MURDER · INVESTIGATION
Richard Castle
Professor of Law, Cambridge
The Ruin Ship had rested in the foothills for many centuries.
— from Castle, 2000
Most acclaimed

Heat Wave
1994
Throughout her dazzling career, bestselling author Jill Marie Landis has consistently written stories filled with unforgettable sensuality, creating characters whose vibrant emotions instantly sweep you into their lives. Now in Heat Wave, Landis turns up the heat and delivers her most riveting novel yet. Private investigator Kat Vargas once cared about someone so much it hurt. Once she lived a dream life with her first love and fiance--until betrayal followed by shattering tragedy ended it all. Kat has sworn never to get too close to anyone again. But now the peace and quiet of Twilight Cove is driving the straight-talking, no-nonsense P.I. crazy. Then a prospective new client shows up at the door. Moved by his stubbornness and sincerity, Kat takes his case, breaking a promise to relax, recoup, and rethink her solitary life. Ty Chandler is desperate to locate the child he fathered nineteen years ago--a child he never knew existed until now. Although he's no stranger to heartache, he is irresistibly drawn to the exotic, vibrantly alluring P.I. Their search not only leads them to Ty's troubled, strong-willed daughter, but into each others' arms. Though Kat courageously works to help Ty reunite his family, she's terrified of confronting a painful secret of her own--one that will cost her the love of the only man capable of tearing down the walls she's built around her heart.From the tranquil beaches of the central California coast to the fast and furious streets of L.A., Heat Wave is a passionate and heartfelt story of families divided and brought back together, the magic of hope for new beginnings, and the overwhelming power love has to heal even the most battered hearts.From the Hardcover edition.

Castle
2000
Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the castles of the Middle Ages and the lives of the people who lived in them. Superb, full-color photographs of castles around the world, plus specially built models, offer a unique and revealing "eyewitness" view of medieval life, from a castle's construction to its destruction in a siege. See a medieval lavatory, a giant crossbow on wheels, how prisoners were kept secure in dungeons, a herald in full regalia, and castles used by Crusaders in Syria and samurai warriors in Japan. Learn how castles got their water during a siege, how besiegers tunneled under castle walls, how the Normans built castles in a hurry, how the first guns worked, why round towers were better than square ones, and what a castellan's job entailed. Discover how enemies climbed castle walls, what was on the menu at a typical banquet, why many castles had resident carpenters and metalworkers, why Crusader castles were so well built, and much, much more.