is what she was created to do. Marinda serves the Raja by dispatching his enemies with only her lips as a weapon. Until now, the men she was ordered to kiss have been strangers, enemies of the kingdom. Then she receives orders to kiss Deven, a boy she knows too well to be convinced he needs to die. She begins to question who she’s really working for. And that is a thread that, once pulled, will unravel more than she can afford to lose. This rich, surprising, and accessible debut is based in Indian folklore and delivers a story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

The King and evil Queen are looking for a proper Princess to marry their Prince. When a Princess is found, will they all live happily ever after? Or will they live at all?

This volume, Toxicology in Antiquity II, continues to tell the story of the roots of toxicology in ancient times. Readers learn that before scientific research methods were developed, toxicology thrived as a very practical discipline. Toxicologists are particularly proud of the rich and storied history of their field and there are few resources available that cover the discipline from a historical perspective. People living in ancient civilizations readily learned to distinguish safe from hazardous substances, how to avoid these hazardous substances and how to use them to inflict harm on enemies. Volume II explores the use of poison as weapons in war and assassinations, early instances of air pollution, the use of hallucinogens and entheogens, and the role of the snake in ancient toxicology. - Provides the historical background for understanding modern toxicology - Illustrates the ways ancient civilizations learned to distinguish safe from hazardous substances, how to avoid the hazardous substances and how to use them against enemies - Details scholars who compiled compendia of toxic agents

It's 1308 and England hovers on the brink of civil war. Edward II, his wife Isabella and the royal favourite Peter Gaveston Earl of Cornwall, have been forced to retreat to the King's folly, as just an arrowshot away lie the Great Lords and Philip IV of France, who are demanding that the Earl of Cornwallbe chargedwith high treason. Edward is trapped, and worse, he has learnt that Philip has the 'Poison Maiden' on his side, a formidable spy who did untold damage during his father's reign. As Edward trys in vein to unmask the identity of the spy, Mathilde, hand maiden to the Queen, also attempts to identify the source of this threat. Soon the crisis spills over into violence. The Lords attempt to take Gaveston by force and the King and his Court, including Mathilde, is forced to flee. As the enemy closes in, Mathilde finds herself embroiledin alife and death strugglefor the English crown.

Testing the boundaries between food, poison and medicine is a public show made into a continuing drama of risk and survival. This book is the first to explore the tradition of deliberate poison eating, its practitioners, and the substances that might nourish or kill them. Readers interested in the human history of drugs and medicine, in feats of endurance usually survived and in the play of controlling and regulatory authorities that always accompanies drug and poison use will find Poison Eaters especially appealing.

The witty, dramatic, and fiercely tender story of a Southern family whose prodigious charms are matched only by their propensity for tragedy “Miss Cade passing.” The letter arrives with little fanfare and fewer details, yet the meaning is clear: The Cade family of Covington, Louisiana, has cause to grieve once more. Called home from her first book tour, author Rory Cade boards a flight from New York to New Orleans. In the next seat, her brother-in-law and former lover Johnny Killelea, now a famous journalist, drinks Scotch and stirs up memories of events long past but never forgotten. As the plane flies south through stormy skies, Rory recalls her family’s turbulent history: her mother and stepmother’s early deaths; her brilliant and charismatic father’s descent into alcoholism; and the romances, heartbreaks, and secrets that shaped her own life and those of her two sisters. As the tumultuous events of the 1960s unfold, the Cades are pulled apart by their private demons of money, madness, and lust. Exquisitely crafted by one of the South’s finest storytellers, Slow Poison is the rich and evocative tale of this star-crossed family’s triumphs and misfortunes.

Raised by his Uncle Eldan, half-elven Toran struggles to control his human heritage and fit into elven society. When he releases his control to save a friend, elven purists banish him. Combining his barbarian skills with his elven senses, Toran thwarts an assassination attempt on visiting Princess Erelle. His heroics earn him an invitation to join the Warders, a secret organization led by long-time colleagues of his uncle. After a second assassin poisons the princess, the Warders mobilize to find the antidote and capture the conspirators. Together with Draham, a veteran dwarf agent, and Adara, Erelle0́9s lady in waiting, Toran embarks on a mission to retrieve the antidote0́9s key ingredient. At nearly every turn they0́9re opposed by an organization led by the sorceress Skade.

**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides’s long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." —The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read—with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something!" —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” (Publishers Weekly). Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld? When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.

It is the 1850's, and a young boy, Thomas, leaves his family to be apprenticed to a pharmacist, at the behest of his dead grandmother. He also inherits a magical box from her, which provides him entry into a mysterious garden. But while visiting it, he sees a ghostly vision of his grandmother, who tells him she was poisoned, and warns him that he must find the person responsible, and save her precious garden. For she was one of five members of an arcane guild, each of whom cultivated an individual garden, mastering the art of poison, perfume and medicine. The guild members jostle for power as, one by one, they are murdered... can Thomas solve the mystery, before he in turn is threatened?

By 1322, Mathilde of Westminster was considered the finest physician in London. But in her years as lady-in-waiting to Princess Isabella, she was drawn into the murky politics of the English court, where sudden, mysterious death was part of the tapestry of life. Many years later, Mathilde looks back and chronicles her turbulent life. With her sharp, suspicious intellect ready to distinguish between a fatality and an unnatural death, Mathilde is confronted by a host of chilling murders. The source of these horrors is the fierce political rivalry between Philip of France and Edward of England. This manifests itself in a series of gruesome killings, one of which actually took place during Edward II's Coronation, when a knight of the Royal Household, Sir John Baquelle was crushed to death.