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The Overlook (Harry Bosch Series #13)
by Michael ConnellyWhen a physicist is murdered in LA it seems the killer has no fear of publicity, leaving the body on The Mulholland overlook, a site with a stunning view over the city. And when it's discovered that the victim turned over a quantity of a lethal chemical to his killer before he died, Harry knows he has more than just a single death to worry about. Alongside the forces of Homeland Security, Harry realises he must solve the murder or face unimaginable consequences.Read by Michael Brandon(p) 2007 Orion Publishing Group
The Overlook: A Novel (Harry Bosch #13)
by Michael ConnellyNear Mulholland Drive, Dr. Stanley Kent is found shot twice in the back of the head. It's the case LAPD detective Harry Bosch has been waiting for, his first since being recruited to the Homicide Special Squad. When he discovers that Kent had access to dangerous radioactive substances, what begins as a routine investigation becomes something darker, more deadly, and frighteningly urgent. Bosch is soon in conflict with not only his superiors but the FBI, which thinks the case is too important for just a cop. Complicating his job even more is the presence of Agent Rachel Walling, his onetime lover. Now guarding one slim advantage, Bosch relentlessly follows his own instincts, hoping they are still sharp enough to find the truth--and a killer who can annihilate an entire city.
The Overnight Guest: A Novel
by Heather GudenkaufNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER&“Fully realized, wholly absorbing and almost painfully suspenseful...The journey is mesmerizing.&” —New York Times A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn&’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she&’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn&’t as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.Don&’t miss Heather&’s upcoming twisty locked-room thriller, EVERYONE IS WATCHING! And don't miss these other great stories by Heather!The Weight of SilenceThese Things HiddenLittle MerciesMIssing PiecesNot a SoundBefore She Was FoundThis is How I Lied
The Overnight Kidnapper (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery #23)
by Andrea Camilleri“Set in Sicily and starring a detective unlike any other in crime fiction, blasts the brain like a shot of pure oxygen. Aglow with local color, packed with flint-dry wit, as fresh and clean as Mediterranean seafood — altogether transporting.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the WindowThe new novel in the irresistible and transporting New York Times bestselling Inspector Montalbano mystery series The day gets off to a bad start for Montalbano: while trying to break up a fight on Marinella beach, he hits the wrong man and is stopped by the Carabinieri. When he finally gets to the office, the inspector learns about a strange abduction: a woman was abducted, drugged, and then released unharmed a few hours later. A few days later, the same thing happens again, but this time the woman abducted is the niece of Enzo, the owner of Montalbano’s favorite trattoria. The only link between the two events is that both women are thirty years old and work in a bank. Alongside this investigation, Montalbano has to deal with an arson case. A shop that sells household appliances has burned down, and its owner, Marcello Di Carlo, seems to have vanished into thin air. Has he run off with his lover after a holiday in the Canary Islands? Is he fleeing from his creditors, or was he murdered by the mafia for not paying their protection money? At first this seems like a trivial case, but a third abduction—yet again of a girl who works in a bank—and the discovery of a body bring up new questions. Whose body is it? And where has Di Carlo’s secret lover gone?
The Overnight: The New Girl; The Surprise Party; The Overnight; Missing (Fear Street #Bk. 16)
by R.L. StineFrom Goosebumps author R.L. Stine comes a spine-tingling tale of a night spent on Fear Island coming back to haunt a group of friends.Della O&’Connor joined the Outdoors Club to have adventures with her friends. So when their advisor can&’t make it to the planned overnight excursion to Fear Island, she rallies her friends to make the trip on their own. Won&’t it be more fun with no adults around? But it doesn&’t take long for the night to get out of hand. Della gets lost in the woods and then cornered by a dangerous stranger. She strikes back to save herself, and her friends vow to keep her violent secret. But someone saw what Della did. And he&’s threatening them all, forcing them back to Fear Island to find the evidence they forgot to bury...
The Overnights: An Ashe Cayne Novel, Book 3 (An Ashe Cayne Mystery #3)
by Ian K. Smith“Chicago PI Ashe Cayne is the perfect hero for our times.”—Harlan Coben#1 New York Times bestselling author Ian K. Smith brings back former Chicago detective turned private eye Ashe Cayne in this eagerly anticipated mystery in which the investigator finds himself in a race against the clock to protect a high-profile Chicago news anchor and solve the racially charged murder of a Black teen by a white police officer.Someone wants Morgan Shaw dead—or so the beautiful, brilliant, and hugely popular evening news anchor of top-rated Chicago TV station WLTV believes. Fearing for her safety, she turns to P. I. Ashe Cayne for protection. Though he sympathizes, Ashe turns her down—he’s not a bodyguard. But when Morgan’s car tires are slashed and she’s threatened again, Ashe agrees to help her.Her mysterious assailant isn’t the only threat worrying Morgan. She’s nervous about the upcoming “sweeps”—the all-important overnight ratings period—which will determine Chicago’s highest-rated television newscast and the city’s number-one anchor. Morgan has long been Chicago’s news queen. Now, though her crown is in jeopardy. She refuses to lose to her crosstown rival, and will risk everything to stay on top—including an audacious investigation into the suspicious shooting of an unarmed African American man by a white cop. The explosive case and her discoveries boost her ratings—and create powerful enemies eager to protect their secrets.To save his client and find the truth, Ashe must wade through the tangled layers of competitive local news and the deceptive schemes of its power players, and uncover the identities of those behind the murder of a seemingly innocent man.
The Overseer: A Thriller (The Firstborn)
by Conlan BrownIt took two thousand years to bring the Firstborn together. It will only take a moment...to tear them apart. The Firstborn--three ancient religious orders gifted with the ability to see past, present and future--have formed a shaky truce for the first time since the death of Christ. But dangerous forces, both human and otherwise, are rising to destroy them. Torn between the call to rescue three innocent teenage girls abducted into sexual slavery, preventing the racially motivated assassination of a prominent American politician, and dealing with the wild warnings of an elusive and mysterious prophet, all eyes turn to the Overseer and the struggle over who will control the fate of the Firstborn. Hannah Rice, John Temple, and Devin Bathurst return in this adrenaline-packed sequel to The Firstborn as they are hurled into a dark world of human trafficking, shadowy government agencies, assassination, and a race against time to save everything they believe in.
The Overton Window
by Glenn BeckA plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed . . . can it be stopped? There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws, and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time. Move the Window and you change the debate. Change the debate and you change the country. For Noah Gardner, a twentysomething public relations executive, it's safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. Smart, single, handsome, and insulated from the world's problems by the wealth and power of his father, Noah is far more concerned about the future of his social life than the future of his country. But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future--but Noah, convinced they're just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause. And then the world changes. An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact--or, more important, which side to fight for. But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted. After five back-to-back #1 New York Times bestsellers, national radio and Fox News television host Glenn Beck has delivered a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that seamlessly weaves together American history, frightening facts about our present condition, and a heart-stopping plot. The Overton Window will educate, enlighten, and, most important, entertain--with twists and revelations no one will see coming.
The Owl Always Hunts at Night: A Novel
by Samuel BjorkThe thrilling follow-up to Samuel Bjørk’s internationally bestselling I'm Traveling Alone, which The Wall Street Journal calls “tense and smartly constructed” When a troubled teenager disappears from an orphanage and is found murdered, her body arranged on a bed of feathers, veteran investigator Holger Munch and his team are called into the case. Star investigator Mia Kruger, on temporary leave while she continues to struggle with her own demons, jumps back on the team and dives headfirst into this case: just in time to decode the clues in a disturbing video of the victim before she was killed, being held prisoner like an animal in a cage. Meanwhile, Munch’s daughter, Miriam, meets an enticing stranger at a party—a passionate animal rights activist who begins to draw her into his world and away from her family. Munch, Kruger, and the team must hunt down the killer before he can strike again in this sophisticated, intricately plotted psychological thriller by the newest phenomenon in international crime fiction.
The Owl Cries: A Novel
by Hye-young PyunFrom the Shirley Jackson Award–winning author of The Hole, a slow-burning noir thriller with a touch of horror and the uncanny A disappearance. A missing brother. A lawyer asking questions. And a vast forest in the mountains—the western woods—where the trees huddle close together emanating a crushing darkness and a chill dampness fills the air. The ranger, In-su Park, who lives nearby with his family, is a recovering alcoholic. He claims no knowledge of the man who disappeared, even though the missing man had worked as the ranger just before him. In the little village down the mountain, the shopkeepers will do the same and deny they ever saw or knew the man, though they&’re less convincing; and his former supervisor at the Forestry Research Center, Professor Jin, dismisses his importance. But when an accident and a death derail the investigation and someone attempts to break into his office, In-su Park finds himself conducting his own inquiry into the goings-on deep in the heart of the western woods—spurred by the mysterious words he discovers on a piece of paper beneath his desk: &“In the forest the owl cries.&”The Owl Cries is a treat for fans of Stephen King, David Lynch, and the nightmare dystopias of Franz Kafka.
The Owl Killers
by Karen MaitlandIn 1321, the English town of Ulewic teeters between survival and destruction, faith and doubt, God and demons. Against this intense backdrop, a group of women have formed a beguinage, a self-sustaining community of women. Led by the strong-willed Servant Martha, these women are committed to a code of celibacy and prayer, hard work and charity that is unsanctioned by the all-powerful church. Still, the villagers have come to rely on this remarkable group of women for their very lives. And seeking shelter among them now is the youngest daughter of Ulewic’s lord, a man who holds power over them all.But when a series of natural calamities strikes, the beguinage’s enemies make their move, stirring the superstitious villagers with dark rumors of unspeakable depravities and unleashing upon the defiant all-female community the full force of their vengeance in the terrifying form of the Owl Killers. Men cloaked in masks and secrecy, ruling with violence and intimidation—the Owl Killers draw battle lines. In this village ravaged by flood and disease, the women of the beguinage must draw upon their deepest strength if they are to overcome the raging storm of long-held secrets and shattering lies.
The Ownley Inn
by Joseph C. Lincoln Freeman LincolnIn this novel, which was first published in 1939, author Joseph C. Lincoln collaborated with his son Freeman to produce the sort of fresh and salty tale of Cape Cod that has made him so famous and well-loved.Dick Clarke, in disgrace because of the theft of a valuable book from the Knowlton Library, finds himself on old Sepatonk Island, staying at the Ownley Inn, run by Seth Hammond Ownley, who, when asked the reason for the cannon on the front lawn, invariably replies, “To repel boarders.” Then things begin to happen. A hurricane isolates the island; and a wrecked cruising launch starts a train of events which keeps Anne Francis, a charming girl who has quarrelled with Clarke; Perry Hale, a none-too-scrupulous book collector, and most of the other boarders, in a state of commotion and, at times, fear…
The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories
by Patricia CraigFrom the Publisher The Oxford Book of Detective Stories is a thorough, broad, and representative collection of short stories intended to reflect the best of detective fiction from around the world. Drawing on works dating from the middle 1800s up to the present, editor Patricia Craig shows us how different nationalities have imposed their own stamp on this highly popular and relatively young literary genre. Alongside English and American fiction by such acknowledged masters as Ellery Queen, Dashiell Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Agatha Christie, we find stories by Georges Simenon, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sarah Paretsky, and Ian Rankin. The anthology roams across Europe and further afield to embrace Japan, Denmark, Holland, Italy, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, and other countries. This is a book that will delight any fan or student of detective fiction. Women detectives, police procedurals, the amateur sleuth, locked-room mysteries, and the classic or pioneering models of the genre are all represented here--and in her perceptive and inclusive introduction Craig examines the figure of the detective in international literature.
The Oxford Brotherhood
by Guillermo MartinezMathematics student G is trying to resurrect his studies, which is proving difficult as he finds himself - and not for the first time - drawn into investigating a series of mysterious crimes.When Kristen, a researcher hired by the Lewis Carroll Brotherhood, makes a startling new discovery concerning pages torn from Caroll's diary, she hesitates to reveal to her employers a hitherto unknown chapter in his life. Oxford would be rocked to its core if the truth about Lewis Carroll's relationship with Alice Liddell - the real Alice - were brought to light.After Kristen is involved in a surreal accident and members of the Brotherhood are anonymously sent salacious photographs of Alice, G joins forces with Kristen as they begin to realise that dark powers are at work. More pictures are received, and it becomes clear that a murderer is stalking anyone who shows too much interest in Carroll's life. G must stretch his mathematical mind to its limits to solve the mystery and understand the cryptic workings of the Brotherhood. Until then, nobody, not even G, is safe. A thrilling novel from the author of The Oxford Murders, inspired by true, strange stories from Caroll's life, The Oxford Brotherhood is sure to make you curiouser and curiouser.
The Oxford Brotherhood
by Guillermo MartinezMathematics student G is trying to resurrect his studies, which is proving difficult as he finds himself - and not for the first time - drawn into investigating a series of mysterious crimes.When Kristen, a researcher hired by the Lewis Carroll Brotherhood, makes a startling new discovery concerning pages torn from Caroll's diary, she hesitates to reveal to her employers a hitherto unknown chapter in his life. Oxford would be rocked to its core if the truth about Lewis Carroll's relationship with Alice Liddell - the real Alice - were brought to light.After Kristen is involved in a surreal accident and members of the Brotherhood are anonymously sent salacious photographs of Alice, G joins forces with Kristen as they begin to realise that dark powers are at work. More pictures are received, and it becomes clear that a murderer is stalking anyone who shows too much interest in Carroll's life. G must stretch his mathematical mind to its limits to solve the mystery and understand the cryptic workings of the Brotherhood. Until then, nobody, not even G, is safe. A thrilling novel from the author of The Oxford Murders, inspired by true, strange stories from Caroll's life, The Oxford Brotherhood is sure to make you curiouser and curiouser.
The Oxford Brotherhood: A Novel
by Guillermo MartinezThis literary thriller set at Oxford University puts talented mathematics student G at the center of a murder mystery sparked by the discovery of hidden secrets in the life of famed author Lewis Carroll.Mathematics student G is trying to resurrect his studies, which is proving difficult as he finds himself drawn into investigating a series of mysterious crimes. When Kristen, a researcher hired by the Lewis Carroll Brotherhood, makes a startling new discovery concerning pages torn from Caroll's diary, she hesitates to reveal to her employers a hitherto unknown chapter in his life. Oxford would be rocked to its core if the truth about Lewis Carroll's relationship with Alice Liddell—the real Alice—were brought to light. After Kristen is involved in a surreal accident and members of the Brotherhood are anonymously sent salacious photographs of Alice, G joins forces with Kristen as they begin to confront that sinister powers that are at work. More pictures are received, and it becomes clear that a murderer is stalking anyone who shows too much interest in uncovering certain aspects of Lewis Carroll's life. G must stretch his mathematical mind to its limits to solve the mystery and understand the cryptic workings of the Brotherhood. Until then, nobody—not even G himself—is safe. A thrilling novel inspired by true, strange stories from Lewis Caroll's life, The Oxford Brotherhood is sure to make you curiouser and curiouser.
The Oxford Fellow: Bodies Of Water (Denton #2)
by Kenneth CameronWhen Denton hears there’s a fellow missing from Oxford, it takes him a while to grasp that “fellow,” in this instance, means some sort of academic character, and not, you know, a fellow. A bloke. Never mind: He’s happy to set off for Oxford and poke around. He imagines a holiday, a peaceful sojourn among the hushed libraries and the famous dreaming spires. It will be so different from frantic, filthy London, muscling its way into the 20th century... Turns out, those dreaming spires hide nightmares as wicked as anything in the city's back alleys. He stumbles in particular into the web of vicious rivalries otherwise known as the School of Archeology, with hatreds rooted in the famous discovery of the ancient city of Troy. Grisly suicides, terrifying curses, threats of eye-popping violence—it’s the stuff of penny dreadfuls. No wonder the fellow has disappeared; Denton wouldn’t mind following his lead and hopping a train back to London.
The Oxford Fellow: Denton Mystery Book 7
by Kenneth CameronDream spires. A missing academic. A brutal murder?Denton's latest case of a missing fellow takes him to Oxford. But he quickly realises all is not as it seems in the city of dreaming spires. Delving into the tightly knit and intensely jealous world of academia, Denton discovers a fierce rivalry at the heart of the university. Could a tragic tale of suicide and a curious archaeological exhibit be the key to cracking this fiendishly difficult case?Don't miss the other books in the gripping Denton Mystery Series: 1. The Frightened Man 2. The Bohemian Girl 3. The Second Woman 4. The Haunted Martyr 5. The Backward Boy 6. The Past Master 7. The Oxford FellowIf you're looking for a gripping historical crime series look no further than the Denton Murder Mysteries. Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton's Edwardian Murder Mysteries and Oscar de Muriel's Frey & McGray series.
The Oxford Gambit (The Peter Marlow Mysteries #3)
by Joseph HoneBored and broke, Marlow quits retirement to search for a mole within MI6It&’s springtime in Scotland, and an aging spy is tending to his bees. Smoke rises from his bellows as he looks in on the colony for the first time since winter. When his wife goes to check on him, the bellows are still smoking but her husband has disappeared. He may be dead, he may be kidnapped—or he may have gone over to the other side. To locate the missing beekeeper, the secret service turns to Peter Marlow, a veteran agent who is finding retirement no substitute for life in the field. He soon discovers a byzantine Russian conspiracy, of which the vanished spy is either the architect or the victim, operating deep within British intelligence. In the shadows of this secretive government agency, there are more pressing dangers than the sting of a frightened honeybee. The Oxford Gambit is the third book in the Peter Marlow Mystery series, which also includes The Sixth Directorate and The Valley of the Fox.
The Oxford Inheritance: A Novel
by Ann A. McDonaldAt prestigious Oxford University, an American student searches for the truth about her mother’s death in this eerie, suspenseful thriller that blends money, murder, and black magic.You can’t keep it from her forever. She needs to know the truth.Cassandra Blackwell arrives in Oxford with one mission: to uncover the truth about her mother’s dark past. Raised in America, with no idea that her mother had ever studied at the famed college, a mysterious package now sends her across the ocean, determined to unravel the secrets that her mother took to her grave. Plunged into the glamorous, secretive life of Raleigh College, Cassie finds a world like no other: a world of ancient tradition, privilege—and murder.Beneath the hallowed halls of this storied university there is a mysterious force at work . . . A dark society that is shaping our world, and will stop at nothing to keep its grip on power. Cassie might be the only one who can stop them—but at what cost?
The Oxford Murders
by Guillermo MartinezOn a balmy summer's day in Oxford an old lady who once helped decipher the Enigma Code is killed. After receiving a cryptic anonymous note containing only the address and the symbol of a circle, Arthur Seldom, a leading mathematician, arrives to find the body. Then follow more murders - an elderly man on a life-support machine is found dead with needle marks in this throat; the percussionist of an orchestra at a concert at Blenheim Palace dies before the audience's very eyes - seemingly unconnected except for notes appearing in the maths department, for the attention of Seldom. Why is he being targeted as the recipient of these coded messages? All he can conjecture is that it might relate to his latest book, an unexpected bestseller about serial killers and the parallels between investigations into their crimes and certain mathematical theorems. It is left to Seldom and a postgraduate mathematics student to work out the key to the series of symbols before the killer strikes again.
The Oxford Murders
by Guillermo MartinezOn a balmy summer's day in Oxford an old lady who once helped decipher the Enigma Code is killed. After receiving a cryptic anonymous note containing only the address and the symbol of a circle, Arthur Seldom, a leading mathematician, arrives to find the body. Then follow more murders - an elderly man on a life-support machine is found dead with needle marks in this throat; the percussionist of an orchestra at a concert at Blenheim Palace dies before the audience's very eyes - seemingly unconnected except for notes appearing in the maths department, for the attention of Seldom. Why is he being targeted as the recipient of these coded messages? All he can conjecture is that it might relate to his latest book, an unexpected bestseller about serial killers and the parallels between investigations into their crimes and certain mathematical theorems. It is left to Seldom and a postgraduate mathematics student to work out the key to the series of symbols before the killer strikes again.
The Oxygen Murder (The Periodic Table Series)
by Camille MinichinoNew York City welcomes Gloria Lamerino and her husband, homicide detective Matt Gennaro, in The Oxygen Murder, the eighth installment in Camille Minichino's acclaimed Periodic Table Mystery series.Gloria and her best friends, Rose and Frank Galigani, are on vacation in the Big Apple. They plan to visit Matt's niece Lori Pizzano, a documentary filmmaker, and enjoy the holiday sights together: shopping on Fifth Avenue, dining in Little Italy, and honoring ancestors at Ellis Island, while Matt attends a conference with the NYPD. Unfortunately, Lori's documentary on ozone and environmental issues has deadly fallout. Gloria stumbles over the body of Lori's scheming camerawoman in a Times Square loft, and, once again, she is thrust into some dangerous sleuthing. With suspects ranging from a disapproving brother to a smooth-talking PR administrator to a self-protecting private eye, Gloria tracks a killer through an intricate landscape of colorful neighborhoods and famous landmarks.Taking us on a trip from the city's tallest building to its grand park, from its crowded ice rinks to a lonely corner of its two-million-square-foot museum, The Oxygen Murder is as exciting as a ride over New York City in a helium balloon.
The O’Roarke Affair (The Rannoch Fraser Mysteries #29)
by Tracy GrantIn dazzling Regency London, married spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch find their most challenging investigation may be uncovering the secrets of the cunning spymaster who shaped both their destinies.Spymaster. Revolutionary. Master of disguise. Raoul O’Roarke remains an enigma even to those closest to him. By the age of three, Malcolm Rannoch knew enough of Raoul's life that he wondered if every goodbye would be their last. Thirty years later, Malcolm, now a spy himself, understands a great deal more, but in many ways Raoul is still a mystery. Malcolm’s wife and fellow agent Mélanie has her own complicated relationship with Raoul, who was once her spymaster.When a contact at a dockside tavern warns the Rannochs that powerful forces want Raoul dead, Malcolm and Mélanie are shaken to the core. They’ve barely had time to absorb the revelation when a nearby ship explodes. Rushing to help fight the ensuing fire, the Rannochs find the body of the powerful Duke of Bamford amid the charred wreckage.Bamford, a Tory diplomat and Raoul, a revolutionary, knew each other far better than anyone realized. Their unlikely alliance leads from the French Revolution through Napoleon and Josephine’s glamorous court to the glittering Congress of Vienna, and the horrors of Waterloo. The clues from their past hold the key to Bamford’s murder. As Malcolm and Mélanie connect the pieces, they find as many questions as answers. Raoul has even more secrets than either of them guessed—secrets they need to uncover to prevent his meeting the same fate as the duke. But the process may shake their relationships with him to the core. And their next goodbye could be their final parting.
The P'Town Murders
by Jeffrey RoundThis is a book that keeps you guessing by turning your expectations on end. The plot's great, and the people even better. Love 'em, but they won't leave you: P'Town's characters are unforgettable. Kiss, tell, and above all imbibe; The P'Town Murders serves up laughs and plot twists one after another, topping things off with one of the most salacious dinner parties of all time. You'll be howling, squirming, and phoning your friends to read them bits. A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, said Oscar Wilde--and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.