In the Great Fire of Smyrna (1922), Kivelli lost everything: her family, her friends, her social position, and her future. Stranded in the Greek city of Piraeus, populated by gangsters, prostitutes, fortune tellers, and other refugees, she finds herself living in the broom closet of a brothel. Luckily, the sound of her singing voice captures the attention of a local taverna owner, who suggests she come with him and perform for his customers. Kivelli's time at the bar is short-lived, but gives way to a recording career and her slow climb up the economic and social ladder of this foreign city. Although life is certainly better for her — no longer the object of an auction at a brothel, no longer a singer in a disreputable taverna — Kivelli misses the magical world of her youth in the great port city of Smyrna. Views: 71
From Publishers WeeklyIn a first novel of astonishing accomplishment, Girardi by turns portrays spooks, erotic love, muggers, Romanian mediums and the Catholic church with startlingly few slips and a shimmering style. A first-person account by Ned Conti, a graduate student in French history deeply involved in not writing his dissertation, the novel moves between New York and New Orleans, past and present, this side and "the other side" of death. Ned is languishing in a dangerous Brooklyn neighborhood, in an apartment haunted by an aggressive ghost (whose tricks include dropping stones from the ceiling) when, broke, he starts work as a researcher for a local Catholic priest who is hoping to spur the canonization of a 19th-century American nun. Soon, the forces of spirituality and history converge on Ned until he is almost painfully overburdened with mystery. When the suicide of a close friend pushes him to visit Antoinette, his Creole ex-girlfriend in Louisiana, Ned begins to sense that a New Orleans plantation family may hold a clue to his researches. The connections among ghost, saint and Antoinette, are wrapped up a bit too tidily, but Girardi drives his tale along with sensuous prose. The resonance with which he captures the gritty material world of New Orleans and the East Village provides a sturdy, credible spine on which to hang Ned's clash with the strange world of spirits. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalNed Conti is a New Orleans graduate student in history whose dissertation and love affair have both stalled. Hoping to resume the former and escape the latter, Conti moves to New York City and accepts a job documenting the life and works of a candidate for Catholic sainthood. That work is soon derailed by a presence haunting his apartment. This first novel switches seamlessly from past to present, from humid New Orleans to gritty New York as Conti's life is quickly consumed by forces he cannot control. First novelist Girardi has fashioned a modern ghost story that eschews graphic violence for mood, fascinating characters, and a story that opens strong and keeps building. Buy wherever good fiction is read.-?A.J. Wright, Univ. of Alabama, BirminghamCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 71
A Southern Indie Bookseller Alliance 2017 Summer OKRA pick!One of Kirkus Review's "11 Thrillers That Will Keep You Awake This Summer"In the thrilling fifth book in the critically acclaimed series that's "edgy, dangerous, but pulsing with life" (Bill Ott, Booklist), a Mardi Gras parade turns deadly.It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans and rookie cop Maureen Coughlin has no idea what she's in for. Her night working the parades begins calmly enough—until a half-naked man careens through the crowd and throws himself onto the hood of an oncoming SUV. As she tries to deal with the incident amid the pulsing chaos of the parade, Maureen hears gunshots. Moments later, with three wounded and a handful of drunken witnesses, Maureen has a full-fledged investigation on her hands. Who was the shooter? Who was he after? Who's the next target? City bigwigs begin pressuring Maureen and her crew for quick answers. And with an amateur camera crew... Views: 71
This woman used to be my slave.But now she means more to me.More than she should.I've done unforgivable things to her, treated her like livestock I bought at the market. I made her attend to my needs without question.To make up for it, I should let her go.But even now I can't.Instead, I want her to marry me. Whether she wants to or not. Views: 71
Cressida Charmsworth inherited the title of Baroness deCourcy from her father. A country girl (of twenty-three), she also inherited alarming wealth and gave herself two London seasons. Wishing to have a relaxing vacation by the sea, she attempted to rent Lord Dauntry’s adorable Swiss-style cottage. But he refused, though his mother offered the dower house next door. Ghostly sounds, midnight excursions, an undesirable relative, all disturbed Cressida’s stay. Regency Romance by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett Crest Views: 71
A classic Black Lace tale of a love-hate affair with a charismatic master...Beautiful but shy Laura works for a powerful company, where it seems that every man harbours hidden desires for her. If only, she thinks with shame, they could guess at her own torrid fantasies about them. But her subtle provocations are not going unnoticed, or unappreciated. In fact, they are taking her into dangerous territory with several men. But the real object of her desire is 'The Devil' - a masterful and arrogant figure who both terrifies and thrills her with his demands. He is a man who is intent on becoming her complete master, a man she would have to serve in ways that make her head spin. But isn't that what she always wanted?? Views: 71
In this stunning and fully independent conclusion to A Great Circle, Reynolds Price tells the complex, moving story of a man's return home to die of AIDS and of the unexpected effect that his arrival -- and his death -- has on his family. Wade Mayfield's parents are separated, but for the remaining months of his life they and their friends come together to care for Wade with the love they can muster. They are unprepared, however, for the astonishing mystery Wade has prepared to reveal once he is gone -- a mystery that initiates the possible reunion of his parents and promises to continue the proud traditions of a complex, multiracial family. Views: 71
From WikipediaThe Final Battle is a science fiction novel by William C. Dietz, first published by Ace Books in 1995. This is the second book in 8 book legion series by Dietz, the ninth book is scheduled to be published in October 2011. The Confederacy is threatened by an uprising of the Hudathans, an unfeeling cyborg race that has built up its forces through stolen technology, and their only opponents are the members of the Legion. Read more - Shopping-Enabled Wikipedia on AmazonProduct DescriptionThe Confederacy is threatened by an uprising of the Hudathans, an unfeeling cyborg race that has built up its forces through stolen technology, and their only opponents are the members of the Legion. Views: 71
