From a bestselling Australian author comes a tale of double-dealing, adventure and the dark underbelly of 1920s Sydney... In the aftermath of World War I, Sydney is no place for the fainthearted. Sly grog shops thrive, the cocaine trade flourishes and brothels abound. Into this big dark city comes fresh-faced country girl, Dolly Bowman, ready to risk everything in pursuit of her dreams. After all it's the 1920s - time to turn her back on her terrible childhood and search for her future.Cynthia Burton's life changes irrevocably the day she steps over the threshold of the house on Boundary Street. Determined to survive the only way she can, she breaks into the world of money and matinee idols in order to fulfil¬ a promise she made-and now there's no going back.As Dolly and Cynthia lives entangle they find themselves drawn into a far-reaching web of lies, intrigue and double dealing. Could it be that the house on Boundary Street, once... Views: 642
OPERALAND follows Richie Verdun, a funny, fearless little dynamo, as he enters the glamorous and treacherous world of opera facing almost impossible odds. He's in his early forties, unusually old for a beginner, and without the benefit of either musical or theatrical training. To make matters worse, this irrepressible fireplug of a man is overly fond of inappropriate, almost infantile jokes that are wildly out of place in his sophisticated new surroundings. We first meet him as a hustling car salesman in upper Michigan, deeply devoted to his literate and caring wife Kit and their three young children. When his family urges him to try his luck as an operatic tenor, he enters a world that is utterly foreign to him. The struggle is intense and rejections proliferate, but Richie's energy and ambition never desert him. A seemingly ordinary man unleashes his inner artist and discovers a new way of life. Views: 642
A horrific crime that defies explanation, a rookie FBI agent in uncharted territory, and an extraordinary hero for the ages: an investigation spirals out of control in this heart-pounding thriller.Odessa Hardwicke's life is derailed when she's forced to turn her gun on her partner, Walt Leppo, a decorated FBI agent who turns suddenly, inexplicably violent while apprehending a rampaging murderer. The shooting, justified by self-defense, shakes the young FBI agent to her core. Devastated, Odessa is placed on desk leave pending a full investigation. But what most troubles Odessa isn't the tragedy itself — it's the shadowy presence she thought she saw fleeing the deceased agent's body after his death.Questioning her future with the FBI and her sanity, Hardwicke accepts a low-level assignment to clear out the belongings of a retired agent in the New York office. What she finds there will put her on the trail of a mysterious figure named John... Views: 642
The Mike Black Saga Volume 8 includes, The Boss Wears Heels, This Is Mine, Revenge and Who's Next.The Boss Wears Heels (The Mike Black Saga Book 26)After being literally run out of New York, Jada West has returned to Nassau and the party to end all parties is thrown in her honor. Now it was time for to get back to running Paraíso, the establishment that she and Mike Black own. However, prior to her departure, there was a saying on the island, 'If you want some done, go see Jada West', and now that she's back, Black's people have once again, began to come to her to settle their issues. And Jada handled them in pure Jada West fashion; focus on what's important. Making the money.But when a major problem occurs on the island, Jada is forced to step up. When the people around her tell Jada that she should call Black and ask him what he wants her to do, Jada refuses, because; "Mr. Black expects me to handle this."Find out if Jada West is up to the... Views: 642
When Emily discovers an empty lot that used to be a community garden, she and her crafty friends make it bloom once again in this seventh book of the Craftily Ever After chapter book series.Emily Adams learns that an empty dirt lot in town used to be a beautiful garden but now it's about to be paved over. So, she decides to take action. Emily and her three crafty friends, Maddie, Bella, and Sam decide the best way to save the old garden is to create a new one! But first they have to get the neighborhood on board. They research why gardens are great for the environment and the community, and they present the information to their friends, family, and neighbors. The last person they have to convince is the mayor himself. The friends know that no matter what happens, they'll be best buds forever...but will the mayor like their plan? With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Craftily Ever After chapter books are perfect for emerging readers. Views: 642
A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick'A love letter to Japan and its literature.' Rowan Hisayo Buchanan 'Beguiling' Elizabeth Macneal_______________In Tokyo - one of the world's largest megacities - a stray cat is wending her way through the back alleys. And, with each detour, she brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city-dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways.But the city is changing. As it does, it pushes her to the margins where she chances upon a series of apparent strangers - from a homeless man squatting in an abandoned hotel, to a shut-in hermit afraid to leave his house, to a convenience store worker searching for love. The cat orbits Tokyo's denizens, drawing them ever closer.'Masterfully weaves together seemingly disparate threads to conjure up a vivid tapestry of Tokyo; its glory, its shame, its characters, and a calico cat.' David Peace, author of THE TOKYO TRILOGY Views: 642
Arise. Awake. Betray. When the war comes, rejoice. Smuggled radios scream such mottos at the Thousand Suns, as the navies of Solaria find themselves on the edge, scattered and fighting a lost battle. The battle to preserve what the war against the Tauran Empire ripped clean off humanity, and Solaria's decadent order. Technologies banned for centuries are popping up on burnt worlds, military laws in several sectors turn into an afterthought. Eons of "peaceful oppression" end at the hands of an invigorated underground, tension amongst upstart superpowers teeter on the brink of war, and the Sun calls upon its workers to fight the Spacer Melds, forsaking a billion lives and counting. Admiral Aggarwal, named most popular warrior of the colonial admiralty on Earth, appears to wallow in postwar depression. It makes for a good mask, as he works, collects, observes, as a traitor in the midst of Solaria. But when a war leader's assassination plunges the fleets into frenzied mobilization, and he is sent into an escalating military situation at the Blackwaters with enough firepower to pulverize a planet, he can think of enough Divinity-approved ways to use it for his own planned crusade. When an enemy messenger pops up to claim the existence of a new threat that "might" be unstoppable if humanity does not unite and prepare for a war of annihilation, doubts spring up. With doubts come more heat between allies, while the possibilities are far too dire to ignore. To Shiv, it is a matter to rejoice. He volunteers to head into the unknown, confident the enemy is a godsend method to weaken Solaria before he strikes his own blow. As his universe falls apart, he prepares. Before he can save humanity, he must cleanse it. One way or another, reckoning is near … Views: 642
