The first collection of stories Stephen King has published since *Nightmares & Dreamscapes* nine years ago, *Everything's Eventual* includes one O. Henry Prize winner, two other award winners, four stories published by *The New Yorker,* and "Riding the Bullet," King's original e-book, which attracted over half a million online readers and became the most famous short story of the decade.
"Riding the Bullet," published here on paper for the first time, is the story of Alan Parker, who's hitchhiking to see his dying mother but takes the wrong ride, farther than he ever intended. In "Lunch at the Gotham Café," a sparring couple's contentious lunch turns very, very bloody when the maître d' gets out of sorts. "1408," the audio story in print for the first time, is about a successful writer whose specialty is "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Graveyards" or "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses," and though Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel doesn't kill him, he won't be writing about ghosts anymore. And in "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French," terror is déjà vu at 16,000 feet.
Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, from quitting smoking to yard sales, Stephen King is at the top of his form in the fourteen dark tales assembled in *Everything's Eventual.* Intense, eerie, and instantly compelling, they announce the stunningly fertile imagination of perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time. Views: 253
Vince Luca is just like any other high school guy. His best friend, Alex, is trying to score vicariously through him; his brother is a giant pain; and his father keeps bugging him to get motivated. There is just one thing that really sets him apart for other kidshis father happens to be the head of a powerful crime organization. Needless to say, while Vince's family's connections can be handy for certain things-like when teachers are afraid to give him a bad grade as they can put a serious crimp in his dating life. How is he supposed to explain to a girl what his father does for a living? But when Vince finally meets one who seems to be worth the trouble, her family turns out to be the biggest problem of all. Because her father is an FBI agent-the one who wants to put his father away for good. Views: 252
Pixie Kitchy was once Miss New Jersey. Now she's married to a dentist, an ex-quarterback in turtled golf pants. Her ten-year-old daughter, Mitzie, wears Bo-peep pincurls and twirls baton. Her sixteen-year-old son, Ezra, the person who knows her best, is caught up in his fling with the podiatrist's daughter. And Pixie is consumed by the past. She confides, "I was a housewife, and I became dangerous. Sometimes it's the only way possible to regain footing in the world." In this high-wire mixture of absurdity and pathos, hilarity and darkness, one American family finds out that there is no such thing as the perfect American family, and, for better or for worse, they come together and start anew. Views: 251
This is the first stunning installment of a riveting new mystery series that uncovers the secrets of the dead. Pale as the Dead deals with the mysterious death of Lizzie Siddal, a real and fascinating historical figure whose beauty and tragic life have made her into a legend. (She was the model for the famous painting on the cover of the book.) Lizzie's death has always been shrouded in mystery. She is perhaps best known for the macabre story that tells of her husband, the Pre-Raphaelite artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, having her coffin dug up to retrieve some poems he had buried with her. When the coffin was opened, Lizzie was said to be as beautiful as the day she died.Pale as the Dead is the story of how the disappearance of a young girl, Bethany, appears to be linked in some way to Lizzie Siddal. Our detective is Natasha Blake, a complex young genealogist with a passion for history. Natasha's career choice is partly driven by the mystery of her own... Views: 249
A master writer of espionage" (Cincinnati Enquirer), Daniel Silva makes his Signet debut with his most acclaimed novel to date...Framed for the murder of a millionaire banker, Israeli spy by trade and art restorer by preference, Gabriel Allon, will have to fight for his life-against an assassin he himself helped train. Views: 249
Acclaimed author Irene Radford returns to her beloved Dragon Nibmus universe with book one of The Stargods. Here is the tale of the first Terrans, gifted with both psi powers and technology, who discovered a world where dragons are real...and are worshiped as gods. Views: 248
The right man at the right time...
Rescuing beautiful women in distress is all in a day's work for police captain Christopher Banning. Until the day the ruggedly handsome cop realizes it's Mary Brendan Lassiter, freshman congresswoman from Maryland, that he's saved from a mugger. Enchanted by her turquoise eyes and quick mind, Chris falls hard for the plucky redhead. But Mary Bren has made more than a few enemies as chairwoman of a committee investigating corruption in the D.C. police department. And when a stalker threatens her life, Chris is determined to keep Mary Bren safe, whatever it takes.... Views: 248
Rage Winnoway’s closest friends have always been her four dogs: Bear, Billy Thunder, Elle, and Mr. Walker. When Rage sets off for the hospital where her mother lies in a coma, the dogs and the neighbor’s goat tag along. On the way, they run into the firecat, who talks them into going through a magical gate. And something wonderful happens! Each of Rage’s friends is transformed. Bear becomes a real bear; Billy Thunder, a teenage boy; Elle, a warrior woman; Mr. Walker, a small, large-eared gentleman; and the goat, a satyr with an inferiority complex. Together, Rage and her companions embark on a quest to save the world of Valley, a journey that is somehow tied to Rage’s family. In this brilliant tale of courage and transformation, Isobelle Carmody captures the magic of Narnia and the whimsy of Wonderland without losing sight of the real world and all its difficulties.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 247
Now updated with new material that brings the killer's picture into clearer focus.
In the fall of 1888, all of London was held in the grip of unspeakable terror. An elusive madman calling himself Jack the Ripper was brutally butchering women in the slums of London’s East End. Police seemed powerless to stop the killer, who delighted in taunting them and whose crimes were clearly escalating in violence from victim to victim. And then the Ripper’s violent spree seemingly ended as abruptly as it had begun. He had struck out of nowhere and then vanished from the scene. Decades passed, then fifty years, then a hundred, and the Ripper’s bloody sexual crimes became anemic and impotent fodder for puzzles, mystery weekends, crime conventions, and so-called “Ripper Walks” that end with pints of ale in the pubs of Whitechapel. But to number-one New York Times bestselling novelist Patricia Cornwell, the Ripper murders are not cute little mysteries to be transformed into parlor games or movies but rather a series of terrible crimes that no one should get away with, even after death. Now Cornwell applies her trademark skills for meticulous research and scientific expertise to dig deeper into the Ripper case than any detective before her—and reveal the true identity of this fabled Victorian killer.
In Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed, Cornwell combines the rigorous discipline of twenty-first century police investigation with forensic techniques undreamed of during the late Victorian era to solve one of the most infamous and difficult serial murder cases in history. Drawing on unparalleled access to original Ripper evidence, documents, and records, as well as archival, academic, and law-enforcement resources, FBI profilers, and top forensic scientists, Cornwell reveals that Jack the Ripper was none other than a respected painter of his day, an artist now collected by some of the world’s finest museums: Walter Richard Sickert.
It has been said of Cornwell that no one depicts the human capability for evil better than she. Adding layer after layer of circumstantial evidence to the physical evidence discovered by modern forensic science and expert minds, Cornwell shows that Sickert, who died peacefully in his bed in 1942, at the age of 81, was not only one of Great Britain’s greatest painters but also a serial killer, a damaged diabolical man driven by megalomania and hate. She exposes Sickert as the author of the infamous Ripper letters that were written to the Metropolitan Police and the press. Her detailed analysis of his paintings shows that his art continually depicted his horrific mutilation of his victims, and her examination of this man’s birth defects, the consequent genital surgical interventions, and their effects on his upbringing present a casebook example of how a psychopathic killer is created.
New information and startling revelations detailed in Portrait of a Killer include:
How a year-long battery of more than 100 DNA tests—on samples drawn by Cornwell’s forensics team in September 2001 from original Ripper letters and Sickert documents—yielded the first shadows of the 75- to 114 year-old genetic evid...
Views: 247
Imogen's marriage has hardly been an exciting affair, but when her husband Edward dies she's alarmed to discover that he hadn't been nearly as predictable as she'd always thought. Still reeling from the shock of his death, Imogen is mystified when she finds a photograph of a seductive-looking young blonde among Edward's papers. Could it be that the seemingly reliable (and actually quite boring) Edward was having an affair? Imogen is desperate to learn the truth but her best friend, Jude, thinks she should leave the past behind and join her in her search for the perfect man. Should Imogen throw off her widow's weeds, don some war paint, and join the battle to find a single man who isn't bitter, twisted, or still living with his mother? She isn't sure she's ready for trial-by-dating agencies and lonely hearts columns. But though everyone keeps telling her that all she needs is time, could it be that what she really needs is a date? With her characteristic... Views: 247
After 10 years of globe-trotting, burned-out ex-CIA operative Donovan Lassiter was ready to return home. But Donovan needed solitude to wrestle with his demons. His cabin in the wooded hills of Maryland was the perfect place for a little soul-searching -- or so he thought.
Donovan's peaceful existence was shattered when beautiful widow Andi Brady and her children moved next door. Andi needed help to prove her late husband's innocence and knew Donovan was the only man for the job. But could he focus on the case when he was in danger -- of losing his heart? Views: 246
A charming rogue
From the moment Summer O'Connor laid eyes on him, she knew she was in trouble. Everything about Cameron Lassiter screamed success-from his perfect suit to his perfect smile. Summer knew all about guys like him. What she didn't know was that the high-powered attorney had a soft spot for people in trouble. Cam was more than happy to work with the beautiful social worker on a difficult case. Unfortunately Summer had a strict rule: Never mix business with pleasure. But the drop-dead gorgeous Lassiter with a heart of gold had a way of charming a woman once he got her in his arms... Views: 242
Four award-winning authors. Four amazing alternate histories.In this collection of novellas, four masters of alternate history turn back time, twisting the facts with four excursions into what might have been. Bestselling author Harry Turtledove imagines a different fate for Socrates (now Sokrates); S. M. Stirling envisions life "in the wilds of a re-barbarized Texas" after asteroids strike the earth in the 19th century; Sidewise winner Mary Gentle contributes a story of love (and pigs) set in the mid-15th century, as European mercenaries prepare to sack a Gothic Carthage; and Nebula nominee Walter Jon Williams pens a tale of Nietzsche intervening in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.Amazon.com ReviewAlternate history is the branch of speculative fiction that explores what might have happened if history had taken a different turn. The obvious changes, like the Nazis winning World War II, have filled innumerable novels. Fortunately, the anthology Worlds That Weren't avoids the obvious with its four fine new novellas from four superior authors: Harry Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, Mary Gentle, and Walter Jon Williams. The collection opens with "The Daimon," written by Harry Turtledove, AH's best-known practitioner. In Turtledove's turning point, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates chooses to accompany General Alkibiades to war instead of remaining in Athens, and sets Alkibiades on a triumphant, terrible new course. Set in the British India-dominated alternate history of The Peshawar Lancers, S.M. Stirling's novella is a rousing old-fashioned adventure. "Shikari in Galveston" follows a hunting safari through a regressed American frontier that might have given even Daniel Boone pause. A prequel to her Book of Ash tetralogy, Mary Gentle's novella "The Logistics of Carthage" concerns Christian warriors serving pagan Turks in a North Africa conquered by Visigoths instead of Vandals, and is the strongest story in Worlds That Weren't. The collection concludes with "The Last Ride of German Freddie," in which Nebula Award winner Walter Jon Williams considers what might have happened if the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had taken himself and his superman theories to the Wild West. --Cynthia WardFrom Publishers WeeklyWhat if, in any single moment, history had taken a different turn? In the engaging Worlds That Weren't, bestselling author Harry Turtledove imagines a different fate for Socrates (which he spells Sokrates); S.M. Stirling envisions life "in the wilds of a re-barbarized Texas" after asteroids strike the earth in the 19th century; Sidewise winner Mary Gentle contributes "a piece of flotsam" from her epic Ash a story of love (and pigs) set in the mid-15th century, as European mercenaries prepare to sack a Gothic Carthage; and Nebula nominee Walter Jon Williams pens the tale of Nietzsche intervening in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Views: 240
Unless Philip, Lord Pemberton, could arrange a six-month marriage he would lose his inheritance. But how could he find a respectable young lady to go along with such a scheme? Coincidentally, Madeline Delaware was desperate to escape from her dissolute uncle, so what better solution could there be? But the six-month marriage turned out to be far from the peaceful interlude that she had envisaged. And why, when the marriage was simply a convenient arrangement, did Madeline find it so difficult to think of its end? Views: 239
It is often spur-of-the-moment decisions, sometimes made by others, that can change our whole lives.
Bestselling author Jeffrey Archer returns with a powerful tale of twins separated by fate and reunited by destiny.
In the late 1940's in Hartford, Connecticut a set of twins is parted at birth. Nat Cartwright goes home with his parents, a schoolteacher and an insurance salesman. But his twin brother is to begin his days as Fletcher Andrew Davenport, the only son of a multi-millionaire and his society wife.
During the years that follow, the two brothers grow up unaware of each other's existence. Nat leaves college at the University of Connecticut to serve in Vietnam. He returns a war hero, finishes school and becomes a successful banker. Fletcher, meanwhile, has graduated from Yale University and distinguishes himself as a criminal defense lawyer before he is elected to the Senate.
Even when Nat and Fletcher fall in love with the same girl they still don't meet. They continue on their separate paths until one has to defend the other for a murder he did not commit. But the final confrontation comes when Nat and Fletcher are selected to stand against each other for governor of the state.
In the tradition of Jeffrey Archer's most popular books, Sons of Fortune is as much a chronicle of a nation in transition as it is the story of two remarkable men and how, eventually, they come to discover the truth - and its extraordinary consequences... Views: 239
