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The Last Mayan (The Alan Graham Mysteries #5)
by Malcolm ShumanIn the Yucatán, Alan Graham discovers either the greatest find of the twentieth century—or the greatest hoaxSearching the Gulf of Mexico for the legendary Isle of Gold, an explorer and his crew sail into a cyclone, which tears apart their ship, nail by nail. When he comes to, the captain is alone, captured by natives and facing unfathomable forms of torture. Centuries later, archaeologist Alan Graham experiences a torment of his own in the Yucatán when his beloved wife skips out on their vacation—and their marriage. He returns to Mexico to visit his lover, Pepper Courtney, who is there on a dig, but finds that she has abandoned him too: She has gone into the jungle searching for evidence of a long-lost voyage of exploration. Graham chases after her and they find something that could rewrite history—if they manage to escape the jungle alive.
The Phantom of the Opera: In English Translation (Fast Track Classics Ser.)
by Gaston LerouxThe classic Gothic novel that inspired the blockbuster musical There is a ghost in the Paris Opera House. Singers, dancers, and stagehands have all seen him lurking in the shadows of the set, and each describes his face differently. Some say it is on fire, others that it is bare bone, and a terrified few say that he has no face at all. Outsiders dismiss the stories as theatrical superstition, but soon the phantom will reveal himself—and the Opera will never be the same. A crew member is found hanged, and every denizen of the theater is quick to blame the phantom. More deaths follow, until the phantom is forced to make himself known in the most spectacular manner possible. But when the mysterious ghost begins to admire a beautiful singer, it is the beginning of something magnificent: a love story as heartfelt and tragic as any opera ever staged. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices. &“The wildest and most fantastic of tales.&” —The New York Times Book Review
James, Fabulous Feline: Further Adventures of the Connoisseur Cat (The Connoisseur Cat #2)
by Harriet HahnThe excellent adventures of the aristocratic British feline continue as James puts his best paw forward to solve crimes while indulging in the finer things in life James is enjoying life at Baron&’s Chambers, the London apartment house where he shares a flat with his sometime handler, an American fine arts agent. But his deductive abilities will be put to the test when he&’s called on to detect philatelic forgeries at Thwaites, one of the city&’s great auction houses. The recently knighted cat also finds time to coach a croquet team, oversee rehearsals of a sequel to Cats, and help deliver a baby. Not to be outdone by cheesy actors or blundering attorneys, he makes his film debut and testifies in a criminal trial at the Old Bailey. But he has a special place in his heart for St. James&’s Palace, the address he longs to call home. This delightful sequel to James the Connoisseur will prove irresistible catnip for feline lovers.James, Fabulous Feline is the 2nd book in the Connoisseur Cat novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Always the Sun: Always The Sun, Natural History, And Heartland
by Neil CrossLonglisted for the Man Booker Prize: From the creator of Luther comes a gripping tale of the deep bonds between father and sonAlways the Sun finds one man pushed past his limit, walking a wobbly line between safeguarding and carnage. While mourning the death of his wife and chasing away the darkness with a bottle, widower Sam looks for a fresh start. Dragging his frail thirteen-year-old son, Jamie, with him, Sam abandons their life in Hackney to return to his hometown. On the outside, things appear to be improving: Sam finds a job as a nurse at a local psychiatric hospital, his older sister continues to offer whatever emotional support she can, and Jamie enrolls at Churchill Comprehensive. But Jamie seems to be having trouble fitting in at school. A group of kids led by a particularly savage bully target the boy on his very first day, and the administration is apathetic at best and complicit in Jamie&’s continued torment at worst. A meeting with the bully&’s father yields no answers, and soon after, Jamie comes home bearing real, physical scars. Sam is left at a crossroads. With no one able or willing to help, how far will he go to protect his child?
An Ordinary Woman: A Dramatized Biography of Nancy Kelsey
by Cecelia HollandThe remarkable story of the courageous young pioneer who endures the hardships of the wilderness to become the first American woman to enter California A hard life in the Missouri wilderness has made young Nancy Roberts Kelsey strong, fearless, and ready for anything. In the year 1841, the seventeen-year-old wife and mother joins her husband, Ben, and with an infant in her arms, sets off in pursuit of the dream called California. Halfway across the continent, with the worst of the journey still to come, most of their party opts for the safer passage to Oregon, but the Kelseys and their friends choose a more direct route to the western coast—a fateful decision that will lead them across the Great Basin and over the Sierra Nevadas, through confrontations with native tribes and merciless weather. But a different sort of peril awaits them at farthest edge of the frontier from the powerful Mexican dons who view all new arrivals as threats to their sovereignty—setting a seemingly ordinary woman on an extraordinary path that will ultimately change the course of American history. Based in part on the actual letters and writings of Nancy Kelsey, An Ordinary Woman is a stunning tale of courage, determination, and grand adventure that celebrates the remarkable life and achievements of a little-known but essential character from the pages of history—yet another masterful blending of fiction and fact from Cecelia Holland, one of America&’s premier historical novelists.
Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of Orisha #3)
by Tomi AdeyemiBrace for the storm of Tomi Adeyemi’s #1 New York Times-bestselling Legacy of Orïsha series finale.New allies rise.The Blood Moon nears.Zélie faces her final enemy.The king who hunts her heart.When Zélie seized the royal palace that fateful night, she thought her battles had come to an end. The monarchy had finally fallen. The maji had risen again. Zélie never expected to find herself locked in a cage and trapped on a foreign ship. Now warriors with iron skulls traffic her and her people across the seas, far from their homeland.Then everything changes when Zélie meets King Baldyr, her true captor, the ruler of the Skulls, and the man who has ravaged entire civilizations to find her. Baldyr’s quest to harness Zélie’s strength sends Zélie, Amari, and Tzain searching for allies in unknown lands.But as Baldyr closes in, catastrophe charges Orïsha’s shores. It will take everything Zélie has to face her final enemy and save her people before the Skulls annihilate them for good.-The Complete Legacy of Orïsha Series:Children of Blood and Bone (Book 1)Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Book 2)Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Book 3)
Deep Freeze: A Novel (The Revival Series #1)
by Michael C. GrumleyFrom the bestselling author of the Breakthrough series: In his next near-future thriller, Michael C. Grumley explores humanity’s thirst for immortality—at any cost... “A fast-paced juggernaut of a story, where revelations pile upon revelations, building to a stunning conclusion that will leave readers clamoring for more.” —James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sigma Force series The accident came quickly. With no warning. In the dead of night, a precipitous plunge into a freezing river trapped everyone inside the bus. It was then that Army veteran John Reiff’s life came to an end. Extinguished in the sudden rush of frigid water. There was no expectation of survival. None. Let alone waking up beneath blinding hospital lights. Struggling to move, or see, or even breathe. But the doctors assure him that everything is normal. That things will improve. And yet, he has a strange feeling that there's something they're not telling him. As Reiff's mind and body gradually recover, he becomes certain that the doctors are lying to him. One by one, puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place, and he soon realizes that things are not at all what they seem. Critical information is being kept from him. Secrets. Supposedly for his own good. But who is doing this? Why? And the most important question: can he keep himself alive long enough to uncover the truth?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Witch King (The Rising World #1)
by Martha WellsWinner of the Locus Award!From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes a remarkable story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose."I didn't know you were a... demon.""You idiot. I'm the demon."Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' WITCH KING....After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well. But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence? Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions. He’s not going to like the answers. WITCH KING is Martha Wells’s first new fantasy in over a decade, drawing together her signature ability to create characters we adore and identify with, alongside breathtaking action and adventure, and the wit and charm we’ve come to expect from one of the leading writers of her generation.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Court of the Undying Seasons
by A.M. StricklandSarah J. Maas meets A Deadly Education in A.M. Strickland's lush, queer YA dark fantasy novel. In becoming a vampire, I’m less than a girl. And more.Or maybe I’m becoming what I always have been, deep inside.A blade.When nineteen-year-old Fin volunteers to take her secret love's place in their village's Finding, she is terrified. Those who are chosen at the Finding are whisked away to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls...or they don't survive long enough to become either.Fin is determined to forge a different path: learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago. But Courtsheart is as captivating as it is deadly, and Fin is quickly swept up in her new world and its inhabitants - particularly Gavron, her handsome and hostile vampire maker, whose blood is nothing short of intoxicating. As Fin begins to discover new aspects of her own identity and test her newfound powers, she stumbles across a string of murders that may be connected to a larger ritual - one with potentially lethal consequences for vampires and humans alike. Fin must uncover the truth and find the killer before she loses her life...or betrays her own heart.Court of the Undying Seasons is a deliciously dark romantic novel and a pitch perfect modern take on classic vampire tropes."With brutal romance, vicious stakes, and a twisty mystery, Court of The Undying Seasons takes everything we love about vampires and cranks it to a whole new level." —Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf and For the Throne
How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World
by Donald J. RobertsonHow can we apply the teachings of the greatest ancient philosopher to modern life?Socrates is the quintessential Athenian philosopher, the source of the entire Western philosophical tradition, and Godfather to the Stoics. He spent his life teaching practical philosophy to ordinary people in the streets of Athens, yet few people today are familiar with the wisdom he has to offer us.How to Think Like Socrates is an accessible and informative guide to the life of one of the greatest thinkers in history, and the first book to focus on applying his ideas to our daily lives. Author Donald J. Robertson transports readers back to ancient Athens, expertly weaving together a page-turning account of a philosopher who eschewed material pleasures and stood by his beliefs, even in the face of controversy, with a steadfastness that ultimately resulted in his execution.How to Think Like Socrates highlights the continuing value of the Socratic Method to modern life. As a practicing cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, Robertson also uses his expertise to reveal many parallels between the evidence-based concepts and techniques of modern psychology and the philosophy of Socrates, and shows how his philosophical insights can guide and benefit all of us to this day.
Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix (Remixed Classics #8)
by Cherie DimalineIn the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This queer YA reimagining of The Secret Garden subverts the cishet and white status quo of the original in a tale of family secrets wonderful and horrifying.Mary Lennox didn’t think about death until the day it knocked politely on her bedroom door and invited itself in. When a terrible accident leaves her orphaned at fifteen, she is sent to the wilderness of the Georgian Bay to live with an uncle she's never met.At first the impassive, calculating girl believes this new manor will be just like the one she left in Toronto: cold, isolating, and anything but cheerful, where staff is treated as staff and never like family. But as she slowly allows her heart to open like the first blooms of spring, Mary comes to find that this strange place and its strange people—most of whom are Indigenous—may be what she can finally call home.Then one night Mary discovers Olive, her cousin who has been hidden away in an attic room for years due to a "nervous condition." The girls become fast friends, and Mary wonders why this big-hearted girl is being kept out of sight and fed medicine that only makes her feel sicker. When Olive's domineering stepmother returns to the manor, it soon becomes clear that something sinister is going on.With the help of a charming, intoxicatingly vivacious Metis girl named Sophie, Mary begins digging further into family secrets both wonderful and horrifying to figure out how to free Olive. And some of the answers may lie within the walls of a hidden, overgrown and long-forgotten garden the girls stumble upon while wandering the wilds...The Remixed Classics SeriesA Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. LeeSo Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. MorrowTravelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae SafiWhat Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha SuriSelf-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemoreMy Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn BayronTeach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb RoehrigInto the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix by Cherie DimalineMost Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa
Stinetinglers 2: 10 MORE New Stories by the Master of Scary Tales (Stinetinglers #2)
by R. L. StineFrom R.L. Stine, the master of horror for young readers, comes ten new stories that are sure to send a shiver down your spine. Two kids embark on a field trip to the zoo...and stumble upon a creature they never expected to meet. A boy makes a machine that puts kids in charge...but at what cost? A child is sure his new house is haunted...but is it just in his head? And each story comes with a personal introduction from Stine himself.Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers 2 is perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books who want even more scares. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and beware: you might be sleeping with the lights on tonight!
The Eighth Detective: A Novel
by Alex PavesiA New York Times Top Ten Thriller of 2020 "Dizzying, dazzling… When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over." —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window "One of the most innovative mysteries in recent memory." - The Wall Street JournalThere are rules for murder mysteries. There must be a victim. A suspect. A detective. Grant McAllister, a professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked all the rules out – and wrote seven perfect detective stories to demonstrate. But that was thirty years ago. Now Grant lives in seclusion on a remote Mediterranean island, counting the rest of his days. Until Julia Hart, a brilliant, ambitious editor knocks on his door. Julia wishes to republish his book, and together they must revisit those old stories: an author hiding from his past and an editor keen to understand it. But there are things in the stories that don’t add up. Inconsistencies left by Grant that a sharp-eyed editor begins to suspect are more than mistakes. They may be clues, and Julia finds herself with a mystery of her own to solve. Alex Pavesi's The Eighth Detective is a love letter to classic detective stories with a modern twist, where nothing is as it seems, and proof that the best mysteries break all the rules.
The Night Hunt
by Alexandra ChristoFrom Alexandra Christo, the author of To Kill a Kingdom, comes The Night Hunt, a dark fantasy romance about a monstrous girl who feeds on fear and the Gods-cursed boy who falls in love with her.Atia is a monster who feeds on fear. As the last of her kind, she hides in the shadows of the world to escape the wrath of the unpredictable Gods. Silas is a Herald, carrying messages and ferrying the dead as punishment for a past he can’t remember. Stripped of his true name, he yearns to recover his identity.Atia would never dream of allying with someone like him, but when she breaks a sacred law and the Gods send monsters to hunt her, Silas offers an irresistible deal: he’ll help avenge her family and take on the Gods who now hunt her, if she helps him break his curse and restore his humanity. All they need to do is kill three powerful creatures: a vampire, a banshee, and one of the very Gods who destroyed both their lives. Only together can they finally rewrite their destinies.
This Dark Descent (A This Dark Descent Novel)
by Kalyn JosephsonCalled a "fierce and darkly magical thrill ride" by acclaimed author Ava Reid, NYT bestselling Kalyn Josephson delivers a spellbinding fantasy full of intrigue, romance, and pulse-pounding action, perfect for fans of The Shadows Between Us and The Scorpio Races.Every ten years, the citizens of Veradell gather for the Illinir, a treacherous horse race famous for its alluring prize money and high body count. Tough-as-nails Mikira Rusel, the last in a line of renowned horse breeders, is desperate to win this year's race at any cost. But to make it to the track, she'll need to gather new friends and escape the crosshairs of old foes . . .A beautiful rogue enchanter with a hidden past just beginning to come into her true power.A dashing and ambitious young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle. A brilliant, prickly loner loyal only to his friends, and his loveable but mysterious pet cat. A ruthless aristocrat determined to protect his family's prestige -- and unrivaled power.Each one has their own vengeful secrets to protect and reasons to help -- or hinder -- Mikira's odds of winning the Illinir. And in a world as dangerous as this, who among them will be left standing at the finish line?
Paxton's War (The Paxton Saga #5)
by Kerry Newcomb Frank SchaeferAs the British armies march on Charleston, a young girl dreams of love For two years, General Washington and his rebels have outfoxed the British army, humiliating them so soundly that the redcoats have been forced to change strategy. Let Washington have the Northern colonies, they decide—we will attack the South. And the prime target, the jewel of the Southern states, is Charleston. In this cosmopolitan port city where war is about to erupt, Colleen McClagan watches the sea and waits for her lover&’s return. It has been four years since Jason Paxton crossed the Atlantic to study music in Europe, and Colleen has counted every day. When he finally returns to the colonies, the two find they are united not only by love, but also by a thirst for liberty. As Colleen writes revolutionary pamphlets, Jason joins the patriots as a secret agent, staking his life on the hope that the land of his birth will one day be free.
The Baby: A Video Novel
by VivaA former superstar of Andy Warhol&’s Factory offers an intimate tale of sex, drugs, art, and motherhood, based on video recordingsThe Baby is not your average parenthood novel. Viva, a.k.a. Viva Superstar—actor, writer, painter, denizen of Andy Warhol&’s world-famous Factory, and early pioneer in video arts—weaves a tale of childbirth and motherhood with often-shocking candor, exploring a new mother&’s mixed emotions and her internal and external conflicts. Based on filmed records created by Viva&’s husband, Michael Auder, of their daughter&’s difficult birth and early development, and interspersed with stills from their life, Viva&’s addictive video novel tells the story of a fictional couple, Augustine and Frederick Marat, whose unorthodox parenting takes them from New York to Paris to Casablanca to California. In her own unique style, Viva explores breast-feeding and breast pumps, infidelity and incest while offering startlingly intimate details of a family&’s singular lifestyle. An unabashedly autobiographical literary invention, alternately outrageous and honest, revelatory and touching, The Baby is truly one of a kind.
Blood Sports: A Novel
by Eden RobinsonA young man with a questionable past must survive a nightmare of terror and torture in this dark and powerful thriller from one of Canada&’s most acclaimed contemporary authorsThe Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, Canada, is about as close to urban hell as you can get in the Western Hemisphere. Yet in this cauldron of drugs, shattered dreams, and extreme violence, Tom Bauer and his girlfriend, Paulie—both ex-junkies and parents of baby Melody—are trying to make a life for themselves. For years, Tom, an epileptic, was firmly under the thumb of his psychopathic criminal cousin Jeremy, who dragged Tom down into a netherworld of addiction, prostitution, pornography, sadism, and murder. But those days are over, or so Tom believes—until the day that he returns home from work to find two vicious thugs waiting for him and Paulie, and little Mel gone. What happens next will change Tom&’s life forever and outdo every horror that still dwells in the shadows of his memory. In this sequel to her critically acclaimed novella &“Contact Sports,&” author Eden Robinson returns to the gritty urban landscape of inner-city Vancouver and offers a disturbing view of human lives on a razor&’s edge. A story that jumps freely backward and forward in time, presented in a brilliant and unconventional tapestry of literary styles, Robinson&’s second novel is truly a mind-blowing experience that will thrill, move, enthrall, and horrify readers in equal measure.
King of the Golden Gate
by Kerry Newcomb Frank SchaeferAfter a kidnapping goes awry, an heiress lands in the clutches of a San Francisco brigand Angelica Liberty is on a tour of the Far East when she learns that her father is dying. None of her family&’s vessels are in port, so she takes passage on a shabby old bark, the Lorraine Marie. The ship is passing through the San Francisco fog when pirates come over the side. They swarm the ship, killing the crew in an attempt to kidnap Angelica. But before she can be captured, she slips into the salty water below. Angelica is found by Jeremy Drake, owner of the Lorraine Marie, which the pirates left to burn in the harbor. Drake is ruined, but all is not lost. In the rough-and-tumble world of the Barbary Coast—the most notorious red-light district in the country—fortunes can be won and lost in an instant. With Angelica at his side, Drake still has a chance to rule this city.
Trick or Treat: A Novel
by Lesley GlaisterIn this &“perfect, black little tale&” from the author of Honour Thy Father, a feud between neighbors in an English town escalates to terrifying consequence (The Observer). In northern England, along a block of row houses, lives the widow Nell. Lately, she&’s had a difficult time adjusting to her new lodger—her son Rodney. An ex-con imprisoned for something no one likes to talk about, Rodney has moved back into his old bedroom. He is his mother&’s pride and shame. Two doors down from Nell is Olive. Obese, childless, near senile, and given to violent mood swings, Olive is comforted by her pets, and coddled by a patient lover. Once, Olive was beautiful. Once, Olive was Nell&’s best friend. But for more than fifty years now, they&’ve been separated by a paralyzing hatred and rivalry. Then, one night, the eight-year-old son of a new neighbor invites them both to a Guy Fawkes Day bonfire in his backyard. Amid the smoldering embers of fall leaves, a spark of another kind is ignited. Their violent rage is set to explode, a buried past will be revealed, and no one on their quiet little block is ever going to feel safe again. In this &“absorbing&” (Los Angeles Times) novel from the Somerset Maugham Award winner, Glaister expertly reveals her &“uncomfortable knack of putting her finger on things we fear most&” (The Independent on Sunday). &“A cool, sure, bright entertainment.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“Before Gillian Flynn, there was Lesley Glaister.&” —Harper&’s Bazaar
German Existentialism
by Martin HeideggerThese pro-Nazi speeches by the author Being and Time are collected here to demonstrate the truly dark and shameful turn taken by the eminent philosopher. &“On the day of German Labor, on the day of the Community of the People, the Rector of Freiburg University, Dr. Martin Heidegger, made his official entry into the National Socialist Party.&” And so begins one of the most controversial texts available today. Heidegger, a German Nationalist and proud Nazi, thoroughly examines the history, the philosophy, and the rise to power of the Nazi movement in Germany. Martin Heidegger&’s distinguished Italian colleague, Professor Benedetto Croce, said of his German contemporary, &“This man dishonors philosophy and that is an evil for politics too.&” Croce&’s severe rebuke was not singular at the time when Hitlerism was rampant over Europe. It is true that among the almost one thousand professional philosophers of Germany and Austria only very few actively opposed National Socialism. On the other hand, no one degraded his history profession in the way that Heidegger did, by becoming a spokesman for National socialism and attempting to mold his theories into one pattern with Hitlerism.
Traplines: Stories
by Eden RobinsonFrom a writer whom the New York Times dubbed Canada&’s &“Generation X laureate&” comes a quartet of haunting, unforgettable tales of young people stuck in the inescapable prison of familyA New York Times Notable Book and winner of Britain&’s prestigious Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, Traplines is the book that introduced the world to Canadian author Eden Robinson. In three stories and a novella, Robinson explodes the idea of family as a nurturing safe haven through a progression of domestic horrors experienced by her young, often helpless protagonists. With her mesmerizing, dark skill, the author ushers us into these worlds of violence and abuse, where family loyalty sometimes means turning a blind eye to murder, and survival itself can be viewed as an act of betrayal. In the title story, for a teenager named Will growing up on a Native reserve in northwestern Canada, guilt, race, and blind fidelity are the shackles chaining him to the everyday cruelty and abuse he is forced to endure. In &“Dogs in Winter,&” a girl recalls life with her serial-killer mother and fears for her own future. A young teen and the sadistic, psychopathic cousin who comes to live with him engage in a cat-and-mouse game that soon escalates out of control in &“Contact Sports,&” while in the final story, &“Queen of the North,&” a young Native girl deals in her own way with sexual molestation at the hands of a pedophile uncle. Each of these tales is vivid, intense, and disturbing, and Robinson renders them unforgettable with her deft flair for storytelling and a surprising touch of humor.
Seventh Heaven: A Novel (Virago Modern Classics #36)
by Alice HoffmanA New York Times bestseller about a 1950s suburb transformed by the arrival of a divorced mother: &“part American Graffiti, part early Updike&” (The New York Times). On Hemlock Street, the houses are identical, the lawns tidy, and the families traditional. A perfect slice of suburbia, this Long Island community shows no signs of change as the 1950s draw to a close—until the fateful August morning when Nora Silk arrives. Recently divorced, Nora mows the lawn in slingback pumps and climbs her roof in the middle of the night to clean the gutters. She works three jobs, and when her casseroles don&’t turn out, she feeds her two boys—eight-year-old Billy and his baby brother, James—Frosted Flakes for supper. She wears black stretch pants instead of Bermuda shorts, owns twenty-three shades of nail polish, and sings along to Elvis like a schoolgirl. Though Nora is eager to fit in on Hemlock Street, her effect on the neighbors is anything but normal. The wives distrust her, the husbands desire her, and the children think she&’s a witch. But through Nora&’s eyes, the neighborhood appears far from perfect. Behind every neatly trimmed hedge and freshly painted shutter is a family struggling to solve its own unique mysteries. Inspired by Nora, the residents of Hemlock Street finally unlock the secrets that will transform their lives forever. A tale of extraordinary discoveries, Seventh Heaven is an ode to a single mother&’s heroic journey and a celebration of the courage it takes to change.
The Sanctuary Sparrow: The Seventh Chronicle Of Brother Cadfael (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #7)
by Ellis PetersMedieval monk Brother Cadfael races to save a young man he believes is falsely accused of robbery—in the Silver Dagger Award–winning mystery series. In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound—a hunt in full cry. Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man. Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmith&’s son, has been accused of robbery and murder. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin&’s respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery—a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging, can stop.The Sanctuary Sparrow is the seventh book in the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, featuring a &“wily veteran of the Crusades.&” The historical mystery series earned Ellis Peters a Crime Writers&’ Association Silver Dagger Award—and a legion of devoted fans (Los Angeles Times).
The Last Gondola (The Mysteries of Venice #7)
by Edward SklepowichInvestigating a few lost trinkets, Urbino Macintyre discovers a mysterious murder Samuel Possle is Venice&’s oldest expatriate, a reclusive former playboy whose hedonistic youth would make the perfect subject for a book—that is, if any writer could make him talk. Biographer and amateur sleuth Urbino Macintyre has been trying for months to get an interview with Possle, and he is about to give up when his closest friend, the Contessa da Capo-Zendrini, offers to introduce him to Possle in exchange for a favor. Worthless items have gone missing from her home, and she wants Macintyre to find out if they were stolen or if her mind is beginning to slip. What appears to be an innocuous case will lead Macintyre down a treacherous canal. Interviewing Possle and searching for the contessa&’s missing baubles draws the detective into the city&’s gothic underbelly, where dark figures seem to lurk around every corner, and the fog conceals terrible secrets.