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<p>Have you ever wished you could walk away from it all? Not for a day, not for a week, but for good. Claire's older brother Daniel has disappeared. He leaves work one Friday afternoon, shortly before Christmas, and vanishes into thin air. Married, successful, rich, there seems no reason why he would abandon his life. Has he been killed? Has he been kidnapped? Or has he just had enough? Set between London and Miami, this is the story of a family with ghosts to bury. It opens on the day of the Challenger shuttle explosion at Cape Canaveral; a tragic moment that rips this family apart and sets Daniel's disappearance in motion some 18 years later. In the midst of it all sits Claire, who knows Daniel best. She becomes convinced that she knows where her older brother is and sets off on a journey to find him. Part mystery, part love story, part comic road trip, this is the story of a woman unravelling her family's secrets and healing their wounds, while finding a route to real love.</p>


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<div><p>One of the most revered novelists of our time—a brilliant chronicler of Native-American life—Louise Erdrich returns to the territory of her bestselling, Pulitzer Prize finalist <em>The Plague of Doves</em> with <em>The Round House</em>, transporting readers to the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. It is an exquisitely told story of a boy on the cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of a terrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family.</p><p>Riveting and suspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator of <em>Love Medicine</em>, <em>The Beet Queen</em>, and <em>The Bingo Palace</em>, Erdrich’s <em>The Round House</em> is a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction—at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture.</p><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Likely to be dubbed the Native American <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em>, Louise Erdrich’s moving, complex, and surprisingly uplifting new novel tells of a boy’s coming of age in the wake of a brutal, racist attack on his mother. Drawn from real-life statistics about racially inspired attacks on our country’s reservations, this tale is forceful but never preachy, thanks in large part to Erdrich’s understated but glorious prose and her apparent belief in the redemptive power of storytelling. --<em>Sara Nelson</em></p><h3>Review</h3><p>“Erdrich threads a gripping mystery and multilayered portrait of a community through a deeply affecting coming-of-age novel.” (Karen Holt, O, the Oprah Magazine )<br></p><p>“A sweeping, suspenseful outing from this prizewinning, generation-spanning chronicler of her Native American people, the Ojibwe of the northern plains...a sumptuous tale.” (Elle )<br></p><p>“A stunning and devastating tale of hate crimes and vengeance…Erdrich covers a vast spectrum of history, cruel loss, and bracing realizations. A preeminent tale in an essential American saga.” (Donna Seaman, Booklist, Starred Review of THE ROUND HOUSE )<br></p><p>“The story pulses with urgency as she [Erdrich] probes the moral and legal ramifications of a terrible act of violence.” (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review of THE ROUND HOUSE )<br></p><p>“Erdrich skillfully makes Joe’s coming-of-age both universal and specific…the story is also ripe with detail about reservation life, and with her rich cast of characters, Erdrich provides flavor, humor and depth. Joe’s relationship with his father, Bazil, a judge, has echoes of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.” (Library Journal, Starred Review of THE ROUND HOUSE )<br></p><p>“Moving, complex, and surprisingly uplifting…likely to be dubbed the Native American TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” (Parade, Fall's Best Books )<br></p><p>“Riveting…One of Erdrich’s most suspenseful novels.... It vividly portrays both the deep tragedy and crazy comedy of life.” (BookPage, Cover/Feature Review )<br></p><p>“A gripping mystery with a moral twist: Revenge might be the harshest punishment, but only for the victims. A-” (Entertainment Weekly )<br></p><p>“THE ROUND HOUSE is filled with stunning language that recalls shades of Faulkner, Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison. Deeply moving, this novel ranks among Erdrich’s best work, and it is impossible to forget.” (USA Today )<br></p><p>“Erdrich never shields the reader or Joe from the truth…She writes simply, without flourish.” (Philadelphia Inquirer )<br></p><p>“An artfully balanced mystery, thriller and coming-of-age story…this novel will have you reading at warp speed to see what happens next.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune )<br></p><p>“Emotionally compelling…Joe is an incredibly endearing narrator, full of urgency and radiant candor…the story he tells transforms a sad, isolated crime into a revelation about how maturity alters our relationship with our parents, delivering us into new kinds of love and pain.” (Ron Charles, Washington Post )<br></p><p>“Erdrich’s bittersweet contemplation of love and friendship, morality and generativity…result in a tender, tough coming-of-age tale.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer )<br></p><p>“…a powerful human story…By boring deeply into one person’s darkest episode, Erdrich hits the bedrock truth about a whole community.” (Maria Russo, New York Times Book Review )<br></p><p>“Each new Erdrich novel adds new layers of pathos and comedy, earthiness and spiritual questing, to her priceless multigenerational drama. THE ROUND HOUSE is one of her best -- concentrated, suspenseful, and morally profound.” (Jane Ciabattari, Boston Globe )<br></p><p>“THE ROUND HOUSE is a stunning piece of architecture. It is carefully, lovingly, disarmingly constructed. Even the digressions demand strict attention.” (Susan Salter Reynolds, Newsday )<br></p><p>“One of the most pleasurable aspects of Erdrich’s writing…is that while her narratives are loose and sprawling, the language is always tight and poetically compressed…In the end there’s nothing, not the arresting plot or the shocking ending of THE ROUND HOUSE, that resonates as much as the characters.” (San Francisco Chronicle )<br></p><p>“Wise and suspenseful…Erdrich’s voice as well as her powers of insight and imagination fully infuse this novel…She writes so perceptively and brilliantly about the adolescent passion for justice that one is transported northward to her home territory.” (Chicago Tribune )<br></p><p>“Joe may be one of Erdrich’s best-drawn characters; he’s conflicted, feisty one moment, scared and disappointed the next. THE ROUND HOUSE will inevitably draw comparisons to Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD…” (Miami Herald )<br></p><p>“Louise Erdrich’s prose is spare, precise, smooth as polished stone. Her books are rich with literary muscle.” -Austin American-Statesman (Austin American-Statesman )<br></p><p>“The story draws the reader unstoppably page by page.” (Seattle Times )<br></p><p>“While Erdrich is known as a brilliant chronicler of the American Indian experience, her insights into our family, community, and spiritual lives transcend any category.” (Reader's Digest )<br></p><p>“The novel showcases her [Erdrich’s] extraordinary ability to delineate the ties of love, resentment, need, duty and sympathy that bind families together…[a] powerful novel.” (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times )<br></p><p>“Erdrich has given us a multitude of narrative voices and stories. Never before has she given us a novel with a single narrative voice so smart, rich and full of surprises as she has in The Round House…and, I would argue, her best so far.” (NPR/All Thing's Considered )<br></p><p>“Haunting…a bittersweet coming-of-age tale…tender but unsentimental and buoyed by subtle wit” (People )<br></p><p>“Poignant and surprisingly funny, it’s the acclaimed writer’s best book yet.” (O, the Oprah Magazine, "Our Favorite Reads of 2012" ) </p></div>


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<div><p>In her highly intriguing new novel, Louise Marley masterfully intertwines the past and present with a mystery surrounding one of the world's greatest composers. . .</p><p>The Brahms Deception</p><p>Music scholar Frederica Bannister is thrilled when she beats her bitter rival, Kristian North, for the chance to be transferred back to 1861 Tuscany to observe firsthand the brilliant Johannes Brahms. Frederica will not only get to see Brahms in his prime; she'll also try to solve a mystery that has baffled music experts for years.</p><p>But once in Tuscany, Frederica's grip on reality quickly unravels. She instantly falls under Brahms' spell—and finds herself envious of his secret paramour, the beautiful, celebrated concert pianist Clara Schumann. In a single move, Frederica makes a bold and shocking decision that changes everything. . .</p><p>When Frederica fails to return home, it is Kristian North who is sent back in time to Tuscany to find her. There, Kristian discovers that Frederica indeed holds the key to unraveling Brahms' greatest secret. But now, Frederica has a dark secret of her own—one that puts everyone around her in devastating peril. . .</p><p><br></p></div>


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<div><p>The March family has no money for expensive presents for their four daughters, and the girls give away their Christmas breakfast to a poor family. But there are no happier girls than Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. They miss their father who is away because of the Civil War. But they try hard to be good, so that he will be proud of his little women when he comes home. This heartwarming story of family life has been popular for over a hundred years.</p></div>


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<p>It is Germany near the end of World War II, the Allies have landed and members of the Vichy France government have been sequestered in a labyrinthine castle, replete with secret passages and subterranean hideaways. The group of 1,400 terrified officials, their wives, mistresses, flunkies, and Nazi "protectors"including Cèline, his wife, their cat, and an actor friendattempt to postpone the postwar reckoning under the constant threat of air raids and starvation. With an undercurrent of sensual excitement, Cèline paints an almost unbearably vivid picture of human society and the human condition.<br>Called by Atlantic Monthly "the blackest of the black" of Cèline's novels and hailed by the Washington Post Book World for its "intense sympathy with individual human beings," Castle to Castle is brilliantly rendered in Ralph Manheim's translation, for which he won the National Book Award.</p>


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<h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Grade 8 Up—Alton Richards is resigned to spending a slow summer on his own after his girlfriend leaves him for his best friend and he finds himself with no money and no job. Unfortunately, his mother insists that he become his blind great-uncle's chauffeur and cardturner at local bridge tournaments. Though the 17-year-old has only met Lester Trapp on a few occasions, his mother hopes that this connection will inspire the wealthy old man to write the family into his will. Alton reluctantly agrees, even though he knows nothing about bridge and has no interest in learning the game. He meets Toni Castaneda at the tournaments and soon discovers that he's not the only long-lost relative intent on winning over Trapp and his inheritance. What transpires is an intriguing glimpse into a crazy family full of secrets and unusual quirks. The characters are well limned, and the narrative is laced with Sachar's trademark wry humor. Most teens have very little knowledge about bridge, a fact that Alton acknowledges several times throughout the novel. At times, the story line becomes thick with technical game descriptions, though he does offer an option to skip these sections by providing a symbol to indicate more in-depth card instructions. This well-written novel contains a rewarding intergenerational friendship and a sweetly appealing romance in the making. Nonetheless it may require an additional nudge to hook readers. It's a nudge worth giving for motivated teens and those who enjoy Sachar's novels.—_Stephanie Malosh, Donoghue Elementary School, Chicago, IL_ <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> With his latest novel, the Newbery-winning author of Holes (1998) fulfills a need the world probably didn't even know it had: the great teen bridge novel. Alton Richard's great-uncle Lester Trapp is rich and ailing, a combo that leads Alton's parents to hatch a plan for the teen to cozy up to the old man and carve out a chunk of inheritance. Though blind, Trapp is a brilliant, world-class bridge player and needs someone to read him his cards and make his plays. Enter Alton, who wouldn't begin to know how to decipher questions like “One banana, pass, pass, two no-trump. Is that unusual?” But he withstands the constant barbs from his irascible uncle and grows more intrigued by the game (in no small part due to the cute, kind-of-crazy girl who also plays). Sachar liberally doles out detailed commentary on the basics and then nuances of the game, and in a nod to the famously dull Moby-Dick chapter on the minutiae of whaling, a little whale image appears when the bridge talk is about to get deep so readers can skip right ahead to a pithy wrap-up. But don't be fooled: it is astonishing how Sachar can make blow-by-blow accounts of bridge not only interesting but exciting, treating each play like a clue to unravel the riddle of each hand. An obvious windfall for smart and puzzle-minded teens, this is a great story to boot, with genuine characters (save the scheming parents) and real relationships, balanced by casual, confident storytelling. Grades 9-12. --Ian Chipman </p>


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<p class="description">The "inspirational" and "extraordinary" memoir of one of the most courageous of the greatest generation, Louis Zamperini: Olympian, WWII Japanese POW and survivor.  A juvenile delinquent, a world class NCAA miler, a 1936 Olympian, a WWII bombardier: Louis Zamperini had a fuller than most, when it changed in an instant. On May 27, 1943, his B–24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Louis and two other survivors found a raft amid the flaming wreckage and waited for rescue. Instead, they drifted two thousand miles for forty–seven days. Their only food: two shark livers and three raw albatross. Their only water: sporadic rainfall. Their only companions: hope and faith–and the ever–present sharks. On the forty–seventh day, mere skeletons close to death, Zamperini and pilot Russell Phillips spotted land–and were captured by the Japanese. Thus began more than two years of torture and humiliation as a prisoner of war. Zamperini was threatened with beheading, subject to medical experiments, routinely beaten, hidden in a secret interrogation facility, starved and forced into slave labour, and was the constant victim of a brutal prison guard nicknamed the Bird–a man so vicious that the other guards feared him and called him a psychopath. Meanwhile, the Army Air Corps declared Zamperini dead and President Roosevelt sends official condolences to his family, who never gave up hope that he was alive. Somehow, Zamperini survived and he returned home a hero. The celebration was short–lived. He plunged into drinking and brawling and the depths of rage and despair. Nightly, the Bird's face leered at him in his dreams. It would take years, but with the love of his wife and the power of faith, he was able to stop the nightmares and the drinking.  A stirring memoir from one of the greatest of the "Greatest Generation," DEVIL AT MY HEELS is a living document about the brutality of war, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the power of forgiveness.</p>


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<p class="description">From the author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller The Female Brain, here is the eagerly awaited follow-up book that demystifies the puzzling male brain. Dr. Louann Brizendine, the founder of the first clinic in the country to study gender differences in brain, behavior, and hormones, turns her attention to the male brain, showing how, through every phase of life, the "male reality" is fundamentally different from the female one. Exploring the latest breakthroughs in male psychology and neurology with her trademark accessibility and candor, she reveals that the male brain:     *is a lean, mean, problem-solving machine. Faced with a personal problem, a man will use his analytical brain structures, not his emotional ones, to find a solution.      *thrives under competition, instinctively plays rough and is obsessed with rank and hierarchy.      *has an area for sexual pursuit that is 2.5 times larger than the female brain, consuming him with sexual fantasies about female body parts.     *experiences such a massive increase in testosterone at puberty that he perceive others' faces to be more aggressive.The Male Brain finally overturns the stereotypes. Impeccably researched and at the cutting edge of scientific knowledge, this is a book that every man, and especially every woman bedeviled by a man, will need to own.Praise for The Female Brain:"Louann Brizendine has done a great favor for every man who wants to understand the puzzling women in his life. A breezy and enlightening guide to women and a must-read for men."—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence</p>


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<div><p>As twenty-year NYPD veteran Joe Rizzo edges closer to retirement, things only seem to get harder: a new partner, a promise to his wife to quit smoking, and the most baffling case of his career—a murder investigation.<br></p><p>The victim, Robert Lauria, was practically a hermit and was dead ten days before anyone found him. Fired from his job as a shoe salesman weeks ago, he rarely left his apartment and had no visitors except his cousin, who says she hardly knew him. So who strangled him late one night as he made tea in his kitchen? And could there be a connection to the headline-grabbing murder of a Broadway producer a day earlier?<br></p><p>Armed with more street smarts than the FBI agents assigned to the more glamorous case, Rizzo and his new partner, Priscilla Jackson, are tasked with navigating the twin labyrinths of the case and NYPD politics in order to find the killer and bring him to justice.<br></p><p>Full of the sounds and sights of walking the beat in Bensonhurst, <em>Rizzo’s Fire</em> comes on the heels of Lou Manfredo’s acclaimed debut, <em>Rizzo’s War</em>, and brings the streets of Brooklyn to life in a way that no New York City crime novel has before.</p></div>


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<p class="description">So begins the chilling last testament of Gus Landor, a retired New York City police constable, whose numerous talents include code-breaking, riot control and the 'gloveless interrogation'. A young cadet has been found hanged at a military academy on the shores of the Hudson River. Before his body could be buried, however, it was stolen and his heart brutally carved out. Fearing a scandal, the top brass at West Point have summoned Landor to help catch the culprit, and keep his discoveries away from prying eyes. As Landor embarks on a thrilling adventure to solve the case, he uncovers a series of dark secrets and finds unlikely assistance in the form of a mischievous young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe. THE PALE BLUE EYE is a brilliantly atmospheric historical mystery, full of drama and unexpected twists. From the events of one seemingly ordinary afternoon, Louis Bayard conjures a tale as haunting as it is entertaining.</p>


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<p class="description">A crime caper in the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, this fast and funny debut is the story of "Shake" Bouchon, fresh out of prison and ready for life on the straight and narrow—well, maybe after *one* last job. . . .   When Charles "Shake" Bouchon, professional wheel man, walks out of prison after a three-year stretch for grand theft auto, he's got only two problems: he's too nice a guy for the life he's led and not nice enough for any other.   So he says yes when he's asked to run a simple errand for his former boss and lover, Alexandra Ilandryan, the formidable pakhan of the Armenian mob in Los Angeles. All Shake has to do is deliver a package to Las Vegas and pick up a briefcase.   Only the package turns out to be a wholesome young housewife named Gina whose husband has run afoul of Dick Moby, aka "The Whale," an unpleasant four-hundred-pound Vegas strip-club owner. Shake hates to think what's going to happen to Gina when he delivers her to The Whale, so in a move that's as noble as it is boneheaded, he decides to set her free.   Now Shake and Gina are on the run to Panama, hoping to unload the very valuable—and highly unusual—contents of The Whale's briefcase. Shake could end up a rich man, but first he'll have to outmaneuver two angry crime bosses, a murderous Armenian thug plagued by erectile superfunction, a former pro football player who blames Shake for his romantic woes, and a billionaire swindler with a flair for the theatrical. Not to mention, and not the least, Shake will need to survive his own heart, since he's going to discover that wholesome housewife Gina is even more intriguing, and a lot more complicated, than he ever imagined.   Full of blindsided double-crosses and hard shots to the head, Gutshot Straight is a tale of love, luck, and larceny against the odds.</p>


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Special Agent Kylie Donovan knows the evil that men do.  After her sister’s murder went unsolved, she decided to work undercover for the FBI. Now, posing as a college student, she hopes to track down an Internet predator who is murdering teenage girls.  Using herself as bait, Kylie is sure she can lure the killer out of the shadows…until her fascination with a drop-dead gorgeous cop threatens to blow her whole case.With a rock hard body and seductive smile, Lieutenant Perry Flynn is a hard man to ignore.  He makes it very clear that Kylie’s fierce attraction is mutual.  But Kylie can’t afford to let Perry cloud her judgment, especially when she begins to suspect that his dark obsession with the case runs deeper than it should.  Then, when disturbing new evidence points to a cop, Kylie wonders if her sinful thoughts about Perry have thrust her into the strong, sleek arms of a killer…


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<div><p class="description">WELCOME TO THE SECOND “GOLDEN AGE” OF SUPERHEROES AND HEROINES </p><p class="description">Superheroes have come a long way since the “Man of Steel” was introduced in 1938. This brilliant new collection features original stories and novellas from some of today’s most exciting voices in comics, science fiction, and fantasy. Each marvelously inventive tale shows us just how far our classic crusaders have evolved—and how the greatest of heroes are, much like ourselves, all too human. In “Call Her Savage,” MARJORIE M. LIU enters the dark heart of a fierce mythic heroine who is forced, by war, to live up to her own terrible legend. In “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too),” BILL WILLINGHAM presents a fully-realized vision of a universe where epic feats and tragic flaws have transformed the human race. In “Vacuum Lad,” STEPHEN BAXTER unveils the secret origins of the first true child of the space age—and disproves the theory that “nothing exists in a vacuum.” In “Head Cases,” PETER DAVID and KATHLEEN DAVID blast through the blogosphere to expose the secret longings of a Lonely Superhero Wife. In “The Non-Event,” MIKE CAREY removes the gag order on a super-thief named Lockjaw . . . and pries out a confession of life-altering events. Also includes stories by Mike Baron • Mark Chadbourn • Paul Cornell • Daryl Gregory • Joseph Mallozzi • James Maxey • Ian McDonald • Chris Roberson • Gail Simone • Matthew Sturges . . . and an introduction by Lou Anders, “one of the brightest and best of the new generation of science fiction editors</p></div>


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As the United States begins gearing up for war in the Middle East, twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, the Midwestern daughter of a gentleman hill farmer - his 'Keltjin potatoes' are justifiably famous - has come to a university town as a college student, her brain on fire with Chaucer, Sylvia Plath, Simone de Beauvoir. Between semesters, she takes a job as a part-time nanny. The family she works for seems both mysterious and glamorous to her, and although Tassie had once found children boring, she comes to care for, and to protect, their newly adopted little girl as her own. As the year unfolds and she is drawn deeper into each of these lives, her own life back home becomes ever more alien to her - her parents are frailer; her brother, aimless and lost in high school, contemplates joining the military. Tassie finds herself becoming more and more the stranger she felt herself to be, and as life and love unravel dramatically, even shockingly, she is forever changed.


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<div><p>Brady Talmadge was a cowboy with five unbreakable rules:</p><p><br>1) Never pick up a pretty hitchhiker<br>2) Avoid damsels in distress<br>3) Never order chili at a truck stop<br>4) Always trust your gut<br>5) Never tell a lie . . . </p><p>This is what happened when he broke all his rules . . . and got into a whole lot of trouble! </p><p>On the run from an arranged marriage, Princess Annabella of Monesta dons the guise of a hitchhiking cowgirl. But when she finds herself drenched, alone, and hungry, she has no choice but to trust the tall Texas horse whisperer who offers her a ride. He's like no one she's ever known—a strong sexy man who says just what he thinks. And when one wild kiss leaves her breathless, she quickly realizes she'll give up everything to spend a lifetime of night times in his arms. But how can there be happily-ever-after with palace guards hot on her trail?</p></div>


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<div><p>Ex-champion bull rider-turned-cutting-horse cowboy Joe Daniels isn't quite sure how he ended up sleeping in a horse trough wearing nothing but his Stetson and cowboy boots. But now he's wide-awake, and a citified woman is glaring down at him. His goal? Get rid of her ASAP. The obstacle? Fighting the attraction he feels toward the blond-haired filly with the big, vulnerable eyes.</p><p>When out-of-work wedding planner Mariah Callahan learns that her estranged father has left her a rundown ranch in Jubilee, she has no choice but to accept it. Her goal? Redeem her career by planning local weddings. The obstacle? One emotionally wounded, hard-living cowboy who stirs her guilt, her heartstrings, and her long-burned cowgirl roots.</p></div>


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<div><p>This is the third installment in "New York Times" bestselling author Lori Wilde's series set in "Jubilee, Texas", that gives readers a perfect present - a cowboy for Christmas!</p></div>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; ">Professional mercenary Dare Macintosh lives by one hard and fast rule: business should never be personal. If a cause appeals to him and the price is right, he'll take the mission he's offered. But then the lovely Molly Alexander asks him to help her track down the men who'd had her kidnapped—and for the first time, Dare's tempted to combine work with pleasure.</span></h3><p>Fiercely independent, Molly vows to trust no one until she's uncovered the truth. Could the enemy be her powerful estranged father? The ex-fiancé who still holds a grudge? Or the not-so-shy fan of her bestselling novels? As the danger heats up around them, the only anchor Molly has is Dare himself. But what she feels for him just might be the most frightening thing of all…. </p></div>


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<p class="description">A cop's craving to know more about the woman next door could prove fatal in the steamy new novel from New York Times best selling author Lori FosterAs the person responsible for taking down a brutal human trafficker, Alice Appleton fears retaliation at every turn. No one knows about her past, which is exactly how she prefers it…until the sexy cop next door comes knocking.Detective Reese Bareden thinks he knows what makes women tick, but his ever-elusive neighbor keeps him guessing like no other. Is his goal to unmask Alice's secrets? Or protect her from a dangerous new threat? One thing is certain: their chemistry is a time bomb waiting to explode. And with no one to trust but each other, Reese and Alice are soon drawn into a deadly maze of corruption, intrigue and desire—and into the line of fire….</p>


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<p>Cameron Winters is a freak. No one but her family knows that Cameron can read minds. When Lewis arrives, he tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a place where she meets other Mind Readers. But when the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs.</p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Loretta Lynn’s classic memoir tells the story of her early life in Butcher Holler, Kentucky, and her amazing rise to the top of the music industry.</span></h3><p>Born into deep poverty, married at thirteen, mother of six, and a grandmother by the time she was twenty-nine, Loretta Lynn went on to become one of the most prolific and influential songwriters and singers in modern country music. Here we see the determination and talent that led to her trailblazing career and made her the first woman to be named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association and the first woman to receive a gold record in country music. </p>

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<p>"Undeniably powerful, an enormously affecting and intensely human story."<br>--The Washington Post Book World<br>"A GUT-WRENCHING PIECE OF WORK. . . Carcaterra's graphic narrative grips like gunfire in a dark alley."<br>--The Atlanta Journal &amp; Constitution<br>"In his controversial memoir SLEEPERS, Carcaterra remembers harrowing months in the Wilkinson Home for Boys and the elaborate vengeance he and his friends exacted against the guards. He tells it all in spare, stylish prose . . . [with] relentless momentum and sheer drama. . . . SLEEPERS is a thriller, to be sure, but it is equally a wistful hymn to another age."<br>--The Washington Post Book World<br>"A TERRIFYING ACCOUNT OF BRUTALITY AND RETRIBUTION, searing in its emotional truth, peopled with murderers, sadists, and thugs, but biblical in its passion and scope."<br>--People<br>"SLEEPERS is so many things: a Dickensian portrait of coming of age in Hell's Kitchen, a terrifying and heartbreaking account of the brutalization of youth, a shocking--and disturbingly satisfying--climax worthy of the finest suspense novel. A brilliant, troubling, important book."<br>--Jonathan Kellerman<br>"COMPELLING."<br>--USA Today</p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Jacques GuÉrin was a prominent businessman at the head of his family's successful perfume company, but his real passion was for rare books and literary manuscripts. From the time he was a young man, he frequented the antiquarian bookshops of Paris in search of lost, forgotten treasures. The ultimate prize? Anything from the hands of Marcel Proust.</span></h3><p>GuÉrin identified with Proust more deeply than with any other writer, and when illness brought him by chance under the care of Marcel's brother, Dr. Robert Proust, he saw it as a remarkable opportunity. Shamed by Marcel's extravagant writings, embarrassed by his homosexuality, and offended by his disregard for bourgeois respectability, his family had begun to deliberately destroy and sell their inheritance of his notebooks, letters, manuscripts, furni-ture, and personal effects. Horrified by the destruction, and consumed with desire, GuÉrin ingratiated himself with Marcel's heirs, placating them with cash and kindness in exchange for the writer's priceless, rare material remains. After years of relentless persuasion, GuÉrin was at last rewarded with a highly personal prize, one he had never dreamed of possessing, a relic he treasured to the end of his long life: Proust's overcoat. </p><p><em>Proust's Overcoat</em> introduces a cast of intriguing and unforgettable characters, each inspired and tormented by Marcel, his writing, and his orphaned objects. Together they reveal a curious and compelling tale of lost and found, of common things and uncommon desires. </p></div>


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<p class="description">The Motor City is no place for virgins. Or, for gentlemen, either. This is a city steeped in booms and busts, the sprawling creation of a tinkerer who built a motorized buggy in a shed, the product of waves of immigrant factory workers, the desperate poor, and politicians practiced in the art of corruption. In a little tiny office in the heart of this city, Amos Walker holds on to his dignity, his memories, and his way of doing business. Then he gets a case that brings all three together in a collision that would do the Ford Freeway proud.A slick art expert hires Walker to bodyguard a blackmail transaction involving a priceless work: a long-missing piece of fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript called The Hours of the Virgin. The exchange is set for a downtown porn theater. And it all might have gone according to plan if a beautiful woman with mismatched eyes hadn't sat down next to Walker in the dark, while someone tried to kill him from behind...Once again, Estleman unleashes the hippest mystery prose in the business, as he turns a garish big-city crime tale into another work of art and another luminous chapter in the saga of Amos Walker, Detroit private eye.</p>


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<p>On screen, Sandy Broderick is everything a newscaster is supposed to be. He has a deep voice, a ten-thousand-watt smile, and the God-given ability to banter with weathermen until his ears fall off. But when the cameras turn off, he has a private problem: His twenty-year old son, Bud, has disappeared. Amos Walker is going to find him. The boy and his junkie girlfriend are both gone, and Broderick is terrified—not for his son, but for his career. The station is about to do an exposé on drugs in Detroit, and the newscaster doesn’t want his boy’s addict girlfriend to get in the way of his Pulitzer. This new client may be sleazy, but Walker handles scum for a living, and it’s time to go to work. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Loren D. Estleman including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.<br></p>


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<p class="description">AN AMOS WALKER MYSTERY Spring has come to Detroit's Sugartown enclave, and Amos Walker would like to feel kindly toward the human race. Unfortunately, his first case of the new season immediately leads him into trouble among the Polish settlers of neighboring Hamtramck, when old Martha Evancek hires him to look for her missing grandson. But even before Walker gets a chance to investigate, he's presented with a second case: an eminent Russian novelist who fears that someone is out to kill him. Walker knows the two cases are connected, but finding that link might cost him his life.</p>


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<p class="description">The year is 1890. A ship is discovered adrift off the English coast, its crew missing, its captain lashed to the wheel, and its only passenger is a sinister black dog. This impenetrable mystery is clearly a case for the inimitable Sherlock Holmes, but for the first time in his illustrious career the great detective is baffled. Clearly the crew has been murdered and dumped, but what can account for the captain's expression of imponderable terror and his acute loss of blood, or the ship's strange cargo: fifty boxes of earth? The game is afoot, and Holmes, aided as ever by the faithful Dr. Watson, finds himself on the trail of no mortal enemy, but the arch-vampire himself-Count Dracula!</p>


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<p class="description">"If I see my name in tomorrow's paper yours will be in the next edition.Bordered in black." Marla Bernstein is a pretty, dark-haired teenager? who also happens to be the ward of Ben Morningstar-a semi-retired mobster who prefers to keep family business out of the newspapers.When Marla suddenly disappears, the gang boss is forced to call in private eve Amos Walker, who quickly learns his new employer doesn't take "no" for an answer when he offers a job opportunity. Unfortunately, the only clue to Marla's whereabouts is a pornographic photograph that clearly proves that she's become part of a world that disgusts even her criminal guardian. .The photo, in turn leads Walker into the seedy world of Detroit's porn shops and blue movies, where Marla's trail becomes even murkier?.and increasingly more dangerous to follow. .As first cases go, Walker could have certainly asked for one less challenging?...You can share your thoughts about Loren D. Estleman's Motor City Blue in the new ibooks virtual readers' group at www.ibooksinc.com.</p>


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<p><strong>When a client disappears before she can give him his assignment, Detroit PI Amos Walker must hunt down a woman he barely knows</strong> After a tour in Vietnam and several years working the streets of Detroit as a private investigator, Amos Walker has seen a lot. But he’s never encountered anything quite like his newest assignment. Ann Maringer, an aging stripper hard at work at one of the city’s many low-grade joints, hires him to find a missing person: herself. She expects to disappear any day now, she says, and she wants to be found. He goes to her apartment the next day, hoping for more information, but Ann was true to her word and has disappeared completely, leaving behind nothing but a carton of Bel-Airs and a dead man on the floor. Unshaken by the body or the circumstances, Walker sets out to find his client. After all, she paid in advance. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Loren D. Estleman including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.<br></p>


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<div><p>Ex-Detroit Tigers pitcher Darius Fuller wants Amos Walker to break off his daughter's engagement to Hilary Bairn, a man he believes is after her two million dollar trust fund. But then Fuller's daughter is found dead in Bairn's apartment, and what seems like a simple case of greed and murder soon uncovers a twisted web of corruption.</p><p>Walker discovers that Bairn had made many enemies before he disappeared, and continuing his investigation puts Walker on the wrong side of all of them. On the run from crooked cops and vile gangsters, and at every turn farther from the truth than when he started, this case will take all of Walker’s cunning to survive and will prove to be his greatest trial ever! </p></div>


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<div><div>Thirty years ago Loren D. Estleman introduced the world to his Detroit detective Amos Walker. In celebration of this anniversary, Estleman has collected every previously published Walker short story in this massive volume, including a brand-new story never before published!</div></div>


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<p class="description">"I thought I'd never see her again. But never is longer than forever". She is book editor Louise Starr, a beautiful and scheming ghost from Amos Walker's past; and she wants the Detroit private eye to find a missing paperback writer from the 1950s and ask him why he turned down his first book contract in 40 years. "You're perfect for the job", Louise says. "You're the kind of detective Booth wrote about; the kind they say doesn't exist in real life". Eugene Booth's trail leads to a rustic motel cabin, where the crusty old pro is hammering out his first novel in decades on a battered Smith-Corona with a case of bourbon for inspiration. But when the writer winds up hanging from his own belt, Walker must discover the connection between the apparent suicide, the murder of Booth's wife 40 years before -- and a deadly secret as old as World War II.</p>


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<div><p><em>She’s a little bit country, and he’s…not. </em></p><p><em>Rough Riders, Book 14</em></p><p>Arizona businessman and long-lost McKay love child Gavin Daniels has been awarded sole custody of his teenage daughter Sierra for one year. In order to steer Sierra back on track after a brush with the law, he pulls up stakes and heads to Wyoming, looking for support from his ranching family...even if he isn’t sure where they fit in the McKay dynamic. He’s prepared for every contingency with the move: the less-than-enthusiastic response from his daughter, learning to run his corporation remotely, but he’s thrown for a loop when his new housemate, Rielle, is a whole lot sexier, funnier and sassier than he remembered. </p><p>Rielle Wetzler has finally overcome the stigma of having hippie parents and being a young single mother. In the two years since she sold her ailing B&amp;B to Gavin Daniels, she’s become financially stable running the homespun businesses she loves. But now Gavin is in Sundance to claim the house that’s rightfully his. Although Rielle knew this day would come, she isn’t prepared to leave the home she built for herself and her now-grown daughter. And to further complicate matters, her long-dormant libido is definitely <em>not</em> ready to live with this newly buff Gavin—who isn’t a cowboy, but has the take-charge attitude to prove he’s all McKay. </p><p>Sharing a roof, their troubles and their triumphs is too much temptation, and before long, Gavin and Rielle are sharing a bed. But sharing their hearts and lives forever? That’s a whole ’nother ball of wax.</p></div>


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<p class="description">Witnesses to a shocking crime, three men must face the dangers of the past to unlock the passion in their hearts…Logan Callahan has fought hard to forget what happened that fateful day, so long ago. But every night he tries to sleep, he relives the nightmare. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees the woman whose life he could not save…A newcomer in town, Sky O’Brien is a mystery to Logan. Like him, she is a night owl. Like him, she is fighting her own demons. Like him, she hides a secret in her eyes—a fire that consumes him with every glance. Could she be the one to heal him?When Logan’s ex-girlfriend is brutally murdered, his past implicates him as suspect—and his new neighbor Sky may be the only person he can turn to. Together, they share an attraction that can’t be denied. But as he searches for the real killer, he discovers that Sky is tracking down a murderer too—and she intends to use him to do it…</p>


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<div><p class="description">When Baba Segi awoke with a bellyache for the sixth day in a row, he knew it was time to do something drastic about his fourth wife's childlessness.</p>
<p class="description"> Meet Baba Segi . . .  </p>
<p class="description"> A plump, vain, and prosperous middle-aged man of robust appetites, Baba Segi is the patriarch of a large household that includes a quartet of wives and seven children. But his desire to possess more just might be his undoing.  </p>
<p class="description"> And his wives . . .  </p>
<p class="description"> Iya Segi—the bride of Baba Segi's youth, a powerful, vindictive woman who will stop at nothing to protect her favored position as ruler of her husband's home.  </p>
<p class="description"> Iya Tope—Baba Segi's second wife, a shy, timid woman whose decency and lust for life are overshadowed by fear.  </p>
<p class="description"> Iya Femi—the third wife, a scheming woman with crimson lips and expensive tastes who is determined to attain all that she desires, no matter what the cost.  </p>
<p class="description"> Bolanle—Babi Segi's fourth and youngest wife, an educated woman wise to life's misfortunes who inspires jealousy in her fellow wives . . . and who harbors a secret that will expose shocking truths about them all.</p></div>


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<p class="description">Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. </p>


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<p>When Chen goes on holiday, his demonic partner Zhu Irzh finds himself alone in Singapore Three. The missing body of a brutally murdered socialite and the strange experiments of a well-connected, beautiful, young heiress leads Zhu into a maze of death and corruption. Chen returns to the city just as Zhu's baser instincts seem to be getting the better of him. While the rest of the police department thinks the worst of Zhu, Chen suspects something more malignant, particularly when the forces of Heaven begin manifesting themselves in Singapore Three, taking sides and leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. </p>


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<p>John Constantine meets Chow Yun-Fat in this near-future occult thriller! Detective Inspector Chen is the Singapore Three police department's snake agent - that is - the detective in charge of supernatural and mystical investigations. Chen has several problems: In addition to colleagues who don't trust him and his mystical ways, a patron goddess whom he has offended, and a demonic wife who's tired of staying home alone, he's been paired with one of Hell's own vice officeers, Seneschal Zhu Irzh, to investigate the illegal trade in souls. Political pressures both Earthly and otherworldly seek to block their investigations at every turn. As a plot involving both Singapore Three's industrial elite and Hell's own Ministry of Epidemics is revealed, it becomes apparent that the stakes are higher than anyone had previously suspected. </p>


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"*Breaking Night* reads more like an adventure story than an addiction-morality tale. It's a white-knuckle account of survival. . . . By age 6, Murray knew how to mainline drugs (though she never took them) and how to care for her strung-out parents. She showed uncanny maturity, even as a child, and later managed to avoid that malady of teenagers and memoir writers, self-pity. . . . Murray's stoicism has been hard-earned; it serves her well as a writer. *Breaking Night* itself is full of heart, without a sliver of ice, and deeply moving." (*The New York Times Book Review*)  

"Liz Murray shows us that the human spirit has infinite ability to grow and  can never be limited by circumstance. *Breaking Night* is a beautifully  written, heartfelt memoir that will change the way you look your community, the  obstacles in your own life and the American Dream. An inspiration, a must read."  (Robert Redford)  

"[Liz Murray] reminds us that the greatest acts of love and failure can  occur side by side; that isolation and loss can give way to accomplishment and  promise. She offers the awesome hope that, regardless of its past, a life can go  beyond endurance and reach for triumph. She leave us with the memory of a child who  clung to and refused to surrender the dignity of her soul." (Andrew Bridge, author  of the *New York Times* bestseller *Hope's Boy*)  

"As much as it is a memoir, *Breaking Night* is a primer on how poverty and drug abuse create a heartbreaking underclass of children, one that goes largely unnoticed. By the truly uplifting ending, Liz Murray has shown us the worst, and the very best, of America." (Haven Kimmel, author of *A Girl Named Zippy* and *She Got Up Off the Couch*)  

In the vein of *The Glass Castle, Breaking Night* is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard.   

Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep.   

When Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny and go back to high school, often completing her assignments in the hallways and subway stations where she slept. Liz squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a *New York Times* scholarship; and made it into the Ivy League. *Breaking Night* is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman's indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds.


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<p>From the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Windsnap series comes a captivating adventure about family, friendship, and the bonds that bridge time. The sleepy seaside village of Porthaven hides a mystery: Mia’s grandad has vanished, and nobody knows why. When Mia and her mom rush to Porthaven to help her grandmother, Mia imagines long dreary days with no one to talk to except for the old-time fisherman at her grandparents’ pub. But that’s before Mia finds a diary on an empty, docked fishing boat and starts exchanging notes with a local girl named Dee, a girl who seems much like her. Mia is excited about having a new friend, but why do their plans to meet each other never materialize? And why does Dee claim to be stuck at home due to violent storms when Mia sees only sunny skies? Will Mia be able to solve the mystery of where — and when — her grandfather and friend might be before time and tide forever wash away their futures?</p><p>**</p>


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<p class="description">Alice and Jewel have been best friends since grade school. Together, they don’t need anyone else, and together they blend into the background of high school. Invisible. To Alice, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. Jewel is her best friend who goes to indie concerts and art shows with her. Jewel scoffs at school dances with her. Alice is so comfortable around Jewel that she can talk to him about almost anything.But she can’t tell him that she likes the cool, popular Simon. Simon asks her to the school dance the same day that Jewel kisses her for the first time. Still, she can’t say no to Simon. He seems like the easy choice, the one she’s attracted to, the one she’s ready for. But will it mean losing Jewel?In a bright debut novel set against the lively backdrop of Seattle, Alice must learn the difference between love and a crush and what it means to be yourself when you’re not sure who that is yet.</p>


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<p>Jessica Jenkins has always been a perfectly ordinary girl—until one day part of her arm vanishes in the middle of geography class! Jessica’s friends Izzy and Tom are determined to help her develop her newfound invisibility, though Jessica is more concerned with discovering where the ability came from. When it becomes apparent that there may be other kids developing strange powers of their own, Jessica marshals them into a slapdash band of "slightly superheroes." But when an unscrupulous adult discovers the origin of their powers and kidnaps one of the team, the rest must put their heads—and all of their skills—together to avert disaster.</p><p>**</p>


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Meet The Clique, the five girls who rule Octavian Country Day School . . .There's Massie, with her glossy bob and laser-whitened smile, uncontested leader of the Clique. Dylan, second in command, spends her time sucking up to Massie. Alicia, as sneaky as she is beautiful, wants to be leader of the group one day ? and she just might. Then there's Kristen, smart, hardworking, who doesn't suffer fools gladly. And Claire, in by the skin of her teeth, is the newest member of The Clique ? but has swapping her hand-me-down clothes for Chanel No. 19 really solved all her problems?Apparently not. When the girls at pack up their warmest cashmere coats for a trip to Lake Placid, they discover that bears aren't the only scary things in the woods. The Briarwood boys are staying in a cabin way to close for comfort ? and it's up to Massie's Underground Clinic for Kissing (MUCK) to save immaculately-made-up face . . .


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Happy New Clique! Once upon a time, in Westchester and Orlando, there were four betas just waiting for their alpha. It took a miracle to bring the Pretty Committee together--or rather, a New Year's Yves party. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it just cliques.Massie Block: Is destined to lead, but trapped as a beta in the Ahnabees, the top clique at PMS (Presbyterian Middle School). She has ah-mazing ideas--Friday night sleepovers, Gossip Points, and atching charm bracelets. When will it be her time to rule?Alicia Rivera: Is dying to lead the Body Alive Dance Studio Squad. With the captain on vaca­tion, BADSS's live performance on Merri Lee Marvil's New Year's Yves show is her chance to shine. Will she prove herself alpha-worthy--or will she need to find a whole new clique?Dylan Marvil: Is done, done, and done with people kissing her teeny-tiny butt just because her mom is famous. But who would be brave enough to stand up to someone so Marvilous?Kristen Gregory: Has made a New Year's reso­lution to make friends and get a life. Escape from Planet Loser starts . . . now!Claire Lyons: Is psyched times ten to win a last-minute invitation to the New Year's Yves satellite party in Orlando. But first she needs to sneak out of the house. And the countdown to midnight begins in ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .The Clique . . . the only thing harder than getting in is staying in.


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Alicia and Olivia are on their way to Manhattan so the Teen People editors can do a story on them about winning the Octavian Country Day uniform design contest. When Massie finally processes that the girls who hijacked her victory are also modeling for Teen People, she is livid. It should have been her.


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The Pretty Committee goes boycrazy as Massie cheers for the soccer team in an attempt to attract the attention of Dempsey, her new crush, while her friend Layne starts flirting with Dempsey and Dylan pursues Derrington.


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From Lisi Harrison, the New York Times bestselling author of The Clique and Alphas, comes a new series with a fresh twist on high school, romance, and the horrors of trying to fit in. They prefer to call themselves RADs, but some call them monsters. So far, the "monster" community has kept a low profile in Salem, Oregon, but this year two new girls enroll at Merston High School, and the town will never be the same.Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's lonely formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and friends. But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters stalking the halls, Frankie finds that life in the "normi" world can be rough for a chic freak like her. She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver--but can a normi be trusted with her big secret?


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Massie gets BE-yoo-tiful: After Massie Block gets kicked off her high horse and out of her ultra exclusive Westchester riding camp, her parents force her to do the unthinkable-find a summer job. Not one for dog-walking or brat-sitting, Massie comes up with the ah-bvious solution: She'll be a sales rep for the cosmetics brand Be Pretty. Massie fully hearts her new role as fairy gawdmother of makeup-until she discovers transforming LBRs into glam-girls takes more than a swish of her royal purple mascara wand.


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Kristen sets sail on the Love Boat... With the rest of the Pretty Committee scattered across the globe, Kristen is stuck in summer school at OCD, making good on her scholarship commitments. No sleepover horse camp, no Hawaiian spa, no Spanish vacation, not even a trip to Orlando. But when Kristen scores a job looking after hang-ten hottie Dune Baxter's eight-year-old sister, Ripple, Westchester suddenly doesn't seem so bad. It looks like Kristin is about to ride the wave of first love. . . .


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After getting expelled for VERY bad behaviour on a class field trip, the Pretty Committee is back. But returning to school is a piece of fat-free cake compared to Massie's next goal ? finding the key that unlocks an ah-mazing legendary secret room on campus. Alpha eighth-grader Skye Hamilton and her clique have hidden it under the mattress of a mysterious Briarwood boy ? but which one?Meanwhile Claire's finding that being famous isn't all it's cracked up to be. Her constant meetings with movie execs are eating into her time with the P.C. and with Cam! Is being a Hollywood starlet worth the Gucci-high price tag?


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Following Christmas break, Massieżs room is chock full of new things from Santa, including a roommate, Claire. However, Claire isnżt the only one moving in on her territory. Aliciażs hot, Spanish cousin, Nina, shows up from Spain and starts moving in on all the Briarwood boys.


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The trials and tribulations of the girls at Westchester County's most exclusive private middle school continue in this 11th novel in the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling series. Follow Massie, Kristen, Layne, Alicia, and Claire as these members of the Pretty Committee attempt to survive their school's boy-swap intact, or risk tearing the Clique apart at the seams.


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In the second book starring Westchester County's most privileged middle schoolers, the Clique declares Massie a hero for hosting the first boy/girl Halloween party of 8th grade. Massie's already hired Landon Dorsey, the hottest party planner in the 9-1-4 area code, but her parents insist she has to invite the entire class. Unfortunately that means everyone. Layne is bummed that the boys will be there -- she IMs Claire that's so "DESPR8" -- as Claire wonders if maybe a boyfriend will make her happy.Meanwhile, Massie and the Clique are fighting over who gets to invite Derek Herrington. Dylan thought it was obvious that she was the one who danced all night with Derek at the OCD benefit last month, but says "Whatevs" when Kristen gets all weird about it. Fine, she can have him. He was a terrible dancer anyway and there will be tons of guys to choose from at the party....


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<p class="description">Game, Set, Match... Dylan? Dylan and her TV-host mom are off to Hawaii's Aloha Tennis Open. While Merri-Lee interviews tennis's wild child Svetlana "Tennis the Menace" Slootskyia, Dylan lets the tropical sun melt away the memory of getting dumped by two guys at the end of seventh grade. But between avocado mud masks and poolside naps, she falls in love with a preppy, tennis- obsessed hawtie. Dylan soon realizes the only way to score a date with him is to master the game. Can she convince moody Svetlana to spill the secrets of her tennis success, or will she end up oh-for-three in summer love?</p>


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<div><p><strong>Massie Block:</strong> The Briarwood boys have invaded OCD and are taking over everything. Worse, the soccer boys have become so popular that the Pretty Committee's alpha status is in serious jeopardy. So Massie lays out a New Year-New Pretty Committee rule: Anyone caught crushing on a boy will be thrown out of the NPC-<em>forever</em>. But will she be able to follow her own decree when she sees that Derrington has ditched his shorts-obsession in favor of ah-dorable jeans?</p><p><strong>Alicia Rivera:</strong> Is the opposite of onboard with the boyfast. Her crush, the Ralph Lauren-luh-ving Josh Hotz, is more irresistible than crème brûlée fro-yo. But is he worth losing her spot in the NPC? And taking on the wrath of Massie?</p><p><strong>Dylan Marvil:</strong> Is so ready for the boyfast. She's straightened her unruly red hair and permanently pressed boys out of her life. If only she could do the same with curly fries and caramel popcorn.</p><p><strong>Kristen Gregory:</strong> Has traded her sporty-chic Pumas for Billabong board shorts and a shark tooth necklace. She claims she's sworn off boy-crushes, so what's with her <em>Blue Crush </em>makeover?</p><p><strong>Claire Lyons:</strong> Spent all summer thinking about Cam's one blue eye and one green eye. But now he's moved on to a new girl faster than you can say cuh-yutest couple. At least Claire finally has a secure spot in the NPC-unless jealousy-flirting breaks the boyfast. . . .<br></p><p>The Clique: The only thing harder than getting in is staying in. </p></div>


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When my mother named me Ophelia, she thought she was being literary. She didn’t realize she was being tragic.On the surface, Annie Powers’s life in a wealthy Floridian suburb is happy and idyllic. Her husband, Gray, loves her fiercely; together, they dote on their beautiful young daughter, Victory. But the bubble surrounding Annie is pricked when she senses that the demons of her past have resurfaced and, to her horror, are now creeping up on her. These are demons she can’t fully recall because of a highly dissociative state that allowed her to forget the tragic and violent episodes of her earlier life as Ophelia March and to start over, under the loving and protective eye of Gray, as Annie Powers. Disturbing events—the appearance of a familiar dark figure on the beach, the mysterious murder of her psychologist—trigger strange and confusing memories for Annie, who realizes she has to quickly piece them together before her past comes to claim her future and her daughter.


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<p class="description">At OCD the losers are tormented.At Alpha Academy, they're sent home.Skye Hamilton has scored an invitation to the ultra-exclusive Alphas-only boarding school where beta is spelled LBR . What happens when the country's best, brightest, and hawtest begin clawing and scratching their way to the top?</p>


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<p class="description">Alicia takes on Mission Spalfa: Spanish Alpha! Back in Spain to visit her relatives, Alicia discovers that Spain's newest pop sensation ¡Ignacio! is searching for a true Spanish beauty to star in his new hit-single video. She can't believe her luck! If Alicia is cast as a true Spanish beauty, Massie will never call her fake-Spanish again. The only trick: She'll have to beat her super-bonita cousins to win the coveted spot. Adios, bimbos!</p>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Do we own our possessions, or do they own us? That’s one of the questions pondered in Tracy’s memoir. Following their mother’s death, Tracy and her sister were faced with the daunting task of sifting through her belongings. A military family whose history dated back to the American Revolution, the Tracys had acres of heirlooms, from an elegant, satin-bottomed chair that might have once been occupied by George Washington to a pair of dueling pistols purportedly owned by Aaron Burr. But while these items made for tantalizing stories to be told by the fire, what was their worth if one couldn’t establish provenance? When the sisters decide to put selected pieces up for auction, they are both sobered—and occasionally surprised—by the prices they fetch. What they didn’t account for was the remorse they would feel after the auction was completed, and the deals were done. Had they sold their family’s soul? Tracy weaves engaging nuggets of military and social history into her tale, but the copious details about her family can grow tedious. Still, this will definitely attract the Antiques Roadshow crowd. </span></h3>


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Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (“women’s writing”). Some girls were paired with laotongs, “old sames,” in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become “old sames” at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.


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<div><p>While David Stark is asked to open a law office in Beijing, his lover, detective Liu Hulan, receives an urgent message from an old friend imploring her to investigate the suspicious death of her daughter, who worked for a toy company about to be sold to David’s new client, Tartan Enterprises.</p><p>Despite David’s protests, Hulan goes undercover at the toy factory in the rural village of Da Shui, deep in the heart of China. It is a place that forces Hulan to face a past she has long been running from. Once there, rather than finding answers to the girl’s death, Hulan unearths more questions, all of which point to possible crimes committed by David’s client. Suddenly Hulan and David find themselves on opposing sides: One of them is trying to expose a company and unearth a killer, while the other is ethically bound to protect his client. As pressures mount and danger increases, Hulan and David uncover universal truths about good and evil, right and wrong–and the sometimes subtle lines that distinguish them.</p></div>


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<p>Out of the stories heard in her childhood in Los Angeles's Chinatown and years of research, See has constructed this sweeping chronicle of her Chinese-American family, a work that takes in stories of racism and romance, entrepreneurial genius and domestic heartache, secret marriages and sibling rivalries, in a powerful history of two cultures meeting in a new world. 82 photos.</p>


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<p>“Lisa See begins to do for Beijing what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did for turn-of-the-century London or Dashiell Hammett did for 1920s San Francisco: She discerns the hidden city lurking beneath the public facade.”<br /><em>–The Washington Post Book World</em>  </p><p>In the depths of a Beijing winter, during the waning days of Deng Xiaoping’s reign, the U.S. ambassador’s son is found dead–his body entombed in a frozen lake. Around the same time, aboard a ship adrift off the coast of Southern California, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Stark makes a startling discovery: the corpse of a Red Prince, a scion of China’s political elite.  </p><p>The Chinese and American governments suspect that the deaths are connected and, in an unprecedented move, they join forces to see justice done. In Beijing, David teams up with the unorthodox police detective Liu Hulan. In an investigation that brings them to every corner of China and sparks an intense attraction between the two, David and Hulan discover a web linking human trafficking to the drug trade to governmental treachery–a web reaching from the Forbidden City to the heart of Los Angeles and, like the wide flower net used by Chinese fishermen, threatening to ensnare all within its reach.  </p><p>“A graceful rendering of two different and complex cultures, within a highly intricate plot . . . The starkly beautiful landscapes of Beijing and its surrounding countryside are depicted with a lyrical precision.”<br /><em>–Los Angeles Times Book Review</em>  </p><p>“Murder and intrigue splash across the canvas of modern Chinese life. . . . A vivid portrait of a vast Communist nation in the painful throes of a sea change.”<br /><em>–People</em>  </p><p>“Fascinating . . . that rare thriller that enlightens as well as it entertains.”<br /><em>–San Diego Union-Tribune</em>  </p><p>A Finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery<br />A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK  </p><p><em>From the Trade Paperback edition.</em></p>


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<p>When the body of an American archaeologist is found floating in the Yangzi River, Ministry of Public Security agent Liu Hulan and her husband, American attorney David Stark, are dispatched to Site 518 to investigate. As Hulan scrutinizes this death—or is it a murder?—David, on behalf of the National Relics Bureau, tries to discover who has stolen from the site an artifact that may prove to the world China’s claim that it is the oldest uninterrupted civilization on earth. This artifact is not only an object of great monetary value but one that is emblematic of the very soul of China. Everyone—from the Chinese government, to a religious cult, to an unscrupulous American art collector—wants this relic, and some, it seems, may be willing to kill to get it. At stake in this investigation is control of China’s history and national pride, and even stability between China and the United States.<br />The troubled Hulan must overcome her own fears of failure, while David tries desperately to break through the shell that has built up around his wife. As Hulan and David are enmeshed in international schemes for power and the turbulence of their own relationship, these hunters after the truth become the hunted—in a fast-driving narrative set against the backdrop of the building of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest and most expensive project China has undertaken since the Great Wall and the subject of great international debate. It is here, in the heart of the Three Gorges, that David and Hulan will battle their enemies and their own natures to see who will win China’s dragon bones.<br /><em>Dragon Bones</em> combines ancient myth with contemporary anxieties concerning religious fanaticism and terrorism to tell a story of love, betrayal, history, ecology, greed—and gory murder.  </p><p><em>From the Hardcover edition.</em></p>


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<div><p>Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has thrilled millions with her emotionally-charged novels that feature strong women exploring the boundaries of family, justice, and love.   In <em>Don’t Go</em>, she breaks new ground and delivers the story of a soldier who discovers what it means to be a man, a father, and ultimately, a hero.</p><p>When Dr. Mike Scanlon is called to serve as an army doctor in Afghanistan, he’s acutely aware of the dangers he’ll face and the hardships it will cause his wife Chloe and newborn baby.  And deep inside, he doesn’t think of himself as a warrior, but a healer.<br></p><p>However, in an ironic turn of events, as Mike operates on a wounded soldier in a war-torn country, Chloe dies at home in the suburbs, in an apparent household accident.  Devastated, he returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart.  His medical practice is in jeopardy, and he is a complete stranger to the only family he has left - his precious baby girl.  Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral.</p><p>Ultimately, Mike realizes that the most important battle of his life faces him on the home front and he’ll have to put it all on the line to save what’s dearest to him – his family.  Gripping, thrilling, and profoundly emotional, <em>Don’t Go</em> is Lisa Scottoline at her finest.</p></div>


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<p class="description"><br>Unbeknownst to her identical twin Bennie Rosato, Alice Connelly is on the run from her drug-dealing confederates who are trying to kill her. Alice sees only one way out - to become Bennie. She slips a drug into her drink, and usurps her life. Not only does she sleep with her boyfriend, impersonate her at work - and steal her money, but she also warns the police that her evil twin is out to get her. Her plan works perfectly, because when Bennie emerges to fight back, everyone thinks she's Alice - including the police. Meanwhile, Mary DiNunzio, distracted by personal problems is also duped by Alice. The happy DiNunzio home is disrupted by the arrival of a sexy and mysterious cousin who claims to be a witch - and manages to put Mary's father under her spell! Bennie, with everything at stake, is fighting for her life - on all levels. She's reached breaking point. But when the chips are finally down, what will she do? Is blood thicker than water, and can an ordinary, law-abiding woman be driven to evil?</p>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; ">At the start of this gut-wrenching stand-alone from bestseller Scottoline (Think Twice), an explosion rips through the nearly empty cafeteria of Reesburgh (Pa.) Elementary School. Lunch mother Rose McKenna leads two girls to safety before racing to rescue her own daughter, Melly, but Rose soon learns that she may face both civil and criminal charges for her heroics because one of the girls she saved was seriously injured in the resulting fire that killed three school staff members. The tension rises as the united front presented by Rose and her lawyer husband, Leo Ingrassia, begins to disintegrate in the face of media demands, legal maneuverings, and social pressures. Rose must also deal with school bullying (Melly has a noticeable facial blemish), difficult legal problems, and her husband's reaction when a secret from her past is revealed. Scottoline melds it all into a satisfying nail-biting thriller sure to please her growing audience. 400,000 first printing; author tour.</span></h3>


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<div><p>Lisa Scottoline has delivered taut thrillers with a powerful emotional wallop in her <em>New York</em> <em>Times</em> bestsellers <em>Save Me,</em> <em>Think Twice,</em> and <em>Look Again</em>. Now, with her new novel, <em>Come Home,</em> she ratchets up the suspense with the riveting story of a mother who sacrifices her future for a child from her past.</p><p>Jill Farrow is a typical suburban mom who has finally gotten her and her daughter's lives back on track after a divorce. She is about to remarry, her job as a pediatrician fulfills her---though it is stressful---and her daughter, Megan, is a happily over-scheduled thirteen-year-old juggling homework and the swim team. </p><p>But Jill’s life is turned upside down when her ex-stepdaughter, Abby, shows up on her doorstep late one night and delivers shocking news: Jill’s ex-husband is dead. Abby insists that he was murdered and pleads with Jill to help find his killer. Jill reluctantly agrees to make a few inquiries and discovers that things don’t add up. As she digs deeper, her actions threaten to rip apart her new family, destroy their hard-earned happiness, and even endanger her own life. Yet Jill can’t turn her back on a child she loves and once called her own.</p><p><em>Come Home </em>reads with the breakneck pacing of a thriller while also exploring the definition of motherhood, asking the questions: Do you ever stop being a mother? Can you ever have an ex-child? What are the limits to love of family? </p></div>


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<p class="description">A riveting exploration of the most difficult and important part of what doctors do, by Yale School of Medicine physician Dr. Lisa Sanders, author of the monthly New York Times Magazine column "Diagnosis," the inspiration for the hit Fox TV series House, M.D. "The experience of being ill can be like waking up in a foreign country. Life, as you formerly knew it, is on hold while you travel through this other world as unknown as it is unexpected. When I see patients in the hospital or in my office who are suddenly, surprisingly ill, what they really want to know is, What is wrong with me? They want a road map that will help them manage their new surroundings. The ability to give this unnerving and unfamiliar place a name, to know it on some level, restores a measure of control, independent of whether or not that diagnosis comes attached to a cure. Because, even today, a diagnosis is frequently all a good doctor has to offer. A healthy young man suddenly loses his memory, making him unable to remember the events of each passing hour. Two patients diagnosed with Lyme disease improve after antibiotic treatment, only to have their symptoms mysteriously return. A young woman lies dying in the ICU, bleeding, jaundiced, incoherent, and none of her doctors know what is killing her. In Every Patient Tells a Story, Dr. Lisa Sanders takes us bedside to witness the process of solving these and other diagnostic dilemmas, providing a firsthand account of the expertise and intuition that lead a doctor to make the right diagnosis. Never in human history have doctors had the knowledge, the tools, and the skills that they have today to diagnose illness and disease. And yet mistakes are made, diagnoses missed, symptoms or tests misunderstood. In this high-tech world of modern medicine, Sanders shows us that knowledge, while essential, is not sufficient to unravel the complexities of illness. She presents an unflinching look inside the detective story that marks nearly every illness, the diagnosis, revealing the combination of uncertainty and intrigue that doctors face when confronting patients who are sick or dying. Through dramatic stories of patients with baffling symptoms, Sanders portrays the absolute necessity and surprising difficulties of getting the patient's story, the challenges of the physical exam, the pitfalls of doctor-to-doctor communication, the vagaries of tests, and the near calamity of diagnostic errors. In Every Patient Tells a Story, Dr. Sanders chronicles the real-life drama of doctors solving these difficult medical mysteries that not only illustrate the art and science of diagnosis, but often save the patients' lives.</p>


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<p class="description">From one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, a rousing defense of the role of science in our lives The latest developments in physics have the potential to radically revise our understanding of the world: its makeup, its evolution, and the fundamental forces that drive its operation. Knocking on Heaven’s Door is an exhilarating and accessible overview of these developments and an impassioned argument for the significance of science. There could be no better guide than Lisa Randall. The bestselling author of Warped Passages is an expert in both particle physics (the study of the smallest objects we know of) and cosmology (the study of the largest). In Knocking on Heaven’s Door, she explores how we decide which scientific questions to study and how we go about answering them. She examines the role of risk, creativity, uncertainty, beauty, and truth in scientific thinking through provocative conversations with leading figures in other fields (such as the chef David Chang, the forecaster Nate Silver, and the screenwriter Scott Derrickson), and she explains with wit and clarity the latest ideas in physics and cosmology. Randall describes the nature and goals of the largest machine ever built: the Large Hadron Collider, the enormous particle accelerator below the border of France and Switzerland—as well as recent ideas underlying cosmology and current dark matter experiments. The most sweeping and exciting science book in years, Knocking on Heaven’s Door makes clear the biggest scientific questions we face and reveals how answering them could ultimately tell us who we are and where we came from.</p>


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From the critically acclaimed author of Eyes Like StarsWe are such stuff as dreams are made on.Act Two, Scene OneGrowing up in the enchanted Thèâtre Illuminata, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith learned everything about every play ever written. She knew the Players and their parts, but she didn’t know that she, too, had magic. Now, she is the Mistress of Revels, the Teller of Tales, and determined to follow her stars. She is ready for the outside world. Enter BERTIE AND COMPANYBut the outside world soon proves more topsy-turvy than any stage production. Bertie can make things happen by writing them, but outside the protective walls of the Thèâtre, nothing goes as planned. And her magic cannot help her make a decision between— Nate: Her suave and swashbuckling pirate, now in mortal peril.  Ariel: A brooding, yet seductive, air spirit whose true motives remain unclear.When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Goddess, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre’s caravan, using Bertie’s word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet The Mysterious Stranger, Bertie’s father—and the creator of the scrimshaw medallion. Bertie’s dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it’s Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Goddess’s lair? Once again, LISA MANTCHEV has spun a tale like no other—full of romance, magic, adventure, and fairies, too—that readers won’t want to put down, even after the curtain has closed.


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<p>Isabel Spellman, the uncompromising—okay, obstinate—twenty-eight year-old San Francisco private eye in Lisa Lutz's riotous debut novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES has her share of problems. And those problems all happen to be named Spellman. Her parents, Albert and Olivia, co-owners of Spellman Investigations, think nothing of placing their daughter under 24-hour surveillance simply to find out if she has a new boyfriend. David, her perfect older brother, who escaped the family business by becoming a lawyer, is hypercritical of just about everything Isabel says, wears, or does. Fourteen-year-old sister Rae lives on sugared snacks, considers recreation surveillance her favorite hobby, and believes that life is one endless opportunity for intra-familial blackmail. And good-natured Uncle Ray, a former cop and health food nut, now embraces gambling and drinking; and when he's not in battle with his niece Rae over the whereabouts of his favorite shirt, must be rescued from "lost weekends." Welcome to Izzy Spellman's off-kilter world. Equal parts Sam Spade and Bridget Jones, she's a damn good investigator—if only her dysfunctional family would back off and let her do her thing. Izzy's cynical—okay, wise—enough to realize that a primrose-covered cottage with a white picket fence is not in her future. That's okay with her. Ever the jaded P.I., she catalogs her ex-boyfriends with calculated brevity, reducing her romantic misjudgments to curt summaries of name, age, occupation, hobbies, duration, and last words. No sooner has she met a new man that she begins composing his exit profile. Hired to trail a husband whose wife suspects he's gay, Isabel easily determines that nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, Daniel Castillo, the object of her subject's misidentified affection, turns out to be a gorgeous—and straight—Guatemalan dentist whom Isabel quickly zeroes in on as the future "Ex-Boyfriend #9." Keeping her family and Daniel from discovering the truth about each other, though, proves harder than she would have guessed. While other parents might be happy to learn that their daughter is dating a professional man, Olivia Spellman has a pathological distrust of dentists. When Isabel discovers that her folks are not only having her followed, but have hired Rae to do it, her outrage pushes her to quit her job at the family agency—even though it's the only job she's ever had and the only thing she does well. But just because Izzy says she is leaving the family fold doesn't mean that the family has any intention of loosening its hold on her. Besides, she's under contract. So, they make a deal—one last, ice cold case, from twelve years before when a Marin County teen went missing in the woods near Lake Tahoe. Izzy throws herself into the case, thrilled at the prospect of getting away from Spellman Investigations for good. But then Rae, who has been expertly manipulating every member of the family with her ill-gotten knowledge of their individual secrets, disappears without a trace. Izzy, who loves the little creep in spite of everything, is propelled into the most vital missing person search of her career. There has never been a heroine quite like Isabel Spellman, or a fictional family exactly like the Spellmans. The laugh-out-loud antics that Lisa Lutz cooks up for this strangely loveable dysfunctional brood vault THE SPELLMAN FILES into the pantheon of comic crime novels that includes the work of Carl Hiassen and Jasper Fforde. With publication rights already sold in over 20 countries and movie plans underway at Paramount, Lisa Lutz's delightful book should prove to be one of the most widely read—and talked about—literary debuts of the year.</p>


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<p class="description">Do you want to eat burgers, chocolate cake, frozen margaritas, fudge, and French fries—and still fit into your pants?  Is life not worth living without brownies and onion rings?  Do you want a surefire way to tame your cravings? From breakfast ideas and chopped salads to guilt-free junk food and cocktails, Hungry Girl recipes taste great but are low in fat and calories.  Check it out!• Eggs Bene-Chick: 183 calories• Bring on the Breakfast Pizza: 127 calories• Ooey Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos: 216 calories• Big Bopper Burger Stopper: 202 calories• Dreamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge: 65 calories• Lord of the Onion Rings: 153 calories• Rockin’ Tuna Melt: 212 calories• 7-Layer Burrito Blitz: 277 calories• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie: 113 calories• Cookie-rific Ice Cream Freeze:  160 calories• With easy instructions, simple steps, and hilariously fun facts and figures, Hungry Girl recipes are as fun to read as they are to make!And when you’re not in your kitchen, check out HG’s 10 mini survival guides, plus tips ’n tricks that’ll help you make smarter food choices anywhere, anytime!</p>


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<p class="description">Hungry Girl mania is sweeping the nation! The New York Times bestselling phenomenon delivers even more yum-tastic recipes! An easy-to-use cookbook containing 200 Hungry Girl recipes all under 200 calories.  Recipes include: * H-O-T Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings *Sassy Southwestern Roll-Ups *Cheesy-Good Cornbread Muffins * Holy Moly Guacamole * HG’s So Low Mein w/Chicken * Cheeseburger Lettuce Cups * Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp Puddin’ Shake * Swirls Gone Wild Cheesecake Brownies * Personal Pretzel-Bottomed Ice Cream Pie! And many more!  Told with Lisa’s signature wit and sassy style, these recipes are as fun to read as they are to make!</p>


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<p class="description">Are you HUNGRY? The number-one "New York Times" bestselling phenomenon is BACK---with even more yum-a-licious guilt-free recipes. This time, the EASIEST ones on the planet! Hungry Girl's recipes aren't just delicious, they're SUPER-SIMPLE, too. "Hungry Girl 1-2-3" will help you make the world's most delicious guilt-free appetizers, meals, snacks, desserts, etc., with practically no effort whatsoever! There are loads of crock-pot recipes, microwavable meals, HG's famous "foil packs," and more. Some are such a cinch, you won't even have to turn on the oven or stove! Really. With more than 200 recipes and two-ingredient "couples" to choose from, you'll never be hungry again! Get ready to chew on:</p>


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<p class="description">The Friday Harbour series of women's fiction novels is set in San Juan Island just off the Washington State Coast - romantic and varied, with rocky shores, sandy beaches, rich woodlands and pasture land - and the prosperous Friday Harbour area. The series is centered around the Nolan family, consisting of two brothers and a sister, the owners of an island vineyard and restaurant. The Nolans' mother Jessica has just passed away, and a mysterious stranger attends the funeral. He reveals that he is the illegitimate child Jessica had given birth to, and given up for adoption, before she married. This family secret leads to many new questions and challenges, which test the bonds of love and loyalty, and ultimately show the Nolans what family is all about.</p>


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As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even though she participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted…and she has resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man—just to avoid spinsterhood? Captain Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix’s friend, the vivacious flirt Prudence Mercer, when he returns from fighting abroad. But, as he explains in his letters to Pru, life on the battlefield has darkened his soul—and it’s becoming clear that Christopher won’t come back as the same man. When Beatrix learns of Pru’s disappointment, she decides to help by concocting Pru’s letters to Christopher for her. Soon the correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher develops into something fulfilling and deep…and when Christopher comes home, he’s determined to claim the woman he loves. What began as Beatrix’s innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love—and a passion that can’t be denied…


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<p>Meet the residents of 31 Almanac Road Ralph and Smith are flatmates and best mates until, that is, the gorgeous Jemima moves in. And suddenly they're bickering about a lot more than who drank the last beer. Of course, Jem knows that one of them is the man for her but is it Ralph or Smith? Upstairs, Karl and Siobhan have been happily unmarried for fifteen years until, that is, Cheri moves into the flat above theirs. Cheri's got her eye on Karl and doesn't see why she should let a little thing like his girlfriend stand in her way Sooner or later its all got to come to a head and what better place for tears and laughter, break ups and make ups than Ralph's party?</p>


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<p>Shy and gawky, Ana has always daydreamed about living the life of her exotic half-sister, Bee, a pop singer who had a #1 hit single before she inexplicably vanished from the celebrity scene. When Bee turns up dead, Ana is dispatched to the big city to clear out her apartment. Instantly seduced by the secondhand glamour of Bee's baubles, bangles and bottles of Perrier-Jouet, Ana takes up with Bee's wild club-hopping cronies. News of a missing cat and a remote country cottage soon convince Ana that her sister was leading a secret life. Now Ana is on a mission to discover what really happened to Bee Bearhorn, the one-hit wonder-and what is about to happen to the unremarkable Ana Wills.</p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; ">England's almost bloodless Glorious Revolution of 1688, in which the Dutch king William of Orange overthrew James II, began as a hostile takeover but rapidly turned into a friendly merger, according to British historian Jardine (_The Awful End of Prince William the Silent_). She explores the fascinating Anglo-Dutch relationship to answer how and why two sworn foes became friends so seamlessly. Jardine focuses mainly on the subterranean intellectual, cultural and scientific intersections between the two countries and finds that contacts were continuous and mutually advantageous for decades before William's invasion. Cross-border fertilization resulted in two of the greatest painters of the age—Peter Paul Rubens and Anton van Dyck—working for English patrons while esteemed members of the Royal Society (such as Isaac Newton) corresponded with their Netherlandish counterparts (such as Christian Huygens). By looking so closely at elite opinion, however, Jardine too lightly dismisses the virility of petty nationalism lower down the scale and too easily glosses over the very real military tensions between the two powers. Nevertheless, this is a highly original work that will appeal to fans of Simon Schama's groundbreaking <em>The Embarrassment of Riches.</em></span></h3>

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<p>Brothers Tony, Sean, and Ned had the perfect upbringing, but now that they are grown up, real life is starting to get in the way. Tony’s dealing with divorce and a weight problem.  Novelist Sean is up against a serious case of writer’s block and a shock announcement from his “perfect” new girlfriend. Their parents have a new lodger, Gervase—why is Bernie, their mother, so keen to give this unsavory waif a home?  And what is the real reason for kid brother Ned’s surprise return from his travels in Australia?</p>


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No Matter How Fast You Run. The newborn baby boy is beautiful, perfect, and hers for the asking. All Kate Summers has to do is agree to one condition - she must disappear from Boston and never breathe a word about the adoption to anyone. Or How Far You Go. Fifteen years later, Kate has built a good life for herself and her son, Jon, in Hopewell, Oregon. Still, she is haunted by the fear that he will somehow be taken away. Then Daegan O'Rourke arrives in town and strikes up a friendship with her and Jon. But Daegan has his own past to hideóone with shocking ties to hers. A Killer Will Always Find You. Someone is watching Kate, watching her son, and is willing to go to any lengths to claim him. And the one man Kate is tempted to trust has dangerous secrets that could change her world forever. Soon the past Kate thought she could outrun will explode, unearthing a legacy of lies and treachery, and a fury powerful enough to kill.


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<div><p class="description">Lisa Jackson's Bentz &amp; Montoya Bundle: Hot Blooded, Cold Blooded, Shiver, Absolute Fear, Lost Souls, Malice, &amp; an Exclusive EXTENDED Excerpt from Devious</p><p class="description"><b>Hot Blooded</b> A First One Dead Body...A prostitute lies strangled in a seedy French Quarter hotel room. Miles away, in a rambling plantation house on the sultry shores of Lake Ponchartrain, popular late-night radio host Dr. Samantha Leeds receives a threatening crank call. All in a day's work for a celebrity. Who would think to link the two? Then Another...A second hooker's corpse turns up. Samantha's ominous caller persists, along with a mysterious claiming to be a woman from her past--a woman who's been dead for years. With Detective Rick Bentz convinced that the serial killer prowling the shadowy streets of New Orleans is somebody close to Samantha, she doesn't dare trust anyone. Especially not Ty Wheeler, her seductive new neighbor who seems to know more about her than a stranger should. ...And AnotherSomebody has discovered Samantha's darkest secret. Somebody is convinced that lives must be sacrificed to pay for her sins. So far, the victims have been strangers. But as a cunning, cold-blooded killer grows bolder, Samantha wonders in dread if she will be the next to die...</p><p class="description"><b>Cold Blooded</b> His Vengeance Will Be Repeated. . .A woman's slashed, incinerated corpse is found in a seedy New Orleans apartment. Her killer is certain there were no witnesses, unaware that his every move was seen by a beautiful stranger--from her bed in a bayou cottage on the outskirts of town... And Repeated. . .Weeks later, another violent vision shatters Olivia Bechet's sleep. Convinced a serial killer is stalking the city, Olivia turns to the authorities. But jaded detective Rick Bentz doesn't believe her--even when a second body turns up, slain in exactly the same bizarre, ritualistic manner Olivia described... And Repeated...As New Orleans panics in the icy grip of a merciless killer, Olivia is frustrated by Bentz's skepticism--and captivated by her attraction to him. But soon her dreams are invaded by images of another murder. One that has yet to be committed. This time, Olivia recognizes not only the victim's face--but the murderer's. And both are closer than she ever imagined...</p><p class="description"><b>Shiver</b>The Crimes Are Unthinkable A serial killer is turning the Big Easy into his personal playground. The victims are killed in pairs--no connection, no apparent motive, no real clues. It's a very sick game, and it's only just begun. The Fear Is RealAbby Chastain left New Orleans long ago and for good reason. Now she's back where she feels watched, as if the devil himself is scraping a fingernail along her spine. It doesn't help that Detective Reuben Montoya is convinced she's somehow the key to unlocking these horrible crimes--a mystery that has something to do with Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital, a decaying old asylum where unspeakable crimes were once committed, and a human predator may still wait. The Truth Is Deadly As more bodies are found in gruesome, staged scenarios, Montoya and Abby are in a desperate race to stop a killer whose terrifying crimes are bringing them ever nearer to a shocking revelation. For the past is never completely gone. Its sins must be avenged. And a twisted psychopath is getting close enough to make them...</p><p class="description"><b>Absolute Fear</b> Every Serial Killer...A serial killer is stalking the streets of New Orleans. The victims are killed in a ritual fashion, a series of numbers tattooed into their bodies. There are no clues, no connections except one: a crumbling old asylum that was once the scene of unspeakable madness--and is now the calling card of a new kind of fear. Is Searching For...Eve Renner knows Our Lady of Virtues Hospital well. As the daughter of one of its doctors, she spent her childhood exploring its secrets chambers, hidden rooms, and forbidden passageways. Now, somewhere in the decaying asylum lies the key to a betrayal from the past whose echoes are being felt with a vengeance--a crime beyond imagining that seems to lead to Eve herself. The Perfect Victim...As each new body is found and forgotten, memories surface, and Eve must race to put together a deadly puzzle, one terrifying piece at a time. A killer is watching, planning, luring her back to the ruins of Our Lady and the shocking truths hidden there. For the sins of the past must be revealed, and the price paid--in blood... Lost Souls"Solidifies Jackson's status as the queen of the modern-day suspense thriller." --The Providence JournalKristi Bentz wants to write true crime. All she needs is that one case that will take her to the top. She finds it when she enrolls at All Saints College after learning that four girls have disappeared in less than two years. "Expect the unexpected." --The Clarion LedgerAll four girls were "lost souls"--troubled, vulnerable girls with no one to care about them, no one to come looking for them if they disappeared. The only person that believes Kristi is her ex-lover, Jay McKnight, a professor on campus. The police think they're runaways, but Kristi senses there's something that links them--something terrifying... "Jackson creates relentless suspense...builds the tension to an unbearable and satisfying pitch." --BooklistAs Kristi gets deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she's being watched and followed--studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up, and Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a special club from which there will be no escaping death. . . "Dark and disturbing." --The Roanoke TimesMalice"Taut, twisty...Malice displays the skilled Jackson at her best yet." --The Providence JournalThe perfect moment is here at last. The humiliation and pain he put her through is about to be repaid. Soon Rick Bentz will know the torment of losing the person he loves most--and better yet, he'll have to watch... "Gripping...Jackson heightens the creep factor." --Publishers WeeklySince the accident that nearly claimed his life, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz has been on edge. That must explain why his mind is playing tricks, making him think he sees his first wife, Jennifer. His dead wife. He can't bring himself to tell his new wife, Olivia, about the sightings, or his fears that he's losing his sanity. To find answers, he has to return to Los Angeles, where Jennifer died. And it's there that the murders begin... "Plenty of clever plot turns...the suspense builds from the beginning." --Fresh FictionEach victim is linked to Jennifer's past, and each corpse points to Bentz as the prime suspect. But the worst is yet to come. Because now Olivia is missing, and the only way to save her is to uncover the terrifying truth about a woman he never really knew--and a hatred that runs deep enough to kill... With an EXTENDED EXCERPT of Devious! In #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson's riveting novel of heart-stopping suspense, a woman races to discover the truth about a convent filled with unholy secrets. The crime scene at St. Marguerite's cathedral in New Orleans is shocking, even to seasoned detectives like Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. A novice nun named Sister Camille has been found dressed in a yellowed bridal gown and viciously garroted, her body covered with an altar cloth. Valerie Houston is devastated by her sister's death. For weeks, she'd begged Camille to leave St. Marguerite's, where she seemed determined to live as some kind of martyr. But Camille had a knack for making bad choices--she joined the convent in part because she'd fallen for Val's soon-to-be ex-husband, Slade. Convinced the police aren't doing enough, Val begins to investigate. Slade, on a mission to repair their marriage, is determined to help her. But the deeper Val's inquiries go, the more twisted the case becomes. St. Marguerite's is far from the tranquil retreat many believe, and everyone, from handsome Father Frank O'Toole to the mysterious Mother Superior, has their own agenda. Despite their closeness, even Camille had a hidden life Val never suspected. But someone knew about Camille's past--and Val's, too. Now she has no choice but to catch a devious, depraved killer intent on purging St. Marguerite's of all its sins--before she becomes the next victim...</p></div>


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<p>Others may dread the chill of winter, but he relishes it. The way the frigid water preserves his victims, the feel of their icy skin beneath his fingers...And soon the world will see their beauty - and his vengeance. The town of Grizzly Falls is on edge in the wake of a serial killer, and Detective Selena Alvarez is no exception. That case was solved, but a new nightmare is about to unfold. There are two victims so far - their bodies found frozen solid and deliberately displayed. Both are women she knew. And each wears a piece of Selena's jewellery. Selena's partner, Detective Regan Pescoli, and the entire department are on the case, as is P.I. Dylan O'Keefe - a man Selena got too close to once before. But this killer already knows too much about Selena's secret terror, her flaws, and the past she's tried to outrun. And soon he'll show her that she has every reason to be afraid.</p>


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It is the middle of the twentieth century, and in a home economics program at a prominent university, real babies are being used to teach mothering skills to young women. For a young man raised in these unlikely circumstances, finding real love and learning to trust will prove to be the work of a lifetime. In this captivating novel, bestselling author Lisa Grunwald gives us the sweeping tale of an irresistible hero and the many women who love him.From his earliest days as a “practice baby” through his adult adventures in 1960s New York City, Disney’s Burbank studios, and the delirious world of the Beatles’ London, Henry remains handsome, charming, universally adored—and never entirely accessible to the many women he conquers but can never entirely trust.Filled with unforgettable characters, settings, and action, The Irresistible Henry House portrays the cultural tumult of the mid-twentieth century even as it explores the inner tumult of a young man trying to transcend a damaged childhood. For it is not until Henry House comes face-to-face with the real truths of his past that he finds a chance for real love.


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Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University. Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind... Reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind, Ordinary People and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Still Alice packs a powerful emotional punch and marks the arrival of a strong new voice in fiction.


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<div><p>This is my family:  Vanished without a trace…</p><p>Justin and Libby Denbe have the kind of life that looks good in the pages of a glossy magazine. A beautiful fifteen-year old daughter, Ashlyn. A gorgeous brownstone on a tree-lined street in Boston’s elite Back Bay neighborhood. A great marriage, admired by friends and family.  A perfect life.</p><p>This is what I know:  Pain has a flavor…</p><p>When investigator Tessa Leoni arrives at the crime scene in the Denbes’ home, she finds scuff marks on the floor and Taser confetti in the foyer.  The family appears to have been abducted, with only a pile of their most personal possessions remaining behind.  No witnesses, no ransom demands, no motive.  Just an entire family, vanished without a trace.</p><p>This is what I fear:  The worst is yet to come…</p><p>Tessa knows better than anyone that even the most perfect façades can hide the darkest secrets.  Now she must race against the clock to uncover the Denbes’ innermost dealings, a complex tangle of friendships and betrayal, big business and small sacrifices.  Who would want to kidnap such a perfect little family?  And how far would such a person be willing to go?</p><p>This is the truth:  Love, safety, family…it is all touch and go.</p></div>


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<p class="description">In Lisa Gardner’s first-ever short story following thirteen bestselling novels, The 7th Month takes readers between the books and into a day in the life of Boston Detective D. D. Warren.In her seventh month of pregnancy, D.D. should be taking it easy. Instead, she accepts a small consulting role on the set of a serial killer film shooting in Boston. D.D. figures she’ll be useful to someone for at least one night, serving as a police expert and making a little extra money in the bargain.It seems like a simple task—until the previous film consultant, a former Boston cop, is found beaten to death. Suddenly D.D.’s date with Hollywood gets serious. Extremely pregnant, on the trail of a killer, and surrounded by a hundred and four murder suspects in the middle of a graveyard, D.D. must quickly unravel a tangled web of lies. As another cast member is attacked, D.D. realizes that like it or not, her priorities have changed—and her last desperate hope is that she can catch a killer before she and her unborn baby face mortal danger.Packed with the suspenseful storytelling that has turned Gardner’s novels into New York Times bestsellers, The 7th Month reveals new insights into a beloved series heroine.</p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; ">At the heart of Gardner's outstanding fourth novel featuring Boston PD detective Warren (after The Neighbor) are some very sick kids, notably Lucy, a nine-year-old feral girl who self-mutilates when any attention is given to her, and Evan, an eight-year-old boy who during fits threatens to kill his mother. D.D gets involved after two grisly family annihilations lead to the locked-down pediatric psych ward in Cambridge that specializes in Lucy's and Evan's types of hard case. When a child is too sick and the parent can no longer handle care, the child ends up in the acute care facility under the tutelage of pediatric psych nurse Danielle, the lone survivor of her own family bloodbath. Coincidence? That's for D.D. to figure out--in the midst of a budding romance with police academy professor Alex Wilson and infuriating encounters with Andrew Lightfoot, resident "woo-woo expert" (that's cop talk for psychic), who works in tandem with the hospital. Plenty of red herrings keep readers guessing, but Gardner always plays fair in this tight and consistently engaging page-turner.</span></h3>

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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Near the start of Thriller Award–winner Gardner's gripping fifth novel featuring Boston PD Sgt. Det. D.D. Warren (after Live to Tell), D.D.'s former partner and one-time lover, Det. Bobby Dodge, of the Massachusetts State Police, asks her to look into what appears to be a clear-cut homicide case. The evidence suggests that Tessa Leoni, a state trooper colleague of Bobby's, shot and killed her abusive husband, Brian Darby, who may have kidnapped her six-year-old daughter, Sophie. But Tessa won't talk about her bruises, her husband, or what might have happened to her child. D.D. examines every detail about the family, while Tessa uses her skills to manipulate the investigation. From Tessa's point of view, we learn about her and Brian's courtship, his affection for Sophie, and how the marriage began to disintegrate. Gardner sprinkles plenty of clues and inventive twists to keep readers off-kilter as the suspense builds to a realistic, jaw-dropping finale. </span></h3></div>


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<div><p><strong> In <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author Lisa Gardner's latest D.D. Warren thriller, the relentless Boston investigator must solve a coldly calculated murder--before it happens. </strong></p><p><strong><em>In four days, someone is going to kill me . . . </em></strong></p><p>Detective D. D. Warren is hard to surprise. But a lone woman outside D.D.'s latest crime scene shocks her with a remarkable proposition: Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant believes she will be murdered in four days. And she wants Boston's top detective to handle the death investigation.</p><p><strong><em>It will be up close and personal. No evidence of forced entry, no sign of struggle.</em></strong> <br>Charlie tells a chilling story: Each year at 8:00 p.m. on January 21st, a woman has died. The victims have been childhood best friends from a small town in New Hampshire; the motive remains unknown. Now only one friend, Charlie, remains to count down her final hours.</p><p>But as D.D. quickly learns, Charlie Grant doesn't plan on going down without a fight. By her own admission, the girl can outshoot, outfight, and outrun anyone in Boston. Which begs the question, is Charlie the next victim, or the perfect perpetrator? As D.D. tracks a vigilante gunman who is killing pedophiles in Boston, she must also delve into the murders of Charlie's friends, racing to find answers before the next gruesome January 21 anniversary. Is Charlie truly in danger, or is she hiding a secret that may turn out to be the biggest threat of all?</p><p><strong><em>In four days, someone is going to kill me. But the son of a bitch has gotta catch me first.</em></strong></p></div>


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The secret to glowing skin, brighter eyes, whiter teeth, shinier hair, and stronger nails.According to nationally known nutritionist Lisa Drayer, itï¿½s not what you put on your body, but what you put in your body that makes you beautiful. Drayer's groundbreaking guide reveals the Top 10 Beauty Foods--natureï¿½s best kept secrets for glowing skin, fuller hair, healthier nails, brighter eyes, and whiter teeth. Her easy-to-follow programï¿½including a mouthwatering four-week meal plan with more than 100 recipesï¿½unlocks the amazing power of these Beauty Foods and makes every part of your body look and feel absolutely fantastic..Here are the Top 10 Beauty Foods.Wild Salmon.Yogurt .Blueberries.Spinach.Kiwis.Tomatoes.Oysters.Sweet Potatoes.Walnuts.Dark Chocolate.


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<div><p>Hunter Liam McKiernan would do anything to lure vampire Jennifer Williams into his trap--even use her sister, Eve, against her. It was only fitting since he believed Jennifer killed his brother. But when he finally caught up with her, Jennifer was not the cold-hearted creature he expected. She was beautiful, warm...and lonely. Liam couldn't resist the urge to protect her--and the desire to make love to her.</p><p>But a member of the Secret Vampire Society <em>had</em> killed Liam's brother--a vampire who also wanted Jennifer himself....</p></div>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; ">When high-level executive Mark Ludlow is discovered beaten to death in front of his house early one morning, forensic scientist Theresa MacLean and her fiancé, homicide detective Paul Cleary, investigate in Black's underwhelming debut, a thriller set in Cleveland. Paul immediately heads downtown to interview Ludlow's co-workers at the Federal Reserve Bank and walks right into a botched robbery attempt and hostage situation. Lucas Parrish and Bobby Moyers want $4 million, but top hostage negotiator Chris Cavanaugh isn't ready to give in to their demands. When Paul is shot in the leg and becomes a hostage, Theresa breaks protocol and convinces Lucas to let Paul go and take her instead. It's up to Theresa on the inside and Chris on the outside to uncover the motive behind the robbery and Ludlow's murder before anyone else gets hurt. Theresa, despite her professional training, devotes little time to scientific deduction. Readers can expect to find richer plots on most TV crime dramas. </span></h3>


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<p>Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that's what she passes herself off as. The truth is, Keisha's real powers have more to do with separating troubled families from their money than actually seeing into the netherworld. Keisha watches the news for stories of missing family members. She gives it a few days, then moves in, tells these families she's had a vision, that she may have some clue to where these missing people are. And by the way, she charges for this service, and likes to see the money up front. Keisha's latest mark is a man whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or, if she's been abducted, pleading with whoever took her to let her go. Keisha knows a payoff when she sees one. So she pays a visit to our troubled husband, tells him her vision. Trouble is, her vision just happens to be close enough to the truth that it leaves this man rattled. And it may very well leave Keisha dead.</p>


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<div><p>The illegitimate son of a wealthy rancher, Sheriff Slade Barlow grew up in a trailer hitched to the Curly-Burly hair salon his mother runs. He was never acknowledged by his father…until now. Suddenly, Slade has inherited half of Whisper Creek Ranch, one of the most prosperous in Parable, Montana. That doesn't sit well with his half brother, Hutch, who grew up with all the rights of a Carmody—including the affections of Joslyn Kirk, homecoming queen, rodeo queen, beauty queen, whom Slade has never forgotten.</p><p>But Joslyn is barely holding her head up these days as she works to pay back everyone her crooked stepfather cheated. With a town to protect, plus a rebellious teenage stepdaughter, Slade has his hands full. But <em>someone</em> has to convince Joslyn that she's responsible only for her own actions—such as her effect on this lawman's guarded heart.</p></div>


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<div><p>HOW DO YOU MOVE ON AFTER BEING LAID OFF?</p><p>You can't always control losing your job, but you can control your reaction and the decisions you make afterward</p><p>In <em>Getting Back to Work,</em> Linda Rolie, an expert in strategic career development with a background as a psychiatric therapist, gives you time-tested tools for finding a new job in today's tough economy, while also working through the psychological challenges you might face after being laid off.</p><p>In Getting Back to Work, you'll find: </p><ul><li>Guidance managing emotions and stress while searching for a new job </li><li>Exercises to identify transferable skills, knowledge, abilities, and qualifications </li><li>Templates for writing impressive resumes, cover letters, and thank-you notes, </li><li>Tips on networking, resume building, interviewing, and how to answer the “why did you get laid off?” and “aren't you overqualified?” questions </li><li>Research methods for finding a job, helpful Internet sites and other resources</li></ul></div>


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<p>"Desperate. Determined. Unwaveringly confident. In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant named Helga Estby dares to cross 3500 miles of the American continent to win a $10,000 wager. On foot." "A mother of eight living children, she attempts to save her family's homestead in Eastern Washington after the 1893 depression had ravaged the American economy. Fearing homelessness and family poverty, Helga responds to a wager from a mysterious sponsor, casts off the cultural corsets of Victorian femininity and gambles her family's future by striking out with her eldest daughter, Clara, to try to be the first women to travel unescorted across the country: independent, audacious, alert, and armed with a Smith-and-Wesson revolver." "Leaving with only five dollars each and dressed in full-length skirts, they follow the railroads east as newspapers chronicle their adventures. Using wits, savvy, and guns to survive snowstorms, hunger, mountain lions, and the occasional thief, they visit Indian reservations, Western boomtowns, governors, mining towns, remote ranchers, politicians, suffragettes, and even president-elect William McKinley." "Accomplishing what was assumed impossible for women, they arrive in New York heralded by the city's popular newspapers for their astonishing achievement. But deep disappointment, betrayal, and heartbreaking news from home cause the remarkable story to become silenced among their family and friends." "Almost a century later, author Linda Hunt recreates Helga Estby's story in Bold Spirit: her culture and time, her abiding love of America, her resilient faith, and her challenge to Victorian constraints as she lived on the transitional edge of a new century of possibilities and of changing beliefs about women." For many modern readers, enduring questions remain about what happens when stories go unspoken among us and what keeps family stories alive. Helga's is a rag-tag history woven from discarded remnants and submerged details, a once-forgotten saga tha</p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Jaclyn Wilde is a wedding planner who loves her job—usually. But helping Carrie Edwards with her Big Day has been an unrelenting nightmare. Carrie is a bridezilla of mythic nastiness, a diva whose tantrums are just about as crazy as her demands. But the unpleasant task at hand turns seriously criminal when Carrie is brutally murdered and everyone involved with the ceremony is accusing one another of doing the deed.</span></h3><p>The problem is, most everyone—from the cake maker and the florist to the wedding-gown retailer and the bridesmaids’ dressmaker—had his or her own reason for wanting the bride dead, including Jaclyn. And while those who felt Carrie’s wrath are now smiling at her demise, Jaclyn refuses to celebrate tragedy, especially since she finds herself in the shadow of suspicion.  </p><p>Assigned to the case, Detective Eric Wilder finds that there’s too much evidence pointing toward too many suspects. Compounding his problems is Jaclyn, with whom he shared one deeply passionate night before Carrie’s death. Being a prime suspect means that Jaclyn is hands-off just when Eric would rather be hands-on. As the heat intensifies between Eric and Jaclyn, a cold-blooded murderer moves dangerously close. And this time the target is not a bride but one particularly irresistible wedding planner, unaware of a killer’s vow.</p>

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<p>Carlin Reed lives in fear, off the grid, moving from place to place. So Battle Ridge, Wyoming, a small town in the middle of nowhere, seems like a good place to lie low for a while. But after becoming cook and housekeeper to cattle rancher Zeke Decker, Carlin suspects that she’s made her first mistake. Rugged, sexy, and too distracting for his own good, Zeke is pure temptation mixed with something deep and primal that makes Carlin feel almost safe. Soon things are getting way too hot in the kitchen.<br><br>Zeke doesn’t challenge Carlin’s terms: cash, dead bolts, and no questions. It is easy to see that she’s a woman in trouble. Problem is, he’s so blindsided by his attraction to her he can’t think straight. Zeke tries to stay <em>all business, no complications</em>—but that game plan is sabotaged the second Carlin gets under his skin. And when her terrifying past follows her to the ranch, Carlin faces a heartbreaking choice: run away from the man she loves, or put him in the crosshairs of a madman.</p>


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<div><p>Everyone in Painters Mill knows the abandoned Hochstetler farm is haunted. But only a handful of the residents remember the terrible secrets lost in the muted/hushed whispers of time—and now death is stalking them, seemingly from the grave.</p><p>On a late-night shift, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called to the scene of an apparent suicide—an old man found hanging from the rafters in his dilapidated barn. But evidence quickly points to murder and Kate finds herself chasing a singularly difficult and elusive trail of evidence that somehow points back to the tragedy of that long ago incident. Meanwhile, Kate has moved in with state agent John Tomasetti and for the first time in so long, they're both happy; a bliss quickly shattered when one of the men responsible for the murders of Tomasetti’s family four years ago is found not guilty, and walks away a free man. Will Tomasetti be pulled back to his own haunted past?</p><p>When a second man is found dead—also seemingly by his own hand—Kate discovers a link in the case that sends the investigation in a direction no one could imagine and revealing the horrifying truth of what really happened that terrible night thirty-five years ago, when an Amish father and his four children perished—and his young wife disappeared without a trace. </p><p>And, as Kate knows—the past never truly dies.</p></div>


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<div><p>Under the direction of famed explorer Porter Stone, an archaeological team is secretly attempting to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh who was unlike any other in history. Stone believes he has found the burial chamber of King Narmer, the near mythical god- king who united upper and lower Egypt in 3200 B.C., and the archaeologist has reason to believe that the greatest prize of all—Narmer’s crown—might be buried with him. No crown of an Egyptian king has ever been discovered, and Narmer’s is the elusive “double” crown of the two Egypts, supposedly pos­sessed of awesome powers. <br></p><p>The dig itself is located in one of the most forbidding places on earth—the Sudd, a nearly  impassable swamp in north­ern Sudan. Amid the nightmarish, disorienting tangle of mud and dead vegetation, a series of harrowing and inexpli­cable occurrences are causing people on the expedition to fear a centuries- old curse. With a monumental discovery in reach, Professor Jeremy Logan is brought onto the project to investigate. What he finds will raise new questions . . . and alarm. <br></p><p>In the hands of master storyteller Lincoln Child, <em>The Third Gate</em> breaks new ground and introduces a fascinating new protagonist to the thriller world.</p></div>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">At the outset of bestseller Fairstein's winning 12th legal thriller featuring New York County ADA Alex Cooper (after <em>Lethal Legacy</em>), the bodies of human trafficking victims wash up on Rockaway Beach. At least one young woman appears to have been dead before she hit the frigid waters. Meanwhile, Ethan Leighton, a rising Manhattan congressman, has fled the scene of a car accident, possibly to avoid exposure of an extramarital affair and a love child. Leighton's paramour, who calls 911 to report that Leighton has threatened her, later disappears amid signs of violence. Both cases attract the keen attention of Vin Statler, New York's ambitious post-Bloomberg mayor, who adds political pressure to the crime solving. Fairstein throws a City Council slush fund into the mix, but manages to resolve the various plot threads nicely. While the main criminal's identity will surprise few, readers seeking a realistic depiction of law-enforcement work will be more than satisfied. </span></h3>

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<div><p>As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of <em>Life</em> magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons.<br></p><p>Annie Glenn, with her picture-perfect marriage, was the envy of the other wives; platinum-blonde Rene Carpenter was proclaimed JFK's favorite; and licensed pilot Trudy Cooper arrived on base with a secret. Together with the other wives they formed the Astronaut Wives Club, meeting regularly to provide support and friendship. Many became next-door neighbors and helped to raise each other's children by day, while going to glam parties at night as the country raced to land a man on the Moon.<br></p><p>As their celebrity rose-and as divorce and tragic death began to touch their lives-they continued to rally together, and the wives have now been friends for more than fifty years. THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history.</p></div>


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<p class="description">Lois McMaster Bujold’s best-selling Vorkosigan series is a publishing phenomenon, winning record-breaking sales, critical praise, four Hugo Awards and a Nebula award. And the thousands of devotees of the series now have a book that will be a goldmine of information, background details, and little-known facts about the Vorkosigan saga. Included are an all-new interview with Bujold as well as essays by her on crafting the Vorkosigan universe, articles on the biology, technology and sociology of the planet Barrayar, appreciations of the individual novels by experts, maps, a complete timeline of the series, and more. Readers can’t get enough of the Vorkosigan series and they’ll jump at the chance to read this story behind the stories. Baen has a new novel in the Vorkosigan series under contract.</p>


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<p class="description">The ladies of "Cook Yourself Thin," a new Lifetime reality show, offer 80 easy, accessible recipes in this companion cookbook that teaches readers how to cut calories without compromising taste.</p>


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<p class="description"> This is not your mother's memoir. In The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch expertly moves the reader through issues of gender, sexuality, violence, and the family from the point of view of a lifelong swimmer turned artist. In writing that explores the nature of memoir itself, her story traces the effect of extreme grief on a young woman's developing sexuality that some define as untraditional because of her attraction to both men and women. Her emergence as a writer evolves at the same time and takes the narrator on a journey of addiction, self-destruction, and ultimately survival that finally comes in the shape of love and motherhood.</p>


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<p class="description">In this inspiring new book, Lidia Bastianich awakens in us a new respect for food and for the people who produce it in the little-known parts of Italy that she explores. All of the recipes reflect the regions fromwhich they spring, and in translating them to our home kitchens, Lidia passes on time-honored techniques and wonderful, uncomplicated recipes for dishes bursting with different regional flavors-the kind ofelemental, good family cooking that is particularly appreciated today. Penetrating the heart of Italy-starting at the north, working down to the tip, and ending in Sardinia--Lidiaunearths a wealth of recipes: From Trentino-Alto Adige: Delicious Dumplings with Speck (cured pork); apples accenting soup, pasta, salsa, and salad; local beer used to roasta chicken and to braise beefFrom Lombardy: A world of rice-baked in a frittata, with lentils, with butternut squash, with gorgonzola, and the special treat of Risotto Milan-Style withMarrow and SaffronFrom Valle d'Aosta: Polenta with Black Beans and Kale, and local fontina featured in fondue, in a roasted pepper salad, and embedded in veal chopsFromLiguria: An array of Stuffed Vegetables, a bread salad, and elegant Veal Stuffed with a Mosaic of VegetablesFrom Emilia-Romagna: An olive oil dough for making thetraditional, versatile vegetable tart "erbazzone, " as well as the secrets of making "tagliatelle" and other pasta doughs, and an irresistible Veal Scaloppine BologneseFromLe Marche: Farro with Roasted Pepper Sauce, Lamb Chunks with Olives, and Stuffed Quail in ParchmentFrom Umbria: A taste of the sweet Norcino black truffle, and seductivedishes such as Potato-Mushroom Cake with Braised Lentils, Sausages in the Skillet with Grapes, and Chocolate Bread ParfaitFrom Abruzzo: Fresh "scrippelle" (crepe)ribbons baked with spinach or garnishing a soup, fresh pasta made with a "guitar," Rabbit with Onions, and Lamb Chops with OlivesFrom Molise: Fried Ricotta; homemadecavatelli pasta in a variety of ways; Spaghetti with Calamari, Shrimp, and Scallops; and Braised OctopusFrom Basilicata: Wedding Soup, Fiery "Maccheroni, " and Farro with PorkRaguugrave;From Calabria: Shepherd's Rigatoni, steamed swordfish, and Almond BiscottiniFrom Sardinia: Flatbread Lasagna, two lovely eggplant dishes, andRoast Lobster with Bread Crumb Topping This is just a sampling of the many delights Lidia has uncovered. All the recipes she shares with us in this rich feast of a book represent the work of the localpeople and friends with whom she made intimate contact-the farmers, shepherds, foragers, and artisans who produce local cheeses, meats, olive oils, and wines. And in addition, her daughter, Tanya, takes us onside trips in each of the twelve regions to share her love of the country and its art.</p>


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<p class="description">With penetrating insights for today, this vital history of the world economic collapse of the late 1920s offers unforgettable portraits of the four men whose personal and professional actions as heads of their respective central banks changed the course of the twentieth century It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person's or government's control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions taken by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of the economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for World War II and reverberated for decades. In Lords of Finance, we meet the neurotic and enigmatic Montagu Norman of the Bank of England, the xenophobic and suspicious Ã‰mile Moreau of the Banque de France, the arrogant yet brilliant Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbank, and Benjamin Strong of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, whose faÃ§ade of energy and drive masked a deeply wounded and overburdened man. After the First World War, these central bankers attempted to reconstruct the world of international finance. Despite their differences, they were united by a common fear—that the greatest threat to capitalism was inflation— and by a common vision that the solution was to turn back the clock and return the world to the gold standard. For a brief period in the mid-1920s they appeared to have succeeded. The world's currencies were stabilized and capital began flowing freely across the globe. But beneath the veneer of boom-town prosperity, cracks started to appear in the financial system. The gold standard that all had believed would provide an umbrella of stability proved to be a straitjacket, and the world economy began that terrible downward spiral known as the Great Depression. As yet another period of economic turmoil makes headlines today, the Great Depression and the year 1929 remain the benchmark for true financial mayhem. Offering a new understanding of the global nature of financial crises, Lords of Finance is a potent reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, of their fallibility, and of the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong.</p>


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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'MS Shell Dlg 2'; "><p>At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read<br></p><p>My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died. . .</p><p>Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .<br>Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.</p></span>


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<div><p>A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?  </p><p>What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.  </p><p>But who did what?<br></p><p><em>Big Little Lies</em> follows three women, each at a crossroads:</p><p>Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (<em>how </em>is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).</p><p>Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.</p><p>New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.<br></p><p><em>Big Little Lies</em> is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.</p></div>


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The surprise fourth installment, the epic conclusion of Lian Hearn's beloved, bestselling Tales of the Otori. <br/><br/> The Harsh Cry of the Heron: The Last Tale of the Otori is a truly epic novel. It is the rich and satisfying conclusion to the Tales of the Otori series that both completes the characters' lives-prophesied and otherwise-and brilliantly illuminates unexpected aspects of the entire Otori saga. The Harsh Cry of the Heron is the only fitting end to such a stirring series: a book that takes the storytelling achievement of Lian Hearn's fantastic medieval Japanese world to startling new heights of drama and action. <br/><br/> Hearn's Otori series is the best (and only) literary expression of a cultural phenomenon that has swept through cinema (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), comics (manga), and popular culture at large. And, with this book, Hearn delivers in full ninja vs. samurai fashion the kinetic, simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting resolution that the Otori's hundreds of thousands of fans richly deserve-whose epic satisfaction will surely draw even more readers into the fold.


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<p><strong>A thrilling new voice in fantasy makes an unforgettable debut with this "intriguingly twisted tale of treachery and magic" (<em>New York Times </em>bestselling author L. E. Modesitt, Jr.). Liane Merciel’s <em>The River Kings’ Road </em>takes us to a world of bitter enmity between kingdoms, divided loyalties between comrades, and an insidious magic that destroys everything it touches. . . . </strong></p><p><em>The wounded maidservant thrust the knotted blankets at him; instinctively, Brys stepped forward and caught the bundle before it fell. Then he glimpsed what lay inside and nearly dropped it himself. </em></p><p><em>There was a baby in the blankets. A baby with a tear-swollen face red and round as a midsummer plum. A baby he knew, even without seeing the lacquered medallion tucked into the swaddling—a medallion far too heavy, on a chain far too cold for an infant who had not yet seen a year. </em></p><p>A fragile period of peace between the eternally warring kingdoms of Oakharn and Langmyr is shattered when a surprise massacre fueled by bloodmagic ravages the Langmyrne border village of Willowfield, killing its inhabitants—including a visiting Oakharne lord and his family—and leaving behind a scene so grisly that even the carrion eaters avoid its desecrated earth. But the dead lord’s infant heir has survived the carnage—a discovery that entwines the destinies of <strong>Brys Tarnell</strong>, a mercenary who rescues the helpless and ailing babe, and who enlists a Langmyr peasant, a young mother herself, to nourish and nurture the child of her enemies as they travel a dark, perilous road . . . <strong>Odosse</strong>, the peasant woman whose only weapons are wit, courage, and her fierce maternal love—and who risks everything she holds dear to protect her new charge . . . <strong>Sir Kelland</strong>, a divinely blessed Knight of the Sun, called upon to unmask the architects behind the slaughter and avert war between ancestral enemies . . . <strong>Bitharn</strong>, Kelland’s companion on his journey, who conceals her lifelong love for the Knight behind her flawless archery skills—and whose feelings may ultimately be Kelland’s undoing . . . and <strong>Leferic</strong>, an Oakharne Lord’s bitter youngest son, whose dark ambitions fuel the most horrific acts of violence. As one infant’s life hangs in the balance, so too does the fate of thousands, while deep in the forest, a Maimed Witch practices an evil bloodmagic that could doom them all. . . . </p>


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Lord Shigeru, heir to the Otori clan, faces hostility from the shrewdly ambitious Iida family in the East and base treachery at home from his uncles. His noble education and training as a warrior have prepared him for leadership and combat, but fate and Shigeru's youthful determination bring the Three Countries to war, and he must endure terrible and tragic defeat at thebattle of Yaegahara... and its brutal consequences.  Heaven's Net is Wide is the first and last Tale, which both closes the circle and introduces new readers to the strange and beautiful world of the Otori. It is an epic historical fantasy of revenge and betrayal, honour and loyalty, beauty and passion and the overwhelming power of love.


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A beautiful, haunting evocation of the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's imagination, this thrilling follow-up to Grass for His Pillow and Across the Nightingale Floor delves deeper into the complex loyalties that bind its characters from birth. Filled with adventure and surprising twists of plot and fortune, this final volume travels beyond the Three Countries, to the outside influences that threaten to intrude upon this isolated realm.


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Both Takeo and Kaede have visions of their future. Takeo works to escape the Tribe and fulfill the last wishes of his adoptive father, Lord Shigeru Otori. And Kaede, heir to two seats of power, moves forward step by step, aided by her own wits and a precarious alliance with Lord Fujiwara. In their separate worlds, the two long for each other, knowing that they are meant to be together, wondering if they will ever see each other again. . . .  'The beauty, savagery and strangeness of Hearn's gripping tale is heightened by her exquisite, crystalline prose. The second instalment in the "Tales of the Otori" is, astonishingly, even better than " Across the Nightingale Floor"' - Amanda Craig, " Independent on Sunday"


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<p class="description">This is the first book in a new epic trilogy that has already become a bestselling sensation in England and Australia, earning comparisons to The Lord of the Rings. It begins with the legend of a nightingale floor in a black-walled fortress-a floor that sings in alarm at the step of an assassin. It will take true courage and all the skills of an ancient Tribe for one orphaned youth named Takeo to discover the magical destiny that awaits him...across the nightingale floor.</p>


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<p class="description">Source of legend and lyric, reference and conjecture, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is for most children pure pleasure in prose. While adults try to decipher Lewis Carroll's putative use of complex mathematical codes in the text, or debate his alleged use of opium, young readers simply dive with Alice through the rabbit hole, pursuing "The dream-child moving through a land / Of wonders wild and new." There they encounter the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Mock Turtle, and the Mad Hatter, among a multitude of other characters--extinct, fantastical, and commonplace creatures. Alice journeys through this Wonderland, trying to fathom the meaning of her strange experiences. But they turn out to be "curiouser and curiouser," seemingly without moral or sense. For more than 130 years, children have reveled in the delightfully non-moralistic, non-educational virtues of this classic. In fact, at every turn, Alice's new companions scoff at her traditional education. The Mock Turtle, for example, remarks that he took the "regular course" in school: Reeling, Writhing, and branches of Arithmetic-Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. Carroll believed John Tenniel's illustrations were as important as his text. Naturally, Carroll's instincts were good; the masterful drawings are inextricably tied to the well-loved story.</p>


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<div><p>At the age of seventeen, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into Saddam Hussein’s army. The training was brutal, with discipline enforced by regular beatings, and desertion punishable by mutilation or imprisonment. Somehow Lewis made it through and, thanks in part to his fluent English, was soon offered a post in Iraqi military intelligence. The job would have made him powerful, comfortably wealthy . . . and a cog in Saddam Hussein’s massive machine of terror. </p><p>Unable to accept becoming a member of Saddam’s secret police, yet knowing that turning down this “honor” would be considered treasonous, Lewis made plans to flee Iraq. His escape was fraught with peril–he was shot, detained at borders, even pursued by hungry wolves across the desert–but the teenager made his way to Jordan, then Malaysia, and finally to England, where he was granted political asylum.</p><p>Lewis began building a life for himself, even falling in love and getting married. But he was haunted by thoughts of the loved ones he left behind in Iraq, his uncle’s words echoing in his ears: we are sending you to freedom so that one day you may rescue us from this place.</p><p>One day, shocking news arrived: because of his escape, Lewis’s family–including his mother and sister–had been interrogated, beaten, and thrown into prison. Frantic with guilt and worry, Lewis was forced to steal the thousands of dollars he needed to buy their release and smuggle them out of Iraq. Then, accompanied by his wife, he embarked on a desperate journey in hope of bringing his family to freedom.</p><p><em>Escape from Saddam</em> is a powerful nonfiction thriller that, even as it plunges the reader into a netherworld of crooked border police, military checkpoints, counterfeiters, and smugglers, provides a fascinating window into a totalitarian regime. It is also a remarkably inspirational story of a resourceful young man who refused to accept his fate . . . and then risked everything he’d achieved to save his family.</p></div>


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By now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. Widely available again after twenty-five years, this book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared. An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.


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Intellectually precocious high school senior Quentin Coldwater escapes the boredom of his daily life by reading and re-reading a series of beloved fantasy novels set in an enchanted land called Fillory. Like everybody else' he assumes that ma


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<p class="description">The stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy  Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. Everything he had fought so hard for, not to mention his closest friends, is sealed away in a land Quentin may never again visit. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Meanwhile, the magical barriers that keep Fillory safe are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. Eliot and Janet, the rulers of Fillory, embark on a final quest to save their beloved world, only to discover a situation far more complex—and far more dire—than anyone had envisioned.  Along with Plum, a brilliant young magician with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. His new life takes him back to old haunts, like Antarctica and the Neitherlands, and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers buried secrets and hidden evils and ultimately the key to a sorcerous masterwork, a spell that could create a magical utopia. But all roads lead back to Fillory, where Quentin must face his fears and put things right or die trying.  The Magician’s Land is an intricate and fantastical thriller, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy. It’s the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.</p>


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After finally arriving at the offices of Jolie, meeting their fellow makeover candidates, and being treated to a fashion show, Elizabeth is enamored of the extreme outfits and stick-thin models-while Lucy's having some misgivings. The pampering is nice (never underestimate the transformative powers of a $500 haircut) and the glitz and glamour of haute couture is bizarrely fascinating, but bitterness and aggression lurk behind the Jolie's hipper-than-thou façade. And things turn downright ugly when self-absorbed fashion editor Nadine Nelson falls mysteriously ill and then dies. Lucy saw first-hand some of the backstabbing going on at Jolie. And the red-hot rumor mill soon reveals that the cliquish connection among the magazine's cabal of high-style executives-fierce tempered fashionistas Camilla Keith, Elise Frazier, and Nadine herself-has stirred up plenty of bad blood over the years. Numerous staffers, from workaholic assistant Phyllis Finch to oft-maligned photo editor Pablo Prinz, have found themselves at the other end of the trio's sharp claws. To say suspects abound would be an understatement. But this Manhattan murder mystery hits too close to home when Elizabeth gets rushed to the hospital with symptoms that are disturbingly similar to Nadine's. Now, it's up to Lucy to dress down a killer before the ball drops in Times Square...


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When her part-time reporting gig gives Lucy the opportunity to attend a Boston newspaper conference, she looks forward to the vacation from domestic bliss. But upon leaving Tinker's Cove, she quickly discovers that alone time can be kind of lonely. And in between libel workshops and panel discussions, Lucy takes a guilt trip. She feels terrible that she won't be home to help her husband celebrate Father's Day. But when Luther Read - head of a nearly bankrupt newspaper dynasty - suddenly drops dead, Lucy has other things to think about. Murder, for instance. She's not buying the theory that Luther died of an asthma attack. The man just had too many enemies. Always the intrepid snoop, Lucy vows to investigate. But she can't help wondering if her name will end up on a byline - or in an obit.


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In this book, ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone's farmhouse, life just hasn't been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucyís lawn to another neighbor's lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery - Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor - with a knife in her back. While the police start their investigation, Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for the local Pennysaver - and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn't like Mimi, but they certainly didn't want her dead... right? Could the murder have been committed by bossy Christine Cashman, an ex-marketing exec and current housewife who's running this year's bake sale like it's a board meeting? Or Bonnie Burkhart, the wife of the high schoolís football coach, who Mimi had actually threatened? And who is that mysterious homeless man skulking around the cemetery? Of course some people donít appreciate Lucy's snooping - including Mimi's very belligerent son. But when a rock comes crashing through her living room window accompanied by a note telling her 'you could be next', Lucy's more determined than ever to get to the bottom of things... even if it means breaking a few eggs along the way.


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Gadget-lover Missi Bombays newest mission is on the set of reality TV show Survival, but she may not outlast her super-sexy competitor.


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Perennial grad student Veronica Gale gets more than she bargained for when her latest dissertation project puts her in the path of PHosopher/assassin/carnival-ride operator Coney Bombay-and an unsolved murder that might just kill her, too.


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Dakota Bombay's life is turned upside-down with a precocious young boy dropped off on his doorstep, a new assassination business threatening his family's livelihood, and a mysterious woman who might just end his playboy ways.


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Gin Bombay is your ordinary, everyday single mom with a hand in her family's business-which happens to be assassination. Everything is going just fine until she's assigned to kill the client of the hunky AUtralian bodyguard who's just moved down the block.


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<p class="description">Narrative history at its most compelling, After the Prophet allows readers to grasp the power and depth of the Shia-Sunni split as never before.Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would succeed him as the ruler of the Muslim people had begun. And as Lesley Hazleton shows in her gripping history After the Prophet, the battle has never ended. This is the foundation story of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam, a magnificent tale of power, intrigue, assassination, and passionate faith. Starting in Arabia in the year 632 and reaching its terrible breaking point fifty years later in Iraq, it still shapes modern headlines from Iran’s Islamic Revolution to the Iraq civil war.The succession crisis set Muhammad’s son-in-law, the philosopher-warrior Ali, in opposition to the controversial Aisha, Muhammad’s favorite wife. She would defy all expectations by leading an army against Ali, urging on her warriors in the thick of battle. The ultimate breaking point came when soldiers of the first Sunni dynasty massacred seventy-two warriors led by Ali’s son, Hussein, at Karbala in Iraq, forging the Shia-Sunni split in blood. Hussein’s ordeal would quickly become the Passion story at the core of Shia Islam, and history would be transformed into sacred history.Balancing past and present, Lesley Hazleton shows how this story is alive in Middle Eastern hearts and minds today, as though it had just happened. Even as she tells what happened in the seventh century, she never lets the reader lose sight of where those events have left us, and why they matter so much now as the struggle for dominance in the Muslim world plays out in the cities and mountains of Iraq and Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Placed squarely at the volatile intersection of religion and politics, history and current events, the vividly narrated After the Prophet is compulsive reading—and an emotional and political revelation for Western readers.</p>


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Melissa’s most recent troubles stem from a secret: her 28-year-old boyfriend, Michael, has just broken up with her. Melissa clings to the memories, riding a relentless wave of hope and disappointment. Meaningless sexual escapades, drunken nights, and drug-induced blackouts help her cope with heartbreak, but her pain goes much deeper than unrequited teenage love. Her insight, sense of humour, optimism, and sheer determination prove to be saving graces, as is her ability to find solace in the Greek myths she’s learned about in grade ten English class. And in the end, it is Melissa’s mother who proves to be the real victim, and Melissa who must save her.


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From the sun-scorched sands of the Kalahari to the snake-infested jungles of the Amazon, Les Stroud has made a life of surviving in the harshest—and most remote—regions on Earth.   Now, the creator, producer, and host of the hit television program Survivorman transfers his decades of knowledge and experience to the pages of Survive!, a practical guide that gives everyday readers a no-nonsense look at the real world of survival.   Stroud offers readers the essential skills and tactics necessary to endure in any corner of the globe, along with a wealth of insider information born of his own experiences in the outdoors and unavailable in any other book. Readers will learn:   How to make a survival shelter and why a lean-to is largely a waste of time. Why survival kits are important, and why you should make your own. Where to find water and why drinking contaminated water is sometimes warranted. How to locate and trap small animals and why the notion of tracking and hunting large game is largely a pipe dream.   Whether seasoned in the outdoor arts or new to adventuring, all readers will learn something from Survive!. Stroud's many colorful anecdotes and cut-to-the-chase philosophy not only make for an entertaining read, but also enhance anyone's ability to focus on the main goal when everything else has gone wrong—survival.


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<p class="description">Bobby Griffith was an all-American boy ...and he was gay. Faced with an irresolvable conflict-for both his family and his religion taught him that being gay was " wrong" -Bobby chose to take his own life.  "Prayers for Bobby", nominated for a 1996 Lambda Literary Award, is the story of the emotional journey that led Bobby to this tragic conclusion. But it is also the story of Bobby's mother, a fearful churchgoer who first prayed that her son would be " healed, " then anguished over hi suicide, and ultimately transformed herself into a national crusader for gay and lesbian youth.  As told through Bobby's poignant journal entries and his mother's reminiscences, "Prayers for Bobby" is at once a moving personal story, a true profile in courage, and a call to arms to parents everywhere.  </p>


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Most of what we know about Leonardo da Vinci, we know because of his notebooks. Some 6,000 sheets of notes and drawings survive, perhaps one-fifth of what he actually produced. With an artist's eye and a scientist's curiosity, he recorded in these pages his observations on the movement ofwater and the formation of rocks, the nature of flight and optics, anatomy, architecture, sculpture, and painting. He jotted down fables, epigrams, and letters and developed his belief in the sublime unity of nature and man. Through his notebooks we can get an insight into Leonardo's thoughts, andhis approach to work and life. This selection, organized in seven themed sections, offers a fascinating and informative sample of his writings. Fully updated, this new edition includes some 70 line drawings and a Preface by Martin Kemp, one of the world's leading authorities on Leonardo, whoexplores the artist's genius and the contents and legacy of his manuscripts. The book also features new notes and a chronology of Leonardo's life.Irma A. Richter was an artist, translator, and Leonardo scholar.Thereza Wells is Head of Scientific Analysis at Universal Leonardo.Martin Kemp is University Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford (Trinity College) and the author of The Oxford History of Western Art and Leonardo.


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A God in RuinsSpanning the decades from World War II to the 2008 presidential campaign, A God in Ruins is the riveting story of Quinn Patrick O'Connell, an honest, principled, and courageous man on the brink of becoming the second Irish Catholic President of the United States. But Quinn is a man with an explosive secret that can shatter his political amibitions, threaten his life, and tear the country apart--a secret buried for over a half century--that even he does not know...


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<p class="description">Ayn Rand chose Leonard Peikoff to be her successor as the spokesman for Objectivism. And in this brilliantly reasoned, thought-provoking work we learn why, as he demonstrates how far America has been detoured from its original path and led down the same road that Germany followed to Nazism.Self-sacrifice, Oriental mysticism, racial ?truth,? the public good, doing one's duty--these are among the seductive catch-phrases that Leonard Peikoff dissects, examining the kind of philosophy they symbolize, the type of thinking that lured Germany to its doom and that he says is now prevalent in the United States.Here is a frightening look at where America may be heading, a clarion call for all who are concerned about preserving our right to individual freedom.</p>


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<p>"In this book, Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, chance, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback. As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious causes, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance." The rise and fall of your favorite movie star or the most reviled CEO - in fact, all our destinies - reflects chance as much as planning and innate abilities. Even the legendary Roger Maris, who beat Babe Ruth's single season home run record, was in all likelihood not great but just lucky. And it might be shocking to realize that you are twice as likely to be killed in a car accident on your way to buying a lottery ticket than you are to win the lottery.</p>


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<div><p><b><br></b>Based on hitherto unexamined sources: interviews with ex-slaves, diaries and accounts by former slaveholders, this "rich and admirably written book" (Eugene Genovese, <em>The New York Times Book Review</em>) aims to show how, during the Civil War and after Emancipation, blacks and whites interacted in ways that dramatized not only their mutual dependency, but the ambiguities and tensions that had always been latent in "the peculiar institution."   </p><p><em>Contents</em><br>1. "The Faithful Slave"<br>2. Black Liberators<br>3. Kingdom Comin'<br>4. Slaves No More<br>5. How Free is Free?<br>6. The Feel of Freedom: Moving About<br>7. Back to Work: The Old Compulsions<br>8. Back to Work: The New Dependency<br>9. The Gospel and the Primer<br>10. Becoming a People  </p><p><i><br></i></p></div>


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<p class="description">Set in imperial Russia, Anna Karenina is a rich and complex meditation on passionate love and disastrous infidelity.Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.Set against this tragic affair is the story of Konstantin Levin, a melancholy landowner whom Tolstoy based largely on himself. While Anna looks for happiness through love, Levin embarks on his own search for spiritual fulfillment through marriage, family, and hard work. Surrounding these two central plot threads are dozens of characters whom Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of nineteenth-century Russian society. From its famous opening sentence—“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”—to its stunningly tragic conclusion, this enduring tale of marriage and adultery plumbs the very depths of the human soul.</p>


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This new edition combines Tolstoy's most famous short tale,The Death of Ivan Ilyich, with a less well known but equally brilliant gem,Master and Man, both newly translated by Ann Pasternak Slater. Both stories confront death and the process of dying: InIvan Ilyich, a bureaucrat looks back over his life, which suddenly seems meaningless and wasteful, while in Master and Man, a landowner and servant must each confront the value of the other as they brave a devastating snowstorm. The quintessential Tolstoyan themes of mortality, spiritual redemption, and life's meaning are nowhere more movingly and deftly explored than in these two tales. This unique edition also includes a critical Introduction and extensive notes by Ann Pasternak Slater, a Fellow at St. Anne's College, Oxford.


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From the award-winning translators of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov comes this magnificent new translation of Tolstoy's masterwork. War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.A s Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving—and human—figures in world literature.


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<div><p>Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can't say no when someone asks for help—even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive. <br><br>Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down.</p></div>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">This enthralling stunner, a good old-fashioned read, may herald the overdue return of those delicious doorstop epics from such writers as Barbara Taylor Bradford and Colleen McCullough. Meacham's multigenerational family saga, set in East Texas circa 1914–1985, charts the transformation of Mary Toliver, a wide-eyed 16-year-old heiress, into a calculating cotton plantation queen as hardheaded as Scarlett O'Hara. Her brother, Miles, goes off to WWI, returns home, but then goes back to France to marry Marietta, a French Communist, leaving Mary to deal with their plantation, Somerset, and Darla, their alcoholic mother (who later hangs herself ). Many years later, Mary, now an elderly, terminally ill widow, resolves to defeat the Toliver Curse and regrets selling her soul for Somerset and giving up her true love, Percy Warwick, the father of their secret child, to marry their friend Ollie DuMont, who helped her save Somerset when Percy refused. Meacham uses three well-balanced viewpoints: Mary's, Percy's and Rachel's, Mary's great-niece, who must confront Percy when she discovers some disquieting family information after Mary dies. A refreshingly nostalgic bouquet of family angst, undying love and if onlys. </span></h3>


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<p><strong><em>NEW YORK TIMES* BESTSELLER • </em></strong><em>NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY MICHIKO KAKUTANI, </em>THE NEW YORK TIMES<strong>*</strong>  </p><p>NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY <em>BUZZFEED, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, </em>AND<em> LIBRARY JOURNAL</em>  </p><p>For readers of Nora Ephron, Tina Fey, and David Sedaris, this hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays establishes Lena Dunham—the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO’s <em>Girls</em>—as one of the most original young talents writing today.<strong><br /><br />In <em>Not That Kind of Girl,</em> Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one’s way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told.<br /><br />“Take My Virginity (No Really, Take It)” is the account of Dunham’s first time, and how her expectations of sex didn’t quite live up to the actual event (“No floodgate had been opened, no vault of true womanhood unlocked”); “Girls &amp; Jerks” explores her former attraction to less-than-nice guys—guys who had perfected the “dynamic of disrespect” she found so intriguing; “Is This Even Real?” is a meditation on her lifelong obsession with death and dying—what she calls her “genetically predestined morbidity.” And in “I Didn’t F</strong><em> Them, but They Yelled at Me,” she imagines the tell-all she will write when she is eighty and past caring, able to reflect honestly on the sexism and condescension she has encountered in Hollywood, where women are “treated like the paper thingies that protect glasses in hotel bathrooms—necessary but infinitely disposable.”<br /><br />Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, </em>Not That Kind of Girl* is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. “I’m already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you,” Dunham writes. “But if I can take what I’ve learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile.”  </p><p><strong>Praise for <em>Not That Kind of Girl</em><br /></strong> <strong> </strong><br />“The gifted Ms. Dunham not only writes with observant precision, but also brings a measure of perspective, nostalgia and an older person’s sort of wisdom to her portrait of her (not all that much) younger self and her world. . . . As acute and heartfelt as it is funny.”*<em>—Michiko Kakutani, </em>The New York Times<strong><em><br /><br />“It’s not Lena Dunham’s candor that makes me gasp. Rather, it’s her writing—which is full of surprises where you least expect them. A fine, subversive book.”<strong>—David Sedaris</strong><br /><br />“This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks they understand the experience of being a young woman in our culture. I thought I knew the author rather well, and I found many (not altogether welcome) surprises.”<strong>—Carroll Dunham</strong><br /><br />“Witty, illuminating, maddening, bracingly bleak . . . [Dunham] is a genuine artist, and a disturber of the order.”<strong>—<em>The Atlantic</em> </strong><br /><br />“As Dunham proves beyond a shadow of a doubt in<em> Not That Kind of Girl,</em> she’s not remotely at risk of offering up the same old sentimental tales we’ve read dozens of times.”*<em>—</em>The Los Angeles Review of Books</em></strong>  </p><p><em>From the Hardcover edition.</em></p><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>An Amazon Best Book of the Month, October 2014:</strong> In an era where twenty-something women are told how to think, where to work, who to date, and what to wear, it’s refreshing that a voice has broken the mold to empower women to do one thing—be yourself, flaws and all. In <em>Not That Kind of Girl</em>, Lena Dunham takes readers on a voyage of self-discovery as she successfully navigates the often-perilous facets of womanhood, from dating and friendships to self-love and careers. Through her series of essays, Dunham shares what she’s learned on her path to self-awareness with a refreshing candor and raw honesty that emboldens readers. Her painfully-relatable stories of graduating from one-night stands with toxic men and dead-end jobs with no purpose, to loving relationships and a fulfilling career will leave you laughing, cringing, and sighing “me too.” Thoughtful, hilarious, and exquisitely-written, Dunham’s memoir is like reading your quirky big sister's diary. –<em>Brittany Pirozzolo</em></p><h3>Review</h3><p>“The gifted [Lena] Dunham not only writes with observant precision, but also brings a measure of perspective, nostalgia and an older person’s sort of wisdom to her portrait of her (not all that much) younger self and her world. . . . As acute and heartfelt as it is funny.”<strong>—Michiko Kakutani, <em>The New York Times<strong><em><br /><br />“It’s not Lena Dunham’s candor that makes me gasp. Rather, it’s her writing—which is full of surprises where you least expect them. A fine, subversive book.”<strong>—David Sedaris</strong><br /><br />“This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks they understand the experience of being a young woman in our culture. I thought I knew the author rather well, and I found many (not altogether welcome) surprises.”<strong>—Carroll Dunham</strong><br /><br />“Witty, illuminating, maddening, bracingly bleak . . . [Dunham] is a genuine artist, and a disturber of the order.”<strong>—<em>The Atlantic</em> </strong><br /><br />“As [Lena] Dunham proves beyond a shadow of a doubt in<em> Not That Kind of Girl,</em> she’s not remotely at risk of offering up the same old sentimental tales we’ve read dozens of times. Dunham’s outer and inner worlds are so eccentric and distinct that every anecdote, every observation, every mundane moment of self-doubt actually feels valuable and revelatory.”*<em>—</em>The Los Angeles Review of Books</em></strong><br /><br />“We are forever in search of someone who will speak not only to us but for us. . . . </em>Not That Kind of Girl <em>is from </em>that* kind of girl: gutsy, audacious, willing to stand up and shout. And that is why Dunham is not only a voice who deserves to be heard but also one who will inspire other important voices to tell their stories too.”</strong>—Roxane Gay, <em>Time<strong><em><br /><br />“I’m surprised by how successful this was. I couldn’t finish it.”<strong>—Laurie Simmons</strong><br /><br />“Always funny, sometimes wrenching, these essays are a testament to the creative wonder that is Lena Dunham.”<strong>—Judy Blume</strong><br /><br />“An offbeat and soulful declaration that Ms. Dunham can deliver on nearly any platform she chooses.”*<em>—Dwight Garner, </em>The New York Times</em></strong><br /><br />“Very few women have become famous for being who they actually are, nuanced and imperfect. When honesty happens, it’s usually couched in self-ridicule or self-help. Dunham doesn’t apologize like that—she simply tells her story as if it might be interesting. The result is shocking and radical because it is utterly familiar. </em>Not That Kind of Girl<em> is hilarious, artful, and staggeringly intimate; I read it shivering with recognition.”<strong>—Miranda July</strong><br /><strong> </strong><br />“Dunham’s writing is just as smart, honest, sophisticated, dangerous, luminous, and charming as her work on </em>Girls<em>. Reading her makes you glad to be in the world, and glad that she’s in it with you.”<strong>—George Saunders</strong><br /><strong><em> </em></strong><br />“A lovely, touching, surprisingly sentimental portrait of a woman who, despite repeatedly baring her body and soul to audiences, remains a bit of an enigma: a young woman who sets the agenda, defies classification and seems utterly at home in her own skin.”<strong>—<em>Chicago Tribune<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em><br />“A lot of us fear we don’t measure up beautywise and that we endure too much crummy treatment from men. On these topics, Dunham is funny, wise, and, yes, brave. . . . Among Dunham’s gifts to womankind is her frontline example that some asshole may call you undesirable or worse, and it won’t kill you. Your version matters more.”*<em>—</em>Elle</em></strong><br /><strong><em> </em></strong><br />“[</em>Not That Kind of Girl* is] witty and wise and rife with the kind of pacing and comedic flourishes that characterize early Woody Allen books. . . . Dunham is an extraordinary talent, and her vision . . . is stunningly original.”</strong>—Meghan Daum, </em>The New York Times Magazine<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em><br />“There’s a lot of power in retelling your mistakes so people can see what’s funny about them—and so that you are in control. Dunham knows about this power, and she has harnessed it.”*<em>—</em>The Washington Post</em></strong><br /><strong><em> </em></strong><br />“Dunham’s book is one of those rare examples when something hyped deserves its buzz. Those of us familiar with her wit and weirdness on HBO’s <em>Girls</em> will experience it in spades in these essays. . . . There are hilarious moments here—I cracked up on a crowded subway reading an essay about her childhood—and disturbing ones, too. But it’s always heartfelt and very real.”<strong>—*New York Post<strong><em><br /></em></strong> </strong>*<br />“We are comforted, we are charmed, we leave more empowered than we came.”<strong>—NPR</strong>  </p><p>“Touching, at times profound, and deeply funny . . . Dunham is expert at combining despair and humor.”<strong>—<em>Publishers Weekly </em>(starred review)</strong><br /><strong> </strong><br />“Most of us live our lives desperately trying to conceal the anguishing gap between our polished, aspirational, representational selves and our real, human, deeply flawed selves. Dunham lives hers <em>in</em> that gap, welcomes the rest of the world into it with boundless openheartedness, and writes about it with the kind of profound self-awareness and self-compassion that invite us to inhabit our own gaps and maybe even embrace them a little bit more, anguish over them a little bit less.”*<em>—Maria Popova, </em>Brain Pickings<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em><br />“Reading this book is a pleasure. . . . [These<em> </em>essays] exude brilliance and insight well beyond Dunham’s twenty-eight years.”*<em>—</em>The Philadelphia Inquirer</em></strong>  </p>


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<div><p>If it would shock you to learn that Benjamin Franklin didn't discover electricity, you'll appreciate this take on hundreds of historical legends and debacles. Historians and humorists alike may be surprised to learn that:</p><p>Samuel Prescott made the famous horseback ride into Concord, not Paul Revere. As a member of Parliament, Isaac Newton spoke only once. He asked for an open window. On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the U.S., thus starting the Spanish-American War. The U.S. declared war the very next day, but not wanting to be outdone, had the date on the declaration changed from April 25 to April 21.With these and many other stories, leading humorist Leland Gregory once again highlights both the strange and the funny side of humankind. </p></div>


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<div><p><em>"You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills."</em>  Larry King</p><p><em>"The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes."</em>  Harvey McKay, author of <em>“How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”</em></p><p>What is that magic quality makes some people instantly loved and respected? Everyone wants to be their friend (or, if single, their lover!) In business, they rise swiftly to the top of the corporate ladder. What is their "Midas touch?"</p><p>What it boils down to is a more skillful way of dealing with people.</p><p>The author has spent her career teaching people how to communicate for success. In her book <em>How to Talk to Anyone</em> (Contemporary Books, October 2003) Lowndes offers 92 easy and effective sure-fire success techniques she takes the reader from first meeting all the way up to sophisticated techniques used by the big winners in life. In this information-packed book you’ll find:</p><ul><li>9 ways to make a dynamite first impression</li><li>14 ways to master small talk, "big talk," and body language</li><li>14 ways to walk and talk like a VIP or celebrity</li><li>6 ways to sound like an insider in any crowd</li><li>7 ways to establish deep subliminal rapport with anyone</li><li>9 ways to feed someone's ego (and know when NOT to!)</li><li>11 ways to make your phone a powerful communications tool</li><li>15 ways to work a party like a politician works a room</li><li>7 ways to talk with tigers and not get eaten alive </li></ul><p>In her trademark entertaining and straight-shooting style, Leil gives the techniques catchy names so you'll remember them when you really need them, including: "Rubberneck the Room," "Be a Copyclass," "Come Hither Hands," “Bare Their Hot Button,” “The Great Scorecard in the Sky," and "Play the Tombstone Game,” for big success in your social life, romance, and business.</p><p><em>How to Talk to Anyone</em>, which is an update of her popular book, <em>Talking the Winner's Way</em> (see the 5-star reviews of the latter) is based on solid research about techniques that work!</p><p>By the way, don't confuse <em>How to Talk to Anyone</em> with one of Leil's previous books, <em>How to Talk to Anybody About Anything</em>. This one is completely different! </p></div>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; "><strong>John M. Barry is the author of five previous books, including the highly acclaimed and award-winning studies __, and <em>The Creation of the American Soul</em>, about the development of the separation of church and state, will appear in 2011. Read his review of <em>Wicked River:</em></strong></span></h3><p>There are literally thousands of books about the Mississippi River, each of them attempting to capture its majesty. It is a tribute to the river's complexity and power that so few have succeeded. Lee Sandlin does. He writes elegantly and delivers what he promised--the story of the river in the days before engineers began their efforts to drain it of its mystery and protect us from its power. And by demythologizing both the river itself and the men and women on and along the river, by separating fact from legend, Sandlin actually makes it more majestic still.</p><p>There's plenty of humor in here, and farce. Perhaps the single story that hits the hardest, though, has nothing about it either humorous or majestic. And it could be farce, something for Mark Twain's illumination, except for the punch line. It is the story of Virgil Stewart. In a kind of American version of the Protocols of Zion, Stewart peddled a supposed plan for a white-led slave uprising that took hold of much of the lower Mississippi Valley. The beatings, murder, and torture his lies engendered only remind us how fearful and stupid humans can be at their worst.</p><p>The river today has banks lined with concrete for hundreds of miles, while dams block off tributaries and levees seal the main river in. All that constrains the river. Nonetheless, these very constraints have themselves wreaked havoc on the land the river made--physically made, by the deposit of sediment--along the modern Gulf Coast. And the power and wildness of the river which Sandlin writes about are one great flood away from unleashing. The river is, as T.S. Eliot wrote, "unhonored, unpropitiated / by the worshippers of machine. But waiting, watching and waiting."</p></div>


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<p>It's one minute after the Big One. Marty Slack, a TV network executive, crawls out from under his Mercedes, parked outside what once was a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, the location for a new TV show. Downtown LA is in ruins. The sky is thick with black smoke. His cell phone is dead. The freeways are rubble. The airport is demolished. Buildings lay across streets like fallen trees. It will be days before help can arrive. Marty has been expecting this day all his life. He's prepared. In his car are a pair of sturdy walking shoes and a backpack of food, water, and supplies. He knows there is only one thing he can do ... that he must do: get home to his wife Beth, go back to their gated community on the far edge of the San Fernando Valley.All he has to do is walk. But he will quickly learn that it's not that easy. His dangerous, unpredictable journey home will take him through the different worlds of what was once Los Angeles. Wildfires rage out of control. Flood waters burst through collapsed dams. Natural gas explosions consume neighborhoods. Sinkholes swallow entire buildings. After-shocks rip apart the ground. Looters rampage through the streets. There's no power. No running water. No order. Marty Slack thinks he's prepared. He's wrong. Nothing can prepare him for this ordeal, a quest for his family and for his soul, a journey that will test the limits of his endurance and his humanity, a trek from the man he was to the man he can be ... if he can survive The Walk</p>


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<p class="description">New York Times *bestselling author Lee Child follows the electrifying *61 Hours* with his latest Reacher thriller—a story that hits the ground running and then accelerates all the way to a colossal showdown.There’s deadly trouble in the corn country of Nebraska . . . and Jack Reacher walks right into it. First he falls foul of the Duncans, a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved case of a missing child, already decades-old, that Reacher can’t let go.The Duncans want Reacher gone—and it’s not just past secrets they’re trying to hide. They’re awaiting a secret shipment that’s already late—and they have the kind of customers no one can afford to annoy. For as dangerous as the Duncans are, they’re just the bottom of a criminal food chain stretching halfway around the world. For Reacher, it would have made much more sense to keep on going, to put some distance between himself and the hard-core trouble that’s bearing down on him.For Reacher, that was also impossible.*Worth Dying For* is the kind of explosive thriller only Lee Child could write and only Jack Reacher could survive—a heart-racing page-turner no suspense fan will want to miss.</p>


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Jack Reacher is approached by a Secret Service agent who needs a favor. 'I want to hire you to assassinate the Vice President of the United States,' she asks. She is the newly appointed head of the VP's security detail and wants Reacher to try to penetrate her team's shield. He has the skills and the stealth and no one knows him. How else can she be sure her protection is truly effective? What she doesn't tell Reacher - but what he soon discovers - is that a very real and deadly team of assassins has just put the VP in their sights and will stop at nothing to realize their objective. These men have planned well, but they haven't planned on Reacher. For only Reacher has the head and the heart to corner his prey and bring them to justice - without fail.


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Jack Reachers anonymity in Key West is shattered by an investigator who has come looking for him. But only hours after his arrival, the stranger is murdered. Tracking the PIs trail back to New York City, Jack is compelled to find out whos looking for him and why in this explosive novel in Childs "New York Times" bestselling series, now with new cover art. Reissue.


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Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New York City night, watching a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. The car contained one million dollars in ransom money because Edward Lane, the man who paid it, would do anything to get his family back.Lane runs a highly illegal soldiers-for-hire operation. He will use any tool to find his beautiful wife and child. And Jack Reacher is the best manhunter in the world.On the trail of vicious kidnappers, Reacher learns the chilling secrets of his employer’s past—and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He knows that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: He’s already in way too deep to stop now. And if he has to do it the hard way, he will.


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<p class="description">With Reacher, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child has created “a series that stands in the front rank of modern thrillers” (The Washington Post). Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington. Reacher is ordered undercover—to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control.Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice—and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.A novel of unrelenting suspense that could only come from the pen of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child, The Affair is the start of the Reacher saga, a thriller that takes Reacher—and his readers—right to the edge . . . and beyond.</p>


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People say that knowledge is power. The more knowledge, the more power. Suppose you knew the winning numbers in the lottery? What would you do? You would run to the store. You would mark the numbers on the play card. And you would win. Same for the stock market. Same for basketball or the horses or anything. Same for killing people. Women are dying. Women who have nothing in common except the fact that they once worked for the military. And they knew Jack Reacher. How and why these women are in danger completely baffles the elite FBI team working the case. There is no trace evidence. There are no links between victims. Their bodies have no fatal wounds. And the killer entered their homes and exited again like a summer breeze. Are these perfect crimes? There is only one certainty: there is a new kind of killer out there, one so calm, cautious, and careful that even the brilliant Reacher is left running blind.


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Jack Reacher.The ultimate loner.An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, he’s moved from place to place…without family…without possessions…without commitments.And without fear. Which is good, because trouble—big, violent, complicated trouble—finds Reacher wherever he goes. And when trouble finds him, Reacher does not quit, not once…not ever.But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. And Reacher is a man who hates unfinished business.Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot. Some would call it vengeance. Some would call it redemption. Reacher would call it…justice.


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Ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is called in by James Barr, the man accused of a lethal sniper attack on a heartland city that leaves five people dead, and teams up with a young defense attorney to find an unseen enemy who is manipulating events behind the scenes. Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, from the world he lives in no phone, no address, no commitments-ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming. In Lee Child's astonishing new thriller, Reacher's arrival will change everything about a case that isn't what it seems, about lives tangled in baffling ways, about a killer who missed one shot and by doing so give Jack Reacher one shot at the truth. The gunman worked from a parking structure just thirty yards away point-blank range for a trained military sniper like James Barr. His victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But why does Barr want Reacher at his side? There are good reasons why Reacher is the last person Barr would want to see. But when Reacher hears Barr's own words, he understands. And a slam-dunk case explodes. Soon Reacher is teamed with a young defense lawyer who is working against her D.A. father and dueling with a prosecution team that has an explosive secret of its own. Like most things Reacher has known in life,this case is a complex battlefield. But,as always,in battle, Reacher is at his best. Moving in the shadows, picking his spots, Reacher gets closer and closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. And for Reacher, the only way to take him down is to know his ruthlessness and respect his cunning and then match him shot for shot.


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Two lonely towns in Colorado: Hope and Despair. Between them, twelve miles of empty road. Jack Reacher never turns back. It's not in his nature. All he wants is a cup of coffee. What he gets is big trouble. So in Lee Child’s electrifying new novel, Reacher—a man with no fear, no illusions, and nothing to lose—goes to war against a town that not only wants him gone, it wants him dead. It wasn’t the welcome Reacher expected. He was just passing through, minding his own business. But within minutes of his arrival a deputy is in the hospital and Reacher is back in Hope, setting up a base of operations against Despair, where a huge, seething walled-off industrial site does something nobody is supposed to see . . . where a small plane takes off every night and returns seven hours later . . . where a garrison of well-trained and well-armed military cops—the kind of soldiers Reacher once commanded—waits and watches . . . where above all two young men have disappeared and two frightened young women wait and hope for their return.Joining forces with a beautiful cop who runs Hope with a cool hand, Reacher goes up against Despair—against the deputies who try to break him and the rich man who tries to scare him—and starts to crack open the secrets, starts to expose the terrifying connection to a distant war that’s killing Americans by the thousand.Now, between a town and the man who owns it, between Reacher and his conscience, something has to give. And Reacher never gives an inch.


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<p>Jack Reacher is on the road, hitching a ride with some earnest young Canadians who are planning a hike through some of the last unspoiled wilderness in North America in the dense forests of Maine. They part ways after sharing a hot meal, and Reacher checks out a quiet town surrounded by countryside serene enough to cool even his raging wanderlust. But not for long. First the trail is suddenly and inexplicably closed. Then the military police show up in force. Maybe it’s a drill. Or maybe it’s trouble—the kind of trouble that always finds Reacher, no matter how far he travels off the beaten path.</p>


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The sleepy, forgotten town of Margrave, Georgia, hasn't seen a crime in decades, but within the span of three days it witnesses events that leave everyone stunned. An unidentified man is found beaten and shot to death on a lonely country road. The police chief and his wife are butchered on a quiet Sunday morning. Then a bank executive disappears from his home, leaving his keys on the table and his wife frozen with fear. The easiest suspect is Jack Reacher - an outsider, a man just passing through. But Reacher is a tough ex-military policeman, trained to think fast and act faster. When authorities learn the first victim was someone from Reacher's past, and he cannot convince them of his innocence, his patient self-defense becomes a raging crusade of revenge. With two cops who believe in him - a thoughtful black detective and a woman named Roscoe - he closes in on a ruthless conspiracy hiding behind Margrave's rural charm. But closing in on him is a team of killers. Step by step, the two teams circle - waiting to see which will be the first to walk onto the killing floor.


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<p class="description">'It's said that a Jack Reacher novel is bought every four seconds somewhere in the world. Lee Child's genius has been to create a tough guy hero that men will envy and women will adore' Daily Express   After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination: a sturdy stone building a short bus ride from Washington D.C., the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. It was the closest thing to a home he ever had.   Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind Reacher's old desk isn't a woman. Why is Susan Turner not there?  What Reacher doesn't expect is what comes next. He himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn't expect to hear these words: 'You're back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.'  Will he be sorry he went back? Or - will someone else?</p>


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New York City. Two in the morning. A subway car heading uptown. Jack Reacher, plus five other passengers. Four are okay. The fifth isn’t. In the next few tense seconds Reacher will make a choice–and trigger an electrifying chain of events in this gritty, gripping masterwork of suspense by #1 New York Times bestseller Lee Child. Susan Mark was the fifth passenger. She had a lonely heart, an estranged son, and a big secret. Reacher, working with a woman cop and a host of shadowy feds, wants to know just how big a hole Susan Mark was in, how many lives had already been twisted before hers, and what danger is looming around him now. Because a race has begun through the streets of Manhattan in a maze crowded with violent, skilled soldiers on all sides of a shadow war. Susan Mark’s plain little life was critical to dozens of others in Washington, California, Afghanistan . . . from a former Delta Force operator now running for the U.S. Senate, to a beautiful young woman with a fantastic story to tell–and to a host of others who have just one thing in common: They’re all lying to Reacher. A little. A lot. Or maybe just enough to get him killed. In a novel that slams through one hairpin surprise after another, Lee Child unleashes a thriller that spans three decades and gnaws at the heart of America . . . and for Jack Reacher, a man who trusts no one and likes it that way, it’s a mystery with only one answer–the kind that comes when you finally get face-to-face and look your worst enemy in the eye.


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Loner Jack Reacher returns, thumbing his way through the west Texas desert. He's picked up by Carmen Greer, a troubled beauty with a story to tell and a plan Reacher soon becomes a part of.


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In a Chicago suburb, a dentist is met in his office parking lot by three men and ordered into the trunk of his Lexus. On a downtown sidewalk, Jack Reacher and an unknown woman are abducted in broad daylight by two men - practiced and confident - who stop them at gunpoint and hustle them into the same sedan. Then Reacher and the woman are switched into a second vehicle and hauled away, leaving the dentist bound and gagged inside his car with the woman's abandoned possessions, two gallons of gasoline. . . and a burning match.The FBI is desperate to rescue the woman, a Special Agent from the Chicago office, because the FBI always - always - takes care of its own, and because this woman is not just another agent. Reacher and the woman join forces, against seemingly hopeless odds, to outwit their captors and escape. But the FBI thinks Jack is one of the kidnappers - and when they close in, the Bureau snipers will be shooting to kill.


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<p>Summoned by Military Intelligence to Washington, D.C., Reacher is sent undercover. The assignment that awaits him: The army is meeting with its Capitol Hill paymasters for classified talks on a new, state-of-the-art sniper rifle for U.S. forces. But vital details about the weapon are leaking—straight from the Capitol and probably into the hands of unidentified foreign arms dealers. The prospect of any and every terrorist, mercenary, or dictator’s militia getting their hands on the latest superior firepower is unthinkable. That’s where Reacher comes in. His task: infiltrate the top-secret proceedings and smoke out the mole. His target: a quartet of high-powered Army political liaison officers—all of them fast-track women on their way to the top.<br><br>According to his bosses, it’s a zero-danger mission. No need to draw a gun . . . just chat over drinks. But Reacher knows that things are rarely what they seem. And he’s learned the hard way never to underestimate an opponent. Or four. Lessons that will come in handy when he starts digging for the truth—and gets his hands a lot dirtier than he expected.</p>


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From a helicopter high above the empty California desert, a man is sent free-falling into the night…. In Chicago, a woman learns that an elite team of ex–army investigators is being hunted down one by one.... And on the streets of Portland, Jack Reacher—soldier, cop, hero—is pulled out of his wandering life by a code that few other people could understand. From the first shocking scenes in Lee Child’s explosive new novel, Jack Reacher is plunged like a knife into the heart of a conspiracy that is killing old friends…and is on its way to something even worse.A decade postmilitary, Reacher has an ATM card and the clothes on his back—no phone, no ties, and no address. But now a woman from his old unit has done the impossible. From Chicago, Frances Neagley finds Reacher, using a signal only the eight members of their elite team of army investigators would know. She tells him a terrifying story—about the brutal death of a man they both served with. Soon Reacher is reuniting with the survivors of his old team, scrambling to raise the living, bury the dead, and connect the dots in a mystery that is growing darker by the day. The deeper they dig, the more they don’t know: about two other comrades who have suddenly gone missing—and a trail that leads into the neon of Vegas and the darkness of international terrorism.For now, Reacher can only react. To every sound. Every suspicion. Every scent and every moment. Then Reacher will trust the people he once trusted with his life—and take this thing all the way to the end. Because in a world of bad luck and trouble, when someone targets Jack Reacher and his team, they’d better be ready for what comes right back at them…


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<p class="description">Sixty-one hours. Not a minute to spare.A tour bus crashes in a savage snowstorm and lands Jack Reacher in the middle of a deadly confrontation. In nearby Bolton, South Dakota, one brave woman is standing up for justice in a small town threatened by sinister forces. If she’s going to live long enough to testify, she’ll need help. Because a killer is coming to Bolton, a coldly proficient assassin who never misses.Reacher’s original plan was to keep on moving. But the next 61 hours will change everything. The secrets are deadlier and his enemies are stronger than he could have guessed—but so is the woman whose life he’ll risk his own to save. </p>


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<p class="description">One of USA Today's Best Business Books of 2008-now updated with a new chapter It's hard to believe that one man revolutionized computers in the 1970s and '80s (with the Apple II and the Mac), animated movies in the 1990s (with Pixar), and digital music in the 2000s (with the iPod and iTunes). No wonder some people worship Steve Jobs like a god. On the other hand, stories of his epic tantrums and general bad behavior are legendary. Inside Steve's Brain cuts through the cult of personality that surrounds Jobs to unearth the secrets to his unbelievable results. So what's really inside Steve's brain? According to Leander Kahney, who has covered Jobs since the early 1990s, it's a fascinating bundle of contradictions. This expanded edition includes a new chapter on Jobs's very public health crisis and the debate about Apple's future.</p>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; "><em></em> Wright, a <em>New Yorker</em> writer, brings exhaustive research and delightful prose to one of the best books yet on the history of terrorism. He begins with the observation that, despite an impressive record of terror and assassination, post–WWarII, Islamic militants failed to establish theocracies in any Arab country. Many helped Afghanistan resist the Russian invasion of 1979 before their unemployed warriors stepped up efforts at home. Al-Qaeda, formed in Afghanistan in 1988 and led by Osama bin Laden, pursued a different agenda, blaming America for Islam's problems. Less wealthy than believed, bin Laden's talents lay in organization and PR, Wright asserts. Ten years later, bin Laden blew up U.S. embassies in Africa and the destroyer <em>Cole</em>, opening the floodgates of money and recruits. Wright's step-by-step description of these attacks reveals that planning terror is a sloppy business, leaving a trail of clues that, in the case of 9/11, raised many suspicions among individuals in the FBI, CIA and NSA. Wright shows that 9/11 could have been prevented if those agencies had worked together. As a fugitive, bin Ladin's days as a terror mastermind may be past, but his success has spawned swarms of imitators. This is an important, gripping and profoundly disheartening book. </span></h3>


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House of Ghosts is a gripping mystery that takes readers through some of the most shrouded history of the twentieth century. In August 1944, Allied forces launched a top-secret aerial assault on the I. G. Farben oil and rubber plant, the flight plan taking bombers directly over the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp five miles away. Considering the known threat to the Jewish population, why did Allies bypass Hitler's most notorious extermination camp without once trying to knock out the gas chambers or railways? At the estate sale of the late Preston Swedge, an alcoholic recluse and World War II veteran, a diary including details of that 1944 aerial assault is found by retired detective Joe Henderson, which includes descriptions of a rogue attempt by a Jewish-American pilot, Paul Rothstein, to drop bombs on Auschwitz. What follows is Henderson's determined search for the truth about the failed attempt to save 300,000 Jews.


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Explaining the intricacies of warp speed and showing the difference between a holodeck and a hologram, an easy-to-understand introduction to the arcane world of physics from a renowned physicist uses Star Trek to build and frame his discussion. 125,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo.


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One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now. What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers--right from the belly of the beast. In "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense," Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done. The book is couched in the very human story of Larry McDonald's Horatio Alger-like rise from a Massachusetts "gateway to nowhere" housing project to the New York headquarters of Lehman Brothers, home of one of the world's toughest trading floors. We get a close-up view of the participants in the Lehman collapse, especially those who saw it coming with a helpless, angry certainty. We meet the Brahmins at the top, whose reckless, pedal-to-the-floor addiction to growth finally demolished the nation's oldest investment bank. The Wall Street we encounter here is a ruthless place, where brilliance, arrogance, ambition, greed, capacity for relentless toil, and other human traits combine in a potent mix that sometimes fuels prosperity but occasionally destroys it. The full significance of the dissolution of Lehman Brothers remains to be measured. But this much is certain: it was a devastating blow to America's--and the world's--financial system. And it need not have happened. This is the story of why it did.


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<p>In the dark days, in a sad and lonely place, ex-cop Matt Scudder is drinking his life away — and doing "favors" for pay for his ginmill cronies. But when three such assignments flow together in dangerous and disturbing ways, he'll need to change his priorities from boozing to surviving.</p>


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<p class="description">Secret agent Evan Tanner journeys to the jungles of Thailand in a desperate attempt to rescue a lovely jazz singer from the vicious guerrilla band that kidnapped her</p>


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<div><p>Small-time stoolie, Jake " The Spinner" Jablon, made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers, from informer to blackmailer. And the more "clients", he figured, the more money — and more people eager to see him dead. So no one is surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in. And what's worse, no one cares — except Matthew Scudder. The ex-cop-turned-private-eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he's willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner's most murderously aggressive marks. A job's a job after all — and Scudder's been paid to find a killer — by the victim...in advance.</p><p>No one is surprised when informer/blackmailer Jake "The Spinner" Jablon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in. In fact, no one really cares, except Matt Scudder who was paid to find a killer--by the victim--in advance. Scudder's willing to risk his own life and limb to find Spinner's killers. Out of print since 1984. </p></div>


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<div><p>Evan Michael Tanner hasn't slept in more than a decade—not since a small piece of battlefield shrapnel invaded his skull and obliterated his brain's sleep center. Still, he's managed to find numerous inventive ways to occupy his waking hours. </p><p>Tanner is a card-carrying member of hundreds of international organizations, from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Order to the Flat Earth Society—not because he believes in their myriad lost causes, he's simply a joiner by nature. Besides, it gives him something to do. </p><p>The Russians think Tanner is a CIA operative on a covert mission. The CIA is certain he's a Soviet agent. Actually, he's in Turkey pursuing a fortune in hidden Armenian gold. But Tanner's up for anything, including a little spycraft, if it helps him reach his big payday. And if need be, he'll even start a small revolution.</p></div>


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<p>The pretty young prostitute is dead. Her alleged murderer—a minister's son—hanged himself in his jail cell. The case is closed. But the dead girl's fatherhas come to Matthew Scudder for answers, sending the unlicensed private investigator in search of terrible truths about a life that was lived and lost in a sordid world of perversion and pleasures.</p>


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<div><p>A deranged derelict, a crazed Vietnam vet, has been arrested for gunning down successful young lawyer Glenn Holtzmann at a corner phone booth on Eleventh Avenue — and the suspect's brother wants p.i. Matthew Scudder to prove the madman innocent. But Scudder's curiosity and dedication are leading him to dark, unexplored places in his own heart...and to passions and secrets that could destroy everything be loves.</p><p>Matt Scudder finds himself caught up in a web of deceit and treachery when he comes to the aid of a homeless man charged with the brutal death of a yuppie lawyer. As Matt investigates, he discovers the victim was a federal informant who may have been eliminated as an act of revenge. </p></div>


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<div><p>Evan Tanner ran head-first into a piece of shrapnel in Korea, and now he can't sleep. Ever. Which can be an asset for a dedicated linguist, term paper forger, thief, lost cause enthusiast . . . </p><p><em>Spy.</em></p><p>Tanner takes on jobs for a covert intelligence organization so secret that even those who work for it have no idea who they're working for. Now his nameless supervisor wants him to sneak behind the Iron Curtain, storm an impregnable castle in Prague (<em>alone!</em>), and rescue an old Slovak who's got a pressing date with a hangman's noose. </p><p>The trouble is the prisoner is an unrepentant Nazi who makes Goering look like Mister Rogers. Tanner hates Nazis. If he's caught (which is likely) the U.S. will deny that they know him. And Tanner will be executed. After being tortured, no doubt. All in all, there are many excellent reasons why Tanner should refuse this assignment. </p><p>So, naturally, he says yes.</p></div>


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<p class="description">Since we last saw burglar-cum-bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr - some ten years ago - his creator, Lawrence Block, has gone on to become one of the most respected names in crime fiction. His Matthew Scudder series has won numerous awards, as well as the highest praise from both critics and readers alike. So, how does an author top all that success? By bringing back that infamous burglar, Bernie Rhodenbarr, to burgle once again. Just to update you on Bernie. For nearly a year he's walked the straight and narrow and has coaxed his secondhand bookstore in New York's Greenwich Village into turning a small profit. He's even allowed a cat to move in, and struggled with nocturnal retirement. Then Borden Stoppelgard comes into Bernie's life. Not a nice man. Borden is Bernie's new landlord, and wants to increase the rent by ten thousand dollars - a month! Desperate times call for desperate measures. By chance, or so it seems, Bernie discovers a West Side apartment whose occupants are in Europe, slips inside with his usual finesse, lifts a large sum of untraceable cash with his usual aplomb, and spots a naked dead man in the bathtub. Now, across town another burglary has taken place - at Stoppelgard's brother-in-law's apartment - and what's missing is a million-dollar baseball card collection. Somehow Bernie's been blamed (read: framed) for that crime. Toss in a mysterious woman and a crotchety New York police detective to Bernie's troubles, then mix well for a burglar in big trouble. What's the best way out? Why, to find the baseball cards and steal them back, of course. In The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, Lawrence Block once again gives us a riveting story and shows us a great time. It's crimefiction with a laugh track. And while he may be older, he may be wiser, and certainly more skillful, thank goodness he's still a bad boy at heart. Bernie, too. Reason enough for fans to rejoice.</p>


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<div><p>Bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr's in love—with an exotic Eastern European beauty who shares his obsession with Humphrey Bogart movies. He's in heaven, munching popcorn with his new amour every night at a Bogart Film Festival—until their <em>Casablanca</em>-esque idyll is cut short by his other secret passion: <em>burglary</em>. </p><p>When he's hired to pilfer a portfolio of valuable documents from a Park Avenue apartment, Bernie can hardly refuse. But the occupant's early return forces Bernie to flee empty-handed—and he soon finds himself implicated in a murder. Before you can say "who stole the strawberries?" he's hunting for a killer, up to his neck in the outrageous intrigues of a tiny Balkan nation . . . and menaced by more sinister fat men and unsavory toadies than the great Bogie himself butted heads with in pursuit of that darn bird!</p></div>


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<p class="description">In the realm of larceny, there's no one quite like Bernie Rhodenbarr. A gentleman, a bookseller, and a thief, Bernie steals with style. But now Lawrence Block's beloved criminal has discovered one of the abiding truths about the burglary business: Two's company. Three is definitely a crowd. The second burglars were Bernie and his dog grooming partner, Carolyn. They came to rob the Colcannons' West Side brownstone while the couple was out of town having their own personal burglar alarm - a Bouvier named Astrid - bred. But when Bernie and Carolyn break in they discover that they've already been beaten to the punch. Fortunately for Bernie, the first burglars left behind some decent goods, including a pair of emerald earrings, a fine Piaget watch, and a valuable coin that could just be too hot to handle. But of course he takes it anyway. The Colcannon home, though, still has a busy night ahead, and the next morning one person is dead. And when the next murder strikes uncomfortably close to home, it's time for Bernie to go to work. Because somewhere between a bungled burglary, a nasty case of double homicide, and a rare nickel is a case that makes little sense.</p>


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<div><p>It's not that used bookstore owner and part-time burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr believes the less legal of his two professions is particularly ethical. (It is, however, a rush, and he is very good at it.) He just thinks it's unfair to face a prison term for his legitimate activities. After appraising the worth of a rich man's library -- conveniently leaving his fingerprints everywhere in the process -- Bernie finds he's the cops' prime suspect when his client is murdered.</p><p>Someone has framed Bernie Rhodenbarr better than they do it at the Whitney. And if he wants to get out of this corner he's been masterfully painted into, he'll have to get to the bottom of a rather artful -- if multiply murderous -- scam.</p></div>


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<p class="description">Bernie's tried to go legit by opening up a secondhand bookstore down in Greenwich Village but still can't resist his passion - stealing. Especially when the price is right, and this time it certainly is. Here's what he has to do - pilfer a rare Kipling edition and make off with a bundle. That's the easy part. The hard part, Bernie finds, is returning the priceless volume to his employer. His instructions are to turn the book over to a lovely femme fatale, but before Bernie can, the femme is suddenly a fatality. And of course the cops are close behind. With best pal, Carolyn, at his side, and a surprising ally found in police detective Ray Kirschmann, Bernie tries to get himself out of the stickiest jam of his life. It will take all the tricks and tools of the burgling trade to uncover a clever plot by some very dangerous men. But dangerous is nothing when you're dealing with the hilarious hijinks of Bernie Rhodenbarr.</p>


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<div><p>A philosophical yet practical gentleman, Bernie Rhodenbarr possesses many admirable qualities: charm, intelligence, sparkling wit, and unwavering loyalty. Of course, he also has this special talent and a taste for life's finer things. So he's more than willing to perform some vengeful larceny for a friend -- ripping off a smarmy, particularly deserving plastic surgeon -- for fun and a very tidy profit.</p><p>But during a practice run at another address, Bernie's forced to hide under a bed when the lady of the house returns unexpectedly with the worst kind of blind date in tow. In no time, Bernie's up to his burgling neck in big trouble. Again. And this time it includes his arrest, no less than four murders, and more outrageous coincidences than any self-preserving felon should ever be required to tie together.</p><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar with a heart of gold, returns for this 10th installment in a reliable series from the versatile and prolific Lawrence Block (70-plus books to date). In <em>Burglar on the Prowl</em>, Bernie is recruited by an old friend to burgle the home of a crooked plastic surgeon, removing some off-the-books cash from a wall safe. A simple enough job, but Bernie complicates matters by going "on the prowl" one restless evening―-randomly cruising for an easy job. While he's pawing through a woman's empty apartment, she returns home; Bernie hides hastily, only to overhear an act of violence that draws him into a hunt for the perpetrator and a deepening role in the victim's life.</p><p>Lawrence Block's prose is merely serviceable, but his plotting and storytelling are first-rate. He constructs a complex puzzle, yet weaves in each new development so seamlessly that you almost don't see it happen. Like its Bernie predecessors, <em>The Burglar on the Prowl</em> is droll and charming, and at times you can feel Block trying a bit too hard with the charm. However, a few truly horrific bad guys and some ugly violence keep the sweetness from cloying. And it's impossible not to like Bernie, a gentleman criminal with few peers in contemporary fiction. <em>--Nicholas H. Allison</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>You'd think that Block, with more than 50 books to his credit, would run out of ideas, but as this 10th in his Burglar series shows (after 1999's <em>The Burglar in the Rye</em>), he's as fresh, witty and inventive as ever. The author builds his plot on stupefying coincidences, but not to worry—everything eventually meshes. A friend asks Bernie Rhodenbarr, confirmed New Yorker, used-book dealer and gentleman burglar, to rob a mob-connected plastic surgeon who stole the friend's mistress. He agrees, and cases the doctor's house in Riverdale, the Bronx. But Bernie is restive and, uncharacteristically (because he plans carefully), he breaks into a Manhattan apartment on a whim and almost gets caught, hiding under the bed while a woman is date-raped. Next day a customer is shot near his bookstore, a mysterious émigré couple is murdered, a former Latvian war criminal is reported in New York and Bernie's apartment is ransacked. These crimes seem unrelated in such a large city, but Bernie finds a common thread. In the end, Bernie assembles 22 people (including lawmen) in the surgeon's living room and, Charlie Chan style, explains each participant's role and, where appropriate, crime. Lesser hands would not bring off this breathtaking performance, but in Block's it's seamless and hilarious. Quirky characters like Bernie's pals Carolyn Kaiser, the dog groomer, and cop Ray Kirschmann; an insider's love of New York; and a slew of wonderful puns add to the fun.<br>Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p></div>


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<div><p>Gulliver Fairborn's novel, <em>Nobody's Baby</em>, changed Bernie Rhodenbarr's life. And now pretty Alice Cottrell, Fairborn's one-time paramour, wants the bookselling, book-loving burglar to break into a room in New York's teeth-achingly charming Paddington Hotel and purloin some of the writer's very personal letters before an unscrupulous agent can sell them. Here's an opportunity to use his unique talents in the service of the revered, famously reclusive author. But when Bernie gets there, the agent is dead . . . and Bernie's wanted for murder. (He <em>really</em> hates when that happens!) </p><p>Perhaps it's karmic payback; Bernie <em>did</em> help himself to a ruby necklace on his way out. (But it <em>was</em> lying there. And he <em>is</em> a burglar.) Now he's in even hotter water. And he'll need to use every trick in the book—maybe going so far as to entice the hermitic Fairborn himself out of seclusion—to bring this increasingly twisted plot to a satisfying denouement. </p></div>


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<p class="description">Bernie Rhodenbarr, burglar extraordinaire and bookseller ordinaire, has taken leave of his beloved New York City and gone country. Our setting is Cuttleford House, a quaint, lovely inn, where Carolyn and Raffles the Cat have joined Bernie for a wintry weekend. Of course, Carolyn wasn't Bernie's first choice for a romantic getaway weekend, but his intended, Lettice Runcible, turned out to be someone else's intended. But if you think Bernie's sole purpose is healing his wounded heart, think again. As a bookseller, Bernie's always in search of a valuable edition, and this time he believes he's found it. And it's somewhere in Cuttleford House's largely ignored library. During his nightly prowl, Bernie finds unexpected company in the way of a corpse. The next morning everyone else find the body, too. Making matters worse is the fact that all of the guests - including, (surprise!) Lettice and her new husband, Dakin Littlefield - find themselves snowbound after a particularly fierce storm during the night. With everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, Bernie decides he's got to catch the culprit - before there's another murder. Isn't there always? And let's not forget that book, which has mysteriously disappeared off the library shelves.</p>


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<p>Best-selling author Lawrence Block is one of the mystery genre's most prolific authors, with more than fifty books to his name, including Hit List, published in 2000. Block's selections for The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 include stories by such luminaries as Joyce Carol Oates, T. Jefferson Parker, Russell Banks, and Peter Robinson.</p>


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<div><p>It's hard to ignore someone with his hands in your mouth. Bernie Rhodenbarr's all ears when Dr. Sheldrake, his dentist, starts complaining about his detestable, soon-to-be-ex wife, and happens to mention the valuable diamonds she keeps lying around the apartment. Since Bernie's been known to supplement his income as a bookstore owner with the not-so-occasional bout of high-rise burglary, a couple of nights later he's in the Sheldrake apartment with larceny on his mind -- and has to duck into a closet when the lady of the house makes an unexpected entrance. Unfortunately he's still there when an unseen assailant does Mrs. Sheldrake in . . . and then vanishes with the jewels. </p><p>Bernie's got to come out of the closet some time. But when he does, he'll be facing a rap for a murder he didn't commit -- and for a burglary he certainly attempted -- unless he can hunt down the killer who left him hanging.</p></div>


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<div><p>Sometime spy Evan Tanner has accepted impossible assignments for many reasons: money, thrills, to have something to occupy his waking hours (twenty-four of them every day, in fact, since battlefield shrapnel obliterated his brain's sleep center). But this might be the first time he's put his life on the line . . . for love. </p><p>Tanner's agreed to smuggle a sexy Latvian gymnast—the lost lady love of a heart-sick friend—out of Russia. With the Cold War at its chilliest and the Iron Curtain slammed shut, this will not be easy, especially since everybody in Eastern Europe, it seems, wants to tag along, including a subversive Slav author and the six-year-old heir to the nonexistent Lithuanian throne. </p><p>But that's not the biggest hurdle. The gymnast refuses to budge unless Tanner rescues her eleven delightfully limber teammates as well—and that might be raising the bar too lethally high for even the ever-resourceful Evan Tanner to clear.</p></div>


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<div><blockquote><p>Cold War superspy Evan Tanner lost the ability to sleep on a battlefield in Korea. So where the heck has he been since the '70s? </p></blockquote><p>Frozen. Cryogenically. A Tanner-sicle. Which he <em>never</em> thought would happen when he walked into a basement in Union City, New Jersey, more than a quarter century ago. Now he's unthawed and ready to rumble, and his somewhat addled, former super-secret boss, "the Chief," is glad his favorite operative's active again. </p><p>Tanner awoke to a different world, though some bad things have remained the same . . . or gotten worse. Even before he can fully acclimate himself to this perplexing future, Tanner's off to Burma (which isn't really Burma anymore) to pose as a monk, destabilize the government, dodge a lethal double-cross, and rescue a beautiful prisoner. </p><p>The world's still full of conspiracy, corruption, greed, political chicanery—and beautiful women. So Tanner's back with a vengeance, with a lot of lost time to make up for.</p></div>


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<div><p>The Cold War's boiling over. Global tensions are near the breaking point. So what's the perfect assignment for a super-spy who hasn't slept since the Korean conflict? A fun-filled trip to the Montreal World's Fair! </p><p>The adorable little girl he's escorting—who, under different circumstances, would be sitting on the Lithuanian throne—can hardly contain her excitement, but it isn't all playtime for Evan Tanner. Some mysterious disappearances, apparently linked to the fair's Cuban exhibition, need to be looked into. </p><p>Keeping his mind on business, however, won't be easy after an insatiable lovely in a tiger skin falls into Tanner's arms, and a mother lode of dangerous drugs falls into his lap. But the biggest, deadliest suprise is the terrorist plot Tanner's tumbling into, and he'll have to think and act quickly to prevent the visiting queen of England from being blown to smithereens.</p></div>


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<div><p>In the era before he created moody private investigator Matthew Scudder, burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, sleepless spy Evan Tanner, and the amiable hit man Keller and years before his first Edgar Award a young writer named Lawrence Block submitted a study titled "You Can't Lose" to <em>Manhunt</em> magazine. It was published, and the rest is history.</p><p><em>One Night Stand and Lost Weekends</em> is a sterling collection of short crime fiction and suspense novelettes penned between 1958 and 1962 by a budding young master and soon-to-be Grand Master an essential slice of genre history, and more fun than a high-speed police chase following a bank job gone bad.</p></div>


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<div><p>It's a jungle out there. </p><p>Literally. At least for Evan Tanner, eternally sleepless sometime superspy, who finds himself in Africa on the trail of the AWOL ruler of tiny Modonoland. It seems the petty despot's gone missing, and he's taken the state treasury along with him. </p><p>No stranger to impossible missions and international peril, Tanner's been in over his head before. This time, however, he's in imminent danger of being buried alive. And it all has to do with the CIA, white supremacists, moderate revolutionaries . . . and a blond jungle bombshell named (<em>no joke!</em>) Sheena. Tanner's always been a sucker for a pretty face and a curvaceous body, especially one that's wrapped in leopard skin. But this red hot renegade daughter of a local missionary is a maneater. </p><p>Which means this time Tanner's goose is well and truly cooked.</p></div>


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<div><p>This is a city that seduces dreamers . . . then eats their dreams.</p><p>Matthew Scudder understands the futility of his search for a longtime missing Midwestern innocent who wanted to be an actress in the vast meat-grinder called New York City. But her frantic father heard that Schudder is the best—and now the ex-cop-turned-p.i. is scouring the hell called Hell's Kitchen looking for anything that might resemble a lead. And in this neighborhood of the lost, he's finding love—and death—in the worst possible places.</p><p>Reissued to coincide with Block's bestselling A Ticket to the Boneyard. Ex-cop, ex-alcoholic, and ex-innocent Matthew Scudder travels into the heart of New York City's Hell's Kitchen to investigate a young girl's disappearance--and discovers that searching through gritty, crack-infested tenements can be hazardous to one's health. </p></div>


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<div><p>The city caught its collective breath when upscale couple Byrne and Susan Hollander were slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Now, a few days later, the killers themselves have turned up dead behind the locked door of a Brooklyn hellhole — one apparently slain by his partner in crime who then took his own life.</p><p>There's something drawing Matthew Scudder to this case that the cops have quickly and eagerly closed: a nagging suspicion that a third man is involved, a cold, diabolical puppet master who manipulates his two accomplices, then cuts their strings when he's done with them. No one but Scudder even suspects he exists. And his worst fear is that the guy is just getting started ...</p></div>


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<p>Bad cop Jerry Broadfield didn't make any friends on the force when he volunteered to squeal to an ambitious d.a. about police corruption. Now he'saccused of murdering a call girl. Matthew Scudder doesn't think Broadfield's a killer, but the cops aren't about to help the unlicensed p.i. prove it — and they may do a lot worse than just get in his way.</p>


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<p class="description">How could Tanner ever turn down the urgent plea of a mother in distress -- especially when the mother has a daughter as beautiful as Phaedra Harrow? Phaedra has disappeared into the hands of white slave traders somewhere in the Afghan wilderness. Tanner has to find her.</p>


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<p class="description">SO THIS GIRL WALKS INTO A BAR... ...and when she walks out there's a man with her. She goes to bed with him, and she likes that part. Then she kills him, and she likes that even better. On her way out, she cleans out his wallet. She keeps moving, and has a new name for each change of address. She's been doing this for a while, and she's good at it. And then a chance remark gets her thinking of the men who got away, the lucky ones who survived a night with her. She starts writing down names. And now she's a girl with a mission. Picking up their trails. Hunting them down. Crossing them off her list...</p>


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<div><p>Matt Scudder is finally leading a comfortable life. The crime rate's down and the stock market's up. Gentrification's prettying-up the old neighborhood. The New York streets don't look so mean anymore. </p><p>Then all hell breaks loose. </p><p>Scudder quickly discovers the spruced-up sidewalks are as mean as ever, dark and gritty and stained with blood. He's living in a world where the past is a minefield, the present is a war zone, and the future's an open question. It's a world where nothing is certain and nobody's safe, a random universe where no one's survival can be taken for granted. Not even his own. </p><p>A world where everybody dies.</p></div>


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<div><p>Matthew Scudder knows that justice is an elusive commodity in the big city, where a harmless man can be shot dead in a public place criminals fly free through holes in a tattered legal system. But now a vigilante is roaming among the millions, executing those he fees deserve to die. He calls himself "The Will of the People"—an ingenious serial killer who announces his specific murderous intentions to the media before carrying through on his threats. A child molester, a Mafia don, a violent anti-abortionist—even the protected and untouchable are being ruthlessly erased by New York's latest celebrity avenger.</p><p>Scudder knows that no one is innocent—but who among us has the right to play God? It is a question that will haunt the licensed p.i. on his journey through the bleak city grays, as he searches for the sanity in urban madness. . .and for a frighteningly efficient killer who can do the impossible.</p></div>


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<div><p>Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also—and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier. Now finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in this cruel and dangerous town—some quick and brutal ... and some agonizingly slow.</p><p>A gripping backlist thriller--out of print since 1987--from the Edgar Award-winning author of A Ticket to the Boneyard. P.I. Matthew Scudder's investigation into the brutal killing of a young hooker, who was trying to get out of the business, reveals lethal secrets that are even dirtier than her clients--and puts Scudder's life on the market as well. Previous publisher: Jove. </p></div>


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<div><p><strong>Consumed by passion, a nice girl turned bad goes on a sexual tear that will threaten her reputation, her sanity, and ultimately, her life.</strong></p><p>Innocent high school student April North gave her virginity to Dan, her long-time steady, an expression of pure love that she thought was the first step to marriage. But when Dan spreads the word, she finds herself marked with a scarlet letter—not <em>A</em> for adultery, but <em>E</em> for easy—and in a town like Antrim, Ohio, a girl with a reputation has no future at all. Ashamed of her newfound passion, she is ready to run away when she meets Craig, a twenty-something playboy with a fast car and fast friends who shows her that sex isn’t something to fear. Craig’s world of cocktail parties and casual flings is a side of adulthood April never imagined—a lifestyle that, if she isn’t ready for it, may spell her doom. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from his personal collection, and a new afterword written by the author.</p></div>


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<div><p>Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.)</p><p>He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer.</p><p>Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police  a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?</p></div>


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<div><p>A man in a Virginia prison awaits execution for three horrific murders he must have committed but swears he didn't . . .</p><p>An aging investigator in New York City has seen too much and lost too much -- and is ready to leave the darkness behind . . .</p><p>But a nightmare is coming home -- because a brilliant, savage, patient monster has unfinished business in the big city . . . and a hunger that can be satisfied only by fear and the slow, agonizing death of Matthew Scudder and the woman he loves.</p></div>


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<div><p>The wife of Kheran Khoury, heroin wholesaler, is killed after he haggles over the price of her ransom. With the help of two computer geniuses, a streetwise punk, drug lords and his friend, ex-cop Scudder, they track the killers through the back streets of Brooklyn. </p><p>A new Matt Scudder novel from the author of the Edgar Award-winning A Dance at the Slaughterhouse. Despite the payment of a hefty ransom, the kidnapped wife of a Brooklyn heroin wholesaler is viciously murdered. Scudder goes after the killers, because in his mind even drug dealers deserve justice. </p></div>


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<div><p>Twelve years ago, Matthew Scudder lied to a jury to put James Leo Motley behind bars. Now the ingenious psychopath is free. And the alcoholic ex-cop-turned-p.i. must pay dearly for his sins. Friends and former lovers — even strangers unfortunate enough to share Scudder's name — are turning up dead. Because a vengeful maniac is determined not to rest until he's driven his nemesis back to the bottle...and then to the boneyard.</p><p>Matt Scudder faces every cop's worst nightmare: James Leo Motley, a psychopathic criminal he put away 15 years ago is out of jail and promises to put Scudder away--for good. Shrinkwrapped to each book is a free copy of Eight Million Ways to Die. Includes excerpt of Block's next hardcover, A Dance at the Slaughterhouse. </p></div>


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<p>Louis Pinell, the recently apprehended "Icepick Prowler," freely admits to having slain seven young women nine years ago -- but be swears it was a copycat who killed Barbara Ettinger Matthew Scudder believes him. But the trail to Ettinger's true murderer is twisted, dark and dangerous...and even colder than the almost decade-old corpse the p.i. is determined to avenge.</p>


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<div><p>The newest Matt Scudder novel by the blessedly prolific Block is right up to his usual standards. It takes a while to set up the situation (someone in an exclusive male dinner club that meets once a year is killing off the members at an alarming rate), but once it's established, Matt gets his man by his usual patient attention to detail and sheer doggedness. He almost misses him, however (giving rise to a matchless last line), and the punishment meted out to the villain is a highly unusual variant on the kind Scudder thinks up when the law, as sometimes happens, is helpless to act. His ex-call girl companion, Elaine, is her usual comforting self, and there's a brilliant portrait of an offbeat New York lawyer, obviously modeled on William Kunstler, who specializes in representing the underdog. The scene where the lawyer and suspicious ex-cop Scudder get to know and like each other is alone worth the price of the book. Those who become impatient with Scudder's determined pursuit of AA meetings--and it's possible to do so--should note his publisher's assertion that he now has a strong following not only among mystery buffs but also in "the recovery community." </p><p>The legendary secret club of 31 consists of 31 men who have nothing in common outside of their yearly dinner. The club meets through the years until there is only one member left. He must gather 30 new members to continue the tradition. But when an unknown killer decides to speed up the death rate among members, Matt Scudder is engaged to investigate. </p></div>


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<p class="description">"The Matthew Scudder novels are among the finest detective novels penned in this century."-Jonathan KellermanMatthew Scudder is facing his demons. Forced out of the NYPD, he's given up the drink. He's thinking seriously about his relationship with sometime girlfriend Jan. Then he runs into "High-Low" Jack Ellery, a childhood friend from the Bronx. They're two sides of the same coin: Scudder once solved crimes as a detective. Ellery committed them. In Scudder, Ellery sees the moral man he might have become. In Ellery, Scudder sees the hard-won sobriety he hopes to achieve.Then Ellery is killed, shot once in the mouth and once between the eyes, presumably while attempting to atone for past sins. Is it what he saw or what he said that got him killed? Ellery had no family, no friends to press for justice. Scudder reluctantly begins his own investigation, with just one lead-Ellery's Alcoholics Annonymous list of people he wronged. One of them may be a murderer, but that's not necessarily Scudder's greatest danger. Immersing himself in Ellery's world may lead him right back to the bar stool.Exploring themes of loss, nostalgia, and redemption, for Lawrence Block, A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF circles back to how it all began, reestablishing why the Matthew Scudder series is widely regarded as one of the pinnacles of American detective fiction.</p>


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<div><p>There is no accolade or major mystery award that has not already been bestowed upon Lawrence Block. His acclaimed crime novels are asintelligent, provocative, and emotionally complex as they are nerve-tighteningly intense. And perhaps the most respected of his myriad works are the Matthew Scudder books — masterworks of suspenseful invention featuring a remarkable protagonist rich in conscience and character, with all the flaws that his humanity entails. This is the detective novel as high art.</p><p><strong>A Dance At The Slaughterhouse</strong><br></p><p>In Matt Scudder's mind, money, power, and position elevate nobody above morality and the law. Now the ex-cop and unlicensed p.i. has been hired to prove that socialite Richard Thurman orchestrated the brutal murder of his beautiful, pregnant wife. During Scudder's hard drinking years, he left a piece of his soul on every seedy corner of the Big Apple. But this case is more depraved and more potentially devastating than anything he experienced while floundering in the urban depths. Because this investigation is leading Scudder on a frightening grand tour of New York's sex-for-sale underworld — where an innocent young life is simply a commodity to be bought and perverted ... and then destroyed.</p><p>Tormented P.I. Matt Scudder enters the terrifying sex-for-sale underworld as he tries to make a connection between the murder of a socialite and a twisted couple who makes "snuff" films. "A deftly-plotted, brightly phrased study of perversity and coincidence.</p></div>


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<div><p><strong>Synopsis:</strong></p><p>First published in 1912, just two short months after the sinking of the TITANIC, this hauntingly immediate account opens with Lawrence Beesley's story of arriving onshore and soon after walking through the doors of Messrs. Houghton and Mifflin to tell his tale. THE LOSS OF THE S.S. TITANIC represents Beesley's attempt not just to record the events of the sinking but to set the record straight. In so doing, he captures both the majesty and the tragedy of this legendary voyage  the view from the lifeboat as well as that from the deck. Full of wonderful nautical detail and written with a hair-raising clarity, THE LOSS OF THE S.S. TITANIC is an altogether spellbinding tale of that fateful night  one you won't soon forget.</p></div>


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<p class="description">What if Mary Shelley had not invented Frankenstein's monster but had met him when she was a girl of eight, sitting by her mother's grave, and he came to her unbidden? What if their secret bond left her forever changed, obsessed with the strange being whom she had discovered at a time of need? What if he were still alive in the twenty-first century? This bold, genre-defying book brings us the "monster" in his own words. He recalls how he was "made" and how Victor Frankenstein abandoned him. He ponders the tragic tale of the Shelleys and the intertwining of his life with that of Mary (whose fictionalized letters salt the narrative, along with those of her nineteenth-century intimates) in this riveting mix of fact and poetic license. He takes notes on all aspects of human striving--from the music of John Cage to robotics to the Northern explorers whose lonely quest mirrors his own--as he tries to understand the strange race that made yet shuns him, and to find his own freedom of mind. In the course of the monster's musings, we also see Mary Shelley's life from her childhood through her elopement with Percy Bysshe Shelley, her writing of "Frankenstein, " the births and deaths of her children, Shelley's famous drowning, her widowhood, her subsequent travels and life's work, and finally her death from a brain tumor at age fifty-four. The monster's fierce bond with Mary and the tale of how he ended up in her fiction is a haunted, intense love story, a story of two beings who can never forget each other. "A Monster's Notes" is Sheck's most thrilling work to date, a luminous meditation on creativity and technology, on alienation and otherness, on ugliness and beauty, and on our need to be understood.</p>


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<div><p>Neil Gaiman. Laura Lippman. Lee Child. These are just three of eighteen superstar authors who provide fascinating, thrilling, and utterly original perspectives on Sherlock Holmes in this one-of-a-kind book. These modern masters place the sleuth in suspenseful new situations, create characters who solve Holmesian mysteries, contemplate Holmes in his later years, fill gaps in the Sherlock Holmes Canon, and reveal their own personal obsessions with the Great Detective.</p><p>Thomas Perry, for example, has Dr. Watson tell his tale, in a virtuoso work of alternate history that finds President McKinley approaching the sleuth with a disturbing request; Lee Child sends an FBI agent to investigate a crime near today’s Baker Street—only to get a twenty-first-century shock; Jacqueline Winspear spins a story of a plucky boy inspired by the detective to make his own deductions; and graphic artist Colin Cotterill portrays his struggle to complete this assignment in his hilarious “The Mysterious Case of the Unwritten Short Story.”*</p><p>In perfect tribute comes this delicious collection of twisty, clever, and enthralling studies of a timeless icon.</p><p>Featuring stories from<br><br>Alan Bradley Tony Broadbent Jan Burke Lionel Chetwynd Lee Child Colin Cotterill*<br>Neil Gaiman Laura Lippman Gayle Lynds &amp; John Sheldon Phillip &amp; Jerry Margolin Margaret Maron Thomas Perry S. J. Rozan Dana Stabenow Charles Todd Jacqueline Winspear</p><p>*print-version only </p></div>


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"If you have introvert inclinations and are doubting yourself, this is a must read. Or if you know someone who exhibits introvert symptoms, read this book before calling the shrink." - Bhante Yogavacara Rahula, author of One Night's Shelter: An Autobiography of an American Buddhist Monk EMBRACE THE POWER INSIDE YOU Are you an introvert? Psychologist and introvert Laurie Helgoe reveals that more than half of all Americans are. Introverts gain energy and power through reflection and solitude. Our culture, however, is geared toward the extrovert. The pressure to enjoy parties, chatter, and interactions can lead people to think that an inward orientation is a problem instead of an opportunity. Helgoe shows that the exact opposite is true: Introverts can capitalize on this inner source of power. INTROVERT POWER is a groundbreaking call for an introvert renaissance, a blueprint for how introverts can take full advantage of this hidden strength in daily life. Supplemented by the voices of several introverts, Helgoe presents a startling look at introvert numbers, influence, and economic might. Revolutionary and invaluable, INTROVERT POWER includes ideas for how introverts can learn to:  Claim private space Carve out time to think Bring a slower tempo into daily life Create breaks in conversation and relationships Deal effectively with parties, interruptions, and crowds  QUIET IS MIGHT. SOLITUDE IS STRENGTH. INTROVERSION IS POWER.


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; ">In <em>Elizabeth Street</em>, Laurie Fabiano tells a remarkable, and previously unheard, story of the Italian immigrant experience at the start of the twentieth century. Culled from her own family history, Fabiano paints an entrancing portrait of Giovanna Costa, who, reeling from personal tragedies, tries to make a new life in a new world. Shot through with the smells and sights of Scilla, Italy, and New York’s burgeoning Little Italy, this intoxicating story follows Giovanna as she finds companionship, celebrates the birth of a baby girl, takes pride in a growing business, and feels a sense of belonging on a family outing to Coney Island.</span></h3><p>However, these modest successes are rewarded with the attention of the notorious Black Hand, a gang of brutal extortionists led by Lupo the Wolf. As the stakes grow higher and higher, readers share with Giovanna her desperate struggle to remain outside the fray, and then to fight for—and finally to save—that which is important above all other: family.</p></div>


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<div><p><em>HHhH: </em>“Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich”, or “Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich”. The most dangerous man in Hitler’s cabinet, Reinhard Heydrich was known as the “Butcher of Prague.” He was feared by all and loathed by most. With his cold Aryan features and implacable cruelty, Heydrich seemed indestructible—until two men, a Slovak and a Czech recruited by the British secret service, killed him in broad daylight on a bustling street in Prague, and thus changed the course of History. </p><p>Who were these men, arguably two of the most discreet heroes of the twentieth century? In Laurent Binet’s captivating debut novel, we follow Jozef Gabćik and Jan Kubiš from their dramatic escape of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to England; from their recruitment to their harrowing parachute drop into a war zone, from their stealth attack on Heydrich’s car to their own brutal death in the basement of a Prague church. </p><p>A seemingly effortlessly blend of historical truth, personal memory, and Laurent Binet’s remarkable imagination, <em>HHhH</em>—an international bestseller and winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman—is a work at once thrilling and intellectually engrossing, a fast-paced novel of the Second World War that is also a profound meditation on the nature of writing and the debt we owe to history.</p></div>


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'One of the most charismatic and flamboyant cyclists in recent history' Daily Telegraph Laurent Fignon is one of the giants of modern cycling. Twice-winner of the Tour de France in the early eighties, Fignon became the star for a new generation. In 1989 he took part in one of the most fiercely-contested Tours of all time. Over the course of 3,285 kilometres he lost out to his American arch-rival, Greg LeMond, by an agonising eight seconds on the final Parisian time trial. Fignon does not mince his words. In this forthright and unflinching account the former champion spares neither friends nor opponents, nor even his own image. In doing so he gives cycling fans a tantalising glimpse of what really went on behind the scenes of this epic sport u the friendships, the rivalries, the betrayals, the scheming, the parties, the girls, and, of course, the performance-enhancing drugs. Laurent Fignon lived cycling at its peak. He enjoyed a truly exceptional career, winning over eighty titles from 1982 to 1993. The highs were matched by lows of serious injury, periods of self-doubt, and accusations of cheating. Fignon's story bestrides a golden age in cycling: a time before the scandals and the shadow of doping, a time when cyclists were afraid of nothing.


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Journalist Leamer (The Kennedy Women) provides a stirring narrative of the Kennedy men but comes up short as regards analysis of the byzantine motivations, complex psychology and persistent moral failures that lie behind the events he otherwise describes so well. Putting his own spin on well-known anecdotes (including all the most popular tales from so many other books that document Joe Sr.'s rise in business and politics, his failure to recognize the menace of Hitler and his sponsorship of his children's careers). Leamer steadfastly refuses to shed a critical light on the proclivities of Kennedy père. The author soft-pedals, for example, the Kennedy partriarch's well-documented anti-Semitism. The same lack of critical analysis despite Leamer's access to never-before available materials constitutes a considerable flaw throughout the book. Although offering engaging and fast-moving accounts of such events as Joe Jr.'s death and Jack's rise in politics through means both fair and foul, Leamer consistently refrains from considering the ethical implications of his stories, or the evident shortcomings in the character of more than one Kennedy. He seems, for example, to step back in awe when considering the brilliance and audacity of the Kennedys' stealing Cook County and therefore the election during the 1960 presidential race. In the final analysis, Leamer is a fan, idealizing his subjects. The result is a good read, though not necessarily a balanced history.</span></h3>


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<p>This is more than a book about getting a job. It's about people who want to express their talents in a meaningful way that serves others. In Part One, a vision of new possibilities in work begins to take shape in images of poetry, mythology and art, as well as traditional Zen teachings. For Bold, everyone is the artist of his or her life. Part Two guides the reader through the practical action steps to finding and fulfilling one's life work. It offers information on many of the traditional career planning books (resuming writing, interview preparation, etc), as well as information not generally found in career guides, including how to start your own business, how to manage multiple careers and how to love what you're doing until you're doing what you love.</p>


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A vivid forecast of our planet in the year 2050 by a rising star in geoscience, distilling cutting-edge research into four global forces: demographic trends, natural resource demand, climate change, and globalization.   The world's population is exploding, wild species are vanishing, our environment is degrading, and the costs of resources from oil to water are going nowhere but up. So what kind of world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? Geoscientist and Guggenheim fellow Laurence Smith draws on the latest global modeling research to construct a sweeping thought experiment on what our world will be like in 2050. The result is both good news and bad: Eight nations of the Arctic Rim (including the United States) will become increasingly prosperous, powerful, and politically stable, while those closer to the equator will face water shortages, aging populations, and crowded megacities sapped by the rising costs of energy and coastal flooding.  The World in 2050 combines the lessons of geography and history with state-of-the-art model projections and analytical data-everything from climate dynamics and resource stocks to age distributions and economic growth projections. But Smith offers more than a compendium of statistics and studies- he spent fifteen months traveling the Arctic Rim, collecting stories and insights that resonate throughout the book. It is an approach much like Jared Diamond took in Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, a work of geoscientific investigation rich in the appreciation of human diversity.  Packed with stunning photographs, original maps, and informative tables, this is the most authoritative, balanced, and compelling account available of the world of challenges and opportunities that we will leave for our children.


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<p class="description">Drawing on original writings and walking in the footsteps of Marco Polo himself, Laurence Bergreen's Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu is the most definitive biography of the legendary traveler to date, separating the man from his considerable myth. Look inside Marco Polo (Click on thumbnails to see a larger image): Marco Polo: a traditional portrait; Granger Frontispiece of an early published edition of Marco Polo's Travels, Nuremberg, Germany, 1477; Granger Kublai Khan, emperor of the world's largest land-based empire; Granger Marco Polo commanded a Venetian galley similar to this in the Battle of Curzola; Granger Stone carving on the Marco Polo bridge; Laurence Bergreen Marco Polo's vivid and occasionally misinterpreted descriptions of his travels inspired this medieval artist to depict dragons in China; Granger Marco Polo timeline (All dates given in the Julian calendar): 1215 - Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan and Marco Polo's mentor, is born. 1254 - Marco Polo born in Venice, although one tradition locates his birthplace in the Venetian colony of Dalmatia. 1260 - Kublai Khan becomes leader of the Mongols and in 1271 founds the Yuan ("Origin") Dynasty. 1271 - Young Marco Polo leaves Venice with his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo, bound for the court of Kublai Khan. 1274 - Kublai Khan oversees a failed Mongol invasion of Japan, as the Mongols, masters of the Steppe, meet their match at sea. 1275 - The three Polos arrive in Shang-du, Kublai Khan's summer palace immortalized by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as Xanadu; Marco begins his years in the service of the Khan. 1276 - 1293 - Marco travels throughout Asia, reaching the coast of India, and possibly Zanzibar, gathering intelligence for Kublai Khan and serving as a tax collector for the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty. 1281 - Kublai Khan's second failed invasion of Japan, a serious blow to his prestige. 1292 - The Polos escort Princess Kokachin to Persia to marry, their last formal service to Kublai Khan before departing. 1294 - Kublai Khan dies, freeing the Polo family, who undertake a dangerous return voyage by sea. 1295 - Marco, his father, and uncle, arrive in Venice after their 24-year absence. They have been away for so long that their fellow Venetians do not recognize them. 1298 - Marco is captured by the Genoese in the Battle of Curzola, according to some accounts, and confined to a cell in Genoa with a romance writer, Rustichello of Pisa, to whom he dictates his adventures in China, his reminiscences of Kublai Khan, his life among the Mongols. 1300 - Safely back in Venice, Marco Polo marries Donata Badoer; the couple has three daughters. 1324 - As manuscript versions of his exploits spread throughout Europe, Marco Polo dies in Venice, claiming that he did not reveal the half of his experiences in his remarkable Travels.</p>


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<div><p>From the author of the Magellan biography, <em>Over the Edge of the World,</em> a mesmerizing new account of the great explorer.</p><p>Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a trading route to China, and his unexpected landfall in the Americas, is a watershed event in world history. Yet Columbus made three more voyages within the span of only a decade, each designed to demonstrate that he could sail to China within a matter of weeks and convert those he found there to Christianity. These later voyages were even more adventurous, violent, and ambiguous, but they revealed Columbus's uncanny sense of the sea, his mingled brilliance and delusion, and his superb navigational skills. In all these exploits he almost never lost a sailor. By their conclusion, however, Columbus was broken in body and spirit. If the first voyage illustrates the rewards of exploration, the latter voyages illustrate the tragic costs- political, moral, and economic.</p><p>In rich detail Laurence Bergreen re-creates each of these adventures as well as the historical background of Columbus's celebrated, controversial career. Written from the participants' vivid perspectives, this breathtakingly dramatic account will be embraced by readers of Bergreen's previous biographies of Marco Polo and Magellan and by fans of Nathaniel Philbrick, Simon Winchester, and Tony Horwitz.</p></div>


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<div><p>The sequel you’ve been waiting for: the follow-up to the sensational #1 bestseller The Devil Wears Prada.</p><p>Almost a decade has passed since Andy Sachs quit the job “a million girls would die for” working for Miranda Priestly at Runway magazine—a dream that turned out to be a nightmare. Andy and Emily, her former nemesis and co-assistant, have since joined forces to start a highend bridal magazine. The Plunge has quickly become required reading for the young and stylish. Now they get to call all the shots: Andy writes and travels to her heart’s content; Emily plans parties and secures advertising like a seasoned pro. Even better, Andy has met the love of her life. Max Harrison, scion of a storied media family, is confident, successful, and drop-dead gorgeous. Their wedding will be splashed across all the society pages as their friends and family gather to toast the glowing couple. Andy Sachs is on top of the world. But karma’s a bitch. The morning of her wedding, Andy can’t shake the past. And when she discovers a secret letter with crushing implications, her wedding-day jitters turn to cold dread. Andy realizes that nothing—not her husband, nor her beloved career—is as it seems. She never suspected that her efforts to build a bright new life would lead her back to the darkness she barely escaped ten years ago—and directly into the path of the devil herself...</p></div>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Brooke and Julian Alter are a happy couple--she's a nutritionist working two jobs to support them, he's a talented musician with a low-level recording contract--but when Julian hits it big in The Devil Wears Prada author Weisberger's not-ready-for-prime-time latest, their marriage wobbles under the strain of fame. Suddenly Julian is traveling nonstop, a pawn of his manager and publicist, and Brooke tries to balance her career with her desire to back him up. Paparazzi stalk their every move (believable in his case, less so in hers); her job is threatened by her repeated absences to attend events like Julian's Grammy appearance; and their shared giddiness dissipates as they are divided--physically and emotionally--as a couple. It takes many dozens of pages and a number of by-the-way announcements that might have ratcheted up the tension if they'd been part of the story to get Brooke and Julian into a crisis, unsurprising though that crisis may be. Weisberger has insightful takes about the price of success in our celebrity-obsessed culture, but Brooke and Julian hew too closely to type to make their struggles sympathetic. </span></h3>


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'They say that when you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me' Sam Kingston is dead. Except she isn't. On a rainy February night, eighteen-year-old Sam is killed in a horrific car crash. But then the impossible happens: she wakes up in her own bed, on the morning of the day that she died. Forced to live over and over the last day of her life ' the drive to school, skipping class, the fateful party ' she desperately struggles to alter the outcome, but every morning she wakes up on the day of the crash. This is a story of a girl who dies young, but in the process learns how to live. And who falls in love . . . a little too late. BEFORE I FALL is a brave and complex novel about the territory between life and death. As astonishing as The Lovely Bonesand as luminous as Jenny Downham's Before I Die, it will make you want to live every day as if it were your last.


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<div><p>Hell on earth.</p><p>That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.<br>It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.</p><p>At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous.<br>What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?<br><br>The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies. </p></div>


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When 16-year-old Scarlett Wakefield transfers from St. Tabby’s to Wakefield Hall Collegiate, she is relieved that no one knows her dark, haunting secret. A few months ago, Scarlett was invited to an elite party with a guest list full of the hottest names in British society, including Dan McAndrew. Before the party, Scarlett had only imagined what it would be like to have her first kiss with Dan, but on the penthouse terrace, Dan leaned in close and she no longer had to wonder. Their kiss was beautiful and perfect and magical, and then . . . Dan McAndrew took his last breath as she held him in her arms. No one knows how or why Dan died, and everyone at St. Tabby’s believes Scarlett had something to do with it. But now that she’s safely hidden away at Wakefield Hall, Scarlett would rather forget that it ever happened. Only she can’t. Especially when she receives an anonymous note that will set her on the path to clearing her name and finding out what really happened to the first and last boy she kissed.


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After discovering that someone saw what looked like Dan’s emergency EpiPen in A-lister Plum’s designer handbag, Scarlett and her tough American sidekick, Taylor, sneak into a posh London nightclub, where Plum has a private table. Scarlett is stunned to discover a piece of evidence that might implicate another girl in Plum’s exclusive circle, Lucy Raleigh. Which means Scarlett must cast a wider net in order to catch the right suspect.Back at school, groundskeeper Jase is hoping to take Scarlett’s mind off her troubles with some heart-stopping kisses. Scarlett can’t help but feel guilty for indulging in romantic rendezvous when she should be hunting down Dan’s killer. However, once Scarlett finds out how Lucy is connected to Dan, she knows she must drop everything and travel to the McAndrew estate in Scotland to hunt for more clues. But when she arrives, Scarlett becomes the target of a dangerous hunt herself.


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<p>In the fields of western New York State in the 1970s, a few dozen idealists set out to live off the land, founding a commune centered on the grounds of a decaying mansion called Arcadia House. Arcadia follows this romantic utopian dream from its hopeful start through its heyday. Arcadia’s inhabitants include Handy, the charismatic leader; his wife, Astrid, a midwife; Abe, a master carpenter; Hannah, a baker and historian; and Abe and Hannah’s only child, Bit. While Arcadia rises and falls, Bit, too, ages and changes. He falls in love with Helle, Handy’s lovely, troubled daughter. And eventually he must face the world beyond Arcadia. </p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Sugar and Spice . . . Not everyone's nice.</span></h3><p>Fresh from being betrayed by one of her closest friends, new reality-television celebrity Jane Roberts has learned a few lessons. Most important: know who to trust. And inHollywood, that list is short.</p><p>Although the press is intent on creating a tabloid war between her and ex-friend/current-costar Madison Parker, Jane just wants to take control of her life. She’s started by swearing off guys and the drama that comes with them. But when her high school sweetheart Caleb and her unrequited L.A. crush Braden show up, both acting sweeter than ever, Jane has a hard timeremembering her no-boys rule. . . .</p><p>Her best friend, Scarlett, has only one guy on her mind: her new boyfriend, Liam. The girl who once thought love was a four-letter word is now head over heels. The problem is, being ona hit reality show means hanging out with other guys on-camera, and Liam isn’t too happy with pretending to play a bit part in her love life.</p><p>Just when everything feels out of control, Jane makes a shocking discovery—one that changes everyone’s definition of “reality” forever.</p><p>In her deliciously entertaining novel, television star Lauren Conrad pulls back the curtain on young Hollywood and shows that sometimes the real drama is behind the scenes.</p></div>


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<p class="description">A new novel of "toe-curling" erotic romance from the national bestselling author of Laid Bare.   After his parents' death, Brody gave up a promising career to care for his family. Now, with his siblings grown, Brody owns his own business, and for the first time in years he's alone. Elise has come to Seattle with her daughter to find peace. After years as a world-famous ballerina-and trapped in a marriage gone bad-she's looking for neither love nor attention. But she finds both in the handsome, honest man who befriends her with no strings attached.  Brody and Elise discover in each other the wild, physical passion they need. But it'll take a shadow from Elise's past to make them look beyond what they need-to what they truly desire.</p>


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Los Angeles is all about the sweet life: hot clubs, cute guys, designer . . . everything. Nineteen-year-old Jane Roberts can't wait to start living it up. She may be in L.A. for an internship, but Jane plans to play as hard as she works, and has enlisted her BFF Scarlett to join in the fun.   When Jane and Scarlett are approached by a producer who wants them to be on his new series, a "reality version of Sex and the City," they can hardly believe their luck. Their own show? Yes, please!   Soon Jane is TV's hottest star. Fame brings more than she ever imagined possible for a girl from Santa Barbara—free designer clothes, the choicest tables at the most exclusive clubs, invites to Hollywood premieres—and she's lapping up the VIP treatment with her eclectic entourage of new pals. But those same friends who are always up for a wild night are also out for a piece of Jane's spotlight.   In a city filled with people chasing after their dreams, it's not long before Jane wakes up to the reality that everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it seems to be.   L.A. Candy is a deliciously entertaining novel about what it's like to come of age in Hollywood while starring in a reality TV show, written by a girl who has experienced it all firsthand: Lauren Conrad.


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<div><p>WHERE NO ONE ELSE DARE VENTURE…</p><p>Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty online 419 scam habit – and a talent for finding lost things. But when her latest client, a little old lady, turns up dead and the cops confiscate her lastpaycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job: missing persons</p><p>An astonishing second novel from the author of the highly-acclaimed <em>Moxyland</em>.</p><p><br></p></div>


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<p class="description">From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "City of Light" comes a compelling, richly detailed tale of passion and intrigue set in New York City during the tumultuous early days of World War II.  Claire Shipley is a single mother haunted by the death of her young daughter and by her divorce years ago. She is also an ambitious photojournalist, and in the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, the talented "Life" magazine reporter finds herself on top of one of the nation's most important stories. In the bustling labs of New York City's renowned Rockefeller Institute, some of the country's brightest doctors and researchers are racing to find a cure that will save the lives of thousands of wounded American soldiers and countless others--a miraculous new drug they call penicillin. Little does Claire suspect how much the story will change her own life when the work leads to an intriguing romance.  Though Claire has always managed to keep herself separate from the subjects she covers, this story touches her deeply, stirring memories of her daughter's sudden illness and death--a loss that might have been prevented by this new "miracle drug." And there is James Stanton, the shy and brilliant physician who coordinates the institute's top secret research for the military. Drawn to this dedicated, attractive man and his work, Claire unexpectedly finds herself falling in love. But Claire isn't the only one interested in the secret development of this medicine. Her long-estranged father, Edward Rutherford, a self-made millionaire, understands just how profitable a new drug like penicillin could be. When a researcher at the institute dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes become starkly clear: a murder has been committed to obtain these lucrative new drugs. With lives and a new love hanging in the balance, Claire will put herself at the center of danger to find a killer--no matter what price she may have to pay.  Lauren Belfer dazzled readers with her debut novel, "City of Light," a "New York Times" notable book of the year. In this highly anticipated follow-up, she deftly captures the uncertainty and spirit, the dreams and hopes, of a nation at war. A sweeping tale of love and betrayal, intrigue and idealism, "A Fierce Radiance" is an ambitious and deeply engaging novel from an author of immense talent.</p>


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You don't volunteer for slugfests with vampires. It shortens your life expectancy. And you don't fall in love with a werewolf. It interferes with your work. Especially when you're a preternatural expert, like me. My business brings me up close and personal with all shapes and sizes of monsters. And not all of them want to kill me.Take, for instance, the local pack of lycanthropes - they're werewolves to you. A number of them are missing, and they've come to me for help. Maybe because I'm dating the leader of the pack. I've survived a lot - from jealous vampires to killer zombies - but this love thing may kill me yet.


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An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel. 'These days my life is a cross between a preternatural soap opera and an action-adventure movie.' The first hit man came after me at home, which should be against the rules. Then there was a second, and a third. Word on the street is that Anita Blake, preternatural expert and vampire killer extraordinaire, is worth half a million dollars. Dead, not alive. So what's a girl to do but turn to the men in her life for help? Which in my case means an alpha werewolf and a master vampire. With professional killers on your trail, it's not a bad idea to have as much protection as possible, human or otherwise. But I'm beginning to wonder if two monsters are better than one...


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Anita Blake, a woman who has the power to reanimate dead bodies, refuses an offer of a million dollars to bring a three-hundred-year-old corpse back to life because the effort would require a human sacrifice, but when a less ethical animator takes the job, it is up to Anita to stop the resulting carnage.


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<div><p class="description">Readers haven't seen anything yet-new in the "fabulously imagined series" (*Publishers Weekly*) from the #1 *New York Times* bestselling author.</p>
<p class="description">Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world-a world already overflowing with power-have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names. It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you've been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.    </p>
<p class="description">Long-time rivals for Anita's affections, Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City, and Richard, alpha-werewolf, will need to become allies. Shapeshifters Nathaniel and Micah will have to step up their support. And then there's Edward. In this situation, Anita knows that she needs to call the one man who has always been there for her...</p></div>


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A proven series with a hot new look. The #1 bestselling author returns with her most anticipated novel yet. When a vampire serial killer sends Anita Blake a grisly souvenir from Las Vegas, she has to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with. Only it's worse than she thought. Ten officers and one executioner have been slain—paranormal style. Anita heads to Vegas, where's she's joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward. It's a good thing he always has her back, because when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses “tiger” too strongly to ignore it. The weretigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher.


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"I've never read a writer with a more fertile imagination - and fewer inhibitions about using it." (Diana Gabaldon)  Six months of celibacy have made Anita crave the two men in her life like never before. But merging their powers together will give this mortal woman a taste of immortal hunger that she'll never be able to forget...


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An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel 'I was covered in blood, but it wasn't mine, so it was okay.' Edward is a hit man. He specialises in monsters. Vampires, shape-shifters, anything and everything. There are people like me, Anita Blake, who do it legally, but Edward doesn't sweat the legalities or, hell, the ethics. He is an equal opportunity killer. I may be one of the few friends that Edward has, but it's like being friends with a tame leopard. It may curl on the foot of your bed and let you pet its head, but it can still eat your throat out...


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There are lots of reasons to raise the dead-some private, some public. In this case, the feds have a witness who died before he could speak on the record. They want him raised so his testimony can be taken. So here I am, on a plane to Philadelphia, flying off to do my job. But I'm not alone. Micah is with me. Micah, head of the St. Louis wereleopard pard. King to my Queen. The only one of my lovers who can stir my blood with just a glance from his chartreuse cat's eyes. I was happy to have him at my side. Until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No Master Vampire. No Alpha Werewolf. Just me and Micah. And all my fears and doubts...


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No one is as good at stripping bare the dark desires of the inhuman soul as Laurell K. Hamilton, something she has proven time after time in her New York Timesbestselling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels. Now, in Incubus Dreams, Anita's life is more complicated than ever, as she is caught between her obligations to the living and the undead. A vampire serial killer who preys on strippers is on the loose. Called in to consult on the case, Anita fears her judgment may be clouded by a conflict of interest. For she is, after all, the consort of Jean-Claude, the ever-intoxicating Master Vampire of the City. Surrounded by suspicion, overwhelmed by her attempts to control the primal lusts that continue to wrack her as a result of her passionate contacts with vampires, werewolves, and the shapeshifter Micah, Anita does something unprecedented: She calls for help.


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<div><p>When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more… <br></p><p>But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them.</p></div>


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The fantastically addicitive first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel 'I don't date vampires. I kill them. ' My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me the Executioner. What I call them isn't repeatable. Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I've seen their victims. I carry the scars... But now a serial killer is murdering vampires ' and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer.


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<p class="description">New in the #1 New York Times bestselling series   When Anita Blake meets with prospective client Tony Bennington, who is desperate to have her reanimate his recently deceased wife, she is full of sympathy for his loss. Anita knows something about love, and she knows everything there is to know about loss. But what she also knows, though Tony Bennington seems unwilling to be convinced, is that the thing she can do as a necromancer isn't the miracle he thinks he needs. The creature that Anita could coerce to step out of the late Mrs. Bennington's grave would not be the lovely Mrs. Bennington. Not really. And not for long.</p>


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Anita Blake is an expert on creatures of the night. She has dined with shapeshifters, danced with werewolves, and been wooed, but not won, by Jean-Claude, the Master Vampire of the city. Now there's a new vampire in town named Alejandro and he wants Anita for his servant. His attempts to win her lead to a war of the undead.


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An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel 'People don't like dealing with people who raise the dead. Don't ask me why, but we make them nervous.' There's something about Leo Harlan that I don't like. He's asked me to reanimate his long-dead ancestor, and it seems like a perfectly ordinary case for someone like me: Anita Blake, preternatural expert, vampire hunter and raiser of the dead. So I agree ' sometimes you deal with the devil not because you want to, but because if you don't, someone else will. But what he hasn't told me is that the corpse may hold the secret to an ancient crime that not everyone wants to be remembered.


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"You can't trust anyone who sleeps with monsters."  That's what Anita Blake had always believed. But now she was sharing a bed with the Master Vampire of the city. So when an arsonist began to target vampire victims, the creatures of the night turned to their former enemy. For now only "The Executioner" could save them from the inferno...  The Anita Blake novels have become more than just a cult hit-- "The Killing Dance" was an instant national bestseller Like Anne Rice's Lestat, Anita Blake has a loyal following that eagerly awaits each new novel


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The music came back up and the next group of little girls, slightly older, came out. There was a lot of that in the next hour and change. I liked dance, and it was no reflection on the kids, but my will to live began to seep away on about the fifth group of sequined children...   Anita Blake is back in St. Louis and trying to live a normal life-as normal as possible for someone who is a legal vampire executioner and a U. S. Marshal. There are lovers, friends and their children, school programs to attend. In the midst of all the ordinary happiness a vampire from Anita's past reaches out. She was supposed to be dead, killed in an explosion, but the Mother of All Darkness is the first vampire, their dark creator. It's hard to kill a god. This dark goddess has reached out to her here-in St. Louis, home of everyone Anita loves most. The Mother of All Darkness has decided she has to act now or never, to control Anita, and all the vampires in America.  The Mother of All Darkness believes that the triumvirate created by master vampire Jean-Claude with Anita and the werewolf Richard Zeeman has enough power for her to regain a body and to immigrate to the New World. But the body she wants to possess is already taken. Anita is about to learn a whole new meaning to sharing her body, one that has nothing to do with the bedroom. And if the Mother of All Darkness can't succeed in taking over Anita's body for herself, she means to see that no one else has the use of it, ever again. Even Belle Morte, not always a friend to Anita, has sent word: "Run if you can..."


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An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel 'Richard was an alpha werewolf. It was his only serious flaw. We'd broken up after I'd seen him eat somebody.' You never forget your ex-fiance. And when the call came at three in the morning, I thought for a moment it was him. It wasn't. It was his brother. And it wasn't good news. Apparently the former love of my life had got himself thrown into jail for assaulting a woman. Since I make my living as a preternatural expert, I tend to believe almost anything's possible. But though he may be one of the monsters, Richard would never harm a woman. So it's Anita Blake to the rescue. I've got just a few days to spring Richard and find out who framed him ' and why. There's a full moon coming, and if my werewolf love is still behind bars when it rises, he'll be facing a lot worse than an assault charge...


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<div><p>Some zombies are raised. Others must be put down. Just ask Anita Blake.<br><br>Before now, she would have considered them merely off-putting, never dangerous. Before now, she had never heard of any of them causing human beings to perish in agony. But that’s all changed.<br><br>Micah’s estranged father lies dying, rotting away inside from some strange ailment that has his doctors whispering about “zombie disease.”<br><br>Anita makes her living off of zombies—but these aren’t the kind she knows so well. These creatures hunt in daylight, and are as fast and strong as vampires. If they bite you, you become just like them. And round and round it goes…<br><br>Where will it stop?<br></p><p>Even Anita Blake doesn’t know.</p></div>


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When three dead teenagers are slaughtered in a way no one had ever seen before, and a girl is found drained of blood in her bed, it's obvious that something is very wrong in and around Branson, Missouri. And Anita Blake is right in the middle of it all.


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"All it would take was my true name being mentioned after dark, and it would float back to my aunt. She was the Queen of Air and Darkness, and that meant that anything said in the dark was hers to hear, eventually. The fact that spotting the missing Elven American Princess had become more popular than spotting Elvis helped. Her magic was always chasing blind leads. Princess Meredith skiing in Utah. Princess Meredith dancing in Paris. Princess Meredith gambling in Vegas. After three years I was still a front-page story for the tabloids, though the latest headlines had been speculating that I was dead as the King of Rock and Roll . . ."Three years ago, Princess Meredith fled the court of her cruel Aunt Andais, the Queen of Air and Darkness, leaving that garden of decadent delights and backstabbing intrigues for the comparative calm of Los Angeles. Using her magic to pass for human, Meredith began a new life as a private investigator specializing in supernatural crime. But now Doyle, the Queen's chief bodyguard and assassin, has been dispatched to fetch her back--whether she likes it or not.The product of a marriage designed to cement peace between the rival Seelie and Unseelie courts, Meredith has always been scorned by both factions in spite of her royal blood. But that blood is behind the Unseelie Queen's surprisingly urgent summons. For ever since the fey's exile from Europe to America, their power and purity have been fading. Desperate to renew her race, Queen Andais now pins her hopes on a contest between Meredith and her own son, the sadistic Prince Cel. The first to produce a child will win the throne.The loser's reward will be death . . . Laurell K. Hamilton's bestselling series of novels featuring Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, established her as one of the hottest new writers of dark fantasy and erotic horror. Now, in a thrilling adventure of unbridled imagination, Hamilton turns her talents to the glittering, myth-drenched lands of Faerie and brings them brilliantly into the postmodern age. Enter a thrilling, sensual world as threatening as it is beautiful, replete with the titanic passions of immortal beings once worshipped as gods or demons. Full of earthly pleasures and dazzling magic, Laurell K. Hamilton's A Kiss of Shadows will hold you under its hypnotic spell.


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Readers can't get enough of the #1 New York Times bestselling author. A favor for Jason, vampire hunter Anita Blake's werewolf lover, puts her in the center of a fullblown scandal that threatens master-vampire Jean- Claude's reign—and makes her a pawn in an ancient vampire queen's new rise to power.


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From the Publisher: A dazzling debut in the tradition of Jane Hamilton and Mona Simpson. In Laura Moriarty's extraordinary first novel, a young girl tries to make sense of an unruly world spinning around her. Growing up with a single mother who is chronically out of work and dating a married man, 10-year old Evelyn Bucknow learns early how to fend for herself. Offering an affecting portrayal of a troubled mother/daughter relationship, one in which the daughter is very often expected to play the role of the adult, the novel also gives readers a searing rendering of the claustrophobia of small town Midwestern life, as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl. Evelyn must come to terms with the heartbreaking lesson of first love-that not all loves are meant to be-and determine who she is and who she wants to be. Stuck in the middle of Kansas, between best friends, and in the midst of her mother's love, Evelyn finds herself-in The Center of Everything.


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An edgy, utterly gripping tale of psychological manipulation that will leave readers racing to the final page, "I'd Know You Anywhere" is a virtuoso performance from acclaimed, award-winning author Lippman that is sure to be her biggest hit yet.


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Engrossed in a new relationship to the point that her studies begin to suffer, college junior Veronica is devastated when a plea for help goes unaided, a situation during which she is summoned by her mother with a surprising request that teaches her about family, love and independence. Reprint.


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On March 17, 2009, Laura Ling and Euna Lee were working on a documentary about North Korean defectors. While filming, they were apprehended by North Korean soldiers, charged with "hostile acts," and imprisoned. Following months of interrogation, the women were tried before North Korea's highest court and sentenced to twelve years of hard labor.Laura's sister, journalist Lisa Ling, immediately began a campaign to get her sister released -- a campaign that led her to the highest echelons of the media world and U.S. government. Somewhere Inside is Laura's gripping account of the deprivation and harrowing interrogation she endured, its emotional toll, and the fear that she might never see her family again.


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">Shapiro's biography of Julia Child—one of America's most beloved personalities—is a short but comprehensive book, and the newest in the Penguin Lives series. Born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, Calif., in 1912, Child attended college and worked for the OSS in Asia during WWII, where she met her future husband. After marrying, they moved to Paris, which led her to cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu. Child had an appetite for learning as well as eating, one that soon developed into a desire to pass on the knowledge and skills—the love—she was acquiring. And in her late 30s, she found her calling. With two women who later coauthored her first book, she started her own cooking school; her class notes led to the cookbook, which eventually led to the television show. Her husband provided steady support, and Child learned of the value of trial and error and an ability to laugh at her mistakes. She was also patient: the cookbook was nearly a decade from conception to publication and the television show started equally shakily. In this wonderful short bio, Shapiro doesn't skimp on less-flattering aspects of her subject's life and personality </span></h3>


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<div><p>Makenna James thinks her day can't get any worse, until she finds herself stuck in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call and juggling too much stuff, the pin-striped accountant caught only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights went out. <br></p><p>Caden Grayson is amused when a redhead literally falls at his feet. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he's terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he's trapped in his own worst nightmare. <br></p><p>To fight fear, they must both reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?</p></div>


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A volatile, corrupt city threatened by toreign invasion and ru by an iron-fisted government, Nagasaki is the last place Sano Ichiro wants to be, Unfortunately, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People has been banished there by a wicked adversary in the shogun's court. Surrounded by spies, Sano must tread carefully. When the body of a Dutch trader washes ashore, he finds himself leading an investigation that could push Japan into war -- even as it thrusts his life into the hands of powerful enemies. Sano has to unmask a killer and prove his innocence, or his samurai head, and maybe his country, will fall.


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Far from the Shogun's court at Edo, Most Honorable Investigator Sano Ichiro begins the most challenging case of his career. Upon the insistence of his strong-willed and beautiful wife Reiko, Sano arrives with her at the emperor's palace to unmask the murderer--who possesses the secret of kiai, "the spirit city," a powerful scream that can kill instantly. A high Kyoto official is the victim. Treading carefully through a web of spies, political intrigue, forbidden passions, and intricate plots, Sano and Reiko must struggle to stay ahead of the palace storm--and outwit a cunning killer. But as they soon discover, solving the case means more than their survival. For if they fail, Japan could be consumed in the bloodiest war it has ever seen... A legendary land comes alive in this compelling murder mystery set in seventeenth-century Japan. Filled with finely drawn characters and suspenseful plot twists, The Samurai's Wife is a novel as complex, vivid, and artful as the glorious, lost world it portrays.


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In feudal Japan, passion and secrets lead to murder. . .From A Remote, Exotic World. . . Sano Ichiro, Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, awakens from a turbulent dream into a real-life nightmare. Lord Matsudaira Mitsuyoshi, the shogun's cousin and heir, has been murdered after a night of debauchery in the city's pleasure quarter... Comes A Danger All Too Close To Home. . .The matter requires Sano's personal attention-more personal than Sano at first imagines. For he soon discovers that Mitsuyoshi's companion for the evening was none other than the alluring Lady Wisteria, a woman whom Sano himself once knew intimately before he was married to his beloved wife, Reiko. But the memory of Wisteria still stirs him, and it is with both dismay and relief that he learns she has vanished along with her pillow book, a diary that may contain valuable clues. The circumstances trouble him, as does the possibility that he and Wisteria might meet again with dangerous consequences. . .


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Japan, 1699: On a moonlit night on the northern frontier island of Ezogashima, a woman is running through the forest when an arrow strikes her dead. Meanwhile, in the city of Edo, the young son of Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to power in the shogun's court, vanishes during a moon-watching festival. When one of Sano's political rivals hints that the boy was kidnappedand may be in Ezogashimahe and his wife, Reiko, begin a desperate journey to find their son...only to discover that the local ruler, Lord Matsumae, is holding the entire province hostage for another crime: The murder of his mistress. So Sano strikes a deal: He will solve the mistress's murder if Matsumae will free the hostages and return his son. Soon, however, Sano and Reiko find themselves caught up in a dangerous scheme that includes clan warfare, bitter jealousy, and murderous betrayal as they race to unravel the mystery of THE SNOW EMPRESS


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November 1694. The streets of Edo are erupting in violence as two factions struggle for control over the ruling Tokugawa regime. One is led by the shogun's cousin, Lord Matsudaira, and the other by the shogun's second-in-command, Chamberlain Yanagisawa. Each side pressures Sano Ichiro, the shogun's most honorable investigator, to join its ranks.When one of the shogun's most trusted advisers is found dead, Sano is forced to honor a posthumous request for a murder investigation. Senior Elder Makino believed that his death would be the result of assassination rather than natural causes. Although he and Sano were bitter enemies, Makino knew that the incorruptible Sano would be duty-bound to oblige his final wish.Under the watchful eyes and thinly veiled threats of both Lord Matsudaira and Chamberlain Yanagisawa, Sano moves with caution. Each is eager to implicate the other in Makino's death. Sano must discover whether the death was indeed murder, and if so, whether it was motivated by politics, love, or sex. The discovery of secret alliances, both romantic and military, further complicates matters. Sano's investigation has barely begun when violent death claims another of the shogun's favorites. With his wife, Reiko, working undercover, Sano and his chief retainer, Hirata, must not only investigate multiple deaths, but stem the tide of an impending civil war.


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Japan, March 1700. Near a Shinto shrine in the hills, a windstorm knocks down a tree to uncover a human skeleton, long buried and forgotten. Meanwhile, in the nearby city of Edo, troops ambush and attack Lady Reiko, the wife of Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to power and influence in the shogun's court. The troops who attacked Reiko appear to belong to Sano's fiercest enemy, Lord Matsudaira, who denies all responsibility. But if the rivals are not to blame for each other's misfortune, who is? Just as Sano's strife with Matsudaira begins to escalate to the brink of war, the shogun orders Sano to investigate the origins of the mysterious skeleton, buried with swords that identify it as belonging to the shogun's cousin, who disappeared forty years earlier on the night that a cursed kimono touched off a fire that nearly destroyed the city. Suddenly, Sano and Reiko are forced to confront dangerous, long-buried secrets that expose Sano's own mother as the possible culprit. The shogun gives Sano and Reiko just three days to clear her nameor risk losing not only their position at court but their families' lives.


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Twenty months spent as the shogun's sosakan-sama--most honorable investigator of events, situations, and people--has left Sano Ichiro weary. He looks forward to the comforts that his arranged marriage promises: a private life with a sweet, submissive wife and a month's holiday to celebrate their union. However, the death of the shogun's favorite concubine interrupts the couple's wedding ceremony and shatters any hopes the samurai detective had about enjoying a little peace with his new wife. After Sano traces the cause of Lady Harume's death to a self-inflicted tattoo, he must travel into the cloistered, forbidden world of the shogun's women to untangle the complicated web of Harume's lovers, rivals, and troubled past, and identify her killer. To make matters worse, Reiko, his beautiful young bride, reveals herself to be not a traditional, obedient wife, but instead, a headstrong, intelligent, aspiring detective bent on helping Sano with his new case. Sano is horrified at her unladylike behavior, and the resulting sparks make their budding love as exciting as they mystery surrounding Lady Harume's death. Amid the heightened tensions and political machinations of feudal Japan, Sano faces a daunting complex investigation.


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It is a lost art, passed down by the ancients in great secrecy: Dim-mak. It is death, by the lightest touch of a finger. Sano Ichiro, tenuous in the new regime as the shogun’s second-in-command, does not have the luxury of skepticism?another senior official is dead, a fingerprint lightly glazed into his skin. Sano’s wife Reiko has an investigation of her own: a beautiful, proud, and hopelessly poor woman has confessed to murdering her family. Yet the pieces do not fit, and as Reiko looks deeper into the woman’s life as a hinin?a moral outcast, shunned by the world?inexplicable connections appear between her investigation and Sano’s. As Reiko’s questions spiral her further into the squalor of life as a hinin, Sano and Hirata?his most loyal samurai?pursure their prey, uncovering an intricate tapestry of betrayal woven into the highest levels of the new regime. But they are no match for the one who has mastered dim-mak, a warrior who will strike all those who cross him or his path?even Reiko.


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Seventeenth-century Tokyo is the setting for Rowland's first book in a murder mystery series featuring Sano Ichiro the Senior Police Commander in the district of Edo. Ichiro is a samurai whose academic background puts him at odds with most of his peers.When beautiful, wealthy Yukiko and low-born artist Noriyoshi are found drowned together in what seems to be a shinju, or ritual double suicide, everyone believes the cause was their forbidden love. Everyone, that is, but Sano Ichiro.Despite the official verdict and being warned off by his superiors, the shoguns Most Honourable Investigator of Events, Situations and People suspects this double death was not only a tragedy it was murder. Risking his familys good name and his own life, Sano will search for the killer across every level of society, determined to find answers to a mystery no one else seems to want solved . . .


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On a whim of the shogun's mother, a procession has left the sweltering heat of Edo, bound for the cooler climate of Mount Fuji. Among her traveling companions are Reiko, the beautiful wife of Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People; Reiko's friend Midori, nine months pregnant; and Lady Yanagisawa, the deranged wife of the shogun's powerful second-in-command. None of them look forward to the trip. But their troubles have only begun when their procession is stopped suddenly on a deserted road. The entire retinue is viciously slaughtered and the four women are bound and taken away, imprisoned by a mysterious kidnapper.Sano now finds himself faced with the most important case of his career. The shogun demands quick action, and under the threat of death, Sano is forced to work with his bitter enemies-Chamberlain Yanagisawa and Police Commissioner Hoshina. The delivery of a ransom note only complicates matters-forcing both Sano and Reiko to take desperate measures.


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Japan, 1701. A woman is brutally attacked within a bamboo prison as clouds swirl around her head. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since returning from exile. But just as Yanagisawa's true motives begin to emerge, Sano's estranged uncle comes to him for help: His daughter has disappeared, and he begs Sano and his wifewho once suffered through the kidnapping of their own sonto find her before it is too late.


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It is early spring, 1679, and the feudal Japanese capital, Edo, is beginning to blossom. But along its peaceful, misty streets evil lurks. With one stroke, the favored vassal of the ruling family is decapitated, his head taken for a bundori -- a war trophy. Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, is called to find the culprit. In a city where danger and deceit lie just below the lush surface, Sano must rely on his mind, his instincts, and his noble training in Bushido -- the Way of the Warrior -- to solve this case that could bring him glory...or everlasting shame. Set against a backdrop of sumptuous castles, tawdry pleasure districts, and serene temples, and filled with unforgettable, rich characters, Bundori is breathtaking entertainment.


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When veteran samurai-detective Sano Ichiro, the most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, is called on to investigate the burning of a cottage belonging to the Black Lotus Temple, he makes a shocking discovery. The three victim of the blaze did not die in the fire, but were brutally murdered before the fire even began. With a triple homicide on his hands, Sano's search for a killer leads him to Haru, an orphan girl found at the scene of the crime. But Sano's wife, Reiko, investigating the case against Sano's wishes, is convinced of Haru's innocence. Reiko's investigation leads her behind the walls of the Black Lotus Temple, where she discovers a sect involved in extortion, prostitution, and hedonistic rituals. Could one of the sect's members be the killer? Now Reiko must risk her marriage to Sano in order to prove Haru's innocence...Set in the luscious finery of the samurai court of medieval Japan, this latest installment in the bestselling series by Laura Joh Rowland is filled with shocking surprised and suspense as readers are once again allowed access into the world of Sano Ichiro.


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Tokyo, 1698: Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to become the shogun’s second-in-command, is investigating rumors of a plot to overthrow the ruling regime. But conspiracy theories travel far too close to home when Sano discovers that Lord Mori, heir to the shogun, has been found murdered in his own bed…with Sano’s pregnant wife, Reiko, lying naked beside him. Was Reiko Lord Mori’s scorned mistress, and vengeful assassin, as Lady Mori alleges? Or is she involved in a stunning hoax with her husband—as the ghost of Lord Mori has charged? Now, in a desperate race against time, Sano must find the real killer or face execution for treason. . .unless he can solve the mystery of the RED CHRYSANTHEMUM


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<p class="description">Jacki King is fifteen and adjusting to her new life in a small village. She's missing Dublin but she's making new friends: artistic Colin, feisty Emily - and Nick, gorgeous yet unavailable. But no sooner is Jacki settled than the torturous headaches and nightmares begin - followed by strange visions, voices and signs... Jacki refuses to believe that something paranormal is happening. But then she discovers the unsolved murder that occurred in the village years before . . .</p>


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">From the 1936 Olympics to WWII Japan's most brutal POW camps, Hillenbrand's heart-wrenching new book is thousands of miles and a world away from the racing circuit of her bestselling Seabiscuit. But it's just as much a page-turner, and its hero, Louie Zamperini, is just as loveable: a disciplined champion racer who ran in the Berlin Olympics, he's a wit, a prankster, and a reformed juvenile delinquent who put his thieving skills to good use in the POW camps, In other words, Louie is a total charmer, a lover of life--whose will to live is cruelly tested when he becomes an Army Air Corps bombardier in 1941. The young Italian-American from Torrance, Calif., was expected to be the first to run a four-minute mile. After an astonishing but losing race at the 1936 Olympics, Louie was hoping for gold in the 1940 games. But war ended those dreams forever. In May 1943 his B-24 crashed into the Pacific. After a record-breaking 47 days adrift on a shark-encircled life raft with his pal and pilot, Russell Allen "Phil" Phillips, they were captured by the Japanese. In the "theater of cruelty" that was the Japanese POW camp network, Louie landed in the cruelest theaters of all: Omori and Naoetsu, under the control of Corp. Mutsuhiro Watanabe, a pathologically brutal sadist (called the Bird by camp inmates) who never killed his victims outright--his pleasure came from their slow, unending torment. After one beating, as Watanabe left Louie's cell, Louie saw on his face a "soft languor.... It was an expression of sexual rapture." And Louie, with his defiant and unbreakable spirit, was Watanabe's victim of choice. By war's end, Louie was near death. When Naoetsu was liberated in mid-August 1945, a depleted Louie's only thought was "I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!" But as Hillenbrand shows, Louie was not yet free. Even as, returning stateside, he impulsively married the beautiful Cynthia Applewhite and tried to build a life, Louie remained in the Bird's clutches, haunted in his dreams, drinking to forget, and obsessed with vengeance. In one of several sections where Hillenbrand steps back for a larger view, she writes movingly of the thousands of postwar Pacific PTSD sufferers. With no help for their as yet unrecognized illness, Hillenbrand says, "there was no one right way to peace; each man had to find his own path...." The book's final section is the story of how, with Cynthia's help, Louie found his path. It is impossible to condense the rich, granular detail of Hillenbrand's narrative of the atrocities committed (one man was exhibited naked in a Tokyo zoo for the Japanese to "gawk at his filthy, sore-encrusted body") against American POWs in Japan, and the courage of Louie and his fellow POWs, who made attempts on Watanabe's life, committed sabotage, and risked their own lives to save others. Hillenbrand's triumph is that in telling Louie's story (he's now in his 90s), she tells the stories of thousands whose suffering has been mostly forgotten. She restores to our collective memory this tale of heroism, cruelty, life, death, joy, suffering, remorselessness, and redemption. </span></h3>


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<p class="description">In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of our most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story. Born in the boom-and-bust oil town of Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up as an only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. She vividly evokes Midland's brash, rugged culture, her close relationship with her father, and the bonds of early friendships that sustain her to this day. For the first time, in heart-wrenching detail, she writes about the devastating high school car accident that left her friend Mike Douglas dead and about her decades of unspoken grief.When Laura Welch first left West Texas in 1964, she never imagined that her journey would lead her to the world stage and the White House. After graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1968, in the thick of student rebellions across the country and at the dawn of the women's movement, she became an elementary school teacher, working in inner-city schools, then trained to be a librarian. At age thirty, she met George W. Bush, whom she had last passed in the hallway in seventh grade. Three months later, "the old maid of Midland married Midland's most eligible bachelor." With rare intimacy and candor, Laura Bush writes about her early married life as she was thrust into one of America's most prominent political families, as well as her deep longing for children and her husband's decision to give up drinking. By 1993, she found herself in the full glare of the political spotlight. But just as her husband won the Texas governorship in a stunning upset victory, her father, Harold Welch, was dying in Midland.In 2001, after one of the closest elections in American history, Laura Bush moved into the White House. Here she captures presidential life in the harrowing days and weeks after 9/11, when fighter-jet cover echoed through the walls and security scares sent the family to an underground shelter. She writes openly about the White House during wartime, the withering and relentless media spotlight, and the transformation of her role as she began to understand the power of the first lady. One of the first U.S. officials to visit war-torn Afghanistan, she also reached out to disease-stricken African nations and tirelessly advocated for women in the Middle East and dissidents in Burma. She championed programs to get kids out of gangs and to stop urban violence. And she was a major force in rebuilding Gulf Coast schools and libraries post-Katrina. Movingly, she writes of her visits with U.S. troops and their loved ones, and of her empathy for and immense gratitude to military families.With deft humor and a sharp eye, Laura Bush lifts the curtain on what really happens inside the White House, from presidential finances to the 175-year-old tradition of separate bedrooms for presidents and their wives to the antics of some White House guests and even a few members of Congress. She writes with honesty and eloquence about her family, her public triumphs, and her personal tribulations. Laura Bush's compassion, her sense of humor, her grace, and her uncommon willingness to bare her heart make this story revelatory, beautifully rendered, and unlike any other first lady's memoir ever written.</p>


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<p class="description">Make an appointment for intrigue at Reyn Marten Sawyer's hair salon! Outrageous, flirtatious, and as colorful as a magenta mohawk, Reyn tracks twisted crimes, untangles tight knots, and never, ever leaves loose ends.  Someone clearly meant business when they targeted San Antonio's hair salon king, Ricardo, who was fatally stabbed with a one-of-a-kind weapon: a sharp plastic hair pick. Reyn had loaned Ricardo the tool -- and now she's not only mourning her friend and mentor's murder: she's also a suspect. And in the eyes of sexy detective Jackson Scythe, she's one alluring stylist who should drop her insistent sleuthing like a hot roller. But Reyn's wound a little too tight to stay out of the thick of things, including teasing and taming the stubbornly single Scythe while taking short cuts to catch a killer -- and uncovering the past of a dead man, whose secrets will make Reyn's hair curl....</p>


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<p class="description">"This rousing sequel to the classic Ringworld continues the adventures of Louis Wu and Speaker-to-Animals on that fantastic planet.</p>


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<p class="description">In AD 476 the Roman Empire fell-or rather, its western half did. Its eastern half, which would come to be known as the Byzantine Empire, would endure and often flourish for another eleven centuries. Though its capital would move to Constantinople, its citizens referred to themselves as Roman for the entire duration of the empire's existence. Indeed, so did its neighbors, allies, and enemies: When the Turkish Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453, he took the title Caesar of Rome, placing himself in a direct line that led back to Augustus. For far too many otherwise historically savvy people today, the story of the Byzantine civilization is something of a void. Yet for more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization. When Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, keeping Christianity alive. When literacy all but vanished in the West, Byzantium made primary education available to both sexes. Students debated the merits of Plato and Aristotle and commonly committed the entirety of Homer's Iliad to memory. Streams of wealth flowed into Constantinople, making possible unprecedented wonders of art and architecture, from fabulous jeweled mosaics and other iconography to the great church known as the Hagia Sophia that was a vision of heaven on earth. The dome of the Great Palace stood nearly two hundred feet high and stretched over four acres, and the city's population was more than twenty times that of London's. From Constantine, who founded his eponymous city in the year 330, to Constantine XI, who valiantly fought the empire's final battle more than a thousand years later, the emperors who ruled Byzantium enacted a saga of political intrigue and conquest as astonishing as anything in recorded history. "Lost to the West" is replete with stories of assassination, mass mutilation and execution, sexual scheming, ruthless grasping for power, and clashing armies that soaked battlefields with the blood of slain warriors numbering in the tens of thousands. Still, it was Byzantium that preserved for us today the great gifts of the classical world. Of the 55,000 ancient Greek texts in existence today, some 40,000 were transmitted to us by Byzantine scribes. And it was the Byzantine Empire that shielded Western Europe from invasion until it was ready to take its own place at the center of the world stage. Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, "Lost to the West" reveals how much we owe to this empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. </p>


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Come back to the Ringworld . . . the most astonishing feat of engineering ever encountered.  A place of untold technological wonders, home to a myriad humanoid races, and world of some of the most beloved science fiction stories ever written!The human, Louis Wu; the puppeteer known as the Hindmost; Acolyte, son of the Kzin called Chmeee . . . legendary beings brought together once again in the defense of the Ringworld. Something is going on with the Protectors. Incoming spacecraft are being destroyed before they can reach the Ringworld.  Vampires are massing. And the Ghouls have their own agenda--if anyone dares approach them to learn.Each race on the Ringworld has always had its own Protector. Now it looks as if the Ringworld itself needs a Protector. But who will sit on the Ringworld Throne?"Niven's work has been an intriguing and consistent universe, and this book is the keystone of the arch. . . . [His] technique is wonderfully polished, his characters and their situations are nicely drawn . . . wraps up (maybe) a corner of a very interesting universe."--San Diego Union-Tribune


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Welcome to a world like no other.The Ringworld: a landmark engineering achievement, a flat band 3 million times the surface area of Earth, encircling a distant star. Home to trillions of inhabitants, not all of which are human, and host to amazing technological wonders, the Ringworld is unique in all of the universe.Explorere Louis Wu, an Earth-born human who was part of the first expedition to Ringworld, becomes enmeshed in interplanetary and interspecies intrigue as war, and a powerful new weapon, threaten to tear the Ringworld apart forever. Now, the future of Ringworld lies in the actions of its children: Tunesmith, the Ghould protector; Acolyte, the exiled son of Speaker-to-Animals, and Wembleth, a strange Ringworld native with a mysterious past. All must play a dangerous in order to save Ringworld's population, and the stability of Ringworld itself.Blending awe-inspiring science with non-stop action and fun, Ringworld's Children, the fourth installment of the multiple award-winning saga, is the perfect introduction for readers new to this New York Times bestselling series, and long-time fans of Larry Niven's Ringworld.


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<p class="description">is being built, a world of huge dimensions, encompassing millions of miles, stronger than any planet before it. There is gravity, and with high walls and its proximity to the sun, a livable new planet that is three million times the area of the Earth can be formed. We can start again!</p>


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For too long, the Puppeteers have controlled the fate of worlds.  Now Sigmund is pulling the strings . . . Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth's secret weapon, humanity's best defense against all conspiracies, real and potential - and imaginary - of foes both human and alien.  Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious plots of others? He may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly superior technologies.  Nessus schemes in the shadows with Earth's traitors and adversaries, even after the race he reperesents abruptly vanishes from Known Space.As a paranoid, Sigmund had always known things would end horribly for him.  Only the when, where, how, why, and by whom of it all had eluded him.  That fog has begun to lift... But even Sigmund has never imagined how far his investigations will take him - or that his destiny is entwined with the fates of worlds.


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Allan Carpenter escaped from hell once but remained haunted by what he saw and endured. He has now returned, on a mission to liberate those souls unfairly tortured and confined. Partnering with the legendary poet and suicide, Sylvia Plath, Carpenter is a modern-day Christ who intends to harrow hell and free the damned. But now that he's returned to this Dantesque Inferno, can he ever again leave?


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<div><p><em>Lonesome Dove,</em> by Larry McMurtry, the author of <em>Terms of Endearment,</em> is his long-awaited masterpiece, the major novel at last of the American West as it really was.</p><p>A love story, an adventure, an American epic, <em>Lonesome Dove</em> embraces <em>all</em> the West  legend and fact, heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settiers  in a novel that recreates the central American experience, the most enduring of our national myths. </p><p>Set in the late nineteenth century, <em>Lonesome Dove</em> is the story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana  and much more. It is a drive that represents for everybody involved not only a daring, even a foolhardy, adventure, but a part of the American Dream  the attempt to carve out of the last remaining wilderness a new life. </p><p>Augustus McCrae and W. F. Call are former Texas Rangers, partners and friends who have shared hardship and danger together without ever quite understanding (or wanting to understand) each other's deepest emotions. Gus is the romantic, a reluctant rancher who has a way with women and the sense to leave well enough alone. Call is a driven, demanding man, a natural authority figure with no patience for weaknesses, and not many of his own. He is obsessed with the dream of creating his own empire, and with the need to conceal a secret sorrow of his own. The two men could hardly be more different, but both are tough, redoubtable fighters who have learned to count on each other, if nothing else. </p><p>Call's dream not only drags Gus along in its wake, but draws in a vast cast of characters: </p><p> Lorena, the whore with the proverbial heart of gold, whom Gus (and almost everyone else) loves, and who survives one of the most terrifying experiences any woman could have...</p><p> Elmira, the restless, reluctant wife of a small-time Arkansas sheriff, who runs away from the security of marriage to become part of the great Western adventure...</p><p> Blue Duck, the sinister Indian renegade, one of the most frightening villains in American fiction, whose steely capacity for cruelty affects the lives of everyone in the book...</p><p> Newt, the young cowboy for whom the long and dangerous journey from Texas to Montana is in fact a search for his own identity...</p><p> Jake, the dashing, womanizing exRanger, a comrade-in-arms of Gus and Call, whose weakness leads him to an unexpected fate...</p><p> July Johnson, husband of Elmira, whose love for her draws him out of his secure life into the wilderness, and turns him into a kind of hero... </p><p><em>Lonesome Dove</em> sweeps from the Rio Grande (where Gus and Call acquire the cattle for their long drive by raiding the Mexicans) to the Montana highlands (where they find themselves besieged by the last, defiant remnants of an older West). </p><p>It is an epic of love, heroism, loyalty, honor, and betrayal  faultlessly written, unfailingly dramatic. <em>Lonesome Dove</em> is the novel about the West that American literature  and the American reader  has long been waiting for.</p></div>


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Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old One's invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.             The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen's full time bodyguard, which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait.            With supernatural assassins targeting his family, a spy in their midst, and horrific beasties lurking around every corner, Owen and the staff of Monster Hunter International don't need to go hunting, because this time the monsters are hunting them. Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous . . .


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Monsters are real.And some people kill them for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business, and Owen Zastava Pitt -- CPA, average guy, and survivor of a brutal supernatural attack -- is the company?s newest employee. When MHI takes on a new contract, Owen and the girl of his dreams unwittingly find themselves in the path of an ancient evil. A creature known as the Cursed One has returned to fulfill a centuries old vendetta. And when he does, it?s the end of the world. And that would be bad for business.


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<div><p>Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues-and falls for-a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming, and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man whom Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he's also the kind of man who can be very dangerous . . . </p><p>Reseph may not know why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian's life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian's neighbors are killed, and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he's putting Jillian in danger. And once it's revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: Can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire? </p></div>


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<div><p>They're here.<br></p><p>They ride.<br></p><p>The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse<br></p><p><em>Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday . . . or let it ride . . . </em><br></p><p><strong>LETHAL RIDER</strong><br></p><p>Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, ReganCooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father.<br></p><p>Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family.</p></div>


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<p class="description">The prophecies were there but no one listened. Until now. They are the Lords of Deliverance and they have the power to usher in Doomsday... or prevent it. Sexy, powerful and immortal, Limos is on a crash course with destiny. She's been marked as Satan's bride and her jealous fiancé wants her all to himself. The only way this Horseman can keep herself - and everyone else - safe is to keep her distance. But not even Limos can save herself from the secrets she's kept . . . or resist the seductive allure of one very brave human. Arik Wagner knows the saying 'love hurts' better than most, yet he never thought stealing a kiss from Limos would land him in Hell. Literally. It takes all his military training to survive the demon torture, but once he's topside, Arik realises that the agony has just begun. With the Apocalypse looming and Satan demanding his bride, will Arik and Limos surrender to the desire smouldering between them? Or will giving in to their passion unleash hell on earth?</p>


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<div><h3>Review</h3><p>"The third book in Ione's supercharged Demonica series ignites on the first page and never looks back." (<strong>4 1/2 stars, <em>RT Book Reviews</em> on <em>Passion Unleashed</em></strong> )  </p><p><em>Ione has a true gift for imbuing her characters with dark-edged passion. . . a top notch read."</em> (<strong>4 stars, <em>RT Book Reviews</em> on <em>Desire Unchained</em></strong> )  </p><p>"Ione brings to life a riveting world filled with sizzling sensuality, dark wit, and wicked hot demons." (<strong>Lara Adrian, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author on <em>Passion Unleashed</em></strong> )  </p><p>"The author's hard-edged style infuses the story with darkness while taking it to sizzling heights." (<strong>4 stars, <em>RT Book Reviews</em> on <em>Pleasure Unbound</em></strong> )  </p><p>"Wicked...Decadently Sinful...Prepare to be burned." (<strong>Gena Showalter, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author on <em>Desire Unchained</em></strong> ) </p><h3>About the Author</h3><p>Larissa Ione, an Air Force veteran, former EMT, and meteorologist, lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband and young son. She is currently hard at work on the next novel in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Lords of Deliverance) series. </p></div>


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<div><p>In this pulse-pounding and thrillingly sensual novel, Lara Adrian returns to the mesmerizing world of the Midnight Breed, following new characters into a dark future where an uneasy peace can unravel into war—and a great betrayal can mask an all-consuming love.</p><p><br>Twenty years after the terror of First Dawn—when mankind learned that vampires lived secretly among them—the threat of violence reigns as the two species struggle to coexist. The only group preserving the fragile harmony is the Order, an elite cadre of Breed warriors dedicated to protecting humans and vampires alike. And in this precarious world of torn loyalties and shattered trust, Mira, a fiery squad captain, finds that every fight bears an intensely personal cost. <br><br>Raised among the Order, Mira has always believed in the warrior’s code of swift—and even lethal—justice. But the one thing she desires more than the Order’s hard-won acceptance is Kellan Archer, a sexy but troubled Breed fighter. In love with him since childhood, Mira once broke through his tough exterior during an unexpected night of rapture, but the next day he mysteriously disappeared, never to return.<br><br>Kellan didn’t think he would ever see Mira again—or have to confront the truth of why he left. After abandoning the Order years ago, he now leads a band of human rebels intent on carrying out their own vigilante rule of law. Yet a high-profile kidnapping assignment brings him face-to-face with the past he sought to avoid, and the striking woman he has tried desperately to forget. And as tensions mount and the risk of bloodshed grows, Kellan and Mira must take sides—between the competing missions that dominate their lives, and the electrifying passion that claims their hearts.</p></div>


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<p class="description">This is the story of Lance Armstrong, the world-famous cyclist, and his fight against cancer.The #1 New York Times bestseller with legs as strong as its author's.  Lance Armstrong is one of the most talked about- and inspirational-sports figures of all time. He was Sports Illustrated 's 2002 Sportsman of the Year-and now, after his record-shattering string of Tour de France victories, some are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of all time.  This is the book in which he shares his journey through triumph, tragedy, transformation, and transcendence. It is the story of a world-famous cyclist and his fight against cancer.</p>


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<p>Born and raised to be an emotionless killing machine, Nathan is one of the most lethal Breed vampires in existence. A key member of the Order—an elite group of warriors charged with protecting both mortals and vampires—Nathan executes each mission with flawless precision and a total lack of mercy. Now he must pursue a powerful, hidden enemy. But Nathan’s hard discipline and training are no match for the fierce pull he feels toward a young woman he has no right to desire—a woman of wealth and high social standing who has long been promised to another Breed male, and who may also prove to be the key to rooting out Nathan’s elusive quarry.<br><br>Jordana lives a life of glittering privilege as a member of a prominent Breed family in Boston. Surrounded by fine things and fawning admirers, Jordana wants for nothing—until she crosses paths with a dark, intense warrior from the Order and finds herself swept into an impulsive, sizzling kiss that neither of them will forget. As much as she tries to deny her deep feelings for Nathan, Jordana cannot resist the craving to be near him, to break through his forbidding walls and see the man he truly is. But getting close to Nathan will thrust Jordana into a treacherous new world, forcing her to risk all she has and all she knows about herself and her past. And loving this seductive man could be the most dangerous temptation of all.</p>


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; ">If you dropped the Buddha into a modern metropolis, would he come off sounding like a 16th-century morality play or more like a drive-time disc jockey? Lama Surya Das doesn't spin platters for a living, but he does have a hip delivery that belies his years of sheltered training in Buddhist monasteries. In <em>Awakening the Buddha Within</em>, he borrows a time-tested bestseller format for a 2,500-year-old tradition that comes off as anything but ancient. With the "Five T's of Concentration," the question of "need or greed," and the story of the monk who bears his backside to prove a point, Surya Das invokes a path of wisdom that is as accessible and down-to-earth as a worn pair of loafers. It's not an easy path--it demands thought, effort, and discipline. But Surya Das is there for you, lighting the way to wisdom training, coaxing you into ethics training, and laying out step by step the path of meditation training. And if that's not enough to get you to live in the now, consider these words of the enlightened lama: "You must be present to win.</span></h3></div>


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The "New York Times" bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick--the unique and deeply moving epic of four generations of African-American women based on one family's ancestral past.


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<p class="description">In The Untold Life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Lady Colin Campbell tells the griping true story of Elizabeth's life. She reveals the truth behind: the mystery of her birth; her intra-family relationships; how she set about getting married; her relationship with her eldest brother-in-law prior to her marriage and afterwards, when he was Prince of Wales, Edward VIII, and Duke of Windsor; how she came to marry his younger brother Bertie; how the other members of the Royal Family viewed Elizabeth at various stages in her life and theirs; the real state of her marriage; the circumstances surrounding the birth of her two children and why she never had any more; the part she played behind-the-scenes in the abdication crisis; her antipathy towards Wallis Simpson and what their relationship was; Lord Beaverbrook's interpretation of events and the crucial part he played during the abdication and afterwards; Elizabeth's relationship with him; whether she had flirtations and romances during her marriage; Bertie's friendships with other women; Elizabeth's popularity during the Second World War and the contribution she made to the welfare of the nation during it; her role as wife and mother during and after it, her opposition to Prince Philip and her attempts to induce Lilibet to marry a peer's son; Bertie's opposition and the reason why; Bertie's illness and death; her adjustment to relatively young widowhood - the trouble she gave and the trouble she saved; her difficult relationship with Princess Margaret and the opinions of Margaret and some of her close friends and lovers of Elizabeth's true character; her role as a grandmother and how she treated her varying grandchildren; her incredibly luxurious and fun-filled lifestyle during the last forty years of her life; whether her drinking and gambling were really the problems they were rumoured to be; her relations with Diana and other in-laws especially when their marriages were collapsing; her death and its aftermath.</p>


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<p class="description">Enchanting fantasy by creator of beloved "Oz" stories whisks young readers away on an exciting underwater adventure! They'll meet a school of beguiling mermaids and an aristocratic codfish, attend an elegant banquet, confront an awesome sea monster, and much more. Enhanced by 78 of John R. Neill's original black-and-white illustrations.</p>


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When a group of people vanish without a trace from an old manse on an island off the Scottish coast, the British government sends in a team from Department 18, a unit designed to investigate paranormal activity. What they find is far worse than any mere haunted house!


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<p class="description">Dorothy and Toto are off again on an exciting adventure down The Road to Oz!In order to help the lovable, ever-wandering Shaggy Man, Dorothy and Toto must journey through magical and mysterious lands. Soon the three are joined by a lost lad named Button-Bright and the beautiful young Polychromethe Rainbow's Daughter. With magic at work and danger about, these new friends must journey through cities of talking beasts, across the Deadly Desert into the Truth Pond, and through many other strange and incredible places before they can reach the Emerald City.Along the way, Dorothy and her companions encounter a whole new assortment of fantastic and funny characters--the crafty King Dox of Foxville, the magical donkey King Kik-a-bray, the terrible bigheaded Scoodlers, and Johnny Dooit (who can do anything)--along with old friends Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-tok, Billina, and, of course, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the wonderful Wizard himself.The Road to Oz is the fifth adventure in the magical Land of Oz. </p>


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<p class="description">Few fantasy lands have captured our hearts and imaginations as has the marvelous land of Oz. For over four generations, children and adults alike have reveled in the magical adventures of its beloved folk. Now, for the first time in over seventy years, the second book about Oz is presented here in the same deluxe format as the rare first edition, complete with all 16 of the original John R. Neill color plates, its colorful pictorial binding, and the many black-and-white illustrations that bring it to joyous life.First issued in 1904, L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz is the story of the wonderful adventures of the young boy named Tip as he travels throughout the many lands of Oz. Here he meets with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump. How they thwart the wicked plans of the evil witch Mombi and overcome the rebellion of General Jinjur and her army of young women is a tale as exciting and endearing today as it was when first published over eighty years ago.</p>


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<p class="description">For the first time in more than eighty years, the most spectacularly illustrated of all the Oz books is available again with the metallic "emerald" green ink that illuminated the color plates of the original edition.Join Dorothy and the Wonderful Wizard as they take Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a fabulous tour of Oz. During their journey they encounter such amazing and amusing people as King Kleaver with his Spoon Brigade and Miss Cuttenclip of the land of paper dolls. But while Dorothy and her friends play, the wicked Nome King has joined forces with the terrible Whimsies, the fearsome Growleywogs, and the evil Phanfasms in a plot to capture the Emerald City. Will Dorothy's friends discover the danger before it's too late?</p>


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<p class="description">This enchanting tale, originally written more than 100 years ago by L. Frank Baum, marries all the magic and fantasy of The Wizard of Oz to the classic Christmas tale.Nicholas is a mortal child found in the forest and raised by a band of woodland fairies and elves, where he learns to whittle small trinkets and toys from wood. As he grows older, he makes it his mission in life to make children happy by carving and delivering toys. Such traditions like hanging stockings on the chimney, Claus’s flying reindeer, and St. Nick’s immortality are explained through Baum’s colorful narrative thread.</p>


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<p class="description">Trot and Cap'n Bill join forces with Button Bright, a boy who first appeared in Baum's The Road to Oz, for a high-flying journey above the clouds, borne on a magical umbrella Soaring on boundless imagination and filled with breathtaking adventure, this enchanting fantasy is sure to delight the legions of Oz lovers everywhere - especially with the surprise appearance of Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter! Originally issued in 1912 </p>


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<p class="description">Fantasy lovers of all ages will rejoice at this chance to travel once again to the marvelous land of Oz!A California earthquake sends Dorothy Gale and her new friends--Zeb the farm boy, Jim the cab-horse, and Eureka the mischievous kitten--tumbling through a crack in the ground. Deep beneath the earth, Dorothy is reunited with her old friend the Wizard of Oz and his troupe of nine tiny piglets.Together, Dorothy, the Wizard, and their friends travel through many fantastic lands, where they encounter the Mangaboos, people growing like vegetables in the ground; cross the Valley of Voe, where dama-fruit has turned everyone invisible; and are captured by mysterious flying Gargoyles. At last, the intrepid travelers reach Oz, where they have many unforgettable encounters with such favorites as the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, Princess Ozma and the wooden Sawhorse.Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz was the fourth Oz adventure. First published in 1908, it has captured the imaginations of young readers and listeners for four generations. Now a new generation can discover these superb adventures for themselves. </p>


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<p class="description">Readers of all ages will welcome the chance to be reunited with Dorothy Gale and such beloved characters as the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, as well as to meet new favorites such as the Hungry Tiger, whose appetite is never satisfied; Princess Langwidere, who has thirty heads; Billina, a talking chicken; and Tiktok, a mechanical man.Blown overboard while sailing with her uncle, Dorothy finds herself in the fairy realm of Ev. She sets out with her friends to rescue the Queen of Ev and her ten children, who have been imprisoned by the cruel Nome King. But even Ozma, the wise Ruler of Oz, is no match for the clever king, and it's up to Dorothy to save everyone from terrible danger. But will the Nome King's enchantments be too much even for the plucky little girl from Kansas?</p>


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<div><p>Emmy thinks her boss Kyle Sterling of Sterling Corporations is a jerk. <br>So, she sleeps with him.<br></p><p>Emmy tries to put the mistake behind her, but then finds herself snowed in with Kyle. As the snow builds, so does the heat in the house between the two. The problem is that Kyle has a steady girlfriend that he is unwilling to break up with. Emmy cuts Kyle off and starts dating Luke. Even as their relationship takes off, Emmy is finding Kyle hard to shake. He is blatant in his feelings and desires for Emmy, putting her in an awkward situation. She tries hard to resist Kyle, but deep down inside Emmy's motives are shady. When Emmy succumbs to her hidden feelings for Kyle without setting Luke free, devastating consequences ensue. <br>In addition to her two men, Emmy daydreams about doing violent things to her loud mouthed, opinionated mother. <br></p><p>With some steamy pages, humor and sarcasm, and of course some tequila, Emmy's world will flip upside down as she deals with the results of "accidentally on purpose" falling for two men at once. </p></div>


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<p class="description">Part 2 of the Just One Night series. One passionate night with a stranger turned Kasie’s world upside down, and just when she thought she was getting the hang of things, her fiancé finds out...You should sleep with a stranger—those words whispered in her ear by her best friend became a challenge Kasie took to heart. Suddenly, the man who gave her the most shocking pleasure in that upscale Vegas hotel—a man whose name she never bothered to find out—is her company’s biggest client.  As this unknown man becomes Mr. Dade at the office, and Mr. Dade becomes Robert in the bedroom, Kasie discovers her true nature and begins to question the carefully controlled, modest image she has crafted to please her family and friends. But when her fiancé, Dave, finds out, his rage and desire to both keep her and punish her could cost her everything—including Robert, the only man who has wanted Kasie for who she really is and the only man who makes her feel truly alive.</p>


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<p class="description">Kasie knows who she’s supposed to be. But one passionate night with a mysterious stranger will teach her who she wants to be. You should sleep with a stranger, her best friend whispers in her ear as they take to Vegas for one last pre-wedding fling. Despite her best intentions, when Kasie Fitzgerald enters the casino and sees him, a man whose tailored clothes belied a powerful, even dangerous, presence, she loses herself to the moment. Maybe it’s the dress, much shorter than she’d ever normally wear, or the Scotch, but something makes her give herself over to him more completely than she's ever done with a man before.  It was supposed to be just one night. But right as she’s thinking she wants more, he shows up in her office with an agenda. As the billionaire CEO of a company that’s engaged her PR firm, his demands just became her reality...and he desires so much more than just some attention in the boardroom.</p>


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<p class="description">“That’s the thing about falling.  It doesn’t go on indefinitely, and it rarely ends well . . . ”  In her page-turning fiction debut, neuropsychologist Kylie Ladd delivers a searing portrait of two marriages united and betrayed by friendship. “I had been married three years when I fell in love,” begins Kate, a firecracker of a woman who thought she’d found the yin to her yang in Cary, her sensible and adoring husband.  For their friend Luke—a charismatic copywriter who loves women and attention in equal measure, and preferably together—life has been more than sweet beside Cressida, the dutiful pediatric oncologist who stole his heart.  But when a whimsical flirtation between Kate and Luke turns into something far more dangerous, the foursome will be irrevocably intertwined by more than just their shared history.   After the Fall follows the origin and fallout of the most passionate of affairs through the eyes of all four characters, unveiling the misunderstandings and unspoken needs that lie beneath our search for love and connection.  The narrative moves effortlessly between past and present, painting a nostalgic picture of the two marriages at their most idealistic—the exact moment when like turned to love—and at their most volatile.  Thanks to the boundless compassion with which Ladd draws her characters, one can’t help but root for them as they wrestle between newfound desire and remembrances of time past, all the while spinning toward an inevitable conclusion.  Steeped in psychological insight and raw emotion, After the Fall is an unsettling novel of the many ways we love and hurt each other.</p>


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<p class="description">When Emma Donahoe becomes a nanny to John Chen's daughter Simone, she does not expect to be drawn into a world of martial arts, magic and extreme danger, where both gods and demons can exist in the mortal world.</p>


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<p class="description">The demon threat closes around mortals and gods alike'Ś When Emma became nanny to John Chen's daughter, she never expected to be caring for the child of a Chinese god, or that all the demons in hell would want him dead.Now she's in love with John, and they are hunted from China to Europe by a race of demons. But who are the real pawns in this deadly celestial game?Kylie Chan's Dark Heavens trilogy is the most exciting Urban Fantasy debut of 2010. Already a smash-hit in the author's native Australia it brings a world of Oriental Gods, martial arts action and romance to the genre.FILE UNDER: Modern Fantasy [Martial arts / Chinese Gods / Magical action / Save the child!]</p>


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Look at the Birdie is a collection of fourteen previously unpublished short stories from one of the most original writers in all of American fiction. In this series of perfectly rendered vignettes, written just as he was starting to find his comic voice, Kurt Vonnegut paints a warm, wise, and often funny portrait of life in post-World War II America-a world where squabbling couples, high school geniuses, misfit office workers, and small-town lotharios struggle to adapt to changing technology, moral ambiguity, and unprecedented affluence. Vonnegut explores the relationship between science's pursuit of truth and the state’s need to control it in ""The Petrified Ants,"" a darkly whimsical story about two Soviet researchers who stumble upon an amazing discovery, only to learn that natural history is also written by the hand that wields the power. ""The Petrified Ants"" and the thirteen other never-before-published pieces that comprise Look at the Birdie serve as an unexpected gift for devoted readers who thought that Kurt Vonnegut's unique voice had been stilled forever-and provide a terrific introduction to his short fiction for anyone who has yet to experience his genius. Other stories from Look at the Birdie available as single-story e-books: On sale August 25, 2009"Hello, Red" On sale October 20, 2009: "Confido""FUBAR""Shout About It from the Housetops""Ed Luby's Key Club""A Song for Selma""Hall of Mirrors""The Nice Little People""Little Drops of Water""The Honor of a Newsboy""Look at the Birdie" (Short Story)"King and Queen of the Universe""The Good Explainer"


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Lyrical and captivating, Kwei Quartey’s debut novel brings to life the majesty and charm of Ghana–from the capital city of Accra to a small community where long-buried secrets are about to rise to the surface.In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young woman–a promising med student–has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Eager to close the case, the local police have arrested a poor, enamored teenage boy and charged him with murder. Needless to say, they are less than thrilled when an outside force arrives from the big city to lead an inquiry into the baffling case.Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, fluent in Ketanu’s indigenous language, is the right man for the job, but he hates the idea of leaving his loving wife and young son, a plucky kid with a defective heart. Pressured by his cantankerous boss, Dawson agrees to travel to Ketanu, sort through the evidence, and tie up the loose ends as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But for Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mother’s sudden, inexplicable disappearance. Dawson is armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, but these gifts, sometimes overshadowed by his mercurial temper, may not be enough to solve this haunting mystery. In Ketanu, he finds that his cosmopolitan sensibilities clash with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods.This is a compelling and unique mystery, enriched by an exotic setting and a vivid cast. And Inspector Darko Dawson–dedicated family man, rebel in the office, and ace in the field–is one of the most appealing sleuths to come along in years.


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<p class="description">The forces of Hell are poised to strike'Ś Emma's beloved, John Chen, is a 3000 year old Chinese god. He is becoming weaker by the day in his battle to protect her and his daughter from the Demons who pursue them relentlessly. But it is Emma who is nagged by doubts about her own nature, and must find the courage to save them all'ŚDark Heavens, Book One.Emma Donahue went to Hong Kong to become a nanny to John Chen's daughter. But John's world is different, and he is no ordinary businessman - all the gods, demons and dragons in hell want him dead. And though she doesn't know it, Emma holds the power to save them all'ŚKylie Chan's Dark Heavens trilogy is the most exciting Urban Fantasy debut of 2010. Already a smash-hit in the author's native Australia it brings a world of Oriental Gods, martial arts action and romance to the genre.FILE UNDER: Modern Fantasy [Martial arts / Chinese Gods / Magical action / Save the child!]</p>


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<div><p>Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic <em>Slaughterhouse-Five</em> introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes 'unstuck in time' after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.</p><p><em>Slaughterhouse-Five</em> is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is also as important as any written since 1945. Like <em>Catch-22</em>, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. <em>Slaughterhouse-Five</em> boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it unique poignancy -- and humor.</p></div>


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Kurt Vonnegut’s first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines. Paul’s rebellion is vintage Vonnegut—wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality.


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<div><p>Palm Sunday is a self-portrait by an American genius. Vonnegut writes with beguiling wit and poignant wisdom about his favorite comedians, country music, a dead friend, a dead marriage, and various cockamamie aspects of his all-too human journey through life. It is a work that resonates with Vonnegut's singular voice: the magic sound of a born-story teller mesmerizing us with truth.</p></div>


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Kurt Vonnegut is a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America’s attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as a “true artist”* with Cat’s Cradle in 1963. He is, as Graham Greene has declared, “one of the best living American writers.”Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of gray with a verdict that will haunt us all.*The New York Times“A great artist.”—Cincinnati Enquirer“Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer…a zany but moral mad scientist.”—Time


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Look at the Birdieis a collection of fourteen previously unpublished short stories from one of the most original writers in all of American fiction. In this series of perfectly rendered vignettes, written just as he was starting to find his comic voice, Kurt Vonnegut paints a warm, wise, and funny portrait of life in post-World War II America ;a world where squabbling couples, high school geniuses, misfit office workers, and small-town lotharios struggle to adapt to changing technology, moral ambiguity, and unprecedented affluence. Here are tales both cautionary and hopeful, each brimming with Vonnegut's trademark humor and profound humanism. A family learns the downside of confiding their deepest secrets into a magical invention. A man finds himself in a Kafkaesque world of trouble after he runs afoul of the shady underworld boss who calls the shots in an upstate New York town. A quack psychiatrist turned "murder counselor" concocts a novel new outlet for his paranoid patients. While these stories reflect the anxieties of the postwar era that Vonnegut was so adept at capturing ; and provide insight into the development of his early style ;collectively, they have a timeless quality that makes them just as relevant today as when they were written. It's impossible to imagine any of these pieces flowing from the pen of another writer; each in its own way is unmistakably, quintessentially Vonnegut. Featuring a Foreword by author and longtime Vonnegut confidant Sidney Offit and illustrated with Vonnegut' s characteristically insouciant line drawings, Look at the Birdieis an unexpected gift for readers who thought his unique voice had been stilled forever ;and serves as a terrific introduction to his short fiction for anyone who has yet to experience his genius. Read "Hello, Red" and "The Petrified Ants," two of the stories from the collection, as single-story e-books before Look at the Birdiegoes on sale. Available wherever e-books are sold.


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<p>Eliot Rosewater—drunk, volunteer fireman, and President of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation—is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature . . . with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. <em>God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater</em> is Kurt Vonnegut’s funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.</p>


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“Beautiful…provocative, arresting reading.”–USA TodayKURT VONNEGUT is a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America’s attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as “a true artist”* with Cat’s Cradle in 1963. He is, as Graham Greene has declared, “one of the best living American writers.” Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to a.d. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave new, and totally different human race. Here, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving. “Vonnegut is a postmodern Mark Twain... Galápagos is a madcap genealogical adventure.”–The New York Times Book Review* The New York Times


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Deadeye Dick is Vonnegut's funny, chillingly satirical look at the death of innocence. Amid a true Vonnegutian host of horrors–a double murder, a fatal dose of radioactivity, a decapitation, an annihilation of a city by a neutron bomb–Rudy Waltz, a.k.a. Deadeye Dick, takes us along on a zany search for absolution and happiness. Here is a tale of crime and punishment that makes us rethink what we believe...and who we say we are.


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Cat's Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat's Cradle is one of the twentieth century's most important works--and Vonnegut at his very best. "From the Trade Paperback edition."


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Breakfast Of Champions is vintage Vonnegut. One of his favorite characters, aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. The result is murderously funny satire as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth.


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<h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">In his first book since 1999, it's just like old times as Vonnegut (now 82) makes with the deeply black humor in this collection of articles written over the last five years, many from the alternative magazine <em>In These Times</em>. But the pessimistic wisecracks may be wearing thin; the conversational tone of the pieces is like Garrison Keillor with a savage undercurrent. Still, the schtick works fine most of the time, underscored by hand-lettered aphorisms between chapters. Some essays suffer from authorial self-indulgence, however, like taking a dull story about mailing a manuscript and stretching it to interminable lengths. Vonnegut reserves special bile for the "psychopathic personalities" (i.e., "smart, personable people who have no consciences") in the Bush administration, which he accuses of invading Iraq so America can score more of the oil to which we have become addicted. People, he says, are just "chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power." Of course, that's exactly the sort of misanthropy hardcore Vonnegut fans will lap up—the online versions of these pieces are already described as the most popular Web pages in the history of <em>In These Times.</em></span></h3>


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<p class="description">Five years after his death, Stieg Larsson is best known as the author of the Millennium Trilogy, but during his career as a journalist he was a crucial protagonist in the battle against racism and for democracy in Sweden, and one of the founders of the anti-facist magazine Expo. Kurdo Baksi first met Larsson in 1992; it was the beginning of an intense friendship, and a fruitful but challenging working relationship. In this candid and rounded memoir, Baksi answers the questions a multitude of Larsson's fans have already asked, about his upbringing; the recurring death threats; his insomnia and his vices; his feminism - so evident in his books - and his dogmatism. What was he like as a colleague? Who provided the inspiration for his now-immortal characters (Baksi is one of the few who appears in the trilogy as himself)? Who was Lisbeth Salander?</p>


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<p class="description">Is the life you're living all you imagined?   Have you ever asked yourself, "What if??" Here, four women face the decisions of their lifetimes in this stirring and unforgettable novel of love, loss, friendship, and family.   Anna Geneva, a Chicago attorney coping with the death of a cherished friend, returns to her "speck on the map" hometown of Haven to finally come to terms with her mother, the man she left behind, and the road she did not take.   Cami Drayton, Anna's dearest friend from high school, is coming home too, forced by circumstance to move in with her alcoholic father . . . and to confront a dark family secret.   Maeve, Anna's mother, never left Haven, firmly rooted there by her sadness over her abandonment by the husband she desperately loved and the hope that someday he will return to her.   And Amy Rickart—thin, beautiful, and striving for perfection—faces a future with the perfect man . . . but is haunted by the memory of what she used to be.   Kristina Riggle's The Life You've Imagined takes a provocative look at the choices we make—and the courage we must have to change.</p>


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Sometimes you find happiness where, and when, you least expect it. For Mirabelle Zielinski's children, happiness always seems to be just out of reach. Her polished oldest daughter, Katya, clings to a stale marriage with a workaholic husband and three spoiled children. Her son, Ivan, so creative, is a down-in-the-dumps songwriter with the worst taste in women. And the "baby," impulsive Irina, who lives life on a whim, is now reluctantly pregnant and hitched to a man who is twice her age. On the weekend of their parents' anniversary party, lies will be revealed, hearts will be broken...but love will also be found. And the biggest shock may come from Mirabelle herself, because she has a secret that will change everything.


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<div><p>Congratulations!</p><p>Either one or both of your parents has vampire blood. Welcome to the vampire race!</p><p>Please keep a few things in mind as you ease into the most difficult phase of your life:</p><ol><li><p>Light sensitivity, humming teeth, and stomach pains are completely normal. Youll also be faster, stronger, and sexy as hell (if youre lucky).</p></li><li><p>Youll bloodlust and go crazy if you deny your bodys urge for blood. Why fight it?</p></li><li><p>Do not pierce the skin of a mundane involuntarily. Were not animals and will not behave as such.</p></li><li><p><em>Therians</em>, our shapeshifting brethren, cannot be trusted. Their loyalties shift as often as their identities.</p></li></ol><p>And finally,</p><ol><li>Lighten up—youre not dead.</li></ol></div>


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Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother? From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.


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<p>In love we find out who we want to be.<br />In war we find out who we are.</p><p>FRANCE, 1939</p><p>In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.</p><p>Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.</p><p>With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.</p><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>The Amazon Spotlight Pick for February 2015:</strong> Kristin Hannah is a popular thriller writer with legions of fans, but her latest novel, <em>The Nightingale</em>, soars to new heights (sorry) and will earn her even more ecstatic readers. Both a weeper and a thinker, the book tells the story of two French sisters – one in Paris, one in the countryside – during WWII; each is crippled by the death of their beloved mother and cavalier abandonment of their father; each plays a part in the French underground; each finds a way to love and forgive. If this sounds sudsy. . . well, it is, a little. . . but a melodrama that combines historical accuracy (Hannah has said her inspiration for Isabelle was the real life story of a woman who led downed Allied soldiers on foot over the Pyrenees) and social/political activism is a hard one to resist. Even better to keep you turning pages: the central conceit works – the book is narrated by one of the sisters in the present, though you really don’t know until the very end which sister it is. Fast-paced, detailed, and full of romance (both the sexual/interpersonal kind and the larger, trickier romance of history and war), this novel is destined to land (sorry, again) on the top of best sellers lists and night tables everywhere. *-- Sara Nelson *</p><h3>Review</h3><p>“I loved Kristin Hannah's <em>The Nightingale</em>. She has captured a particular slice of French life during World War II with wonderful details and drama. But what I loved most about the novel was the relationship between the two sisters and Hannah's exploration of what we do in moments of great challenge. Do we rise to the occasion or fail? Are we heroes or cowards? Are we loyal to the people we love most or do we betray them? Hannah explores these questions with probing finesse and great heart.”—Lisa See, #1 <em>New York Times</em> bestseller author of <em>Snow Flower and the Secret Fan</em></p><p>"In this epic novel, set in France in World War II, two sisters who live in a small village find themselves estranged when they disagree about the imminent threat of occupation. Separated by principles and temperament, each must find her own way forward as she faces moral questions and life-or-death choices. Haunting, action-packed, and compelling.”—Christina Baker Kline, #1 <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Orphan Train</em></p><p>"I read <em>The Nightingale</em> in one sitting, completely transported to wartime France, completely forgetting where I was. A historical novel—built on Kristin Hannah’s proven skill with story, complex and enduring family ties, and passion—one that will captivate readers." –Marilyn Dahl, Shelf Awareness</p><p>"I found <em>The Nightingale</em> absolutely riveting! I started reading it one night after supper with every intention of reading just a few chapters for that evening and could not put it down. Not only is it an emotionally inspiring story with well-drawn characters whom you grow to care about deeply, but it is also historically informative….Read this book. It will keep you guessing throughout about the two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, both brave young women who did what they thought was the right thing to do in the most of difficult circumstances. They had—in the words of Lawrence Langer the WW2 historian scholar—too often to make ‘choiceless choices.’" –Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Director of the University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute  </p><p>"A beautifully written and richly evocative examination of life, love, and the ravages of war, and the different ways people react to unthinkable situations—not to mention the terrible and mounting toll of keeping secrets. This powerhouse of a story is equally packed with action and emotion, and is sure to be another major hit.” –Sara Gruen, #1 <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>Water for Elephants</em></p><p>v</p>


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Annie Colwater’s husband has just confessed that he’s in love with a younger woman. Devastated, Annie retreats to the small town where she grew up. There, she is reunited with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower who is unable to cope with his silent, emotionally scarred young daughter. Together, the three of them begin to heal. But just when Annie believes she’s been given a second chance at happiness, her world is turned upside down again, and she is forced to make a choice that no woman in love should ever have to make.


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<div><p>In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war. </p><p><em>All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .</em></p><p>Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.</p><p>At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, <em>Home Front</em> is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope. </p></div>


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<div><p>In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become <em>TullyandKate.</em> Inseparable.</p><p>So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, <em>Firefly Lane</em> is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives. </p><p>From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness.  </p><p>Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend. . . .</p><p>For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship---jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.</p><p><em>Firefly Lane</em> is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. <em>Firefly Lane </em>is a story you’ll never forget . . . one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend.</p></div>


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When Mikaela Campbell, beloved wife and mother, falls into a coma, it is up to her husband, Liam, to hold the family together and care for their grieving, frightened children. Doctors tell him not to expect a recovery, but he believes that love can accomplish what medical science cannot. Daily he sits at her bedside, telling her stories of the precious life they have built together, hoping against hope that she will wake up. But then he discovers evidence of his wife's secret past: a hidden first marriage to movie star Julian True. Desperate to bring Mikaela back at any cost, Liam knows he must turn to Julian for help. But will that choice cost Liam his wife, his family, and everything he holds dear? One of Kristin Hannah's most moving novels, Angel Fallsis a poignant and unforgettable portrait of marriage and commitment, of an ordinary man who dares to risk everything in the name of love. Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more. RandomHouseReadersCircle.com


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An eighth grade girl was taken today . . . With this first sentence, readers are immediately thrust into a fast-paced thriller that doesn't let up for a moment. In a world not too far removed from our own, kids are being taken away to special workhouses if their families exceed the monthly debt limit imposed by the government. Thirteen-year-old Matt briefly wonders if he might be next, but quickly dismisses the thought. After all, his parents are financially responsible, unlike the parents of those other kids. As long as his parents remain within their limit, the government will be satisfied and leave them alone. But all it takes is one fatal visit to the store to push Matt’s family over their limit—and to change his reality forever.


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When Grace Emerson's ex-fiance starts dating her younger sister, extreme measures are called for. To keep everyone from obsessing about her love life, Grace announces that she's seeing someone. Someone wonderful. Someone handsome. Someone completely made up. Who is this Mr. Right? Someone...exactly "unlike" her renegade neighbor Callahan O'Shea. Well, someone with his looks, maybe. His hot body. His knife-sharp sense of humor. His smarts and big heart.Whoa. No. Callahan O'Shea is not her perfect man! Not with his unsavory past. So why does Mr. Wrong feel so...right?


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An inseparable bond. An insatiable force. Battling his own personal demons, Police Chief Jonah Westfall knows the dark side of life and has committed himself to eradicating it. When a pair of raccoons are found mutilated in Redford, Colorado, Jonah investigates the gruesome act, knowing the strange event could escalate and destroy the tranquility of his small mountain town. With a rising drug threat and never-ending conflict with Tia Manning, a formidable childhood friend with whom he has more than a passing history, Jonah fights for answers-and his fragile sobriety. But he can't penetrate every wound or secret-especially one fueled by a love and guilt teetering on madness. From best-selling author Kristen Heitzmann comes a spellbinding tale of severed connections and the consequences of life lived alone. Follow Kristen Heitzmann online at www.KristenHeitzmann.net. From the Trade Paperback edition.


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Lucy Lang isn't looking for fireworks. She's looking for a nice, decent man. Someone who'll mow the lawn, flip chicken on the barbecue, teach their future children to play soccer. But most important: someone who won't inspire the slightest stirring in her heart . . . or anywhere else. A young widow, Lucy can't risk that kind of loss again. But sharing her life with a cat named Fat Mikey and the Black Widows at the family bakery isn't enough either. So it's goodbye to Ethan, her hot but entirely inappropriate 'friend with privileges' and hello to a man she can marry. Too bad Ethan Mirabelli isn't going anywhere. As far as he's concerned, what she needs might be right under her nose. But can he convince her that the next best thing can really be forever?


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<div><p>After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.<br></p><p>Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC.</p></div>


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<div><p><em>Sometimes the best man is the one you least expect…</em></p><p>Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she's ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family's vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all, there's some great scenery there….</p><p>Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief—and best friend of her former fiancé. There's a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it's not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she's having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago. If she can find a minute amidst all her family drama to stop and smell the rosé, she just might find a reason to stay at Blue Heron, and finish that walk down the aisle.</p></div>


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First Date AA la MaggieTake one lovelorn diner owner (me)A generous helping of nosy local gossips A dollop of envy at married sister's perfect life A splash of divine intervention (my matchmaking priest)"Combine ingredients with one adorable puppy, add a strong but silent lobsterman with a hidden heart" "of gold--and watch the sparks fly."


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Being one of the guys isn't all it's cracked up to be...So when journalist Chastity O'Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it's time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny problems: #1--she's five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2--she's cursed with four alpha male older brothers.While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there's only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she's never quite gotten over--although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can't seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys....


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The Game On! Diet is not a diet. It's a bold new approach to fitness that turns the latest, smartest, most successful health science into a fun, fierce, and exhilarating game. Developed by Az Ferguson, to help Grey's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff shed forty pounds of postpregnancy weight, it is the ideal program for busy people who should be working out but have a thousand good excuses not to.  Az keeps you motivated and Krista keeps you laughing as they show you how to organize opposing teams, set goals, and compete to earn points for daily exercise, healthy meal plans, and positive lifestyle changes. With The Game On! Diet, the process of losing weight, for the first time ever, is actually fun. After all, what's better than a bikini body . . . and bragging rights?  Get out there and lose . . . to win! Game on!


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<p>As his men are slaughtered around him, legendary Irish warrior Finian O'Melaghlin is held captive by the despised English Lord Rardove. Struggling to break free, Finian finds aid from an unlikely source: the beautiful Senna de Valery, who is also trying to escape Rardove's bloodthirsty grasp. Risking both their lives, Senna releases Finian from his shackles so they can both flee, but their plight has just begun...<br /></p><p>Seeking safe refuge, Finian and Senna have only each other to depend on for survival. Neither can deny their immediate attraction, but indulging their desires will put them both in grave danger. Finian vows to protect the woman who saved his life, but he soon learns she is a pawn in a much larger battle. For Senna has an unbreakable link to a priceless treasure many centuries old. It is the stuff from which dreams are made and for which men will kill-and not even Finian may be strong enough to save her...<br /></p><p>Praise for Kris Kennedy and <em>The Irish Warrior</em></p><p>"Medieval romance fans rejoice-Kris Kennedy captures the essence of old Ireland in this engaging, sexy adventure! The rich and imaginative story pulled me in from the start, and an irresistible hero kept me riveted till the end." -Veronica Wolff, author of <em>Lord of the Highlands</em></p><p>"Sexy and adventurous, intriguing and tender...a page-turner full of high drama and hot, steamy romance!" -Jill Barnett, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author<br /></p>


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<p>Experience the best of Greece with Lonely Planet. Whether that's taking an evening stroll past the flood-lit Acropolis in Athens, enjoying a crisp white wine on a Santorini vineyard tour, finding your own private beach paradise on tiny Psara, or basking in past glories at Olympia's atmospheric stadium<p>Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give you the information you need to make the most of your trip.<p><B>In This Guide:</B><p><B>Full-Color</B> highlights show you the very best of Greece<p><B>In-Depth</B> coverage of Greece's ancient sites, including maps<p><B>Unique Green Index</B> to help make your travels ecofriendly


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; ">The killer quill of Kitty Kelley, who skewered Jackie Onassis, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Reagan, goes for royal blood in her latest tell-all biography, <em>The Royals</em>. Fans of the 1992 book Diana used to bash her in-laws--</span></h3><p>Here are a few of the nasty allegations Kelley collects in a history of Britain's top dogs: though the royals may love their corgis more than their children and spouses, they pinch the poor pooches' posteriors to make them bark into the phone to amuse the royals at the other end of the line. Also, the Queen Mother may have been born out of wedlock, and her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, may have been conceived by artificial insemination.</p><p>There are dozens of other stinky zingers in Kelley's book, mostly from anonymous sources. The late Princess Diana comes off the best, even though Kelley suggests that she may have shoved her 58-year-old stepmother down the stairs. Diana met her last lover, Dodi, after <em>The Royals</em> went to press, so there's nothing in it about them--though Kelley does relate previous 100 m.p.h. chases and press encounters ending in gore. It was a long, sad story leading up to the last crash, and Kelley tells the family's worst enemies' account of it in a tone colder than the royals themselves.</p></div>


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For the past twenty-five years, no one has been better at revealing secrets than Oprah Winfrey. On what is arguably the most influential show in television history, she has gotten her guests—often the biggest celebrities in the world—to bare their love lives, explore their painful pasts, admit their transgressions, reveal their pleasures, and explore their demons. In turn, Oprah has repeatedly allowed her audience to share in her own life story, opening up about the sexual abuse in her past and discussing her romantic relationships, her weight problems, her spiritual beliefs, her charitable donations, and her strongly held views on the state of the world.After a quarter of a century of the Oprah-ization of America, can there be any more secrets left to reveal?Yes. Because Oprah has met her match.Kitty Kelley has, over the same period of time, fear¬lessly and relentlessly investigated and written about the world’s most revered icons: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, England’s Royal Family, and the Bush dynasty. In her #1 bestselling biographies, she has exposed truths and exploded myths to uncover the real human beings that exist behind their manufac¬tured facades.Turning her reportorial sights on Oprah, Kelley has now given us an unvarnished look at the stories Oprah’s told and the life she’s led. Kelley has talked to Oprah’s closest family members and business associates. She has obtained court records, birth certificates, financial and tax records, and even copies of Oprah’s legendary (and punishing) confidentiality agreements. She has probed every aspect of Oprah Winfrey’s life, and it is as if she’s written the most extraordinary segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show ever filmed—one in which Oprah herself is finally and fully revealed.There is a case to be made, and it is certainly made in this book, that Oprah Winfrey is an important, and even great, figure of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. But there is also a case to be made that even greatness needs to be examined and put under a microscope. Fact must be separated from myth, truth from hype. Kitty Kelley has made that separation, showing both sides of Oprah as they have never been shown before. In doing so she has written a psychologically perceptive and meticulously researched book that will surprise and thrill everyone who reads it.


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<div><h3><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; ">This is the expose that Sinatra went to court to prevent. It's all herethe tumultuous marriages, the countless affairs, the Mafia ties, the arrogance, the drunken brawls, the sudden violence, the adulation of powerful figures, whether Mafia or presidential. This is obviously a one-sided portrait, and there are no real surprises, but Kelley has documented her facts with such thorough detail that the total effect is numbing. Barely mentioned are Sinatra's devotion to his parents and his children, and his unquestioned musical talent. </span></h3></div>


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Age has done everything except mellow the characters in Kingsley Amis's "The Old Devils," which turns its humane and ironic gaze on a group of Welsh married couples who have been spending their golden years--when "all of a sudden the evening starts starting after breakfast"--nattering, complaining, reminiscing, and, above all, drinking. This more or less orderly social world is thrown off-kilter, however, when two old friends unexpectedly return from England: Alun Weaver, now a celebrated man of Welsh letters, and his entrancing wife, Rhiannon. Long-dormant rivalries and romances are rudely awakened, as life at the Bible and Crown, the local pub, is changed irrevocably. Considered by Martin Amis to be Kingsley Amis's greatest achievement--a book that "stands comparison with any English novel of the twentieth] century"--"The Old Devils" confronts the attrition of ageing with rare candor, sympathy, and moral intelligence.


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<p class="description">Penguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling. Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim was published in 1954, and is a hilarious satire of British university life. Jim Dixon is bored by his job as a medieval history lecturer. His days are only improved by pulling faces behind the backs of his superiors as he tries desperately to survive provincial bourgeois society, an unbearable 'girlfriend' and petty humiliation at the hands of Professor Welch. Lucky Jim is one of the most famous and influential of all British post-War novels.</p>


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<div><p class="description">A newsbreaking memoir that tackles head-on the toughest challenge in the world today. When a dying King Hussein shocked the world by picking his son rather than his brother, the longtime crown prince, to be the next king of Jordan, no one was more surprised than the young head of Special Operations, who discovered his life was in for a major upheaval. This is the inspirational story of a young prince who went to boarding school in America and military academy in Britain and grew up believing he would be a soldier. Back home, he hunted down terrorists and modernized Jordan's Special Forces. Then, suddenly, he found himself king. Together with his wife, Queen Rania, he transformed what it meant to be a monarch, going undercover to escape the bubble of the court while she became the Muslim world's most passionate advocate of women's rights. In this exceptionally candid memoir, King Abdullah tackles the single toughest issue he faces head-on- how to solve the Israeli-Palestinian standoff- and reveals himself to be an invaluable intermediary between America and the Arab world. He writes about the impact of the Iraq war on his neighborhood and how best to tackle Iran's nuclear ambitions. Why would a sitting head of state choose to write about the most explosive issues he faces? King Abdullah does so now because he believes we face a moment of truth: a last chance for peace in the Middle East. The prize is enormous, the cost of failure far greater than we dare imagine.</p></div>


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"After the sudden loss of her fiancé, Steven, Jenny Beckinsale has more than a broken heart to deal with--she's also facing too many financial surprises over Blue Sky, the fledgling seaplane service she and Steven built. Too late she's discovered Steven was in over his head, and deeply in debt to his best friend and fellow navy pilot Jared Worth. The sexy, cynical top gun demands his money back now. He doesn't care what will happen to Jenny or her small-town dreams of success. But Jenny has a few surprises of her own, including a way out of her predicament--she'll force this steel-eyed flyboy into service for Blue Sky. It's the only way Jared will ever see a dime. But as the summer fades, these two lost souls will discover they're saving more than a business...they're saving each other."--P. [4] of cover.


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<div><p>Tinker Bell's friendship with Terence is tested when they build the Autumn Scepter for the rare blue harvest moon. But that's the least of Tink's worries when the precious moonstone is shattered.</p><p>**</p></div>


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<p>Pam Harrington and Tom Jarrod shared a past that tore them apart fourteen years ago. Since then, they have separately struggled to right the individual wrongs they'd committed. Then an opportunity presents itself which could give them a second chance at love and a life together. But only if they can finally resolve the issues from their pasts. </p>


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<div><p>In his most ambitious project to date, award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson utilizes years of research and cutting-edge science in the first of three novels that will chronicle the colonization of Mars.</p><p>For eons, sandstorms have swept the barren desolate landscape of the red planet. For centuries, Mars has beckoned to mankind to come and conquer its hostile climate. Now, in the year 2026, a group of one hundred colonists is about to fulfill that destiny.</p><p>John Boone, Maya Toitavna, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage and madness; for others it offers and opportunity to strip the planet of its riches. And for the genetic "alchemists, " Mars presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change all we know about life...and death.</p><p>The colonists place giant satellite mirrors in Martian orbit to reflect light to the planets surface. Black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth and melt the ice. And massive tunnels, kilometers in depth, will be drilled into the Martian mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases. Against this backdrop of epic upheaval, rivalries, loves, and friendships will form and fall to pieces--for there are those who will fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed.</p><p>Brilliantly imagined, breathtaking in scope and ingenuity, <em>Red Mars</em> is an epic scientific saga, chronicling the next step in human evolution and creating a world in its entirety. <em>Red Mars</em> shows us a future, with both glory and tarnish, that awes with complexity and inspires with vision.</p></div>


