(1989) Dreamer
Peter James
The last night that Sam had the dream, she was seven years old; and that was the night her parents were to die. Twenty five years later her childhood is but a bad memory. Now married to a wealthy Eurobond dealer, she has a child, two homes and a highly successful career. An enviable lifestyle. But for Sam it is becoming a nightmare. Because the childhood dreams are returning - and this time they are coming true...Gradually and subtly, the dreams of the night foretell the disasters of the day - and no-one believes her, nothing can help her. As psychiatrists, clairvoyants and dream therapy fail her, she is left to confront the evil alone, without knowing its name: hallucination, premonition, reincarnation or psychic projection? Whatever it is, it won't relinquish its hold. And then Sam starts dreaming her own death...
The Laying on of Hands: Stories
Alan Bennett
Amazon.com ReviewWith his actor's ear for dialogue, his dead-on pacing, and his talent for social comedy, British playwright Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) is hardly lacking in literary gifts. The three stories in The Laying On of Hands, two of which have been filmed by the BBC, are funny in different ways. The title piece is a slow-to-ripen satire set at the Anglican funeral service of a handsome young masseur, whose clients turn out to include cabinet ministers, soap opera stars, and the presiding clergyman. The second story, "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," describes the odd relationship a pure-minded middle-aged woman develops with her charming chiropodist (podiatrist). And the final story, "Father! Father! Burning Bright," follows a mousy schoolteacher named Midgley through the self-searching and nurse-hunting days preceding his father's death in Intensive Care. The range and subtle coloration of Bennett's humor will appeal, especially, to readers of Robertson Davies and Muriel Spark. --Regina MarlerFrom Publishers WeeklyBennett hits the mark in the title novella of this brief collection, which also features a second, shorter novella as well as a single short story. The funeral of a masseur who serviced British celebrities in a variety of ways becomes the setting for a cheeky comedy of manners in the title yarn, as a young gay priest fails his first big test when he lets the final testimonials turn into an outrageous debate over whether the masseur died of AIDS or contracted an obscure disease while traveling in South America. The punch line falls flat in the second effort, "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," when a woman finds a mutual outlet for her unusual sexual fetish in her ongoing appointments with her podiatrist. The final novella, "Father! Father! Burning Bright," gets off to a murky start as a married, middle-aged schoolteacher struggles to sort through his mixed emotions when a stroke leaves his father at death's door, but the ending, involving the teacher's strange attraction to his father's comely nurse, closes the narrative with a nice satiric twist. Bennett's multileveled approach makes the title story work, as he slowly layers his conceit with observations on the celebrity scene in Britain and the priest's recollections of his romantic interaction with the deceased. Unfortunately, the quality of craft drops significantly in the other two efforts, with the second novella in particular focusing more on manners than comedy.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
All Wrapped Up
Holly Smale
All I want for Christmas is... a new GEEK GIRL story! Harriet Manners knows a lot about Christmas. She knows that every year Santa climbs down 91.8 million chimneys. She knows that Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was almost definitely a girl. She knows that the first artificial Christmas trees were made out of goose feathers. But this Christmas is extra special for Harriet, because four days ago she had her First Ever Kiss. Now she just needs to work out what's supposed to happen next... A romantic festive treat from the internationally bestselling award-winning author of the GEEK GIRL series.
Savor Me
Aly Martinez
Originally part of the Southern Seduction Box Set I lost my virginity at age thirteen. I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. I wasn't raped or molested. Nothing horrible happened to me. I don't have a daddy complex, or a shit life that I need to be rescued from. I just happen to like boys...a lot. I like them all. Tall, short, skinny, buff, light hair, or dark, I don't discriminate. I realized early on that one man wasn't enough for me. It's a simple mathematical fact. Why have one man when you can have two? Any more than two gets complicated. Hell, half the time even two gets complicated. But it’s worth it. Sometimes every woman has to make an exception though, two crappy losers or one smoking hot man. The night I laid eyes on Hunter Coy, I made my choice. At least until he introduced me to Mason Wynn.
Talking about Detective Fiction
P. D. James
SUMMARY: In a perfect marriage of author and subject, P. D. James—one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today—gives us a personal, lively, illuminating exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it.P. D. James examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens’s Bleak House and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, and bringing us into the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell. Along the way she writes about Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie (“arch-breaker of rules”), Josephine Tey, Dashiell Hammett, and Peter Lovesey, among many others. She traces their lives into and out of their fiction, clarifies their individual styles, and gives us indelible portraits of the characters they’ve created, from Sherlock Holmes to Sara Paretsky’s sexually liberated female investigator, V. I. Warshawski. She compares British and American Golden Age mystery writing. She discusses detective fiction as social history, the stylistic components of the genre, her own process of writing, how critics have reacted over the years, and what she sees as a renewal of detective fiction—and of the detective hero—in recent years.There is perhaps no one who could write about this enduring genre of storytelling with equal authority and flair: it is essential reading for every lover of detective fiction.
The White Lioness
Henning Mankell
Like his countrymen Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, Mankell writes mysteries that connect crimes in Sweden to the rest of the world. Faceless Killers (1997), the first of his books about provincial police inspector Kurt Wallender to appear here, involved Turkish immigrants and Eastern European villains. This novel, written in 1993, links the murder of a real estate agent in Wallender's town of Ystad to South Africa, where Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison, and to Russia, where the KGB is busy planning Mandela's fate. Wallender is a classically dour but dedicated policeman whose progress through his cases is a combination of hard slogging and lucky breaks. But several factors render this effort less compelling than its predecessor. The first is the Day of the Jackal syndrome: we know that Mandela wasn't killed by KGB agents or white Afrikaner terrorists, and that knowledge makes the suspense writer's job even harder. Second is the book's length?560 pages is a long haul,...
The Better to Bite
Cynthia Eden
Don't go into the woods.Sixteen-year-old Anna Lambert knows that the woods near her new home aren't safe. She's seen the wolves that stalk through that dark forest, but Anna doesn't scare easily. Anna is cursed--or gifted, depending on how you look at it--with the ability to find anyone or anything that is lost. So when folks start disappearing in the small town of Haven, Anna's father, the sheriff, has to use her special skills as they begin to hunt for a killer. But the killer isn't exactly human. As Anna is pulled deeper into the secrets of Haven--a town that is truly cursed--she finds herself falling for two, equally mysterious boys. With the danger closing in, one of those boys may just turn out to be her savior. And the other? He could be a very big, very bad...beast.Beware of beasts...and boys...with bite.Author's Note: THE BETTER TO BITE is a paranormal young adult romance. It contains a tough heroine, some very dangerous werewolves, and a killer with one serious appetite for blood. USA Today best-selling author Cynthia Eden writes tales of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, and her novel, DEADLY FEAR, was named a RITA® finalist for best romantic suspense. THE BETTER TO BITE is Cynthia Eden's first young adult novel.
Forever: A Friends Novel
Monica Murphy
She’s all I could ever want… I have a reputation around school. Cold. Untouchable. Unfeeling. Only one girl could ever make me want to change and that’s Amanda Winters. Too bad I broke her heart and drove her away. So to get through the rest of my days in high school, I tell myself I need to focus on more important things. Like taking our football team to championships. Get accepted to the college of my choice. And finish my senior year without wanting to run away from my problems. But your problems chase after you no matter where you go. And it’s a lot harder when you fight them alone. The longer I go without Amanda, the more I miss her. Her smile. Her laughter. The things she said. How she looked at me like I was the only person who mattered. The way she made me feel… Why can’t I have everything, including the girl? I’m determined to make things right. And make Amanda mine… Forever.
Breakheart Hill
Thomas H. Cook
From the author hailed as "an important talent, a storytelling writer of poetic narrative power" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) comes a dazzling novel of psychological suspense. "This is the darkest story I've ever heard." With these haunting words, Thomas H. Cook begins a tale of love and its aftermath, of a town sent reeling from a moment of passionate betrayal. At its center was Kelli Troy and the town of Choctaw, Alabama. And on one hazy summer afternoon decades ago, a searing burst of violence engulfed Breakheart Hill. For one man who knows the truth about those shattering events, it is a memory that would become his awful secret.From the Paperback edition.
Just One Evil Act: A Lynley Novel
Elizabeth George
#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George delivers another masterpiece of suspense in her Inspector Lynley series: a gripping child-in-danger story that tests Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers like never before. Barbara is at a loss: The daughter of her friend Taymullah Azhar has been taken by her mother, and Barbara can’t really help—Azhar had never married Angelina, and his name isn’t on Hadiyyah’s, their daughter’s, birth certificate. He has no legal claim. Azhar and Barbara hire a private detective, but the trail goes cold. Azhar is just beginning to accept his soul-crushing loss when Angelina reappears with shocking news: Hadiyyah is missing, kidnapped from an Italian marketplace. The Italian police are investigating, and the Yard won’t get involved, until Barbara takes matters into her own hands — at the risk of her own career. As both Barbara and her partner, Inspector Thomas Lynley, soon discover, the case is far more complex than a typical kidnapping, revealing secrets that could have far-reaching effects outside of the investigation. With both her job and the life of a little girl on the line, Barbara must decide what matters most, and how far she’s willing to go to protect it.**
Please Don't Feed the Vampire!
R. L. Stine
The original series from the Master of Fright—now a major motion picture in theaters August 7, 2015! The original books featuring the scariest creatures from the Goosebumps movie, in theaters August 7th, 2015! You buy something called "Vampire in a Can." At first you think its just a goofy vampire costume with a cape, plastic fangs, and a tattoo of teeth marks. But then you find a packet in the bottom of the can labeled: DANGER-KEEP AWAY! If you try to open the packet with your teeth, it rips in your mouth. Uh-oh. Looks like you've been transformed into a vampire—and you're really thirsty. If you decide not to open the packet, your dog sinks his teeth into it. Now your cute little poodle has become a ferocious vampire dog! Can you save your pooch before he bites off more than he can chew? The choice is yours in this scary Goosebumps adventure that's packed with over 20 super spooky endings!
The Man from the Egg
Sudha Murty
Did you know that Brahma once had five faces? Why do snakes have a forked tongue? Do gods cheat? Why does Shiva sport a crescent moon on his head? The Trinity, consisting of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, is the omnipresent trio responsible for the survival of the human race and the world as we know it. They are popular deities of worship all over India, but what remain largely unknown are some of their extraordinary stories. Award-winning author Sudha Murty walks by your side, weaving enchanting tales of the three most powerful gods from the ancient world. Each story will take you back to a magical time when people could teleport, animals could fly and reincarnation was simply a fact of life.