Lily McClain is a confirmed SantaPhobic, which is why she's so ticked off that her regular Santa, Blake, has backed out for the night. But when she steps into Santa's red suit, she becomes an inspiration for hundreds of little girls, just in time for Christmas...This 4,650-word short story is 29 pages long.She lay abandoned, moored to the south end of Luna Farside, left for scrap. Captain Dak Smith saw in her something special, an opportunity to burn for the far horizon as an independent, free from the gloms that hold known space in thrall – but he had to get her running first. Armed with a standard-issue captain's eyebrow and an infectious grin, Captain Smith and his hand-picked crew embark on an adventure through deep space filled with scoundrels, pirates, and some incredibly unfortunate peace-loving rocks that happened to be at the wrong place, at the worst time. Views: 338
Setting: New York City, present day
Sensuality rating: 8
High-powered attorney Victoria Kensington knows how to protect herself. In fact, she's spent her whole life protecting her vulnerable sister, Audrey, from their stern father's disapproval. But when Audrey, who's supposed to be painting in Venice, collapses at Victoria's feet in Central Park dressed only in a hospital gown, Victoria doesn't know what to think. And when Audrey disappears without a trace, Victoria will do anything to find out what has happened to her sister, even if it means allowing FBI associate Zachary Hamilton, the only man she's ever loved, back into her life--and her heart. Even if it means finding out her father knows a whole lot more than he's letting on, Victoria will let nothing stop her from saving Audrey. But when Victoria has several close calls, Zach insists on sticking close to her, really close. Will Victoria find a second chance at having the kind of family she always wanted and maybe even a second chance at love? Andrea Kane creates a knockout of a suspenseful romance, one that will keep readers guessing until the very end.--Alison Trinkle Views: 338
A young prostitute is murdered, and Inspector Peach finds himself with a complex, unpleasant case on his hands. He begins to interview local prostitutes and their customers, including a divorced policeman and a Catholic priest at odds with his beliefs. But did one of them kill the girl or was one of the town's more sinister thugs responsible? Views: 338
On a deserted road, late at night, Scotland Yard’s Ian Rutledge encounters a frightened woman standing over a body, launching an inquiry that leads him into the lair of a stealthy killer and the dangerous recesses of his own memories in this twentieth installment of the acclaimed New York Times bestselling series.
Hours after his sister’s wedding, a restless Ian Rutledge drives aimlessly, haunted by the past, and narrowly misses a motorcar stopped in the middle of a desolate road. Standing beside the vehicle is a woman with blood on her hands and a dead man at her feet.
She swears she didn’t kill Stephen Wentworth. A stranger stepped out in front of their motorcar, and without warning, fired a single shot before vanishing into the night. But there is no trace of him. And the shaken woman insists it all happened so quickly, she never saw the man’s face.
Although he is a witness after the fact, Rutledge persuades the Yard to give him the inquiry, since he’s on the scene. But is he seeking justice—or fleeing painful memories in London?
Wentworth was well-liked, yet his bitter family paint a malevolent portrait, calling him a murderer. But who did Wentworth kill? Is his death retribution? Or has his companion lied? Wolf Pit, his village, has a notorious history: in Medieval times, the last wolf in England was killed there. When a second suspicious death occurs, the evidence suggests that a dangerous predator is on the loose, and that death is closer than Rutledge knows.
**Review
“As always in this singular series... the melancholy tone that distinguishes the Rutledge series is a reminder that war never ends for the families and friends of lost loved ones. It just retreats into the shadows.” (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review)
TOP PICK IN MYSTERY: “Readers can’t ask for more than Todd’s masterful plotting, terrific characters and one of the finest protagonists in modern suspense.” (BookPage.com)
“The best one yet... It is a rare case when a book this far into a series can still surprise, but that is exactly what The Gate Keeper does. Highly recommended for historical mystery fans.” (The BOLO Books Review)
“In a series known for intelligent plots, Todd’s 20th novel about Ian [Rutledge] excels. The Gate Keeper delivers an emotional novel... as well as an involving story about how the war affected other former soldiers and the families and towns to which they came home.” (SouthFlorida.com)
“Exceptionally clever plot... As always, Todd... deepen[s] their crafty whodunit with a moving exploration of their astute sleuth’s inner torments.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))
“For Todd fans, it’s another excuse to keep reading.” (Wilmington Star News)
“This mystery is one of the finest in the series... One of the best I have read by Charles Todd—very highly recommended!” (Historical Novels Review)
“Charles Todd (actually a mother-son writing team) pulls off the voice-in-the-head device exquisitely. Moreover, the series is populated with highly nuanced characters, and the historical research is spot on. In Racing the Devil, the pacing is compelling.” (Newark Star Ledger)
“Inspector Rutledge shares the pantheon with Morse, Rebus, and even Sherlock Holmes--a fascinating, complex, and heartbreaking hero we admire, respect, and cannot forget. Charles Todd’s brilliantly evocative and historically revealing mysteries are top shelf, top drawer, and top of my list.” (Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Say No More)
“Todd writes a rich mystery, but in investigating the murder Rutledge also probes the psychic wounds of the village and tries to minister to the collective survivor guilt of the living. ‘The dead,’ as the voice in his head tells him, ‘still believe it was worth dying for.’” (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review)
From the Back Cover
Since the Great War’s end, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge has suffered from shell shock, with only two constants to sustain him: his police work and his sister, Frances. Now Frances is married, and Rutledge cannot shake a deepening sense of loss.
Unable to sleep, Rutledge drives out of London into the countryside. He’s jolted from his memories when his headlamps pick out a motorcar stopped in the road. Stand-ing next to the vehicle is a woman in evening dress, with blood on her hands and a dead man at her feet.
She swears she didn’t kill Stephen Wentworth—that a stranger fired a single shot before vanishing into the night. Rutledge is asked to take on the case, but when he probes the victim’s background, the Inspector discovers that Wentworth’s life was shrouded in mystery. His estranged family call him a murderer. But who did Wentworth kill? When a second suspicious death occurs, the evidence
suggests a predator is on the loose. But where is he? Views: 338
Retail AZW3TROUBLE RIDES TALL Bryant Shafter is the trouble marshal. Town leaders call him in when they need a gun to quiet things down. Which is why Bry settled in Pony Wells. But now the town is under control. They don’t need him anymore—more particularly, they don’t need to be paying his salary. Even his young deputy, Zach Adams, thinks it’s time he moved on. So when three businessmen from Gravehead make him an offer to leave Pony Wells to clean up their town, he’s sorely tempted—holding down the law is what Bry does best. Until a young prostitute named Glory is found murdered. Until the town bosses hire their own guns. Until a young buck named Rio, out to prove himself, comes gunning for him. Now Bry’s got a townful of trouble. CROSS THE RED CREEK Jim Gilmore is on the run from the rumors that plague him. When he is mistaken for a bank robber in Kiowa, Wyoming, he decides to take a stand. He knows he’s innocent, so he turns himself in—and is acquitted. But he remains guilty in the eyes of the town folk. Still, Gilmore is looking for a place to settle down, and decides that Kiowa is no worse than anywhere else. People will talk wherever you go. But trouble seems to follow Gilmore, and he is soon accused of another robbery. This time he figures it’s personal, and if he doesn’t find out who’s trying to frame him, he might find himself at the end of noose instead. DESERT STAKE-OUT There is an epidemic at San Carlos, and Blade Merrick is riding the medicine wagon across Apache territory. That’s when he meets up with Hardhead Charley Clinton, his son Billy, and Perch Fisher… and Valerie, headed out West with her husband. They had all just met when they were attacked by Apaches. Merrick leads them to a water hole he knows about. Merrick has been here before—this is where he found the bullet-ridden body of his brother. Now, he has a new problem, because the Clinton gang wants to go to Fort Ambush, in the opposite direction. And they’ve got the guns to back up their request. Merrick finds himself torn between the returning Apaches, the desperation of three hardened men, and the most desirable woman he has ever met in his life. Views: 337
This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them. Views: 337
From Jeff Lindsay, the bestselling author of the DEXTER series, comes the long-awaited sequel to his debut novel, TROPICAL DEPRESSION, featuring ex-cop Billy Knight.
Billy Knight wants to ride out Key West's slow-season with the occasional charter and the frequent beer. But when he discovers a dead body floating in the gulf, Billy gets drawn into a deadly plot of dark magic and profound evil. Along with his plucky, gun-happy friend, Nicky, and Anna, a resilient and mysterious survivor of her own horrors, Billy sets out to right the wrongs the police won't, putting himself in mortal peril on the high seas. Views: 337
Philadelphia lawyer turned novelist (what a concept!) Scottoline has already won a best original paperback Edgar for Final Appeal. Now she might just nail down a hardcover one for her latest book -- a lovely combination of high energy, imagination and nasty good humor mostly directed against lawyers. Her central character this time out is a definite keeper: Benedetta Rosato, "Bennie" to everyone but her mother, a towering blonde who rows to keep her body in shape and duels with the police on a daily basis to keep her legal talents sharp. Most of Bennie's clients have a gripe against the cops, so Philadelphia's finest are less than sympathetic to her cause when she becomes the chief suspect in the murder of her ex-lover and soon to be ex-law partner. Hiding out in a truly original way, Bennie uses (and abuses) a big law firm to help find the real killers; you'll find yourself laughing and gasping all the way. Views: 337
A USA TODAY BESTSELLING SERIES Book 10 in The JACK REACHER Cases. "Ames is a sensation among readers who love fast-paced thrillers." -MysteryTribune "Fast-paced, engaging, original." -New York Times bestselling author Thomas Perry "Engrossing!" -USA Today bestselling author Rick Murcer "Furiously paced. Great action." -New York Times bestselling author Ben Lieberman "Swept me along for the ride." -Edgar-nominated author Craig McDonald Views: 337
Scrogged, A Cyber Christmas CarolThere is no joy on Christmas Eve in Houston in 2001. On November 29, the mighty Enron corporation collapsed in an explosion of fraud, scandal and chicanery. Ben Scroggs has no use for his fellow man, or woman, or the Christmas season, but he was just an accountant, an isolated, lonely man. Then, of course, the three ghosts descend on him like bloodhounds, and by the end of that momentous night, he’s not only found a lost soul . . . his own. . . but has uncovered a murderer.[A modern pastiche of Charles Dickens' The Christmas Carol (Scrooge)] Views: 337
A quest to find the ancient sword Excalibur quickly turns into a hunt for a determined killer for Crispin Guest. London, 1396. A trip to the swordsmith shop for Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, and his apprentice Jack Tucker takes an unexpected turn when Crispin crosses paths with Carantok Teague, a Cornish treasure hunter. Carantok has a map he is convinced will lead him to the sword of Excalibur – a magnificent relic dating back to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table – and he wants Crispin to help him find it. Travelling to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall with Carantok and Jack, Crispin is soon reunited with an old flame as he attempts to locate the legendary sword. But does Excalibur really exist, or is he on an impossible quest? When a body is discovered, Crispin's search for treasure suddenly turns into a hunt for a dangerous killer. Views: 337
On one side, the living toil under the relentless Florida sun to build hundreds of miles of fence. On the other side, millions of the living dead hunger for the flesh of the living. Between them is a line of chain link fencing through which blows a hot wind like the breath of hell. A wind that carries the stink of death and the endless moans of the dead. Views: 337
In this latest novel from bestselling author John Verdon, ingenious puzzle solver Dave Gurney puts under the magnifying glass a notorious serial murder case – one whose motives have been enshrined as law-enforcement dogma - and discovers that everyone has it wrong.
The most decorated homicide detective in NYPD history, Dave Gurney is still trying to adjust to his life of quasi-retirement in upstate New York when a young woman who is producing a documentary on a notorious murder spree seeks his counsel. Soon after, Gurney begins feeling threatened: a razor-sharp hunting arrow lands in his yard, and he narrowly escapes serious injury in a booby-trapped basement. As things grow more bizarre, he finds himself reexamining the case of The Good Shepherd, which ten years before involved a series of roadside shootings and a rage-against-the-rich manifesto. The killings ceased, and a cult of analysis grew up around the case with a consensus opinion that no one would dream of challenging -- no one, that is, but Dave Gurney.
Mocked even by some who’d been his supporters in previous investigations, Dave realizes that the killer is too clever to ever be found. The only gambit that may make sense is also the most dangerous – to make himself a target and get the killer to come to him.
To survive, Gurney must rely on three allies: his beloved wife Madeleine, impressively intuitive and a beacon of light in the gathering darkness; his de-facto investigative “partner” Jack Hardwick, always ready to spit in authority’s face but wily when it counts; and his son Kyle, who has come back into Gurney’s life with surprising force, love and loyalty.
Displaying all the hallmarks for which the Dave Gurney series is lauded -- well-etched characters, deft black humor, and ingenious deduction that ends in a climactic showdown – Let the Devil Sleep is something more: a reminder of the power of self-belief in a world that contains too little of it.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 337
Six of the world's leading geneticists have all 'committed suicide' in the past seven days, the brother-in-law of a journalist being the latest to die. Establishing that those who died were all employees of the Gen8tyx Company, a secretive research company based in Orlando, the journalist -Kerrin Graham- sets out to discover the truth behind their deaths.Book One of Two Parts: Please note that Book One continues seamlessly into and is concluded in Book Two. This is an excellent way to introduce yourself to this new and exciting author!- If you enjoy Book One, to continue the story you may then choose to download Book Two. Alternatively, readers are recommended to purchase the full omnibus edition containing both Book One and Book Two. For fans of Lee Child, Kathy Reich, Tess Gerritsen. The Story: the Orlando File is a fast paced thriller, based upon the latest state-of-the-art discoveries in genetics and stem-cell research. The result is a truly scientific adventure but with a thrilling twist.When Kerrin Graham, a retired cop and now an investigative journalist with the Washington Post, receives a call in the middle of the night, his life is about to be turned upside down.Six of the world's leading geneticists have all 'committed suicide' in the past seven days, his brother-in-law being the latest to die. Establishing that those who died were all employees of the Gen8tyx Company, a secretive research company based in Orlando, Kerrin sets out to discover the truth behind their deaths.Discovering that those who died were killed to stop them unveiling the results of their revolutionary stem-cell research, a discovery that could usher in a new age of hope and health for all humanity, Kerrin vows to find who was responsible for their deaths and to uncover the powerful secret they were killed to protect.On a trail that takes him around the world and back, Kerrin uncovers a sinister organization that will stop at nothing to protect the secret behind the mysterious 'Orlando Treatment'.When those around him start to die, and his wife disappears, it becomes a race against time to find the missing 'Orlando File', the only hope of saving his crippled wife and proving to an unsuspecting world, the truth behind the sinister Chymera Corporation of America.And yet, when Kerrin eventually understands just what the Orlando File contains, he is faced with a choice no man should ever have to make, and everyone who reads this book must ask the same question:"What would I do, if I were him?"...and anyone who reads this book could learn a simple little known medical fact that could extend their life by 20 years. Views: 337
Adventure becomes nightmare
Locals claim it is haunted and refuse to put a single toe past the front door, but to siblings Peter, Celia, and Margaret, the Priory is nothing more than a rundown estate inherited from their late uncle—and the perfect setting for a much-needed holiday. But when a murder victim is discovered in the drafty Priory halls, the once unconcerned trio begins to fear that the ghostly rumors are true and they are not alone after all! With a killer on the loose, will they find themselves the next victims of a supernatural predator, or will they uncover a far more corporeal culprit? Views: 336
