Laura Cardinal, a detective with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, is called to a crime scene in the town of Bisbee. The body of a teenage girl has been discovered-bearing all the signs of a serial sexual predator, and calling to mind the murder of Laura's schoolmate 18 years earlier. Views: 38
EDITORIAL REVIEW: She's learned the hard way that following her impulses lands her in trouble. But being a by-the-book girl has never been so hard for Yasmine Talbot since the hot new guy started at work. Meeting deadlines is impossible with that delicious bod around. It's time to corner him under the mistletoe with a naughty suggestion or two! Alex DiCarlo is so hot for Yasmine, he's almost forgotten that he's undercover investigating her. He tells himself that spending the holidays with her is perfect for some intimate observation. Truth is, he's so enjoying this sinfully sexy weekend, he wants it to continue. Too bad flings weren't meant to last.... Views: 38
Disaster brought them together and, despite desire, may ultimately keep them apart.Wind. Fire. Ice. Love.Nothing for Gable McCoy and Erin Richards seems to go smoothly. From the tornado that sets its sights on them, to the perils they face as volunteer firefighters, the forces of nature conspire to bring them close to danger, and closer to each other.From the author of the acclaimed intrigue/romance, Hunter's Pursuit. Views: 38
In his New York Times notable debut, The Ice Harvest, Scott Phillips gave readers an instant noir classic that spanned twenty-four eventful hours in the life of a mob lawyer hoping to skip town (namely Wichita) with a small fortune. Phillips followed with the acclaimed sequel, The Walkaway, showing how a seeming windfall can wreak wicked havoc on the lives of its recipients. Now this award-winning author broadens his canvas, writing his most accomplished novel yet—one that is rich in suspense, drama, historical sweep, and Phillips’s unique blend of unforgettable characters. In 1872, Cottonwood, Kansas, is a one-horse speck on the map; a community of run-down farms, dusty roads, and two-bit crooks. Self-educated saloon owner and photographer Bill Ogden looks on his adopted town with an eye to making a profit or getting out. His brains and ambition bring him to the attention of one Marc Leval, a wealthy Chicago developer with big plans for the small town. The advent of the railroad and rumors of a cattle trail turn Cottonwood into a wild and wooly boomtown—and with Leval as a partner, Ogden dreams of bringing civilization to the prairie. But civilizing the Great Plains was never that simple. While many in Cottonwood distrust Leval’s motives, and mob violence threatens to derail the town’s dreams of greatness, Ogden finds himself dangerously obsessed with Leval’s stunningly beautiful wife. Meanwhile, plying its sinister trade unnoticed, an apparently ordinary local farm family quietly butchers traveling salesmen, weary travelers, and other unsuspecting wanderers. In his own inimitable brand of narrative wizardry, Scott Phillips traces the metamorphosis of a frontier town that becomes a lightning rod for sin, corruption, and murder. He also brings to life actual crimes that befell Kansas in the 1870s and 1880s, carried out by a strange clan who popularly became known as The Bloody Benders. Brilliantly written, maliciously fun, and full of many surprises, Cottonwood is historical fiction at its finest. From the Hardcover edition.**From Publishers WeeklyWestern epic, black comedy and soft porn are cleverly spliced in this genre-bending offering from Phillips (The Walkaway; The Ice Harvest), which relates the experiences of Bill Ogden, sometime farmer, sometime saloon-owner, sometime photographer in 1870s Kansas. Ogden, 27, is a self-taught Greek and Latin scholar and a sexual libertine capable of seducing almost any woman he encounters. Estranged from his wife, he never brags about his peccadilloes, although it seems that his devotion to oral sex sets him apart from rivals and makes him the heart's desire of the voracious women who seem to be everywhere on the frontier. The story, such as it is, centers on the arrival of Marc Leval and his lovely wife, Maggie, in the tiny farm community of Cottonwood. Marc capriciously selects Bill as a partner in his scheme to attract Texas drovers to a railhead, while Maggie plays a less-than-discreet game of spider and fly with Bill, the Kansas Casanova. In the meantime, an outlaw family embarks on a crime spree that eventually pits Bill against Marc and sends Bill and Maggie fleeing. Jumping ahead 20 years, Bill's story resumes in San Francisco, where he is making his way as a photographer and sexual athlete. He learns that Maggie, from whom he is long separated, has returned to Cottonwood, so he abandons his life in California and returns, bent on rekindling their love affair. Bill's salaciousness rivals Don Juan's and he is utterly devoid of scruples, but his deadpan humor and cunning indifference to life's vicissitudes keep him likable. Lively pacing and artful prose lend polish to Phillips's cheerfully grotesque chronicle of western antics. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistAt first glance, Phillips' third effort seems like quite a departure from his previous noirish crime novels, but it quickly becomes apparent that the author's brand of sly humor and his skilled depictions of nasty human behavior translate well to the historical genre. Set in frontier Kansas, spanning the years 1872 to 1890, the novel tracks the evolution of the young town of Cottonwood, rumored to be a future railroad stop, and its inhabitants, poised to take advantage of the fortunes that will come rolling in on the train tracks. Unfortunately trouble ensues while the residents wait for their ships to come in--most notably, they discover a family of serial killers in their midst (based on a real Kansas family known as the Bloody Benders). Our hero is saloon keeper Bill Ogden, who serves as the town's voice of reason until he takes the wrong married woman to bed. Romance, intrigue, dueling pistols, and a Charles Willeford feel translated to the frontier--a little something for everyone. Carrie BisseyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 38
When the going gets tough, you find out who your friends really are...Laura Fanning has talent to burn, a brand-new jewellery design company and a wonderful husband. Nicola Peters has independence, a job she loves and her own home. Helen Jackson has a killer wardrobe, a thriving career and a lively and engaging daughter.But all is not as it seems. Laura's struggling to live up to her parents' impossible expectations, Nicola is coping with a life-changing event, Helen's worried that her maternal instinct has gone AWOL - and trying to cope with their problems alone is driving the three friends apart just when they need each other most.Then into the mix comes Chloe Fallon. She's marrying gorgeous Dan Hunt and planning the wedding of the year, but little does she realise how much chaos her wedding preparations are about to cause... Views: 38
The first Norman castle is being built in Engla-lond--whether the Anglo-Saxons want it or not. Set in the Dark Ages of Engla-lond, the Last Tales of Mercia are ten short stories featuring real historical figures and characters from the Sons of Mercia series. All ten stories form a prequel to the novel, Edric the Wild. Though strongly connected to the series, they can be read independently. Views: 38
On the heels of the stunning success of the Summer '04 award-winning bestseller Brooklyn Noir, this second volume digs deeper into the criminal history of New York's punchiest and most alluring borough. Brooklyn Noir 2 offers short stories by the classic authors who blazed the path for the success of the first volume, which award-winning mystery author Laura Lippman called, "a stunningly perfect combination . . . the writing is flat-out superb, filled with lines that will sing in your head for a long time to come." Brooklyn Noir was featured in every media outlet in New York City (including two New York Times features and an appearance on the Leonard Lopate NPR radio show), as well as publications and media all across the country (and the UK, Australia, Italy, etc.).Once again in *Brooklyn Noir 2*, each story is set in a distinct Brooklyn neighborhood and mixes masters of genre with some of the best literary fiction writers to ever set foot in the borough. These brilliant and chilling stories see crime striking in communities of Russians, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Irish, and many other ethnicities--in the most diverse urban location on the planet.Contributors:H.P. Lovecraft, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, Pete Hamill, Jonathan Lethem, Colson Whitehead, Carolyn Wheat, Thomas Wolfe, Hubert Selby, Jr., Stanley Ellin, Gilbert Sorrentino, Maggie Estep, Salvatore La Puma, and Irwin Shaw. Views: 38
An unusual proposal… Self-made millionaire Tye Gibson has come home to the Outback-to find himself a bride! Lizzy Walker is delighted when Tye offers her a job. Working for his company could be just what her career-and her bank account-need. Only the job is not quite what she expects. She has to find Tye a bride within two months-or she might have to marry him herself! Views: 37
The thrilling combat memoir by special operations sniper Paul Martinez, who spent seven years in Special Operations and was a sniper assigned to 3rd Ranger Battalion.America has one force with the single mission of direct action to capture or kill the enemy. That force is the 75th Ranger Regiment. Staff Sergeant Paul Martinez was a Ranger Sniper with the 75th Rangers during the desperate fighting in Afghanistan in 2011 when the United States made the decision to try to withdraw from Afghanistan. It was never going to be easy. There were still a large number of senior Taliban and al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists in secure locations throughout that country. If the United States withdrew from Afghanistan with these terrorists and their networks still intact, they could quickly take over the country and undo all the gains that we made.These terrorists needed to be eliminated, and there was only one force to do it—the Rangers. The mission was to... Views: 37
When local entertainer Grace Brennan starts receiving threatening gifts and notes, it isn't long before her career, health and relationships all start to crumble. As the situation worsens, Grace realizes that musician Michael Gold is the only person she can trust...with her life! Views: 37
They're Not Just For Breakfast Anymore. . .Hot. Delicious. So satisfying. Who wouldn't want to start the day with a little bad boy breakfast in bed. . .or anywhere else?Erin McCarthy Fuzzy LogicAshley Andrews' shopaholic ways have landed her with massive credit card debt and an ingenious way of paying it off—as a part-time Pleasure Party consultant. Demonstrating romance-enhancing products to women seems like a great idea, until a box of neon colored sex toys and edible body lotions is accidentally delivered to her next-door neighbor, gorgeous, brainy Lucas Manning. Can we say, oops? Opening that Pandora's box is an earth-shaking discovery for Lucas. The scientist in him can't resist the opportunity to test the validity of some of Ashley's products. . .but the man in him can't resist showing Ashley exactly how he has felt about her for a very long time. . . Views: 37
