Twenty-one gruesome and disgusting tales drawn from folklore, most of them from urban legends.

Linnet Carlisle had fallen in love with Nicholas Fenton, Lord Fane. But he was accused of cheating her uncle out of his estate, and she disappeared to the Lake District for a year. Judith Jordan was a demirep reputed to have Lord Fane as her lover. But Lady Venetia and her half-brother Benedict Gresham entered the scene, to make everything much more complicated. Regency Romance by Sandra Heath; originally published by Signet

The third novel from award-winning novelist Christopher Hinz, Beginning where the critically acclaimed Leige-Killer and Ash Ock end, The Paratwa chronicles the lives of the Irryan colonists as they prepare for the imminent attack of the fierce and vicious Paratwa assassins. Facing the threat of their dark enemies, an Irryan named Gillian must also cope with her inner turmoil, as the madness of her nature threatens to consume her life. She discovers that she is a genetically modified creature whose purpose is to serve the needs of others, and the course of her destiny is not in her own hands.

Magic is nothing unusual to Valentine Marsh. But when she and her friends join hands to make a wish on New Year's Eve, even Val marvels at the ring of energy and light they mysteriously create. Since her magical grandmother is lying near death in a hospital, Val can only assume that this power of the Comet Committee, as they come to call themselves, is her own. When Val is assigned to host foreign exchange student Bosanka Lonat at school, the Comet Committee's purpose becomes clear to her. Bosanka has come to America in search of her estranged relatives, and she believes that the Committee has the power to reunite them. Disturbing things begin to happen, and Val suspects that she's dealing, not with a typical European teenager, but with someone who is capable of great evil. Together with Joel, Barb, and Lennie, Val tests her courage and magical powers to fight against the terrifying tragedy that faces them all. The Valentine Marsh Series: THE BRONZE KING, THE SILVER GLOVE, THE GOLDEN THREADFrom Publishers WeeklyIn this third exciting book of the Sorcery Hall series ( The Bronze King ; The Silver Glove ), apprentice wizard Valentine Marsh's newest adventures in magic begin when her musician friend Joel, who is studying violin in Boston, calls on her. For some reason his hands cramp up when he plays, and he needs Val's help to understand why. But she is distracted by other concerns--her grandmother is dying of a stroke. Magical events at a New Year's Eve party seem to lead to the arrival of Bosanka, a sinister girl who says she is a foreign exchange student. She insists that Val and her friends can help her search for her "people." The problem is getting everyone together to create more magic--the unlikely group of conjurers includes skeptics and wise guys. Bosanka's true identity will be a wonderful surprise for readers; her reunion with her people is poetically depicted and touching. Ages 10-up. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalGrade 7-9-- With her beloved sorceress grandmother in a coma and hospitalized, 14-year-old Valentine Marsh attends a subdued New Year's gathering on the roof of a New York apartment building. When Val and her friends join hands in an experiment to magically create a star, they seem to fly into the sky until they are struck by a powerful bolt of heat. None of this is too disconcerting to Val; in previous adventures, she and her grandmother have destroyed a monster and an evil witch. Upon returning to school, Val is assigned to assist a strange foreign exchange student, Bosanka, who reveals that she is a powerful, magical ruler of another world and is looking for her people. Then she demands that Val and her friends use their power to find her misplaced subjects. Val fears Bosanka's people may subdue and misuse humankind, yet she dreads to refuse the royal commands. Charnas shows the adventures of a typical high-school girl who just happens to have inherited some degree of white magic talent. In so doing, she touches on a host of contemporary issues, the most important of which is her ecological message that we are one people and must use technology to preserve the earth rather than destroy it. If all this seems a "stretch," it isn't. Charnas neatly ties seemingly disparate pieces together into an exciting, absorbing, contemporary romp.- Cindy Darling Codell, Belmont Junior High School, Winchester, KYCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here is the epic tale of the Great War of the Gods--and the proud people upon whom the fate of the world depends. When the God of the desert, Akhran the Wanderer, declares that two clans must band together despite their centuries old rivalry, their first response is outrage. But they are a devout people and so reluctantly bow to his bidding. Enemies from birth, the headstrong Prince Khardan and impetuous Princess Zohra must unite in marriage to stop Quar, the God of Reality, Greed, and Law, from enslaving their people. But can Khardan and Zohra keep from betraying each other? Can their two peoples maintain their fragile alliance until the long-awaited flowering of the legendary Rose of the Prophet? Against the powerful legions of the evil Amir, Khardan and Zohra fight to save the desert people--a fight unexpectedly joined by an exiled wizard named Mathew and the mysterious powers of his alien land.

A novel that asks the age-old question, Does true love really exist?  Leslie Rothe wants to believe in love. But the data research analyst has just about given up on finding the One. Her life changes the day she crashes her car into a stranger's truck. Suddenly, Leslie is stranded in the Rocky Mountains with a man who awakens treacherous desire within her - and there is no hope of rescue in sight.   Joe Bonner loves the mountains, and will do everything in his power to preserve his Western ancestors' sacred legacy. Now he has found a woman who shares his passion for the land. But he soon discovers that Leslie works for a developer who is out to destroy the pristine wilderness that Joe is fighting so hard to save. Has he given his trust to a woman fated to betray him? Or has he found a love that transcends differences - a love to have and to hold in his heart forever? This ebook features an extended biography of Mary Kay McComas.

When Frank and Joe Hardy set out to catch the elusive prankster who is after rancher Roy Carlson's oil-rich land, the amateur sleuths find themselves struggling to survive in a vast New Mexico desert.

The marriage of Katherine of Valois to Henry V was happy but tragicallty short. His early death changed her world, her baby son, the new king, was taken from her and she was forbidden to re-marry. She was alone and unhappy, until she met Owen Tudor and was drawn into a love that was as dangerous as it was irresistable.

FROM THE MURKY DEPTHS OF THE SWAMP . . .A SCREAM OF TERROR Young, beautiful Abigail had come to the swamplands hoping to solve the mystery of her mother’s death. But there, she found a whirlpool of horrors beyond her wildest dreams . . . First, there were strange, unearthly things lurking in the marsh, victimizing a small backwoods community, and launching a lifetime of nightmares for two frightened boys. Then, there was the abominable laboratory of Dr. Arcane, her brilliant but twisted stepfather, who planned to use Abigail in his next genetic experiment. And last but not least, there was a monster that was once a man, heroic and strong, who would sweep Abigail off her feet—and avenge the evil that threatened her life . . .

Across the Great River is an exciting tale of a young girl maturing and taking on the leadership role in her family. The family's experiences with labor smugglers, crime, a folk hero, and the authorities are all told with the innocence and directness of a young girl who must face the harshness of life at an early age.

Book description to come.

FOR A POOR, DOWN-ON-HIS-LUCK EX-MARINE, FITZ WAS DOING OKIt all started when "Fitz" Fitzgilbert tumbled down a certain STAIRWAY TO FOREVER -- and found himself in another world. At first it had seemed a world that offered only infinite loneliness, a world of nothing but ocean, sand, and inland desert. But before long this "empty" world had granted Fitz incredible wealth, the love of a beautiful soulmate, godlike telepathic and telekinetic powers-in short, a life of pure and joyful adventure.But the time of play is ending now. The Elder Gods who called him to this world grow impatient for Fitz to take up the burdens of kingship for which they have summoned him. And though he loves the life he has been living, and does not want to be a king, Fitz learns that for him there is no choice: he must live as a king if he is to live at all.

Their friend Father Higgins is in trouble and it's up to Johnny and Professor Childermass to save him from the forces of evil. In this, the eighth Johnny Dixon mystery, Johnny and the professor hear word of Father Higgins being haunted and when he disappears, clues lead them to England. There, they find the priest has been possessed by Dr. Masterman, the ghost of a deranged knight bent on ruling the world.Masterman intends to reanimate the bodies of seven evil fellow knights trapped in a hidden, underground room. Hundreds of years ago, the knights sold their souls to the devil and, if Masterman can bring them back, the entire world would be his to control. Can Johnny and the professor stop him in time? Is there any hope of getting their friend back from the spirit's clutches?