The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity

      Kurt Vonnegut
     The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity

The Eden Express describes from the inside Mark Vonnegut's experience in the late '60s and early '70s--a recent college grad; in love; living communally on a farm, with a famous and doting father, cherished dog, and prized jalopy--and then the nervous breakdowns in all their slow-motion intimacy, the taste of mortality and opportunity for humor they provided, and the grim despair they afforded as well. That he emerged to write this funny and true book and then moved on to find the meaningful life that for a while had seemed beyond reach is what ultimately happens in The Eden Express. But the real story here is that throughout his harrowing experience his sense of humor let him see the humanity of what he was going through, and his gift of language let him describe it in such a moving way that others could begin to imagine both its utter ordinariness as well as the madness we all share.

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    The Rescuer

      Joyce Carol Oates
     The Rescuer

Lydia is a graduate student in cultural anthropology—a fellow at a prestigious university, with a bright future ahead of her. Harvey, her brother, is a seminary student driven by his god-besotted studies. The two have never shared much of anything except a mutual desire to escape the stifling confines of the home they grew up in and the parents they left behind. But when Lydia's estranged parents call her to say Harvey has mysteriously dropped out of seminary, Lydia begrudgingly sets out to "rescue" him—though the dark path into Harvey's new world leads Lydia herself through a threatening terrain of addiction, sexuality, and violence. An astute, insightful, and mordant examination of faith, family, and sibling ties, The Rescuer is Joyce Carol Oates at her best.

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    Falling for the Girl Next Door

      Tera Lynn Childs
     Falling for the Girl Next Door

Sloane Whitaker never expected to like living in Texas, but after a few months in the Lone Star State, she has to admit she likes the food, the school, and the boy next door. What she doesn’t like is the fact that half her family is still back in New York. Convincing her dad to relocate to Texas requires making their upcoming visit as perfect as possible. The perfect dinner, the perfect daughter…with the perfect boyfriend. But when her not-so-perfect boyfriend Tru Dorsey is suddenly not-so-available, Sloane has to find another dad-impressing guy to show off at dinner. Tru himself suggests enlisting the help of a fake boyfriend, but the reality of another guy with Sloane on his arm might be more than Tru can manage. Add in a mysterious blackmailer and a divided family, and Sloane and Tru’s relationship might not be able to handle the heat. Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a bad boy next door, the good girl who snags his heart, and one epically disastrous ruse-gone-wrong. Join the fun at your own risk.

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    House of Meetings

      Martin Amis
     House of Meetings

With The House of Meetings, Martin Amis may finally have written the novel his critics thought would never come. By taming his signature (and polarizing) stylistic high-wire act, Amis has crafted a sober tale of love and cynicism against the grim curtain of Stalin's Russia. The book's anonymous narrator--a Red Army veteran and unapologetic war criminal--and his passive, poetic half-brother, Lev, become pinned in a politically dangerous love triangle with the exotic Zoya, though their tactics (and intentions) are as divergent as their personalities. Swept up in the wave of Stalin's paranoid purges, the brothers are sent independently to Norlag, a Siberian internment camp where their respective fates are cast through their contrasting reactions to the depravity of the prison. Zoya and Lev share a night in "The House of Meetings," a room provided for conjugal visits with the prisoners, and the events of that night reverberate through the decades, the details of the liaison remaining concealed until the story's devastating denouement. Amis's main achievement is his depiction of the cruel realities of the Soviet gulags. Drawing heavily on his research for Koba the Dread: Laughter and the Twenty Million, his half-history/half-memoir of political imprisonment and mass killing in Soviet Russia, Amis has created his own Animal Farm--without metaphors to mask the blood, filth, and death of the camps. Amis vividly recreates the social structure of gulag life, as the inmates and guards sort themselves into distinct hierarchies and stations in their struggles to survive the rigors of the gulag. Here The House of Meetings may accomplish what Amis had intended for the unfocused Koba: to cast a searing light on an often overlooked episode of 20th century inhumanity, injustice, and murder. --Jon Foro

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    The Stranger's Shadow

      Max Frei
     The Stranger's Shadow

THE STRANGER'S SHADOW continues the adventures of Sir Max - the one-time loser who now heads the Minor Secret Investigative Force - as he hunts down trespassing monsters and investigates the use of illegal magic in the supernatural world of Echo. Joining Max on his adventures are Sir Melifaro, Sir Juffin Hully, Sir Kofa Yox, and a bizarre cast of otherworldly characters. When people begin to die in Echo, Max must travel to the Dark Side of Echo to destroy the Lonely Shadow - the shadows of the dead. But defeating the Lonely Shadow isn't the end of this battle. Someone has been using the shadows to attack Echo, which will lead the redoubtable Max into a realm of unparalleled danger. Will he be able to defend his adopted home, or will he be forced to return to our mundane world?

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    Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)

      Cynthia Eden
     Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)

Some bonds go deeper than blood…they go to the very soul. New Orleans detective Jane Hart is a vampire. She craves blood, has supernatural strength, and when the mood hits her just right, she can grow one killer pair of fangs. She never counted on being a vamp, but she also never counted on falling hard for werewolf alpha Aidan Locke. Now she’s mated to the wolf, and even though she’s living the undead life, Aidan refuses to leave her side. But Jane is being watched, hunted…tested. And each deadly test that she faces puts Jane—and the people she loves—in the path of a determined killer. She has to find out who is setting her up, before it’s too late. Too late for Jane. Too late for Aidan. He claimed her…and she obsessed him. Because now her lover is the one who is changing. Jane’s blood has infected Aidan and the wolf that lives within him is fighting for survival. Each battle…each dark test that their enemy puts in their path…each move slides Aidan closer to the edge. A darkness is growing inside of him. A darkness that is slowly consuming the man he’s been… And leaving only the monster behind. When blood and darkness rule, even mates can be torn apart. In the final book of the BLOOD AND MOONLIGHT trilogy, Jane and Aidan will find out who they can really trust…and who has been waiting to destroy them all along. Are you ready for the end?**

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    The Opium-Eater

      David Morrell
     The Opium-Eater

FROM BESTSELLING THRILLER AUTHOR DAVID MORRELL COMES A BROODING THOMAS DE QUINCEY TALE ABOUT THE COLDEST OF DEATHS AND THEIR HEARTBREAKING AFTERMATH. Thomas De Quincey—the central character of Morrell's acclaimed Victorian mysteries, Murder as a Fine Art and Inspector of the Dead—was one of the most notorious and brilliant literary personalities of the 1800s. His infamous Confessions of an English Opium-Eater made history as the first book about drug dependency. He invented the word "subconscious" and anticipated Freud's psychoanalytic theories by more than a half century. His blood-soaked essays and stories influenced Edgar Allan Poe, who in turn inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes. But at the core of his literary success lies a terrible tragedy. In this special-edition novella, based on real-life events, Morrell shares De Quincey's story of a horrific snowstorm in which a mother and father died and their six...

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    Raw Deal

      Cherrie Lynn
     Raw Deal

Savannah's brother was killed in a cage fight with Mike "Red Reaper" Larson after a savage punch to the head. When Mike shows up at the funeral, he's nothing like Savannah expected. Gone is the fierce, brutal beast she's seen in the cage. In his place is a beautiful man torn with guilt, seeking forgiveness, and willing to do anything to ease her pain.Her family doesn't approve, but her heart doesn't stand a chance. Irresistibly drawn together, neither of them can deny the intoxicating desire unleashed between them, turning their pain into the most exquisite pleasure. But every time Mike steps into the cage, Savannah knows she could lose him too. She can't go through that again, but how can she let go of the one man who sets her body and soul on fire?

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    The Haunting Hour

      R. L. Stine
     The Haunting Hour

Ten terrifying tales that will haunt you forever . . .Read the spine-tingling story of a baby-sitter who loves evil tricks . . . the terrifying tale of a boy who dared to lie down in the tomb of an ancient mummy . . . the ghastly story of two boys just dying to have the scariest Halloween ever?.?.?.?and more.These are the original stories that inspired the hit TV show R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. This bone-chilling collection of ten of the author's most frightful tales is guaranteed to give you chills in the night and turn any dream into a nightmare.

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    Bad Kitty

      Michele Jaffe
     Bad Kitty

Meet Jasmine,1 forensic supersleuth,2 aspiring Model Daughter,3 and friend to animals.4 One second she's trying to enjoy her Vegas Vacation,5 the next she's tangled up in an outrageous adventure and has to outwit a crazed killer before he ends ten lives, one of them her own.61 Hi! That's me!2 I. Wish. 3 Emphasis on aspiring. Current status: failing.4 If friend means "unsuspecting victim" and animals means "one very bad kitty."5 And meet the cute guy at the Snack Hut. I have priorities.6 Meep! But I guess it winds up okay since Kirkus Reviews says: "Inventive, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny, with an enjoyably...

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    If She Only Knew

      Lisa Jackson
     If She Only Knew

She Woke Up With A New Face...Not only has Marla Cahill survived a deadly car accident, but her beautiful features have been restored through plastic surgery. She should be grateful. Instead, she's consumed by confusion...and panic. For the people gathered at her bedside—her family—are strangers. And so is the woman whose haunted eyes stare back from the mirror...She Woke Up With No Memories... Secluded at the magnificent Cahill mansion, Marla waits for something to trigger recognition. Yet the only thing she's left with is the unshakable feeling that she is not who everyone says she is, and that something is very, very wrong. . ....And She Woke Up To MurderDetermined to piece together the truth of her identity, she finds herself drawn to her brother-in-law, Nick—a man who seems both to want and despise her. And as her fractured mind slowly clears, Marla begins to have flashes of another life. . .of cruel betrayals and...

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