The Jinx Inc. treasure-hunting company has a new mission - to find the 'cave pearls' rumoured to exist in the bottom-most cavity of an ancient cave. But first, mission leader Caleb Peach has to find an expert consultant. An ex-Navy SEAL, Caleb is used to getting his man but Dr Claire Cassidy, archaeologist extraordinaire, is proving hard to pin down. Only after he tracks her down on her fishing holiday and proves that Jinx Inc. is an upstanding, responsible company does the she sign on the dotted line. The attraction is immediate but Caleb and Claire are very different people. He's buttoned up and goes by the book and still carries a lot of bitterness because of a painful past. She's a free spirit and truly self-sufficient and independent, yet she's not opposed to the possibility of love in her life.With Claire's help, along with the assistance of Cajun Healer, Tante Lulu, Caleb and his family reconcile. At about the ame time, adventure and hilarity abound as the crew of Jinx Inc. begin the search for and find the fabled cave pearls.

Frederick, Earl of Ickenham, remains young at heart. So it is for him the act of a moment to lean out of the Drones Club window with a catapult and ping the silk top hat off his grumpy in-law, the distinguished barrister Sir Raymand Bastable. Unfortunately things don’t end there. The sprightly earl finds that his action has inspired a scandalous bestseller and a film script—but this is as nothing compared with the entangled fates of the couples that surround him and which only his fabled sweetness and light can unravel.

This is the story of Billy, whose Grandmother left him the "voodoo handbag" in her will, after he had sold her soul to science. The tales it tells Billy will change his life foreverand the lives of other people as well.

Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a named beast. whose personal tale is told above the beast's picture.On the world of Cerra Sevatia, animals are more than mere beasts. The people of Cerra are humanoid beings with the characteristics of animals. They range from the mountainous, bull-like Akoans to the diminutive, mouse-like Mateesh. But even among the Mateesh, Tina van Schtoffen stands short. Though a highly regarded wizard attached to the guild of magic known as the Council of Stars, Tina is only six inches tall.When the city of Likonia, precariously founded in the dragon territory of Maldavia, is attacked by monsters called “Dragon Eaters,” Governor Harkon Keldo requests aide from the Council of Stars. The wizard’s guild, which has a favorable relationship with Maldavia, had originally objected to the establishment of the encroaching settlement. But since these “Dragon Eaters” threatened both Likonia and the dragons, the leader of the guild sends Tina to assess the situation.Tina’s initial impression of the Likonians is an unfavorable one. Able to move through the city undetected, she discovers both their distrust for wizards and little reason for her to trust Governor Keldo. But news of a wounded Maldavian nearby takes her away from the city to where she meets with the dragon. He reveals as much as he can about the “Dragon Eaters” to Tina and gives her a place to begin her investigation.After returning to the city, Tina enlists the help of Kravek Rivakian, an Akoan from the eastern hill country whom she encountered when she first arrived. Suspicions concerning the origin of the Dragon Eaters are raised by a trail laden with traps, a shipment of magical reagents which arrived in Likonia before Tina, and the information gathered from the Maldavian. When the truth comes to light, she must use her wits if she hopes to defeat the monsters and save the Maldavians, the city, and herself.

Second story in the 'Slayer of Evil (Prices Negotiable)' series. A freelance monster hunter's gotta eat, and Eric Margrave is no exception. Follow our 'hero' in a day on the job, as he deals with all the same problems you deal with in your own job; necromancy, zombie hordes, and a shortage of piano wire.Okay, maybe not EXACTLY the same problems.The world of the supernatural is a place of intense horror and blood-chilling danger. Dark, twisted monsters stalk among humanity from the shadows, seeking only to devour us.Seems like somebody should make some money from all that, right? Enter Eric Margrave, semi-professional monster hunter (He'd be a professional, but they really don't have a certification process for this sort of thing.). When the things that go bump in the night start actually knocking on the door, he's the one who serves them their walking papers... for a nominal fee. Prices negotiable. No demons, please.In this short, Eric has taken on a job from the residents of a little town in the middle of nowhere, who find themselves with a minor case of the next town over disappearing. To some this would be a sign it was time to pack up and leave the diner; to Eric, it just means time buckle down and make a quick buck doing what he does best: The judicious application of extreme violence. Just another day at the office.

You're seventeen, and studying hard for your A levels. How would you like it if you were suddenly adopted by a Great Being, who had been around for ever and knew everything? 'Pretty useful, with all that knowledge and the exams coming up', would be your first reaction, I expect. But then the Great Being lets slip that the end of the world is just around the corner.Tom Fletcher is a worried man. Middle aged and balding, he hasn't sold a house in weeks and his job is on the line. His wife is cheating on him and he is falling in love with his secretary.He is bewildered by the world. Animate and inanimate objects take on personalities and behaviours in his fertile imagination which make even the commonplace events of daily life into battlegrounds where misunderstanding and confusion reign.All he asks is to be loved, -- but not by the intimidating Carole who contrives and schemes to get him into her bed.In his mind there is a simple solution. Kill his wife and marry his secretary. But where to get the gun?Pausing only to reflect on topology and the meaning of life, Tom pursues a single minded route through a minefield populated by topless dancers and hippopotami, only slightly phased by a tendency to see people as donuts, and use Exchange and Mart as his guide.Frogs, Pizzas, Water Beds, Pygmies, Licorice Flavoured Condoms and an Ostrich all have key parts to play in this drama of everyday folk.This is a love story, or perhaps a murder story, or maybe it's just a tale about a man who doesn't own a decent jacket..... and in the background lurks the mysterious Geoffrey, without whom the story would be incomplete.

In this adventure-comedy novel, Baron von dek Horn operates at his investigative finest. Summoned from the comforting chaos of Tumultuous Manor, his cozy estate in northern New England, the international consultant pursues eccentric global financier Wayland Bridgework and a collection of valuable flash drives that control the cyber fortunes of governments, banks and corporations.An adventure-comedy novel, Baril de Singes (Barrel of Monkeys) features Baron von dek Horn at his investigative finest. Upon receiving an emergency message interrupting a dinner party at Tumultuous Manor, the international consultant is placed on the trail of eccentric global financier Wayland Bridgework. The assignment quickly becomes a race to collect valuable flash drives permitting access to the cyber fortunes of governments, banks and corporations.Amid dancing with death, agreeing to star in a Hollywood film and facing his latent fear of giant ship propellers, Von dek Horn grapples with a growing attraction for Angelica Formica de Corcoran Bridgework Shumway, daughter of the rogue multibillionaire. And, when least expected, old nemesis Osborne Moeziz appears to further complicate matters.In the course of his desperate pursuit to rescue teetering financial markets and sort through his romantic inclinations, Von dek Horn is supported by his remarkably reliable Tumultuous Manor staff: Imperturbable and judicious valet Smudgely, the exceptional tea-maker and cook Mrs. Potsdam, and the mysterious-yet-efficient personal assistant Mia Kolpaux.

This riotous collection at last gathers together an expansive selection of Flann O'Brien's shorter fiction in a single volume, as well as O'Brien's last and unfinished novel, "Slattery's Sago Saga." Also included are new translations of several stories originally published in Irish, and other rare pieces. With some of these stories appearing here in book form for the very first time, and others previously unavailable for decades, Short Fiction is a welcome gift for every Flann O'Brien fan worldwide.

An All-New Xanth Adventure First Paperback Edition! A fickle flux in the fabric of space has allowed a horrendous hurricane to blast into Xanth, stirring up mischief and madness wherever she goes. Trapped in a preposterous form by a cosmic wager, the Demon X(A/N)th must join forces with a vexatious vixen named Chlorine to save Xanth from this terrifying and tempestuous threat. Their companions on this haphazard quest are a hapless human family - Jim and Karen Baldwin and their two teenaged sons, David and Sean - gusted into Xanth from the mundane world beyond. Together they encounters a host of turbulent misadventures as they struggle to keep Xanth from being blown off the map forever. A brisk and breezy adventure in the grand Xanth tradition, Yon Ill Wind is sure to bring gales of laughter and excitement to Piers Anthony's legion of loyal readers.

Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience.

Jennifer Marsh is a mystery writer with eight unpublished books and hundreds of rejection letters. If she can just get famous for something, someone will surely publish her books. Why not murder? Because Jennifer's a good person, a vegetarian who rescued a greyhound. She could never actually kill someone, but she could plot a murder that will land her as the prime suspect in a real murder case.Judy Fitzwater's comic mystery tour de force, originally published by Ballantine Books, is finally available in electronic format.Jennifer Marsh is a mystery writer with a stack of eight unpublished manuscripts and rejection letters to match filling her closet. She's sure that if she can just get famous for something, someone will have to publish her books. Why not murder?She'll find a target so mean that she'd actually be doing the world a favor by bumping him or her off. And she knows just the person:Penney Richmond, a high-powered literary agent who's made it her job to ruin people's lives. All Jennifer has to do is frame herself, do the deed, and come out with an iron-clad alibi, and she'll be well on her way to getting a three book deal. So what if she chickens out at the last minute? A vegetarian good girl who rescued a greyhound could never actually kill someone. But when Penney is found murdered and the police think Jennifer did it, she’d better find the real murderer before she goes away... for life.Along with her eccentric writer's group, spunky old ladies with a nose for sleuthing, her neurotic greyhound, and a sexy, sarcastic reporter named Sam, Jennifer embarks on a journey filled with danger, deception, and disguises that could leave her Dying to Get Published...

Psycho Bob, an inmate at the college hostel, is a fat giant whose idea of fun often meant suffering for others. Tonight, a weird shoe fight riot has broken out and Bob has already been dominating by beating the crap out of most inmates. This is a fun story of how 18-year-olds of this Bob dominated hostel work together to catch him in a spot through conspiracy, risk, teamwork and double-crossing.Bob is the hostel psycho, a brash fat giant who often loses himself in enthusiasm and whose idea of fun often meant suffering for others. Most of the hostel inmates are tired of Bob's bullying and their inability to return the favor. Tonight, a weird shoe fight riot has broken through the hostel and Bob has already been dominating the entire proceedings by beating the crap out of most inmates with his heavy boots. Though scared of him, they ultimately hatch a plan of getting him alone and attacking him in a group. This is a fun story that deals with how 18-year-olds of this Bob dominated hostel work together to catch him in a spot through conspiracy, risk, teamwork and double-crossing.

Chelsea had always done what her best friend Sarah asked. So when Sarah decided the class should put on an ambitious Christmas production, it is no surprise who ended up doing all the work for it. But even Sarah hadn't intended for it to turn out the way it did.When famine threatens a small fishing village in Norway, seventeen-year-old Lars is delegated to take his youngest brother Torvald with him to America, to live with Uncle Anders in Dakota Territory. The story is told by a descendant of Lars, who chronicles the adventures and misadventures of the boys and their friends and neighbors, including the story of Hans, an odd but lovable draft horse. The tales go on to include often-humorous accounts of courtship and marriage, as the boys grow into men.

An alien pyramid has appeared on Earth, squatting in the middle of Chicago. It is growing, destroying the city as it does — and nothing seems able to stop it, not even the might of the US military. Somehow, the alien device is snatching people and — for unknown reasons — transporting them into worlds of mythology. Dr Lukacs is one of the victims. Granted, he's an expert on mythology. But myths are not something he'd thought to encounter personally. Or wanted to! Sure, he has a couple of tough paratroopers along with him, as well as a blonde Amazon biologist and a very capable maintenance mechanic. Unfortunately, modern weapons don't work, and the Greek gods are out to kill the heroes. Well, yes, they've got Medea and Arachne and the Sphinx on their side (both Sphinxes, actually — the Greek version as well as the Egyptian). And at least some of the Egyptian gods seem friendly. But that can be a very mixed blessing, to say the least. Oh, and whatever you do—don't mention dwarf-tossing.

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