After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion,...  more

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead. Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

How well do you know the couple next door? Or your husband? Or even yourself? People are capable of almost anything. A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors. Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all, a loving relationship, a wonderful...  more

How well do you know the couple next door? Or your husband? Or even yourself? People are capable of almost anything. A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors. Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all, a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story. Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.  What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family; a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.

It has an ocean-front view, a private beach--and a deadly secret that won't stay buried. No. 7 Ocean Drive is a gorgeous, multi-million-dollar beachfront estate in the Hamptons, where money and privilege know no bounds. But its beautiful gothic exterior hides a horrific past: it was the...  more

It has an ocean-front view, a private beach--and a deadly secret that won't stay buried. No. 7 Ocean Drive is a gorgeous, multi-million-dollar beachfront estate in the Hamptons, where money and privilege know no bounds. But its beautiful gothic exterior hides a horrific past: it was the scene of a series of depraved killings that have never been solved. Neglected, empty, and rumored to be cursed, it's known as the Murder House, and locals keep their distance.  Detective Jenna Murphy used to consider herself a local, but she hasn't been back since she was a girl. Trying to escape her troubled past and rehabilitate a career on the rocks, the former New York City cop hardly expects her lush and wealthy surroundings to be a hotbed of grisly depravity. But when a Hollywood power broker and his mistress are found dead in the abandoned Murder House, the gruesome crime scene rivals anything Jenna experienced in Manhattan. And what at first seems like an open and shut case turns out to have as many shocking secrets as the Murder House itself, as Jenna quickly realizes that the mansion's history is much darker than even the town's most salacious gossips could have imagined. As more bodies surface, and the secret that Jenna has tried desperately to escape closes in on her, she must risk her own life to expose the truth--before the Murder House claims another victim. Read by Therese Plummer, Jay Snyder.  9 audio discs (11 hr., 26 min.) 

In an astonishing feat of empathy and narrative invention, our most ambitious novelist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial...  more

In an astonishing feat of empathy and narrative invention, our most ambitious novelist imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940 Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America -- and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother.

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city. This book tells what happened on that day, told through the memoirs of survivors.

Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic...  more

Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents -- Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's child rearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them -- despite their overwhelming self-absorption -- resonates from cover to cover.

The incredible true story of the young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium and their brave struggle for justice... — As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories, where they painted clock faces with a...  more

The incredible true story of the young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium and their brave struggle for justice... — As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories, where they painted clock faces with a mysterious new substance called radium. Assured by their bosses that the luminous material was safe, the women themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered from head to toe with the glowing dust. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” were considered the luckiest alive -- until they began to fall mysteriously ill. As the fatal poison of the radium took hold, they found themselves embroiled in one of America’s biggest scandals and a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights. A rich, historical narrative written in a sparkling voice, The Radium Girls is the first book that fully explores the strength of extraordinary women in the face of almost impossible circumstances and the astonishing legacy they left behind.

Jeffrey MacDonald was the quintessential American golden boy: a young Princeton-educated doctor and Green Beret who married his high school sweetheart and had two adorable daughters. But then, in 1970, someone viciously murdered MacDonald's wife and children, stabbing them many times. MacDonald...  more

Jeffrey MacDonald was the quintessential American golden boy: a young Princeton-educated doctor and Green Beret who married his high school sweetheart and had two adorable daughters. But then, in 1970, someone viciously murdered MacDonald's wife and children, stabbing them many times. MacDonald maintained that the murders had been committed by demented hippies, Manson-like intruders who had broken into his home and, after tangling briefly with MacDonald himself, had moved on to the rest of the family. Various investigators and laypeople felt differently, but the evidence was inconclusive and it took years of court battles to bring MacDonald to justice. Joe McGuinness combines meticulous forensic analysis with a riveting narrative of the crime, investigation, and trial. He also paints a subtle psychological portrait of MacDonald, which unfolds over the course of the book to create a harrowingly plausible answer to the question: how could a man like Jeffrey MacDonald slaughter his entire family in cold blood?

Dale Masterson, senior partner in a large Portland, Oregon, law firm, has become wealthy and successful representing the interests of oil and coal companies. When his colleague, Christine Larson, is found dead, Masterson s business practices are put under surveillance and a lower-level employee...  more

Dale Masterson, senior partner in a large Portland, Oregon, law firm, has become wealthy and successful representing the interests of oil and coal companies. When his colleague, Christine Larson, is found dead, Masterson s business practices are put under surveillance and a lower-level employee stands accused. The controversy surrounding the firm is magnified tenfold when Dale is found beaten to death in his mansion. But this time Dale s son, Brandon, is seen fleeing the scene. A dedicated eco-warrior obsessed with saving the planet, Brandon confesses to killing his father for revenge, he claims on behalf of all the people whose lives are being destroyed by his father s questionable clients. Veteran lawyer Amanda Jaffe is hired to represent Brandon, but what seems like an open-and-shut case quickly begins to unravel. If Brandon is really innocent a radical activist determined to martyr himself for his cause then who viciously murdered Dale Masterson? And what, if any, is the connection between his murder and the murder of Christine Larson? Smart, fierce, and unafraid of the truth even if it puts her in danger, Amanda begins to look deeper. What she finds will force the seasoned legal pro to make the hardest professional decision of her life."

The past has arrived uninvited at Jason Danvers’s door… …and it’s his younger sister, Hayden, a former addict who severed all contact with her family as her life spiraled out of control. Now she’s clean and sober but in need of a desperate favor—she asks...  more

The past has arrived uninvited at Jason Danvers’s door… …and it’s his younger sister, Hayden, a former addict who severed all contact with her family as her life spiraled out of control. Now she’s clean and sober but in need of a desperate favor—she asks Jason and his wife to take care of her teenage daughter for forty-eight hours while she handles some business in town. But Hayden never returns. And her disappearance brings up more unresolved problems from Jason’s past, including the abrupt departure of his best friend on their high school graduation night twenty-seven years earlier. When a body is discovered in the woods, the mysteries of his sister’s life—and possible death—deepen. And one by one these events will shatter every expectation Jason has ever had about families, about the awful truths that bind them and the secrets that should be taken to the grave.

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town?s darkest secrets come to the forefront...and she inches closer and closer to her death. High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her...  more

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town?s darkest secrets come to the forefront...and she inches closer and closer to her death. High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she?s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman, a family friend of the Hoffmans, vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie?s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view?Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling?Everything You Want Me to Be weaves the story of Hattie?s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death. Evocative and razor-sharp, Everything You Want Me to Be challenges you to test the lines between innocence and culpability, identity and deception. Does love lead to self-discovery?or destruction?

A taut new psychological thriller from the Edgar Award–winning author of The Wicked Girls Alex Marwood?s debut novel, The Wicked Girls, earned her lavish praise from the likes of Stephen King, Laura Lippman, and Erin Kelly, and won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. Now Marwood?s...  more

A taut new psychological thriller from the Edgar Award–winning author of The Wicked Girls Alex Marwood?s debut novel, The Wicked Girls, earned her lavish praise from the likes of Stephen King, Laura Lippman, and Erin Kelly, and won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. Now Marwood?s back with a brilliant, tightly paced thriller that will keep you up at night and make you ask yourself: just how well do you know your neighbors? Everyone who lives at 23 Beulah Grove has a secret. If they didn?t, they wouldn?t be renting rooms in a dodgy old building for cash—no credit check, no lease. It?s the kind of place you end up when you you?ve run out of other options. The six residents mostly keep to themselves, but one unbearably hot summer night, a terrible accident pushes them into an uneasy alliance. What they don?t know is that one of them is a killer. He?s already chosen his next victim, and he?ll do anything to protect his secret.

Only two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. It's said that the only people who really know what goes on in a marriage are the couple themselves. But what if even they don't know the truth? David and Adele seem like the ideal pair. He's a successful psychiatrist, she is his...  more

Only two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. It's said that the only people who really know what goes on in a marriage are the couple themselves. But what if even they don't know the truth? David and Adele seem like the ideal pair. He's a successful psychiatrist, she is his picture-perfect wife who adores him. But why is he so controlling? And why is she keeping things hidden?  Louise, David's new secretary, is intrigued. But as Louise gets closer to each of them, instead of finding answers she uncovers more puzzling questions. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise could never have guessed how wrong things really are and just how far someone might go to hide it.

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes a new, standalone blockbuster thriller that spins off from the events of the explosive Promise Falls trilogy. If you made a mistake that took someone's life, you'd remember it . . . wouldn't you?      After a...  more

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes a new, standalone blockbuster thriller that spins off from the events of the explosive Promise Falls trilogy. If you made a mistake that took someone's life, you'd remember it . . . wouldn't you?      After a tragedy rocks the community of Promise Falls, Cal Weaver is asked to investigate the threats being made to the accused's family. He's heard all about it on the news: the young man who drank too much, stole a Porsche and killed a girl, and who claimed afterwards not to remember a single thing. The whole town is outraged that he got off lightly, but for reasons Cal can't explain, he accepts the job. Then Cal finds himself caught up in a vicious revenge plot, chasing someone set on delivering retribution. In Cal's experience, it's only ever a matter of time before threats turn into action. . . .      A gripping thriller packed with scandal, from the master of the twist you never saw coming.

Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife Alice, he is doing his best as a single Dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit...  more

Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife Alice, he is doing his best as a single Dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit at the hospital has just been named number two in the country and Eric has a devoted staff of doctors and nurses who are as caring as Eric is. But when he takes on a new patient, Eric's entire world begins to crumble. Seventeen-year-old Max has a terminally ill grandmother and is having trouble handling it. That, plus his OCD and violent thoughts about a girl he likes makes Max a high risk patient. Max can't turn off the mental rituals he needs to perform every fifteen minutes that keep him calm. With the pressure mounting, Max just might reach the breaking point. When the girl is found murdered, Max is nowhere to be found. Worried about Max, Eric goes looking for him and puts himself in danger of being seen as a "person of interest" himself. Next, one of his own staff turns on him in a trumped up charge of sexual harassment. Is this chaos all random? Or is someone systematically trying to destroy Eric's life? New York Times best selling author Lisa Scottoline's visceral thriller, Every Fifteen Minutes,brings you into the grip of a true sociopath and shows you how, in the quest to survive such ruthlessness, every minute counts.

CRUEL SUMMER As a heat wave stifles Kansas City, a death-row inmate is served his final meal, makes his final confession, and uses his final breath to proclaim his innocence. For fifteen years, Ryan Kowalczyk denied having slaughtered a young couple in their car as their three-year old lay...  more

CRUEL SUMMER As a heat wave stifles Kansas City, a death-row inmate is served his final meal, makes his final confession, and uses his final breath to proclaim his innocence. For fifteen years, Ryan Kowalczyk denied having slaughtered a young couple in their car as their three-year old lay sleeping in the back seat. But when his friend Whitney King, who also stood accused, turned against him, his fate was sealed... Attorney Lou Mason understands the pain of being orphaned, so when the victims' now-teenage son asks for his help in suing blueblood King -- who got off scot-free -- Lou can't turn him down. Coincidentally, Kowalczyk's mother wants to hire him for the same purpose. And things get even more interesting once Lou discovers that four of the jurors on the original case died violently...while the rest have disappeared. Now, with each sweltering day that passes, it becomes clearer that someone will do whatever it takes -- from making death threats to carrying them out -- to stop Mason in his tracks. The deeper he probes, the greater the danger -- until the past and present collide in an explosion of deceit, corruption, and murder...

Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy fiftieth birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he’s finding it difficult to sneak away to his...  more

Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy fiftieth birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he’s finding it difficult to sneak away to his mistress. Then something truly terrible happens: one of his three-year-old twins goes missing. No trace of her is ever found. The attendees of the party, nicknamed the Jackson Associates by the press, become infamous overnight. Twelve years later, Sean is dead. The Jackson Associates assemble for the funeral, together for the first time since that fateful weekend. Soon the barbed comments and accusations are flying. By the end of the weekend, one will be dead. And one of Sean’s daughters will make a shocking discovery.

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning, along with the houses in which they were hidden. Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires, and he enjoys his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor...  more

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning, along with the houses in which they were hidden. Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires, and he enjoys his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames. He never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid and a professor who told him of a future in which people could think. Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do.

Synopsis: What would you do if the person you loved suddenly vanished into thin air? Catherine's cosy life as a housewife and mum-of-three is quickly thrown into disarray when husband Simon disappears without explanation. She is convinced he hasn't left by choice as confusion and spiraling debts...  more

Synopsis: What would you do if the person you loved suddenly vanished into thin air? Catherine's cosy life as a housewife and mum-of-three is quickly thrown into disarray when husband Simon disappears without explanation. She is convinced he hasn't left by choice as confusion and spiraling debts threaten to tear her family apart. Meanwhile Simon has begun a carefree new life travelling the world. And he's determined not to disclose his past to all he meets, even if it means resorting to extreme and violent measures. But why did he leave? Catherine only gets her answer 25 years later when Simon suddenly reappears on her doorstep.During their furious final confrontation, they discover the secrets, lies and misunderstandings that tore them apart, then brought them face-to-face one last time. 

Sometimes the truth is darker than fiction. Liza Cole has thirty days to write the thriller that could put her back on the bestseller list. In the meantime, she?s struggling to start a family with her husband, who is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. With stresses...  more

Sometimes the truth is darker than fiction. Liza Cole has thirty days to write the thriller that could put her back on the bestseller list. In the meantime, she?s struggling to start a family with her husband, who is distracted by the disappearance of his best friend, Nick. With stresses weighing her down in both her professional and her personal lives, Liza escapes into writing her latest heroine, Beth. Beth is a new mother who suspects her husband is cheating on her while she?s home alone caring for their newborn. Angry and betrayed, she sets out to catch him in the act and make him pay for shattering the illusion of their perfect life. But before she realizes it, she?s tossing the body of her husband?s mistress into the East River. Then the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. Nick?s body is dragged from the same river and Liza?s husband is arrested for his murder. Before her deadline is up, Liza will have to face up to the truths about the people around her, including herself. If she doesn?t, the end of her heroine?s story could be the end of her own.

Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also -- and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned P.I. was supposed...  more

Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also -- and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned P.I. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier. Now finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in this cruel and dangerous town -- some quick and brutal ... and some agonizingly slow.

Treasury of 5 shorter works by the author of Gulliver’s Travels offers ample evidence of the great satirist’s inspired lampoonery. Title piece plus The Battle of the Books, A Meditation upon a Broom-Stick, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit and The...  more

Treasury of 5 shorter works by the author of Gulliver’s Travels offers ample evidence of the great satirist’s inspired lampoonery. Title piece plus The Battle of the Books, A Meditation upon a Broom-Stick, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit and The Abolishing of Christianity in England.

Part of The Wadsworth Casebooks for Reading, Research, and Writing Series, this new title provides all the materials a student needs to complete a literary research assignment in one convenient location.

Inspired by a personal loss, Greene explores the way that tragedy and time assail one man’s memories of his life and loves. Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of Vermont’s elite Lancaster School. It is the place he feels has given him his life, but is...  more

Inspired by a personal loss, Greene explores the way that tragedy and time assail one man’s memories of his life and loves. Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of Vermont’s elite Lancaster School. It is the place he feels has given him his life, but is also the site of his undoing as events spiral out of his control. Found wandering naked in Central Park, he begins to tell his story to the police, but his memories collide into one another, and the true nature of things, a narrative of love, of marriage, of family and of a tragedy Arthur does not know how to address emerges. Luminous and atmospheric, bringing to life the tight-knit enclave of a quintessential New England boarding school, the novel is part mystery, part love story and an exploration of the ties of place and family. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, The Headmaster’s Wife stands as a moving elegy to the power of love as an antidote to grief.

In 1665, the Great Plague swept through London, claiming nearly 100,000 lives. In A Journal of the Plague Year, Defoe vividly chronicles the progress of the epidemic. We follow his fictional narrator through a city transformed-the streets and alleyways deserted, the houses of death with crosses...  more

In 1665, the Great Plague swept through London, claiming nearly 100,000 lives. In A Journal of the Plague Year, Defoe vividly chronicles the progress of the epidemic. We follow his fictional narrator through a city transformed-the streets and alleyways deserted, the houses of death with crosses daubed on their doors, the dead-carts on their way to the pits-and encounter the horrified citizens of the city, as fear, isolation, and hysteria take hold. The shocking immediacy of Defoe's description of plague-racked London makes this one of the most convincing accounts of the Great Plague ever written.

Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike. He ran away again after accidentally -- and fatally -- dropping his infant son. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in...  more

Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike. He ran away again after accidentally -- and fatally -- dropping his infant son. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and the present. "A powerfully affecting work, abounding in humor and heartbreak." (Chicago Tribune Bookworld) IRONWEED is last in the Albany Trilogy, preceeded by LEGS and BILLY PHELAN'S GREATEST GAME.

On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street...   I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in...  more

On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street...   I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past.   At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them.

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: happy parents and a twin sister that meant the world to him. But Alyssa went missing a year ago, stolen off the side of a lonely street with only one witness to the crime. His family shattered, his sister presumed dead, Johnny risks...  more

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: happy parents and a twin sister that meant the world to him. But Alyssa went missing a year ago, stolen off the side of a lonely street with only one witness to the crime. His family shattered, his sister presumed dead, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown in a last, desperate search. What he finds is a city with an underbelly far blacker than anyone could've imagined -  and somewhere in the depths of it all, with the help of his only friend and a giant of a man with his own strange past, Johnny, at last, finds the terrible truth. Detective Clyde Hunt has devoted an entire year to Alyssa's case, and it shows: haunted and sleepless, he's lost his wife and put his shield at risk. But he can't put the case behind him -he won't- and when another girl goes missing, the failures of the past year harden into iron determination. Refusing to lose another child, Hunt knows he has to break the rules to make the case; and maybe, just maybe, the missing girl will lead him to Alyssa... The Last Child is a tale of boundaries: county borders and circles on a map, the hard edge between good and evil, life and death, hopelessness and faith. Perfectly blending character and plot, emotion and action, John Hart again transcends the barrier between thrillers and literature to craft a story as heartrending as it is redemptive. Read by Scott Sowers.  12 sound discs (15 hr.)

Count Dracula is a vampire, drinking people's blood to survive. When he leaves his lonely castle in Transylvania and travels to England, Professor Helsing is the only one who understands the danger, but can he stop Dracula? Audio Review: DRACULA is one of the most well-known stories...  more

Count Dracula is a vampire, drinking people's blood to survive. When he leaves his lonely castle in Transylvania and travels to England, Professor Helsing is the only one who understands the danger, but can he stop Dracula? Audio Review: DRACULA is one of the most well-known stories in the world, yet Britisher Richard E. Grant manages to wring new life from the Bram Stoker classic. Whether he's voicing the naive Jonathan Harker or any of the frightened townsfolk, Grant is a master storyteller. He effortlessly takes on more than a dozen characters, including the deliciously evil Count Dracula himself, with ease and skill. It comes as no surprise that Grant has appeared in numerous films, including DRACULA. Even in this abridged form, the familiar story of the blood-sucking Transylvanian monster is a chilling testament to the ability of the author who wrote the story more than a century ago. -- AudioFile 3 sound discs (ca. 3 hr.)

"Blood Work" -- that's what Terrell McCaleb used to call his job at the FBI. Until a heart condition forced him to take early retirement, he headed all investigations of serial murders in the Los Angeles area. Now he is recovering from a heart transplant operation and leads a quiet...  more

"Blood Work" -- that's what Terrell McCaleb used to call his job at the FBI. Until a heart condition forced him to take early retirement, he headed all investigations of serial murders in the Los Angeles area. Now he is recovering from a heart transplant operation and leads a quiet life. But McCaleb's calm seas turn rough when a story in the "L.A. Times" brings him face-to-face with Graciela Rivers, a darkly intriguing woman who hooks him with the story of her sister's unsolved murder. Against doctor's orders and his own better judgement, McCaleb agrees to take up the case. Soon Terry is on the trail of a killer whose crimes are more baffling and horrifying than anything he has ever encountered. It's a mind-bending, breakneck case that leads McCaleb into the darkest place he's ever known, unsure whether he even wants to survive his own investigation.

January 24th--After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs....It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the...  more

January 24th--After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs....It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth -- and ultimately her life. Read her diary. Enter her world. You will never forget her. For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl's harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful -- and as timely -- today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.

Harry Barnett is a middle-aged failure, leading a shabby existence in the shadow of a past disgrace, reduced to caretaking a friend's villa on the island of Rhodes and working in a bar to earn his keep.  Then a guest at the villa -- a young woman he had instantly and innocently...  more

Harry Barnett is a middle-aged failure, leading a shabby existence in the shadow of a past disgrace, reduced to caretaking a friend's villa on the island of Rhodes and working in a bar to earn his keep.  Then a guest at the villa -- a young woman he had instantly and innocently warmed to -- disappears on a mountain peak. Under suspicion of her murder, Harry stumbles on a set of photographs taken by Heather Mallender in the weeks before her disappearance.  Desperately, obsessed by the mystery that has changed his life, he begins to trace back the movements and encounters that led to the moment when she vanished into the blue.  The trail leads him back to England, to a world he thought he had left for ever, and at every step of the way a new and baffling light is shed on all the assumptions that have made Harry what he is.

Joe Leaphorn comes out of retirement to help investigate what seems to be a trading post robbery. A simple-minded kid nailed for the crime is the cousin of an old colleague of Sergeant Jim Chee who, with his fianceé, decides to help. Proving the kid's innocence requires finding...  more

Joe Leaphorn comes out of retirement to help investigate what seems to be a trading post robbery. A simple-minded kid nailed for the crime is the cousin of an old colleague of Sergeant Jim Chee who, with his fianceé, decides to help. Proving the kid's innocence requires finding the remains of one of 172 people killed in an epic airline disaster fifty years in the past. That passenger had handcuffed to his wrist an attaché case filled with a fortune in diamonds -- one of which seems to have turned up in the robbery. But with Hillerman, it can't be that simple. The daughter of that long-dead diamond dealer is also seeking his body. So is an unpleasant fellow willing to kill to make sure she doesn't succeed. It's a race to the finish in a thunderous monsoon to see who will survive, who will be brought to justice, and who will finally unearth the Skeleton Man. Read by: George Guidall Unabridged, 6 CDs, 6 Hrs, 30 Mins.

Cody Hoyt, while a brilliant cop, is an alcoholic struggling with two months of sobriety when his mentor and AA sponsor Hank Winters is found burned to death in a remote mountain cabin. At first it looks like the suicide of a man who's fallen off the wagon, but Cody knows Hank better than...  more

Cody Hoyt, while a brilliant cop, is an alcoholic struggling with two months of sobriety when his mentor and AA sponsor Hank Winters is found burned to death in a remote mountain cabin. At first it looks like the suicide of a man who's fallen off the wagon, but Cody knows Hank better than that. Sober for fourteen years, Hank took pride in his hard-won sobriety and never hesitated to drop whatever he was doing to talk Cody off a ledge. When Cody takes a closer look at the scene of his friend's death, it becomes apparent that foul play is at hand. After years of bad behavior with his department, he's in no position to be investigating a homicide, but this man was a friend and Cody's determined to find his killer. When clues found at the scene link the murderer to an outfitter leading tourists on a multi-day wilderness horseback trip into the remote corners of Yellowstone National Park -- a pack trip that includes his son Justin -- Cody is desperate to get on their trail and stop the killer before the group heads into the wild. Among the tourists is fourteen-year-old Gracie Sullivan, an awkward but intelligent loner who begins to suspect that someone in their party is dangerous. In a fatal cat and mouse game, where it becomes apparent the murderer is somehow aware of Cody's every move, Cody treks into the wilderness to stop a killer hell bent on ruining the only thing in his life he cares about. Read by Holter Graham. Unabridged. 9 sound discs (11 hr.)

Count Dracula has inspired countless movies, books, and plays. But few, if any, have been fully faithful to Bram Stoker’s original, best-selling novel of mystery and horror, love and death, sin and redemption. Dracula chronicles the vampire’s journey from Transylvania to the...  more

Count Dracula has inspired countless movies, books, and plays. But few, if any, have been fully faithful to Bram Stoker’s original, best-selling novel of mystery and horror, love and death, sin and redemption. Dracula chronicles the vampire’s journey from Transylvania to the nighttime streets of London. There, he searches for the blood of strong men and beautiful women while his enemies plot to rid the world of his frightful power.Today’s critics see Dracula as a virtual textbook on Victorian repression of the erotic and fear of female sexuality. In it, Stoker created a new word for terror, a new myth to feed our nightmares, and a character who will outlive us all.Brooke Allen is a book critic whose work has appeared in numerous publications including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Criterion, The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, and The Hudson Review. A collection of her essays, Twentieth-Century Attitudes, will be published in 2003.

To keep the light of his life, he?ll have to do some dark things. After Matt Caine loses his wife in a car accident, all he has left is his daughter, Anna. But just as the little girl ? who survived the accident ? finally starts thriving, Matt?s former in-laws threaten to take her away via a...  more

To keep the light of his life, he?ll have to do some dark things. After Matt Caine loses his wife in a car accident, all he has left is his daughter, Anna. But just as the little girl ? who survived the accident ? finally starts thriving, Matt?s former in-laws threaten to take her away via a bitter custody battle. Desperate to keep Anna and in debt to some dangerous local thugs, Matt has no good options. But he does have Jay, one very bad friend. Just out of jail and plagued by drug addiction, Jay tempts Matt with a foolproof kidnapping scheme. But what sounds like the perfect solution to all his problems eventually leads Matt through a nightmarish maze of betrayals and reversals, pushing him to his breaking point ? and beyond. Now, with his entire life hanging in the balance, Matt makes a pledge of brutal payback

Anna Fox lives alone -- a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother,...  more

Anna Fox lives alone -- a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble -- and its shocking secrets are laid bare. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one -- and nothing -- is what it seems.

New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder's breakneck stand-alone thriller about the secrets families can keep--and the danger of their discovery.      When former investigative reporter Rick Hoffman loses his job, fiancée, and apartment, his only option is to move back into--and...  more

New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder's breakneck stand-alone thriller about the secrets families can keep--and the danger of their discovery.      When former investigative reporter Rick Hoffman loses his job, fiancée, and apartment, his only option is to move back into--and renovate--the home of his miserable youth, now empty and in decay since the stroke that put his father in a nursing home.      As Rick starts to pull apart the old house, he makes an electrifying discovery -- millions of dollars hidden in the walls. It's enough money to completely transform Rick's life -- and everything he thought he knew about his father. Yet the more of his father's hidden past that Rick brings to light, the more dangerous his present becomes. Soon, he finds himself on the run from deadly enemies desperate to keep the past buried, and only solving the mystery of his father -- a man who has been unable to communicate, comprehend, or care for himself for almost 20 years -- will save Rick... if he can survive long enough to do it.

Wealthy Stu Caraver is a young writer who takes his work very seriously. When he decides to do a book about Boston's homeless, he doesn't just hit skid row with a tape recorder in hand, he becomes a bum. He goes undercover--and turns up dead with a neat little ice-pick hole in his ear. That's...  more

Wealthy Stu Caraver is a young writer who takes his work very seriously. When he decides to do a book about Boston's homeless, he doesn't just hit skid row with a tape recorder in hand, he becomes a bum. He goes undercover--and turns up dead with a neat little ice-pick hole in his ear. That's when Stu's Boston Brahmin uncle, Senator Ben Woodhouse, asks attorney Brady Coyne to help. Was Stu simply the victim of bad luck--or could he have discovered something worth killing for? Coyne soon learns some things about the young writer--and his friends in high school and low society--that would interst any uncle. And before long Brady Coyne is smack in the middle of a bestseller of a mystery.

A legal thriller without a courtroom? A lawyer who's actually a nice guy? Here's the brief... The Lawyer... Boston's Brady Coyne is keyed way down. He'd rather fish than fight. When he's full of beans, they're from a can, washed down with beer. He's not partnership...  more

A legal thriller without a courtroom? A lawyer who's actually a nice guy? Here's the brief... The Lawyer... Boston's Brady Coyne is keyed way down. He'd rather fish than fight. When he's full of beans, they're from a can, washed down with beer. He's not partnership material-legal or matrimonial. Barrister to the Brahmins through a quirk of Fate, Brady finds his clients usually demand his personal, discreet attention. The Client... Elderly Florence Gresham is wealthy and whipcord tough. A realist, she's accepted the loss of her elder son to the jungles of Vietnam and the suicide of her husband. But when her scholarly, reclusive younger son steps off a cliff, Florence won't buy the coroner's obvious conclusion. The Case... What happened to George? His mother wants Brady to uncover the truth. She offers an incentive: a hefty percentage of the double indemnity life insurance policy payoff-assuming, of course, that Brady overturns the suicide verdict. And low key or not, barrister Brady likes to win...

"Fans of Marley and Me will find a new dog to cheer for in this insightful heart-tugger." ?Publishers Weekly?Two lives. Two second chances. The very definition of a hard-nosed businessman, Adam March has no room in his life for anything but the cold drive to succeed. Not for his social-climbing...  more

"Fans of Marley and Me will find a new dog to cheer for in this insightful heart-tugger." ?Publishers Weekly?Two lives. Two second chances. The very definition of a hard-nosed businessman, Adam March has no room in his life for anything but the cold drive to succeed. Not for his social-climbing wife or for his rebellious teenage daughter. Then, in an instant, he loses everything. Adam finds himself alone, unemployed, and reduced to bussing tables in a homeless shelter, serving men he?d always gone out of his way to avoid.Chance was born in an inner-city cellar, a mix of pit bull and God-knows-what. Bred to fight, he lived in a dank, dark, and vicious world. When the moment presented itself, Chance made a break for it in a new life on the street.Thrown together, Adam and Chance fill the holes in each other?s lives. Adam gives Chance his first real home, a haven he never could have imagined, while Chance gives Adam a new start. And a new heart. But will this unlikely friendship withstand the forces that want to tear them apart??"Evokes both laughter and tears, but the ending assures you that humans and dogs are capable of redemption."?Library Journal

Brady Coyne's friend Paul Cizek is burned out from his job as a defense lawyer, and when his empty fishing boat is found adrift on the seas, Brady must figure out whether his friend committed suicide, was murdered, or had an accident.

Believing he’s the target of a frame-up, geeky loner James Drinker hires defense attorney Jason Kolarich to take his case. Two women he knows have recently been murdered, seemingly by the same killer, and Drinker thinks he’ll be the police’s main suspect. Something about...  more

Believing he’s the target of a frame-up, geeky loner James Drinker hires defense attorney Jason Kolarich to take his case. Two women he knows have recently been murdered, seemingly by the same killer, and Drinker thinks he’ll be the police’s main suspect. Something about Drinker seems off from the start, but Kolarich doesn’t give it too much thought. Until another murder occurs. And then another.   As he begins to probe his client’s life and story more closely, it quickly becomes clear that nothing about James Drinker is what it seems…and the target of the frame-up isn’t Drinker, but Kolarich.   Faced with a murder charge and unable to prove his own innocence without breaking his sworn attorney-client privilege, Jason Kolarich must hunt for the truth about James Drinker, the series of brutal killings, and why he’s been set up to take the fall. The answers will be beyond anything he could have imagined.

After losing her parents, fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm. As she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she...  more

After losing her parents, fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm. As she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.  When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County's newest social worker, she doesn't realize just how much her help is needed. She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband. But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm -- secrets much darker than she would have guessed. Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.

Before the Fact tells the tale of wealthy but plain Lina Mclaidlaw, who marries the charming and feckless Johnny Aysgarth against the advice of her father. Lina is certain she can change him for the better, until she is forced to acknowledge that he is a compulsive liar, a crook and a murderer....  more

Before the Fact tells the tale of wealthy but plain Lina Mclaidlaw, who marries the charming and feckless Johnny Aysgarth against the advice of her father. Lina is certain she can change him for the better, until she is forced to acknowledge that he is a compulsive liar, a crook and a murderer. But still she loves him, while fearing she will inevitably become one of his victims.

At the age of eight Brian Lackey is found bleeding under the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he cannot remember an entire five-hour period of time. During the following years he slowly records details from that night, but these fragments are not enough to...  more

At the age of eight Brian Lackey is found bleeding under the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he cannot remember an entire five-hour period of time. During the following years he slowly records details from that night, but these fragments are not enough to explain what happened to him, and he begins to believe that he may have been a victim of an alien encounter. Neil McCormick is fully aware of the events from the summer. Wise beyond his years, curious about his developing sexuality, Neil found what he perceived to be love and guidance from his baseball coach. Now, ten years later, he is a teenage hustler, a terrorist of sorts, unaware of the dangerous path his life is taking. His recklessness is governed by idealized memories of his coach, that unexpectedly changes when Brian comes to Neil for help and, ultimately, the truth.

British mystery fans are well acquainted with David Raker, missing-persons investigator and star of Tim Weaver's bestselling crime series. When Emily Kane arrives at her sister Carrie's house in Devon, she discovers the front door unlocked. Dinner is in the oven -- but Carrie, her...  more

British mystery fans are well acquainted with David Raker, missing-persons investigator and star of Tim Weaver's bestselling crime series. When Emily Kane arrives at her sister Carrie's house in Devon, she discovers the front door unlocked. Dinner is in the oven -- but Carrie, her husband, and their two daughters are gone. When the police are unable to find a lead, Emily enlists the help of missing persons investigator (and former boyfriend) David Raker. But as he gets closer to the truth, Raker begins to uncover evidence of a sinister cover-up, spanning decades and costing countless lives.

THE ORCHARD is the story of a street-smart city girl who must adapt to a new life on an apple farm after she falls in love with Adrian Curtis, the golden boy of a prominent local family whose lives and orchards seem to be cursed. Married after only three months, young Theresa finds life with...  more

THE ORCHARD is the story of a street-smart city girl who must adapt to a new life on an apple farm after she falls in love with Adrian Curtis, the golden boy of a prominent local family whose lives and orchards seem to be cursed. Married after only three months, young Theresa finds life with Adrian on the farm far more difficult and dangerous than she expected. Rejected by her husband's family as an outsider, she slowly learns for herself about the isolated world of farming, pesticides, environmental destruction, and death, even as she falls more deeply in love with her husband, a man she at first hardly knew and the land that has been in his family for generations. She becomes a reluctant player in their attempt to keep the codling moth from destroying the orchard, but she and Adrian eventually come to know that their efforts will not only fail but will ultimately take an irreparable toll.

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city, and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and Rosie Daly were all ready to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break...  more

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city, and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and Rosie Daly were all ready to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives. But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd dumped him -- probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again. Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not. Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he's a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly -- and he's willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.

Acclaimed Irish crime writer Ken Bruen has won numerous awards for his hard-charging, dark thrillers, which have been translated into ten languages. In Headstone, an elderly priest is nearly beaten to death and a special-needs boy is brutally attacked. Evil has many guises and Jack Taylor has...  more

Acclaimed Irish crime writer Ken Bruen has won numerous awards for his hard-charging, dark thrillers, which have been translated into ten languages. In Headstone, an elderly priest is nearly beaten to death and a special-needs boy is brutally attacked. Evil has many guises and Jack Taylor has encountered most of them. But nothing before has ever truly terrified him until he confronts an evil coterie named Headstone, who have committed a series of random, insane, violent crimes in Galway, Ireland. Most would see a headstone as a marker of the dead, but this organization seems like it will act as a death knell to every aspect of Jack’s life. Jack’s usual allies, Ridge and Stewart, are also in the line of terror. An act of appalling violence alerts them to the sleeping horror, but this realization may be too late, as Headstone barrels along its deadly path right to the center of Jack’s life and the heart of Galway. A terrific read from a writer called “a Celtic Dashiell Hammett,” Headstone is an excellent addition to the Jack Taylor series (Philadelphia Inquirer) 

Seems impossible, but Jack Taylor is sober. One reason he's been able to keep clean: his dealer's in jail, which leaves Jack without a source. That dealer calls him to Dublin and asks a favor -- the man's sister is dead and the guards have called it death by misadventure. But he says...  more

Seems impossible, but Jack Taylor is sober. One reason he's been able to keep clean: his dealer's in jail, which leaves Jack without a source. That dealer calls him to Dublin and asks a favor -- the man's sister is dead and the guards have called it death by misadventure. But he says that can't be true and begs Jack to have a look, check around, see what he can find. Jack agrees, though he can't possibly know the shocking, deadly consequences that granting this simple request will bring. Jack will understand soon, in the dark, lethal fourth entry in Ken Bruen's award-winning Jack Taylor series.

OUTSIDERSWidowed just two days after her marriage to a man twice her age, Marnie finds herself an outsider in the remote seaside village of Torcurra. Spurned by the townsfolk who suspect her involvement in her husband's death, she has only two friends: the local priest and the madman known as...  more

OUTSIDERSWidowed just two days after her marriage to a man twice her age, Marnie finds herself an outsider in the remote seaside village of Torcurra. Spurned by the townsfolk who suspect her involvement in her husband's death, she has only two friends: the local priest and the madman known as Raver, who is even more of an outcast than Marnie.Marnie makes a remarkable discovery about Raver, whom she renames Raven, and the two forge a deep bond that begins to heal her own bruised heart. But the suspicious villagers see Raven's transformation as evidence of witchcraft, and suddenly Marnie finds herself facing an ordeal that threatens not only her future with Raven, but her very life.

Two years ago, Darren Street made a name for himself as the man who rooted out corruption in the district attorney’s office. Now the hotheaded young lawyer is in the public eye yet again—this time, accused of murder. Jalen Jordan retained Street for what seemed to be a minor...  more

Two years ago, Darren Street made a name for himself as the man who rooted out corruption in the district attorney’s office. Now the hotheaded young lawyer is in the public eye yet again—this time, accused of murder. Jalen Jordan retained Street for what seemed to be a minor traffic violation, but when evidence turned up linking Jordan to the death of two boys, Street wanted out of the case. To ensure his lawyer’s cooperation and silence, Jordan threatened to make Street’s son the next victim. Shortly after, Jordan’s own body turned up with a bullet hole in his chest. Now Street is on trial for his life, and the enemy he made in the DA’s office is clearly out for blood. It’s one lawyer out to frame another. Can a desperate father escape punishment for a crime he didn’t commit? Performed by Nick Podehl.  7 audio discs (8 hr., 25 min.) 

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, Lisa Lutz?s latest blistering thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you?ll want to buckle up for the ride! In case you were wondering, I didn?t...  more

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, Lisa Lutz?s latest blistering thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you?ll want to buckle up for the ride! In case you were wondering, I didn?t do it. I didn?t have anything to do with Frank?s death. I don?t have an alibi, so you?ll have to take my word for it... Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband?s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It?s not the first time. She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive?s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy?and dangerous?alliance is born. It?s almost impossible to live off the grid today, but Amelia-now-Debra and Blue have the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret?can she outrun her past? With heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, The Passenger is an amazing psychological thriller about defining yourself while you pursue your path to survival. One thing is certain: the ride will leave you breathless.

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side. The hike through the rugged Giralang Ranges is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At...  more

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side. The hike through the rugged Giralang Ranges is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises. Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case -- in just a matter of days she was to provide the documents that will bring down the company she works for. Falk discovers that far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. But does it include murder?

ON A COLD, SNOWY NIGHT IN 1985, TWO MEN BEGGED FOR THEIR LIVES. In 1985, two 27-year-old friends left their suburban Detroit homes for a hunting trip in rural Michigan. When they did not return, their families and police suspected foul play. For 18 years, no one could prove a thing. Then, a...  more

ON A COLD, SNOWY NIGHT IN 1985, TWO MEN BEGGED FOR THEIR LIVES. In 1985, two 27-year-old friends left their suburban Detroit homes for a hunting trip in rural Michigan. When they did not return, their families and police suspected foul play. For 18 years, no one could prove a thing. Then, a relentless investigator got a witness to talk, and a horrifying story emerged. FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, THEIR KILLERS WENT FREE. In 2003, this bizarre case hit the glare of the criminal justice system, as prosecutors charged two brothers, Raymond and Donald Duvall, with murder. With no bodies ever found, the case hinged on the testimony of one terrified witness who saw a bloody scene unfold-and who was still nearly too frightened to talk. THEN A WITNESS TOLD HER CHILLING STORY Now, the truth behind an 18-year-old mystery is revealed against the backdrop of an unusual, electrifyingly dramatic trial. Raymond and Donald Duvall bragged to friends that they killed their victims, chopped up their bodies and fed them to pigs. A Michigan jury soon had evidence of this brutally methodical execution-evidence that would lead a shocked courtroom through the heart of evil and beyond a shadow of a doubt.

A Plague on Both Your Houses introduces the physician Matthew Bartholomew, whose unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues. Besides his practice, Bartholomew is teacher of Medicine at Michaelhouse, part of the...  more

A Plague on Both Your Houses introduces the physician Matthew Bartholomew, whose unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues. Besides his practice, Bartholomew is teacher of Medicine at Michaelhouse, part of the fledgling University of Cambridge. In 1348, the inhabitants of Cambridge live under the shadow of a terrible pestilence that has ravaged Europe and is traveling relentlessly eastward towards England. Bartholomew, however, is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse -- a death the University authorities do not want investigated. When three more scholars die in mysterious circumstances, Bartholomew defies the University and begins his own inquiry. His pursuit for the truth leads him into a complex tangle of lies and intrigue that causes him to question the innocence of his closest friends, and even his family. When the Black Death finally arrives and sweeps through the town, Bartholomew's theories of a dark and sinister conspiracy are swiftly replaced by a desperate struggle for personal survival. But, for some, even the dangers of a horrifying death from the bubonic plague are secondary to gaining wealth and power, and Bartholomew is dragged deeper and deeper into a quagmire of deceit which threatens not only his life, but the continued existence of the University and the future of the town.

Stock up on one of the most perennially popular and bestselling novels in recent years. “On June 4, the body of a young woman surfaced from 300 feet of water in Lake Placid, New York. Because of the depth and the intense cold of the water, the body, which was determined by medical...  more

Stock up on one of the most perennially popular and bestselling novels in recent years. “On June 4, the body of a young woman surfaced from 300 feet of water in Lake Placid, New York. Because of the depth and the intense cold of the water, the body, which was determined by medical examiners to have been submerged for 20 years, was remarkably well-preserved. Authorities concluded that her death had been violent.” Now, two decades later, someone must pay. And for Dave Powell, his loving wife, their little girl and all those close to them, the ordeal is about to begin....

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife. You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement -- a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.  You will assume you know the anatomy of...  more

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife. You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement -- a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.  You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle. Assume nothing. Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage -- and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love. Read between the lies.

Marty Kalish has been accused of murdering his lover's husband. He had a motive. He was at the scene of the crime. He manipulated evidence to hide his guilt. He even confessed. But that's not the end of the story. That's only the beginning. "The best suspense novel I've read in a...  more

Marty Kalish has been accused of murdering his lover's husband. He had a motive. He was at the scene of the crime. He manipulated evidence to hide his guilt. He even confessed. But that's not the end of the story. That's only the beginning. "The best suspense novel I've read in a while...surprising." (James Patterson) "Wicked...A twisty spellbinding story." (Publishers Weekly)

West Hall has always been a town of strange disappearances and legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who was found murdered in the field behind her house in 1908, a few short months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie, drove her mad. People say that Sara's ghost...  more

West Hall has always been a town of strange disappearances and legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who was found murdered in the field behind her house in 1908, a few short months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie, drove her mad. People say that Sara's ghost still walks after dark, and some leave offerings on their doorstep to keep her from entering their homes uninvited. Now, in present day, Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they remain on the fringes, living off the land without internet or outside interference. But one morning Ruthie wakes up to find that Alice has disappeared without a trace. When she searches the house for clues, she is startled to find a secret compartment beneath the floorboards that contains two objects. One, a gun. And two, a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary. The story the diary tells is one of a mother skating on the edge of sanity, willing to do whatever she can to bring her daughter back even if it means dabbling in dark and dangerous territory. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's death, she discovers that she's not the only one looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

?Julia Keller is that rare talent who combines gripping suspense, a fabulous sense of place, and nuanced characters you can?t wait to come back to.? ?Karin SlaughterPhone calls before dawn are never good news. And when you?re the county?s prosecuting attorney, calls from the sheriff are rarely...  more

?Julia Keller is that rare talent who combines gripping suspense, a fabulous sense of place, and nuanced characters you can?t wait to come back to.? ?Karin SlaughterPhone calls before dawn are never good news. And when you?re the county?s prosecuting attorney, calls from the sheriff are rarely good news, either. So when Bell Elkins picks up the phone, she already knows she won?t like what she?s about to hear, but she?s still not prepared for this: sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble?s body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn?t drown?she was dead before her body ever hit the water.With a case like that, Bell knows the coming weeks are going to be tough. But that?s not all Bell is coping with these days. Her daughter is now living with Bell?s ex-husband, hours away. Sheriff Nick Fogelsong, one of Bell?s closest friends, is behaving oddly. Furthermore, a face from her past has resurfaced for reasons Bell can?t quite figure. Searching for the truth, both behind Lucinda?s murder and behind her own complicated relationships, will lead Bell down a path that might put her very life at risk.In Bitter River, Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Keller once again weaves a compelling, haunting mystery set against the stark beauty and extreme poverty of a small West Virginia mountain town.

Ben and Caroline Tierney and their two young boys are hoping to start over. Ben has hit a dead end with his new novel, Caroline has lost her banking job, and eight-year-old Charlie is being bullied at his Manhattan school. When Ben inherits land in the village of Swannhaven, in a remote...  more

Ben and Caroline Tierney and their two young boys are hoping to start over. Ben has hit a dead end with his new novel, Caroline has lost her banking job, and eight-year-old Charlie is being bullied at his Manhattan school. When Ben inherits land in the village of Swannhaven, in a remote corner of upstate New York, the Tierneys believe it’s just the break they need, and they leave behind all they know to restore a sprawling estate. But as Ben uncovers Swannhaven’s chilling secrets and Charlie ventures deeper into the surrounding forest, strange things begin to happen. The Tierneys realize that their new home isn’t the fresh start they needed . . . and that the village’s haunting saga is far from over.

A gripping tale of jealousy, obsession and murder, from the No.1 Bestselling author of The Magpies.When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end.But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on...  more

A gripping tale of jealousy, obsession and murder, from the No.1 Bestselling author of The Magpies.When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end.But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing in his apartment. Somebody appears to be following him. And as misfortune and tragedy strike his friends and loved ones, Andrew is forced to confront the frightening truth...Is Charlie really the girl of his dreams ? or the woman of his nightmares?

What would you do if your family disappeared and all the evidence points at you?  Bus driver Wallace Carver fears the worst when his family fail to meet him as planned after a shopping trip in the US.  His anxiety is justifiably heightened when security cameras show him crossing the US...  more

What would you do if your family disappeared and all the evidence points at you?  Bus driver Wallace Carver fears the worst when his family fail to meet him as planned after a shopping trip in the US.  His anxiety is justifiably heightened when security cameras show him crossing the US border alone.   But his worst nightmares come true when he returns home to Canada and discovers all trace of his family's existence gone.  And if that's not bad enough, he is the main suspect in their disappearance.  Now all Wallace wants to do is to get his family back.  But first he has to work out why they were taken, and by whom...uncover the identity of their captor - and reach them before it's too late.

Nothing burns as bright as the truth. It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small-town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night...  more

Nothing burns as bright as the truth. It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small-town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands. But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’s biggest scandal from more than a decade ago, involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends -- just before Kaycee disappeared for good. Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as she tries desperately to find out what really happened to Kaycee, troubling memories begin to resurface and she begins to doubt her own observations. And when she unearths an even more disturbing secret -- a ritual called “The Game” -- it will threaten reputations, and lives, in the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

Larkwood Priory, Suffolk, 1995: Following his afternoon confessions, Father Anselm is stopped by an old man. What, he is asked, should a man do when the world has turned against him? Anselm’s response -- claim sanctuary -- is to have greater resonance than he could ever have imagined, for...  more

Larkwood Priory, Suffolk, 1995: Following his afternoon confessions, Father Anselm is stopped by an old man. What, he is asked, should a man do when the world has turned against him? Anselm’s response -- claim sanctuary -- is to have greater resonance than he could ever have imagined, for the man returns demanding the protection of the Church. He is Eduard Schwermann, a suspected Nazi war criminal. Meanwhile, with her life running out, Agnes Aubret unburdens a secret to her granddaughter Lucy. Fifty years earlier Agnes lived in occupied Paris and risked her life to smuggle Jewish children to safety until her group was exposed by an SS officer: Eduard Schwermann. As Father Anselm struggles to discover the truth about Schwermann’s history and Lucy delves ever deeper into her grandmother’s past, their investigations dovetail to reveal a remarkable story, in which two seemingly unconnected lives shockingly converge. William Brodrick is a master of crisp historical re-creation, precision plotting, and morally complex characterization.

It is spring, 1543 and King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife -- but this time the object of his affections is resisting. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist...  more

It is spring, 1543 and King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife -- but this time the object of his affections is resisting. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies. Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy, a religious maniac who has been placed by the King's council in the Bedlam hospital for the insane. Should he be released as his parents want, when his terrifying actions could lead to him being burned as a heretic? Then, when an old friend is horrifically murdered, Shardlake promises his widow -- for whom he has long had complicated feelings -- to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to connections not only with the boy in Bedlam, but with Archbishop Cranmer and Catherine Parr, and with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. As London's Bishop Bonner prepares a purge of Protestants, Shardlake, together with his assistant Jack Barak and his friend Guy Malton, follow the trail of a series of horrific murders that shake them to the core. Murders which are already bringing about frenzied talk of witchcraft and a demonic possession, for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer?

Right up until they put him in jail, McKenzie thought the cops were kidding.After all, he did them a favor by stopping a rookie cop from roughing up a distraught woman at a murder scene.But the next thing Mac knows he's in jail, missing an important date with his girlfriend and reliving...  more

Right up until they put him in jail, McKenzie thought the cops were kidding.After all, he did them a favor by stopping a rookie cop from roughing up a distraught woman at a murder scene.But the next thing Mac knows he's in jail, missing an important date with his girlfriend and reliving nightmares he thought he'd finally left behind - and he's vowing payback for all of it. If that means sticking his nose into a crime investigation, well, he's done it before. Only, what appears to be a straightforward case of a cheating boyfriend, his alcoholic girlfriend and an opportune baseball bat proves far more complicated than the police are willing to accept. More disconcerting, as he investigates, Mac finds himself again fighting the influence of a shadowy figure who controls more of what goes on in the Twin Cities than a rational voter would believe. And then there are the unidentified thugs who kill a witness and rough up him and his female lawyer-ally. Soon Mac realizes that the truth of this sordid crime may be as hard to find - and as hard to live with - as the justice he seeks.

Homicide cop Bobby Dunston's daughter has been kidnapped, taken in broad daylight on a city street in the middle of September. The kidnappers demand a million dollars and force Dunston to get the ransom from his friend McKenzie. It soon becomes apparent to the two of them that one of the...  more

Homicide cop Bobby Dunston's daughter has been kidnapped, taken in broad daylight on a city street in the middle of September. The kidnappers demand a million dollars and force Dunston to get the ransom from his friend McKenzie. It soon becomes apparent to the two of them that one of the kidnappers is childhood pal Scottie, a once aspiring drummer now gone astray, and that the kidnapping is payback for "crimes" committed in their past. McKenzie, former cop and now unlicensed P.I., handles the ransom drop-off and the child is returned safely. But Scottie is found dead -- brutally murdered -- and someone has taken out an open contract on McKenzie, using his own money to pay for it.  Dodging attempts on his life from assassins of all shapes and sizes, McKenzie now has precious little time to uncover the mastermind behind it all if he's going to survive.  

In the first Afton Tangler thriller, the unforgiving cold of a Minnesota winter hides the truth behind an even more chilling crime...   On a frozen night in an affluent neighborhood of Minneapolis, a baby is abducted from her home after her teenage babysitter is violently assaulted. The...  more

In the first Afton Tangler thriller, the unforgiving cold of a Minnesota winter hides the truth behind an even more chilling crime...   On a frozen night in an affluent neighborhood of Minneapolis, a baby is abducted from her home after her teenage babysitter is violently assaulted. The parents are frantic, the police are baffled, and, with the perpetrator already in the wind, the trail is getting colder by the second.   As family liaison officer with the Minneapolis P.D., it's Afton Tangler's job to deal with the emotional aftermath of terrible crimes -- but she's never faced a case quite as brutal as this. Each development is more heartbreaking than the last and the only lead is a collection of seemingly unrelated clues.   But, most disturbing of all, Afton begins to suspect that this case is not isolated.  Whoever did this has taken babies before -- and if Afton doesn't solve this crime soon, more children are sure to go missing . . .

Elnora is desperate! It is the turn of the century -- a time when young women seldom act without the approval of their families. Yet that is exactly what Elnora has to do. And so she enters school against the wishes of her widowed mother, who for reasons unknown to Elnora seems determined to...  more

Elnora is desperate! It is the turn of the century -- a time when young women seldom act without the approval of their families. Yet that is exactly what Elnora has to do. And so she enters school against the wishes of her widowed mother, who for reasons unknown to Elnora seems determined to discourage and berate her. Eventually Elnora, with her many talents and an unassuming beauty, wins the hearts of her classmates and teachers alike -- as well as the attention of handsome Philip Ammon, who is visiting Elnora's community. Soon she and Philip develop a deep and wonderful friendship as they work together studying Elnora's beloved Limberlost forest. But as their feelings for each other grow, Elnora is plagued by questions about their friendship . . . and about Philip's beautiful fiancée back in the city! Elnora longs to go to her mother for advice, but she seems as distant and disapproving as ever. Can Elnora find a way to win her mother's love? Can she resolve the growing dilemma in her relationship with Philip? Or will she lose everything she has worked so hard to gain?

It All Seemed So Simple... Two brothers and their friend stumble upon the wreckage of a plane -—the pilot is dead and his duffel bag contains four million dollars in cash. The men agree to hide, keep and share the fortune. But what started off as a simple plan slowly devolves into a gruesome...  more

It All Seemed So Simple... Two brothers and their friend stumble upon the wreckage of a plane -—the pilot is dead and his duffel bag contains four million dollars in cash. The men agree to hide, keep and share the fortune. But what started off as a simple plan slowly devolves into a gruesome nightmare none of them can control.

In Tuesday's Gone, a London social worker makes a routine home visit only to discover her client, Michelle Doyce, serving afternoon tea to a naked, decomposing corpse. With no clues as to the dead man's identity, Chief Inspector Karlsson again calls upon Frieda for help. She discovers...  more

In Tuesday's Gone, a London social worker makes a routine home visit only to discover her client, Michelle Doyce, serving afternoon tea to a naked, decomposing corpse. With no clues as to the dead man's identity, Chief Inspector Karlsson again calls upon Frieda for help. She discovers that the body belongs to Robert Poole, con man extraordinaire. But Frieda can't shake the feeling that the past isn't done with her yet. Did someone kill Poole to embroil her in the investigation? And if so, is Frieda herself the next victim? A masterpiece of paranoia, Tuesday's Gone draws readers inexorably into a fractured and faithless world as it brilliantly confirms Frieda Klein as a quintessential heroine for our times. Narrated by Susan Lyons. 12 audio discs (15 hr.)

From slavery to prosperity: The daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, Amanda America Dickson confounded and ultimately triumphed over the harsh racial strictures that ordered her world. Legally a slave well into her adolescence, Dickson inherited most of...  more

From slavery to prosperity: The daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, Amanda America Dickson confounded and ultimately triumphed over the harsh racial strictures that ordered her world. Legally a slave well into her adolescence, Dickson inherited most of her father's half-million dollar estate after his death in 1885, making her the largest landowner in her county and the wealthiest black woman in the post-Civil War South. Ranging from the days of King Cotton through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and New South eras, Kent Anderson Leslie uses Dickson's life to show how family ties could break down the color barrier and how transgressions of elaborate racial codes were sometimes ignored, tolerated, or even accepted.

It's 1965 in a tight-knit working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York, and Ruth Malone -- a single mother who works long hours as a cocktail waitress -- wakes to discover her two small children, Frankie Jr. and Cindy, have gone missing. Later that day, Cindy's body is found in a...  more

It's 1965 in a tight-knit working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York, and Ruth Malone -- a single mother who works long hours as a cocktail waitress -- wakes to discover her two small children, Frankie Jr. and Cindy, have gone missing. Later that day, Cindy's body is found in a derelict lot a half mile from her home, strangled. Ten days later, Frankie Jr.'s decomposing body is found. Immediately, all fingers point to Ruth. As police investigate the murders, the detritus of Ruth's life is exposed. Seen through the eyes of the cops, the empty bourbon bottles and provocative clothing which litter her apartment, the piles of letters from countless men and Ruth's little black book of phone numbers, make her a drunk, a loose woman -- and therefore a bad mother. The lead detective, a strict Catholic who believes women belong in the home, leaps to the obvious conclusion: facing divorce and a custody battle, Malone took her children's lives. Pete Wonicke is a rookie tabloid reporter who finagles an assignment to cover the murders. Determined to make his name in the paper, he begins digging into the case. Pete's interest in the story develops into an obsession with Ruth, and he comes to believe there's something more to the woman whom prosecutors, the press, and the public have painted as a promiscuous femme fatale. Did Ruth Malone violently kill her own children, is she a victim of circumstance  -- or is there something more sinister at play?  Inspired by a true story, Little Deaths, like celebrated novels by Sarah Waters and Megan Abbot, is compelling literary crime fiction that explores the capacity for good and evil in us all.

Ex-federal prosecutor Michael Ryan has been estranged from his son Ned for three years when Ned is murdered, bludgeoned to death in the private room of a Soho art gallery. His daughter-in-law, wealthy socialite Jennifer Kneeland Ryan, has been indicted for the crime. Jennifer insists she's...  more

Ex-federal prosecutor Michael Ryan has been estranged from his son Ned for three years when Ned is murdered, bludgeoned to death in the private room of a Soho art gallery. His daughter-in-law, wealthy socialite Jennifer Kneeland Ryan, has been indicted for the crime. Jennifer insists she's innocent and begs her father-in-law to defend her. Though Ryan wants to believe she's guilty, he can't turn her away. He takes the case. And as his ambivalence toward Jennifer intensifies, as the painful truth about his son's life begins to emerge, Ryan realizes that his own life is also on trial -- as a father, as a lawyer, and as a man.

On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but she instantly recognizes him. Or thinks she does. At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revellers, Jake realizes that things are becoming...  more

On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but she instantly recognizes him. Or thinks she does. At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revellers, Jake realizes that things are becoming dangerous. They know nothing of one another's existence, but both Stella and Jake flee their lives: Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand. "The Distance Between Us" is a love story about two people who have never met.

On an early spring night in 1991, Sophie and Crow, flushed with anticipation, slip away from a rowdy high school party and sneak off into the woods. Tonight, for the first time, they will make love. An hour later, Sophie lies unconscious, covered with blood, and Crow is crashing through the...  more

On an early spring night in 1991, Sophie and Crow, flushed with anticipation, slip away from a rowdy high school party and sneak off into the woods. Tonight, for the first time, they will make love. An hour later, Sophie lies unconscious, covered with blood, and Crow is crashing through the underbrush, hurling himself into the river to escape the police. . . . What was meant to be an idyllic, intimate evening has turned into a nightmare. Despite Crow’s frantic claims of innocence, evidence at the scene suggests his guilt. And Sophie, by now awake in the hospital, refuses to speak, leaving the residents of the couple’s seemingly placid Tennessee town to draw their own wildly varying conclusions. If Crow isn’t to blame, then who assaulted Sophie, and what compelled Crow to flee? With each answer comes a new set of questions. Elizabeth Cox’s vibrant and lyrical narrative revisits the events leading up to the fateful night, then shows how the tragedy reverberates throughout the community, among parents, friends, teachers, and neighbors–all connected to the young lovers, all with a stake in what happens next. As growing suspicions divide the town, a closer look reveals that everyone has something to hide.

Twenty years ago, a serial killer was caught, convicted, and locked away in New Zealand?s most hellish penitentiary. That man was Edward?s father. Edward has struggled his entire life to put the nightmares of his childhood behind him. But a week before Christmas, violence once again makes an...  more

Twenty years ago, a serial killer was caught, convicted, and locked away in New Zealand?s most hellish penitentiary. That man was Edward?s father. Edward has struggled his entire life to put the nightmares of his childhood behind him. But a week before Christmas, violence once again makes an unwelcome appearance in his world. Is Edward destined to be just like his father, to become a man of blood? A true master of the genre, Paul Cleave unveils a brutally vivid picture of a killer?s mind and a city of fallen angels captured at the ends of the earth.

She drove a school bus in Schenectady, New York, waited on tables at a restaurant, and even worked as a nurse's aide at a pediatric ward. But this seemingly normal working woman killed her own nine children--and avoided suspicion for more than a decade. Now, investigative reporter Joyce...  more

She drove a school bus in Schenectady, New York, waited on tables at a restaurant, and even worked as a nurse's aide at a pediatric ward. But this seemingly normal working woman killed her own nine children--and avoided suspicion for more than a decade. Now, investigative reporter Joyce Egginton delivers a startling glimpse into the mind of a mother who committed the unspeakable crime...the heart of a medical establishment that suspected nothing...and the soul of a community that ignored the terrible truth.

In the tradition of In Cold Blood, The Executioner's Song, and A Civil Action, Suzanne O'Malley exposes the human mystery of the most horrifying crime in recent history and the legal dramasurrounding it.As a journalist, Suzanne O'Malley began covering the murders of Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and...  more

In the tradition of In Cold Blood, The Executioner's Song, and A Civil Action, Suzanne O'Malley exposes the human mystery of the most horrifying crime in recent history and the legal dramasurrounding it.As a journalist, Suzanne O'Malley began covering the murders of Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary Yates hours after their mother, AndreaYates, drowned them in their suburban Houston home in June 2001. Over twenty-four months, O'Malley interviewed or witnessed the sworn testimony of more than a hundred participants in this drama, including Yates herself; her husband, Rusty Yates; their families; attorneys; the personnel of the Harris County district attorney's and sheriff's offices; medical staff; friends; acquaintances; and expert witnesses. O'Malley argues persuasively that under less extraordinary circumstances, a mentally ill woman would have been quietly offered a plea bargain and sent to an institution under court supervision. But on March 12, 2002, Andrea Yates was found guilty of the murders of three of her five children. She is currently serving a life sentence and will not be eligible for parole until 2041.O'Malley's exclusive personal communications with Andrea Yates and her interviews with Rusty Yates allow her to offer fully realized portrayals of people at the center of this horrifying case.In "Are You There Alone?" O'Malley makes a critical contribution to our understanding of mental health issues within the criminal justice system.

They found paradise.…What would they do to keep it? “Lagoon swims and boozy nights turn sinister in [this] atmospheric thriller” (People) about a group of friends whose dream journey around the world on a yacht turns into a chilling nightmare when one of them disappears at...  more

They found paradise.…What would they do to keep it? “Lagoon swims and boozy nights turn sinister in [this] atmospheric thriller” (People) about a group of friends whose dream journey around the world on a yacht turns into a chilling nightmare when one of them disappears at sea. Lana and her best friend Kitty leave home looking for freedom -- and that’s exactly what they find when they are invited onto The Blue, a fifty-foot yacht making its way from the Philippines to New Zealand. Manned by a young crew of wanderers, The Blue is exactly the escape they are looking for and the two quickly fall under its spell, spending their days exploring remote islands and their rum-filled nights relaxing on deck beneath the stars. Yet paradise found can just as quickly become lost. Lana and Kitty begin to discover that they aren’t the only ones with secrets they’d rather run from than reveal. And when one of their new friends disappears overboard after an argument with the other crewmembers, the dark secrets that brought each of them aboard start to unravel.

The Christmas rush is at its peak in a grand Reykjavik hotel when Inspector Erlendur is called in to investigate a murder. The hotel Santa has been stabbed to death, and Erlendur and his fellow detectives find no shortage of suspects between the hotel staff and the international travelers...  more

The Christmas rush is at its peak in a grand Reykjavik hotel when Inspector Erlendur is called in to investigate a murder. The hotel Santa has been stabbed to death, and Erlendur and his fellow detectives find no shortage of suspects between the hotel staff and the international travelers staying for the holidays. As Christmas Day approaches, Erlendur must deal with his difficult daughter, pursue a possible romantic interest, and untangle a long-buried web of malice and greed to find the murderer.

College professor Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. That’s when Paul’s "normal" existence is turned upside down. After nearly losing his own life in...  more

College professor Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. That’s when Paul’s "normal" existence is turned upside down. After nearly losing his own life in that encounter, he finds himself battling PTSD, depression, and severe problems at work. His wife, Charlotte, desperate to cheer him up, brings home a vintage typewriter -- complete with ink ribbons and heavy round keys -- to encourage him to get started on that novel he’s always intended to write. However, the typewriter itself is a problem. Paul swears it’s possessed and types by itself at night. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from downstairs; Charlotte doesn’t hear a thing. And she worries he’s going off the rails. Paul believes the typewriter is somehow connected to the murderer he discovered nearly a year ago. The killer had made his victims type apologies to him before ending their lives. Has another sick twist of fate entwined his life with the killer—could this be the same machine? Increasingly tormented but determined to discover the truth and confront his nightmare, Paul begins investigating the deaths himself. But that may not be the best thing to do. Maybe Paul should just take the typewriter back to where his wife found it. Maybe he should stop asking questions and simply walk away while he can. . . .

Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda's novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women -a decade apart- told in reverse. It's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her...  more

Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda's novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women -a decade apart- told in reverse. It's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne's case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne's boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic's younger neighbor and the group's alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic's return, Annaleise goes missing. Told backwards-Day 15 to Day 1-from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor's disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago. Like nothing you've ever read before, All the Missing Girls delivers in all the right ways. With twists and turns that lead down dark alleys and dead ends, you may think you're walking a familiar path, but then Megan Miranda turns it all upside down and inside out and leaves us wondering just how far we would be willing to go to protect those we love.

During the worst blizzard in decades, a husband and wife are brutally killed in their home while half of London is without power. The suspect, a troubled young man who reported the killings, is in custody, unable or unwilling to explain his presence in the couple's home. Joe O'Loughlin...  more

During the worst blizzard in decades, a husband and wife are brutally killed in their home while half of London is without power. The suspect, a troubled young man who reported the killings, is in custody, unable or unwilling to explain his presence in the couple's home. Joe O'Loughlin is certain the young man is hiding something -- but with murders this methodical, and a suspect who exhibits the signs of developing schizophrenia, the young man seems anything but responsible. But if the suspect isn't the killer, who is? And what do the murders have to do with the disappearance of the teenaged girl who once inhabited the very same room where the murders took place?

The page-turning psychological thriller from the author of #1 bestsellers The Magpies and Because She Loves Me.It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and...  more

The page-turning psychological thriller from the author of #1 bestsellers The Magpies and Because She Loves Me.It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and Laura to cut their dream trip short and flee home.Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what happened that night. But as they try to fit into their old lives again, they realise they are in terrible danger?and that their nightmare is just beginning?

This New York Times bestseller is soon to be a major motion picture starring Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson and directed by James Gray. In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never...  more

This New York Times bestseller is soon to be a major motion picture starring Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson and directed by James Gray. In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless people perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called "The Lost City of Z." In this masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett's quest for "Z" and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century.

"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy." So begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kaye Gibbons's first novel, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize from...  more

"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy." So begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kaye Gibbons's first novel, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.  

Peter Hale is a young attorney struggling to make his own mark in his father's venerable law firm when he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. During the trial of a multi million-dollar case, Peter's father, the lead counsel, suffers a heart attack and asks Peter to move for...  more

Peter Hale is a young attorney struggling to make his own mark in his father's venerable law firm when he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. During the trial of a multi million-dollar case, Peter's father, the lead counsel, suffers a heart attack and asks Peter to move for a mistrial until he's feeling better. Peter decides this is his only chance to prove to his father that he is the terrific lawyer he knows himself to be, and he chooses to carry on with the case against his father's wishes. In his zeal to prove himself, Peter neglects his client and ends up losing everything--the case, his job, and his father. Unemployed and disinherited, Peter takes the only job he is offered--that of a public defender in a small Oregon town. He hopes that if he can make good there, he can reinstate himself in his father's good graces. But his ambition again gets the best of him when he takes on a death-penalty case, representing a mentally retarded man accused of the brutal hatchet murder of a college coed. He's in way over his head, and it's only when Peter realizes that his greed and his ego may end up killing his client that he begins to understand what it really takes to be a good lawyer--and to become a man.  

In the Highlands of 1950s Scotland, a boy is found dead in a canal lock. Two young girls tell such a fanciful story of his disappearance that no one believes them. The local newspaper staff -- including Joanne Ross, the part-time typist embroiled in an abusive marriage, and her boss, a seasoned...  more

In the Highlands of 1950s Scotland, a boy is found dead in a canal lock. Two young girls tell such a fanciful story of his disappearance that no one believes them. The local newspaper staff -- including Joanne Ross, the part-time typist embroiled in an abusive marriage, and her boss, a seasoned journalist determined to revamp the paper -- set out to uncover and investigate the crime. Suspicion falls on several townspeople, all of whom profess their innocence. Alongside these characters are the people of the town and neighboring glens; a refugee Polish sailor; an Italian family whose cafe - boasts the first known cappuccino machine in the north of Scotland; and a corrupt town clerk subverting the planning laws to line his own pocket. Together, these very different Scots harbor deep and troubling secrets underneath their polished and respectable veneers -- revelations that may prevent the crime from being solved and may keep the town firmly in the clutches of its shadowy past.

"What happened is what happened, and the effects of it rippled out continuously. How could you stop the rippling of water?" Out on a rural highway on a freezing night, Patrolman Ronny Forbert sits in his cruiser trying to keep warm and make time pass until his shift ends. Then a car...  more

"What happened is what happened, and the effects of it rippled out continuously. How could you stop the rippling of water?" Out on a rural highway on a freezing night, Patrolman Ronny Forbert sits in his cruiser trying to keep warm and make time pass until his shift ends. Then a car comes speeding over a hill, forcing the rookie cop to chase it. Within minutes, what begins as a clear-cut arrest for drunk driving spirals into a heated struggle between two young men with troubled pasts and ends in a fatal hit and run on an icy stretch of blacktop. As the news spreads around the small town of Lydell, the police chief believes Forbert followed the rules, at least most of them, and is willing to stand by the young cop. But over the course of six days, as dark secrets and old grievances reveal themselves, the people of this tightly woven community decide that a crime must have been ­committed, that someone must pay a price. Evocative, atmospheric, and powerful, Darkness the Color of Snow is a portrait of decency and desperation, ambition and pragmatism, heated passion and cool calculation—of ordinary American lives. ~~~Larger Print is an easier to read format only; it does not meet industry standards for Large Print.~~~  

After nearly fifteen years in a childless marriage, Michael Brace and his beautiful wife, Suzanne, live separate lives under the same roof. Suzanne suffers crippling headaches and is haunted by childhood memories of her father, visions of violence, and the bloodlines of mental illness. Michael,...  more

After nearly fifteen years in a childless marriage, Michael Brace and his beautiful wife, Suzanne, live separate lives under the same roof. Suzanne suffers crippling headaches and is haunted by childhood memories of her father, visions of violence, and the bloodlines of mental illness. Michael, meanwhile, sleeps on the couch, hiding in the shadows of his wealthy family and thinking about the novel he’s always wanted to write. In a tangled desire for revenge against her father, her husband, his family, and everything she cannot reconcile, Suzanne Brace sets in motion a patient, complicated plan of deception, sacrifice, and death. But as with all plans – even those executed to perfection – there can be waves of consequence, both expected and unintended, causing unending ripples of change.

A high stakes drama set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, charting the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident, The River at Night is a nonstop and unforgettable thriller by a stunning new voice in fiction. Winifred Allen...  more

A high stakes drama set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, charting the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident, The River at Night is a nonstop and unforgettable thriller by a stunning new voice in fiction. Winifred Allen needs a vacation. Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls? trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings. What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed. With intimately observed characters, visceral prose, and pacing as ruthless as the river itself, The River at Night is a dark exploration of creatures?both friend and foe?that you won?t soon forget.

He's a good detective...with a bad habit. Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city has ever known, but the city...  more

He's a good detective...with a bad habit. Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city has ever known, but the city doesn't know his dirty secret.  A long-functioning drug addict, Frank has devoted his considerable skills to hiding his usage from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of an Adams Morgan drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. He reluctantly agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl--possibly connected to the first--and the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light, too. 

At first there was no reason to link the killings.  The first one, months earlier, seemed totally random:  a lump of concrete pushed off an overpass onto a passing car.  By contrast, the gruesome bludgeoning death of Amber Marshalson, returning home late from a night out with...  more

At first there was no reason to link the killings.  The first one, months earlier, seemed totally random:  a lump of concrete pushed off an overpass onto a passing car.  By contrast, the gruesome bludgeoning death of Amber Marshalson, returning home late from a night out with friends, was obviously calculated.  The killer had been seen waiting for the girl in a nearby wood.  But when Chief Inspector Wexford discovers that Amber had been the driver right behind the crushed car -- and that she'd been driving a silver Honda, while the car in front of her was a gray Honda -- he knows that someone wanted the teenager dead badly enough to kill twice to get the job done.  And as it turns out, this murderer's plans are only just getting underway. Unabridged: 10 Compact Discs, Running Time: 11 hours, Narrator: John Lee.

In the winter of 1918, at the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four weeks than AIDS has killed in...  more

In the winter of 1918, at the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four weeks than AIDS has killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collision of science and epidemic disease. Magisterial in its breadth of perspective and depth of research, John M. Barry weaves together multiple narratives, with characters ranging from William Welch (founder of Johns Hopkins Medical School) to John D. Rockefeller and Woodrow Wilson. Ultimately a tale of triumph amid tragedy, this crisis provides a precise and sobering model for our world as we confront AIDS, bioterrorism, and other, as yet unknown, diseases.

A decorated detective inspector is murdered on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter's Police Treatment Centre, shot through the heart with a crossbow arrow, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is well aware that he must handle the...  more

A decorated detective inspector is murdered on the tranquil grounds of the St. Peter's Police Treatment Centre, shot through the heart with a crossbow arrow, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is well aware that he must handle the highly sensitive -- and dangerously explosive -- investigation with the utmost discretion. Because the case may involve police corruption, an officer from Professional Standards, Inspector Joanna Passero, has arrived to work with Banks and his team. Though he tries to keep an open mind and offer his full cooperation, the dedicated Banks and his practical investigative style clash with Passero's cool demeanor and by-the- book professionalism. All too soon, the seasoned detective finds himself under uncomfortable scrutiny, his methods second-guessed. As Banks digs deeper into the life and career of the victim, a decorated cop and recent widower named Bill Quinn, he comes to believe that Quinn's murder may be linked to an unsolved missing persons case. Six years earlier, a pretty nineteen-year-old English girl named Rachel Hewitt made national headlines when she disappeared without a trace in Tallinn, Estonia. Convinced that finding the truth about Rachel will lead to Quinn's killer, Banks follows a twisting trail of clues that lead from England to the dark, cobbled alleys of Tallinn's Old Town. But the closer he seems to solving the complicated cold case, the more it becomes clear that someone doesn't want the past stirred up. While Banks prowls the streets of Tallinn, DI Annie Cabbot, recovered from her near-fatal shooting and back at the station in Eastvale, is investigating a migrant labor scam involving corrupt bureaucrats and a loan shark who feeds on the poor. As evidence in each investigation mounts, Banks realizes the two are linked -- and that solving them may put even more lives, including his own, in jeopardy.

John Grisham, the #1 New York Times bestselling author, once again raises the bar when it comes to nonstop suspense in his newest high-octane thriller.

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are...  more

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

Detective Dave Robicheaux returns in another adventure. Only this time, he travels from New Iberia Parish to the wilds of Montana. Swan Peak is the sequel to Black Cherry Blues, the third title in the Robicheaux series. In it, Clete Purcel has to confront ghosts from his past, namely the fact he...  more

Detective Dave Robicheaux returns in another adventure. Only this time, he travels from New Iberia Parish to the wilds of Montana. Swan Peak is the sequel to Black Cherry Blues, the third title in the Robicheaux series. In it, Clete Purcel has to confront ghosts from his past, namely the fact he poured sand in the fuel tanks of an airplane owned by Sally Dio, resulting supposedly in Dio's death. The story also deals with Jimmy Dale Greenwood, an escaped convict who was at one time a fairly famous country singer. His lover is Jamie Sue Wellstone, now the wife of one of the richest men in the West. The larger story deals with country music, the use of fraudulent ministries to garner support for nefarious political enterprises, and two brothers who are the sons of the most famous wildcatter in Texas oil history. Perhaps the most striking character, however, is an ex-Miami roller derby queen by the name of Candace Sweeney. Her lover is a Texas gunbull who was a guard at Abu Ghraib Prison. Few authors can tell a story quite like James Lee Burke. He deftly combines intricate, engaging plotlines and original, compelling characters with his uniquely graceful prose. Burke transcends genre yet again in his latest thrilling addition to the Robicheaux series. Read by Will Patton Abridged,  6 CDs,  7 hrs.

When the bodies of three teenagers were found on the shores of Lake Waco, Texas in July, 1982, even seasoned lawmen were taken aback by the savage mutilation and degradation they had been subjected to. Yet only 52 days after the gruesome triple-murder was discovered, frustrated authorities...  more

When the bodies of three teenagers were found on the shores of Lake Waco, Texas in July, 1982, even seasoned lawmen were taken aback by the savage mutilation and degradation they had been subjected to. Yet only 52 days after the gruesome triple-murder was discovered, frustrated authorities suspended the case indefinitely. Patrol Sergeant Truman Simons, who had been called to the scene that night, saw the carnage first-hand -- and vowed to find the ferocious killer or killers. He soon became a man with a mission, risking his career and his family's safety in search of evidence. Plunging himself into a netherworld of violence and evil, Simons finally got close enough to a murderous ringleader to hear his careless whispers -- and ultimately, put him and his three accomplices behind bars for the brutal slayings. Now, in his Edgar Award-winning account of the Lake Waco killings, acclaimed true crime writer Carlton Stowers lays bare the facts behind the tragic crimes, the twisted predators, and the heroic man who broke the investigation -- with important updated information based on new developments in the case.

Ruth and her husband, Patrick, live in Bristol, where she works as a correspondent for a mediocre radio station and he is an up-and-coming TV news reporter. Their marriage is not ideal but the warmth offered by Patrick and his parents is a welcome change for Ruth, who was orphaned at the age of...  more

Ruth and her husband, Patrick, live in Bristol, where she works as a correspondent for a mediocre radio station and he is an up-and-coming TV news reporter. Their marriage is not ideal but the warmth offered by Patrick and his parents is a welcome change for Ruth, who was orphaned at the age of seven. Every Sunday Ruth and Patrick visit his parents at their 18th century manor farmhouse -- afternoons loved by Patrick -- and tolerated by Ruth. Then "the little house" at the end of her in-laws' lane comes up for sale. When Ruth discovers that she is pregnant, she is persuaded by Patrick and his parents to abandon her career and move from their city apartment to the quaint home in the country -- everything Patrick's mother has always wanted. Ruth is lonely, uncomfortable and bitter. Her husband does not understand, and she is living under the watchful eye of a domineering mother-in-law. Even her own pregnancy seems like a burden. As circumstances threaten to overwhelm her, Ruth struggles to set her life straight with a precarious mix of good humor and outrage, composure and desperation. The result is an engrossing, tragicomic tale of dysfunction -- with an utterly surprising, ironic and intriguing conclusion.

Just west of the Ohio River lies the peaceful town of Wintersville. Its a place where neighbors feel like family, the chief of police knows the residents by name, and the sound of children's laughter echoes among the streets. But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, Dr....  more

Just west of the Ohio River lies the peaceful town of Wintersville. Its a place where neighbors feel like family, the chief of police knows the residents by name, and the sound of children's laughter echoes among the streets. But when a teenager is discovered brutally murdered in the woods, Dr. Ben Stevenson, the towns medical examiner, becomes entangled in an investigation that will force him to uncover the dark secrets of his seemingly quiet community and ultimately to confront a truth that will haunt him forever.

Dr. Langhof, nearly forty years after his medical experiments for the Waffen SS, lives on in seclusion in the Republic, remembering--with no forgiveness or atonement--his descent into darkness and degradation

A brand-new BBC Radio full-cast dramatization of a classic Raymond Chandler mystery featuring private eye Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is mixing a little business with pleasure?he?s getting paid to follow a mysterious and lovely redhead called Eleanor King. And wherever Miss King goes, trouble seems...  more

A brand-new BBC Radio full-cast dramatization of a classic Raymond Chandler mystery featuring private eye Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is mixing a little business with pleasure?he?s getting paid to follow a mysterious and lovely redhead called Eleanor King. And wherever Miss King goes, trouble seems to follow. But she?s easy on the eye and Marlowe?s happy to do as he?s told, all in the name of chivalry, of course. But one dead body later and what started out to be a lazy day?s snooping soon becomes a deadly cocktail of blackmail, lies, mistaken identity?and murder.

Walt Duffy was a world-renowned ornithologist, outdoorsman, and nature photographer who spent his life traveling and taking some of the most highly regarded photographs of birds in their natural habitats. Until, that is, over a year ago, when a climbing accident left him paraplegic. Now he...  more

Walt Duffy was a world-renowned ornithologist, outdoorsman, and nature photographer who spent his life traveling and taking some of the most highly regarded photographs of birds in their natural habitats. Until, that is, over a year ago, when a climbing accident left him paraplegic. Now he spends his time in the backyard of his brownstone in Boston, with only his dog and his teen-aged son Ethan for company. Brady Coyne, Walt's long-time friend and attorney, handles his routine legal affairs and is asked by Walt to deliver a set of Meriweather Lewis letters to a rare book dealer for authentication. Shortly after, responding to a call from Duffy, Coyne stops by after work only to find Walt dead - murdered - in his backyard. Robbery is dismissed as a motive when the only thing that turns up missing is Walt's laptop. Equally disturbing is the fact that Ethan, Walt's son, is missing without a trace, any sign of struggle, or any clue to where he may have gone. There is also evidence that Walt was somehow involved in a notorious eco-terrorist group that is currently taking deadly action around the Boston area. With the FBI and the Boston police watching him closely, the eco-terrorists escalating dramatically, and Ethan still missing, Brady finds himself in the center of an increasingly dangerous plot. With the death toll mounting, Brady realizes he has to find the missing Ethan and unravel the complex puzzle before either of them becomes the latest victim.

Nobody could have foreseen what would happen the day that Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in the cafeteria of her daughter's elementary school.  Rose does it to keep an eye on her third-grader.  Melly, a sweet, if shy, child who was born with a facial birthmark that has...  more

Nobody could have foreseen what would happen the day that Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in the cafeteria of her daughter's elementary school.  Rose does it to keep an eye on her third-grader.  Melly, a sweet, if shy, child who was born with a facial birthmark that has become her own personal bull's-eye.  Melly has been targeted by the mean girl at their new school and gets bullied every day, placing Rose in a no-win position familiar to parents everywhere:  Do we step in to protect our children when they need us, or does that make things worse? When the bully starts to tease Melly, Rose is about to leap into action -- but right then, the unthinkable happens.  Rose finds herself faced with an emergency decision that no mother should ever have to make.  What she decides in that split second derails Rose's life and jeopardizes everyone she holds dear, until she takes matters into her own hands and lays her life on the line to save her child, her family, her marriage -- and herself. Lisa Scottoline has thrilled millions with her inspiring female characters and her exploration of emotional justice, writing about real issues that resonate with real women.  In Save Me, she returns with her most stirring and thought-provoking novel yet. Read by Cynthia Nixon; Unabridged: 9 CDs, 11 hrs.

The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect life. All gone now. What could cause a man, when all the stars of fortune are shining upon him, to suddenly snap and destroy everything he has built? This is the question that haunts Sergeant Ryan DeMarco after the wife and children of...  more

The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect life. All gone now. What could cause a man, when all the stars of fortune are shining upon him, to suddenly snap and destroy everything he has built? This is the question that haunts Sergeant Ryan DeMarco after the wife and children of beloved college professor and bestselling author Thomas Huston are found slaughtered in their home. Huston himself has disappeared and so is immediately cast as the prime suspect. DeMarco knowsâۥor thinks he knowsâۥthat Huston couldn't have been capable of murdering his family. But if Huston is innocent, why is he on the run? And does the half-finished manuscript he left behind contain clues to the mystery of his family's killer?

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in...  more

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear the story of the death from four witnesses: an Italian physician intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of an alleged Royalist traitor; a master cryptographer who has worked for both Cromwell and the king; and a renowned Oxford antiquarian. Each tells his own version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth. Deserving of comparison to the works of John Fowles and Umberto Eco, Iain Pears's novel is an ingenious tour de force: an utterly compelling historical mystery with a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing until the very last page.

WHAT IS THE PRICE FOR ONE MISTAKE? Two strangers on a train. A taste of temptation. A life thrown terrifyingly off course. Successful ad exec and loyal family man Charles Schine has never missed the 8:43...until today. He's late for his usual ride, but he's right on time for his...  more

WHAT IS THE PRICE FOR ONE MISTAKE? Two strangers on a train. A taste of temptation. A life thrown terrifyingly off course. Successful ad exec and loyal family man Charles Schine has never missed the 8:43...until today. He's late for his usual ride, but he's right on time for his worst nightmare. Sitting across from him on the 9:05 is the type of woman he's only dared to dream about. He takes a risk, breaks a vow, and soon his life is spiraling violently out of control. He betrays his family. A man is murdered. And a small fortune is lost. Now Charles must begin the most perilous journey of all-the fight to get his life back on track. Read by Gregory Harrison.  5 sound discs (ca. 6 hr.)

On the idyllic island of Oland, off the coast of northern Sweden, a young couple from Stockholm tries to start life afresh. For Joakim and Katrine Westin, reclaiming a long-neglected family manor will be a labor of love, as they slowly bring the sprawling home back to life and introduce their...  more

On the idyllic island of Oland, off the coast of northern Sweden, a young couple from Stockholm tries to start life afresh. For Joakim and Katrine Westin, reclaiming a long-neglected family manor will be a labor of love, as they slowly bring the sprawling home back to life and introduce their two children to the island’s woodlands, glens, and beaches. But in the Westins’ new home, there are things that cannot be repaired, lives that have gone wrong, and secrets that have followed them. When the family is struck by tragedy, it’s up to grief-stricken Joakim to put together a puzzle of inexplicable loss, unbearable suspicion, and tangled lives. In this powerhouse of suspense -- at once a crime novel and a searing family drama -- a home built as a shelter from the sea becomes a human storm of murder.

Inspired by her in-laws' recollections of working in coal country, Susan Campbell Bartoletti has gathered the voices of men, women, and children who immigrated to and worked in northeastern Pennsylvania at the turn of the century. The story that emerges is not just a story of long hours, little...  more

Inspired by her in-laws' recollections of working in coal country, Susan Campbell Bartoletti has gathered the voices of men, women, and children who immigrated to and worked in northeastern Pennsylvania at the turn of the century. The story that emerges is not just a story of long hours, little pay, and hazardous working conditions; it is also the uniquely American story of immigrant families working together to make a new life for themselves. It is a story of hardship and sacrifice, yet also of triumph and the fulfillment of hopes and dreams.

Gina Royal is the definition of average?a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband?s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor?the ultimate warrior mom.With her ex now in prison, Gwen has...  more

Gina Royal is the definition of average?a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband?s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor?the ultimate warrior mom.With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband?s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.But just when she?s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake?and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed?or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she?s learned how to fight evil. And she?ll never stop.

Thomas Bishop was 25 when he escaped from an institution for the criminally insane. Behind was a grotesque history of pain, murder and abiding rage. Ahead lay a path of vengeance, a reign of terror that only the greatest manhunt in U.S. history could stop.

New York Times Bestseller From Harvard sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond, a landmark work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty in America In this brilliant, heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest...  more

New York Times Bestseller From Harvard sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond, a landmark work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty in America In this brilliant, heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind. The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, Love don t pay the bills. She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas. Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In vivid, intimate prose, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America s vast inequality and to people s determination and intelligence in the face of hardship. Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible."

What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff's journey through his son Nic's addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a...  more

What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff's journey through his son Nic's addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3 A.M. phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the rehabs. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic. Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help.

Think American history is all boring battles and snooze-worthy old dudes? Think again! Welcome to TERRIBLE BUT TRUE, where you'll dig deep into America's forgotten past to uncover some creepy, disgusting, and just plain bizarre stories. From America's first serial killers and deadly...  more

Think American history is all boring battles and snooze-worthy old dudes? Think again! Welcome to TERRIBLE BUT TRUE, where you'll dig deep into America's forgotten past to uncover some creepy, disgusting, and just plain bizarre stories. From America's first serial killers and deadly vampire-like diseases to haunted ghost ships and vicious river pirates, our nation's history is weirder than you could have ever imagined. So dive in and prepare to be shocked, because sometimes the truth is even stranger than fiction.

The young women of Nightingale House are there to learn to nurse and comfort the suffering. But when one of the students plays patient in a demonstration of nursing skills, she is horribly, brutally killed. Another student dies equally mysteriously, and it is up to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland...  more

The young women of Nightingale House are there to learn to nurse and comfort the suffering. But when one of the students plays patient in a demonstration of nursing skills, she is horribly, brutally killed. Another student dies equally mysteriously, and it is up to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard to unmask a killer who has decided to prescribe murder as the cure for all ills.

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for...  more

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man Also published as Murder For Christmas and A Holiday For Murder.

A Union officer struggles homeward through a Christmas Eve snowstorm, haunted by loss and doubtful of the future. Paroled from a brutal prison camp, a young southern soldier yearns to find the one person he loves most in the world -- and worries over the devastation rumored to have reached his...  more

A Union officer struggles homeward through a Christmas Eve snowstorm, haunted by loss and doubtful of the future. Paroled from a brutal prison camp, a young southern soldier yearns to find the one person he loves most in the world -- and worries over the devastation rumored to have reached his family's mountain. An immigrant private plans a startling Christmas surprise for his comrades. And a newly freed slave must choose between the desire for revenge and his longing to be a better man than his master . . . From northern colliery towns to ruined Old South plantations and the divided loyalties of the Appalachian Mountains, Owen Parry casts his storyteller's spell with a collection of unforgettable tales celebrating the enduring spirit of Christmas. Moving from darkness toward the light in the grand tradition of holiday tales, these stories are bound to become classics of the American yuletide season. Whether whispering an old-fashioned Christmas ghost story or reminding us that not all who suffered war's losses wore uniforms, the author always leads us back to the joyous beauty -- the miracle -- of Christmas. Moving and heartfelt, Our Simple Gifts revives the tradition of Christmas tales for grown-ups. As quietly as snow falls on holly, these Civil War Christmas tales will insist on being read again, year after year.  

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE"The Perfect Mother is a gripping page-turner that explores the pressures of modern motherhood as well as a mother?s absolute worst nightmare. At once wonderfully nuanced and compulsively readable, it keeps you guessing at every moment, up until the very end. I...  more

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE"The Perfect Mother is a gripping page-turner that explores the pressures of modern motherhood as well as a mother?s absolute worst nightmare. At once wonderfully nuanced and compulsively readable, it keeps you guessing at every moment, up until the very end. I could not be prouder to be bringing this thriller to the big screen."?Kerry Washington"A riveting psychological thriller that takes a sharp, insightful look at motherhood, The Perfect Mother explores the pressures, the hopes, the fears, and the secrets between a group of friends who realize how little they know one another when a crisis strikes. A fast-paced, twisty, engrossing read?I loved it!"?Megan Miranda, author of All the Missing Girls"I raced through The Perfect Mother, desperate to find out what would happen. Both the writing and the characterization are excellent, and it was so easy to identify with these women and the pressure they are under. I absolutely loved it?a true page-turner!"?B. A. Paris, author of The Breakdown and Behind Closed DoorsWith the masterful pacing of Before the Fall, the charged domestic drama of Big Little Lies, and the audacious structure of The Girl on the Train comes a thrilling novel centered around a group of women whose lives become indelibly connected when one of their newborns goes missing.They call themselves the May Mothers?a collection of new moms who gave birth in the same month. Twice a week, with strollers in tow, they get together in Prospect Park, seeking refuge from the isolation of new motherhood; sharing the fears, joys, and anxieties of their new child-centered lives.When the group?s members agree to meet for drinks at a hip local bar, they have in mind a casual evening of fun, a brief break from their daily routine. But on this sultry Fourth of July night during the hottest summer in Brooklyn?s history, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is abducted from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but the May Mothers insisted that everything would be fine. Now Midas is missing, the police are asking disturbing questions, and Winnie?s very private life has become fodder for a ravenous media.Though none of the other members in the group are close to the reserved Winnie, three of them will go to increasingly risky lengths to help her find her son. And as the police bungle the investigation and the media begin to scrutinize the mothers in the days that follow, damaging secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are formed and fractured.Unfolding over the course of thirteen fraught days and culminating in an exquisite and unexpected twist, The Perfect Mother is the perfect book for our times?a complex, nuanced, and addictively readable story that exposes the truth of modern mothers? lives as it explores the power of an ideal that is based on a lie.

SOMEONE HAS A SPECIAL GIFT FOR THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MURDOCK. Christmas in Murdock. A time of cozy safety, snowy sidewalks, and carolling children. But this holiday season. Someone is stalking the young women he know and loves...seducing them with icy steel...leaving them for him to find-far too...  more

SOMEONE HAS A SPECIAL GIFT FOR THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MURDOCK. Christmas in Murdock. A time of cozy safety, snowy sidewalks, and carolling children. But this holiday season. Someone is stalking the young women he know and loves...seducing them with icy steel...leaving them for him to find-far too late. It's the night before Christmas. The frightened town edges toward panic. And Dunsmore is about to receive the most terrifying gift of all.