From the day that they buy their own boat, a coral diver and his son sense it is cursed by the devil.

Medici in Florence, after the restoration of 1512. Carafulla, historical Jester, leading the (Venetian) Ship of Fools in the pageant through the streets of Florence in the Midsummer festival of St John the Baptist,1514. The antics of the jesters have meaning. This is gradually unfolded during the journey of the ship in the book. It is done by focusing on the visual and narrative riddles of the jesters and other characters analysed with the help of a background on the festive tradition (Carnival) in Europe, and of published and unpublished (personal letters of the Medici) material. Gradually the pranks and jests reveal earnest and controversial contents which reflect on political relationships between Rome (the Medici pope, Leo X), Florence (the member of the Medici family ruling there) and the Republic of Venice (provider of fleets and reformist thought). Rumours, humours and emulations between Florence Rome and Venice.

"Compulsively readable."—New York Times Book Review From Stuart Turton, author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, comes an extraordinary new locked-room murder mystery. A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. It's 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Among the other guests is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret. But no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock dies in the night. And then the passengers hear a terrible voice, whispering to them in the darkness, promising three unholy miracles, followed by a slaughter. First an impossible pursuit. Second an impossible theft. And third an impossible murder. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes? With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board. Shirley Jackson meets Sherlock Holmes in this chilling thriller of supernatural horror, occult suspicion, and paranormal mystery on the high seas.

"In a secret, no-holds-barred, ten-day debate in a Moroccan warzone, protected by British marines and elite American troops, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., Sir Alan Brooke, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Sir Harold Alexander, and their military peers questioned each other's competence, doubted each other's vision, and argued their way through choices that could win or lose [World War II]"--

In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic. Hunt the Stones. Beware the Thief. Avenge the Past. Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined. Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip the world apart to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it. To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is nothing like they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows—and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them. In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos. As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history—even for a time-traveling thief.