Homicide Detective Barney Manton had a simple theory about catching murderers. Just beat, torture, and hound your suspect until his life becomes completely unbearable. Stay on top of him every hour of every day until he yearns for release—even release via the death chamber. Presto! You have your confession, the law has its “murderer” and the case is closed...He was just a little guy called Sam Gowan. He was holding an empty automatic in his hand. At his feet lay the body of a man who had been shot through the head. Sam Gowan’s clothes were covered with the man’s blood—Sam Gowan’s senses reeled with panic—one thought came through—Escape! Cover your tracks and escape!...Sam Gowan had never heard of Homicide Detective Barney Manton—Manton never knew that a little guy called Sam Gowan existed. Capricious fate decreed that the two men meet in a deadly, unequal contest, a cat and mouse struggle with all the resources of the police department arraigned on the side of the powerful and sadistic Homicide Detective. Views: 346
In this fascinating insight into the shady inner workings of the art world a young appraiser working at a prestigious auction house comes across an unidentified masterpiece. But when the powerful CEO of the company claims the discovery as his own the appraiser teams up with the original owner of the piece to gain revenge. Together they set up a cunning scam that shatters the illusion of the elegant world of the Old Masters.Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection The Veteran. Views: 346
Award-winning author Laura Joh Rowland is back with the fourth in her critically acclaimed Victorian mysteries where the case of a mutilated "Sleeping Beauty" washes ashore in London.London, June 1890.Sarah Bain and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O'Reilly are crime scene photographers for the Daily World newspaper. After solving a sensational murder, they're under pressure to deliver another big story. On a foggy summer night, they're called to the bank of the river Thames. The murder victim is an unidentified woman whose face has been slashed. But as Sarah takes photographs, she discovers that the woman is still alive.The case of "Sleeping Beauty" becomes a public sensation, and three parties quickly come forward to identify her: a rich, sinister artist who claims she's his wife; a mother and her two daughters who co-own a nursing home and claim she's their stepdaughter/sister; and a precocious little girl who claims Sleeping Beauty is her mother.... Views: 346
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. Views: 346
Carson Drew's old friend Charlie invites Nancy and her friends to his 800-acre Highland Retreat in the Cascade Mountains where a legend of an untapped gold mine theatens Views: 346
Rica, a young woman stumbles into another world. She awakes in a desert with no water, food or hope. As she succumbs to dehydration and hunger strange Cat like people find her and help her. She recovers to find herself in a world of magic and science, a world slowly descending into war. She finds friendship, betrayal, and a touch of the power that waits within her. Will she find a way home?Rica, a young woman stumbles into another world. She awakes in a desert with no water, food or hope. As she succumbs to dehydration and hunger strange Cat like people find her and help her. She recovers to find herself in a world of magic and science, a world slowly descending into war. Her new friends take her to their home in search of answers to her question of how she had gotten there and how she would get back home. In her search for a way back to the only home she has ever known, she finds friendship, betrayal, and a touch of the power that waits within her. Will her journey end in success or disappointment? Will she discover who she really is? Views: 346
'When people play the game: Name three or four persons whom you would choose to have with you on a desert island - they never choose the Delaneys. They don't even choose us one by one as individuals. We have earned, not always fairly we consider, the reputation of being difficult guests...' Maria, Niall and Celia have grown up in the shadow of their famous parents - their father, a flamboyant singer and their mother, a talented dancer. Now pursuing their own creative dreams, all three siblings feel an undeniable bond, but it is Maria and Niall who share the secret of their parents' pasts. Alternately comic and poignant, The Parasites is based on the artistic milieu its author knew best, and draws the reader effortlessly into that magical world. Views: 346
William Wymark "W. W." Jacobs (8 September 1863 – 1 September 1943) was an English author of short stories and novels. Although much of his work was humorous, he is most famous for his horror story "The Monkey\'s Paw Jacobs was born in Wapping, London; his father was a wharf manager at the South Devon wharf at Lower East Smithfield. He was educated at a private school in London and later at Birkbeck College (then called Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, now part of the University of London)In 1879, Jacobs began work as a clerk in the civil service, in the Post Office Savings Bank, and by 1885 he had his first short story published. His road to success was relatively slow: Arnold Bennett writing in 1898 was astonished that Jacobs turned down the sum of £500 for six short stories. Jacobs was financially secure enough to be able to leave the Post Office in 1899 Jacobs is now remembered for his macabre tale "The Monkey\'s Paw" (published 1902 in the collection of short stories The Lady of the Barge) and several other ghost stories, including "The Toll House" (published 1909 in the collection of short stories Sailors\' Knots) and "Jerry Bundler" (published 1901 in the collection Light Freights). However, the majority of his output was humorous in tone. His favourite subjects were marine life: "men who go down to the sea in ships of moderate tonnage" said Punch, reviewing his first collection of stories, Many Cargoes, which achieved great popular success on its publication in 1896. Michael Sadleir described Jacobs\' fiction thus: "he wrote stories of three kinds; describing the misadventures of sailor-men ashore; celebrating the artful dodger of a slow-witted village; and tales of the macabre Views: 346
THE ABDUCTION
Dominic Alistair, Marquis of Vidal is a bad lot a rake and seducer, reckless, heedless, and possessed of a murderous temper. He is known by friend and foe alike as the "Devil's Cub." Yet as the handsome and wealthy heir to a Dukedom, he is considered a good prospect on the marriage market. Vidal currently has his eye on the young, lovely, and unintelligent Sophia Challoner, and Sophia's greedy mother is more than happy to encourage his dubious attentions.
When lovely, saucy Mary Challoner had practiced her bold deception upon the hot-blooded, fiery-tempered young Marquis of Vidal--substituting herself for her young sister he had thought to carry off to France--she had little notion he would grimly hold her to her part of the bargain. Now he had left her, and she was alone, a stranger in a strange land, prey to the intrigues of glittering, heartless, 18th century Paris.
Only one person could rescue her--the Marquis himself. But how could she ever trust this man? How could she even hope to overcome the contempt in which he held her? And how could even the sudden flowering of her love ever bridge the terrible gap between them? Views: 346
It's a grimy future and data is a drug. Solis is an addict willing to do whatever it takes to get his fix -- even if that's calling in debts and trading punches with a few guys he considers friends.Included with this story is an excerpt of the novella Chasing Filthy Lucre.Sometimes life can be a real witch. Meet Maxie Duncan. Your average 23-year-old blonde. If you can call being wealthy, gorgeous, and knowing what the future holds at times, average. After her fiancé blindsides her with a breakup at their favorite restaurant, she leaves Maine for a shot at being Hollywood’s new ‘it girl.’ There’s only one problem. She’s never acted a day in her life. When a big Hollywood director sends her packing, she realizes if she wants to stay in L.A., she may have to become a normal girl after all. But normal has never been in the cards for her. Strange things keep happening wherever she goes, a red-eyed shadow no one else sees is stalking her, and to top it off, she may be falling in love again, with either the bookish guy next door, or Hollywood’s hottest leading man. But everything isn’t what it seems. Someone’s keeping secrets from her. Is it her new friends at the apartment building she moved into? Or is it Ryan Everheart, the actor who wants to sweep her off her feet? And why are her feet suddenly floating off the ground? It’s enough to drive a girl insane. All Maxie wants to do is ride off into the sunset with her one true love and find a killer pair of Manolo Blahniks on the way. But how’s a girl supposed to focus on a love life and shopping when everywhere she turns someone or something is trying to kill her? Views: 345
Wedding bells are ringing in the latest page-turning Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Word to the Wise.Love is in the air in Briar Creek as library director Lindsey Norris and boat captain Mike (Sully) Sullivan are finally tying the knot. The entire town is excited for the happy day, and Lindsey and Sully's plan for a small wedding evaporates as more and more people insist upon attending the event of the year. When Lindsey and her crafternoon pals head out to Bell Island to see if it can accommodate the ever-expanding guest list, they are horrified to discover a body washed up on the rocky shore. Even worse, Lindsey recognizes the man as the justice of the peace who was supposed to officiate her wedding ceremony. When it becomes clear he was murdered, Lindsey can't help but wonder if it had to do with the wedding. Now she has to book it to solve the mystery before it ends her happily ever after before it's even begun.... Views: 345
Samuel Hopkins Adams was an American writer best known for investigative journalism in which he exposed multiple public-health issues. Adams was also a prolific author of biographies and mystery novels. The Flying Death was Adams\'s first novel and one of his best known mysteries. Views: 345
