She'd defied him, lied to him... and had to be punished most severely.Belinda fears that her sixteen-year-old daughter may be falling for Tony, her handsome but cruel new neighbour, and resolves to do everything in her power to keep the two apart. She believes that by giving her body to Tony she'll be able to preserve her daughter's innocence, but she soon finds herself hooked on debased and perverted sexual acts as she plunges deeper and deeper into the pit of depravity. Views: 45
Miami attorney Jack Swyteck is back in the lightning-paced thriller When Darkness Falls. This time Jack gets more than he bargained for when he defends a homeless man who calls himself Falcon. Falcon is full of contradictions. He lives in a car but he has access to a lot of cash. And he has an obsession with the Miami mayor’s daughter. First, Falcon threatens to jump from the top of the Bay of Biscayne bridge unless he can talk to Alina Mendoza. He ends up in jail, but surprisingly has the bail money and is on the street again in a few hours, earning Jack the enmity of the powerful and vindictive mayor. Then Falcon strikes again. Hours after his release, the body of a brutally murdered woman is found in the trunk of Falcon’s car. Then Falcon crashes Jack’s car into a motel and takes hostage the woman inside, plus Theo, in the process killing one policeman and injuring another. Now Jack’s in a pulse-pounding race to save Theo and the woman but what Jack doesn’t know is that the deadly scenario that’s unfolding is much bigger than Falcon, much bigger than he could possibly imagine. Views: 45
In Bedlam Burning, Geoff Nicholson takes deadly satiric aim at the ivy-covered walls of academia and the rubber rooms of insane asylums. When the debut novel of Gregory Collins is accepted by a publisher he seems set on a course for literary stardom. There's just one problem: he doesn't quite have the looks to match his talent, and his publisher wants a photo to put on the book jacket. He asks his handsome (but dim) college classmate, Mike Smith, to take his place. Consequently it is Smith rather than Collins who receives the offer to be writer-in-residence at an asylum where therapy is centered on the soothing powers of literature. It's not long before the boundaries between inmate and observer are blurred in this literary cuckoo's nest and this comedy of errors verges on tragedy. From Publishers WeeklyThe English comic tradition has always shown a fine weakness for a little lunacy, and Nicholson's 13th novel (after Bleeding London, a Whitbread Prize finalist) is the latest variation on that theme. Michael Smith is a handsome Cambridge graduate working a dead-end job at a rare book dealer's in the mid-'70s. Fellow grad Gregory Collins has written a novel and wants to use Michael's picture for the author photograph. The hoax gets more complex when Gregory persuades Michael to continue the imposture by giving a reading of the novel at a Brighton bookstore. In the sparse audience, which includes Michael's disapproving girlfriend, Nicola, is a gorgeous psychiatrist, Alicia Crowe, who persuades Michael-as-Gregory to be writer-in-residence at a local lunatic asylum. Michael accepts for two reasons: he's bored at the bookstore and wants to bed Alicia. The real Gregory approves, partly because he's slept with Nicola. Michael finds the Kincaid Clinic to be as strange as one would expect, and his attempts to turn a colorfully psychopathological crew into creative writing students eventually bears prolix fruit. He also discovers the dubious joys of making love to Alicia, who is a coprophemic a dirty talker. Michael finds Dr. Kincaid's extreme regulations unsettling: Kincaid bans pictures, photographs and drawings from the asylum, because, as he explains, the patients "have all seen too many images." The fragile situation begins to fall apart when a selection of the inmates' writing is actually published. The ensuing attention blows Michael's cover, but will his former Cambridge professor, John Bentley, unmask him? Nicholson's book, like a Fawlty Towers episode, delightfully stretches sanity to its farcical breaking point. Film rights optioned by New Line Cinema. (Feb.)Forecast: If Nicholson ever manages to break out in the U.S. a few prominent reviews would help he might well attract a loyal cult following.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalDonald Westlake meets Ken Kesey in this 13th novel by British author Nicholson (Bleeding London), about an author impersonation at a lunatic asylum. First novelist Gregory Collins seeks out Michael Smith, whom he met at a Cambridge University party in 1974, to pose for his author photo in the hopes that Smith's good looks will help sell his book. Smith, who is stuck in a dead-end job and a stagnant relationship, agrees and then watches as events unfold bewilderingly. Trouble starts when Smith is invited to serve as a writer-in-residence at the Kincaid Clinic, an institute for mental patients. Dr. Kincaid's therapeutic method is based on the belief that the patients are suffering from visual overload and that once they are relieved of this burden they will be free to unleash their thoughts in writing, which will cure them of their psychoses. As a result, the clinic has no television, no pictures in the newspapers, no books in the library, and no labels on the food cans. Once Smith enters the clinic, he finds himself drawn into a surreal world where it is difficult to tell the sane from the insane. A compulsively good read from start to finish, this work is highly recommended for all libraries. Film rights have been optioned by New Line Cinema. Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ontario Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 45
Henty again turned his attention to the war fought in Queen Anne’s reign. The little known but remarkable and eccentric Charles Mordaunt, earl of Peterborough, served the Crown as admiral and general, diplomat and ambassador. He led English forces in the War of the Spanish Succession and in a remarkable siege captured Barcelona and installed an Austrian archduke as king of Spain. Henty states in his preface that Peterborough “showed a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed, and performed feats of daring worthy of taking their place among those of the leaders of chivalry.” Orphaned and ornery, Jack Stilwell begins life with two strikes against him. A frustrated uncle turns him over to an impressment gang and off he goes to Spain to join Peterborough. As an aide-de-camp to the general, he survives several adventures, faces down an angry mob bent on killing unarmed citizens, and helps the General in all the military actions in Spain. Jack also serves under Marlborough, exhibiting all the strength of character and valor expected of an English officer. This action-packed story ends with the former orphan a respected colonel and a member of Parliament. Views: 45
It's the most wonderful time of the year, when love is in the cold and frosty air—and desire reaches the boiling point. . .Hot Toy From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie comes a hilarious, sexy story about a determined shopper who grabs the last action figure off the shelf, only to find herself plunged into the arms of a sexy secret agent. Mayhem under the mistletoe ensues. Business as usual this Christmas season...right? Christmas with the Billionaire Rancher Nate wants to stay away from all the women who want his money in Mandy Baxter's story set deep in the heart of Texas. But when gorgeous do-gooder Chloe Benson comes knocking at his door—in search of funds for her charity—Nate can't ignore the passion he feels for her. Maybe love is priceless after all? Christmas at Seashell Cottage 'Tis the season in Jewell Cove when local doctor... Views: 45
On Hallowed Ground opens with the long-delayed funeral of four servicemen, brought home for final honors at Arlington National Cemetery almost forty years after they disappeared in Vietnam. To understand how this tradition of extraordinary care for our war dead began, Robert Poole traces the founding of Arlington Cemetery on what had been the family plantation of Robert E. Lee. After resigning his commission in the U.S. Army, Lee left Arlington to command the Army of Northern Virginia. Arlington, strategic to the defense of Washington, D.C., became a U.S. Army headquarters and a cemetery for indigent Civil War soldiers before Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton made it the new national cemetery. Initially, there was no honor attached to being buried at Arlington; this began to change after the war, as the Union gathered thousands of hastily-buried casualties from nearby battlefields and reinterred them at Arlington, where they received the honors of a grateful nation. But the... Views: 45
Even lifelong friendships can't outlast death...or can they? Award-winning author Peter S. Beagle presents a deeply personal story of dreams abandoned and recovered, friends loved and lost, and the strength it takes to let go.... Views: 45
Life's not like the movies . . . or is it? An avid knitter and manager of a yarn store in New York City, Caitlyn finds herself at loose ends after getting dumped by her long-time, live-in boyfriend. What better way to move on then to find a man like the old-school movie stars that she dreams about? But her first attempt at online dating is a disaster. Especially when the date turns out to be the new renter of a room in her apartment. Wall Street powerhouse Ben needs a place to crash while his condo is being renovated. Love is the last thing on his mind since he's just getting over a breakup. But he can't resist a challenge, especially one like his prim and proper new roommate. A do-gooder with a heart of gold, Caitlyn is spearheading a fight to save an old theater, while Ben is working for the developer trying to tear it down. Sparks will fly, but they may not be enough to ignite big-screen romance . . . Views: 45
SUMMARY:Although she has been promised to another man, Luke finds himself passionately drawn to Valeria, the beautiful and fiery young woman whom he has been hired to protect. Original. Views: 45
Mack Bolan sensed danger when he lost contact with Stony Man Farm. The Phoenix fortress in Virginias Blue Ridge Mountains should be impenetrable. But was it? Bolan returned home to find the Stony strongholds security violated and ace armorer, Andrzej Konzaki, mortally wounded. A web of treachery now enshrouded the Farm, imperiling its existence. In one blood-drenched night, Bolan embarked on an odyssey of revenge. From D.C.s corridors of power to the cathouse depths of sewer city, he pursued an elusive specter who bartered in mens souls. And each time the trail led to a dead end. Who was this faceless enemy? Views: 45
'I am following the traces of a great jewel. All its owners are dead, and the jewel is lost...'Precious stones are thousands of years old. They pass through the hands of owners and smugglers, merchants and thieves. Often the hands leave no trace, but they are there all the same: they leave impressions, invisible, like atoms of hydrogen drawn to the surface of a diamond.The Love of Stones charts three lives linked by one such jewel. Katherine Sterne searches the goldsmiths' quarters and hidden archives of contemporary London, Tokyo and Istanbul, following the trail of a long-lost jewel: a brooch of rubies, diamonds and pearls once worn by Queen Elizabeth I. Two hundred years earlier, a pair of Iraqi Jewish brothers travel to London, their fortunes made by an unearthed jar of mysterious and priceless stones. An epic story spanning two continents and six centuries, The Love of Stones follows three very different people, each in their own way consumed by... Views: 45
