The New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us creates a vivid portrait of marriage, family, and the haunting grief of World War II in this emotionally charged, beautifully rendered story that spans a generation, from the 1960s to the 1980s
In 1965 Manhattan, patrons flock to Masha’s to savor its brisket bourguignon and impeccable service and to admire its dashing owner and head chef Peter Rashkin. With his movie-star good looks and tragic past, Peter, a survivor of Auschwitz, is the most eligible bachelor in town. But Peter does not care for the parade of eligible women who come to the restaurant hoping to catch his eye. He has resigned himself to a solitary life. Running Masha’s consumes him, as does his terrible guilt over surviving the horrors of the Nazi death camp while his wife, Masha—the restaurant’s namesake—and two young daughters perished.
Then exquisitely beautiful June Bouquet, an up-and-coming young model, appears at the restaurant, piercing Peter’s guard. Though she is twenty years his junior, the two begin a passionate, whirlwind courtship. When June unexpectedly becomes pregnant, Peter proposes, believing that beginning a new family with the woman he loves will allow him to let go of the horror of the past. But over the next twenty years, the indelible sadness of those memories will overshadow Peter, June, and their daughter Elsbeth, transforming them in shocking, heartbreaking, and unexpected ways.
Jenna Blum artfully brings to the page a husband devastated by a grief he cannot name, a frustrated wife struggling to compete with a ghost she cannot banish, and a daughter sensitive to the pain of both her own family and another lost before she was born. Spanning three cinematic decades, The Lost Family is a charming, funny, and elegantly bittersweet study of the repercussions of loss and love. Views: 960
Today St. Luke is known as the author of the third Gospel of the New Testament, but two thousand years ago he was Lucanus, a Greek, a man who loved, knew the emptiness of bereavement, and later traveled through the hills and wastes of Judea asking, "What manner of man was my Lord?" And it is of this Lucanus that Taylor Caldwell tells here in one of the most stirring stories ever lived or written. Views: 960
Headstrong heiress Sharisse Hammond wants no part of the New York society marriage that has been arranged for her. So she heads west across a vast and dangerous land -- with no intention of honoring her agreement to become the mail-order bride of a rugged Arizona rancher.But Lucas Holt needs a wife -- any wife -- if his plan to destroy his most hated enemy is to succeed. And this gullible Eastern lady would do quite nicely. However, their separate schemes to use one another are complicated by raw, aching passion. For Lucas's beautiful, unsuspecting pawn was not supposed to be so irresistible alluring. And freedom-loving Sharisse never dreamed she could ever desire one man so much! Views: 958
A classic of alienation and horror, *The Birds* was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verità' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd . . . Views: 958
"The Lost Tales of Mercia" are ten short tales that can be enjoyed as quick glimpses into the swashbuckling history of ancient England or read alongside the full-length novel, "Eadric the Grasper." Young Ethelred wants little more than to impress his half-brother, Edward. But when a conspiracy develops against Edward's future reign, Ethelred finds himself at the center of its success.This haunting short story illustrates the scandalous circumstances surrounding Ethelred's rise to power at the age of eleven, and shows why the entire reign of so-called "Ethelred the Unready" seems to have been cursed. "The Lost Tales of Mercia" are ten short tales that can be enjoyed as quick glimpses into the swashbuckling history of ancient England or read alongside the full-length novel, "Eadric the Grasper." Most of the characters are real historical figures inspired by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Views: 958
Best known for the novels Little Women" "and "Little Men, " Louisa May Alcott brought the story of her feisty protagonist Jo and the adventures and misadventuresof the March family to an entertaining, surprising, and bittersweet conclusion in Jo's Boys. Beginning ten years after "Little Men, " Jo's Boysrevisits Plumfield, the New England school still presided over by Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. Jo remains at the center of the tale, surrounded by her boys-including rebellious Dan, sailor Emil, andpromising musician Nat-as they experience shipwreck and storm, disappointment and even murder.
Popular for over a century, Alcott's series still holds universal appeal with itspowerful and affectionate depiction of family-the haven where the prodigal can always return, adversity is shared, and our dreams of being cherished, despite our flaws, come true. In this edition ofJo's Boys," " readers once again experience a treasured classic by one of America's best-loved writers. "From the Paperback edition." Views: 958
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, and the critically acclaimed author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be, comes a novel about buried secrets and the redemptive power of forgiveness—includes a special PS section featuring insights, interviews, and more.
Cassie Simon is a struggling artist living in New York City. When she receives a call from a magistrate in Sweetwater, TN, telling her she has inherited sixty acres of land from her grandfather, whom she never knew, she takes it as a sign: it’s time for a change. She moves into the house where her mother, Ellen, was born—and where she died tragically when Cassie was three.
From the moment she arrives in Sweetwater, Cassie is overwhelmed by the indelible mark her mother’s memory had left behind. As she delves into the thicket of mystery that surrounds her mother’s death, Cassie begins to understand the desperate measures the human heart is capable of. Views: 956
This exciting new translation will appeal to modern readers who find the twists and turns of Game of Thrones so compelling.
The Three Kingdoms is an epic Chinese novel written over six centuries ago. It recounts in vivid historical detail the turbulent years at the close of the Han Dynasty, when China broke into three competing kingdoms and over half the population were either killed or driven from their homes. Part myth, part fact, readers will experience the loyalty and treachery, the brotherhood and rivalry of China's legendary heroes and villains during the most tumultuous period in Chinese history.
Considered the greatest work in classic Chinese literature, The Three Kingdoms is read by millions throughout Asia today. Seen not just as a great work of art, many Chinese view it as a guide to success in life and business as well as a work that offers great moral clarity—while many foreigners read it to gain insights into Chinese society and culture. From the saga of The Three Kingdoms, readers will learn how great warriors motivate their troops and enhance their influence, while disguising their weaknesses and turning the strengths of others against them.
This first volume in a trilogy introduces Liu Bei and his sworn brothers-in-arms Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, whose allegiance is sorely tested in a society that is in flux where each group is fighting for its survival against the other. Views: 956
It’s 1868 and Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., arch-cad, amorist, cold-headed soldier, and reluctant hero, is back! Fleeing a chain of vengeful pursuers that includes Mexican bandits, the French Foreign Legion, and the relatives of an infatuated Austrian beauty, Flashy is desperate for somewhere to take cover. So desperate, in fact, that he embarks on a perilous secret intelligence-gathering mission to help free a group of Britons being held captive by a tyrannical Abyssinian king. Along the way, of course, are nightmare castles, brigands, massacres, rebellions, orgies, and the loveliest and most lethal women in Africa, all of which will test the limits of the great bounder’s talents for knavery, amorous intrigue, and survival.
Flashman on the March—the twelfth book in George MacDonald Fraser’s ever-beloved, always scandalous Flashman Papers series--is Flashman and Fraser at their best. Views: 955
#1 of 15 Just-promoted Brit DI Joe Rafferty lands the case of 'The Faceless Lady', as the media has dubbed it. So he could do without his wily Ma's wheedling demand that he spring her niece's fiance from poky in time for their wedding. A critical Superintendent, a gung ho media who seize on the 'Faceless Lady' case and the latest tricksy family problem put Rafferty between a rock and a hard place.#1 of 15 in the Rafferty & Llewellyn British Cozy Mystery Series 'This often comic tale sharpens the appetite for more.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Newly-promoted British Detective Joe Rafferty really should have expected that his first case since his promotion would encourage the mischievous fates to have some fun and games at his expense.But, even though he is imbued with enough Irish superstition to use up the nation's salt stocks, he never anticipated that he would be landed with the case of the 'Faceless Lady'. At least, not at the same time that his wily Ma involves him in the latest Rafferty family law-bending drama.Cursed by coming from a large Irish Catholic clan who believe obeying the Laws of the Land is an optional extra, Ma has temporarily put aside her determined match-making ambitions for long enough to extract Rafferty's promise that he would get her niece's fiancé out of poky in time for their wedding. Rafferty has no idea how he is to organise this Great Escape so that it goes more smoothly than most things in the Rafferty experience.All he does know is that, between his fire-breathing Superintendent, his Ma's emotional blackmail, an ever-critical media who has latched on to the case of the Faceless Lady with relish, and a chief suspect who's not only a bosom buddy of the Chief Constable, but who also seems to believe that a little bribery and corruption will ensure this latest blip in the crime statistics is solved to his satisfaction, Rafferty’s not a happy bunny.But did the fates really have to saddle him with an educationally-superior new partner in the shape of stiff, more moral than the Pope, Welsh Methodist Dafyd Llewellyn, too?'Evans' humor seriously added to my enjoyment of her book. The series has stand out central characters and clever plots.’ AUNT AGATHA’S BOOKSHOP, ANN ARBORIn this first book in the quirky, not quite so Traditional British mystery series, there is humour in plenty, more family drama than you can shake a stick at and not a little mayhem. At its heart a murder mystery with enough twists and turns to test a Boy Scout's knot skills to the limit.For lovers of cozy mysteries and police procedurals. Books in the Rafferty & Llewellyn series Dead Before Morning #1 Down Among the Dead Men #2 Death Line #3 The Hanging Tree #4 Absolute Poison #5 Dying For You #6 Bad Blood #7 Love Lies Bleeding #8 Blood on the Bones #9 A Thrust to the Vitals #10 Death Dues #11 All the Lonely People #12 Death Dance #13 Deadly Reunion #14 Kith and Kill #15 Views: 955
Like his National Book Award—winning United States, Gore Vidal’s scintillating ninth collection, The Last Empire, affirms his reputation as our most provocative critic and observer of the modern American scene. In the essays collected here, Vidal brings his keen intellect, experience, and razor-edged wit to bear on an astonishing range of subjects. From his celebrated profiles of Clare Boothe Luce and Charles Lindbergh and his controversial essay about the Bill of Rights–which sparked an extended correspondence with convicted Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh–to his provocative analyses of literary icons such as John Updike and Mark Twain and his trenchant observations about terrorism, civil liberties, the CIA, Al Gore, Tony Blair, and the Clintons, Vidal weaves a rich tapestry of personal anecdote, critical insight, and historical detail. Written between the first presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and the electoral crisis of 2000, The Last Empire is a sweeping coda to the last century’s conflicted vision of the American dream.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 955
A young doctor returns home to make peace with his past only to discover that the woman he dreams of making a future with is loyal to the man who destroyed his life. Views: 954
A contemporary novel of romance and renewal from perennial bestseller Jude Deveraux, First Impressions is an emotionally charged story of one woman's bid to start over.
Eden Palmer knows how to make it on her own. The forty-something single mother has worked hard to raise her beloved daughter, but sooner or later a woman must come into her own, and that's what Eden tries to do when she moves to Arundel, North Carolina, to take ownership of Farrington Manor. Arriving in the South's prettiest small town, Eden quickly learns that looks can be deceiving when her move is met with delight in some quarters and jealousy in others. Pursued by two eligible bachelors -- the rugged Jared McBride and Braddon Granville, small-town lawyer and town catch -- Eden is flattered and more than a little suspicious. Juggling the attentions of two men is hard enough, but soon Eden's bid to start over plunges her in the middle of a mystery that threatens not just her reputation, but her very life. Can she use one man to save her from the other? Views: 954
Short novella from the internationally bestselling author of A Woman of Substance
Jake and Maggie, each fleeing a failed marriage, meet and fall in love, but their pasts throw up obstacles.
Jake Cantrell is suave, charming and a brilliant electrical engineer saddened by the failure of his marriage to Amy. Maggie Sorrell is a bright and elegant interior designer. She, too, has suffered a broken marriage.
Jake and Maggie meet - but despite a blossoming relationship, some of the obstacles seem insurmountable: the fifteen-year difference in their ages, Amy’s sudden illness, her reluctance to divorce Jake, and Maggie’s own inner turmoil.
But together they overcome the odds and find the ultimate: love in another town. Views: 953
