Place, time and family. Three things that shape individuals. Sometimes with love. Other times with violence. Former covert operative, Horace Chase, has just discovered he has a son; a son who fled the Military Institute of South Carolina a year and a half ago after being accused of murder. The victim is the grandson of the most powerful woman in Charleston, South Carolina, who has sworn vengeance. Chase teams up with another former covert operative Dave Riley and one of Riley's old CIA friends, Kate Westland to find his son and uncover the truth. Barely into their investigation they become caught up in a land development deal for Daufuskie Island worth hundreds of millions. Chase and Riley's covert background has taught them many things, but the most valuable has been that nothing is ever as it appears as an old nemesis rears her head, hell bent on revenge against them both along with a good helping of greed. And in the shadows hovers THE CELLAR, the agency that polices the world of covert operations. One by one, the competitors of the land deal are being killed and the threat to Chase's son grows. And nothing, not the present, not the past, and no one, are as they appear to be. Who will be left standing? Views: 32
In the stunning follow up to The Secrets of Life and Death, Rebecca Alexander has created a gripping supernatural thriller that bridges time, legend and the power of blood. Following her showdown with Elizabeth Bathory, Jackdaw Hammondis running from her past, hiding from her future, and hoping to contain her newfound thirst for blood. Buying an overgrown home in the middle of nowhere seems like the perfect place to escape...at least until she finds herself in the sights of a murderous family with a terrible secret and a penchant for dark magic. Meanwhile, her old ally Felix Guichard has gone to New Orleans to conduct his own investigation into the nature of blood magic, but is soon sucked into the intrigues of the city's occult underworld. But Jack will need Felix more than she knows, for the battle for her soul is set to begin. Her only salvation may lie with the secrets of 16th century master occultist Edward Kelley, and a dangerous mission he... Views: 32
Moscow, May 1876. What would cause a talented student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public? Decadence and boredom, it is presumed. But young sleuth Erast Fandorin is not satisfied with the conclusion that this death is an open-and-shut case, nor with the preliminary detective work the precinct has done–and for good reason: The bizarre and tragic suicide is soon connected to a clear case of murder, witnessed firsthand by Fandorin himself. Relying on his keen intuition, the eager detective plunges into an investigation that leads him across Europe, landing him at the center of a vast conspiracy with the deadliest of implications.From BooklistThree million copies of Akunin's Erast Fandorin historical mystery series have been sold in Russia, where the author is a celebrity. This volume--the first of nine installments so far--should get the series off to a rousing start in the U.S. It's set in Czarist Russia and stars the naive but eager Fandorin as a young investigator with the Moscow police. Why would a university student shoot himself in the middle of the Alexander Gardens? Fandorin sets out to find the answer and soon lands in the middle of a far-reaching international conspiracy. Yakunin effectively juxtaposes the comical innocence of his hero against the decadence of nineteenth-century Moscow--aristocrats idling in gambling clubs while the winds of revolution freshen. In his debut, Fandorin comes across as an odd but appealing mix of Holmesian brilliance and Inspector Clousseauian bumbling. Occasionally, Akunin's style seems a bit affected, aping the manner of, say, Thackeray, commenting on the foibles of his characters, but at the same time, that nineteenth-century tone is part of the book's appeal. Anne Perry fans, in particular, will enjoy this series. Bill OttCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview“A galloping story of murder, suicide, deception, and disguise.”–Entertainment Weekly“As international as caviar and vodka! A crafty tale full of atmosphere, character, and action.”–Anne Perry“Marries old-fashioned manners to a nonstop array of plot twists to rival the best detective tales . . . The Winter Queen is an energetic hands-down winner.”–People“There are secret panels, hidden tunnels, a false mustache, intercepted letters, gunfights, and a glamorous female villain. . . . Akunin knows how to build suspense.”–The Boston Globe“A wondrous strange and appealing novel . . . Elaborate, intricate, profoundly czarist, and Russian to its bones, as though Tolstoy had sat down to write a murder mystery. Not quite like anything you’ve ever read before.”–Alan Furst, author of The Foreign Correspondent Views: 32
Victoria Carson never expected love. An American heiress and graduate of Lady Grantham’s finishing school, she’s been groomed since birth to marry an English title—the grander the better. So when the man chosen for her, the forbidding Earl of Dunnley, seems to hate her on sight, she understands that it can’t matter. Love can have no place in this arrangement.
Andrew Hargrave has little use for his title and even less for his cold, disinterested parents. Determined to make his own way, he’s devoted to his life in Italy working as an archaeologist. Until the collapse of his family’s fortune drags him back to England to a marriage he never wanted and a woman he doesn’t care to know.
Wild attraction is an unwanted complication for them both, though it forms the most fragile of bonds. Their marriage of convenience isn’t so intolerable after all—but it may not be enough when the deception that bound them is finally revealed. Views: 32
Sub-lieutenant Paul Everard serves aboard the submarine Ultra in the Mediterranean where the Allies keep up their desperate attacks against Axis supply ships. But Paul has other troubles as well: his father, Nick, is somewhere in the Far East where Japanese superiority continues to pound the Allies, and his brother, Jack, now enmeshed in the murky world of clandestine operations, has been sent on a high-risk mission to destroy a key German naval base. Views: 32
Penny Beedle’s outlook on Christmas, as her favorite holiday, was destroyed by a messy breakup years earlier and a botched wedding last year—both on Christmas Eve. But since she and her sister now own a greeting card store, and the holidays are their crazy selling season, she has to put on a happy face.
Del Madison has loved Penny since kindergarten. Commissioned by a big greeting card company for a line of Christmas and Valentine’s cards, he has to emerge from behind his alter ego and unveil himself to the public. He chooses Penny Beedle’s shop for the big reveal. If he plays his cards right, he just might gain Penny as part of his life. Views: 32
Trained from birth to take over her mother's mining empire, even a disaster at her biggest mine doesn't faze billionaire heiress Gaia Vasse. All she has to do is acquire the nearby Romance Island Resort and she can reopen her mine. Easy.Only Gaia hadn't counted on the sexy-as-sin rock star owner of the hotel, who refuses to sell. Gaia will have to decide what she wants more – the resort or the rock star. Would it be such a bad thing to mix business with pleasure? Views: 32
The two volumes of this unforgettable New York Times bestselling series from beloved author Francine Rivers are now available in single eBook edition. Her Mother's Hope and Her Daughter's Dream tell the story of four generations of women in one family who are all searching for their God-given place in the world. A rich and moving epic, the series spans decades and continents to explore not only the sacrifices mothers make for their daughters but also the very nature of unconditional love. Views: 32
