On June 14, 2007, the king and the prime minister of Sweden went missing from a gala banquet at the royal castle. Later it was said that both had fallen ill, but the truth is different. The real story starts much earlier, in 1961, with the birth of Nombeko Mayeki in a shack in Soweto. Nombeko was fated to grow up fast and die early in her poverty-stricken township, be it from drugs, alcohol, or just plain despair. But Nombeko takes a different path. She finds work as a house cleaner and eventually makes her way up to the position of chief adviser, at the helm of one of the world's most secret projects. Here is where the tale merges with then diverges from reality. South Africa developed six nuclear missiles in the 1980s, then voluntarily dismantled them in 1994. This is the story of the seventh missile, the one that was never supposed to have existed. Nombeko Mayeki knows too much about it, and now she's on the run from both the South African justice system and the most terrifying secret service in the world. The fate of the planet now lies in Nombeko's hands. Jonasson introduces us to a cast of eccentrics: a nerve-damaged American Vietnam deserter, twin brothers who are officially only one person, three careless Chinese girls, an angry young woman, a potato-growing baroness, the Swedish king and the prime minister. Quirky and utterly unique, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden is a charming and humorous account of one young woman's unlikely adventure.

Cathedral of the Sea follows the fortunes of the Estanyol family, from their peasant roots to a son, Arnau, who flees the land only to realize spectacular wealth and devastating problems. During Arnau's lifetime Barcelona becomes a city of light and darkness, dominated by the construction of the city's great pride -- the cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar -- and by its shame, the deadly Inquisition. As a young man, Arnau joins the powerful guild of stone-workers and helps to build the church with his own hands, while his best friend and adopted brother Joan studies to become a priest. When Arnau, who secretly loves a forbidden Jewish woman named Mar, is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved Cathedral of the Sea is finally completed?

The most disastrous family reunion in the history of fiction. The Drummond family, reunited for the first time in years, has gathered near Cape Canaveral to watch the launch into space of their beloved daughter and sister, Sarah. Against the Technicolor unreality of Florida's finest tourist attractions, the Drummonds stumble into every illicit activity under the tropical sun-kidnapping, blackmail, gunplay, and black market negotiations, to name a few. But even as the Drummonds' lives spin out of control, Coupland reminds us of their humanity at every turn, hammering out a hilarious masterpiece with the keen eye of a cultural critic and the heart and soul of a gifted storyteller. He tells not only the characters' stories but also the story of our times--thalidomide, AIDS, born-again Christianity, drugs, divorce, the Internet-all bound together with the familiar glue of family love and madness.

From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Perfect, a novella, a unique and separate love story alongside that of Harold Fry, about Queenie Hennessy, the remarkable friend who inspired Harold's incredible journey.      When Queenie Hennessy is told she has days to live she sends a letter on pink paper in which she bids goodbye to Harold Fry. It is a letter that inspires an unlikely walk, a cast of well-wishers and the examination of many lives unlived. But there is a second letter, a longer, quieter more complicated letter which she will never send. It is this letter, the one we did not know about in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which reveals the shocking and beautiful truth of Queenie's life.

Avery knows better than to fall for Fletcher, the local bad boy who can’t seem to outrun his reputation. Fletcher knows he shouldn’t bother with college-bound, daughter-of-a-cop Avery. But when their paths cross, neither can deny the spark. Are they willing to go against everything and let their hearts lead the way? Or are they just flirting with disaster? Trouble from the Start releases simultaneously with companion novel The Boyfriend Project. These heartwarming paperback originals are the perfect summer reads, great for fans of Jennifer Echols, Lauren Barnholdt, and Susane Colasanti.

To eight-year old Bunny Morison, his mother is an angelic comforter in whose absence nothing is real or alive.  To his older brother, Robert, his mother is someone he must protect, especially since the deadly, influenza epidemic of 1918 is ravaging their small Midwestern town.  To James Morison, his wife, Elizabeth, is the center of a life that would disintegrate all too suddenly were she to disappear.     Through the eyes of these characters, William Maxwell creates a sensitive portrait of an American family and of the complex woman who is its emotional pillar.  Beautifully observed, deftly rendering the civilities and constraints of a vanished era, They Came Like Swallows measures the subterranean currents of love and need that run through all our lives.  The result confirms Maxwell's reputation as one of the finest writers we have. From the Trade Paperback edition.

When Carolyn's grown daughter tells her she needs to "get a life," Carolyn decides it's time to step out of her familiar routine as a single woman in San Francisco and escape to her mother's home in the Canary Islands. Since Carolyn's mother is celebrating her seventieth birthday, the timing of Carolyn's visit makes for a perfect surprise. The surprise, however, is on Carolyn when she sees Bryan Spencer, her high school summer love. It's been seven years since Carolyn lost her husband, but ever since that tragic day, her life has grown smaller and closed in. The time has come for Carolyn to get her heart back. It takes the gentle affection of her mother and aunts, as well as the ministering beauty and song of the islands to draw Carolyn into the fullness of life. She is nudged along by a Flamenco dance lesson, a defining camel ride and the steady gaze of Bryan's intense blue-gray eyes. Is it too late for Carolyn to trust Bryan? Can Carolyn believe that Bryan has turned into something more than the wild beach boy who stole her kisses so many years ago on a balmy Canary night? Carolyn is reminded that Christopher Columbus set sail from the Canary Islands in 1492 on his voyage to discover the New World. Is she ready to set sail from these same islands to discover her new life?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen explores the darkest corners of the human heart as forensic sculptor Eve Duncan closes in on the killer who stole her daughter so many years ago. * As a former Navy SEAL turned cop, Joe Quinn has seen the face of evil and knows just how deadly it can be. When he first met Eve Duncan, he never expected to fall in love with a woman whose life would be defined by her dual desires to bring home her missing daughter and discover the truth behind her disappearance—no matter how devastating. With the help of CIA agent Catherine Ling, they make a shocking discovery that sheds new light on young Bonnie's abduction and puts Quinn squarely in the crosshairs of danger. Eve's first love, John Gallo, a soldier supposedly killed in the line of duty, is very much alive—and very much a threat. Emotionally charged, with one shock after another, Quinn reveals the electricity of Joe and Eve's first connection, and how they fell in love in the midst of haunting tragedy. As their search takes them deeper and deeper into a web of murder and madness, Joe and Eve must confront their most primal fears . . . and test their resolve to uncover the ultimate bone-chilling truth.

When Josh becomes the target of the school bully, he is humiliated and only finds solace in the shore breaks at Piha, West Auckland. When he is forced to make a critical decision, will he conquer his resentment and do the right thing, or allow his anger to place others at risk?The ordinary suburban life that Josh knew and took for granted disintegrates when his father announces that the family business has failed and Josh’s only solace is surfing the breaks at Piha, West Auckland. His humiliation deepens when he is beaten up by Bevan, the school bully who continues to harass him at every opportunity. Now Bevan’s ex-girlfriend is flirting with him and the financial pressure is breaking the family apart and Josh comes to realize that he is no better than the bully who torments him. When Josh is forced to make a critical decision will he conquer his resentment and do the right thing, or allow his anger to place others at risk?

Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills.

dan is a dreamer. he loves to play in the woods near his house and forget his troubles, especially school and the idiot bully! the only good thing about school is that he gets to see his friend, lucy, every day. lucy is a bit like dan too. a dreamer! whilst playing in the woods one day dan does the unthinkable…he comes across a dragon!! but dan isn’t the only one who knows about the dragon....SUBURBAN HOME EXPLODES. FAMILY VANISHES.Working for the FBI certainly isn’t a “normal” job, but Special Agent Julie Ann Davidson has never encountered a case as personal as this one. Although not officially assigned to the case, Ann and her partner, Patrick Duncan, take up the cause of finding Rachel, Jason, and Emily Collins. As if that task wasn’t enough, Ann and Patrick also have a baffling case of internet thievery to investigate. Who is Christopher Collins and what about his past is endangering his family? Where are Rachel and the kids being held? Where is God in the midst of chaos? Will Ann and Patrick arrive in time or will they find only pain?

This anthology contains volumes 31-35 of my zine of book, audio, and other reviews.'The Fringe, Poetry on the Move One' is a pamphlet of poetry from poets based in the North West of England. It is distributed in pubs, cafes, libraries, shops, buses and trains. In fact, anywhere the public may have time to read some interesting pieces of writing. The pamphlets and ebooks are published by SeaQuake Books. The idea behind the initiative is to bring poetry to a wider audience. The poets included in this particular pamphlet are Loraine Darcy, Steve Beattie, Phil McNulty, Bob Eccleston, Mike Parsons.

When his father returns from military service in the Afghan war zone, Neville finds himself confronted by a man he no longer knows. Withdrawn, uncommunicative and subject to horrifying nightmares, the father has become The Quiet Man in whom, Neville fears, a dreadful secret may lie hidden.Six year old Neville the Less is lord of the small things in a safe and familiar Australian neighbourhood. He knows the ‘countries’ of which it’s comprised, he knows the people who conduct its business and the places from which to observe its doings. He knows it to be a place in which all the roles are established, all the problems are small and all the solutions the responsibility of adults. When his father returns, heroically, from military service in the Afghan war zone, however, Neville finds himself confronted by a man he no longer knows. Withdrawn, uncommunicative and subject to horrifying nightmares, the father has become a Quiet Man in whom, Neville fears, a dreadful secret may lie hidden. What that secret could be is a question that draws Neville to ponder what it takes to ‘make’ both a hero and a war. “Nothing for you to worry about,” his mother tells him. “War could never happen here and you will never be a soldier.” The half-memories of Neville’s best friend and back-door neighbour say otherwise. Afsoon is the only surviving child of Hazaran refugees, newly resettled in Australia. Like the Quiet Man, she displays full-blown symptoms of post traumatic stress, in her case, presenting as a consuming obsession with the threat of violence. Imagining that her family’s persecutors have followed them to Australia and are masquerading as ordinary neighbours (one of whom may be the Quiet Man), she develops a fixated need to expose those who are enemies and, if need be, eliminate them. Neville finds himself torn. Should he believe his determinedly hopeful mother or his much abused friend? And which of those is most likely to rescue his almost catatonic father from whatever nightmare assails him? ‘Neville the Less’ is firstly a tale about the pervasiveness of casual prejudice, obstinate insensitivity and the initiatives that arise from fear. It’s also about the alacrity with which violence is introduced into our society and it is a reminder that post traumatic stress is a condition that can claim victims far beyond its primary sufferers. It’s also an entertaining glimpse into the ways children might imagine themselves the protectors of their adults.

"My Own Book of Poetry" is a collection of poems written over six decades of my experiences in life. This little book contains the first set of these poems, with more to come later. I began writing poems when I was 17 or 18. Many of my poems were inspired by my own experiences, but many were also inspired by what I saw and heard from others and from studies from the Bible."My Own Book of Poetry" is a collection of poems written over six decades of my experiences in life. This little book contains the first set of these poems, with more to come later. I began writing poems when I was 17 or 18. Many of my poems were inspired by my own experiences, but many were also inspired by what I saw and heard from others and from studies from the Bible. I didn’t consider them seriously until I was about 30 and then decided to compile them and keep them as a collection for myself. As I wrote and collected, I began to see attitudes changing from selfishness more to selflessness, and growth as a Christian. Many of my later poems have double meaning; thoughts from a physical standpoint, and thoughts from a spiritual standpoint. I sincerely hope that as the reader goes through this small collection of my poems, that he can draw comfort both physically and spiritually, as I did.