Beauty for Ashes

A devastating loss forces Gloria Sutherland to the seclusion of her father's childhood home in Maine. Will beauty rise from the ashes of her life?
Views: 87

The Intern's Handbook

JOHN LAGO IS A HITMAN. HE HAS SOME RULES FOR YOU. AND HE' S ABOUT TO BREAK EVERY SINGLE ONE. John Lago is a very bad guy. But he's the very best at what he does. And what he does is infiltrate top-level companies and assassinate crooked executives while disguised as an intern. Interns are invisible. That's the secret behind HR, Inc., the elite "placement agency" that doubles as a network of assassins for hire who take down high-profile targets that wouldn't be able to remember an intern's name if their lives depended on it. At the ripe old age of almost twenty-five, John Lago is already New York City's most successful hit man. He's also an intern at a prestigious Manhattan law firm, clocking eighty hours a week getting coffee, answering phones, and doing all the grunt work actual employees are too lazy to do. He was hired to assas­sinate one of the firm's heavily guarded partners. His internship provides the perfect cover,...
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Hit List

Few mystery authors have a stable of protagonists as uniformly appealing as Lawrence Block's. Whether Block's taking the reader into PI Matthew Scudder's world of dimly lit bars and basement AA meetings, quirky burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr's used bookstore, or the international hot-spot hangouts of Evan Tanner, the spy who never sleeps, he always provides good company. John Keller, star of Block's 1998 story collection Hit Man, is a typical Block invention: an unassuming, get-the-job-done-and-move-on New York contract killer who collects stamps, does the morning crossword, eats Vietnamese takeout, and falls for the occasional woman. When Keller gets off a plane in Louisville, ready to do the job he's been hired for, something about it feels wrong from the start. And when two people are killed in the motel room he's just vacated, he realizes he narrowly missed a setup, but can't figure out why. Then he goes to Boston to do another job, and afterwards dines in a coffee shop where another patron has the misfortune of leaving with Keller's raincoat: The Globe didn't have it. But there it was in the Herald, a small story on a back page, a man found dead on Boston Common, shot twice in the head with a small-caliber weapon. Keller could picture the poor bastard, lying face-down on the grass, the rain washing relentlessly down on him. He could picture the dead man's coat, too. The Herald didn't say anything about a coat, but that didn't matter. Keller could picture it all the same. Keller's agent, Dot, puts the pieces--including the death of another contract killer she books occasionally--together and comes up with the seemingly crazy idea that a greedy hit man is knocking off the competition. In between other legit hits, romancing a commitment-shy artist, visiting an astrologer, and a long stint on jury duty, Keller slowly moves closer to the faceless nemesis he and Dot dub "Roger." But it's Dot, the woman of action, who figures out what to do about him. Though Hit List is too introspective to be a caper novel, and too funny to be noir, it's bound to find a rapt audience with fans of both subgenres. After two such engaging books, can Hit Parade be far behind? --Barrie Trinkle
Views: 87

Young Stalin

From Publishers WeeklyRussian historian and author Montefiore presents an exciting, exemplary biography of the nondescript peasant boy who would become the most ruthless leader in Soviet history, a prequel of sorts to his Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. Born in 1878 in the Caucasus of Georgia to an overprotective mother (who had already lost two sons) and a father opposed to education ("I'm a shoemaker and my son will be one too"), Stalin possessed a talent for poetry and mischief. Amidst his mom's trysts (with men she hoped would further Stalin's education), his father's alcohol-fueled violence and the powder-keg environment of the Caucasus, Stalin turned from priesthood training to gang life and petty crime. As he grew, so did his hatred of Tsarist Russia, leading him to meet the initial Bolsheviks, and to more spectacular and violent capers. From the start, Stalin proved a remarkable talent for meticulous planning, a skill that would become vital to the revolutionaries and, later, to his iron-fisted reign. Using recently opened records, Montefiore turns up intriguing new information (like the "Fagin-like" role he played among "a prepubescent revolutionary street intelligence" network), Montefiore captures in an absorbing narrative both Stalin's conflicted character-marked by powerful charisma and deep paranoia-and the revolution's early years with stunning clarity. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review“Brilliantly researched. . . . The portrait of Stalin that emerges from these pages is more complete, more colorful, more chilling, and far more convincing than any we have had before.” —The New York Review of Books“Young Stalin is brilliantly readable, as intricately plotted and full of detail as a good novel, scrupulously researched, and full of hitherto unknown (or unreported) facts about Stalin's life.” —Men's Vogue“A meticulously researched, authoritative biography. . . . Mr. Montefiore has found the devil in the details, working his way with a fine-tooth comb through previously unread archival material.” —The New York Times“The most complete, accurate account of the tyrant's early years-a fascinating tale of life in the revolutionary underground, drenched in violence, fear and deceit, filled with a rogue's gallery of bandits, double-agents and terrorists.” —The Seattle TimesFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Views: 87

Deep South

One of the most acclaimed travel writers of our time turns his unflinching eye on an American South too often overlooked Paul Theroux has spent fifty years crossing the globe, adventuring in the exotic, seeking the rich history and folklore of the far away. Now, for the first time, in his tenth travel book, Theroux explores a piece of America — the Deep South. He finds there a paradoxical place, full of incomparable music, unparalleled cuisine, and yet also some of the nation's worst schools, housing, and unemployment rates. It's these parts of the South, so often ignored, that have caught Theroux's keen traveler's eye. On road trips spanning four seasons, wending along rural highways, Theroux visits gun shows and small-town churches, laborers in Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi where they still call the farm up the road "the plantation." He talks to mayors and social workers, writers and reverends, the working poor and farming families — the...
Views: 87

Twin Tales

Twin Trouble: Connie's not happy. Her parents are having a baby. Well, not one, but two babies! Why do they need more children? They've got her! Soon the house is filled with dirty nappies and screaming babies and Connie's expected to help. And no one pays any attention to her. It's not fair. So when Nurse Meade puts some blue beads in her hair, Connie's delighted. And when she clacks them together, things start to happen . . . Soon, everyone can see things from Connie's point of view. Connie and the Water Babies: Connie is scared of water. She can't swim and she hates going to the pool. Everyone says she should go because she'll love it, and even Charles and Claire, the twins, like the water. Typical. Then Nurse Meade gives Connie some more blue beads. And when they clack together, suddenly Connie can swim like a mermaid . . .
Views: 87

Angels at the Table

In this joyous and whimsical holiday novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber rings in the season with laughs, love, and a charming dose of angelic intervention. Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy know that an angel's work is never done, especially not during such a wondrous time as New Year's Eve. With an apprentice angel, Will, under their wings, they descend upon Times Square in New York City eager to join in the festivities. And when Will spies two lonely strangers in the crowd, he decides midnight is the perfect time to lend a heavenly helping hand. Lucie Farrara and Aren Fairchild meet after bumping into each other--seemingly by accident--in Times Square on New Year's Eve. They immediately hit it off and find they have a lot in common: Lucie is a burgeoning chef and Aren is a respected food critic. But just as quickly as they're brought together, another twist of fate tears them apart, leaving Lucie and Aren with no way to...
Views: 87

Wanton (Regency Scandal 1)

WANTON (Regency Scandal 1) is the first story in Carole Mortimer's new Regency series, Regency Scandal. It is approximately 25,000.Carole is a USA Today Bestselling Author, Amazon #1 Author, and an International Bestselling author. She has written over 260 romance novels in different genres.Until a year ago Xavier Asherton, the Duke of Northcliffe had known only three things about Lady Diana Fitzwilliam.She was young, beautiful, and a widow.Since then Xavier has also learned, after his younger brother, Raphael, died in Lady Diana's bed, that she was his brother's mistress.Unfortunately, for many past tormenting and sexually frustrating months, Xavier has also learned that Lady Diana is now the only woman he wishes to take to his own bed.Being propositioned by Society's most eligible bachelor, Xavier Asherton, the Duke of Northcliffe, would no doubt be a thrill for any woman. Unless they are Lady Diana Fitzwilliam. Because Diana knows,...
Views: 87

The Intrigues of Jennie Lee

A gripping and evocative story of love, politics, betrayal and bravery, which reimagines events of the interwar years. Jennie Lee was elected to parliament aged just twenty-four, five years too young even to vote in 1929 Britain. From the Labour backbenches, she hurled barbs and bolts of thunder at the likes of Winston Churchill, Lady Astor, even her own party's Prime Minister, Ramsay McDonald. The novel intertwines real events with a personal story involving Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons, the future Queen Mother; the womanizing fascist Oswald Mosley; the Great War prime minister Lloyd-George; and the radical Labour MP Aneurin Bevan. A series of political and intimate intrigues turn history into thriller when Jennie has the chance to radically change the course of history for Britain, Europe and the world. '...marvellous in so many ways... An excellent take on the twisted, dangerous politics of 1930s Britain and a rattling good read.' C.J. Sansom, author of Dominion and the Shardlake mysteries
Views: 87

The Problem with Playboys--An opposites attract, workplace romance

He needs her help. She needs to keep her hands off her hot new client in the first Little Black Book of Secrets novel by Karen Booth!Parker was not a guy she was supposed to touch.Right? Celebrity publicist Chloe Burnett keeps her work and personal life strictly separate—until sports agent Parker Sullivan needs her help. His client has been targeted by Little Black Book, a vicious gossip account. If she's going to win this social media battle, she needs to resist distractions from Parker the playboy, who is off-limits for so many reasons. But a business trip to Miami leads to her breaking her rules with a guy who might break her heart. And then she's caught in Little Black Book's crosshairs herself...From Harlequin Desire: A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry.Love triumphs in this uplifting romance, part of the...
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In the Orbit of Saturn

In the Orbit of Saturn By Roman Frederick StarzlIn the Orbit of Saturn By Roman Frederick Starzl
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The Promise of Summer, Part 1

This is the first part in a brand new four-part serial from Bella Osborne. Ruby's life is about to change for ever... After years of dating losers, cheats and one guy who did something unrepeatable to her kettle, Ruby has all but given up on romance. But then a stranger sits next to her on a train to London and explains his plan to propose to the woman of his dreams. Maybe true love does exist after all? When the man accidentally leaves the engagement ring behind, Ruby is determined to save the day. But she hasn't counted on fellow passenger Curtis stepping in and insisting he should be the one to track the stranger down. As summer closes in, the unlikely pair make a promise to reunite the ring with its owner. But can they find their own happy ever after along the way? Readers everywhere are falling in love with Bella Osborne's books: 'This wonderful story will leave you with the warmest of glows and remind you of why we should all make the most of every minute.' Phillipa Ashley,...
Views: 86