When the engines finally met, there was a deafening clash and the Brighton Express twisted and buckled, tipping its carriages onto the other line. It was a scene of utter devastation.October, 1854. As crowds of passengers rush to make the departure of the London to Brighton Express, a man watches from the shadows nearby...Chaos, fatalities and unbelieveable destruction are the scene soon after when the train derails just outside the Balcombe Tunnel. Could it simply be a case of driver error? Detective Inspector Colbeck thinks not. But digging deep to discover the intended target of the accident takes time, something Colbeck doesn't have as the killer prepares to strike again.ReviewFine storytelling and marvelous characters reminiscent of the great authors of the mid-Victorian period. --Sherlock Magazine About the AuthorEDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children s books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association. Views: 29
“She’s being dragged by her hair across a hallway, screaming, kicking, fighting for her life. But he’s bigger, stronger and easily takes control. He drags her into a bedroom, flings her onto the bed and cuffs her hands. She screams and screams, until she’s got nothing left.” The nightmares have begun again for star FBI profiler, Sophie Anderson, as a serial killer who slaughters with deadly regularity makes his presence known. But the clues don’t stack up. And as more bodies are found, Sophie’s psychic abilities show her flashes of victims that don’t make sense. Then a man emerges from the desert with a story of unspeakable evil and a terrifying picture starts to form – one that goes even beyond Sophie’s chilling visions. . . “Just as gripping and original as the first, [Body Count].” Herald Sun “P.D. Martin ticks all the right boxes.” Sydney Morning Herald Views: 29
From the Snow Ball...to snow kissed! Liv Winchester has avoided men and sex since her ex left her with a baby. But new, wealthy trauma consultant Stefano Lucarelli is stunned by her curves and natural nursing talent. Stefano wants to make this overworked single mom feel like the beautiful woman she is again. He gives her two tickets to the Snow Ball, pampering treatments, a designer dress, diamonds and a babysitter for the night...and Liv feels like a princess. Their Snow Ball date is magical. But it's going to take even more to convince Liv that she's ready to be Stefano's for real... Views: 29
Whether he's on Broadway or at the movies, considering a new bestseller or revisiting a literary classic, Daniel Mendelsohn's judgments over the past fifteen years have provoked and dazzled with their deep erudition, disarming emotionality, and tart wit. Now How Beautiful It Is And How Easily It Can Be Broken reveals all at once the enormous stature of Mendelsohn's achievement and demonstrates why he is considered one of our greatest critics. Writing with a lively intelligence and arresting originality, he brings his distinctive combination of scholarly rigor and conversational ease to bear across eras, cultures, and genres, from Roman games to video games.His interpretations of our most talked-about films--from the work of Pedro AlmodÓvar to Brokeback Mountain, from United 93 and World Trade Center to 300, Marie Antoinette, and The Hours--have sparked debate and changed the way we watch movies. Just as stunning... Views: 29
Told in three parts, a Southern family and their friends grapple with the joys and disappointments of life as a direct result of being raised in a home with strong Christian values. Views: 29
ARE YOU UP to your neck in bloodsucking vampire stories?Tired of those tales about dentally enhanced dark lords?Before I wrote this book I thought all vampires were night-stalking, fangpopping, bloodsucking fiends. Then I met Morning McCobb. He’s a vegan vampire who drinks a soy-blood substitute called Blood Lite. He believes staking should be a hate crime. And someday he hopes to march in a Vampire Pride Parade. He was also the first vampire to out himself and try to show people of mortality, like you and me, that vampires are just another minority with special needs. Trust me—this is like no other vampire book you’ll ever feed on. So, as my buddy Morning says, “Pop the lid, and suck it up.”From the Hardcover edition.From School Library JournalGrade 8 Up—Morning McCobb is graduating from the IVLeague (International Vampire League) Academy, where students are schooled to be Leaguers (vampires who live peacefully though secretly among mortals and subsist on animal blood) instead of Loners (those who follow the old ways). A forever-16-year-old misfit among his perfect classmates—the slightly older "hunks and hotties" usually chosen to become vampires—Morning is a SangFU (blood flub up); he accidentally received the "virus" while being bled dry by a Loner. He's also a vegan who drinks only a soy blood substitute. When he's offered the opportunity to be the first Leaguer to come out of the closet to the world and show mortals that vampires are just another special-needs minority, he jumps at the chance to end his outcast status and perhaps fulfill his one-time dream of becoming a firefighter. Things are going well until he becomes attracted to Portia, his PR specialist's outspoken daughter, and begins to experience true bloodlust for the first time. Meanwhile, a menacing Loner is determined to stop Morning from succeeding. Not quite as dark as most vampire novels, Meehl's story is filled with humor, quirky characters, light romance, mild suspense, and a lot of fun. A strong addition to a very popular genre.—Sharon Senser McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistMeehl creates an original and light variation on the current trend in brooding teen vampire protagonists with Morning McCobb, a geeky, 16-year-old, New York orphan doomed to immortality. Morning’s “turning” from mortal to vampire was an accident; usually, only the young and beautiful are selected to join the vampiric community. The leader of the International Vampire League selects Morning to be the first vampire to out himself to humans, or Lifers. Thus begins a mutually manipulative relationship involving Morning, ace publicist Penny Dredful, and her 16-year-old daughter, Portia, a beautiful would-be filmmaker. Puns abound in this lengthy, complicated romp that will appeal particularly to fans of Terry Pratchett and Piers Anthony’s books. Current cultural references and teen dialogue will eventually date this title, but for the moment, teens will find it delightful. Grades 8-11. --Debbie Carton Views: 29
A wickedly funny first novel about a dictatorial teacher and the irrepressible boy who stands up to her.Being a new student at the McKegway School for Clever and Gifted Children is crummy enough, but when Toby Wilcox is stuck in the fourth grade homeroom of Mrs. Ravenbach, a vainglorious German tyrant who worships "the order and the discipline," he faces a much bigger challenge—fight back or be ground to goo in the gears of Teutonic efficiency. Toby upends Mrs. Ravenbach's perfectly ordered universe and risks everything to strike a blow for free-thinkers everywhere! Mrs. Ravenbach's Way is the first book in the series: The Amazing Escapades of Toby Wilcox. Views: 29
Isabel Dalhousie is a new mother and a connoisseur of philosophy; she'd rather not be a sleuth. But when a chance conversation at a dinner party draws Isabel into the case of a doctor whose career has been ruined, she cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. Because for Isabel ethics are not theoretical at all, but an everyday matter of life and death. As she attempts to unravel the truth behind Dr Thompson's disgrace, Isabel's patient intelligence is also required to deal with challenges in her own life. There is her baby son Charlie; Cat's deli to look after, not to mention her vulnerable assistant Eddie; and a mysterious and unlikeable composer who has latched on to Jamie, making Isabel fear for the future of her new family. Isabel treads a difficult path between trust and gullibility, philanthropy and interference, while keeping in her sights the small but certain comforts of family, philosophy and a fine Saturday morning. Views: 29
DescriptionEven for a dragon, Ailean the Wicked has a bad reputation. For 150 years he's been renowned for his fighting prowess, but now he's got a new conquest in mind - a gorgeous dragoness known as Shalin the Innocent.Ailean suspects she's anything but. And while he's saving her from her enemies, he plans to prove that, even in human form, a bad-boy dragon can show a girl a good time that's truly off the scale... Views: 29
To best friends and devoted theater fans Emily and Philip, Aurora is no ordinary Broadway musical. Their love for the hit show (whose reclusive author has never been named) is nothing short of an obsession. Thanks to a secret loan from Emily's grandma Rose, seeing the Saturday matinee has become a weekly ritual that makes real life seem dull and drab by comparison. But when the theater chat rooms start buzzing with crazy rumors that Aurora might close, Emily and Philip find themselves grappling with some truly show-stopping questions. What, exactly, is the "one sure thing" in show business? How will they pay back the money they owe Grandma Rose? And why hasn't Philip asked Emily out on a real date? As they go to hilarious lengths to indulge their passion for Aurora, Emily and Philip must face the fact that all shows close sooner or later. But first they'll put their friendship to the ultimate test, solve Broadway's biggest mystery--and spend one unforgettable night at the... Views: 29
