At large during the most colorful period in New Orleans' history, from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of 1812, privateers Jean and Pierre Laffite made life hell for Spanish merchants on the Gulf. Pirates to the U.S. Navy officers who chased them, heroes to the private citizens who shopped for contraband at their well-publicized auctions, the brothers became important members of a filibustering syndicate that included lawyers, bankers, merchants, and corrupt U.S. officials. But this allegiance didn't stop the Laffites from becoming paid Spanish spies, disappearing into the fog of history after selling out their own associates.William C. Davis uncovers the truth about two men who made their names synonymous with piracy and intrigue on the Gulf. Views: 22
Claire escapes to the home of a childhood friend in Alaska and discovers a passion for dog sledding. After the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, she will return to Portland, Oregon, to resume her law practice and honor a promise. Romance with an Alaskan man is out of the question, especially one haunted by a past he refuses to talk about. But her heart doesn't seem to be listening. Views: 22
Beautifully written, intelligent and provocative reflections on the world scene as Ascherson looks first at the painful business of being English in a period of decline marked by public nastiness and private confusion. He goes on to attack - in an important and original series of arguments -the politics of 'Stonehenge': the UK's archaic and undemocratic constitution, and finally examines the temptations of state power in Mrs Thatcher's decade. Next, Ascherson takes us on a personal tour of Europe, 'the barbaric continent', exposing some ugly hatred and memories lurking beneath the cultured surface; he writes movingly about the courage and sacrifice that nations at their best can draw out. His meditations on Eastern Europe, 'Waltzing With Molotov', are exemplary for their critical sympathy. In the book's final section, a vivid and memorable collection of sectarians, spies, traitors, heroes, monsters and victims reveals a lot about fear and hope in the closing years of this... Views: 22
Romance. 97853 words long. Views: 22
In Silent and Unseen, veteran submarine commander Captain Alfred S. McLaren describes in riveting detail the more significant events that occurred early in the Cold War during his seven years, 1958-1965, onboard three attack submarines: the USS Greenfish (SS-351), USS Seadragon (SSN-584), and USS Skipjack (SSN-585). Through myriad stories and anecdotes, his book focuses on the development of attack-boat tactics and under-ice exploration techniques.The commanding officers that a young submarine officer serves with will determine how well prepared he will be to assume his own command years later. This was particularly true in attack submarines, during the early high-risk years of the Cold War. They were continually at sea, and each reconnaissance and intelligence collection mission was of potentially great, and sometimes extraordinary, value to the government of the United States of America. The missions more often than not required closing of the potential enemy to... Views: 22
Ulrich von Waldsburg of Prussia and his entourage – which included a minor Belgian royal named Catherine de Merode – came to the American West to hunt and to observe the U.S. Army in action. But Catherine wasn't just any conventional princess. When she was a child she learned ballet ... and also Savate, the French kickboxing style perfected in Marseilles. At Fort Laramie, she met Matt Stryker. Stryker was to scout for the Waldsburg party, but wasn't there when the renegade Cheyenne, Lean Bear, and his warriors massacred the hunters and their cavalry guard and took Catherine captive.Matt made it his responsibility to find and rescue Catherine de Merode. Little did he know the Cheyenne and then the Absaroka would turn Cat Merode into an animal ... a woman called Dog. Views: 22
What happens when you ignore a client? What happens when they lose a ton of money as a result? They want compensation. They want their money back. They want payback. Jolene must compensate the client. Her story is gritty and brutal. Her experience is cruel and sadistic. It is terrifying and never, ever ending. What happened to her could happen to anyone. It could happen to you. Views: 22
Seattle police sergeant Lou Boldt is stunned when the local fire investigator presents him with frightening evidence in a series of fires that have occurred in the Seattle area. These white-hot fires burn so cleanly that even the ash disintegrates--leaving not a trace of its victims or any evidence of criminal activity. Only when Boldt is taunted by someone sending him pieces of melted green plastic--houses from a Monopoly board--does he realize that an arsonist is involving him in a deadly game. HBO has optioned. ### Amazon.com Review Ridley Pearson manages to make high-tech crime-fighting more human and fascinating than anyone else in the field--witness such bestsellers as Chain of Evidence. Once again, Sgt. Lou Boldt, inspired and seemingly tireless forensic investigator for the Seattle police, zigs from the lab to the field--this time to find out why single mothers are being burned to death by flash fires fueled by an unknown, amazingly volatile fuel. The chief villain might remind you of recent headlines, but Pearson's research and writing skills create fiction more interesting than fact. ### From Publishers Weekly A rag and a bone are literally all the Seattle PD has to work with after a violent fire consumes a home and its helpless female occupant, a divorced mother. When a second victim dies the same way, detective Lou Boldt (Chain of Evidence, etc.) and police psychologist Daphne Matthews (both Pearson regulars) begin the process of profiling a serial killer who uses rocket fuel to torch women because they resemble his mother. Elsewhere, a young boy named Ben, whose abusive stepfather has all but driven him into the street, has been befriended by a fraudulent "psychic" named Emily Richland, who hires Ben to scout her clients' vehicles while they're meeting with her. This task leads, in the novel's best scene, to Ben witnessing an exchange of cash for rocket fuel, a sighting that in turn eventually takes the police to their killer. Much of the plot teeters on the coincidental nature of all these connections, and on the unlikely bits of evidence used to corner the suspect (e.g., a ladder's impressions left on backyard grass). The intricate forensics that have driven so many of Pearson's novels are largely missing here, and secondary characters are sketched quickly and without depth. Even Boldt and Matthews have lost their shine, bickering a lot while insisting that they love one another, while Boldt's long-suffering wife, Liz, is discarded in cruel fashion. But no doubt the Boldt-Matthews team will be back, hopefully to solve cases less confusing and farfetched than this one. Major ad/promo; author tour. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 22
Could this woman really be her birth mother?Leigh Randall plans to stay on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks only as long as it takes to sell her family home. Her memories are not happy, and the locals won't let her forget. But there are at least two people pleased to see Leigh. One is a newcomer—a woman who just might be her mother.And the other is Spencer McKay, Leigh's high school sweetheart. He's back with his teenage son—the child of Leigh's former best friend—and his feelings for Leigh haven't changed. Like the mystery woman, he wants to rehash the past and make sense of what happened all those years ago.Leigh just wants to get on with her life. But something is keeping her on Ocracoke. Something more than the secret of her birth.** Views: 22
Part Two of Supervillainess. Doctor Kimber Wellington has returned home to Chicago with nothing to his name, not even enough money for underwear. Accompanied by his adopted nanny, Igor, he’s convinced he’s hit rock bottom, and his year in Sand City was a delusion of some sort. Until he hears the city wants him back. Not as a physician – but as a superhero. Views: 22
