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The Measby Murder Enquiry
By Ann Purser. 2011
Cantankerous spinster Ivy Beasley has quickly learned that spending her golden years in the quaint village of Barrington won't be…
as quiet as she thought. Ivy hasn't been in assisted living at Springfields for long, but she's already found new friends, formed a detective agency, and solved a murder. And as autumn falls, Ivy and her team are asked to investigate a mysterious death in the village of Measby-in between card games, of course.The Hangman's Row Enquiry
By Ann Purser. 2010
A new series and a new sleuth from Ann Purser-author of the Lois Meade mysteries! Ivy Beasley, the beloved cantankerous…
spinster from the Lois Meade mysteries, has found a silver lining in her golden years as an amateur sleuth. She teams up with Gus, a mysterious newcomer to the small English village of Barrington who can't resist a little excitement even as he strives to keep his past a secret, and her own cousin, a widow with time on her hands and money in her purse. Together they're determined to solve the murder of Gus's elderly neighbor.Native Tongue
By Suzette Haden Elgin, Susan Squier. 1984
Called "fascinating" by the New York Times upon its first publication in 1984, Native Tongue won wide critical praise and…
cult status, and has often been compared to the futurist fiction of Margaret Atwood. Set in the twenty-second century, the novel tells of a world where women are once again property, denied civil rights and banned from public life. Earth's wealth depends on interplanetary commerce with alien races, and linguists ---a small, clannish group of families ---have become the ruling elite by controlling all interplanetary communication. Their women are used to breed perfect translators for all the galaxies' languages.Nazareth Chornyak, the most talented linguist of the family, is exhausted by her constant work translating for trade organizations, supervising the children's language education, running the compound, and caring for the elderly men. She longs to retire to the Barren House, where women past childbearing age knit, chat, and wait to die. What Nazareth comes to discover is that a slow revolution is going on in the Barren Houses: there, word by word, women are creating a language of their own to free them from men's control."Native Tongue brings to life not only the possibility of a women's language, but a rationale for one,"--Village Voice"Elgin takes up more than linguistics, of course--everything from religion to sex...the story is absolutely compelling."--Women's Review of BooksSuzette Haden Elgin is author of twelve science fiction novels and is widely know for her best-selling series The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense and for The Grandmother Principles. She is director of the Ozark Center for Language Studies and is professor emerita of linguistics at San Diego State University.Susan Squier is Julia Brill professor of English and Women's Studies at Pennsylvania State University.In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero
By Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, Ed Gorman, Jeremiah Healy, S. J. Rozan, Otto Penzler, Dennis Lehane, Brendan Dubois, Ace Atkins, Parnell Hall, Lyndsay Faye, Reed Farrel Coleman, Gary Phillips, Matthew Clemens, Loren D Estleman. 2012
When Robert B. Parker passed in early 2010, the world lost two great men: Parker himself, iconic American crime writer…
whose books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, and his best-known creation, Spenser. Parker's Spenser series not only influenced the work of countless of today's writers, but is also credited with reviving and forever changing the genre.In Pursuit of Spenser offers a look at Parker and to Spenser through the eyes of the writers he influenced. Editor Otto Penzler-- proprietor of one of the oldest and largest mystery specialist bookstores in the country, New York's The Mysterious Bookshop, and renowned mystery fiction editor whose credits include series editor for the Best American Crime Writing and Best American Mystery Stories, among many others (and about whom Parker himself once wrote, "Otto Penzler knows more about crime fiction than most people know about anything")-- collects some of today's bestselling mystery authors to discuss Parker, his characters, the series, and their impact on the world.From Hawk to Susan Silverman to Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall, from the series' Boston milieu to Parker's own take on his character, In Pursuit of Spenser pays tribute to Spenser, and Parker, with affection, humor, and a deep appreciation for what both have left behind.Arlequín
By Ana Bowlova, Ana Claudia Antunes. 2015
Una bailarina ve su vida transformada completamente cuando su supuesto amante la convierte en víctima después de haber arruinado su…
carrera en una prometedora compañía de baile, lo que la lleva a probar subterfugios para alcanzar la fama. Cuando todo parece completamente perdido, ella experimenta un cambio completo y pasa a escribir guiones. No sabe que ya está viviendo como un fantasma y vive atormentando a una niña que nació en el siglo veintiuno y pasó por una experiencia similar a la suya. ¿Estará ella preparada para enfrentar a sus propios demonios o sucumbirá a las fuerzas descomunales que le impedirán seguir relatando ambas vidas? Un thriller con buenas dosis de humor y terror sazonados con la maestría artística del siglo diecinueve y veinte que dan vida a una saga familiar de quienes sueñan por alcanzar la gloria final, o fatal. Ana, una adolescente que sueña en ser actriz, se ve envuelta en un complot donde el fantasma de una bailarina del siglo diecinueve, quien pasa a contactarla primero para contarle su historia, no parece corresponder con los hechos relatados por otro fantasma, supuestamente su amante y posible asesino en serie, y que también se le aparece para insertarse en su mundo por estar involucrado en el mismo caso. Ella espera resolver el asunto lo más rápido posible, antes de que ellos la devoren o la envuelvan aun más en su maraña de malos entendidos, o que ella comience a dejar de creer en lo que perciben sus propios oídos y se pierda en el camino de su propia absolución atada en un desequilibrio emocional que al principio revela una línea ancestral difícil de recorrer. Para eso ella necesita de todo su coraje para así encontrar la heroína que hay dentro de sus venas, encarando su propia suerte... a la propia muerte. Serie "Amor de Pierrot": Pierrot & Colombina (LIBRO 1) El Fantasma del Ballet (LIBRO 2) Arlequin (LIBRO 3) Diario de una Colombina (LIBRO 4)Harlequin
By Ana Bowlova, Ana Claudia Antunes. 2014
Third book in the series "Pierrot Love" begins with a pinch of pepper and Talita brooding inside for not being…
in a few scenes that Giovanni filmed.Now Talita screamed angry because her scenes were all cut. And Giovanni already can not bear too her whining and sends her to strolling, literally, to take a breath which she obeys promptly. And then she goes on to stun the small Anne filling her even more with her messages that leaves Anne even more terrified. Anne does not know what to do to get rid of the damned messages. She then goes as to be more devotes to the art of acting. Once she comes into contact with the magical world of theater she becomes even more persuaded and persecuted for this ethereal being because she is the one who insists on pursuing her everywhere. Talita finds an even better form of telepathy as a communication channel in the theater is a way to express all her fury, influencing Anne to tell her story in an exemplary manner. The two now seem to benefit from contact with each other but here comes a new villain on the scene. Harlequin has take the place of Pierrot and does succumb to her eternal beloved Colombina and so passionate, now he starts to compel her to believe in him, revealing Pierrot´s dark past.The Shoplifters
By Morris Panych. 2015
In this riotously funny new comedy from Morris Panych, we meet Alma, a seasoned career shoplifter who prefers the five-finger…
discount over some lousy seniors' day deal. But it's not just an empty wallet that leads Alma to a life of petty crime - it's also her strong convictions about social justice and economic inequality.Along for the ride is Phyllis, Alma's frazzled accomplice who lacks her mentor's cool demeanour and snappy comebacks. It's Alma who does the talking when the pair is apprehended at the grocery store by Dom, an overzealous rookie security guard. Guided by the strictness of his born-again Christian belief, Dom is ready to handcuff the culprits and call the police, but his affable senior partner, Otto, intervenes with a more sympathetic view of the crime: "It's just a couple a steaks." As Alma, Phyllis, Dom, and Otto share their wildly different takes on the situation, complex views on morality and ethics begin to emerge.With its cast of oddball characters, Panych's comedy offers biting observations about society's haves and have-nots and how much they might actually have in common.Cast of 2 women and 2 men.The Wild Wood Enquiry
By Ann Purser. 2012
In a brand-new mystery from the author of The Measby Murder Enquiry, the cantankerous golden years gumshoe Ivy Beasley keeps…
her mental faculties sharp with a strict regimen of crime detection. Apart from the unwelcome noise made by the morning cleaning crew, life has been quiet at Springfields Home for the Elderly. Too quiet, in fact. Ivy and her team of sleuths, Enquire Within, have resorted to finding lost cats, and Gus is even threatening to return to his memoirs. But no sooner does he attempt to put a winning phrase together than he receives a call from his ex-wife, Katherine, who is in desperate needs of a place to hide. Though Gus has a difficult time getting a straight answer from Kath--just as it was in their many years of marriage--something is most certainly afoot, and soon Enquire Within is back in business. This time they have their hands full, not only with missing pets, but missing jewels, and evidence of foul play uncomfortably close to their too quiet home...Frambuesas ao Amanhecer
By Alberto Aranda de la Gala. 2018
A história eo caminho de um jovem que, depois de un eventual happenour na sua vida - a morte do…
seu melhor amigo - decide sair da aldeia onde vive y viaja para una gran cita en busca de la fama y hace exito ... custe o que custar. Recriada nos anos 90, em Espanha.Agatha Christie. Los planes del crimen: Y un relato inédito de la señorita Marple
By John Curran. 1928
La vida y la obra de Agatha Christie a lo largo de las décadas, desde el final inédito de su…
primer libro hasta las ideas que no llegó a emplear en el último, junto a nuevas obras y documentos nunca publicados hasta ahora, entre ellos un relato perdido de la señorita Marple. En esta continuación del aclamado Agatha Christie. Los cuadernos secretos, John Curran, archivista y experto en Christie, conduce al lector a través de las seis décadas de la carrera de Agatha Christie, desvelando las claves más notables de su éxito, además de una serie de extractos y relatos de sus archivos, inéditos hasta el momento. La obra cuenta con un prologo de David Suchet quien, para la mayoría de aficionados a Agatha Christie, es Hércules Poirot, tras veinte años interpretando de manera impecable al famoso detective belga en la televisión. La crítica ha dicho...«Esta edición es un lujo inexcusable para todos los amantes de la literatura de detectives en general y de la de Agatha Christie en particular».El Cultural de El Mundo «El reciente rescate de esta colección de cuadernos [...] nos abre una ventana al proceso creativo, caótico y fascinante, de la novelista más publicada de todos los tiempos».El País «Nos brinda la oportunidad de ver entre bambalinas a una escritora que poseyó dos dones excepcionales: la legibilidad y la confección de tramas endiabladamente encajadas».Qué leer «Christie siempre tendrá un lugar de honor entre los iconos de la escritura contemporánea».ABC de las Artes y las LetrasAgatha Christie. Los cuadernos secretos
By John Curran. 2009
Una fascinante exploración del contenido de los 73 cuadernos de notas de Agatha Christie recientemente descubiertos, que incluyen ilustraciones, extractos…
eliminados y dos novelas inéditas de Poirot. Cuando Agatha Christie falleció en 1976 se había convertido en la escritora más popular del mundo. Con unas ventas billonarias en todo el mundo y publicada en más de 100 países, había conseguido lo imposible: publicar más de un libro al año desde la década de 1920, y todos ellos éxitos de ventas. Tras la muerte de la hija de Agatha, Rosalind, a finales de 2004, se reveló un extraordinario legado. Entre sus objetos personales de la residencia familiar de Greenway se desenterraron los cuadernos privados de Agatha Christie, 73 volúmenes escritos a mano que habían permanecido en gran parte ignorados, probablemente debido a que la inconfundible caligrafía de Agatha era muy dificultosa de leer. Pero cuando el archivero John Curran comenzó a descifrar los cuadernos, se hizo evidente la magnitud de este tesoro escondido... Este libro abre la tapa del mayor secreto de Agatha Christie: cómo sus anotaciones, listados y borradores se convirtieron en los exitosos libros, obras de teatro y relatos que finalmente fueron. Argumentos alternativos, escenas eliminadas, incluso sus planes para libros que no llegó a escribir, la investigación de Curran revela una enorme riqueza de material inédito, incluidas dos novelas cortas de Hércules Poirot.Handicap
By John Pace. 2018
When Thom finds a murdered body on the golf course, he can't rest until he solves the mystery of the…
heinous crime. And the cast of characters he meets along the way is anything but comforting.Thom hates standing just four-foot-seven (and a half!). After watching his mother bleed to death from a knife stuck through her heart, he runs away and lands in backwards backwoods Florida. There, he becomes an expert golfer. This is no small feat, and one he credits to his short game. Thom only golfs alone. It's where he escapes the scorn and ignorance of others. The course is Thom's World. Until, that is, he discovers a woman's bloody corpse on number two-stabbed through the heart. Then Thom's World becomes a black tunnel of terror and guilt. He can't even raise a club without collapsing in panic. Thom must solve the murder not only to escape suspicion, but especially to reclaim his glorious solitude. This, however, finally forces him to open up to others: like Dyleane, who sees Thom for what he is on the inside; Jade, the ample proprietor of a cafe and whorehouse; Father C, a chain-smoking priest with a pitiful toupee; and others still, who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.The Last Days of Madame Rey: A Stephan Raszer Investigation
By A. W. Hill. 2010
In The Last Days of Madame Rey, Stephen Raszer—sleuth, scholar, shaman, and private eye—goes to hell and back to save…
the soul of his client's son, an ambitious and sexually conflicted young lawyer named Fortis Cohn. Fortis has drifted to the wrong side of the karmic tracks, and Raszer has been hired to free him from the spell cast by a neo–Nazi demagogue. On his quest to expose the spiritual hucksters who have duped Fortis, Raszer encounters more than Old and New World mysticism. A series of eerily unnatural earthquakes is rippling through Northern California, and it's possible that the cult behind Fortis's disappearance may be involved. Meanwhile, a cryptic message is left in the hands of a gypsy fortuneteller, and to learn its meaning, Raszer must put his trust in a stunningly sensuous and far too independent–minded operative named April Blessing. He will follow her almost literally to the ends of the earth to unravel the ancient mystery encoded in the gypsy's message. From its pseudo–gnostic predators to its bedazzled souls, The Last Days of Madame Rey is high on humor, rich on adventure, and injected with addictive, heart–stopping suspense.In his preface, the anonymous author of Courtesans and Opium describes his book as an act of penance for thirty…
years spent patronizing the brothels of Yangzhou. Written in the 1840s, his story is filled with vice and dark consequence, portraying the hazards of the city's seedy underbelly and warning others against the example of the Fool.Chinese literature's first true "city novel," Courtesans and Opium recounts the illustrious career of a debauched soul enveloped by enthralling pursuits and romantic illusions. While socially acceptable marriages were arranged and often loveless, brothels offered men accomplished courtesans who served as both enchanting companions and sensual lovers. These professional sirens dressed in the latest styles and dripped with gold, silver, and jewels. From an early age, they were taught to excel at various arts and graces, which transformed the brothel into a kind of club for men to meet, exchange gossip, and smoke opium at their leisure.The Fool's fable follows five sworn brothers and their respective relationships with Yangzhou courtesans, revealing in acute detail the lurid materialism of this dangerous world—its violence and corruption as well as its seductive but illusory promise. Never before translated into English, Courtesans and Opium offers a brilliant window into the decadence of nineteenth-century China.Brothers in Blood (Zaq & Jags)
By Amer Anwar. 2018
THE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2018 GUARDIAN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2018BOOKS IN THE MEDIA BEST CRIME BOOKS…
OF 2018FEATURED ON CRIME TIME BEST OF THE YEAR 2018 WINNER OF THE CWA DEBUT DAGGER'[A] brilliant debut' Sunday Times Crime Club'A fresh and exciting new voice to the genre' Ann Cleeves'Gritty, compelling and authentic' Daily Express'Fascinating' CJ Carver'Enjoyable. Fast-paced. Recommended.' Observer'Raw! Authentic! The crime thriller that I've been waiting for' Khurram Rahman'Terrific' The Times'One of the best books I've read this year' The Crime Novel Reader'Impressive, Brutal, Convincing' Mail on Sunday 'You won't be putting this book down' Hardeep Singh Kohli'A satisfying slice of action-led crime . . . readers (will be) hooked from the off' Skinny***THEY'RE NOT BOUND BY FAMILY. BUT A FAMILY COULD TEAR THEM APART.Southall, West London. After being released from prison, Zaq Khan is lucky to land a dead-end job at a builders' yard. All he wants to do is keep his head down and put the past behind him. But when Zaq is forced to search for his boss's runaway daughter, he quickly finds himself caught up in a deadly web of deception, murder and revenge. With time running out and pressure mounting, can he find the missing girl before it's too late? And if he does, can he keep her - and himself - alive long enough to deal with the people who want them both dead?The Stranger: Now a major Netflix show (Myron Bolitar Ser. #11)
By Harlan Coben. 2015
'The modern master of the hook and twist' DAN BROWN Adam Price has a lot to lose: a beautiful family,…
a big house, a good job - a perfect life.But then he meets a stranger in a bar and learns a devastating secret about his wife.With the mirage of perfection shattered, Adam finds himself caught up in something far darker than his wife's deception.And if he doesn't make the right moves, the conspiracy he's stumbled into will not only ruin lives - it will end them.Praise for Harlan Coben:'One of the all-time greats - pick up any one of his thrillers and you'll find a riveting, surprising story with a big, beating heart' GILLIAN FLYNN'With convincing characters and a strong emotional heart, you're effortlessly swept along to a tense and dramatic conclusion' SUNDAY MIRRORRope
By Patrick Hamilton. 1929
The brilliantly tense play that became Hitchcock's masterpiece, starring James Stewart.Believing themselves to be intellectually superior to their contemporaries, flatmates…
Brandon and Philip murder their friend David Kentley purely to see if they can get away with it. They then throw a cocktail party, serving food from the top of the trunk where they have hidden David's body. Their guests include both David's father and fiancée, as well as college lecturer Rupert Cadell, who becomes increasingly suspicious as the evening wears on.A gripping mystery about a woman trying to find out the truth behind the death of her best friend and…
introducing a brilliant detective duo - perfect for fans of Peter James, Angela Marsons and James Oswald. A DEAD GIRLA vulnerable young woman, fresh out of the care system, is trying to discover the truth behind the sudden death of her best friend.A MURDERED POLICE OFFICERThe charred body of a policeman - currently the subject of an internal investigation - is found in the burnt-out-shell of his car on the Southend seafront.A CRIME WORTH KILLING FOR?To DS Frank Pearson and DC Catherine Russell of the Essex Police Major Investigation Team, the two events seem unconnected. But as they dig deeper into their colleague's murder, dark secrets begin to emerge.Can Pearson and Russell solve both cases, before more lives are destroyed?A twisty, gripping novel that introduces a brilliant new detective duo. If you like Peter James, Angela Marsons and James Oswald, then you'll love this crime debut. TRULY EVIL, the gripping second book in the series is out now. ****Praise for Burned and Broken:'Immensely impressive' The Times'The investigation into a copper's dramatic death in downbeat Southend scoops a cast of equally downbeat characters into its net, and tensions rise as their stories fold around each other. An accomplished debut' Sunday Times'Emotional, intelligent, sensual and with such a strong voice, Burned and Broken by Mark Hardie is a crime debut that deserves huge success' Harry Illingworth (Goldsboro Books)'I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book and I would recommend it to anybody. I can't wait to read more investigations led by DS Frank Pearson and DC Cat Russell' Amanda Oughton (Ginger Book Geek)'The story is easy to follow without being too simple, and the novel really manages to evoke a sense of atmosphere and reality within its pages. I didn't find myself becoming distracted whilst reading at all, and raced through it in hours. I will certainly be reading any future novels, particularly in this series which I wholeheartedly enjoyed' Laura Naz (Snazzy Books)Bloody Murder: The Homicide Tradition in Children's Literature
By Michelle Ann Abate. 2013
"Off with her head!" decreed the Queen of Hearts, one of a multitude of murderous villains populating the pages of…
children's literature explored in this volume.Given the long-standing belief that children ought to be shielded from disturbing life events, it is surprising to see how many stories for kids involve killing. Bloody Murder is the first full-length critical study of this pervasive theme of murder in children’s literature. Through rereadings of well-known works, such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, and The Outsiders, Michelle Ann Abate explores how acts of homicide connect these works with an array of previously unforeseen literary, social, political, and cultural issues. Topics range from changes in the America criminal justice system, the rise of forensic science, and shifting attitudes about crime and punishment to changing cultural conceptions about the nature of evil and the different ways that murder has been popularly presented and socially interpreted. Bloody Murder adds to the body of inquiry into America's ongoing fascination with violent crime. Abate argues that when narratives for children are considered along with other representations of homicide in the United States, they not only provide a more accurate portrait of the range, depth, and variety of crime literature, they also alter existing ideas about the meaning of violence, the emotional appeal of fear, and the cultural construction of death and dying.Being Cool: The Work of Elmore Leonard
By Charles J. Rzepka. 2017
An in-depth look into the life and work of the man who defined "cool" for crime fiction, Elmore Leonard.Widely known…
as the crime fiction writer whose work led to the movies Get Shorty and Out of Sight, Elmore Leonard had a special knack for creating "cool" characters. In Being Cool, Charles J. Rzepka looks at what makes the dope-dealers, bookies, grifters, financial advisors, talent agents, shady attorneys, hookers, models, and crooked cops of Leonard's world cool. They may be nefarious, but they are also confident, skilled, and composed. And they are good at what they do. Taking being cool as the highway through Leonard's life and works, Rzepka finds plenty of byways to explore along the way.Rzepka delineates the stages and patterns that characterize Leonard’s creative evolution. Like jazz greats, he forged an individual writing style immediately recognizable for its voice and rhythm, including his characters' rat-a-tat recitations, curt backhands, and ragged trains of thought. Rzepka draws on more than twelve hours of personal interviews with Leonard and applies what he learned to his close analysis of the writer’s long life and prodigious output: 45 published novels, 39 published and unpublished short stories, and numerous essays written over the course of six decades.