Cléopâtre princesse de l’espace Volume 2, Le voleur et l’épée

The eleventh enthralling adventure to feature Ursula Blanchard, reluctant spy in the service of Queen Elizabeth I

February, 1571. Ursula is once more plunged into affairs of the state when she escorts her foster daughter Margaret to the Netherlands to meet her suitor. The queen’s spymaster, Sir William Cecil, learns that the wealthy Italian banker Roberto Ridolfi will be hosting their forthcoming wedding – a man who he fears may once again be plotting to put Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne. But Ursula is also about to come face-to-face with her greatest enemy – and the exiled Countess of Northumberland is not the only figure from Ursula’s past to put in a surprising appearance.

An abusive marriage leads to possible murder in the latest Abbot Agency mystery

The fake diamond in Dilys Holland’s engagement ring implies that all is not well in her marriage, and the Holland family matriarch, Sybil, calls on Bea Abbot for help. Bea soon discovers that Dilys and her little girl live in fear of her abusive husband, a man called Benton with whom Bea has already clashed.

Benton wants Bea to rescue the ailing fortunes of his company, part of the Holland empire, and has no scruples about trying violence on her too when she turns him down. To make matters worse, Bea’s Member of Parliament son has tied both his fortune and his marriage to Benton’s future and is desperate for Bea to rescue him. Then Dilys tries to commit suicide . . . or does she?

Contrairement aux autres ouvrages actuellement disponibles sur la self-défense, voici le premier manuel francophone qui traite en détail les trois aspects complémentaires que sont la sécurité personnelle, la self-défense et la survie urbaine.Les auteurs détaillent ces thèmes en trois parties distinctes ponctuées d’encarts pratiques, et illustrées de nombreuses photos et de schémas explicatifs :– la sécurité personnelle présente toutes les informations qui permettent d’éviter une situation dangereuse (protection de son domicile et dans son véhicule, protection de ses informations personnelles, comportement/communication gestuelle et orale, équipements spécifiques) ;– la self-défense détaille les principes et techniques de combat pratiques, avec ou sans arme et sans rattachement à une école d’arts martiaux spécifique, à utiliser lors d’une situation d’agression ;– la survie urbaine couvre deux aspects : d’une part la survie après une agression (premiers secours, survie psychologique et juridique), d’autre part l’ensemble des connaissances utiles dans des situations extrêmes, notamment lors de voyages à l’étranger (terrorisme, épidémie, guerre...).

A Sir Geoffrey Mappestone mystery. March 1102

March 1102, and Robert de Belleme, the Black Earl of Shrewsbury, is summoned to appear before King Henry's Easter Court, to answer for siding with the King's older brother, the Duke of Normandy, in an attempt to steal the King's throne.

Meanwhile, in the crowded and dangerous streets of Southwark, south of the river Thames, Crusader Knights Sir Geoffrey Mappestone and the hearty Sir Roger of Durham witness a man murdered by hanging from the window of the Crusader's Arms Inn. But this is not just any man, he is the illegitimate nephew of Robert de Belleme, and had apparently been holding a meeting with two mysterious men. In fact, it turns out the inn has been used for many meetings of the earl's spies, and there are plans afoot to obtain a terrible weapon to use against the King, one that the Crusader Knights remember with a terrible fear from the Siege of Jerusalem Greek Fire.

Solving the murder is only the first step in uncovering the plot against the King.