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Song of Mornius by Diane E. Steinbach
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Exposé
Paul Ilett - 2014
If you've ever wanted to see one of the tabloid papers brought down, then this is the novel for you. Just brilliant." ☆☆☆☆☆ Sarah Woodall, GoodreadsTabloid journalist Valerie Pierce is hiding a secret of her own, and it's about to be exposed. Valerie Pierce has led a charmed life. For decades she has enjoyed the rewards of being a top newspaper journalist and columnist. Influential, wealthy and connected, Valerie can make or break careers with just a few choice words.But superstar actor Adam Jaymes has had enough of seeing his private life splashed all over the pages of Valerie's newspaper, The Daily Ear. Now married to one of the world's wealthiest men, he finally has the resources to take his revenge. Adam is launching a deliciously mischievous plot to turn the tables on Valerie and her tabloid colleagues, by investigating their private lives - and exposing their secrets for all to see.Exposé is a sensational thriller dripping with black humour. If you like characters you love to hate, sizzling satire, and hilarious surprises, then you’ll adore Paul Ilett’s addictive, page-turning satirical thriller.“Brilliantly observed and devilishly demanding. Exposé is a can’t-put-it-down riot. A triumph." ☆☆☆☆ Jake Hook, TheGayUK“Great writing. A fantastic debut novel from a former journalist” ☆☆☆☆ Jenny Green, The Sun
The Importance of Pawns: Chronicles of the House of Valois
Keira Morgan - 2021
Although the French court dazzles on the surface, beneath its glitter, danger lurks for the three women trapped in its coils as power shifts from one regime to the next. The story begins as Queen Anne lies dying and King Louis’s health declines. Their two daughters, Claude and young Renée, heiresses to the rich duchy of Brittany, become pawns in the game of control. Countess Louise d’Angoulême is named guardian to both girls. For years she has envied the dying Queen Anne, the girls’ mother. Because of her family’s dire financial problems, she schemes to marry wealthy Claude to her son. This unexpected guardianship presents a golden opportunity, but only if she can remove their protectress Baronne Michelle, who loves the princesses and safeguards their interests. As political tensions rise, the futures of Princess Renée and Baronne hang in the balance, threatened by Countess Louise’s plots. Will timid Claude untangle the treacherous intrigues Countess Louise is weaving? Will Baronne Michelle and Claude outflank the wily countess to protect young Princess Renée? And can Claude find the courage to defend those she loves?Praise for The Importance of Pawns:“Love, revenge, deceit, valour, struggle and bravery. These are the keystones of Keira Morgan’s fascinating new novel, The Importance of Pawns. Historical fiction at its best.”
The Replacement Chronicles
Harper Swan - 2016
Two Lives… separated by millennia but nevertheless linked irrevocably. What possible link could Mark Hayek, an introverted twenty-first century research scientist, have to Raven, a young healer who lived during the late Pleistocene? It has everything to do with an injured Neanderthal man taken captive by Raven’s band while he and his brothers were hunting bison. After Raven heals the captive, he leaves for his tribe, and she tries to forget him as she struggles to remain within the band. But it’s not possible to stay when several band members make her life with the group untenable. Seeking the Neanderthal man she’d helped and facing her fear of being alone on the dangerous steppes, she begins crossing that grassy land—but a woman like Raven isn’t destined to be by herself for long. In the future, Mark Hayek is forced into making his own journey when his uncle dies in the Levant. His travels place him firmly in the footsteps of his Neanderthal and Early Modern Human ancestors, crossing the same ancient lands as he struggles against the fate a wayward kinsman has imposed. He’s been made a pawn in a cruel game, but when he encounters a woman being held prisoner in a cave, he seeks a way to save her. Help arrives for the pair, flowing from an unexpected, ancient source, igniting a struggle deep within Mark to accept that the illogical as well as the logical make up existence. Peoples come and go, one group replacing another over time, and echoes from ancient events have always affected the future, but Mark and Raven discover that in certain environments echoes are able to bounce back and forth, blurring their origins.
The Bug Hunter
Ken Davenport - 2019
And only one man can stop it. The year is 2026 and up and down the Eastern seaboard of the United States a virulent toxin is killing people. What was initially believed to be food poisoning turns out to be a terrorist attack using genetically modified insects to poison the American food supply. For Gabriel Marx, news of the poisoning is eerily familiar. A Marine Corps veteran and trained viticulturist, Gabriel is now working as a vintner at Landmark Estates Winery in California, but was once part of a secret CIA effort to use insect vectors to destroy the Afghan Taliban’s poppy industry. He’s long feared that genetically synthesized toxins delivered by insects could be used as a terror weapon. One day a stream of black SUVs carrying the Secretary of Homeland Security shows up at the vineyard, and Gabriel is recruited to help the government respond to the attack. He is drawn into a complex web of rogue scientists with links to ISIS and Chechen terrorists, and discovers that an even more devastating attack is imminent. Merging cutting-edge synthetic biology with global politics and international terrorism, The Bug Hunter is both thriller and cautionary tale of how advances in technology can be used to turn nature itself into a devastating weapon.
Making Payments: An American Indian, the Vietnam War, Laos, and the Hmong
John Oventile - 2012
But this wasn’t science fiction; this was a journey of harsh reality, pain, hunger, danger, and death. George Downwind, an American Indian, an Ojibwa, grew up in the isolation of a twentieth-century reservation. But instead of succumbing to the alcoholism and hopelessness around him, his outlook was shaped by the myths and legends of an earlier time. From countless stories told by old men around campfires, he thought he knew what life had been like for his people in the time before the white man. In his imagination he lived this life, passed the tests of manhood and tasted battle. When the end came he experienced the depression of watching his people be defeated and disintegrate as a culture. To the west of the battlefields in Vietnam during the 1960’s and early ‘70’s, across the border in the neutral country of Laos, another war raged. This war was seldom mentioned in the news and when it was, it was referred to as the “Secret War.” Few people heard of it and fewer still knew who was doing the fighting. It was the Hmong, a minority ethnic group who had survived for a thousand years in their mountain sanctuaries through slash and burn agriculture, and a resolute adherence to their culture. They valued freedom, family, and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. They were a primitive people without a written language living in a primitive land. And, just as with the American Indian tribes, each of the Hmong clans had their own approach to survival. Some fought, some forged alliances, and other just tried to say out of the way. Grievously injured in the chaos of battle in Vietnam in the early days of that war, George Downwind, a private in the U.S. Army, was rescued from certain death and nursed back to heath by one of these clans. During his time with them he experienced the full brutality of the life they lived—the same life that had been the fate of his ancestors. When it came time for him to leave Laos and the Hmong, he had a debt to repay. He owed his life to the Hmong and vowed to make the payments.
Sleep Martyrs
C.A. Wittman - 2019
But navigating around their controlling stepfather and their aloof new siblings becomes the least of their worries.There is a vague sense of menace in their state of the art lavish smart home with its cutting edge calm technology. And something is not quite right with the bright, cheerful kids at Santomon’s private school where the girls are enrolled. Undergrads from prestigious universities and ivy-league colleges are vying for the coveted internships within Santomon Village. The mega-corporation is the darling of the tech world and a philanthropic superstar when it comes to awarding educational scholarships to low-income families who require rehabilitative services for their teens at Santomon’s troubled youth program called Salinger House.But not everyone is singing Santomon praises. A growing number of parents whose children have returned home from the program are voicing concerns that at first seem vague, while a social activist group called The Disruptors has been investigating a cash-for-kids scandal in South Dakota that involves Santomon. For Tori, she can feel that something ominous, something evil is afoot, and as her mother begins to have doubts about her marriage and there is talk of divorce, Tori yearns to return to Inglewood and the simple life they had. But her sister, Laila ‘s not so sure leaving the village will be easy because what she has discovered is a treacherous web of lies unfathomable in their scope. What Laila wonders is if they can get away from Santomon before it’s too late.
A Drive Through Time
Andrei Saygo - 2021
Good thing his companion is a mysterious young woman with exceptional fighting skills. Too bad she has her own agenda.When Duncan decided to take a month off and travel around Europe, he never imagined where he would end up. Or when.He wakes up in a world utterly different than the one he knew—a world with no GPS signal and no internet connection. Struggling with the societal norms, injustice, and inequity of the time, Duncan reluctantly accepts the help of a beautiful young woman, Alana, and her father.With the threat of an attack looming over their heads, Duncan must use his knowledge of modern chemistry, physics, and cyber technology to stop an invading army and save an entire town along the way. Will he find a way to protect them and return home or die at the hands of the ruthless Celtic warriors?
The Order of Time
Scott P. Southall - 2020
Despite this they are inseparable and the best of friends. They tackle the highs and lows of sixth grade together whether they are fending off bullies at the elite Blake Academy or examining rare antiquities at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Then: life gets complicated. They discover that their friend and mentor, Dr. Gregorian, is part of a secret society called the Order of Time. It turns out that time is not fixed, it’s a fluid continuum where changes to the past can create ripples all the way through to the present. It unwittingly falls to the twins to travel back through time to ancient Egypt where they must overcome deadly assassins, evil high priests and vengeful gods in order to prevent disaster. Together Anastasia and Edward must navigate all obstacles to preserve the past and find their way back home. “The Order of Time is fast-paced, featuring compelling characters, a great setting, and a cleverly written plot. It is a delightful read for fans of young adult fantasy and time travel.” 5 Stars Reader’s Favorite“If you are looking for an action packed chapter book for your teen or preteen this is an excellent choice.” childrens_bookshelf “I could not get enough of this book and the language presented really will speak to young readers and I can not wait to share it with our community.” Meghan S. Librarian NetGalley review "The Order of Time is a fabulous debut. Totally captivating!" 5 Stars The Burgeoning Bookshelf
The Lie: When DNA Reveals the Family Secret
Heather Dawn Gray - 2019
Jahana continues to struggle with her grief a year after her mother's death. She wishes she knew her maternal relatives, but her mother refused to talk about them. To help her move on, Jahana's husband buys her a DNA kit. When the results come in, she discovers more than she bargained for. Her DNA reveals a family secret she would like to ignore, but can't. The Lie is too big.
Roan
E.R. Barr - 2012
With the help of new friends, Jace the captain of the football team and Beth, his twin sister, along with a strange Labrador Retriever named Troubles, Conor has to discover who he really is and how he is tied to the mystery of the 'Dark Ones'. They are the children the town is protecting from an ancient river demon and a shapeshifter in the nearby Indian Burial mound. Into the midst of Conor's hunt for the truth comes DIOGENE, a biogenetics company with a scientist willing to do anything to unravel the mystery of the 'Dark Ones'. Conor finds himself caught in a web of lies where myth and science war for humanity's soul.
My Remarkable Little Monkey
Mark Lages - 2017
It is a decision that will soon change his life. The capuchin monkey he purchases turns out to be more than just an ordinary little tree-swinging pet. This monkey, named Shakespeare, is exceptionally bright. Marty does everything he can think of to accommodate his furry brilliant friend, but it just doesn’t seem to be enough. Join Marty and his group of unforgettable friends as they try to give Shakespeare a proper upbringing in an unpredictable human-oriented world. In My Remarkable Little Monkey, the outlandish becomes a reality and the status quo becomes unbelievable. Once you are done reading, you’ll put this book down while scratching your head and wondering what just happened.
The Death Wish Game
Jonathan Chateau - 2017
Perfect for fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Grady Hendrix.
A one-way bus ticket to Florida offers Rodney the chance at a fresh start from his dead-end life in South Carolina. Unfortunately, somewhere along the ten-hour trek to Miami, the passengers are drugged, awakening to find themselves duct-taped to their seats and stranded in the middle of nowhere.Their captor reveals himself, informing them they’re participants in a game of survival. “The rules are simple,” he tells them. “Follow the flares to reach the safe zone. Make it there, and you live. Stay, and they will come tear you apart.”Chaos ensues, and one-by-one the passengers are picked off in their seats. Dying within their restraints. It’s a race against time, and those lucky enough to escape are forced to play the game, uncovering an impossible secret that has brought them together to face an ancient evil unlike anything they have ever known.
Freedom (America, #2)
Mike Bond - 2021
Daisy starts her PhD in brain research, and Tara battles heroin as her rock band reaches stardom.Troy is soon caught up in mind-numbing combat in Vietnam, while Mick returns to the States to lead the antiwar effort. Tara’s band signs a Motown contract amid the Detroit riots. At Stanford, Daisy expands her study of the human brain under LSD and other mind-altering drugs. Troy falls in love with a Vietnamese teacher and is slowly losing faith in the War.Freedom ends the night before the Tet uprising in Vietnam that will change the War, and trap Troy and his beloved in the fires of hell.
Justifiable Deceit
Mikael Carlson - 2020
A year later, he has become the country’s leading gun control activist and a media darling.When Ethan teams up with a powerful senator to push an extreme gun measure through Congress, a divided America watches the political fireworks in Washington. As both sides of the debate mobilize for an epic showdown, the public is about to discover that everything they know about the massacre that launched this movement may be wrong.Journalist Tierra Campos and FBI Special Agent Victoria Larsen begin questioning the official investigation into the shooting and find themselves caught in the political crossfire. Despite public condemnation, covert activities, and physical violence meant to stop them, they remain undaunted in their quest – but at what price? With their careers threatened and livelihoods at stake, they must race to unlock the secrets behind this horrible mass shooting before the truth disappears forever. Amidst the maelstrom of political agendas, personal vendettas, and brash cover-ups, the push to uncover the real motives behind the tragedy will have devastating consequences. When the dust settles, a shocked nation must make a fateful judgment: do the ends justify the means in politics, or is there no such thing as Justifiable Deceit?