Abbot Peter has recently swapped his failing leadership of a remote monastery in the Sinai desert for retirement in the bleak and stormy English seaside town of Stormhaven. When the charismatic local vicar is discovered dead – crucified, naked, to a cross on the vestry wall – Abbot Peter is invited to act as a Special Witness investigator. He is assigned to work alongside Detective Inspector Tamsin Shah – young, pretty, brash, unsentimental and, by a peculiar quirk of fate, a niece that Abbot Peter never knew he had. A cast of suspects to the murder of Rev. Adam Fontaine is quickly revealed from within the church’s own community – including the formidable flower-arranger, the egotistical bishop, the compassionate curate, the irascible youth worker and the frustrated treasurer. Nine people were at the meeting that immediately preceded the vicar’s shocking death. Could the mystical nine-point Enneagram revered by the father he never knew help Abbot Peter uncover the murderer? More deaths will follow before he discovers the answer.

A Vicar Crucified: An Abbot Peter Mystery (Abbot Peter Mysteries)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Parke, Simon

Mystery

Darton,Longman & Todd Ltd.

‘Although seven clowns started the evening alive, only six still breathed by the evening’s end. And while everyone saw the murderer and knew the murderer, no one knew their name.’  Henry House, an Elizabethan manor, is now occupied by Mind Gains, a new therapy centre in Stormhaven. But a Halloween party for staff and clients ends in gruesome and bloody murder. Once again, retired monk Abbot Peter and his niece Detective Inspector Tamsin Shah are called upon to solve the mystery.  Who could have reason to kill the mild-mannered therapist, Barnabus Hope? What did he know that he shouldn’t? As the Abbot and Detective enter the darkness, they find a therapy centre with much on its mind; and as staff and clients come under suspicion, Henry House proves reluctant to hand over its haunting secrets. Are there clues in the writings of a 14th century Persian poet? Maybe. But the psychology of horror must first have its day.

A Psychiatrist Screams: An Abbot Peter Mystery

‘On stage, the light reveals a chair, on which the lone figure of a middle-aged lady sits. Bathed in creamy light, she gazes heavenwards, mouth open in motionless wonder. Her body pushed forward and her head yanked back, simultaneously, separating the vertebrae, as the pathologist would later say. And her throat cut, a mess of blood.’  AN ABBOT PETER MYSTERY  When the curtains of the Bell Theatre open for the second half of Mother’s Day, a new play commissioned for the venue’s thirtieth anniversary, the lifeless body of theatre director Hermione Bysshe-Urquhart MBE is revealed. Within the startled audience sit retired monk Abbot Peter and his guest for the evening, Detective Inspector Tamsin Shah.  Tamsin and Peter undertake a new murder investigation among the cast and crew of the theatre, a struggling pro-am business operating from a converted church on the cliffs of the derelict seaside town of Stormhaven. Dark secrets from the past will be unearthed, some lying deeper than others.

A Directors Cut: An Abbot Peter Mystery

Literature & Fiction

Abbot Peter has enough on his plate frankly. His monastery of St. James the Less is due for closure. Stuck amid the outer reaches of a large desert nowhere, it wasn't deemed to be scoring very high on its performance indicators. And then there were the staff changes which really only increased the pressure on an abbot already wavering on the fundamentals of the faith, and some hugely demanding pilgrims who had come to the desert because there was nowhere else to take their creaking lives.Amidst all this a mini family saga is lived out, there's some surprising sex and the issue of cradle songs becomes increasingly pressing, as does the search for a ladder; a ladder to God whoever He or She may be. All in all, it is a desert tale which adds up to an ascent of sorts, and a strange epiphany. But should the truth really cost this much?

Desert Ascent: Or a Brief History of Eternity

Hodder&Stoughton

The Enneagram is an ancient tool for personality typing made popular by the Fourth Way movement as well as Jesuit sects in the early 20th century. This extensive guide explores and explains every aspect of the Enneagram, including its origin, history, and contemporary use. It offers a full explanation of the nine different personality categories located on the Enneagram and the attributes, passions, and vices to which they correspond, as well as information on the location and meaning of stress points and security points. Complete and insightful, this is a comprehensive study of a fascinating tool for self discovery.

The Enneagram: A Private Session with the World's Greatest Psychologist

Self-Help

Lion Hudson

Origins

A collection of quick, readable 'parables' will stay with you for a long time and lead you out of the shallows.

Origins: For Those Bored with the Shallow End

Poetry

Crossroad

One-Minute Mindfulness: How to Live in the Moment

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Alternative Medicine

Hay House, UK

Sometimes we can lose touch with ourselves so much that we don't even know we have done so, until suddenly we realize with a start that we have just been going through the motions, without really experiencing our lives. The simple fact is that in today's world, we spend so much time looking forward, rushing on to the next thing, or looking backwards, stressing and worrying about our perceived mistakes, that we rarely still ourselves and our minds enough to truly be in the present moment. In One-Minute Mindfulness, Simon Parke uses stories and simple thoughts to help us see through clear eyes how we can return to the present moment and remain there. This subtle change can be startlingly healing, bringing peace into every area of our lives, allowing us to live freely and fully, and to honour what is true for each of us. Both inspiring and practical, this book is for anyone who wants to come home to themselves.

‘What was it like in the desert, abbot?’ asks Rosemary.And, in a way, this book is his answer.In the first of the acclaimed Abbot Peter mysteries, Peter takes us to St James, a fragile community in the hot sands of Middle Egypt, peopled by those with nowhere else to take their creaking lives. There in the shadows of Mt Sinai Peter faces deception, delusion and death.The monastery is already threatened with closure, due to rationalisation. But when a harsh and unpredictable maniac comes to call, people’s lives are under threat.Suddenly, ordered religious practice is disordered, leaving no one unaffected. As events come to a traumatic climax, all have to question their beliefs and make decisions about their lives ... including Abbot Peter.‘It was interesting,’ replies the abbot to Rosemary. ‘A slightly bloody retreat.’ I think the book should be banned before it does the image of religion some serious damage.~ Ian Hislop, ‘Private Eye’, ‘Have I Got News for You’.Genuinely funny, tenderly serious – a delightful small novel.~ Sara Maitland, author of A Book of SilenceIf you’re after a surprising, disturbing, profound, witty magical mystery tour, then this book is for you.~ Simon Mayo, Radio Presenter, author. 

Another Bloody Retreat: Abbot Peter's desert years

Dramas & Plays

White Crow Books

Julian of Norwich was the first woman in the world to write a book in English, and yet had largely disappeared from view until her rediscovery during the twentieth century. A fourteenth century anchoress in Norwich, she lived in a cell for forty years, surrounded by savage plague, political inequality and religious bigotry. Yet Julian gave the world one of its most famous calls to hope: 'All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.' Who was she? Why did she pray for a near-death experience and then choose containment in a cell? And how did she come to speak with such optimism? In The Secret Testament of Julian, she tells her own story, full of difficulty and joy. No plaster saint, but a flesh and blood woman who from the silence of her cell speaks with a strength that few today can equal. Let Julian tell her story.

The Secret Testament of Julian

Genre Fiction

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Parke, Simon. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Parke, Simon

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Parke, Simon. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Vicar Crucified: An Abbot Peter Mystery (Abbot Peter Mysteries)

A Psychiatrist Screams: An Abbot Peter Mystery

A Directors Cut: An Abbot Peter Mystery

Desert Ascent: Or a Brief History of Eternity

The Enneagram: A Private Session with the World's Greatest Psychologist

Origins: For Those Bored with the Shallow End

One-Minute Mindfulness: How to Live in the Moment

One-Minute Mindfulness: How to Live in the Moment

Another Bloody Retreat: Abbot Peter's desert years

The Secret Testament of Julian