Winner of the Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel, 2012 Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Drayton runs a private investigation agency in Vancouver that specializes in missing persons — only, as Mike has discovered, some missing people stay with you. Still haunted by the unsolved disappearance of a young girl, Mike is hired to find the vanished son of a local junk merchant. However, he quickly discovers that the case has been damaged by a crooked private eye and dismissed by a disinterested justice system. Worse, the only viable lead involves a drug-addicted car thief with gang connections. As the stakes rise, Mike attempts to balance his search for the junk merchant's son with a more profitable case involving a necrophile and a funeral home, while simultaneously struggling to keep a disreputable psychic from bilking the mother of a missing girl. Views: 45
A no-nonsense company man and a beautiful small-business owner learn to embrace second chances in this classic romance by Bonnie Pega. Max Shore thrives on routine, but a message from mysterious Love, Inc.--and the silky voice that leaves it--certainly piques his interest. What kind of improper services might such an outfit offer? And what can it possibly want from Shore Efficiency Consultants? Max is in for a delightful surprise: The voice in question is from a petite beauty with the face of an angel and a body made for sin--though Max, still recovering from a nasty divorce, isn't sure he's ready for temptation. For all of Caitlin Love's expertise on thyme and willow bark, her organic herb business needs an organizational overhaul after a run-in with the IRS. But when the stuffy efficiency guru she envisioned turns out to be sexier than expected, Caitlin's guard goes up. A history of tragedy has made her wary of getting close to someone new. Yet... Views: 45
India Butler's journey to America put her life on a new track. Now a trip to Paris threatens to derail her – or to to make things all they are supposed to be. With a new friend, a new job, a new lover . . . and an old lover, India is dealing with nearly as much as she can handle. But that's only the beginning.The infectious sequel to INDIA'S SUMMER, LETTER FROM PARIS is witty, glamorous, incisive, and refreshingly real. Views: 45
5,900 Word Short Story * * * Meet Garvin Desh, a long time assassin for hire whose thirst for gold and glory is quenched by honor. Desh leads a rebellion against Thurstan the Mighty, King of Lorencia, so that the king might answer for his crimes. Though righteousness has forced Desh to have a change or heart, his past is not far behind him, waiting to ensnare him in its powerful clutches. Will Desh save the people of Lorencia from hunger and death? Will his deeds make right the wrong he's done? The answers can only be found through sword and shield. Views: 45
The homosexuals, once an ostracized social minority, have taken over the world. They understood the dangers of an overpopulated planet, usurped government power, and created a culture of perfectly engineered families. But Grace Jarvis and Dex Wheelock are heterosexuals--part of the government’s highly controlled backup plan for reproduction--and they have a problem: Grace is pregnant. Dex is the father. It is a crime that has only one consequence: banishment to the Antarctic Sanctuary, an isolated biological reserve where reproductive criminals are allowed to exist in peace, without disrupting the rest of civilization. Yet there are rumors that genocide has already begun and that the homosexuals are finally setting natural breeders on a path to extinction. This leaves Grace and Dex with only two choices: to succumb to the tyrannical regime, or run. They choose to run. Matthew Beier’s debut novel tells the intimate story of two people bound by the force of life itself as they set out to protect their unborn child and find value for themselves in a world that has rendered them worthless. This rainbow-tinted reflection of our own society--part political satire and part dystopian thriller--is a novel you won’t want to miss. Views: 45
Available for the first time in English, the seventh entry in the beloved Inspector Sejer series from Norway’s Queen of Crime, Karin FossumOn a wet, gray night in early November, Charlo Torp, a former gambler who’s only recently kicked the habit, makes his way through the slush to Harriet Krohn’s apartment, flowers in hand. Certain that paying off his debt is the only path to starting a new life and winning his daughter’s forgiveness, Charlo plans to rob the wealthy old woman’s antique silver collection. What he doesn’t expect is for her to put up a fight.The following morning Harriet is found dead, her antique silver missing, and the only clue Inspector Sejer and his team find in the apartment is an abandoned bouquet. Charlo should feel relieved, but he’s heard of Sejer’s amazing record — the detective has solved every case he’s ever been assigned to.Told through the eyes of a killer, The Murder of Harriet Krohn poses the question: how far would you go to turn your life around, and could you live with yourself afterward?Review"Fossum’s superior seventh Insp. Konrad Sejer novel, the 10th book in the series to be released in the U.S. (after 2013’s Eva’s Eye), puts a modern spin on Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Widower Charlo Olav Torp’s robbery and murder of elderly Harriet Krohn allows him to pay off his debts and reconnect with his estranged 16-year-old daughter, Julie. He even buys Julie the horse she has always wanted. But this fresh start comes with a price. His every moment is clouded by guilt over his actions and the fear that he’ll be caught, but he’s also proud that he’s committed the perfect murder. Months go by until Sejer, who has never had an unsolved case, targets Charlo by building on the one small piece of forgotten evidence at the crime scene. Series fans and newcomers alike will savor this insightful character study of a man on the edge with little regard to how his actions affect others. (Nov.)"--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review "In the seventh Konrad Sejer story, Fossum’s pitch-perfect dialogue (internal and otherwise) sets the tense, desperate tone of this introverted, psychological cat-and-mouse tale. Gambling addict Charlo Torp is proudly shoving his past behind him. He’s paid off the enormous gambling debt he owed a dangerous friend, found a part-time job, and even bought a horse to win back his equestrian daughter’s affection. There is just the small matter of Harriet Krohn, whom Charlo murdered during the robbery that netted the cash for his new life. Within days of the attack, media coverage of the brutal crime is unavoidable, and Charlo learns that formidable Inspector Konrad Sejer is hunting him. Convinced that he can burrow into his new life and escape notice, Charlo denies the fallout of his crime even as fear and paranoia begin to creep in behind his facade. Fossum’s modern take on “The Tell-Tale Heart” will please the large, ever-expanding base of Sejer fans, who will be enthralled with following the investigation from the prey’s angle."--Booklist" "Charlo Torp doesn’t mean to kill anyone. A widower desperate to pay off gambling debts, he intends to enter Harriet Krohn’s house under the pretense of a flower delivery and steal the elderly woman’s valuables. But Harriet resists, Charlo panics, and she ends up bludgeoned to death in her kitchen. With the whodunit thus settled two dozen pages in, Fossum trains her focus on the “why” of the crime, examining Charlo’s guilt and how he justifies his actions to himself, especially after the stolen money helps him repair his relationship with an estranged daughter. Still, he constantly looks over his shoulder, and with good reason—the policeman investigating Harriet’s death, Insp. Konrad Sejer, has never failed to solve a murder. VERDICT Writing from the killer’s perspective, Fossum sketches a credible if unsuspenseful portrait of how normal people commit violent acts. This is the seventh book in the “Sejer” series (The Water’s Edge; Bad Intentions; The Caller) but one of the last to be translated into English, quite possibly because the detective doesn’t appear until well past the halfway mark. That’s too bad, because his scenes crackle with energy that’s lacking in the rest of the book. For readers who enjoy psychological suspense and who don’t mind crime novels minus the mystery."--Library JournalAbout the AuthorKARIN FOSSUM is the author of the internationally successful Inspector Konrad Sejer crime series. Her recent honors include a Gumshoe Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for mystery/thriller. Views: 45
A delightful new contemporary romance novella from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia London.One winter's night a blizzard sweeps across the country, demonstrating that fate can change the course of lives in an instant...and fate has got a sense of humor.Chelsea Crawford and Ian Rafferty are high profile ad execs in cutthroat competition for a client. When a major winter storm puts New York City on lockdown, the two rivals have to make it through the night together—oh, the many ways in which opposites attract...Praise for Julia London: "London knows how to keep pages turning...winningly fresh and funny." –Publishers Weekly, on RITA Award nominee The Bridesmaid Views: 45
The Cornbelt Killers. That's the media's name for the murderous trio who are using the Midwest as their hunting grounds. DCI agent Cam Prescott and forensic profiler Sophia Channing are responsible for stopping them. Because of their efforts, Mason Vance is in jail. Sonny Baxter is dead. But the mastermind of the trio is still free, and she's the most vicious of the three. At first it's believed that Vickie Baxter has fled the state. But when bodies start piling up, it's all too evident that she's still in the area on a quest for revenge. Cam and Sophia top her list of targets, and so far she's managed to stay one step ahead of them. They must predict the woman's next move in order to apprehend her. But nothing could prepare them for the mind-chilling end she has planned for them. If they are to have a chance of a future together they must stop Baxter before Sophia becomes the seventeenth victim. Views: 45
