Reading Group Questions included."Mr. Dickinson has a nice dry wit and a talent for deft characterization."—New York Times"Everything here is exactly right."—New YorkerDeath of a Unicorn is the first in a series of reprints of Peter Dickinson's mysteries from Small Beer Press. This classic British mystery will win fans currently engrossed in Downton Abbey.From Peter Dickinson's Timeline on his website: "When the youngest member of the five-strong editorial staff of Punch (founded 1843) turned 40 the editor, Kenneth Bird (the cartoonist Fougasse) had written to a don he knew at Cambridge to ask him to find someone younger to train up. On his way to the interview for the job Peter was knocked down by a tram and arrived covered with blood and dirt, but they gave him the job because he was the only candidate. A lot of his novel Death of a Unicorn is based on the seventeen years he spent there."Peter Dickinson OBE has twice received the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger as well as the Guardian Award and Whitbread Prize. He is the author of over fifty books including The Poison Oracle, A Summer in the Twenties, and many more. His latest book is Earth and Air: Tales of Elemental Spirits (Big Mouth House). He lives in England and is married to the novelist Robin McKinley."Peter Dickinson is my own chosen demigod in the pantheon of crime fiction."—Laurie R. King"The Tolkien of the crime novel."—H.R.F.KeatingPraise for Peter Dickinson's mysteries:"He is the true original, a superb writer who revitalises the traditions of the mystery genre . . . incapable of writing a trite or inelegant sentence . . . a master."—P. D. James"He sets new standards in the mystery field that will be hard to live up to."—Ruth Rendell"He has an eye and a mind and a voice like no other."—Donald E. Westlake"A fresh triumph . . . a simultaneous insight into kids and their minders, and emerging nations, and the concept of freedom - all done with consummate story-telling skill."—Peter Lovesey"Read this book carefully. It's a jewel."—The New York Times Review"Brilliantly imaginative first detective story . . .wonderfully convincing."—The Observer"Mr Dickinson is the most original crime novelist to appear for a long, long time."—The Guardian"Brilliantly original, as always."—Times Literary Supplement"Wry, witty, irresistible."—The Financial Times"A literary magician controlling an apparently inexhaustible supply of effects . . . Craftsmanship such as this makes for compulsive reading."—Penelope Lively"Dickinson tops all his prizewinners with this stunning psychological thriller."—Publishers WeeklyAbout the AuthorPeter Dickinson: Peter Dickinson OBE has twice received the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger as well as the Guardian Award and Whitbread Prize. His latest book is Earth and Air: Tales of Elemental Spirits (Big Mouth House). He lives in England and is married to the novelist Robin McKinley. Views: 59
A ghost ship drifts across the northern Pacific… A Soviet luxury liner burns like a funeral pyre… And the U.S. President's yacht is heading for disaster… Somewhere off the coast of Alaska, a sunken cargo poses a threat of unthinkable proportions. Potentially, the lost shipment of chemicals could destroy all life in the ocean — and perhaps the world — unless DIRK PITT® can find it first. But time is running out for the NUMA agent and his team. Pitt's main target is just one deadly component of a vast international conspiracy fueled by hijacking, bribery, and murder. And at the center of it all is a powerful Korean shipping empire with a chilling political agenda — to kidnap the President of the United States… Views: 58
TO HOLD, BUT NOT TO HAVEKaty Donovan had no intention of marrying anyone. Ever. After what she'd experienced, she'd never trust a man enough to surrender her love. Her defenses were invincible...or so she thought. Then Trace Barnett came home to the ranch, determined to win her no matter how long it took. Trace was willing to woo her patiently, even make her his wife in name only, confident that one day Katy would return his burning love. But he was also a passionate, intensely virile man. How long could she deny his fierce desire for her and not risk losing him to a more willing woman? Views: 58
In the brutal chaos of the Second World War, three peole find their
lives inextricably interwoven in a web of courage, betrayal and love:
Julie Lescaux, the young Englishwoman caught up in one of the most
dangerous operations of the French Resistance; Paul Vasson, vicious
Paris Pimp turned nazi collaborator; David Freymann, German scientist
caught up in an unimaginable horror, destined to lose everything except
his faith in his own discovery. Views: 58
In an ideal world, they would never have met. Vivien Simpson is a happy housewife with a young son who adores her successful lawyer husband. Edward Davis is an ambitious aide to an important Congressman who loves his wife. When an airplane crash brings about the discovery that their supposedly loving and now deceased spouses were involved in a passionate love affair, they are devastated. Together, they embark on a search for the reasons of their spouse's infidelity. In the process, they discover much about themselves and how the mysterious nature of love can render people too powerless to resist. Random Hearts was a Literary Guild selection and has been translated into 30 languages. It was adapted into a movie of the same name with Harrison Ford. Views: 58
As Public Relations Director for Twenty Grand Studios, Sam Howell knew that movie stars would do anything for their front-page write-up. So when Jack Roland got himself charged with murdering a scandal magazine publisher, Sam just groaned. It was so obviously a press-agent's stunt.Only one thing didn't fit. The police were buying it, lock, stock and barrel. And then it suddenly hit Sam that as much as he knew about the antics of filmland, he was a novice to the vicious racket of the newsstand scandal-mongers. There were too many influential people who didn't want the dead publisher's confidential files aired. It was no longer a question of innocence or guilt; it was simply a matter of hushing the crime up quickly.Sam Howell was right in the middle of that squeeze. If he backed out now, an innocent film star would take the rap. If he butted in, he would never live through ONE DEADLY DAWN. Views: 58
Richard Holmes's great work of biographical exploration, rejacketed and republished alongside its sister volume Sidetracks. In 1985, Richard Holmes published a small book of essays called 'Footsteps' and the writing of biography was changed forever. A daring mix of travel, biographical sleuthing and personal memoir, it broke all the conventions of the genre and remains ons of the most intoxicating, magical works of modern literary exploration ever published. Sleeping rough, he retraces Robert Louis Stevenson's famous journey through the Cevennes. Caught up in the Parisian riots of the 1960s, he dives back in time to the terrors of Wordsworth and of Mary Wollstonecraft marooned in Revolutionary Paris and then into the strange tortured worlds of Gérard de Nerval. Wandering through Italy, he stalks Shelley and his band of Romantic idealists to Casa Magni on the Gulf of Spezia. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print... Views: 58
Janet Morgan's definitive and authorised biography of Agatha Christie, with a new retrospective foreword by the author. Agatha Christie (1890–1976), the world's bestselling author, is a public institution. Her creations, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, have become fiction's most legendary sleuths and her ingenuity has captured the imagination of generations of readers. But although she lived to a great age and was prolific, she remained elusively shy and determinedly private. Given sole access to family papers and other protected material, Janet Morgan's definitive biography unravels Agatha Christie's life, work and relationships, creating a revealing and faithfully honest portrait. The book has delighted readers of Christie's detective stories for more than 30 years with its clear view of her career and personality, and this edition includes a new foreword by the author reflecting on the longevity of Agatha Christie's extraordinary success and popularity. Views: 57
Working for Professor Sam Gervis was difficult enough, even if you weren't falling in love with him...which Polly was. Luckily she was realistic about the situation. Sam was engaged to the lovely Deirdre. And besides, he would never look twice at anyone as quiet and mousy as Polly. So she decided, sensibly, to get away and take up a new career nursing children. But she soon discovered that Sam was not an easy man to escape! Views: 57
Ali Bobrow is an other-worldly single parent with a fraught nine-year-old daughter, a malevolent 'ex' with a grabby new wife, and an underused artistic talent. A pushover when it comes to needy neighbours and uninvited children, she allows her house to be the local drop-in centre, until she collides with Noah Glazer, who falls for her pale red hair. A solid man of science, Noah walks into her over-populated life bringing good sense, order and security. But ten years on, Ali is drawn back into the complexities of her past: an old lover, two ex-spouses, a colleague from clown school and a small smuggled cat all help to rock the boat. Views: 57
Jake McGraw is a man on the run from half the universe. After stumbling upon what seems to be the fabled roadmap to the stars, Jake must outrun the most detestable vermin and roadbugs in the galaxy and the only thing separating him from them is his tattered starrig. In the lawless region of space Jake must keep his rig running if he knows what’s good for him. He has something that everyone wants and they will stop at nothing to get it. But how long can he keep going on the road where there is no relief for light years? Views: 56
His eyes had seen the glory—of the wild, wild, West... The life of Buffalo Bill Cody was as epic and exciting as the story of the West itself. Cowboy, Pony Express rider, Indian fighter, Union soldier, scout for General George Custer, slayer of Tall Bull and Yellow Hand—he saved Wild Bill Hickok's life, and beat the paths that made way for the railroad and the nation in America's rugged frontier. But now, in his final hours, old Bill Cody faces the last great challenge of his life, as the legendary glory flares—the fades in a new era...Review"Estleman has no rival - not even Louis L'Amour - in evoking the American Southwest." -- Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Review ) Views: 56
