The Empress Irini Series
Artwork for the Princess Irini Series by Harry Pizzey. Reviews and info for all my books can also be found on Goodreads. My Author page on Amazon.
Betrothal and Betrayal: Empress Irini Series, Volume 1
Irini is an orphan raised by her powerful military uncle in Athens. Thekla’s family was displaced by the frontier wars. They both leave home for Constantinople, the seat of the Roman Empire of the East, and arrive on the same fateful day. When their widely divergent paths meet in this vigorous city rocked by religious and political strife, they join forces to survive. But are their sharp wits and Thekla’s knife enough to help them survive the dangers and adventures of the empire and the city that are very much a man’s world?
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Poison Is a Woman’s Weapon: Empress Irini Series, Volume 2
Irini and Thekla reunite to ensure the safe birth of Irini’s son, heir to the throne of the Empire of the Romans of the East. But Irini’s enemy, Empress Evdokia, wants Irini exiled and dead. The suspicious death of Emperor puts Irini on the throne of Empress – but Irini wants more power than wife and mother. Thekla’s intuition reveals the dark secret behind Irini’s rise to sovereign. Can Thekla remain loyal to Irini in this gripping tale of one woman’s passion for power and another woman’s devotion to truth?
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Seizing Power: Empress Irini Series, Volume 3
Constantine’s father dies unexpectedly, making Constantine emperor at age nine with Irini as Regent. Abbess Thekla’s loyalty to Irini shifts to Constantine as she watches Irini block his authority and keep the power herself. Irini makes Constantine wed the disliked Maria, prevents the Senate from naming him Emperor in his own right at age 18, and imprisons him when he tries to stop her henchmen from amassing wealth and power. Constantine’s army friends free him, arrest her, and raise him to the throne. Resourceful as ever, Irini will not be thwarted. Can Thekla prevent them from murdering each other?
Available February 14th – Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Scotland Street Press | Find the Path Books | Kindle Edition
The Price of Eyes: Empress Irini Series, Volume 4
In the final book, Irini returns to the throne. She tricks Constantine into divorcing Maria and exiles her and Constantine’s two daughters to Abbess Thekla’s island convent where Maria goes mad. Irini misleads Constantine into taking revenge on the soldiers who arrested her and the empire erupts into civil war, army against army, Irini against Constantine. Fearing for her life, Irini traps Constantine, wounding his eyes, but Thekla rescues him. Irini is finally empress in her own right. But will Thekla help her hold the throne?
Available February 14th – Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Scotland Street Press | Find the Path Books
Past Publications
Emergency Murder
When the wife of her lover, Dr. Hank Myer, is poisoned to death–presumably by poison from Dr. Maxene St. Clair’s own lab–Dr. St. Clair must call upon Detective Grabowski to clear her name from this apparent crime of passion.
Published by Fawcett, 1991 | Available in used bookstores or online.
Prescription for Death
The exciting series started by the successful Emergency Murder continues, as Dr. Maxene St. Clair looks for crimes as well as cures. This time, the Milwaukee emergency room doctor checks into the connection a series of deaths and near-misses has with a sculptor’s peculiar demise: crushed by his own art.Elective Murder
The hottest issue in the legislature is murder. Senator Irene Wisnewski’s hard living has finally done her in. Or so it appears when the tough old gal collapses and dies during hearings on health care reform. Dr. Maxene St. Clair, on hand to testify about emergency room abuse, suspects murder, but her friend Detective Joseph Grabowski can’t find the evidence to prove it– even though for decades Senator Irene has been poison to her colleagues, her staff, and the lobbyists who court her favor. Now the Wisnewski health care bill is also dead, and women’s issues will soon be buried deeper than ever.
But rumor insists that Irene was murdered and that another woman senator will be next. Before they know it, St. Clair and Grabowski find themselves entangled in the fevered, sometimes ruthless, world of state politics — where animosities run long and deep, and anything goes, even murder…
Published by Fawcett, 1995 | Available in used bookstores or online.
Books For Readers Learning English, Level 5
Murder By Art – Graded ESL Reader
On a hot August night in Milwaukee in the USA, a young artist and a gang leader’s girlfriend are shot in the street, a woman dies mysteriously in the Mercy Hospital emergency room, and a famous artist is killed at the opening of an exhibition of his work. Dr Maxine Cassidy feels sure there must be a connection between these events and sets out to find it.
Paperback-only version. This book is a level 5 graded reader for English as a Second Language students. Also available with Audio CDs including complete text recordings from the book.
Published by Cambridge University Press
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Emergency Murder – Graded ESL Reader
Award-winning original fiction for learners of English. At seven levels, from Starter to Advanced, this impressive selection of carefully graded readers offers exciting reading for every student’s capabilities.
When the wife of a prominent surgeon dies suddenly in the hospital emergency room of Mercy Hospital in Milwaukee, USA, Dr Maxine Cassidy suspects murder. Maxine is determined to find the killer and starts an investigation of her own. However, when someone tries to kill her, she begins to wonder which of her medical colleagues she can trust.
Paperback-only version. This book is a level 5 graded reader for English as a Second Language students. Also available with Audio CDs including complete text recordings from the book.
Published by Cambridge University Press
Purchase – Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)