A woman commits suicide for no apparent reason. A week later, her son—beautiful, troubled fifteen-year-old Mark Underhill—vanishes from the face of the earth. To his uncle, horror novelist Timothy Underhill, Mark’s inexplicable absence feels like a second death. After his sister-in-law’s funeral, Tim searches his hometown of Millhaven for clues that might help him unravel this mystery of death and disappearance. He soon learns that a pedophilic murderer is on the loose in the vicinity, and that shortly before his mother’s suicide Mark had become obsessed with an abandoned house where he imagined the killer might have taken refuge. No mere empty building, the house on Michigan Street whispers from attic to basement with the echoes of a long-hidden true-life horror story, and Tim Underhill comes to fear that in investigating its unspeakable history, Mark stumbled across its last and greatest secret: a ghostly lost girl who may have coaxed the needy, suggestible boy into her mysterious domain.
With lost boy lost girl, Peter Straub affirms once again that he is the master of literary horror.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 389
General Chuck Horner commanded the U.S. and allied air assets—the forces of a dozen nations—during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and was responsible for the design and execution of one of the most devastating air campaigns in history. Never before has the Gulf air war planning, a process filled with controversy and stormy personalities, been revealed in such rich, provocative detail. And in this revised edition, General Horner looks at the current Gulf conflict—and comments on the use of air power in Iraq today. Views: 389
While visiting her father in hospital, 13 year-old Isla meets Harry, the first boy to understand her and her love of the outdoors. But Harry is ill, and as his health fails, Isla is determined to help him in the only way she knows how. Views: 389
This collection of twenty four new stories explores the supernatural side of the American South. Stretching from the Civil War to the present day, these stories visit mysterious bingo parlors and meet devils at the crossroads; they see battles in Florida’s citrus orchards and explore haunted bed & breakfasts.This collection of twenty four new stories explores the supernatural side of the American South. Stretching from the Civil War to the present day, these stories visit mysterious bingo parlors and meet devils at the crossroads; they see battles in Florida’s citrus orchards and explore haunted bed & breakfasts. The authors included here speak with as many voices as the South itself, sometimes with great literary skill and sometimes spinning yarns from the front porch. The Old Weird South showcases the eerie, spooky, macabre, and supernatural that is an essential part of the character and literature of the South. Views: 389
Stories Varied delve into the possibilities of woman’s life in the man’s world. While 'Ilaa’s Ire' takes one back to woman’s life and times in the Vedic age, ‘201’ Qualms depicts her predicament when torn between trust and duty. If “?” addresses woman’s marital stress in an alien land, 'Cupid’s Clue' is about her acting on a rebound in the native place. Even as 'Autumn Love' enables a woman to discover the void late in life, 'A Touchy Affair' renders her amenable to her man’s other woman well in time.Just as 'Love’s How’s That' inflames her old flame, 'A Hearty Turn' brings the female lesbian leanings to the fore. As 'Love Jihad' bridges lovers’ religious divide with a secular plank, 'Tenth Nook' creates a marital gulf on the material plane. If 'Eleventh Hour' is about woman’s lust for love, 'Twelfth Tale' underscores her quest for power.Book excerpt from 'Autumn Love' for a feel of its literary style -‘Is it a point of no return?’ she thought involuntarily
moving to the edge of the chair.
Reading his ‘have you forgotten about the castration?’
message, she sank into the chair thinking, ‘is it a lighthearted joke or as a
loaded message?’, and for a clue, began to recall the events of the year passed
by.
‘Oh, how my life had turned on its head when I turned
fifty?’ she thought in wonderment. ‘That’s when I immunized my heart against
attractions and insulated my life from vacillations! So I believed, didn’t I?
But when he enamored my heart to give a flirty spin to my life, didn’t it dawn
upon me that I had only sterilized it for a ritual regimen, and no more. Oh,
how his first glance pierced my heart to stir my life that very instant!’
Returning from a temple when she found him alone in the
drawing room, she felt as if god had sent his angle to receive her in her own
abode. The moment their eyes met, it was as if they began their joint search
for a love ground to share, which they had to abandon as her husband entered
the scene from behind the curtain.
He was a friend of her husband’s childhood pal settled in
the States. Having spent the best part of his life there, he came back with his
wife for good, leaving their two children, who were US citizens. That was six
months back and they had since settled in Hyderabad, where, incidentally, both
her married daughters stayed. As he happened to be in their town alone, to
explore some business opportunities there, that evening, he came to call on her
husband at their common-friend’s behest. Introductions over, as her husband
wanted her to prepare some coffee for them; she went into the kitchen with a
heavy heart.
‘While my missing his sight had understandably irked me,
didn’t the thought that he too would miss my sight inexplicably hurt me?’ she
began reminiscing about that dream encounter. ‘But then, how the smell of the
boiling decoction lifted my spirits for it portended serving him some steamy
coffee with my own hands. When he said he never tasted anything better, how I
hoped he would leave some dregs for my palate to share his satisfaction. What a
disappointment it was seeing him empty the cup and how exhilarated I was when
he said he had broken his life-long habit of leaving the dregs. Then, as he was
preparing to leave, how depressed I was, but how relieved I was when my husband
invited him to visit us again!’
She got up from the chair and as if to walk down the memory
lane, she walked up to the compound gate. Views: 388
Welcome to Calendar where life is sweet, but death is murder.Ava March has a big secret. The ultra-reclusive author behind the sensational Miranda Marchmont romantic novels has decided she doesn't want to write anymore bodice rippers, not when she could be writing daring thrillers instead.When Ava's loudmouth agent, Esther Drummond, comes to town, she is bound and determined to persuade her star author to write a few more glamorous novels rather than the books Ava prefers to write. Naturally, Ava knows she must refuse.The only problem that arises is when Ava's eyes land on Esther's hotshot publisher, Mark Boudreaux, whom she brought along as backup. He's exactly like the kind of hero Ava wishes she could meet in real life. Just as Ava plucks up the courage to turn Esther down, she discovers her agent's dead body. To make matters even worse, Esther has been killed in exactly the same way that Ava described in her rejected manuscript.With Ava as the... Views: 388
Trish Grant is not a romantic. Okay, so she may read her share of romance novels, but that doesn’t mean she thinks that some fellow with a six pack is going to ride up on a horse and sweep her (literally) off her feet. Romance like that just isn’t for her. It belongs on the page.
Max Greene noticed Trish at his cousin’s funeral, of all places. She was hard to miss with her citrus-colored hair, violet contacts and fiery attitude.
Trish is just as captivated by Max. He makes her laugh, which is rare, and it doesn’t hurt that he rocks blue hair and isn't put off by her resting bitch face.
On the outside, their relationship seems sweet and perfect, but that's a lie. To say that Trish's childhood was rocky is an understatement. She's a mess of scars and hangups and is convinced that there's no way Max is going to stick around. He's determined to prove to Trish that she's a girl worth loving, flaws and all.
Will she let Max in? Or will she give up her potential fairytale to protect her already-scarred heart from further damage? Views: 388
When scandal comes calling and Vicki leaps into the fray, you know it’s gonna be big. This here’s Texas after all.When scandal comes calling and Vicki leaps into the fray, you know it’s gonna be big. This here’s Texas after all.Meet Victoria Bohanan, a twenty-six year-old Dallas debutante turned bartender babe who rejected her father’s saintly sinner ways and struck out on her own. Vicki will earn that twenty dollar tip by guessing the mistress’ name and your favorite drink faster than you can belly up to the bar. That sharp wit has gotten her out of more than one disastrous situation – until the mouth sinks her right into another. When an old high school flame returns to town with a pregnant wife in tow and a pastorate position lodged under his belt, life quickly becomes tangled. This time we’re not talking between the sheets. Sooner than Vicki can down a shot of Jack, her former boy-toy is embroiled in scandal that threatens to implode the megachurch his parents built – and send the gossiping gaggle into a tailspin faster than a quarterback sack on Sunday.Join the fun in book one of the Bartender Babe Chronicles. Light on mystery and long on - well, you know. Views: 388
Tess Hernandez knew her promotion to manager of Calendar's Town Museum was in the bag... right up until the moment the board appointed one of their member's spoiled nephew, Lance, the position instead. Despite her shock, Tess is determined to show she's still the best person for the job, after all Lance did steal her ideas! So when Lance is found dead on the opening night of the new exhibition Tess curated, all signs point to Tess as the culprit. After all, she badly wanted him gone. But was she the only one?Worried that she'll be arrested any moment, single mom Tess is determined to bring the real killer to justice and uncover the secrets she fears Lance has taken with him to the grave. Views: 388
Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more.
Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters.
Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it...
Strap yourself in for another tale of adventure and debauchery, pilots and pirates, golems and daemons, double-crosses and double-double-crosses. The crew of the Ketty Jay are back! Views: 388
Hamlin Garland was a popular 20th century American writer best known for writing about hardscrabble life on the Plains and the frontier. His stories resonated in an era known for the Depression and the Dust Bowl. Views: 388
Celebrated short-story writer, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's ("The Most Beautiful Book in the World") first full-length novel to appear in English is a literary tour de force, a magnificent cathedral of contemporary eroticism.
"The Carousel of Desire" is a sexual and romantic saga told with a master storyteller's feel for character and plot and a philosopher's abiding preoccupation with what makes life truly worthwhile. With tenderness and infectious delight, Schmitt tells an exuberant tale about class and community and about the vastness of human experience. Schmitt's love of coincidence and serendipity is surpassed only by his affection for his flawed, all-too-human characters: Zachary Bidermann, the powerful European Union commissioner; Faustina, the fashionable book publicist; Francois-Maxime de Couvigne, the happily married banker with more than a few secrets; Marcelle, enamored with a handsome illegal immigrant; Miss Beauvert, who makes love with her parrot, Copernicus. These and many more unforgettable characters animate this story of simmering desire and the antics of the mischievous and playful god, Eros.
Schmitt's inclusive, affirming vision of human sexuality is refreshingly free of moral judgement, yet enriched by an understanding of the complex ethics of human relationships and the redemptive power of love." Views: 388
THE SANCTUARY is the gripping story of vigilante priest, Danny Hansen, who is now serving a fifty year prison term in California for the murder of two abusive men. Filled with remorse, Danny is determined to live out his days by a code of non-violence and maneuvers deftly within a ruthless prison system. But when Renee Gilmore, the woman he loves, receives a box containing a bloody finger and draconian demands from a mysterious enemy on the outside, Danny must find a way to escape.They are both drawn into a terrifying game of life and death. If Renee fails, the priest will die; if Danny fails, Renee will die. And the body count will not stop at two.THE SANCTUARY is Ted Dekker at his best, a powerful thriller that relentlessly plumbs the depths of punishment and rehabilitation, both in a flawed corrections system and in the human heart. Views: 388
