He had never killed anyone who hadn't deserved it. The means always justified the end. He didn't need forgiveness.He needed justification. The greater good. Battered war correspondent John Bailey is a man living on the edge. He's haunted by nightmares of being kidnapped and tortured in Iraq and he's drinking too much to drown the memories. As he battles to get his life back together, a story breaks that will force him back into the spotlight – and into the crosshairs of a deadly international player. When a beautiful prostitute is found murdered in her luxury Sydney apartment, Bailey is ordered to cover the story by The Journal's editor and his old friend, Gerald Summers, because he can't trust anyone else. One of the victim's clients, a key advisor to the Defence Minister, is chief suspect in her murder and he's on the run. When he contacts Bailey, claiming to have information that will bring down the government, the stakes... Views: 58
Virgin Tammy's fantasies won't stop, ever since her mother married the rich and successful tycoon, Stephen LaVenia. After an uncontrollable kiss, Mr. LaVenia is reluctant to indulge her fiery lusts, but a conversation with his infertile and open minded wife makes everything crystal clear. This dominant man is after an heir, and he won't give up until his seed ravages Tammy's unprotected womb... Views: 58
When Sam Feary meets his old high school buddy Abner in Manhattan, he knows something is wrong. But he doesn't know how wrong. Abner has stepped over the boundary, into the world of unseen spirits - a world that has suddenly become a terrifying reality. It will take Abner's life unless Sam can rescue him... But now it wasnt Sam's life as well! Views: 58
A terminally ill man sells his life insurance policy for cheap to an investor who will collect the full amount when the sick man dies.But is the sick man really sick? Does he even exist? In the age of AIDS and no-holds-barred capitalism, the business of betting on how much longer sick people will live is thriving. Is this new market in which life insurance policies are bought and sold a legitimate enterprise, or is it an open invitation to fraud and murder?Carver Hartnett, Miranda Pryor, and Leonard Stillmach all work for Reliable Allied Trust, in Omaha, where they investigate insurance fraud. Carver -- the narrator of this edgy and surprising novel -- is frustrated. His company would rather raise premiums than prosecute insurance criminals. Miranda, his seductive coworker, leads him on and then puts him off -- she seems to have something monstrous to hide. When their friend, crazy Lenny, a computer gamer and an expert with drug-and-alcohol cocktails, dies in the middle of playing Delta-Strike online, a strange and disturbing narrative unfolds around a possible murder and massive insurance fraud. Carver is drawn deeper into various hearts of darkness, and in his efforts to discover the truth behind his friend's death, he ends up betting his own life.Filled with memorable characterizations -- Carver's boss, the shrewd Old Man Norton; Dagmar Helveg, Norton's fascist assistant; regional investigator Charlie Becker, a plain-talking, commonsense cop -- Bet Your Life conducts a stealthy philosophical investigation of its own, in which our hero ends up investigating the mysteries of his soul.From Publishers WeeklyDooling, who was an NBA finalist for his White Man's Grave a few years back, never writes the same kind of book twice, and this time he's produced a sort of techno-noir thriller set within the confines of the insurance business. The reader learns a great deal about insurance scams and the cynicism pervading the industry, and the Omaha setting is piquant for its contrast with the high-living, trendy insurance investigators who are the book's stars, but the book's virtues end there. The plot is extraordinarily convoluted, with villains both expected and unexpected popping up every few pages, and neither Carver Hartnett, the narrator; his alcoholic, pill-popping buddy, Leonard Stillmach, whose mysterious death precipitates the action; nor beautiful but apparently unattainable Miranda Pryor are either appealing or believable. Carver, for instance, plays teenage blow-'em-away computer games with Leonard, Miranda downs gallons of vintage wine while fending off Carver's advances and all are given to sudden pseudo-profound pronouncements. One scene, in which Carver goes after Miranda while spouting chunks of the Abraham and Isaac story from the Bible, only to have her reply in kind, is an over-the-top classic of weirdness. There are nice touches-a low-profile local homicide detective sneering at the high-tech FBI, for instance-but for the most part the book is a stylistically perplexing mess. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal"In my line of work, we call it the f-word. Not the familiar obscenity but a close cousin and mercenary variant called fraud." Narrator Carver Harnett's job is to investigate insurance scams for Reliable Allied Trust in Omaha, NE, but it's a thankless task because "fraud runs through the insurance business like waste through a treatment plant," and the company would rather raise premiums on their honest customers than prosecute the fraudulent. When a fellow investigator is fired and later dies mysteriously, Carver discovers that deception and trickery run close to home. Why did the late Lenny Stillmach buy and then sell several life insurance policies worth a half million dollars to Heartland Viatical, a company he was supposed to be investigating? Did Lenny really have AIDS, as he claimed on the insurance applications, or was he involved in some huge con game? And what was his relationship with Miranda Pryor, a sexy co-worker for whom Carver feels unrequited lust? In his third novel, National Book Award finalist Dooling (White Man's Grave) tackles the murky world of viatical insurance ("where investors bet on how fast AIDS victims die") with mixed results. The premise is intriguing and the writing stylish, but the characters are mostly caricatures, and after a while the narrative becomes repetitive, tedious, and at times unbelievable. For larger collections.Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 58
Death at St James's Palace is the eighth novel the highly acclaimed Georgian mystery series featuring sleuthing apothecary, John Rawlings. In 1761, famous magistrate John Fielding is to be honoured with a knighthood. Founder of the Runners, London's metropolitan police force, John Fielding is one of several important members of the community who gather at St James's Palace for the investiture. As the invited audience eagerly crane for a first glimpse of the new queen, a terrible accident occurs when one of the crowd tumbles down the great staircase to his death. But not one person saw him begin to fall; even those standing closest to him had their eyes fixed on the royal entrance. Only one person witnessed anything untoward - John Fielding, a blindman. A whispered sentence, an exhalation of breath - these are the only clues available to suggest the fall was no accident. Apothecary John Rawlings, accompanying his friend Fielding to the ceremony, sets out to investigate and is soon drawn into a very intriguing mystery, in which suspicious characters abound. ** Views: 58
Archie Malcolm is a student, working for the Navy and looking for love. He’s a bell-ringer at the local cathedral, wondering where his life is going, when he is given his first task: to reduce the rise of illegal substances entering the UK. The opportunity for him to lead his own team of men is irresistible and he embarks on a journey that takes him to the Alps. The mission ultimately brings him closer to home than he could ever imagine and starts to conflict with former friends and those he loves and admired. When he finds the task given to him far greater than he could ever have expected, he turns to his friends for help. Will Archie discover the truth behind the corruption on his doorstep and bring down those responsible... And will he find love? Will his friends save him or will they be his downfall?The Ringer is a fast-paced action novel with a gripping plot and an ingenious unique bell-ringing story thread. Join the elite team who have been given a... Views: 58
The only certainty in life, according to these stories, comes from the accumulation of moments that refuse to be contained. The stories in Open cover these moments, familiar territory in the hands of most writers, in unfamiliar ways. The interconnectedness of a bus ride in Nepal and a wedding on the shore of Quidi Vidi Lake; the tension between a husband and wife when their infant cries before dawn (who will go to him?) and the husband's wrenching memory of an early love affair; two friends, one who suffers early in life and the other midway through - these are some of the subjects Lisa Moore treats with her incomparable style. Drawing on vivid landscapes both interior and exterior, Moore splices together the sudden shocks and subtle realizations that enter her characters' lives, using the piercing imagery and soulful technique that have won her acclaim from critics and her many fans. Views: 58
Steven Brust's first three novels featuring assassin Vlad Taltos and his jhereg companion were collected in one volume as The Book of Jhereg. The Book of Taltos continues the adventure with books four and five in the series—Taltos and Phoenix.Vlad Taltos is an assassin unlike no other. Not only is he quick with a sword, but he also possesses a gift for witchcraft conjuring. The latest addition to his already formidable arsenal is a leathery-winged jhereg who shares a telepathic link with Vlad—making him twice as deadly...The adventures chronicled in Taltos and Phoenix find Vlad accepting a job in the Land of the Dead, but a living human being cannot walk the paths of the dead and return, alive, to the land of men. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), the Demon Goddess is willing to rescue him—if Vlad is willing to grant her a favor in return... Views: 58
