The crime is inhumanly cruel with horrific consequences both unthinkable and inevitable. During a service at a cathedral in Cologne, Germany, a band of armed intruders dressed in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and terror, ruthlessly gunning down worshippers and clergy alike. The killers haven't come for the church's gold and valuable artwork, but for a priceless treasure secreted within; the preserved bones of the Three Magi who once came to pay homage to a newborn savior. As they flee the carnage they have wrought, they carry a prize that could reshape the world'. 'The Vatican is in turmoil, and Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome's carabinieri is assigned to lead the investigation. But no ordinary police organization alone can deal with the bizarre theft and massacre, and SIGMA Force - an elite covert arm of the U.S. Defense Department - is called in under the command of Grayson Pierce. New to Sigma, Pierce assembles a crack team of scientific and Special Forces operatives to unravel the mystery of the stolen bones, and together they set out on a twisting trail through a labyrinth of clues and dark revelations that carry them to the sites of the Seven Wonders of the World - and to the doorstep of the mystical and terrifying Dragon Court'. An ancient, secret fraternity of alchemists and assassins, the master-adepts of the Dragon Court have plans for the sacred remains that will alter the future of humankind in devastating ways that only the maddest of zealots could desire - and they will let nothing and no one stand in their way. Suddenly Pierce, Verona, and the Sigma team are the hunted as well as the hunters, forced to use every skill they possess to survive as they follow the bones to the ultimate confrontation between darkness and light - in a lost place of history where science and religion will unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time. Views: 50
An ancient secret is revealed in the eighth action-packed novel of The Hidden World of Changers series.War is waging between the Changer Nation and Sakura's army. It's the ultimate battle of good vs. evil. Meanwhile, Darren's brother has developed impundulu powers, Gabriella must deal with her own emotions, Fiona makes an attempt to unite the selkie faction, and Mack must stay on enemy lines, gathering intel. But when an ancient secret is revealed, at the very heart of the war, it just may be the end of the Changer world as we know it. Views: 50
Angela Pendergast, escapee from the Australian bush, grew up with the smell of hot mutton fat in her hair, the thought of her teeth crunching a cold Tim Tam chocolate biscuit-the height of decadent frivolity. Now, though her tastes have grown and she knows absolutely what she wants, her life is embarrassingly stuck. So when the Devil drops into her bedroom in her sharehouse in inner-city Sydney with a contract in hand, she signs. He's got only a Hell's week to fulfil his side, but in the meantime he must chaperone her-or is it the other way around?** Views: 50
Gathering together the most outstanding short stories of Susan Palwick's twenty-year literary career, The Fate of Mice is a powerful collection from an extraordinary fantasist. These unflinching tales, including three original pieces, consider a woman born with her heart exposed and the heartless killer who protects her, a wolf who is willingly ensnared by a devious academic, a businessman resurrected to play at politics, and an ingenious mouse dreaming beyond the laboratory.With the perceptiveness of Joyce Carol Oates, the inventiveness of Ray Bradbury, and the emotional resonance of Alice Sebold, The Fate of Mice is a meditation on the very art of storytelling: mythic, beautiful, and often brutal, filled with authentic compassion. Views: 50
An endearing and unforgettable memoir of love, self-discovery, and enduring, old-fashioned valuesKristine Gasbarre made a New York career of dating driven, inaccessible men. When she realizes her love life will never result in happiness if she continues on the same path, she makes a big decision--relocating to Italy to discover her roots and find out what defines her adoring grandpa. But upon receiving the news of his sudden passing, she is lured away.With nowhere left to go, Krissy returns to her small hometown for the first time in a decade to help care for her grandmother--a refined, private matriarch suf?fering from early dementia along with the loss of her husband. In her reluctant agreement to share the nearly lost love stories and transformative lessons from her rich sixty-year marriage, Krissy's grandma becomes the one of?fering comfort as she coaches her granddaughter through the fear of loving. Grandma's unapologetic femininity and secret giving... Views: 50
Available at a special low price for the first seven days of publication!With amiable drifters Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson as her escort, a beautiful redhead ran the gauntlet of death, travelling many a violent mile to give her testimony in court. Only the boss-outlaw had been captured. The rest of the Sharkey gang was still at large ... and gunning for her! Here was a test of nerve and strength, a challenge no Texan could ignore. When the danger was greatest, the drifters battled on, out-shooting the lawless and thumbing their noses at law and order! Views: 50
When the boy you love asks you to keep his greatest secret, do you? A thought-provoking, achingly complex novel about prejudice and the many meanings of love from Nina de Gramont, author of Meet Me at the River, which Kirkus Reviews called a “must-read.”Fifteen-year-old Wren has been content to stay in her best friend Allie’s shadow. It doesn’t bother her that Ally gets the cutest guys, the cutest clothes, and even a modeling gig—Wren is happy hanging with the horses on her family’s farm and avoiding the jealousy of other girls. But when Tim, the most intriguing guy in school, starts hanging out with Ally and Wren, jealousy is unavoidable, but not the kind Wren expects. Because even though Ally is wayyy into him and Wren hasn’t flirted, not one little bit, it becomes increasingly clear that Tim prefers Wren’s company above anyone else’s. Tim’s unexpected devotion comes at the exact time... Views: 50
January 1900, and Australia′s tropical north just got a little hotter.An outbreak of plague is suspected, and the Queensland Government sends Dr Alfred Jefferis Turner - small, refined and immaculately dressed - to assess the situation. Turner, armed with a microscope, a butterfly net and his lovelorn yet devout colleague, Dr Linford Row, is met with incredulity, not least by local councillors who insist it′s only typhoid. Fifty-two possible plague-carriers - including two prominent MPs - are isolated in a dilapidated quarantine station on Magnetic Island. Meanwhile, in town, the sewers overflow, the streets choke with rubbish; and still no-one wants to listen. When Dr Row delivers a letter from one of the quarantined men to his hauntingly beautiful wife, he ensnares both himself and the eccentric Dr Turner in a hotbed of small-town scandal and fear.Written with wit and wonder, Affection uncovers a unique period in Australian history. A novel based on a true story of shonky politics, courageous medicos, and humidity, it′s also a mystery of heart and mind. Views: 50
Little Chicago opens in the office of Children's Services, where eleven-year-old Blacky Brown is being interviewed by a social worker who is trying to determine what has happened to him. At first, Blacky's emotions are blocked, but then he reveals that he has been sexually abused by his mother's boyfriend, and is released into his mother's custody. Thus begins an alternately harrowing and hopeful story of a brave boy's attempts to come to grips with a grim reality Mary Jane, a classmate who is similarly ostracized, tries to help Blackie, but he soon takes refuge instead in the gun that he buys easily from his sister's boyfriend. Little Chicago is an unblinking look at the world of a child who has been neglected and abused. It portrays head-on the indifference and hostility of classmates, teachers, and even Blacky's mother, once these people learn his "secret." Like Sura in The Buffalo Tree and Whensday in The Copper Elephant, Blacky is one of Adam Rapp's mesmerizing voices,... Views: 50
