Kate Mosse

Carcassonne 1562: Nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father's bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE. But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou's help if he is to get out of La Cite alive.

Toulouse: As the religious divide deepens in the Midi, and old friends become enemies, Minou and Piet both find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as sectarian tensions ignite across the city, the battle-lines are drawn in blood and the conspiracy darkens further. Meanwhile, as a long-hidden document threatens to resurface, the mistress of Puivert is obsessed with uncovering its secret and strengthening her power . . .

Carcassonne 1942. A courageous young woman, Sandrine, finds herself drawn into the world of the Resistance in Carcassonne which is under German Occupation. But who is the real enemy? Who is the real threat? And who is the true guardian of the ancient secrets that for generations have drawn people to the foothills of the Pyrenean mountains?

May 1572: for ten violent years the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Neighbours have become enemies, countless lives have been lost, and the country has been torn apart over matters of religion, citizenship and sovereignty. But now a precarious peace is in the balance and a royal wedding has been negotiated. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last.

An invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend this historic wedding in Paris in August. But what Minou does not know is that the Joubert family's oldest enemy, Vidal, will also be there. Nor that, within days of the marriage, on the eve of the Feast Day of St Bartholomew, her family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace . . .

In 1209, as the Cathars are besieged in Carcassonne, a young woman is given a book by her father, which, he says, contains the story of the Grail. In 2005, Alice Turner is excavating in the area when she finds a tomb with two bodies, and sets in motion a terrifying sequence of events. Richard & Judy Bookclub

1912. In the shadows of a Sussex churchyard, a woman lies dead. As flood waters rise, Connie Gifford is marooned in a decaying house with her increasingly tormented father. An accident has robbed her of her most significant childhood memories. Until the disturbance at the church awakens fragments of those vanished years . . .

March 1928. The Great War has been over for 10 years, but Freddie still hasn't recovered from the loss of his brother. Even now, on holiday in France, he cannot escape his grief. When his car crashes, Freddie stumbles down from the hills to a village nearby. There he meets Marie, a beautiful young woman who is also mourning a lost generation.

A wonderfully atmospheric collection of stories inspired by ghost stories, traditional folk tales and country legends from England and France. These tales are richly populated by spirits and ghosts seeking revenge; by grief-stricken women and haunted men coming to terms with their destiny.