"A gritty compelling read," praised Entertainment Weekly of last year's It's Not a Pretty Sight. And the Chicago Tribune called it, along with other Aaron Gunner novels, "terrifically entertaining." With When Last Seen Alive, Gar Anthony Haywood plumbs the shocking all-too-real world of South-Central Los Angeles. Having more clients than he can use isn't generally Aaron Gunner's problem, but it happens that the PI is already on a case when beautiful Yolanda McCreary appears on his doorstep to offer him a second one. Her brother, Elroy Covington, apparently rubbed elbows with Gunner at the Million Man March in Washington DC, several months earlier, then neglected to do something almost every other attendee did afterward: come home. Gunner can't remember Covington, but takes on the case - unprepared for the cold trail the man left behind. At last, Gunner begins to suspect that a black extremist group calling itself The Defenders of the Bloodline is behind Covington's disappearance. The Defenders want Gunner to join them. The FBI wants Gunner's help in bringing them down. And neither party has any intention of taking no for an answer. With When Last Seen Alive, Gar Anthony Haywood explores the harsh realities of contemporary Los Angeles with grim accuracy and deep emotional insight, providing once again "a first-rate story, melding sharp social commentary with lively plotting and somersaulting dialogue" (The Washington Post Book World)From Library JournalA young Los Angeles woman wants series star Aaron Gunner to locate her brother, who never returned from the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Gunner soon finds himself tangling with black extremists and the FBI. Realistic and compelling.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus ReviewsElroy Covington came a long way to disappear--all the way from the Million Man March in Washington to a run-down motel in Hollywood--but his sister, Yolanda McCreary, is convinced that even though LAPD Missing Persons has given up the search, Aaron Gunner can find Covington. Aaron, already busy trying to photograph L.A. city councilman Gil Everson with one of the limping prostitutes his wife Connie is convinced he favors, is none too eager to take on the case. Even so, he hands the snoop job off to aspiring teenaged photographer Sly Cribbs in order to look for Covington himself--and before you know it, somebody's tried to kill both Sly and Aaron and (talk about coincidence) steal crucial photos from both of them. Aaron's sure the councilman's beefy bodyguard could tell him all about the attack on the kid, but he thinks something still doesn't jibe, and he's right: The tug-of-war between the Eversons is more complicated than he can see. And the search for Covington leads Aaron (It's Not a Pretty Sight, 1996, etc.) into even deeper trouble with the Defenders of the Bloodline, a black-supremacist answer to the Ku Klux Klan bent on executing all the Uncle Toms the KKK might have missed on their last trip through town, and with a five-year-old newspaper scandal that won't stay dead. Ingenious but slapdash in the details, with Aaron continuing as one of the most maddeningly intuitive detectives since Nancy Drew. Start reading for the plot, and you'll stay, as usual, for the flavorsome African-American backgrounds. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Views: 68
On a trip through the swamp country along the Gulf of Mexico, Davy and his old friend Flavius meet up for the first time with Jim Bowie, a man who would soon become a legend of the West—and who is destined to play an important part in Davy's dramatic life. Neither Davy or Jim know the meaning of the word "surrender", and when they run afoul of a deadly tribe of cannibals, they know it will be a fight to the death. Views: 68
When you live in the sky, the only way out is down ... Larinan Mann is an outsider, a social oddity. Born in contravention of the rules of his society, into a cold and powerful family, Lari's life seems to have no purpose. But then his only friend draws him unwittingly into the murky terror of the underworld that dwells below his feet, his father unexpectedly inducts him into the inner circle of history's most terrible secret, and Lari's world - and everything he thought he knew about it - is shattered forever. Then he meets Saria, a girl with destiny looking over her shoulder, and together the two of them must walk into an unknown greater than anything humanity has ever faced ... Views: 68
For everyone who loves Jane Austen...the second tantalizing mystery in a new series that transforms the beloved author into a dazzling sleuth!Jane and her family are looking forward to a peaceful holiday in the seaside village of Lyme Regis. Yet on the outskirts of town an overturned carriage forces the shaken travelers to take refuge at a nearby manor house. And it is there that Jane meets the darkly forbidding yet strangely attractive Mr. Geoffrey Sidmouth. What murky secrets does the brooding Mr. Sidmouth seek to hide? Jane suspects the worst--but her attention is swiftly diverted when a man is discovered hanged from a makeshift gibbet by the sea. The worthies of Lyme are certain his death is the work of "the Reverend," the ringleader of the midnight smuggling trade whose identity is the town's paramount mystery. Now, it falls to Jane to entrap and expose the notorious Reverend...even if the evidence points to the last person on earth she wants to suspect...a man... Views: 68
Fiercely loyal to the king, a rugged soldier has no desire for any other attachments or commitments - until he once again sets eyes on a beautiful woman from his past. With her future in jeopardy, and his passion burning for her once more, he is now her only hope for a life of happiness and eternal love! • Over 150,000 copies of Patricia Ryan's books in print! • Falcon's Fire is a * Romantic Times Award nominee for Best Historical Romance of 1996! • Patricia Ryan won the America's Best Award for her contemporary romance, Hale's Point* • Patricia Ryan is a past President of the Upstate New York Chapter of the Romance Writers Association, and is very well connected in the genre • Set in 11th century FranceFrom Library JournalAsked by the ailing husband of his former love to seduce his wife and provide him with an heir, Alexandre de Perigeaux knows he should refuse?the conditions of the agreement are too harsh, and it is too dangerous. But even after ten years, Alex still loves Nicolette. The bargain is struck and the deception leads to inevitable results. Using a plot similar to LaVyrle Spencer's The Fulfillment (Avon, 1991), but with a twist, Ryan has written a sensual, emotionally involving, and compelling story of forbidden love that readers will not soon forget. Ryan (Secret Thunder, Topaz, 1997) lives in Rochester, New York.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. ReviewNine years ago, Alexandre de Perigeaux fell in love with a young woman. But the woman he loved betrayed him and married his cousin. Alex vowed he would never form that kind of heartbreaking attachment again. He is called the Lone Wolf-and it is a title that suits Alex. He is content serving his king and has no intentions of settling down. Then the woman from his past appears in his life again. When her husband beseeches him to do the unspeakable, Alex is faced with the most difficult decision of his life. Nicolette de St. Clair is married to her husband in name only. Sickness has stolen his health as well as any chance she might have to bear a child. That in itself is tragic enough, but if Nicki does not produce an heir soon she will lose her home. She rejects her husband's suggestion to bear another man's child. No matter how desperate her situation, Nicki cannot forget she is a married woman. Time and circumstance may have torn them apart, but Alex and Nicki's love has not faded. Patricia Ryan once again weaves a magical spell in a passionate tale of lost love. Wild Wind is a thoroughly engaging medieval novel with a unique story line that keeps the pages turning. Ms. Ryan's love for history is obvious in her careful attention to detail. With the skill of an artist, she brings her enchanting characters to life. Readers will remember Alex from Secret Thunder as Luke de Perigeaux's younger brother. It was a pleasure to see Alex's story told so well! A definite must read for fans of medieval romance! Patricia Ryan's writing sparkles! Wild Wind is a wildly romantic love story from an incredibly gifted author! Readers will fall in love with this wonderful tale! Few authors can bring the past to life as vividly as Patricia Ryan. A heartwarming tale of the power of love! Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1998 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times Views: 68
Captain Valance has no memory of his past. Left adrift on a strange ship, he begins a new life. Years later he's become a well known hired gun while searching for clues to his past. This follows the First Light Chronicles cult hit Space Opera series. Views: 68
The first case of New York Times bestseller Steve Berry's iconic hero, Cotton Malone.History notes that the ugly feud between J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King, Jr., marked by years of illegal surveillance and the accumulation of secret files, ended on April 4, 1968 when King was assassinated by James Earl Ray. But that may not have been the case. Now, fifty years later, former Justice Department agent, Cotton Malone, must reckon with the truth of what really happened that fateful day in Memphis.It all turns on an incident from eighteen years ago, when Malone, as a young Navy lawyer, is trying hard not to live up to his burgeoning reputation as a maverick. When Stephanie Nelle, a high-level Justice Department lawyer, enlists him to help with an investigation, he jumps at the opportunity. But he soon discovers that two opposing forces—the Justice Department and the FBI—are at war over a rare coin and a cadre of secret files... Views: 68
It is 1953 and five very different girls are arriving at the nurses' home in Lovely Lane, Liverpool, to start their training at St Angelus Hospital. Dana has escaped from her family farm on the west coast of Ireland. Victoria is running away from a debt-ridden aristocratic background. Beth is an army brat and throws in her lot with bitchy Celia Forsyth. And Pammy Tanner has come from quite the wrong side of the tracks in Liverpool. The world in which they now find themselves is complicated and deeply hierarchical, from lonely but formidable Matron down to Dessie who rules the Porter's boys with military firmness. Everyone has their place at St Angelus and woe betide anyone who strays from it. But when an unknown girl is admitted, after a botched late abortion in a backstreet kitchen, a tragedy begins to unfold which will rock the world of St Angelus to its foundations. Views: 68
Faller is a new gripping standalone, science fiction thriller by Hugo Award-winning author Will McIntosh.Day One: No one can remember anything—who they are, family and friends, or even how to read. Reality has fragmented and Earth consists of an islands of rock floating in an endless sky. Food, water, electricity—gone, except for what people can find, and they can't find much.Faller's pockets contain tantalizing clues: a photo of himself and a woman he can't remember, a toy solider with a parachute, and a mysterious map drawn in blood. With only these materials as a guide, he makes a leap of faith from the edge of the world to find the woman and set things right.He encounters other floating islands, impossible replicas of himself and others, and learns that one man hates him enough to take revenge for actions Faller can't even remember. Views: 68
It is moments before midnight on New Year's Eve 1999, when something incredible happens. It is a geological event of staggering proportions, followed by reports of the emergence of a woman with divine powers. Is she a divine emissary, the product of bizarre science, or something moresinister?Amazon.com ReviewJust in time for the millennium, Glenn Kleier mixes bio-engineering and religion, miracles and modern warfare, politics and physics to produce a gripping tale set in the Middle East at the dawn of the 21st century. When a mysterious explosion destroys a top-secret laboratory in the Negev desert on Christmas Day 1999, Jonathan Feldman, a reporter, isn't satisfied with the official explanation. Neither is the Vatican, nor an American fundamentalist preacher, nor the patriarch of the Jehovah's Witnesses, all of whom believe that Armageddon may truly be at hand. After a New Year's Eve earthquake strikes the temple at the Well of David and a mysterious figure appears in the ruins, strange things begin to happen. Reports of miracles filter in from throughout the region, and the legend of Jeza takes on a life of its own. When the young miracle worker chooses Jonathan to connect her to the world and broadcast her warning of the cataclysm to come, the world's religious leaders are plunged into conflict. Seeking to discredit her, they spread the secret of her high-tech, bioengineered birth. But their actions backfire; Jeza's influence grows. Holy wars break out in the Middle East and chaos erupts all over the world. As Easter 2000 approaches, the political situation grows even more tense: Will there be another crucifixion, another resurrection? Kleier handles this complicated plot with ease, and fans of futuristic thrillers won't be disappointed. --Jane AdamsFrom Library JournalA combination of scientific thriller, religious satire, and New Age mysticism, this debut novel offers a view of what might happen as the end of the millennium approaches. At a remote research facility in the Negev Desert, a meteor wreaks massive destruction. Meanwhile, at midnight on New Year's Eve, 1999, in Jerusalem, a young and mysterious woman appears who seems to have a powerful gift. She calls herself Jeza, and soon everyone wonders whether she is a prophetess, the Messiah, or the Antichrist. On hand is Jon Feldman, a skeptical reporter for the World News Network. Beset by his own doubts and lack of strong faith, Feldman is nevertheless fascinated and attracted by the mysterious Jeza. Is she truly a manifestation of God, or is she simply the result of a bizarre experiment of bioengineering? Feldman won't rest until he finds out the truth. Kleier's novel offers a view of how organized religion would react to such a threat. Though the prose is pedestrian and the dialog often overwrought, the story is so well paced that most readers will perhaps forgive the other deficiencies. For large fiction collections. -Dean James, Murder by the Book, Houston, Tex.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 68
High summer in Acker's Gap, West Virginia—but no one's enjoying the rugged natural landscape. Not while a killer stalks the small town and its hard-luck inhabitants. County prosecutor Bell Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong are stymied by a murderer who seems to come and go like smoke on the mountain. At the same time, Bell must deal with the return from prison of her sister, Shirley—who, like Bell, carries the indelible scars of a savage past.In Summer of the Dead, the third Julia Keller mystery chronicling the journey of Bell Elkins and her return to her Appalachian hometown, we also meet Lindy Crabtree—a coal miner's daughter with dark secrets of her own, secrets that threaten to explode into even more violence.Acker's Gap is a place of loveliness and brutality, of isolation and fierce attachments—a place where the dead rub shoulders with the living, and demand their due. Views: 68
The beloved story of a deer in the forest reaches a new generation of readers with a fresh new look.Bambi's life in the woods begins happily. There are forest animals to play with and Bambi's twin cousins, Gobo and beautiful Faline.But winter comes, and Bambi learns that the woods hold danger--and things he doesn't understand. The first snowfall makes food hard to find. Bambi's father, a handsome stag, roams the forest, but leaves Bambi and his mother alone.Then there is Man. He comes to the forest with weapons that can wound an animal. Bambi is scared that Man will hurt him and the ones he loves. But Man can't keep Bambi from growing into a great stag himself, and becoming the Prince of the Forest.Repackaged with a vibrant, fresh cover for the first time in two decades, this timeless tale of a young deer's woodland life is an ideal collectible. Views: 68
