Un manual que se inserta en la antigua y siempre actual tradición china, cuyo contenido refleja, a través de todos los ejercicios que se exponen en el mismo, el camino indispensable a seguir por todo aquel que quiera "progresar" y formar parte integrante de la realidad universal. Los ejercicios descritos en este libro ayudan a conciliar el sueño, incrementan la resistencia tanto al frío como al calor, la alegría, la paz interior, la memoria y la intuición, preparando el cuerpo y el espíritu del practicante para la verdadera transformación espiritual

The Egyptian writer Alaa Al Aswany's second novel is a bit of a curate's egg, or maybe a mullah's omelette: on the one hand it's a racy campus novel set among the Egyptian émigré community of the University of Illinois, while on the other it's full of undigested lumps of socio-political commentary that appear to have been cut and pasted from an encyclopedia. But despite the catastrophically pedantic opening chapter, there are some treats. The best characters are worthy of an Arabic David Lodge, particularly Professor Graham, a sad, pony-tailed relic of the 1960s counter-culture who pores over his revolutionary press cuttings as if they were sacred relics; and Dr Ra'fat Thabit, more American than the Americans until his daughter runs off with one. Then at the other end of the scale there's the preposterous, pot-bellied villain Danana, a student informer for the Egyptian security services, whose features cloud over "just as a character's face changes from good to evil in science fiction movies", which makes you wonder if a bad science fiction movie is where he really belongs

New York Times bestselling author Max Allan Collins seamlessly blends fact and fiction to recreate the twentieth century’s most notorious crimes. Now, in this spellbinding tale of suspense, detective Nathan Heller leaves behind the glamour of Hollywood for a wild ride in the Windy City... Chicago, 1950 — the target of America’s first-ever congressional inquiry into organized crime. Big trouble for anyone who knows where the bodies are buried, and Nate Heller has buried more than a few of them himself. He has no illusions about his civic — he prefers to stay alive and in business, mixing with the likes of starlet Jayne Mansfield and singer Frank Sinatra. But certain high-level gangsters, including Sam Giancana and the Fischetti brothers, aren’t so sure Heller will stay discreet After all, the private eye’s partner, ex-cop Bill Drury, is cooperating with the feds in a big way. And soon Heller finds himself at the center of a federal squeeze play as Red-baiting senator Joe McCarthy weighs in with his own threats... and a strange hidden agenda When Drury becomes the target of Syndicate assassins, and a troubled showgirl is sadistically victimized, Heller stands up against the mob — not in court, but with his own brand of rough justice. From the Ferris wheels and roller coasters of Riverview Park to the dark alleys and sleazy strip bars of the Near Northside, Chicago Confidential showcases Max Allan Collins, the “master of true-crime fiction (Publishers Weekly), at his innovative best

Chicago Noir is populated by hired killers and jazzmen, drunks and dreamers, corrupt cops and ticket scalpers and junkies. It's the Chicago that the Department of Tourism doesn't want you to see, a place where hard cases face their sad fates, and pay for their sins in blood. These are stories about blocks that visitors are afraid to walk. They tell of a Chicago beyond Oprah, Michael Jordan, and deep-dish pizza. This isn't someone's dream of Chicago. It's not even a nightmare. It's just the real city, unfiltered. Chicago Noir

Mack Bolan faces the battle of his life as he invades the nerve-center of the Mafias powerful U.S. Operations

When someone tries to kidnap his daughter, Jefferson County D.A. Sam Cooper sees red. He wants little Maddy protected, at any cost. Even if that cost includes working with a distractingly attractive detective, Kristen Tandy. He knows Kristen wants to solve the case.so why does she try so hard to stay distant from him and his little girl? Remaining professional is something he fully understands, but the emotional – and physical – scars Kristen tries to hide make Sam deeply interested in turning things personal. And the more protection Kristen offers his daughter, the more her closely guarded vulnerability draws him in. Before long, as the truth of her past is slowly revealed, Sam realizes just how desperate someone is for her to remain silent…

More than half a million copies of Chickenhawk have been sold since it was first published in 1983. Now with a new afterword by the author and photographs taken by him during the conflict, this straight-from-the-shoulder account tells the electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a “chickenhawk” in constant danger. Robert Mason enlisted in the army in 1964 and flew more than 1,000 helicopter combat missions before being discharged in 1968. [Chickenhawk]’s vertical plunge into the thickets of madness will stun readers. Mason’s gripping memoir… proves again that reality is more interesting, and often more terrifying, than fiction. Very simply the best book so far out of Vietnam

Here is the triumphant sequel to Robert Mason’s bestselling account of his service as a chopper pilot in Vietnam. Chickenawk: Back in the World is a moving, no-holds-barred post-Vietnam memoir that reveals the war’s shattering legacy in the heart and mind of a returning vet. When Robert Mason’s first book was published in 1983, it was hailed as one of the finest personal evocations of Vietnam ever to appear in print. In fact, Chickenhawk is still in print, a book that continues to serve as a testament for an entire generation. But not even Mason’s splendid debut will prepare you for the authority of Chickenhawk: Back in the World, his harrowing quest to find “the most significant thing I lost in that war—peace.” Although Mason’s return was at first promising—after leaving active combat duty he began instructing future helicopter pilots—it quickly spiraled downward: into bouts of panic and increasingly heavy drinking, adulterous love affairs, jobs he could never keep. At the spiral’s bottom lay an epic ocean voyage in a small boat. Destination: Colombia; cargo: marijuana: payoff: capture and a twenty-month prison term. Mason recounts these events and his gradual healing from the wounds of Vietnam with caustic honesty, in powerful prose that conveys both the texture of despair and the hope that kept him going as he tied to maneuver through his own personal minefield. Above all, he writes with a bitter wisdom that makes this book an anthem for all those vets who lost a piece of themselves in Southeast Asia—and have spent a long, hard time trying to get it back

Chicks are awesome—and never more so than when they are kicking some serious vampire/werewolf/demon/monster butt. Chicks Kick Butt is an anthology that features one of the best things about the urban fantasy genre: strong, independent, and intelligent heroines who are quite capable of solving their own problems and slaying their own dragons (or demons, as the case may be). Edited by Kerrie Hughes and Rachel Caine, Chicks Kick Butt features original stories from thirteen authors, eleven of whom are New York Times bestsellers

Grady Tripp es un escritor ya cercano a la mediana edad y profesor en una universidad de provincias. En su juventud fue una promesa de la literatura, un esplendoroso chico prodigio que tuvo su fugaz temporada de gloria, pero el tiempo ha pasado y Grady arrstra desde hace ocho años una inmensa novela inconclusa, cada vez más larga e hirsuta y cuyo título es, claro está, Chicos prodigiosos. A Grady le gusta compararla con Ada, de Navokov, y dice que es la clase de obra que "enseña al lector cómo debe leerla a medida que se interna en ella". En una palabra, que Grady no sabe qué hacer con su novela, y está absolutamente perdido en una maraña de páginas que no llevan a ninguna parte. Y, en medio de toda esta confusión literaria y también vital -Sara, su amante, está embarazada; su tercera esposa lo ha abandonado, y una joven escritora, alumna de sus talleres literarios, está fascinada por él, y le fascina-, recibe la visita del siempre sorprendente Terry Crabtree, su editor y cómplice desde hace muchos años, que declara que perderá su puesto en la editorial si no vuelve con un manuscrito genial bajo el brazo. Y desde el mismo instante en que Crabtree baja del avión acompañado por la maravillosa Miss Sloviack -un(a) guapísimo(a) travesti-, y en los tres días que durará la Fiesta de las Palabras, una feria literaria que cada año se celebra en la universidad donde enseña Grady, se despliega ante el lector una de las novelas más deleitosas, brillantes y diversidad de los últimos años. Un irónico viaje por la espuma de los libros y la vida, donde la literatura y sus géneros, el cine y las mitologías de nuestra época son también protagonistas

During the late 1970s and early 80s tension in Europe, between east and west, had grown until it appeared that war was virtually unavoidable. Soviet armies massed behind the 'Iron Curtain' that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In the west, Allied forces, British, American, and armies from virtually all the western countries, raised the levels of their training and readiness. A senior British army officer, General Sir John Hackett, had written a book of the likely strategies of the Allied forces if a war actually took place and, shortly after its publication, he suggested to his publisher Futura that it might be interesting to produce a novel based on the Third World War but from the point of view of the soldier on the ground. Bob Forrest-Webb, an author and ex-serviceman who had written several best-selling novels, was commissioned to write the book. As modern warfare tends to be extremely mobile, and as a worldwide event would surely include the threat of atomic weapons, it was decided that the book would mainly feature the armoured divisions already stationed in Germany facing the growing number of Soviet tanks and armoured artillery. With the assistance of the Ministry of Defence, Forrest-Webb undertook extensive research that included visits to various armoured regiments in the UK and Germany, and a large number of interviews with veteran members of the Armoured Corps, men who had experienced actual battle conditions in their vehicles from mined D-Day beaches under heavy fire, to warfare in more recent conflicts. It helped that Forrest-Webb's father-in-law, Bill Waterson, was an ex-Armoured Corps man with thirty years of service; including six years of war combat experience. He's still remembered at Bovington, Dorset, still an Armoured Corps base, and also home to the best tank museum in the world. Forrest-Webb believes in realism; realism in speech, and in action. The characters in his book behave as the men in actual tanks and in actual combat behave. You can smell the oil fumes and the sweat and gun-smoke in his writing. Armour is the spearhead of the army; it has to be hard, and sharp. The book is reputed to be the best novel ever written about tank warfare and is being re-published because that's what the guys in the tanks today have requested. When first published, the colonel of one of the armoured regiments stationed in Germany gave a copy to Princess Anne when she visited their base. When read by General Sir John Hackett, he stated: "A dramatic and authentic account", and that's what 'Chieftains' is

During the late 1970s and early 80s tension in Europe, between east and west, had grown until it appeared that war was virtually unavoidable. Soviet armies massed behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In the west, Allied forces, British, American, and armies from virtually all the western countries, raised the levels of their training and readiness. A senior British army officer, General Sir John Hackett, had written a book of the likely strategies of the Allied forces if a war actually took place and, shortly after its publication, he suggested to his publisher Futura that it might be interesting to produce a novel based on the Third World War but from the point of view of the soldier on the ground. Bob Forrest-Webb, an author and ex-serviceman who had written several best-selling novels, was commissioned to write the book. As modern warfare tends to be extremely mobile, and as a worldwide event would surely include the threat of atomic weapons, it was decided that the book would mainly feature the armoured divisions already stationed in Germany facing the growing number of Soviet tanks and armoured artillery. With the assistance of the Ministry of Defence, Forrest-Webb undertook extensive research that included visits to various armoured regiments in the UK and Germany, and a large number of interviews with veteran members of the Armoured Corps, men who had experienced actual battle conditions in their vehicles from mined D-Day beaches under heavy fire, to warfare in more recent conflicts. It helped that Forrest-Webb’s father-in-law, Bill Waterson, was an ex-Armoured Corps man with thirty years of service; including six years of war combat experience. He’s still remembered at Bovington, Dorset, still an Armoured Corps base, and also home to the best tank museum in the world. Forrest-Webb believes in realism; realism in speech, and in action. The characters in his book behave as the men in actual tanks and in actual combat behave. You can smell the oil fumes and the sweat and gun-smoke in his writing. Armour is the spearhead of the army; it has to be hard, and sharp. The book is reputed to be the best novel ever written about tank warfare and is being re-published because that’s what the guys in the tanks today have requested. When first published, the colonel of one of the armoured regiments stationed in Germany gave a copy to Princess Anne when she visited their base. When read by General Sir John Hackett, he stated: “A dramatic and authentic account”, and that’s what ‘Chieftains’ is

Courir, toujours plus vite. Plus loin. Fuir la mort qui plane au-dessus d’eux ; oiseau de proie aux ailes gigantesques dont l’ombre les dévore déjà. Diane a choisi la fuite. D’instinct. Elle sait qu’ils sont derrière. Juste derrière. Avance minime, infime. Comme son espérance de vie, désormais. Pourtant, elle marche. Pourtant, elle veut vivre. Rémy avance. Avec le poids de la peur qui comprime son coeur. Le poids de la fatigue, comme un boulet enchaîné à ses jambes. Il devrait être ailleurs, en ce moment même. En compagnie de sa femme et de sa fille. Mais non, il est là, errant dans ces bois inhospitaliers, avec ces inconnus qui fuient comme lui. Il est devenu une proie. Rien qu’une proie. Il n’existe plus. Déjà mort. Alors, pourquoi a-t-il aussi peur ? Le monde est ainsi fait, qui ne changera jamais. Les chasseurs d’un côté, les proies de l’autre. Karine Giébel est née en 1971 dans le Var, où elle vit toujours. Depuis qu'elle sait tenir un stylo, elle écrit… Après une scolarité sans histoire où il lui arrive de s'ennuyer, elle poursuit des études de droit tout en s'essayant à divers métiers. Parallèlement elle se lance dans l'écriture ce qui lui vaut d'obtenir le Prix Marseillais du Polar en 2005. Chiens de sang est son quatrième roman

A children's story by Africa's best known and most widely read author whose novels, poetry, essays, lectures, etc… are considered representative of contemporary Nigerian life

Child 44 is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith, and features disgraced MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Stalin's Soviet Union. The novel is based on real Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was responsible for 52 murders in communist Russia. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime," the novel also explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, orphanages, Homosexuality in the USSR and mental hospitals. The book is the first part of a trilogy. The second part is called The Secret Speech and also features the character of Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. Child 44 was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2008 and won the Waverton Good Read Award in 2009

In a semi-tropical London, surrounded by paddy-fields, the people feed off the sun, like plants, the young are raised in Child Gardens and educated by viruses, and the Consensus oversees the country, “treating” non-conformism. Information, culture, law and politics are biological functions. But Milena is different: she is resistant to viruses and an incredible musician, one of the most extraordinary women of her age. This is her story and that of her friends, like Lucy the immortal tumour and Joseph the Postman whose mind is an information storehouse for others, and Rolfa, genetically engineered as a Polar Bear, whose beautiful singing voice first awakens Milena to the power of music

For years, Magiere and Leesil have sought a long-forgotten artifact, even though its purpose has been shrouded in mystery. All Magiere knows is that she must keep the orb from falling into the hands of a murdering Noble Dead, her half-brother Welstiel. And now, dreams of a castle locked in ice lead her south, on a journey that has become nothing less than an obsession. Accompanying Magiere and Leesil are the sage Wynn, their canine protector Chap, and two elven assassins-turned-guardians who must fight their distrust of this sister of the dead. For forces more powerful than they are rallying around Magiere, arming her for the conflict to come. Because finding the orb may be just the beginning of the challenges that await her…

In this taut, chilling novel, Lester Ballard-a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape-haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance

Allan Quatermain, continues to indulge his penchant for globe-trotting adventure in a tumultuous journey across Africa. Upon his arrival, he discovers that one of his closest friends has fallen head over heels in love with one of the most beautiful – and dangerous – women in the world, and he will stop at nothing to win this accused witch’s affection. Will Quatermain be able to intervene before it’s too late – or will he succumb to the vixen’s charms, as well?

In 1218 an extraordinary princess is born, whose mystical powers and unquenchable spirit will alter the course of history…

On the world of Confluence, where thousands of bloodlines compete for position in a society abandoned by its creators, the mysterious appearance of a youth of indeterminable heritage portends either the world’s end or a new beginning. Yama’s search for his origins leads him from the faded necropolis of Aeolis to the fabled metropolis of Ys, bringing him closer to the secret of his past while simultaneously plunging him into the midst of a convoluted war of politics and religion

The government's Witness Protection Program has been hitting a bit of a snag lately. Despite their brand new secret identities, certain loose-lipped mob stoolies are getting blown away by a group of gun-toting adolescents. And in an effort to save face, a big-mouth Army bigwig's been pointing the accusing finger at the wrong assassins - Remo Williams and his mentor, Sinanju master Chiun! There's a new kind of "baby boom" going around. And before he plays dead for a bunch of homicidal half-pints, the Destroyer is going to nip the poisonous peewee pandemonium in the bud!

In bestseller Kurtz's morbid second tale of her new Deryni trilogy — following 2003's In the King's Service and set before the King Kelson novels — King Donal Haldane is mourning the loss of his bastard son, Krispin, a boy he thought would be companion and protector to Crown Prince Brion, and hoping that Alyce and Kenneth de Morgan's toddler son, Alaric, heir to Alyce's Deryni magic, can be groomed to take Krispin's place. Bishop Oliver de Nore's brother, Septimus, was put to death by the king after Alyce used her powers to reveal that he orchestrated Krispin's killing; now Oliver is doubly motivated to accelerate the church's campaign to exterminate the Deryni, who are feared by many humans in the land of Gwynedd. Kurtz renders even the most plot-twisting demises more dreary than dramatic, which makes for terrific medieval realism but uninteresting narrative

“Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” is a poem by English author Robert Browning, written in 1855 and first published that same year in the collection entitled Men and Women. The poem has influenced many other authors including modern horror writer Stephen King in his seven book epic, ‘The Dark Tower’, featuring The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain

Childhood’s End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia. Many questions are asked about the origins and mission of the aliens, but they avoid answering, preferring to remain in their space ships, governing through indirect rule. Decades later, the Overlords eventually show themselves, and their impact on human culture leads to a Golden Age. However, the last generation of children on Earth begins to display powerful psychic abilities, heralding their evolution into a group mind, a transcendent form of life. Clarke’s idea for the book began with his short story “Guardian Angel” (1946), which he expanded into a novel in 1952, incorporating it as the first part of the book, “Earth and the Overlords”. Completed and published in 1953, Childhood’s End sold out its first printing and received good reviews, becoming Clarke’s first successful novel of his career. The book is regarded as Clarke’s best novel by both readers and critics, and is described as “a classic of alien literature”. Along with The Songs of Distant Earth (1986), Clarke considered Childhood’s End one of his favourite novels

The third book in Frank Herbert's original Dune series

Daring and original stories set in New Testament times, from a rising young Norwegian author Lars Petter Sveen’s Children of God recounts the lives of people on the margins of the New Testament; thieves, Roman soldiers, prostitutes, lepers, healers, and the occasional disciple all get a chance to speak. With language free of judgment or moralizing, Sveen covers familiar ground in unusual ways. In the opening story, a group of soldiers are tasked with carrying out King Herod’s edict to slaughter the young male children in Bethlehem but waver in their resolve. These interwoven stories harbor surprises at every turn, as the characters reappear. A group of thieves on the road to Jericho encounters no good Samaritan but themselves. A boy healed of his stutter will later regress. A woman searching for her lover from beyond the grave cannot find solace. At crucial moments an old blind man appears, urging the characters to give in to their darker impulses. Children of God was a bestseller in Norway, where it won the Per Olov Enquist Literary Prize and gathered ecstatic reviews. Sveen’s subtle elevation of the conflict between light and dark focuses on the varied struggles these often-ignored individuals face. Yet despite the dark tone, Sveen’s stories retain a buoyancy, thanks to Guy Puzey’s supple and fleet-footed translation. This deeply original and moving book, in Sveen’s restrained and gritty telling, brings to light stories that reflect our own time, from a setting everyone knows

Mary Doria Russell's debut novel, The Sparrow, took us on a journey to a distant planet and into the center of the human soul. A critically acclaimed bestseller, The Sparrow was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly's Ten Best Books of the Year, a finalist for the Book-of-the-Month Club's First Fiction Prize and the winner of the James M. Tiptree Memorial Award. Now, in Children of God, Russell further establishes herself as one of the most innovative, entertaining and philosophically provocative novelists writing today. The only member of the original mission to the planet Rakhat to return to Earth, Father Emilio Sandoz has barely begun to recover from his ordeal when the So-ciety of Jesus calls upon him for help in preparing for another mission to Alpha Centauri. Despite his objections and fear, he cannot escape his past or the future. Old friends, new discoveries and difficult questions await Emilio as he struggles for inner peace and understanding in a moral universe whose boundaries now extend beyond the solar system and whose future lies with children born in a faraway place. Strikingly original, richly plotted, replete with memorable characters and filled with humanity and humor, Chil-dren of God is an unforgettable and uplifting novel that is a potent successor to The Sparrow and a startlingly imaginative adventure for newcomers to Mary Doria Russell's special literary magic

A searing, indelible love story of two ravaged spirits-a screenwriter and an actress- played out under the merciless, magnifying prism of Hollywood

INTRIGUE, SUSPENSE, AND ROMANCE IN THE TIME OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS A spy working for religious organizations, Jere Wakely is summoned to Salem Village Parish, where it has become obvious to church authorities that there is serious trouble. He is reluctant to return to his hometown for many reasons, not the least being that his heart is broken and he's worried about running into his former lover, Serena Nurse. During his investigation, he has no expectation that their love will be rekindled. But their renewed passion parallels a greater fire--one of terror amid the infamous Salem Witch Trials. A witch hunt in this important election year of 1692 is backdrop to a romance filled with intrigue and mystery; the history is accurate, and the truth is disturbing yet fascinating

Children of the Albatross is divided into two sections: “The Sealed Room” focuses on the dancer Djuna and a set of characters, chiefly male, who surround her; “The Cage” brings together a case of characters already familiar to Nin’s readers, but it is their meeting place that is the focal point of the story

Galeano's new book is his richest and most poetic yet, a joyous calendar of the sacred and the damned, a book of inspiration for those fighting tyranny, greed, and amnesia. Unfurling like a medieval book of days, each page of Galeano's new work has an illuminating story that takes inspiration from that day of the calendar year. Each entry resurrects the heroes and heroines who have fallen off the historical map. Among many others, you will discover the Brazilians who held a "smooch in" to protest a dictatorship that banned kisses, the "sacrilegious" women who had the effrontery to marry each other in a church in 1901, and Abdul Kassem Ismael, the grand vizier of Persia, who kept books safe from war by creating a walking library, 117,000 books aboard four hundred camels, forming a mile-long caravan. Beautifully translated by Galeano's longtime collaborator, Mark Fried, Children of the Days is a great humanist treasure that shows us how to live and how to remember. It awakens the best in us

No matter how far humanity comes, it can’t escape its own worst impulses, in this far-future science fiction thriller from the author of The Ark. A new generation comes of age eighteen years after humanity arrived on the colony planet Gaia. Now threats from both within and outside their Trident threaten everything they’ve built. The discovery of an alien installation inside Gaia’s moon, terrorist attacks and the kidnap of a man’s daughter stretch the community to breaking point, but only two men stand a chance of solving all three mysteries before the makeshift planetary government shuts everything down

YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS TO MAKE A DECISION: Let a kidnapper take your child, or watch your son die. Choose! Sadie O’Connell is a bestselling author and a proud mother. But her life is about to spiral out of control. After her six-year-old son Sam is kidnapped by a serial abductor, she nearly goes insane. But it isn’t just the fear and grief that is ripping her apart. It’s the guilt. Sadie is the only person who knows what the kidnapper looks like. And she can’t tell a soul. For if she does, her son will be sent back to her in “little bloody pieces”. When Sadie’s unfaithful husband stumbles across her drawing of the kidnapper, he sets into play a series of horrific events that sends her hurtling over the edge. Sadie’s descent into alcoholism leads to strange apparitions and a face-to-face encounter with the monster who abducted her son—a man known only as… The Fog

A Romanian infant who flourishes when given the wrong blood transfusion could hold the key to a cure for AIDS and cancer, but he also shares an intimate link to a clan of vampires. Bram Stoker (nominee)

A disgraced college lecturer is found murdered with £5,000 in his pocket on a disused railway line near his home. Since being dismissed from his job for sexual misconduct four years previously, he has been living a poverty-stricken and hermit-like existence in this isolated spot. The suspects range from several individuals at the college where he used to teach to a woman who knew the victim back in the early '70s at Essex University, then a hotbed of political activism. When Banks receives a warning to step away from the case, he realises there is much more to the mystery than meets the eye — for there are plenty more skeletons to come out of the closet