Best of
Fiction

2003

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5, Part 1)


J.K. Rowling - 2003
    The Headmaster thinks it inadvisable for this to continue. He wishes me to teach you how to close your mind to the Dark Lord.'Dark times have come to Hogwarts. After the Dementors' attack on his cousin Dudley, Harry Potter knows that Voldemort will stop at nothing to find him. There are many who deny the Dark Lord's return, but Harry is not alone: a secret order gathers at Grimmauld Place to fight against the Dark forces. Harry must allow Professor Snape to teach him how to protect himself from Voldemort's savage assaults on his mind. But they are growing stronger by the day and Harry is running out of time ...

The Complete Far Side, 1980–1994


Gary Larson - 2003
    And, for better or worse, I 'jotted' them down. It was only later, when perhaps I received an angry letter from someone, that it struck me: Hey! Someone's been reading my diary!"Gary Larson, from the preface to The Complete Far SideRevered by its fans as the funniest, most original, most "What the ... ?"-inspiring cartoon ever, The Far Side® debuted in January 1980 and enjoyed an illustrious 14 years on the worlds comics pages until Gary Larson's retirement in 1994. The Complete Far Side celebrates Gary's twisted, irreverent genius in this ultimate Far Side book, a lavish production, which takes its place alongside collector's-edition art books.A masterpiece of comic brilliance, The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever syndicated over 4,000 if you must know presented in (more or less) chronological order by year of publication, with more than 1,100 thathave never before appeared in a book. Also included are additional Far Side cartoons Larson created afterhis retirement: 13 that appeared in the last Far Side book, Last Chapter and Worse, and six cartoons that periodically ran as a special feature in The New York Times Science Times section as The Far Side of Science.Creator Gary Larson offers a rare glimpse into the mind of The Far Side®in quirky and thoughtful introductions to each of the 14 chapters. Complaint letters, fan letters, and queries from puzzled readers appear alongside some of the more provocative or elusive panels. Actor, author,and comedian Steve Martin offers his pithy thoughts in a foreword, and GaryLarson's former editor describes what it was like to be "the guy who could explain every Far Side cartoon."The Complete Far Side © 2003 by FarWorks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Far Side ® and the Larson ® signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc.

The Complete Adventures of Feluda, Vol. 2


Satyajit Ray - 2003
    He is at his inimitable best as he tracks down the last known letter of Napoleon, or investigates a sinister crime that has to do with Tintoretto's painting of Jesus. In The Case of Apsara Theatre, Feluda foils the insidious plans of a clever murderer, and in The House of Death, he investigates the theft of a priceless manuscript. Maganlal Meghraj, Feluda's arch-enemy, reappears in The Criminals of Kathmandu as the kingpin in a case involving spurious drugs, and again in The Mystery of the Pink Pearl, but Feluda is equal to the challenge. Also included here are the two final Feluda cases, Robertson's Ruby and The Magical Mystery, both of which were published posthumously.

One Tuesday Morning


Karen Kingsbury - 2003
    But this . . . this not knowing the people I love . . . this is the hardest thing I can imagine. The last thing Jake Bryan knew was the roar of the World Trade Center collapsing on top of him and his fellow firefighters. The man in the hospital bed remembers nothing. Not rushing with his teammates up the stairway of the south tower to help trapped victims. Not being blasted from the building. And not the woman sitting by his bedside who says she is his wife. Jamie Bryan will do anything to help her beloved husband regain his memory, and with it their storybook family life with their small daughter, Sierra. But that means helping Jake rediscover the one thing Jamie has never shared with him: his deep faith in God. Jake’s fondest prayer for his wife is about to have an impact beyond anything he could possibly have conceived. One Tuesday Morning is a love story like none you have ever read: tender, poignant, commemorating the tragedy and heroism of September 11 and portraying the far-reaching power of God’s faithfulness and a good man’s love.

Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales


Ray Bradbury - 2003
    In this landmark volume, America's preeminent storyteller offers us one hundred treasures from a lifetime of words and ideas. The stories within these pages were chosen by Bradbury himself, and span a career that blossomed in the pulp magazines of the early 1940s and continues to flourish in the new millennium. Here are representatives of the legendary author's finest works of short fiction, including many that have not been republished for decades, all forever fresh and vital, evocative and immensely entertaining.

The Kite Runner


Khaled Hosseini - 2003
    It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.--khaledhosseini.com

White Fang


Pauline Francis - 2003
    Each book also contains biographical details of the original author, and a glossary of unusual words and activity suggestions.

Empire From the Ashes


David Weber - 2003
    Originally published as three separate novels, Mutineer's Moon, The Armageddon and Heirs of Empire, this volume recounts the adventures for Duhak, an AI-controlled Imperial starship, when it encounter's Colin Macintyre's routine flight over the moon.

The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays


Oscar Wilde - 2003
    Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:    New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars    Biographies of the authors    Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events    Footnotes and endnotes    Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work    Comments by other famous authors    Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations    Bibliographies for further reading    Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Oscar Wilde’s legendary wit dazzles in The Importance of Being Earnest, one of the greatest and most popular works of drama to emerge from Victorian England. A light-hearted satire of the absurdity of all forms and conventions, this comic masterpiece features an unforgettable cast of characters who, as critic Max Beerbohm observed, “speak a kind of beautiful nonsense—the language of high comedy, twisted into fantasy.” This collection also includes Oscar Wilde’s most famous comedies, Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, and An Ideal Husband, as well as his poetic tragedy Salomé—all written between 1891 and 1895, Wilde’s most creative period. George Bernard Shaw said of Oscar Wilde that he is “our most thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theater.”

Frank Peretti Value Pack: Prophet/Piercing the Darkness/This Present Darkness


Frank E. Peretti - 2003
    

Angels and Demons / The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #1-2)


Dan Brown - 2003
    His conclusion, that it is the work of the Illuminati, a secret brotherhood presumed long dead, leads him to Rome, where against the backdrop of a papal election the Illuminati look set to renew their bitter vendetta against their sworn enemy, the Catholic Church . . .The Da Vinci CodeRobert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been violently murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes. As Langdon begins to sort through the bizarre riddles, he is stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Leonardo da Vinci - and suggests the answer to an age-old mystery which will take him into the vaults of history . . .

The Other Woman


Eric Jerome Dickey - 2003
    The central couple's biggest challenge is timing: He works days; she works nights. Instead of growing together, they're rapidly drifting apart, coexisting on stolen phone calls from work, punctuated by occasional bedroom encounters that leave them both feeling even emptier and more alone. When she finds out about his affair-and starts her own-the delicate fabric of their marriage is torn irrevocably asunder. Or is it? In Dickey's expert hands, what begins as a seemingly unforgivable betrayal segues into the sexy and searing story of a man and a woman at a pivotal turning point in their relationship. Only time will tell whether they'll let it all go...or can hold on to the love that drew them together in the first place.

Shantaram


Gregory David Roberts - 2003
    Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera: A Reader's Guide


Thomas Fahy - 2003
    The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years from The Remains of the Day to White Teeth . A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. This is an excellent guide to 'Love in the Time of Cholera'. It features a biography of the author, a full-length analysis of the novel, and a great deal more. If you re studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you ll find this guide informative, intelligent, and helpful.

Jane Eyre - The Graphic Novel


Amy Corzine - 2003
    Rochester.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Piano Solo)


Richard Harris - 2003
    Mandolin music by Beethoven and Hummel is idiomatically arranged for piano by Richard Harris and contrasted with Neapolitan songs, folk songs from Latin America and Greece, and music by Stephen Warbeck.

The Know


Martina Cole - 2003
    She'd do anything to protect them, even resorting to prostitution and petty crime in order to feed and clothe them. So when her beautiful teenage daughter is raped and murdered, only one thing will stop Joanie's pain - seeing her daughter's killer brought to justice. Joanie knows who he is and she'll do whatever it takes to nail him...

Final Bearing


George Wallace - 2003
    A US Navy SEAL team is inserted into South America. Their orders are to destroy the secret laboratories of the world’s most notorious drug cartel, and the Spadefish has been sent to provide assistance.But Juan de Santiago, the violent billionaire drug lord, has an entire private army and a futuristic new mini-submarine of his own. He will do anything to protect his empire.And he knows the Americans are coming...

First Light


Bodie Thoene - 2003
    It's a dark time in the world's holiest and most turbulent city. Walk with Peniel, the blind beggar who longs for rescue from his suffering. Peek into the lives of Susannah and Manaen, two lovers separated by overwhelming odds. And meet an unusual healer, who ignites a spark of controversy in the fire of hatred, deceit, and betrayal that is always burning in this ancient city. This first book in the A.D. Chronicles series will bring you face-to-face with the man called Yeshua.

The Shawshank Redemption


Mark Kermode - 2003
    The book also explores the near-religious fervour that the film inspires in a huge number of devoted fans.

Purple Hibiscus


Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 2003
    They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They're completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating. As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city, where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father’s authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins’ laughter rings throughout the house. When they return home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together.Purple Hibiscus is an exquisite novel about the emotional turmoil of adolescence, the powerful bonds of family, and the bright promise of freedom.

The Breadwinner Trilogy


Deborah Ellis - 2003
    "All girls [should read] The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis." — Malala Yousafzai, New York TimesThe three books in Deborah Ellis's Breadwinner trilogy bound into one handsome volumeDeborah Ellis's novels The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey and Mud City have been a phenomenal success, touching the hearts of readers the world over.Here are the three books bound into one handsome volume -- for readers new to Deborah Ellis and for those who would like a collector's edition for their libraries.

From Dust and Ashes: A Story of Liberation


Tricia Goyer - 2003
    Helene is the abandoned wife of an SS guard who has fled to avoid arrest. Overcome by guilt, she begins to help meet the needs of survivors. Throughout the process, she finds her own liberation--from spiritual bondage, sin, and guilt. Readers will be intrigued and touched by this fascinating story of love, faithfulness, and courage amidst one of the darkest chapters of mankind's history.

I Say a Little Prayer


E. Lynn Harris - 2003
    Lynn Harris is back with another sexy, shocking, and immensely satisfying novel that explores some of today’s toughest and most timely issues.Chauncey Greer is the owner of Cute Boy Card Company, a thriving company in Atlanta. As a teenager, he was a member of a popular boy band, but left in disgrace when word got out that he and his bandmate D were more than good friends. Chauncey is a free spirit, on the brink of forty with a body admired by both men and women. Not into being categorized, Chauncey’s been known to hook up with men and women, but now in the age of the “down low,” he’s found that women ask too many questions, so he’s just focusing on the fellas.After one too many bad dates, Chauncey finds himself in church, where the minister’s message inspires him to follow his dream of a singing career once again. Although he’s lost touch with D, as he starts writing songs his thoughts inevitably turn to his former lover. Chauncey’s powerful performance at the church earns him a standing ovation and an invitation to participate in an upcoming revival. But Chauncey soon discovers that an ambitious fundamentalist preacher plans to use the revival to speak out against gays and gay marriage. Feeling angry and betrayed, Chauncey and other gay members of the church decide to take a stand against the church’s homophobia by staging a “Day of Absence” when all of the gay members and their friends and family stay home. Everything is going as planned... until D appears on the scene and Chauncey has to confront his past and make some hard decisions about his future.I Say A Little Prayer is filled with the delicious plot twists, humor, compassion, and up-to-the-minute controversy fans expect from their beloved “E. Lynn.” Harris has returned with another gem of a novel that will rocket to the top of bestseller lists nationwide.

Black: The Birth of Evil


Ted Dekker - 2003
    Then a silent bullet from the night clips his head...and his world goes black.From the blackness comes an amazing reality of another world-a world where evil is contained. A world where Thomas Hunter is in love with a beautiful woman. Then he remembers the dream of the chase as he reaches to touch the blood on his head.Where does the dream end and reality begin? Every time he falls asleep in one world, he awakes in the other-both facing catastrophic disaster. Thomas is being pushed beyond his limits...even beyond the limits of space and time.Black is an incredible story of evil and rescue, betrayal and love, pursuit and death, and a terrorist's threat unlike anything the human race has ever known.Some say the world hangs in the balance of every choice we make. Now the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance of one man's choice.

Ironfire


David Ball - 2003
    John, Malta will become the stage upon which the fate of the world turns. For one of its sons, the hand of violence strikes swiftly, when young Nicolo Borg is seized by Barbary slavers and launched on a remarkable journey to the court of the supreme ruler of the Muslim world. Renamed Asha, plotting his escape even as he swears allegiance to the god of his masters and is schooled in the arts of culture and war, the innocent boy will be transformed into one of the Sultan’s deadliest commanders. For Nico’s beloved sister, Maria, his loss fires her hatred for the knights who did nothing to save him and her dreams of escape from her stifling home. As the headstrong girl grows into a fierce beauty, she will capture the attention of one man in particular, Christien de Vries, a surgeon-knight torn between duty and desire, caught up in Malta’s frantic preparations against the coming Ottoman storm. Around Nico and Maria are men and women who will share their destinies: Dragut Raïs, a brilliant corsair, arch-rival of the knights…Giulio Salvago, a priest in full flight from his carnal nature…Alisa, a young beauty hidden away in a harem…Jean de La Valette, the master knight who is Malta’s only hope for survival.As the mighty Ottoman fleet bears down on the tiny island, as Nico Borg makes his way back to his homeland at the helm of a warship, Ironfire moves inexorably to a shattering climax where all will face ultimate justice in the murderous cauldron of siege warfare. Brilliantly capturing the crosscurrents of a storied age, Ironfire is historical fiction in the grand tradition, a stirring realization of a pivotal moment in time that irrevocably shaped the world we inhabit today.

I'll Watch the Moon


Ann Tatlock - 2003
    I'll Watch the Moon is the story of Catherine Tierney, angry at a God whom she no longer believes exists, and her painful journey back to faith. It is also the story of her friendship with Josef Karski, who teaches her how to trust in God as he reveals his own story of surviving the horrors of Auschwitz. And finally, it is the story of Nova Tierney, Catherine's daughter, and the threads that bind their lives together. Ann Tatlock has skillfully and gracefully woven a tale you won't soon forget.

Moloka'i


Alan Brennert - 2003
    Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

Candles in the Storm


Rita Bradshaw - 2003
    It's during another storm fifteen years later that her father and brothers are lost and Daisy rescues William, heir of a wealthy Southwick family, with whom she falls in love. Soon, as her reward for saving him, Daisy is working for William's irascible aunt, while local lad Alf continues to court her. Warned off by Daisy's grandmother, William denies his own feelings and so it will be many years later, after much hardship and turmoil, that Daisy finds the happiness she deserves, amidst the drama of the Great War.

The Word and the Void


Terry Brooks - 2003
    This Terry Brooks omnibus brings together three novels which together make up a trilogy of tales of demons and dark destiny.

The Book of Athyra


Steven Brust - 2003
    Accompanying him on his journeys are two leathery-winged jhereg who share a telepathic link with Vlad—and triple his chances against even the most powerful of enemies… In Athyra, Vlad finds he’s ready to retire himself and his jhereg companions, but the biggest hitters of the House of the Jhereg have something else in mind. In Orca, Vlad must repay a debt to a boy who saved his life—even if it means breaking a financial scandal big enough to bring down the House of the Orca, and possibly the entire Empire…

A Study in Emerald


Neil Gaiman - 2003
    P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman.A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn't reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves.

U.S. Marshal Shorty Thompson


Paul L. Thompson - 2003
    As opposed to the myths of popular culture, not everybody was swaggering around with six-irons strapped down and leading lives of mayhem. But there were the exceptions--every bit as evil, bloody and deadly as legends portray. And so too, was the law that handled these outlaws.With an eye toward New Mexico, or perhaps the Arizona Territories, M D "Shorty" Thompson is a young cowboy looking for winters warmer than those of the deep-in-your-bones cold of the Texas plains. But just north of the former Republic's border Thompson runs afoul of cattle rustlers and killers. The ensuing ordeal lands the young Texan in Wyoming where he crosses paths with the stolen cattle's illegal new owner, a retired Army General more crooked than a dog's hind leg. But crooked or not, the nearby Army fort carries more weight than local law enforcement and they are solidly behind the retired General. So in hopes of finding justice with a little more backbone, Thompson strikes out for Washington DC.But instead of finding Justice, Thompson himself becomes justice when President Rutherford Hayes sees just the Marshal he was looking for in the gutsy Texan. Now to get the justice he wants, Thompson must fight the cattle rustlers of the entire New Mexico and Wyoming territories--all while wearing a tin star target.Narrated in the authentically seasoned dialect of a southwestern storyteller, this first volume in the Marshal Thompson series begins a tribute to the thrilling and heartbreaking hardships of our nation's western history. Accurately reconstructing the sweeping landscapes of the old west, these novels document the times and historical locations largely ignored by writers who have not been there. Paul L Thompson actually has been there, and you will feel like you were there, too.

Private Peaceful


Michael Morpurgo - 2003
    I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it . . . I want tonight to be long, as long as my life . . ." For young Private Peaceful, looking back over his childhood while he is on night watch in the battlefields of the First World War, his memories are full of family life deep in the countryside: his mother, Charlie, Big Joe, and Molly, the love of his life. Too young to be enlisted, Thomas has followed his brother to war and now, every moment he spends thinking about his life, means another moment closer to danger.

Shepherds Abiding / Esther's Gift / Mitford Snowmen


Jan Karon - 2003
    Father Tim and Cynthia discover what millions of readers already know--there's no place like Mitford for the holidays

Journey to the Well


Diana Wallis Taylor - 2003
    Now the creative mind of Diana Wallis Taylor imagines how the Samaritan woman got there in the first place. Marah is just a girl of thirteen when her life is set on a path that will eventually lead her to a life-changing encounter with the Messiah. But before that momentous meeting she must traverse through times of love lost and found, cruel and manipulative men, and gossiping women.This creative and accurate portrayal of life in the time of Jesus opens a window into a fascinating world. Taylor's rich descriptions of the landscapes, lifestyles, and rituals mesh easily with the emotional and very personal story of one woman trying to make a life out of what fate seems to throw at her. This exciting and heartwrenching story will fascinate readers and lend new life to a familiar story.

The Guardian


Nicholas Sparks - 2003
    Now, four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, 29-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who? Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years. Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire

The Rising: Antichrist is Born


Tim LaHaye - 2003
    So when a mysterious clairvoyant promises the fulfillment of this dream, Marilena does not hesitate. Through genetic engineering and the power of the prince of darkness himself, Marilena is about to become a chosen vessel, one who will unknowingly give birth to the greatest evil the world has ever known.Halfway around the world, God s plans are subtly being carried out too. Young Ray Steele is determined to avoid one day taking over the family business. Instead, Ray sets his heart on becoming a pilot. . . . Soon Carpathia s and Steele s lives will intersect. And good and evil will clash in an explosion that will shake the world.

Hadassah: One Night with the King


Tommy Tenney - 2003
    Both a thriller and a Jewish woman's memoir, Hadassah takes readers to ancient Persia (now known as Iran), into the inner sanctum of the palace and back out into the war zones of battle and political intrigue. This gripping drama of a simple peasant girl chosen over many more qualified candidates to become Esther, Queen of Persia, captures the imagination and fires the emotions of men and women alike.

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian


Robert E. Howard - 2003
    Cimmeria poem1 The Phoenix on the Sword 19322 The Frost-Giant's Daughter 19763 The God in the Bowl 19524 The Tower of the Elephant 19335 The Scarlet Citadel 19336 Queen of the Black Coast 19347 Black Colossus 19338 Iron Shadows in the Moon 19349 Xuthal of the Dusk 193310 The Pool of the Black One 193311 Rogues in the House 193412 The Vale of Lost Women 196713 The Devil in Iron 1934

Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the Mysterious Island


Jules Verne - 2003
    In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea we meet the enigmatic Captain Nemo and The Nautilus. Even after many adventures and much derring-do Nemo's secrets remain his own, and at the end of the novel we are left with many mysteries concering this mysterious and tragic man. In The Mysterious Island we once again encounter Captain Nemo. The years have mellowed him some, and he reveals his surprising secrets. Two wonderful sea adventures!

Scraps of Paper


Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2003
    It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. ***

A Rush of Wings


Kristen Heitzmann - 2003
    Her sanctuary is a horse ranch, where she discovers solace in the breathtaking scenery she paints. But as the attentions of two brothers slowly soften the wall she hides behind, the past she yearns to escape becomes a menacing threat she cannot deny. Will Noelle find courage to give her broken heart to the One whose perfect love casts out all fear? Kristen Heitzmann skillfully creates a story resonating with emotion and a poignant spiritual journey.

Life Support


Robert Whitlow - 2003
    She doesn't have a clue what it will do to her heart...and soul.From the Christy-award-winning author of The List, The Trial, and The Sacrifice comes this twisting tale of tough decisions, mixed motives, and mysterious, healing grace.Baxter Richardson survived a fall from a cliff while hiding in the mountains. Whether he'll make it through the next few weeks is unclear. His survival depends on the machines that help him breathe. On the haunted, unstable wife who wants to pull the plug and hide her secrets. On the doting father who wants him alive for reasons of love and money. On the conflicting legal documents that send the fight to court. And, on the music and prayers of an extraordinarily gifted pianist.

The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings


Edgar Allan Poe - 2003
    'The Fall of the House of Usher' describes the final hours of a family tormented by tragedy and the legacy of the past. In 'Tell-Tale Heart', a murderer's insane delusions threaten to betray him, while stories such as 'The Pit and the Pendulum' and 'The Cask of Amontillado' explore extreme states of decadence, fear and hate. These works display Poe's startling ability to build suspense with almost nightmarish intensity.David Galloway's introduction re-examines the myths surrounding Poe's life and reputation. This edition includes a new chronology and suggestions for further reading.PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS SELECTED WRITINGSChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingA Note on the TextPOEMSStanzasSonnet — To ScienceA/ AaraafRomanceTO HelenIsrafelThe City in the SeaThe SleeperLenoreThe Valley of UnrestThe RavenUlalumeFor AnnieA ValentineAnnabel LeeThe BellsEldoradoTALESMS. Found in a BottleLigeiaThe Man that was Used UpThe Fall of the House of UsherWilliam WilsonThe Man of the CrowdThe Murders in the Rue MorgueA Descent into the MaelströmEleonoraThe Oval PortraitThe Masque of the Red DeathThe Pit and the PendulumThe Tell-Tale HeartThe Gold-BugThe Black CatThe Purloined LetterThe Facts in the Case of M. ValdemarThe Cask of AmontilladoHop-FrogESSÄYS AND REVIEWSLetter to B—Georgia ScenesThe Drake—Halleck Review (excerpts)Watkins TottleThe Philosophy of FurnitureWyandottéMusicTime and SpaceTwice-Told TalesThe American Drama (excerpts)HazlittThe Philosophy of CompositionSong-WritingOn ImaginationThe Veil of the SoulThe Poetic Principle (excerpts)Notes

The Young Wan


Brendan O'Carroll - 2003
    Before she was a Mammy, before she had Chisellers, and before they made her a Granny, Agnes Browne was Agnes Reddin, a young girl-or a Young Wan- growing up in the Jarro in Dublin. Brendan O'Carroll takes readers back to the heart of working-class Dublin, this time in the 1940s.  Together with her soon to be lifelong best friend Marion Delany, young Agnes manages to survive the indignities and demands of Catholic school, the unwanted births of siblings, days spent in the factories and markets, and nights in the dance hall as rock-and-roll invades Dublin.But on the eve of her wedding night, the Jarro is alive with gossip—will Agnes be turned away at the altar?  For the whole parish knows Agnes's not-so-well-kept secret.  And with a mother falling further into dementia, and a younger sister turning to a life of crime, it's up to Agnes alone to keep her splintering family together, while trying to create one of her own. Filled with O'Carroll's trademark wicked wit and loving, larger-than-life characters, The Young Wan shows the hardscrabble beginnings of the ultimate Irish mother and family.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet


Michael Rosen - 2003
    Now the acclaimed author of SHAKESPEARE: HIS WORK AND HIS WORLD presents the Bard's best-loved play — perhaps of all time — in a beautiful picture book for children. Michael Rosen retells ROMEO AND JULIET scene by scene in a simple, lively style that incorporates the most celebrated passages in their original form, while a border on each spread offers act and scene references and a glossary of difficult words. Exquisite illustrations by Jane Ray complete the production, making this an edition to enthrall the eye as well as the ear.

Heaven-high and Hell-deep


Peggy Poe Stern - 2003
    She knows God handed her a life of hardship, especially when her Dad gives her away in marriage to a man she doesn't know. However, she proves to be a true mountain girl with spirit, determination, feistiness and fiery spunk. Laine's unabashed account of events, before and during the first months of her marriage, draws the reader spellbound into a story that will linger like mists shrouding distant mountains.

And the Shofar Blew


Francine Rivers - 2003
    He still calls His people today.In this relevant and timely novel, dynamic young preacher Paul Hudson is committed to building his church—but at what cost? When Paul accepted the call to pastor the struggling church, he had no idea what to expect. But it didn’t take long for Paul to turn Centerville Christian Church around. Attendance is up, way up, and everything is going so well. If only his wife, Eunice, could see it that way. Still, he tries not to let her quiet presence distract him. But Eunice knows that something isn’t right . . . and it hasn’t been for a long time.The more Paul’s zeal and ambition builds, the more he loses sight of the One who called him. As Paul and those around him struggle to discern what it truly means to live out their faith, they must ultimately choose between their own will and God’s plan.

Raiders from the Sea


Lois Walfrid Johnson - 2003
    Then, in one frightening day, Viking raiders capture Bree and her brother Devin and take them away from their home in Ireland.All of the Irish prisoners are at the mercy of Mikkel, the proud young leader of the Vikings. Separated by Mikkel, Bree and Devin each face different journeys to courage. As Bree sails toward a life of slavery in Norway and as Devin struggles to survive on his own, they must choose to trust God in spite of the troubles they face.When everything is against them, where will Bree and Devin find the courage to win?

Notes from Underground, The Double and Other Stories (B&N Classics)


Fyodor Dostoevsky - 2003
    Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholarsBiographies of the authorsChronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural eventsFootnotes and endnotesSelective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the workComments by other famous authorsStudy questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectationsBibliographies for further readingIndices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Often considered a prologue to Dostoevsky’s brilliant novels, the story “Notes from Underground” introduces one of the great anti-heroes in literature: the underground man, who lives on the fringes of society. In an impassioned, manic monologue this character—plagued by shame, guilt, and alienation—argues that reason is merely a flimsy construction built upon humanity’s essentially irrational core. Internal conflict is also explored in “The Double,” a surreal tale of a government clerk who meets a more unpleasant version of himself and is changed as a result. In addition to these two existential classics, this collection also includes the psychologically probing stories “The Meek One,” “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man,” and “White Nights.”Deborah A. Martinsen is Assistant to the Director of the Core Curriculum at Columbia University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature. She is the author of Surprised by Shame: Dostoevsky's Liars and Narrative Exposure.

Change of Season


Anna Jacobs - 2003
    But he’s called away to deal with a crisis in Hong Kong and she’s left to settle into a new country on her own. One by one, her three grown-up children need help with major life problems and there’s only her to help them, because as usual, Paul puts his job first. Then she finds out that her husband's been unfaithful for years, and it’s the final blow to their marriage, especially as she’s met another man she finds attractive and kind. Her confidence grows as she wins acclaim as an embroidery artist and then she comes into an inheritance. Will her loyalty keep her with her husband, as it has before, or will Paul get more than he’d bargained for with the new, independent Rosalind?

Varjak Paw


S.F. Said - 2003
    But Varjak is forced out into the city when the sinister Gentleman and his two menacing cats take over his home. With help from his mystical ancestor, Jalal, Varjak manages to overcome challenges such as self-survival and a threat from the gangland cats, and he ultimately discovers the terrifying secrets behind the Vanishings. But can he save his own family from their fate? With wonderful integrated illustrations from acclaimed comic book artist Dave McKean, this book will appeal to all ages.From the Hardcover edition.

Latro in the Mist


Gene Wolfe - 2003
    Latro forgets everything when he sleeps. Writing down his experiences every day and reading his journal anew each morning gives him a poignantly tenuous hold on himself, but his story's hold on readers is powerful indeed, and many consider these Wolfe's best books.

The Big Stone Gap Trilogy: "Big Cherry Holler", "Big Stone Gap", "Milk Glass Moon"


Adriana Trigiani - 2003
    This is a wonderfully vibrant, unashamedly feel-good debut. BIG CHERRY HOLLER is the extraordinary sequel to BIG STONE GAP, taking us back to mountain life in Virginia and also to Italy. A deeply felt, brilliantly evoked story of two lovers who have lost their way, and their struggle to find each other again. The third in the series, MILK GLASS MOON sees Ave Maria led to places she never dreamed she would go, and to people who enter her life and rock its foundation.

The Seventh Tower


Garth Nix - 2003
    Contains complete text to Above the Veil, Into Battle and The Violet Keystone by author Garth Nix.

Blind Run


Patricia Lewin - 2003
    Then a daring mission takes a lethal turn, leaving innocents dead in its wake, and Ethan’s wife a prime target of a ruthless assassin. To save her, and because he can no longer justify his actions, Ethan exiles himself to a remote desert in New Mexico, a prisoner of his own guilt and grief.Then one searing day, a former member of Decker’s covert team arrives at his door, shepherding two children. She entrusts them to his protection and leaves without explanation.Suddenly, the race is on: to reach his ex-wife before the deadly assassin finds her, and to unlock the mystery behind the two children—who have become pawns in a dark conspiracy so evil that even this former spy cannot imagine the peril that lies directly in his path.

Without a Trace


Colleen Coble - 2003
    Her relentless determination to find them starts an investigation that links their disappearance to a violent crime threatening to tear the peaceful town of Rock Harbor apart.Mystery fans will love this exciting new series from best-selling author Colleen Coble. Set in the untamed beauty of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Rock Harbor Series is full of suspense and romance, drawing you into the life and operation of a canine search-and-rescue team as it unravels the secrets of an enchanting wilderness.

The Fisherman


Larry Huntsperger - 2003
    For more than twenty-five years, author and pastor Larry Huntsperger has spent hundreds of hours studying New Testament documents in preparation for writing this fictional first-person account of the life of this enigmatic disciple. The result is a novel that faithfully follows Scripture while offering a powerful, fresh narration of the story of one of Christianity's greatest men. In the fast-paced chapters of The Fisherman, readers will relive Peter's initial resistance to the pull he feels toward Jesus and his ministry. They'll walk with Peter alongside Jesus through the events of the Gospels and catch intimate glimpses of the disciples' personalities. They'll even "feel" the dust on the roads as familiar stories are transformed into original, spellbinding accounts from Peter's life. This fascinating novel will help readers "to see the Master as a man. For, if we cannot see him correctly as man, we have no hope of understanding him correctly as our God."

The Way the Crow Flies


Ann-Marie MacDonald - 2003
    Secure in the love of her beautiful mother, she is unaware that her father, Jack, is caught up in a web of secrets. When a very local murder intersects with global forces, Jack must decide where his loyalties lie, and Madeleine will be forced to learn a lesson about the ambiguity of human morality -- one she will only begin to understand when she carries her quest for the truth, and the killer, into adulthood twenty years later.

Monkeewrench


P.J. Tracy - 2003
    Literally. With Serial Killer Detective out in limited release, the real-life murders of a jogger and a young woman have already mimicked the first two scenarios in the game. But Grace McBride and her eccentric Monkeewrench partners are caught in a vise. If they tell the Minneapolis police of the link between their game and the murders, they'll shine a spotlight on the past they thought they had erased-and the horror they thought they'd left behind. If they don't, eighteen more people will die...

Chandlers Green


Ruth Hamilton - 2003
    The dynasty, now in decline and ruled by Richard Chandler, is reduced to an unhappy household and a few tenanted properties. And now Richard's arch-enemy, Alf Martindale, is planning to move into his village, and Richard knows that the past is catching up with him fast.

Riven


Jerry B. Jenkins - 2003
    Brady Wayne Darby and Thomas Carey could hardly have been more disparate individuals. Yet when Darby, a no-account loser raised in a dingy suburban trailer park, encounters Carey, a weary man of God, an entire—state indeed, a nation—is affected. Embark on a wondrous journey where death, guilt, and despair are unfathomably trumped by rebirth, forgiveness, and hope. Author Jerry Jenkins says: “This is the novel I have always wanted to write. I determine whether a fiction idea has merit by how long it stays with me. Does it rattle in my brain, and do I find myself telling it to my wife and other confidants? Is it the type of a tale that will draw me back to the keyboard every day? Two-thirds of my published books have been novels, and only three have had that effect on me. I give my all to every one, but special joy and anticipation attend those that genuinely feel like the best ideas. "Riven" is my fourth such labor of love. The two main characters have remained in my memory since high school 40 years ago. The story idea is perhaps 20 years old. And those mystical, interweaving elements I hope make it all work have been tugging at me for more than a decade. If a novelist has a life's work, this is mine. I hope in the end you agree and that "Riven" stays with you long after the final page.”

High Heat


Carl Deuker - 2003
    Firing fastballs at ninety miles per hour, he loves being a winner. But when his father is accused of a crime, Shane's charmed world is turned upside down. Nothing is the way it once was, and Shane's not sure he wants to -- or even can -- pitch ever again. But like baseball, life sometimes throws you curves, and Shane discovers it's how you play the game that counts most of all.

Franz Kafka's The Castle (Dramatization)


David Fishelson - 2003
    Note - This is not the novel by Franz Kafka! For the novel see The Castle

Manto: Selected Stories


Saadat Hasan Manto - 2003
    Saadat Hasan Manto's stories are vivid, dangerous and troubling and they slice into the everyday world to reveal its sombre, dark heart. These stories were written from the mid 30s on, many under the shadow of Partition. No Indian writer since has quite managed to capture the underbelly of Indian life with as much sympathy and colour. In a new translation that for the first time captures the richness of Manto's prose and its combination of high emotion and taut narrative, this is a classic collection from the master of the Indian short story.

Shoofly Pie


Tim Downs - 2003
    the Bug Man) is hired by thirty-year-old Kathryn Guilford, who is terrified of bugs, to solve her friend's death. When Polchak stumbles into the mystery of how Kathryn's husband was killed years earlier, the action kicks into high gear -- and Polchak finds himself on the run with his client from someone who will do anything to keep a secret. This fast-paced murder mystery is more than the typical "Christian fiction;"it is good clean fun -- on a thrill ride. Biblical values are implicit rather than explicit, and its fascinating elements provoke thought on a conscience, consequences, and world-views. But mostly, this book is a sizzler of a story that will not let you go.

Equator


Miguel Sousa Tavares - 2003
    But his life is turned upside down when King Dom Carlos invites him to become governor of Portugal’s smallest colony, the island of São Tomé e Principe. Luis Bernardo is ill-prepared for the challenges of plantation life – used to a softer urban existence, he is shocked by the conditions under which the workers labour.But with the English closing in on São Tomé’s cocoa plantations, the island’s main means of survival, Luis Bernardo must endeavour to protect the island and its community.

Shutter Island


Dennis Lehane - 2003
    U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this remote and barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane relentlessly bears down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades—with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. But then neither is Teddy Daniels.

The Early Stories, 1953-1975


John Updike - 2003
    There follows tales of life away from home, student days, early marriage and young families, and finally Updike's experimental stories on 'The Single Life'. Here, then, is a rich and satisfying feast of Updike - his wit, his easy mastery of language, his genius for recalling the subtleties of ordinary life and the excitements, and perils, of the pursuit of happiness.

Pratchett 8 Book Set: Night Watch / Truth / Carpe Jugulum / Color of Magic / Fifth Elephant / Light Fantastic / Equal Rites / Thief of Time


Terry Pratchett - 2003
    Pratchett Fiction Collection Eight-Book Set For a limited time get eight books in Terry Pratchett`s Discworld series in one easy-to-order package, including Pratchett's 28th installment in the series, Night Watch.

The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness


Joel Ben Izzy - 2003
    An encounter with his old teacher shows him that, in fact, he's been given a great gift. Their meetings lead him on a journey into the timeless wisdom of ancient tales - a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures - and, ultimately, toward the secret of happiness.

Sleep Tight


Anne Frasier - 2003
    DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?He's looking for the perfect woman. Someone who won't disappoint him, like so many have before. Someone who'll love him ... someone who won't have to die for her mistakes.GIVE UP, LITTLE DARLING....FBI agent Mary Cantrell has been called to Minneapolis to hunt down a killer. Her reluctant return home is shaking her to the core, reviving dreadful memories. Years ago, her best friend was murdered. Now the man convicted of the crime, Gavin Hitchcock, is free--and Mary's own sister, Gillian, a local cop, has befriended him.NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM BUT ME.As each clue to the new killings leads them closer to Hitchcock, Mary and Gillian put their differences aside and set themselves up as the perfect target--and the perfect trap. Unless Mary's own past has blinded her to an unimaginable truth ... and will plunge them into a waking nightmare....

Apocalypse Dawn: The Earth's Last Days: The Battle Begins


Mel Odom - 2003
    Navy carriers patrolling the Mediterranean to Fort Benning, Georgia, and the dusty sands of the Turkish-Syrian border, this new suspense thriller runs side by side with the phenomenal series that has sold more than 50 million copies. New characters and situations are added to those from the already explosive Left Behind series to raise the tension to a fever pitch. With technical accuracy from the same people who create best-selling military thrillers, this new series will satisfy the fans of the original Left Behind series who are looking for more.

Angels Watching Over Me


Michael R. Phillips - 2003
    Two young Southern girls, one the daughter of a plantation owner and one the daughter of a slave, barely survive the onset of the Civil War and the loss of both their families. When these tragic circumstances bring them together, they join forces to discover if they can make a life for themselves. As their preconceptions give way to experience, they gradually learn to value their contrasting and complementing strengths and skills as they face the formidable task of keeping body and soul together in the aftermath of this devastating war. But is it possible the Lord they have come to know has something bigger in mind for the plantation than either of them can imagine?

In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot


Graham Roumieu - 2003
    Learn the hairy one's brave struggles with eating disorders, casual cannibalism, pop culture, and philosophical quandaries. In this crazed mutant graphic novel, Graham Roumieu gives us a portrait of the artist as a young ape that will leave the reader howling with laughter.

The Last Dog on Earth


Daniel Ehrenhaft - 2003
    Dad Dr Craig Westerly, who left. Step-dad Bob, who wants control. Kids like too-good Devon. Except Jack. A mangy pup who only likes Logan.A new disease turns dogs vicious in days, spreads to humans. Logan runs with Jack when nobody believes she is immune. Meanwhile, Portland U. begs reclusive Craig back for old prion disease work.

Quicksilver


Neal Stephenson - 2003
    In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe -- in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.(back cover)

A Carriage For The Midwife


Maggie Bennett - 2003
    The youngest son of a landowner offers her marriage but his brother seduces her little sister and then betrays her in the most brutal of ways. Susan faces losing everything.

No Second Chance


Harlan Coben - 2003
    Marc Seidman lies in a hospital bed. His wife has been killed. His six-month-old daughter has vanished. But just when his world seems forever shattered, the ransom note arrives: We are watching. If you contact the authorities, you will never see your daughter again. There will be no second chance. With no one to trust, and mired in a deepening quicksand of deception and deadly secrets, Marc clings to one unwavering vow: bring home his daughter, at any cost.

Retribution


Jilliane Hoffman - 2003
    Townsend is a brilliant prosecutor known for keeping her cool even when trying the most horrific cases. The latest: an accused serial killer who savors cruelty and considers murder an art. But this case is different. C.J. recognizes the suspect. She knows what he's capable of. After all these years she still has the nightmares to prove it. Now she's walking a fine line between justice and revenge. Even C.J. isn't prepared for where it will take her.

Ellie Pride


Annie Groves - 2003
    A stirring tale charting the life of Ellie Pride, a beautiful Preston girl who, when her mother dies, must forge her own way in the world. Warned by her mother on her deathbed to forsake love and passion for stability and social status, Ellie must spurn the advances of handsome Gideon Walker, despite her deep attraction to him. With her father struggling to cope with two children, Ellie is exiled to live with her aunt and uncle in Hoylake. Her mother's dream is that this will give her the chance to escape her background forever. Ellie attempts to get on with her life - but Gideon is never far from her thoughts. Even once she is trapped in a loveless marriage, their paths are destined to cross again and again with far-reaching and devastating consequences.

One Step Forward


Rosie Harris - 2003
    Life is hard for Katie - not only because of their poverty but also because of the stigma of her father's shame.When Lewis is released years later, it seems that life must improve. But to Katie's horror, it becomes worse than she has ever known it. When she and her father are left alone together, Katie seeks happiness and love elsewhere, but as she struggles to make a new life for herself, there is difficulty and danger at every turn ...

When Daylight Comes


Lyn Andrews - 2003
    The death of her mother soon after is almost too much to bear. Then Jess learns that the family business is in ruins, and there are further blows to come.Suddenly a young woman who has known only comfort and security finds herself alone and friendless. But Jess is a fighter and in her darkest hour she finds the strength she needs to start again. Tragedy, however, is just around the corner...

The Red Cotton Fields


Michael D. Strickland - 2003
    The story begins on a Georgia plantation in the year 1850, ending on the gold fields of Australia in the year 1884. This is a story surrounding three southern families (the plantation owners, the plantation overseer’s family, and a Negro slave family) leading up to and including the Civil War. Readers will experience the demise of a southern plantation and follow two of the plantation’s previous occupants (Bart Royal, the white overseer’s son, and Reiner Washington, an escaped slave) as they rise to become two of the richest men in the world. Also, The Red Cotton Fields is a classic love story between the plantation owner’s daughter, Holly Ballaster, and the overseer’s son, Bart Royal. The Red Cotton Fields is destined to become a classic. Read it and you will understand why.

Room of Marvels


James Bryan Smith - 2003
    Now he’s on the brink of losing his faith.Room of Marvels takes readers on a silent spiritual retreat with Tim where he is swept up in a dream vision of heaven and given a guided tour by those he has lost. Reminiscent of the C. S. Lewis classic, The Great Divorce, the book carries a contemporary voice that made Library Journal declare it “a good companion to Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven.”Remarkably, Room of Marvels mirrors author James Bryan Smith’s own heart-wrenching season of loss when his mother (Wanda), close friend (“Awesome God” singer Rich Mullins), and two-year-old daughter (Madeline) passed away within months of each other.Updated with a new cover design and epilogue by Smith, the 2007 edition of Room of Marvels will continue to comfort those touched by grief and stir the hunger for heaven in every reader.

A Taste of Reality


Kimberla Lawson Roby - 2003
    But when she applies for a promotion at work, she loses out to a white colleague who isn′t as qualified for the job. But Anise doesn′t give up and tries again. At the same, she discovers that her husband is having an affair. And her best friend at work is keeping dangerous secrets. As brave as she is determined, Anise finds out that she has the strength to deal with the heartbreak and stay her course. Ultimately, she will discover that what is worth having is worth fighting for--in her career and , most importantly, in her heart.

Safe Harbour


Danielle Steel - 2003
    At eleven, Pip Mackenzie's young life has already been touched by tragedy; nine months before, a terrible accident plunged her mother Ophelie into inconsolable grief. But on this chilly July afternoon, Pip meets artist Matt Bowles, who offers to teach the girl to draw--and can't help but notice her beautiful, lonely mother.Matt Bowles senses something magical about Pip, who reminds him of his own daughter at that age, before a bitter divorce tore his family apart and swept his children halfway across the world. At first, Ophelie is thrown off-balance by her daughter's new companion--until she realizes how much joy he is bringing into their lives. As Matt confronts unfinished business from his past, and Ophelie is struck by a stunning betrayal, out of the darkness that has shadowed them both comes an unexpected gift of hope.

Fogbound


Joseph T. Klempner - 2003
    Klempner combines thrills, vivid characters, and a plot that leaves the reader breathless. A Lincoln Navigator carries three well-dressed people through the barren New Jersey salt flats. The trip is uncomfortable but necessary. Their target has no phone, certainly no email, and never answers his mail. But August Jorgenson is no country bumpkin. Before retiring, he was one of the most famous judges in the country, and only opinions like his fierce opposition to the death penalty kept him from a seat on the Supreme Court. Now his visitors, from a reality show called Trial TV, have come to enlist his aid. They are excited about an idea they have that promises to strike a serious blow against the death penalty (and boost their ratings past those of Court TV). The judge agrees to help. But as he digs into the facts of the case he becomes their enemy - an enemy who must be removed as a serious threat to their plans. When his first novel, Felony Murder, was published, Publishers Weekly called Klempner "a writer to watch." Now, Klempner is better than ever - that rare novelist with both an insider's knowledge of the world he writes about, and a talent for intelligent, compelling storytelling.

The Steerswoman's Road


Rosemary Kirstein - 2003
    If she asks, you must reply. A steerswoman will speak only the truth to you, as long as she knows it—and you must do the same for her. And so, across the centuries, the Steerswomen— questioning, searching, investigating—have slowly learned more and more about the world through which they wander. All knowledge the Steerswomen possess is given freely to those who ask. But there is one kind of knowledge that has always been denied them: Magic.When the steerswoman Rowan discovers a small, lovely blue jewel of obviously magical origin, her innocent questions lead to secret after startling secret, each more dangerous than the last—and suddenly Rowan must flee or fight for her life. Or worse, she must lie.With every wizard in the world searching for her, Rowan finds unexpected assistance. A chance-met traveler turned friend, Bel is a warrior-poet, an Outskirter, and a member of a barbaric and violent people. Or, so it would seem.For Bel, unknowing, possesses secrets of her own: secrets embedded in her culture, in her people, in the very soil of her homeland. From the Inland Sea to the deadly Outskirts, surrounded by danger and deceit, Rowan and Bel uncover more and more of the wizards’ hidden knowledge. As the new truths accumulate, they edge closer to the single truth that lies at the center, the most unexpected secret of them all. . . .

Judgment of The Witch


Robert R. McCammon - 2003
     The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe their town is cursed by a witch. What else could explain the sudden fires, crop failures and gruesome murders? Convinced that Rachel Howarth, the beautiful widow of the recently slain minister, is to blame, they throw her into a gaol to await trial and execution. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew -- who, despite the evidence against Rachel, believes in her innocence. But soon he realizes that there truly is Evil at work in Fount Royal: a malevolent force more powerful than any witch could ever hope to conjure....

Soon: The Beginning of the End


Jerry B. Jenkins - 2003
    Paul relishes his job and is good at it. He is determined to expose underground religion—flush it out, expose it, and kill it—until his life is turned upside down and he is forced to look at life in a different way. As Paul begins to unravel the truth about what he has found, events taking place around the world start to make sense. Something big is coming—something that can't be stopped. And it is coming soon.

That Way Again


Carolyn Brown - 2003
    They were planning a wedding and the rest of their lives together. But Kitty's great-aunt put an end to all that in the course of one phone call, shattering both of their hearts and ruining their lives. Neither Kitty nor Preston would have thought her capable of telling one lie, much less two. Then when she died suddenly a week later, they never found out.Five years later, Kitty comes back to Caddo, Oklahoma to sell Aunt Bertha's house and to finally put closure on the fiasco that broke her heart in a million pieces when she found out Preston had found another woman. As luck would have it, every time she turns around he's right there. The tingle is still there as well as the love, but he's married... or at least Kitty thinks he is.

A Fine Dark Line


Joe R. Lansdale - 2003
    The kids listen idly to rockabilly on the radio and waste their weekends at the Dairy Queen. And an undetected menace simmers under the heat that clings to the skin like molasses... For thirteen-year-old Stanley Mitchell, the end of innocence comes with his discovery of the mysterious long-ago demise of two very different young women. In his quest to unravel the truth about their tragic fates, Stanley finds a protector in Buster Lighthorse Smith, a black, retired Indian-reservation cop and a sage on the finer points of Sherlock Holmes, the blues, and life's faded dreams. But not every buried thing stays dead. And on one terrifying night of rushing creek water and thundering rain, an arcane, murderous force will rise from the past to threaten the boy in a harrowing rite of passage... Vintage Lansdale, A Fine Dark Line brims with exquisite suspense, powerful characterizations, and the vibrant evocation of a lost time.

We Need to Talk About Kevin


Lionel Shriver - 2003
    Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.

Enemies Foreign And Domestic


Matthew Bracken - 2003
    A police marksman kills the sniper, a mentally unbalanced Desert Storm veteran holding a smoking assault rifle. It's an open and shut case, or so America is led to believe... In the aftermath of the stadium massacre, an outraged public demands an end to the threat posed by assault rifles, and Congress passes emergency legislation banning their private possession. American gun owners have one week to turn in their semi-automatic rifles, or face mandatory five year federal prison terms. Jimmy Shifflett, the alleged stadium sniper, is linked to a shadowy "gun club" in southeastern Virginia, which the FBI believes is a cover for a secret right wing militia terror group. Those who knew Shifflett the best don't believe he was a member of any militia, or that he was guilty of the horrific mass murder. But if he didn't fire the "assault rifle" into the stadium, who did, and why? A small band of Virginians, thrown together by fate, is forced to undertake a desperate odyssey through a minefield of government blackmail, official deception and covert death squads, to discover the truth behind the stadium massacre, and save their own lives.

Shadows Over Baker Street


Michael ReavesPoppy Z. Brite - 2003
    LovecraftNew Tales of Terror!What would happen if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's peerless detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his allies were to find themselves faced with Lovecraftian mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but beyond sanity itself. In this collection of original tales, twenty of today's cutting-edge writers provide answers to that burning question.Contributors include Neil Gaiman, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Bright, Barbara Hambly, Steve Perry, and Caitlin R. Kierman. These and other masters of horror, mystery, fantasy and science fiction spin dark tales within a terrifyingly surreal universe.Includes the Hugo Award-winning story A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman.Cover design: David StevensonCover Illustration: John Jude Palencar

Mistress of the Game


Sherrie Walker - 2003
    Henry's Orphanage where, under the harshest circumstances, they forge a bond that is to last a lifetime.

The Shop on Blossom Street


Debbie Macomber - 2003
    The owner of the shop and her three students produce more than blankets, knitting together bonds of solidarity, friendship, love, hope, and renewal. The book even includes the pattern for the blanket, which was created by premier knitting designer Ann Norling. When Lydia Hoffman, a cancer survivor and owner of A Good Yarn, starts a knitting class for her patrons, she forms a special friendship and bond with three extraordinary women--Jacqueline, Carol, and Alix--and together they share laughter, heartbreak, and dreams.

Ten Little Indians


Sherman Alexie - 2003
    In 'The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above', an intellectual feminist Spokane Indian woman saves the lives of dozens of white women all around her, to the bewilderment of her only child. In 'Do You Know Where I Am?' two college sweethearts rescue a lost cat - a simple act that has profound moral consequences for the rest of their lives together. In 'What You Pawn I Will Redeem', a homeless Indian man must raise $1,000 in twenty-four hours to buy back the fancy dance outfit stolen from his grandmother fifty years earlier.Even as they often make us laugh, Sherman Alexie's stories are driven by a haunting lyricism and naked candour that cut to the heart of the human experience.