Shakespeare created the myth of the Macbeths as indefensible murderous conspirators. But now internationally bestselling author Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history Britain’s reigning “Queen of Crime” (The Scotsman), Val McDermid has ensnared audiences worldwide for over thirty years with her thrilling and masterfully plotted crime oeuvre. A radical, rip-roaring counternarrative drawing on the historical record, Queen Macbeth delivers an illuminating portrait of Shakespeare’s most famous villain, and the treacherous pursuit of ambition that made her legendary. A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions – a healer, a weaver, and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her – because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth. As the net closes in, what unfurls is a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre, and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life. Immersive and utterly riveting, Queen Macbeth is an electric reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated tragedies and reaffirms McDermid as one of the preeminent writers of our day.

A lush tale of deadly court intrigue and a modern classic of fantasy by Locus award winner and Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award finalist Katherine Addison The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three half brothers in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment. Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.

The Bugger and the Rose Five years after the events of Mirage… Being a bugger and poor in the late 17th century, Rob Boyle thinks his life couldn’t get any more complicated. Especially that he has two of them… One in reality where he is a barkeep in a shitty area of Dublin and another one in the mysterious Realm which he only enters in dreams. But his life turns upside down when he meets a weirdo girl, Caoimhe, the sister of Rob’s sweetheart, Caden. Moreover, in both worlds! And fate doesn’t go easy on him either. Rob is still reeling from the breakup with Caden, who chooses conventions over him, when Caden turns up at his doorstep, begging him to save Caoimhe from a terrible fate by marrying her. Soon Rob finds himself on the run across 17th century England to Scotland, with a wife he barely knows and never wanted, fleeing from one danger into the other to save her. On their journey they meet an unexpected new friend and some old ones too, and soon something strange happens: Rob begins to fall for his wife! Their feelings are also fuelled by the experiences they share in the Realm. It is now up to them to choose this unexpected love or sacrifice it for the happiness and expectations of others… In case they manage to escape from certain death.