From the award-winning master of literary crime fiction, a classic work rich in tense drama and psychological insight.

On the East Anglian seacoast, a small theological college hangs precariously on an eroding shoreline and an equally precarious future. When the body of a student is found buried in the sand, the boy’s influential father demands that Scotland Yard investigate. Enter Adam Dalgliesh, a detective who loves poetry, a man who has known loss and discovery. The son of a parson, and having spent many happy boyhood summers at the school, Dalgliesh is the perfect candidate to look for the truth in this remote, rarified community of the faithful–and the frightened. And when one death leads to another, Dalgliesh finds himself steeped in a world of good and evil, of stifled passions and hidden pasts, where someone has cause not just to commit one crime but to begin an unholy order of murder. . . .

“Gracefully sculpted prose and [a] superbly executed mystery . . . Death in Holy Orders is among [James’s] most remarkable and accomplished Dalgliesh novels.”
–The Philadelphia Inquirer

“An elegant work about hope, death, and the alternately redemptive and destructive nature of love.”
–The Miami Herald

“Absorbing . . . [James’s] plotting and characterization [are] impeccable.”
–Orlando Sentinel

“P. D. James is in top form.”
–The Boston Globe

Open the exclusive dossier at the back of this book, featuring P. D. James’ essay on penning the perfect detective novel.

Despite challenges from Ruth Rendell and (more recently) Minette Walters, P.D. James's position as Britain's Queen of Crime remains largely unassailable. Although a certain reaction has set in to her reputation (and there are those who claim her poetry-loving copper Adam Dalgliesh doesn't correspond to any of his counterparts in the real world), her detractors can scarcely deny her astonishing literary gifts. More than any other writer, she has elevated the detective story into the realms of literature, with the psychology of the characters treated in the most complex and authoritative fashion. Her plots, too, are full of intriguing detail and studed with brilliantly observed character studies. Who cares if Dalgliesh belongs more in the pages of a book than poking around a graffiti-scrawled council estate? As a policeman, he is considerably more plausible than Doyle's Holmes, and that's never stopped us loving the Baker Street sleuth. Death in Holy Orders represents something of a challenge from James to her critics, taking on all the contentious elements and rigorously reinvigorating them. She had admitted that she was finding it increasingly difficult to find new plots for Dalgliesh, and the locale here (a theological college on a lonely stretch of the East Anglian coast) turns out to be an inspired choice. We're presented with the enclosed setting so beloved of golden age detective writers, and James is able to incorporate her theological interests seamlessly into the plot (but never in any doctrinaire way; the nonbeliever is never uncomfortable). The body of a student at the college is found on the shore, suffocated by a fall of sand. Dalgliesh is called upon to reexamine the verdict of accidental death (which the student's father would not accept). Having visited the College of St. Anselm in his boyhood, he finds the investigation has a strong nostalgic aspect for him. But that is soon overtaken by the realization that he has encountered the most horrific case of his career, and another visitor to the college dies a horrible death. As an exploration of evil--and as a piece of highly distinctive crime writing--this is James at her nonpareil best. Dalgliesh, too, is rendered with new dimensions of psychological complexity. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk

• ISBN13: 9781578634859
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

From the strange symbols on a one-dollar bill to the secret signs of the Knights Templar and Freemasons, invisible societies, and the world of magic and alchemy, The Book of Secrets is a comprehensive introduction to the world of secret and esoteric knowledge throughout history.

In the mystery tradition, "secrets" are levels of consciousness that are hidden from our normal mental state, the acquisition of a new point of view. The Book of Secrets delves into the world of the "occult," the initiated secret traditions of the fascinating unseen spiritual world: its symbols, secret societies, and seers.

You'll discover:

* Key Concepts: the Great Work, the Universal Force, Polarity, the Four Elements, Magick and Mysticism, Esoteric Anatomy, Qabalah, Alchemy, Astrology, the Astral Plane, and more.

* Symbolism: More than 100 secrets symbols, words, objects, including their meanings and the secret powers they invoke: Animals, spiritual beings, and sacred objects.

* Secret Societies and Holy Orders: The gatekeepers and the transmitters of sacred knowledge: Freemasons, O.T.O., Cathars, Templars, Assassins. Pineda places them all in history and geography and explains who they are/were and what they stood for.

* Luminaries and Seers: More than 200 legends and historical personages: Hermes Trismegistus, Jesus, Siddartha, Osiris, and other seers from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 19th and 20th centuries.

From video games such as "Limbo" and "Castlevania" to TV shows and movies to comic book heroes, or Dan Brown's novels, secret symbols and societies fascinate. Pineda provides a comprehensive introduction to secret knowledge for readers who want to know more.

Marriage and Holy Orders is the first text that focuses solely on vocations expressed in the two sacraments at the service of communion: marriage and priesthood. It follows the content outline proposed by the US Bishops in the new national high school curriculum. Author: Michael AmodeiFormat: 348 pages, PaperbackPublisher: Ave Maria Press Student edition (May 1, 2007) ISBN: 978-1594710414

On a desolate stretch of the East Anglian coast, high atop a sweep of cliffs, sits the theological college of St. Anselm's. Down below, smothered by a fall of sand, lies the body of a young ordinand, the son of a powerful business mogul who wants Scotland Yard to investigate his death. Dalgliesh, doubting there is much to uncover in the case, agrees to go, motivated only by a desire to revisit a place where he spent several happy summers in his boyhood. Yet no sooner does he arrive than the college is torn apart by a sacrilegious murder and Dalgliesh finds himself embroiled in one of the most puzzling and horrific cases of his career: no one is above suspicion, and suspects abound.

Elevated beyond the great classic detective stories of the Golden Age by the power of the writing, Death in Holy Orders grips and moves us from beginning to end, blessed with extraordinary psychological and emotional richness. The memorable characters and the wonderfully evoked wild coastal setting and religious world in which the action takes place demonstrate yet again why P.D. James ranks as one of the great novelists of our time.


From the Hardcover edition.

• ISBN13: 9780967947112
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

What this book does is more important than what it is about. What it does is get you back in touch with the fundamentals of what it means to be a man or a woman. That may sound too simple to be of benefit. Actually, exactly the opposite is true. The age in which we live is far removed from God's original purpose in creating men and women. Most of us really do not know why we were created or how we were intended to function or even what our true inheritance is in this earth. Our concepts of manhood and womanhood are generally formed by the common culture in which we all live today. These popular concepts fall far short of telling you who you really are as an individual man or woman in God's great design. For that reason those popular assumptions have miserably failed us. Starting out with a flawed blueprint for our life, the enduring structure we hope to build too often ends up crashing in a pile of rubble instead of fulfilling our life's greatest potential. With the original blueprint restored you can avoid a disaster like that or even recover from such a disaster. Beyond that, with the right imprint of who you are truly meant to be you can soar far above the limitations of a world determined to keep you down. Learn the amazing truth that within you is the capability to rule in the image of God. That's your birthright and you can do it. Readers often say this message has power to restore men and women to a higher order of life to be who they are truly meant to be. Read it. Do it. Be it.

Long gone are the days of drinking naturally pure water from flowing rivers and streams. It is already common today for people to use bottled water or home water filtration systems for their drinking water. How have we come to such a predicament, and what can be done about it? Continuing pollution, ever increasing population and industrial demands, destruction of the rainforests, overpumping of the ground water are all responsible for the deterioration of water quality— but the underlying reason, as William Marks shows in this wide-ranging, thoughtful book, is a lack of understanding of and respect for the nature of water itself.

Marks covers such diverse topics as water’s role in the origin of the universe and of life, cosmic rain and water in interstellar space, water in the myths of various peoples and religious traditions, the power of water in the many forms it takes in the natural world, vortex energy and living water, water and the human body, water healing, and a history of water pollution. He offers hope for the future by discussing the work of such visionaries as Theodor Schwenk and Viktor Schauberger. Marks shows us that finally water can be understood only when seen as the mediator not just between life and death but between the physical world and the spiritual world as well.

“They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15

'Secrets' - There are secrets here. Secrets hidden in the pages of a story depicting the life of a 17th century priest and Inquisitor. He finds answers to some questions but only in the enfolding of his and his companions lives can he find answers to most.

The secrets he discovers are not only relevant to his time but also to ours. Secrets of 'good and evil'. Secrets of how... Well I'll allow you to discover that for yourselves. But be aware, you have to know what questions to ask before you can possibly discover the answers and if you do they may change your understanding of life as you know it.

The book contains strong descriptions of sex and violence and is recommended for adult readers only.

“They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15

'Secrets' - There are secrets here. Secrets hidden in the pages of a story depicting the life of a 17th century priest and Inquisitor. He finds answers to some questions but only in the enfolding of his and his companions lives can he find answers to most.

The secrets he discovers are not only relevant to his time but also to ours. Secrets of 'good and evil'. Secrets of how... Well I'll allow you to discover that for yourselves. But be aware, you have to know what questions to ask before you can possibly discover the answers and if you do they may change your understanding of life as you know it.

The book contains strong descriptions of sex and violence and is recommended for adult readers only.

Sacraments are at the heart of our lives as Catholics, the way we celebrate together our continuing conversion and encounter with God. Sacramental preparation is essential if we are to experience the fullness of our life in community and in Christ. Ever conscious of the complex history of the church and its dynamic relationship to ritual, Father Lawrence Mick gives us these booklets based on individual chapters of his popular Understanding the Sacraments Today as a companion to the ongoing and repeated practices that nourish us.
All sacraments serve the needs of the church, but perhaps none so directly as holy orders, where individuals are consecrated to live out their baptismal vows as leaders of the church community. When entering a holy order (whether the diaconate, priesthood, or order of bishops), one joins a group dedicated to helping the faithful carry on the work of Christ. The roles of leaders within community have always adapted to meet the needs of the time, as a look at Paul s letters or any period of church history shows. Here Father Mick looks into the theology and history of holy orders, offering direction and vision for current and future practice.