Mystery/Crime. 62567 words long. First published in 2007 Views: 26
Everyone wants to escape their boring, stagnant lives full of inertia and regret. But so few people actually have the bravery to run, run away from everything and selflessly seek out personal fulfillment on the other side of the world where they don't understand anything and won't be expected to. The world is full of cowards. Tim Anderson was pushing thirty and working a string of dead-end jobs when he made the spontaneous decision to pack his bags and move to Japan,?where my status as a U.S. passport holder and card-carrying?American English? speaker was an asset rather than a liability.? It was a gutsy move, especially for a tall, white, gay Southerner who didn?t speak a lick of Japanese. But his life desperately needed a shot of adrenaline, and what better way to get one than to leave behind everything he had ever known to move to?a tiny, overcrowded island heaving with clever, sensibly proportioned people that make him look fat In Tokyo, Tim became a?gaijin,? an outsider whose stumbling progression through Japanese culture is minutely chronicled in these sixteen howlingly funny stories. Yet despite the steep learning curve and the seemingly constant humiliation, the gaijin from North Carolina gradually begins to find his way. Whether playing drums on the fly in an otherwise all-Japanese noise band or attempting to keep his English classroom clean when it's invaded by an older female student with a dirty mind, Tim comes to realize that living a meaningful life is about expecting the unexpected?right when he least expects it. Views: 26
The stars of the Metropolitan Opera search for a crazed killer who plans to bring the company down They find the tenor dangling from a water pipe, hanging by his own suspenders. His corpse is still warm. Naturally, the opera's manager doesn't stop the production. A dead chorus tenor isn't enough to close them down, and the show must go on. But there are 139 singers left in the chorus—and someone intends to kill them all. Poisoning, strangling, and rigged trapdoors are just a few of the methods at the killer's disposal. The opera posts guards backstage, but the slayings continue, forcing the Met's two fading stars, Enrico Caruso and Geraldine Farrar, to band together and save the opera they love so much. A Chorus of Detectives is the 3rd book in the Opera Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. Views: 26
Hector is in search of a woman. Not because he wants to fall in love but because, after the failure of his first marriage, he wants a son. But as he determinedly pursues his ambition, he underrates the force of his charm and, nine months later, finds he has more than one heir to choose from... In his search for the 'perfect' wife, Hector complicates the lives of four very different women; Jess the repressed photographer, Wendy the fluffy doormat, Caroline the career executive, and Zillah the bohemian. And as Hector strives to bring his life back under control he discovers that biology is stranger than logic, and is forced to acknowledge that it's the best laid plans that often fall most spectacularly apart. Views: 26
This first volume of the second Courtney sequence, The Burning Shore
is a marvellous epic of courage and love that moves from the blazing
skies of war torn France to the secret heart of the African wilderness.
It is the odyssey of a beautiful young woman of
aristocratic birth, Centaine de Thiry, in search of love and fortune – a
monumental journey of mystery and discovery.
Once again in The Burning Shore Wilbur Smith
proves that he is the master storyteller. Whether his subject is love or
war, whether he is describing the conflict of men and machines above
the trenches of 1917 or the onslaught of a ravenous man-eating lion, he
writes with such authority and hypnotic attention to detail that the
reader is swept away on the torrent of the narrative.
Magnificently exciting, full of vivid action, passion and mystery, The Burning Shore is certainly one of the richest and most entertaining adventure stories of our time. Views: 26
"An epic work of literary creation . . . There could be no greater vindication of the wonders of the lands and people of Latin America than Memory of Fire." —The Washington PostEduardo Galeano's monumental three-volume retelling of the history of the New World begins with Genesis, a vast chain of legends sweeping from the birth of creation to the era of savage colonialism. Through lyrical prose and deep understanding, Galeano (author of the celebrated Open Veins of Latin America) recounts creation myths, pre-Columbian societies, and the brutality of conquest, from the Andes to the Great Plains.Galeano's project to restore to history "breath, liberty, and the word" unfolds as a unique, powerful work of literature. This daring masterpiece sets the past free, weaving a new kind of history from mythology, silenced voices, and the clash of worlds. Genesis is the first book of the Memory of Fire trilogy, which continues with Faces and Masks and Century of the Wind. Views: 26
New York Times bestseller Stuart Woods returns with a fast-paced thriller, starring Ed Eagle, the take-no-prisoners attorney from Santa Fe Rules and Short Straw.When last we encountered Ed Eagle, he had been the target of a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by his wife, Barbara, the ultimate black widow. But when Barbara escapes from police custody, Ed knows that not only will his life be in danger but also the life of his new girlfriend, and, of course, of any rich man unlucky enough to be lured into Barbara's web. To add to his troubles, Ed has taken on a new client, Don Wells, who may or may not have murdered his own wife and son. From the posh resorts of southern California to the New Mexico desert and the seedy hotels of Tijuana, Ed Eagle will follow every lead – and hope that he doesn't wind up Santa Fe Dead. Views: 26
When you are fighting for the freedom of your people, falling in love with your enemy is not a great idea. Sir Reuben, the dreaded robber knight, has long been Ayla’s deadliest enemy. She swore he would hang for his crimes. Now they are both trapped in her castle as the army of a far greater enemy approaches, and they have only one chance: stand together, or fall. Views: 26
A shrewd, efficient and popular politician, Madeline O'Keith Turner was eminently qualified to fulfill he duties as America's first woman Vice President. But Fate elevated her to Commander-in-Chief. . .on the eve of her nation's most devastating modern crisis.From her first day in the Oval Office, Maddie Turner has had to deal with bitter challenges from Congress and duplicity from within the ranks of the Cabinet she inherited from her late predecessor. Now catastrophe is brewing in the East China Sea. Chinese and Japanese fleets are set to collide in the biggest naval engagement since World War Two. And a single false step could result in Turner's impeachment. . .or, worse still, in nuclear war. An untried leader with enemies on all sides must now reach out to her one true ally: National Security Advisor General Robert Bender, a loyal soldier determined to teach his president in record time everything he knows about swift, decisive action and bare-knuckling battling. .... Views: 26
