executions and executioners

From the walls of the Shaanxi Province in China to the murky red waters of Ireland's peat bogs, scientists and archaeologists have found spine-chilling evidence of scary sacrifices and rituals. Throughout history, cultures have found some very creative ways of torturing their enemies and pleasing the powers that be. But some of these ghastly practices happened far more recently than we would like to think!.

For four years sixteen-year-old Twylla has lived in the castle of Lormere, the goddess-embodied, whose touch can poison and kill, and hence the Queen's executioner--but when Prince Merek, her betrothed, who is immune to her touch returns to the kingdom she finds herself caught up in palace intrigues, unsure if she can trust him or the bodyguard who claims to love her.

Jean Rombaud, the executioner who later beheaded Anne Boleyn swears an oath to her that he will bury her six-fingered hand at a crossroads in France.

Lt. Cam Richter of the Manceford County, North Carolina, sheriff's department, faces pressure and threats from all sides when he is assigned to investigate the vigilante murders of two lowlifes who killed a gas station attendant and several innocent bystanders and were then let off on a technicality by a stubborn judge who just happens to be Richter's ex-wife and sometimes lover.

Contains short fiction from the nineteenth-century American novelist, and features his unfinished novella entitled "Billy Budd, Sailor," along with the "Piazza Tales," which includes "Bartleby," "The Bell-Tower," and others; and includes a brief biography of the author.

After the hangman Jakob Kuisl is framed for his sister's murder, his daughter Magdalena and her paramour, Simon, enlist the help of a network of beggars in order to save him from the noose.