When Rachel Connolly—a Reverse Empath—and Franklin ‘Fluke’ Delano—a Probability Talent—meet in the course of capturing a would-be bomber, she knows that he knows she's attracted to him. He can't help it, no one in Rachel's vicinity can help knowing everything she feels. Fluke can disarm a bomb because he's just that lucky, but he's never met another woman who makes him feel the way Rachel does. They have little time to explore their powerful connection before they must draw a mad super villain into the open. Mesmero can use others as his mindless puppets and before all is over, Rachel, Fluke, and the rest of Team Guardian must work tirelessly to stop the villain from carrying out his deadly plans to wreak revenge on those he imagines have wronged him. Views: 15
Fiery and strong-willed Anna Stanton boldly accepts a betrothal to Lieutenant Jonathan Arbor, a ruthless man who agrees to pay her ruined family handsomely if she leaves England and joins him in the New World.Having lost everything in the failed Scottish rising against the English Crown, devilishly handsome Rowan Murray finds himself shackled with his brothers Quinn and Malcolm and transported to the New World as an indentured prisoner. A stroke of luck causes the Mary Catherine to sink, and the Murray brothers find themselves shipwrecked on the shores of a new and dangerous land.When Rowan rescues the mysterious Anna Stanton from the aftermath of the shipwreck, he finds himself torn between loyalty to his brothers and an unexpected attraction that he feels towards the English lass. The Murray brothers endeavor to escort Anna into the care of her betrothed, and the undeniable passion between Anna and Rowan blooms, binding them with forbidden desires. Despite Anna’s duty to marry Jonathan, but she finds herself falling deeply and irrevocable in love with Rowan – a man that she knows that she can never have.When they finally succumb to their desires, Rowan and Anna embark on a passionate, forbidden love affair, each aware that their love cannot survive their duties to their families. Rowan vows to move heaven and Earth to defy Anna’s fate and reclaim her from jealous and vengeful Jonathan Arbor. How can he force himself to walk away from the only woman that he has ever loved? Views: 15
M.J. Novak, a streetwise medical examiner, thinks she's seen it all. Then a red-haired women named Peggy Sue mysteriously dies, the first victim of what may be an epidemic. Her only clue is a telephone number scrawled inside the matchbook in the girls' lifeless hand. Could M.J. be at risk too? Views: 15
Stoneham, New Hampshire, was a dying town until community leaders invited booksellers to open up shop. Now, its streets are lined with bookstores - and paved with murder... Murder is Binding: When she opened her mystery bookstore, city slicker Tricia Miles met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on Doris' rare cookbook - and the locals think that someone is Tricia.Bookmarked for Death: To celebrate her bookstore's anniversary, Tricia hosts a book signing for bestselling author Zoe Carter. But the event takes a terrible turn when the author is found dead in the washroom. With both police and reporters demanding the real story, Tricia will have to take matters into her own hands and read between the lines.Bookplate Special: After weeks of putting up with her uninvited college roommate Pammy Fredricks, Tricia finally gets fed up and kicks her out. But when Pammy is later found dead in the trash cart, Tricia will need to dive in head-first if she wants to solve the case. Views: 15
In "the most suspenseful book I read all year" (Stephen King), a psychologist faces off against a killer who destroys his victims from the inside out.Joe O'Loughlin is in familiar territory-standing on a bridge high above a flooded gorge, trying to stop a distraught woman from jumping. "You don't understand," she whispers, and lets go. Joe is haunted by his failure to save the woman, until her teenage daughter finds him and reveals that her mother would never have committed suicide-not like that. She was terrified of heights.What could have driven her to commit such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?Having devoted his career to repairing damaged minds, Joe must now confront an adversary who tears them apart. With pitch-perfect dialogue, believable characters, and astonishingly unpredictable plot twists, Shatter is guaranteed to keep even the most avid thriller readers riveted long into the night. Views: 15
A New York Times bestsellerAmerica’s unique prosperity is based on its creation of a middle class. In the twentieth century, that middle class provided the workforce, the educated skills, and the demand that gave life to the world’s greatest consumer economy. It was innovative and dynamic; it eclipsed old imperial systems and colonial archetypes. It gave rise to a dream: that if you worked hard and followed the rules you would prosper in America, and your children would enjoy a better life than yours.The American dream was the lure to gifted immigrants and the birthright opportunity for every American citizen. It is as important a part of the history of the country as the passing of the Bill of Rights, the outcome of the battle of Gettysburg, or the space program. Incredibly, however, for more than thirty years, government and big business in America have conspired to roll back the American dream. What was once accessible to a wide swath of the population is increasingly open only to a privileged few.The story of how the American middle class has been systematically impoverished and its prospects thwarted in favor of a new ruling elite is at the heart of this extraordinarily timely and revealing book, whose devastating findings from two of the finest investigative reporters in the country will leave you astonished and angry.ReviewBooklist, starred review“Barlett and Steele address key elements of this betrayal [of the middle class] (globalization, outsourcing, taxes, pensions, financial-sector dominance), then offer suggestions for reversing it, including progressive tax reform, fair trade, infrastructure investment, focused retraining, and criminal prosecution of white-collar criminals. Expect demand.”Columbia Journalism Review“The dedication reveals the emotional heart of their enterprise: Not merely number-crunching chroniclers of middle-class decline, they are invested in the fate of the people who exemplify it. Barlett and Steele’s preeminent talent is their knack for combining the micro and the macro. They look systemically at issues and policies, from the US tax code to healthcare. The questions they ask are both pragmatic (Does the system work?) and ideological (Who is benefiting, and at whose expense?). Their conclusions are buttressed by details gleaned from public records. But they also use the paper trail to track down the system’s apparent victims…the laid-off, the discarded, the pensionless, and the uninsured.”Publishers Weekly“The ostensibly willful destruction of the American middle class is laid bare in this villains and underdogs story from the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting duo…for folks bowled over by the recent financial meltdown, Barlett and Steele's book will resonate.”Leonard Downie, Philadelphia Inquirer“Just in time for this year's election, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele are continuing the crusade to save the American middle class that they began two decades ago as star investigative reporters at The Philadelphia Inquirer….At a time when the future of investigative reporting is at risk in the digital reconstruction of American news media, Barlett and Steele could once again pioneer new ways of doing it, as they did in part through this collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Workshop. In any event, the publication of The Betrayal of the American Dream during the home stretch of the national political campaign injects a provocative populist imperative into an increasingly intense and perhaps decisive partisan debate over the fate of the American middle class.”Associated Press“The avuncular pair, renowned for chillingly accurate, if uncomfortable, observations, have meticulously sharpened their analysis. Now, four decades of mistaken tax and trade policy, declining public and private investment and willing disregard of existing laws have crippled many American industries and sent thousands upon thousands of U.S. jobs overseas without cause, they say. Given the power of their past groundbreaking work on health care, the economy and other political hot potatoes that shape how all Americans live, ‘‘Betrayal’’ merits a careful read from anyone concerned about the nation’s economic future. It is almost haunting…They dissect one industry after another with the precision and narrative flair that have won them many awards, including two Pulitzers.…The writers conclude with a cogent plan for substantial, specific changes to rehabilitate the American dream and rescue the middle class."Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star "If ever there were a time to pitch a national read-in, this is it...The text we should all be reading is ‘The Betrayal of the American Dream,’ by the reporting team of Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele. Published this month, the book is a nuanced and well-researched report on the crisis of the American middle class.”Shepherd Express“The Betrayal of the American Dream is an angry book, denouncing the lies of corporate America and the elected officials it keeps on a leash woven from money.”DailyKos“The team of Barlett and Steele have produced excellent journalism in the past, and they have done it again with The Betrayal of the American Dream, (2012) an analysis of the pain caused by the economic crisis for everyday people. This is a well written, readable book on the economic crisis and the 30 years of looting by corporate America that led to the crisis… The authors, excellent investigative journalists, place human faces on the devastation being wrought in our economy, and the pain and suffering imposed on the many by the few. It is a book well worth reading.”Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun"Important reading in this election year.”Washington Post“A brawling, journalistic mix-it-up…The authors’ passion and anger are as clear in these pages as they are in the title.”Irish Times“Urgent reading for anyone interested in contemporary America, not least as [a] stark reminder… of what is barely being discussed in the presidential election.”Creative Loafing Charlotte* “Thank God for writers who are able to show the effects of political decisions on ordinary Americans. Two of the very best are Donald R. Barlett and James B. Steele, …They shine again in their new book, The Betrayal of the American Dream (PublicAffairs, 306 pages, $26.99), in which America's overarching economic and political trends of the past 30 years are laid out clearly in intensely researched detail.”*The Progressive“Barlett and Steele cover a lot of ground in this relatively short, fast-paced new book. Their straightforward, impassioned prose is filled with real-life stories of people who are losing their grip on the American Dream. "New York Times Book Review“Barlett and Steele… have some intelligent things to say about the unfairness and impenetrability of the American tax code, which favors the wealthy and llows dangerous accounting for corporate pension liabilities….The book is strongest, and most useful, when it recounts the poignant stories of workers left out in the cold, chilling examples of exactly how far members of the middle class have fallen. The book will undoubtedly make you angry.” USA Today“Barlett and Steele are superb researchers and clear writers.”HuntingtonNews.net“The Betrayal of the American Dream is an outstanding explanation of what we've done wrong, with suggestions on how we can stem the flow of our nation's life blood and bring back good paying jobs that are the foundation of a rapidly disappearing middle class.”USA Today “When James B. Steele and Donald L. Barlett met as young reporters at the Philadelphia Inquirer during 1971, nobody, including themselves, would have predicted they would spend the next 41 years (and counting) exposing illegal and ethical misbehavior inside the corporate-government nexus… Especially poignant in the wake of the Great Recession that officially ended in June 2009 but has barely abated for countless millions of U.S. residents… Using memorable anecdotes gleaned from deep reporting, Barlett and Steele show how the ruling class has instituted policies that mean the near abandonment in the job market for returning military veterans who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.”Seattle Times“rich in detail about how we got into this crisis and provide[s] roadmaps out.”Charleston (WV) Gazette*“a primer that should be read by all Americans who really want to understand problems in our job market and our economy… fascinating and readable.”Rogue Columnist“essential reading if you want to understand how we got into this mess and how we can move out of it”Daily Kos“The book is packed with important information and examples of the damage wrought by policies that allow companies to, for instance, avoid taxes, profit from sending jobs overseas, and strip workers of their pensions. And it does the important work of making clear just how badly the deck is stacked against the 99 percent. … If getting mad primes you to fight, by all means, read this.” About the AuthorDonald L. Barlett and James B. Steele are the nation’s most honored investigative reporting team, and authors of the New York Times bestseller America: What Went Wrong? They have worked together for more than forty years, first at the Philadelphia Inquirer (1971–1997), then at Time magazine (1997–2006), and now at Vanity Fair since 2006. They have also written seven books. They are the only reporting team ever to have received two Pulitzer Prizes for newspaper reporting and two National Magazine Awards for magazine work. They live in Philadelphia. Views: 15
The Austins are trying to settle into their new life in New York City, but their once close-knit family is pulling away from each other. Their father spends long hours alone in his study working on the research project that brought the family to the city. John is away at college. Rob is making friends with people in the neighborhood: newspaper vendors, dog walkers, even the local rabbi. Suzy is blossoming into a vivacious young woman. And Vicky has become closer to Emily Gregory, a blind and brilliant young musician, than to her sister Suzy. With the Austins going in different directions, they don't notice that something sinister is going on in their neighborhood--and it's centered around them. A mysterious genie appears before Rob and Emily. A stranger approaches Vicky in the park and calls her by name. Members of a local gang are following their father. The entire Austin family is in danger. If they don't start telling each other what's going on, someone just... Views: 15
Rick's looking for some sexy fun and finds more than he could have wished for.
After months of a dry spell in the sex department, Rick asks a woman
out for a date only to find out she's a doctor like the ex-fiancé who'd
shunned him because of his career. That same day he meets a man who sets
his blood on fire and plans to meet him for dinner—and more if he has
his way. Views: 15
"I'm lucky just to be alive." Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away. Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion. Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever. Views: 15
