EDITORIAL REVIEW:
*The Unlikely Spy*, Daniel Silva's extraordinary debut novel, was applauded by critics as it rocketed onto national bestseller lists. Now Silva has outdone himself, with a taut, lightning-paced thriller rooted assuredly in fact: Switzerland's shameful WWII record of profiteering and collaboration with Nazi Germany.
When art restorer and occasional Israeli agent Gabriel Allon is sent to Zurich, Switzerland, to restore the painting of a reclusive millionaire banker, he arrives to find his would-be employer murdered at the foot of his Raphael. A secret collection of priceless, illicitly gained Impressionist masterpieces is missing. Gabriel's handlers step out of the shadows to admit the truth-the collector had been silenced-and Gabriel is put back in the high-stakes spy game, battling wits with the rogue assassin he helped to train. Tense, taut, expertly crafted, and brimming with unexpected reversals, *The English Assassin* is Daniel Silva at his storytelling best. Views: 137
The voice of an extraordinary new fantasist sings out strong and true in this epic and magical tale of intrigue, forbidden love, and shocking betrayal in a wondrous, barbaric realm where beauty is a weapon . . . and treachery an art. The river god had spared the infant girl the villagers found drifting on a boat with a dead man and dying woman, so the superstitious townsfolk believed it would be a sacrilege to let the child die as well. The name Lale, meaning "lucky," is the last good thing they give her, and she grows up abused, unloved, and resented -- until, at age eleven, she comes to the attention of Makina Seval, "Mother Midnight," the absolute ruler of the Despotate of Tamurin. Enrolled in Three Springs, the Despotana's special school for orphaned and unwanted girls, young Lale finally finds what she has always coveted: respect, affection, community . . . a home. But Three Springs is an institution of dark and shadowy purpose, a place where the wards of Mother Midnight are trained to become perfect spies and cold-blooded, ruthlessly efficient killers. And Lale has learned her lessons well. At age twenty, she stands poised to play her role in the Despotana's grandest scheme: vengeance. Years earlier Makina Seval's entire family -- including her infant son, the rightful heir to the Bethiyan throne -- was brutally slain through the plots of a devious chancellor, who then raised up a young usurper to be the Sun Lord. Now it is Lale's duty to insinuate her way into the court -- and the bed -- of that same usurper, Terem Rathai, no longer a child but a powerful and dangerous foe. And after she has earned Terem's trust, Lale is to kill him. Bound by the blackest sorcery to remain loyal to her beloved Mother, Lale will suffer nightmarish torment -- even death -- if she fails. But once enmeshed in the web of deceit and treachery that has been spun around her, the young assassin begins to doubt the righteousness of her sworn mission. For not only will the Despotana's grand design bring doom upon the world itself, there hangs over Lale yet another appalling catastrophe -- one that threatens all that she is, all she has ever believed. Lale has fallen in love with the man she must destroy. . . . Views: 137
I thought he was the one. I thought we were headed someplace great. I didn't know anything.My mystery man is no longer such a mystery. He's still commanding and headstrong, playing my body and mind like an instrument, but I'm finding there are layers to him I never could have dreamed. What I've learned since that fateful night in his apartment has me reeling. Now, though, the truth has taken a backstage to other, more pressing matters.While I struggle to make a choice that will determine the direction of my future, lies that I thought had been carefully hidden away are coming to light. My head is such a mess I don't know what's up or down anymore. Will I be able to sort it all out, or will the life I've worked so hard to build come crashing down in a pile of secrets and lies? Views: 136
A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader. Views: 135
Eighth-grader Vee is doomed to move to a new town, away from her BFFs Megan and Lulu. To get a jump on her new social life, she starts snapping with local Queen Bee, Gwynneth. Megan and Lulu have mixed feelings about G., but Vee's snapstreak with her is well under way when they get the biggest news EVER: The local radio station is hosting a Boys Being Dudes concert for the pair of students from different schools who can prove the longest running snapstreak! Vee could win this!The girls' BBD dreams are in reach when a gym class concussion lands Vee in bed, under a strict phone ban. It's up to Megan and Lulu to keep the streak going. Views: 134
The world's most revered and eloquent interpreter of evolutionary ideas offers here a work of explanatory force unprecedented in our time--a landmark publication, both for its historical sweep and for its scientific vision. With characteristic attention to detail, Stephen Jay Gould first describes the content and discusses the history and origins of the three core commitments of classical Darwinism: that natural selection works on organisms, not genes or species; that it is almost exclusively the mechanism of adaptive evolutionary change; and that these changes are incremental, not drastic. Next, he examines the three critiques that currently challenge this classic Darwinian edifice: that selection operates on multiple levels, from the gene to the group; that evolution proceeds by a variety of mechanisms, not just natural selection; and that causes operating at broader scales, including catastrophes, have figured prominently in the course of evolution. Then, in a stunning tour de force that will likely stimulate discussion and debate for decades, Gould proposes his own system for integrating these classical commitments and contemporary critiques into a new structure of evolutionary thought. In 2001 the Library of Congress named Stephen Jay Gould one of America's eighty-three Living Legends--people who embody the "quintessentially American ideal of individual creativity, conviction, dedication, and exuberance." Each of these qualities finds full expression in this peerless work, the likes of which the scientific world has not seen--and may not see again--for well over a century. Views: 131
Profiles more than 500 men and women, along with key events and geographical locations, who played out their lives as gunfighters, robbers, and peace officers in the Old West.
About the Author
Leon C. Metz is a critically acclaimed author and expert on the Old West. He is the author of sixteen nonfiction books, including Pat Garrett: Story of a Western Lawman and The Shooters: A Gallery of Notorious Gunmen from the American West. He has appeared on The Learning Channel's series Gunfighters of the Old West and will be included in a forthcoming documentary of the Old West to be broadcast on The History Channel. Mr. Metz lives in El Paso, TX. Views: 131
Ellie, Magda and Nadine are back - but they're not very happy! Ellie's glorious romance with Russell is teetering on the rocks. Magda's lost her pet and is desperately upset (though the others didn't even know she still had a hamster!). And Nadine is fed up with the other two lecturing her about the dangers of meeting someone on the Internet. She thinks her e-mail boyfriend sounds wonderful! Buckets of tears are wept and hundreds of tissues sniffled into. Can the girls' friendship survive these testing times? A superb fourth instalment in the GIRLS series, following GIRLS IN LOVE, GIRLS UNDER PRESSURE and GIRLS OUT LATE. A perfect read for older fans from the best-selling author, Jacqueline Wilson. Views: 130
From the internationally #1 bestselling novelist comes a tale of small time criminals on a new grift that might cost them everything.Peppard and Jarman have a new grift that seems simple enough: Go to the airport. Imitate a hired driver by copying a name that they see in the crowd. Collect the passenger before the real drive does, take him to a secluded area and rob them. It seems like a simple plan to make some quick cash for these two amateurs—that is, until they finally meet a pro."Meet and Greet" by Ian Rankin is one of 20 short stories within Mulholland Books's Strand Originals series, featuring thrilling stories by the biggest names in mystery from the Strand Magazine archives. View the full series list at mulhollandbooks.com and read them all! Views: 128
