Books with author Richard Reisz

Elizabeth I stands in the English imagination for one of the formative phases of English history. Her reign saw England transformed, at her command, from a Catholic to a Protestant country, with incalculable consequences for the history of Europe and of the world - starting with the attempted invasion by the Spanish Armada, beaten off by the Queen's legendary naval captains.Richard Rex highlights the vivid and contrary personality of a Queen who could both baffle and bedazzle her subjects, her courtiers, and her rivals: at one moment flirting outrageously with a favourite or courting some foreign prince, and at another vowing perpetual virginity; at one time agonising over the execution of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, then ordering the slaughter of hundreds of poor men after a half-cock rebellion. Too many biographies of Elizabeth merely perpetuate the flattery she enjoyed from her courtiers, this biography also reflects more critical voices, such as those of the Irish, the Catholics and those who lived on the wrong side of the emerging North/South divide. To them she showed a different face.The Kindle Edition of "Elizabeth I: Fortune's Bastard?" contains 80 black and white and 20 colour illustrations

Isabella Morgan is lost, running away from a violent father and a broken home. Tempted by the evil Djinn, she finds herself in Mysterion, a hidden world peopled by Cyclops and giant turtles, dragons and mermaids and winged Angeli. There she reinvents herself as Bella Couteau, girl pirate, and seems destined for greatness as the chosen heir of the pirate king Hodoul. But when Hodoul commands her to assassinate Jonah, the New Elder of Mysterion, Bella encounters a world that challenges everything she believes and offers her a chance at a new and better life - if only she can trust enough to grasp it.

Everything changes when you’re thirteen! When they were in sixth grade, Calista Snipe and her best friends, Skyler McCray and Tabitha Tyler, narrowly escaped being kidnapped by Flash and Joint, two subordinates of crime boss, Wee Willie Sturgis. That horrific event is behind the children as they now prepare to enter Parkington Junior High. They soon find that the junior high school presents its own set of challenges and hurdles. Four elementary schools send students to Park Junior. The kaleidoscope of new faces, seventh and eighth grade students, is at first overwhelming. In addition to the familiar but always stress producing tasks encountered with academic assignments, Cali, Sky, and Tab must now make new friends, must take on new activities, and deal with the tantalizing and embarrassing excitement of their budding sexuality. The three friends are soon involved with eighth grader Talia Murphy, who helps a classmate expand her junior high drug trade; with Bill Baxter, who has an exceptional athletic talent and a keen interest in romance with almost every girl he meets; with Melanie Kent, a girl blessed both with physical precociousness and extremely affluent parents; with Leantos and Lee Ann Mosley, eighth grade twins who also happen to become Cali’s, Tab’s, and Sky’s first African-American friends; and with Pablo Cruz, who is using amphetamines to enhance his athletic skills and is involved with older youths who often attempt to manipulate younger students into providing sexual benefits. In the meantime, the children’s past nemeses, senior high student, Carl Huff, and Wee Willie Sturgis continue to practice their illegal dealings. Is it possible that the criminal behavior of Huff and Sturgis will once more impact the lives of Calista, Tabitha, and Skyler?

The “Great Recession” of 2008 has struck the United States. Calista Snipe’s family is adversely affected by the recession. Her father loses his job as a college professor and although Calista’s mother continues to work part time, the family’s income has been greatly reduced. Now her father is faced with the probability that his unemployment checks will cease if Congress does not vote to extend them. When a very rare monkey, a gibbon, escapes from the local zoo, Calista decides she will catch the gibbon and give the reward money to her father. In her search for the escaped gibbon, Calista enlists the help of her best friend, Skyler McCray. Skyler and Calista joined forces when they were in fourth grade to solve the mystery of the lost purse. Now, two years older, they believe they are up to the task of finding and capturing Papillon, the missing gibbon. However, the challenge of catching the little monkey soon becomes more difficult than they had anticipated as Papillon continually travels from one city park to another, and Cali and Sky discover that they do not have the best of equipment to capture a gibbon. To complicate their task, they discover that other parties are interested in capturing the monkey, and these parties are not happy to find that Cali and Sky are in the competition to win the reward money.To Catch A Monkey explores the impact of the 2008 recession on a middle class family, peer bullying, beginning awareness of puberty for later elementary grade children, and the strengthening friendship between a sixth grade boy and girl.

Jonah Comfait has many magical adventures as he searches for his missing father, only to discover that he is alive but held captive - and only Jonah can set him free. In this tale set in the gorgeous Seychelles Islands, Jonah refuses to believe his father has drowned at sea and sets out in a sailboat to search for him. His search carries him out of his everyday life to wondrous places with magical beings - like the angeli, who help him in his quest, and the djinn, who enslave people and feast on their dreams. Jonah learns about the land of Mysterion, a place of peace that people have forgotten because of their dreams of greed and war. He comes to understand that he must play a part in restoring Mysterion to itself. And he has to find a way to free his father.

NEW EDITION - OCTOBER 2019. THE BILLY-BUCK CAPER is a novel for nine to twelve-year-olds, but also suitable for younger children, with assistance from parents. How can a goat disappear from the fortress-style farm at Blue Hills Primary? Was he stolen? Why would someone steal the school mascot? Why are the police unable to find any clues to lead them to the goat gangster? Will the dismayed students and teachers ever see their friendly mate again? Has Blake’s Dad used one too many Sesame Street quotes? The answers are revealed when Blake is pushed to his deductive and emotional limits as he struggles to track down Billy, the dwarf Nigerian goat. He is joined again by his wacky classmates and strange parents—all in fifteen chapters.THE BILLY-BUCK CAPER is the third in a series of three BLAKE Ǝ MYSTERIES.

THE DOMINO CAPER is a novel for nine to twelve-year-olds, but also suitable for younger children, with assistance from parents.BLAKE EDUN-ESPINOZA, a gangly primary-school student, has no intention of becoming a detective until a frog jumps from his backpack and creates mayhem in MRS BARTER’S classroom. At home, BLAKE discovers a domino in his bag and believes it might be connected to the frog prank. Following a second classroom prank, and a second domino, BLAKE decides to unmask the elusive TRICKSTER.BLAKE is joined by his sister BROOKE, his MUM, with her imaginary friend, and his DAD who is a Sesame-Street enthusiast. His class includes HOLLY who speaks in verse, WESLEY who muddles his words, MADDIE who tells jokes, BAXTER who struggles with grammar and the mysterious TIPPY-K, to name a few.This is a tale of pranked victims and domino clues, of disappointments and perseverance, of wacky classmates and strange parents—all in fifteen chapters.THE DOMINO CAPER is the first in a series of three BLAKE Ǝ MYSTERIES.

NEW EDITION - OCTOBER 2019. THE ALPHABET CAPER is a novel for nine to twelve-year-olds, but also suitable for younger children, with assistance from parents. BLAKE EDUN-ESPINOZA is puzzled when muddled letters suddenly appear, then disappear, on an outside school blackboard. Are the letters a message written in code, and if so, what do they mean? When he discovers a second secret memo, he believes a group of students are up to mischief at Blue Hills Primary. Can BLAKE crack the coded capitals? With Elvis Parsley’s help, can he devise a plan to round up a bunch of baddies? Join BLAKE, with his wacky classmates and strange parents, for more mystery and mayhem, all in fifteen chapters.THE ALPHABET CAPER is the second in a series of three BLAKE Ǝ MYSTERIES.

Just hours after the perfect night with his high school sweetheart, Xavier Valentine is killed in a violent car accident. Stuck in the spiritual realm, Xavier looks on as his family and girlfriend mourn his passing. It isn't until Xavier finds that he is not alone in the spiritual realm that he realizes there is much more surrounding his death than he realizes.Xavier Valentine is the first novel in a trilogy written by Richard Thomas Reilly.