Winter Morgue

Winter Morgue

Upon a Winter's Night

An Amish adoptee searches for her birth parents and uncovers dangerous secrets in this romantic suspense from a New York Times–bestselling author. Though she is deeply loved by her parents, the fact that Lydia Brand is adopted has always made her different from her close-knit Amish community. But as Christmas approaches and she begins to search for answers about her biological parents, more questions surface. Soon it seems that the deaths of two women in her small town may not be coincidences, after all. And her pursuit of the truth has left her only with hints of a dark secret—and threats from an unseen adversary. While she does her best to stave off advances from her parents' preferred suitor, Lydia discovers that her heart truly belongs to the man who's been there all along: her friend Josh Yoder. It's only with his help that Lydia can ensure that the stillness of a winter's night means peace—and not danger. Praise for Karen Harper "Harper, a master of suspense, keeps readers guessing about crime and love until the very end . . . of this thrilling tale." — Booklist on Fall from Pride (starred review) "Lively and endearing." — Publishers Weekly on Fall from Pride "The author's likable, engaging characters and a strong plot lend additional strength to her ever-amazing descriptions of Amish life." — RT Book Reviews on Return to Grace "Haunting suspense, tender romance and an evocative look at the complexities of Amish life . . . riveting!" —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times–bestselling author on Dark Angel "Compelling . . . intricate and fascinating." —Tami Hoag, New York Times–bestselling author on Dark Road Home

Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Russia

This is a magisterial account of the day-to-day practice of Russian criminal justice in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Nancy Kollmann contrasts Russian written law with its pragmatic application by local judges, arguing that this combination of formal law and legal institutions with informal, flexible practice contributed to the country's social and political stability. She also places Russian developments in the broader context of early modern European state-building strategies of governance and legal practice. She compares Russia's rituals of execution to the 'spectacles of suffering' of contemporary European capital punishment and uncovers the dramatic ways in which even the tsar himself, complying with Moscow's ideologies of legitimacy, bent to the moral economy of the crowd in moments of uprising. Throughout, the book assesses how criminal legal practice used violence strategically, administering horrific punishments in some cases and in others accommodating with local communities and popular concepts of justice.