Keely Schiffer is having the strangest day. There's the skull in her rose garden and she receives a gift from her dead husband. Then an earthquake hits, and Keely's trapped with a handsome, gun-toting stranger. Detective Jake Malloy heard that nothing bad ever happened in the town of Haven, but his so-called R & R has turned into a nightmare. Except for being stuck in a dark cellar with a sexy woman till help arrives. For Keely and Jake, near-death stokes hidden fires, but the earthquake seems hell-bent on stirring up all the people of Haven, past and present.... Views: 14
When crisis counsellor Morgan Harris returns to his home town of Mindalby after the town's cotton mill closes, he has a hard time breaking through the townsfolk's tough exterior and getting them to accept the help that he is offering. Mental health services are few and far between out in the bush, and Morgan has to fight ingrained prejudices before he will really be able to engage with the people who need him the most. However, he has no problems engaging with Hannah Burton, the younger sister of his high school best friend. Their attraction is instant and insistent, and very inconvenient. Morgan is here to work, and Hannah is fighting battles of her own – trying to save the family farm from going under in the face of the mill's closure. Mindalby, a small town, a community, a home. But when the mill that supports the local cotton farmers and employs many of the town's residents closes unexpectedly, old tensions are exposed and new rifts develop. Everyone... Views: 14
From Publishers WeeklyAn abrupt death sentence given to a 50-year-old London ad exec forces an uneasy deliverance in Richardson's smartly setup, poignant tale. Given less than a month to live, Ambrose Zephyr, alphabet-obsessed since childhood, decides to spend out his last days traveling around the globe from A to Z. Ambrose and his wife, Zappora Ashkenazi (the couple is childless), begin in Amsterdam, viewing art by Velázquez and Rembrandt that has been significant to them in their loving marriage, and now looks wholly transformed. The two move between the sweet memories of past love and an unreal present, from Berlin to Chartres, the Great Pyramids of Khufu to Istanbul; when Ambrose begins to falter and they return home to their Kensington terrace flat. Reality and good manners demand that they inform their respective employers and friends of Ambrose's condition, while Zappora, a fashion editor attempting to keep a journal of the couple's last moments together, endures until the end. Richardson's tightly focused tale has panache, shadowed by a brooding suspense. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks MagazineA Canadian book designer, C. S. Richardson delights in the alphabet, and his infatuation with everything A-to-Z shines throughout this elegant debut novel. In clear, understated prose, Richardson has written a poignant love story, a travelogue, a tribute to the good life, and a rousing call to cherish every moment. By turns humorous, heartbreaking, and inspiring, The End of the Alphabet reminded critics more of a fairy tale than a straightforward narrative, but that did not detract from the power of the story. Though a few critics found the writing pretentious, the characterizations flat, and Ambrose unsympathetic, most readers will enjoy this clever, heartfelt book.Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. Views: 14
The fourth book in the series featuring the irascible but loveable amateur sleuth Daniel JacobusVaclav Herza, the last of a dying breed of great but tyrannical conductors, has been music director of Harmonium for forty years. The world famous touring orchestra was created for him when he fled Czechoslovakia for America during the political turmoil in Eastern Europe in 1956. It is the eve of the opening of a dramatic new concert hall designed by Herza himself. It is also the eleventh hour of intense contract negotiations with the musicians that have strained relations within the organization. When the acting concertmaster, Scheherazade O'Brien, is summarily dismissed by the despotic Herza for the permanent concertmaster position, an audition she was poised to win, O'Brien slits her wrists and the orchestra becomes convulsed. Now, blind, cantankerous violin teacher Daniel Jacobus, who had shunned O'Brien's earlier plea for help against Herza's relentless harassment,... Views: 14
Back in Rome after their dramatic adventures in Venice, Costa, Peroni and Leo Falcone are rebuilding their lives. But they team up once again when faced with the sudden appearance of fresh bloodstains on a missing young boy's T-shirt in a small museum exhibit displaying supposed evidence of communication from souls in Purgatory. Soon they find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving both the ancient cult of Mithras and a sinister ossuary, the House of Bones… Views: 14
A stunning novel of loss, memory, despair and deliverance by one of Canada’s best young fiction writers, set on a Mormon ranch in nineteenth-century Utah.Dorrie, a shock-pale child with a mass of untameable black hair, cannot recall anything of her life before she recovered from an illness at seven. A solitary child, she spends her spare time learning the art of taxidermy, completely fascinated by the act of bringing new and eternal life to the bodies of the dead. At fourteen, her parents marry her off to Erastus Hammer, a polygamous horse breeder and renowned hunter, who does not want to bed her. The role he has in mind for his fourth and youngest wife is creator of trophies of his most impressive kills, an urgent desire in him as he is slowly going blind. Happy to be given this work, Dorrie secludes herself in her workshop, away from Mother Hammer’s watchful eyes and the rivalry between the elder wives.But as the novel opens, Hammer has brought Dorrie his latest kills, a family of wolves, and for the first time in her short life she struggles with her craft, dreaming each night of crows and strange scenes of violence. The new hand, Bendy Drown, is the only one to see her dilemma and to offer her help, a dangerous game in a Mormon household. Outside, a lone wolf prowls the grounds looking for his lost pack, and his nighttime searching will unearth the tensions and secrets of this complicated and conflicted family.Inspired by the real events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, Alissa York blends fact with fiction in a haunting story of a family separated by secrets and united by faith.From the Hardcover edition.Review“A small masterpiece. . . . Exhilarating and genuinely fresh.” —National Post“York’s writing is graphic and impressionistic, sharp-edged and sensual. Though both style and landscape at times bring to mind Annie Dillard and Cormac McCarthy, York’s voice is very much her own.” —Quill & Quire“York’s mesmerizing tale is rich in historical detail and driven by a cast of deftly drawn and perfectly memorable characters ... A wonderful book.”—Lori Lansens"Alissa York's Effigy is a historical fiction almost frighteningly real. Her creation of Erastus Hammer’s four wives and complex household in frontier Utah is so precise and convincing, and allows the reader so entirely and readily inside, that the only uncertainty is how to get back to the present again. This is a rewarding read. Don’t miss it."—Fred StensonFrom the Trade Paperback edition.About the AuthorAlissa York’s highly acclaimed first novel, Mercy, was published in 2003. She won the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher for her short story collection, Any Given Power. Her stories have also won the Journey Prize and the Bronwen Wallace Award, and in 2001 she won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. She has lived all over Canada, and now makes her home in Toronto. Views: 14
From "one of the most significant figures of the last generation of fantasy", comes Francesco Dimitri's debut novel in English, an enthralling and seductive fantasy following four old friends and the secrets they keep.Four old school friends have a pact: to meet up every year in the small town in Puglia they grew up in. Art, the charismatic leader of the group and creator of the pact, insists that the agreement must remain unshakable and enduring. But this year, he never shows up.A visit to his house increases the friends' worry; Art is farming marijuana. In Southern Italy doing that kind of thing can be very dangerous. They can't go to the Carabinieri so must make enquiries of their own. This is how they come across the rumours about Art; bizarre and unbelievable rumours that he miraculously cured the local mafia boss's daughter of terminal leukaemia. And among the chaos of his house, they find a document written by Art, The Secret Kingdom, that promises to reveal... Views: 14
All is not well at Cambridge University's St. Ethelreda's College. The head of the English Department is dead, and Professor Cassandra James is appointed the task of running the department. Faced with the choice of whipping her underperforming colleagues into shape or losing the much-needed funding for the program, Cassandra resigns herself to the challenge. However, when she stumbles upon the former head's private papers and realizes that the death was no accident, Cassandra is forced to use her academic expertise of solving obscure literary puzzles for a very different purpose: tracking down a killer.British Praise for Murder is Academic:"Cambridge academic Christine Poulson's first crime novel is a triumph of suspense and intrigue. A labyrinthine plot is unravelled as intriguingly as a literary puzzle." - Bodies in the Bookshop Magazine"An intriguing read...Poulson certainly keeps the reader guessing...There is a lot to enjoy in... Views: 14
Gillian looked into the bowl with an expression approaching horror on her skeletal face. I looked at the soup spoon that sat on the table before her and reached over and took it. I gave her instead the teaspoon that had come with my coffee. She looked up at me and tears welled in her eyes and dribbled silently down her cheeks. There was no pretence to hide behind, no bravado any more. I patted her gently on the hand. Slowly. One spoonful at a time. Little sips.**Review'Unputdownable' Sunday World 'This harrowing book should be read by anyone who cares how the State copes with troubled children' -- Irish Examiner Wednesday's Child is a serious but accessible book, and it casts an illuminating light on the lives of people who are so often unacknowledged. The Book Bag 'Shocking, heart-breaking and inspiring' Clare Champion Wednesday's Child is that rare beast: a serious work of non-fiction that reads like a thriller. A book, about childhood and what we do to our children, that never exploits but seeks only to understand. By turns funny, angry, touching and, ultimately, almost unbearbly moving, it is a stunning achievement. -- John Connolly About the AuthorShane Dunphy worked in social care, and specifically as a child care worker, for over fifteen years. During this time he worked extensively with children and their families. He is widely recognised as one of the leading experts in child protection in Ireland and is a regular contributor to television, radio and print on the subject. Deeply moving and often harrowing, his writing provides a thought-provoking insight into the lives of some of the families who live within the social care system. His books have achieved critical acclaim nationwide. Wednesday's Child was his first book and other books include Crying in the Dark, Hush, Little Baby, The Boy in the Cupboard, Will Mummy Be Coming Back for Me?, Little Boy Lost and The Girl Who Couldn't Smile. Dunphy is a regular face and voice on television and radio in Ireland, mostly commenting on child protection issues, but often simply on the stories of the day. He had a regular slot on 'The Daily Show' with Daithi O Se and Claire Byrne. On TV3 he was a frequent contributor to Ireland AM and The Vincent Browne Show and was one of the main contributors to TV3's landmark, award-winning series 'Lawless Ireland'. In 2011 he made 'My Mother's Dying Secret' for RTE's 'Would You Believe' series, a deeply personal documentary about his mother Noel Dunphy's life before her marriage to Dunphy's father. Dunphy's radio work has garnered much praise. He has had a long-standing relationship with Newstalk, making regular appearances on Sean Moncrieff's programme and George Hook's show. In 2009 Shane Dunphy and his regular collaborator Orla Rapple made the moving documentary series 'Stories for the Margins', for the station. On RTE Dunphy was a familiar voice on Gerry Ryan's show before that presenter's untimely death. Ryan was a tireless promoter of Dunphy's books. Dunphy has also made regular contributions to Mary Wilson's Drivetime show. From June 2009 to May 2010 Dunphy presented 'The Morning Mix', a daily chat show on Wexford's South East Radio. The show did extremely well in Ireland's JNLR (listener figures) ratings, managing a blend of easy-going debate about everything from politics, to films, to cookery. In recent years, he has become a producer for RTE's Documentary on 1 slot and has contributed to the short programme series 'The Curious Ear'. Dunphy's documentary work is sociologically based, examining stories that have rarely been heard, uncovering truths that have often been long buried. 'Yola - Lost for Words', produced with Orla Rapple, dealt with a lost community and 'The Sinking of the St Patrick', made with his wife, Deirdre Wickham, told the story of the bombing of a passenger ferry during WWII. Bizarrely Dunphy also made 'Breaded or Battered: The Wexford Rissole', a short documentary on a kind of potato cake peculiar to Wexford, his home town. Views: 13
