Ver. 1.0<

Stieg Larsson gleaned a remarkable degree of success before his too-early death in 2004. He had delivered to his publisher three remarkable crime novels; the initial book in his ‘Millennium’ sequence, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, had enjoyed an unprecedented success in his native Sweden before the translation took the UK by storm. Larsson had made a considerable mark as a crusading journalist, with a speciality in tackling political extremist groups. But he offered assistance to many people and groups who he felt were vulnerable – something of a modern hero, in fact.

One of Larsson's key achievements as a writer was to create an innovative kind of heroine for the crime novel. His unconventional sleuth, the highly intelligent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, is a confrontational young woman, whose Goth accoutrements sometimes alienate those around her (except the individuals she opts to have sexual relations with – strictly, that is, according to the rules she lays down). In the second book in the Millennium sequence, The Girl Who Played with Fire (as in its its predecessor), Lisbeth's closest ally is the older journalist Mikael Blomqvist, even though she has abruptly ended her emotional relationship with him. Lisbeth has left all she knows behinds her and has begun a relationship with a gauche young lover. But after a grim revenge run-in with a man who has abused her, she becomes a suspect in three murders, and is the subject of a nationwide search. Blomqvist, however, is convinced of her innocence (he has just been responsible for a blistering report on the sex trafficking industry in Sweden), and is determined to help her – whether she wants his help or not.

As with Larsson’s earlier book, this is highly compelling fare, with tautly orchestrated suspense; it's often grisly and uncompromising (not a problem for many readers), and the massive text may be longer than is good for it, but Larsson admirers won't begrudge the late author a word,and will be impatient for the third (and, regrettably, concluding) book in the sequence.

Karen Nichols was pert, blonde, in love with her and her life when Patrick Kenzie first met her. But six months later, she jumped naked from Boston 's Custom House, leaving behind a downward spiral of drug abuse, depression, and sexual misadventure. She was an utterly different woman and Kenzie wants to know why. What he finds is almost incomprehensible: a depraved stalker who carefully targeted Karen and slowly, methodically, exploited her every weakness, stripped away all that mattered to her, and then watched her self-destruct. Now as Kenzie and his former partner Angela Gennaro begin a psychological battle against a master sadist the law can't touch, they discover he's starting to learn their weaknesses, their loves and he's determined to tear their world apart.<

Becky is met haar halve familie in een camper op weg naar Las Vegas. Er moet van alles gebeuren. Geen paniek! Ze heeft een plan. Punt één: haar vader zoeken die er zomaar vandoor is gegaan. Punt twee: beste vriendin Suze helpen. Punt drie: Alicia Bitch Billington stevig aanpakken. Punt vier: leren gokken (wat haar aanvankelijk uitstékend afgaat). Hoe dan ook, Becky laat zich niet zomaar uit het veld slaan. Haar familie heeft haar nodig: Shopaholic grijpt in!

Recensie(s)
Becky, hoofdpersoon in de Shopaholic-reeks, treedt in dit deel ferm op, nu haar familie haar nodig heeft. Met haar man Luke, haar dochtertje Minnie (2½), haar hartsvriendin Suze, moeder en buurvrouw trekken ze in een camper door de Verenigde Staten, op zoek naar haar verdwenen vader plus echtgenoot van haar vriendin. Ze passeren Las Vegas, waar Becky aanvankelijk zeer succesvol gokt. De (zoek)tocht kent veel mooie, soms ook hilarische beschrijvingen (in de ik-vorm) van bezochte plaatsen, ontmoetingen en daarbij horende dialogen. Gaandeweg ontdekt de groep de reden van pa's verdwijnen. Becky speelt een fantasierijke rol bij de ontknoping. De Engelse schrijfster (1969) heeft met vaart en humor een niet zo voorspelbare verhaallijn neergezet. Na de problemen bij de tv en in Hollywood, Becky's huwelijk, zwangerschap en koopverslaving is deze kant van de hoofdpersoon verrassend. De auteur schrijft sinds 1995 ook chicklits onder haar eigen naam: Madeleine Wickham. Voor een deel is de ontroerende én humoristische ‘Shopaholic’-reeks verfilmd.
M. Willard
(source: Bol.com)

No one is more surprised than Lem Altick when it turns out he's actually good at peddling encyclopedias door to door. He hates the predatory world of sales, but he needs the money to pay for college. Then things go horribly wrong. In a sweltering trailer in rural Florida, a couple Lem has spent hours pitching to is shot dead before his eyes, and the unassuming young man is suddenly pulled into the dark world of conspiracy and murder. Not just murder: assassination – or so claims the killer, the mysterious and strangely charismatic Melford Kean, who has struck without remorse and with remarkable good cheer. But the self-styled ethical assassin hadn't planned on a witness, and so he makes Lem a deal: Stay quiet and there will be no problems. Go to the police and take the fall.

Before Lem can decide, he is drawn against his will into the realm of the assassin, a post-Marxist intellectual with whom he forms an unlikely (and perhaps unwise) friendship. The ethical assassin could be a charming sociopath, eco-activist, or vigilante for social justice. Lem isn't sure what is motivating Melford, but Lem realizes that to save himself, he must unravel the mystery of why the assassinations have occurred. To do so, he descends deeper into a bizarre world he never knew existed, where a group of desperate schemers are involved in a plot that could keep Lem from leaving town alive.

The Dwarf is the acrid journal of a court freak, a twenty-six-inch-tall misanthrope whose name, Piccoline, is mentioned only once, in passing, by another character. Thereafter called the Dwarf, he offers a distorted perspective on the fortunes of the Italian city-state whose prince he serves. Though generally slighted by them as an insignificant retainer, the Dwarf is able to observe important public figures and bear witness to actions that have dramatic consequences.

After strangling Jehosophat, the Dwarf has become the only dwarf at court and…

La sorprendente arte di preoccuparsi di menoe ottenere di più. Sei stressato, oberato e sopraffatto dalla vita? Stufo di compiacere tutti gli altri prima di compiacere te stesso? Allora è il momento di cominciare a sbattertene il ca**o! Pensa solo a quanto potrebbe essere migliore la tua vita se potessi dire di no alle cose di cui davvero non te ne importa nulla e avere più tempo, energia e finanze per dire sì alle cose che meritano. “Se vi siete sbattuti troppo per troppe cose e per troppo tempo. Siete strapazzati e straoberati dalla vita. Stressati, ansiosi e magari anche impanicati per tutti i vostri impegni. Il Magico Potere di Sbattersene il Ca**o è per tutti quelli come noi, che lavoriamo troppo, giochiamo troppo poco e non abbiamo mai abbastanza tempo da dedicare alle persone e alle cose che ci fanno davvero felici”. - Sarah Knight Se seguirai il Metodo NotSorry per imparare a sbattertene, il tuo spirito sarà alleviato, la tua agenda sarà alleggerita, e il tuo tempo e la tua energia saranno dedicati solo alle cose e alle persone che ti danno gioia. È una cosa che trasforma la vita. Leggendo Il Magico Potere di Sbattersene il Ca**o imparerai: - i semplici criteri da utilizzare per decidere se sbattersi o anche no; - come classificare gli sbattimenti in categorie per identificare meglio le noie e le gioie; - perché sbattersi per quello che pensano gli altri è il tuo peggiore nemico e come smettere di farlo; - i principi di base per sbattertene senza comportarti da stronzo; e ancora molto, molto di più! Una volta che avrai cominciato a mettere in atto il Metodo NotSorry per il riordino mentale non avrai più né voglia né bisogno di sbatterti senza motivo. Ti dà felicità? Allora continua a sbatterti, costi quel che costi. Ma forse la domanda più pertinente è: Ti crea fastidio? In caso positivo, devi smettere di sbatterti, più veloce della luce. E Sara Knight ti spiega come. "Ho sviluppato un programma per riordinare e riorganizzare il vostro spazio mentale sbattendovene il ca**o, dove sbattersene significa non dedicare tempo, energia e/o finanze a cose che non vi fanno felici e non migliorano la vostra vita in modo da avere più tempo, energia e/o finanze da dedicare alle cose che invece lo fanno. Si chiama Metodo NotSorry". È in due fasi: - Decidere quali sono le cose di cui te ne sbatti - Sbattersene E ovviamente Not Sorry (per nulla spiacente) è come dovresti sentirti quando porti a termine l’impresa. Il metodo è piuttosto semplice, e questo libro offre gli strumenti adatti e la giusta prospettiva per utilizzarlo alla perfezione e per migliorare drasticamente la tua esistenza quotidiana. In effetti, una volta che avrai cominciato a mettere in atto il Metodo NotSorry non avrai più voglia né bisogno di sbatterti senza motivo. Un irriverente manuale dal quale si impara a mandare i rompi balle a farsi fottere e a smettere di di vivere uno stile vita che non ci appartiene. L'autrice Sarah Knight: Vive a Brooklyn (quando a New York fa caldo) e nella Repubblica Dominicana (in tutti gli altri mesi) con suo marito e Doug, il loro gatto maleducato. Nel 2015 ha lasciato un lavoro presso una grande casa editrice per diventare freelance, una mossa che le ha permesso di sbattersi di meno per l’inverno, le riunioni e le conference call e molto di più per il sole e i mojito. Editor, scrittrice e laureata con lode a Harvard, dove è stata la prima presidente donna nella storia dell’Hasty Pudding Theatricals, si aspetta che gli inviti a tenere conferenze presso la sua gloriosa università comincino a piovere da un momento all’altro. Per ulteriori informazioni, visitate il sito sarahknightbooks.com.

Liss's first novel, A Conspiracy of Paper, was sketched on the wide canvas of 18th-century London 's multilayered society. This one, in contrast, is set in the confined world of 17th-century Amsterdam 's immigrant Jewish community. Liss makes up the difference in scale with ease, establishing suspense early on. Miguel Lienzo escaped the Inquisition in Portugal and lives by his wits trading commodities. He honed his skills in deception during years of hiding his Jewish identity in Portugal, so he finds it easy to engage in the evasions and bluffs necessary for a trader on Amsterdam 's stock exchange. While he wants to retain his standing in the Jewish community, he finds it increasingly difficult to abide by the draconian dictates of the Ma'amad, the ruling council. Which is all the more reason not to acknowledge his longing for his brother's wife, with whom he now lives, having lost all his money in the sugar trade. Miguel is delighted when a sexy Dutch widow enlists him as partner in a secret scheme to make a killing on "coffee fruit," an exotic bean little known to Europeans in 1659. But she may not be as altruistic as she seems. Soon Miguel is caught in a web of intricate deals, while simultaneously fending off a madman desperate for money, and an enemy who uses the Ma'amad to make Miguel an outcast. Each player in this complex thriller has a hidden agenda, and the twists and turns accelerate as motives gradually become clear. There's a central question, too: When men manipulate money for a living, are they then inevitably tempted to manipulate truth and morality?<