The dramatic story of the real-life murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction.
In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land.
At the time, the detective was a relatively new invention; there were only eight detectives in all of England and rarely were they called out of London, but this crime was so shocking, as Kate Summerscale relates in her scintillating new book, that Scotland Yard sent its best man to investigate, Inspector Jonathan Whicher.
Whicher quickly believed the unbelievable—that someone within the family was responsible for the murder of young Saville Kent. Without sufficient evidence or a confession, though, his case was circumstantial and he returned to London a broken man. Though he would be vindicated five years later, the real legacy of Jonathan Whicher lives on in fiction: the tough, quirky, knowing, and all-seeing detective that we know and love today…from the cryptic Sgt. Cuff in Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone to Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a provocative work of nonfiction that reads like a Victorian thriller, and in it Kate Summerscale has fashioned a brilliant, multilayered narrative that is as cleverly constructed as it is beautifully written. Views: 273
The Horror Writers Association Presents BLOOD LITE ...a collection of entertaining tales that puts the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit to temper the jagged edge. Charlaine Harris reveals the dark side of going green, when a quartet of die-hard environmentalists hosts a fundraiser with a gory twist in "An Evening with Al Gore"...In an all-new Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher, when it comes to tracking deadly paranormal doings, there's no such thing as a "Day Off" for the Chicago P.D.'s wizard detective, Harry Dresden...Sherrilyn Kenyon turns a cubicle-dwelling MBA with no life into a demon-fighting seraph with one hell of an afterlife in "Where Angels Fear to Tread"...Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out séance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick, in Kelley Armstrong's "The Ungrateful Dead." Plus tales guaranteed to get under your skin — in a good way — from Janet Berliner Don D'Ammassa Nancy Holder Nancy Kilpatrick J. A. Konrath and F. Paul Wilson Joe R. Lansdale Will LudwigsenSharyn McCrumb Mark Onspaugh Mike Resnick Steven SavileD. L. Snell Eric James Stone Jeff Strand Lucien Soulban Matt Venne Christopher Welch So let the blood flow and laughter reign — because when it comes to facing our deepest, darkest fears, a little humor goes a long way! Views: 273
Sir Anthony Hope was a noted playwright and novelist, and though he's still best remembered for The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau (1898), he wrote dozens of action and adventure novels. Views: 273
After bidding good-bye to New York's brightest star, Elizabeth Holland, rumors continue to fly about her untimely demise.
All eyes are on those closest to the dearly departed: her mischievous sister, Diana, now the family's only hope for redemption; New York's most notorious cad, Henry Schoonmaker, the flame Elizabeth never extinguished; the seductive Penelope Hayes, poised to claim all that her best friend left behind—including Henry; even Elizabeth's scheming former maid, Lina Broud, who discovers that while money matters and breeding counts, gossip is the new currency.
As old friends become rivals, Manhattan's most dazzling socialites find their futures threatened by whispers from the past. In this delicious sequel to The Luxe, nothing is more dangerous than a scandal... or more precious than a secret. Views: 272
Operation Haystack: A science fiction classic from Frank Herbert, author of DUNE! Operation Haystack is a short science fiction space opera first published in 1959, a few years before Dune. The story is classic Frank Herbert and exhibit many of the themes from Dune; matriarchal societies, clandestine overthrow plots, distaste for politics, human colonies expanding through the vastness of space, and genetic manipulation through breeding in humans. In the fictional setting, a galactic feminist conspiracy, weaved by a network of alpha women, threatens to take over the galactic government with the ultimate aim of establishing a cosmic matriarchy where females hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. The story was published at the beginning of Second-wave feminism which first began in the early 1960s in the United States. Whereas first-wave feminism focused mainly on suffrage and overturning legal obstacles to gender equality (e.g., voting rights, property rights), second-wave feminism broadened the debate to a wide range of issues: sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities. Other Frank Herbert\'s short stories included in this print edition include Missing Link and Rambling House. Frank Herbert was an American science fiction writer best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for science fiction, he was also a newspaper journalist, photographer, short story writer, book reviewer, ecological consultant and lecturer. Frank Herbert used his science fiction novels to explore complex ideas involving philosophy, religion, psychology, politics and ecology. The underlying thrust of his work was a fascination with the question of human survival and evolution. Views: 272
From working the land in Narromine to winning cricket's World Cup three times, Glenn McGrath has always faced life with fierce determination and an unerring will to succeed, despite the odds. Following his retirement from international cricket, McGrath shares the story of his life - in cricket and off the field. Known as 'Pigeon', he won his baggy green cap in Perth in 1993 and went on to forge a brilliant career, retiring as cricket's most successful fast bowler with 563 Test wickets. McGrath entered Ashes folklore in 1997 when he destroyed England by taking 8 for 38 at Lord's, and he even scored a Test half-century with the bat. With leg spinner Shane Warne, he formed the most devastating bowling combination in Test history. Glenn McGrath's most meaningful achievements, however, have been off the field. With his wife Jane, who battled breast and bone cancers, he established the McGrath Foundation, a major fundraiser for and supporter of people with breast cancer. In the... Views: 271
“The Day of the Dead” features Tomas, a character from the Cassandra Palmer novels, who was last seen cooling his heels in Faerie. He’ll show up again in the series, but what about in the meantime? What does a powerful, four-hundred-year-old vampire with a serious grudge against his old mass murdering master to do when he suddenly finds himself with too much time on his hands? Hang around Faerie, where there’s nothing to eat (Fey blood=nasty) just because our intrepid heroine parked him there?
Uh, no. Not so much.
Because Tomas is obsessed, and has been for pretty much his whole existence, with one thing: taking out Alejandro, the aforementioned murdering bastard. In “The Day of the Dead,” he slips back into our world to confront his nemesis, only to find unexpected help in the form of a band of magical mercenaries. Think the A-Team with spells and potions instead of (well, actually in addition to) guns and knives and things that go boom. It makes for a lot of mayhem down Mexico way.
NOTE: “The Day of the Dead” is a short story connected to the New York Times bestselling Cassandra Palmer series of urban fantasy novels. It was first published in * The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance * (2008) and is now being offered as a free ebook. It features Tomas, a character from Touch the Dark (2006), the first Cassandra Palmer novel. Views: 271
The Official Rules of the Teashop Girls 1. Teashop girls are best friends forever. 2. Tea is held every week, no matter what. 3. All tea and scones must be split equally at all times. Annie, Genna, and Zoe have been hanging out at the Steeping Leaf since elementary school. The Teashop Girls do everything together — at least they used to. With the end of eighth grade approaching, Genna's too busy with theater, Zoe's always at tennis, and Annie feels totally left out. What happened to tea every week, no matter what? When Annie convinces her grandmother to give her a job as a barista at the Leaf, things begin to look up. In between whipping up chai lattes for customers, and attempting to catch the attention of her Barista Boy crush, Annie is finally beginning to feel as grown-up as her best friends. But an eviction notice spells trouble for the Leaf and unless they can turn the business around, the teashop will have to close its doors forever. ... Views: 271
This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them. Views: 270
Gold, gold, gold for Australia's mega-selling scientist's 27th book... 'Nullius in verba', the Royal Society's motto, roughly translated, means 'take nobody's word for it'. Why not do the experiment for yourself and see the reality of nature. Don't trust authority - trust nature. Does cranberry juice cure urinary tract infections? Is the hookah really a safer way to smoke? Will the Large Hadron Collider destroy the Earth and the Universe? Is the purpose of the peacock's tail to attract females? And in the unlikely event of a plane crash, are some seats safer than others? the human hand has 27 bones; Uranus has 27 moons; 27 is a perfect cube, being 3 x 3 x 3; and in this, Dr Karl's 27th book, he takes us on another exploration of the dazzling world of science. Views: 270
National BestsellerOne of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year In the 1680s the slave trade in the Americas is still in its infancy. Jacob Vaark is an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a small holding in the harsh North. Despite his distaste for dealing in “flesh,” he takes a small slave girl in part payment for a bad debt from a plantation owner in Catholic Maryland. This is Florens, who can read and write and might be useful on his farm. Rejected by her mother, Florens looks for love, first from Lina, an older servant woman at her new master's house, and later from the handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved, who comes riding into their lives.A Mercy reveals what lies beneath the surface of slavery. But at its heart, like Beloved, it is the ambivalent, disturbing story of a mother and a daughter-a mother who casts off her daughter in order to save her, and a daughter who may never exorcise that abandonment.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 269
A dazzling?and funny?romantic comedy?from Adam Davies,?the author of The Frog King and Goodbye Lemon. Otto Starks is a "pulse"—a highly specialized security guard who has hyperdeveloped senses and a nervous habit of popping tabs of cyanide. Otto was once a rising star but then he was rolled three times by the notorious Rat Burglar. Now, demoted and dangerously in debt to a loan shark, all he has left is Charlie Izzo, the woman he loves. Unfortunately, she is also the Rat Burglar's zealous advocate. That's bad enough. But then Otto gets robbed yet again and the cops pronounce him the prime suspect. When Charlie disappears and Otto becomes a fugitive, he realizes that the Rat Burglar has stolen much more from him than art. And to get it back he must break the law he has devoted his life to upholding.?Mine All Mine is a nail-biting thriller about deception, betrayal, and ownership—in art and in love. Views: 268
From international bestselling author Marc Levy, the most widely read writer in France today, comes an unusual and charming love story that reunites a father and daughter, and past and present, in the most unexpected ways.
Days before her wedding, Julia Walsh is blindsided twice: once by the sudden death of her estranged father…and again when he appears on her doorstep after his funeral, ready to make amends, right his past mistakes, and prevent her from making new ones.
Surprised, to say the least, Julia reluctantly agrees to turn what should have been her honeymoon into a spontaneous road trip with her father to make up for lost time. But when an astonishing secret is revealed about a past relationship, their trip becomes a whirlwind journey of rediscovery that takes them from Montreal to Paris to Berlin and back home again, where Julia learns that even the smallest gestures she might have taken for granted have the power to change her life forever.
Revised edition: Previously published as Toutes ces choses qu’on ne s’est pas dites, this edition of All Those Things We Never Said includes editorial revisions. Views: 268
A charming and entertaining novel that captures the romance of books and bookshops. "When you sell a man a book," says Roger Mifflin, protagonist of this classic bookselling novel, "you don\'t sell him just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue--you sell him a whole new life." The Haunted Bookshop finds Mifflin and his wife, Helen McGill, ensconced in Brooklyn, where they encounter some strange goings-on in their bookstore. The unraveling of the mystery provides a rollicking plot while allowing Mifflin (and Morley) to expound on the delights of reading and the intricacy of the bookseller\'s art. Views: 268
Newspaper librarian Maddy Sprowls never gives story ideas to the editors at The Hannawa Herald-Union. She prefers to stay in the morgue and do her job and hopes the editors stay in the newsroom and do theirs.Then one Saturday she sees four elderly women get out of a taxicab at a garage sale. Those women must hire that cabby every week, she figures, to drive them from garage sale to garage sale while they search for treasure. And wouldn't that make a great feature story for the paper?Monday morning she runs straight to the newsroom with her idea. Shortly after the story runs, one of the four women is murdered—retired antique dealer Violeta Bell. Maddy wants no part of the investigation. But before she knows it, shes on another of her infamous snoopathons. And, good gravy, enjoying every minute of it.Was Violeta Bell murdered by one of the other garage sale ladies? Former striptease artist Kay Hausenfelter perhaps? Or real estate agent Gloria McPhee? Or eccentric philanthropist Ariel Wilburger-Gowdy? Or was it Eddie French, the scruffy cabby with a police record as long as his arm? And what about Violeta's claim that she was the rightful queen of Romania? Any truth to that? Views: 268
