Download or read book The Poison Pen Letters written by Fiona Walker and published by Boldwood Books Ltd. This book was released on 2024-11-08 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The BRAND NEW instalment in the Village Detectives Cozy Mystery Series from Fiona WalkerWe regret to announce the tragic death of Phoebe Fredericks... When crime novelist Phoebe opens the post and receives an invitation to her own funeral, she’s horrified. Not least because the date of her death is marked as tomorrow. Deciding it’s nothing more than a prank from an enemy from her past, she determines to put it to the back of her mind. But the next morning, when her completely infuriating postman (who likes to think himself her no.1 literary critic) rings her doorbell, a parcel of poisoned pen-nibs explodes in his face. Forced to confront the fact her correspondence is more RIP than RSVP, Phoebe realises someone must want her dead. Together with the newly-formed Village Detectives – Juno, Mil and Felix – Phoebe resolves to find out who is behind the poison pen letters before they strike again and her fate is signed, sealed and delivered! An totally hilarious, modern cozy crime mystery, from million-copy bestselling author Fiona Walker, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janet Evanovich and Janice Hallett. Readers are loving the Village Detective series: ‘Engrossing... Kind of reminds me of a cross between the Agatha Raisin TV series and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, both of which I love. This is the perfect, lighthearted summer read for anyone looking for some fun escapism.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A crossover between a witty romcom and a cosy crime.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I woke up early to read it and I struggled to put it down. The best book I’ve read this year. The characters were great, I got really invested in them and the storyline was gripping. Please write more!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘An outstanding cozy mystery based in the idyllic village of Inkbury, a beautiful location famous for its glittering river, unspoilt and clear... A briliant cozy that has the perfect balance of mystery and comedy, loved it!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A great cosy mystery!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved this! Very clever cosy with great, diverse characters... Thoroughly engaging, and very much looking forward to the next in the series.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A delightfully cosy read, the main characters are fun and engaging. Having read the author’s back catalogue to be reunited with Juno, Phoebe and Felix is absolute fabulous! The mystery at the centre of the book foxed me until the very end and unfolded in a very natural way. I really hope there is more to come from the Village Detectives. An entertaining read!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A brilliant beginning to a new series. Reading a book written by Fiona Walker is like visiting an old friend. Lots of good memories and wanting to make more. Can’t wait for the next “Village Detectives” book. Delightful, enjoyable read.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Download or read book Penning Poison written by Emily Cockayne and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-09-14 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Accusatory, libellous, or just bizarre, Penning Poison unveils the history of anonymous letter-writing. 'er at number 14 is dirty Receiving an unexpected and unsigned note is a disconcerting experience. In Penning Poison, Emily Cockayne traces the stories of such letters to all corners of English society over the period 1760-1939. She uncovers scandal, deception, class enmity, personal tragedy, and great loneliness. Some messages were accusatory, some libellous, others bizarre. Technology, new postal networks, forensic techniques, and the emergence of professional police all influence the phenomenon of poison letter campaigns. This book puts the letters back into their local and psychology context, extending the work of detectives, to discover who may have written them and why. Emily Cockayne explores the reasons and motivations for the creation and delivery of these missives and the effect on recipients - with some blasé, others driven to madness. Small communities hit by letter campaigns became places of suspicion and paranoia. By examining the ways in which these letters spread anxiety in the past Penning Poison grapples with the question of how nasty messages can turn into an epidemic. The book recovers many lost stories about how we used to write to one another, finding that perhaps the anxieties of our internet age are not as new as we think.

Download or read book American Murder Mysteries 60 Thrillers Detective Stories in One Collection written by Arthur B. Reeve and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2018-11-02 with total page 2923 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Musaicum Books presents to you a unique collection of American murder mystery stories, formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Contents: The Craig Kennedy Series: The Dream Doctor The War Terror The Social Gangster The Ear in the Wall Gold of the Gods The Exploits of Elaine The Romance of Elaine The Soul Scar The Film Mystery The Silent Bullet The Scientific Cracksman The Bacteriological Detective The Deadly Tube The Seismograph Adventure The Diamond Maker The Azure Ring "Spontaneous Combustion" The Terror in the Air The Black Hand The Artificial Paradise The Steel Door The Poisoned Pen The Yeggman The Germ of Death The Firebug The Confidence King The Sand-Hog The White Slave The Forger The Unofficial Spy The Smuggler The Invisible Ray The Campaign Grafter The Treasure Train The Truth-detector The Soul-analysis The Mystic Poisoner The Phantom Destroyer The Beauty Mask The Love Meter The Vital Principle The Rubber Dagger The Submarine Mine The Gun-runner The Sunken Treasure Other Mysteries: Guy Garrick The Master Mystery Constance Dunlap The Forgers The Embezzlers The Gun Runners The Gamblers The Eavesdroppers The Clairvoyants The Plungers The Abductors The Shoplifters The Blackmailers The Dope Fiends The Fugitives The Conspirators

Download or read book CRAIG KENNEDY Boxed Set 40 Mysteries of the Scientific Detective written by Arthur B. Reeve and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2018-06-12 with total page 2432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professor Craig Kennedy is a scientist detective at Columbia University similar to Sherlock Holmes. He uses his knowledge of chemistry and psychoanalysis to solve cases, and uses exotic devices in his work such as lie detectors, gyroscopes, and portable seismographs. Novels: The Dream Doctor The War Terror The Social Gangster The Ear in the Wall Gold of the Gods The Exploits of Elaine The Romance of Elaine The Soul Scar The Film Mystery Short Stories: The Silent Bullet The Scientific Cracksman The Bacteriological Detective The Deadly Tube The Seismograph Adventure The Diamond Maker The Azure Ring "Spontaneous Combustion" The Terror in the Air The Black Hand The Artificial Paradise The Steel Door The Poisoned Pen The Yeggman The Germ of Death The Firebug The Confidence King The Sand-Hog The White Slave The Forger The Unofficial Spy The Smuggler The Invisible Ray The Campaign Grafter The Treasure Train The Truth-detector The Soul-analysis The Mystic Poisoner The Phantom Destroyer The Beauty Mask The Love Meter The Vital Principle The Rubber Dagger The Submarine Mine The Gun-runner The Sunken Treasure

Download or read book The Poisonous Pen of Agatha Christie written by Michael C. Gerald and published by . This book was released on 1993-06 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poisoning occurs in over half of Agatha Christie's many novels and stories. In fact, she used a larger number and broader selection of poisons and medicines, for a wider variety of purposes, with greater frequency, ingenuity, and scientific accuracy than any other detective fiction writer. Yet very little has been written on the use of drugs, poisons, and chemicals in Christie's fiction. The Poisonous Pen of Agatha Christie entertainingly and authoritatively fills this gap. Michael Gerald explores the use of poisons and drugs in Christie's fiction not only to commit murder and suicide but also to incapacitate a victim, alter behavior, treat disease, or support addiction. He also analyzes her views, as expressed in her fiction and autobiography, on drug addiction, tbe health professions, the value of medicines, and scientific discoveries. Especially valuable is Gerald's exhaustive listing of all drugs, poisons, and chemicals mentioned in Christie's novels and stories, with references to the work(s) in which each appears and the ways in which each is used. Other tables list all the novels and short stories and the chemicals that are used in each. Throughout, the properties of all drugs are clearly explained so that the reader needs no special scientific or medical knowledge. The Poisonous Pen of Agatha Christie illuminates the fictional uses Christie made of her real-life experiences as a hospital drug dispenser and as a provider of nursing care. It will be of interest to fans and scholars alike.

Download or read book Uncle John s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Hollywood written by Bathroom Readers' Hysterical Society and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-06-01 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take One. Action! Uncle John's Plunges into Hollywood uncovers Tinseltown's best-kept secrets--from murder mysteries Hollywood style to leading lady rivalries. Hooray for Hollywood! Uncle John takes on Tinseltown in this fascinating look at the movies and the people who make them. Come for the trials, tribulations, and trivia! Stay for the mysteries, magic, and mayhem! You’ll go behind the scenes for the sordid scandals, biggest bombs, greatest triumphs, and the unsung heroes who make it all come together. Featuring quotes, puzzles, quizzes, and Uncle John’s famous “running feet” facts at the bottom of every page, this book will give you a new appreciation for the Silver Screen (and you’ll know exactly what a gaffer and best boy do). What else is in here? Check out these previews! * Bad boys on location * The origin of Variety * The biggest cult movie of all time * The “Blond Bombshell Murder Mystery” * How Ray Harryhausen brought fantasies to life * Wretched reviews (for what are now considered great films) * The strange Pink Floyd and Wizard of Oz connection * The “Taglines of Terror” quiz * Bathrooms on the big screen * Unfortunate remakes * Haunted Hollywood And much, much more!

Download or read book ARTHUR B REEVE Crime Mystery Boxed Set written by Arthur B. Reeve and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2018-11-02 with total page 2923 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Musaicum Books presents to you a unique Arthur B. Reeve collection meticulously edited and formatted to the highest digital standards. Contents: The Craig Kennedy Series The Dream Doctor The War Terror The Social Gangster The Ear in the Wall Gold of the Gods The Exploits of Elaine The Romance of Elaine The Soul Scar The Film Mystery The Silent Bullet The Scientific Cracksman The Bacteriological Detective The Deadly Tube The Seismograph Adventure The Diamond Maker The Azure Ring "Spontaneous Combustion" The Terror in the Air The Black Hand The Artificial Paradise The Steel Door The Poisoned Pen The Yeggman The Germ of Death The Firebug The Confidence King The Sand-Hog The White Slave The Forger The Unofficial Spy The Smuggler The Invisible Ray The Campaign Grafter The Treasure Train The Truth-detector The Soul-analysis The Mystic Poisoner The Phantom Destroyer The Beauty Mask The Love Meter The Vital Principle The Rubber Dagger The Submarine Mine The Gun-runner The Sunken Treasure Other Mysteries Guy Garrick The Master Mystery Constance Dunlap The Forgers The Embezzlers The Gun Runners The Gamblers The Eavesdroppers The Clairvoyants The Plungers The Abductors The Shoplifters The Blackmailers The Dope Fiends The Fugitives The Conspirators

Download or read book Silent Mystery and Detective Movies written by Ken Wlaschin and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2009-05-15 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The silent film era was known in part for its cliffhanger serials and air of suspense that kept audiences returning to theaters week after week. Icons such as Douglas Fairbanks, Laurel and Hardy, Lon Chaney and Harry Houdini were among those who graced the dark and shadowy screen. This reference guide to silent films with mystery and detective content lists more than 1,500 titles in one of entertainment's most popular and enduring genres. While most of the films examined are from North America, mystery films from around the world are included.

Download or read book Black Dahlia Avenger written by Steve Hodel and published by Skyhorse. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Viewers of the TNT Series I Am the Night and Fans of the Root of Evil Podcast, the Bestselling Book That Revealed the Shocking Identity of the Black Dahlia Killer and the Police Corruption That Concealed It for So Long A New York Times Bestseller An International Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book An Edgar Award Finalist In 1947, the brutal, sadistic murder of a beautiful young woman named Elizabeth Short led to the largest manhunt in LA history. The killer teased and taunted the police and public for weeks, but his identity stayed a mystery, and the murder remained the most tantalizing unsolved case of the last century, until this book revealed the bizarre solution. Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD detective who was a private investigator, took up the case, reviewing the original evidence and records as well as those of a separate grand jury investigation into a series of murders of single women in LA at the time. The prime suspect had in fact been identified, but never indicted. Why? And who was he? In an account that partakes both of LA Confidential and Zodiac, for the corruption it exposes and the insight it offers into a serial killer’s mind, Hodel demonstrates that there was a massive police cover-up. Even more shocking, he proves that the murderer, a true-life Jekyll and Hyde who was a highly respected member of society by day and a psychopathic killer by night, was his own father. This edition of the book includes new findings and photographs added after the original publication, together with a new postscript by the author.

Download or read book How to Write Plan Organize Play and Host the Perfect Murder Mystery Game Party written by Dean Amory and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-10-12 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you have ever wanted to host your own murder mystery party game but you did not know where to start, then this book is the perfect guide for you! Whether your guests are old friends or new acquaintances, a murder mystery provides drama and intrigue, encourages participation and helps guests bond through a common goal: to solve the mystery. I present to you a step by step guide for writing, planning, organizing, playing and hosting the perfect professional quality murder mystery party of your dreams. All the ideas and inspiration you could possibly ever need to throw are included in this guide. x creating the plot x guest invitations x casting of characters x Timeline: Checklist from the first idea to the thank you message x host guide with instructions, invitation, confirmation, reminder, guest list, costume suggestions, name tags, general background, ground plan, character profile, public and confidential clues, goals, additional plots, welcome word, ....

Download or read book Bettie English Private Eye Mysteries Volume 2 written by Connor Whiteley and published by CGD Publishing. This book was released on 2023-08-18 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 3 addictive Private Eye Mysteries you don’t want to miss! BUY NOW! A Case Most Personal An Attack Close To Home. Police Corruption. A Case Most Personal. Bettie helps innocent people. Private Eye Bettie English sees her nephew stabbed. She rushes to help. Bettie investigates. If you enjoy gripping heart-wrecking private investigator mysteries, you need to read this! Scots, Trains and Private Eyes Amazing Scots. A Secret Train. Reader’s Favourite Private Eye. Private Eyes always work. Private Eye Bettie English holidays in Scotland. She meets MI5 Agent Carter. She accepts a dangerous job. A nation’s future depends on Bettie. If you enjoy suspenseful gripping private eye mysteries. You need to read this great book! The Federation Protects A Private Eye Convention. A Power Vacuum. A Poisoner On The Loose. Powerful people stepping down leads to danger. Private Eye Bettie English organises Private Eye Con. She hears her friends are stepping down. Bettie fears the fallout. More than she realises depends on Bettie. If you enjoy gripping, unputdownable private eye mysteries. You will love this one! BUY NOW!

Download or read book Bettie English Private Investigator Mysteries Volume 3 written by Connor Whiteley and published by CGD Publishing. This book was released on 2023-08-18 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 6 addictive Private Eye Mysteries you don’t want to miss! BUY NOW! A Very Private Women An Invitation Like No Other. Sister Rivalry. A Very Private Woman. Nothing is as it seems. Private Eye Bettie English receives a visitor. She hears a top-secret job offer. Bettie knows something is afoot. Bettie needs to find the truth. If you enjoy gripping, unputdownable private eye mysteries holding you from the first to last word. You will love this book! The Russian Case A Strange Invitation. A World In Danger. A Russian Case. Bettie solves cases. When Private Eye Bettie English receives a strange invitation. She takes the offer. Bettie investigates her most dangerous case yet. Can Bettie save the western world? A Very Urgent Matter A Stream of Emails. High-Tech Theft. A Very Urgent Matter. Conspiracies and crimes happen. Private Eye Bettie English receives tons of email. Someone wants her. Bettie opens the emails. Bettie finds herself in a deadly game. A Case Most Personal An Attack Close To Home. Police Corruption. A Case Most Personal. Bettie helps innocent people. Private Eye Bettie English sees her nephew stabbed. She rushes to help. Bettie investigates. If you enjoy gripping heart-wrecking private investigator mysteries, you need to read this! Scots, Trains and Private Eyes Amazing Scots. A Secret Train. Reader’s Favourite Private Eye. Private Eyes always work. Private Eye Bettie English holidays in Scotland. She meets MI5 Agent Carter. She accepts a dangerous job. A nation’s future depends on Bettie. The Federation Protects A Private Eye Convention. A Power Vacuum. A Poisoner On The Loose. Powerful people stepping down leads to danger. Private Eye Bettie English organises Private Eye Con. She hears her friends are stepping down. Bettie fears the fallout. More than she realises depends on Bettie. If you enjoy gripping, unputdownable private eye mysteries. You will love this one! BUY NOW!

Download or read book Barkside of the Moon Cozy Mysteries Books 1 3 written by Renee George and published by Barkside of the Moon Press. This book was released on 2021-10-20 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Clever, frisky, and fun! Pit Perfect Murder is a spirited paranormal mystery jam-packed with witty characters and rollicking twists." --Ann Charles, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Deadwood Mystery Series Barkside of the Moon Cozy Mysteries are exciting who-done-its with a paranormal twist. Clean reads full of humor and small town charm, mystery, and even a little romance. This omnibus includes: Pit Perfect Murder Murder and the Money Pit The Pit List Murder Pit Perfect Murder When cougar-shifter Lily Mason moves to Moonrise, Missouri, she wishes for only three things from the town and its human population. . . to find a job, to find a place to live, and to live as a human, not a therianthrope. Lily gets more than she bargains for when a rescue pit bull named Smooshie rescues her from an oncoming car, and it’s love at first sight. Thanks to Smooshie, Lily’s first two wishes are granted by Parker Knowles, the owner of the Pit Bull Rescue center, who offers her a job at the shelter and the room over his garage for rent. Lily’s new life as an integrator is threatened when Smooshie finds Katherine Kapersky, the local church choir leader and head of the town council, dead in the field behind the rescue center. Unfortunately, there are more suspects than mourners for the elderly town leader. Can Lily keep her less-than-human status under wraps? Or will the killer, who has pulled off a nearly Pit Perfect murder, expose her to keep Lily and her dog from digging up the truth? Murder and the Money Pit Sometimes, trying to be part of the human world can be a real killer. . . Cougar-shifter Lily Mason is ready to put down roots in the human town of Moonrise, Missouri. She only has two problems: her attraction and proximity to Parker Knowles, her boss at the Pit Bull Rescue Shelter, and her need to shift into animal form more than once a month. When she gets the opportunity to buy a “fixer-upper” outside of Moonrise with plenty of room to get wild without running into easily freaked-out humans, Lily jumps at the chance. Smooshie, Lily’s lovable pit bull and partner in chaos, is eager to participate with the home improvements. Unfortunately, Smooshie’s help includes digging out a mummified body from the living room wall. Lily is still recovering from the last murder investigation she got involved in–and she’s not looking forward to being in the middle of another one. The case gets even stickier when Lily’s landlord is murdered, rumors of a heist gone wrong run rampant, and Parker’s old high school buddies have returned to Moonrise, thus increasing the suspect pool. Lily’s attempts to become a bona fide citizen of Moonrise might well be thwarted by this newest complication–especially when the murderer sets sights on her. The Pit List Murder All Lily wants is to enjoy a simple life in her new town, her fixer-upper house, while working a job she loves. Besides, the mystery of whether Parker Knowles, her boss at the rescue shelter, will or won't finally ask her out gives Lily plenty to keep her guessing. But when an abandoned pit bull puppy leads Lily and Smooshie to the corpse of a local Lothario, she is once again drawn into the seedier side of small town living. Even though she's warned off the case by the local sheriff, Lily is determined to find the killer. It doesn't help matters that more nasty notes are showing up around town, making Lily wonder if the two things are connected. Lily and Smooshie need to crack the case of the dead Don Juan, while navigating what it means to live in an all human town, before the secrets of the people she cares for are exposed. cozy mystery books, animal mysteries, dog mysteries, dog rescue, pit bulls, shifters, werewolf mysteries, small town, sweet romance, clean read, cozy mysteries, murder mystery books, small-town secrets, witches and familiars, magical mysteries, paranormal cozies, fantasy book series, shifter books, paranormal mysteries, bestseller, thriller, suspense, small town mystery, humor, drama, female sleuth, amateur sleuth, peculiar mysteries, series, dog lover mystery Fans of Amanda M. Lee, Tegan Maher, Barbara Anino, Annabel Chase, Samantha Silver, Kathi Daley, Kelty Kells, Nic Saint, Sara Bourgeois, J.A. Whiting, Danielle Garrett, Patricia Fry, Nola Robertson, Addison Moore, Amy Boyles, CeeCee James, Leighann Dobbs, Samantha Silver, J.L. Collins, Corrine Winters, Elle Adams, Mara Webb, Leanne Leeds, Clementine Moore, Chris Behrsin, Erin Johnson, Nyx Halliwell, S.W. Hubbard, Constance Barkerwill, Kate P. Adams, enjoy this series!

Download or read book Criminal Poisoning written by John H. Trestrail, III and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-28 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this revised and expanded edition, leading forensic scientist John Trestrail offers a pioneering survey of all that is known about the use of poison as a weapon in murder. Topics range from the use of poisons in history and literature to convicting the poisoner in court, and include a review of the different types of poisons, techniques for crime scene investigation, and the critical essentials of the forensic autopsy. The author updates what is currently known about poisoners in general and their victims. The Appendix has been updated to include the more commonly used poisons, as well as the use of antifreeze as a poison.

Download or read book Poison Pen written by Mary Kittredge and published by Worldwide Library. This book was released on 1992 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poison Pen by Mary Kittredge released on May 25, 1992 is available now for purchase.

Download or read book Fairmont Finds Canine Cozy Mysteries Books 4 6 written by Cate Lawley and published by Cate Lawley. This book was released on 2024-03-22 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fairmont, Zella, and the Sleuthing Granny Gang are back for three more mysteries! Included in this pet mystery collection: Tracking the Poison Pen Nasty notes and deadly deeds. Zella's had enough of the horrid letters she's been receiving since she moved to White Sage. Each of the notes shares the same theme: go home. Except White Sage is Zella's home. No one is making her feel unwelcome in her adopted town. She enlists the sleuthing granny gang to help her track down the poison pen letter writer…and that's when the first body appears. The Sleuthing Granny Gang and the Summer Scandal Death visits the unlikeliest of locales: White Sage's lavender festival. When the jam contest favorite ends up dead, the Sleuthing Granny Gang ladies are on the case. Former cadaver dog Fairmont helps them sniff out clues, while the group's leader Zella does her best to keep her silver-sleuth friends from taking dangerous risks. This year's jam contest has a hefty prize, a contract with an Austin-based jam company. But did the killer murder to level the contest playing field, or are other motives at work? Hunting the Traveler's Tragedy What's at the theater? A deadly production! A murdered actor in a traveling production sparks a new Sleuthing Granny Gang investigation. Zella, Fairmont, and the nosy ladies of White Sage have to find the killer before their friend Monique or her boyfriend are arrested. The SGG only have a few days to solve the murder or the production of Twelfth Night will be cancelled and White Sage's fall tourist season ruined.

Download or read book Nothing to Lose written by Thirteen O'Clock Press and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2017-07-16 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing to lose. Nowhere to go, no one to worry about - a chance to take revenge on those who brought you down to that level, perhaps? Or a chance to end it all and leave them feeling guilty? It's a wide open topic and the stories in this anthology reflect that, with the main theme being they are all very, very dark...