Lucifer's Crown

by Lillian Stewart Carl

Overview

First print-published by Five Star/Gale in 2003

When Maggie Sinclair walks into myth-haunted Glastonbury Abbey she intends only to teach a group of students the stories of King Arthur. But she can't escape her mid-life crisis, which soon leads her to answer a spiritual call
to arms that will change her world forever.

Maggie's student Rose Kildare is looking for romance and adventure. What she finds is murder and a crisis of faith. In searching for his missing father,a young Scot named Mick Dewar finds not only Rose but his family's long-lost
identity. And Ellen Sparrow thinks she's already found certainty but instead loses almost everything.

Over them all looms Robin Fitzroy. In the eleventh century he was Robert the Devil, father of William the Conqueror. Now immortal, secure in his pride,he serves Lucifer himself. Only Thomas Becket, the great English saint,knows who Robin really is. Thomas let another man be martyred in his place in 1170. Since then he's lived as a humble scholar, seeking redemption for
his sin. But now, at the end of time, he discovers that it's up to him to save the souls of mankind from Robin's clutches. He risks making allies of Maggie, Rose, and Mick, even as he wonders whether not only his scholarship
but also his character is strong enough to meet the challenge.

Although Lucifer's Crown begins with a murder and hinges on another, it's more than a mystery. It's a contemporary version of the quest for the Holy Grail and its secrets. Fantasy elements influence two very different romances. History and mythology color political issues straight out of today's headlines. And the battle of good and evil is fought by a tarnished saint, a polished devil, and a few ordinary people who learn that this struggle is fought not by armies, but in each and every human heart.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011235405
Publisher:	Lillian Stewart Carl
Publication date:	03/15/2011
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	1,019,070
File size:	717 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

After starting out in science fiction and fantasy, Lillian Stewart Carl is now writing contemporary novels blending mystery, romance, and fantasy, along with short mystery and fantasy stories. Her work often includes paranormal themes. It always features plots based on history and archaeology. While she doesn’t write comedy, she believes in characters with a sense of humor. Her fantasies are set in a mythological, alternate-history Mediterranean and India. Her contemporary novels are set in Texas, in Ohio, in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, and in England and Scotland. Of her Shadows in Scarlet, Publishers Weekly says: "Presenting a delicious mix of romance and supernatural suspense, Carl (Ashes to Ashes) delivers yet another immensely readable tale. She has created an engaging cast and a very entertaining plot, spicing the mix with some interesting twists on the ghostly romantic suspense novel." Of her Lucifer's Crown, Library Journal says: "Blending historical mystery with a touch of the supernatural, the author creates an intriguing exploration of faith and redemption in a world that is at once both modern and timeless. Among many other novels, Lillian is the author of the Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron cross-genre mystery series: America’s exile and Scotland’s finest on the trail of all-too-living legends. Of The Secret Portrait, Kirkus says: Mystery, history and sexual tension blend with a taste of the wild beauty of the Highlands. Of The Burning Glass, Publishers Weekly says: "Authentic dialect, detailed descriptions of the castle and environs, and vivid characters recreate an area rich in history and legend. The tightly woven plot is certain to delight history fans with its dramatic collision of past and present." With John Helfers, Lillian co-edited The Vorkosigan Companion, a retrospective on Lois McMaster Bujold’s science fiction work, which was nominated for a Hugo award. Her first story collection, Along the Rim of Time, was published in 2000, and her second, The Muse and Other Stories of History, Mystery, and Myth, in 2008, including three stories that were reprinted in Year's Best mystery anthologies. Her books are available in both print and electronic editions, and her web site is http://www.lillianstewartcarl.com

Editorial Reviews

Teacher Maggie Smith takes a group of history students on a field trip to Glastonbury Tor as part of her course in Arthurian legends, finding instead a murder, a mystery, and a man claiming to be the long-dead English bishop, St. Thomas Beckett. Good and evil line up against each other in a battle for possession of a trio of powerful artifacts in Carl's (Shadows in Scarlett) latest novel. Blending historical mystery with a touch of the supernatural, the author creates an intriguing exploration of faith and redemption in a world that is at once both modern and timeless. For collections where Arthurian tales are popular. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal