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Hopscotch
by Brian GarfieldBored with retirement, an ex-spy embarks on a dangerous game, in this Edgar Award winner from a crime writer who is &“one of the best&” (The New York Times). Miles Kendig is one of the CIA&’s top deep-cover agents, until an injury ruins him for active duty. Rather than take a desk job, he retires. But the tawdry thrills of civilian life—gambling, drinking, sex—offer none of the pleasures of the intelligence game. Even a Russian agent&’s offer to go to work against his old employers seems dull. Without the thrill of unpredictable conflict, Kendig skulks through Paris like the walking dead. To revive himself, he begins writing a tell-all memoir, divulging every secret he accumulated in his long career. Neither CIA nor KGB can afford to have it in print, and so he challenges them both: Until they catch him, a chapter will go to the publisher every week. Kendig&’s life is fun again, with survival on the line.
To the Barricades: The Anarchist Life of Emma Goldman
by Alix Kates Shulman&“A respectful and relevant biography of the fiery crusader&” from the feminist activist and author of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen (The New York Times Book Review). Writer, anarchist, revolutionary, feminist—Emma Goldman was all these things and more. She was a fiery advocate, taking bold stands on a wide range of issues including women&’s rights, homosexuality, capitalism, and the military draft. Her tumultuous childhood in Tsarist Russia fostered her rebelliousness and emboldened her opposition to violent authority. Upon arriving in New York in 1885, Goldman found a home in the anarchist movement in the United States. She traveled the country to deliver lectures on anarchism, and was jailed for urging unemployed workers to demand the food they needed. Goldman also aggressively supported Margaret Sanger&’s effort to educate women about birth control. Goldman was deported to Russia as fears of an anarchist revolution in the US grew. But back in her homeland, she didn&’t find the socialist paradise of worker equality and empowerment she had hoped would take root after the Bolshevik Revolution. Disillusioned, she left the Soviet Union and traveled the world to write and agitate on behalf of her causes. Goldman&’s radical legacy endures, revived during the Women&’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s. Her story provides inspiration for any woman who ever wanted to make a difference in the world.
Wild Times
by Brian GarfieldAn aged Western showman reflects over his long and colorful careerFew bother to separate the myth of Colonel Hugh Cardiff from his real life. The nation knows him as a sharpshooter, buffalo hunter, moving pictures pioneer, and one-time proprietor of the greatest Wild West show the nation has ever seen. Some of the stories are true, some exaggerated, and some rank among the wildest of tall tales. But for a man who has lived like Colonel Cardiff, the facts trump the myth. In the spring of 1868, Denver is the richest, wildest city west of the Mississippi. When an overweight Easterner named Dr. Bogardus rolls into town to announce a shooting contest with a $1,000 prize, ears prick up. Young Hugh wins the shoot with an ancient muzzle-loading rifle, knocking glass balls out of the air and missing only four out of one hundred targets. He is famous at nineteen, and the Colonel&’s wild life is just getting started.
Citizen Tom Paine
by Howard FastThe New York Times bestseller that&’s &“so glowingly human a picture of Tom Paine and America in the revolutionary days&” (The New York Herald). Thomas Paine&’s voice rang in the ears of eighteenth-century revolutionaries from America to France to England. He was friend to luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and William Wordsworth. His pamphlets extolling democracy sold in the millions. Yet he died a forgotten man, isolated by his rough manners, idealistic zeal, and unwillingness to compromise. Howard Fast&’s brilliant portrait brings Paine to the fore as a legend of American history, and provides readers with a gripping narrative of modern democracy&’s earliest days in America and Europe. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author&’s estate.
The Year of Silence
by Madison Smartt BellThe National Book Award–finalist movingly examines the lives of a group of New Yorkers deeply affected by one woman&’s troubled life—and death. Marian is haunted by an unspoken past reflected in the choices she makes. Whether it&’s her drug addiction or her dubious affairs, she finds herself increasingly adrift and alone. Yet in a city of millions, her story plays a part in the lives of others. Jaded cops who register Marian at a glance, a lover who agonizes over her abortion, a close friend stunned by her tragic overdose, a panhandling dwarf making the rounds in her Upper West Side neighborhood—each story weaves back and forth through time, revealing a compelling, compassionate portrait of one woman&’s tragic fate. In a novel whose &“structure combines delicacy and great tensile strength . . . Bell&’s voice is increasingly diverse, accurate and, in this book of mourning, powerfully moving&” (Publishers Weekly). One of America&’s finest storytellers shows once again that he is a writer of &“superb command&” (The New York Times).
As a Favor (The Jill Smith Mysteries #2)
by Susan DunlapA favor for her ex-husband leads Jill Smith to a blood-soaked crime sceneSomeone is stealing hubcaps from the Berkeley police department. An afternoon spent chasing the petty thief leaves beat cop Jill Smith exhausted, flustered, and in no mood to talk when her ex-husband Nat calls asking for a favor. A colleague of his at the county welfare department, Anne Spaulding, is missing. Jill doesn&’t care about her husband&’s new crush, but a note of fear in his voice compels her to investigate. She drives to Anne&’s house, where she finds the back door open, the living room trashed, and the walls caked in dried blood. Searching the apartment yields few clues. The woman liked make-up, exercise, and credit cards. The only item that points to a possible suspect is a pewter pen, which Jill recognizes as one of Nat&’s. She has no love for her ex-husband, but is she ready to arrest him for murder?This ebook features an illustrated biography of Susan Dunlap including rare images from the author&’s personal collection.
Paragon Walk: A Charlotte And Thomas Pitt Novel (The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novels #3)
by Anne PerryThe stylish gentlemen of London&’s Paragon Walk are suspects in a novel that &“combines murder with a profile of the morals and manners of Victorian society&” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). When innocent Fanny Nash of exclusive Paragon Walk dies in the arms of her exquisite sister-in-law, Jessamyn, Inspector Pitt is assigned to investigate her rape and murder. Every man of Paragon Walk is under suspicion, even Pitt&’s brother-in-law, Lord George Ashworth, who was the last to have seen her. Could it be the charming, enigmatic Frenchman? Fanny&’s cruel brother? Wealthy Dilbridge, who hosts wild, decadent parties? As Pitt digs deeper into the mystery, Paragon Walk&’s aristocratic haughtiness gives way to fear, its calm to hatred. To keep her sister Emily, Lady Ashworth, company in this difficult time, inquisitive Charlotte once again finds herself in the midst of a deadly mystery. In the drawing rooms of her sister&’s neighbors, Charlotte engages in witty and sharp-edged conversations that reveal unsavory intrigues and bitter rivalries. On Paragon Walk, Charlotte&’s probing despite Thomas&’s warnings may prove fatal.
Folly
by Susan MinotAn upper-class Boston woman struggles through a life constrained by duty in this &“dazzling&” historical novel by a prize-winning author (Chicago Tribune).Born into an affluent New England family at the turn of the twentieth century, Lillian Eliot engages in the coming-of-age rituals traditional of her social status. But when she meets Walter Vail, a charming and spontaneous New Yorker, her world is opened to new possibilities. As the Great War erupts, Walter leaves for Europe and marries another woman, and Lillian marries Gilbert Finch, an innocuous bachelor within her social circle. As the years pass, Lillian acquiesces to a life devoid of passion until, one day, Walter returns. In the tradition of Edith Wharton and E.M. Forster, Susan Minot brings to vivid life the world of the early twentieth century and the story of a woman searching for love despite society&’s constraints.This ebook features a new illustrated biography of Susan Minot, including artwork by the author and rare documents and photos from her personal collection.
Beasts of the Deep: Sea Creatures and Popular Culture
by Jon Hackett and Seán HarringtonBeasts of the Deep: Sea Creatures and Popular Culture offers its readers an in-depth and interdisciplinary engagement with the sea and its monstrous inhabitants; through critical readings of folklore, weird fiction, film, music, radio and digital games. Within the text there are a multitude of convergent critical perspectives used to engage and explore fictional and real monsters of the sea in media and folklore. The collection features chapters from a variety of academic perspectives; post- modernism, psychoanalysis, industrial-organisational analysis, fandom studies, sociology and philosophy are featured. Under examination are a wide range of narratives and media forms that represent, reimagine and create the Kraken, mermaids, giant sharks, sea draugrs and even the weird creatures of H.P. Lovecraft.Beasts of the Deep offers an expansive study of our sea-born fears and anxieties, that are crystallised in a variety of monstrous forms. Repeatedly the chapters in the collection encounter the contemporary relevance of our fears of the sea and its inhabitants – through the dehumanising media depictions of refugees in the Mediterranean to the encroaching ecological disasters of global warming, pollution and the threat of mass marine extinction.
Why Me? (The Dortmunder Novels #5)
by Donald E. WestlakeBe careful what you steal . . . A fast-paced crime caper from the Edgar Award–winning author and &“funniest man in the world&” (The Washington Post Book World). The Byzantine Fire is much more than a ninety-carat ruby. As a stone it&’s worth over a million dollars, a value vastly increased by its pure gold band—but its history makes it priceless. A ring that has been fought for with sword and pen, and passed from nation to nation by all manner of theft and trickery, it finally made its way to the United States. The US has agreed to return it to Turkey, but it&’s about to be stolen twice more. A gang of Greeks armed with Sten guns burst into the security room at JFK Airport and escape with the priceless stone, which they deposit in the safe at a small jeweler&’s shop in Queens. A few hours later, unlucky thief John Dortmunder, expecting a routine robbery, steals it again. Much blood has been shed for this little ruby, and Dortmunder&’s could be next.
The Eighth Dwarf (Mysterious Press-highbridge Audio Classics Ser.)
by Ross ThomasAn ex-spy and his sidekick hunt for a rogue assassin of Nazi war criminals—&“Thomas is without peer in American suspense&” (Los Angeles Times). Nicolae Polscaru, a three-and-a-half-foot-tall dwarf, is tossed into a Hollywood swimming pool by four drunken screenwriters, who take bets on how long he can tread water. Minor Jackson, his OSS training still fresh a year after World War II&’s end, beats the bullies senseless and pulls Nicolae from the water. A friendship is born. Jackson is broke, his spying days over, and Nicolae offers him a job. A former spy himself, the globetrotting Romanian has a commission to find Kurt Oppenheimer, an expert assassin of high-ranking Nazis. Kurt won&’t stop killing, no matter what the bloodshed will do to the fragile world peace, and the Soviets, the British, and the remains of the Nazi High Command all want his head. Jackson will beat them all to finding Kurt—unless his new friend betrays him first.
The Crooked Wreath (The Inspector Cockrill Mysteries #3)
by Christianna BrandFrom the Golden Age author of Green for Danger. &“You have to reach for the greatest of Great Names to find Brand&’s rivals in the subtleties of the trade&” (The New York Times). Sir Richard&’s family has spent years waiting for him to die, but despite his weak heart, the old man simply refuses to cooperate. In the meantime, he makes their lives miserable by changing his will every few months, depending on which of his strange brood he favors that moment. Now he calls them together to announce his most diabolical revision yet: complete disinheritance of all the wastrels who bear his name. But he never gets a chance to sign the papers—by morning, he&’s dead. Scotland Yard sends Inspector Cockrill, the only detective clever enough to unravel the family&’s tangle of jealousy and deceit. Each member had reason to kill Sir Richard, but which one plunged the syringe of poison into his heart? With a family this mad, nothing is as complicated as the truth.
Luciano's Luck
by Jack HigginsFrom the New York Times–bestselling author of The Eagle Has Landed and Dark Justice comes the World War II legend of American gangster Charles &“Lucky&” Luciano. It&’s 1943 and war is raging. The key to America and the Allies&’ first assault on Nazi-occupied Europe is the island of Sicily. But it is unknown whether the Sicilian people are willing to rise up and fight alongside the Allies. To secure their help, the US military turns to imprisoned mobster Lucky Luciano—the one man with the connections to the all-powerful Sicilian mafia that could change the course of the war in Italy. The price for his help? Nothing short of a full pardon. Sent in secret to Sicily, Luciano must use every bit of guile and ruthlessness he has to convince his underworld brethren to make a stand against the fascists who have overrun their land. If successful, his mission will pave the way for a full-scale invasion of Italy and aid the Allies in breaking Hitler&’s grip on Italy. But if he fails, the price in blood will be higher than anyone can imagine—and Luciano&’s will be the first spilled. For decades, author Jack Higgins has kept millions of readers around the world glued to the page with his breakneck pacing and shocking plot twists. Here, he takes the true story of the near-alliance between the US government and the mob during World War II to an explosive climax.
Bloodfire: Flame, Bloodfire, And Hot (The Fred Carver Mysteries #5)
by John LutzWhen a nervous husband asks him to track down his heroin addict wife, Fred Carver learns that not every client can be trusted When he meets Bob Ghostly, it&’s hardly the first time that Fred Carver has been asked to find a missing spouse. But Ghostly&’s tale about a beautiful woman who fled for no apparent reason doesn&’t quite convince Carver, who presses for more detail. Finally Ghostly admits it. His wife was beautiful, intelligent, and kind, but she was also a heroin addict. She fled their Florida home with half their savings—nearly $10,000—and he&’s afraid she&’s going to put it straight into her veins. Carver goes looking for the troubled young bride, but when she shows up on her own—terrified and looking for protection—a routine case becomes one that could prove lethal for the well-meaning PI. This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s personal collection. Bloodfire is the 5th book in the Fred Carver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
The Savage Day (The Simon Vaughan Novels #2)
by Jack HigginsA desperate man goes up against the IRA to buy his freedom in this heart-racing thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Midnight Bell. After surviving the war in Korea, Simon Vaughan decided the only loyalty he had was to the man in the mirror. For a while, the high-risk job of arms dealing seemed to be just the life for him. Too bad the Greek authorities didn&’t see it that way when they tossed him in prison. But now he&’s gotten a reprieve from an unlikely source: the British Army. And if he wants out, he&’s going to have to play their game. It seems that the Irish Republican Army has made off with a half-million dollars in gold bullion. The Brits want it back. And their best bet is to send someone tough, resourceful, and completely expendable—which is Vaughan to the letter. Venturing into the bloody underground of a violent rebellion, Vaughan must navigate a deadly maze of friends, foes, and those in between, if he&’s going to get the gold, get the bad guys, and get out in one piece . . . The author of the Sean Dillon and Liam Devlin series, including the classic The Eagle Has Landed, Jack Higgins has enthralled millions of readers around the world with his explosive novels of spies and espionage, heroes and villains, and fast-paced storytelling that have made him a true mastermind of the modern thriller.
The Devil Met a Lady: A Toby Peters Mystery (The Toby Peters Mysteries #17)
by Stuart M. KaminskyHired as a bodyguard for diva Bette Davis, this wisecracking Hollywood PI better fasten his seat belt, it&’s going to be a bumpy night. Bette Davis has three words to describe her hotel hideaway: &“What a dump!&” After two days locked in a rented room with the acid-tongued actress, private eye Toby Peters is starting to feel like he&’s her husband—instead of Arthur Farnsworth—and he wants a divorce. The diva&’s real hubby—an aeronautics engineer with a head full of government secrets and a gang of blackmailers on his trail—has hired Peters to keep Bette safe from kidnappers. But when thugs burst through the hotel room door, it&’s almost a relief. Almost . . . Because Peters still has a job to do. And to rescue the snatched star, he needs to crack a Nazi spy ring while at the same time keeping a bit of indiscreet evidence involving Bette and Howard Hughes from falling into the wrong hands . . . &“For anyone with a taste for old Hollywood B-movie mysteries, Edgar winner [Stuart M.] Kaminsky offers plenty of nostalgic fun&” in the Toby Peters mysteries. &“The tone is light, the pace brisk, the tongue firmly in cheek&” (Publishers Weekly).
Takeover
by Brian FreemantleA fight for control of the world&’s largest hotel chain turns viciousHarry Rudd has put his past behind him. He has forgotten his impoverished roots, his carefree college days, and his life with Angela. Forgetting Angela has been the hardest, but Rudd does what he can to keep his wife, who died giving birth to their first child, out of his mind. It is time to focus on business. With Angela&’s death, Rudd inherited Best Rest, once a modest chain of Boston motels, now a global hospitality empire. For a company of such size, growth is crucial, and Rudd aims to expand quickly. But Best Rest has enemies the chairman doesn&’t know and when his company hits a speed bump, the obstacle could prove deadly for Best Rest—and for Rudd. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
The Chocolate Cobweb (An\american Mystery Classic Ser. #0)
by Charlotte ArmstrongInvestigating her mysterious birth leads a bright young artist into perilFor a few hours after her birth, Amanda Garth had two fathers. One was John, the kind, forthright man who would raise her. The other was Tobias Garrison, a well-known California artist who, because of a mix-up in the hospital&’s nursery, briefly thought Amanda was his. The confusion was straightened out, and the misunderstanding is forgotten for twenty-three years, when questions about her birth cause Amanda to approach the Garrisons. This could prove a deadly mistake. Someone in that poisonous family is plotting a murder, and the last thing they want is another heir to the massive Garrison fortune. The quest for truth could mean death for the girl whose birth was shrouded in secrecy.
Midnight Guardians: A Max Freeman Mystery (The Max Freeman Mysteries #6)
by Jonathon KingA case of Medicare fraud leads a Florida PI into much darker territory in this crime novel by an Edgar Award winner. Private investigator Max Freeman makes his living tracking down the criminals lurking amid the beaches and trailer parks of south Florida. His latest case involves a conspiracy to defraud Medicare—but he quickly discovers there&’s more to it than a simple scam. Soon the former Philadelphia cop is calling upon all his old street instincts when an ex-drug kingpin known as the Brown Man turns up—and Freeman&’s girlfriend, Det. Sherry Richards, is put in harm&’s way. Midnight Guardians is an atmospheric, edge-of-your-seat crime novel by an author whose &“descriptions of Florida&’s backwaters put him right up there with James W. Hall and Randy Wayne White—excellent company indeed&” (Chicago Tribune). This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s life.
Line of Succession
by Brian GarfieldFive bombs upend the foundation of the American governmentSturka is an artist with explosives. A sturdy man approaching middle age, he learned his trade on the darkest battlefields of the twentieth century: Indochina, Palestine, Guyana, Biafra, and the fetid jungles of South America, where he fought alongside Che Guevera but was quick enough not to die with him. He doesn&’t know where his new employers hail from; he only knows how well they pay. Today he packs plastic explosive into the false bottoms of three handbags and two suitcases, to be left at strategic locations around Washington, D.C. But this is no ordinary café bombing. Today Sturka targets the men at the top of the American government. The attack causes a crisis of succession, the likes of which America has never seen. If the right man doesn&’t take charge quickly, the country will tear itself apart.
Dirty White
by Brian FreemantleWhen his son is caught trafficking cocaine, a successful financial advisor swears to take down the Colombian drug lords who sold it to himWalter Farr has done well for himself. One of the top investment counselors in New York, he has earned a fortune and amassed everything he could ever want, except a close relationship with his son, Howard. When the boy&’s mother died, Walter did what he could for their child, but each year Howard pulled further and further away. Even so, Walter never expected something like this. Howard has been arrested for importing cocaine. The charge is not trivial—Howard&’s crime could put him away for life—and to get him out of it Walter will do the unthinkable. He&’ll join the FBI to go after the dangerous Colombians who sold Howard the drugs in the first place. It&’s a gamble that could prove fatal, but Walter Farr will never fail his son again. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
Badlands (The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré #10)
by Peter BowenA mysterious cult takes over a ranch in this western thriller starring a crime solver who &“resonates with originality and energy&” (Chicago Tribune). The Eides have owned cattle in Montana since 1882, but a few days after they pull up stakes and sell their property, their homestead goes up in flames. When Métis Indian investigator Gabriel Du Pré arrives on the scene, nothing is left but the ashes. A serene young man appears, insisting the fires were set purposely and firmly asking Du Pré to leave. He is a representative from the Host of Yahweh, the millennial cult that has purchased the sprawling ranch on the edge of the Badlands, and arson is just the beginning of their suspicious behavior. At first, the people of Toussaint try to ignore the secretive cult. But when Du Pré gets a tip from an FBI contact that seven Host of Yahweh defectors were recently shot to death, he takes another look at the glassy-eyed conclave. Behind their peaceful smiles, great evil lurks. Badlands is the 10th book in The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Texas Summer: A Novel
by Terry SouthernAn evocative, poignant coming-of-age novel set in rural Texas in the 1950s Through events small and large, thirteen-year-old Harold Stevens grows up during a pivotal summer in the red-dirt backcountry of West Texas. With his friend C.K. Crow, the black field hand who works for Harold&’s father, he shoots deer and quail, fishes for catfish, mends fences, grows and learns about marijuana, and tests his emerging manhood against bullies, bulls, and the irresistible charms of his horse-riding older cousin. During a hysterical trip to a circus sideshow, Harold and a buddy sneak backstage to see &“The Great Hermaphrodite&” and the &“funny little old Monkey Man,&” whom they try to buy a beer. But danger waits on the fringe of this innocent time. When C.K.&’s brother, Big Nail, appears after escaping from a chain gang, an inevitable and violent confrontation between the brothers is set in motion—a confrontation that will mark the end of Harold&’s childhood. This insideview of Southern&’s roots in Alvarado, Texas, where pastoral innocence belied an undercurrent of racism and violence, brings this novel of a boy&’s transition to maturity vividly alive. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Terry Southern including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s estate.
Churchill's German Special Forces: The Elite Refugee Troops Who Took the War to Hitler
by Paul MoorcraftThe existence of German-speaking units fighting for the Allied cause during WW2 has remained largely a well-kept secret. But seventy-five years on these units’ contribution to victory needs to be fully acknowledged. Prime Minister Winston Churchill had no qualms about using native German speakers from Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and of course Germany itself. The majority were Jews who had fled persecution. Two examples of these secret units were X Troop Commandos and the Special Interrogation Group. The SIG men deserve their legendary status. They fought, and often died, wearing Wehmacht uniform. As this superbly researched book reveals that, after infiltrating Field Marshal Rommel’s Afrika Korps, one detachment even drew Nazi pay. Inevitably once the existence of SIG units became known, their immediate execution on capture was ordered, unless their temporary reprieve would reveal intelligence under torture. We learn how Churchill’s initiative was copied by both the Americans and the Russians. Post-war SIG and X Troop survivors joined British special forces or were used to hunt down Nazi war criminals. All this and more is covered in this ground-breaking book by a writer who is both a leading historian and foreign correspondent.
Blue Movie
by Terry SouthernA darkly hilarious, wildly erotic satire of Hollywood from &“the only author capable of handling mayhem on a gigantic scale&” (Esquire). King B., the world&’s most admired filmmaker—winner of a string of Oscars and awards from Cannes to Venice—takes on a new project: the most expensive, star-studded, high-quality, X-rated film ever made. He joins forces with producer Sid Krassman, who&’s made a fortune with B movies, and Angela Sterling, a misunderstood sex symbol who longs to do &“serious&” work. After convincing the principality of Liechtenstein to host the production in exchange for a distribution exclusive to boost tourism, King B. and Krassman arrive with cast and crew to make The Faces of Love. While keeping the nature of the film secret from American bankers, King B. lines up a host of European and American big-name stars. But word leaks out to the local religious groups and possibly even the Vatican. Between the Cardinal&’s attempts to sabotage production and the big egos and even bigger libidos behind the scenes, the enterprise plummets into hilarious anarchy. Blue Movie is comic eroticism at its best—populated by over-the-top characters, memorable dialogue, and perverse vignettes, and colored by razor-sharp insights into the film industry. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Terry Southern including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s estate.