Payment in Blood
- 374 pages
- 14 hours of reading
Inspector Thomas Fynley of Scotland Yard is possessed by a fierce attraction to a murder suspect while investigating the savage slaying of a controversial playwright.




Inspector Thomas Fynley of Scotland Yard is possessed by a fierce attraction to a murder suspect while investigating the savage slaying of a controversial playwright.
Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: The love of a king When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realises just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king and take fate into her own hands. A rich and compelling novel of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamourous court in Europe and survived by following her heart.
New York cab driver Yuri Davydov is a disgruntled Russian immigrant ready to lash out at his adoptive nation, which he believes has denied him the American Dream. As a former technician in the Soviet Union's biological weapons system, Yuri knows how to wreak havoc in his new home. But before he executes his masterpiece of vengenance, he experiments first on selected targets. Dr Jack Stapleton begins to witness some unusual cases in his capacity as forensic pathologist in the City medical examiner's office. A Greek immigrant apparently succumbs to sudden overwhelming pneumonia, while an obese Afro-American woman collapses with acute respiratory distress. When an unexpected coincidence suggest to Jack that these seemingly unrelated deaths are actually connected murders, his colleagues and superiors remain sceptical. Meanwhile he is taking himself deeper into deadly danger - but can he reach the heart of the puzzle before Davydov and his associates unleash into the streets of New York the ultimate terror: a modern bio-weapon?
Rome, 1520. The Eternal City is in mourning after the sudden death of Raphael Sanzio, the beloved painter and national hero. His body lies in state at the Pantheon, while nearby, Margherita Luti, a baker's daughter and Raphael's beloved, seeks refuge at the convent of Sant'Apollonia. Once a cherished figure in Roman society, she is now an outcast, pursued by powerful enemies within the Vatican. Margherita, who appeared as the Madonna in many of Raphael's works, finds herself at a crossroads. The Mother Superior agrees to admit her, but first, Margherita must relinquish the ruby ring she wears, a symbol of her connection to Raphael and their scandalous love. The ring, with its storied past, must be returned to the Church, or she will be cast out into the streets. Within the convent's walls, Margherita grapples with her decision, reflecting on her life with Raphael—the love and torment encapsulated in that one precious jewel.