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EQUINOX

"Oxford, 2006: a young woman is found brutally murdered, her throat cut. Her heart has been removed and in its place lies an apparently ancient gold coin. Twenty-four hours later, another woman is found. The MO is identical, except that this time her brain has been removed, and a silver coin lies glittering in the bowl of her skull.

The police are baffled but when police photographer Philip Bainbridge and his estranged lover Laura Niven become involved, they discover that these horrific, ritualistic murders are not confined to the here and now. And a shocking story begins to emerge which intertwines Sir Isaac Newton, one of seventeenth-century England's most powerful figures, with a deadly conspiracy which echoes down the years to the present day, as lethal now as it was then.

Before long those closest to Laura are in danger, and she finds herself the one person who can rewrite history; the only person who can stop the killer from striking again.

Equinox is Michael White's first novel. It caused a sensation at the 2005 Frankfurt book fair and was sold on a partial manuscript by Michael's agent Carole Blake at Blake Friedmann in London. It will appear in 25 languages between autumn 2006 and summer 2007.

THE MEDICI SECRET

In the crypt of the Medici Chapel in Florence, palaeopathologist, Edie Granger, and her uncle, Carlin Mackenzie, are examining the mummified remains of one of the most powerful families in Renaissance Italy.

The embalmers have done their work well in terms of outward appearance. But under the crisp skin, the organs have shrivelled to a fraction of their original size, which means it is difficult to gather a usable DNA sample. Edie and Mackenzie both have serious doubts about the true identity of at least two of the five-hundred-year-old bodies.

And no one can explain the presence of an alien object discovered resting against Cosimo de' Medici's spine.

For Carlin Mackenzie, this is the most fascinating and the most dangerous discovery of his life. For Edie, it is the beginning of an obsessive, life-threatening quest.

With all the dramatic twists and turns that made Equinox such a huge international success, The Medici Secret meshes past and present, cryptic clues and constant menace to produce a mystery thriller that does not relax its grip for one single moment.

THE MEDICI SECRET is published by Random House on 28th February 2008.