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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.Twin Cities Noir
By Steven Horwitz, Julie Schaper. 2013
"Local editors Schaper and Horwitz have assembled a noteworthy collection of noir-infused stories mixed with laughter...The Akashic noir short-story anthologies…
are avidly sought and make ideal samplers for regional mystery collecting."--Library Journal"The best pieces in the collection turn the clichés of the genre on their head . . . and despite the unseemly subject matter, the stories are often surprisingly funny."-City Pages (Minneapolis)Brand-new stories from John Jodzio, Tom Kaczynski, and Peter Schilling, Jr., in addition to the original volume's stories by David Housewright, Steve Thayer, Judith Guest, Mary Logue, Bruce Rubenstein, K.J. Erickson, William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart, Brad Zellar, Mary Sharratt, Pete Hautman, Larry Millett, Quinton Skinner, Gary Bush, and Chris Everheart."St. Paul was originally called Pig's Eye's Landing and was named after Pig's Eye Parrant--trapper, moonshiner, and proprietor of the most popular drinking establishment on the Mississippi. Traders, river rats, missionaries, soldiers, land speculators, fur trappers, and Indian agents congregated in his establishment and made their deals. When Minnesota became a territory in 1849, the town leaders, realizing that a place called Pig's Eye might not inspire civic confidence, changed the name to St. Paul, after the largest church in the city . . . Across the river, Minneapolis has its own sordid story. By the turn of the twentieth century it was considered one of the most crooked cities in the nation. Mayor Albert Alonzo Ames, with the assistance of the chief of police, his brother Fred, ran a city so corrupt that according to Lincoln Steffans its 'deliberateness, invention, and avarice has never been equaled.' As recently as the mid-'90s, Minneapolis was called 'Murderopolis' due to a rash of killings that occurred over a long hot summer . . . Every city has its share of crime, but what makes the Twin Cities unique may be that we have more than our share of good writers to chronicle it. They are homegrown and they know the territory--how the cities look from the inside, out . . ."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...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.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.One Perfect Lie
By Lisa Scottoline. 2017
Lisa Scottoline, internationally bestselling author of KEEP QUIET and EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES, returns with a gripping new tale of family…
and survival. Sure to keep fans of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN hooked until the last page.Single mother Heather would do anything for her son, Jordan. His talent on the high-school baseball field could be his only ticket to college. Yet there are those in Jordan's team who have the potential to lead him down a darker path. Not least their coach - a new teacher with a dark, hidden agenda of his own.But there is no such thing as a perfect façade. And under pressure the cracks will soon appear...If your child conceals the truth, how can you be sure that they are safe?The Dean Koontz Collection: Three spell-binding thrillers
By Dean Koontz. 2002
The Dean Koontz Collection is an unmissable omnibus of three of his most spine-tingling thrillers, By the Light of the…
Moon, One Door Away From Heaven and Seize the Night. A terrifying treat perfect for Stephen King fans...By the Light of the Moon: When Dylan O'Conner pulls into a motel, all he wants is sleep. But he soon finds himself bound, gagged and being injected with a mysterious fluid by a lunatic doctor, who claims Dylan will be the carrier of his 'life's work'. He warns Dylan and fellow victim Jillian that he's being pursued and that they too are now targets. They're sceptical. But soon they realise that perhaps he isn't so mad after all... One Door Away From Heaven: Leilani Maddoc's tenth birthday is nine months away. Micky Bellsong is convinced that in nine months and one day, the girl will be dead. Micky's decision to save the child's life - and pit herself against an adversary as fearsome as he is cunning - takes her on a journey of incredible peril and stunning discoveries, a journey that will change her for ever...Seize the Night: One by one, the children of Moonlight Bay are disappearing. No one knows if they are dead or alive. Christopher Snow has glimpsed the dark and torrid secrets of the small-town community where he has spent his life. And only he has the key to the truth - a truth that could only exist in the genetic chaos of Moonlight Bay.Winter Moon: A brilliant thriller of heart-stopping suspense
By Dean Koontz. 1994
A peaceful ranch... or a house of terror? The tension builds to a stunning climax in Dean Koontz's powerful thriller,…
Winter Moon. Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Stephen King. 'America's most popular suspense novelist' - Rolling StoneEduardo is a lonely retiree living on his isolated Montana ranch. His life is peaceful, until one night he is awakened by a fearful throbbing sound and eerie lights in the woods. More mysterious and disturbing events follow over the next few months. Eduardo begins to fear for his sanity and his life, until the terrible night when someone - or something - knocks on his back door...One lovely spring morning in Los Angeles, cop Jack McGarvey is hammered by submachine-gun fire when a madman goes berserk. He barely survives. Jack longs to move his wife and son to a more peaceful place away from the city, but he feels utterly powerless and without prospects. In their hour of desperation, the McGarvey family receives an unexpected inheritance in the shape of a sprawling ranch in one of the most beautiful, peaceful places in the country: Montana.The family sets out from Los Angeles to begin their new life, unaware that the terror-riddled city will soon seem like a safe haven compared to what lies ahead. What readers are saying about Winter Moon: 'The stark contrast between the man-made dangers of LA and the other-worldly, spooky dangers of the Montana wilderness is really well done''One of his best books I've read. If you love horror and deep-thinking and you love that fear of the unknown, then this book is definitely for you''Hats off to the great Mr Koontz for taking the imagination on the rollercoaster ride of a lifetime'Shadowfires: Unbelievably tense and spine-chilling horror
By Dean Koontz. 1987
What do you do when there's nowhere left to run? Dean Koontz's Shadowfires is a thrilling novel of jealousy, danger…
and the fight for survival. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Harlan Coben.'Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose... 'Serious' writers... might do well to examine his technique' - The New York Times Book Review Rachael Leben's violently possessive ex-husband, Eric, hideously mangled in a freak accident, is dead. But his body has disappeared from the city morgue.Now someone, or something, is watching Rachael. Calling her. Stalking her. And though no one will believe her, she knows who it is; that his walking corpse is a grotesque mockery of life, and his brilliant, warped mind, once again 'alive', is seething with jealous rage, seeking an unspeakable revenge. What readers are saying about Shadowfires: 'This book is a 'once-you-start-you-can't-put-it-down' exhilarating reading experience''This novel is exceptionally brilliant''This book is entertaining, spine-tingling, and utterly terrifying as the possibilities become ever more real...'Dragon Tears: A thriller with a powerful jolt of violence and terror
By Dean Koontz. 1992
The events of one dark night have far reaching repercussions... Dean Koontz writes a gripping thriller of predator and prey…
in Dragon Tears. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Harlan Coben.'The take-a-deep-breath ending alone is worth the price of the ticket' - PeopleHarry Lyon is a cop who embraces tradition and order. The biggest bane of his life is his partner, Connie Gulliver. Harry doesn't like the messiness of her desk, her lack of social polish or her sometimes casual attitude towards the law. 'Look, Harry, it's the Age of Chaos,' she tells him. 'Get with the times.'And when Harry and Connie have to take out a hopped-up gunman in a restaurant, the chase and shootout swiftly degenerate into a surreal nightmare that seems to justify Connie's view of the modern world. Shortly after, Harry encounters a filthy, rag-clad denizen of the streets, who says ominously, 'Ticktock, ticktock. You'll be dead in sixteen hours.' Struggling to regain the orderly life he cherishes, Harry is trapped in an undertow of terror and violence. For reasons he does not understand, someone is after him, Connie Gulliver and the people he loves. What readers are saying about Dragon Tears: 'With all his best stories [Dean Koontz] draws you in and makes the implausible seem plausible - this is one of his best''[Dean Koontz] combines poignancy and true psychological horror to bring home the plight of characters that you'll love and root for all the way''Another fantastic tale, written in such a way that you can hardly stop turning the pages'The House of Thunder: A psychological thriller of masterful suspense
By Dean Koontz. 1982
How do you know what is real when you wake into a nightmare? The House of Thunder is an unforgettable…
novel of terror and murder from bestselling novelist Dean Koontz. Perfect for fans of Richard Laymon and Harlan Coben. 'Dean Koontz is a prose stylist whose lyricism heightens malevolence and tension. [He creates] characters of unusual richness and depth' - The Seattle Times In a cavern called The House of Thunder, Susan Thorton watched in terror as her lover died a brutal death in a college hazing. And in the following four years, the four young men who participated in that grim fraternity rite also died violently. Or did they?Twelve years later Susan wakes in a hospital bed. Apparently involved in a fatal accident, she is suffering from amnesia. She doesn't remember who she is or why she is there. All she knows is that her convalescence is unfolding into a fearful nightmare - and that the faces that surround her, pretending loving care, are those of the four men involved in that murder years before.Have the dead come back to life? Or has Susan plunged into the abyss of madness? With the help of her neurosurgeon, Susan desperately clings to her sanity while fighting to uncover who or what could be stalking her... What readers are saying about The House of Thunder: 'I have never read a book so filled with mystery and suspense''Koontz creates several ingenious plot twists and mysteries, some of which had me gasping out loud, they were so fantastic''Wonderful plot and living, breathing characters are of course the norm from Koontz, but this book has an indefinable quality about it that sets it apart from the others'Twilight Eyes: A gripping and terrifying horror novel
By Dean Koontz. 1987
He'll kill again... Twilight Eyes is a gripping story of the macabre and the unexpected, from bestselling novelist Dean Koontz.…
Perfect for fans of Richard Laymon and Harlan Coben.'Chilling... superbly scary!' - Los Angeles Times Slim MacKenzie knows what they are, what they do - and how they hide in human form. He is blessed - or cursed - by twilight eyes. He can see the diabolical others through their innocent human disguise. He's already killed one of them.And he'll kill again...But even the grave won't hold them... What readers are saying about Twilight Eyes: 'Fantastic plot, gripping, intense and unmissable. Read this and scare the hell out of yourself''This book is simply off-the-hook... Koontz's best book to date''Never fails to challenge, frighten and involve'The Face of Fear: A compelling and horrifying tale
By Dean Koontz. 1977
A gifted clairvoyant. A shocking vision. A deadly killer. Dean Koontz writes a spine-chilling novel in The Face of Fear…
- a gripping tale of predator and prey. Perfect for fans of Richard Laymon and Harlan Coben.'Real suspense... tension upon tension!' - The New York Times Graham Harris is a gifted clairvoyant, and during a television interview, he 'sees' a murder being committed. He knows that the killer is the man the police have named the Butcher - the slayer of nine young women.Learning of the psychic identification, the Butcher begins to stalk this 'witness' to his crime, and traps Harris and his girlfriend at night in a vast forty-two-storey business building, hunting them relentlessly from floor to floor... What readers are saying about The Face of Fear: 'Your breathing will not return to normal once Koontz brings you immediately into the fold and hold of this book''Wonderfully told story about undisguised, revelled-in evil''This book combines the crime and thriller genres masterfully with a good dose of occult'Hideaway: A spine-chilling, supernatural horror novel
By Dean Koontz. 1992
Can you hide from the darkness within? Dean Koontz writes a thrilling tale in Hideaway, as the effects of a…
near-fatal accident have devastating results. Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Stephen King.'Koontz leaps beyond the bounds of the usual supernatural thriller. Hideaway is a novel of ideas.' - Lexington Herald-Leader Although accident victim Hatch Harrison dies en route to the hospital, a brilliant physician miraculously resuscitates him. Given this second chance, Hatch and his wife Lindsey approach each day with a new appreciation of the beauty of life - until a series of mysterious and frightening events brings them face to face with the unknown.Although Hatch was given no glimpse of an afterlife during the period when his heart had stopped, he has reason to fear that he has brought a terrible presence back with him... from the land of the dead.When people who have wronged the Harrisons begin to die violently, Hatch comes to doubt his own innocence - and must confront the possibility that this life is just a prelude to another, darker place. What readers are saying about Hideaway: 'He is a genius at psychological manipulations and you will know visceral fear''Spellbinding, heart-breaking and truly fearsome''A stylish, dark and totally enthralling thriller which crackles with energy, menace and surprises'Cold Fire: An unmissable, gripping thriller from the number one bestselling author
By Dean Koontz. 1991
'It is coming. It'll kill us all...' In this gripping thriller from global phenomenon Dean Koontz, a man with an…
extraordinary calling must come to terms with his forgotten past - perfect for fans of THE EYES OF DARKNESS and Stephen King.In Portland, he saved a young boy from a drunk driver.In Boston, he rescued a child from an underground explosion.In Houston, he disarmed a man who was trying to shoot his own wife.Reporter Holly Thorne was intrigued by the story of strange, quiet savior Jim Ironheart. But what power compelled an ordinary man to save twelve lives in three months? What visions haunted his dreams? And why did he whisper in his sleep: There is an Enemy. It is coming. It'll kill us all...?'Koontz barely lets the reader come up for air between terrors.' The Washington Post'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler' The TimesWhy readers are so gripped by COLD FIRE:'Pure suspense the entire way' ***** Goodreads review'I love Dean Koontz and this is him at his very best!' ***** Goodreads review'Amazing book! I could not put it down.' ***** Goodreads reviewWhispers are driving Bruno Frye to kill - even if it means returning from the grave... Dean Koontz's Whispers is…
a gripping tale of terror, suspense and a killer intent on revenge. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Harlan Coben.'Pulls out all the stops...an incredible, terrifying tale' - Publishers WeeklyA beautiful woman scarred by a hateful past. A compassionate cop haunted by a childhood blighted by poverty.Violence brought them together. An unspeakable abomination may tear them apart.Bruno Frye nightly succumbs to the malicious lullaby of the whispers. Losing himself in the nightmares of their rustling cries, he is deafened by whispers more piercing than any scream. In the dark recesses of his mind no act is too violent, no deed too shocking... What readers are saying about Whispers: 'This was, without a doubt, the best book I've ever read''Another masterpiece from Koontz''A truly brilliant and imaginative story which is very hard to put down'