Love Me When I’m Gone is a tale for the ages, the perfect blend of action, romance, heroes, villains, patriotism and valor. What holds this story above all others? This one is true. Rob had a pretty rough childhood: given up for adoption as an infant, brought into a family of highly decorated military men, suffering the loss of his mother to cancer, and his rebellion which landed him in military school. When he finally returns home he meets Cindy, who quickly becomes his best friend. After graduation, however, the two go off to college at opposite ends of Texas, and their paths separate. Eight years later, when Rob returns home from SERE school and being a POW in the cold North Carolina woods, he wakes up one morning to discover that Cindy has contacted him on Myspace; he is very surprised, as he has been searching for Cindy for the past few years. The two reunite to spend Rob’s month of leave together, both knowing at the end he will be leaving for the illustrious 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the elite Battalion of Green Berets stationed in Germany for quick-reaction missions around the globe. Rob’s time in Germany is a whirlwind; his first trip to Iraq, in which he encounters three distinct situations which will haunt him for the rest of his life; HAVE-ACE, the Special Operations school which Rob attends with his team and finally becomes one of them; Africa, where Rob learns many valuable lessons about life, and Afghanistan, where Rob and his team are tested in many life-or-death situations, including Operation Payback where he and The Captain are wounded in a sustained firefight in the middle of a village, and his final trip to Iraq with 3rd Battallion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). The culmination of the story is the quintessential fairy-tale ending; Rob moves to California to spend the rest of his days, and the final chapter is the full military wedding, complete with his teammates as groomsman and sword bearers. Views: 20
"Grim, but really good" Ian Rankin Carlo Salvino returns home missing an arm and a leg. He's keen to win back the affections of his teenage girlfriend and mother of his child. If he can take his revenge on the Ramsays, so much the better. The Ramsay brothers are keen to move up in the world and get the hell out of town. They gather all their hopes in one basket, 'The Scottish Open' dog-fighting tournament. In Leo they have the animal to win it; all they need to complete the plan is a fair wind. The Hooks, well they're just a maladjusted family caught up in the middle of it all. A tale of justice, injustice and misunderstanding, 'Smoke' is a 22,000-word novella that draws its inspiration from characters introduced in the short story 'An Arm And A Leg' (first published by Crimespree Magazine and later in 'The Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime Stories 8'). PRAISE FOR SMOKE "Nigel Bird takes his readers to some dark places, but there is also beauty in this harsh reality. The twin... Views: 20
Truman Wiley used to report news stories from around the world, but now the most troubling headlines are his own. He's out of work, out of touch with his family, out of his home. But nothing dogs him more than his son's failing heart. With mounting hospital bills and Truman's penchant for gambling his savings, the situation seems hopeless . . . until his estranged wife throws him a lifeline—the chance to write the story of a death row inmate, a man convicted of murder who wants to donate his heart to Truman's son.As the execution clock ticks down, Truman uncovers disturbing evidence that points to a different killer. For his son to live, must an innocent man die? Truman's investigation draws him down a path that will change his life, his family, and the destinies of two men forever. Views: 20
Lovable rogue and sleuth extraordinaire Sam Levitt is back in another beguiling, as-only-Peter-Mayle-can-write-it romp through the South of France.At the end of The Vintage Caper, Sam had just carried off a staggering feat of derring-do in the heart of Bordeaux, infiltrating the ranks of the French elite to rescue a stolen, priceless wine collection. With the questionable legality of the adventure—and the threat of some very powerful enemies!—Sam thought it’d be a while before he returned to France, especially with the charms of the beautiful Elena Morales to keep him in Los Angeles.But when the immensely wealthy Francis Reboul—the victim of Sam’s last heist but someone who knows talent when he sees it—asks our hero to take a job in Marseille, it’s impossible for Sam and Elena to resist the possibility of further excitement . . . to say nothing of the pleasures of the region. Soon the two are enjoying the coastal sunshine and the delectable food and wine for which Marseille is known. Yet as a competition over Marseille’s valuable waterfront grows more hotly disputed, Sam, representing Reboul, finds himself in the middle of an increasingly intrigue-ridden and dangerous real-estate grab, with thuggish gangsters on one side and sharklike developers on the other.Will Sam survive this caper unscathed? Will he live to enjoy another bowl of bouillabaisse? All will be revealed—with luck, savvy, and a lot of help from Sam’s friends—in the novel’s wonderfully satisfying climax. About the AuthorPeter Mayle is the author of twelve previous books, six of them novels. A recipient of the Légion d’Honneur from the French government for his cultural contributions, he has been living in Provence with his wife, Jennie, for twenty years. Views: 20
Renon Chattelrault faces the most controversial case of his legal career. The defendant: a Catholic priest. The case involves the sexual abuse of hundreds of children under the age of ten. It is the first case of its kind, and it goes to the core of one of the oldest, richest and most powerful institutions on earth, the Roman Catholic church. As Chattelrault mounts his defense of Father Francis Dubois, he begins to uncover evidence of an epic conspiracy involving the sexual abuse of thousands of children - one that implicates not just the Louisiana diocese, but goes all the way to the Vatican itself. Most men would stand aside; but Renon Chattelrault is not most men. IN GOD'S HOUSE is a powerful thriller about the greatest conspiracy of our time, and one man's fearless crusade for justice. Views: 20
It is with some trepiditation that Meredith Mitchell returns to the Cotswolds: the Bamford district holds memories that, to put it generously, are bittersweet, and Christmas is a difficult time to find oneself a stranger in a new area. Yet she receives a kindly welcome, in particular from her old acquaintance Chief Inspector Markby and from her new neighbour Harriet Needham, a striking redhead with whom Meredith immediately feels a certain kinship. But Meredith has barely got to know her neighbour when Harriet is involved in a shocking - and fatal - accident at the Boxing Day Hunt. Witnesses to the death are plentiful, for the incident occurred in Bamford's crowded market square, and many are adamant it's a case of murder. Chief Inspector Markby is inclined to agree, although he suspects the guilty party is not the most obvious one. Before long Meredith Mitchell begins, reluctantly, to think he might be right ... Views: 20
Eminent doctor Adam Deacon had his life neatly planned: a high-flying career--and a suitable bride! Then he met Anna, the eldest of the Lacey triplets.Anna was the complete opposite to Adam: unconventional, unpredictable and, to Adam, unbearably provocative! She brought out the wild side he'd never known he had. Adam couldn't deny his craving for Anna, but was desire a good basis for marriage? Views: 20
