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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

A collection of contemporary and classic horror stories by authors such as Pete Johnson, Robert Westall, Roald Dahl and Stephen King.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Mia Montrose is a 21st century woman with a doctorate in ancient languages, Ashlee Granville is a 19th century clairvoyant, entering into marriage. Lillet de Lac is a 13th century priestess of an ancient order. Despite time, distance and cultures these woman have several things in common.


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No one is more surprised than Mattie Spenser herself when Luke Spenser, considered the great catch of their small Iowa town, asks her to marry him. Less than a month later, they are off in a covered wagon to build a home on the Colerado frontier. Mattie's only company is a slightly mysterious husband and her private journal, where she records the joys and frustrations not just of frontier life, but also of a new marriage to a handsome but distant stranger. As she and Luke make life together on the harsh and beautiful plains, Mattie learns some bitter truths about her husband and the girl he lieft behind and finds love where she least expects it. Dramatic and suspenseful, this is an unforgettable story of hardship, friendship and survival.


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THE END OF THE WORLD started quietly enough for Tane Williams and Rebecca Richards. . . .Tane and Rebecca aren’t sure what to make of it—a sequence of 1s and 0s, the message looks like nothing more than a random collection of alternating digits. Working to decode it, however, Tane and Rebecca discover that the message contains lottery numbers . . . lottery numbers that win the next random draw! Suddenly Tane and Rebecca are rich, but who sent the numbers? And why? More messages follow, and slowly it becomes clear—the messages are being sent back in time from Tane and Rebecca’s future. Something there has gone horribly wrong, and it’s up to them to prevent it from happening. As they follow the messages’ cryptic instructions, Tane and Rebecca begin to suspect the worst—that the very survival of the human race may be at stake.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

World War I nurse Bess Crawford, introduced in *A Duty to the Dead*, returns in an exciting new mystery in which a murder draws her inexorably into the sights of a cunning killer   

 It is the early summer of 1917. Bess Crawford has returned to England from the trenches of France with a convoy of severely wounded men. One of her patients is a young pilot who has been burned beyond recognition, and who clings to life and the photo of his wife that is pinned to his tunic.  

 While passing through a London train station, Bess notices a woman bidding an emotional farewell to an officer, her grief heart-wrenching. And then Bess realizes that she seems familiar. In fact, she's the woman in the pilot's photo, but the man she is seeing off is not her husband.  

 Back on duty in France, Bess discovers a newspaper with a drawing of the woman's face on the front page. Accompanying the drawing is a plea from Scotland Yard seeking information from anyone who has seen her. For it appears that the woman was murdered on the very day Bess encountered her at the station.  

 Granted leave to speak with Scotland Yard, Bess becomes entangled in the case. Though an arrest is made, she must delve into the depths of her very soul to decide if the police will hang an innocent man or a vicious killer. Exposing the truth is dangerous—and will put her own life on the line.


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An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.


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The bestselling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men, and Presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world–Arab-American relations–in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn’t delight.Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and most petulant wife of Prince Bawad of Wasabia, Florence Farfarletti decides to draw a line in the sand. As Deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, Florence invents a far-reaching, wide-ranging plan for female emancipation in that part of the world.The U.S. government, of course, tells her to forget it. Publicly, that is. Privately, she’s enlisted in a top-secret mission to impose equal rights for the sexes on the small emirate of Matar (pronounced “Mutter”), the “Switzerland of the Persian Gulf.” Her crack team: a CIA killer, a snappy PR man, and a brilliant but frustrated gay bureaucrat. Her weapon: TV shows.The lineup on TV Matar includes A Thousand and One Mornings, a daytime talk show that features self-defense tips to be used against boyfriends during Ramadan; an addictive soap opera featuring strangely familiar members of the Matar royal family; and a sitcom about an inept but ruthless squad of religious police, pitched as “Friends from Hell.”The result: the first deadly car bombs in the country since 1936, a fatwa against the station’s entire staff, a struggle for control of the kingdom, and, of course, interference from the French. And that’s only the beginning.A merciless dismantling of both American ineptitude and Arabic intolerance, Florence of Arabia is Christopher Buckley’s funniest and most serious novel yet, a biting satire of how U.S. good intentions can cause the Shiite to hit the fan.From the Hardcover edition.


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Continuing the powerful epic that started with THE STORMCALLER; theLord Isak is dead, his armies and entire tribe in disarray. It falls to King Emin to continue the war alone, and the Menin are only too happy to meet his challenge. In Byora, Ruhen is developing his 'Saviour' persona. The Harlequins start preaching in his name and many of the pilgrims who flock to him are recruited to be 'Children', disciples who spread Ruhen's message. All over the Land people are starting to see Ruhen as the answer to their troubles. A showdown is coming: battle lines are finally drawn and the atrocities quickly mount. The spectre of the Great War looms, but in this age the Gods cannot and will not come to King Emin's aid. With the peoples of the Land turning against Emin and his few remaining allies, their only chance for survival lies in the hands of a dead man.


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It was in the summer of 1958 that the horror surfaced in the town of Whitfield, erupting like a festering boil, spewing its corruption on everyone near it. Those who survived the terror remember it as the summer of The Digging - the time when the hot wind began to blow, when Satan's creatures rose from the putrid bowels of the earth, when the inhabitants of Whitfield were touched by... THE DEVIL'S KISS. Now it was summer again in Whitfield. The town was peaceful, quiet, and unprepared for the atrocities to come. Eternal life, everlasting youth, an orgy that would span time - that was what the Lord of Darkness was promising the coven members in return for their pledge of love. The few who had fought against his hideous powers before, believed it could never happen again. Then the hot wind began to blow - as black and as evil as THE DEVIL'S HEART


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THE DEVIL'S KISS The evil that triumphed during that long-ago summer in Whitfield is festering now in the unsuspecting town of Logandale. Only Sam and Nydia Balon, lone survivors of the ancient horror, know the signs -- the putrid stench rising from the bowels of the earth, the unspeakable, inexplicable atrocities, the hideous, horrifying Beasts -- that mark the foul presence of the Prince of Darkness. Only they have the weapons that can pierce... THE DEVIL'S HEART Once the carnage begins, there's no time for anything but terror. Hollow-eyed, hungry corpses rise from the unearthly tombs to gorge themselves on living flesh and spawn a new generation of restless Undead. The very demons of Hell cavort with Satan's unholy disciples in blood-soaked rituals and fevered orgies. The Balons have faced the red, glowing eyes of the Master before, and they know what must be done. But there can be no salvation for those marked by... THE DEVIL'S TOUCH


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In this sumptuous new novel, Barbara O’Neal offers readers a celebration of food, family, and love as a woman searches for the elusive ingredient we’re all hoping to find….It’s the opportunity Elena Alvarez has been waiting for–the challenge of running her own kitchen in a world-class restaurant. Haunted by an accident of which she was the lone survivor, Elena knows better than anyone how to survive the odds. With her faithful dog, Alvin, and her grandmother’s recipes, Elena arrives in Colorado to find a restaurant in as desperate need of a fresh start as she is–and a man whose passionate approach to food and life rivals her own. Owner Julian Liswood is a name many people know but a man few do. He’s come to Aspen with a troubled teenage daughter and a dream of the kind of stability and love only a family can provide. But for Elena, old ghosts don’t die quietly, yet a chance to find happiness at last is worth the risk.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

"Arguably the novel of the 1990s...**Glamorama** should  establish Ellis as the most fearless and ambitious writer of his  generation...A must read." --*The Seattle Times*The  author of **American Psycho** and **Less Than Zero** continues  to shock and haunt us with his incisive and brilliant dissection of  the modern world.  In his most ambitious and gripping book yet, Bret  Easton Ellis takes our celebrity obsessed culture and increases the  volume exponentially.Victor Ward, a model with perfect abs who  exists in magazines and gossip columns and whose life resembles an  ultra-hip movie, is living with one beautiful model and having an  affair with another.  And then it's time to move on to the next stage.  But the future he gets is not the one he had in mind.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone.  Her parents are   dead, and her hybrid-werewolf boyfriend is threatening to embark on a rite   of passage that will separate them forever.

Then as she and her uncle are   about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves   them scrambling for a chef.  Can Quincie transform their newly hired chef   into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night?  Can he wow the crowd in   his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses - or is there more to   this earnest face than meets the eye?  As human and preternatural forces   clash, a deadly love triangle forms, and the line between predator and prey   begins to blur.  Who's playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along   before she loses everything? *Tantalize* marks Cynthia Leitich Smith's   delicious debut as a preeminent author of dark fantasy.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**From the coauthor of the million-copy bestseller *The Last Lecture* comes a moving tribute to female friendships, with the inspiring story of eleven girls and the ten women they became.**



 Meet the Ames Girls: eleven childhood friends who formed a special bond growing up in Ames, Iowa.  As young women, they moved to eight different states, yet managed to maintain an enduring friendship that would carry them through college and careers, marriage and motherhood, dating and divorce, a child's illness and the mysterious death of one member of their group.  Capturing their remarkable story, *The Girls from Ames* is a testament to the deep bonds of women as they experience life's joys and challenges -- and the power of friendship to triumph over heartbreak and unexpected tragedy.



 The girls, now in their forties, have a lifetime of memories in common, some evocative of their generation and some that will resonate with any woman who has ever had a friend.  Photograph by photograph, recollection by recollection, occasionally with tears and often with great laughter, their sweeping and moving story is shared by Jeffrey Zaslow, *Wall Street Journal* columnist, as he attempts to define the matchless bonds of female friendship.  It demonstrates how close female relationships can shape every aspect of women's lives - their sense of themselves, their choice of men, their need for validation, their relationships with their mothers, their dreams for their daughters - and reveals how such friendships thrive, rewarding those who have committed to them.



 *The Girls from Ames* is the story of a group of ordinary women who built an extraordinary friendship.  With both universal insights and deeply personal moments, it is a book that every woman will relate to and be inspired by.


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Itrs"s December 1997 and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russiars"s Far East. The tiger isnrs"t just killing people, itrs"s annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs must hunt it on foot through the forest in the brutal cold. To their horrified astonishment it emerges that the attacks are not random: the tiger is engaged in a vendetta. Injured and starving, it must be found before it strikes again, and the story becomes a battle for survival between the two main characters: Yuri Trush, the lead tracker, and the tiger itself. As John Vaillant vividly recreates the extraordinary events of that winter, he also gives us an unforgettable portrait of a spectacularly beautiful region where plants and animals exist that are found nowhere else on earth, and where the once great Siberian Tiger - the largest of its species, which can weigh over 600 lbs at more than 10 feet long - ranges daily over vast territories of forest and mountain, its numbers diminished to a fraction of what they once were. We meet the native tribes who for centuries have worshipped and lived alongside tigers - even sharing their kills with them - in a natural balance. We witness the first arrival of settlers, soldiers and hunters in the tigerrs"s territory in the 19th century and 20th century, many fleeing Stalinism. And we come to know the Russians of today - such as the poacher Vladimir Markov - who, crushed by poverty, have turned to poaching for the corrupt, high-paying Chinese markets. Throughout we encounter surprising theories of how humans and tigers may have evolved to coexist, how we may have developed as scavengers rather than hunters and how earlyHomo sapiensmay have once fit seamlessly into the tigerrs"s ecosystem. Above all, we come to understand the endangered Siberian tiger, a highly intelligent super-predator, and the grave threat it faces as logging and poaching reduce its habitat and numbers - and force it to turn at bay. Beautifully written and deeply informative,The Tigeris a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Love, money, friendship . . . and incredibly uncomfortable underwear ? All these eternal mysteries are small challenges to Constance de Bellechasse. Too bad the glamorous inner persona of Constance comes through only as plain old Connie Pickles in everyday life.  

 Connie's first order of business: finding her mother a new husband. Connie enlists the help of her best friend, Julie, and before long everything spirals out of control. Boy-crazy Delilah begins fluttering around Connie's best guy friend, Will, and ever-reliable Will has been acting strangely awkward around Connie. But with a little luck and a lot of determination, Connie is sure that she can make everything right again in her world.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Welcome to the savage and surprising world of *Zoo Story*, an unprecedented account of the secret life of a zoo and its inhabitants, both animal and human. Based on six years of research, the book follows a handful of unforgettable characters at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo: an alpha chimp with a weakness for blondes, a ferocious tiger who revels in Obsession perfume, and a brilliant but tyrannical CEO known as El Diablo Blanco.  

*Zoo Story* crackles with issues of global urgency: the shadow of extinction, humanity's role in the destruction or survival of other species. More than anything else, though, it's a dramatic and moving true story of seduction and betrayal, exile and loss, and the limits of freedom on an overcrowded planet--all framed inside one zoo reinventing itself for the twenty-first century.   

Thomas French, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, chronicles the action with vivid power: Wild elephants soaring above the Atlantic on their way to captivity. Predators circling each other in a lethal mating dance. Primates plotting the overthrow of their king. The sweeping narrative takes the reader from the African savannah to the forests of Panama and deep into the inner workings of a place some describe as a sanctuary and others condemn as a prison. All of it comes to life in the book's four-legged characters. Even animal lovers will be startled by the emotional charge of these creatures' histories, which read as though they were co-written by Dickens and Darwin.  

*Zoo Story* shows us how these remarkable individuals live, how some die, and what their experiences reveal about the human desire to both exalt and control nature.


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The Outsiders is a collection of 13 dark fantasy stories from some of the best names and bright new names in dark fiction. An eclectic mix of styles and genres lurk within these pages...so uncork a glass of wine, dim the lights, sit back in a comfy chair...and enjoy this offering from Ghostwriter Publications.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Jane Green’s rise to reigning queen of commercial women’s literature has been positively meteoric. *Jemima J*, *Mr. Maybe,* and *Bookends* all took international bestseller lists by storm—and went on to knockout paperback success (*Jemima J *has 390,000 copies in print)—thanks to Jane’s fresh perspective on dating and marriage. Now she applies her golden touch to the next phase in a woman’s life, in an insightful, bighearted tale of three friends grappling with their biological clocks.     Convinced that a baby will spice up her lackluster relationship with an apathetic boyfriend, Julia launches into a frenetic round of doctor’s appointments and fertility rituals that threatens to send her over the edge. Samantha, happily married and confident that she’s the next June Cleaver, is appalled to find that her little bundle of joy leaves her exhausted, overweight, and ogling a girlfriend’s hottie husband. Meanwhile, glamorous Maeve knows she’s allergic to rugrats—until a steamy one-night stand leaves her with more than one surprise. As the three heroines confront their maternity dilemmas,  each one discovers a long-lost part of herself and stumbles toward her own unexpected happy ending.In Jane’s trademark luminous and compassionate prose, *Babyville* beautifully tackles that rite of passage that crosses every woman’s mind at least once—whether it takes her breath away or knocks the wind right out of her: having a baby.


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Her weapons: Money and Power. Her target: The most dangerous man in the world--her son. Elizabeht Wyckman Scarlatti has a plan--a desperate, last-minute gamble--designed to save the world from her own son, Ulster, an incalculably dangerous man who is working under the name of Heinrich Kroeger: Unless she can stop him, he is about to give Hitler's Third Reich the most powerful triumph on earth.  "Great, astonishing, the most spellbinding suspense in years!"-- "Minneapolis Tribune."  "Has that sense of drama and pact that only the best storytellers have."-- "San Francisco Chronicle."  "Drive and excitement from first page to last."--Mario Puzo, author of "The Godfather."  "Gripping. . .Ludlum writes with imagination and convincing authority."-- "Baltimore Sun"


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2008: Deep in the mountain forests of Wyoming, Julian Cooke stumbles across the rotting remains of a wooden wagon. He's discovered what's left of the Preston Group, a convoy of settlers that vanished in the winter of 1856. It's clear that something horrific happened here all those years ago, but Cooke can only find a few tantalising clues.1856: as early snows descend, the eclectic group of settlers that form the Preston wagon train are forced to dig in. Miles from any kind of civilisation, they see the group of Native Americans also trapped nearby as their greatest threat. But they soon realise what true danger is. When a woman is found murdered, one of the Indian party struggles wounded back to camp, whispering of unspeakable evil as he dies. United by fear, the settlers and the Indians must protect themselves against whatever is lurking in the woods. But as suspicion and panic grow, perhaps their own terror will be just as dangerous. Or maybe, whatever's out there is worse than anything they can imagine.Back in the present day, as Cooke unravels the mystery, he must question if the horror he is uncovering was in fact only the start of something much worse...


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Bosch reopens the hunt for a psychotic killer who stalked the streets of Los Angeles years before. In 1993, Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket in Hollywood. Fearing the worst, the case was elevated by LAPD commanders from the missing persons squad to the Homicide Division, where Harry Bosch was assigned the case. But the 22-year-old woman never turned up - dead or alive - and it was a case Bosch couldn't crack. Thirteen years later Bosch is in the Open-Unsolved Unit when he gets a call from the DA's office. A man accused of two heinous killings is willing to come clean in regard to several other murders in a deal to avoid the death penalty. One of those murders, he says, is the killing of Marie Gesto. Bosch is now assigned to take Raynard Waits' confession and to make sure the killer is not scamming authorities to avoid a date with death. In confirming the confession Bosch must get close to the man he has sought for thirteen years. Bosch's whole being as a cop begins to crack when he comes to realise that he and his partner missed a clue back in 1993 that could have led them to Waits and would have stopped the nine murders that followed the killing of Marie Gesto.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

FIRST SHE WAS WATCHED.  In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her - and maybe save the planet while she's at it. 



THEN SHE WAS THREATENED. Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control genetic experiment. Max and the other members of the flock - five kids who share her remarkable ability - have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the effects of global warming. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism - and escaping government forces who are watching the flock all the time. 



THIS IS HER FINAL WARNING.  But even in Antarctica, enduring in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world. . . . 



Maximum Ride is James Patterson's greatest character, a heroine who manages to be human and fearless at once. The Final Warning is an unrelenting new adventure from the writer Time magazine has called "The Man Who Can't Miss."


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Nobody said saving the world would be easy. Until now, Max and the flock have lived a lonely existence: hunted down, tortured and pushed to the fringe of society; always on the run they have never been able to live a normal life. But things are changing. The flock have finally found acceptance for their unusual skills. Together, they have taken on new challenges and used their extraordinary powers to fight for the greater good on a global scale. The avian hybrids don t have to hide away any longer, far from it, now everyone wants to see just what they can do. But fame and fortune always come at a price and Max isn t ready for all the glitz and glamour just yet. The action figures and memorabilia can wait, they have more important tasks at hand. Will the flock be able to survive the trappings of a Hollywood lifestyle? When tensions start to run high can the group stick together? Meanwhile sinister forces are plotting their attack, putting more than just the flock in danger. Something deadly is lurking in the depths of the ocean. As the flock uncover a terrible secret set to threaten the world can they save the day or is this a disaster too tough to tackle, even for them? Max must also come to terms with the fact that none of them is invincible. With her new-found vulnerability comes the realisation of emotions that have been buried deep. The lives of those she holds close to her have been threatened many times before and although they have survived everything that has been thrown at them so far, Max knows that her time will come and her days are numbered. The greatest air and sea battle is about to commence.


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LIGHTS All's quiet in the small town of Holliswood. Television sets, computers, and portable devices are aglow in every home, classroom, and store. Yet not all is perfect. Evil is lurking, just out of sight, behind the screen. CAMERA Residing in this sleepy town is a villain with more ambition than the world can withstand. Twisted beyond reason, he is dead set on throwing Holliswood into chaos and documenting the destruction of every person in it, including Daniel X. EXTERMINATION The only person who can stop this made-for-TV tyrant, Daniel must use his extraordinary power to save the town. But this devilish director has assembled an all-star team of his own creation and vows to stage the most spectacular finale the world has ever seen. Can Daniel X stop this deranged outlaw--or will he find himself on the cutting room floor?


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Mankind's last war continues in the contaminated strip of European hell known as "The Zone". But an American major and a British sergeant are sick of retreating. In a huge, abandoned ammunition dump, they prepare their forces to hit the ruthless Russian aggressors--and hit hard!


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A shaky truce has been called, and Major Revell's Special Combat Company has been assigned mundane duties. But when evidence turns up of civilians being slaughtered by a KGB battalion, Revell and his men take matters into their own hands, waging merciless war on the vicious Reds.


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Major Revell and his Special Combat Company, a new breed of super-warriors waging the war of the future in a land wasted by nuclear destruction, must reclaim the blood-soaked city of Frankfurt, but they find themselves outgunned by an insidious new force from inside the Zone.


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Essays Include:

The Jack Factor
Appetite for Replication
That '70s Cruise
In the Beginning, There Was Zoso Not a Whole Lotta Love
Band on the Couch
Unbuttoning the Hardest Button to Button
Dude Rocks Like a Lady
Fargo Rock City, for Real
Singularity
Oh, the Guilt


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When Sam Spade gets drawn into the Maltese Falcon case, we know what to expect: straight talk, hard questions, no favors, and no way for anyone to get underneath the protective shell he wears like a second skin. We know that his late partner, Miles Archer, was a son of a bitch; that Spade is sleeping with Archer's wife, Iva; that his tomboyish secretary, Effie Perine, is the only innocent in his life. What we don't know is how Spade became who he is. "Spade & Archer" completes the picture. 1921: Spade sets up his own agency in San Francisco and clients quickly start coming through the door. The next seven years will see him dealing with booze runners, waterfront thugs, stowaways, banking swindlers, gold smugglers, bumbling cops, and the illegitimate daughter of Sun Yat-sen; with murder, other men's mistresses, and long-missing money. He'll bring in Archer as a partner, though it was Archer who stole his girl while he was fighting in World War I. He'll tangle with a villain who never loses his desire to make Spade pay big for ruining what should've been the perfect crime. And he'll fall in love--though it won't turn out for the best. It never does with dames . . . "Spade & Archer "is a gritty, pitch-perfect, hard-boiled novel--the work of a master mystery writer--destined to become a classic in its own right.


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Britain is in the depths of recession.A left-leaning young Oxford academic and his barrister girlfriend take an off-peak holiday on the Caribbean island of Antigua.By seeming chance they bump into a Russian millionaire called Dima who owns a peninsula and a diamond-encrusted gold watch.He also has a tattoo on his right thumb, and wants a game of tennis. What else he wants propels the young lovers on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps, to the murkiest cloisters of the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's Intelligence Establishment.


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This mesmerizing debut, uncannily uniting the trials of a postmodern upbringing with a murder mystery, heralds the arrival of a vibrant new voice in literary fiction Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age novel and a richly plotted suspense tale told through the distinctive voice of its heroine, Blue van Meer. After a childhood moving from one academic outpost to another with her father (a man prone to aphorisms and meteoric affairs), Blue is clever, deadpan, and possessed of a vast lexicon of literary, political, philosophical, and scientific knowledge—and is quite the cineaste to boot. In her final year of high school at the elite (and unusual) St. Gallway School in Stockton, North Carolina, Blue falls in with a charismatic group of friends and their captivating teacher, Hannah Schneider. But when the drowning of one of Hannah’s friends and the shocking death of Hannah herself lead to a confluence of mysteries, Blue is left to make sense of it all with only her gimlet-eyed instincts and cultural references to guide—or misguide—her. Structured around a syllabus for a Great Works of Literature class and containing ironic visual aids (drawn by the author), Pessl’s debut novel is complex yet compelling, erudite yet accessible. It combines the suspense of Hitchcock, the self-parody of Dave Eggers, and the storytelling gifts of Donna Tartt with a dazzling intelligence and wit entirely Pessl’s own.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

"*Shardik* is a powerful work, dipping deep into old forms-allegory, epic, myth-resonating in the caverns of the readers' unconscious . . . It is an exciting story, the adventures compelling." (*Los Angeles Times*)  "Grips with suspense, haunts with mystery . . . a memorable work, not to be read once only but to be reread as loved books are . . . a human saga." (*The Wall Street Journal*)  Richard Adams's *Watership Down* was a number one bestseller, a stunning work of the imagination, and an acknowledged modern classic. In *Shardik* Adams sets a different yet equally compelling tale in a far-off fantasy world.  *Shardik* is a fantasy of tragic character, centered on the long-awaited reincarnation of the gigantic bear Shardik and his appearance among the half-barbaric Ortelgan people.  Mighty, ferocious, and unpredictable, Shardik changes the life of every person in the story.  His advent commences a momentous chain of events.  Kelderek the hunter, who loves and trusts the great bear, is swept on by destiny to become first devotee and then prophet, then victorious soldier, then ruler of an empire and priest-king of Lord Shardik-Messenger of God-only to discover ever-deeper layers of meaning implicit in his passionate belief in the bear's divinity.  A gripping tale of war, adventure, horror and romance, *Shardik*, on a deeper level, is a remarkable exploration of mankind's universal desire for divine incarnation.


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TheNew York Times Book Reviewhailed Roy Johansen's debut,The Answer Man, as "offbeat [and] fascinating." Now the Edgar Award winner and Shamus Award finalist once again "keeps the pages turning" (Los Angeles Times) in a new thriller that pits a professional skeptic against something inexplicable — and undeniably lethal. Joe Bailey is the Spirit Basher. Formerly a professional magician, he's become an ace police detective in Atlanta, debunking phony psychics and spiritualists who prey on the gullible. And he's just caught his first sensational murder case. The victim is someone Joe knew. Dr. Robert Nelson was a professor at Landwyn University, head of the parapsychology program. He was killed in his own home, a sculpture of massive chrome spikes driven through his body and into a wall. A sculpture that no one could possibly have lifted. But Nelson's girlfriend claims to know the murderer: an eight-year-old boy. Jesse Randall is not just any child. Some people say he can move objects using nothing more than his will. Nelson had been studying the boy, and Jesse's anger at the professor was erupting in "shadow storms" — violent telekinetic activity — while Jesse slept. Nelson's girlfriend swears that one of these episodes was responsible for Nelson's brutal death. Joe is far from convinced. He's certain that Jesse's power is a hoax and Nelson's killer is a master of deception. Driven to seek out the truth that surely lies behind the psychic fakery, Joe must rely on his wits to separate what's real from what's illusion — even if it means drawing Jesse's anger on himself. Soon mysterious incidents thrust him and his own child into grave peril. Are they examples of Jesse's shadow storms? Or deadly warnings from someone who cannot allow the Spirit Basher to discover the truth? Joe cannot abandon his search for answers. And he'd better find them fast before whoever — or whatever — impaled Robert Nelson like an insect does the same to him and his daughter.


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A killer crosses over…Ace magician turned ace police detective Joe Bailey, a.k.a. the Spirit Basher, needs all his expertise when he’s teamed up with psychic investigator Monica Gaines to crack a string of serial murders--each involving strange voices and stranger circumstances. Monica senses supernatural forces at work, but whoever--or whatever--is doing the killing, the victims are real. When eerie happenings hit closer to home--to Joe’s daughter, Nikki--and then Monica herself is the victim of a grisly, near-fatal attack, Joe is more determined than ever to unmask the truth behind the phenomena. As he searches for answers to inexplicable questions, he discovers that politics and the paranormal make deadly bedfellows, that his escape-artist skills still come in handy--and that even a psychic can know too much.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel... All in a day's work.    

For Evangeline Hollis, a long ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.    

Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted into service to kill demons, Eve's learning curve is short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She's also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history...     

But she'll worry about all that later. Right now she's more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she'd never believed she had.


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In this romantic, funny, and heartwarming classic novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag poignantly captures one eventful summer in the life of a woman facing the ultimate relationship dilemma.It took only one look for Genna Hastings to make up her mind about her new next-door neighbor, J. J. Hennessy. She knew his type all too well: Jared Jay Hennessy was tall and handsome, a man who thought he was God’s gift to women. From the pink flamingos dotting his front yard to the all-night boozy barbecues, he threatened to disrupt Genna’s peaceful summer off from teaching. But beneath his carefree smile and teasing nature, J.J. was a man as serious about the future as he was about Genna. He’d come to this quiet Connecticut town to change his life, and he challenged Genna to help him become Mr. Right. It was a challenge she knew she’d be smart to refuse . . . and one J.J. knew she couldn’t resist.


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When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and plans to move to an island in the Aegean Sea, Phoebe’s well-plotted senior year becomes ancient history. Now, instead of enjoying a triumphant track season and planning for college with her best friends, Phoebe is trying to keep her head above water at the überexclusive Academy. If it isn’t hard enough being the new kid in school, Phoebe’s classmates are all descendents of the Greek gods! When you’re running against teammates with superpowers, dealing with a stepsister from Hades, and nursing a crush on a boy who is quite literally a god, the drama takes on mythic proportions!


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"Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time that has ever been devised," wrote Apsley Cherry-Garrard in a deceptively jaunty introduction to this classic story of bravery and fortitude first published in 1922. The story he relates is of Scott's last expedition to the Antarctic, from its departure from England in 1910 to its arrival in New Zealand in 1913; it is one of the most famous and tragic in the annals of exploration. Driven by an obsession for scientific knowledge, these brave polar explorers embarked on a journey into the unknown, testing their endurance by pushing themselves to the ultimate physical and mental limits as they surveyed the striking and mammoth land that lies far to the south.Cherry-Garrard was himself a member of the expedition that had two goals: to discover as much as was scientifically possible about the terrain and habitat of Antarctica, and to be the first to reach the South Pole. The party was plagued by bad luck, weather conditions of unanticipated ferocity, and the physical deterioration of the party on the last part of the journey. Confronted by the shattering knowledge that Roald Amundsen had reached the South Pole a month before them, Scott's party then had to negotiate the last, heroic part of their journey, a doomed attempt which has entered modern mythology.The Worst Journey in the World is the inside story of this most famous of journeys and is truly one of the best and most moving books of travel ever written. Join Scott's expedition as he and his team venture deep into the frozen unknown. This volume is the second in the continuing series of Explorers Club books.


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In this powerhouse of suspense - as brilliantly imagined as Jurassic Park and The Ruins - scientists have made a startling discovery: a fragment of a lost continent, an island with an ecosystem unlike any they've seen before . . . an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards. The time is now. The place is theTrident, a long-range research vessel hired by the reality TV show Sealife. Aboard is a cast of ambitious young scientists. With a director dying for drama, tiny Henders Island might be just what the show needs. Until the first scientist sets foot on Henders - and the ultimate test of survival begins . . . For when they reach the island's shores, scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find - creatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time, an island of mutants, or a lab where science has gone mad: this is the Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion years. Soon the scientists will stumble on something more shocking than anything humanity has ever encountered: because among the terrors of Henders Island, one life form defies any scientific theory - and must be saved at any cost.


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What do you do with three dukes' a dog named Duke' and a devil? You put them into an anthology! We′ve combined five of today′s bestselling and popular authors into one volume to deliver romance like you′ve never experienced before.


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A remarkable debut novel from one of England's finest young writers, Hideous Kinky follows two little English girls as they struggle to establish some semblance of normal life on a journey with their mum through Europe and North Africa in the mid-1960s.Once in Marrakech, Mum immerses herself in Sufism and her quest for personal fulfillment, while the daughters rebel -- one by attempting to recreate her English life, the other by, turning her hopes for a father on a most unlikely candidate. Seen through the youngest girl's eyes, events take on increasingly alarming dimensions, making Hideous Kinky as suspenseful as it is endearing.


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When Hackberry Holland became sheriff of a tiny Texas town near the Mexican border, he'd hoped to leave certain things behind: his checkered reputation, his haunted dreams, and his obsessive memories of the good life with his late wife, Rie. But the discovery of the bodies of nine illegal aliens, machine-gunned to death and buried in a shallow grave behind a church, soon makes it clear that he won't escape so easily. As Hack and Deputy Sheriff Pam Tibbs attempt to untangle the threads of this complex and grisly case, a damaged young Iraq veteran, Pete Flores, and his girlfriend, Vikki Gaddis, are running for their lives, hoping to outwit the bloodthirsty criminals who want to kill Pete for his involvement in the murders. The only trouble is, Pete doesn't know who he's running from: drunk and terrified, he fled the scene of the crime when the shooting began. And there's a long list of people who want Pete and Vikki dead: crime boss Hugo Cistranos, who hired Pete for the operation; Nick Dolan, a strip club owner and small-time gangster with revenge on his mind; and a mysterious God-fearing serial-killer-for-hire known as Preacher Jack Collins, with enigmatic motives of his own. With the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a host of cold-blooded killers on Pete and Vikki's trail, it's up to Sheriff Holland to find them first and figure out who's behind the mass murder before anyone else ends up dead. In this thrilling and intricate work, James Lee Burke has once again proven himself a master storyteller and a perceptive chronicler of the darkest corners of the human heart.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and Clark are among such individuals.



But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?



Jeffrey Archer’s latest book, *Paths of Glory*, is the story of such a man---George Mallory. Mallory once told an American reporter that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, “because it’s there.” On his third attempt in 1924, at age thirty-seven, he was last seen six hundred feet from the top. His body was found in 1999, and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit.



But only after you’ve turned the last page of this extraordinary novel, inspired by a true story, will you be able to decide if George Mallory’s name should be added to the list of legends, in which case another name would have to be removed. *Paths of Glory* is truly a triumph.


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Don’t miss STAR WARS: LOST TRIBE OF THE SITH: PRECIPICE a FREE original e-book short story, the first in a series that tell the untold story of the FATE OF THE JEDI's forgotten Sith castaways, their battle to survive, and their quest to re-conquer the galaxy! PRECIPICE includes an exclusive excerpt from STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI: OMEN (Del Rey Hardcover, available June 23rd) and offers a unique look into the backstory of events that will begin to unfold in OMEN. SURVIVAL—NOT SURRENDER For the ruthless Sith Order, failure is not an option. It is an offense punishable by death—and a fate to which Commander Yaru Korsin will not succumb. But on a crucial run to deliver troops and precious crystals to a combat hotspot in the Sith’s war against the Republic, Korsin and the crew of the mining ship Omen are ambushed by a Jedi starfighter. And when the Sith craft crash-lands, torn and crippled, on a desolate alien planet, the hard-bitten captain finds himself at odds with desperate survivors on the brink of mutiny—and his own vengeful half brother, who’s bent on seizing command. No matter the cost, Korsin vows that it will not be his blood and bones left behind on this unknown world. For the way of the Sith leaves little room for compromise—and none for mercy.


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"Are you willing to settle for an ordinary life? Or do you think you were meant for something better? Something special?"
EDITORIAL REVIEW:

*"Are you willing to settle for an ordinary life?or do you think you were meant for something better? something special?"* 

One grew up in the cornfields of Iowa, fighting for his independence,for a way out of a life that promised only indifference, aimlessness,and obscurity. 

*"You will forever be a child of two worlds, capable of choosing your own destiny. the only question you face is, which path will you choose?"* 

The other grew up on the jagged cliffs of the harsh Vulcan desert, fighting for acceptance, for a way to reconcile the logic he was taught with the emotions he felt. 

In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. On a mission of retribution for the destruction of his planet, its half-mad captain seeks the death of every intelligent being, and the annihilation of every civilized world. 

Kirk and Spock, two completely different and unyielding personalities, must find a way to lead the only crew, aboard the only ship, that canstop him. 

*"The wait is over."*


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The Jedi Order is in crisis. The late Jacen Solo’s shocking transformation into murderous Sith Lord Darth Caedus has cast a damning pall over those who wield the Force for good: Two Jedi Knights have succumbed to an inexplicable and dangerous psychosis, criminal charges have driven Luke Skywalker into self-imposed exile, and power-hungry Chief of State Natasi Daala is exploiting anti-Jedi sentiment to undermine the Order’s influence within the Galactic Alliance.  Forbidden to intervene in Jedi affairs, Luke is on a desperate mission to uncover the truth behind Jacen’s fall to the dark side–and to learn what’s turning peaceful Jedi into raving lunatics. But finding answers will mean venturing into the mind-bending space of the Kathol Rift and bargaining with an alien species as likely to destroy outsiders as deal with them. Still, there is no other choice and no time to lose, as the catastrophic events on Coruscant continue to escalate. Stricken by the same violent dementia that infected her brother, Valin, Jedi Knight Jysella Horn faces an equally grim fate after her capture by Natasi Daala’s police. And when Han and Leia Solo narrowly foil another deranged Jedi bent on deadly destruction, even acting Jedi Grand Master Kenth Hamner appears willing to bow to Daala’s iron will–at the expense of the Jedi Order.But an even greater threat is looming. Millennia in the past, a Sith starship crashed on an unknown low-tech planet, leaving the survivors stranded. Over the generations, their numbers have grown, the ways of the dark side have been nurtured, and the time is fast approaching when this lost tribe of Sith will once more take to the stars to reclaim their legendary destiny as rulers of the galaxy. Only one thing stands in their way, a name whispered to them through the Force: Skywalker.From the Hardcover edition.


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**Set among the hills and gorges of southern France, Trespass is a thrilling novel about disputed territory, sibling love and devastating revenge, by the bestselling author of The Road Home, winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.**In a silent valley stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Its owner is Aramon Lunel, an alcoholic so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister, Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life.Into this closed Cévenol world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London. Now in his sixties, Anthony hopes to remake his life in France, and he begins looking at properties in the region. From the moment he arrives at the Mas Lunel, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion.Two worlds and two cultures collide. Ancient boundaries are crossed, taboos are broken, a violent crime is committed. And all the time the Cévennes hills remain, as cruel and seductive as ever, unforgettably captured in this powerful and unsettling novel, which reveals yet another dimension to Rose Tremain's extraordinary imagination.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a previously unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien, written while Tolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford during the 1920s and ‘30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It makes available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs. It includes an introduction by J.R.R. Tolkien, drawn from one of his own lectures on Norse literature, with commentary and notes on the poems by Christopher Tolkien.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction. Each night, the world is overrun by demons--bloodthirsty creatures of nightmare that have been hunting and killing humanity for over 300 years. A scant few hamlets and half-starved city-states are all that remain of a once proud civilization, and it is only by hiding behind wards, ancient symbols with the power to repel the demons, that they survive. A handful of Messengers brave the night to keep the lines of communication open between the increasingly isolated populace.But there was a time when the demons were not so bold. A time when wards did more than hold the demons at bay. They allowed man to fight back, and to win. Messenger Arlen Bales will search anywhere, dare anything, to return this magic to the world.Abban, a merchant in the Great Bazaar of Krasia, purports to sell everything a man's heart could desire, including, perhaps, the key to Arlen's quest.In addition to the title novelette, The Great Bazaar and Other Stories contains a number of scenes not included in The Painted Man (published in the US as The Warded Man) as well as a glossary and a grimoire, making it an essential guide to one of the most exciting epic fantasy series currently being published.


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Ayn Rand chose Leonard Peikoff to be her successor as the spokesman for Objectivism. And in this brilliantly reasoned, thought-provoking work we learn why, as he demonstrates how far America has been detoured from its original path and led down the same road that Germany followed to Nazism.Self-sacrifice, Oriental mysticism, racial ?truth,? the public good, doing one?s duty--these are among the seductive catch-phrases that Leonard Peikoff dissects, examining the kind of philosophy they symbolize, the type of thinking that lured Germany to its doom and that he says is now prevalent in the United States.Here is a frightening look at where America may be heading, a clarion call for all who are concerned about preserving our right to individual freedom.


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 The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general—some would say prophet—who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth . . . or is it?Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim. Sworn to follow the path of the first Deliverer, he has come north to bring the scattered city-states of the green lands together in a war against demonkind—whether they like it or not.    But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. The Warded Man denies that he is the Deliverer, but his actions speak louder than words, for he teaches men and women to face their fears and stand fast against the creatures that have tormented them for centuries. Once the Shar’Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends, brothers in arms. Now they are fierce adversaries. Caught between them are Renna, a young woman pushed to the edge of human endurance; Leesha, a proud and beautiful healer whose skill in warding surpasses that of the Warded Man himself; and Rojer, a traveling fiddler whose uncanny music can soothe the demons—or stir them into such frenzy that they attack one another.      Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.


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Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut "Elantris," dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in "Mistborn." For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.  Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed. Readers of "Elantris" thought they'd discovered someone special in Brandon Sanderson. "Mistborn "proves they were right. Brandon Sanderson is an instructor at Brigham Young University. For fascinating behind-the-scenes information, visit him at www.brandonsanderson.com. Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut "Elantris," dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in "Mistborn."For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed. "A fascinating world . . . one that deserves a sequel."--"The Washington Post""An enjoyable, adventurous read that . . . should satisfy even easily-bored teens."--"Locus""Sanderson's eerie . . . fantasy, set in a mist-haunted, ash-ridden world, pits Kelsier, "the Survivor of Hathsin," against the immortal Lord Ruler's 1,000-year domination of both the Great Houses and their serflike "skaa." Through Allomancy acquired in the Ruler's most hellish prison, Kelsier can "burn" 10 metals internally, fueling superhuman powers he uses to assemble rebels in a loose plan to destroy the nobility, the empire and the Lord Ruler himself. Kelsier uses Vin, a street urchin with the same Mistborn powers Kelsier possesses, to infiltrate the Great Houses' society, where she falls in love with philosopher prince Elend Venture. This mystico-metallurgical fantasy combines Vin's coming-of-age-in-magic and its well-worn theme of revolt against oppression with copious mutilations, a large-scale cast of thieves, cutthroats, conniving nobles and exotic mutants. Fast-paced action . . . the characters . . . have a raw stereotypic appeal."--"Publishers Weekly""The Sliver of Infinity, the Lord Ruler, is the locus of religious and temporal order in a world in which the skaa are slaves or worse. Half-skaa erstwhile thief Kelsior is the only person to survive and escape the Lord Ruler's most brutal prison, in which, however, he discovered he has the powers of the Mistborn, which are based on the internal "burning" of certain metals, all of which the Mistborn can use, while most others can burn only one. Now Kelsior plans his most daring raid ever, into the center of the palace to discover the secret of the Lord Ruler's power. Beforehand, his band finds the half-skaa orphan Vin in another thieving crew, where she's useful because she brings good luck. She is also Mistborn and, if she can master and learn to trust her powers, will enable Kelsior's crew to infiltrate the nobility and possibly overthrow the status quo. Intrigue, politics, and conspiracies mesh complexly in a world Sanderson realizes in satisfying depth and peoples with impressive characters."--Regina Schroeder, " Booklist"


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Evil has been defeated. The war has just begun.



They did the impossible, deposing the godlike being whose brutal rule had lasted a thousand years. Now Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire.



They have barely begun when three separate armies attack. As the siege tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.



It may just be that killing the Lord Ruler was the easy part. Surviving the aftermath of his fall is going to be the real challenge.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Who is the Hero of Ages?



To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness---the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists---is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.



Having escaped death at the climax of *The Well of Ascension* only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. She can’t even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!



The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight. It all leads up to a finale unmatched for originality and audacity that will leave readers rubbing their eyes in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.


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The stunning debut fantasy novel from author Peter V. Brett. The Painted Man, book one of the Demon trilogy, is a captivating and thrilling fantasy adventure, pulling the reader into a world of demons, darkness and heroes. Voted one of the top ten fantasy novels of 2008 by amazon.co.uk.Sometimes there is very good reason to be afraid of the darkā¦Arlen lives with his parents on their small farmstead, half a day's ride from the isolated hamlet of Tibbet's Brook. As dusk falls each evening, a mist rises from the ground promising death to any foolish enough to brave the coming darkness. For hungry demons materialize from the vapours to feed, and as the shadows lengthen, all of humanity is forced to take shelter behind magical wards and pray that their protection holds until the dawn.But when Arlen's world is shattered by the demon plague, he realizes that it is fear, rather than the monsters, which truly cripples humanity. Only by conquering their own terror can they ever hope to defeat the demons. Now Arlen must risk leaving the safety of his wards to discover a different path, and offer humanity a last, fleeting chance of survival.


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Bestselling author Todd Wilbur serves up another mouth-watering batch of your favorite brand-name foods to make at homeWith more than 1.5 million Top Secret Recipes books sold, Todd Wilbur is the reigning master of professional-quality clones of America-s best-loved, brand-name foods. In Even More Top Secret Recipes, Wilbur shares the secrets to making your own delicious versions of:- McDonald-s - French Fries- KFC - Extra Crispy-Chicken- Wendy-s - Spicy Chicken Fillet Sandwich- Drake-s - Devil Dogs -- Taco Bell - Burrito Supreme -- Boston Market- Meatloaf- And many more!With a dash of humor, a tantalizing spoonful of food facts and trivia, and a hearty sprinkling of culinary curiosity, Even More Top Secret Recipes gives you the blueprints for reproducing the brand-name foods you love.


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The kitchen clone recipe king is back with a new Top Secret Restaurant Recipes collection—the   first since his 1997 bestselling *Top Secret Restaurant Recipes*, which has sold over one   million copies. Wilbur takes readers behind the scenes of big-name restaurants like Olive Garden,   Applebee’s, and Outback Steakhouse, revealing the key ingredients and tricks of the trade they   use to keep diners coming back for more. The book will feature 150 recipes, including:

  **• Red Lobster® Cheddar Bay Biscuits

  • Cheesecake Factory® White Chocolate RaspberryTruffle® Cheesecake

  • Romano’s Macaroni Grill® Penne Rustica®

  • California Pizza Kitchen® Thai Crunch Salad

  • Original Pancake House® Apple Pancake

  • Chili’s® Southwestern Eggrolls

  • Houston’s® Chicago-Style Spinach Dip

  • Tony Roma’s® Baked Potato Soup**  



  Forget takeout—with these fun recipes and blueprints, all using ingredients you can buy at your   local supermarket, you can re-create your favorite restaurant signature dishes right in your own   kitchen.


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How can you get a wholesome, delicious dinner on the table without spending time on long lines at the supermarket? Rachael knows how!Her secret weapon is keeping plenty of versatile, flavorful ingredients in the cupboard, fridge, and freezer, combining these staples with just a few fresh items—never more then ten—to create delicious meals for every night of the week. In Express Lane Meals, Rachael provides her personal go-to list of must-have items—so you can do a big shop every week then simply zip through the Express Lane to make any of these 30-minute meals.She divides the recipes into three categories: “Meals for the Exhausted,” “ Meals for the Not Too Tired,” and “Bring It On! (But, Be Gentle).” No matter which you choose you’ll learn handy tricks and shortcuts to get the most impressive-looking meals on the table in 30 minutes or less. These are Rachael’s quickest and easiest recipes yet and a breeze to shop for—because you shouldn’t have to spend all of the time Rachael saves you in the kitchen standing in line at the grocery store!RACHAEL RAY IS A VERY BUSY LADY . . .And she knows you’re busy, too. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a delicious, healthy, and home-cooked meal every night of the week. Not when cooking is as simple as this! In Express Lane Meals, Rachael Ray is back and faster than ever! With her latest batch of recipes this beloved Food Network phenomenon takes her 30-Minute Meal concept to the next level, creating recipes based on staples from a well-stocked pantry and just a few fresh items—so few you’ll never be stuck on a long grocery line again. YUMMO!


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FRIED CHICKEN, MACARONI AND CHEESE, BROWNIES, AND 147 OTHER FAVORITE RECIPES UNDER 350 CALORIES In this delectable cookbook, award-winning chef Rocco DiSpirito transforms America’s favorite comfort foods into deliciously healthy dishes—all with zero bad carbs, zero bad fats, zero sugar, and maximum flavor. What’s more, Rocco provides time-saving shortcuts, helpful personal advice, and nutritional breakdowns for each recipe from a board-certified nutritionist. So prepare your favorite foods without the guilt. Finally, a world-class chef has made healthy food taste great!


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**More than 4 million Top Secret Recipes books sold! **



 The kitchen clone recipe king is back with a new Top bestselling Top Secret Restaurant Recipes collection-the first book since his bestselling *Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2*. Wilbur takes readers behind the scenes, revealing the key ingredients in some of our favorite foods such as Starbucks' Peppermint Brownie, Krispy Kreme's original glazed donuts, Panera Bread's cranberry walnut bagel and Wendy's Garden Sensations Manadarin Chicken Salad. The book will feature 115 new recipes, including 40 previously unpublished recipes such as: 



 •Panera Bread French Onion Soup 



 •Burger King Onion Rings 



 •Chick-Fil-A Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce 



 •McDonald's Cinnamon Melts 



 •Stouffer's Macaroni & Cheese 



 •Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette 



 •Popeye's Buttermilk Biscuits. 



 Forget takeout-with these fun recipes and blueprints, all using ingredients you can buy at your local supermarket, you can re-create your favorite restaurant signature dishes right in your own kitchen for a lot less!


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While it is impossible to stop the passage of time, there are ways to prevent it from taking its toll on your appearance and your health—without resorting to injections and painful, expensive plastic surgery. The secret is in the foods you eat every day! The right diet can renew your energy; help you to maintain smooth, clear skin and a youthful glow; and actually add years to your life. This remarkable handbook will be your Fountain of Youth—providing meal plans, delicious recipes, and essential information that will enable you to turn back the clock and get a fresh and healthy new start on life!   Your indispensable guide to looking and feeling younger   An easy-to-use nutrition counter covering more than 3,000 foods, broken down by their anti-aging nutrients Mouth-watering recipes to revitalize the body and soul How to shop, how to eat, what to look for to achieve optimum health and maximize your quality of life in later years   And much more!


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The ultimate guide to using food as medicine from the Nutrition expert for the Today Show, Joy Bauer.

Nutritional healing has gone mainstream and researchers at top universities are publishing studies that show how the right foods can help prevent, manage, and sometimes entirely reverse the defining symptoms of a wide range of health issues. Whether it's unwanted pounds or high blood sugar, mood swings or digestive trouble, the cure can be what you eat every day.

Now Joy Bauer, a nutrition consultant to celebrities from actors to gold-medal winning athletes, explains exactly what to eat to lower high cholesterol and blood pressure, improve skin tone, sharpen memory, sleep better, and take charge of PMS, arthritis, and more. Each chapter focuses on one of the many conditions that drive people to seek Joy's professional help and simulates a personal consultation. Readers walk away with up-to-the-minute, scientifically researched recommendations on particular foods to seek out and which ones to avoid, plus grocery lists, meal plans, recipes, and supplement recommendations presented in easy-to-follow 4-step prescriptive plans.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**Eat Spaghetti and Still Fit Into Your Skinny Jeans **  

To many of us, "diet" is a four-letter word. And rightfully so. Starving yourself thin or keeping track of each bite like pennies in your checkbook is no way to live. So what's a girl with skinny jean dreams supposed to do?     

Teresa Giudice has the answer. In fact, she was born with it. The first-generation                Italian-American mom of four and svelte star of *The Real Housewives of New Jersey* credits her knockout figure to her Old World upbringing. And now, in her fun, encouraging, and         budget-friendly cookbook, she skewers the myth that looking fabulous has to be a chore.   

 In Skinny Italian, she reveals how to:   substitute tedious meal plans with simple, flavorful recipes  choose fresh, flavorful ingredients instead of counting calories  slow down and enjoy a faster metabolism  replace starvation with celebration by adopting an Italian attitude to cooking, eating, and entertaining  love food, love eating, and still love your body afterward    

Teresa shows how anyone can master the cornerstones of Italian cuisine. Learn how to make six different tomato sauces from scratch, how to choose and use the right olive oil, and how to prepare over sixty Giudice family recipes straight from Salerno. From Gorgeous Garlic Shrimp to Beautiful Biscotti, you'll want to make these sumptuous recipes again and again. Discover how easy and economical wholesome, homemade cooking can be.    

*Skinny Italian* is not a diet book. It's an "eat it and enjoy it" book. Join Teresa and discover how gorgeous can be a sumptuous side effect to living *la bella vita*.


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Even your favorite dinner can lose its appeal when it’s in constant rotation, so mix it up! With her largest collection of recipes yet, Food Network’s indefatigable cook Rachael Ray guarantees you’ll be able to put something fresh and exciting on your dinner table every night for a full year... without a single repeat! Based on the original 30-Minute Meal cooking classes that started it all, these recipes prove that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every night. Rachael offers dozens of recipes that, once mastered, can become entirely new dishes with just a few ingredient swaps. Learn how to make a Southwestern Pasta Bake and you’ll be able to make a Smoky Chipotle Chili Con Queso Mac the next time. Try your hand at Spring Chicken with Leeks and Peas and you’re all set to turn out a rib-sticking Rice and Chicken Stoup that looks and tastes like an entirely different dish. As a best-selling cookbook author and host of three top-rated Food Network shows, Rachael Ray believes that both cooking and eating should be fun. Drawing from her own favorite dishes as well as those of her family, friends, and celebrities, she covers the flavor spectrum from Asian to Italian and dozens of delicious stops in between. Best of all, these flavor-packed dishes will satisfy your every craving and renew your taste for cooking. With so many delicious entrees to choose from you’ll never have an excuse for being in a cooking rut again.How about a brand-new 30-minute dinner every night for an entire year? Tired of making the same old same old, week after week after week? With Rachael’s most varied and comprehensive collection of 30-minute recipes ever, you’ll have everyone at your table saying “Yummo!” all year long. It’s amazing what a half hour can do for your tastebuds … 365 days a year!


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

'One of the most disturbing novels I've read in a long time. It possesses an unnerving air of documentary reality' - Michiko Kakutani, "New York Times". In 1985, Bret Easton Ellis shocked, stunned and disturbed with his debut novel, "Less Than Zero". Published when he was just twenty-one, this extraordinary and instantly infamous work has done more than simply define a genre, it has become a rare thing: a cult classic and a timeless embodiment of the zeitgeist. Twenty-five years on, "Less Than Zero" continues to be a landmark in the lives of successive generations of readers across the globe. Filled with relentless drinking in seamy bars and glamorous nightclubs, wild, drug-fuelled parties, and dispassionate sexual encounters, "Less Than Zero" - narrated by Clay, an eighteen-year-old student returning home to Los Angeles for Christmas - is a fierce coming-of-age story, justifiably celebrated for its unflinching depiction of hedonistic youth, its brutal portrayal of the inexorable consequences of such moral depravity, and its author's refusal to condone or chastise such behaviour. 'An extraordinarily accomplished first novel' - "New Yorker".  'The Catcher in the Rye for the MTV generation' - "USA Today". 'Remarkable. A killer - sexy, sassy, sad' - "Village Voice".


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

***From the author of the sensational bestselling Sophie Kinsella novels and the *New York Times *bestsellers *The Wedding Girl *and *Sleeping Arrangements, *comes a wicked comedy of adultery, angst, and modern marriage 

***The asking price for this house includes a stunning renovation of hearts and dreams....Liz and Jonathan Chambers were stuck with two mortgages, mounting debts, and a miserable adolescent daughter. Then realtor Marcus Witherstone came into their lives—and it seemed he would solve all their problems. He knew the perfect tenants from London who would rent their old house: a glamorous PR girl, Ginny, and her almost-famous husband, Piers. 

But soon Liz is lost in blissful dreams of Marcus, Jonathan is left to run their business, and neither of them has time to notice that their teenage daughter is developing an unhealthy passion for the tenants, Piers and Ginny. Everyone is tangled up with everyone else, and in the most awkward possible way. As events close in, they all begin to realize that some deceptions are just a bit too close to home. 

*A Desirable Residence *is sure to continue the phenomenal success of the Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham franchise.


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The first of a stunning new trilogy that explores the deepest secrets of the androgynous Wraeththu. Fitting chronologically between the novels The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, and The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire, Wraiths takes up the tale of many characters from the original trilogy, and what happened to them while Pellaz and Cal were involved in their own destinies.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Published when Wallace was just twenty-four years old, *The Broom of the   System* stunned critics and marked the emergence of an extraordinary new   talent. At the center of this outlandishly funny, fiercely intelligent novel is   the bewitching heroine, Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman. The year is 1990 and the   place is a slightly altered Cleveland, Ohio. Lenore’s great-grandmother has   disappeared with twenty-five other inmates of the Shaker Heights Nursing Home.   Her beau, and boss, Rick Vigorous, is insanely jealous, and her cockatiel, Vlad   the Impaler, has suddenly started spouting a mixture of psycho-  babble, Auden, and the King James Bible. Ingenious and entertaining, this debut   from one of the most innovative writers of his generation brilliantly explores   the paradoxes of language, storytelling, and reality.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

In the bestselling novels of suspense master David Morrell, fear is the main subject. But Morrell himself had never known genuine terror until he watched his 15-year-old son wage a heroic but doomed struggle with cancer. This is one fathers powerful and unforgettable story of fierce love, impenetrable loss, and an unexpected, breathtaking encounter with the miraculous. Ultimately, Fireflies is a tribute to the undying human spirit that has already given new hope to enthralled and grateful readers around the world.


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"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line of Shunryu Suzuki's classic. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that's just the beginning. In the thirty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much re-read, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It's a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice.


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The Cassel sisters have little in common besides a pair of wacky parents and a maddening knack for eluding happily-ever-after endings. But when their lives require damage control, only a dose of sisterhood will do.Paige, the oldest, is a go-getter divorce attorney who’s reeling from her own disastrously failed marriage–and the fact that her ex has suddenly come roaring out of the closet with a cute boyfriend in tow. Middle sister Sophie is having trouble adjusting to life as a wife and expectant mom. With her doubts on the rise along with her weight, she’s ogling every available baked good–and every available man–that crosses her path. And up-and-coming medical student Mickey has a racy new plan for her future that’s sure to shock her entire family. It includes a dangerously handsome, decidedly married chef…private cooking lessons…and spicy lingerie. To top it all off, the parents who dragged them through the Divorce from Hell years ago are acting like teenagers in love…with each other! One by one, Paige, Sophie, and Mickey are about to learn just how good it is to have a sisterly shoulder–or two–to lean on.


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In MAXIMUM RIDE: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS, the time has arrived for Max and her winged "Flock" to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of "Re-evolution", a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race...and to terminate the rest. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them--but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?


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"Adventure, fighting, backstabbing and love abound" (VOYA) in this action-packed follow-up to the #1 New York Times blockbuster MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT, now available in paperback. The heart-stopping quest of six winged kids--led by fourteen-year-old Max--to find their parents and investigate the mind-blowing mystery of their ultimate destiny continues when they're taken under the wing of an FBI agent and attempt, for the first time, to live "normal" lives. But going to school and making friends doesn't stop them from being relentlessly hunted by sinister spies, who lead Max to face her most frightening match yet: a new and better version of herself.


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Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann -- a Boy and His Two Dogs...A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains -- and Billy had the will to train them to be the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were coming to them, but sadness waited too. And close by was the strange and wonderful power that's only found...An exciting tale of love and adventure you'll never forget.From the Paperback edition.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Etta Bancroft -- sweet, kind, beautiful -- adores racing and harbours a crush on one of its stars, the handsome high-handed owner-trainer Rupert Campbell-Black. When her bullying husband dies, Etta's selfish, ambitious son and daughter drag her from her lovely Dorset house to live in a hideous modern bungalow in the Cotswold village of Willowwood and act as unpaid Nanny to their children. Her neighbour, powerful tycoon and ex-footballer Valent Edwards, has bought the big house next door. One night Etta finds a horribly mutilated filly in the snow in Valent's woods, and persuades the outraged Valent to take her in. Miraculously she pulls through, and by now called Mrs Wilkinson, captivates everyone in the village. Tests reveal her to be a spectacularly well-bred racehorse. After a nail-biting court case, Mrs Wilkinson is awarded to Etta, thus ensuring the lasting and vengeful enmity of her evil former trainer and owner. Etta forms a village syndicate to put the filly into training. The syndicate is a riotous mix of village characters, who set off to the races in a minibus clanking with bottles. From wild parties at Newbury and Ludlow, to an overnight of musical beds at Stratford, to the thrills and spills of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, one fling leads to another and another. Mrs Wilkinson becomes a star nicknamed the People's Pony. She is beloved by the crowds as she progresses from point-to-points to the major meetings and brings fame and fortune to the syndicate. After her terrible injuries she will only run for a female jockey, giving the delectable Amber Lloyd-Foxe, Rupert's god-daughter, her big breakthrough in the man's world of racing. But Etta is horrified when Valent cooks up a plot with Rupert to enter Mrs Wilkinson for the Grand National. Can she be the first mare in thirty years, and Amber the first woman ever, to conquer this mighty race?In **Jump!** you will meet rich capricious owners, obsessive trainers and gallant stable lads and lasses; you will get to know the tough, brave jockeys; and you will fall in love with the horses,and above all with Mrs Wilkinson herself -- hilarious, heroic and so gutsy she will gallop into your heart forever.


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Have you ever been a less than perfect friend? To whom does your first loyalty belong—your best friend or your husband? With her trademark wit and empathy, Sally Koslow explores the entangled lives of women in this candid, fast-paced novel.  Quincy, Talia, Chloe, and Jules met in the early nineties after answering a roommate ad for a Manhattan apartment. Despite having little in common, the women became fast friends. A decade later, their lives have diverged, though their ties remain strong.Quincy, a Midwestern introvert, is trying to overcome a set of tragedies by hunting for the perfect home; Talia, a high-energy Brooklyn wife and mom with an outspoken conscience, is growing resentful of her friends’ greater financial stability and her husband’s lack of ambition; timid Chloe, also a mother, is trying to deflect pressure from her husband, a hedge fund manager, to play the role of trophy wife; while Jules, a fiercely independent actress/entrepreneur with a wicked set of life rules, is confronting her forties alone. When Jules gives her new boyfriend the inside scoop on the real estate gem Quincy is lusting after, and Talia chases a lucrative job earmarked for Chloe, the women are forced to wrestle with the challenges of love and motherhood. Will their friendships and marriages survive? And at what price? Punchy yet tender, a high-five to sisterhood, this book will hit an emotional bull’s-eye for anyone who has had—or been—less than a perfect friend. 


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The critically acclaimed, beloved, and bestselling author of The Club Dumas and The Nautical Chart delivers his most magniÞcent novel to date. Few authors inspire the kind of passion that Arturo Pérez-Reverte does. Reviewers, readers, and booksellers alike have embraced his fiction as the perfect blend of suspense and literary ambition. A global bestseller, he is one of the most admired and widely read authors in the world. And his stunning new novel is his best yet. A remarkable tale, The Queen of the South spans continents, from the dusty streets of Mexico to the sparkling waters off the coast of Morocco, to Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar. A sweeping story set to the irresistible beat of the drug smugglers' ballads, it encompasses sensuality and cruelty, love and betrayal, as its heroine's story unfolds. Teresa Mendoza's boyfriend is a drug smuggler who the narcos of Sinaloa, Mexico, call "the king of the short runway," because he can get a plane full of coke off the ground in three hundred yards. But in a ruthless business, life can be short, and Teresa even has a special cell phone that Guero gave her along with a dark warning. If that phone rings, it means he's dead, and she'd better run, because they're coming for her next. Then the call comes. In order to survive, she will have to say goodbye to the old Teresa, an innocent girl who once entrusted her life to a pinche narco smuggler. She will have to find inside herself a woman who is tough enough to inhabit a world as ugly and dangerous as that of the narcos-a woman she never before knew existed. Indeed, the woman who emerges will surprise even those who know her legend, that of the Queen of the South.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

This is a story of the further adventures of four children who get into some hair-raising scrapes, but always manage to survive them. It is one in a series of adventure stories by Enid Blyton, and should appeal to both boys and girls.


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What is the secret of the old castle on the hill, and why are the locals so afraid of it? When flashing lights are seen in a distant tower, Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack decide to investigate - and discover a very sinister plot concealed within its hidden rooms and gloomy underground passages.


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Spook trains in the dead of night! And they seem to vanish into thin air - but where do they go? The Famous Five are on to it! But discovery of an unusual underground tunnel system, and a secret train-service, has them puzzled. If they follow the tracks, will they solve the mystery?


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The very first Famous Five adventure, featuring Julian, Dick, Anne, not forgetting tomboy George and her beloved dog, Timmy! There's a shipwreck off Kirrin Island! But where is the treasure? The Famous Five are on the trail - looking for clues - but they're not alone! Someone else has got the same idea. Time is running out for the Famous Five, who will follow the clues and get to the treasure first?


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The Famous Five are having a brilliant time - on holiday in horse-drawn caravans - and they've discovered a ruined castle nearby! The castle looked deserted from a distance - but is that a face at the window? Or is it a trick of the light? The Famous Five just have to find out! Just who is hiding in the castle?


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There's a thief at Kirrin Cottage! The Famous Five think they know who it is, but they need to prove it! Where can they find evidence? The discovery of an old map and very unusual hiding place is all they need to get to the bottom of this mystery and uncover the true culprit!


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Who's been on George's island? And what is locked in the mysterious trunk hidden on Kirrin Island? The Famous Five think they're on the trail of smugglers - until they hear a child scream ...


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A caravan holiday for the Famous Five is bound to be an adventure! And when they stumble across a circus troupe, the gang are thrilled. But some of the circus people have more sinister plans than just clowning around . . .


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The Famous Five are distraught! Dick has been kidnapped - mistaken for somebody else! The gang finally track him down - to a lonely, abandoned house - but then they too are seized and held captive! Now that all of them are miles from home, and from help, how will the intrepid Five get themselves out of this mess . . ?


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What can Uncle Quentin be up to - all alone - on Kirrin Island. He won't let anyone visit - not even George and the rest of the Famous Five. But Quentin isn't really all alone on the island - somebody is watching his every move!


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Enid Blyton’s classic adventure series is fantastically repackaged for a new generation of readers. For Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack, the holiday in Cornwall is everything they'd hoped for—until they begin to realize that something very sinister is taking place on the mysterious Isle of Gloom. But they're not prepared for the dangerous adventure that awaits them in the abandoned copper mines and secret tunnels beneath the sea.


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Enid Blyton’s classic adventure series fantastically repackaged for a new generation of readers. When Bill takes Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack on a mysterious trip to the desolate northern isles, everything looks set for an exciting time. But then Bill is kidnapped and the children, marooned far from the mainland, find themselves playing a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with an unknown enemy.


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An amazing voyage around the beautiful Greek islands becomes an exciting quest to find the lost treasure of the Andra! Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack are plunged into a search for hidden riches ' with some ruthless villains hot on their trail! Will they find the treasure before it's too late?


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Why on earth did Bill have to bring Gustavus on vacation? Neither Jack nor Kiki the parrot like the boy at all, but when Gustavus is kidnapped, Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack must bravely travel to a faraway country and unravel a plot to kill the king.


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A river cruise through ancient desert lands quickly turns into an adventure for Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack. Bill disappears and the children, along with Kiki the parrot, are trapped beneath a forgotten temple where no one has set foot for 7,000 years.


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Nothing could be more exciting than a night flight on Bill’s plane! But Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack soon find themselves flying straight into a truly amazing adventure. What has happened to Bill? Who are the two strange pilots, and what is the secret treasure hidden in the lonely valley where the children land?


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A peaceful vacation in the Welsh mountains seems sure to keep the children out of trouble, but the mystery of a rumbling mountain soon has them thirsty for more adventure. Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack are determined to explore the mountain and uncover its secret, but first they must escape from a pack of ravenous wolves and a mad genius who plans to rule the world!


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From London to the Gaza Strip, from Riga in Latvia to Jerusalem--compelling authentic, at breakneck speed Palestinian freedom fighter Abed Abu Omar and 20 men are preparing for their most daring mission yet: the hijack of a five-story supertanker laden with oil. Meanwhile, SBS Operative Stratton has been assigned to bodyguard work and is bored by the lack of challenge. When Omar's plot is revealed, Stratton is quickly whisked away by helicopter to assist in a daring rescue. With a rich cast of characters ranging from Russian secret service operatives to Al Qaeda terrorists and the Israeli military, this is a gripping thrill-ride packed with authentic detail and heart-stopping narrative.


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When an undercover operation monitoring the Real IRA goes horrifically wrong, British Intelligence turns to the one man who can get their agent out: Stratton, an SBS operative with a lethal reputation. It’s a dangerous race against time—if the Real IRA get to the Republic before Stratton gets to the Real IRA, his colleague is as good as dead. But the battle in the Northern Ireland borders is just the beginning. For there can only be one way the Real IRA knew about the British agent—someone inside MI5 is tipping them off.


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After a surveillance mission in Sevastopol goes badly wrong, Stratton finds himself doing penance at MI16, the government's clandestine organisation that creates weapons equipment for special forces and the secret service. But Sevastopol has started something. In the North Sea a team of hijackers take over the giant Morpheus oil platform. They are demanding two billion dollars. Inside twenty-four hours. Or the bodies will start falling. With the SBS overstretched and its surveillance team locked down, there is only one option: Stratton and a team of unproven operatives from MI16. Stratton knows he has to redeem himself and he also has his own agenda. One of the men on the rig is an old friend. And Stratton intends to save him. But one of Stratton's team is not what they appear to be. A traitor. With a deadly agenda of their own. And Morpheus is just the beginning. This is the incendiary sixth thriller in the Stratton series by the UK's leading ex-SF professional.


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After the British military lose an officer to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, a desperate race begins to find his killers. Little do the assailants know that the precious information they have stolen could bring down the entire network of Western intelligence in the Mid-East. But then one of them is captured by U. S. troops and flown to the States for interrogation. And so begins a nail-biting, claustrophobic, and explosive thriller that will ultimately lead British operative John Stratton to the Styx penitentiary, America’s undersea prison. How do you break in to a jail below the ocean? Can Stratton get the information back without the government discovering him? And is everyone in the prison really who they seem to be?


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As a favor to a CIA officer, SBS operative Stratton carries out what appears to be an inconsequential task in Central America. But Stratton’s actions push him into the midst of a national rebellion, and against his own principles he becomes emotionally involved and decides to join the popular uprising. Unknown to him, however, the revolt is a fight not just against the local government, as the CIA is very much involved. As events spiral disastrously out of control, Stratton must face up to his biggest and most treacherous challenge to date.


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For years, the Kingdom of Araluen has prospered, with the evil lord Morgarath safely behind the impassable mountains. For years, its people have felt secure. but the scheming hand of the dark lord has not been idle. . . . on a special mission for the rangers, will and his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, travel to a neighboring village and discover the unsettling truth: All the villagers have either been slain or captured. but why? Could it be that Morgarath has finally devised a plan to bring his legions over the supposedly insurmountable pass? if so, the king's army is in imminent danger of being crushed in a fierce ambush. And will and Horace are the only ones who can save them.


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Will and Evanlyn are bound for Skandia as the captives of the fearsome Skandian wolfship captain, Erak. Halt has sworn to rescue Will, and he will do anything to keep his promise - even defy his King. Expelled from the Rangers, Halt is joined by Horace as he travels through Gallica towards Skandia. On their way, they are constantly challenged by freelance knights - otherwise known as thieving thugs. But Horace knows a thing or two about combat, and he soon begins to attract the attention of knights and warlords for miles around with his uncanny skill. But will they be in time to rescue Will from a life of slavery?


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Still far from their homeland after escaping slavery in the icebound land of Skandia, Will and Evanlyn's plans to return to Araluen are spoiled when Evanlyn is taken captive by a Temujai warrior. Though still weakened by the warmweed's toxic effects, Will employs his Ranger training to locate his friend, but an enemy scouting party has him fatally outnumbered. Will is certain death is close at hand, until Halt and Horace make a daring, last-minute rescue. The reunion is cut short, however, when Halt makes a horrifying discovery: Skandia's borders have been breached by the entire Temujai army. And Araluen is next in their sights. If two kingdoms are to be saved, an unlikely union must be made. Will it hold long enough to vanquish a ruthless new enemy? Or will past tensions spell doom for all?

  The battles and drama are nonstop in Book Four of this hugely popular epic.


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Several years have passed since the apprentice and his master, Will and Halt, first met, and Will is finally a full-fledged Ranger with his own fief to look after. The fief seems sleepyĀ-boring, evenĀ-until Lord Syron, master of a castle far in the north, is struck down by a mysterious illness. Joined by his friend Alyss, Will is suddenly thrown headfirst into an extraordinary adventure, investigating fears of sorcery and trying to determine who is loyal to Lord Syron. As Will battles growing hysteria, traitors, and most of all, time, Alyss is taken hostage, and Will is forced to make a desperate choice between his mission and his friend.


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After years as a Ranger’s apprentice, Will is now the protector of his first fief. Not long into his service, everything that can go wrong does: Keren, a renegade knight, has taken over Castle Macindaw, a strategic gateway to the North—poisoning the royal family in the process—and is holding Will’s friend Alyss captive. The situation grows direr when Will uncovers Keren’s secret alliance with the Scotti, who have plans to plunder Araluen. Time is of the essence, and Will must recruit a motley crew to rescue Alyss and reclaim Castle Macindaw—before the Scotti can make it their own. This New York Times bestselling series maintains its breathless pace in this newest installment.


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There is one adventure from Will's time as a Ranger's Apprentice that is yet to be told... When Erak, the Skandian Oberjarl, is taken hostage during a raid on the desert lands to the south of the Constant Sea, his second-in-command, Svengal, is sent to bring back a ransom for Erak's release. Halt and Will must go with Svengal to deliver the ransom and secure Erak's freedom, but a royal presence is needed too. The Princess Cassandra - or Evanlyn, as Will knows her - persuades her father to let her go with them. Horace and the Ranger Gilan round out the group to make sure that Evanlyn is well protected. But will violent sandstorms, warring tribes and danger at every turn keep them from reaching Erak in time. The seventh book takes us back to the final year of Will's apprenticeship, before the events related in Books 5 and 6.


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SUMMARY: Mankind puts its faith in many things—gods, kings, money—anything for protection from the world’s many dangers. When a cult springs up in neighboring Clonmel, promising to quell the recent attacks by lawless marauders, people flock from all over to offer gold in exchange for protection. But this particular group, with which Halt is all too familiar, has a less than charitable agenda. Secrets will be unveiled and battles fought to the death as Will and Horace help Halt in ridding the land of a dangerous enemy.


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The renegade outlaw group known as the Outsiders may have been chased from Clonmel, but not before killing HaltÕs only brother. Now Rangers Halt and Will, along with the young warrior Horace, are in pursuit. The Outsiders have done an effective job of dividing the kingdom into factions and are looking to overtake Araluen. It will take every bit of skill and cunning for the Rangers to survive. Some may not be so lucky. The international bestselling RangerÕs Apprentice series turns up the tension in John FlanaganÕs latest epic of battles and bravery.


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He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their  dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers  believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to  ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for  his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he  doesn’t realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the  kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance,  they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as  Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled  Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering  his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will  not be denied . . . .


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In the same vein as Marley and Me and My Dog Skip, this “mostly true” novel is at once a whimsical campfire mystery and a universal story about the friendship between a man and his dog.Cormac, a golden retriever who has always been afraid of thunderstorms and lightning flashes, runs away one stormy night while his master is away. So begins a strange adventure that lands Cormac in the back of a red pickup truck driven by a mysterious woman, takes him to a series of dog pounds and rescue shelters, and ultimately brings him to the suburbs of Connecticut. His owner, meanwhile, devastated by Cormac’s disappearance and trying to juggle a family, a book tour, and writing his new novel, becomes determined to solve the “dog-napping” case. With the help of the local veterinarian, bookstore colleagues, animal rescue employees, and old friends, he picks up on Cormac’s trail and watches his small-town community come together in search of his lost companion.Inspired by real events, and embellished only to serve the story through the spirit of imagination, Brewer has, as he says, “mainly told the truth in this story of losing my good dog Cormac.”From the Hardcover edition.


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*Against The Tide Of Years* continues the adventures of the Nantucket residents who have been transported through time to the Bronze Age. In the years since their arrival, the fledging Republic of Nantucket has strived to better the primitive world in which they now exist. Their prime concerns are establishing a constitution and handling the waves of immigrants from the British Isles. But a renegade time traveler plans his own future by forging an empire for himself based on conquest by modern technology. The Republic has no alternative but to face the inevitable war brought on by one of their own....  Praise for *Island In The Sea Of Time*:  "...one of the best time/travel alternate history stories I've ever read, period. Stirling combines complex, believable characters, meticulous research, and a fascinating setup to produce a book you won't want to--and won't be able to--put down." --Harry Turtledove, bestselling author of *Guns of the South*  "...unquestionably Steve Stirling's best work to date, a page-turner that is certain to win the author legions of new readers and fans. I wouldn't be surprised to see it on a few awards ballots either." --George R. R. Martin, author of *A Game of Thrones*  "A well thought-out time travel scenario with a few interesting differences from most books in the genre." --*Kliatt*  "Stirling has surpassed his previous work in the creation of a compelling cast of characters and does a fine job of conveying both a sense of loss and hope." --*Science Fiction Chronicle*


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Ten years ago, inhabitants of the twentieth century and the Bronze Age were tossed together by the Event.  But as two worlds converge, only one can be the victor in a battle to lead this strange new world.Praise for Against the Tide of Years: "S. M. Stirling concocts another exciting and explosive tale of ambition, ingenuity, intrigue, and discovery."--Jane Lindskold, author of *When the Gods Are Silent*"Confirms what readers of the first book already knew: S.M. Stirling is writing some of the best straight-ahead science fiction the genre has ever seen."--*Amazing Magazine*Praise for *Island in the Sea of Time*: "One of the best time travel/alternate history stories I've ever read, period. An outstanding piece of work."--Harry Turtledove"A page-turner that is certain to win the author legions of new fans."--George R.R. Martin"Compelling."--*Science Fiction Chronicle*


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It's spring on Nantucket and everything is perfectly normal, until a sudden storm blankets the entire island. When the weather clears, the island's inhabitants find that they are no longer in the late 20th century, but have been transported instead to the Bronze Age. Now they must learn to survive with suspicious, warlike peoples they can barely understand and deal with impending disaster, in the shape of a would-be conqueror from their own time. Ads in "Locus". .


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Court Gentry is known as The Gray Man-a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible, and then fading away. And he always hits his target. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. Now, he is going to prove that for him, there's no gray area between killing for a living-and killing to stay alive.


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A child of Vegas, Brett Hennessey knows about luck - especially the bad kind. But when this poker superstar hops on his Harley to outrun Lady Misfortune and ends up at a pretty B&B run by an even prettier proprietor, he can't help thinking he's stumbled onto a winning streak...Sure, Kirby Farrell's new B&B ski lodge opened to the warmest winter in Vermont memory, but fate brought her a bad boy on a hot bike and settled him into her best room. She's still broke, but the view across the breakfast table has definitely improved...Only now Brett's past has finally caught up to him. He has two choices: run again - and lose the best hand fortune's dealt him yet. Or stay and risk everything for something he never thought would come his way.


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**A divine gift for the word-obsessed—a deliciously eccentric world tour of words that have no   English equivalent**  

  The countless language freaks who’ve worn out their copies of *Eats, Shoots and Leaves*   will find inexhaustible distraction in *The Meaning of Tingo*. Where else will they discover   that Bolivians have a word that means "I was rather too drunk last night and it’s all their fault"? As   for *tingo*, on Easter Island it means "to take all the objects one desires from the house of a   friend, one at a time, by borrowing them." Organized by themes such as food, the human body,   and sex and love, this irresistible book combs through more than 254 languages in search of   those gorgeous oddities that have no direct English counterpart—words so strange and apt that if   they didn’t exist, they would have to be invented.  



  Highlights from *The Meaning of Tingo*:

  • **mencomet** (Indonesian): stealing things of small value such as food or drinks, partly for   fun

  • **scheissbedauern** (German): the disappointment one feels when something turns out   not nearly as badly as one had hoped

  • **mono-no-aware** (Japanese): appreciating the sadness of existence 

  • **mahj** (Persian): looking beautiful after disease

  • **plimpplamppletteren** (Dutch): the skimming of a flat stone as many times as possible   across the surface of the water

  • **koshatnik** (Russian): a dealer in stolen cats

  • **ava** (Tahitian): wife (but also means whisky)


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In a dystopian 1930s America, a chilling series of events leads three men down a path to uncover their city's darkest secret.At the height of the most corrupt administration in the City’s history, a mysterious duplicate file is discovered deep within the Vaults---a cavernous hall containing all of the municipal criminal justice records of the last seventy years. From here, the story follows: Arthur Puskis, the Vault’s sole, hermit-like archivist with an almost mystical faith in a system to which he has devoted his life; Frank Frings, a high-profile investigative journalist with a self-medicating reefer habit; and Ethan Poole, a socialist private eye with a penchant for blackmail. All three men will undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City---calling into question whether their most basic beliefs can be maintained in a climate of overwhelming corruption and conspiracy Toby Ball's imagined city is a fever dream in which virtue barely survives the corruption all around it." -Justin Evans, author of A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD "If George Orwell and Dashiell Hammett have ever decided to collaborate on a book, they might have come up with something like The Vaults.  A wonderful debut from a writer to watch." -Michael Harvey, The Chicago Way"With a Kafka-esque view filtered through a Jasper Fforde lens, Toby Ball gives us the gray terror of Any City in Any Unnamed Year that could reach from 1930 to today, and reminds us, once again, of the important of vigilance and the danger of Big Boss rule. Masterfully created."-Louise Ure, Shamus Award-winning author of Liars “Ball has conjured a fully-evoked world in his nameless city that, for all its 1930s trappings, retains that surreal and timeless atmosphere of Gotham, BRAVE NEW WORLD, and 1984. A provocative and dazzling debut.”  - Blake Crouch, author of Abandon


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My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer. This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her happy suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet ..."The Lovely Bones" is a luminous and astonishing novel about life and death, forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting - but, above all, about finding light in the darkest of places. 'Spare, beautiful and brutal prose ..."The Lovely Bones" is compulsive enough to read in a single sitting, brilliantly intelligent, elegantly constructed and ultimately intriguing' - "The Times". 'Moving and compelling ...It will put an imperceptible but stealthily insistent hold on you.  I sat down in the morning to read the first couple of pages; five hours later, I was still there, book in hand, transfixed' - Maggie O'Farrell, "Sunday Telegraph".


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Published for the first time in 45 years, this pulp classic tells the story of down-and-out thief Tony Catell, who, after stealing 36 pounds of radioactive gold from a lab, must stay one step ahead of the FBI while desperately trying to find someone to take the hot gold off his hands.


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Two brothers.One mission.And a whole world of troubleSam and Jacob Redman. Two brothers, SAS through and through. They fight alongside each other; they watch each others backs. They are ruthlessly professional in the field of war, fiercely loyal wherever they are. But when Jacob is booted from the Regiment for a moment of madness, he disappears. Not even his family knows where he is, or even if hes still alive.All that is about to change. On his return from a brutal mission in Afghanistan, Sam is ordered to conduct another dangerous operation into an inhospitable part of the world. He soon learns, though, that his unit are not being told everything by their government paymasters; and so he is forced to choose between his duty to the men around him and his loyalty to the brother that he loves. Is Jacob part of a plan that threatens world peace? As the body count rises, only Sam can stop these events from reaching their terrifying conclusion.


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Hot new catalogue company, Velvet, Leather and Lace, is launching a revolution in lingerie--and partners Jamie, Samantha, and Mia are coming apart as fast as their wispy new underwear as their global satellite fashion show nears. Includes a bonus travel tale. Original.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW: **From the author of the Edgar Award–nominated legal thriller *A Cure for Night*, an ambitious and compulsively readable novel set in the cutthroat world of New York real estate. ** A concrete floor three hundred feet up in the Aurora Tower condo development in SoHo has collapsed, hurling three workers to their deaths. The developer, Roth Properties (owned by the famously abrasive Simon Roth), faces a vast tangle of legal problems, including allegations of mob connections. Roth’s longtime lawyers, the elite midtown law firm of Blake and Wolcott, is assigned the task of cleaning up the mess. Much of the work lands on the plate of smart, cynical, and sea­soned associate Duncan Riley; as a result, he falls into the pow­erful orbit of Leah Roth, the beautiful daughter of Simon Roth and the designated inheritor of his real estate empire. Meanwhile, Riley pursues a seemingly small pro bono case in which he attempts to forestall the eviction of Rafael Nazario and his grandmother from public housing in the wake of a pot bust. One night Rafael is picked up and charged with the mur­der of the private security cop who caught him, a murder that took place in another controversial “mixed income” housing development being built by . . . Roth Properties. Duncan Riley is now walking the knife edge of legal ethics and personal morality. *Blind Man’s Alley *is a suspenseful and kaleidoscopic journey through a world where the only rule is self- preservation. The *New York Times Book Review *said of *A Cure for Night *that “[Peacock] heads toward Scott Turow country . . . he’s got a good chance to make partner.” This taut, topical, and socially alert thriller delivers on that promise.


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In James Patterson's blockbuster series, fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the "flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time...like when Angel, the youngest member of the flock, is kidnapped and taken back to the "School" where she and the others were experimented on by a crew of wack jobs. Her friends brave a journey to blazing hot Death Valley, CA, to save Angel, but soon enough, they find themselves in yet another nightmare--this one involving fighting off the half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" in New York City. Whether in the treetops of Central Park or in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system, Max and her adopted family take the ride of their lives. Along the way Max discovers from her old friend and father-figure Jeb--now her betrayed and greatest enemy--that her purpose is save the world--but can she?


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It's the largest oil spill in history: a crashed supertanker in San Francisco Bay. Desperate to avert environmental damageand a PR disasterthe multinational oil company releases an untested "designer microbe" to break up the spill. An "oil-eating" microbe, designed to consume anything made of petrocarbons: oil, gasoline, synthetic fabrics, and of course plastic. What the company doesn't realize is that their microbe propagates through the air. But when every car in the Bay Area turns up with an empty gas tank, they begin to suspect something is terribly wrong. And when, in just a few days, every piece of plastic in the world has dissolved, it's too late...


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Colleagues, friends, and lovers know Dodge Hanley as a private investigator who doesn't let rules get in his way in his private life as well as his professional one. If he breaks a heart, or bends the law in order to catch a criminal, he does so without hesitation or apology. That's why he's the first person Caroline King who after a thirty-year separation continues to haunt his dreams asks for help when a deranged stalker attempts to murder their daughter . . . the daughter Dodge has never met. He has a whole bagful of grudging excuses for wishing to ignore Caroline's call, and one compelling reason to drop everything and fly down to Texas: Dodge's mind may be a haze of disturbing memories and bad decisions, but he arrives in Houston knowing with perfect clarity that his daughter, Berry, is in danger. She has become the object of desire of a co-worker, a madman and genius with a penchant for puzzles and games who has spent the past year making Berry's life hell, and who now has vowed to kill her. Dodge joins forces with local deputy sheriff Ski Nyland, but the alarming situation goes from bad to worse when the stalker begins to claim other victims and leaves an ominous trail of clues as he lethally works his way toward Berry. Sensing the killer drawing nearer, Dodge, who's survived vicious criminals and his own self-destructive impulses, realizes that this time he's in for the fight of his life.From acclaimed best-selling author Sandra Brown,Tough Customeris a heart-pounding tale about obsession and murder, the fragile nature of relationships, and, possibly, second chances.


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-- Jerry Capeci's The Complete Idiot's Guide "RM" to the Mafia has already netted close to 12,000 copies since its publication in December 2001, making it one of Alpha's strongest new titles.-- Jerry Capeci is one of America's most respected experts on the Mafia and organized crime. His Web site, Ganglandnews.com, gets more than 5,000 hits per day. He has appeared twice on Fox-TV promoting The Complete Idiot's Guide "RM" to the Mafia and is much in demand on local TV and radio shows. He has been profiled in People magazine, the New York Daily News (for which he was a longtime columnist), and dozens of other magazines and newspapers.-- John Gotti is terminally ill; when he passes on to that great Mafia in the sky, co-author Capeci will be in great demand for interviews and will the plug the book.As he battles terminal cancer in a federal prison in Illinois, John Gotti, still the acting head of the Gambino Mafia family, is constantly in the news. Once Mr. Gotti ascends to Mafia heaven, he will be worldwide news-and Alpha will have the most up-to-date and comprehensive book on the subject.


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*“The rhythm changed and the chickens came down faster and faster. Sean found it hard to catch up and they piled like corpses in the rain.  As he tried to pick one up another would bounce off the back off his hand. Sometimes their legs, or shorn feet, would dig him right in the finger. It was like when you’re in a fight and the guy gets a couple in.” (p. 16)*****Most of Sean O’Grady’s days are depressingly similar. He not only lives in a town he thought he would leave years ago, but he works a mindless, dead-end job in the fresh meat section at the local chicken processing plant. And as if he needed a reminder of the banality of life, the conveyor belt that flanks the wall where he works beats out a hypnotic rhythm that’s inescapable:*Bum-titty-bum-titty-bum-titty.*But it isn’t all bad. Fresh is the least of the gag-inducing departments in the plant and Sean’s uncle Albert works alongside him. Albert and his wife, Jessie, took Sean and his brother Archie in after their mother died, and treated them as if they were their own.Sean hasn’t turned out too badly either: he has steady work at the plant, a good woman as his wife, and a fine daughter. But Archie is another matter. He got started as a career criminal early on, with stints in jail for teenage joy rides and small-time drug trafficking. That escalated soon enough and Archie is in prison – again.Or so Sean thinks. One day Sean discovers that Archie is due out that very same day, and he panics. His brother had given him ₤1000 to keep while he was away and Sean has spent the money. Sean is certain that if he can’t get Archie’s money in time, his brother will kill him.And he has good reason to believe the worst. Archie’s best friend and de facto henchman has already made it known that Sean had better be ready to hand over the cash or suffer the consequences. Sean has witnessed his brother’s brutality first-hand, which confirms his conviction that any brotherly affection Archie might have for Sean won’t stand in the way of him getting his money back – all of it.With the down-at-heel joie de vivre of Roddy Doyle and the wacko plottings of Irvine Welsh, **Fresh** is a white-knuckle ride through one forgettable day in the life of Sean O’Grady. Mark McNay’s debut will leave you bowled-over and breathless and marks the arrival of a major new talent.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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An American Icon Under Government SurveillanceWhen Frank Sinatra died in 1998, he was one of the most chronicled celebrities ever, but the most unusual record of his life came to light only posthumously: a 1,275-page dossier recording decades of FBI surveillance stemming from J. Edgar Hoover's belief that Sinatra had mob or Communist ties. This shadow biography, with information never before presented in book form, details:Hoover's search through Sinatra's past to see if he got a bogus medical deferment from military service, ultimately yielding the simple fact that Sinatra really had suffered a perforated eardrum as a youthThe FBI's previously unreported cooperation with journalists looking for dirt on Sinatra, including one who had recently been punched out by the singerNumerous instances of the star's carousing and intemperate behavior -- including a detailed report alleging that he rampaged through a Las Vegas hotel after he and his wife Mia Farrow lost small fortunes gamblingThe mob's attempts to curry favor with John F. Kennedy through Sinatra -- and its anger when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy turned up the heat.This fascinating record of governmental scrutiny will captivate every Sinatra fan, as well as anyone who wants to understand the second half of the American century -- the Cold War, popular culture, the cult of celebrity, Camelot, and the FBI's mania for investigating American citizens -- all personified by the most dominant entertainer of the era.


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Your best mate just fell off a cliff in mysterious circumstances and you were the last person to see him alive. What do you do? Well, if you're David Lindsay from Arbroath, you get the hell out of there and don't return. Not for at least fifteen years. Until Nicola Cruickshank - yes, that Nicola, the girl you always fancied but never had the guts to approach - gets in touch and asks - no, demands - that you go back for a school reunion. To the place where it happened. The place you've been running from for fifteen years. Of course you go. Not to belatedly lay your mate to rest, but because you still fancy Nicola. The thing is, if you are David Lindsay, then returning to Arbroath isn't going to lay any ghosts to rest. And when someone else takes a dive off the cliffs - an act the locals have taken to calling tombstoning' - while David's there, he has a choice: run away again, or finally find out why people keep dying around him . . .


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Ever have a moment you wish you could undo? A wickedly brilliant tale of revenge, mystery, and fate, Antony Moore’s The Swap is at once a gripping thriller and a hilarious black comedy—a book for anyone who’s ever wondered what could have been. . . .Harvey Briscow—smoker, drinker, comic-shop owner—is facing another school reunion back in Cornwall. Having spent the last two decades second-guessing himself, Harvey isn’t thrilled at the prospect of showing his classmates the mess he’s made of his life. But this is Harvey’s twentieth reunion, a milestone that all but guarantees that Charles “Bleeder” Odd—the freakish reject who made off with Harvey’s now-priceless Superman One comic in a school-yard swap—will be in attendance. But when Harvey returns to Cornwall, hoping to retrieve his comic, he’s met with more than a few surprises. . . . Bleeder is now dazzlingly successful—and quite content to watch Harvey squirm, refusing to acknowledge their long-ago trade. And Harvey—fueled by drink and the promise of a beautiful woman—soon makes a fateful choice, one he instantly wishes he could undo. A dead body and an enraged husband further complicate matters . . . but there’s a silver lining in this strange chain of events: suddenly one bad swap is the least of Harvey’s regrets. . . .


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**Small changes can make a big difference in your powers of persuasion**

What one word can you start using today to increase your persuasiveness by more than fifty percent?

Which item of stationery can dramatically increase people's responses to your requests? 

How can you win over your rivals by inconveniencing them? 

Why does knowing that so many dentists are named Dennis improve your persuasive prowess? 

Every day we face the challenge of persuading others to do what we want. But what makes people say yes to our requests? Persuasion is not only an art, it is also a science, and researchers who study it have uncovered a series of hidden rules for moving people in your direction. Based on more than sixty years of research into the psychology of persuasion, *Yes!* reveals fifty simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life, too.

Cowritten by the world's most quoted expert on influence, Professor Robert Cialdini, *Yes!* presents dozens of surprising discoveries from the science of persuasion in short, enjoyable, and insightful chapters that you can apply immediately to become a more effective persuader. Why did a sign pointing out the problem of vandalism in the Petrified Forest National Park actually *increase* the theft of pieces of petrified wood? Why did sales of jam multiply tenfold when consumers were offered many *fewer* flavors? Why did people prefer a Mercedes immediately after giving reasons why they prefer a BMW? What simple message on cards left in hotel rooms greatly increased the number of people who behaved in environmentally friendly ways? 

Often counterintuitive, the findings presented in *Yes!* will steer you away from common pitfalls while empowering you with little known but proven wisdom.

Whether you are in advertising, marketing, management, on sales, or just curious about how to be more influential in everyday life, *Yes!* shows how making small, scientifically proven changes to your approach can have a dramatic effect on your persuasive powers.


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After a long absence, novelist CJ Baxter returns to his hometown of Adelia in upstate New York for his grandfather's funeral. Facing a messy divorce and doubting his talent as a writer, CJ is forced to confront secrets that have tormented him since childhood. To complicate matters, his brother Graham is running for a Senate seat, and the family is intent on keeping the most damaging secret--surrounding a murder and its cover-up--in the family, for fear the truth would ruin Graham's chances at winning. But with CJ airing their dirty laundry in his books, the family is forced to deal with him. CJ must find a way to remain safe while coming to terms with the newfound faith that compelled him to return to Adelia in the first place.


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**A magnificent debut about a man's odyssey toward family redemption- with his granddaughter along for the ride ** 



 Bill Warrington realizes he has Alzheimer's and his lucid days are numbered. Determined to repair a lifetime of damage to his estranged adult children, Bill takes off with his fifteen-year-old granddaughter April on a cross-country drive, bound for San Francisco, where she dreams of becoming a rock star. As the unlikely pair heads west, Bill leaves clues intended to force his three children-including April's frantic mother-to overcome their mutual distrust and long-held grievances to work together to find them. 



 In this dazzling road trip novel, James King masterfully explores themes of aging, sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, and coming of age, against a backdrop of the American heartland. Unflinching, funny, and poignant, *Bill Warrington's Last Chance* speaks to that universal longing for familial reconciliation, love, and forgiveness.


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Three passengers are dead. Fifty-six are injured. The interior cabin virtually destroyed. But the pilot manages to land the plane. . . . At a moment when the issue of safety and death in the skies is paramount in the public mind, a lethal midair disaster aboard a commercial twin-jet airliner bound from Hong Kong to Denver triggers a pressured and frantic investigation. AIRFRAME is nonstop reading: the extraordinary mixture of super suspense and authentic information on a subject of compelling interest that has been a Crichton landmark since The Andromeda Strain.


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Marriage should be based on love, right? But does it seem as though you and your spouse are speaking two different languages? *New York Times* bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman guides couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse’s primary love language—quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. 

By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with specific, simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction. A newly designed love languages assessment will help you understand and strengthen your relationship. You can build a lasting, loving marriage together.

 

 Gary Chapman hosts a nationally syndicated daily radio program called *A Love Language Minute* that can be heard on more than 150 radio stations as well as the weekly syndicated program *Building Relationships with Gary Chapman*, which can both be heard on fivelovelanguages.com.

 

 *The Five Love Languages* is a consistent new York Times bestseller - with over **5 million copies** sold and translated into 38 languages.  This book is a sales phenomenon, with each year outselling the prior for 16 years running! 

Includes a promotional code to gain exclusive online access to the new comprehensive love languages assessment.


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The United States government is given a warning by the pre-eminent biophysicists in the country: current sterilization procedures applied to returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere. Two years later, seventeen satellites are sent into the outer fringes of space to "collect organisms and dust for study." One of them falls to earth, landing in a desolate area of Arizona. Twelve miles from the landing site, in the town of Piedmont, a shocking discovery is made: the streets are littered with the dead bodies of the town's inhabitants, as if they dropped dead in their tracks.


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A Case of Need is Michael Crichton's award-winning debut novel, written shortly after he completed his medical internship. Set against the ever-building pressure and pace of a large Boston medical center, the tensions flare-and explode-when a surgical operation tragically ends in death, raising countless questions. Was it accidental malpractice? A violation of the Hippocratic oath? Or cold-blooded murder?


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Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.     

Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.     

On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped give birth to the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have now been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.     

Among the major themes addressed throughout this new edition are:     

Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality     

The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients     

Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully     

The particular substances that give foods their flavors and that give us pleasure     

Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods     

On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food.


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**The "rousing military adventure"(*Locus*) continues with a brand-new *Valor* novel. ** 



 Former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr is attempting to build a new life with salvage operator Craig Ryder on his ship, the *Promise*. Turns out civilian life is a lot rougher than she'd imagined-salvage operators are losing both cargo and lives to pirates. And when they attack the *Promise*, Craig is taken prisoner and Torin is left for dead. 



 When Torin finds out why the pirates needed Craig, she calls in the Marines to get him back-and to stop the pirates from changing the balance of power in known space.


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There was another war, some 150 years ago, which was unpopular at home ā the death rate shocking, the military strategy confused ā and the first on which the media had a major influence. The Street Philosopher ā the nineteenth-century term for a society writer, a gossip columnist ā captures this scene brilliantly.Ambitious young journalist Thomas Kitson arrives at the battlefields of the Crimea as the London Courierās man on the ground. It is a dangerous place, full of the worst horrors of war but Kitson is determined to make his mark. Under the tutelage of his hard-bitten Irish boss Cracknell, and assisted by artist Robert Styles, he sets about exposing the incompetence of the army generals.Two years later, as Sebastopol burns, Thomas returns to England under mysterious circumstances. Desperate to forget the atrocities of the Crimea, he takes a job as a āstreet philosopherā, a society writer reporting on the gossip of the day. But on the eve of the great Art Treasures Exhibition, as Manchester prepares to welcome Queen Victoria, Thomasās past returns to haunt him in the most horrifying way...


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Meghan McCain came to prominence as the straight-talking, progressive daughter of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain. And her profile has only risen since the election ended in favor of the other guy.  

 makes Meghan so appealing? As a new role model for young, creative, and vocal members of the GOP, she's unafraid to mix it up and speak her mind. In *Dirty Sexy Politics* she takes a hard look at the future of her party. She doesn't shy away from serious issues and her raucous humor and down-to-earth style keep her positions accessible.   

In this witty, candid, and boisterous book, Meghan takes us deep behind the scenes of the campaign trail. She steals campaign signs in New Hampshire, tastes the nightlife in Nashville, and has a strange encounter with Laura and Jenna Bush at the White House. Along the way, she falls in love with America--while seeing how far the Republican Party has veered from its core values of freedom, honesty, and individuality. In *Dirty Sexy Politics*, Meghan McCain gives us a true insider's account of life on a campaign trail.


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This collection of marvelously off-kilter short stories – the American debut of acclaimed Japanese writer Yasutaka Tsutsui – portrays the consequences of a world where the fantastic and the mundane collide and throw the lives of ordinary men and women into disarray.In “The Dabba Dabba Tree” Tsutsui describes the hilarious side effects of a small conical tree that, when placed at the foot of one’s bed, creates erotic dreams that metamorphose into communal farce. In “Commuter Army”–a sly commentary on the ludicrousness of war–a weapons supplier whose rifles cease functioning after just one shot becomes an unwilling conscript in a war zone. “The World is Tilting” imagines a floating city that slowly begins to sink on one side, causing its citizens to reorient their daily lives to preserve a semblance of normality. In “Rumors About Me”, an ordinary office worker finds himself the subject of intense media scrutiny, his every action documented in the tabloids. And in the title story, we learn just how obscenely absurd the environment on Planet Porno can seem to a group of hapless research scientists.With a sharp eye towards the insanities of contemporary life, Yasutaka Tsutsui crafts in Salmonella Men on Planet Porno an irresistible mix of imagination, satiric fantasy, and truly madcap hilarity.


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In the simmering hot summer of 1492, a monstrous evil is stirring within the Eternal City of Rome. The brutal murder of an alchemist sets off a desperate race to uncover the plot that threatens to extinguish the light of the Renaissance and plunge Europe back into medieval darkness.Determined to avenge the killing of her father, Francesca Giordano defies all convention to claim for herself the position of poisoner serving Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, head of the most notorious and dangerous family in Italy. She becomes the confidante of Lucrezia Borgia and the lover of Cesare Borgia. At the same time, she is drawn to the young renegade monk who yearns to save her life and her soul.Navigating a web of treachery and deceit, Francesca pursues her father’s killer from the depths of Rome’s Jewish ghetto to the heights of the Vatican itself. In so doing, she sets the stage for the ultimate confrontation with ancient forces that will seek to use her darkest desires to achieve their own catastrophic ends.


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This critically acclaimed blockbuster from internationally renowned novelist Robert Littell seamlessly weaves together history and fiction to create a multigenerational, wickedly nostalgic saga of the CIA-known as "the Company" to insiders. Racing across a landscape spanning the legendary Berlin Base of the '50s, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Bay of Pigs, Afghanistan, and the Gorbachev putsch, The Company tells the thrilling story of agents imprisoned in double lives, fighting an amoral, elusive, formidable enemy-and each other-in an internecine battle within the Company itself. A brilliant, stunningly conceived epic thriller, The Company confirms Littell's place among the genre's elite.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

As she prepares dinner for her husband and their extended family, Suzanne hears on the radio that a jetliner has crashed and her lover is dead. Alex Elling was a renowned orchestra conductor. Suzanne is a concert violist, long unsatisfied with her marriage to a composer whose music turns emotion into thought. Now, more alone than she s ever been, she must grieve secretly. But as complex as that effort is, it pales with the arrival of Alex s widow, who blackmails her into completing the score for Alex s unfinished viola concerto. As Suzanne struggles to keep her double life a secret from her husband, from her best friend, and from the other members of her quartet, she is consumed by memories of a rich love affair saturated with music. Increasingly manipulated by her lover s widow and tormented by the concerto s many layers, Suzanne realizes she may lose everything she s spent her life working for. A story of love, loss, sex, class, and betrayal, this psychologically compelling novel explores the ways that artists lives and work interact, the nature of relationships among women as friends and competitors, and what it means to make a life of art.


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On July 20, 1969 more than 500 million people across the globe watched as the first man in history stepped onto the face of another planet. The triumph of the Apollo 11 mission was a momentous pinacle that followed years of construction, planning, and training, all of which is conveyed in this captivating history that uses official accounts to tell the real, untold story. The background of the space race is retold in full detail, including the role of the Cold War and America’s desire to flex its international muscle. The fraught and often bitter relationships between the three men destined to make history—hot-headed Buzz Aldrin, easygoing Michael Collins, and the inscrutable Neil Armstrong—are also addressed, as is the nail-biting moment when, just minutes before Armstrong and Aldrin were about to reach the surface of the moon, their equipment failed. This is an engaging account of a mission that could easily have gone terribly wrong, but instead turned into an American triumph.


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The Curse of Deadman's Forest is the second book in the Oracles of Delphi Keep—a series with all the timeless charm of classics like the Chronicles of Narnia and all the action-packed adventure of a modern middle-grade blockbuster. Since Ian Wigby and his sister, Theodosia, found the silver treasure box and the prophecy within it, their world has changed. There's no denying what they discovered in Morocco: a powerful evil is budding, and to defeat it, and save the world from darkness, six uniquely gifted children must be gathered.According to prophecy, a trip through the magical portal near the castle will bring them to the third Oracle--a child with extraordinary powers to heal. But the very same prophecy foretells Ian's death should he venture through the portal again.Everyone agrees: to risk Ian's life is too great a gamble. But when a terrible curse enters the keep, it becomes clear that there is no other choice.If Ian and Theo stay in Dover, all will surely be lost, but to follow the prophecy, they will risk their lives and everything they have ever held dear. According to prophecy, a trip through the magical portal near the castle will bring them to the third Oracle—a child with extraordinary powers to heal. But the very same prophecy foretells Ian's death should he venture through the portal again. Everyone agrees: to risk Ian's life is too great a gamble. But when a terrible curse enters the keep, it becomes clear that there is no other choice. If Ian and Theo stay in Dover, all will surely be lost, but to follow the prophecy, they will risk their lives and everything they have ever held dear.  Since Ian Wigby and his sister, Theodosia, found the silver treasure box and the prophecy within it, their world has changed. There's no denying what they discovered in Morocco: a powerful evil is building, and to defeat it, and save the world from darkness, six uniquely gifted children must be gathered.According to prophecy, a trip through the magical portal near the castle will bring them to the third Oracle—a child with extraordinary powers to heal. But the very same prophecy foretells Ian's death should he venture through the portal again. Everyone agrees: to risk Ian's life is too great a gamble. But when a terrible curse enters the keep, it becomes clear that there is no other choice.If Ian and Theo stay in Dover, all will surely be lost, but to follow the prophecy, they will risk their lives and everything they have ever held dear. Since Ian Wigby and his sister, Theodosia, found the silver treasure box and the prophecy within it, their world has changed. There's no denying what they discovered in Morocco: a powerful evil is building, and to defeat it, and save the world from darkness, six uniquely gifted children must be gathered.According to prophecy, a trip through the magical portal near the castle will bring them to the third Oracle—a child with extraordinary powers to heal. But the very same prophecy foretells Ian's death should he venture through the portal again.Everyone agrees: to risk Ian's life is too great a gamble. But when a terrible curse enters the keep, it becomes clear that there is no other choice.If Ian and Theo stay in Dover, all will surely be lost, but to follow the prophecy, they will risk their lives and everything they have ever held dear.


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With impeccable skill, Robert Coover, one of Americas pioneering postmodernists, has turned the classic detective story inside-out. Here Coover is at the top of his form; and Noir is a true page-turnerwry, absurd, and desolate. You are Philip M. Noir, Private Investigator. A mysterious young widow hires you to find her husbands killerif he was killed. Then your client is killed and her body disappearsif she was your client. Your search for clues takes you through all levels of the city, from classy lounges to lowlife dives, from jazz bars to a rich sex kittens bedroom, from yachts to the morgue. The Case of the Vanishing Black Widow unfolds over five days aboveground and three or four in smugglers tunnels, though flashback and anecdote, and expands time into something much larger. You dont always get the joke, though most people think whats happening is pretty funny.Praise for the work of Robert Coover As his dazzling career continues to demonstrate, Mr. Coover is a one-man Big Bang of exploding creative force. The New York Times At age 75, Coover is still a brilliant mythmaker, a potty-mouthed Svengali, and an evil technician of metaphors. He is among our languages most important inventors. Ben Marcus


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A hero with an incredible talent...for breaking things. A life-or-death mission...to rescue a bag of sand. A fearsome threat from a powerful secret network...the evil Librarians. Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem destined for anything but disaster. On his 13th birthday he receives a bag of sand, which is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians plotting to take over the world. The sand will give the Librarians the edge they need to achieve world domination. Alcatraz must stop them!...by infiltrating the local library, armed with nothing but eyeglasses and a talent for klutziness.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

With the death of her fabulously wealthy coal magnate father when she was just eleven, Mary Eleanor Bowes became the richest heiress in Britain. An ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II, Mary grew to be a highly educated young woman, winning acclaim as a playwright and botanist. Courted by a bevy of eager suitors, at eighteen she married the handsome but aloof ninth Earl of Strathmore in a celebrated, if ultimately troubled, match that forged the Bowes Lyon name. Yet she stumbled headlong into scandal when, following her husband’s early death, a charming young army hero flattered his way into the merry widow’s bed. Captain Andrew Robinson Stoney insisted on defending her honor in a duel, and Mary was convinced she had found true love. Judged by doctors to have been mortally wounded in the melee, Stoney persuaded Mary to grant his dying wish; four days later they were married.Sadly, the “captain” was not what he seemed. Staging a sudden and remarkable recovery, Stoney was revealed as a debt-ridden lieutenant, a fraudster, and a bully. Immediately taking control of Mary’s vast fortune, he squandered her wealth and embarked on a campaign of appalling violence and cruelty against his new bride. Finally, fearing for her life, Mary masterminded an audacious escape and challenged social conventions of the day by launching a suit for divorce. The English public was horrified–and enthralled. But Mary’s troubles were far from over . . . Novelist William Makepeace Thackeray was inspired by Stoney’s villainy to write *The Luck of Barry Lyndon,* which Stanley Kubrick turned into an Oscar-winning film. Based on exhaustive archival research, *Wedlock* is a thrilling and cinematic true story, ripped from the headlines of eighteenth-century England.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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Explosive sabotage and the startling unearthing of a hundred-year-old skeleton on a Nevada ranch thrillingly start off this debut novel in a tail-wagging new series from New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown. With the ruins of her high-powered Wall Street job now far in the rearview mirror of her rented silver Camaro, thirty-two-year-old Mags Rogers arrives at her great-aunt Jeep’s sprawling Wings Ranch to reassemble her life. In the passenger seat, with his suspicious nose to a cracked window, is Mags’s beloved wirehaired dachshund, the urbane Baxter.  Mags was named for her great-aunt, Magdalena—though everyone calls the spry octogenarian rancher Jeep. From piloting planes in World War II to discovering one of America’s largest gold deposits, Jeep has enjoyed a lifetime jam-packed with love and adventure, and she’s not done yet. At her side—to Baxter’s low-down distress—is Jeep’s loyal German Shepherd mix, King. The growlings are mutual: King sniffs that Baxter is a “fuzzy sausage.”Meanwhile, someone pipe-bombs Red Rock Valley’s pumping station, endangering the water supply near and far. Deputy Pete Meadows links the sabotage to a string of local murders, but he doesn’t yet know if it’s a corporate plot or twisted eco-terrorism. He’s also called out to Wings Ranch when human bones are dug up in Jeep’s barn; the dead man’s ring identifies him as an elite Russian military officer from the late 1800s, apparently knifed to death. In her search to find out whodunit, Mags uncovers fascinating history about Jeep’s ranch, including an intriguing connection to Buffalo Bill.  Mags and Pete have mysteries to solve, among them why they are so drawn to each other. Baxter and King team up when it comes time to protect their humans. And all the while, Jeep Reed, the sassiest wit in the West, has a bold plan for Red Rock Valley in which they all will play a part. 


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A unique voice, Melissa Jacobs delivers a second fun–filled, food–filled novel.  Mimi's life is an open book, or rather, an open menu. A restaurant consultant, she's helped launch some of the best restaurants in Philly and around the world. And she even managed to turn her boyfriend Nick into the nation's hottest celebrity chef. But when she comes home and discovers that Nick's got a secret tongue–pierced girl on the side, Mimi realizes she doesn't have the secret to success after all.  Needing a change of pace, Mimi heads home to New Jersey. The family restaurant is failing and her brother, unknown to anyone, has made plans to sell. The ultimate Restaurant Diva, Mimi sets out to save the family business––a decision thatt leads her to two potentially perfect new men. All her life Mimi has believed that everyone has one true Soul Mate, but now she's thinking that idea should be tossed out with last night's leftovers. Maybe it's time to select her men the way she selects pastries and produce and sample all there is to offer.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**For the members of a stay-at-home-moms' e-mail loop, lunch with friends is a sandwich in front of the computer. But where else could they discuss things like . . .**    

**S**uccess: Her workaholic husband is driving Dulcie Huckleberry around the bend. It's hard to love someone in sickness and in health when *he's never home!*    

**A**rt: Let the children express themselves, opines artistic Zelia Muzuwa, and then her son's head gets stuck inside a kitty scratching post . . .    

**H**ealth: Surely aches and pains are normal in an active little boy, yet those of soccer-mom Jocelyn Millard's son don't seem to be going away.    

**M**otherhood: Teen-mom-turned-farmer's-wife Brenna Lindberg can deal with the mud and the chickens, but what about her husband's desire for a child of his own?    

**I**ndiscretions: However youthful, they can come back to haunt you, learns pastor's wife Phyllis Lorimer.    

**Am**ends: These could stand to be made between officious list moderator Rosalyn Ebberly and her pampered sister, Veronica. Perhaps the other SAHM I AMers can teach these two something about sisterhood.


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Bill Smith's country cabin in upstate New York is far from the city's savage streets--a retreat where a weary P.I. can play Mozart on his upright piano and let nature heal him. But when Eve Colgate, a local farmer and painter, asks him to find stolen items--six paintings which could reveal Eve's highly guarded thirty-year-old secret--he caves. When Smith's partner, Lydia Chin, comes in on the action, she brings along her cool courage and sharp mind. It's a simple case--until the runaway daughter of a hotshot politician and the murder of a local hood change the playing field. Now the stench of corruption fills this rural paradise, as Bill and Lydia scour through dangerous secrets and greedy corridors for the stone-cold truth...


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In her debut collection, "New York Times" best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of "Tithe" in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. These stories have been published in anthologies such as "21 Proms," "The Faery Reel," and "The Restless Dead," and have been reprinted in many "Best of" anthologies. "The Poison Eater"s is Holly Black's much-anticipated first collection of stories, and her ability to stare into the void--and to find humanity and humor there--will speak to young adult and adult readers alike. Illustrated by Theo Black. Holly Black is the author of "Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale" (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults) and two related novels, "Valiant" (Norton Award winner, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, CCBC Choices) and "Ironside." Her latest novel, "White Cat" is the first of a new series, The Curseworkers. She and Tony DiTerlizzi created the best-selling Spiderwick Chronicles. She is working on a graphic novel series, The Good Neighbors, with artist Ted Naifeh. She and her husband, Theo, live in Massachusetts.


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For the poor, hardworking citizens of the Confederacy's fringe worlds, the Guild Wars have exacted a huge toll. Swayed by the promise of financial rewards, a new batch of recruits joins the fight alongside a slew of mysteriously docile criminals -- and a few dubious military leaders. Eighteen-year-old Jim Raynor, full of testosterone and eager to make things right at home, ships off to boot camp and finds his footing on the battlefield, but he soon discovers that the official mission is not what he's really fighting for.For the first time ever, StarCraft enthusiasts will learn the origins of the enduring friendship between the young upstart Jim Raynor and the streetwise soldier Tychus Findlay. Watch as they battle on the front lines of a fierce interplanetary war and bear witness to the Confederacy's rank corruption -- corruption so reprehensible that it rains immeasurable death and destruction upon the government's own people.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

In this outstanding first novel, Craig Johnson draws on his background in law enforcement and his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, and full of memorable characters. Walt Longmire, sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County, knows he’s got trouble when Cody Pritchard is found dead. Two years earlier, Cody and three accomplices had been given suspended sentences for raping a Northern Cheyenne girl. Is someone seeking vengeance? Longmire faces the most volatile and challenging case in his twenty-four years as sheriff and means to see that revenge, a dish that is best served cold, is never served at all.


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From Hollywood B-movies to Hollywood classics, *A Night at the Movies* invents what might have happened in these Saturday afternoon matinees. Mad scientists, vampires, cowboys, dance-men, Chaplin, and Bogart, all flit across Robert Coover's riotously funny screen, doing things and uttering lines that are as shocking to them as they are funny to the reader. As Coover's Program announces, you will get Coming Attractions, The Weekly Serial, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, and more, but turned upside-down and inside-out.


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Internationally renowned author Robert Coover returns with a major new novel set in Venice and featuring one of its most famous citizens, Pinocchio. The result is a brilliant philosophical discourse on what it means to be human; a hilarious, bawdy adventure; and a fitting tribute to the history, grandeur, and decay of Venice itself.


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Every doctor dreaded recognizing someone in the emergency room--even coolheaded consultant James Morrell. But he was doubly shocked when the unconscious patient he had been asked to treat was instantly familiar. It was his ex-wife!Dr. Lorna McClelland hated being ill, hated being stuck in a hospital bed and, above all, hated having to rely on James. But as she recovered, all the wonderful things about their marriage came flooding back....


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In *Chosen*, a young caseworker becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents, with devastating results.   

 It all begins with a fantasy: the caseworker in her "signing paperwork" charcoal suit standing alongside beaming parents cradling their adopted newborn, set against a fluorescent-lit delivery-room backdrop. It's this blissful picture that keeps Chloe Pinter, director of the Chosen Child's domestic-adoption program, happy while juggling the high demands of her boss and the incessant needs of both adoptive and biological parents.  

 But the very job that offers her refuge from her turbulent personal life and Portland's winter rains soon becomes a battleground involving three very different couples: the Novas, well-off college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have nothing—except the baby everyone wants. When a child goes missing, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what he or she really wants and where it all went wrong.  

 Told from alternating points of view, *Chosen* reveals the desperate nature of desire across social backgrounds and how far people will go to get the one thing they think will be the answer.


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Sept 21, 2010

When 19-year-old Bob Tripp hits farmer Jacob Flood in the head with a T-ball bat at the outset of Sandford's exciting fourth thriller to feature Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers (after Rough Country), Tripp's subsequent attempt to make murder look like an accident fails. The morning after Tripp's arrest, he's found hanging in his cell. Warren County sheriff Lee Coakley seeks Flowers's help to investigate what role, if any, deputy Jim Crocker, the officer on duty at the jail at the time, played in Tripp's death. A link to the earlier murder of a young woman leads Flowers and Coakley to members of a small church with strange ways. As the pair become aware of the magnitude of the unspeakable crimes (rape, child abuse, incest) behind the deaths, they search desperately for a lever to pry open what turns out to be Flowers's biggest, if perhaps most unlikely, case to date.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy follows the story of a young robot who was created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. This novel is based on the new animated film, includes 8 pages of full-color images from the movie, and is written by *New York Times* bestselling author Tracey West.


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The third volume of the crusades trilogy from bestselling Swedish author Jan Guillou. Arn de Gotha has become one of the most feared warriors of the Knights Templar fighting to liberate Palestine with the Crusaders. At the great battle for Jerusalem, a mammoth and bloody struggle where the Christians were finally defeated, Arn is saved from certain death by Saladin, his longtime enemy and trusted friend. Ravaged by wounds and sickness, Arn is at last granted his wish: to return at last to his homeland, it plagued by endless wars. Arn is determined to find her - the woman for whom he was exiled. He must discover if their love could endure so long a separation, and if it can sustain his new quest: the create a new people, a new society, both Christian and Muslim, both craftsmen and warriors, with Arn at its helm, fighting for peace in a savage land. A fitting conclusion to a great trilogy, a bestseller all over Europe, and now the basis for a major film.


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Bio-tech aliens battle Mechs built by humans! 

After centuries in stasis, a lost task force returns home. Arriving from the infinite void the surviving ships discover that the Imperium lies in ruin. The Homeworld itself is destroyed, and nothing lives in the Ancestral System except an infestation of unknown bipedal beings—creatures soft, red of blood and warm of flesh… 

When you colonize a planet, make sure the owners aren't coming back... 

MECH is the story of a new Earth colony built upon the ancient Homeworld of a civilization presumed (incorrectly) to be long dead. MECH is a full novel, 90,000 words in length, by award winning author B. V. Larson.


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Doctor Impossible—evil genius, would-be world conqueror—languishes in prison. Shuffling through the cafeteria line with ordinary criminals, he wonders if the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life. After all, he's lost every battle he's ever fought. But this prison won't hold him forever.  Fatale—half woman, half high-tech warrior—used to be an unemployed cyborg. Now, she's a rookie member of the world's most famous super-team, the Champions. But being a superhero is not all flying cars and planets in peril—she learns that in the locker rooms and dive bars of superherodom, the men and women (even mutants) behind the masks are as human as anyone. Soon I Will Be Invincible is a wildly entertaining first novel, brimming with attitude and humor—an emotionally resonant look at good and evil, love and loss, power and glory.


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"As a chef, I work at a thousand miles an hour, but when I'm at home, I want to slow down."   way from the high-octane energy of the professional kitchen, Gordon Ramsay makes meals at home that are more re-laxed, where cooking is fun and everyone gets involved in preparing food for family and friends. The way Gordon cooks here embodies his strongly held views: use in-season, fresh ingredients at their peak; support local producers and farmers' markets whenever possible; and celebrate the food culture and its many influences.   And while Gordon loves to celebrate traditional food, he proves that it doesn't have to be boring, bland, or uninventive. Cooking for Friends is full of Gordon's best-loved versions of classic dishes—try a slow-cooked dish like Honey Roast Ham or Corn-Fed Chicken Legs with Braised Peas and Onions, or invite people around for a Sunday lunch of Roast Rib-Eye with Caramelized Shallot and Red Wine Gravy. Cook the ultimate in comfort food, Shepherd's Pie with Branston Pickle or Bakewell Tart, and get the kids involved in making Farfalle with Bacon, Peas, and Sage or Grilled Vegetable Lasagne.   Cooking for Friends contains more than one hundred of Gordon's favorite recipes that he loves to cook and eat with friends and family—uncomplicated recipes but all with Gordon's remarkable feeling for flavor and his extraordinary technical know-how.


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E-BOOK EXTRA: Janie's Great Journey: A Reading Group Guide; PLUS: The Comphrehensive Edition: This special e-book is the only edition to include all three essays by Edwidge Danticat, Mary Helen Washington, and Henry Louis Gates.<P>Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person -- no mean feat for a Black woman in the ‘30s. Zora Neale Hurston's classic 1937 novel follows Janie's quest for identity -- a journey during which she learns what love is, experiences life's joys and sorrows, and comes home to herself in peace.  “There is no book more important to me than this one.” --Alice Walker<p>“Their Eyes belongs in the same category with [the works of] William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, that of enduring American literature.” --Saturday Review


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Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is the author of five previous books, four of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, and can be reached at her Web site, www.lidiasitaly.com. Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia's daughter, received her Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours of Italy. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island. "From the Hardcover edition."


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Long acknowledged as the inspiration for such modern masters as Julia Child and Claudia Roden, A Book of Mediterranean Food is Elizabeth David's passionate mixture of recipes, culinary lore, and frank talk. In bleak postwar Great Britain, when basics were rationed and fresh food a fantasy, David set about to cheer herself --and her audience-- up with dishes from the south of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the Middle East. Some are sumptuous, many are simple, most are sublime.


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Hannah and Joey have been best friends for ever. Joey's parents love rescuing things and making them beautiful - their house is full of things made from driftwood, old glass and shells from the beach. Which is why the scraggy kittens the girls find in a bin at school end up living there. And when Paul moves in as Joey's foster brother, everyone thinks that maybe he needs rescuing too. But nobody knows quite how badly. At first, it's great - Hannah's brother befriends Paul, and the four of them hang out together. But then things start to go wrong. Paul is being bullied. Subtly at first - but quickly it gets dangerous. People aren't like driftwood or abandoned kittens and Hannah doesn't know how to rescue him. Paul doesn't want to be rescued - but with help, he can find a way to save himself.


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Anya used to dream of moving to Britain to start a brand-new life. But as she sits in a school where nobody understands her, she dreams of Polish summer skies and the place where she once belonged.Then Anya meets bad boy Dan. Hes no angel, but shes sure theres a sweeter side to him. And when things begin to fall apart, Anya realizes shes not alone how can Dan be such bad news when being with him feels like heaven?


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

What would it be like to walk into your living room one day and  meet a complete stranger who says she’s your mother? It happens  to Dizzy on her twelfth birthday. Storm ("Please don’t call  me mum!") arrives, and the nice, safe, predictable life Dizzy has  made with her father is blown to bits. Storm convinces Dizzy to  go away on a short holiday with her—something she says Dizzy’s  father has agreed to—and so begins a wild, van-traveling, musicmaking,  teepee-sleeping, patchouli-wearing summer! But soon  enough the fun wears off, and Dizzy begins to realize that Storm  is not the mother Dizzy always dreamed she’d be.


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Gracie McLaughlin is an advice columnist who finds it difficult to live by the advice she gives.Within Arm's Reachfollows three generations of the McLaughlins, an Irish Catholic family who is jarred into crisis by Gracie's unexpected pregnancy. This lyrical first novel is told through six different points of view: the unmarried Gracie, her sister Lila, their parents, their matriarchal grandmother, and a family outsider with a curious connection. As the McLaughlins respond to the profound change in Gracie's life, their own memories and personal stories begin to emerge. Ann Napolitano creates a family quilt of sorts, each person's life and actions closely woven throughout the fabric of the past, present, and future.Within Arm's Reachis a rich and deeply satisfying narrative of guilt, love, betrayal, and the ultimate loyaltythat of blood.


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Legendary singer and *New York Times* bestselling author Patti  LaBelle reveals her mouth-watering culinary secrets for eating your way to a long and healthy life.  "Treat your body like a temple, not an amusement park."     This is the sage advice Patti LaBelle lives by, and in her new book she shares more than 100 original recipes for meals that are not only good for you but taste great, too. She also shares her own personal story of a lifetime of struggling with body image and tells the heartbreaking story of how she lost her mother to diabetes and learned recently that she, too, had the disease.    In her first cookbook, *LaBelle Cuisine*, LaBelle featured the high-style, down-home cooking she learned from the great Southern cooks in her family. But after she was diagnosed with diabetes, LaBelle had to radically change her dietary habits and food choices. With diabetic exchanges developed and approved by the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association, *Patti LaBelle's Lite Cuisine* is chock-full of the kind of recipes that made her earlier cookbook a bestselling sensation. Readers will love the wide array of healthful and heavenly dishes like "Awesome Oven-Fried Chicken," "Sensational Sloppy Joes," "Company's-Coming Crab Imperial," and "Luscious Lobster Salad." Delectable desserts include everything from "Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" to "Tastes-Like-Grandma-Made-It Banana Pudding."    One of America's most beloved performers once again creates her special brand of culinary magic. Her new, healthy, and delicious recipes are destined to make Patti's latest cookbook a staple in kitchens all across America.


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Looking for the perfect recipe to warm up a cold winter's night? Making use of the hearty seasonal produce from root vegetables to apples, from leafy greens to lush pears, the recipes in Winter Gatherings bring winter's flavors together perfectly. Award-winning cooking instructor Rick Rodgers brings you purposefully cozy and uncomplicated recipes that highlight the particular flavors and tempting aromas of the winter season. For a dinner with friends after singing carols in the snow, nibble on GruyÈre and Rosemary GougÈres in front of the fire. Follow those with a main course of Braised Short Ribs with Dark Beer and Root Vegetables and a dessert of Maple CrÉmes BrÛlÉes. You'll find recipes perfect for Hanukkah dinners with loved ones, as they'll clamor for Latkes with Apple-JalapeÑo Salsa, or a special Valentine's Day made sweeter with a Chocolate and Orange Tart. Winter Gatherings has a complete selection of recipes for a festive holiday feast, whether you prefer the Rib Roast with Blue Cheese Crust or perhaps a not-so-traditional Baked Ham with Cranberry-Tangerine Glaze.  There's no better way to warm up the hearth this time of year than by sharing a hearty meal with your friends and family. With mouthwatering, soul-satisfying recipes and inspiring color photographs, Winter Gatherings will brighten your holiday table all season long.


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Meet Rossamünda foundling, a boy with a girls name who is about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor of the Half-Continent. What starts as a simple journey becomes a dangerous and complicated set of battles and decisions. Humans, monsters, unearthly creatures . . . who among these can Rossamünd trust? D. M. Cornish has created an entirely original world, grounded in his own deft, classically influenced illustrations. Foundling is a magic-laced, Dickensian adventure that will transport the reader.


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The official sequel to Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, written by his direct descendent and endorsed by the Stoker familyThe story begins in 1912, twenty-five years after the events described in the original novel. Dr. Jack Seward, now a disgraced morphine addict, hunts vampires across Europe with the help of a mysterious benefactor. Meanwhile, Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school to pursue a career in stage at London's famous Lyceum Theatre.The production of Dracula at the Lyceum, directed and produced by Bram Stoker, has recently lost its star. Luckily, Quincey knows how to contact the famed Hungarian actor Basarab, who agrees to take the lead role.Quincey soon discovers that the play features his parents and their former friends as characters, and seems to reveal much about the terrible secrets he's always suspected them of harbouring. But, before he can confront them, Jonathan Harker is found murdered.The writers were able to access Bram Stoker's hand-written notes and have included in their story characters and plot threads that had been excised by the publisher from the original printing over a century ago.Dracula is one of the most recognized fictional characters in the world, having spawned dozens of multi-media spin-offs. The Un-Dead is the first Dracula story to enjoy the full support of the Stoker estate since the original 1931 movie starring Bela Lugosi.


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The mission was to kill the most wanted man in the world--an operation of such magnitude that it couldn’t be handled by just any military or intelligence force. The best America had to offer was needed. As such, the task was handed to roughly forty members of America’s supersecret counterterrorist unit formerly known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta; more popularly, the elite and mysterious unit Delta Force. The American generals were flexible. A swatch of hair, a drop of blood, or simply a severed finger wrapped in plastic would be sufficient. Delta's orders were to go into harm's way and prove to the world bin Laden had been terminated.These Delta warriors had help: a dozen of the British Queen’s elite commandos, another dozen or so Army Green Berets, and six intelligence operatives from the CIA who laid the groundwork by providing cash, guns, bullets, intelligence, and interrogation skills to this clandestine military force. Together, this team waged modern siege of epic proportions against bin Laden and his seemingly impenetrable cave sanctuary burrowed deep inside the Spin Ghar Mountain range in eastern Afghanistan. Over the years, since the battle ended, scores of news stories have surfaced offering tidbits of information about what actually happened in Tora Bora. Most of it is conjecture and speculation. This is the real story of the operation, the first eyewitness account of the Battle of Tora Bora, and the first book to detail just how close Delta Force came to capturing bin Laden, how close U.S. bombers and fighter aircraft came to killing him, and exactly why he slipped through our fingers. Lastly, this is an extremely rare inside look at the shadowy world of Delta Force and a detailed account of these warriors in battle.


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Donna Leons mastery of plot, her understanding of Venetian manners and mores, and above all her philosophical, unfailingly decent protagonist have made the Commissario Brunetti mysteries bestsellers around the world, including an ever-growing American audience. In "The Death of Faith," Brunetti comes to the aid of a young nursing sister who is leaving her convent following the unexpected death of five patients. At first Brunettis inquiries reveal nothing amiss, and he wonders whether the nun is simply creating a smoke screen to justify abandoning her vocation. But perhaps she has stumbled onto something very real and very sinistersomething that puts her life in imminent danger.


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Donna Leon has topped European bestseller lists for more than a decade with a series of mysteries featuring clever Commissario Guido Brunetti. Always ready to bend the rules to uncover the threads of a crime, Brunetti manages to maintain his integrity while maneuvering through a city rife with politics, corruption, and intrigue. In A Noble Radiance a new landowner is summoned urgently to his house not far from Venice when workmen accidentally unearth a macabre grave. The human corpse is badly decomposed, but a ring found nearby proves to be a first clue that reopens an infamous case of kidnapping involving one of Venice's most aristocratic families. Only Commissario Brunetti can unravel the clues and find his way into both the heart of patrician Venice and that of a family grieving for their abducted son.


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Donna Leons multitude of fans around the world has grown with each new Commissario Brunetti novel, and now mystery lovers in the United States can enjoy another compelling episode. In Fatal Remedies, Brunettis career is under threat when his professional and personal lives unexpectedly intersect. In the chill of the Venetian dawn, a sudden act of vandalism shatters the quiet of the deserted city, and Brunetti is shocked to find that the culprit waiting to be apprehended at the scene is a member of his own family. Meanwhile, he is also under pressure from his superiors to solve a daring robbery with connections to a suspicious accidental death. Could the two crimes be connected? And will Brunetti be able to prove his familys innocence before its too late?


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When Commissario Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat concerned to investigate the lack of official approval for the building of his apartment years before, his first reaction, like any other Venetian, even a cop, is to think of whom he knows who might bring pressure to bear on the relevant local government department. But when the bureaucrat rings him at work, clearly scared by some information he plans to give Brunetti, and is then found dead after a fall from scaffolding, something is clearly going on that has implications rather greater tean the fate of Guido's own apartment. Brunetti's investigations take him into unfamiliar areas of Venetian life - drug abuse and loan-sharking - while the deaths of two young drug addicts and the arrest, and subsequent release, of a suspected drug-dealer reveal, once again, what a difference it makes in Venice to have friends in high places.


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Commissario Brunetti finds himself adrift in his tenth investigation-available for the first time in the United States Dona Leon has amased devoted fans around the world for her atmospheric and intelligent Commissario Brunetti series. "A Sea of Troubles" offers a rare glimpse into the scrupulous Commissario's personal life. When Brunetti investigates the murder of two local fishermen on the island of Pellestrina, the small community closes ranks, forcing him to accept Signorina Elettra's offer to visit her relatives there to search for clues. Though loyal to his beloved wife, Paola, he must admit that less-than-platonic emotions underlie his concern for his boss's beautiful secretary. Suspenseful, provocative, and deeply unsettling, "A Sea of Troubles" is an explosive and irresistible addition to Leon's marvelous series.


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When one of his wife's Paola's students comes to visit him, with a strange and vague interest in investigating the possibility of a pardon for a crime committed by her grandfather many years ago, Commissario Brunetti thinks little of it. But when the girl is found dead, clearly stabbed to death, Claudia Leonardo suddenly becomes Brunetti's case, no longer Paola's student. Claudia seems to have no discernible living family - her only familial relationship is with an elderly Austrian woman, who was the lover of her grandfather, but was not herself Claudia's grandmother. Brunetti is both intrigued and stunned by the extraordinary art collection the old woman keeps in her small, unprepossessing flat, and when she in turn is found dead, the case seems to have be about to open up long buried secrets of collaboration and the exploitation of Italian Jews during the war, secrets few in Italy are happy to explore.


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For more than a decade Donna Leon has been a bestseller in Europe with a series   of   mysteries featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. Always ready to bend the rules   to solve   a crime, Brunetti manages to maintain his integrity while maneuvering through a   city rife   with politics, corruption, and intrigue.



In *Uniform Justice*, a young cadet has been found hanged, a presumed   suicide, in Venice’s elite military academy. Brunetti’s sorrow for the boy, so   close in age   to his own son, is rivaled only by his contempt for a community that is more   concerned   with protecting the reputation of the school, and its privileged students, than   with finding   the truth. The young man’s father is a doctor and former politician. He is a man   of an   impeccable integrity who inexplicably avoids talking to the police. As Brunetti   pursues   his inquiry, he is faced with a wall of silence. Is the military protecting its   own? Or has   Brunetti uncovered a conspiracy far more sinister than that of a single death?


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Beloved Commissario Guido Brunetti once again finds himself pursuing a puzzling case his fellow policemen would rather leave closed. What appears to be a cut-and-dried murder case pinpoints an elderly lady's maid as her killer. However, Brunetti comes to a different conclusion and decides--unofficially--to take on the case himself.


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When Atlantic Monthly Press relaunched her Commissario Guido Brunetti series. Donna Leon was hailed as "the best mystery writer you've never heard of...She uses the relatively small and crime-free canvas of Venice for riffs about Italian life, sexual styles and--best of all--the kind of ingrown business and political corruption that seems to lurk just below the surface" ("Chicago Tribune). Now "Blood from a Stone brings her celebrated character Commissario Guido Brunetti back on the scene: On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. The closest witnesses to the event are the tourists who had been browsing the man's wares before his death--fake handbags of every designer label. The dead man had been working as a "vu cumpra, one of the many African immigrants purveying goods outside normal shop hours, trading without work permits. Commissario Brunetti's response is that of everybody involved: Why would anyone kill an illegal immigrant? With few social connections and little money, infighting among these workers is the obvious answer. But once Brunetti begins to investigate this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake within the secretive society. Warned by Patta, his superior, to resist further involvement in the case, Brunetti only becomes more determined to unearth the truth behind this mysterious killing. Reluctant as he is to let this event be smugly relegated to the category of "not worth dealing with," how far will Brunetti be able to penetrate the murky subculture in this illegal community? "Blood from a Stone is an exquisite and irresistible mystery offering anunexpected take on life in contemporary Venice.


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A luminous spring day in Venice, and Commissario Brunetti and his sidekick Vianello play hooky from the Questura along the Grand Canal to rescue Vianello's friend Marco, who has been arrested during an environmental protest. They get him released, only to be faced by the fury of the man's father-in-law, who owns a glass factory on Murano. The old man is seething with rage, and his daughter shares her fear with Brunetti that he will actually harm her husband. But it is not Marco who has uncovered the guilty secret of the glass foundries, nor he whose body is found lying in front of the furnaces which burn at 1400 degrees C. night and day. The victim has left clues in a copy of Dante and Brunetti must enter an inferno to discover who is poisoning the land and fouling the waters of Venice's lagoon. A man is dead - but will politics and expedience prevent the killer from striking again?


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A riveting new mystery from international bestseller Donna Leon Donna LeonÂ’s Commissario Brunetti series has made VeniceÂ—a city thatÂ’s beautiful and sophisticated, but also secretive and corruptÂ—one of mystery fansÂ’ most beloved locales. In this brilliant new book, Brunetti is summoned to the hospital bed of a respected pediatrician, where he is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men had burst into the doctorÂ’s apartment, attacked him, and kidnapped his eighteen-month-old son. What could have motivated an assault so violent that it has left the doctor mute? And could this crime be related to the moneymaking scam run by pharmacists that BrunettiÂ’s colleague has recently uncovered? As Brunetti delves deeper into the case, a story of infertility, desperation, and illegal dealings begins to unfold.


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Donna Leon's "Commissario Guido Brunetti" mysteries have won legions of fans for their evocative portraits of Venetian life. In her novels, food, family, art, history, and local politics play as central a role as an unsolved crime. In "The Girl of His Dreams" when a friend of Brunetti's brother, a priest recently returned from years of missionary work, calls with a request, Brunetti suspects the man's motives. A new, American-style Protestant sect has begun to meet in the city, and it's possible the priest is merely apprehensive of the competition. But the preacher could also be fleecing his growing flock, so Brunetti and Paola, along with Inspector Vianello and his wife, go undercover. But the investigation has to be put aside when, one cold and rainy morning, a body is found floating in a canal. It is a child, a gypsy girl. Brunetti suspects she fell off a nearby roof while fleeing an apartment she had robbed. He has to inform the distrustful parents, encamped on the mainland, and soon finds himself haunted by the crime--and the girl. Thought-provoking, eye-opening, and profoundly moving, "The Girl of His Dreams" is classic Donna Leon, a spectacular, heart-wrenching addition to the series.


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Donna Leon's eighteen novels have won her countless fans, heaps of critical acclaim, and a place among the top ranks of international crime writers. Through the warm-hearted, perceptive, and principled Commissario Guido Brunetti, Leon's best-selling books have explored Venice in all its aspects: history, tourism, high culture, food, family, but also violent crime and political corruption.
In About Face, Leon returns to one of her signature subjects: the environment, which has reached a crisis in Italy. Incinerators across the south of Italy are at full capacity, burning who-knows-what and releasing unacceptable levels of dangerous air pollutants, while in Naples, enormous garbage piles grow in the streets. In Venice, with the polluted waters of the canals and a major chemical complex across the lagoon, the issue is never far from the fore.
Environmental concerns become significant in Brunetti's work when an investigator from the Carabiniere, looking into the illegal hauling of garbage, asks for a favor. But the investigator is not the only one with a special request. His father-in-law needs help and a mysterious woman comes into the picture. Brunetti soon finds himself in the middle of an investigation into murder and corruption more dangerous than anything he's seen before.


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As Venice experiences a debilitating heatwave, Commissario Brunetti prepares to escape the city and spend time with his family in the mountains. For Ispettore Vianello, however, the weather is the last thing on his mind; it appears his aunt has become obsessed with horoscopes and has been withdrawing large amounts of money from the family business. Not knowing what to do, he consults Brunetti and asks permission to trail her. This unofficial investigation leads them to the flat of Stefano Gorini. But who is this man? And why is Vianellos aunt giving him large amounts of money?Meanwhile, Brunetti receives a visit from a friend who works at the Commune. It seems that discrepancies have been occurring at the Courthouse involving Judge Luisa Coltellini and Araldo Fontana, an usher with a flawless track record. Intrigued, Brunetti asks Signorina Elletra to find out what she can while he is away on his family holiday.When news reaches Brunetti that Araldo Fontana has been murdered in a violent attack, he returns to the city to head up the investigation. But why would someone want a good man dead, and what might his death have to do with the discrepancies at the Courthouse? It soon becomes clear that things are not what they seem, and as suspicions arise Brunetti has to dig ever deeper to uncover the truth behind the faYade.


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Beautiful and serene Venice is a city almost devoid of crime. But that is little comfort to Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor whose intermission refreshment comes one night with a little something extra in it-cyanide. For Guido Brunetti, vice-commissario of police and detective genius, finding a suspect isn't a problem; narrowing the large and unconventional group of enemies down to one is. As the suave and pithy Brunetti pieces together clues, a shocking picture of depravity and revenge emerges, leaving him torn between what is and what should be right -- and questioning what the law can do, and what needs to be done.


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'The body floated face down in the murky water of the canal. Gently the ebbing tide tugged it along towards the open waters of the laguna that spread out beyond the end of the canal...' Early one morning Guido Brunetti, commissario of the Venice Police, confronts a grisly sight when the body of a young man is fished out of a fetid Venetian canal. All the clues point to a violent mugging, but for Brunetti the robbery motive seems altogether too convenient. Then something very incriminating is discovered in the dead man's flat, something which points to the existence of a high level cabal- and Brunetti becomes convinced that somebody, somewhere, is taking great pains to provide a ready- made solution to the crime.


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Commissario Brunetti's hopes of a refreshing holiday with his family are dashed when a body is found in Marghera so badly beaten that the face is unrecognizable. Brunetti searches in vain for someone who can identify the body. Then he receives a call promising some tantalizing information.


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When a lorry crashes on one of the treacherous hair-pin bends in the Italian Dolomites even Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice Questura is appalled when he learns of its terrible cargo. This is Donna Leon's fourth novel to feature Guido Brunetti.


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Donna Leon’s growing American fan base is hungry for more of the books from her   internationally bestselling series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. Now in   what   many consider one of the finest in the series, Venice braces for the onslaught   of *acqua   alta*—the rising waters from torrential rain. But Brunetti has his own   problems,   beginning with the savage beating of an old friend. When a man’s body is   discovered,   Brunetti must wade through the chaos to solve one of his deadliest cases. Full   of   marvelous plot twists, *Acqua Alta* is a chilling addition to Donna Leon’s   addictive series.


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An exciting new special-ops adventure from the battle-tested vets who created the popular Starfist seriesJorge Lavager, charismatic leader of the mysterious Union of Margelan, ferociously guards an agricultural research facility on the planet Atlas. What that facility conceals will prove whether Lavager is an idealist seeking to unify Atlas under a banner of freedom and prosperity–or a tyrant aiming to control all of Human Space.The Marines of Fourth Force Recon’s second platoon are dispatched to Atlas to uncover the truth. They will have to sneak past state-of-the-art surveillance equipment barring unlawful entry to the planet and land in a desolate area miles from their target. And if they discover lethal new weapons instead of legitimate research, the thirty-six Marines are to seize the compound–guarded by merciless, armed-to-the-teeth soldiers–and destroy it. But what the recon team finds on Atlas sets off a chain of events that will force some hard decisions on the Marines . . . and end in a deadly surprise.


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Swift, silent, and deadly–they strike where no one else dares.Fear is the fastest-growing crop on Haulover, a newly colonized planet where someone–or something–is destroying isolated farmhouses. The unseen enemy strikes without warning, then disappears, leaving no stone standing, no trace of families or farm animals. When the Confederation receives a desperate plea for help, it’s time to send in the Marines. Impossible missions are a matter of course for Fourth Force Recon’s second platoon squads, and the situation at Haulover–with no witnesses and few clues–is no exception. But this assignment turns out to be even tougher and bloodier than usual because the devastation is a ploy–to lure the nine Marines into a trap, and to force them to bust the Confederation’s terrible secret wide open. And as for the Skinks lying in ambush on Haulover, they have no idea what trouble is . . . until they go up against a few good Marines.


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A BOLD NEW CONTINGENT–FORCE RECON–JOINS THE EXPLOSIVE STARFIST SPACE EPIC OF MARINES AT WAR.A Confederation army is besieged on the planet Ravenette, cut off by and facing destruction at the hands of a dozen Secessionist Coalition worlds arrayed against it. The outnumbered and outgunned forces cling precariously to their foothold, dubbed “Bataan” by the desperate men in their fighting bunkers. Reinforcements are on the way, but will they arrive in time? And even if they do, can they match the well-led, highly motivated enemy determined to destroy them in battle?But the Confederation commander holds a wild card, an elite force armed only with what they carry on their backs and in their heads: a small detachment of Marines who lightly go where others fear to tread, the Fourth Force Recon Company. For anyone else this mission would be suicide, but for these Marines, it’s just another day in the maelstrom.


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** Two novels in one trade volume.**



 There are so many mysteries hidden in the fog off the Pacific Coast. Jimmy Miles has been hired to solve them. But they're not the only things keeping him up at night... 



 In *The Quick*, an investigation into a long-ago murder leads to his discovery of the Sailors-restless strangers who roam the night, trapped between the world of the living and dead. 



 In *The Next*, still haunted by the Sailors, Jimmy becomes obsessed with a sudden rash of murders, and a never-forgotten love affair that may hold the clue to his future.


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What if the monsters from your favorite horror books were real?Eddie Fennicks has always been a loner, content to lose himself in a mystery novel by his favorite author, Nathaniel Olmstead. That’s why moving to the small town of Gatesweed becomes a dream come true when Eddie discovers that Olmstead lived there before mysteriously disappearing thirteen years ago. Even better, Eddie finds a handwritten, never-before-seen Nathaniel Olmstead book printed in code and befriends Harris, who’s as much an Olmsteady as he is. But then the frightening creatures of Olmstead’s books begin to show up in real life, and Eddie’s dream turns into a nightmare. Eddie, Harris, and their new friend, Maggie, must break Olmstead’s code, banish all gremlins and monster lake-dogs from the town of Gatesweed, and solve the mystery of the missing author, all before Eddie’s mom finisheswriting her own tale of terror and brings to life the scariest creature of all.From the Hardcover edition.


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A blackout brought on by a Mad Dog binge that ended with a self-inflicted steak knife wound bought Bruno Dante another stint in the nuthouse, no different from all the rest. Now it's done, and his wife, Agnes—taking time off from her personal-trainer lover—has come to pick Bruno up and to deliver a message from the West Coast: his screenwriter father is in the hospital in a coma and is not expected to live. So Bruno heads back to Los Angeles for a fraught family reunion, where the tension and stress force him to dull the pain the only way he knows how—with alcohol. And when he wakes up naked in a stolen car with an underage hooker whose pimp has stolen his wallet, Bruno realizes the trip has just begun.


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Ten months after the death of his famous father, Dan Fante's antihero, Bruno Dante is back. He has cleaned himself up, straightened out, is attending AA and back on the mooch, selling computer-printer supplies for a militaristic disciplinarian and straight guy in a company staffed by a motley crew of ex-addicts. Then he meets Mexican femme fatale, Jimmi Valiente, a mesmerizingly beautiful new employee at Orbit Computer Supplies. Valiente is a former gangbanger, lap-dancer, crackhead, and once again Dante's world begins to go into free fall. The second novel in the Bruno Dante trilogy is a brutal satire of contemporary America by a writer of immense power and beauty "The Fantes, father and son, have been a major new discovery for me in these last few years." -- John Fowles "Dark and bleak, dirty and real ... Dan Fante's style is raw, insightful, and deftly realized." -- Time Out (New York)


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Bruno Dante -- aspiring playwright, part-time depressive, and full-time drunk -- has hitchhiked cross-country, escaping the sunshine, have-a-nice-day culture of L.A. for the more cynical climate of New York. It seems to be his kind of town. But he's Bruno Dante, and things are always bound to go wrong. He finds himself in the rut of deadbeat temping jobs, but they don't last. Dante won't play office politics or kiss ass. Longer stints as the night manager of a run-down hotel, a window cleaner, and, finally, a cabbie are punctuated by a number of meaningless affairs, drinking binges, and the customary bouts of depression. Beautiful and brutal in equal measures, Fante's insights are once again fiercely compelling, desperately compassionate, and obscenely funny. Unmissable. "As we trawl with him through deadbeat and dead-end jobs, this unsettling novel is haunted by the spectre of Charles Bukowski." -The Times (London) "Fante is a brilliantly economical stylist ... sad, bitter, yet somehow infused with hope." -- The Face


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In Los Angeles, struggling telemarketer-writer and part-time drunk Bruno Dante is jobless again. The publication of his book of short stories has been put off indefinitely. Searching the want ads for a gig, he finds a chauffeur job. When Bruno calls the number in the ad, he discovers the boss is his former Manhattan employer David Koffman, who is opening a West Coast branch of his thriving limo service. Koffman hires Bruno as resident manager of Dav-Ko Hollywood under one condition: he must remain sober. But instant business success triggers an abrupt booze-and-blackout-soaked downward spiral for Bruno, forcing him to confront his own madness as he struggles to keep his old familiar demons from getting the best of him yet again.


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The paperback edition of Daniel H. Pink's groundbreaking book, *A Whole New Mind*. 

Described by reviewers as "an audacious and powerful work,"  "a profound read,"  "right on the money," and "a miracle," the book reveals the six abilities individuals must master in an outsourced and automated world.  Several publications named *A Whole New Mind* one of the best business books of 2005.  It is now being translated into 12 languages -- and will appear across Europe and Asia in 2006.    

For this updated and expanded edition, Pink has added dozens of new tools, tips, and exercises to help individuals and organizations sharpen their right-brain capacities.  Find out why Thomas L. Friedman, author of the mega-bestseller *The World is Flat*,  calls *A Whole New Mind* his "favorite business book."


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Larry Feldman desperately needed a kidney. After two god-awful years on dialysis, watching his life ebb away while waiting on a transplant list behind 74,000 other Americans, the gun-toting couch potato decided to risk everything and travel to China, the controversial kingdom of organ transplants. He was confident he could shake out a single, pre-loved kidney from the country's 1.3 billion people. But Larry urgently needed his cousin Daniel's help . . . even though they had been on the outs with each other for years. But wait: Larry was never one to "not" get his money's worth. Since he was already shelling out for a trip to China, he decided to make it a twofer: he arranged to pick up an (e-)mail-order bride while he was at it. After a tireless search of the Internet, he already knew the woman he wanted. An unforgettable adventure, "Larry's Kidney" is the funniest yet most heartwarming book of the year.


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A precious scroll inscribed with a lost Buddhist sutra-once owned by Pu Yi, the last emperor of China-is illicitly sold to an eccentric French linguist, Paul drs"Ampere, who is imprisoned as a result. In jail, he devotes himself to studying its ancient text. A young Western scholar in China hears this account from the grocer Toomchooq, whose name mysteriously connects him to the document. She falls in love with both teller and tale, but when drs"Ampere is killed in prison, Toomchooq disappears, and she, pregnant with his child, embarks on a search for her lost love and the scroll that begins, "Once on a moonless night . . ."


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The lives of three strangers interconnect in unforeseen ways–and with unexpected consequences–in acclaimed author Dan Chaon’s gripping, brilliantly written new novel.Longing to get on with his life, Miles Cheshire nevertheless can’t stop searching for his troubled twin brother, Hayden, who has been missing for ten years. Hayden has covered his tracks skillfully, moving stealthily from place to place, managing along the way to hold down various jobs and seem, to the people he meets, entirely normal. But some version of the truth is always concealed.A few days after graduating from high school, Lucy Lattimore sneaks away from the small town of Pompey, Ohio, with her charismatic former history teacher. They arrive in Nebraska, in the middle of nowhere, at a long-deserted motel next to a dried-up reservoir, to figure out the next move on their path to a new life. But soon Lucy begins to feel quietly uneasy.My whole life is a lie, thinks Ryan Schuyler, who has recently learned some shocking news. In response, he walks off the Northwestern University campus, hops on a bus, and breaks loose from his existence, which suddenly seems abstract and tenuous. Presumed dead, Ryan decides to remake himself–through unconventional and precarious means.Await Your Reply is a literary masterwork with the momentum of a thriller, an unforgettable novel in which pasts are invented and reinvented and the future is both seductively uncharted and perilously unmoored.From the Hardcover edition.


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An unflinching thriller from Dan Fesperman that takes us deep into the White Rose resistance movement during World War II. When Nat Turnbullrs"s mentor, Gordon Wolfe, is arrested for possession of a missing WWII secret service archive and then turns up dead in jail, Natrs"s quiet academic life is suddenly thrown into tumult. The archive is a time bomb of sensitive material, but key documents are still missing, and the FBI dispatches Nat to track them down. Following a trail of cryptic clues, Nat's journeys to Germany, where he soon crosses paths with Berta, a gorgeous and mysterious student and Kurt Bauer, an arms billionaire with a dark past. As their tales intersect, long-buried exploits of deceit emerge, and each step becomes more dangerous than the last.


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A fascinating expert look at Israel’s meteoric rise in the global economy — with timely hints for a world reeling from financial crisisStart-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel — a country of 7.1 million, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war, with no natural resources — produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful nations like Canada, Japan, China, India, and the U.K.? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine Israeli culture and government to reveal the secrets behind the world’s first ever “start-up nation.” As countries across the globe restart their own economies, and as businesses try to re-energize their entrepreneurial spirit, we can all look to Israel for some impressive, surprising clues.


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Danielle Steel celebrates families of every stripe in her compelling new novel—a tale of three very different couples who struggle and survive, love, laugh, and learn to take life…Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega-bestselling author who writes under the name of Florence Flowers—and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood’s top producers. They’re not your typical family by any means.…Jane has lived with her partner, Liz, for ten years, in a solid, loving relationship. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco, a law school dropout and the family black sheep, works as a dog walker, having fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane’s luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a matter of days.…It turns out Jane’s house comes complete with an unexpected houseguest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who’s fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn’t be more different. The attraction couldn’t be more immediate. Suddenly Coco is seeing things differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he’s a single dad to an adorable six-year-old girl. Her mother is not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she’s a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of all—into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood’s hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their lives, old wounds are healed and new familes are formed—some traditional, some not so traditional, but all bonded by love.With wit and intelligence, Danielle Steel’s new novel explores love in all its guises, taking us into the lives of three unusual but wonderfully real couples. Funny, sexy, and wise, One Day at a Time is at once moving, thought provoking, and utterly impossible to put down.


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*Meet Maxine Williams, a dedicated doctor with three great kids, a challenging career,  and the perfect new man in her life. Her only problem? Her irresistibly charming,  utterly infuriating ex-husband, aka the . . .  ***Rogue**  Being married to Blake had  been an amazing adventure for Maxine. Brilliant, charismatic, and wholly unpredictable,  Blake Williams made millions and grabbed headlines as a dot-com entrepreneur. His  only shortcoming was as a husband—first his work and then his never-ending quest  for fun kept him constantly on the move, far away from Maxine and his family. For  five years Blake and Maxine have worked out an odd but amicable divorce, with friendly  though infrequent visits, a yacht he lends her every summer, and three children they  both adore. Blake enjoys his globe-trotting lifestyle—dating a succession of beautiful,  famous, and very young women—while Maxine raises their kids in Manhattan and pursues  her passion, working as a psychiatrist, a world-renowned expert on childhood trauma  and adolescent suicide. Then everything changes….  For Maxine it starts when she  falls in love with Dr. Charles West, a man who is everything Blake is not—mature,  grounded, and present. For Blake it begins when a devastating earthquake strikes  near one of his palatial foreign homes and he sees hundreds of orphaned children  in need of shelter. Now Blake wants Maxine in his life again—as a partner in a humanitarian  project that could change countless lives. For Maxine the choice is clear. But Blake’ s sudden transformation—from carefree playboy to compassionate, responsible *grown-up—*raises  questions she’s never managed to answer . . . and some she’s afraid to ask. After  all, Maxine is on the cusp of a new life, about to marry Charles, and almost certain  that Blake Williams, aka the Rogue, is a man capable of doing anything—except change….  An unforgettable story of two people pursuing happiness from opposite directions,  **Rogue **is a journey of choices and the amazing opportunities that come together—just  when life seems to have been successfully rearranged at last.


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Annie Ferguson was a bright young Manhattan architect. Talented, beautiful, just starting out with her first job, new apartment and boyfriend, she had the world in the palm of her hand—until a single phone call altered the course of her life forever. Overnight, she became the mother to her sister’s three orphaned children, keeping a promise she never regretted making, even if it meant putting her own life indefinitely on hold.Now, at forty-two, as independent as ever, with a satisfying career and a family that means everything to her, Annie is comfortable being single and staying that way. She appears to have no time for anything else. With her nephew and nieces now young adults and confronting major challenges of their own, Annie is navigating a parent’s difficult passage between lending them a hand and letting go, and suddenly facing an empty nest. The eldest, twenty-eight-year-old Liz, an overworked, struggling editor in a high-powered job at Vogue, has never allowed any man to come close enough to hurt her. Ted, at twenty-four a serious and hardworking law student, is captivated by a much older, much more experienced woman with children, who is leading him much further than he wants to go. And the youngest, twenty-one-year-old Katie—impulsive, artistic, rebellious—is an art student about to make a choice that will lead her to an entirely different world she is in no way prepared for but determined to embrace.Then, just when least expected, a chance encounter changes Annie’s life yet again in the most unexpected direction of all.  From Manhattan to Paris and all the way to Tehran, Family Ties is a novel that reminds us how challenging and unpredictable life can be, and that the powerful bonds of family are the strongest of all.  


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In a spellbinding blend of suspense and human drama, Danielle Steel tells a powerful and unusual story of one woman’s journey from darkness into light, as she fights to escape a mesmerizing sociopath who holds her in his thrall….Hope Dunne has carved out a name for herself as a top photographer, known the joys of marriage and motherhood, and the heartbreak of loss. In her chic SoHo loft, Hope is content with her life, finding serenity and beauty through the lens of her camera. She isn’t looking for a man or excitement. But these things find her when she accepts a last- minute assignment to fly to London at Christmas and photograph one of the world’s most celebrated writers—an Irish-American author known for novels of thrilling literary darkness. To Hope’s surprise, Finn O’Neill exudes warmth and a boyish charm. Enormously successful, he is a perfect counterpoint to Hope’s quiet, steady grace—and he’s taken instantly by her. He courts her as no one ever has before, whisking her away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate.Hope finds it all, and him, irresistible. Finn’s magnetism and brilliance are undeniable. But soon cracks begin to appear in his stories: gaps in his history, a few innocent lies, and bouts of jealousy unnerve her. Suddenly Hope is both in love and suspicious, caring and deeply in doubt, and ultimately frightened of the man she loves. Alone, thousands of miles from home, her mind is reeling. Is she just being paranoid? How many lies has he told? Are there more secrets to come? Is it possible that this adoring, attentive man—like the characters in his novels—is hiding something even worse? The spell cast by a brilliant sociopath has her trapped in his web, too confused and dazzled to escape as he continues to tighten his grip on her. With razor-sharp insight, Danielle Steel delivers an unforgettable tale of danger and obsessive love. Fearlessly telling the truth, refusing to look away, Steel proves once again that as an American storyteller she has no peer when she explores the dark secrets that sometimes lurk just below the surface of ordinary lives, writing about men and women and their courage to prevail, in this case, even in the face of evil.


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"The Unincorporated Man" is a provocative social/political/economic novel that takes place in the future, after civilization has fallen into complete economic collapse. This reborn civilization is one in which every individual is incorporated at birth, and spends many years trying to attain control over his or her own life by getting a majority of his or her own shares. Life extension has made life very long indeed. Now the incredible has happened: a billionaire businessman from our time, frozen in secret in the early twenty-first century, is discovered and resurrected, given health and a vigorous younger body. Justin Cord is the only unincorporated man in the world, a true stranger in this strange land. Justin survived because he is tough and smart. He cannot accept only part ownership of himself, even if that places him in conflict with a civilization that extends outside the solar system to the Oort Cloud. People will be arguing about this novel and this world for decades.


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***New York Times Notable Book  New York Times Bestseller****What Is the What*** is the epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who,  along with thousands of other children —the so-called Lost Boys—was forced to leave  his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued  by militias, government bombers, and wild animals, crossing the deserts of three  countries to find freedom. When he finally is resettled in the United States, he  finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving,  suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny, **What Is the What** is an astonishing novel that  illuminates the lives of millions through one extraordinary man.


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Max is a rambunctious eight-year-old, living with his mother and his sister, terrorizing the neighborhood on his bicycle. But Max's world is changing around him: His father is absent and his mother is increasingly distracted. Max's teenage sister is outgrowing him, leaving him alone in favor of her friends. Sad and angry, Max dons his wolf suit and makes terrible, ruinous mischief. Setting off into the night, Max finds a boat and sails away to an island. Here he meets strange and giant creatures. Creatures that rage and break things. Creatures that trample and scream. These monsters do everything Max feels inside! And so, Max appoints himself their king. Here, on a magnificent adventure with the creatures, Max can be the wildest thing of all. In this visionary new novel, Eggers brings an imaginary world vividly to life, filling it with monsters, chaos, and one very real little boy. By turns beautiful and joyful, sorrowful and strange,The Wild Thingsis an astonishing literary triumph.


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**National Bestseller **A *New York Times *Notable Book An *O, The Oprah Magazine *Terrific Read of the YearA *Huffington Post *Best Book of the Year A *New Yorker *Favorite Book of the Year A *Chicago Tribune *Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year A *Kansas City Star* Best Book of the Year A *San Francisco Chronicle* Best Book of the Year An *Entertainment Weekly* Best Book of the Decade The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, **Zeitoun** is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water.


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**Singing sensation and *American Idol* favorite David Archuleta tells his inspiring personal story. Includes full-color photos! ** 



 A runner-up on American Idol and successful music artist, David Archuleta was named one of the "breakout stars of 2008" by *Forbes* magazine and landed the number two spot on the Billboard charts. 



 In *Chords of Strength* David shares his unexpected and inspiring journey, including how he overcame vocal cord paralysis to achieve his dream of being a singer. He reveals insecurities he felt about his voice-before he realized that he loved the way singing made him feel more than he disliked the way he sounded. In this personal memoir, David opens up about the strength he draws from his unshakable faith and unyielding family. He pays tribute to those who continue to inspire him and through their example help him believe in himself, his talent, and his abilities. 



 Intimate and uplifting, *Chords of Strength* allows a unique glimpse of the man behind the music and offers hope to anyone with a passion and a dream.


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In a novel where ancient traditions conflict with reality and the pressures of modern  life, a young European princess proves that simplicity, courage, and dignity win  the day and forever alter her world. In blue jeans and a pullover, Princess Christianna  is a young woman of her times: born in Europe, educated in America, worried about  the future of the world she lives in, responsible beyond her years.  Christianna  is the only daughter of the Reigning Prince of a European nation that takes its royalty  seriously–and her father has ironclad plans for Christianna’s life, a burden that  is almost unbearable. Now, after four years at Berkeley, life in her father’s palace  cannot distract Christianna from what she sees outside the kingdom–the suffering  of children, the ravages of terrorism and disease.  Determined to make a difference  in the world, she persuades His Royal Highness, her father, to let her volunteer  for the Red Cross in East Africa.  And for Christianna, a journey of discovery, change,  and awakening begins. Under a searing East African sun, Christianna plunges into  the dusty, bustling life of an international relief camp, finding a passion and a  calling among the brave doctors and volunteers.  Finally free from the scrutiny of  her royal life, Christianna struggles to keep her identity a secret from her new  friends and coworkers–even from Parker Williams, the young doctor from Doctors Without  Borders who works alongside Christianna and shares her dedication to healing.  But  as violence approaches and invades the camp, and the pressures of her royal life  beckon her home, Christianna’s struggle for freedom takes an extraordinary turn.   By a simple twist of fate, in one shocking moment, Christianna’s life is changed  forever–in ways she never could have foreseen. From the splendor of a prince’s palace  to the chaos of war-torn nations, Danielle Steel takes us into fascinating new worlds.   Filled with unforgettable images and a remarkable cast of characters, **H.R.H.** is  a novel of the conflict between old and new worlds, responsibility versus freedom,  and duty versus love. *From the Hardcover edition.*


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Four sisters, a Manhattan brownstone, and a tumultuous year of loss and courage are  at the heart of Danielle Steel’s new novel about a remarkable family, a stunning  tragedy—and what happens when four very different young women come together under  one very lively roof.  Candy–it’s the only name she needs—is blazing her way through  Paris, New York, and Tokyo as fashion’s latest international supermodel. . . .   Her sister Tammy has a job producing the most successful hit show on TV, and a home  she loves in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills. . . . In New York, oldest sister Sabrina is  an ambitious young lawyer, while Annie is an American artist in Florence, living  for her art. . . . On one Fourth of July weekend, as they do every year, the four  sisters come home to Connecticut for their family’s annual gathering. But before  the holiday is over, tragedy strikes and their world is utterly changed.  Suddenly,  four sisters who have been fervently pursuing success and their own lives—on opposite  sides of the world—reunite to share one New York brownstone, to support each other  and their father, and to pick up the pieces while one sister struggles to heal her  shattered body and soul. Thus begins an unscripted chapter of their lives, as a bustling  house is soon filled with eccentric dogs, laughter, tears, friends, men . . . and  the kind of honesty and unconditional love only sisters can provide. But as the four  women settle in, they are forced to confront the direction of their respective lives.  As the year passes and another July Fourth approaches, a season of grief and change  gives way to new beginnings—as a family comes together to share its blessings and  a future filled with surprises and, ultimately, hope.  With unerring insight and  compassion, Danielle Steel tells a compelling story of four sisters who love and  laugh, struggle and triumph . . . and are irrevocably woven into the fabric of each  other’s lives. Brilliantly blending humor and heartbreak, she delivers a powerful  message about the fragility—and the wonder—of life.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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It is a world like our own in every respect . . . save one. In the 1950s, random acts of possession begin to occur. Ordinary men, women, and children are the targets of entities that seem to spring from the depths of the collective unconscious, pop-cultural avatars some call demons. There's the Truth, implacable avenger of falsehood. The Captain, brave and self-sacrificing soldier. The Little Angel, whose kiss brings death, whether desired or not. And a string of others, ranging from the bizarre to the benign to the horrific. As a boy, Del Pierce is possessed by the Hellion, an entity whose mischief-making can be deadly. With the help of Del's family and a caring psychiatrist, the demon is exorcised . . . or is it? Years later, following a car accident, the Hellion is back, trapped inside Del's head and clamoring to get out. Del's quest for help leads him to Valis, an entity possessing the science fiction writer formerly known as Philip K. Dick; to Mother Mariette, a nun who inspires decidedly unchaste feelings; and to the Human League, a secret society devoted to the extermination of demons. All believe that Del holds the key to the plague of possessionand its solution. But for Del, the cure may be worse than the disease. "Look out, Lethem! Daryl Gregory mixes pop culture and pathos, flavoring it with Philip K. Dick. Pandemonium possesses every quality you want in a great novel, and the good news is it's only his debut." Charles Coleman Finlay, Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated author of The Prodigal Troll From the Trade Paperback edition.


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From Daryl Gregory, whose Pandemonium was one of the most exciting debut novels in memory, comes an astonishing work of soaring imaginative power that breaks new ground in contemporary fantasy. Switchcreek was a normal town in eastern Tennessee until a mysterious disease killed a third of its residents and mutated most of the rest into monstrous oddities. Then, as quickly and inexplicably as it had struck, the disease-dubbed Transcription Divergence Syndrome (TDS)-vanished, leaving behind a population divided into three new branches of humanity: giant gray-skinned argos, hairless seal-like betas, and grotesquely obese charlies. Paxton Abel Martin was fourteen when TDS struck, killing his mother, transforming his preacher father into a charlie, and changing one of his best friends, Jo Lynn, into a beta. But Pax was one of the few who didn't change. He remained as normal as ever. At least on the outside. Having fled shortly after the pandemic, Pax now returns to Switchcreek fifteen years later, following the suicide of Jo Lynn. What he finds is a town seething with secrets, among which murder may well be numbered. But there are even darker-and far weirder-mysteries hiding below the surface that will threaten not only Pax's future but the future of the whole human race.


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*Danielle Steel sweeps us from a Manhattan courtroom to the Deep South in her powerful  new novel—at once a behind-closed-doors look into the heart of a family and a tale  of crime and punishment. *** **Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the  South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband’s betrayal and the cruelty of his  prominent Charleston family. Now an assistant D.A. in Manhattan, Alexa has finally  put her demons to rest, making a name for herself as a top prosecutor, handling the  city’s toughest cases while juggling her role as devoted single mom to a teenage  daughter.   But everything changes when Alexa is handed her latest case: the trial  of accused serial killer Luke Quentin. Sifting through mountains of forensic evidence,  Alexa prepares for a high-stakes trial…until threatening letters throw her private  life into turmoil. The letters are addressed to her beautiful seventeen-year-old  daughter, Savannah, whom Alexa has been raising alone since her divorce. Alexa is  certain that Quentin is behind the letters—and that they are too dangerous to ignore.  Suddenly she must make the toughest choice of all—and send her daughter back to the  very place she swore she would never return to: the place where her marriage ended  in heartbreak…her ex-husband’s world of southern tradition, memories of betrayal,  and the antebellum charm of Charleston.  Now, while Alexa’s trial builds to a climax  in New York, her daughter is settling into southern life, discovering a part of her  family history and a father she barely knows--from the ice-cold stepmother who stole  him away to a fascinating ancestry and a half-sister and half-brothers she comes  to love. As secrets are exposed and old wounds are healed, Alexa and Savannah, after  a season in different worlds, will come together again—strengthened by the challenges  they have faced, changed by the mysteries they have unraveled, and with Savannah  now at home in the southern world her mother fled.  In this masterfully told tale,  Danielle Steel creates a stunning array of contrasts: from the gritty chaos of Manhattan’ s criminal court system to the seductive gentility of the South, from the rage of  a hardened criminal to the tender bond between a mother and daughter—and a loving  father who has welcomed Savannah home at last. A novel that will catch you off guard  at every turn, **Southern Lights** is Danielle Steel at her electrifying best.


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Eighty years ago, at the end of The House at Pooh Corner, Christopher Robin said good-bye to Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood; now they are back in new adventures, for the first time approved by the Trustees of the Pooh Properties, in this companion volume that truly captures the style of the A. A. Milne classic.


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The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.   Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.


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The New York Times bestseller: “A remarkably timely and pulse-quickening tale of deception, divided loyalty, and moral haziness.”—Raleigh News & Observer  Harry Pappas, chief of the CIA’s Persia House, receives an encrypted message from a scientist in Tehran. But soon the source of secrets from the Iranian bomb program dries up: the scientist panics; he’s being followed, but he doesn’t know who’s on to him, and neither does Harry. To get his agent out, Harry turns to a secret British spy team known as “The Increment,” whose operatives carry the modern version of the double-O “license to kill.” But the real story is infinitely more complicated than Harry understands, and to get to the bottom of it he must betray his own country.


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Firestorm!  A mole has infiltrated Ironwood National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a top-secret research center for the development of high-tech and nuclear weaponry. Someone is about to commit the foulest, most catastrophic brand of treason--and one man must prevent it: CTU agent Jack Bauer.  Caught in the crossfire between two rival criminal operations, each intent on controlling the terrifying machinery of Apocalypse, the rogue anti-terrorism operative has twenty-four hours to forestall America's worst nightmare. As a devastating wildfire ravages the countryside, each ticking second brings Jack closer to the explosive confrontation that will ultimately seal his nation's fate: a lethal battle with the world's most efficient killer, Annihilax, the Death Angel.


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From a strong new voice in epic fantasy comes the tale of Durand, a good squire trying to become a good knight in a harsh and unforgiving world. Set to inherit the lordship of a small village in his father's duchy because the knight of that village has been bereaved of his own son, Durand must leave when the son unexpectedly turns up alive. First he falls in with a band of knights working for a vicious son of a duke and ends up participating in the murder of the duke's adulterous wife. Fleeing, he comes into the service of a disgraced second son of a duke, Lamoric, who is executing a long subterfuge to try to restore his honor in the eyes of his father, family, and king. By entering tournaments anonymously as "The Red Knight," Durand will demonstrate his heroism and prowess and be drafted into the honors of the king. But conspiracies are afootdark plots that could break the oaths which bind the kingdom and the duchies together and keep the banished monsters at bay. It may fall to Durand to save the world of Man... Authentic and spellbinding,In the Eye of Heavenweaves together the gritty authenticity of a Glen Cook with the high-medieval flair epitomized by Gene Wolfe'sThe Knight, to begin an epic multi-volume tale that will take the fantasy world by storm.


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From the acclaimed author of The Whiskey Rebels and A Conspiracy of Paper comes a superb new historical thriller set in the splendor and squalor of eighteenth-century London. In Benjamin Weaver, David Liss has created one of fiction’s most enthralling characters.The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire, ex-boxer, and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weaver’s strength and guile for his own treacherous plans.Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from England’s most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the eighteenth century’s most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobb’s reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation at stake, Weaver will find himself in a labyrinth of hidden agendas, daring enemies, and unexpected allies.With the explosive action and scrupulous period research that are David Liss’s trademarks, The Devil’s Company, depicting the birth of the modern corporation, is the most impressive achievement yet from an author who continues to set ever higher standards for historical suspense.From the Hardcover edition.


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How far should you go to make a profit? Infoquake, the debut novel by David Louis Edelman, takes speculative fiction into alien territory: the corporate boardroom of the far future. It’s a stunning trip through the trenches of a technological war fought with product demos, press releases, and sales pitches.     

Natch is a master of bio/logics, the programming of the human body. He’s clawed and scraped his way to the top of the bio/logics market using little more than his wits. Now his sudden notoriety has brought him to the attention of Margaret Surina, the owner of a mysterious new technology called MultiReal. Only by enlisting Natch’s devious mind can Margaret keep MultiReal out of the hands of High Executive Len Borda and his ruthless armies.     

To fend off the intricate net of enemies closing in around him, Natch and his apprentices must accomplish the impossible. They must understand this strange new technology, run through the product development cycle, and prepare MultiReal for release to the public—all in three days.     

Meanwhile, hanging over everything is the specter of the infoquake, a lethal burst of energy that’s disrupting the bio/logic networks and threatening to send the world crashing back into the Dark Ages.     

With Infoquake, David Louis Edelman has created a fully detailed world that’s both as imaginative as Dune and as real as today’s Wall Street Journal.


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David Louis Edelman's debut novel *Infoquake* was called "the love child of Donald Trump and Vernor Vinge" and hailed as the best science fiction debut of 2006. The story continues with *MultiReal*, the stunning second book in the Jump 225 trilogy. Natch has just won his first battle with the Defense and Wellness Council for control of MultiReal technology. But now the Council has unleashed the ruthless cunning of Lieutenant Executive Magan Kai Lee. Lee decides that if Natch's company can't be destroyed from without, it must be destroyed from within. 

As black code continues to eat away at Natch's sanity, he faces a mutiny from his own apprentices, a legal onslaught from the government, and the return of enemies old and new. In desperation, the entrepreneur turns to some unlikely allies: a radical politician with an agenda of his own, and a childhood enemy to whom he has done a terrible wrong. 

Natch's struggle will take him from the halls of power in Melbourne to the ruined cities of the diss. Hanging in the balance is the fate of MultiReal, a technology that could end the tyranny of the Council forever--or give the Council the ultimate weapon of oppression.


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**DAVID LOUIS EDELMAN'S BUSINESS SCIENCE FICTION SAGA THAT BEGAN WITH *INFOQUAKE* AND *MULTIREAL* COMES TO A STUNNING CONCLUSION WITH *GEOSYNCHRON*, THE LAST BOOK OF THE JUMP 225 TRILOGY.**

The Defense and Wellness Council is enmeshed in full-scale civil war between Len Borda and the mysterious Magan Kai Lee. Quell has escaped from prison and is stirring up rebellion in the Islands with the aid of a brash young leader named Josiah. Jara and the apprentices of the Surina/Natch MultiReal Fiefcorp still find themselves fighting off legal attacks from their competitors and from Margaret Surina's unscrupulous heirs -- even though MultiReal has completely vanished.

The quest for the truth will lead to the edges of civilization, from the tumultuous society of the Pacific Islands to the lawless orbital colony of 49th Heaven; and through the deeps of time, from the hidden agenda of the Surina family to the real truth behind the Autonomous Revolt that devastated humanity hundreds of years ago.

Meanwhile, Natch has awakened in a windowless prison with nothing but a haze of memory to clue him in as to how he got there. He's still receiving strange hallucinatory messages from Margaret Surina and the nature of reality is buckling all around him. When the smoke clears, Natch must make the ultimate decision -- whether to save a world that has scorned and discarded him, or to save the only person he has ever loved: himself.


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From acclaimed author David Corbett, a stunning and suspenseful novel of a life without loyalties and the borders inside ourselves.Roque Montalvo is wise beyond his eighteen years. Orphaned at birth, a gifted musician, he’s stuck in a California backwater, helping his Salvadoran aunt care for his damaged brother, an ex-marine badly wounded in Iraq. When immigration agents arrest his uncle, the family has nowhere else to turn. Roque, badgered by his street-hardened cousin, agrees to bring the old man back, relying on the criminal gangs that control the dangerous smuggling routes from El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, to the U.S. border. But his cousin has told Roque only so much. In reality, he will have to transport not just his uncle but two others: an Arab whose intentions are disturbingly vague and a young beauty promised to a Mexican crime lord. Roque discovers that his journey involves crossing more than one kind of border, and he will be asked time and again to choose between survival and betrayal—of his country, his family, his heart.


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**A remarkable cat. A special gift. A life-changing journey.**    

They thought he was just a cat.   

When Oscar arrived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island he was a   cute little guy with attitude. He loved to stretch out in a puddle of sunlight and chase his tail   until he was dizzy. Occasionally he consented to a scratch behind the ears, but only when it suited   him. In other words, he was a typical cat. Or so it seemed. It wasn't long before Oscar had created   something of a stir.   

Apparently, this ordinary cat possesses an extraordinary gift: he knows instinctively when the   end of life is near.   

Oscar is a welcome distraction for the residents of Steere House, many of whom are living with   Alzheimer's. But he never spends much time with them--until they are in their last hours. Then, as if   this were his job, Oscar strides purposely into a patient's room, curls up on the bed, and begins   his vigil. Oscar provides comfort and companionship when people need him most. And his presence lets   caregivers and loved ones know that it's time to say good-bye.   

Oscar's gift is a tender mercy. He teaches by example: embracing moments of life that so many of   us shy away from.   

*Making Rounds with Oscar* is the story of an unusual cat, the patients he serves, their   caregivers, and of one doctor who learned how to listen. Heartfelt, inspiring, and full of humor and   pathos, this book allows readers to take a walk into a world rarely seen from the outside, a world   we often misunderstand.    

**Praise for *Making Rounds With Oscar***     

"I love this book -- Oscar has much to teach us about empathy and courage. I couldn't put it   down."  -Sarah Gruen, author of *Water for Elephants*     

"At its heart, Dosa's search is more about how people cope with death than Oscar's purported   ability to predict it."  -*The Associated Press*     

"Beautifully written, heartwarming [...] Told with profound insight and great respect for all   involved, this is more than just a cat story (although it will appeal to fans of Vicki Myron's   Dewey)."  -*Library Journal*     

"You'll be moved."  -*People*


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

“*Zoo Station* is a beautifully crafted and compelling thriller with a heart-stopping ending as John Russell learns the personal faces of good and evil. An unforgettable read.”—Charles Todd, author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series  

Praise for previous books by David Downing:  

“The author combines his erudition with an excellent political imagination. He writes well, clearly and has a nice wit.”—*The Sunday Times* (London)  

“An atmospheric thriller . . . furious pacing.”—*Booklist* 

“An elegant rapid-fire spy story.”—*The Virginian-Pilot* 

“Compulsive reading.”—*The Sunday Telegraph* (London)  

By 1939, Anglo-American journalist John Russell has spent over a decade in Berlin, where his son lives with his mother. He writes human-interest pieces for British and American papers, avoiding the investigative journalism that could get him deported. But as World War II approaches, he faces having to leave his son as well as his girlfriend of several years, a beautiful German starlet.  

When an acquaintance from his old communist days approaches him to do some work for the Soviets, Russell is reluctant, but he is unable to resist the offer. He becomes involved in other dangerous activities, helping a Jewish family and a determined young American reporter. When the British and the Nazis notice his involvement with the Soviets, Russell is dragged into the murky world of warring intelligence services.  

 **David Downing** grew up in suburban London and is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, including *The Moscow Option, Russian Revolution 1985,* and *The Red Eagles.* He lives with his wife, an American acupuncturist, in Guildford, England.


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"I have many scars. Some of them are physical, but many more are scars on my soul. A bomb sent to kill me while I was in a maximum security prison has made me blind, yet now I see the world more clearly than I have ever seen it before. I have lived an incredible adventure. I watched as my brother, Pablo Escobar, became the most successful criminal in history, but also a hero to many of the people of Colombia. My brother was loved and he was feared. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in his funeral procession, and certainly as many people celebrated his death." These are the words of Roberto Escobar-the top accountant for the notorious and deadly Medellín Cartel, and brother of Pablo Escobar, the most famous drug lord in history. At the height of his reign, Pablo's multibillion-dollar operation smuggled tons of cocaine each week into countries all over the world. Roberto and his ten accountants kept track of all the money. Only Pablo and Roberto knew where it was stashed-and what it bought.  And the amounts of money were simply staggering. According to Roberto, it cost $2,500 every month just to purchase the rubber bands needed to wrap the stacks of cash. The biggest problem was finding a place to store it: from secret compartments in walls and beneath swimming pools to banks and warehouses everywhere. There was so much money that Roberto would sometimes write off ten percent as "spoilage," meaning either rats had chewed up the bills or dampness had ruined the cash. 

 Roberto writes about the incredible violence of the cartel, but he also writes of the humanitarian side of his brother. Pablo built entire towns, gave away thousands of houses, paid people's medical expenses, and built schools and hospitals. Yet he was responsible for the horrible deaths of thousands of people.  In short, this is the story of a world of riches almost beyond mortal imagination, and in his own words, Roberto Escobar tells all: building a magnificent zoo at Pablo's opulent home, the brothers' many escapes into the jungles of Colombia, devising ingenious methods to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States, bribing officials with literally millions of dollars-and building a personal army to protect the Escobar family against an array of enemies sworn to kill them.  Few men in history have been more beloved-or despised-than Pablo Escobar. Now, for the first time, his story is told by the man who knew him best: his brother, Roberto.


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When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, and they went gratefully. But the program took Melody's name, her home, her innocence, and, ultimately, her family. She's been May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, and countless others--everyone but the one person she longs to be: herself. So when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in another town, she's stunned when a man confronts her and calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to hunt her down, knows her, the real her, and it's a dangerous thrill that Melody can't resist. He's insistent that she's just a pawn in the government's war against the Bovaro family. But can she trust her life and her identity to this vicious stranger whose acts of violence are legendary?


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After a decade spent in isolation in the Ugandan jungles thinking about stuff, David Cross has written his first book. Known for roles on the small screen such as "never-nude" Tobias Funke on Arrested Development and the role of "David" in Mr. Show With Bob And David, as well as a hugely successful stand-up routine full of sharp-tongued rants and rages, Cross has carved out his place in American comedy. Whether deflating the pomposity of religious figures, calling out the pathetic symbiosis of pseudo-celebrity and its leaching fandom, or merely pushing the buttons of the way-too-easily offended P.C. left or the caustic, double-standard of the callous (but funnier) right, Cross has something to say about everyone, including his own ridiculous self.Now, for the first time, Cross is weaving his media mockery, celebrity denunciation, religious commentary and sheer madness into book form, revealing the true story behind his almost existential distaste of Jim Belushi ("The Belush"), disclosing the up-to-now unpublished minutes to a meeting of Fox television network executives, and offering up a brutally grotesque run-in with Bill O'Reilly. And as if this wasn't enough for your laughing pleasure in these troubled times, some of the pieces splinter off with additional material being created online in exclusive video and animated web content created solely for the book-a historical first (presumably)!With a mix of personal essays, satirical fiction posing as truth, advice for rich people, information from America's least favorite Rabbi and a top-ten list of top-ten lists, I DRINK FOR A REASON is as unique as the comedian himself, and cannot be missed.


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Inspired by the true story of Danish painter Einar Wegener and his California-born wife, this tender portrait of a marriage asks: What do you do when someone you love wants to change? It starts with a question, a simple favor asked of a husband by his wife on an afternoon chilled by the Baltic wind while both are painting in their studio. Her portrait model has canceled, and would he mind slipping into a pair of women's shoes and stockings for a few moments so she can finish the painting on time. Of course, he answers. Anything at all. With that, one of the most passionate and unusual love stories of the twentieth century begins.


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The subject of enthusiastic and widespread reviews, David Lodges fourteenth work of fiction displays the humor and shrewd observations that have made him a much-loved icon. Deaf Sentence tells the story of Desmond Bates, a recently retired linguistics professor in his mid-sixties. Vexed by his encroaching deafness and at loose ends in his personal life, Desmond inadvertently gets involved with a seemingly personable young American female student who seeks his support in matters academic and not so academic, who finally threatens to destabilize his life completely with her unpredictableand waywardbehavior. What emerges is a funny, moving account of one mans effort to come to terms with aging and mortalitya classic meditation on modern middle age that fans of David Lodge will love.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**The architect of the Obama campaign reveals how it all happened- and how it will revolutionize our politics**



 David Plouffe not only led the effort that put Barack Obama in the White House, but he also changed the face of politics forever and reenergized the idea of democracy itself. *The Audacity to Win* is his story of that groundbreaking achievement, taking readers inside the remarkable campaign that led to the election of the first African American president.



 For two years Plouffe worked side by side with Obama, charting the course of the campaign. His is the ultimate insider's tale, revealing both the strategies that delivered Obama to office and how the candidate and campaign handled moments of great challenge and opportunity. Moving from the deliberations about whether to run at all, through the epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton and the general election against John McCain, Plouffe showcases the high-wire gamesmanship that fascinated pundits and the drama and intrigue that captivated a nation.



 *The Audacity to Win* chronicles the arrival of a new moment in American life at the convergence of digital technology and grassroots organization, and the exciting possibilities revealed by a campaign that in many ways functioned as a $1 billion start-up with laser-like focus and discipline. In this extraordinary book, David Plouffe unfolds one of the most important political stories of our time, one whose lessons are not limited to politics, but reach to the greatest heights of what we dream about for our country and ourselves.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW: No story has been more central to America’s history this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and until now, no journalist or historian has written a book that** **fully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama’s life or explores the ambition behind his rise.** **Those familiar with Obama’s own best-selling memoir** **or his campaign speeches know the touchstones and details that he chooses to emphasize, but now—from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significance** **of unfolding events is without peer—we have a portrait, at once masterly and fresh,** **nuanced and unexpected, of a young man in search of himself,** **and of a rising politician determined to become the first African-American president.*The Bridge* offers the most complete account yet of** **Obama’s tragic father, a brilliant economist who abandoned** **his family and ended his life as a beaten man;** **of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham,** **who had a child as a teenager and then built her career as an anthropologist living and studying in Indonesia;** **and of the succession of elite institutions that first exposed Obama** **to the social tensions and intellectual currents** **that would force him to imagine and fashion an identity for himself. Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself,** **David Remnick allows us to see how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young man** **created himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, an** **experience that would not only shape his urge to work in politics but give him a home and a community, and that would propel him to Harvard Law School, where his sense of a greater mission emerged.Deftly setting Obama’s political career against the galvanizing intersection of race and politics in Chicago’s history, Remnick shows us how that city’s complex racial legacy would make Obama’s forays into politics a source of controversy and bare-knuckle tactics: his clashes with older black politicians in the Illinois State Senate, his disastrous decision to challenge the former Black Panther Bobby Rush for Congress in 2000, the sex scandals that would decimate his more experienced opponents in the 2004 Senate race, and the story—from both sides—of his confrontation with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.** **By looking at Obama’s political rise through the prism of our racial history, Remnick gives us the conflicting agendas of black politicians: the dilemmas of men like Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, and Joseph Lowery,** **heroes of the civil rights movement, who are forced to reassess old loyalties and understand the priorities of a new generation of African-American leaders.*The Bridge* revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama’s quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by individuals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives.
EDITORIAL REVIEW:

No story has been more central to America’s history this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and until now, no journalist or historian has written a book that** **fully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama’s life or explores the ambition behind his rise.** **Those familiar with Obama’s own best-selling memoir** **or his campaign speeches know the touchstones and details that he chooses to emphasize, but now—from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significance** **of unfolding events is without peer—we have a portrait, at once masterly and fresh,** **nuanced and unexpected, of a young man in search of himself,** **and of a rising politician determined to become the first African-American president.*The Bridge* offers the most complete account yet of** **Obama’s tragic father, a brilliant economist who abandoned** **his family and ended his life as a beaten man;** **of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham,** **who had a child as a teenager and then built her career as an anthropologist living and studying in Indonesia;** **and of the succession of elite institutions that first exposed Obama** **to the social tensions and intellectual currents** **that would force him to imagine and fashion an identity for himself. Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself,** **David Remnick allows us to see how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young man** **created himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, an** **experience that would not only shape his urge to work in politics but give him a home and a community, and that would propel him to Harvard Law School, where his sense of a greater mission emerged.Deftly setting Obama’s political career against the galvanizing intersection of race and politics in Chicago’s history, Remnick shows us how that city’s complex racial legacy would make Obama’s forays into politics a source of controversy and bare-knuckle tactics: his clashes with older black politicians in the Illinois State Senate, his disastrous decision to challenge the former Black Panther Bobby Rush for Congress in 2000, the sex scandals that would decimate his more experienced opponents in the 2004 Senate race, and the story—from both sides—of his confrontation with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.** **By looking at Obama’s political rise through the prism of our racial history, Remnick gives us the conflicting agendas of black politicians: the dilemmas of men like Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, and Joseph Lowery,** **heroes of the civil rights movement, who are forced to reassess old loyalties and understand the priorities of a new generation of African-American leaders.*The Bridge* revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama’s quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by individuals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives.


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***On the heels of *Patient Zero *and *Pride and Prejudice with Zombies— *the electrifying sequel to *Hater *where humanity fights itself to the death against a backdrop of ultimate apocalyptic destruction 

***The Earth has been torn into two parts by an irreversible division. Whether due to nature, or the unknown depths of the mind itself, everyone is now either Human or Hater. Victim or killer. Governments have fallen, command structures have collapsed, and relationships have crumbled. Major cities have become refugee camps where human survivors cower together in fear. Amidst this indiscriminate carnage, Danny McCoyne is on a mission to find his daughter Ellis, convinced that her shared Hater condition means her allegiance is to people like him. Free of inhibitions, unrestricted by memories of peace, and driven by instinct, children are pure Haters, and may well define the future of the Hater race. But, as McCoyne makes his way into the heart of human territory, an incident on the battlefield sets in place an unexpected chain of events, forcing him to question everything he believes he knows about the new order that has arisen, and the dynamic of the Hate itself.


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The story begins with a not-so-brief encounter on a train between 58-year-old philosophy lecturer Alan, and Ange a twenty-something darts groupie. Alan learns to live for the moment, and Ange to appreciate the finer things in life.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**A renowned musician and visual artist presents an idiosyncratic behind-thehandlebars view of the world's cities**



Since the early 1980s, David Byrne has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them on tour. Byrne's choice was made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation it provided. Convinced that urban biking opens one's eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city's geography and population, Byrne began keeping a journal of his observations and insights.



 An account of what he sees and whom he meets as he pedals through metropoles from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Istanbul to San Francisco, Manila to New York, *Bicycle Diaries* also records Byrne's thoughts on world music, urban planning, fashion, architecture, cultural dislocation, and much more, all conveyed with a highly personal mixture of humor, curiosity, and humility. Part travelogue, part journal, part photo album, *Bicycle Diaries* is an eye-opening celebration of seeing the world from the seat of a bike.


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It was a warm, golden evening in Rome—a night filled with anticipation. A legendary director was premiering his new film version of Dante’s Inferno. From around the world, celebrities gathered at the Villa Borghese as the paparazzi thronged among them. But within moments the event was in chaos. A man was dead. The film’s star was missing—and a priceless relic had vanished. In David Hewson’s masterful new novel of suspense, Detective Nic Costa, numb from the recent death of his wife, finds himself and his fellow detectives drawn into a strange and terrifying limbo—the first of Dante’s nine circles of Hell.While Dante had Beatrice as his guide, Nic Costa has an enigmatic beauty of his own: a bored American film actress named Maggie Flavier who decides that Costa, and no one else, is suited for the job of protecting her from the danger surrounding the film. As the premiere shifts locations—from Rome to San Francisco—Costa leaves Europe for the first time in his life, and is pulled from his grief and ambivalence by Maggie Flavier and the city by the bay. Fortunately his fellow detectives are under no such spell. Charged with protecting a trove of rare Italian artworks and artifacts, they are also joining the hunt for a killer who has struck twice again, leaving behind a tableau of clues that range from Dante’s deadly cycle of numbers to the films of Alfred Hitchcock.Now, with Maggie herself in danger, Nic must throw off the fog of wonder and infatuation he feels in the presence of this beautiful woman in all her guises. But it may already be too late. As evidence points to connections deep within the Italian Mafia, and the Roman policemen do battle with a celluloid culture they cannot quite comprehend, a killer’s chilling plot is closing in around them—guided by a poet’s medieval vision of sin and punishment, planned with a modern genius for revenge….


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This raw, moving novel follows two teenagers-one, a Mohawk-wearing 17-year-old violent misfit; the other, a gay 13-year-old cast out by his family, hustling on the streets and trying to survive. Acclaimed author Davida Wills Hurwin creates a riveting narrative told in alternating perspectives of their lives before and after the violent hate crime that changed both their futures. This tragic but ultimately inspirational journey of two polarized teens, their violent first meeting, and their peaceful reunion years later is an unforgettable story of survival and forgiveness. This story is inspired by the real lives of Matthew Boger and Timothy Zaal, who have shared their story on The Oprah Winfrey Show and NPR.


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For more than thirty years, Pat Benatar has been one of the most iconic women in rock music, with songs like "Heartbreaker," "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," and "Love Is a Battlefield" becoming anthems for multiple generations of fans. Now, in this intimate and uncompromising memoir, one of the bestselling female rock artists of all time shares the story of her extraordinary career, telling the truth about her life, her struggles, and how she won things—her way.   From her early days in the New York club scene of the 1970s to headlining sold-out arena tours, Benatar offers a fascinating account of a life spent behind the microphone. As the first female artist ever to be played on MTV, she speaks candidly about the realities of breaking into the boys' club of rock and roll at a time when people everywhere still believed a woman's only place in popular music was as a girlfriend, a groupie, or a sex symbol. And though her fiery edge and aggressive swagger produced instant success, they also led to fights over her image that would linger for years to come.   Going backstage and into the studio, Benatar sets the record straight about how her music evolved, illustrating the visionary role that her guitarist, producer, and eventual husband, Neil "Spyder" Giraldo, played in combining her classically trained voice with razor-sharp guitar to create her unique hard-rock sound. Together they formed a musical and spiritual bond that would last a lifetime, helping her stay true to herself while avoiding the pitfalls and excesses of rock stardom.   Written with the attitude and defiance that embodies Pat Benatar's music, Between a Heart and a Rock Place is a rock-and-roll story unlike any other, a remarkable tale of playing by your own rules, even if that means breaking a few of theirs.


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**The brilliant new Micah Dalton thriller from the *New York Times* bestselling author. ** 



 In Vienna for a top-secret meeting with ex-Mossad agent Issadore Galan, Micah Dalton senses that something is very wrong on the streets of the Ring District. Dalton's aggressive response to enemy surveillance makes him the target of a complex plot with the potential to shatter America's strategic alliances with the rest of the civilized world. Planned by an unknown foreign power and executed by a scarred Serbian killer known only as Smoke, the conspiracy pits Dalton against an ultrasecret U.S. agency and a cadre of trained KGB killers. In a blistering trajectory of events that takes him from Venice to the Balkans and the barren shoreline of North Africa, Dalton pushes himself to the edge of sanity in a desperate attempt to save his honor-and his life.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**In the next 23 hours, there will be no reprieve, no mercy, and no time off for good behavior.**When vampire hunter Laura Caxton is locked up in a maximum-security prison, the cop-turned-con finds herself surrounded by countless murderers and death-row inmates with nothing to lose . . . and plenty of time to *kill.  *Caxton’s always been able to watch her own back–even when it’s against a cell-block wall–but soon she learns that an even greater threat has slithered behind the bars to join her. Justinia Malvern, the world’s oldest living vampire, has taken up residence, and her strength grows by the moment as she raids the inmate population like an open bar with an all-you-can-drink supply of fresh blood. The crafty old vampire knows just how to pull Caxton’s strings, too, and she's issued an ultimatum that Laura can’t refuse.  Now Laura has just 23 hours to fight her way through a gauntlet of vampires, cons, and killers . . . 23 hours to make one last, desperate attempt at protecting the world from Justinia’s evil.   **


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For Cheyenne Clark, there's a bad moon on the rise . . . There's one sound a woman doesn't want to hear when she's lost and alone in the Arctic wilderness: a howl. When a strange wolf's teeth slash Cheyenne's ankle to the bone, her old life ends, and she becomes the very monster that has haunted her nightmares for years. Worse, the only one who can understand what Chey has become is the man-or wolf-who's doomed her to this fate. He also wants to chop her head off with an axe. Yet as the line between human and beast blurs, so too does the distinction between hunter and hunted . . . for Chey is more than just the victim she appears to be. But once she's within killing range, she may find that-even for a werewolf-it's not always easy to go for the jugular.


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Sometimes, it takes a crisis to figure out who you really are.

In the near future, an irreverent astronomer named Marcus Donovan discovers a strange relic hidden beyond Mars, and he commandeers an exploratory vessel under false pretenses to investigate.

While Marcus and his crew venture off into the unknown, a mysterious alien legion appears in Earth orbit and invades.  Human civilization is dashed apart in the blink of an eye, and Jack Hernandez, a search and rescue specialist, is one of the lucky few survivors.  Along with a handful of friends, Jack joins the scattered resistance and wages a desperate terrorist war against the aliens, striking back any way they can.

In the bloody struggle to reclaim their planet, Jack and Marcus are each thrust into roles they never could have imagined, in a conflict as old as time.  The fight takes them from China to Africa, and from Earth to Mars, while the secrets they uncover shake their understanding of humanity itself.

Stars Rain Down is about the horrors of warfare, and what happens when idealism collides with a savage fight for survival.  Dominated by an enemy who shows neither compassion nor regret, the last remnants of mankind discover that every choice leads to unforeseen consequences, and mercy can triumph even in the face of mortal rage.


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From the creator of HBO's "The Wire," the classic book about homicide investigation that became the basis for the hit television showThe scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the center of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of hard men who fight for whatever justice is possible in a deadly world. David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and this electrifying book tells the true story of a year on the violent streets of an American city. The narrative follows Donald Worden, a veteran investigator; Harry Edgerton, a black detective in a mostly white unit; and Tom Pellegrini, an earnest rookie who takes on the year's most difficult case, the brutal rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl. Originally published fifteen years ago, "Homicide" became the basis for the acclaimed television show of the same name. This new edition--which includes a new introduction, an afterword, and photographs--revives this classic, riveting tale about the men who work on the dark side of the American experience. David Simon's "Homicide" won an Edgar Award and became the basis for the NBC award-winning drama. Simon's second book, "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood," co-authored with Edward Burns, was made into an HBO miniseries. Simon is currently the executive producer and writer for HBO's Peabody Award-winning series "The Wire." He lives in Baltimore. David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and in this book he tells the story of his year on the streets of an American city. The narrative follows Donald Worden, a veteran investigator; Harry Edgerton, a black detective in a mostly white unit; and Tom Pellegrini, an earnest rookie who takes on the year's most difficult case, the rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl. "Homicide" was originally published in 1991. This new edition--which includes a new introduction, an afterword, and photographs--revives this classic, riveting account of those who work on the dark side of the American experience. "One of the most engrossing police procedural mystery books ever written, not only because the crimes and plots and personalities are real, but because Simon is a terrific writer."--"Newsday" "Through wonderfully descriptive writing, Simon details the work of fifteen detectives, three sergeants and a lieutenant charged with investigating dozens of Baltimore's 234 murders that year . . . Simon takes readers inside the detectives' lives, describing the frustration of departmental red tape and politics, the bursts of energy and moments of despair . . . For a complete look at what it's like to investigate violence for a living, "Homicide" is well worth the time."--"Orlando Sentinel" "This may be the best true-crime book, the best naked look at murder and cops and crime and life on the killing streets of big-city America in the late 20th century . . . A rich, revealing look at the twisted lives of killers and their victims and at the men who are obsessed with solving the most heinous and baffling murders."--"San Diego Union" "As Richard Price says in his new introduction, Simon 'camped out' with the Baltimore PD's homicide unit for a year while researching this no-punches-pulled look at murders and the cops who solve them. The 1985 title was the basis of the award-winning NBC drama of the same name . . . The city of Baltimore saw 234 murders in 1988. Allowed unlimited access to a shift of the city's homicide unit, police reporter Simon chronicles that year. The sociopaths, the crackheads, and their crimes are horrifying, but equal horrors are found in the attitudes of jurors in a case of the shooting and blinding of a policeman and in statistics showing the ultimate legal fates of those apprehended by the unit. Immersing his readers in cases, procedures, politics, and the detectives' personalities, Simon risks being sabotaged by the sheer scope of his account. Still, for those with strong stomachs and the willingness to work to keep the characters and dramas straight, he has produced a riveting slice of urban life. Recommended."--Jim Burns, Pompano Beach City Library, Florida, "Library Journal" "We seem to have an insatiable appetite for police stories . . . David Simon's entry is far and away the best, the most readable, reliable and relentless of them all....An eye for the scenes of slaughter and pursuit and an ear for the cadences of cop talk, both business and banter, lend Simon's account the fascination that truth often has . . . Fueled by coffee, cigarettes, and the drive to 'put down' (i.e. close) cases, these heroes keep at it long after ordinary mortals would have lost heart."--"The Washington Post Book World" ""Baltimore Sun" reporter Simon spent a year tracking the homicide unit of his city's police, following the officers from crime scenes to interrogations to hospital emergency rooms. With empathy, psychological nuance, racy verbatim dialogue and razor-sharp prose, he offers a rare insider's look at the detective's tension-wracked world. Presiding over a score of sleuths is commander Gary D'Addario, 'connoisseur of survival' who grapples with political intrigue, massive red tape and 'red balls' (major, difficult cases). His detectives include Tom Pelligrini, obsessed with solving the rape-murder of an 11-year-old girl; Rich Garvey, whose 'perfect year' is upset by a murder case that collapses in court; and black, cosmopolitan Harry Edgerton, a lone wolf, son of a jazz pianist. This hectic daily log reveals the detective's beat on Baltimore's mean streets (234 murders in 1988) to be brutal, bureaucratic and, occasionally, mundane."--"Publishers Weekly"


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When powerful enemies threaten to destroy her kingdom, Shadow Queen Matilde must pit herself against her family's conqueror to survive - will her vision of doom come true, or will she prevail? A breathtaking novel from a brilliant new voice in fantasy fiction. 'I put out a hand to steady myself as the vision took me. The parquetry floor washed to black . . . As if sparked by the hard glare, a fire burst and raged through the room, the flames hot enough to crisp bones and raise the smell of marrow burning to cinders. And me in the middle, wrapped in the black shroud of the dead.' For Matilde of House of Svanaten, accession to the Turasi throne is long overdue. But her imperious grandmother remains reluctant to hand over power. When Matilde's mysterious aunt, Helena, turns up for the Turasi's most important festival, suspicions abound. Why has Helena suddenly appeared - and accompanied by the despised Ilthean? And what of the Ilthean soldiers massed at the southern border? Hard on Helen's arrival, Matilde is struck by a vision warning of doom. And it isn't long before a powerful enemy strikes at the very heart of power, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake. After narrowly surviving the conflagration that shatters her entire world, Matilde must pit herself against her family's conqueror in a battle not just for the throne, but for her very existence. 'Strong, tense, economical yet poetic writing. . . Gripping. Highly recommended.' - Sun Herald. 'Shadow Queen has strong narrative drive, a fiery protagonist and, most importantly, moves at a cracking pace. It's assured writing and well-crafted plot may also win it readers outside the [fantasy] genre.' - Sunday Age


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**Even a man on the run can enjoy the thrill of the chase... ** 



 Hiding from New York's Irish mob, Liam O'Brien is in Ireland working as a bartender in his parents' old village. Hurt once by a man, Aislinn McCafferty is the local ice queen, which the unsuspecting Liam soon learns the hard way. 



 Accepting a wager from the pub's owner, Liam pursues Aislinn. But neither of them expects this donnybrook of the sexes to turn into an unlikely love...


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"Three grandmothers bound by one common thread." Barbara lost her son, a single dad, to senseless violence. Judy's daughter fell into a black hole of addiction. Ginger's girl threw away motherhood for money, status and materialism. And the grandmothers had to pick up the pieces... . Miraculously, they found one another, a mismatched trio with no common history, yet with so much to share. Together they found wisdom, strength and courage-- and rediscovered the true meaning of faith.


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From Denise Austin comes the perfect health book for anyone who wants to live better but just can't seem to find the time. Much more than just another excercise book, Denise's Daily Dozen covers a whole range of health and diet related concepts yet manages it all in a no-stress, time-conscious program of 12's. At it's core, this book contains the minimum daily requirements to keep the reader flexible, strong and trim. Organized simply into seven chapters, which equal the seven days of the week, it covers a full week in daily allotments. Each day will have it's own focus from Monday being "fat burning day" to Sunday's "recharge and rejuvenate."Denise has created a total body program, including a 7-day balanced meal plan that includes healthy recipes, and a workout that encompasses 12 exercises done in 12 minutes each day. Everyone can take just 12 minutes, at whatever time of the day works for them, and turn it over to these simple and fun exercises. Cardio, toning, yoga and breathing exercises...they're all here but in a way the maximizes effect while minimizing time.Beyond a dozen exercises for each day of the week this book will include many other of Denises dozens for each day.


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It was a wedding no one would forget…Luke Skywalker was juggling martini glasses. Albert Einstein was dirty-dancing with Monica Lewinsky. And Zorro was arguing with Death himself. For wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid, it was just another night on the job: a coed bachelor party thrown by one of Seattle’s hippest couples--the bride-to-be a hard-charging Microsoft millionaire, the groom a Seattle Sentinel news editor. But what started as the perfect evening for the young, handsome, and politically correct ended in disaster. One beautiful bridesmaid was dead, and another had thrown herself into Elliott Bay. Now Carnegie has more than a cutting-edge wedding to save. All around her, secret liaisons are unraveling, dangerous decisions are coming to light, and at least one criminal is lurking. With families to please, dresses to hem, and headlines to grab, Carnegie is discovering the dark side of love and marriage amid high and low Seattle society--and that while some passions may be forever, some are a motive for murder....


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TO SURVIVE THE WEDDING OF THE SEASON... Wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid can feel the heat when she reunites with an old flame in the wealthy resort community of Sun Valleybut handsome smoke jumper Jack Packard is about to marry Carnegie's former best friend, now a famous TV actress. With a star-studded ceremony to pull off, a noncommittal boyfriend back in Seattle, and a supercilious Frenchman barking orders, Carnegie has no time for carnal urges. Especially once murder joins the party. YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE THE PLUNGE. The victim was a local hero who leapt from planes to fight fire. But was his impromptu skydive a smoke screen for something sinister? With her florist going AWOL, her bride going ballistically Hollywood, and her curiosity running wild, Carnegie may be in over her head: Someone in Sun Valley is a killerand it's up to Carnegie to grill the guests and unmask the villain...or watch her glitzy job go up in flames. From the Paperback edition.


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She thought she was planning a wedding.What she got was ... Veiled Threats.A wedding to die for....When love is in the air, Carnegie Kincaid is not far behind. A wedding planner who works out of her Seattle houseboat, Carnegie makes magic — usually — with fractious families, brimming brides, and cantankerous caterers to give loving couples the wedding they’ve always wanted. So why is her dream job turning into a perfect nightmare?It started when Carnegie agreed to plan the wedding of one of Seattle’s most prominent families — who happen to be going through a high-stakes, headline-grabbing legal war. Before she can get her bride-to-be into just the right dress, a murder and a kidnapping plunge Carnegie into a mystery of extortion and violence.With a shadowy figure stalking her, a rich lawyer wooing her, and an annoying reporter pursuing her, Carnegie is putting all wedding plans on hold. In an explosion of sheer terror, she must hunt down a killer — till death do her part....


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A brand new adventure starring The Grey Griffins!Max---the leaderNatalia---the brainsErnie---the changelingHarley---the muscle A year ago, the Grey Griffins were just regular kids from Avalon, Minnesota. That was before they learned about the existence of evil fairies, werewolves, and other things that go bump in the night. Now they are monster-hunters, celebrated heroes, and allies to the legendary Templar knights---but even heroes have to go to school. When the Griffins enroll at Iron Bridge Academy, a school to train young recruits in the fight against the forces of evil, they find themselves at the center of a whole new adventure. The Clockwork King, a Templar foe from days past, has returned to finish the plan he set in motion decades ago. A plot to steal the souls of changelings---humans infused with fairy blood and supernatural abilities---in order to power his army of clockwork war machines. In The Brimstone Key, authors Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis deftly blend the mystical wonder of steampunk with magic and adventure to create an action-packed thrill ride.


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Allison Beckstrom's magic has taken its toll on her, physically marking her and erasing her memories — including those of the man she supposedly loves. 

But lost memories aren't the only things preying on Allie's thoughts. Her late father, the prominent businessman — and sorcerer — Daniel Beckstrom, has somehow channeled himself into her very mind. 

With the help of The Authority, a secret organization of magic users, she hopes to gain better control over her own abilities — and find a way to deal with her father.


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Allison Beckstrom is committed to her work tracing illegal spells. Now, there's an apocalyptic storm bearing down on Portland, and when it hits, all the magic in the area will turn unstable and destructive. To stop it from taking out the entire city, Allie and her lover, the mysterious Zayvion Jones, must work with the Authority-the enigmatic arbiters of all things magic-and take a stand against a magical wildstorm that will obliterate all in its path...


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**"Cigars all around"( LOUISE URE, SHAMUS AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR) for the new Maternal Instincts mystery series.



First-time mom Kate Connelly is bringing up baby- and bringing down a killer.**



Kate Connelly may have found the perfect work-from-home Mommy job: private investigator. After all, the hours are flexible, she can bring the baby along on stake-outs, and if you're going to be up all night anyway, you might as well solve some crimes. But when a body is pulled from San Francisco Bay that may be her brother-in-law, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say "diaper rash" in order to keep her family together.


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The author of Bundle of Trouble delivers a new Maternal Instincts mystery.  Nights out are hard to come by for new mommy Kate Connelly. So when Kate and her husband are invited to a dinner cruise hosted by her new mommy club, Roo & You, they jump at it. But when the president of the club takes a deadly spill, everyone becomes suspect-and Kate's on deck to solve the mystery.


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Ruth Rabinowitz believes. She believes that her daughter, Bethany, is a terrific little actress, so they have come to Hollywood, where dreams come true. Ruth's husband and Bethany's father, who thinks their quest for stardom is delusional, has been left behind in Seattle.  Joining Bethany Rabinowitz in Hollywood's often toxic waters are fellow child actors Quinn Reilly, who has been cast adrift by his family and excels only on Hollywood sets; beautiful Allison Addison, who is misled by her powerful need for love; and Laurel Buehl, who brings a desperate secret to LA that makes the stakes impossibly high. As talent managers, agents, coaches, directors, and teachers nurture--and feed on--their ambitions, stars will be made, hearts will be broken, children will grow up, and dreams will both be realized and die.


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Her family's cottage was a place of innocence for twelve-year-old Julie Bauer - until her sister was murdered. It's been many years since that August night, but Julie's memories of Izzy's death still haunt her. Now someone from her past is asking questions about what really happened that night. About Julie's own complicity. About a devastating secret her mother kept from them all. About the person who went to prison for Izzy's murder - and the person who didn't. Julie must gather the courage to revisit her past and untangle the complex emotions that led to one unspeakable act of violence on the bay at midnight.


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Fifteen years after his #1 New York Times bestseller, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Deepak Chopra revisits "the forgotten miracle"–the body's infinite capacity for change and renewal. You cannot take advantage of this miracle, Chopra says, unless you are willing to completely reinvent your body, transforming it from a material object to a dynamic, flowing process. "Your physical body is a fiction," Chopra contends. Every cell is made up of two invisible ingredients: awareness and energy.Using Chopra's ten steps to wholeness, you can harness those basic elements to change the distorted energy patterns that are the root cause of aging, infirmity, and disease.Transformation can't stop with the body, however; it must involve the soul. The soul–seemingly invisible, aloof, and apart from the material world–actually creates the body. Only by going to the level of the soul will you access your full potential, bringing more intelligence, creativity, and awareness into every aspect of your life.Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul delivers ten breakthroughs–five for the body, five for the soul–that lead to self-transformation. In clear, accessible terms, Chopra shows us how to commit ourselves to deeper awareness, focus on relationships instead of consumption, embrace every day as a new world, and transcend the obstacles that afflict body and mind.Deepak Chopra has inspired millions with his profound teachings over the years. His bestselling books have explored the mind/body connection and the power of spirit. With his latest book, he invites you to experience with him the miracles that unfold when we connect the body directly to the awesome mysteries that give life meaning–directly to the soul. When you have completed this journey, after reinventing your body and resurrecting your soul, the ecstasy of true wholeness becomes possible for the very first time.


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“Dennis Lehane advises us not to judge the genre by its Hollywood images of sharp men in fedoras lighting cigarettes for femmes fatales standing in the dark alleys...[Lehane] writes persuasively of the gentrification that has...left people feeling crushed.”—New York Times Book Review Brand-new stories by: Dennis Lehane, Stewart O'Nan, Patricia Powell, John Dufresne, Lynne Heitman, Don Lee, Russ Aborn, Itabari Njeri, Jim Fusilli, Brendan DuBois, and Dana Cameron. Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Given Day) has proven himself to be a master of both crime fiction and literary fiction. Here, he extends his literary prowess to that of master curator. In keeping with the Akashic Noir series tradition, each story in Boston Noir is set in a different neighborhood of the city—the impressively diverse collection extends from Roxbury to Cambridge, from Southie to the Boston Harbor, and all stops in between. Lehane’s own contribution—the longest story in the volume—is set in his beloved home neighborhood of Dorchester and showcases his phenomenal ability to grip the heart, soul, and throat of the reader. In 2003, Lehane’s novel Mystic River was adapted into film and quickly garnered six Academy Award nominations (with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins each winning Academy Awards). Boston Noir launches in November 2009 just as Shutter Island, the film based on Lehane’s best-selling 2003 novel of the same title, hits the big screen. Dennis Lehane is the author of The New York Times bestseller Mystic River (also an Academy Award–winning major motion picture); Prayers for Rain; Gone, Baby, Gone (also a major motion picture); Sacred; Darkness, Take My Hand; A Drink Before the War, which won the Shamus Award for Best First Novel; and, most recently, The Given Day. A native of Dorchester, Massachusetts, he splits his time between the Boston area and Florida.


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**A fascinating account of Nazi Germany's armored forces by the author of *Patton and Rommel*. ** 



 Determined to secure a quick, decisive victory on the World War II battlefields, Adolf Hitler adopted an attack plan that combined tools with technique- the formidable Panzer divisions. Self-contained armored units able to operate independently, the Panzers became the German army's fighting core as well as its moral focus, establishing an entirely new military doctrine. 



 In *Hitler's Panzers*, renowned World War II scholar Dennis Showalter presents a comprehensive and unbiased study of Nazi Germany's armored forces. By delving deeply into a detailed history of the theory, strategy, myths, and realities of Germany's technologically innovative approach to warfare, Showalter provides a look at the military lessons of the past, and a speculation on how the Panzer ethos may be implemented in the future of international conflict.


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Portia Townsend once nursed an intense crush on her childhood playmate, Gareth Lowell, until he shattered her hopes of a future together and blindly treated her like a child. Nine years later, her vengeful ex-husband has blackmailed her into helping him overthrow the Turkish sultan. Alone and desperate, Portia must turn to the only man who can help, even if it means risking heartbreak once again. Gareth learned all too young just how easily and brutally happiness could be destroyed. Portia is the last person he wants to see, but he can't refuse to help her, no matter how much that may cost him. And in the corrupt and deadly city of Constantinople, two damaged souls may find the ultimate treasure.


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Tour the globe and witness spectacular feats of human determination, endurance, and strength. Travel with dedicated mountaineers as they climb the "Seven Summits"—the highest peak of each of the seven continents. Stunning full-color photographs capture the breathtaking scenery and courageous athleticism of the climbers. Essays and diaries of mountaineers, along with striking photos, capture these harrowing adventures and take readers to each of the Seven Summits: McKinley (North America), Aconcagua (South America), Vinson (Antarctica), Kilmanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Kosciuszko (Australia), and Everest (Asia).


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Ned Talbot is a small-time bookmaker on the edge of giving it all up when his world is turned upside down by a man who claims to be his father, long thought dead. And when the mysterious stranger is murdered, Ned feels compelled to find out exactly what is going on. But the more he discovers, the longer the odds become for his survival.


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*“Julian Trent, you have been found guilty by this court of perpetrating a violent and unprovoked attack on an innocent family including a charge of attempted murder. You have shown little or no remorse for your actions and I consider you a danger to society.”* 



 When defense lawyer Geoffrey Mason hears the judge’s ruling at London’s Old Bailey, he quietly hopes that a substantial sentence will be handed down to his arrogant young client. That Julian Trent only receives eight years seems all too lenient. Little does Mason realize that he’ll be looking Trent in the eyes again much sooner than that. 



 Setting aside his barrister’s gown and wig, Mason heads to Sandown racetrack to don his colorful racing silks. As an amateur jockey, he fulfills his true passion by pounding the turf in the heat of a steeplechase. Yet when a fellow rider is brutally murdered—a pitchfork driven through his chest—Mason’s racing hobby soon becomes too close to his work. The prime suspect is one of their brethren, champion jockey Steve Mitchell, and the evidence against him seems overwhelming. 



 Mason is reluctant to heed Mitchell’s plea for legal help—but he soon finds himself at the center of a sinister web of violence, threats and intimidation. Mason is left fighting a battle of right and wrong, and more immediately, a battle of life and death…his own.


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The year is 2033. The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct. The half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Survivors still remember the past greatness of humankind. But the last remains of civilisation have already become a distant memory, the stuff of myth and legend. More than 20 years have passed since the last plane took off from the earth. Rusted railways lead into emptiness. The ether is void and the airwaves echo to a soulless howling where previously the frequencies were full of news from Tokyo, New York, Buenos Aires. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms. Mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. Man's time is over.A few score thousand survivors live on, not knowing whether they are the only ones left on earth. They live in the Moscow Metro - the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. It is humanity's last refuge. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters - or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, with no room for dreams, plans, hopes. Feelings have given way to instinct - the most important of which is survival. Survival at any price. VDNKh is the northernmost inhabited station on its line. It was one of the Metro's best stations and still remains secure. But now a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. He holds the future of his native station in his hands, the whole Metro - and maybe the whole of humanity.


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In these five tales, Sherlock Holmes is shown at the height of his powers: he co-operates with a young Winston Churchill in the famed Siege of Sydney Street; helps defeat a plan for a German invasion outlined in the Zimmerman Telegram; establishes a link between two missing light-house keepers and the royal treasures of King John; contends with a supernatural curse placed upon an eccentric aristocrat and discovers a lost epic of Lord Byron.  But it is all in a days work for the great detective, who continues to defy the odds and lives to ratiocinate another day.


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No one except Milrose Munce knows that ghosts of former students live in his school. Not only is Milrose aware of these ghouls – he’s on a first-name basis with all of them. Of course, some are more likeable than others: the third floor is the home to nearly all of his good friends. Most of them – like Imploded Ig, Deeply Damaged Dave, and Toasted Theresa – were the victims of science experiments gone wrong though they do manage to maintain a sense of humour about their demise. Then there are the ghost athletes who lurk in the basement – a pretty disagreeable group, the majority of them having died after a particularly clumsy manoeuvre on the school’s sports field.After Milrose is given yet another detention for offering his teacher an answer that was just a bit too clever, his life takes an unexpected turn. He is sent to a hidden den in the school’s basement to receive Professional Help. Here, he and the quick-witted Arabella, a fellow captive, are put under round-the-clock supervision of the maniacal Massimo Natica. Fortunately for Milrose and Arabella, once they join forces with their ghostly friends, Massimo Natica doesn’t stand a chance.In the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, the dark comedy and imaginative brilliance of Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help will appeal to adults as much as it will to younger readers.


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Wyman Ford is tapped for a secret expedition to Cambodia... to locate the source of strangely beautiful gemstones that do not appear to be of this world. A brilliant meteor lights up the Maine coast...and two young women borrow a boat and set out for a distant island to find the impact crater. A scientist at the National Propulsion Facility discovers an inexplicable source of gamma rays in the outer Solar System. He is found decapitated, the data missing. High resolution NASA images reveal an unnatural feature hidden in the depths of a crater on Mars...and it appears to have been activated. Sixty hours and counting.


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"DEEP IN THE SOUTH OF TEXASAbout twenty years agoHere on this tiny lil’ islandShe called herself Marie LaveauxArdella and Frank had the Poop DeckShe came in to dry her hairWith the bright sun and the gulf breezeFrank said “You’re the one”Come on aboard and we’ll have some fun!Everyone knowsIt was hard to leaveAnd so the story goesOf the Poop Deck and this girl MarieI remember MarieThe day I first came inShe copped a bad attitudeCause she thought I was rudeWe really got under each other’s skinNow everybody knowsThe Poop Deck and MarieAnd everybody knowsIt wouldn’t be the same without MarieYeah!Everybody knowsIt was hard to leaveEverybody knowsAbout the Poop Deck and MarieI’ll have another beer if you please!"


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In this unforgettable work of fiction, Donald Ray Pollock peers into the soul of a tough Midwestern American town to reveal the sad, stunted but resilient lives of its residents.****Spanning a period from the mid-sixties to the late nineties, the linked stories that comprise **Knockemstiff*** *feature a cast of recurring characters who are woebegone, baffled and depraved—but irresistibly, undeniably real. Rendered in the American vernacular with vivid imagery and a wry, dark sense of humor, these thwarted and sometimes violent lives jump off the page at the reader with inexorable force. A father pumps his son full of steroids so he can vicariously relive his days as a perpetual runner-up body builder. A psychotic rural recluse comes upon two siblings committing incest and feels compelled to take action. Donald Ray Pollock presents his characters and the sordid goings-on with a stern intelligence, a bracing absence of value judgments, and a refreshingly dark sense of bottom-dog humor.With an artistic instinct honed on the works of Flannery O’Connor and Harry Crews, Pollock offers a powerful work of fiction in the classic American vein. **Knockemstiff** is a genuine entry into the literature of place.


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Inspirational and magical, the story of boy who grows up determined to save the world from its most savage ecological predator: Man himself.  "What the hell do you want?" snarled Frogman at Raff Cody, as the boy stepped innocently onto the reputed murderer's property.   Fifteen years old, Raff, along with his older cousin, Junior, had only wanted to catch a glimpse of Frogman’s 1000-pound alligator.     Thus, begins the saga of Anthill, which follows the thrilling adventures of a modern-day Huck Finn, whose improbable love of the "strange, beautiful, and elegant" world of ants ends up transforming his own life and the citizens of Nokobee County.  Battling both snakes bites and cynical relatives who just don’t understand his consuming fascination with the outdoors, Raff explores the pristine beauty of the Nokobee wildland. And in doing so, he witnesses the remarkable creation and destruction of four separate ant colonies (“The Anthill Chronicles”), whose histories are epics that unfold on picnic grounds, becoming a young naturalist in the process.      An extraordinary undergraduate at Florida State University, Raff, despite his scientific promise, opts for Harvard Law School, believing that the environmental fight must be waged in the courtroom as well as the lab.  Returning home a legal gladiator, Raff grows increasingly alarmed by rapacious condo developers who are eager to pave and subdivide the wildlands surrounding the Chicobee River.  But one last battle awaits him in his epic struggle.  In a shattering ending that no reader will forget,  Raff  suddenly encounters the angry and corrupt ghosts of an old South  he thought had all but disappeared, and learns that “war is a genetic imperative,” not only for ants but for men as well.     Part thriller, part parable, Anthill will not only transfix readers with its stunning twists and startling revelations, but will provide readers with new insights into the meaning of survival in our rapidly changing world. .


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**A powerful debut novel of friendship, love, and family set in the segregated pre-Civil War South. ** 



 *"This is a promise bridge, and it bridges a promise flowing from your heart to mine. It can't never be broken...the promise is part of you now, understand." * 



 Thus begins an unlikely friendship between Hannelore Blessing, a plantation mistress, and a slave girl named Livie. As the young women are launched on a harrowing journey of awakening filled with shared risks and nurtured promises amid whispers of the Underground Railroad and the rising tension preceding the Civil War, they discover their ability to trust, love, and ultimately take action. 



 Aided by Colt, a devoted suitor hoping to win her heart, Hannah comes to understand that true friendship means letting go, so that Livie can be free to find a life and destiny all her own. However, a vicious slave catcher stalks the two women-and his unseemly motives and relentless pursuit threaten all that Hannah holds dear, as well as put her loved ones in unimaginable danger.


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In 2000, New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston fulfilled a long-held dream to move his family to Italy. But after settling in an idyllic village just outside Florence, he discovered that the olive grove in front of his family's new home had been the scene of one of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. The killer had never been found. Preston, intrigued, met Italian journalist Mario Spezi, who has followed the case since the first murders in 1974, to learn more. This is the true story of their search for - and identification of - the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. It's also the story of how Preston and Spezi themselves became part of the story. Preston had his phone tapped, was interrogated, and forced to leave the country. Spezi fared even worse: he was accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. Like one of Preston's bestselling thrillers, The Monster of Florence tells a gripping and harrowing story of murder, mutilation, suspicion and ruined lives - and at the centre of it, two brave writers trying to uncover the truth at all costs.


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From Ragtime and Billy Bathgate to The Book of Daniel, World's Fair, and The March, the novels of E. L. Doctorow comprise one of the most substantive achievements of modern American fiction. Now, with Homer & Langley, this master novelist has once again created an unforgettable work. Homer and Langley Collyer are brothers-the one blind and deeply intuitive, the other damaged into madness, or perhaps greatness, by mustard gas in the Great War. They live as recluses in their once grand Fifth Avenue mansion, scavenging the city streets for things they think they can use, hoarding the daily newspapers as research for Langley's proposed dateless newspaper whose reportage will be as prophecy. Yet the epic events of the century play out in the lives of the two brothers-wars, political movements, technological advances-and even though they want nothing more than to shut out the world, history seems to pass through their cluttered house in the persons of immigrants, prostitutes, society women, government agents, gangsters, jazz musicians . . . and their housebound lives are fraught with odyssean peril as they struggle to survive and create meaning for themselves. Brilliantly conceived, gorgeously written, this mesmerizing narrative, a free imaginative rendering of the lives of New York's fabled Collyer brothers, is a family story with the resonance of myth, an astonishing masterwork unlike any that have come before from this great writer. "From the Hardcover edition."


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Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan's worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a  past he'd prefer to keep hidden.  Whether it's a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.



Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwna is a hitman for the mob, with a genius for violence, a well-earned fear of sharks, and an overly close relationship with the Federal Witness Relocation Program.  More likely to leave a trail of dead gangsters than a molecule of evidence, he's the last person you want to see in your hospital room.



Nicholas LoBrutto,  aka Eddy Squillante, is Dr. Brown's new patient, with three months to live and a very strange idea:  that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might-just might-be the same person ...



Now, with the mob, the government, and death itself descending on the hospital, Peter has to buy time and do whatever it takes to keep his patients, himself, and his last shot at redemption alive.  To get through the next eight hours-and somehow beat the reaper.  



Spattered in adrenaline-fueled action and bone-saw-sharp dialogue, BEAT THE REAPER is a debut thriller so utterly original you won't be able to guess what happens next, and so shockingly entertaining you won't be able to put it down.


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**The bestselling author of *Saving Graces* shares her inspirational message on the challenges and blessings of coping with adversity.**She’s one of the most beloved political figures in the country, and on the surface, seems to have led a charmed life. In many ways, she has. Beautiful family. Thriving career. Supportive friendship. Loving marriage. But she’s no stranger to adversity. Many know of the strength she had shown after her son, Wade, was killed in a freak car accident when he was only sixteen years old. She would exhibit this remarkable grace and courage again when the very private matter of her husband's infidelity became public fodder. And her own life has been on the line. Days before the 2004 presidential election—when her husband John was running for vice president—she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After rounds of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation the cancer went away—only to reoccur in 2007. While on the campaign trail, Elizabeth met many others who have had to contend with serious adversity in their lives, and in *Resilience*, she draws on their experiences as well as her own, crafting an unsentimental and ultimately inspirational meditation on the gifts we can find among life’s biggest challenges. This short, powerful, pocket-sized inspirational book makes an ideal gift for anyone dealing with difficulties in their life, who can find peace in knowing they are not alone, and promise that things can get better.***From the Hardcover edition.*


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In this new novel, beloved bestselling author Elizabeth Berg weaves a beautifully written and richly resonant story of a mother and daughter in emotional transit. Helen Ames–recently widowed, coping with loss and grief, unable to do the work that has always sustained her–is beginning to depend far too much on her twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Tessa, and is meddling in her life, offering unsolicited and unwelcome advice. Helen’s problems are compounded by her shocking discovery that her mild-mannered and loyal husband was apparently leading a double life. The Ameses had painstakingly saved for a happy retirement, but that money disappeared in several large withdrawals made by Helen’s husband before he died. In order to support herself and garner a measure of much needed independence, Helen takes an unusual job that ends up offering far more than she had anticipated. And then a phone call from a stranger sets Helen on a surprising path of discovery that causes both mother and daughter to reassess what they thought they knew about each other, themselves, and what really makes a home and a family.


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Elizabeth Berg, bestselling author of The Art of Mending and The Year of Pleasures, has a rare talent for revealing her characters’ hearts and minds in a manner that makes us empathize completely. Her new novel, We Are All Welcome Here, features three women, each struggling against overwhelming odds for her own kind of freedom.It is the summer of 1964. In Tupelo, Mississippi, the town of Elvis’s birth, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations occurring ever more frequently–and violently–across the state. But in Paige Dunn’s small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. Challenged by the effects of the polio she contracted during her last month of pregnancy, Paige is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter, Diana, in the way she sees fit–with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Peacie.Diana is trying in her own fashion to live a normal life. As a fourteen-year-old, she wants to make money for clothes and magazines, to slough off the authority of her mother and Peacie, to figure out the puzzle that is boys, and to escape the oppressiveness she sees everywhere in her small town. What she can never escape, however, is the way her life is markedly different from others’. Nor can she escape her ongoing responsibility to assist in caring for her mother. Paige Dunn is attractive, charming, intelligent, and lively, but her needs are great–and relentless. As the summer unfolds, hate and adversity will visit this modest home. Despite the difficulties thrust upon them, each of the women will find her own path to independence, understanding, and peace. And Diana’s mother, so mightily compromised, will end up giving her daughter an extraordinary gift few parents could match.From the Hardcover edition.


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"Marriage. Murder. Nail polish...One woman's would-be wedding has an entire Welsh town on edge in Elizabeth J. Duncan's "The Cold Light of Mourning"--winner of the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition."THERE GOES THE BRIDE...The picturesque North Wales market town of Llanelen is shocked when Meg Wynne Thompson, a self-made beauty who has turned out to be something of an unpopular bride, goes missing on her wedding day--and turns up dead. WAS SHE LOVED TO DEATH?The last person believed to have seen Meg alive is local manicurist Penny Brannigan, who vows to find the killer. Seems that several people--including those on the guest list--had reasons to wish Meg dead. But when the trail leads Penny to the groom, a red-hot secret threatens to shake the small town to its very core..."Admirable and appealing...a worthy plot, a congenial heroine."--"Richmond-Times Dispatch""""Duncan lulls readers with her depiction of small-town life...then startles them with a shocker."--"Library Journal"""


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When Penny Brannigan inherits a charming, old-fashioned cottage in the North Wales town of Llanelen, she soon realizes she has come into more than what real estate agents like to describe as a desirable period property: She’s also acquired memories, mystery, and an unsolved, decades-old crime. 

            

As Penny sorts through the belongings of her benefactor, a deceased teacher, she comes upon a packet of letters from a promising young Liverpool artist, A. Jones, who was killed in an accident in 1970. An artist herself, Penny sets out to discover who killed this painter, and is helped by a small group of townsfolk, including her business partner, Victoria Hopkirk. While at a retrospective art exhibition in Liverpool, Penny recognizes what she believes to be a watercolor painted by Jones. But it is attributed to another artist, leading her to suspect that art theft was at the heart of the case, and that Jones’s death was no accident. 

            

In her eagerly awaited sequel* *Duncan wonderfully revisits the bustling Welsh town and vibrant characters introduced in *The Cold Light of Mourning*. With its lyrical prose and tantalizing puzzle, this new mystery is a treat on many levels.


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Meeting at Midnight by Eileen WilksSeely Jones had secrets, hidden talents and a shadowed past. In Ben’s arms she wasn’t the elusive earth mother she seemed, but a fiery temptress he was determined to keep in his bed…and in his life forever.Lost in Sensation by Maureen ChildSam Holden’s isolation was shaken by sexy whirlwind Tricia Wright. And when the proposed sleeping arrangements turned intimate, it was only a matter of time before his resolve to keep the world at a distance melted.For Services Rendered by Anne Marie Winston They’d worked together for years, but security expert Sam Deering never knew what was beneath his plain-Jane employee’s baggy clothing. Then, on the night of Delilah Smith’s twenty-ninth birthday, Sam no longer had to wonder as virginal Del announced she was ready…


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What happens when you meet Mr Right, then find out that someone else has got there first? Do you: a) bury your feelings, convince yourself that nothing can ever happen between the two of you and try to move on? Or b) fail miserably to bury your feelings and repeatedly act like an incompetent fool in front of said Mr Right? In Lulu's case, it's a bit of both. When she meets Charles, a handsome and sophisticated actor, he seems like the perfect catch until she finds out about the wife and children. But when Lulu and Charles end up away on location together, sparks fly and suddenly everything gets complicated... Lulu tries to confide in Alice, her twin sister and best friend, but she's too distracted by her new relationship with gorgeous but rage-filled Richard. When will she learn that sexy bad boys do not make good boyfriends? And for Lulu, can love conquer all, or is she just a walk-on part in the oldest story in the book?


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His passionate relationship with Egyptologist Katherine Meyer destroyed by his lies, antiquities dealer Peter Kauffman reencounters Kat six years later when they are forced to work together against a vengeful killer. By the Golden Heart-finalist author of Stolen Fury. 175,000 first printing. Original.


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Claire Danner Crispin, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala. Claire is asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West. Max agrees to play the gala and it looks like smooth sailing for Claire-until she promises a "museum-quality" piece of glass for the auction, offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a "good-hearted" affair with the charity's Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon. Hearts break and emotions are pushed to the limit in this riveting story of one woman's attempt to deal with loves past and present, family, business, and high-powered social pressures. Elin Hilderbrand's unique understanding of the joys and longings that animate women's lives will make this her newest summer bestseller.


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The first book in a new trilogy, this novel follows archaeologist Dr. Lisa Maxwell, who is looking for three ancient Greek artifacts called the Furies. She's also on the trail of Rafe Sullivan, a handsome and charming thief who had tried to seduce her to get the Furies for himself. Original.


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A New Translation From The French By Marion Wiesel "Night" is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author's original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man's capacity for inhumanity to man. """Night" offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everyday perversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.


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It is perhaps the most memorable event of the twentieth century, a moment that left a family and a nation mourning, one that many Americans recall as their first historical memory—the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  

 Within seven weeks of the President's death, Jacqueline Kennedy received more than 800,000 condolence letters. Two years later, the volume of correspondence would exceed 1.5 million letters. For the next forty-six years, the letters would remain essentially untouched.  

 Now historian Ellen Fitzpatrick has selected approximately 250 of these letters for inclusion in *Letters to Jackie*, a remarkable human record that perfectly preserves the heart-wrenching grief and soul searching of the nation in a time of crisis. Capturing the extraordinary eloquence of so-called ordinary Americans across generations, regions, race, political leanings, and religion—in messages written on elegant stationery, scraps of paper, in pencil, type, ink smudged by tears, and in barely legible handwriting—the letters capture what John F. Kennedy meant to the country, and how his death for some divided American history into Before and After.  

 In *Letters to Jackie*, Fitzpatrick allows Americans to write their own history of these tumultuous times. "The coffin was very small," as one sixteen-year-old girl observed, "to contain so much of so many Americans." In reflecting on their sense of loss, their fears, and their striving, the authors of these letters wrote an American elegy as poignant and as compelling as their shattered and cherished dreams.


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Award-winning author and radio personality Ellen Kushner’s inspired retelling of an ancient legend weaves myth and magic into a vivid contemporary novel about the mysteries of the human heart. Brimming with ballads, riddles, and magical transformations, here is the timeless tale of a charismatic bard whose talents earn him a two-edged otherworldly gift.A minstrel lives by his words, his tunes, and sometimes by his lies. But when the bold and gifted young Thomas the Rhymer awakens the desire of the powerful Queen of Elfland, he finds that words are not enough to keep him from his fate. As the Queen sweeps him far from the people he has known and loved into her realm of magic, opulence—and captivity—he learns at last what it is to be truly human. When he returns to his home with the Queen’s parting gift, his great task will be to seek out the girl he loved and wronged, and offer her at last the tongue that cannot lie.


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The dusty files of a venerable dictionary publisher . . . a hidden cache of coded clues . . . a story written by a phantom author . . . an unsolved murder in a gritty urban park–all collide memorably in Emily Arsenault’s magnificent debut, at once a teasing literary puzzle, an ingenious suspense novel, and an exploration of definitions: of words, of who we are, and of the stories we choose to define us.****In the maze of cubicles at Samuelson Company, editors toil away in silence, studying the English language, poring over new expressions and freshly coined words–all in preparation for the next new edition of the Samuelson Dictionary. Among them is editorial assistant Billy Webb, just out of college, struggling to stay awake and appear competent. But there are a few distractions. His intriguing coworker Mona Minot may or may not be flirting with him. And he’s starting to sense something suspicious going on beneath this company’s academic facade.Mona has just made a startling discovery: a trove of puzzling citations, all taken from the same book, **The Broken Teaglass**. Billy and Mona soon learn that no such book exists. And the quotations from it are far too long, twisting, and bizarre for any dictionary. They read like a confessional, coyly hinting at a hidden identity, a secret liaison, a crime. As Billy and Mona ransack the office files, a chilling story begins to emerge: a story about a lonely young woman, a long-unsolved mystery, a moment of shattering violence. And as they piece together its fragments, the puzzle begins to take on bigger personal meaning for both of them, compelling them to redefine their notions of themselves and each other.Charged with wit and intelligence, set against a sweetly cautious love story, **The Broken Teaglass** is a tale that will delight lovers of words, lovers of mysteries, and fans of smart, funny, brilliantly inventive fiction.


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At seventy-eight, Winnie Easton has finally found love again with Jerry Trevis, a wealthy Chicago businessman who has moved to the small, upstate town of Hartfield, New York, to begin his life anew. But their decision to buy one of the town's biggest houses ignites anger and skepticism—as children and grandchildren take drastic actions to secure their own futures and endangered inheritances. With so much riding on Jerry's wealth, a decline in his physical health forces hard decisions on the family, renewing old loyalties while creating surprising alliances.   A powerfully moving novel told from alternating perspectives, Commuters is an intensely human story of lives profoundly changed by the repercussions of one marriage, and by the complex intertwining of love, money, and family.


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A classic *Regency Romance* from award-winner Elizabeth Mansfield...When Kitty made the journey with her maid, Emily, to meet her husband-to-be, there seemed to be some question as to which lovely young lady was the bride, and which the conspiring domestic...


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From legendary editor Ellen Datlow, Tails of Wonder collects the best of the last thirty years of science fiction and fantasy stories about cats from an all-star list of contributors. The Stephen King Story is UNCOLLECTED, and has not been in print since the Horrorstory III anthology.


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Cinematically vivid with heartstopping dialogue, Apologize, Apologize! is an extraordinary debut about a family that puts the personality in disorder.Welcome to the world of the fantastic Flanagans; a wildly eccentric Massachusetts clan that is both blessed and afflicted with an inexhaustible reservoir of old money, unwavering subversive charm – and a veritable chorus of dogs. At the centre of this maelstrom is sensible Collie Flanagan, first-born son and heir to his grandfather’s publishing fortune, whose easy life is shattered by the outcome of a casual afternoon outing. Affecting, funny and wise, this is a rollicking story packed with characters that are a delight to get to know, and are impossible to forget.Excerpt:My name is Collie Flanagan. Ma chose the name Collie after re-discovering the books of Albert Payson Terhune, the guy who wrote Lad: A Dog.Pop swore she read him throughout the pregnancy hoping to give birth to a puppy. During my baptism a fight broke out at the altar when the priest objected to me being named after a breed of dog, saying there was no St. Collie and Ma told him there damn well should be and Pop announced that maybe I’d be the first.At Andover they called me Lassie. That was fun.


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In a brave new world, you'll never have to die . . . as long as you keep up with the payments.  Thanks to the technological miracle of artiforgs, now you can live virtually forever. Nearly indestructible artificial organs, these wonders of metal and plastic are far more reliable and efficient than the cancer-prone lungs and fallible kidneys you were born with--and the Credit Union will be delighted to work out an equitable payment plan. But, of course, if you fall delinquent, one of their dedicated professionals will be dispatched to track you down and take their product back.  This is the story of the making--and unmaking--of one of the best Repo Men in the extraction business, who finds his soul when he loses his heart . . . and then he has to run.


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Nanny McPhee embarks on a brand new adventure in this brilliant, funny and captivating novel based on the new Nanny McPhee film.The Green family is trying to survive the war in their house in the country, but unfortunately they are not out of harm's way. A wicked uncle is intent on getting his hands on the family fortune and the children miss their father who is away fighting who knows where, and then their horrible cousins arrive! Life is not easy in the Green household . . .Thank heavens for Nanny McPhee!


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At once a sensual and irresistible mystery and a haunting work of psychological insight and emotional depth, The Whole World marks the beginning of a brilliant literary career for Emily Winslow, a superb, limitlessly gifted author. Set in the richly evoked pathways and environs of Cambridge, England, The Whole World unearths the desperate secrets kept by its many complex characters—students, professors, detectives, husbands, mothers—secrets that lead to explosive consequences.Two Americans studying at Cambridge University, Polly and Liv, both strangers to their new home, both survivors of past mistakes, become quick friends. They find a common interest in Nick, a handsome, charming, seemingly guileless graduate student. For a time, the three engage in harmless flirtation, growing closer while doing research for professor Gretchen Paul, the blind daughter of a famed novelist. But a betrayal, followed by Nick’s inexplicable disappearance, brings long-buried histories to the surface.The investigation raises countless questions, and the newspapers report all the most salacious details—from the crime that scars Polly’s past to the searing truths concealed in photographs Gretchen cannot see. Soon the three young lovers will discover how little they know about one another, and how devastating the ripples of long-ago actions can be.From the Hardcover edition.


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Miss Emily "Fido" Faithfull is a "woman of business" and a spinster pioneer in the British women’s movement, independent of mind but naively trusting of heart. Distracted from her cause by the sudden return of a once-dear friend, the unhappily wed Helen Codrington, Fido is swept up in the intimate details of Helen’s failing marriage and obsessive affair with a young army officer. What begins as a loyal effort to help a friend explodes into an intriguing courtroom drama complete with accusations of adultery, counterclaims of rape, and a mysterious letter that could destroy more than one life. Based on a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, The Sealed Letter is a riveting, provocative drama of friends, lovers, and divorce, Victorian-style. 


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Grant Stevens, a mid-level manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, only wanted to build dams. He never imagined he would be swept into a desperate race against an environmental terrorist bent on restoring the Colorado River by blowing up the dams. Left temporarily in charge of the Bureau, Grant must react when the first dam is attacked. He faces the unthinkable task of mitigating the massive flood roaring down the Colorado. The flood will eventually threaten the mighty Hoover Dam, and if Hoover fails, the other dams downstream will fall like dominos. Working with the FBI, Grant uses his engineering skills, river knowledge, and plenty of gut instinct in an attempt to outmaneuver the terrorist. The chase will lead all the way downstream to the Gulf of California in a cat and mouse game where the stakes are high and the potential for destruction is enormous.


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On Monday nights eight people gather in Lillian's restaurant for a cooking class. There's Claire, who can barely remember the last time she went out without her two kids; bachelor Ian, who exists on Chinese takeaways; Chloe, the distracted waitress who is forever dropping things; Carl and Helen, getting past a betrayal in their marriage; and Tom, mourning the tragic loss of his wife. Plus Lillian, who taught herself to cook to reach out to her unhappy mother.From delicious feasts to dining disasters, will the cooks find what they are looking for? And among the utensils and mouth-watering ingredients, will some of them even fall in love?The Monday Night Cooking School is a gorgeous novel about possibilities and the magic of food.


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Peter, twenty-seven and unemployed, embarks on this journey to avoid his family, while Evelyn, a fifty-year-old biology professor, comes in search of a more visceral life. Ruth and Lloyd, veteran white-water rafters in their seventies, know they will never make this trip again. Jill, a stay-at-home mother with her husband and two boys in tow, craves the luxury of relinquishing control and following someone else's rules. Mitchell and his wife, Lena, are re-creating a historic river journey undertaken years before. Seventeen-year-old Amy Van Doren and her mother set off on this journey expecting little, especially from each other; together they will face the most daunting journey of all, one that has nothing to do with whitewater rapids.


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Old Ralph Roberts hasn't been sleeping well lately. Every night he wakes just a little bit earlier, and pretty soon, he thinks, he won't get any sleep at all. It wouldn't be so bad, except for the strange hallucinations he's been having. Or, at least, he hopes they are hallucinations--because here in Derry, one never can tell. Part of the "Books That Take You Anywhere You Want To Go" Summer Reading Promotion.


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Bestselling author Robert Ryan tells the story of the most ambitious robbery of the twentieth century, when seventeen men risked it all in their quest for adventure, success and fame. 1963: an unarmed gang led by the dapper Bruce Reynolds holds up a Royal Mail train at a remote bridge in Buckinghamshire, escaping with millions. The group lay low in a nearby farm but, panicked by the police closing in they clear out, leaving behind numerous fingerprints. Outraged by the gang's audacity and under political pressure for quick arrests, the police move into top gear. As huge quantities of money start to turn up in forests and phone boxes, dumped by nervous middlemen, Scotland Yard begin to track down the robbers, one by one...


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Reid Bennett, the newest addition to Murphy’s Harbor, Ontario, has embarked on his second case. During the Ice Festival, there is a sudden blackout and the Queen of the Ice Festival disappears; in fact she’s been kidnapped! Members of a feminist anti-pageant group are suspected, but Reid suspects something fishy. He must expose the organizer of the kidnapping -- and try not to get himself killed.


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On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike.  There are those who worship it.  There are those who fear it.  And there are those who have vowed to destroy it.  In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.  On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives.  Each carries a desperate hope--and a terrible secret.  And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.  


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When Baba Segi awoke with a bellyache for the sixth day in a row, he knew it was time to do something drastic about his fourth wife's childlessness.   

 Meet Baba Segi . . .  

 A plump, vain, and prosperous middle-aged man of robust appetites, Baba Segi is the patriarch of a large household that includes a quartet of wives and seven children. But his desire to possess more just might be his undoing.  

 And his wives . . .  

 Iya Segi—the bride of Baba Segi's youth, a powerful, vindictive woman who will stop at nothing to protect her favored position as ruler of her husband's home.  

 Iya Tope—Baba Segi's second wife, a shy, timid woman whose decency and lust for life are overshadowed by fear.  

 Iya Femi—the third wife, a scheming woman with crimson lips and expensive tastes who is determined to attain all that she desires, no matter what the cost.  

 Bolanle—Babi Segi's fourth and youngest wife, an educated woman wise to life's misfortunes who inspires jealousy in her fellow wives . . . and who harbors a secret that will expose shocking truths about them all.


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Nothing is as it seems to be.

The ancient past is not dead. The hand of the Wizard Kings still reaches out to challenge the Androfrancine Order, to control the magick and technology that they sought to understand and claim for their own.

Nebios, the boy who watched the destruction of the city of Windwir, now runs the vast deserts of the world, far from his beloved Marsh Queen. He is being hunted by strange women warriors, while his dreams are invaded by warnings from his dead father.

Jin Li Tam, queen of the Ninefold Forest, guards her son as best she can against both murderous threats, and the usurper queen and her evangelists. They bring a message: Jakob is the child of promise of their Gospel, and the Crimson Empress is on her way.

And in hidden places, the remnants of the Androfrancine order formulate their response to the song pouring out of a silver crescent that was found in the wastes.
EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Nothing is as it seems to be.



The ancient past is not dead. The hand of the Wizard Kings still reaches out to challenge the Androfrancine Order, to control the magick and technology that they sought to understand and claim for their own.



Nebios, the boy who watched the destruction of the city of Windwir, now runs the vast deserts of the world, far from his beloved Marsh Queen. He is being hunted by strange women warriors, while his dreams are invaded by warnings from his dead father.



Jin Li Tam, queen of the Ninefold Forest, guards her son as best she can against both murderous threats, and the usurper queen and her evangelists. They bring a message: Jakob is the child of promise of their Gospel, and the Crimson Empress is on her way.



And in hidden places, the remnants of the Androfrancine order formulate their response to the song pouring out of a silver crescent that was found in the wastes.


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The Darke Academy is a school like no other. An élite establishment that moves to an exotic new city every term, its students are impossibly beautiful, sophisticated and rich. Death has followed the Darke Academy to the ancient city of Istanbul. An unseen hunter is on the loose. Scholarship girl Cassie Bell is fascinated by the city's beauty, but there's no time for her to relax. Torn between an old flame and a new romance, she must also choose between the select world of the Few and her loyalty towards her best friends. And all the time a killer is stalking the Few. As Cassie is about to discover, no one is above suspicion. Sometimes, the people you love can be the most dangerous enemies of all ...


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The Darke Academy is a school like no other. An élite establishment that moves to an exotic new city every term, its students are impossibly beautiful, sophisticated and rich. This term the secretive Darke Academy has moved to New York, and Cassie Bell is no longer the innocent new girl. Now she is strong, determined, and hiding secrets of her own. For Cassie has been introduced to the world of the Few and is struggling to come to terms with her astonishing powers, a dangerous romance and the malevolent spirit inside her, demanding to be fed. When an old enemy returns, bent on revenge, Cassie is tested to the limit. Can she rescue her friends from a horrific fate, or will she end up destroying them to save herself? Wherever the Darke Academy goes, death is never far behind ...


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Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America’s   greatest writers and cultural figures. Over the next year, his many works published as black-spine Penguin   Classics for the first time and will feature eye-catching, newly commissioned art.  

  Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many   who revisit them again and again.


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**A near-future techno-thriller from *New York Times* bestselling author Diane Duane. ** 



 It's the first quarter of the twenty-first century, and "massively multiplayer" on-line games have been around for a couple of decades. In an increasingly wired and computer-friendly world they've become a form of entertainment so popular they're giving television and films a run for the money. And the most popular gaming universe of all is Omnitopia, created by genius programmer Dev Logan. 



 For millions of people around the world, Omnitopia is an obsession, a passionate pastime, almost a way of life. Omnitopia is a virtual place where dreams come true-players can create their own universes within the game's structure, and participate in the profits if their piece of the universe is a hit. Ten million players routinely play in Omnitopia, and at any given time, nearly a million of them are on-line, living in a world more real to them then their own. 



 Worldwide, Omnitopia is now as much a culture as a game. Participants can become involved in it in a hundred different ways. Some game as if their lives depended on it, spending thousands of hours, or thousands of dollars, or both, on quests in search of "game glory" among their fellow players.  Some game only to acquire sufficient in-game "value" to become entitled to become subcreators themselves, able to build new levels and start raking in the so-called "one percent of infinity" which is the leveler's share of the profits. But there are also people who don't game at all, preferring to use the massive platform simply to explore its worlds, or to interact with other participants. Some people do nothing but design on-line weapons and other items for Omnitopia gamers, and sell them-or act as brokers, buying and selling game artifacts to order. Some subcreators do the same kind of design and creation, but for tailored Microcosms or slices of them: these are the "unreal estate" dealers.  Some players speculate in game "gold" on the success or popularity of Microcosms, rather than actually playing in them. And of course there are thieves and swindlers, cheaters who live to find the loophole in the game that will outside it in the real world. 



 Now Dev and his people are preparing to rollout a major new expansion to the Omnitopia system.  And even as players, staff, the media, and the heavy hitters on the world financial scene wait eagerly for this fast-approaching and momentous event, there are others preparing to play a very different game-one that is meant to strike at the heart of Omnitopia and bring the entire system crashing down....


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Dominic's middle name is trouble, but not because he's got a troublesome nature, but quite simply because he's always in the wrong place at the wrong time. So it's not surprising that he's only allowed on the school trip to Thundercliff Bay - home to pirate legend, chilling ghost stories and lost treasure - by the skin of his teeth. Or that strict Mr Risley-Newsome, who has his beady eye on him, makes him stay at the youth hostel for forgetting his walking boots. What is surprising is that a very special discovery made by Dominic saves the day when the whole class is in serious danger, and proves to everyone that sometimes he can be in the right place at the right time.


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***Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother? 

From the author of the smash-hit bestseller *Firefly Lane *and *True Colors *comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past 

***Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.


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The world would end in 1492 - so the prophets, soothsayers and stargazers said. They were right. Their world did end. But ours began. In search of the origins of the modern world, 1492 takes readers on a journey around the globe of the time, in the company of real-life travellers, drawing together the threads that began to bind the planet: from the way power and wealth are distributed around the globe to the way major religions and civilizations divide the world. Events that began in 1492 even transformed the whole ecological system of the planet. Wars and witchcraft, plagues and persecutions, poetry and prophecy, science and magic, art and faith - all the glories and follies of the time are in this book.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Kristin Hannah makes her hardcover debut with this poignant, tender, and true story of love, loss, passion, and the fragile threads that bind families together.Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school abroad. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Alone in the house that is no longer a home, Annie comes to the painful realization that for years she has been slowly disappearing. Lonely and afraid, she retreats to Mystic, the small Washington town where she grew up, hoping that there she can reclaim the woman she once was--the woman she is now desperate to become again.In Mystic, she is reunited with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower unable to cope with his grieving, too-silent six-year-old daughter, Izzie. Together, the three of them begin to heal, and, at last, Annie learns that she can love without losing herself. But just when she has found a second chance at happiness, her life is turned upside down again, and Annie must make a choice no woman should have to make. . . .**On Mystic Lake** is the story of one seemingly ordinary woman, but the novel speaks to all of us, to anyone who has ever had to choose between what is . . . and what could be.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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Once in a great while a debut novelist comes along who dazzles us with rare eloquence and humanity, who takes us to bold new places and into previously unimaginable lives. Gaile Parkin is just such a talent—and Baking Cakes in Kilgali is just such a novel. This gloriously written tale—set in modern-day Rwanda—introduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungaraza—mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets—a woman living on the edge of chaos, finding ways to transform lives, weave magic, and create hope amid the madness swirling all around her.In Kigali, Angel runs a bustling business: baking cakes for all occasions—cakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver.…A CIA agent’s wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweeter…a former boy-soldier orders an engagement cake, then, between sips of tea, shares an enthralling story…weary human rights workers…lovesick limo drivers. Amid this cacophony of native tongues, love affairs, and confessions, Angel’s kitchen is an oasis where people tell their secrets, where hope abounds and help awaits.In this unlikely place, in the heart of Rwanda, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned…a heartbreaking mystery—involving Angel’s own family—unravels…and extraordinary connections are being made among the men and women who have tasted Angel’s beautiful cakes…as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel’s life—and the lives of those around her—in the most astonishing ways.From the Hardcover edition.


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Paulo Coelho is a worldwide phenomenon. At a time when he is coming up to the fantastic achievement of 100 million copies sold worldwide across all his books, his fans will be delighted with the first ever official biography of Paulo, an in-depth look at his life and work, and what makes him the much-loved author he is today.Paulo's first official biographer, Fernando Morais, provides an exhaustive look at Paulo's fascinating and varied life, taking several years to research his subject, and interviewing everyone who knows Paulo. He weaves together the strands of Paulo's life, revealing the man behind the world-famous writer.Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 1947. Before he became internationally known and a worldwide bestseller, he had to overcome many obstacles. As a teenager, he was subjected to the brutality of electric shock treatment in the psychiatric hospital where his parents, who took his rebelliousness as a sign of madness, interned him three times. As a member of the esoteric underworld, he was put in prison for alleged subversive activities against the Brazilian dictatorship and subjected to physical torture.Later, Paulo joined forces with rock star Raul Seixas and together they composed songs that revolutionized Brazilian rock music. Hippie, journalist, rock star, actor, playwright, theatre director and producer of television programs, this whirlwind life came to an end in 1982, during a trip to Europe. In Dachau and later in Amsterdam, Paulo had a mystical meeting with "J", his new mentor, who persuaded him to walk the Road to Santiago de Compostela, a medieval pilgrim's route between France and Spain.In 1986 Paulo walked the Road to Santiago, and it was there that he reconverted to Christianity and found again the faith bequeathed to him by the Jesuit fathers of his school years. He would later describe this experience in his first book, The Pilgrimage. The following year, The Alchemist, established his worldwide reputation. The novel has already achieved the status of a universally admired modern classic. Now, for the first time, discover the true story of the man behind some of the world's most loved books.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

When Code 15s-deaths due to seemingly preventable medical errors-rise at Dade Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Morgan Connolly, Chief of Emergency Medicine, is suspected of losing her edge. But she suspects that someone is cutting a deadly path of vengeance through the hospital-a path that may end with Morgan facing her own demise at the hands of a madman.


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Do you have a hobby you wish you could do all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Now is the perfect time to take those passions and make a living doing what you love. In CRUSH IT! Why NOW Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed in this book, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, any reader will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, CRUSH IT! is the ultimate driver′s manual for modern business.  Gary Vaynerchuk has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family′s local retail wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, http: //tv.winelibrary.com, his video blog about wine. Gary has always had an early-to-market approach, launching Wine Library′s retail website in 1997 and Wine Library TV in February of 2006. His lessons on social media, passion, transparency, and reactionary business are not to be missed!


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June 2009
Review
“Mr. Talese’s insight will do more to help us understand the criminal than any amount of moral recrimination.” (Times Literary Supplement (London) )

“Brilliant...Indispensable.” (Los Angeles Times )

“An incredible job of reporting.” (Mario Puzo )

“An invaluable document.” (New York Review of Books )

“A marvelous piece of work, showing how a good journalist can catch a man just as he is ready to reconsider his past and is anxious to find someone who will listen...A book about a vanishing way of life in America: the Mafia.” (Newsweek )
Product Description

    A classic masterwork newly updated

    The electrifying true story of the rise and fall of New York's notorious Bonanno crime family

On New York's Park Avenue on a rainy Tuesday night in October 1964, the famous Mafia chieftain Joseph Bonanno was kidnapped by two mobsters and reported by the police as dead on the following morning. More than a year later, Bonanno mysteriously reappeared, setting off a bloody mob feud that came to be known as the “Banana War.”

In this monumental work—packed with intimate details and brilliant reporting—bestselling author Gay Talese first brought to the American consciousness a world and a life previously known to only a few. No other book has done more to acquaint readers with the secrets, structure, wars, power plays, family lives, and fascinating, frightening personalities of the Mafia.


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The disparate lives of two women—a single mother working hard to make ends meet and a young figure skater at the top of her game—entwine in an unforgettable novel of warmth, depth, and wisdom. Izzy and her daughter, Quinn, have been on the move for all of Quinn’s nine years. Izzy works the fields as a fruit picker, following the produce north and south through the growing season. When they reach a struggling pear orchard in the Sacramento River Delta, Izzy intends it to be just another way station in their nomadic lives. But the orchard and its kindly owners capture Quinn’s heart, and Izzy briefly forgets that she’s running from a past that still haunts her—until a strange incident brings national media attention to the Delta. Seemingly a world away, Karen is a rising young star in figure skating with an edgy, daring new partner. Nathan is everything her old teammate wasn’t: sexy, dangerous, and extremely headstrong. As Karen nears her eighteenth birthday, the partners find themselves on the world stage—and the simmering intensity between them finally erupts.As each woman struggles with a sudden thrust into the spotlight, their narratives become more intertwined—until Izzy’s past and Karen’s future finally collide.


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<p>In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeenyear- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she fi nds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...<p>A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all makeand the ultimate choice Mia commands.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**How to talk dirty and influence people-in Chinese! **



 You can study Chinese for years, but do you really know how to talk like a native speaker? The next book in Plume's foreign language slang series, *Niubi!* will make sure you learn all the colorful vernacular words and phrases used by Chinese people of all ages in a variety of situations, including flirting and dating, wheeling and dealing, and even specific Internet slang-not to mention plenty of Chinese words that are . . . well, best not to mention. 



 Accessible and useful to complete novices (*Niubi!* newbies), intermediate students of Mandarin Chinese, or just anyone who enjoys cursing in other languages, this irreverent guide is packed with hilarious anecdotes and illustrations, mini cultural lessons, and contextual explanations. So whether you're planning a trip to Beijing, flirting with an online acquaintance from Shanghai, or just want to start a fight in Chinatown-*Niubi!* will ensure that nothing you say is lost in translation.


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Nothing good comes of the closest ties in Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales, the new collection from Fran Friel and Apex Publications. Things can go especially awry when the tie in question is the one binding mother and son. This collection contains 14 tales, including the Stoker Award nominated novella "Mama's Boy."


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

In the brutal world of the future, an unspeakable fate awaits the human children of the Dormitories when they turn fourteen. It is from this Sad Birthday that Shade's Children'Ella, Drum, Gold-Eye, and Ninde'have escaped. Hunted ceaselessly by savage mutant creatures, they join forces to form a resistance movement. Cunning, clairvoyance, and sheer desperate force of will help them. But ultimately their fate rests with the charismatic Shade, who calls himself their friend . . .This complex, suspenseful, thoroughly absorbing tale of the future fulfills all the promise of Sabriel, Garth Nix's debut young adult novel.Praise for Sabriel:‘Rich, complex, involving, hard to put down, this first novel is excellent high fantasy.' 'Publishers Weekly‘The action charges along at a gallop'a page turner for sure.' 'Starred Review/Booklist 



01 Blue Spruce Award Masterlist (YA Cat.) and 00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Moose and the cons are about to get a lot closer in this much-anticipated sequel.

 It’s 1935. Moose Flanagan lives on Alcatraz with his family, the other families of the guards, and a few hundred no-name hit men, con men, mad dog murderers and a handful of bank robbers too. And one of those cons has just done him a big favor.

 You see, Moose has never met Al Capone, but a few weeks ago Moose wrote a letter to him asking him to use his influence to get his sister, Natalie, into a school she desperately needs in San Francisco. After Natalie got accepted, a note appeared in Moose’s freshly laundered shirt that said: Done.

 As this book begins, Moose discovers a new note. This one says: Your turn. Is it really from Capone? What does it mean? Moose can’t risk anything that might get his dad fired. But how can he ignore Al Capone?


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Dear Elizabeth, It's early morning and I'm sitting here wondering where you are, hoping you're all right. A fight, ended by a slap, sends Elizabeth out the door of her Baton Rouge home on the eve of her fifteenth birthday. Her mother, Laura, is left to fret and worry--and remember. Wracked with guilt as she awaits Liz's return, Laura begins a letter to her daughter, hoping to convey "everything I've always meant to tell you but never have." In her painfully candid confession, Laura shares memories of her own troubled adolescence in rural Louisiana, growing up in an intensely conservative household. She recounts her relationship with a boy she loved despite her parents' disapproval, the fateful events that led to her being sent away to a strict Catholic boarding school, the personal tragedy brought upon her by the Vietnam War, and, finally, the meaning of the enigmatic tattoo below her right hip. Absorbing and affirming, George Bishop's magnificent debut brilliantly captures a sense of time and place with a distinct and inviting voice. Letter to My Daughter is a heartwrenching novel of mothers, daughters, and the lessons we all learn when we come of age. "From the Hardcover edition."


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

In 1909, the crack Blue Anchor liner, the Waratah, sinks without trace, or survivors, off the coast of South Africa. In 1967, the Gemsbok, a Viscount airliner of South African Airways disappears in exactly the same place. 

    To some it is merely an uncanny mystery. To others a tragedy. People like Ian Fairlie, captain of the weather ship Walvis Bay--whose father was the pilot of the Gemsbok and whose grandfather was the first officer of the Waratah.

     Ian Fairlie has sworn that he will resolve the mystery. But to do so, he must face cyclonic winds and mountainous seas, risking his ship, his life and the woman he loves...

    "Geoffrey Jenkins can write with a rare compelling fervour."  Times Literary Supplement


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'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.' So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.


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This sci-fi /zombie/comedy/adventure follows a group of rag-tag Trekkies getting together for the fifth annual FedCon (billed as the "largest Starfleet Convention in the western Gulf Coast region").  Our heroes are dressed in homemade uniforms and armed with prop phasers but soon find themselves defending their hotel and convention center against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Suddenly, all of their useless knowledge about particle physics and old Star Trek episodes has genuine real-world applications! And while hotel employees and regular civilians are dying left and right, our Trekkies summon strength and courage by emulating their favorite starship-voyaging characters.  Packed with hundreds of gags referencing Star Trek, comic books, and fan conventions, Night of the Living Trekkies reads like the strange lovechild of Galaxy Quest and Dawn of the Dead. Journey to the final frontier of zombie science-fiction mash-ups!  *This is an original work of parody and is not officially sponsored by, affiliated with, or endorsed by the owners of the Star Trek brand.


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Set in late fourteenth century England, Vanora Bennett's rich, dramatic new novel presents an England uncannily like our own.The country is in turmoil, The King is in debt to the City, and the old order had broken down - a time of opportunity indeed, for those who can seize the moment.The king's mistress, Alice Perrers, becomes the virtual ruler of the country from his sickbed. Disliked and despised by the Black Prince and his cronies, her strong connections to the merchants make her a natural ally for the king's ambitious second son, John of Gaunt.Together they create a powerful position in the city for one of his henchmen, Geoffrey Chaucer.In this moment of opportunity, Alice throws herself into her new role and the riches that lay before her, but Chaucer, even though her lover and friend, is uneasy over what he can foresee of the conspiracies around them.At the centre of these troubled times and political unrest stands the remarkable figure of a woman who, having escaped the plague which killed her whole family, is certain she is untouchable, and a man who learns that cleverness and ambition may for him sit too uneasily with decency and honesty.


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8,000 years ago Europe was a very different place. England was linked to Holland by a massive swathe of land. Where the North Sea is now lay the landmass of Northland. And then came a period of global warming, a shifting of continents and, over a few short years, the sea rushed in and our history was set.But what if the sea had been kept at bay? Brythony is a young girl who lives in Northland. Like all her people she is a hunter gatherer, her simple tools fashioned from flint cutting edges lodged in wood and animal bone. When the sea first encroaches on her land her people simply move. Brythony moves further travelling to Asia. Where she sees mankind's first walled cities. And gets an idea. What if you could build a wall to keep the sea out?And so begins a colossal engineering project that will take decades, a wall that stretches for hundreds of miles, a wall that becomes an act of defiance, and containing the bones of the dead, an act of devotion. A wall that will change the geography of the world. And it's history.Stephen Baxter has become expert at embedding human stories into the grandest sweeps of history and the most mind-blowing of concepts. STONE SPRING begins a trilogy that will tell the story of a changed world. It begins in 8,000 BC with an idea and ends in 1500 in a world that never saw the Roman Empire, Christianity or Islam. It is an eye-opening look at what history could so easily have been and an inspiring tale of how we control our future.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**Science fiction guru Charles Stross "sizzles with ideas" (*Denver Post*) in his first major short story collection.**



 The Hugo Award-winning author of such groundbreaking and innovative novels as *Accelerando, Halting State*, and *Saturn's Children* delivers a rich selection of speculative fiction- including a novella original to this volume- brought together for the first time in one collection, showcasing the limitless imagination of one of the twenty-first century's most daring visionaries.


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The first full and authorized biography of the 1982 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature—the most popular international novelist of the last fifty years.Over the course of the nearly two decades Gerald Martin gave to the research and writing of this masterly biography, he not only spent many hours in conversation with Gabriel García Márquez himself but also interviewed more than three hundred others, including García Márquez’s wife and sons, mother and siblings, literary agent and translators; Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Alvaro Mutis, among other writers; Fidel Castro and Felipe González, among other political figures; his closest friends as well as those who consider themselves his detractors. The result is a revelation of both the writer and the man.García Márquez’s story is a remarkable one. Born in 1927, raised by grandparents and a clutch of aunts in a small backwater town in Colombia, the shy, intelligent boy matured into a reserved young man, first working as a provincial journalist and later as a foreign correspondent, whose years of obscurity came to an end when, at the age of forty, he published the novel entitled *Cien años de soledad*—*One Hundred Years of Solitude. *Within months, the book had garnered spectacular international acclaim, the author hailed as the standard-bearer of a new literature: magical realism. Eight years later, in 1975, he published *The Autumn of the Patriarch,* and, in 1981, *Chronicle of a Death Foretold, *each novel rapturously received by critics and readers alike. With his books read by millions around the world, he had become a man of wealth and influence. Yet, for all his fame, he never lost touch with his roots: though he had lived outside of Colombia since 1955—in Barcelona, Mexico City, Paris—his Nobel Prize was celebrated by Colombians from all walks of life who thought, and still think, of “Gabo” as their own. More books followed, both fiction *(Love in the Time of Cholera, The General in his Labyrinth, Memories of My Melancholy Whores)* and nonfiction *(The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, News of a Kidnapping, Living to Tell the Tale).* But García Márquez’s renown and passion have continued to combine, as well, in a fervent, unflagging, and often controversial political and social activism.While chronicling the particulars of the life, Martin also considers the overarching issues: the tension between García Márquez’s celebrity and his quest for literary quality, and between his politics and his writing; the seductions of power, solitude, and love. He explores the contrast between the exuberance of the writer’s Caribbean background and the authoritarianism of highland Bogotá, showing us how these differences are manifest in his writing and in the very shape his life has taken. He explores the melding of experience and imagination in García Márquez’s fiction, and he examines the writer’s reasons for—and the public’s reaction to—his turning away in the 1980s from the magical realism that had brought him international renown, toward the greater simplicity that would mark his work beginning with *Love in the Time of Cholera.*Gerald Martin has written a superb biography: richly illuminating, as gripping as any of Gabriel García Márquez’s powerful journalism, as enthralling as any of his acclaimed and beloved fiction.


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From Louisa May Alcotts beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man (Sue Monk Kidd). With pitch-perfect writing (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brookss place as a renowned author of historical fiction.  A very great book... It breathes new life into the historical fiction genre [and] honors the best of the imagination. Chicago Tribune A beautifully wrought story about how war dashes ideals, unhinges moral certainties and drives a wedge of bitter experience and unspeakable memories between husband and wife. Los Angeles Times Book Review Inspired... A disturbing, supple, and deeply satisfying story, put together with craft and care and imagery worthy of a poet. The Cleveland Plain Dealer Louisa May Alcott would be well pleased. The Economist


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This gripping historical novel is based on the true story of Eyam, the "Plague Village", in the rugged mountain spine of England. In 1666, a tainted bolt of cloth from London carries bubonic infection to this isolated settlement of shepherds and lead miners. A visionary young preacher convinces the villagers to seal themselves off in a deadly quarantine to prevent the spread of disease. The story is told through the eyes of eighteen-year-old Anna Frith, the vicar's maid, as she confronts the loss of her family, the disintegration of her community, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit love. As the death toll rises and people turn from prayers and herbal cures to sorcery and murderous witch-hunting, Anna emerges as an unlikely and courageous heroine in the village's desperate fight to save itself. Exploring love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggle of science and religion to interpret the world at the cusp of the modern era, Year of Wonders is at once a story of unconventional love and a richly detailed evocation of a riveting moment in history. Like Arthur Golden's Memories of a Geisha and A. S. Byatt's Posession, Yea


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As the year 1928 begins, fourteen-year-old Lanie Belle Freeman of Fairhope, Arkansas, has bright hopes for the future. Her father has launched a new business, and her mother is expecting her fifth baby. Lanie has dreams of going to college and being a writer. Then tragedy strikes. Book One in the Singing River Series.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

From the author of the Whitbread Award-winning **The Last King of Scotland** comes a spellbinding tale of a town under siege in colonial Africa and a young woman who finds love and freedom in the midst of a devastating war.The year is 1899, and the South African town of Ladysmith is surrounded by Boer forces. No one expects the siege to last, but it does, for a harrowing 120 days -- four months of dire emergency: food shortages during which bread is made with laundry detergent and the soldiers' horses are killed to feed the troops; bombings that force the townspeople into tunnels and makeshift shelters. But in the thick of shells and shrapnel, disease and deprivation, one young woman discovers an unexpected freedom: a chance to break old loyalties and establish new loves. Even as the world she knows collapses around her, Bella Kiernan finds the courage to escape from convention, to rebel against the political forces that threaten her homeland and to pursue her life's greatest romance.  Based in part on the letters of Foden's great-grandfather, a British trooper, **Ladysmith** is a magnificent love story, a vivid portrait of the first modern war of the twentieth century and clear confirmation of Giles Foden's standing as one of Britain's most formidably talented young novelists.


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At the start of World War One, German warships controlled Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa. The British had no naval craft at all upon 'Tanganjikasee', as the Germans called it. This mattered: it was the longest lake in the world and of great strategic advantage. In June 1915, a force of 28 men was despatched from Britain on a vast journey. Their orders were to take control of the lake. To reach it, they had to haul two motorboats with the unlikely names of Mimi and Toutou through the wilds of the Congo.The 28 were a strange bunch -- one was addicted to Worcester sauce, another was a former racing driver -- but the strangest of all of them was their skirt-wearing, tattoo-covered commander, Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. Whatever it took, even if it meant becoming the god of a local tribe, he was determined to cover himself in glory. But the Germans had a surprise in store for Spicer-Simson, in the shape of their secret 'supership' the Graf von Gotzen . . .Unearthing new German and African records, the prize-winning author of The Last King of Scotland retells this most unlikely of true-life tales with his customary narrative energy and style.Fitzcarraldo meets Heart of Darkness, this is rich, vivid and flashmanesque in its appeal - military history at its most absorbing and entertaining


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From the highly acclaimed and prizewinning author of The Last King of Scotland (“Clever, and fluently written”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times): a heart-stopping race against time as British and American scientists attempt the impossible—to get millions of Allied troops secretly across the English Channel for D-day.As the plans for the invasion of Normandy take shape, the fate of 2.5 million men and the future of Europe come to depend on the right weather conditions over the channel on a single day. A team of Allied scientists is charged with agreeing on an accurate forecast five days in advance. But is it even possible to predict the weather so far ahead? And what is the relationship between predictability and turbulence, one of the last great mysteries of modern physics?Wallace Ryman, a reclusive pacifist, has devised a system that comprehends all of this. Henry Meadows, a young prodigy, is sent to Scotland to discover Ryman’s system and apply it to the Normandy landings. But turbulence proves more elusive than anyone has imagined, and, like the weather, events begin to spiral out of control.A gripping blend of fact and fiction in a novel about how human beings perceive and ultimately cope with uncertainty.


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Max Glickman, a Jewish cartoonist whose seminal work is a comic history titled Five Thousand Years of Bitterness, recalls his childhood in a British suburb in the 1950s. Growing up, Max is surrounded by Jews, each with an entirely different and outspoken view on what it means to be Jewish. His mother, incessantly preoccupied with a card game called Kalooki, only begrudgingly puts the deck away on the High Holy Days. Max's father, a failed boxer prone to spontaneous nosebleeds, is a self-proclaimed atheist and communist, unable to accept the God who has betrayed him so unequivocally in recent years.But it is through his friend and neighbor Manny Washinsky that Max begins to understand the indelible effects of the Holocaust and to explore the intrinsic and paradoxical questions of a postwar Jewish identity. Manny, obsessed with the Holocaust and haunted by the allure of its legacy, commits a crime of nightmare proportion against his family and his faith. Years later, after his friend's release from prison, Max is inexorably drawn to uncover the motive behind the catastrophic act -- the discovery of which leads to a startling revelation and a profound truth about religion and faith that exists where the sacred meets the profane.Spanning the decades between World War II and the present day, acclaimed author Howard Jacobson seamlessly weaves together a breath-takingly complex narrative of love, tragedy, redemption, and above all, remarkable humor. Deeply empathetic and audaciously funny, Kalooki Nights is a luminous story torn violently between the hope of restoring and rebuilding Jewish life, and the painful burden of memory and loss.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

*And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting 

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; 

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, 

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; 

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor 

Shall be lifted - nevermore! *

-- from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look. 

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. 

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares. 

His life depends on it.


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'Find what you were looking for, Inspector'? Every day the same question. A different uniform but the same question. They thought Lucia enjoyed being here. They thought that was why she kept coming back. But they were asking the wrong thing. She had found what she was looking for - she had found what she had been sent to discover - but she had found out more besides. The question was what to do about it. The question was whether to do anything at all. In the depths of a sweltering summer, teacher Samuel Szajkowski walks into his school assembly and opens fire. He kills three pupils and a colleague before turning the gun on himself. Lucia May, the young policewoman who is assigned the case, is expected to wrap up things quickly and without fuss. The incident is a tragedy that could not have been predicted and Szajkowski, it seems clear, was a psychopath beyond help. Soon, however, Lucia becomes preoccupied with the question no one else seems to want to ask: what drove a mild-mannered, diffident school teacher to commit such a despicable crime?  Piecing together the testimonies of the teachers and children at the school, Lucia discovers an uglier, more complex picture of the months leading up to the shooting. She realises too that she has more in common with Szajkowski than she could have imagined. As the pressure to bury the case builds, she becomes determined to tell the truth about what happened, whatever the consequences.


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The *New York Times* bestselling authors present a new series set on an island a stone's skip away from Cape Light...

Welcome to Angel Island, not far from the shores of Cape Light. It's said to harbor angels that help guide the lost, that sometimes lead them right back to where they began...

Liza Martin arrives on Angel Island to sell the inn she and her brother inherited from their aunt, so she can bolt back to her busy life in Boston. But back home awaits a broken marriage and an unstable career. The more time she spends on Angel Island, and with every local she meets, the more she finds herself enjoying the tranquility of the place. Her new friends don't want to see her sell the inn to developers who will ruin the island's charm. There is much for her to resolve before her departure- and it is going to take a band of angels to mend her broken wings and redirect her soul.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Praise for Travis S. Taylor *

 

“[Warp Speed*] reads like Doc Smith writing Robert Ludlum. . . .You won't want to put it down.” —**John Ringo**

 

 

 

“In the tradition of Golden Age SF . . . explodes with inventive action . . . dazzling . . . cutting-edge scientific possibilities. . . .” —Publishers Weekly*

 

 

 

Praise for Les Johnson:*           

 

“. . . Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary* Travel* . . . convincingly captures the history of ideas about solar sails, their current state of play and their future promise. … Suitable for aerospace students and keen enthusiasts alike. . . .” —Stuart Clark**, Nature* 

 

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“I can recommend this book [Living* Off the Land* in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos*] to everyone interested in the future of space exploration.” —Claude Semay**, Physicalia*


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In these energetic, exhilarating stories, Ali Smith portrays a world of everyday dislocation, where people nevertheless find connection, mystery, and love. In "Astute Fiery Luxurious," a misdelivered package throws the life of a couple into disarray. A boy's unexplained illness in "I Know Something You Don't Know" drives his mother to seek guidance from homeopathic healers, with inconclusive results. In "The Child," an unnervingly mature young boy voices offensive humor that genteel society would rather not acknowledge. And a confident older woman meets her awkward fourteen-year-old self in "Writ" but can't figure out how to guide her-or even whether she should. As Smith explores the subtle links between what we know and what we feel, she creates an exuberant, masterly collection that is packed full of ideas, humor, nuance, and compassion. Ali Smith and the short story are made for each other. "From the Hardcover edition."


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On a freezing January morning in 1961, eight-year-old Anna's mother disappears into the fog. That same morning, a spy case breaks in the news. Obsessed by stories of espionage, Anna's brother Peter begins to construct a theory that their mother, a refugee from eastern Germany, was an undercover spy and might even still be alive. As life returns to normal, Anna struggles to sort fact from fantasy. Did her mother have a secret life? And how do you know who a person was once she is dead?


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The Corfu Trilogy consists of the popular classic My Family and Other Animals and its delightful sequels, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods . All three books are set on the enchanted island of Corfu in the 1930s, and tell the story of the eccentric English family who moved there. For Gerald, the budding zoologist, Corfu was a natural paradise, teeming with strange birds and beasts that he could collect, watch and care for. But life was not without its problems - his family often objected to his animal-collecting activities, especially when the beasts wound up in the villa or - even worse - the fridge. With hilarious yet endearing portraits of his family and their many unusual hangers-on, The Corfu Trilogy also captures the beginnings of the author's lifelong love of animals. Recounted with immense humour and charm, this wonderful account of Corfu's natural history reveals a rare, magical childhood.


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The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban-s backyard<BR>Anyone who despairs of the individual-s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan-s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools-especially for girls-that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson-s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.


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Now that she has (sort of) defeated a diabolical elf, Keelie Heartwood reluctantly joins her father in the Dread Forest. Her "real" friends are gone, her dad is preoccupied with his new responsibilities as Lord of the Forest and now it seems that her budding romance with the hunky Sean is dashed. Except for her impossible guardian cat Knot, and Alora, a demanding and bratty little princess tree, Keelie has no one to hang with—unless you count that nasty elf-girl Elia, who suddenly wants to be Keelie's frenemy. Meanwhile, an age-old rift in Keelie's family and among the elves reaches a dangerous climax as humans and dark magical forces alike encroach on the elves' enchanted realm. The fate of the Dread Forest—and of all who dwell within it—lies in Keelie's hands. Be on the watch for new adventures with Keelie and the elves as the Faire Folk saga continues in the Scions of Shadow Trilogy...  


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THE #1 BESTSELLER IN HEAVEN...AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON EARTH. "Think Alice Sebold ('The Lovely Bones') meets William Young ('The Shack') and John Grisham ('The Firm')...in the afterlife." Brek Cuttler, a young lawyer, new mother, and wife of a popular television news reporter, dies unexpectedly and, arriving in heaven, learns she has been chosen to join the elite lawyers who defend souls at the Final Judgment. Yet Brek longs for her lost life, and the cause of her death remains a mystery. Searching for answers, Brek attempts to re-create the world she once knew and visits her family in their dreams; but it is her first client in heaven, a young convict, who holds the secret-a shocking crime long repressed. Guided by her mentor, Luas, a lawyer who has been prosecuting souls for thousands of years, Brek embarks on a quest traversing heaven and earth to bring her killer to justice, uncovering an interlocking past that places her own soul in jeopardy. Entering the courtroom to face her killer at the Final Judgment, Brek must make a momentous choice that will alter her eternity. POSTHUMOUS PRAISE FOR FORGIVING ARARAT: "This glorious, triumphant work leads its readers from the wrathful lands of the east...and back to the Garden of Eden." -John Steinbeck, author of Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. "With mythical prose at times approaching verse, Forgiving Ararat works a miracle, bridging the chasm between life and death." -Emily Dickinson, author of Poems. "At the center of Forgiving Ararat is the Trial each of us must one day face-and the profound metamorphosis each of us must undergo to win." -Franz Kafka, author of The Trial and The Metamorphosis. "This book is the next 'Lovely Bones!'" -Anonymous Recently Departed Reader


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The first true character study of a lost president and his disastrous legacyIn this fascinating, timely book, Glenn Greenwald examines the Bush presidency and its long-term effect on the nation, charting the rise and steep fall of the current administration, dissecting the rhetoric, and revealing the faulty ideals upon which George W. Bush built his policies. Enlightening and eye-opening, this is a powerful look at the man whose incapability and cowboy logic have left America at risk.


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When her mother dies, fifteen-year-old Keelie Heartwood is forced to leave her beloved California to live with her nomadic father at a renaissance festival in Colorado. After arriving, Keelie finds men in tights and women in trailer trash-tight bodices roaming half-drunk, calling each other lady and lord even after closing time! Playacting the Dark Ages is an L.A. girl’s worst nightmare.Keelie has a plan to ditch this medieval geekland ASAP, but while she plots, strange things start happening—eerie, yet familiar. When Keelie starts seeing fairies and communicating with trees, she uncovers a secret that links her to a community of elves. As Keelie tries to come to grips with her elfin roots, disaster strikes, and Keelie’s identity isn’t the only thing that’s threatened. One part human determination and one part elfin magic, Keelie Heartwood is a witty new heroine in a world where fantasy and reality mix with extraordinary results.


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Don't miss the first book in the Faire Folk Trilogy, The Tree Shepherd's Daughter:

"One of those remarkable tales in which the reader becomes completely immersed . . . [It] will have readers eagerly anticipating books two and three in this promising trilogy."—KLIATT

After squelching an evil plot by a rotten fairy, Keelie Heartwood is ready for fun at the upcoming Wildewood Renaissance Faire. Getting to know her elf dad has been great, but camping out in his homemade RV while acting out the 16th century isn't so fab. Keelie prefers hot showers and wearing a watch, thankyouverymuch. And a cool new cell phone would be nice, too.  But with fairies turning up in the oddest places, an unfortunate misunderstanding about a credit card bill, and that nasty, stuck-up elf-girl, Elia, Keelie's plans to have a good time are all but ruined. So far, life as an elf isn't all that enchanting.

And then the unicorn shows up.


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I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas." As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived--and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who've long forgotten her. The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details--proof they hope may free Ben--Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she'll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she'll admit her testimony wasn't so solid after all. As Libby's search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby's doomed family members--including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started--on the run from a killer.


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A sharp-witted knockdown of America’s love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realismAmericans are a “positive” people—cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity. In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to “prosper” you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of “positive psychology” and the “science of happiness.” Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes—like mortgage defaults—contributed directly to the current economic crisis. With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America’s penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out “negative” thoughts. On a national level, it’s brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best—poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage. Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of numerous books, including Dancing in the Streets and The New York Times bestsellers Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch. A frequent contributor to Harper’s and The Nation, she has also been a columnist at The New York Times and Time magazine. In Bright-sided, Barbara Ehrenreich reveals how the positive thinking movement, though seemingly harmless, has in fact deluded America and played a role in some of the most destructive events in recent U.S. history. Far from just a “healthy mindset,” bright-siding is an epidemic of self-deception that has spread to all circles of American life, from preachers who celebrate the power of prayer, to doctors who promote optimism’s healing abilities. It led officials to overlook clues of 9/11 and overestimate the strength of New Orleans’ levees, and enabled the business world to make egregiously unsafe loans that caused the worst financial crisis since World War II. Ehrenreich exposes the consequences of the belief that positive thinking is the key to achieving success and prosperity—a notion which, at its most dangerous, prevents people from even considering the negative outcomes of major events or their own actions.   “In this hard-hitting but honest appraisal, America’s cultural skeptic Barbara Ehrenreich turns her focus on the muddled American phenomenon of positive thinking. She exposes the pseudoscience and pseudointellectual foundation of the positive-thinking movement for what it is: a house of cards. This is a mind-opening read.”—Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time "Barbara Ehrenreich wants to make clear that she is not a spoilsport. 'No one can call me a sourpuss,' she declared. 'I have a big foot in the joy camp.' She is the author of Dancing in the Streets, a history of 'collective joy,' she notes, and a lot of fun at parties. So her new book, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, should not be mistaken for a curmudgeonly rant. It is serious social history.Many of the 17 books that Ms. Ehrenreich has written during the past three and half decades have taken her into alien worlds. In her fantastically successful 2001 book, Nickel and Dimed, for example, she details her experience of trying to get by on the salary of an unskilled, minimum-wage worker. By contrast, this newest volume is based on her stay in a world that she became intimately familiar with: the smiley-faced, pink-ribboned, positive-thinking culture that surrounds breast cancer patients . . . In Bright-sided, she traces the roots of the nation’s blithe sunniness to a reaction against Calvinist gloom and the limits of medical science in the first half of the 19th century. Starting with Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, perhaps one of the first American New Age faith healers, she draws a line to Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science; the psychologist William James; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Norman Vincent Peale, who published The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952; and the toothy television minister Joel Osteen, who preaches the gospel of prosperity."—Patricia Cohen, The New York Times"When I finished Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, I went in search of a stiff drink—or something that would allow me to escape, if only briefly, the feeling that I have been blind to the unyielding grip that positive thinking has on our culture. Very little I have read elsewhere has suggested that the current recession is good for us, but Ehrenreich implies that the implosion of our economy may bring us to our senses and that reason and common sense might have a chance to disempower the foolish, self-serving and dangerous promotion of positive thinking reaching into all areas of our lives: our health, jobs, science, religion, politics. She is relentless—and persuasive—in her determination to convince us of this. Her notes run to 15 pages of titles of papers, articles, books and television interviews she has researched to support her contention that the unwarranted optimism urged on us by church and corporations, by medical and psychological 'experts,' has distorted the reality of the disaster we now find ourselves facing . . . So what's with all this negativity Ehrenreich forces on us? Isn't positive thinking better than being a spoilsport? In a voice urgent and passionate, Ehrenreich offers us neither extreme but instead balance: joy, happiness, yes; sadness, anger, yes. She favors life with a clear head, eyes wide open."—Jane Juska, San Francisco Chronicle“We're always being told that looking on the bright side is good for us, but now we see that it's a great way to brush off poverty, disease, and unemployment, to rationalize an order where all the rewards go to those on top. The people who are sick or jobless—why, they just aren't thinking positively. They have no one to blame but themselves. Barbara Ehrenreich has put the menace of positive thinking under the microscope. Anyone who's ever been told to brighten up needs to read this book.”—Thomas Frank, author of The Wrecking Crew and What's the Matter with Kansas?“Unless you keep on saying that you believe in fairies, Tinker Bell will check out, and what’s more, her sad demise will be your fault! Barbara Ehrenreich scores again for the independent-minded in resisting this drool and all those who wallow in it.”—Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything“In this hard-hitting but honest appraisal, America’s cultural skeptic Barbara Ehrenreich turns her focus on the muddled American phenomenon of positive thinking. She exposes the pseudoscience and pseudointellectual foundation of the positive-thinking movement for what it is: a house of cards. This is a mind-opening read.”—Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time“Once again, Barbara Ehrenreich has written an invaluable and timely book, offering a brilliant analysis of the causes and dimensions of our current cultural and economic crises. She shows how deeply positive thinking is embedded in our history and how crippling it is as a habit of mind.”—Thomas Bender, author of A Nation Among Nations: America’s Place in World History“Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil: please read this relentlessly sensible book. It’s never too late to begin thinking clearly.”—Frederick Crews, author of Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays“Barbara Ehrenreich’s skeptical common sense is just what we need to penetrate the cloying fog that passes for happiness in America.”—Alan Wolfe, author of The Future of Liberalism“In this hilarious and devastating critique, Barbara Ehrenreich applies some much needed negativity to the zillion-dollar business of positive thinking. This is truly a text for the times.”—Katha Pollitt, author of The Mind-Body Problem: Poems"In Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Notion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, Barbara Ehrenreich reprises her role as Dorothy swishing back the curtain on a great and powerful given: ‘Americans are a “positive” people.’ Sunny, self-confident optimism defines us as individuals and as a nation. Humbug. Ehrenreich wants us to pay close attention to the truth behind the hype—positive thinking is hurting America, from obliging one another to turn that frown upside-down, to 2008's financial meltdown . . . ‘Flapdoodle,’ crows Ehrenreich, and the fun begins. Like flying monkeys tearing apart the Scarecrow, she shreds theories based on quantum physics (neuronal impulses are far too large to be influenced by quantum effects), magnetism (the magnetic properties of thought are swamped by competing magnetisms -- like the Earth's!), and magic (pay no attention to that man behind the curtain). Ehrenreich likewise thrashes from top to bottom ‘the motivators and gurus of positivity,’ from Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret, to prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen. Osteen makes a juicy target, sidestepping as he does sin and salvation in favor of the ‘prosperity gospel’—‘You can have that new car or house or necklace, because God wants to “prosper you.”’ In spurning Osteen as a heretical fake, Ehrenreich fights dirty, mocking Osteen's height (he's shorter in person) and his mullet (it's longer). Ehrenreich claims she approached her initial meeting with Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, ‘with trepidation,’ yet we almost expect her to say, ‘Just one more thing . . .’ à la Lt. Columbo, as she tries to pin down the exact measurements of Seligman's "equation" for happiness, a contrivance that makes him ‘look like the Wizard of Oz.’ The refutation and character assassination, while entertaining, serve to show how positive thinking is as rickety a construct as the Wizard, merely masking insecurities about a world we can't really control. So complete is Ehrenreich's argument that she plays her own devil's advocate: positive thinking requires self-deception, ‘a constant effort to repress or block out unpleasant possibilities and “negative” thoughts’—like those created by scathing social critiques . . . Those readers who've ‘gone so far down this yellow brick road that “positive” seems to us the way you should be’ may bite their nails over the demystification in Bright-Sided. Ehrenreich's advice on where to go from here is a workable antidote to the pursuit of secret formulas that don't exist.”—Kassten Alonso, The Oregonian (Portland)"Two-thirds of the way into the book, its theme shines through like sunlight in an old-time Baptist window, the kind they don't make anymore because nobody knows how and even if they did they wouldn't have the patience. It's much easier and faster these days simply to visualize it and wish for it according to the directives of the positive-thinking life coaches of the prosperity-gospel churches. And while you're about it, you might as well visualize a big house in the suburbs with an adjustable-rate mortgage or a diamond necklace instead, or any other nice piece of bling . . . In precisely crafted, hard-hitting language throughout, she explains how hordes of optimistic American consumers, under the spell of 'new age' authors and psychologists, television preachers and celebrities, visualized and wished (with a lot of help from credit cards) for so much stuff that now they are enmeshed in unwished-for bankruptcy in record numbers . . . This hard-boiled analysis of the national mass fantasy of wishful thinking contributed, says the author, to the economic collapse of 2008. It represents her hope for recovery from 'the mass delusion that is positive thinking.' Her personal vision, she says, is composed of better jobs and better health care for all, and a chance for everyone to contribute through clear thinking and hard work, not through the notion that we can 'levitate ourselves into that blessed condition by wishing it.'"—Tom Dodge, The Dallas Morning News"Ehrenreich, author of the best-selling Nickel and Dimed, delivers her indictments of the happiness industry with both authority and wit. . . . Others have critiqued the positivity movement, but Ehrenreich does an impressive job of analyzing its broader social impact."—Kristin Ohlson, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)"Ehrenreich convinced me completely. . . I hesitate to say anything so positive as that this book will change the way you see absolutely everything; but it just might."—Nora Ephron, The Daily Beast"Positive thinking should never be the same after Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided . . . Ehrenreich is a sharp and reliable student of the divided middle class, as good as the American left can boast. In attacking the thick irrationality of our public lives, [this book] homes in on a particularly salient line of argument—that positive thinking is not only preposterous but pernicious."—John Summers, Bookforum"Accomplished social critic Ehrenreich eviscerates the positive-thinking movement, which she blames for encouraging us to 'deny reality, submit cheerfully to misfortune, and blame only ourselves for our fate.' The author argues that the promotion of unwarranted optimism began in the early days of the American republic, was taken up by 19th-century philosophers and mystics—William James urged people to repeat to themselves 'Youth, health, vigor!' while dressing in the morning—and entered the American mainstream in the 20th century, when it became an integral part of consumer culture. Ehrenreich's quarrel is not with feeling upbeat but rather with the 'inescapable pseudoscientific flapdoodle' of life coaches and self-improvement products claiming that thinking positively will result in wealth, success and other joyful outcomes. Such magical thinking has become a means of social control in the workplace—where uncheerful employees are ostracized—and prevents action to achieve social change. With life coaches, business motivators and evangelical preachers promoting delusional expectations . . . positive thinking can claim partial credit for a major role in such recent disastrous events as the Iraq war and the financial meltdown. Ehrenreich's many interviews include meetings with psychologist Martin Seligman, whose 'positive psychology,' she finds, offers little credible evidence to make it any different from the wishing-will-make-it-so thinking of writers from Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends & Influence People) to Rhonda Byrne (The Secret). The author's tough-minded and convincing broadside raises troubling questions about many aspects of contemporary American life, and she provides an antidote to the pervasive culture of cheerfulness—reality-based critical thinking that will encourage people to alter social arrangements in ways that improve their lives. Bright, incisive, provocative thinking from a top-notch nonfiction writer."—Kirkus Reviews"Ehrenreich delivers a trenchant look into the burgeoning business of positive thinking. A bout with breast cancer puts the author face to face with this new breed of frenetic positive thinking promoted by everyone from scientists to gurus and activists. Chided for her anger and distress by doctors and fellow cancer patients and survivors, Ehrenreich explores the insistence upon optimism as a cultural and national trait, discovering its 'symbiotic relationship with American capitalism' and how poverty, obesity, unemployment and relationship problems are being marketed as obstacles that can be overcome with the right (read: positive) mindset. Building on Max Weber's insights into the relationship between Calvinism and capitalism, Ehrenreich sees the dark roots of positive thinking emerging from 19th-century religious movements. Mary Baker Eddy, William James and Norman Vincent Peale paved the path for today's secular $9.6 billion self-improvement industry and positive psychology institutes. The author concludes by suggesting that the bungled invasion of Iraq and current economic mess may be intricately tied to this 'reckless' national penchant for self-delusion and a lack of anxious vigilance, necessary to societal survival."—Publishers Weekly


