For all Jack Aubrey′s life he has triumphed, often sensationally, over the dangers of the sea and the violence of the enemy. But his rashness, his guilelessness, his indiscretion have, time and time again, enabled his rivals to prevent him reaping his just rewards. The nadir was reached in The Reverse of the Medal when, the victim of a skilful frame-up, he was convicted of fraud and struck off the Navy List just as he was coming within sight of flag rank. The subsequent exposure of the conspiracy, coupled with his brilliant success in command of a privateer, had brought him to a position where their lordships were more or less bound to reinstate him. This, as the present book opens, they have done, and he and his old friend Dr Maturin are sailing on a secret mission with a hand-picked crew, most of them shipmates from the adventures and lucrative voyages of earlier years. Views: 7
Product DescriptionBassist and all-round slacker Xan Marcelles spends his nights at a remote tavern in Pinecliffe, Colorado. But there’s something else, he’s also a vampire, and although he reckons he has a handle on this secret, he’s not prepared for the day when people he thinks are the FBI drug him and haul him away.Ashton Kennedy isn’t human anymore and, as a member of a race of beings known simply as Inkarna, exists through the aeons by stealing bodies. At first his mission seems simple enough: break into the stronghold of a rival Inkarna House and liberate an artifact. He doesn’t bank on discovering a vampire, bound and tucked away neatly in a sarcophagus. The two unlikely allies are thrown together in a house of mysteries, and have to battle overwhelming odds against an implacable enemy. The question is, can they overcome their differences long enough to make it out alive, or undead? Views: 7
Longing for a simpler life, wealthy businessman Adam Peece buys a cherry orchard in Michigan. Problem is, he has no idea how to run it! So he asks Eva Marsh to teach him the ropes. Cherries are in Eva's blood. Her family owned the orchard for generations before selling it to Adam. But she doesn't trust people easily, especially tall, dark and handsome city slickers. However, one look into Adam's caring eyes convinces her to give the city boy a chance. Could their working relationship blossom into love before season's end? Views: 7
Isabel Fonseca describes the four years she spent with Gypsies from Albania to Poland, listening to their stories, deciphering their taboos, and befriending their matriarchs, activists, and child prostitutes. A masterful work of personal reportage, this volume is also a vibrant portrait of a mysterious people and an essential document of a disappearing culture. 50 photos.From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 7
The headless body of a wealthy widow is discovered decomposing in Chelling Forest. Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned to the case. A few days later another victim, this time a young girl, is discovered. Who could the killer be and what's the connection between the two victims?Then after a third murder, the killer contacts Lorne with a grisly surprise. It looks like Lorne has a serial killer on her hands - and one that has become fixated on her. As she tries to solve the crimes, Lorne is also coping with a failing marriage and new, unsympathetic boss with whom she has a secret past. Then, as she begins to despair at the lack of clues, help arrives from an unlikely source. Views: 7
Product DescriptionRough-and-tumble rodeo cowboy Brody Creed likes life on the move. Until a chance encounter with his long-estranged twin brother brings him "home" for the first time in years. Suddenly Brody is in Creed territory—at thirty-three, he[HTML_REMOVED]s a restless bad boy among family with deep ties to the land and each other. And a secret past haunts him as he tries to make plans for his future.Carolyn Simmons is looking for Mr. Right in Lonesome Bend, as the ticktock of her biological clock gets ever louder. Then she falls for gorgeous Brody Creed, the opposite of everything she wants. Until lassoing his wild heart becomes everything both of them need. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Lonesome Bend, ColoradoRanching, Brody Creed thought, shifting in the saddle as he surveyed the sprawling range land from a high ridge. It can mend a broken heart, this life, and then shatter it all over again, in a million and one different ways and twice that many pieces.There were plenty of perils. Cattle starved or froze to death when a hard winter came around, which averaged once a year up there in the high country. Spring calves and colts fell prey to wolves and coyotes and sometimes bears, hungry after hibernating through the coldest months.It was now May, and all was well, but come summertime, wells might dry up for lack of rain, and turn the grass to tinder, ready to blaze up at the smallest spark. He[HTML_REMOVED]d seen wildfires consume hundreds of acres in a matter of hours, herds and houses and barns wiped out.Year round, good horses went lame and pickup trucks gave up the ghost, and every so often, somebody drowned in the river or one of the lakes.On the other hand, Brody reflected, the beauty of that land could heal, take a man by surprise, even though he[HTML_REMOVED]d called the place home all his life. That day, for instance, the sky was so blue it made Brody[HTML_REMOVED]s heart ache, and the aspens, cottonwoods and pines lining the landscape were shimmering splashes of green, a thousand hues of it, ranging from silvery to near-indigo. The river wound like a ribbon through the valley, clear as azure glass.After a few moments, Brody adjusted his hat and sighed before giving the gelding a light nudge with the heels of his boots. The buckskin, long-legged with a black mane and tail, picked his way cautiously down the steep slope that led to the water[HTML_REMOVED]s edge.Behind them and a hundred yards farther along the riverbank, in a westerly direction, hammers clacked and power saws screeched, and Brody glanced back, pleased, as always, to see the steel-and-lumber skeletons of his house and barn rising.Not so long ago, there had been a campground and RV park on the site, owned by Tricia McCall, now his sister-in-law and therefore a Creed. The picnic tables and the concrete fire pits were gone, along with the public showers and electrical hookups for trailers. Only the log building that had once served as the office remained; Brody had been baching in it since last Thanksgiving, when he[HTML_REMOVED]d moved out of the main ranch house.The peace between him and twin brother, Conner, could be a fragile one at times, and they both benefited by a little distance.Now, ready to get moving, Brody clucked his tongue and gave the gelding, Moonshine, another tap with his heels."Come on, now," he told the buckskin, his tone reasonable. "The water[HTML_REMOVED]s shallow here, and it[HTML_REMOVED]s real calm. If we[HTML_REMOVED]re going to be working livestock on both sides of this river, then you[HTML_REMOVED]ve got to learn how to cross it."Moonshine, recently acquired at an auction in Denver, was young, and Brody hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t had a chance to train him in the ways of a cow pony.No time like the present, he figured.Brody was about to get down out of the saddle and lead the horse into the water, which lapped gently at the stony shore that used to be a swimming beach, back when the River[HTML_REMOVED]s Bend Campground was a going concern, when Moonshine suddenly decided he was willing to get wet after all.He plunged into the water, up to his chest, making a mighty splash in the process. Brody, gripping the barrel of that horse hard between his knees, just to stay in the saddle, laughed out loud before giving a whoop of pure delight.His boots filled, and within moments his jeans were soaked to the tops of his thighs, but he didn[HTML_REMOVED]t care. Moonshine swam that river like he had Olympic aspirations, his powerful legs pumping, his head high and his ears pricked up."Good boy," Brody told the horse, with gruff appreciation. "You[HTML_REMOVED]re doing just fine."Reaching the other side, Moonshine bunched his haunches for the effort and bunny-hopped up the steepest part of the bank, water pouring off him in sheets. Once he[HTML_REMOVED]d gained level ground, the animal shook himself like a dog and Brody laughed again, for no other reason than that life was good.He was home.And, for the most part, he was happy to be there. Drenched, he got down from the saddle to pull off his boots, empty them and yank them back on over his sodden socks. When he got to the main house, he[HTML_REMOVED]d swap his wet duds for dry ones from Conner[HTML_REMOVED]s closet.Having an identical twin brother had its advantages, and one of them was access to a whole other wardrobe.There[HTML_REMOVED]d been a time when Conner would have groused about Brody[HTML_REMOVED]s tendency to borrow his stuff, but last New Year[HTML_REMOVED]s Eve, Brody[HTML_REMOVED]s "little brother," born a couple of minutes after he was, had taken a wife. Conner was happy with Tricia, and these days it took more than a missing shirt or pair of jeans to get under his hide.They were on a perpetual honeymoon, Conner and Tricia, and now, with a baby due in three months, they glowed, the both of them, as if they were lit from within.Brody mounted up again and reined Moonshine toward the home-place, feeling a mixture of things as he considered his twin[HTML_REMOVED]s good fortune.Sure, he was glad things were working out so well for Conner, but he was a little envious, too.Not that he[HTML_REMOVED]d have admitted it to anybody.Tricia was beautiful, smart and funny, and she[HTML_REMOVED]d taken to ranch life with surprising ease, for a city girl. Essentially a greenhorn, she[HTML_REMOVED]d gone horseback riding almost every day since the wedding, when the weather allowed, anyway—until her pregnancy was confirmed. Then Conner had put a stop to the pursuit.No more trail rides until after the baby[HTML_REMOVED]s arrival.Period, end of discussion.Brody grinned, recalling how adamant his brother had been. For the most part, the marriage appeared to be an equal partnership, but this time, Conner had laid down the law. And Tricia, normally the independent type, had capitulated.That was just common sense, to Brody[HTML_REMOVED]s mind, though a lot of country women continued to ride when they were expecting a baby, herding cattle, rounding up strays, checking fence lines. Conner[HTML_REMOVED]s strong opposition was a no-brainer—Rachel Creed, Conner and Brody[HTML_REMOVED]s mother, had continued to enter barrel-racing events long after she learned she was carrying twins. There hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t been a specific incident, but soon after giving birth to Brody and Conner, Rachel[HTML_REMOVED]s health had begun to go downhill.She[HTML_REMOVED]d died when her infant sons were less than a month old.Blue Creed, their father, hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t lasted much longer. Overwhelmed by the responsibility, he[HTML_REMOVED]d brought the babies home to the ranch, right around their first birthday, and handed them over to his brother, Davis, and Davis[HTML_REMOVED]s wife, Kim. Soon afterward, Blue himself had been thrown from a horse and broken his neck. He[HTML_REMOVED]d been in a coma for six weeks, and then died.Now, crossing the range between the river and the two-story house Conner and Tricia had been sharing since they got hitched, the grass rippling around him like a green sea, Brody did his best to ignore the clammy chill of wet denim clinging to his legs—and the old, deep-seated sorrow rooted in his soul. He did take some consolation from seeing the cattle grazing all around, most of them Herefords, with a few Black Anguses to break the red-brown monotony. Two dozen broncos, specially bred for the rodeo, and six Brahma bulls completed the menagerie.Clint and Juan and a couple of the other ranch hands wove in and out among the different critters on horseback, mainly keeping the peace. Brody touched his hat-brim to the other men as he passed, and those who were looking his way returned the favor.By then, Moonshine was restless, trying to work the bit between his teeth, so Brody gave him his head. That cayuse might be skittish when it came to crossing rivers, but he sure did like to run.Brody bent low over the buckskin[HTML_REMOVED]s neck, holding his hat in place with one hand and keeping a loose grip on the reins with the other.And that horse ate up ground like a jet taxiing along a runway before takeoff.Brody was enjoying the ride so much that the corral fence sprang up in front of them as suddenly as a line of magic beanstalks.Moonshine soared over that top rail as if he[HTML_REMOVED]d sprouted wings, practically stretched out flat, and came in for a magnificent landing about one foot short of the place where Conner stood, looking like he[HTML_REMOVED]d had rusty nails for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs.Brody gazed down into a face so like his own that the sight of it even took him aback sometimes, and he was used to being pretty much an exact duplicate of his brother.Conner was scowling up at him, through swirls of settling dust, and he looked as though he[HTML_REMOVED]d like to grab hold of Brody, haul him off that horse and beat the holy bejesus out of him. So much for personality improvements resulting from wedded bliss!"Oops," Brody said cheerfully, because he knew that would piss off Conner and he still enjoyed doing that now and again, even though they[HTML_REMOVED]d been getting along well for a respectable length of time. "Sorry."He swung down and faced Conner, who was taut with annoyance, his shoulders squared, his fists clenched and his attitude contentious."Damn it, Brody," he growled, "am I having one of my invisible days, or are you going blind? You darn near ran me down, and it[HTML_REMOVED]ll take me the better part of the morning to get this mare calm enough to work with again!"Prior to the leap, Brody hadn[HTML_REMOVED]t noticed his brother or the pinto mare, now nickering and tossing her head over on the far side of the corral, but he didn[HTML_REMOVED]t think it would be smart to say as much. Instead, he decided to come from a place of helpfulness."You starting horses yourself these days, instead of letting one of the wranglers do it?" he asked, bending to pick up the lightweight saddle the mare must have tossed when he and Moonshine came over the fence.Conner grabbed the saddle and jerked it ou... Views: 7
A thrilling tale of love, war, and the search for freedom in another Africa. Led by a gentlemen aviator and financed by his lover, the respectable citizens of the Kingdom of Kenya decide to take a preemptive approach to threats against the London Confederation by liberating Reichland Africa. Meanwhile, a lowly rose-quartz man fights his own, more personal, battle. Views: 7
Product DescriptionMon, Jan 20, 2003--TIME magazine publishes an article entitled "Children and Violence: The Search for a Murder Gene." This article describes two early-teen brothers bludgeoning their father to death with a bat and theorizes that the brothers possess a defective gene resulting in too much of the enzyme monoamine oxidase A. The enzyme's action is to destroy a neurotransmitter that keeps a person happy and calm.This is one of many articles describing the search for a Murder Gene.In a world where government propaganda and modern science makes genetic code out to be deterministic--behaviors like entrepreneurship, sexual orientation, and Murder have all been identified. A universal holocaust is in motion to eliminate "The Code," the gene for murder, and 9-year-old Kyle and his father Jay are torn apart when Jay is found carrying the murder gene.As father struggles for survival within the walls of Murderer City to someday-somehow see his son again, Kyle must fight for his own freedom when he is caught in the psychological experimentation of a scientist bent on disproving The Code.MURDER GENES combines cutting-edge scientific theories with real questions about free choice, ethics, and morality, putting it all on a plate of sick and twisted for the reader to enjoy.From the AuthorMurder Genes is by far the most horrific, gruesome, and controversial piece I've ever written. It is often described as a mix of Battle Royale, Divergent, and Hunger Games.Even so, the book at its core is a story about father and son who must decide if survival is worth the sacrifice of character, morality, and soul.Mikael Aizen*FREE PROMOTION UNTIL 15k COPIES DOWNLOADED!!!* Views: 7
Product DescriptionEnter J. K. Beck’s thrilling, seductive world of the Shadow Keepers, which New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian calls “exciting paranormal romance with a sharp, suspenseful edge.”Carissa de Soranzo will not rest until her kidnapped younger brother has been freed from the nobleman Baloch de Fioro, a fiendish werewolf who means to turn the boy at the next full moon. Against her father’s wishes, Carissa secretly seeks help from the mysterious werewolf hunter Tiberius. Desperate, she promises to do anything if he’ll save her brother—and she can see in his eyes what that will mean.Dark, strong, and virile, Tiberius cannot resist ravishing the most beautiful woman he’s seen in centuries. But he can never truly have his fill of her, for Tiberius is a vampire. On a quest to trap the werewolf in his den, Tiberius realizes that the only way to rescue Carissa’s brother is to reveal what he truly is. But he risks losing Carissa forever—especially when she discovers that she has given her heart to a vampire. Views: 7
