"You can waste a lot of time looking . . . or you can pay me to find it for you." So goes the slogan of Brodie Farrell's one-woman detective agency. Although Brodie has made some surprising---and dangerous---discoveries while working as a modern-day treasure hunter, none of them has turned her life upside down in quite the way that her unexpected pregnancy does. The timing is particularly awkward because Brodie has recently separated from her partner, the prickly Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon. To complicate matters further, Detective Inspector Alix Hyde has set her sights on Deacon while simultaneously trailing a mysterious criminal---and one-time friend of Deacon's---Terry Walsh, who has a habit of springing surprises of his own.As ever, Brodie's best friend, Daniel Hood, will do anything to help her---even taking a leave from his beloved teaching job so that he can look after her business while she takes care of the baby. But soon Daniel is preoccupied with the well-being of young Noah Selkirk, who seems to be collecting more bruises than is reasonable even for a twelve-year-old boy, and is strangely linked to the Walsh case as well. . . . As their entanglements weave together in complex patterns, all of the parties have to face the consequences of their own mistakes. But it's the flaws that make all of us human---and perhaps that ultimately make us stronger.From Publishers WeeklyIn Bannister's emotionally weighty seventh Brodie Farrell mystery (after 2006's Requiem for a Dealer), Farrell panics when her unexpected pregnancy threatens the continued success of her business—Looking for Something?—an eclectic problem-solving agency in Dimmock, England. One of her paramours, mathematics teacher Daniel Hood, delays his return to the classroom to serve as her assistant and eventual caretaker of the company. When a former student happens by, Hood soon determines that the boy is being beaten at home and quickly identifies his father, affluent and powerful attorney Adam Selkirk, as the guilty party. The bulk of the plot centers on Hood's amateurish efforts to intervene in the dysfunctional Selkirk family and Farrell's conflicted attitude toward the men in her life. Readers will be most satisfied if they approach this as a novel that happens to involve a criminal investigation, an impression enhanced by Bannister's quiet prose style and emphasis on relationships. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistBannister's latest Brodie Farrell mystery is chockablock with plots, subplots, and sub-subplots. But Bannister skilfully weaves the disparate story lines together and offers up an intriguing, thoroughly entertaining read. When Brodie discovers she's pregnant with the child of her former lover, Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon, she's shocked and overwhelmed. Brodie's friend, math teacher Daniel Hood, steps in to support Brodie, which he's more than willing to do since he's been secretly in love with her for years. Brodie's ex-lover Jack faces his own problems: Detective Inspector Alix Hyde from the Organized Crime Agency is sent in to bring down local Mob boss Terry Walsh. Nailing Walsh could be Alix's ticket to her much-desired promotion, and she doesn't care who she steps on (Jack), insults (Jack), or uses to get what she wants (Jack, again). But the most poignant subplot focuses on Daniel's discovery that one of his former students is being abused by his father, a high-powered London lawyer. A masterfully written story that is as provocative as it is engaging. Melton, Emily Views: 33
Now that his wife is dead, retired television news anchor, David Cross, believes that he is more himself than he has been for forty years. When Nancy was alive, he had secrets that he kept from her. Now he has a secret that he must keep from his children, Ed and Lucy, namely that he is in some ways happier now than he was when their mother was alive. To Heaven by Water is a touching and hilarious portrait of the Cross family, trying in their own fashion to come to terms with their loss. David knows that his children are perplexed by his increasingly compulsive behaviour while Ed's marriage to the lovely Rosalie, a former ballet dancer, is suffering strain, and Lucy is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend. Both children worry that their father will soon find a new partner. Over all three of them hangs the memory of Nancy. The book opens as David is taking time out with his brother in the Kalahari Desert, re-living his tumultuous and uplifting memories of Rome where he worked on a film with Richard Burton. Back home in London, Ed is trying to balance his affair with a young woman in his office with his real love for his wife, who is unable to conceive the child she longs for. And Lucy, who has just been voted No. 6 in the Evening News section devoted to beautiful and brainy women, is a young woman in pursuit of her real self. To Heaven by Water is a wonderful story of friendship, forgiveness and of love that comes from unexpected directions; it is an exploration of what we might hope for from this life and. in particular. the possibility of transcendence. Into the beautifully observed and subtly composed texture of this tale of middle-class London life, Justin Cartwright weaves sudden shocks that tear it apart, moments of sex and revenge that appear from a cloudless sky to take the reader's breath away.About Justin Cartwright
Justin Cartwright (born 1945) is a British novelist.Justin CartwrightHe was born in South Africa, where his father was the editor of the Rand Daily Mail newspaper, and was educated there, in the United States and at Trinity College, Oxford. Cartwright has worked in advertising and has directed documentaries, films and television commercials. He managed election broadcasts, first for the Liberal Party and then the SDP-Liberal Alliance during the 1979, 1983 and 1987 British general elections. For his work on election broadcasts, Cartwright was appointed an MBE.Cartwright lives in London with his wife, Penny, and two sons. Views: 33
Earth has developed a stardrive. The stars are now ours. The problem though is that others have gotten there before us. Facing isolation within our own star system Earth bites the bullet, forms a united government, and joins the Consortium. Humans, however, have a knack for getting into trouble and it doesn't take long before things start to unravel both on Earth itself then with our new friends. This is the amazing story of Jay Kauffman (the creator of the stardrive), CAIN (his machine partner), and the human race as technology drives us farther than our cultural development is ready for us to be. But, its not just all about Humans. In the end, it seems as if we have something of our own to teach the members of what will become The Galactic Alliance.About the AuthorBorn in Franklin PA, raised in Minnesota, and now living in Ohio. Doug spent 11 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear reactor operator. He now works at a nuclear power plant as an Instrument and Controls technician. Always an avid scifi reader he has taken his love for science fiction to the next level by becoming an author. Views: 33
Lara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don't get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara's great aunt Sadie – in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl – has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can't rest without. Lara's got enough problems of her own. Her start-up company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she's just been dumped by the love of her life. But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie's ghost be the answer to Lara's problems and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other? Views: 33
Song of the Silent Harp, Book One of BJ Hoff's acclaimed and bestselling Emerald Ballad series begins the five-book saga of three friends raised in a tiny Irish village devastated by the Potato Famine of the mid-1800s, as they struggle to survive and hold onto their faith during Ireland's darkest days... Nora Kavanagh has lost her husband and young daughter, and now lives in fear of losing her home. She and her young son, Daniel, have only one hope for survival, the poet/patriot—and love of Nora's youth—Morgan Fitzgerald. But his dangerous involvement with a band of Irish rebels keeps him in constant danger and puts the possibility of a future for him and those he loves in jeopardy. Michael Burke, a close childhood friend of both Nora and Morgan, left his homeland for America and is now a New York City policeman. A widower with a difficult, rebellious son, he still remembers Nora with love and fondness and wants nothing more than to help her escape the... Views: 33
Jack Pagan might as well be 4½ months old. He awoke in a hospital after suffering a head injury that left him dead for over 67 minutes. All of his long-term memories were destroyed. Now he has to start his life again. But his accidental flirt with death left him a special gift. In those few minutes as he fades off to sleep each night he sees the shadow creatures that come from the other side . . . Views: 33
Bestselling author Lori Wick's novels have warmed the hearts of millions of fans! Now for the first time ever, Lori's short stories are released to her ebook readers in this new Lori Wick Short Stories collection, with a personal note from Lori after each story.Volume 1 opens the collection with a story of finding love after heartbreak in "Be Careful with My Heart." Casey and Hunter are thrown together in a traveling singing group during the summer; can they overcome their own personal losses and together find God's comfort for their hearts? The charming vignette, "The Haircut," follows next as the future of young Bobby's hair is altered during a summer camping trip.BONUS! Chapter One from Lori Wick's popular full-length novel The Princess is included. Views: 33
�This is the storyOf Alison Hubble,Who went to bed single,And woke up double.�Here, in verse, are the hilariously original stories of a mighty slide, a man who fought crocodiles, a girl who doubled, a couple of baby skinners and a thing that lived under a school. A wonderful collection from Allan Ahlberg, author of �Please Mrs Butler, Woof!� and �Happy Families�, illustrated throughout with delightful drawings by Charlotte Voake. Views: 33
The Blood of Lambs reveals the true inside story of the making and mind-set of a Muslim terrorist. Though his ties with terrorism were severed more than twenty years ago, it was not until 9/11, when radical Muslims rained terror on American shores, that Kamal Saleem stepped out of the shadows and revealed his true identity. Today, he is a different kind of warrior. He now stands on the wall and shouts to America, "Open your eyes and fight the danger that lives among you."As the terrible fruit of Kamal's early life in jihad screams from today's headlines, he courageously puts his life on the line to defend America, the country he now calls home. Views: 33
