When Allie's friend Bettina begs her to help her aunt contact a dead relative, Allie decides to join the Exorcists’ Club. Playing with ghosts can be dangerous, so Allie needs all her detective skills—and the help of her friends—to solve the creepy and compelling mystery of Eloise.

Agnes, Cecelia, and Lucy watched as Sebastian sacrificed himself for what he believed in. Will the girls trust that their destiny as saints and martyrs and perform the miracles as Sebastian instructed? Or lose faith in themselves and each other in his absence? Time is running out for them to make a decision, and the fate of the world lies in the balance.

At three-and-a-half feet tall, Pinty Lightbottom is the shortest bar-owner and professional adventurer in all the realms. When his ex-fiancée is kidnapped, Pinty is conscripted to bring her home. Things get complex when the rescue leads Pinty into a full-on war inside the local thieves guild.In solving the mystery, Pinty is abused, beaten, stabbed, sliced, clawed, drowned, berated and poisoned.At three-and-a-half feet tall, Pinty Lightbottom is the shortest psychopathic bar-owner and professional adventurer in all the realms.When his ex-fiancée is kidnapped, her father conscripts Pinty to bring her back home. Things get more complex when the rescue mission leads Pinty into the middle of a full-on war inside the local thieves guild.In doing what he does best, Pinty is abused, beaten, stabbed, sliced, clawed, drowned, berated, poisoned and otherwise exploited by everybody he meets. It doesn’t help that his ego well exceeds his cranium (so one might say the abuse is well earned).As he cuts a bloody swath through the mystery of the guild war, we meet his many companions, including his ever loyal Muel; Mavis, the head cook of his pub The Bottom Up; and Gloom, a cat with the nasty habit of turning invisible in a murderous rage of hunger.

The mutant white rat had grown and mated, creating offspring in its own image. They dominated the others, the dark-furred ones, who foraged for food and brought it back to the lair. Now the dark rats were restless, and the white slug-like thing that ruled them remembered the taste of human flesh.

The balance between the sun and the fog crystals has been destroyed. The ancient peace between the crystal miners and traders has been usurped by the betrayal of the fog crystal's ancient protector. His desire for power will lead the world into death through conformity. How will the spreading fog be stopped and balance returned to the world?(3,737 words)Four decades had passed since the last Relic war ravished the oppositional lands of Windpass Isles and Gaedia – a war that ceased in a bloodied truce.Drewth is a Light Elemental and Commander knight under Western Gaedia’s lordship, Syndirin - a high wizard and the king’s Arbiter. Syndirin, with questionable and unclear motive, promotes Drewth as his apprentice, and commences the personal training of Drewth in the ways of magic. Drewth then becomes the unwitting subject of Syndirin’s experimental meddle with the mythical powers of Darkened Light, despite the danger, and despite what sacrifice.Torius, a castle knight in Southern Windpass Isles kingdom and Mundane-born, is taken captive by a conspiratorial clique under Lord Syndirin, where he discovers from these captors their insidious campaign to rekindle the long dead Relic war, in pursuit of Relic’s power.Enflamed by an unforgivable betrayal of Syndirin, vengeance transforms Drewth forever within – his Element undergoes a rare alteration, he turns renegade to Gaedia, and allies with Torius, the escaped prisoner of Syndirin’s clique. Together they battle for their lives out from the now enemy territory of Gaedia.They find themselves fatefully party to a band of peasant prisoners with rare abilities invoked from the trials they face in their likewise escape from the treasonous Arbiter, Syndirin.And if odds turn to favor in their fight for survival, there is still threat to hand of a devastating magic war, a campaign in itself to acquire both kingdom’s all-powerful Relics in the wake of their mutual destruction.

Two slightly suspect larrikins working a small remote Central Australian mine celebrate Christmas there during the height of a typically oppressive summer – hot as buggery, the odd whirlywind trying to tear their shelter apart, not a breath of wind otherwise, bushflies by the million – and a perceived wrong they see as needing a slight umm ... “adjustment”.After watching Glenn Beck's film, The Man in the Moon, I thought about the Earth and how it is a living thing. I read many scriptures and struggled how I would write this. One Sunday I thought about the Earth receiving the blood the Savior spilled. How horrible that must have been! This thought stayed with me for a week and then the next Sunday morning, the whole story came to me except for a few edits. It was an amazing experience! I hope it stirs others to think as I did and that new thoughts might settle in the heart to feel joy in the blessing of Mother Earth!

Life had not been easy for Sue, a large American woman. In fact, it had generally been painful. Hoping to change her circumstances, she grasps the opportunity to volunteer with a Non Governmental Organization in Central America. The reality she encounters is quite different from that which she had hoped for and expected.Teddy Redburn returns to his hometown of Los Hombres after selling his mattress factory in Las Vegas. On his first night home, several townspeople glimpse Teddy's satchel which is crammed with cash. Teddy subsequently vanishes and this triggers a crazed search of his childhood mansion and the town environs.

One Masquerade Ball. One Chance to Reveal All Secret Desires. One Fiery Encounter. One Shot at Love. Are you ready to reveal all? A Man Who Knows What He Wants… Leonardo Sinclair never expected to fall for the fierce, yet vulnerable woman he meets at his friend’s masquerade party, or for her to disappear without a trace. When his cousins sign him up with the mysterious FANTA-C agency, he finds her back in his bed. This time Leo’s not about to let her go. But can he convince her she’s safe to reveal every hidden part of her soul before she walks out of his life again for good? A Woman Ready to Explore her Desires… Scarlett Rose has always been tempted to explore her wilder side, but for years she’d been humiliated and emotionally abused by her ex. Now that he’s gone, she’s finally ready to embrace her true self. Safely hidden behind a mask, she attends a ball held in the famous Blasphemy club and meets the man who not only embraces her, but demands her complete surrender. Once the mask is stripped away, will she be brave enough to reveal her entire self and take another risk on love? Or will her past ruin the chance of a brand new future? A Special Crossover Release with Laura Kaye’s Theirs to Take, A New Book in Blasphemy Series Two Hot Fantasies. One Night at Blasphemy.

The greatest story in modern history has a new chapter.... Posing as newlyweds, two ruthless thieves board the Titanic to rob its well-heeled passengers. But an even more shocking plan is afoot-a sensational scheme that could alter the fate of the world's most famous ship. BookShots LIGHTNING-FAST STORIES BY JAMES PATTERSON Novels you can devour in a few hours Impossible to stop reading All original content from James Patterson

Skinner's Room is a short story by William Gibson originally composed for Visionary San Francisco, a 1990 museum exhibition exploring the future of San Francisco. It features the first appearance in Gibson's fiction of "the Bridge", which Gibson revisited as the setting of his acclaimed Bridge trilogy of novels. In the story, the Bridge is overrun by squatters, among them Skinner, who occupies a shack atop a bridgetower. An altered version of the story was published in Omni magazine and subsequently anthologized. "Skinner's Room" was nominated for the 1992 Locus Award for Best Short Story.

A birthday bash sets the scene for a frightening reunion with a killer from Eve Dallas's past. At exactly 7:30 p.m., Walter Pettibone arrived home to over a hundred friends and family shouting, surprise! It was his birthday. Although he had known about the planned event for weeks, the real surprise was yet to come. At 8:45 p.m., a woman with emerald eyes and red hair handed him a glass of champagne. One sip of birthday bubbly, and he was dead. The woman's name is Julie Dockport. No one at the party knew who she was. But Detective Eve Dallas remembers her all too well. Eve was personally responsible for her incarceration nearly ten years ago. And now, let out on good behavior, she still has nothing but bad intentions. It appears she wants to meet Dallas again -- in a reunion neither will forget.

Her power-hungry husband takes pleasure in her pain, but she’s done playing the victim. Three years ago, ex-operative Sophie Jordan made the mistake of falling in love—and marrying—her target. Now she’s paying for it tenfold. Her husband might be one of the sexiest men alive, but he’s also a psychopath. She’s been a virtual prisoner, and the time has come for retribution—and escape. Undercover agent Malcolm Gunnison has his orders: get intel from Sophie’s arms-dealer husband, then kill him. He plans to get rid of her, too, if she gets in his way, but he’s unprepared when she gets under his skin instead. Whose side is she on? And what is she hiding behind those mesmerizing eyes? Sophie vowed to never fall for another man again, but this sexy undercover agent is different. With danger mounting, can Malcolm and Sophie trust each other—and their growing passion—enough to get out of this operation alive?

Get swept away in the romantic fantasy of this national bestselling author's world of Sevenwaters The young seer Sibeal is visiting an island of elite warriors, prior to making her final pledge as a druid. It's there she finds Felix, a survivor of a Viking shipwreck, who's lost his memory. The scholarly Felix and Sibeal form a natural bond. He could even be her soul mate, but Sibeal's vocation is her true calling, and her heart must answer. As Felix fully regains his memory, Sibeal has a runic divination showing her that Felix must go on a perilous mission-and that she will join him. The rough waters and the sea creatures they will face are no match for Sibeal's own inner turmoil. She must choose between the two things that tug at her soul-her spirituality and a chance at love...

In this riveting, ambitious novel from James A. Michener, the renowned chronicler of epic history turns his extraordinary imagination to a world he knew better than anyone: the world of books. Lukas Yoder, a novelist who has enjoyed a long, successful career, has finished what he believes to be his final work. Then a tragedy strikes in his community, and he becomes obsessed with writing about it. Meanwhile, Yoder’s editor fights to preserve her integrity—and her author—as her firm becomes the target of a corporate takeover; a local critic who teaches literature struggles with his ambitions and with his feelings about Yoder’s success; and a devoted reader holds the key to solving the mystery that haunts Yoder’s hometown. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for The Novel “Michener explores some of the deepest issues raised by narrative literature.”—The New York Times “A good, old-fashioned, sink-your-teeth-into-it story . . . The Novel lets us see an unfamiliar side of the author, at the same time portraying the delicate, complex relationship among editors, agents and writers.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Michener loves literature, and his information about some of his favorite reading is almost as alluring as his explanation of how to handle a manuscript.”*—Associated Press “So absorbing you simply will not want [it] to end.”—Charleston *News & Courier

For the first time Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles are available in the United States in quality paperback editions. Second in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Queen's Play follows Frances Crawford of Lymond who has been abruptly called into the service of Mary Queen of Scots. Though she is only a little girl, the Queen is already the object of malicious intrigues that extend from her native country to the court of France. It is to France that Lymond must travel, exercising his sword hand and his agile wit while also undertaking the most unlikely of masquerades, all to make sure that his charge's royal person stays intact. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Caught in an ancient battle between good and evil, the Knights of White have for centuries walked the line between darkness and light. As this army of immortals battles to protect humanity from the Darkland Beasts, soulless demons intent upon destruction, each Knight is torn between the beast he carries within his soul and the goodness he longs to embrace. And his only salvation lies in finding his chosen mate, the woman who can calm his beast for all eternity. Enter Lisa Renee Jones's spellbinding world of fantasy and adventure in this enthralling bundle, which includes The Beast Within, Beast of Desire, Return of the Beast and Beast of Darkness.

Patrick O'Brian has emerged, in the opinion of many, as one of the greatest novelists now writing in English. His fame rests mainly on the achievement of the epic Aubrey/Maturin novels, but few readers know that O'Brian first made his reputation as a writer of short fiction. Collected here for the first time are twenty-seven stories that O'Brian wishes to preserve: stories of uncommon lyricism and beauty that will confirm his rightful place in the front rank of short-story writers as well as of novelists. Although the tone of this collection ranges effortlessly from the humorous to the dramatic, the most characteristic and memorable stories often have to do with a glimpse of savage, destructive forces through the fragile shell of human civilization. The threatened chaos may be psychological, as in "On the Wolfsberg," or it may be lurking in the natural world, as in "A Passage of the Frontier," or, as in the dark masterpiece "The Chian Wine," it is suddenly discovered in the ancient, irrational impulses of human nature. The setting may be the marshes of western Ireland, the Pyrenees, or the claustrophobic confines of a clockmender's house, but each story is a showcase for Patrick O'Brian's fresh and meticulous prose; each story reaffirms his sympathetic understanding of human passion and suffering. This collection proves that O'Brian is not simply the master of a genre, but an author who will long be honored as one of our most eminent literary figures.

Tempest: His name is Christian Knolls. He’s thirty-eight. He’s the headmaster of my school. And literally everything about him makes me want to drop to my knees in front of him and worship his body. Every single thought I’ve had since that day in his office has revolved around wanting him to tear my clothes from my body, bend me over his desk, and do every single filthy, depraved thing that he wants to me. Christian: Her name is Tempest Kensington. She’s eighteen years old. She’s my student. And I want to know what sounds she makes when she comes. I want to know how tight she’d feel as I emptied every drop of my cum deep inside her sweet little pussy. She's mine, she just doesn’t know it yet.

From his early days Wodehouse adored cricket and references to the game run like a golden thread though his writings. He not only wrote about this glorious British pastime, but also played it well, appearing six times at Lords, where his first captain was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Illustrated with wonderful drawings and contemporary score-sheets, Wodehouse at the Wicket is the first ever compendium of Wodehouse's writings on cricket. Edited by cricket historian Murray Hedgcock, this delightful book also contains fascinating facts about Wodehouse's cricketing career and how it is reflected in his work. This is the perfect gift for Wodehouse readers and fans of all things cricket.

In his introduction to this one hundredth volume of the beloved Best American Short Stories, guest editor T. C. Boyle writes, "The Model T gave way to the Model A and to the Ferrari and the Prius . . . modernism to postmodernism and post-postmodernism. We advance. We progress. We move on. But we are part of a tradition." Boyle's choices of stories reflect a vibrant range of characters, from a numb wife who feels alive only in the presence of violence to a new widower coming to terms with his sudden freedom, from a missing child to a champion speedboat racer. These stories will grab hold and surprise, which according to Boyle is "what the best fiction offers, and there was no shortage of such in this year's selections." Mulling over the question of character likability, series editor Heidi Pitlor asks, "Did I like these characters? I very much liked reading their stories, as did T. C. Boyle." Here are characters who "are living, breathing people who screw up...

The New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us creates a vivid portrait of marriage, family, and the haunting grief of World War II in this emotionally charged, beautifully rendered story that spans a generation, from the 1960s to the 1980s In 1965 Manhattan, patrons flock to Masha’s to savor its brisket bourguignon and impeccable service and to admire its dashing owner and head chef Peter Rashkin. With his movie-star good looks and tragic past, Peter, a survivor of Auschwitz, is the most eligible bachelor in town. But Peter does not care for the parade of eligible women who come to the restaurant hoping to catch his eye. He has resigned himself to a solitary life. Running Masha’s consumes him, as does his terrible guilt over surviving the horrors of the Nazi death camp while his wife, Masha—the restaurant’s namesake—and two young daughters perished. Then exquisitely beautiful June Bouquet, an up-and-coming young model, appears at the restaurant, piercing Peter’s guard. Though she is twenty years his junior, the two begin a passionate, whirlwind courtship. When June unexpectedly becomes pregnant, Peter proposes, believing that beginning a new family with the woman he loves will allow him to let go of the horror of the past. But over the next twenty years, the indelible sadness of those memories will overshadow Peter, June, and their daughter Elsbeth, transforming them in shocking, heartbreaking, and unexpected ways. Jenna Blum artfully brings to the page a husband devastated by a grief he cannot name, a frustrated wife struggling to compete with a ghost she cannot banish, and a daughter sensitive to the pain of both her own family and another lost before she was born. Spanning three cinematic decades, The Lost Family is a charming, funny, and elegantly bittersweet study of the repercussions of loss and love.