Introducing the Continental Op—legendary hardboiled sleuth—in the first of seven short-story collections featuring Dashiell Hammett's infamous detective The house is soaked with gasoline, and it takes only a spark for it to be engulfed in flames. As the ruins smolder, the case-hardened operative from the Continental Detective Agency is the one person determined to untangle the tough questions: Who tossed the match and why? Was it an angry neighbor, a disgruntled servant, or the old man in the window who was seen giving one last look at the world before the fire consumed him? In the wreckage of the ruined house, the Continental Op will find that nothing burns hotter than greed. "Arson Plus" is the story that introduced the world to the Continental Op, the nameless detective whom Dashiell Hammett described as "a little man going forward day after day through mud and blood and death and deceit—as callous and brutal and cynical as... Views: 50
Although headstrong Margarita was mesmerized by Carlos Caballero's fearless courage, she wasn't about to bow down to "any" man. But the temptress in her yearned to surrender to her ardent suitor's sizzling seduction. Now, with a murderous band of criminals hot on their trail, the beautiful secret spy struggled with the contradictory emotions Carlos's fierce protectiveness stirred in her. How was she supposed to choose between sworn duty...and unrelenting desire? Views: 50
From the authors of the "excellent" Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries: Captain Heimrich discovers a fire is a smoke screen for murder (TheNew Yorker). Capt. M. L. Heimrich of the New York State Police may not have the flash of hard-boiled city detectives, but there's no lead the intrepid investigator won't follow until his every hunch is satisfied . . . Captain Heimrich expects little excitement when he attends the Van Brunt town meeting while visiting his niece and her husband. But when the assembly is cut short due to a raging fire, things get quite exciting indeed. Half the attendees rush out to fulfill their duties as volunteer firefighters, and the rest follow to see the spectacle of a firehouse ablaze. The flames rage, burning the building to the ground, but it's not until the next day that the body of town supervisor Orville Phipps is found in the charred ruins. While it all looks like a tragic accident,... Views: 50
From Library JournalBrandon Martus is a confused young man struggling to cope with his unresolved grief over his sister's death and his father's paralysis. Then Martus meets neurobiologist Sarah Winerraub, who is performing research into parapsychology at the Moran Research Institute in town. Winerraub believes Martus has extrasensory abilities and coerces him into participating in her research. She is at first thrilled when he shows intense psychic abilities. Soon, however, both Martus and Winerraub find themselves in a fight between good and evil. Myers's (Blood of Heaven, Zondervan, 1996) exciting thriller pits the supernatural against the power of true faith and raises some interesting questions about the power of the unknown. A strong choice.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the AuthorBill Myers is the best-selling author of Blood of Heaven, McGee and Me!, The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle, Forbidden Doors, Christ B.C., and Journeys to Fayrah. He is a writer and director whose work has won over forty national and international awards and whose books and videos have sold over three million copies Views: 50
When a breakup via cupcake threatens to crumble their friend's life for good, Mel and Angie race to solve the murder as this New York Times bestselling series continues... Love is in the air at Fairy Tale Cupcakes as Angie prepares for her wedding, but co-owner, Mel, is preparing for a breakup. Her old friend, Diane Earnest, is dumping her fiancé after discovering he's only marrying her for her money. She wants Mel to personally deliver a batch of caramel breakup cupcakes to the louse and give her a play-by-play of his reaction. When Mel finally tracks the man down, the look on his face isn't the reaction she was expecting: he's dead. After the police arrive and see the incriminating cupcakes, Diane becomes their prime suspect. If she hopes to taste freedom again, Mel and Angie must make sure the real killer gets their just desserts... Views: 50
Winner of the 2011 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime NovelIn Middle East lore the Debba is a mythical Arab hyena that can turn into a man who lures Jewish children away from their families to teach them the language of the beasts. To the Arabs he is a heroic national symbol; to the Jews he is a terrorist. To David Starkman, “The Debba” is a controversial play, written by his father the war hero, and performed only once, in Haifa in 1946, causing a massive riot. By 1977, David is living in Canada, having renounced his Israeli citizenship and withdrawn from his family, haunted by persistent nightmares about his catastrophic turn as a military assassin for Israel. Upon learning of his father’s gruesome murder, he returns to his homeland for what he hopes will be the final time. Back in Israel, David discovers that his father's will demands he stage the play within forty-five days of his death, and though he is reluctant to comply, the authorities’ evident relief at his refusal convinces him he must persevere. With his father’s legacy on the line, David is forced to reimmerse himself in a life he thought he’d escaped for good.The heart-stopping climax shows that nothing in Israel is as it appears, and not only are the sins of the fathers revisited upon the sons, but so are their virtues—and the latter are more terrible still. Disguised as a breathtaking thriller, Avner Mandelman’s novel reveals Israel’s double soul, its inherent paradoxes, and its taste for both art and violence. The riddle of the Debba—the myth, the play, and the novel— is nothing less than the tangled riddle of Israel itself.Amazon.com ReviewNecessary Evil and Necessary Hypocrisy: An Essay by Avner MandelmanNecessary evil is a cost of civilized life. This is a theme that runs through much of my work, since all societies have dirty jobs that must be done, if society is to survive. But what if some truly necessary jobs--secret assassinations, blackmailing of spies’ kin, physical interrogations--are also immoral? So immoral that society cannot acknowledge their existence even to itself? Who shall do those jobs, and what should happen to the doers? This is one of the most incendiary topics an author can choose, because it forces his readers to confront their own hypocrisy. It’s also the topic John le Carré embraced.I still remember the electric shock I felt as I encountered George Smiley for the first time, when I was still living in Israel in the 1960s. Here, finally, was reality as I witnessed it daily, both in war and in life constantly shadowed by war. No other words I’d read spoke of this terrible dilemma more eloquently and disturbingly. It was the part of life essentially unfit for print. Because I had met many Smileys, I instantly knew that this is what I had always wanted to write about but never knew it was allowed. Le Carré, however, did not shy away from the question of necessary evil, and his novels thereby transcend genre spy fiction. He succeeds, I believe, because of two virtues: First, of course, is his immense talent. But second, and not least, is his enormous sympathy both for his protagonist and for the reader. In le Carré novels, George Smiley and his ilk are those who do the morally dirty jobs on which we all depend. From Smiley’s first appearance in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, le Carré shows, often to the reader’s discomfort, that the rest of us can afford our clean consciences only because such fallen pragmatists are ready to sacrifice their own. And this is precisely why, after the fallen have committed their immoral deeds, they must by necessity be publicly punished for them: so the rest of us can truthfully insist we would never have condoned such things. And this, in a nutshell, is the moral dilemma of modern times. Whereas warriors of old have been called to sacrifice their lives, modern warriors, besides being asked to risk death, are also asked to sacrifice their sanity and even their honor. But unlike their old-time brethren, modern warriors must sacrifice their all without even the comfort that public recognition can provide. This, to me, is the essence of le Carré's Smiley, a modern shadow warrior "possessing the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin" (A Murder of Quality). He sees reality cold and clear, and stands ready to do what must be done--and be pilloried for it--while others around him conveniently pretend it’s not necessary at all. He is a new type of modern tragic hero, whose essential tragedy lies in the fact that his soul-destroying acts cannot even be recognized, or told. But because le Carré did tell, then so, by and by, could I.From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Sharp, biting prose distinguishes this first novel from Israeli author Mandelman (Talking to the Enemy, a story collection). In 1977, David Starkman returns from selfimposed exile in Canada to his native Israel after learning of the murder of his warhero father, Isser, the owner of a shoe shore. The killer stabbed Isser in the heart with one of Isser's own knives, then mutilated his body. Isser's will includes an unusual provision--that within 45 days, a controversial play he'd written, The Debba, whose title refers to "an enigmatic Arab hyena that can walk like a man" and which had only been performed once, three decades earlier, be staged. David, who once belonged to an elite Israeli army unit responsible for carrying out targeted assassinations in "times of non-war," decides to stick around to fulfill his father's request, despite opposition from those who believe the play is subversive. The author deftly blends a murder mystery with a nuanced examination of the intransigent Israeli-Arab conflict. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Views: 50
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Donna Leons mastery of plot, her understanding of Venetian manners and mores, and above all her philosophical, unfailingly decent protagonist have made the Commissario Brunetti mysteries bestsellers around the world, including an ever-growing American audience. In "The Death of Faith," Brunetti comes to the aid of a young nursing sister who is leaving her convent following the unexpected death of five patients. At first Brunettis inquiries reveal nothing amiss, and he wonders whether the nun is simply creating a smoke screen to justify abandoning her vocation. But perhaps she has stumbled onto something very real and very sinistersomething that puts her life in imminent danger. Views: 50
In the future, computers rule the world. The Net Force was formed to protect America from any and all criminal activity on-line. But there is a group of teenage whiz kids who sometines 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… The virtual Dominion of Sarxos is the most popular wargame on the Net. Thousands flock nightly to log on and lead their fantasy armies into battle. But something sinister is going on. Some players' computers are destroyed by burglars. Another player is attacked and beaten. One thing is certain — someone in the Dominion of Sarxos is taking the game very seriously. Net Force Explorers Megan O'Malley and Leif Anderson are asked to investigate. They play the game. They know the world. But nothing can prepare them for the danger when the real game begins… Views: 50
In Donald E. Westlake's classic caper novels, the bad get better, the good slide a bit, and Lord help anyone caught between a thief named John Dortmunder and the current object of his attention. However, being caught red-handed is inevitable in Dortmunder's next production, when a TV producer convinces this thief and his merry gang to do a reality show that captures their next score. The producer guarantees to find a way to keep the show from being used in evidence against them. They're dubious, but the pay is good, so they take him up on his offer. A mock-up of the OJ bar is built in a warehouse down on Varick Street. The ground floor of that building is a big open space jumbled with vehicles used in TV world, everything from a news truck and a fire engine to a hansom cab (without the horse). As the gang plans their next move with the cameras rolling, Dortmunder and Kelp sneak onto the roof of their new studio to organize a private enterprise. It will take an ingenious plan to outwit viewers glued to their television sets, but Dortmunder is nothing if not persistent, and he's determined to end this shoot with money in his pockets. Views: 50
Ray Hockaday plays center for the Medicine Hat Tigers. He's spent his hockey career hiding something from the world. When his new Russian roommate shows up, Ray is assigned to help Vlad get used to life in Canada. What Ray doesn't know is that Vlad is also hiding something. And that secret could get both of them killed. Views: 50
