Patterson's fundamentally serious but playful literary style. Patterson writes like the love child of Henry Miller and Mary Karr, with all the contradictions that implies -- a philosopher who thinks best over a glass of fine wine; an ex-Catholic still haunted by the image of the Crucifixion; an irreverent political satirist whose patriotism flies the flag of another iconoclast, Thomas Paine. Patterson grew up with a foot planted in each of two worlds -- one in Washington DC, the Capital of the Empire as he calls it, where the wheels of power spin, and one in rural Ontario, where his Canadian mother insisted the family spend their summers. His father, one of the wizards of twentieth century newspaper publishing, introduced him to the city's wheels of money and power, which he would later navigate as an entrepreneur, starting his first business at 20. But those Canadian summers introduced him to a different world - one where a cedar strip boat was better than any car, and where the ghosts of those who'd previously inhabited the family's island house floated out over the water of Lovesick Lake. It is those two worlds that blend in this collection, in reflections both serious and playful, on what it means to be a man, an artist, an iconoclast, a patriot, a lover, as the 20th century rolls over into the 21st.

    Ferguson did to him when he was a boy. The pain, the blood and the snip-snip of those glinting scissors will live in his nightmares for the rest of his life. But now Dr. Ferguson is back and not just in Stuart's dreams. He's very real. He's determined to perform that same horrible procedure on Stuart's young son. And his scissors are nice and sharp.

    The leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Yermolov, instructs Defense Minister Marshal Budarenko to go on a limited military operation that will put an end to the civilian uprising in some of the Warsaw Pact states. But Marshal Budarenko has other plans.The Marshal, a WWII hero and red-army legend, is a tough, militant man. He begins conspiring behind the USSR leader’s back, forming an intricate scheme that will allow him to move mass armed forces towards West Germany, and beyond.In the face of this emerging threat, the US and NATO allies declare the highest alert level and are left with no choice but to start deploying their nuclear warheads. WWIII seems inevitable.Set against a complex historical background, David Yaron weaves a thrilling, sophisticated story, which seems completely realistic. Yaron's writing is minimalistic yet full of details that only a military expert can recount, keeping the reader in constant suspense.

    On a cold February night, while flying a drone, he takes video of a missile on a transporter erector launcher being loaded aboard a merchant ship. This could be a violation of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by Reagan and Gorbachev. Karl is recalled to America, but not for long. The Agency wants him to continue with his mission, which brings him to a tumultuous South American country. As the U.S. Navy tracks the Russian ship across the Atlantic, it soon becomes clear that a new Cold War could turn hot, bringing the two superpowers to the brink of war. With Karl being the son of legendary CIA officers Jake Adams and Toni Contardo, he definitely has the DNA to complete this mission. But in the cat and mouse spy game, nobody is safe.

    He collects stamps. He used to have a dog, until the dog walker walked off with him. Then he soldiered on alone.It's his profession that sets him apart. He's a hit man. He kills strangers for a living.And he's a Guilty Pleasure for an ever-increasing number of readers. "I don't think I ought to like Keller," readers tell me. "But I can't help myself..." In the fourth Keller novel, HIT AND RUN, Keller's whole life in New York came to an abrupt end; by the time he'd sorted things out, he was married and living in New Orleans, with a kid on the way. And now, for the first time since the substance hit the fan, he's back in New York—once his home, and now the most dangerous place on the planet for him. And his job is impossible. He has to break into a monastery in the middle of Murray Hill and kill the abbott.Lots of luck, Keller...This edition of KELLER'S HOMECOMING (which was incorporated into the book Hit Me) includes as a bonus the opening sequence of another Keller adventure, KELLER'S DESIGNATED HITTER.

    And for the last of the line of Eld there may be no way out. Meanwhile, on Mid-World, Alain and Cuthbert desperately struggle to protect Roland's unconscious form, and themselves, against a pack of ravening wolves.

    The man who has a tale of his own to tell.A story within a story within a story, MY NAME IS MISTER GRIEF continues the Luke Smitherd tradition of making the reader wonder 'what would I do?' while transporting them to the place where everyone has a secret and the impossible is possible.

    "They say love is a two-way street. But I don't believe it because the

    Her teenage euphoria doesn't last long however, for when Bruce arrives he has a 'friend' in tow - the beautiful Christine Myerscough, who is determined to make herself Bruce's wife. Crushed and betrayed, Maisie realizes that her life needn't be confined to Middlebeck, and that there are many opportunities for someone with her ambition. When she finally finds her true vocation she convinces herself she is over her young love - but has Bruce forgotten about her?

    When her brother’s friend offers to pay for a Season in London in exchange for pretending to be his betrothed, she sees it as a miracle. Jonas needs a fiancée in order to inherit his grandfather’s estate, but he didn’t consider how spending several months with Barbara would make her necessary to his happiness. Now she’s in London and he’s in agony. A gentleman never reneges on an agreement…unless his heart is broken.

    Get ready to use your Might Math Powers, Umifriend!

    His parents are dead, he hasn’t seen his sister since she was a teenager, and Kaunas has become the political center of the emerging state of Lithuania. He’s barely off the train when he’s recruited back into service, this time for the nascent government eager to secure his loyalty and vast experience. Though the administration may be new, its problems are familiar, and Adamonis quickly finds himself ensnared in a dangerous web of political corruption and personal betrayal.

    

    But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust

    The next morning Gillain is found brutally butchered in her own bed. Determined to avenge the murder, Melina vows to stop at nothing to learn the truth. But soon she is on the run from police, the FBI, and the mastermind whose evil plot to engineer the perfect "switch" could result in disastrous consequences on a global scale."ENVY"Read by Victor SlezakBook editor Maris Matherly-Reed receives a tantalizing partial manuscript submitted by a writer identified only as P.M.E. Curiosity compels her to track down the author, Parker Evans, and work with him to complete the novel. But as the story unfolds, Maris becomes convinced it is more than just fiction. When someone close to her dies, the presence of evil looms even closer..."THE CRUSH"Read by Tom WopatWhile serving as a juror on a high-profile murder trial, Dr. Rennie Newton finds herself defending the inalienable rights of the accused -- even though there is considerable evidence of his guilt. When she arrives home, five dozen roses ominously await her. As she becomes the obsession of Lozada -- the accused murderer she helped acquit -- Rennie is drawn into a ferocious endgame with an embittered cop who wants Lozada -- by any means necessary.