A dark and bitingly humorous collection of short stories from the "brilliantly evocative" (Time) Paul Theroux A family watches in horror as their patriarch transforms into the singing, wise-cracking lead of an old-timey minstrel show. A renowned art collector relishes publicly destroying his most valuable pieces. Two boys stand by helplessly as their father stages an all-consuming war on the raccoons living in the woods around their house. A young artist devotes himself to a wealthy, malicious gossip, knowing that it's just a matter of time before she turns on him. In this new collection of short stories, acclaimed author Paul Theroux explores the tenuous leadership of the elite and the surprising revenge of the overlooked. He shows us humanity possessed, consumed by its own desire and compulsion, always with his carefully honed eye for detail and the subtle idiosyncrasies that bring his characters to life. Searing, dark, and sure to unsettle, Mr.... Views: 126
Jason Stephens lives a life of wealth. A life of privilege. A life that's about to take a radical turn. Jason always had a straightforward relationship with his billionaire grandfather, Howard "Red" Stevens. He shunned him but welcomed his money. So he figured when Red died, his part of the inheritance would be a simple cash transaction that would fund his extravagant lifestyle.Instead, for Jason to receive his inheritance, he's given an ultimatum...a series of twleve tests or "gifts" as Red calls them. If he fails at any one of them, he loses everything. If he completes them all, the ultimate gift will be his.One of those "gifts" involves finding a friend...something Jason has never experienced before. Yet this unlikely friendship and an unexpected romance may just open his eyes to what he's been missing all along."You don't begin to live until you've lost everything." Views: 126
One debt. One secret. One night. When I meet him at the Redemption Club, I'm not supposed to know his name and he's not supposed to know mine. But we break that rule. That's not the only one. He gives me chills and makes my body ache. He makes my pain go away. He's just a distraction, but I can't get enough of him. What I don't know yet is that he will help save my mother's life. What I don't know yet is that I'll owe him a debt. What I don't know yet is that he is a man of many secrets. Secrets dark enough to break us both. For bestselling author Charlotte Byrd comes an intense romance about debts, lies and secrets and the extent to which people go for love. I have a secret and I'll do everything in my power to keep it that way. I've been watching her for a long time. I've been following her. She's lost a brother. I lost a best friend, but... Views: 126
From Publishers WeeklyLike many a hip young literary antihero these days, the protagonist of this hilarious if aimless debut is sunk in slacker anomie. Shane has a monotonous temp job at an insurance agency, where he is supposed to alphabetize paperwork but instead spends his time sleeping on the toilet. After work, he is besieged by a gallery of grotesques: a vapid girlfriend who sexually brutalizes him; an absurdly macho neighbor with a leather-clad guinea pig for a sex slave; and his dentist's deaf assistant, who sings atonal karaoke, teaches him to sign obscenities and furnishes a wispy narrative thread by getting murdered. In a world both banal and assaultive, Shane can only drink, steal salt shakers and cultivate his sense of irony; "[t]here's only so much you can do," he shrugs, "and even that's not worth the trouble." Shane's malaise doesn't feel earned; job aside, there are just too many gonzo goings-on—the landlord, for instance, is paying him to have sex with his wife—for him to feel so listless. There's not much to Shane besides a defiant dejectedness, but from that Neilan spins many sparkling comic riffs on the tawdriness and sterility of American life. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromShane's a numb loser in a city full of freaks. He learned to swear in sign language so he could converse with his dentist's deaf hygienist, but now she's dead, and the police want answers and fluid samples. When it's not sending up crime novels, the narrative satirizes soulless corporate life, but Shane is hard to take either way. In a rare moment of honest assessment, he notes, "I have always thought of people as punch lines." And that's what this book is: an onrushing series of twisted gags, some of them hilarious, others not so much. (Neilan would be funnier if he wasn't so smugly sure of how funny he is.) A highlight: "And then there was some sex . . . We were like two dead fish being slapped together by an off-duty clown." Remember those "Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey" throwaways that used to run between sketches on Saturday Night Live? This is a (barely) novel-length version of that kind of humor. In other words, juvenile fun for undiscerning lads with two hours to kill. A mystery for the Maxim generation. Frank SennettCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 126
**AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW****NINE LIVES PAPERBACK IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW**'Smart, surprising with a deeply satisfying ending. I loved it!' GILLIAN McALLISTER 'Another superb slice of Neo-noir' M. W. CRAVEN'One of the world's best crime writers. Nobody writes psychopaths like Swanson.' MARK EDWARDS TWO'S COMPANY, THREE'S FATAL'Do you remember me?' she asked, after stepping into my office.When private detective and former teacher Henry Kimball is hired to investigate an ex-pupil's cheating husband, he senses all is not quite what it seems, and before he knows it he's gotten far too close to the other woman.As the case gets ever stranger, he turns to the only person he can trust, Lily Kintner, someone with dark secrets of her own...With its ingenious clockwork-like plot, and twists aplenty, The Kind Worth Saving is a crime novel to savour from a modern... Views: 126
ReviewA funny, fast-moving, endearing book that [readers] will lap up! (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) From the PublisherThe Great Brain is Tom D. Fitzgerald, aged ten. The story is told by J.D., a sometimes confounded but always admiring younger brother. Such people as Mr. Standish, the mean schoolmaster, regret the day they came up against The Great Brain. But others, like the Jensen kids lost in Skeleton Cave, Basil, the Greek kid, or Andy, who has lost his leg and his friends, know that Tom's great brain never fails to find a way home. Views: 125
Driving Whiskey Wild: A Sexy Standalone Romance Views: 125
The heartwarming yet bittersweet prequel novelette to the Amazon bestseller, *The Guestbook.*
The heartwarming yet bittersweet Prequel Novelette. In this Kindle Short Read, Grandma Maggie runs the successful Madrona Island B&B. But when she finds out her time is short, she decides to make her final months the best they can be. Maggie begins putting together a final weekend at the bed & breakfast with all of her favorite guests; a weekend she hopes they will never forget. Together with her late-in-life love, Grandpa John, Maggie reaches out to the people who have meant so much, in hopes that they will join her to celebrate this beautiful place she’s called home for so many years.
Together with her late-in-life love, Grandpa John, Maggie sets out to rediscover the beauty of the place she’s called home for so long, alongside the people who have meant so much.
Join your favorite Madrona Island characters in a prequel that’s filled with food, love, and the celebration of family and friends.
Advance Reader Praise:
“This is my first book of yours, and it won’t be my last! A beautiful story of life, love, friendship, and family.”
“What a truly beautiful story. I am still crying. I loved it, and can’t wait to read The Guestbook again with fresh eyes.”
“This story is so special. I cried and cried. I was truly touched by the characters.”
“I loved all the characters, and when I read these books it’s like I’m right on the island with all of them.”
** Views: 125
Seventeen-year-old Aidan Lockwood lives in the sleepy farming community of Temperance, Ohio--known for its cattle ranches and not much else. That is, until Jarrod, a friend he hasn't seen in five years, moves back to town and opens Aidan's eyes in startling ways: to Aidan's ability to see the spirit world; to the red-bearded specter of Death; to a family curse that has claimed the lives of the Lockwood men one by one . . . and to the new feelings he has developed for Jarrod. Views: 125
