A gripping World War One saga with a strong female protagonist, published for the third year of the war's centenary.Manon Wouters grew-up in the idyllic Belgian city of Damme, where she spent her afternoons cycling into beautiful Bruges to study nursing. But as Europe—and the world—erupted into a devastating war, teenaged Manon soon found herself faced with unbelievable choices. Would she hide? Or would she fight? As Manon toils away at the local hospital, no one would guess just how crucial a role she is really playing. A trained spy, Manon gathers information to send to the British to aid in ending the war. Soon, she uncovers information about a monster plane that must be stopped at all costs. As she races to fulfill her mission, Manon must confront enemies at every turn, and face a terrifying and sobering truth: that innocents are being killed on both sides of the front. Views: 68
Tragic and hilarious in equal measure, Tim Lott�s story of Charlie and Maureen Buck�s ailing marriage and their climb up (and down) the social ladder during the 1980s is a wonderfully honest portrait of ordinary people living through an extraordinary time. Steeped in the decade�s cataclysmic events, packed with the crimes and misdemeanours we visit on each another, �Rumours of a Hurricane� is a powerful tale of change, how we face it � and how we don�t.�An outstanding comic novel. Places the 1980s under sceptical and merciless scrutiny� Literary Review. Views: 68
Set in the harsh desert world of the Arizona Territory and northern Mexico during the 1870s, Written in Blood, the first installment of the Desert Legends Trilogy, follows young Jim Doolen as he attempts to find some trace of the father who abandoned his family ten years earlier. As he travels through a scorched landscape very different from the lush West Coast forests of his home, Jim crosses paths with an assortment of intriguing characters, including an Apache warrior, a cave-dwelling mystic, an old Mexican revolutionary and a mysterious cowboy. And with each encounter he learns something more of the strange world he has entered and adds one more link in a chain that leads back to his father-and back to a dark, violent past. As his story approaches its thrilling conclusion in a ruined Mexican hacienda, Jim comes to realize that his father's life was much more complex than he had imagined, and that, in discovering his past, he has opened the way to his future. (20110101)From BooklistA Canadian teenager encounters road agents, roving Apaches, and any number of corpses while searching for his vanished father in this melodramatic tale of the Old West. Going on clues provided in a last letter laced with references to a troubled past, James sets out for a place called Casa Grande in Chihuahua. Before reaching the dusty, ruined hacienda to discover his father’s fate and survive a climactic gunfight, he is beaten and robbed; recovers from his wounds in the care of an eccentric old hermit, who fills him in on the importance of having a story; meets a cousin of Cochise whose band is subsequently ambushed by scalp hunters (and goes on to return the favor); and learns of his own family’s gore-spattered history. Told in a terse, present-tense narrative, James’ adventures will thrill all fans of traditional pulp-style oaters. Grades 6-9. --John Peters Review"Told in a terse, present-tense narrative, James' adventures will thrill all fans of traditional pulp-style oaters." (Booklist 20101001)"The story is very well written and will appeal to young readers, especially boys. It is full of tension and adventure...Recommended." (Tri State YA Book Review Committee 20120501)"Those readers of westerns and historical adventure who like a mix of action and information (actually quite a large set of readers) will be very taken with this book." (Resource Links 20101126)"Chapters are short and action filled, Jim is a likable character and reluctant readers will find this to be a fast-paced, easy-to-swallow tale of the Old West." (Kirkus Reviews 20110401)"Wilson is a talented writer, hooking readers within the first few pages of his novel and carrying them along almost effortlessly through the barren lands of Mexico and the Arizona Territory...This first installation is a perfect beginning to what is sure to be an enthralling trilogy that will invite young people into an older world with incredibly relevant contemporary themes." (www.keenreaders.org )"Has all the markers of a classic Western...Wilson's writing is vivid." (CM Magazine )"The tensions among American, Mexican, and Native factions are well drawn, and Wilson pulls no punches regarding the cruelty of the new world into which Jim finds himself thrown." (School Library Journal ) Views: 67
SUMMARY:
Stark Is A Secret Consortium With More Money Than God, And The Social Conscience Of A Dog On A Croquet Lawn. What S More, It Knows The Earth Is Dying.Deep In Western Australia Where The Aboriginals Used To Milk The Trees, A Planet-Sized Plot Is Taking Shape. Some Green Freaks Pick Up The Scent: A Pommie Poseur; A Brain-Fried Vietnam Vet; Aboriginals Who Have Lost Their Land&Not Much Against A Conspiracy That Controls Society. But Ecoaction Isn T In Society: It Just Lives In The Same Place, Along With The Cockroaches.If You Re Facing The Richest And Most Disgusting Scheme In History, You Have To Do More Than Stick Up Two Fingers And Say Peace . Views: 66
Sam and Annabel are pleased when they are selected to take a cruise to the Arctic. And they are thrilled when they learn that the cruise will take them past a site connected to the most famous mystery in Arctic history: the Franklin Expedition. But things on the cruise are not what they seem. When Sam and Annabel make a startling discovery on a small island close to where archaeologists are diving on the wreck of the Erebus, one of the Franklin's ships, they are confronted by an old enemy. Isolated and outnumbered, how can they possibly save the priceless artifact that may hold the answer to the Franklin mystery? Views: 66
After bombs explode during an anarchist attack in Long Spoon Lane, two of the culprits are captured and the leader is shot . . . but by whom? As Thomas Pitt of the Special Branch delves into the case, he finds that there’s more to the terrorism than the brutality of misguided idealists. Clues suggest that Inspector Wetron is the mastermind. As the shadowy leader of the Inner Circle, Wetron is using his influence with the press to stir up fears of more attacks and to rush a bill through Parliament that would severely curtail civil liberties. To defeat Wetron, Pitt must run in harness with his old enemy, Sir Charles Voisey. The unlikely allies are joined by Pitt’s clever wife, Charlotte, and her great aunt, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould. As they strive to prevent future destruction, nothing less than the fate of the British Empire hangs in precarious balance.From Publishers WeeklyCarnage comes early in Perry's engrossing Victorian historical, the follow-up to Seven Dials (2003), when Special Branch investigator Thomas Pitt is summoned in the middle of the night to the aftermath of a bombing, the work of unknown anarchists intent on wreaking havoc in London in revenge for high-level police corruption. The chase leads to the group's lair in an abandoned building along grimy Long Spoon Lane, where the body of Magnus Landsborough, son of a well-connected lord, raises disturbing questions about both the young man's association with the underground cell and police procedures to combat terrorists. Pitt and fellow detective Victor Narraway soon find themselves up against a powerful secret society known as the Inner Circle. True-to-life parliamentary debate ensues over how much power police should be granted to quash the anarchist threat to Queen and country. The action slows when myriad characters, including wives, servants and politicians, hold excessively detailed discussions of the case, but the pace picks up with a spirited pursuit through London and across the Thames. Perry manages to paint a convincing historical backdrop with echoes of modern-day fears of urban terrorism. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistGreed, revenge, loyalty, justice, and a thirst for power each play a role in the latest Charlotte and Thomas Pitt adventure, which, like its predecessors, draws much of its intensity from nineteenth-century London's social and political climate. The city is in an uproar. Anarchists have set off a bomb to protest police shakedowns in a working-class neighborhood, and one of their own, the son of a Parliament member, has been shot to death. Finding out who killed the young radical and why falls to Thomas, now working for Special Branch, but to succeed he must join forces with the ruthless Charles Voisey; his old Bow Street friend Sergeant Tellman; and wise, socially connected Aunt Vespasia. Arguments about broadening police powers as a reaction to terrorist activity can't help but strike a chord with American readers, who will appreciate the cleverly orchestrated political machinations as much as the personal agendas--both of which come fully into play when it comes to solving the mystery. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 65
A trip to a remote lake in northern Ontario with his grandfather doesn't thrill Steve, especially since his twin brother, DJ, was taken to Central America. Matters start to look up when his grandfather tells Steve about the mysterious death of the artist Tom Thomson and sets him the task of finding Thomson's missing skull. Steve loves mysteries, but when odd things begin happening and strange people start threatening him, Steve wonders whether this is part of his grandfather's plan. Is this still a simple puzzle, or is something far more sinister going on? In this thrilling prequel to Lost Cause and Broken Arrow, the history- and mystery-loving Steve ends up in remote northern Ontario. Views: 64
In the second installment of the Desert Legends Trilogy, Ghost Moon follows young James Doolen's story after he discovers the terrible truth about his father in Written in Blood. The year is 1878, and young Jim is not yet ready to return to Canada. Instead he heads up to New Mexico in hopes of finding work and building a life. On the way he meets Bill Bonney (later to be known as Billy the Kid), who takes him to a ranch south of the town of Lincoln, where they both find work as cowboys. Little does Jim know that he is about to get caught up in a vicious battle for the lucrative army contracts with nearby Fort Stanton. As the violence explodes around him, Jim becomes a helpless witness to cold-blooded murder and watches as Bill swears revenge and leads a gang of killers into the hills. However hard he tries, Jim can't escape the violence and is finally drawn into its bloody conclusion on the streets of Lincoln. Views: 63
Estate agent Frankie Blue is known on his home turf - White City, Shepherd's Bush - as "Frank theFib." He's a liar - but one who always tries to tell the truth. He has been friends with Diamond Tony, a hairdresser, Colin, a computer nerd, and Nodge,a cabbie, since schooldays. Now they are thirty, and trying to live the same life as they did then - drinking, girls, coke, football. But Frankie is bored. He's decided to carry out the great "betrayal" - he's going to get married. From the moment he tells his mates, the whole patchwork of their friendships begins to collapse - revealing the sad, shocking but often hilarious truths that lie underneath. Views: 63
