Cat o'Nine Tales is the fifth collection of irresistible short stories from the master storyteller. Ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters and Jeffrey Archer's trademark of deliciously unexpected conclusions, this new collection has the added bonus of thirteen charming illustrations by the internationally acclaimed artist Ronald Searle.
Some of these twelve stories were inspired by the two years Jeffrey Archer spent in prison, including the story of a company chairman who tries to poison his wife while on a trip to St. Petersburg---with unexpected consequences. "The Red King" is a tale about a con man who discovers that an English lord requires one more chess piece to complete a set that would be worth a fortune. In another tale of deception, "The Commissioner," a Bombay con artist ends up in the morgue after he uses the police chief as bait in his latest scam. "The Perfect Murder" reveals how a convict manages to remove an old enemy while he's locked up in jail, and then set up two prison officers as his alibi. In "Charity Begins at Home," an accountant realizes he has achieved nothing in his life, and sets out to make a fortune before he retires. And then there is Archer's favorite, "In the Eye of the Beholder," in which a handsome star athlete falls in love with a three-hundred-pound woman . . . who happens to be the ninth-richest woman in Italy.
Jeffrey Archer is the only author to have topped international bestseller lists with his fiction, nonfiction, and short stories. Cat o'Nine Tales is Archer at his best: witty, poignant, sad, surprising, and unforgettable. Views: 234
In this contemporary classic romance from bestselling women's fiction author Emilie Richards, a young woman finds she can run, but even a talented mask maker can't always hide.Bethany Walker loves her new life in the New Orleans French Quarter with her young daughter Abby and Life's Illusions, the shop where she sells her extraordinary feathered masks. Only memories of Abby's father Justin Dumontier, the man who vanished from her life before her daughter's birth, cast shadows over Louisiana's bright sunshine.Now one morning as carnival season begins and her work load increases, Bethany glances up to find Justin gazing at her. Hiding herself and the child he doesn't know about is no longer an option. She may have kept their baby a secret, but four-year-old Abby is all too clearly his.Justin is furious that Bethany has hidden his daughter, but reluctantly, he begins to understand. Their romance was brief and passionate, but Justin kept... Views: 234
No planet. No hope. Quinn Neen and his friends have survived the uprising and the ruthless Fosaanian leader's attempt to kill them, but the galaxy is still hurtling toward war. With just a few days before Quinn starts his mandatory military training, he plans to spend the time with Mira, the Fosaanian girl he's in love with. When a mysterious message forces them on a journey to an isolated planet named Reyet, Quinn's plans quickly change. A coup on Reyet throws everything into chaos, leaving Quinn and Mira evading enemies they know, and some they don't, including the planet itself. Now, time is running out for Earth, Fosaan, and Reyet, and there may be no place left in the galaxy that's safe. Views: 234
It is autumn 1777, and the cradle of liberty, Philadelphia, has fallen to the British. Yet the true battle has only just begun.
On both sides, loyalties are tested and families torn asunder. The young Redcoat Sam Gilpin has seen his brother die. Now he must choose between duty to a distant king and the call of his own conscience. And for the men and women of the prosperous Becket family, the Revolution brings bitter conflict between those loyal to the crown and those with dreams of liberty.
Soon, across the fields of ice and blood in a place called Valley Forge, history will be rewritten, changing the lives and fortunes of these men and women forever. Views: 234
Aiden and Meg Falconer are now celebrities ... for all the wrong reasons. It's much harder to be on the run when the whole country's looking for you....
Aiden and Meg Falconer are out to find the evidence that will free their parents from a life sentence in prison. But in order to do that, they have to live undercover. Ever since they broke out of a juvenile detention facility, they've been chased by the FBI ... and by a strange killer they've nicknamed Hairless Joe. Now their story has hit the airwaves, and suddenly everyone is looking for the Falconer kids. They think they can hide with an old family friend ... but when she turns them in and Meg is put in jail, the danger and adventure only increase. Views: 233
Fergusson Wright Hume, known as Fergus Hume (8 July 1859 – 12 July 1932) was a prolific English novelist. Finding that the novels of Émile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne, he obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of a similar kind. The result was the self-published novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), which became a great success. Hume based his descriptions of poor urban life on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. He sold the English and United States rights to the novel for 50 pounds, and thus derived little benefit from its success. It eventually became the best selling mystery novel of the Victorian era, author John Sutherland terming it the "most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century". This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the character Sherlock Holmes. Doyle remarked, "Hansom Cab was a slight tale, mostly sold by \'puffing\'." After the success of his first novel and the publication of another, Professor Brankel\'s Secret (c.1886), Hume returned to England in 1888. He resided in London for few years and then he moved to the Essex countryside where he lived in Thundersley for 30 years, eventually producing more than 100 novels and short stories. He continued to be anxious for success as a dramatist, and at one time Henry Irving was favourably considering one of his plays, but he died before it could be produced. Views: 233
Lady, Beware!
Every Sunday afternoon James Fenton and his wife took their usual walk-every Sunday afternoon.The pattern never changed.
Then Fenton reached his breaking point.
The idea of escape had never occurred to him before. But suddenly something clicked in his brain.
"Now, at this minute, "he thought, "one gesture of mine might change someone's future. Theft, fire, faces smashed in . . . murder."
So Fenton chose No. 8 Boulting street as a starting point for the greatest adventure of his life.
He rang the bell and a young woman answered. Fenton had the impulse to say, "I have come to strangle you." Instead he took off his hat and smiled. "Do you rent rooms?" he asked. Views: 233
The Daffodil Mystery by Edgar Wallace Views: 233
Suncoast Society 53 (MMF, contemporary BDSM, HEA)
Neil isn’t just Tamsin’s gay best friend and roommate—he’s her Dom and adopted family. While she jokes she’d love to watch him and Dexter, her fiancé and Dom, together in bed, she knows that’ll never happen.
Dexter isn’t jealous of Neil. As a paramedic, Dexter frequently spends days away from Tamsin. Plus, the older Dom is as much a mentor to Dexter as he is a friend. Neil’s never made a secret about his attraction to Dexter, even though he knows nothing will ever happen since Dexter’s straight.
Then a drunk driver shatters their world, leaving Neil to step in and pick up the pieces for Dexter and Tamsin. They might never get her “back,” but Neil’s sworn to take care of her. Now the men are forced to forge deeper, stronger bonds both to take care of Tamsin…and each other.
As their love grows, one question remains unanswered: What happens to them if or when Tamsin wakes up? Views: 233
“The wonderful cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the greatest achievements of European civilization, was on fire. The sight dazed and disturbed us profoundly. I was on the edge of tears. Something priceless was dying in front of our eyes. The feeling was bewildering, as if the earth was shaking.” —Ken Follett“[A] treasure of a book.” —The New Yorker In this short, spellbinding book, international bestselling author Ken Follett describes the emotions that gripped him when he learned about the fire that threatened to destroy one of the greatest cathedrals in the world—the Notre-Dame de Paris. Follett then tells the story of the cathedral, from its construction to the role it has played across time and history, and he reveals the influence that the Notre-Dame had upon cathedrals around the world and on the writing of one of Follett's most famous and beloved novels, The Pillars of the... Views: 232
Unless Nancy can win the money in the Independence Day Rodeo, she?ll lose her beloved ranch. Before the rodeo, Tammy Calloway is thrown from her horse in what appears to Nancy to be a set-up. Determined to find out who wants Tammy out of the race, Nancy gets in deep?as the West gets even wilder. Views: 232
