"Supremely entertaining" It's 531 AD. Emperor Justinian and his ex-prostitute Empress, Theodora, rule the eastern Roman Empire. But fate is fickle; in the sophisticated, complex world of the Byzantine Empire, power and death go hand in hand. Anastasia, successful ex-courtesan of Constantinople, isn't interested in politics. Instead she plans to spend her retirement reading, entertaining friends and enjoying the sea air. But life, as usual, has other plans. Recovering from a hangover after her retirement party, she's visited by her handsome playboy ex-lover, who begs her help in finding his vanished new bride. It's not long before the corpses begin to pile up, including Anastasia's much-loved protege Helena. Anastasia is advised to take a holiday for her health, but she's not content to let her friend's death go unavenged. Determined to get to the bottom of all this, she sets off to find the elusive teenage bride - and finds herself into more trouble than she bargained for. Meet Anastasia, a lusty heroine who likes virile men, poetry and a hot bath, in that order; Chloe, her dagger-wielding, ball-crunching slave, and Euphemia, the kind of girl you'd probably rather kill yourself than spend a weekend with. Sexy, witty historical page turner you won't easily be able to put down

Mode of access: World Wide Web