A powerful, moving and tragic account of the families shattered and children abandoned as a result of the spread of HIV and, through the Memory Books project, a hope for the future.Henning Mankell is not a public figure in the way that politicians are, nor does he court publicity for himself, but he is one of the most successful authors of our time and has devoted his recent years to work with Aids charities. In I Die, but the memory Lives On, this master storyteller has written a fable to illustrate the importance of books as a means of education, of preserving memories and of sharing life. In a very personal account he tells of his own fears and anxieties for the sufferers of HIV and Aids and, drawing on his experiences in many parts of Africa of the journeys that he has made to remote villages and the impressions he has gained there, proposes a way to help. The problem of Aids has been kept largely under control in Europe, but in Africa it is a very different story. ... Views: 67
It's a whole new ride from master of horror and bestselling author R.L. Stine—with a story so fiendish that it can't be contained to just one book! Britney Crosby thinks her cousin Ethan is pretty weird—and she happens to be right. Ethan won't stop tormenting Britney with an old ventriloquist's dummy. And the puppet has plans for Britney, too! Next, someone will be offered a vacation at a popular "scream park." An entire week for free? You'd have to be a real dummy to refuse that! But some guests aren't allowed to escape HorrorLand after just six days and seven frights... Views: 67
The hunt for an ancient Chinese rose turns deadly in this latest English Garden Mystery featuring Dr. Lawrence Kingston.A plant-hunting expedition haunted by tragedy leads to a perilous trail of greed, larceny, and deceit. Has Peter Mayhew, the man who plunged to his death on a mountain in China, come back to life? Which of the expedition members is hiding an explosive secret? Why are some being targeted for murder?Once again, Dr. Lawrence Kingston—retired professor of botany and reluctant sleuth—finds himself at the center of a baffling case like none he has ever encountered. Following an ambiguous trail with only scant clues, he must find the hidden meaning dormant in a cache of valuable Chinese antiquities, shadow a ruthless assailant through London’s teeming Underground, and travel the length and breadth of Britain, from a hospital ward in Oxford and an anonymous rendezvous in a Hampshire garden, to a remote farm in Dorset and the mystical Cornish coast—even to the mountains of Wales—in his search for the truth. Even the most likely suspects are becoming victims themselves, and the stakes rise exponentially as each lead comes to a dead end...literally.Racing to save the lives of the remaining plant hunters and not become a victim himself, Kingston discovers the extreme lengths to which desperate men will go for riches, recognition, and the thrill of the hunt. Clever and chilling, The Trail of the Wild Rose effortlessly combines Anthony Eglin’s horticultural knowledge and literary skills to create an innovative and riveting new mystery.From Publishers WeeklyA party of plant hunters who are dying off one by one is the intriguing, Agatha Christie–like scenario of Eglin's less than satisfying fourth English garden mystery (after 2007's The Water Lily Cross). A colleague dispatches retired botanist Lawrence Kingston after a member of a recent horticultural expedition to China is run off the road while on his motorcycle and lies gravely injured in an Oxford hospital. The patient's ramblings reveal that disquieting events may have occurred on the journey and raise questions about the man's identity and the group's objectives. After the patient's death, Kingston interviews other members of the party and their relatives, gradually uncovering a conspiracy of greed, blackmail, fraud and murder. In the end, the awkward introduction of plot elements, a propensity to tell instead of show, stilted and unrealistic dialogue, a title that bears only a peripheral relation to the narrative and digressions about Kingston's personal life bury a promising premise. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistRetired botany professor Lawrence Kingston (The Lost Gardens, 2006) is helping a friend restore his garden when he gets a call from his former colleague Clifford Attenborough, now curator of horticulture at Kew Gardens. It seems that a patient in critical condition at an Oxford hospital has been muttering strange things about a plant-hunting expedition. Attenborough asks Kingston to look into it, and Kingston jumps at the chance to visit Oxford. The few available clues lead to a convoluted tale about a plant-hunting expedition in China. The members of the expedition seem to be meeting untimely ends in unexplainable accidents. As Kingston continues to explore, he turns up evidence of theft and murder among the British aristocracy. The complex case full of garden lore and Asian antiquities will keep cozy aficionados turning the pages. --Barbara Bibel Views: 67
Patience: Bride of Washington is 42nd in the unprecedented 50-Book American Mail-Order Brides series.After a fire destroys the factory where Patience Eaton worked followed by a succession of job failures, she travels from Massachusetts to Washington to marry the man her father chose via a matchmaker. While Andrew Kincaid appears to be a very nice man, he’s older than her father’s and not someone she wants to marry. Her prospective groom places her in a respectable boarding house and agrees to give her a job in the office of his commercial apple orchard so she can learn about his life and business. But working alongside her handsome future stepson presents unexpected complications.Two years ago, an unjust accusation ruined Stone Kincaid’s chance at happiness. Now he concentrates all his energy on building the family business. When he meets his prospective stepmother, he’s angry that his father cares so little for his mother’s memory that he sent for a mail-order bride younger than Stone. He believes Patience to be interested only in his father’s fortune. Stone plans to keep an eye on the attractive woman who’s slated to become his stepmother.Can two people working at cross purposes arrive at a compromise? Views: 67
Brenda, a tattoo artist who sees images of the future, and three other strangers with special abilities are drawn together to help a young student at the mysterious Institute for Advanced Psychic Studies. Daniel's gifts are supposedly being honed to assist world leaders . . . but it turns out there are some very disturbing strings attached. Views: 67
Clymene O'Riley is in prison for killing her husband - though Diane Fallon is sure she killed another, and suspects she may have left a veritable graveyard of dead men in her wake. Either way, Diane was happy to help put her behind bars. So when Clymene informs her that one of the prison guards may be in danger from a serial killer, Diane is suspicious. And when Clymene escapes from jail, Diane becomes the prime suspect in a bloody murder that puts her in the path of an angry killer who wants her dead... Views: 67
An American in Paris navigates her family's secret past and unlocks her own future, in this emotionally evocative novel by New York Times bestselling author Juliet Blackwell.As a girl, Genevieve Martin spent the happiest summer of her life in Paris, learning the delicate art of locksmithing at her uncle's side. But since then, living back in the States, she has become more private, more subdued. She has been an observer of life rather than an active participant, holding herself back from those around her, including her soon-to-be-ex-husband.Paris never really left Genevieve, and, as her marriage crumbles, she finds herself faced with an incredible opportunity: return to the magical city of her youth to take over her late uncle's shop. But as she absorbs all that Parisian culture has to offer, she realizes the city also holds secrets about her family that could change her forever, and that locked doors can protect you or imprison you, depending on which side... Views: 67