His Vengeance Will Be Repeated... A woman's slashed, incinerated corpse is found in a seedy New Orleans apartment. Her killer is certain there were no witnesses, unaware that his every move was seen by a beautiful stranger—from her bed in a bayou cottage on the outskirts of town. . .And Repeated... Weeks later, another violent vision shatters Olivia Bechet's sleep. Convinced a serial killer is stalking the city, Olivia turns to the authorities. But jaded detective Rick Bentz doesn't believe her—even when a second body turns up, slain in exactly the same bizarre, ritualistic manner Olivia described. . .And Repeated. . .As New Orleans panics in the icy grip of a merciless killer, Olivia is frustrated by Bentz's skepticism—and captivated by her attraction to him. But soon her dreams are invaded by images of another murder. One that has yet to be committed. This time, Olivia recognizes not only the victim's face—but the... Views: 33
Review“A MASTERPIECE . . . WOOD’S STORIES [ARE] FILLED WITH HOPE AND LIGHT.”–Titan magazine“Characters alternate between major and minor roles like players in a Robert Altman film. . . . Wood handles each voice with such grace that she disappears inside it right away. Her prose is careful yet still quivers. . . . Like an honest day’s work, it is both simple and more than enough.”–San Francisco Chronicle“The loving character portraits that form [these] stories help us understand not only the people of Maine but also the human condition.”–The Boston Globe“QUIETLY WONDERFUL FICTION . . .Wood does a splendid job of building a whole out of these parts. Each story can easily stand alone, yet every new one contains an object or memory we’ve seen in a previous story, usually from another perspective. The overall effect is one of panorama, the sense that though we haven’t met everyone in Abbott Falls, we’ve cast a good long glance at the range of hopes and heartaches the town contains.”–The Cleveland Plain Dealer“A collection of unforeseen awakening and unconditional love . . . It’s clear that this Maine author has plenty of talent to share with the world.”–Maine Sunday Telegram“Ernie’s Ark, a series of nine interlinked short stories, contains all the depth and range of emotions that a full-length novel enjoys. . . . [Wood’s] strength is her ability to create clear and sympathetic voices for each of her many characters. By the time you finish reading Ernie’s Ark, you will have a whole chorus of voices in your head, each echoing the rhythms of small-town life.”–Titan magazine“An eight-month strike at the paper mill has shivered apart Abbott Falls as neatly as though it were a chunk of mica; in her stories, Wood takes these fragments and holds them up to the light, revealing a world at once self-contained and wonderfully complex. . . . A fine collection by an author whose writing continues to grow with each published work.”–Down East magazine“Wood’s gift as a writer is to invest her short stories with real emotion . . . [She] uses deceptively simple language and an obvious sympathy for her characters to keep the tale triumphantly afloat.”–Casco Bay Weekly“Wood does a remarkable job of illuminating the characters’ inner lives–from disgruntled union workers to a flower store owner in a troubled marriage–skillfully layering their brief but complex stories with humor, empathy, and melancholy.”–Publishers Weekly“Touching . . . These quirky stories reaffirm faith in human resilience.”–BooklistFrom the Inside FlapThe paper mill looms up from the riverbank in Abbott Falls, Maine, a town once drenched with ordinary hopes and dreams, now praying for a small drop of good fortune. Ernie Whitten, a pipe fitter, was three weeks away from a pension-secured retirement when the union went on strike eight months ago. Now his wife Marie is ill. Struck with sudden inspiration, Ernie builds a giant ark in his backyard. It is a work of art for his wife; a vessel to carry them both away; or a plea for God to spare Marie, come hell or high water. As the ark takes shape, the rest of the town carries on. There's Dan Little, a building-code enforcer who comes to fine Ernie for the ark and makes a significant discovery about himself; Francine Love, a precocious thirteen-year-old who longs to be a part of the family-like world of the union workers; and Atlantic Pulp & Paper CEO Henry John McCoy, an impatient man wearily determined to be a good father to his twenty-six-year-old daughter. The people of Abbott Falls will try their best to hold a community together, against the fiercest of odds. . . . Views: 33
Angelica Garnett may truly be called a child of Bloomsbury. Her Aunt was Virginia Woolf, her mother Vanessa Bell, and her father Duncan Grant, though for many years Angelica believed herself, naturally enough, the daughter of Vanessa's husband Clive. Her childhood homes, Charleston in Sussex and Gordon Square in London, were both centres of Bloomsbury activity, and she grew up surrounded by the most talked-about writers and artists of the day - Leonard and Virginia Woolf, Roger Fry, the Stracheys, Maynard Keynes, David Garnett (whom she later married), and many others. But Deceived with Kindness is also a record of a young girl's particular struggle to achieve independence from that extraordinary and intense milieu as a mature and independent woman. With an honesty that is by degrees agonising and uplifting, the author creates a vibrant, poignant picture of her mother, Vanessa Bell, of her own emergent individuality, and of the Bloomsbury... Views: 33
Venice, 1468. Sosia Simeon, a free-spirited sensualist, is the lover of many men in the fabled city, though married to one she despises. On the edge of the Grand Canal, Wendelin von Speyer sets up the first printing press in Venice and looks for the book that will make his fortune. When he tempts fate by publishing Catullus, the poet whose desperate and unrequited love inspired the most tender and erotic poems of antiquity, a scandal is set in motion that will change all their lives forever. Views: 33
Father Roger Dowling is a busy man. He's got the ambitious and all-encompassing task of running St. Hilary's Parish, dealing with his busybody housekeeper, Mrs. Murkin, and counseling his flock with his characteristic blend of faith and compassion. He's not complaining, but it's no surprise that even a superior priest like Father Dowling needs a break now and again. So off he heads for a week-long retreat in Indiana on the quiet grounds of an old Catholic religious order, where he can meditate, reflect, and pray for a quick recharge of his waning energy.Unfortunately, Father Dowling's spiritual retreat turns into a baffling murder investigation when a dead man is found in a grotto on the order's grounds with the handle of an ax protruding from his back. Complicating matters is a long-running real-estate dispute that has pitted the brothers of the order against the previous owners of the huge and valuable piece of land on which their sanctuary sits.Who could have killed the man and why, and does it have something to do with the high-stakes mind games being played out between the parties vying for the land? No one's too sure, but what is clear is that Father Dowling is once again at the center of it all in another winning entry in a mystery series that's become an institution. Views: 33
THE RUN TO GITCHE GUMEE is pure Jones, revealing his wicked humor honed to a gleaming edge. Two boyhood friends on the cusp of manhood-Ben, about to go off to the Korean War, and Harry, college-bound to become a doctor-set off on the final adventure of their youth: a canoe trip down the Firesteel River to Lake Superior, also known as Gitche Gumee. But their idyllic ride becomes surreal as unexpected encounters with millionaires, college girls, hippies, and lunatics are by turns titillating, nerve-wracking, and deadly. Fifty years later, Ben and Harry, now confronting their mortality, decide to re-create their canoe trip as a last hurrah. This time the bravado of youth is replaced with the wisdom of their years and the pain of their pasts. This time they have little left to lose. THE RUN TO GITCHE GUMEE is Jones at his very best. Views: 33
In this cerebral novel, the capstone to British author Stableford's (Inherit the Earth, etc.) much praised six-volume future history concerning the search for "emortality" (technologically assisted near-immortality), Madoc Tamlin, a 22nd-century shyster with a heart of gold, is defrosted after more than 1,000 years in suspended animation, only to discover that his awakening has been nothing more than a trial run for a more important revival. The posthuman emortals of the 35th century are preparing to bring back Adam Zimmerman, aka the Man Who Stole the World. Zimmerman, whose takeover of Earth actually saved the planet from environmental collapse in the 21st century, is the near-mythic founder of the movement that led to the emortal, posthuman culture that now inhabits our solar system. As Tamlin learns more about the society into which he has newly awakened, he discovers that it contains a number of rival factions, each of which espouses a different sort of emortality. Stableford does a fine job of pulling together an enormous number of loose threads. If his characters are sometimes flat, his presentation of the possible marvels of posthumanity is quite compelling, as is his thoughtful examination of the potential involved in near immortality. Readers who stick with this complex, intellectually challenging series to the end will find their tenacity well rewarded. Views: 33
A Detective Chief Inspector Wexford novel. The fatal car accident involving the stockbroker Fanshawe couldn't possibly be connected with the murder of a cocky little lorry driver. But was it a coincidence that the latter died the day after Mrs Fanshawe regained consciousness? Views: 33
Thoroughly delightful book about the goings-on in a law firm around 1920. Wryly humorous, at times full of wise discourse on the law and humanity, it is a far, far cry from Train's other books. Not a twinge of his preacherly manner. A real precursor to Perry Mason, or Poirot, complete with its Miss Wiggins (Della Street and Miss Lemon), Willie the office boy, and Bonnie Doon, the gumshoe of the outfit. Copmprised of seven short stories, the first two being murder cases, in which Mr.Tutt gets the murderer off in such a way that we agree with him. Of course, in the second instance, the murderer was promptly shot himself. But in the first, he was definitely guilty. There are a whole series of these books which were quite popular in their day, and I can see why. The courts in those times seem to have been much more lax in their procedures than nowadays. Views: 33
New York Times bestselling author David Duchovny reimagines the Irish mythological figure of Emer in Miss Subways, a darkly comic fantasy love story set in New York City.Emer is just a girl living in New York City who takes the subway, buys ice cream from the bodega on the corner, has writerly aspirations, and lives with her boyfriend, Con. But is this life she lives the only path she's on? Taking inspiration from the myth of Emer and Cuchulain and featuring an all-star cast of mythical figures from all over the world, David Duchovny's darkly funny fantasy novel Miss Subways is one woman's trippy, mystical journey down parallel tracks of time and love. On the way, Emer will battle natural and supernatural forces to find her true voice, power, and destiny. A fairy tale of love lost and regained, Miss Subways is also a love letter to the city that enchants us all: New York. Views: 33
