Zoe Clarke has a strong prayer life, a good job, loyal friends... and today she was going to marry her college sweetheart and make a lifelong commitment to marriage and family. Then, minutes before the wedding her fiancé dumps her for his pregnant girlfriend-and little by little, Zoe discovers that everything else she thought was solid isn't what it seems. With her faith shaken and her life in turmoil, Zoe finds unexpected help from Chase Farr, a mighty man of God and her fiancé's former best man. But the sudden attraction between them confuses her and proves hard to resist. As Zoe struggles to find her way, she discovers that the ultimate love is from The One who loved her first.

"The true sequel to Twain's masterpiece." —The Christian Science Monitor At the start of this exuberant adventure story, Huck Finn's life is back to normal in St. Petersburg, Missouri: The Widow Douglas expects him to wear clean clothes and eat with a knife and fork, and Jim now gets paid two dollars a week for the same chores he did as a slave. But when tragedy strikes and Huck is framed for the murder of Judge Thatcher, the two old friends have no choice but to finally "light out for the Territory"—and straight into the chaos of the California Gold Rush. With tenacious lawman Bulldog Barrett in hot pursuit, Huck and Jim zigzag west, encountering a colorful cast of con artists, vixens, outlaws, and Indians along the way. Huck's dastardly Pap even makes an appearance, rising from a watery grave to menace his son once again. When the adventurers visit a rowdy San Francisco theater, they find their greatest surprise yet: A...

Good detective work allowed the pair to arrest and charge a fellow policeman, who murdered an undercover officer in an attempt to keep a crook–police racket secret. But their work is not yet done. Who ordered the execution? Why? Just how high did the conspiracy go? And – and most importantly – does the crooked power group behind the assassin still flourish?There are questions that remain to be answered – so when the home office decides to reopen the case, it is Harpur and Iles to whom the investigation is once more handed.

Paul Theroux, one of the world’s most popular authors, both for his travel books and his fiction, has produced an off-beat story of 1960s weirdos unlike anything he has ever written.During the time of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency, Herbie Gneiss is forced to leave college to get a job. His income from the Kant-Brake toy factory, which manufactures military toys for children, keeps his chocolate-loving mother from starvation. Mr. Gibbon, a patriotic veteran of three wars, also works at Kant-Brake. When Herbie is drafted, Mr. Gibbon falls in love with Herbie’s mother and they move in together at Miss Ball’s rooming house. Since Herbie is fighting for his country, Mr. Gibbon feels that he, too, should do something for his country and convinces Miss Ball and Mrs. Gneiss to join him in the venture. They decide to rob the Mount Holly Trust Company because it is managed by a small dark man who is probably a communist. There are some complications. Combine...

From Publishers WeeklyTheroux (The Old Patagonian Express, The Great Railway Bazaar) spent a year exploring China by train, and his impressions about what has and has not changed in the country, as gathered in hundreds of conversations with Chinese citizens, make up a large portion of the book. The Cultural Revolution and the vandalism of the Red Guards have left scars on both the land and the people. Mao's death brought a collective sigh of relief from the population; reforms brought about under Deng Xiaoping have generally been welcomed. Still, this is not a political book. Whether describing his dealings with a rock-hard bureaucracy, musing over the Chinese flirtation with capitalismthey've "turned the free market into a flea market"or commenting on the process of traveling, Theroux conducts the reader through this enormous country with wisdom, humor and a crusty warmth. Along the way are anecdotes about classic Chinese pornography (forbidden to the citizenry, but all right for "foreign friends"); 35-below-zero weather; the Chinese penchant for restructuring nature; and the omnipresent thermos of hot water for making tea. The last chapter, "The Train to Tibet," deals with the extremes to which the Chinese have gone in their attempts to subjugate the Tibetan people. Theroux develops an understanding of China through his travels, but he falls in love with Tibet. As in his previous works, he gives the reader much to relish and think about. BOMC featured selection. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalTheroux's penchant for train travel is well knownhis Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express are modern travel classics. On his latest jaunt he takes almost a year to crisscross China, traveling on 40 trains from the southern tropics to the wastelands of the Gobi in western Xinjiang to the dense metropolises of Shanghai, Beijing, and Canton. What emerges is a curious melange of ancient and modern: while some things are literally changing overnight, the Chinese still manufacture spittoons and steam engines. For Theroux, traveling is both about peopletheir thoughts, customs, and peculiaritiesand a form of autobiography, and here we learn as much about his own quirks and fancies as we do about the intriguing world of contemporary China. Laurence Hull, Cannon Memorial Lib., Concord, N.C.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Never a dull moment . . . Vivid and deft." — New York Review of Books Maude Pratt is a legend, a photographer famous for her cutting-edge techniques and uncanny ability to strip away the masks of the world's most recognizable celebrities and luminaries. Now in her seventies, Maude has been in the public eye since the 1920s, and her unparalleled portfolio includes intimate portraits of Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, and Picasso. While Maude possesses a singular capability to expose the inner lives of her subjects, she is obsessive about protecting her own, hiding her deepest secret in the "picture palace" of her memory. But when a young archivist comes to stay in Maude's Cape Cod home and begins sorting through her fifty years of work, Maude is forced to face her past and come to terms, at last, with the tragedies she's buried. "A breathtaking tale . . . Intangibly, intricately brilliant." — Telegraph (UK)

Product Description"C.S. Friedman makes fantastic things-and frightening things-seem very real." -New York Times bestselling author Tad Williams. The young peasant woman Kamala has proven strong and determined enough to claim the most powerful Magister sorcery for herself-but now the Magisters hunt her for killing one of their own. Her only hope of survival lies in the northern Protectorates, where spells are warped by a curse called the Wrath that even the Magisters fear. Originally intended to protect the lands of men from creatures known only as souleaters, the Wrath appears to be weakening-and the threat of this ancient enemy is once more falling across the land. About the AuthorC.S. Friedman is a John W. Campbell Award finalist, and a New York Times Notable Author. She lives in Virginia.

Join Annie Peterson, mother of the bride, as she solve crimes on her way to the wedding. In book one (The Wedding Caper) a $25,000 night deposit mysteriously disappears from the Clark County Savings and Loan, and Annie Peterson takes on the role of amateur sleuth to solve the mystery. Only one problem. . .she knows nothing about crime solving! With loads of humor and just enough of a mystery to make you wonder whodunit, this story is perfect for a cozy read. Note: This book has a Christian, faith-based message. Janice Thompson, author of more than 100 books for the Christian market, offers readers an inspirational, yet wacky story!From the AuthorFrom the AuthorWelcome to the wacky, wonderful world of inspirational author Janice Hanna Thompson, where romantic comedy rules the day, and where sleuths like Annie Peterson turn their world (and yours) upside-down to solve the case! I hope you love to laugh, because I make it my goal to tickle your funny bone at every turn in my light-hearted tales. Why do I focus on the light-hearted stuff? Because life is hard! My readers lead busy, chaotic lives and need those special "Calgon, Take Me Away!" moments! Providing "Love, Laughter and Happily Ever Afters" brings me great delight. Lest you think it's all fluff, think again! Woven between the lines of each cheerful tale you will find the ultimate love story, one guaranteed to stir your soul and get your heart fluttering. Talk about a real happily ever after!There's something for everyone in my inspirational romances, so settle back in your chair, grab a cup of Earl Grey tea, and get ready to discover "whodunit" with the wackiest sleuth in town!About the AuthorJanice Thompson has authored over 100 books for the Christian market and loves sharing her faith through the written word.

The spirit of the season is festive—and clouding even the sharpest of judgments—in this Victorian era romance, perfect for fans of Jude Deveraux and Sabrina Jeffries.At a house party in the countryside, the joyful spirit of the Christmas season threatens to sweep Georgiana Trent under the mistletoe—and back into the arms of the dashing rogue who broke her heart two years ago. Little does she know that Lucas Godwin has no intention of leaving until he has reclaimed her as his own.

Julian Kane is back in town.Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane—who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires.Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster.Julian knows he must drive Portia away—but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch....

"This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending," writes Elizabeth McCracken in her powerful, inspiring memoir. A prize-winning, successful novelist in her 30s, McCracken was happy to be an itinerant writer and self-proclaimed spinster. But suddenly she fell in love, got married, and two years ago was living in a remote part of France, working on her novel, and waiting for the birth of her first child. This book is about what happened next. In her ninth month of pregnancy, she learned that her baby boy had died. How do you deal with and recover from this kind of loss? Of course you don't--but you go on. And if you have ever experienced loss or love someone who has, the company of this remarkable book will help you go on. With humor and warmth and unfailing generosity, McCracken considers the nature of love and grief. She opens her heart and leaves all of ours the richer for it. From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. McCracken tells her own story in this touching and often unexpectedly funny memoir about her life before and after losing her first child in the ninth month of pregnancy. As difficult as it must have been to read aloud, McCrackens delivery is courageous and never self-pitying. McCracken is forthright about the tragedy, telling the listener early on that a baby dies in this book, but that another one is born. McCrackens reading is enthralling and deeply moving, as if she is relating this intimate journey directly to each listener individually from a dark, candle-lit room, in an unforgettable performance. A Little, Brown hardcover (reviewed online). (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromIn Elizabeth McCracken’s heartrending memoir—a love letter to the child she lost and the devoted husband who suffered alongside her—McCracken displays her many talents. Her warmth, candor, crystalline prose, lovely imagery, and attention to detail bring her painful story to life. McCracken’s dark sense of humor ensnares unwitting readers, belying the sadness with which she writes, and she shows very little patience for self-pity and sentimentality. Critics praised her clear-eyed account in a genre replete with syrupy, self-aggrandizing books, though some expressed doubts that its subject matter would have wide appeal. “I’m not ready for my first child to fade into history,” explains McCracken. With this heartbreaking account of his life, there’s little chance of that.Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

Recovering from last year's Las Vegas trip-from-hell, Long Beach literary agent Charlie Greene is looking forward to spending this year's vacation at home. No manuscript reading, no needy clients, no killer commute for a whole week - just some good, old-fashioned rest and relaxation. But before Charlie's peaceful vacation even starts, her daughter's rambunctious cat, Tuxedo, causes her to stumble across the body of neighbor Jeremy Fielder, murdered in the front seat of his truck. And investigating officers are quick to remind Charlie that this isn't her first dead body. Now their quiet Southern California suburban community is becoming more hectic than rush hour on the L.A. freeway as Charlie and her zany neighbors face-off against nosy police officers, insatiable reporters, and a killer determined to drive them away. Another fabulous addition to Millhiser's acclaimed series, Killer Commute is a comical ride through a mystery sure to be a smash with both...

The Dead Father is a gargantuan half-dead, half-alive, part mechanical, wise, vain, powerful being who still has hopes for himself—even while he is being dragged by means of a cable toward a mysterious goal. In this extraordinary novel, marked by the imaginative use of language that influenced a generation of fiction writers, Donald Barthelme offered a glimpse into his fictional universe. As Donald Antrim writes in his introduction, "Reading The Dead Father, one has the sense that its author enjoys an almost complete artistic freedom . . . a permission to reshape, misrepresent, or even ignore the world as we find it . . . Laughing along with its author, we escape anxiety and feel alive."

The Angelini Shoe Company, one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village, has been making exquisite wedding shoes since 1903 but now teeters on the brink of financial collapse. To save their business from ruin, thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli--apprentice to and granddaughter of master artisan Teodora Angelini--must bring the family's old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century. Juggling her budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother in a quest to build a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. And in the course of discovering her true artistic voice and so much more in la bella Italia, Valentine will be turning her life and the business upside down in ways she never expected.

The final installment of bestselling P. B. Kerr's magical Children of the Lamp series!Djinn twins John and Philippa are off on another enchanting, and dangerous, adventure in the last book in the bestselling Children of the Lamp series. As volcanoes begin erupting all over the world, spilling golden lava, the twins must go on a hunt for the wicked djinn who wants to rob the grave of the great Genghis Khan. Can the twins stop this latest disaster before the world is overwhelmed?Join John and Philippa, their parents, Uncle Nimrod, and Groanin as they must defeat an evil more powerful than any they've ever faced before. . . .

Keeping her safe at all costsCould their backgrounds be any more different? Rick Vasquez, a K-9 unit sergeant with the San Diego Police Department, fled drug-related violence in Mexico as a boy. Madison Long, who recently became primary veterinarian to the SDPD's canines, is the privileged daughter of a judge. Rick has dedicated his life to curtailing cross-border drug trafficking and preventing other young boys from being drawn into the dark world of the cartels. But everything Rick and Madison value, and the growing love between them, is threatened by the dangers of Rick's job, and the risks he's determined to take...

"First up, a disclaimer. I suspect I am a dead man. I have meagre proof, no framed- up certification, nothing to toss in a court of law as evidence of a rapid departure from the mortal coil. I recall a gun was involved, pressed up against my skull, and a loud explosion followed."Thus begins our narrator in a purgatorial tour through twentieth-century Japanese history, with a ghostly geisha who has seen it all as a guide and a corrupt millionaire as her reluctant companion.Thrown into the milieu are saké, B-29s, Lewis Carroll, Sir Thomas Malory, Melbourne, 'The Wizard of Oz', and a dirigible - along with the allusion that Red Riding Hood might just be involved.

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are joined by Suspect heroes LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Maggie, in the new heart-stopping thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Robert Crais. Loyalty, commitment, and the fight for justice have always driven Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If they make a promise, they keep it. Even if it could get them killed.             When Elvis Cole is secretly hired to find a grief-stricken mother, he's led to an ordinary house on a rainy night in Echo Park.  Only the house isn't ordinary, and the people hiding inside are a desperate fugitive and a murderous criminal with his own dangerous secrets.             As helicopters swirl overhead, Scott and Maggie track the fugitive to this same house, coming face-to-face with Mr. Rollins, a killer who leaves behind a brutally murdered body and enough explosives to destroy the neighborhood.  Scott is now the only person who can identify him, but Mr. Rollins has a rule:  Never leave a witness alive.      For all of them, the night is only beginning.      Sworn to secrecy by his client, Elvis finds himself targeted by the police even as Mr. Rollins targets Maggie and Scott.  As Mr. Rollins closes in for the kill, Elvis and Joe join forces with Scott and Maggie to follow a trail of lies where no one is who they claim -- and the very woman they promised to save might get them all killed. **