A of revenge, alienation, genealogy, history, and the occult, set in an isolated apartment complex targeted for destruction in a gloomy section of Brooklyn. Views: 30
"When we meet Meridian Hill in the opening pages of this novel, she is leading a demonstration by a group of black children in a small town in the deep south. The children are very like the child Meridian was; the town is very like the one she was born in; town and children alike are part of something Meridian chose to leave when, in a spirit of idle curiosity, she volunteered to help the civil rights movement in her native town. Her story is a tally of the cost of following through the consequences of that decision. It involves not only a break with her upbringing and the desertion of her child, who was part of that upbringing, but also a break with three people who became enmeshed in the new life Meridian had chosen: Anne-Marion, her friend from college; Truman, her lover; and Lynne, Truman's wife. All three believe like Meridian, in the cause of civil rights; but in their different ways each is destroyed because they need a cause more than the cause needs them. The price Meridian pays buys, for her alone, a resolution that is neither desperation nor defeat. Alice Walker's achievement is to bring home to us the cost of commitment to a cause both to those who want to help and to those they try to serve; and to do this through characters whom their creator never has to manipulate because she has endowed them with all the complexity of real people who can, alas, manipulate themselves all to ably in the cause of tragedy. Yet this is also a heartening book, because just as Meridian's friends connive at their own defeat with complete credibility, so Meridian Hill becomes a true heroine, in whose honesty, strength and dignity we believe completely." About the AuthorBest-selling novelist ALICE WALKER is the author of five other novels, five collections of short stories, six collections of essays, seven volumes of poetry, including the most recent Hard Times Require Furious Dancing, and several children’s books. Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Views: 30
A wave of 'babynappings' has terrified parents from San Diego to Portland. And when the Pied Piper - named for the penny flute he leaves in the cribs of his victims - claims his first Seattle infant, the investigation draws in homicide detective Lou Boldt. Assigned temporarily to Intelligence, Boldt's role is to keep the FBI out of the Seattle Police Department's way. Then the Pied Piper snatches Boldt's own daughter, promising that unless Boldt throws both the Feds and the SPD off his trail he'll never see his child again. Caught between his professional obligations and his fear for his daughter's life, Boldt launches his own private manhunt - and discovers how the Piper has managed to stay a step ahead of the police, elude capture, and find his small victims... ### Amazon.com Review A wave of babynappings has terrified parents from San Diego to Portland. And when the Pied Piper--named for the penny flute he leaves in the cribs of his victims--claims his first Seattle infant, the investigation draws in homicide detective Lou Boldt. Assigned temporarily to Intelligence so he can spend more time with his kids while his wife is hospitalized for chemotherapy, Boldt's role is to keep the FBI out of the Seattle Police Department's way. But FBI special agent Gary Flemming is a tough adversary--so tough it almost seems as if he's intentionally sabotaging the SPD's investigation. Then the Pied Piper snatches Boldt's own daughter, promising that unless Boldt throws both the Feds and the SPD off his trail he'll never see his child again. Caught between his professional obligations and his fear for Sarah's life, Boldt launches his own private manhunt with the help of John La Moia, his replacement in homicide, and police psychologist Daphne Matthews, his closest friend in the department. They form a sub rosa task force under the noses of the Feds and the SPD, and soon discover how the Piper has managed to stay a step ahead of the police, elude capture, and find his small victims. The chase moves from Seattle to Portland to New Orleans, culminating in a thrilling denouement in the daffodil fields of Washington's Skagit Valley. Combining strong characterizations with an impressive command of both policing and pacing, Ridley Pearson, author of *Chain of Evidence* and *Beyond Recognition*, delivers another sure winner in this outing for Lou Boldt. *--Jane Adams* ### From Publishers Weekly A serial kidnapper called the Pied Piper?the villain of Pearson's ingenious, fast-moving 11th thriller?has targeted Seattle, and newly promoted Lieutenant Lou Boldt (last seen in Beyond Recognition) is called in on the case by John LaMoia of the Seattle Crimes Against Persons unit. Boldt, whose wife, Liz, is undergoing chemotherapy, soon discovers that the Pied Piper has managed to target families, steal children and vanish from city after city seemingly at will, although the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent Gary Flemming, has been chasing the serial kidnapper across the country for months. And it looks like the same thing will happen in Seattle, especially when vital information is withheld by the FBI in a turf battle with the locals. But just as Boldt starts asking the right questions, the Pied Piper abducts his daughter, Sarah. It's twists like this that fuel the rest of the novel as Pearson tightens the screws on Boldt as he tries to find his daughter and prevent another kidnapping. The plot begins simply and becomes wonderfully complex, stretching from Seattle to New Orleans; while the lucky car accident that helps break the case wide open is somewhat facile, the work of Boldt and an expertly drawn supporting cast of characters will hold the attention of readers. As will be clear even to neophytes, Boldt's relationship with forensic psychologist Daphne Matthews, and the ongoing affair between two members of the task force, point to a lot of history between these characters, none of it confusing for first-timers, who may be tempted to pick up earlier novels to see whether they're all this good. $250,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club selections; author tour. Agent, Al Zuckerman. (Aug.) FYI: A mass market edition of Beyond Recognition will be published simultaneously. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 30
A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader. Views: 30
This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde’s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim’s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library. Views: 30
Every family has secrets, but the Fountains' are turning deadly… On a dark night, along a lonely country road, barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a young lady in distress and discovers a sports car with a corpse behind the wheel. The girl protests her innocence, and Amberley believes her—at least until he gets drawn into the mystery and the clues incriminating Shirley Brown begin to add up… In an English country-house murder mystery with a twist, it's the butler who's the victim, every clue complicates the puzzle, and the bumbling police are well-meaning but completely baffled. Fortunately, in ferreting out a desperate killer, amateur sleuth Amberley is as brilliant as he is arrogant, but this time he's not sure he wants to know the truth… Views: 29
When Julia Probyn came to sun-lit Portugal to cover a royal wedding for her paper, the last thing she expected was to find herself involved in the escape of an important Hungarian priest, ruthless Communists who pursued him, and the affairs of a young Hungarian countess just released from behind the Iron Curtain.
The lvely countess, Hetta Paloczy, a convent school girl for two-thirds of her life and a cook to a rustic priest in Hungary for the rest, is suddenly plunged into an international society where social tact is just as important as the right clothes. Hetta had lived with poverty, hardship and danger for her daily bread and here, she vivdly relates her horrifying experiences in Soviet-dominated Hungary. Her adjustment to her new life in Portugal is complicated by the two men who are irresistibly drawn to her. One is a well brought-up American in the high Bostonian sense of the phrase; the other is outwardly much the conventional Englishman, but one who secretly adores recklessness. Views: 29
The recognition of failure and success is the theme of these eight short stories and the title novella from three-time National Book Award finalist Hortense CalisherExtreme Magic is Hortense Calisher's third collection of shorter works, after In the Absence of Angels (1951) and Tale for the Mirror (1962). Follow a drifting husband as he returns home and finds middle age in A Christmas Carillon. Listen with a daughter as she overhears a painful argument between her parents in The Gulf Between. Travel with a broken man as he heals after a tragic loss in Extreme Magic. Once again, Calisher captivates with her expressionistic prose and intricate characters. Views: 29
This is one of Mr. Keeler's finest mystery novels, developing his 'Webwork plot' construction - an intricate edifice built up on one of the most startling and ingenious ideas in mystery literature.Through the diabolical scheme to separate a man from his inheritance, Mr. Keeler throws a fascinating sidelight upon a criminal use of modern psychology.Real—thrilling mystery—told by a master of mystery stories. Views: 29
Arthur Fane arranges an unusual entertainment for his uncle, a long-term guest, and a few other witnesses — he hires Dr. Rich to hypnotise his wife Victoria. The guests, but not Victoria, have been shown that a gun in the room is actually harmless; everyone, including Victoria, is aware that a dagger provided is made of rubber. The hypnotised Victoria is invited to shoot her husband, and refuses; when told to stab him, though, she agrees. Unfortunately, someone has substituted a real dagger for the rubber one, even though everyone in the room agrees that it would have been impossible to make the substitution. Although Sir Henry Merrivale is busily engaged in dictating his scandalous and slanderous memoirs to a ghost writer, he takes a hand to solve the murder with his friend Chief Inspector Masters, and brings things to a head just as another death occurs. Views: 29
