In the future, computers rule the world. Net Force was formed to protect us from any and all criminal activity on-line. But there is a group of teenage whiz kids who sometimes know more about computers than their adult superiors. They are the Net Force Explorers. They go where no one else can go. And they fight crime like no one else in the world. After her equestrian teammate, Burt, disappears, Net Force Explorer Megan O'Malley finds him at a combined online-offline refuge for runaways. But Burt's next disappearance may be his last. Short of cash, he takes a job at a mysterious courier business — a service, Megan discovers all too late, from which many runaways are sent out, but few ever return. Views: 57
“Assured... Atkins’s gift for mimicking the late Robert B. Parker could lead to a long run, the the delight of Spenser devotees.”—*Publishers Weekly* The iconic, tough-but-tender Boston PI Spenser returns in an outstanding new addition to the New York Times-bestselling series from author Ace Atkins. Kinjo Heywood is one of the New England Patriots’ marquee players—a hard-nosed linebacker who’s earned his reputation as one of the toughest guys in the league. When off-field violence repeatedly lands Heywood in the news, his slick agent hires Spenser to find the men who he says have been harassing his client. Heywood’s troubles seem to be tied to a nightclub shooting from two years earlier. But when Heywood’s nine-year-old son, Akira, is kidnapped, ransom demands are given, and a winding trail through Boston’s underworld begins, Spenser puts together his own all-star team of toughs. It will take both Hawk and Spenser’s protégé, Zebulon Sixkill, to watch Spenser’s back and return the child to the football star’s sprawling Chestnut Hill mansion. A controversial decision from Heywood only ups the ante as the clock winds down on Akira’s future.** Views: 57
From Publishers WeeklyAgain mining the territory of bleak lives on the fringes of society, L.A. Times Book Prize-winner Blake (In the Rogue Blood and Red Grass River) has crafted seven short stories and a novella about people surviving in the merciless borderlands dividing Mexico and the U.S. Characters from South Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and Texas are fully sculpted in Blake's visionary dystopia, their struggles neither heroic nor dishonorable. The complexity of border culture is graphically drawn, with its omnipresent threats of la migra, unemployment, bigotry and despair. Blake begins the collection with an engaging and informative introductory memoir, a chronology of his childhood in the borderlands and of his mixed Mexican/Texan heritage. The stories that follow are brutal, stark and horrifying; in "Runaway Horses," a just-widowed man is driven mad when he attempts to deliver just punishment to his wife's rapist and murderer. In another narrative, an illegal immigrant falls in love with an ex-prostitute with three children, but succumbs to his fear of commitment. Female characters suffer violently in these stories, often victims of rape, incest or murder. "Texas Woman Blues" is a searing portrait of hopelessness and horror. Dolores (dolar, pain in Spanish) experiences a lifetime of pain before her 17th birthday. Abandoned by her father, who ends up in prison, on her mother's death she is sent to live with relatives and is raped by her uncle. When she finally bolts free, the cycle of victimization expands into a bleak and unforgettable chronicle of dead-end options. Blake writes with a fearless precision and a ruthless sensibility, his prose is spare and tough, and his descriptions detailed and cinematic. This is gritty, raw, bare-knuckled fiction, blazing with an extraordinary kind of violence, and certainly not for the faint of heart. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalBlake's (In the Rogue Blood, LJ 9/1/97) first collection of short fiction begins with an autobiographical account and then turns to a series of linked fictions about poor, young, hard-working, dignified Mexican or Mexican American men, some of whom have immigrated to the United States looking for a better life. One loses his savings to a gun-toting hitchhiker, another falls for an ex-prostitute. A third becomes a boxer, only to lose a championship fight to his arrogant schoolmate. He then becomes a referee and takes his revenge. In the final story, "Texas Woman Blues," a young woman named Dolores leads a peripatetic life in hardscrabble southern Texas, the territory staked out by novelist Lionel Garc!a. Time and again men use her, until she falls in love with Buddy. Then Buddy is killed, and soon Dolores, saddled with two unloved children, commits suicide. Blake's talent is obvious, especially in the first stories, but "Texas Woman Blues" could have been longer and more developed. Recommended for literary collections and those with a Latino audience.AHarold Augenbraum, Mercantile Lib., New York Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 57
Boston PI Spenser and right hand Hawk follow a con man’s trail of smoke and mirrors in the latest entry of the iconic crime series. After conning everyone from the cable news shows to the local cops, it looks like the grifter’s latest double cross may be his last.
Connie Kelly thought she’d found her perfect man on an online dating site. He was silver-haired and handsome, with a mysterious background working for the C.I.A. She fell so hard for M. Brooks Welles that she wrote him a check for almost three hundred thousand dollars, hoping for a big return on her investment.
But within weeks, both Welles and her money are gone. Her therapist, Dr. Susan Silverman, hands her Spenser’s card.
A self-proclaimed military hotshot, Welles had been a frequent guest on national news shows speaking with authority about politics and world events. But when he disappears, he leaves not only a jilted lover but a growing list of angry investors, duped cops, and a team of paramilitary contractors looking for revenge.
Enter Spenser, who quickly discovers that everything about Welles is phony. His name, his résumé, and his client list are nothing but an elaborate fraud. But uncovering the truth won’t be easy, as he’ll have to keep the mystery man alive long enough to get back his client’s money. As the trail winds from Boston to backroads Georgia, Spenser will need help from trusted allies Hawk and Teddy Sapp to make sure Welles’s next con is his last.
**Review
“A taut, suspenseful story line drives Edgar-finalist Atkins’s sixth Spenser novel...which deepens the relationship between the Boston PI and his significant other, therapist Susan Silverman.”—*Publishers Weekly
“Atkins really hit his stride as steward for Parker’s characters.” –Booklist
Praise for Ace Atkins and the Spenser Series
“Atkins does a wonderful job with the characters created by Parker. To loyalists it may be heresy, but a case can be made for the Atkins novels being better than some of the last Spenser mysteries penned by Parker. A top-notch thriller.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Classic Spenser—the Spenser of wry wit, tasty food and drinks, hard workouts and lethal confrontations...Once again, Atkins has delivered a thriller that evokes the best of Parker’s Spenser series, not least the punchy back-and-forth of the dialogue.”—Associated Press
“Scene-by-scene, line-by-line pleasures are authentic.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Atkins tosses in a surprising change to his lead’s status quo, and series fans will be eager to see what he does with it in Spenser’s next outing.”—Publishers Weekly*
About the Author
Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring police chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole-Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.
Ace Atkins is the Edgar-nominated author of nineteen books, including the forthcoming Quinn Colson novel The Innocents. He was selected by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the Spenser novels, most recently the New York Times bestsellers Robert B. Parker's Kickback and Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot. Views: 57
Years ago, homicide detective Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under less than ideal circumstances. Now the divorced father of a teenage daughter, he works as a private investigator in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he indulges his passion for falconry and savors the thrill of the hunt. When her twin sister, Cartwright, disappears, Cassidy Drummond can't help wondering if her father, a congressman known as much for his philandering as for his politics, has something to do with it. Desperate and deeply frightened, she turns to Frank Pavlicek for help. But, despite a long list of possible culprits-and the fact that Cartwright's car has been found with blood on the seats-Frank isn't convinced it's foul play. Soon the falconer is following a treacherous trail of family secrets and sinister scandals to the most dangerous discovery of all: the truth. Views: 57
The twelfth Joe Ledger novel in Jonathan Maberry's New York Times bestselling series.Terrorists-for-hire have created a weapon that can induce earthquakes and cause dormant volcanoes to erupt. One terrifying side-effect of the weapon is that prior to the devastation, the vibrations drive ordinary people to suicide and violence. A wave of madness begins sweeping the country beginning with a mass shooting in Congress. Joe Ledger and his team go on a wild hunt to stop the terrorists and uncover the global super-power secretly funding them. At every step the stakes increase as it becomes clear that the end-game of this campaign of terror is igniting the Yellowstone caldera, the super-volcano that could destroy America.DEEP SILENCE pits Joe Ledger against terrorists with bleeding-edge science weapons, an international conspiracy, ancient technologies from Atlantis and Lemuria, and an escalating threat that could crack open the entire Earth. Views: 57
MUTINY! In the Eternal Emperor's service it is forbidden to even speak the word. To join an insurgency is a firing-squad offense. So, when the crewmembers of the Flame turn traitor and steal an entire space train of Imperium X - the second most valuable element in the Empire — and threaten to sell it to the Emperor's enemies, the Emperor only has one option . . . to send in his best assassin and dirty trickster: Sten! This thrilling new Sten adventure builds on the classic 8-volume series created by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch. Views: 57
Blind magistrate Sir John Fielding investigates corruption and murder in the seaside town of Deal, which has become a haven for smugglers. Views: 57
Grace Farrell is a genius scientist first, a woman a distant second – until she meets Logan Sutherland. The self-made millionaire is wickedly sexy, and with him, Grace learns a new lesson – how it feels to want a man. Logan has his roving eye on Grace from the moment she steps onto his tropical island. But when he discovers she's there under false pretenses, he orders her to leave. Faced with her refusal, the cynical bachelor works it all to his advantage. He'll let her stay – in his bed! But will one night be enough? Views: 57
Actress Jessica Randal has been incapacitated by a broken leg, and both she and her husband of eight weeks, author Matthew Selby, think they will have a month of tranquility and convalescence when they rent Hinckley cottage near the rustic English village of Westridge. But a demented rapist is stalking the town, striking quickly, savagely and often, and always adding his own macabre touch to the act by forcing his terrified victims to recite nursery rhymes. When the body of Freda Cowley, missing owner of Hinckley cottage, is discovered with a nursery rhyme tucked into her pocket, it becomes apparent that the rapist is also a murderer, and the community, populated with well-meaning, sharp-eyed and astute citizens, draws together for support and protection and tries to make sure that Jessica, housebound and helpless, has someone with her when Matthew is out of town. Jessica is indeed at risk, for several bizarre incidents have drawn suspicion to her husband, and clues suggest she is next on the murderer's list. Fraser (A Shroud for Delilah has added a distracting and meaningless romantic subplot, but the book remains, till the end, a taut and truly shocking story Views: 57
Caroline Clemmons, THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE. Cenora Rose O’Neill knows her father arranged the marriage trap for Dallas McClintock but she’d do anything to protect her family. Wounded rescuing Cenora from kidnappers, rancher Dallas learns his wife has a silly superstition for everything. But passion-filled nights with her make up for her annoying habits and family. Carra Copelin, CODE OF HONOR. Graeme McAlister returned home to discover why his foster brother supposedly overdosed on morphine and crashed a company jet. When Graeme McAlister comes back to McTiernan, TX and stirs up widow Maggie Benning’s old memories and feelings, can she overcome past pain to accept the a new love in her life?Geri Foster, OUT OF THE SHADOWS. Falcon Securities Agent Brody Hawke sees the world from a tilted angle. A.J., who saved Brody’s life, is captured and diplomats are getting nowhere in his rescue. Brody takes over even though he knows his impetuous actions will ruin his career. CIA agent Kate Stone’s life is torn apart when Brody kidnaps her. When she and Brody reach A.J., they learn the situation is more serious and far-reaching than they’d imagined. Brody, Kate and Falcon Securities must rescue A.J. and stop the assassination of the President of the USA. Will Brody and Kate discover love along the way?Kathy Ivan, LOSING CASSIE. Welcome to Destiny's Desire Lodge, where The Fates manipulate and the Fate-Keeper battles to unite predestined souls. The arrival of a mysterious letter draws Jake Stone to Destiny's Desire. Cassie Daniels has been running for seven long years. To find happiness she must face past evil. When Fate and Destiny collide . . . can Love survive?Paty Jager, SECRETS OF A MAYAN MOON. Doctor of Anthropology, Isabella Mumphrey, is about to lose her university job. Her mentor’s request for her assistance on a Guatemalan dig is the opportunity she’s been seeking. DEA agent Tino Kosta, is deep undercover as a tracker and jungle guide. Isabella’s appearance heats his Latin blood, taking him on a dangerous detour that could leave them both casualties of the jungle.Anna Jeffrey, SWEET RETURN. When Dalton Parker is summoned home to handle a family crisis, the last thing he expects is a prime pasture of his family’s ranch taken over by stinking chickens. The explanation is Joanna Walsh, his mother’s best friend. He can’t keep from admiring Joanna’s caring nature and common sense, not to mention her great body. The dumbest thing he could do is try to lure her into his bed, but he’s never been smart when it comes to women.DeLaine Roberts, TWO SIDES OF A HEARTBEAT. After a beautiful proposal, Dr. Grayson Brooks pleads with his fiance', Alexandra Morrison, not to get on the plane. Once the plane is in the air, events turn their lives upside down. Secrets and the past once again haunt both families. Alexandra is so close to having it all: a baby, a gorgeous husband, and a family united. But is she strong enough to fight for what she wants? Jacquie Rogers, SLEIGHT OF HEART. Starched-up Lexie Campbell, more comfortable with neat and tidy numbers than messy emotions, must find the man who ruined her little sister and make him marry her. When his lookalike brother Burke appears, she greets him with a gun and forces him to help her. Smooth-dealing Burke O’Shaughnessy, riverboat gambler and prestidigitator, must find his brother Patrick to claim the family fortune. But when Lexie shows an astounding talent for counting cards and calculating odds, he figures she might be useful after all. Can he resist the queen of hearts?Beth Trissel, SOMEWHERE MY LOVE. Two hundred years ago Captain Cole Wentworth was murdered in his chamber where his portrait still hangs. Presently the estate is a family owned museum run by Will Wentworth. As spirit-sensitive tour guide Julia Morrow begins to remember the events of Cole's death, she must convince Will that history is repeating, and he has the starring role in the tragedy. The blade is about to fall. Views: 57
