A Chicago Tribune Favorite Book of 2007
The internationally acclaimed bestselling author of Smilla's Sense of Snow returns with this "engrossing, beautifully written tale of suspense . . . captivating" (The Miami Herald).
Kaspar Krone is a world-renowned circus clown, and a man in some deep trouble. Drowning in gambling debt and wanted for tax evasion, Krone is drafted into the service of a mysterious order of nuns who promise him reprieve in return for his help safeguarding a group of children with mystical abilities that Krone also shares. When one of the children goes missing, Krone sets off to find the young girl and bring her back, making a shocking series of discoveries along the way. The Quiet Girl is an exuberant philosophical thriller that is "every bit as adventuresome and ambitious as Smilla's Sense of Snow, even more so" (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Views: 337
Comedy and mystery with a twist of supernatural - tales of reality and beyond ‘I recommend these stories to those who enjoy a bit of the macabre with a blend of mystery and a twist of supernatural on the side.’ Readers\' FavouriteSleuthing For BeginnersAngela has always had a secret ambition to be a private detective. After her neighbour dies suddenly she launches her own investigation, with unexpected results.A Peaceful DeathGeorge, who has been obsessed with death since his father died, is visited by The Angel of Death, who strikes an unusual bargain.A Girl’s Best FriendAli, the sole beneficiary of her uncle’s will, learns that he may have a secret, ill-gotten fortune stashed away. But she soon discovers she\'s not the only one determined to find it.The MuseEsther, a struggling romance writer, meets her muse Alfred, and he moves in, providing her with a constant source of inspiration. But is the cost too high?If you like comedy, mystery and fantasy, and you’re looking for a book you can read on the train or in a couple of spare hours, this book of short stories is for you.‘I love Robin Storey\'s dry wit and realistic characterization of the foibles of human nature.’ Pamela Mariko.Scroll up and click the Buy Button now to start reading this diverse collection of entertaining stories.AUTHOR INTERVIEWDid you come up with the idea of an anthology of short stories and then write them?Not at all. The stories were already written, but not doing anything much, just lounging around in the Short Stories folder on my computer, eating pizza and watching Netflix. So I decided it was time they earned their keep.Why did you choose those particular stories?They all have a common thread of an element of humour, albeit subtle humour for the most part. Two of them are crime, (Sleuthing for Beginners and A Girl’s Best Friend), one is fantasy (A Peaceful Death) and the other has a romantic subplot (The Muse). So I figured there was enough variety to keep readers from being bored.Sleuthing for Beginners and A Peaceful Death were short-listed in short story competitions, but had the sulks because their moment of glory was over before it even started. So to appease them I included them to give them some exposure.What is it you enjoy about writing short stories?Because most of my time now is spent on the marathon of writing novels, I love the sprinting exercise of writing short stories. It’s a refreshing change of pace to be able to see the ending as soon as you start writing. The discipline of short story writing is excellent training for novel writing – it teaches you to be economical and succinct in your word choice, to focus on the story at hand and not get side-tracked and to write in such a way that readers can read between the lines without you having to spell things out.Short stories are as much an exercise on what to leave out as to what to put in. It’s a real art that only comes with practice.Will you be publishing more short stories in the future?I would certainly like to, but I don’t know when. Finding the time to write them is the challenge. Views: 337
A woman in trouble turns to ice cream, and just might find love in its pursuit. Emelda is 46 years old. Her husband, Charlie, has just left her for a 23-year-old dancer. Her five difficult sons worship their father and blame Emelda for his departure. On top of everything else, she has to struggle with a new job at the local supermarket. For comfort she turns to her only true friend ice-cream. But lately there's a handsome man driving the ice-cream van. Could romance be about to blossom? Views: 336
When you're in your late twenties and nothing in your life seems to be falling into place, knitting is an awfully seductive way to spend your free time. After all, as long as you're following the instructions, you can knit row after row with the knowledge that the pattern will emerge and you'll end up with just what you wanted. Life, on the other hand, doesn't come with a stitch counter, so Kathleen, Sari, and Lucy, the heroines of KNITTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, just have to figure things out as they go along.
Their weekly Sunday knitting circle is the only thing holding them together as Kathleen is cut off financially by her family and forced to enter `the real world' for the very first time at the age of twenty-seven, Sari finds herself falling for the man who made her life a living hell in high school but who now desperately needs her help, and Lucy finds herself torn between emotion and reason when her lab and her boyfriend are assailed by an animal-rights group.
At their club meetings, they discuss the really important questions: how bad is it, really, to marry for money if you like the guy a lot anyway? Can you ever forgive someone for something truly atrocious that they've done? Is it better to be unhappily coupled than happily alone? And the little ones: Can you wear a bra with a hand-knit tube top? Is it ever acceptable to knit something for a boyfriend? And why do your stitches become lopsided after your second martini?
In Claire LaZebnik's hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking novel, Sari, Lucy, and Kathleen's lives intersect, overlap, unravel, and come back together-the result is an utterly satisfying read. Views: 336
This story of life in Scotland during the 1400s focuses on the simple things: unrequited love, true love blocked by circumstance, arrogant ambition, and unbounded jealousy, all accompanied by vengeful feuding between individuals and clans who'd made themselves masters of the struggle for revenge. . . .In 2014 The Galloway Raiders was set up as a literary society and online presence to explore Crockett's life and work and restore his credibility as one of Scotland's great writers. The Galloway Raiders also holds two archives of Crockett material. Views: 336
"Startlingly good" stories of Nepali society set against the backdrop of violent Maoist insurgencies (San Francisco Chronicle). From an author like "a Buddhist Chekhov," The Royal Ghosts features characters trying to reconcile their true desires with the forces at work in Nepali society (San Francisco Chronicle). As political violence rages, these people struggle with their duties to their aging parents, an oppressive caste system, and the complexities of arranged marriage, striving to find peace and connection, and often discovering it in unexpected places. These stories, from the Whiting Award–winning author of Arresting God in Kathmandu and The Guru of Love, brilliantly examine not only Kathmandu during a time of upheaval, crisis, and cultural transformation but also the effects of the city on the individual consciousness. "Like William Trevor, Samrat Upadhyay compresses into a short story... Views: 334
With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War By G. A. Henty Views: 334
Trapped in an evil spell… can the knights of Paladin be rescued?
Before vowing his allegiance to Wulder as a knight, Bardon heads to the mountains for solitude. His life is suddenly complicated by a woman and her granddaughter, N’Rae, on a mission to rescue the woman’s son trapped in a chamber of sleep. Bardon learns that more of Paladin’s knights are imprisoned–and suspects one of them is Dragon Keeper Kale’s missing father.
The secret is in their hands–and hearts.
The band travels north, uncertain of their destination and encountering numerous perils. When they unlock the chamber, they discover a dozen knights–who cannot be awakened. The journal holding the secret to rousing them is in an unknown language. How can they find the help they need, and overcome even graver obstacles, to rescue the knights?
Return to the land of dragons and magic you discovered in Dragonspell and DragonQuest, in this finely crafted and memorable work of fantasy fiction with a core of eternal truth.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 332
Two months since the stars fell.
Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around Earth like a luminous fist, screaming to the heavens as the atmosphere burned them to ash. Two months since that moment of brief, bright surveillance by agents unknown.
Two months of silence while a world holds its breath.
Now some half-derelict space probe hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever's out there isn't talking tous. It's talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer. Views: 332
This volume contains the first three “TISH” books, one of the most popular characters by Mary Roberts Rinehart. -THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF LETITIA CARBERRY (including the short stories THREE PIRATES OF PENZANCE & THAT AWFUL NIGHT -TISH -MORE TISH With spine tingling attention to detail and atmosphere, Rinehart is often called "the American Agatha Christie". She wrote over sixty popular mysteries and is attributed with the phrase "the butler did it". TISH, however, is not a mystery, but a series of wonderfully funny stories about three women friends in their fifties-sixties, and the adventures that Tish leads them on (including, capturing German soldiers in WWI). The book was written in the 1900s and reflects the social mores of the time. The humor and quality of the writing is wonderful. Views: 331
The criminal monsters featured in Volume 11 of Ann Rule's Crime Files could make Jack the Ripper shiver. This rogues' gallery includes depraved psychopaths and sociopaths who slaughter without conscience or remorse. Not recommended as bedtime reading. Views: 331
Sir Henry Rider Haggard KBE (1856-1925) was a Victorian writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations. After failing his army entrance exam he was sent to a private 'crammer' in London to prepare for the entrance exam for the British Foreign Office, for which he never sat. Haggard's father sent him to Africa in an unpaid position as assistant to the secretary to Lieutenant-Governor of Natal Sir Henry Bulwer. Heavily influenced by the larger-than-life adventurers he met in Colonial Africa, the great mineral wealth discovered in Africa, and the ruins of ancient lost civilizations in Africa such as Great Zimbabwe, Haggard created his Allan Quatermain adventures. Haggard also wrote about agricultural and social issues reform, in part inspired by his experiences in Africa, but also based on what he saw in Europe. Haggard is most famous as the author of the best-selling novel King Solomon's Mines (1885). Amongst his other works are She (1887), Allan Quatermain (1888), Eric Brighteyes (1891) and Ayesha (1895). Views: 331
From Kevin Brockmeier, one of this generation's most inventive young writers, comes a striking new novel about death, life, and the mysterious place in between. The City is inhabited by those who have departed Earth but are still remembered by the living. They will reside in this afterlife until they are completely forgotten. But the City is shrinking, and the residents clearing out. Some of the holdouts, like Luka Sims, who produces the City’s only newspaper, are wondering what exactly is going on. Others, like Coleman Kinzler, believe it is the beginning of the end. Meanwhile, Laura Byrd is trapped in an Antarctic research station, her supplies are running low, her radio finds only static, and the power is failing. With little choice, Laura sets out across the ice to look for help, but time is running out. Kevin Brockmeier alternates these two storylines to create a lyrical and haunting story about love, loss and the power of memory.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 330
"Do you remember what you said one October day last year, Grace, when we stood on this platform and said good-bye to the boys?" asked Anne Pierson. "No, what did I say?" asked Grace Harlowe, turning to her friend Anne. "You said," returned Anne, "that when it came your turn to go to college you were going to slip away quietly without saying good-bye to any one but your mother, and here you are with almost half Oakdale at the train to see you off to college." "Now, Anne, you know perfectly well that people are down here to see you and Miriam, too," laughed Grace. "I\'m not half as much of a celebrity as you are." Views: 330
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield was a British politician and writer, who twice served as Prime Minister. Views: 329
