Bøger af Nicola Slade

THE ART OF MURDER A weekend art course at an upmarket B&B near Winchester's historic cathedral is bound to be relaxing and fun. Isn't it? Not when Linzi Bray, chairman of the local art group, is in charge and the house is full of people who loathe her. Accidents start to happen - in a ruined castle, in a fast-flowing river, in a peaceful garden. There's a stalker - or is there? And there are far too many dead insects, as well as a pond full of blood and a vandalised Porsche. It's not the first time former headmistress, Harriet Quigley, and her cousin, the Reverend Sam Hathaway, have been embroiled in a mystery but this time they're baffled. 'It's so amateurish, ' complains Harriet. 'Phone calls, anonymous letters, somebody lurking in corners, it's like some spiteful game.' Game or not, there's a death, but is it murder? And then someone else dies and the games all stop...

Outwardly a grieving young Victorian widow, Charlotte Richmond is concealing some scandalous secrets when she arrives at Finchbourne Manor to start a respectable new life with her husband's family. The wealthy Richmonds must never discover that her husband Frampton's recent death in the Indian Mutiny came as a great relief to Charlotte. Nor must they hear about the rumours circulating in the army regarding both his scandalous behaviour and money missing from the officers' mess. His death has also been the subject of speculation and Charlotte must take care not to spill any secrets. Above all she must make certain that nobody in her new life hears of her own adventurous upbringing in Australia, knowing that any whisper about her past would cause her to be sent packing. When the past catches up with Charlotte, and a murder is committed, she begins to fear for her own life.

It is late summer in Hampshirem and former headmistress, Harriet Quigley, is enjoying life. Her cousin Sam is moving next door and the only cloud on the horizon is village gossip about a man who disappeared months earlier, and a more recent near-fatal accident. Suddenly it's all going pear-shaped - and sensible, practical Harriet has only herself to blame. Sam has warned her not to play at being Miss Marple but despite her cousin's strictures Harriet is suspicious about several newcomers and she's been asking discreet questions. There's an enigmatic artist, a good-looking vicar, a handsome Texan, a millionaire orchid-fancier, and Elvis, the plumber. To cap it all someone's seen the family ghost and only her young cousin Edith takes Harriet's anxieties seriously. With a sudden death in Winchester Cathedral, a treasure hunt that attracts unwelcome attentions, and history that looms uncomfortably close, Harriet finds herself trapped somewhere very nasty - and she's not alone.

When Charlotte Richmond's dearest friend decides to visit Bath for medical treatment, Charlotte, a young Victorian widow, is delighted to accompany her but the spa town turns out to be far less genteel than she anticipates. Their fellow guests at elegant Waterloo House seem to be haunted by secrets and Charlotte is soon embroiled in mysteries, mayhem and murder. When one of the inhabitants of Waterloo House is stabbed to death it is Charlotte who trips over the corpse and begins to ask questions. In the course of her unofficial enquiries her own life is put in peril as she uncovers family secrets of her own and stumbles upon a mystery that could change the course of history. 'This is the second in an utterly delightful series of Victorian Whodunits featuring a "lady" with a shady past who cannot help encountering dead people and wishing to find out who killed them.' Rachel A Hyde (MyShelf.com)

Gone are the days when recording an album required a large, expensive recording studio and piles of ultra hi-tech equipment. Lily Allen's myspace video netted her no.1 in the UK singles chart and an NME nomination, folk singer Seth Lakeman made an album in his kitchen for 300 and has been nominated for a Mercury Prize. And of course, there's the Arctic Monkeys - winners of a Mercury Prize, a Brit Award and two NME awards, who marketed their album through demo tapes and file sharing. Nicola Slade shows how anyone can record and mix killer music from the comfort of their bedroom. The author explains what hardware, software and mixing equipment is required, and includes a history of the digitisation of music, advice on marketing and promoting your music and contributions from DIY music artists who have made it big.