Claire DeWitt, the hard-living and tough-talking private investigator, has always been something of a detective. As a young girl growing up in Brooklyn, Claire and her two best friends, Tracy and Kelly, fell under the spell of the book Detection by legendary French detective Jacques Silette. The three solved many cases together and were inseparable - until the day Tracy vanished without a trace. That is still the only case Claire ever failed to solve.
Later, in her twenties, Claire is in Los Angeles trying to get her PI license by taking on a cold case that has stumped the LAPD. She hunts for the real story behind the death of a washed-up painter ten years earlier, whose successful and widely admired artist girlfriend had died a few months before him.
Today, Claire is on her way to Las Vegas from San Francisco when she's almost killed by a homicidal driver. In a haze of drugs and injuries, she struggles off the scene, determined to find her would-be killer's identity - but the list of people who would be happy to see her dead is not a short one.
As these three narratives converge, some mysteries are solved and others continue to haunt. But Claire, battered and bruised, continues her search for the answer to the biggest mystery of all: what is the purpose of our lives, and how can anyone survive in a world so clearly designed to break our hearts again and again? Views: 35
I thought I had nothing left to lose... I was sorely mistaken.
This wasn’t the plan.
To be a recluse.
To hide out in the damn woods.
But I didn’t have a choice.
It was that or join my parents…
Six feet under.
It tore me apart to just up and go.
I had to leave her behind.
My beautiful, sweet Dallas.
Not a day went by when I didn’t think about her.
Her image was the only thing that made this existence bearable.
But I came to terms with my choice.
Did I feel guilty about it?
Yes.
Do I regret it?
No way.
Because being with me would’ve put her at risk.
What I didn’t bank on, though, was the bombshell that came later.
Dallas was pregnant.
The people after me found out and came calling.
They forced me out of the shadows.
However, if they think they can “off me” like they did my parents…
They’re in for a helluva ride.
No matter the cost, I will protect my family. Views: 35
Orphan Tom has been sent to live in the Scottish Borders with an uncle and aunt he's never met. But a remote sheep farm in Scotland is a different world from his home in London. Tom is lonely and struggles to fit in with strange new people and their odd ways, until his uncle gives him a sheep dog puppy called Flash. Flash is loving, clever and brave and Tom is determined to make him the best sheepdog he can be — perhaps even a champion! But when the day of the competition arrives Tom faces a difficult decision — will he leave his new life, and Flash, behind? In this true classic by much-loved children's author Kathleen Fidler, a young boy discovers friendship, acceptance and a new home in the Scottish Borders through his love for his best friend, Flash. Adapted for the big screen in 1966, Flash the Sheepdog remains an unrivalled portrait of rural Scotland and is a story that has been loved by generations of children. Views: 35
We were a scandal waiting to happen. But I didn't care.For years my life had already been an unending downward spiral. Then my grandfather, Jack, gave me an apartment no one knew about. A secret bequest after his death, and the brief note that accompanied the gift sent me running to Italy.I'd gone to Venice to find peace, knowing I was weak, and instead I found him.Damon Saxe was magnificent, brilliant, jaded, and white-hot danger. I was consumed by him as I've never been by anything or anyone. Vibrant and unrelenting wakefulness burned inside me when he was near.And he became everything I craved and all I lived for.Khloe Manzone wasn't the right kind of girl for me. In fact, she was the type that could cost me everything. The bonds on me weren't shackles a man could break free from. Having her as my lover was allowed. Wanting her was foolish. Loving her—agony. And we would become each other's most private big little lie, filled with us and desire.Letting go of us was inevitable, even as it tormented me to tear us apart. Views: 35
Parts per Million was a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
**Review
'' Parts per Million effortessly weaves the personal with the political in this relentless page-turner. Part psychological thriller, part hard-boiled noir, the characters are fresh, real and alive. With a lightness of touch and an uncanny ear for great dialogue, Julia Stoops tells the story of four activists in a time of war, their moral and emotional conflicts, their betrayals and their small acts of heroism. Parts per Million reads like the bastard offspring of Graham Greene and Naomi Klein.'' --Robert Newman, author of The Fountain at the Center of the World
''While Julia Stoops documents activism of the early 2000s, Parts per Million couldn't feel more relevant today. The struggle to remain faithful to the ideals and hard work of activism, the thrill of the rare, hard-won victory, and the navigating of personal politics, gives this book a thrilling narrative and makes it an inspired wake-up call to all of our inner activists.'' --Ben Parzybok, author of Sherwood Nation
''The little-known history of West Coast, Left Coast eco-activism in the early Aughts bursts to life in this timely and important book, full of finely drawn characters and outrageous intrigues. Eco-fiction at its finest, Parts per Million is one of the origin stories of the resistance, and a primer for the fight to come.'' --Susan DeFreitas, author of Hot Season
'' Parts per Million is a cry for justice and a journey through the heart. Julia Stoops brilliantly conjures the social and political unrest of the early 2000s. The war drums, the resistance, the secretive birth of the surveillance state all lit by deep emotional honesty. Stoops's keen eye sweeps us into the lives of three Portland activists separate souls shakily united by a cause, a house, and a radiant artist/ex-junkie named Deirdre, who simultaneously illuminates and complicates their struggles. Compelling and deeply compassionate, Parts per Million takes us to a time and place we thought we could forget, but can't, and shouldn't. Reading it may be the surest way to understand who we were then, and in the tumult of our times who we need to be today.'' --Scott Sparling, author of Wire to Wire
''In her carefully thought-out debut novel Parts per Million, Julia Stoops gives us a team of young, and not-so-young political activists at the beginning of the twenty-first century, working overtime to correct what they see as dangerous if not disastrous forces at work in the American political status quo. Stoops's adroit involvement of digital technology in the story gives a lively real-world edge to the presentation. Like a heartbeat against the center of the novel's environmental and war concerns is a love relationship laden with hopes, dreams and challenges familiar to the times. Parts per Million is a timely and stimulating fictional look at the difficult and too often thankless task of defending the planet.'' --Harold Johnson, author of The Fort Showalter Blues
''The page-turning plot would be reason enough to read Parts per Million, but Julia Stoops gives us characters so fully developed the novel feels like theater-in-the-round. The questions they ask themselves are central to our times how do we live ethical lives in the face of so much institutionalized greed? If the personal is political, how can we turn away from anyone in crisis? Stoops takes us on a joyride through the political turmoil of the early twenty-first century, bringing anti-war protests and direct action environmentalists vividly to life. Her characters may wear their political hearts on their sleeves, but it's their internal struggles that capture our attention, and make this story such a rich and timely read.'' --Stevan Allred, author of A Simplified Map of the Real World
Book Description
Three activists let a photographer with a hazy past join their unorthodox household in Julia Stoops’s debut novel, a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. As the scrappy crew takes to the streets in anti-war protests and reports on the explosive political climate, the newcomer’s secret threatens to destroy their alliances―even as they uncover the biggest scoop of their careers. Set in Portland, Oregon, in 2002, Parts per Million dives into the space between ideals and reality, where risk and love twist into a tragic climax that challenges everything the activists believe. The novel throws a timely spotlight on recent American history, illuminating the power of individual transformation during social upheaval. Views: 35
It's beginning to look like a merry Christmas for Hayden Mundy Moore. On vacation from providing her sought-after expertise in all things chocolate, Hayden heads to snowy New England with her friend and financial advisor, Travis, for the opening of his pal's highly-touted holiday musical. But when the show's producer is murdered, Hayden trades sampling Chocolate Santas for finding the killer—especially since this time, Travis is the one asking for her help . . . Soon Hayden discovers there's more to Travis's chic hometown than mulled wine and cocoa cookies. But that's just the beginning. Almost no one, including Travis, is quite what they seem. Did the show's lead have more savage motives than stardom? Could the dead producer's husband have felt a murderous envy for his successful wife? Getting behind the mistletoe and jingle bells will take all of Hayden's savvy—along with some super caffeinated Peppermint Mochas—if she hopes to catch a killer with a... Views: 35
Torn between two worlds. And four men.Sebastian. Toshi. Theo. Kyle.I thought that plane crash would be the end of my life. Instead, it turned out to be just the beginning.Now, I’m on a race to find out who—and what—I really am, with four men to help me. Sexy Sebastian who can be a jerk sometimes but actually means well. Kind Theo whose heart is as big as that chest I want to cozy up against. Slick Toshi who is as fierce as he is fun. And Kyle, my best friend for so long, maybe too long.They will help me find the answers I seek, though only I can take control of my destiny.And my heart.Reverse Harem SeriesPRIMALSARCHAICUNITARY Views: 35
Stu Truly is the coming-of-age story of 12-year-old Stu as he struggles to navigate the murky waters of adolescence when he finds himself living a lie that seems to be growing beyond his control to impress the new girl in school.When Stuart Cornelius Truly first sets eyes on the new girl, Becca, he staples his finger to his sixth-grade history assignment. The second time he sees her, he coughs up a bite of her lunch—a vegetarian roasted pepper sandwich—all over her sweater, and promptly lies, claiming that he, too, is a vegetarian. Their third encounter goes more smoothly, but Stu's lie turns out to be harder to keep than he expected, especially since his family owns a butcher shop. In this hilarious, heartwarming, contemporary middle grade novel, Stu suddenly begins to realize the opposite sex exists (and isn't so bad, after all!). Can Stu learn to successfully navigate old friends, new crushes, and horror-filled school dances or will his lie,... Views: 35
