Agent Cleo Carras suddenly becomes aware that she is being pinned down by a heavy weight, and that she is holding a gun.Agent Cleo Carras suddenly becomes aware that she is being pinned down by a heavy weight, and that she is holding a gun. This undercover assignment has gone terribly wrong, and Agent Carras is on the run from an Ndrangheta crime family. She finds herself wearing various disguises and traveling from the bush, to the city, in her bid to resume her normal life and career, and hopefully, bring down one organised crime cell in the process.

This not too long story has been written as an attempt to answer some of the questions surrounding the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner in March2014. It is entirely fictional but it is quite possible that the plot could be uncomfortably close to the truth. The plot provides answers which fit closely with the available facts.A commercial airliner disappeared on a regular flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March eight 2014. The mysterious disappearance of flight MH370 and the fate of those on board remains unsolved and the final resting place of the crew and passengers remains unknown. This is despite a massive effort by a number of nations to locate the missing plane. It seems unthinkable, to most of us, that a large commercial aircraft cannot be quickly and accurately tracked if it has crashed or flown off course.The best technology available was initially unable to determine just where the plane may have gone. Did it crash? Was it hijacked? After frantic days of searching it was finally revealed that communication systems on the aircraft had been disabled, presumably by the pilots. It was further revealed that military radar had tracked a complete change of course with the aircraft heading in a Westerly direction and away from its original destination.The movements of the plane then became a little uncertain but it was clearly under the control of a competent pilot and on a set course. Media reports suggested that the plane then headed South over the Indian Ocean. This route was indicated by regular information being received by engine manufacturers and other sources. The subsequent search of the target area provided a few pings thought to be from the aircraft’s black boxes but an underwater search has not provided any further contacts.The slow and uncertain progress of the search has raised many unanswered questions.Why was there no debris found in the search area? If the plane ran out of fuel surely a fall of thirty five thousand feet would cause massive damage on impact with the ocean. (A part of the plane was found some months after the disappearance. It has been assumed that this debris would have drifted a considerable distance from any crash site)Why was it necessary for the pilot to fly the plane thousands of kilometres to one of the most remote places on earth where the ocean was deep? Perhaps there is a good reason to make the plane (or possibly the cargo) completely disappear. Who were the two passengers travelling on stolen passports? Reports that no passengers were deemed suspicious were issued only days after the disappearance. This seems to be much too small a time frame to complete thorough checks. Surely the fact that that these two passengers were not who they claimed to be should ring alarm bells.The manifest indicated that there was nothing suspicious in the cargo hold. Could the Malaysian Government be a little embarrassed that it may be possible to smuggle undeclared freight on to the aircraft? Are their security controls all that tight?The disappearance of MH370 is likely to remain the greatest mystery of this century.This story (entirely fictional) is an attempt to explain some of the remaining unanswered questions. In doing so it was necessary to examine any possible justification for this obviously well planned and executed event. As the plot unfolds the reader may find many likely answers to their questions. At the same time our moral and ethical values may well be challenged.

A couple travels the Windsong trail along the waterfront every weekday. He waddles. She runs. He complains. She works. One morning he's found dead. A heart attack? Or something else?Sandy, a retiree who is happily busy with projects, walks along a hilly waterfront every morning. When he can't avoid it, he puts up with the complaints of Wendell, another retiree who walks his wife to work along the same path. One morning, Sandy learns that Wendell was found dead on the rocks at the foot of a steep hill. The cops have written it off to a heart attack. But was it that? Or something else?

20 years ago the Lynchman’s Owl disappeared. Hero, villain, monster, fiend—it is undeniable the lingering effects the mysterious creature has left on the beleaguered nation, long since at odds with its own downtrodden, oppressed people. 20 years later, with ironclad airships taking to the skies and the world charged for total war beneath, his identity will be revealed at last.A Steampunk Noir Story20 years ago the Lynchman’s Owl disappeared. Hero, villain, monster, fiend—it is undeniable the lingering effects the mysterious creature has left on the beleaguered nation, long since at odds with its own downtrodden, oppressed people.20 years later, with ironclad airships taking to the skies and the world charged for total war beneath, someone has come looking, and his identity will be at last revealed…Issue #2: Legend of the HourNever say never…The investigation continues for Bailey, and there are enough promising leads to make a game of it. In the least likely of places there are answers to be found about the Lynchman’s Owl, but it is in the long history of the legend that its true face might at last be glimpsed.“To hear a hoot in the hour before dawn is to mean enduring ill-fortunes and worse woes still for the listener, especially if you’ve got something to hide. Here in these parts we call him the Lynchman’s Owl, and this is his call.”The Lynchman’s Owl is a series of stand-alone short stories concerning the adventures of the titular masked hero in the twilight of his career. The serial is updated monthly with a collections compendium every 5 issues, with each episode contributing to the overarching story, the firsts of which has been presented here for your enjoyment.(Includes excerpts from B.Y. Yan’s Adult Fantasy Novel: Eye of the North Wind)

Steven and his best friend Russell are back! When Russell's dog, Rodney Rodent, jumps into a mural to chase a demonic-looking gnome and disappears, the Flint Future Detectives are on the case. With the secret password (Bow-wow-wow yippee yo yippee yay!) Steven, Richelle, and Russell enter the mural too, only to find the mysterious Mr. Chickee on the other side. To find a way out, the detectives must complete a mission—finding Rodney Rodent. And that means they're in some wild adventure! As Steven says, "I second that emotion." From the Hardcover edition.

When the Aldens first arrive in Elbow Bend, they meet Kate Frances, who tells them all sorts of ghost stories about the town! The scariest tale is about a ghost dog who howls at midnights and appears to warn people of danger! The Aldens think it is just a story until they hear dogs all over Elbow Bend howling at midnight. Does the ghost dog really exist or is someone playing a trick on them? The Boxcar Children are determined to find out.

Through fourteen books, fans have been fed short rations when it comes to Kinsey Millhone's past: a morsel here, a dollop there. We know of the aunt who raised her, the second husband who left her, the long-lost family up the California coast. But husband number one remained a blip on the screen until now. The call comes on a Monday morning from a guy who scavenges defaulted storage units at auction. Last week he bought a stack. They had stuff in them—Kinsey stuff. For thirty bucks, he'll sell her the lot. Kinsey's never been one for personal possessions, but curiosity wins out and she hands over a twenty (she may be curious but she loves a bargain). What she finds amid childhood memorabilia is an old undelivered letter. It will force her to reexamine her beliefs about the breakup of that first marriage, about the honor of that first husband, about an old unsolved murder. It will put her life in the gravest peril."O" Is for Outlaw: Kinsey's fifteenth adventure into the dark side of human nature.

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes the jaw-dropping finale of the Promise Falls Trilogy. It’s May 23, and small town Promise Falls finds itself in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe with dozens dead from a flu-like virus. Investigator Cal Weaver quickly zeros in on mass poisoning and a tainted water supply. Meanwhile, a college student has been murdered, and Detective Barry Duckworth recognizes a killer’s handiwork from the unsolved homicides of two women in town. Suddenly, the strange events from the last month start to add up….Bloody mannequins in car “23” of an abandoned Ferris wheel…a fiery, out-of-control bus with “23” on the back…“23” on the hoodie of a man accused of assault. The motive for hurting the people of this town points to the number 23—and working out why will bring Duckworth closer to death than ever before.

In the world of Elmore Leonard novels, cops and criminals get by with a grudging respect for each other's capabilities: *Harry had been arrested by Buck Torres a half-dozen times or so; they knew each other pretty well and were friends. Not socially, Harry had never met Buck's wife, but friends in the way they trusted one another and always had time to talk about other things than what they did for a living. * Right now, 66-year-old Harry Arno's in trouble. In order to get at his boss, Jimmy Cap, the feds told Jimmy that Harry's skimming off the sports book he runs, the idea being that Harry will testify in exchange for protection from Tommy Bucks (a.k.a. the Zip), Jimmy's enforcer. But Harry's got a few tricks up his sleeve. Then when a straight-shooting U.S. Marshall decides to spend his vacation tracking Harry down, all hell breaks loose. Set in Miami, Florida, and Rapallo, Italy, Pronto is another brilliantly executed combination of suspense and black humor from the master of crime fiction. --Ron Hogan

Robert Lewiston has fled the country. After executing the largest Ponzi scheme in history, he escaped to Rio, where he's living the high life on billions in stolen funds. John Henderson is an ex-employee of Lewiston's who is assisting the FBI’s investigation. When John discovers a clue to Lewiston's whereabouts, he faces a crucial decision that could lead to dangerous consequences.Robert Lewiston has fled the country. After executing the largest Ponzi scheme in history, he changed his name, had plastic surgery, and escaped to Rio de Janeiro, where he's living the high life on billions in stolen funds.John Henderson was an employee of Lewiston's now defunct hedge fund and is helping the FBI track down his former boss. John is devastated because his parents invested their life savings with Lewiston and lost everything - including their house. When John discovers information that could lead to Lewiston's whereabouts, he is faced with a critical moral dilemma: share his findings with the FBI in hopes of eventually recovering some of his parents lost funds or risk a daring move that could make his parents whole.

Love hurts... Makani Young thought she'd left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind. Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.

With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett presents The House of Niccolò series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire.       In 1462, Nicholas is a wealthy 21-year-old. His beloved wife has died. His stepchildren have locked him out of the family business. He and his private army are the target of multiple conspiracies. And both contenders for the throne of Cyprus, the brilliant Queen Carlotta and her charismatic, sexually ambivalent brother James, are demanding his support. Walking a tightrope of intrigue, Dunnett's hero juggles adversaries and allies, from the delectable courtesan Primaflora to the Mameluke commander Tzani-Bey al Ablak, a man of undiluted evil. Masterfully paced, alive with sensual delights, Race of Scorpions confirms Dorothy Dunnett as the grande dame of the genre. From the Trade Paperback edition.

When twin classmates are abducted from Bolton Prep, Tory and the Virals decide there’s no one better equipped than them to investigate. But the gang has other problems to face. Their powers are growing wilder, and becoming harder to control. Chance Claybourne is investigating the disastrous medical experiment that twisted their DNA. The bonds that unite them are weakening, threatening the future of the pack itself. The Virals must decipher the clues and track down a ruthless criminal before he strikes again, all while protecting their secret from prying eyes. And everyone seems to be watching.

Vanishing Fruit? No Way! Nancy and her friends are off on an apple-picking adventure! They are headed to the Kids Apple Festival, where they will pick apples, go on a hayride, and work their way through a cornstalk maze. Bess is excited about the applesauce-eating contest -- after all, apples are her favorite food! And the winner gets a whole basket of River Heights Reds -- a brand new type of apple! But when the basket -- and all the apples in it -- vanishes, Nancy knows she has to get to the core of this mystery. Can she figure out who the bad apple is, or is this festival on the verge of an apple emergency?

Hidden from mortal eyes and divided into three factions are the creatures of darkness that coexist with mortals. In the witches’ town Morganefaire, an ancient legend tells the story of a mirror that was once shattered into four fragments, each able to entrap a powerful soul. Amber Reed is a struggling necromancer on a mission: help vampire Aidan stop the Prophecy of Morganefaire and protect the many innocents from the inevitable fate that will befall them if the wrong faction wins. When bodies begin to pile up, Amber realizes she has no choice than to work together with the fashion-savvy yet irritating ghost of a young witch to solve the mystery and protect the one she loves. In a world of forbidden love, of ancient enemies and bonds spun by fate, nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. Amber’s life will never be the same again unless she finds out who the murderer is, and quick, before everything she ever loved is taken from her forever… Shadow Blood (Ancient Legends), the continuation to Forever And Beyond, will be released Oct. 2012.