Troubled Waters is a collection of stories that enhance some of the many troubles in our life. We all at some time or another get carried away with life’s tide, allowing it to take us out deeper than we want to go. The enrichment of the stories may calm the waters, to be still, and encourage you in the storms of your life.SHORT CREEK – Thirty years ago there was a random series of murders around Short Creek. One of the victims had disappeared and never heard of again. The other four victims laid in wait for their killer to be revealed. But, the tracks finally lay cold and the murders were turned over to a cold case file. Then one day, out of the blue, Short Creek revealed its hidden secret which opened the case unto a new revealing beginning bringing the haunting truth to the surface.WEB OF DECEIT – Katherine lay to rest her father, Wilson Ward. Her mother had already passed and her brother had drowned a few years earlier, but his body was never found. She inherited the Ward fortune and became a very wealthy woman. Not long after that, she met the man of her dreams (so to speak). After they got married they moved to Judd Island to live at their resort house on the beach. The web of deceit that unfolds takes an unforgettable twist which webbed more and more deceit throughout the story. Katherine’s best friend, Rachel, teams up with her for revenge can be bitter or sweet. But finally in the end one would take the loss and the other the world. (The love of money is the root of all evil.)FOURTEEN NEW SHINY PENNIES – Sometimes we reach out for the stars, but maybe grab the moon. Who really knows? There are times we believe the moon was hung for someone else until our lucky break comes. True, Debra wanted to be a songwriter and live in Nashville. She carried this dream all of her life, since she was a little girl. In time the door opens and she follows her dream along with its hardships and trials. Her struggles would not only bring an untimely burden that would change her life forever. But, it would warm the hearts of many who listened. Set free with her number one hit, she grabbed the moon and ran with it.TABLE FOR THREE – Jimmy Allen and Bobby Joe had grown up together. They were the best of friends. They had just graduated from high school. Jimmy had been drafted to go to Vietnam. Bobby was going off to college. It is amazing how Becky Anne, a new girl in town, had waltzed into their life. In time a table for three would develop into a struggling, unsure friendship. Becky loved them both. Or, did she? But, she could only have but one or none at all. The developing scenario that unravels throughout the story lays a hurtful and tragic ending with a sad twist.THE AUDREY MOORE SCANDAL – Outside Baton Rouge in 1945 the influential politicians had gathered with a big party for Richard Ryan Rodgers. He was up for the position as a State Supreme Court judge who Audrey was deeply in love with. At that time Audrey was at the top of the high class rollers in the political world. She had it all, power and wealth, but not the man of her dreams. She had made Richard what he was today. But, he was married now and what they once had was over. Kenneth Shields, also a friend in the threesome, was in love with Audrey. But, she didn’t know it. Then an unexpected life changing thing happens. Audrey becomes pregnant and because she was not married she was looked down upon by her peers. This took her high profile status with all her political friends. Kenneth reaches out to help her. He’s the only friend she has left. Even her daddy disowned her. But, in the end, love finds a way and victory becomes a sweet song of the heart.

A family from the States, on their way to Costa Rica, run into trouble crossing the border into Guatemala.Conrad and Margot, having driven the length of Mexico from the States with two small children, are crossing the border between Mexico and Guatemala at Christmas time. He has hunting weapons, and permits from all the interveneding countries to carry them into Costa Rica. An incident in Guatemala has caused all gun permits to be canceled, and something strange has happened to the colonel who signed the gun permit—he doesn’t exist any more. What would have been a lengthy process at that time of year, turns into a day-long ordeal.

This is a compelling novel of counterfeit perfumes and counterfeit emotions . . . of twists and turns of the story and the knife. In it, there is a romantic flash of green at sunset--and the deadly flash of steel at the end.

This playful collection of poems ranging from humorous, to thoughtful, to adventurous is anything but predictable. In this work you will find death, love, happiness and our place in the universe as much a theme and the subject for humor and introspection as rabbits, kitchen utensils, nerdy scientists and garbage day.This playful collection of poems ranging from humorous, to thoughtful, to adventurous is anything but predictable. In this work you will find death, love, happiness and our place in the universe as much a theme and the subject for humor and introspection as rabbits, kitchen utensils, nerdy scientists and garbage day. This versatile blend of parody, free verse, syllabic verse, sonnets, cinquains and other poetic forms does not distract but adds to author's unique sound and voice. At once self effacing and impudent, contemporary yet archaic, absurd yet thoughtful, these lyrical tidbits challenge the readers preconceptions and expectations and create a colorful glimpse into this writer's world of words and ideas.

This book is great for a quick bedtime story or a cute tale to be read aloud with friends and family!* Excellent for early and beginning readers* Great for reading aloud with friends and family* Cute short story that is great for a quick bedtime story* Big and bright illustrations for kidsThis books is especially great for traveling, waiting rooms, and reading aloud at home!Peanut and Sparky is gorgeous illustrated children's book about a silly little baby squirrel named Peanut and a feisty Golden Lab named Sparky. Children books can be very amusing with such an unlikely duo!The illustrations in the kid's picture book are optimized to be superior quality, vivid, and bright for tablets and e-readers to improve the story and bring it to life for early and beginner readers!This is an excellent read for beginning and early readers. There are cute and bright illustrations for younger readers.This book is great for a quick bedtime story or a cute tale to be read aloud with friends and family.* Excellent for early and beginning readers* Great for reading aloud with friends and family* Cute short story that is great for a quick bedtime story* Big and bright illustrations for kidsThis books is especially great for traveling, waiting rooms, and reading aloud at home!

Live Oak Charter Academy is the latest elixir to arrive in the valley. Drought cycles, crop yields, and market forces have left a trail of previous solutions: an army base, a state mental hospital, a shipping warehouse for an online retailer, a prison. And though the school is smaller in scale than previous efforts, it inspires bigger dreams, with a more fragile margin of error.Live Oak Charter Academy is the latest elixir to arrive in the valley. Drought cycles, crop yields, and market forces have left a trail of previous solutions: an army base, a state mental hospital, a shipping warehouse for an online retailer, and a prison. But the charter is about the future, and not just that of the children. The wealthiest board member sees a chance to leave a legacy that his children’s private school won’t allow him to forge, the principal a chance to set up his grown autistic son with a more independent life, the dedicated volunteer a chance to provide her daughters with an education she imagines is usually reserved for the affluent. And while the students may see it as just another school, their actions (and how their parents respond) pull them all in directions that threaten the charter and every dream attached to it.

In this sparkling collection of nineteen stories, the bestselling author of Slammerkin returns to contemporary affairs, exposing the private dilemmas that result from some of our most public controversies. A man finds God and finally wants to father a child-only his wife is now forty-two years old. A coach's son discovers his sexuality on the football field. A roommate's bizarre secret liberates a repressed young woman. From the unforeseen consequences of a polite social lie to the turmoil caused by the hair on a woman's chin, Donoghue dramatizes the seemingly small acts upon which our lives often turn. Many of these stories involve animals and what they mean to us, or babies and whether to have them; some replay biblical plots in modern contexts. With characters old, young, straight, gay, and simply confused, Donoghue dazzles with her range and her ability to touch lightly but delve deeply into the human condition.

This trilogy spanning World War II, based in part on Evelyn Waugh's own experiences as an army officer, is the author's surpassing achievement as a novelist. Its central character is Guy Crouchback, head of an ancient but decayed Catholic family, who at first discovers new purpose in the challenge to defend Christian values against Nazi barbarism, but then gradually finds the complexities and cruelties of war overwhelming. Though often somber, Sword of Honor is also a brilliant comedy, peopled by the fantastic figures so familiar from Waugh's early satires. The deepest pleasures these novels afford come from observing a great satiric writer employ his gifts with extraordinary subtlety, delicacy, and human feeling, for purposes that are ultimately anything but satiric.

Setting: New York City, present day Sensuality rating: 8 High-powered attorney Victoria Kensington knows how to protect herself. In fact, she's spent her whole life protecting her vulnerable sister, Audrey, from their stern father's disapproval. But when Audrey, who's supposed to be painting in Venice, collapses at Victoria's feet in Central Park dressed only in a hospital gown, Victoria doesn't know what to think. And when Audrey disappears without a trace, Victoria will do anything to find out what has happened to her sister, even if it means allowing FBI associate Zachary Hamilton, the only man she's ever loved, back into her life--and her heart. Even if it means finding out her father knows a whole lot more than he's letting on, Victoria will let nothing stop her from saving Audrey. But when Victoria has several close calls, Zach insists on sticking close to her, really close. Will Victoria find a second chance at having the kind of family she always wanted and maybe even a second chance at love? Andrea Kane creates a knockout of a suspenseful romance, one that will keep readers guessing until the very end.--Alison Trinkle

Over the course of his 60 years, Christopher Hitchens has been a citizen of both the United States and the United Kingdom. He has been both a socialist opposed to the war in Vietnam and a supporter of the U.S. war against Islamic extremism in Iraq. He has been both a foreign correspondent in some of the world's most dangerous places and a legendary bon vivant with an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and literature. He is a fervent atheist, raised as a Christian, by a mother whose Jewish heritage was not revealed to him until her suicide. In other words, Christopher Hitchens contains multitudes. He sees all sides of an argument. And he believes the personal is political. This is the story of his life, lived large.

All Our Worldly Goods reads like a prequel to Suite Française, but is a perfect novel in its own right. In haunting ways, this compelling novel prefigures Suite Française and some of the themes of Némirovsky’s great unfinished sequence of novels. All Our Worldly Goods, though, is complete, and exquisitely so — a perfect novel in its own right. First published in France in 1947, after the author’s death, it is a gripping story of family life and star-crossed lovers, set in France between 1910 and 1940. Pierre and Agnes marry for love against the wishes of his parents and the family patriarch, the tyrannical industrialist Julien Hardelot, provoking a family feud which cascades down the generations. This is Balzac or The Forsyte Saga on a smaller, more intimate scale, the bourgeoisie observed close-up, with Némirovsky’s characteristically sly humour and clear-eyed compassion. Full of drama and heartbreak, and telling observations of the devastating effects of two wars on a small town and an industrial family, Némirovsky is at the height of her powers. Taut, evocative and beautifully paced, the novel points out with heartbreaking detail and clarity how close those two wars were, how history repeated itself, tragically and shockingly. The story opens in the Edwardian era, on a fashionable Normandy beach and ends with a changed world under Nazi occupation. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Roma è battuta da una pioggia incessante. In un antico caffè, vicino a piazza Navona, due uomini esaminano lo stesso dossier. Una ragazza è scomparsa. Forse è stata rapita, ma se è ancora viva non le resta molto tempo. Uno dei due uomini, Clemente, è la guida. L'altro, Marcus, è un cacciatore del buio, addestrato a riconoscere le anomalie, a scovare il male e a svelarne il volto nascosto. Perché c'è un particolare che rende il caso della ragazza scomparsa diverso da ogni altro. Per questo solo lui può salvarla. Ma, sfiorandosi la cicatrice sulla tempia, Marcus è tormentato dai dubbi. Come può riuscire nell'impresa a pochi mesi dall'incidente che gli ha fatto perdere la memoria?Anomalie. Dettagli.Sandra è addestrata a riconoscere i dettagli fuori posto, perché sa che è in essi che si annida la morte. Sandra è una foto rilevatrice della Scientifica e il suo lavoro è fotografare i luoghi in cui è avvenuto un fatto di sangue. Il suo sguardo, filtrato dall'obiettivo, è quello di chi è a caccia di indizi. E di un colpevole. Ma c'è un dettaglio fuori posto anche nella sua vita personale. E la ossessiona. Quando le strade di Marcus e di Sandra si incrociano, portano allo scoperto un mondo segreto e terribile, nascosto nelle pieghe oscure di Roma. Un mondo che risponde a un disegno superiore, tanto perfetto quanto malvagio. Un disegno di morte. Perché quando la giustizia non è più possibile, resta soltanto il perdono. Oppure la vendetta.Questa è la storia di un segreto invisibile eppure sotto gli occhi di tutti. Questa è la storia di un male antico ed eterno e di chi lotta per contrastarlo. Questa è una storia basata su fatti veri, ispirata a eventi reali: la sfida non è crederci, ma accettarlo.