The Breaking Wave is one of Nevil Shute’s most poignant and psychologically suspenseful novels, set in the years just after World War II. Sidelined by a wartime injury, fighter pilot Alan Duncan reluctantly returns to his parents' remote sheep station in Australia to take the place of his brother Bill, who died a hero in the war. But his homecoming is marred by the suicide of his parents' parlormaid, of whom they were very fond. Alan soon realizes that the dead young woman is not the person she pretended to be. Upon discovering that she had served in the Royal Navy and participated along with his brother in the secret build-up to the Normandy invasion, Alan sets out to piece together the tragic events and the lonely burden of guilt that unravelled one woman’s life. In the process of finding the answer to the mystery, he realizes how much he had in common with this woman he never knew and how “a war can go on killing people long after it's all over.” From the Trade Paperback edition.

Murther & Walking Spirits is available as an eBook for the first time. * “I was never so amazed in my life as when the Sniffer drew his concealed weapon from its case and struck me to the ground, stone dead.” * So begins the unusual story of Connor “Gil” Gilmartin when he catches his wife in flagrante with the Sniffer, his former colleague and now his murderer. Though he is struck dead in the very first line of this novel, death is only the first indignity Gil is about to suffer. For he lingers on as a ghost, and from this bleak vantage–made even less endurable by the fact that he must spend the afterlife sitting beside his killer at a film festival–he is forced to view the exploits and failures of his ancestors, from the forerunners who sailed up the Hudson to Canada during the American Revolution right up to his university-professor parents.

This version of the Bennet family and Mr. Darcy is one that you have and haven't met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray. Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master's degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won't discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane's fortieth birthday fast approaches. Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip's friend, neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . . And yet, first impressions can be deceiving.

From New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard comes a fan-favorite tale of romantic intrigue Brett Rutland is the top troubleshooter at Carter Engineering, and he's used to getting his way. When he's tasked with cracking an internal embezzlement case, he meets firm accountant Tessa Conway. She's beautiful and interested, but falling for her will not only test Brett's control, it may also jeopardize the case—especially since she's the prime suspect.

In a small town on the verge of big change, a young woman unearths deep secrets about her family and unexpected truths about herself. Filled with insights that are the hallmark of Anna Quindlen's bestsellers, Miller's Valley is an emotionally powerful story about a family you will never forget. For generations the Millers have lived in Miller's Valley. Mimi Miller tells about her life with intimacy and honesty. As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be "a place where it's just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content." Miller's Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says,...

The classic book on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind. In this classic, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published.

Nova will do anything for her closest friend, Mal, whom she has known since childhood. So when Mal and his wife, Stephanie, ask Nova to be a surrogate mother, she agrees—despite her reservations about what it might mean for their friendship. Then Nova’s fears are realized. Halfway through the pregnancy, Stephanie finds a text from her husband to Nova that reads “Goodnight, beautiful.” Already suspicious of their deep connection, Stephanie demands that Mal cut all ties to Nova and their unborn baby, leaving Nova to raise the child alone. Eight years later, Nova is anxiously waiting for her son, Leo, to wake up from a coma, while childless Stephanie is desperately trying to save her failing marriage. Despite her anger and hurt, Nova wants Mal to have the chance to know his son before it’s too late. Will it take a tragedy to remind them all how much they mean to one another?

A Canadian icon gives us his final book, a memoir of the events that shaped this beloved writer and activist. Farley Mowat has been beguiling readers for fifty years now, creating a body of writing that has thrilled two generations, selling literally millions of copies in the process. In looking back over his accomplishments, we are reminded of his groundbreaking work: He single-handedly began the rehabilitation of the wolf with Never Cry Wolf. He was the first to bring advocacy activism on behalf of the Inuit and their northern lands with People of the Deer and The Desperate People. And his was the first populist voice raised in defense of the environment and of the creatures with whom we share our world, the ones he has always called The Others. Otherwise is a memoir of the years between 1937 and the autumn of 1948 that tells the story of the events that forged the writer and activist. His was an innocent childhood, spent free of normal strictures, and largely in the company of an assortment of dogs, owls, squirrels, snakes, rabbits, and other wildlife. From this, he was catapulted into wartime service, as anxious as any other young man of his generation to get to Europe and the fighting. The carnage of the Italian campaign shattered his faith in humanity forever, and he returned home unable and unwilling to fit into post-war Canadian life. Desperate, he accepted a stint on a scientific collecting expedition to the Barrengrounds. There in the bleak but beautiful landscape he finds his purpose — first with the wolves and then with the indomitable but desperately starving Ihalmiut. Out of these experiences come his first pitched battles with an ignorant and uncaring federal bureaucracy as he tries to get aid for the famine-stricken Inuit. And out of these experiences, too, come his first books. Otherwise goes to the heart of who and what Farley Mowat is, a wondrous final achievement from a true titan.

Aideen Collins is fed up. She is at her wits’ end with her eon long pregnancy, her new-found paranoia, but mostly she is fed up with her boyfriend’s constant hovering and nit-picking. Kane Slater is happier than ever. He is about to become a father for the first time with the woman he loves. Little does he know that Aideen is both literally and figuratively a ticking time bomb. He just has to survive a few more weeks of murderous hormonal outbursts, and all will be well… or so he hopes. They’re both caught up with the expected arrival of their little one, but in the back of their minds is a shadow that won’t fade away. Neither of them talk about it, but the shadow’s lingering presence casts doubt over their relationship. Big Phil worked his way into their minds many weeks ago and rooted himself as the haunting figure. Without even trying, he ruins things and causes problems. He watches them from afar, hoping he can break their family. Aideen’s instincts to protect her own are stronger than ever. If Big Phil wants to hurt those dearest to her, he is going to have one hell of a fight on his hands. Aideen worships Kane, and what Aideen worships, Aideen shelters.

The Financial Lives of the Poets is a comic and heartfelt novel from National Book Award nominee Jess Walter, author of Citizen Vince and The Zero, about how we get to the edge of ruin—and how we begin to make our way back. Walter tells the story of Matt Prior, who’s losing his job, his wife, his house, and his mind—until, all of a sudden, he discovers a way that he might just possibly be able to save it all . . . and have a pretty damn great time doing it.

Continuing the series begun with his novel Anno Dracula, Newman recounts the bizarre events of yet another alternative vampire history and introduces a terrifying new anti-hero--the feared flying monster of the Great War, Baron Manfred von Richtofen.

I was born with a deformity that the doctors had no name for. You see, I was born ugly.Ugly is only Skin Deep - Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Whoever wrote that never had hurtful words hurled at them like brimstone from Heaven.

fiction , poetry

THE MAJOR’S LETTER is a fictional account of the last week in the life of Union Major Sullivan Ballou, featuring the famous letter he wrote to his wife Sarah shortly before his death at the Battle of Bull Run. Made famous by the PBS Documentary “The Civil War,” Ballou’s letter has been called one of the most eloquent statements of love and devotion found in 19th century literature.All readers, please help me out: I'd like to turn this concept into a novel, so would love to have your feedback on how it should evolve. I want to write a book that both of us can enjoy. So check it out, and let me know how I can create a story we'd both be proud of. Thanks! RobertOut of great tragedy sometimes comes great triumph. One such tragedy was the American Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865. More American soldiers died during this intense five-year period than those in World War I, World War II, Korean and Vietnam combined. And yet, the triumphant stories of heroism, bravery and devotion from this great tragedy abound. THE MAJOR’S LETTER is a fictional account of the last week in the life of Union Major Sullivan Ballou, featuring the famous letter he wrote to his wife Sarah shortly before his death at the Battle of Bull Run. Made famous by the PBS Documentary “The Civil War,” Ballou’s letter has been called one of the most eloquent statements of love and devotion found in all of 19th century literature.And the man behind the letter is no less amazing. In reading his story, you will journey with Major Ballou as he reflects on the love of his wife and his faith in God, even as he encounters the enemy in the first great Battle of the Civil War.Allow the Major’s letter to transport you to a time and place when great chivalry was known and even greater men lived and died.

The quotes entitled "Medal of Honor" and "Presidential Candidate of the United States" are from Part Two: Catcher McCall - Respect and Betrayal.Part One - Catcher McCall - Regrets and Rescue chronicled the events in Af-fucking-ghanistan, which culminates in inadvertently saving the life of a U.S. Congressman that warrants Catcher McCall to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Because of accepting the reluctant prize, the public's fascination catapults Catcher McCall to be a candidate for the presidency of the United States. What happened next is truer than fiction. As William Faulkner said, "The best fiction is far more true than any journalism."Part Two - I’m Catcher McCall: War hero, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and candidate for the presidency of the United States. Why and how it happened makes telling the truth a revolutionary act. Indeed, truth is not obligated to conform to possibilities, and instead changes with time and convention. Famous Catcher McCall quotes in the context of being a candidate for the presidency. Catcher McCall ... Outsider is presented as a modern day epic in three volumes: Catcher McCall - Regrets and Rescue, Catcher McCall - Respect and Betrayal and Catcher McCall - Lost and Return. Volume Four - Catcher McCall vs. Wall Street is scheduled for release on April 1, 2013.______________