A DARK AND STYLISH PAGE-TURNER FROM A BOLD NEW VOICE IN FICTION

Harry Bloch is a struggling writer who pumps out pulpy serial novels--from vampire books to detective stories--under various pseudonyms. But his life begins to imitate his fiction when he agrees to ghostwrite the memoir of Darian Clay, New York City's infamous Photo Killer. Soon, three young women turn up dead, each one murdered in the Photo Killer's gruesome signature style, and Harry must play detective in a real-life murder plot as he struggles to avoid becoming the killer's next victim.

Witty, irreverent, and original, The Serialist is a love letter to books--from poetry to pornography--and proof that truth really can be stranger than fiction.

<

SUMMARY: In the 25th century, only the Shoal possess the secret of faster-than-light travel (FTL), giving them absolute control over all trade and exploration throughout the galaxy. Mankind has operated within their influence for two centuries, establishing a dozen human colony worlds scattered along Shoal trade routes. Dakota Merrick, while serving as a military pilot, has witnessed atrocities for which this alien race is responsible. Now piloting a civilian cargo ship, she is currently ferrying an exploration team to a star system containing a derelict starship. From its wreckage, her passengers hope to salvage a functioning FTL drive of mysteriously non-Shoal origin. But the Shoal are not yet ready to relinquish their monopoly over a technology they acquired through ancient genocide.<

SUMMARY: In Stealing Light, Dakota discovered the Shoal's dark and dangerous secret, now she works towards stopping not only the spread of this knowledge, but also the onset of the Nova war. Found adrift near a Bandati colony world far away from Consortium space, Dakota and Corso find themselves prisoners of the Bandati. It becomes rapidly clear to them, that the humanity's limited knowledge of the rest of the galaxy ' filtered through the Shoal ' is direly inaccurate. The Shoal have been fighting a frontier war with a rival species, the Emissaries, with their own FTL technology for over fifteen thousand years. Realising that the Shoal may be the Galaxy's one chance at sustained peace, Dakota is forced to work with Trader to prevent the spread of deadly knowledge carried on board the Magi ships. But it seems that the Nova War is inevitable'Ś<

SUMMARY: The nova war has begun to spread as the Emissaries wage a fierce and reckless campaign, encroaching on the area of space occupied by humanity and forcing the Shoal into a desperate retreat. While Dakota goes in search of the entity responsible for creating the Maker caches, Corso, left in charge of a fleet of human-piloted Magi ships, finds his authority crumbling in the face of assassination attempts and politically-motivated sabotage. If any hope exists at all, it lies in an abandoned asteroid a thousand light-years beyond the Consortium's borders, and with Ty Whitecloud, the only man alive with the skill to decipher the messages left behind by an ancient race of star travellers. Unfortunately Whitecloud is locked in a prison cell aboard a dying coreship adrift in space, awaiting execution for war crimes against Corso's own people. But if humanity has any hope of survival, Corso is going to have to find some way to keep him alive - and that's only if Dakota doesn't kill him first ...<

SUMMARY: Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep.And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.And perhaps someone else.<

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**The masterpiece that started *The New York Times* bestselling epic Sword of Truth**In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them--for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say.In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword--to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run out.This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

<

SUMMARY: A perfect murder A faceless witness A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth . . . and he’s only thirteen years old Meet Theodore Boone In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom. But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served. Brimming with the intrigue and suspense that made John Grisham a #1 international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer will keep readers guessing and pages turning.

<

Amazon:

This is one of the best pieces of classic literature ever written. It is not quite clear why hardly anyone has ever heard about in the United States. The novel, by Nobel Prize winning du Gard, is revered in Europe. It is not to be missed by any serious reader. Beware, though, that this is not the complete work. The English translation is divided in two volumes. This one, The Thibaults, is followed by Summer 1914. And since it is the same opus, one really should read both.

Description:

In 1937, French author Roger Martin du Gard was awarded the Literature Nobel Prize for "The Thibaults." Written between 1922 and 1929, this 800-page chronicle of a Parisian family is a rewarding work for readers interested primarily in psychological motivations of complex, life-like characters.
The book consists of six novels of varying length, although reading the novels out of sequence may result in a lack of overall clarity. The setting of the first novel is 1898, while the last novel concludes in 1913.

The panaoramic novels of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky were the main literary influences on du Gard's writings. Like those famous Russian authors, du Gard applied objectivity to produce incorruptible realism.

Roger Martin Du Gard's masterpiece, LES THIBAULT and SUMMER 1914 were published between 1922 and 1940. The novels follow two bourgeois families, one Catholic and the other Protestant, and depict the degeneration of society prior WW I. The principal characters are Jacques Thibaut, a socialist revolutionary, and his brother Antoine, a Cartesian doctor who seeks change through evolution. Jacques and Antoine are opposing personalities – when one is restless the other is calm – and the first two volumes of the series focus on their conflict. Both fail to see the signs of the approaching war. Jacques distributes pacifist pamphlets by air, his plane crashes and he is accidentally shot as a spy. Antoine is caught by a gas attack. His health rapidly deteriorates but he keeps a diary recording his thoughts and finally commits suicide.
<

SUMMARY: New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George is back with a spellbinding tale of mystery and murder featuring Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley. On compassionate leave after the murder of his wife, Thomas Lynley is called back to Scotland Yard when the body of a woman is found stabbed and abandoned in an isolated London cemetery. His former team doesn't trust the leadership of their new department chief, Isabelle Ardery, whose management style seems to rub everyone the wrong way. In fact, Lynley may be the sole person who can see beneath his superior officer's hard-as-nails exterior to a hidden-and possibly attractive-vulnerability. While Lynley works in London, his former colleagues Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata follow the murder trail south to the New Forest. There they discover a beautiful and strange place where animals roam free, the long-lost art of thatching is very much alive, and outsiders are not entirely welcome. What they don't know is that more than one dark secret lurks among the trees, and that their investigation will lead them to an outcome that is both tragic and shocking. A multilayered jigsaw puzzle of a story skillfully structured to keep readers guessing until the very end, This Body of Death is a magnificent achievement from a writer at the peak of her powers.<

The holidays can sometimes make or break a relationship. Now, in this trio of warm, witty, insightful stories, three very different women face questions of the heart that could change all their Christmases to come. . .When her husband's job takes him away from home indefinitely, a restless suburban wife and mother must confront Christmas alone--and decide whether she's better off that way. . .. A newlywed is haunted by thoughts of her husband's first wife--and comes up with an unusual plan to cure herself in time for Christmas. . .. Longing to fit into her family's picture perfect holiday celebration, a young woman finally brings home the perfect boyfriend--only to find that nothing is as she expected. Infused with the hopes and dreams of the season, these entertaining and exquisitely written stories by New York Times bestselling author Jane Green, Jennifer Coburn, and Liz Ireland will inspire your Christmas spirit, and stay with you all year long.<

Got Vampires? Ghosts? Monsters? We Can help!Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives, is your one-stop-shop for Urban Fantasy’s finest anthology of the supernatural. 14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction! Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives brings together popular characters from many Urban Fantasy paranormal investigative series, for your enjoyment. Meet the Detectives: Danny Hendrickson - from Laura Anne Gilman's Cosa Nostradamus series. Kate Connor - from Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series. John Taylor - from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series. Jill Kismet - from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series. Jessi Hardin - from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series. Quincey Morris - from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series. Marla Mason - from T. A. Pratt's Marla Mason series. Tony Foster - from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series. Dawn Madison - from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series. Pete Caldecott - from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series. Tony Giodone - from C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series. Jezebel - from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series. Piers Knight - from C. J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series. Cassiel - from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series. Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go bump in the night, but we are the ones who bump back!<

Any intolerable problem has a way out—the more impossible, the likelier it is sometimes!<

Threads, a reincarnation fantasy, opens with the death of Anne Boleyn, whose execution appears upon first sight to have resulted from her inability to produce a son for the king. As Anne reviews her life, and several previous lifetimes, she learns about the true depth of her relationship with Henry VIII. Furthermore, she learns that she has been given a hard task: to forgive him.

<

Product Description

Two ancient cultures, a lost treasure from the distant past: what powerful secrets does it conceal—and how far will some go to possess them? Dive into a new full-throttle hunt from master of the action-adventure thriller David Gibbins, as he unleashes…

The trail starts in the Roman ruins and leads to a shipwreck off the coast of Egypt. Soon the world’s top marine archaeologist, Jack Howard, and his team of scientific experts and ex-Special Forces adventurers are pushing their way through the mysterious jungles of India, following in the footsteps of a legendary band of missing Roman legionnaires. Meanwhile, at a remote lake in Kyrgyzstan, a beautiful woman has found evidence of a secret knowledge that has cost the lives of countless seekers through the centuries. And what Jack uncovers will lead him to dig not only into the ancient past but into his own family history. For over a century earlier his great-great-grandfather returned from an archaeological expedition in India forever traumatized by what he’d experienced. And in order to lay the past to rest, Jack will have to unearth an artifact that might have been better left buried—and with it a power that some of history’s most ruthless tyrants have sought to rule the world….

About the Author

Born in Canada, David Gibbins dived on his first shipwreck in the Great Lakes at the age of fifteen. He has worked in underwater archaeology all his professional life. After taking a PhD from Cambridge University, he taught archaeology in Britain and abroad, and is a world authority on ancient shipwrecks and sunken cities. He has led numerous expeditions to investigate underwater sites in the Mediterranean and around the world. He currently divides his time between fieldwork, England and Canada.

<

SUMMARY: Before The Firm and  The Pelican Brief made him a superstar,  John Grisham wrote this riveting story of  retribution and justice -- at last it's available in a  Doubleday hardcover edition. In this searing courtroom  drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the  savage depths of racial violence...as he delivers  a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small  southern town...Clanton, Mississippi.  The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two  drunken and remorseless young man. The mostly  white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman  crime. Until her black father acquires an assault  rifle -- and takes justice into his own outraged  hands.For ten days, as burning crosses  and the crack of sniper fire spread through the  streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as  young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save  his client's life...and then his own...From the Hardcover edition.<

Amazon.com Review

Meet Oskar Matzerath, "the eternal three-year-old drummer." On the morning of his third birthday, dressed in a striped pullover and patent leather shoes, and clutching his drumsticks and his new tin drum, young Oskar makes an irrevocable decision: "It was then that I declared, resolved, and determined that I would never under any circumstances be a politician, much less a grocer; that I would stop right there, remain as I was--and so I did; for many years I not only stayed the same size but clung to the same attire." Here is a Peter Pan story with a vengeance. But instead of Never-Never Land, Günter Grass gives us Danzig, a contested city on the Polish-German border; instead of Captain Hook and his pirates, we have the Nazis. And in place of Peter himself is Oskar, a twisted puer aeternis with a scream that can shatter glass and a drum rather than a shadow. First published in 1959, The Tin Drum's depiction of the Nazi era created a furor in Germany, for the world of Grass's making is rife with corrupt politicians and brutal grocers in brown shirts:

There was once a grocer who closed his store one day in November, because something was doing in town; taking his son Oskar by the hand, he boarded a Number 5 streetcar and rode to the Langasser Gate, because there as in Zoppot and Langfuhr the synagogue was on fire. The synagogue had almost burned down and the firemen were looking on, taking care that the flames should not spread to other buildings. Outside the wrecked synagogue, men in uniform and others in civilian clothes piled up books, ritual objects, and strange kinds of cloth. The mound was set on fire and the grocer took advantage of the opportunity to warm his fingers and his feelings over the public blaze.

As Oskar grows older (though not taller), portents of war transform into the thing itself. Danzig is the first casualty when, in the summer of 1939, residents turn against each other in a pitched battle between Poles and Germans. In the years that follow, Oskar goes from one picaresque adventure to the next--he joins a troupe of traveling musicians; he becomes the leader of a group of anarchists; he falls in love; he becomes a recording artist--until some time after the war, he is convicted of murder and confined to a mental hospital.

The Tin Drum uses savage comedy and a stiff dose of magical realism to capture not only the madness of war, but also the black cancer at the heart of humanity that allows such degradations to occur. Grass wields his humor like a knife--yes, he'll make you laugh, but he'll make you bleed, as well. There have been many novels written about World War II, but only a handful can truly be called great; The Tin Drum, without a doubt, is one. --Alix Wilber

Review

"Funny, macabre, disgusting, blasphemous, pathetic, horrifying, erotic, it is an endless delirium, an outrageous phantasmagoria in which dust from Goethe, Hans Andersen, Swift, Rabelais, Joyce, Aristophanes and Rochester dances on the point of a needle in the flame of a candle that was not worth the game' Daily Telegraph"

<

Arriving at Pixie Hollow, home of the Never fairies, Tinker Bell is not so pleased to discover her special talent as a tinker fairy. She hopes to be a nature fairy, to travel to the mainland to bring about the seasons. When she tries to switch her talent, she risks bringing the end to springtime! Find out what happens in this retelling of the movie, featuring full-color scenes!<

Fun books

Choose a genre