In My Hands Today…

Grave Goods – Ariana Franklin

England, 1176. Beautiful, tranquil Glastonbury ABBEY- according to legend, the last resting place of King Arthur – has been burned to the ground. The arsonist remains at large, but the fire has uncovered the hidden skeletons of a man and a woman. Could these be the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere?

King Henry II hopes so. Struggling to put down a rebellion in Wales, where the legend of Arthur is particularly strong, Henry wants definitive proof that the bones are those of the Once and Future King, so he can stamp out the Celtic rebellion for good.

To make certain, he sends his mistress if the art of death, Adelia Aguilar, to Glastonbury to examine the bones. At the same time, the investigation into the abbey fire will be overseen by Church authorities – in this case, the Bishop of St. Albans, who is also the father of Adelia’s daughter. But there is someone at Glastonbury who doesn’t want either mystery solved – and is prepared to kill to stop them…

In My Hands Today…

The Kalahari Typing School for Men – Alexander Mcall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series, Book 4

Mma Precious Ramotswe is content. Her business is well established with many satisfied customers, and in her mid-thirties (“the finest age to be”) she has a house, two adopted children, a fine fiancé. But, as always, there are troubles. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has not set the date for their marriage. Her able assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband. And worse, a rival detective agency has opened in town—an agency that does not have the gentle approach to business that Mma Ramotswe’s does. But, of course, Precious will manage these things, as she always does, with her uncanny insight and her good heart.

In My Hands Today…

Morality For Beautiful Girls – Alexander Mcall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series, Book 3

In Morality for Beautiful Girls, Precious Ramotswe, founder and owner of the only detective agency for the concerns of both ladies and others, investigates the alleged poisoning of the brother of an important “Government Man,” and the moral character of the four finalists of the Miss Beauty and Integrity Contest, the winner of which will almost certainly be a contestant for the title of Miss Botswana. Yet her business is having money problems, and when other difficulties arise at her fiance’s Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, she discovers the reliable Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is more complicated than he seems.

In My Hands Today…

Tears of the Giraffe – Alexander Mcall Smith
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series, Book 2
Precious Ramotswe is the eminently sensible and cunning proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana. In Tears of the Giraffe she tracks a wayward wife, uncovers an unscrupulous maid, and searches for an American man who disappeared into the plains many years ago. In the midst of resolving uncertainties, pondering her impending marriage to a good, kind man, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, and the promotion of her talented secretary (a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, with a mark of 97 per cent), she also finds her family suddenly and unexpectedly increased by two.

In My Hands Today…

Bitter Sweet Harvest – Chan Ling Yap

Bitter Sweet HarvestSet in a Malaysia emerging from the outbreak of racial conflict in 1969, Bitter-Sweet Harvest tells of the difficulties and tensions involved in a marriage between a Malay Muslim and a Chinese Christian. Atmospheric, dramatic, action-packed and intriguing, it is peppered with local flavour evoking the heat, colours and sounds of Southeast Asia. Prepare to be taken on a spell-binding journey through contrasting cultures: from the learned spires of Oxford in England to the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia; from vibrant Singapore to Catholic Rome and developing Indonesia.