It starts with some innocent family fun. Writer Stephen Barrow’s divorced wife, involved in a second marriage, has given Barrow custody of their six-year-old daughter, Penny. Father and daughter share a relationship that is tender, poignant, and funny. Their home life in a small upstate New York town is a happy and entirely wholesome one.
One evening Penny, in her bath, playfully straightens her shampoo-stiffened hair into the horn of a “unicord,” and her father takes her picture. When she “moons” him and says, “Take this one!” he clicks the shutter, although the roll of film was finished. Or so the mechanically challenged Barrow believed.
The next day, the local pharmacy clerk using the photo machine is shocked by the snapshot, decides Stephen is a child pornographer, and calls the police, who arrest him. That is only the first step in Stephen Barrow’s descent into hell. A small-town police chief, a vengeful ex-wife, a fledgling psychologist, a district attorney facing re-election - all of these and more push Barrow deeper and deeper into the depths, until everything he has is taken from him, his freedom, his belongings, and most particularly his beloved daughter.
Best Intentions is a horror story. Not a horror story of monsters from the deep or roving homicidal psychopaths, but something much worse, something that batters at the readers’ defenses. As anyone familiar with Klempner’s previous books will know, he is a writer with the talent to bring his story home to his readers. As Best Intentions (based on an actual case) unfolds, its threat becomes more and more real. This could happen to anyone. It could happen to you. Views: 57
SUMMARY: InSpecial Assignments, Erast Fandorin, nineteenth-century Russia's suavest sleuth, faces two formidable new foes: One steals outrageous sums of money, the other takes lives. "The Jack of Spades" is a civilized swindler who has conned thousands of rubles from Moscow's residentsincluding Fandorin's own boss, Prince Dolgorukoi. To catch him, Fandorin and his new assistant, timid young policeman Anisii Tulipov, must don almost as many disguises as the grifter does himself. "The Decorator" is a different case altogether: A savage serial killer who believes he "cleans" the women he mutilates and takes his orders from on high, he must be given Fandorin's most serious attentions. Peopled by a rich cast of eccentric characters, and with plots that are as surprising as they are inventive,Special Assignmentswill delight Akunin's many fans, while challenging the gentleman sleuth's brilliant powers of detection. Praise from England: "Boris Akunin's wit and invention are a source of constant wonder." Evening Standard "[Fandorin is] a debonair combo of Sherlock Holmes, D'Artagnan and most of the soulful heroes of Russian literature. . . . This pair of perfectly balanced stories permit the character of Fandorin to grow." The Sunday Telegraph "Agatha Christie meets James Bond: [Akunin's] plots are intricate and tantalizing. . . . [These stories] are unputdownable and great fun." Sunday Express "The beguiling, super-brainy, sexy, unpredictable Fandorin is a creation like no other in crime fiction." The Times Views: 57
Antony Marcello didn’t break the rules. Not the ones that mattered, anyway. In the world of La Cosa Nostra, justice was served with a single word and a bullet, not a courthouse and a judge. When he was told to jump, there was only one appropriate response: How high, Boss? Some rules are worth bending. La famiglia has been Antony’s goal for longer than he cares to remember. Getting his button is everything alongside family, honor, God, and loyalty. Meeting Cecelia Catrolli puts what he thought he knew upside down as the mafia, friendship, secrets and love carry him through life. Nothing is ever easy. Some rules are worth the killing. When Cosa Nostra, the one thing he has always known and trusted, takes away his best friend, leaving Antony to pick up the pieces, he’ll have to decide if the rules are finally worth breaking. He didn’t start out as the boss, he began as just Antony. Sometimes, you have to learn how to be filthy. Views: 57
For the past three decades Robert Ludlum's bestselling novels have been enjoyed by hundreds of millions of readers worldwide and have set the standard against which all other thrillers are measured. His Covert-One series has been among his most beloved creations and now comes the latest thrilling novel in the series. The Lazarus Movement, the dominant force in the eco-conscious, "anti-technology" protest movement, has sent rumblings down the halls of the world's intelligence agencies. Led by a mysterious, never-seen figure known only as Lazarus, this increasingly prominent group is believed by some to be preparing a bold strike.When an attack on a nano-technology research facility leaves thousands dead--- protestors and scientists alike---from what appears to be a cloud of inadvertently released but gruesomely deadly nanobots, pandemonium reigns. Lt. Col. Jon Smith is activated by Covert-One to find and uncover the truth about Lazarus where all others... Views: 57
As he watches criminals target a French lorry parked by the side of the road, Stones McClure thinks his plans might actually come together for once. He's looking forward to a life full of everything he could possibly want. Money, cars, a pair of fancy cowboy boots - who could ask for more? But things aren't always what they seem. And Stones should know it better than anyone.It's Nottinghamshire, England, in 1998. Derelict pits, decaying villages, rundown housing estates - all surrounded by vast, historic mansions in country parks known as the Dukeries. And there's no sign of Robin Hood to spread a bit of the wealth around.In a world full of injustice, among people still haunted by memories of the Miners' Strike, Stones is a man trying to put his old life behind him for good. But survival in these coalfield villages depends on the Top Hard Rule - you can't trust anyone these days.Now it's all about to go very wrong for Stones McClure.... Views: 57
In the minefield, death is only a step away
Gabriel Wolfe and his partner, Eli Schochat have flown to Cambodia to assassinate an ex-Khmer Rouge warlord. By a freakish stroke of good fortune, Win Yah dodges the bullet that would have exploded his skull.
Wounded by a mine, Eli is captured, brutally beaten and taken into the forest to be executed. Gabriel must find her, evade recapture by the warlord’s heavily-armed gang, and get her to safety. Only then can he return to finish what Eli started.
This 25,000 word novella from best-selling thriller author Andy Maslen kicks off with high-powered action and doesn’t let up until the final page. Mines litter the forest - and the plot - causing trouble for everyone who wanders off the path.
**How you’re helping Cambodia’s poorest children get a decent start in life
Andy wrote Minefield after visiting a rural school in northern Cambodia, whose grounds were carved out of a minefield. He is donating all royalties from the book to the Ponheary Ly Foundation (PLF).
The PLF was set up by Ponheary Ly, herself a survivor of the Cambodian genocide. It gives vulnerable children an education, as well as a full belly and a real chance of making the most of their potential.** Views: 57
Salvation through darkness. Abby Winston wants to die. Her darkness inside is too great to face. The Universe agrees. Even her fortune cookies are shooting blanks. She can't do it herself, but her Death-Wish is not in vain. Something hears her plea and means to derive purpose from her erasure: a man-made demon meant to save the world. She can't return to the life she decided to leave and so takes the first step on a path darker than death. Views: 56
