Linda De Angelis Knihy

From acclaimed author George comes this literate, vastly detailed, and intricately characterized piece. Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley, unexpectedly assigned to a gory stabbing murder, uncovers deeply hidden family secrets and various psychological convolutions among suspects.

Píše sa rok 1521 a na anglickom tróne sedí Henrich VIII. Kráľovský dvor sa utápa v radovánkach, usporadúvajú sa turnaje, tanečné zábavy, kráľ sa oddáva poľovačkám. Kráľovná Katarína upadá do nemilosti, lebo Henrichovi neporodila vytúženého syna. Na dvor prichádzajú Mary Boleynová a jej sestra Anna. Ich rodina túži po moci a pre svoj cieľ neváha bezohľadne využívať dcéry. Mary sa vydá, no stane sa kráľovou milenkou a porodí mu dcéru a syna. Kráľov záujem o ňu chladne a zatúži po jej sestre Anne. No tej ide o viac ako o postavenie milenky. Román je pokračovaním literárneho cyklu o dynastii Tudorovcov.

Martin Philips pracuje ako úspešný rádiológ vo výskumnom centre, ktoré je súčasťou veľkej newyorskej nemocnice. Spolu so svojou asistentkou sa však pri svojej práci stretnú s viacerými prípadmi ťažko diagnostikovateľnej choroby a rozhodnú sa rozriešiť túto záhadu.

Rome, 1520. The Eternal City is in mourning. Raphael Sanzio, beloved painter and national hero, has died suddenly at the height of his fame. His body lies in state at the splendid marble Pantheon. At the nearby convent of Sant'Apollonia, a young woman comes to the Mother Superior, seeking refuge. She is Margherita Luti, a baker's daughter from a humble neighborhood on the Tiber, now an outcast from Roman society, persecuted by powerful enemies within the Vatican. Margherita was Raphael's beloved and appeared as the Madonna in many of his paintings. Theirs was a love for the ages. But now that Raphael is gone, the convent is her only hope of finding an honest and peaceful life. The Mother Superior agrees to admit Margherita to their order. But first, she must give up the ruby ring she wears on her left hand, the ring she had worn in Raphael's scandalous nude "engagement portrait". The ring has a storied past, and it must be returned to the Church or Margherita will be cast out into the streets. Behind the quiet walls of the convent, Margherita makes her decision ... and remembers her life with Raphael--and the love and torment--embodied in that one precious jewel.