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Always Greener by J.R.H. Lawless A smash-hit reality show is offering a lifetime of luxury to the one person living the worldâs worst life, and now everyone is out to prove just how bad theyâve got it. |
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Michael McGillicuddy and the Most Amazing Race by Trevor A. Dutcher Puzzling Intrigue. Epic Adventure. Cut-throat competition. When a quiet introvert and gifted tinkerer, Michael McGillicuddy, is invited to participate in the annual race organized by a secret society called the Order of the Blue Cloak, he forces himself to take a chance. Participation in this yearâs race represents a dual opportunity: To honor his fatherâs legacy, and to win a prize sufficient to pay taxes on his motherâs land to avoid foreclosure. The action-packed adventure that follows features a vibrant cast of characters, and includes some of the brightest minds and most unscrupulous characters 1895 Europe has to offer, including a Luxembourgish railroad baron, a middle-eastern mystic, a lone-wolf bounty hunter, a British female spy and a Dutch female alchemist. A devious circus ringmaster, and his equally devious crew, including a strong-man with a mechanical arm and a ruthless female enforcer with a chip on her shoulder and a penchant for poison, provide the main antagonistic forces.Follow the racers over land, sea and air, from Londonâs outskirts all the way to Paris, as they risk life and limb to embark on a scavenger hunt-style race with few, but important, rules. The winner of this yearâs race will be the first to solve all the milestone puzzles and arrive at the finish with a complete and matching set of milestone tokens. Along the way, Michael will encounter intellectual challenges, fantastical creatures, games youâve never heard of, physical peril, sabotage, betrayal, love, heartbreak, and even a touch of magic, all while discovering himself and a newfound taste for adventure. But as a novice among experts, and with the odds so strongly stacked against him, how will Michael survive, let alone compete? |
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SPFBO6 WriteHive Book Club Teacup Dragon Coop SFFOasis Never leave the path. Itâs sacred law, punishable by exile. When her son goes missing in the perilous mountains, Kaemada defies the law to search for him. She enlists the help of her hero brother, a priestess berserker, and a fire-wielding friend. But the law exists for a reason. When the search party is captured by the mythical Kamalti, they learn that Kaemadaâs son was sent to an ancient prison city. As they battle for freedom, they discover a horrible truth that will change the future of both races forever. With their world in upheaval, Kaemada must find a way to peace if she's to save her sonâbut tensions between the two races are leading to war. |
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A Place to Run (Trials of the Blood Book 1) by Becca Lynn Mathis What if you learned that the things that go bump in the night are real? . . . What if you became one of them? When Lynn gets attacked by a crazed werewolf, every aspect of her entire lonely life changes. Her new pack helps her adjust to life as a werewolf, but that means living under the constant threat of vampires, their immortal enemies. Worse, Lynn learns a former friend â and vampire â is now targeting her, and the military wants to get their hands on her as well. Fearing the danger she brings to her pack, Lynn must decide whether itâs better to run from them all or to make peace with who and what she has become. |
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Quitting The Grave by Decater Collins Eugene, Oregon. October, 1999. After three graves robberies--in each instance, the abducted corpse was a John Doe--the police have few leads and little interest in the case. Caya Blumenshine, a reporter for the local newspaper, canvasses Eugene, questioning anarchists, wyccans, and politicians, until her search hits upon a secluded house on the outskirts of the city. Its owner, Alexander Hilyard, a history-writing hermit who hasn't been seen in years, may be involved in the grave robberies, or may have been the most recent victim. Fort Vancouver, the 1830âs. A trading outpost on the Columbia river is charged with harvesting as many furs as possible for the Hudson Bay Company, while at the same time discouraging American pioneers from settling in the region. Dr. McLoughlin, the chief factor, and his three adopted sons find the undertaking challenged by the arrival of Jason Lee and his Methodist missionaries. A blood feud begins that will shape the course of Oregon history for the next two centuries. Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1846. After the murder of her father, Helen Hunsaker wants nothing more than to escape the strictures of a society that views women as second-class citizens. She sets out on the Oregon Trail hoping to find a measure of freedom not afforded to her by her family circumstances or gender. Unfortunately, a spurned suitor chases after her and will apparently stop at nothing to win her hand in marriage. Three stories that span more than 150 years of American history, united by a shocking mystery. How far will those responsible go to keep their secrets buried? |
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The Wretched (The Fateless Throne Book 1) by Brad Carsten No one knows what happened at Almswick, except that the King took an arrow to his chest, and his hundred-strong elite guard was slaughtered. Strangest of all, there was no indication that they had even faced an enemy. King Roderic 8th brought the kingdom of Thamaria into a golden age. It boasts the greatest scientists, physicians, soldiers, and artisans. For over a thousand years, nothing could approach its wealth and might for one reason: Thamaria could assess a child's potential, and then throw its resources into sculpting them into that which they were meant to be. Liam, a gifted tracker and archer, missed his first two assessments, and now at the age of twenty-five is too old for selection into the kingdom. He is left to make his own way in life with no hope of a better future until he meets Jaylene after her escort is attacked in the Dourbern forest. There's something "off" about her, and Liam is soon thrust into a plot that reaches into the heart of the kingdomâa plot that threatens to tear the immortal kingdom apart as well as everything else he cares about. But with war closing in, he may also have one last chance to prove to himself and the kingdom that he has what it takes to finally be somebody. Fast-paced with deep, likeable characters set in a rich and compelling world, The wretched will keep you guessing until the explosive conclusion. |
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For the Betterment of the World (Gateway to Perdinok #1) by Jeremiah Cain A quarter of the haggard populace must flee, hide, or die when faced with the question: what do you do when your own home declares you wicked and demands your death? Within this dark epic fantasy, the largest church of a medieval-like empire condemns a minority church as evil. Soon, a soldier struggles with orders to kill, as he must decide if what is ârightâ can change by Church decree. A normal townswoman must fight as her people are sentenced to death in the empire where theyâve lived all their lives. Far away, two men from conflicting nations attempt to forge a relationship while trying to forge an alliance. Farther still, an elf boy sees the destruction of his peaceful home for nothing but a would-be weapon. Finally, a small nation must call on the Dark for help when the Light betrays them. Throughout the world of Perdinok, a range of people have their lives upended as unrest turns to civil war and turns to war on other nations. In the end, the sanctimonious empire unearths an ancient power that threatens all. Only a Demoness can put things right, but she holds her own agenda. |
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A pandemic where women over 50 survive? Antigenesis is a action packed political thriller and farce inspired by today's headlines with themes centered on revenge at all costs, female empowerment, and declining world health. An extremely contagious and deadly outbreak begins in the Arctic Circle, where thousands of Russian soldiers perish. Russia and China threaten retaliation assuming the virus is a US bioweapon. As the White House, Pentagon and National Security Agency try to understand the ramifications of the situation in Russia, they bring in a consultant, Ally, a former CDC virus hunter. Ally works with an NSA spy to track down the origin of the virus and halt the spread. She discovers that the virus is transmitted by dogs and, remarkably, women over 50 seem to have immunity. When the casualty rate begins to decimate American cities, the President, both clueless and inept, refuses to institute a national quarantine. His Vice President tries to keep the government running but quickly descends into madness. As society and government collapses, the surviving female congress members decide to overcome the pesky quorum problem by re-writing the Constitution. Will Ally find the source of the virus and stop it in time to save humanity? What will happen when the world is run by women? |
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Planet of the Creeps by D.S. Whitaker A twisted Cinderella story set in modern day NYC about blind dating, deceit, and the struggle to find true love. Cindy has been looking for love through Smitten, an online dating app, only to encounter one creep after another. She has a happy life living in NYC with her gay roommate, Barry, but she feels heâs putting his own love life on hold for her sake. Then her baby sister gets engaged. She decides itâs time to try again to find her own true love. The CEO of Smitten, Lance, is facing declining subscribership and the Board wants his ouster. Lance truly believes women canât find matches because theyâre too picky. As a last-ditch effort, he develops a marketing scheme involving a contest for female users. A few lucky women will go on a series of blind dates for a hefty sum, in the hopes of improving Smittenâs matching algorithm. He decides to pose as a waiter at the restaurant hosting the experiment to find out the truth and validate his position. Cindy accepts the invitation to participate. Lance is a terrible waiter and the patrons treat him horribly. But Cindy becomes his beacon of happiness as the contest progresses. She treats him like a person and not a servant. He watches how she maintains a positive attitude despite several hilariously awful blind dates with the creepiest men. Soon, Lance starts to fall for herâhard. Only, she doesnât know his true identity. Can Lance win Cindyâs love? Or will he turn out to be the worst creep of them all? |
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The Sorrow Passage: A Dark Fantasy Novelette (Gateway to Perdinok #0.1) by Jeremiah Cain Within this dark fantasy novelette for adults, the young elf, Valqyer, fights the loss of what little he has left, including his sanity, to save his mother and the remnants of his world. Brutal invaders upend the peaceful life of Valqyer and his fellow elven townsfolk. Many are slain or captured. Afterward, he faces the reality that his life of art is shattered as he goes mad in a dungeon. His mother is dying in another cell. He can do nothing to fight back. Seemingly, his only option for escape is to help the invaders start a war. |
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The Veiled River: A Dark Fantasy Novella (Gateway to Perdinok #0.2) by Jeremiah Cain Captured and tortured, Rohesia stays strong. But to fight back, she faces breaking her vows as a healer, an action that would destroy her magic completely. Rohesiaâa skilled, magical healer working in dire conditionsâhas spent years helping her people escape destruction and flee to a neighboring kingdom. Yet, when she saves a woman at deathâs door, she discovers a plan to unearth an ancient power that, by itself, would wipe out all of her kind worldwide. |
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The Thief of Eyes by Michael McCaskill The world is not what it seems. Creatures of myth and legend walk among us. Some just living life like humans do, but others are less interested in such mundane pursuits. Enter the Choir, a clandestine organization that polices the supernatural world in secret and limits the damage from the world behind the veil. In the American northwest, a child away at camp drowns in the middle of the night. This sad but mundane event triggers a doomsday prophecy that could drag the world into oblivion. Allison Piper and Donna "Don" Kyle, agents of the Choir, must race against the clock to unravel the dark future before it is too late. |
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Tom has a unique gift which he feels, at times, is more of a curse. Art is investigating a series of murders, but the clues are lacking. Pulled together by circumstances, Art and Tom become unlikely allies as Art is forced to suspend disbelief and trust in Tomâs gift before it's too late. |
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A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1) by Scarlett St. Clair Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephoneâs failure as a Goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead growsâand itâs forbidden. |
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Maggie: A Journey of Love, Loss and Survival by Vicki Tapia Mt. Clemens, Michigan, 1887. Seventeen and headstrong, with marriage on her mind, Maggie is sure she has found her one true love. But when she collides head-on with betrayal, overwhelming loss and ill-treatment, her life unravels. In a time when women had few rights, Maggie rises above adversity through rare determination and grit, becoming an independent woman ahead of her time. Yet before she can truly find peace, one heartbreaking, life-altering decision remains. Inspired by her great-grandmother's life, the author weaves a timeless story of survival and courage set against the backdrop of Mt. Clemens, Michigan and the prairies of eastern Montana at the turn of the twentieth century. |
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Ashes by Sharon Gloger Friedman A Jewish Familyâs Epic of Hope, Tragedy, and Survival Easter Sunday, 1903 ushered in three days of government-sanctioned brutality on the Jews of Kishinev, Russia. In the aftermath of slaughter, rape, and destruction, Meyer and Sadie Raisky escape to New York City with their thirteen-year-old daughter, Miriam. Their home and business gone, reeling from devastating personal tragedy, the Raiskys cling to the promise of a better life in America. But upon arriving in New York City, Miriam and her parents quickly learn that promises are easily broken in the tenements of the Lower East Side. When circumstances force Miriam to abandon the schooling she loves to help support her family, she goes to work at the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, joining other immigrant girls who work long hours for low wages in shocking conditions. Against the backdrop of emerging workersâ rights and womenâs rights, Miriamâs social conscience and young womanhood both blossom when she falls in love with a union organizer. Meticulously researched and rich with beautifully drawn characters that bring 20th-century New York City to life, Ashes is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and a haunting elegy to the young women whose suffering inspired changes to the working conditions in the garment industry. |
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I am Mrs. Jesse James by Pat Wahler She captured his heart, but at what price? The long, bloody Civil War is finally at an end when Zee Mimms, the daughter of a Missouri preacher, is tasked with nursing her cousin, Jesse James, back to health after he suffers a near-fatal wound. During Jesse's long convalescence, the couple falls in love, but Jesse's resentment against the Federals runs deep. He has scores to settle. For him, the war will never be over. Zee is torn between deferring to her parents' wishes and marrying for security or marrying for love and accepting the hard realities of life with an outlaw--living under an assumed name and forever on the run. For her, the choice she makes means the war is only beginning. Discover why readers describe this richly imagined story of the woman who wed Jesse James as powerful, compelling, and emotional. |
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Girl with a Gun: An Annie Oakley Mystery by Kari BovĂ©e Fifteen-year-old Annie Oakley is the sole supporter of her widowed mother and two siblings. An expert markswoman and independent spirit, she hunts game to sell to the local mercantile to make ends meet instead of accepting a marriage proposal that could solve all her problems. After a stunning performance in a shooting contest against the handsome and famous sharpshooter Frank Butler, Annie is offered a position in the renowned Buffalo Billâs Wild West Show. Finally, she has a chance to save the nearly foreclosed family farm and make her dreams come true. But then her Indian assistant is found dead in her tent, and Annie is dubious when the local coroner claims the death was due to natural causes. When another innocent is murdered, Annie begins to fear the deaths are related to her. And to make matters worse, her prized horse, Buck, a major part of her act, is stolen. Annie soon discovers that the solution to her problems lies buried in a padlocked Civil War trunk belonging to the showâs manager, Derence LeFleur. And so, with the help of a sassy, blue-blooded reporter, Annie sets out to find her horse, solve the murders, and clear her name. |
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Murder So Deadly: A Merry March Mystery (Merry March Mysteries) by Eileen Curley Hammond Pretty Things Can Be DeadlyItâs springtime in Hopeful and the town is abloom. Gardeners, avid to challenge themselves, move past the usual begonias into more exotic plants. Unfortunately, some of their selections are pure poison.Robâs mother and her husband are in town for a visit that ends in murder. Merry investigates and finds ugly truths growing in some of the most beautiful places. |
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Murder So Heartless: A Merry March Mystery (Merry March Mysteries) by Eileen Curley Hammond Nothing spoils Valentineâs Day in a small town like a murdered florist.The First Gulf War lasted less than a year. Now, nearly three decades later, the local florist is murdered in Hopeful. Merryâs pulled in once again, as her daughter begs her to save her boyfriendâs father from prison. When Merry investigates, she realizes that secrets kept during that War are beginning to unravel. Wine and cats keep her sane while her boyfriend, Rob, and best friend, Patty, pitch in to help her solve the mystery before the murderer kills again. |
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When Time Stands Still by Sara Furlong-Burr Award-winning romance that recently earned acclaim from the prestigious Next Generation Indie Book Awards! Itâs been nearly a decade since Elle Sloan last saw Luke Hutchins. Close to ten years since she broke up with him over a single phone call, providing him with little explanation. Since the end of their relationship, Elle has done everything she could do to move on, marrying, proceeding forward with her life, almost allowing herself to completely forget about Luke. Almost. Out of nowhere, Elle receives a phone call from Lukeâs mother. Luke has been in a horrific car accident and, a month later, has just awoken from a coma. However, instead of celebrating, his family is stunned to learn that Luke is suffering from amnesia and only remembers his life as it was before his breakup with Elle. Not wanting to tell Luke that he and Elle arenât together anymore for fear it may compromise his recovery, Elle is asked by Lukeâs family to come to the hospital to see him. Their hope is that she will slowly be able to jog his memory and cushion the blow. Guilt-ridden over how their relationship ended, Elle readily agrees, finding herself transported back in time with Luke to the life they once shared and the future they could have had together. |
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The Senator's Daughter by Amaka Azie Rita the only daughter of billionaire, Senator Obaseki, hides behind her reputation as a spoilt wealthy heiress with no ambition to cover up a painful past. Former soldier Nosa Edosa, believes the Senator to be the epitome of greed and political corruption. Failing to bring him to justice through legal means, his last-ditch effort involves kidnapping the man's daughter. The plan is simple, the execution flawless ... until love gets involved. Neither Rita nor Nosa are what they seem, and as they discover themselves in this quest to right her family's wrongs, they suddenly have something too precious to lose-their hearts. Experience the thrills of Nigerian politics, sizzling romance, and perilous suspense in this action-packed love story by Amaka Azie |
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Murder So Festive: A Merry March Mystery (Merry March Mysteries Book 2) by Eileen Curley Hammond Christmas: A time for love, putting away grievances, and joining together in joy. Or not. When Merryâs ex breezes back into the town he swindled, her world turns upside down. Drawn into the drama that surrounds him, she works to protect their daughter from the turmoil. Tensions run high, and Merry finds herself, once again, in the center of a murder investigation. Good friends, wine, and her cats keep her grounded as she works to uncover the identity of the killer. |
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Murder So Sinful: A Merry March Mystery (Merry March Mysteries Book 1) by Eileen Curley Hammond A murder at the church rocks the small town of Hopeful and sets tongues wagging. Single mom and successful insurance agent Merry March steps in to figure out who the killer is. Merryâs had a tough week. Her daughter went off the rails and her best friend became an annoying matchmaker. Finding solace in food, wine, and two demanding cats, her comfortable life changes when her best friendâs daughter is suspected of murder. As Merry investigates, she begins to open her heart. |
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Hil Mills is missing. Worse, her boyfriend Ronnie can't find out anything about her because she's been living off-the-grid since childhood, and doesn't even have an online profile. In a world loaded with Screens, where robots do almost every job, Ronnie and a team of misfits try to solve the mystery of Hil's disappearance. Through warehouse raves, transcendentalism-obsessed communes, and bougie corporate parties, Ronnie digs for answers. Meanwhile, Hil's busy saving herself from her past, and a future she never wanted. Is it a conspiracy, a terror plot, or just a bad break-up? Spoiler alert: it's all that and more. |
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Witches' Gambit: Book One of the Seven Worlds by Charles Freedom Long FINALIST- BEST SF/F BOOK OF 2018âNext Generation Indie Book Awards. Aidan Ray, successful attorneyâand psychicâsecretly communes with the dead in a fascist fundamentalist society that would call her âWitchâ and wipe her mind. Earth is split into separate warring theocracies who want to dominate the planet. They are on the verge of expanding their conflict into outer space. Michael good, an executive who likes to live dangerously, leads a secret insurgency in Aidanâs home state. Fate places them together. And together, they must face a crisis that could destroy the earth. A mediating alien, concerned about the future of their shared universe, has come to earth. His galaxy is on the verge of making a preemptive strike against earth, to prevent the spread of a species that resolves its problems by murdering each otherâa diseased specimen that may have to be exterminated before it infects other worlds. He ponders if earth is worth saving? And asks Aidan and Michael to plead humanityâs case to the council of the seven worlds, before the earth is destroyed. But to do that, they must brave the hazardous passage to another galaxy from which they may never return. Or have anything to return to. |
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Relics of Andromeda (Song of Ancients Book 1) by Jonathan Michael Erickson AN EPIC TALE SPANNING CIVILIZATIONS AND CENTURIES. Anka believed the stories since childhood: the alien relics bring ruin and madness. Ancient pieces of technology that have minds of their own, the relics interface with human psychology, granting the power to bend space and timeâoften inducing psychosis. When the colonists of Andromeda first discovered the relics, long before Anka was born, humanity was plunged into chaos. Now Anka carries a relic in her pack, tasked with securing the object before it does any harm. She sets out with her companions across the desert by foot, marching towards the distant cityâ even as the relic begins to whisper in her mind... |
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Adam's Rings by Matthew D. White Adam lived an idyllic life, growing up in the rural United States. He showed promise as a student and held a fleeting dream throughout his existence that he would one day prove himself enough to travel to the stars, see the universe, leave footprints on the Martian soil and solve the greatest mysteries ever presented to mankind. But every breath of his life has been a lie. Adam has been grown in a machine on board a research station orbiting Saturn and designed to be its perfect operator. Had the experiment succeeded, he would have thought he launched from Earth as an astronaut and woken up on the far side never the wiser. Thanks to a catastrophic accident, he has arisen years early, without the training and development that would have allowed him to thrive and accept the calling. Adam has been provided the opportunity to live his greatest dream, although the circumstances are merely an illusion. As the arbiter of humanity's most ambitious research mission in history, will Adam accept his fate, strive against those who stole his early years of innocence, or fail in a fleeting attempt at survival, unprepared and alone in the crushing unforgiving wilderness of deep space? |
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The Seas of Distant Stars by Francesca G. Varela Agapanthus was kidnapped when she was only two years old, but she doesnât remember it. In fact, she doesnât remember her home planet at all. All she knows is Deeyae, the land of two suns; the land of great, red waters. Her foster-family cares for her, and at first thatâs enough. But, as she grows older, Agapanthus is bothered by the differences between them. As an Exchanger, sheâs frail and tall, not short and strong. And, even though she was raised Deeyan, she certainly isnât treated like one. One day, an Exchanger boy completes the Deeyan rite-of-passage, and Agapanthus is inspired to try the same. But, when she teams up with him, her quest to become Deeyan transforms into her quest to find the truthâof who she is, and of which star she belongs to. |
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The Korpes File (The Korpes File Series Book 1) by J. I. Rogers "As if being born Diasporan wasnât enough, Technician Nash Korpes had the bad luck to resemble his Tyran ancestors almost identically in both form, and manner. These traits, though highly prized by the special projects division at the shadowy Korlune Military Research and Development, mark him as a specter from their warlike past. With only his intellect holding his sanity in place, he wages a private war against the entire socioeconomic status quo and begins to uncover the truth that threatens them all." --- The Korpes File contains coarse language, adult situations, and controversial themes such as, but not limited to racism, xenophobia, arranged marriage, genocide, and genetic experimentation. Set against a dystopian sci-fi backdrop, and told from multiple point-of-views, the story centers around the main character's experiences as a genetic anomaly. --- |
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The Storm over Paris by William Ian Grubman The Storm Over Paris is a "dark, gripping historical thriller" with "evocative and frightening descriptions of life in Paris under Nazi rule." - Kirkus Reviews It's 1942 in Nazi-Occupied Paris. Mori Rothstein is a widely-respected, internationally-known art dealer, loving husband, and father. Mori's once-charmed life darkens when Hermann Goering â the head of the Nazi Gestapo and one of the most feared men alive â seeks out his expertise. Goering gives Mori a choice: appraise priceless pieces of art that will be deported to Hitler's new museum or risk his and his family's lives. As his friends and fellow Jews disappear one by one, Mori must decide what he will stand for and at what cost. With so much at stake, Mori and his son concoct a risky plan to save some of history's greatest pieces of art...but can it possibly work? And can Mori's family possibly survive the scrutiny of Goering and the horrors of Nazi occupation? Fans of Daniel Silva, Dan Brown, and John Grisham will fall in love with this gripping piece of World War II historical fiction. The action and intrigue makes this page-turner impossible to put down; the cast of characters make it impossible to forget. |
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Courage and Complicity by Claudette Languedoc In August 1947, Mary Brock boarded a train in Toronto. She was headed for the wilds of Northwestern Ontario and a teaching job at an Indian Residential School. Her family was horrified. At the end of her first day of teaching, Mary was horrified too. This was not the exciting adventure she had imagined. But Mary wasn't one to give up. Buoyed by her ideals and her pragmatism, she kept showing up.She lasted the academic year. When she boarded the train for home she knew she had failedâin every way that mattered.The ideals she had come with had shattered on her classroom floor, and her heart lay buried behind a small log cabin in the woods.Sixty years later, two unexpected gifts forced her to take a second look back and a more hopeful look forward. Maybe her ideals weren't so naive after all. |
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The Paris Photo by Jane S Gabin The Paris Photo compassionately conveys the story of American soldier Ben Gordon and his relationship with a young mother and her son just after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. Despite the strength of this relationship during the war, Ben's eventual return to America separates them. Decades later, Ben's daughter stitches the relationship back together when she discovers a photograph of her late father with an unknown woman and boy. Eager to uncover more of her father's past, she travels to Paris to learn about the people in the photograph. The Paris Photo lifts characters out of the pages of a history book, richly depicting the human emotion that pervades our memories. The Paris Photo will appeal to lovers of historical fiction, particularly those with an interest in WWII. Jane S. Gabin creates a vivid picture of life in Paris during the dark days of the Nazi occupation, as well as a depiction of the contemporary city that still carries scars from the war. Interweaving mystery, romance, and historical research, The Paris Photo demonstrates how the traumas of wartime loss persist into the present. |
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NOW I SAY GOODBYE TO YOU by Brooks Wright The story of a man who tries to lose himself during the recent Great Recession only to discover how hard it is not to care. KIRKUS REVIEW A homeless man comes tantalizinglyclose to his old life and happiness only to question that joy. In this novel, Wright (The Sky IsFar Away, 2018, etc.) gives readers a homeless, nameless man trying tosurvive after the Mother of All Housing Bubbles has burst. He is somewhere inFlorida, breaking into foreclosed houses in search of food. He has bottomedout: He's lost his job and his family and even spent a year in prison. He hasalso lost all hope and wants only to be left alone. Then he comes upon a littlegirl--as hungry and thirsty as he is--in an abandoned house. Try as he might, hecannot bring himself to desert her. He finds an abandoned cabin and a job witha guy who is scrapping a nearby defunct amusement park, Fun-O-Rama (a wonderfulmetaphor). The girl, whose name readers finally learn is Jessie, is severelytraumatized and mute. Ever so slowly, she begins to trust the man (her firstwords to him: "Are you Jesus?"). When she falls sick, he gets her to ahospital. She recovers, but now the police are very interested in hisrelationship with this kid and with his past. Many more things happen, but itis his need for Jessie that drives it all. The ending is artistically risky buttruer than the conclusion readers will probably crave. Wright is a flat-outwonderful writer. The prose is crisp ("Unhappy should be a weather forecast like rainor snow"), the details spot on, and the slowdevelopment meticulous. The nameless man--the first-person narrator--is anunforgettable character, always talking about the stories in life, like the "IWork Out and Exercise" and "Never Feed a Stray Animal" tales. He is in lovewith his bitterness but, try as he might, can't excise his basic decency. Thispainful novel delivers heartbreak--but no sentimentality--and consummatethaumaturgy or, in the narrator's words, "I'm both the magician and the trick." This tale of two survivors shouldmove you, cajole you, upset you, and seduce you. |
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Go Down the Mountain by Meredith Battle Their government painted them as ignorant hillbillies, then took their land. Now read the story of these Virginia mountain families, for the first time as historical fiction. Bee Livingston is a nervy, teenage beauty whose beloved father's sudden death in a snake charming accident has left her alone with her abusive mother. Her one salvation is Miles, the big-city photographer who promises escape and a life full of the adventure she craves. But when Bee is caught in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with a government man who takes her family's land and won't stop until he claims her too, it may be Torch, the boy she grew up with on the mountain, who becomes the man she needs. Based on the true story of the hundreds of families who were forced from their Blue Ridge Mountain homes to make way for Shenandoah National Park in the 1930s, Go Down the Mountain is a tale of dispossession, coming of age, and love. |
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The Spirit of the Waynes (The Business Cycle) (Volume 5) by Ethan Cooper At the behest of his stepmother, Charlie Wayne, an unemployed banker and baby boomer, visits his 93 year-old father in Florida. Initially, the wealthy and independent Wriston Wayne, the former CEO of a major regional bank, seems as sharp and tenacious as ever. But then Wriston, while parking his Cadillac, loses control and the tippling Charlie, a dutiful son, is obliged to raise this issue: Should his father continue to drive? Subsequent interaction in the Wayne family reveals patterns of tenacity, chicanery, love, and denial, as the men and their wives bargain about the future. This family interaction is The Spirit of the Waynes. Recommended to readers coping with the gradual diminishment of elderly parents or who wonder about the stress of revitalizing a stalled career. |
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Eisenstein's Monster by A.V. Bach A novel in montage, Eisensteinâs Monster is a wild romp through the terrains of our consciousness. A man with terminal cancer in the language centers of his brain meets a young woman he hopes will facilitate an existence beyond the dwindling limits of his body. What follows is a psychedelic odyssey exploring consciousness and identity through language and montage, placing seemingly disparate chapters together to create a stitched-together being and a one-of-a-kind reading experience: The Tibetan Book of the Dead for the Information Generation. Spanning a wide array of localesâfrom Eden to Ingolstadt, Soviet Odessa to Los Angeles circa 2025, the Pacific Islands of WWII to an Alaskan mountain expedition, a Hellish Chicago to a lonely space stationâand featuring a cavalcade of unforgettable charactersâfrom amateur dentists to Tokyo Rose, from an aging cowboy film composer to a four-legged space spiderâthe novel is a meeting of East & West, light & dark, the comic & the tragic, using ancient symbolism and new-age signs to explore the familiar, the strange, and the strangely familial, with brows high, low, and shaved. And at the Monsterâs heart is a novel about our own humanityâalways forced to define itself in the space between birth and death, while contemplating the spaces tangential and beyond. A little dangerous, a little mystical, and entirely an adventure: Eisensteinâs Monster is like a new drug whose trip will take you to the edges of the universe or the fringes of your soul, and one whose effects will last long after the final page is turned. One thingâs for sure: youâll never look at a tow truck or microphone quite the same. |
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Public Parts by Joel W. Harris A failed escape? Or a Mob hit arranged by crime boss Meyer Lansky to silence him and save Lepke Buchalter, Bugsy Siegel and Albert Anastasia from the electric chair? Either way, Murder Incorporated hit man turned major crime snitch Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, "the pigeon who could sing but not fly," encountered the one law he could not evade: The Law of Gravity. Thirty years later in the early 1970s, Larry Levine takes over at PUBLIC AUTO PARTS, in Brownsville, Brooklyn, when his father is forced into abrupt retirement in Florida to avoid questions about the demise of his old friend, Reles. Someone is talking. Larry knows a little of his fathers link to the Mob, but not nearly enough, as he is left to face a relentless police detective, John Mannion, who wants answers and an equally relentless Mob boss, Carmine, who wants cooperation. While trying to protect his father, end Mob sway at Public Parts, deal with Laurie, his dissatisfied wife, and Ann Riordan, his new, beautiful, and enigmatic young assistant, the business burns to the ground. Indicted for arson and other charges, he is defended by Brownsville's own Harvard trained Bernie the Attorney, once a renowned Mob mouthpiece, now turned Orthodox Rabbi, whose time has long past. Ultimately, Larrys fate is in the hands of his assistant, whose reluctant testimony about the extent of their relationship and where they were on the night of the fire could save Larry from prison but could also destroy her engagement and his marriage. PUBLIC PARTS is a black comedy of corruption and error cloaking a classic tale of love and betrayal, death and redemption; a might-be-true legend of its time and place, and Larry is the last man able to tell the tale. |
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Merchant of Dreams by Anita Tsianina Briggs Walking up a lonely moonlit road over the moor, young musician Felicity Godwin has no premonition of the radical changes coming to her life. Devastated by the loss of her parents, unexplained cancellations of professional engagements, and the boating death of her famous aunt Ciara Rossi, she flees to Yorkshire to seek an elusive comfort in Rossiâs final home. Here she finds kindness, companionship, and an intriguing but uneasy relationship with Richard DâAnnunzio, one of the great pianists of the age. But what was intended as a journey of memories and healing turns to chilling nightmare as the warm intimacy of like minds morphs into duplicity and terror. Felicity must call upon all her courage and intellect to save her music - and her life. |
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NAMED TO KIRKUS REVIEWSâ BEST BOOKS OF 2017 Ray Lopez is on the run with a duffel bag full of cash. Both drug dealers and the police are after him. But Ray is not a criminal. His last brush with the law was over traffic tickets. Recently released from the hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, he is haunted by voices, auditory hallucinations, that frighten him and cause him to question his every move. Rayâs journey from California to Laredo is perilous. Like so many Americans before him, he travels through unfamiliar territory with no clear way of knowing who will help and who will harm him. And he may well find himself on the wrong side of the border with a mind that has no borders. |
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Sanction: A Spy Thriller by William Hunter While in England on an unsanctioned assignment, Sean Garrett witnesses the shooting of a distinguished Cambridge professor by elite contract killer David Laurent. With his cover blown, Garrett is on the run from an assassin desperate to erase his tracks, and authorities who believe he is responsible for the murder. Banastre Montjoy, a burned-out head of section at the Secret Intelligence Service, is in a race himself to discover if the scholar's death is linked to a bombing of the London Underground a year earlier. Montjoy's nemesis, the power-hungry and scheming Berwyn Rees, seeks to drum his rival out of MI6, while maneuvering to become deputy chief. With time running out, SOG operators are sent in by the CIA to locate and extract Garrett. As Laurent, MI5, and Scotland Yard close in on their target, Montjoy uncovers a devastating secret, one that someone inside the British government has sought to keep buried since World War II. |
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The Weight of Lies: A Novel by Emily Carpenter In this gripping, atmospheric family drama, a young woman investigates the fortyÂ-yearÂ-old murder that inspired her motherâs bestselling novel, and uncovers devastating truthsâand dangerous lies. Reformed party girl Meg Ashley leads a life of privilege, thanks to a bestselling horror novel her mother wrote decades ago. But Meg knows that the glow of their very public life hides a darker reality of lies, manipulation, and the heartbreak of her own solitary childhood. Desperate to break free of her mother, Meg accepts a proposal to write a scandalous, tell-all memoir. Digging into the pastâand her motherâs cult classicâdraws Meg to Bonny Island, Georgia, and an unusual woman said to be the inspiration for the book. At first island life seems idyllic, but as Meg starts to ask tough questions, disturbing revelations come to lightâŠincluding some about her mother. Soon Megâs search leads her to question the facts of a decades-old murder. Sheâs warned to leave it alone, but as the lies pile up, Meg knows sheâs getting close to finding a murderer. When her own life is threatened, Meg realizes the darkness found in her motherâs book is nothing compared to the chilling truth that lurks off the page. |
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Tinderbox (Flashpoint) (Volume 1) by Rachel Grant In the volatile tinderbox of the Horn of Africa, Morgan Adler has made the paleoanthropological find of a lifetime. The discovery brings her to the attention of a warlord eager to claim both Morgan and the fossils, forcing her to make a desperate dash to the nearby US military base to beg for protection. Master Sergeant Pax Blanchard has orders to intercept Dr. Adler before she reaches the base, and in so doing saves her life. After a harrowing afternoon he safely delivers her to his commanders, only to find his responsibilities toward protecting the obstinate archaeologist have only just begun. Morgan and Pax are forced to work together in the Djiboutian desert heat, but it is the fire that ignites between them that threatens to combust them both. For the Green Beret, involvement with the woman he must protect is a threat to his career, while for the archaeologist, the soldier is everything she never wanted but somehow canât resist. When Morgan uncovers a mystery surrounding Djiboutiâs most scarce and vital resource, the danger to her reaches the flashpoint. For Pax, protecting her is no longer a matter of following orders, and heâll risk everything to bring her back alive. |
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Damnable, broom-handle-sized sticks keep tumbling out of Nowhere and materializing into wretched Barbara's, Spartan apartment. But why? Before the appearance of the sticks, Barbara, was already far too anxious. Now she is losing sleep and, as a consequence, has grown decidedly snappish at work. Barbara's boss directs her to the "company" psychiatrist, a charming man, who, quite predictably, prescribes talk therapy and a dose of anti-depressants. Nevertheless, other pestering apparitions begin to present themselves--even in spite of Barbara's determination to live a quiet, utterly predictable, and rigidly unvaried life. Ultimately, the ghost of Barbara's father appears, rapping on the walls of Barbara's apartment, issuing orders via the "Ouija Board," and worse, using Barbara as a means of satisfying its own carnal appetites. Then one night unexpectedly, Father declares that he had never ever engineered his own presumptive suicide. Now had he? Father demands, therefore, that Barbara uncover his murderer. As Barbara begins to unmask the past, Barbara is faced with disturbing realities. In fact, one of these, in human form, is plotting to bludgeon Barbara to death... |
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Address to Die For by Mary Feliz For professional organizer Maggie McDonald, moving her family into a new home should be the perfect organizational challenge. But murder was definitely not on the to-do list . . . Maggie McDonald has a penchant for order that isn't confined to her clients' closets, kitchens, and sock drawers. As she lays out her plan to transfer her family to the hundred-year-old house her husband, Max, has inherited in the hills above Silicon Valley, she has every expectation for their new life to fall neatly into place. But as the family bounces up the driveway of their new home, she's shocked to discover the house's dilapidated condition. When her husband finds the caretaker face-down in their new basement, it's the detectives who end up moving in. What a mess! While the investigation unravels and the family camps out in a barn, a killer remains at large-exactly the sort of loose end Maggie can't help but clean up . . . |
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Tag (The Zumar Chronicles Book 1) by Simon Royle On 15 March 2110, 6.3 billion people will die at the hand of one man. A man with a twisted vision, to make humans a better, more intelligent race⊠In the wake of Arbitrator Jonah Oliverâs interrogation of Jibril Muraz, a prisoner of UNPOL, his secure life disintegrates into one of lies, corruption, conspiracy and murder due to what he learns. Jonah is thrown into a race against the clock to stop a plot designed to eliminate two-thirds of the population. The odds are stacked against him. He soon finds his past is not what he thought it was, those closest to him cannot be trusted, and what heâs learned could get him, or worse, his loved ones, killed. |
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Heal The Sick, Raise The Dead by Jacob Prytherch With the choice between the nightmare known and the nightmare unknown, it is the pull of the journey that drives Guy onwards, surrounded by a strange demonic family: the giant of aggression, the hideous shrinking man and the silent child. Together they travel from their lonely island home into a land of rain and blood, where the last remnants of humanity desperately hold on to the spark of life against a growing flood of the undead, and where either sanity or truth will finally be unravelled. Heal The Sick, Raise The Dead is the second novel from Jacob Prytherch, author of The Binary Man. |
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The Binary Man by Jacob Prytherch Three lives collide in this #1 UK cyberpunk thriller. Yannick Meyer's life seems locked in a downward spiral, before a knock at the door changes everything. Offworld opportunity promises a release from the rampant pollution and social decay of Earth, although the bright lights of Washington station cast their own shadows, ones which are not so easily shaken off. Alice Howe stumbles upon a seemingly harmless signal that draws her into a vicious war between corporations. Toshihiro Sato watches the funeral of someone that only he truly knows, losing count of how many he has consigned to death. These three stories are wound together through The Binary Man, the first true magician. |
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Until My Soul Gets It Right (The Bibliophiles Book 2) by Karen Wojcik Berner From the author of "A Whisper to a Scream" comes a story about growing up, making peace with your past, and finding a little love along the way. In her first novel, Karen Wojcik Berner introduced book club members Sarah and Annie. Now, itâs time for another bibliophile to take center stage. Catherine Elbert has never been good at making decisions, whether it was choosing an ice cream flavor as a small child, or figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. The only thing Catherine knew for sure was there had to be more to life than being stuck on her familyâs farm in Wisconsin. While watching a PBS travel show, Catherine becomes entranced by Portland, Maine. The ocean. The lobsters. The rugged coast. Nothing could be more different from the flat, nondescript farmlands of Burkesville. Despite her parents threatening to disown her and her brothers taking bets on how many days until she comes home, Catherine settles on Peaks Island, off the coast of Portland. She was finally free. Or so she thought. âUntil My Soul Gets It Rightâ is the second book in Bernerâs Bibliophiles series. Unlike most series that follow one character through various adventures, each Bibliophiles novel focuses on one or two members of a fictional suburban classics book club, revealing their personal stories while the group explores tales spun by the masters. This edition contains a Reader's Guide and book club discussion questions. |
