But that peace is shattered by the discovery of a dead infant in the barn of an Amish farmer. A police investigation quickly leads to two startling disclosures: the newborn's mother is an unmarried Amish woman, eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher. And the infant did not die of natural causes. Although Katie denies the medical proof that she gave birth to the child, circumstantial evidence leads to her arrest for the murder of her baby. One hundred miles away, Philadelphia defense attorney Ellie Hathaway has achieved an enviable, high-profile career. But her latest court victory has set the sands shifting beneath her. Single at thirty-nine and unsatisfied with her relationship, Ellie doesn't look back when she turns down her chance to make partner and takes off for an open-ended stay at her great-aunt's home in Paradise. Fate brings her to Katie Fisher. Suddenly, Ellie sees the chance to defend a client who truly needs her, not just one who can afford her. But taking on this case challenges Ellie in more ways than one. She finds herself not only in a clash of wills with a client who does not want to be defended but also in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own. Immersing herself in Katie Fisher's life -- and in a world founded on faith, humility, duty, and honesty -- Ellie begins to understand the pressures and sacrifices of those who to live plain. As she peels away the layers of fact and fantasy, Ellie calls on an old friend for guidance. Now, just as this man from Ellie's past reenters her life, she must uncover the truth about a complex case, a tragic loss, the bonds of love -- and her own deepest fears and desires.

    No one knew about his past growing up with a mother who suffered from mental illness; a greedy aunt; a mindless and spoiled older brother; an absent father.It wasn't until an explosion in Afghanistan that his memory was blasted back into focus. This book is the result of a long, cathartic chat with a stranger at a beach bar, where Harold finally found some peace.

    Her sacred betrothal would renew the elemental function of the Crystal Grid that powers the ten kingdoms of Atlantis. But her people are attacked by a storm of shadows, and now she is running for her life. Upon her arrival in the ruling city, she meets D’Vinid, a dejected musician who lives the quintessential Atlantean lifestyle of revelry, escapism and apathy. Under the eclipse of a holy festival, they are swept into an attraction they cannot resist. Their union may protect humanity from its worst enemy - the shadows of Atlantis. But there is one problem, this man is not her betrothed. Brigitte discovers the Grid is corrupted by psychic parasites that feed off human suffering, an epidemic called “the madness”. The rituals required to charge the Grid with psychic emanations have been poorly attended, and this has caused the Grid to malfunction. But as nature always strives toward balance, the crystals have activated a genetic upgrade among the people. The youth have begun to express supernatural powers. Could it be that D’Vinid and Brigitte are meant to be leaders among the awakened? And if so, why does it seem impossible for them to be together? A mysterious tale of romance, seduction and betrayal that reaches just enough into the modern mind to ask - will we learn the lessons of Atlantis?

    Sophie's ability to have multiple powers makes her an anomaly, at the age of 23 she has six powers and has yet to master each one. At the order of her father, the Governor, those powers are kept secret in order to protect her from those who may want to exploit them. So when she meets Oliver, the Imitatore who possesses the gift of using her powers, her once peaceful world is shattered. Suddenly, Sophie is forced to face who she is, who she is destined to be, and learn who she is no longer able to trust. Oliver and Sophie are targets for The Society, a group of supernatural beings bent on destroying her world by eradicating humans and crowning a new queen. She must stop the evil group before they kill the Imitatore and force her to be the Queen of their new world.

     Doctors. The ICU. An epidural hematoma. Respirators. Apnea tests. Nationwide publicity. A mogul who wants to buy her daughter's heart. The grieving mother on television begging for a liver to save her son. Hospitals that fight over a first-grader's body. Relatives seeking revenge. A conspiracy to end organ transplants. The hero who can't save his own son. A ninety-two-year old who brings wisdom and peace, together with a reporter who reveals her own story. Then, the lonely decision of how to let her daughter die with dignity and perhaps fulfill a mission Amy would've volunteered for. Will her family provide support? Might those who wait for organs applaud? Can someone who faces this impossible choice in the future learn from her? Would Amy be proud? How does one measure what is best and what is not when nothing makes sense?

    But there's no room for him in the 1980s. Thatcher's government is destroying working-class communities across Britain, and the post-war certainties of full employment, educational opportunity and a welfare state are gone. When his family starts to fracture, Mark's life swings out of control and he succumbs to the defeatism which has taken hold in Edinburgh's grimmer areas. The way out is heroin.It's no better for his friends. Spud Murphy is paid off from his job, Tommy Lawrence feels himself being sucked into a life of petty crime and violence - the worlds of the thieving Matty Connell and psychotic Franco Begbie. Only Sick Boy, the supreme manipulator of the opposite sex, seems to ride the current, scamming and hustling his way through it all.Skagboys charts their journey from likely lads to young men addicted to the heroin which has flooded their disintegrating community. This is the 1980s: a time of drugs, poverty, AIDS, violence, political strife and hatred - but a lot of laughs, and maybe just a little love; a decade which changed Britain for ever. The prequel to the world-renowned Trainspotting, this is an exhilarating and moving book, full of the scabrous humour, salty vernacular and appalling behaviour that has made Irvine Welsh a household name.

    Friends Helen, Annie, Bernice & Joan struggled to hold onto devotion and service in a changing world. Would their loved ones survive the dark and destructive dangers of the War?When Helen’s husband Harry and Annie's Sylvester go MIA at the same time, Joan and Bernice are determined to keep their dear friends from losing faith. As Christmas approaches, they are all possessed of a very special kind of hope. But will their prayers be answered?

    Emerging from 3 years in Saudi Arabia, and the 2 years prior cocooned in academia, he lands in Abu Dhabi to be hit with the triple-whammy of the NWO (1991), the WTO (1995), and the spigot of “India Inc.” opened wide. Considered too old (at 40) by his feminized native land, and too white-skinned by the Zio-Globalists, he must now face hostile (multicultural) politics and the economic subterfuge orbiting a liberal American empire dedicated to outsourcing and open borders.Follow this Engineer’s eclectic adventures from the U.A.E., Malaysia, and England [Book-1] then on to India [Book-2] as he somehow negotiates a series of traps, obstacles, and near calamities while occasionally pausing to seduce a few of the world’s most exotic women.This true, instructional, and entertaining testimony delivers a slew of lessons about how the 1990s cemented the fiscal and “chronically unemployed” quagmire plaguing the Western World since Y2K. Mesmerized by the “Clinton White House”, most people refused to listen back then. Twenty or more years on, could this book open your eyes now?

    What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati. In a desperate race to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, and deserted cathedrals, and into the depths of the most secretive vault on earth...the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.(back cover)

    With a foreword by Dame Helen Mirren—the first foreword she has ever contributed.In this striking compilation, Shakespeare historian Gerit Quealy and respected Japanese artist Sumié Hasegawa combine their knowledge and skill in this first and only book that examines every plant that appears in the works of Shakespeare.Botanical Shakespeare opens with a brief look at the Bard’s relationship to the plants mentioned in his works—a diversity that illuminates his knowledge of the science of botany, as well as the colloquy, revealing his unmatched skill for creating metaphorical connections and interweaving substantive philosophy. At the heart of the book are "portraits" of the over 170 flowers, fruits, grains, grasses, trees, herbs, seeds and vegetables that Shakespeare mentions in his plays and poems. Botanical Shakespeare features a gorgeous color illustration of each, giving a "face" to the name, alongside the specific text in which it appears and the character(s) who utter the lines in which it is mentioned.This fascinating visual compendium also includes a dictionary describing each plant—such as Eglantine, a wild rose with a slight prickle, cherished for its singular scent, superior to any other rose; and the difference between apples and apple-john—along with indices listing the botanical by play/poem, by character, and genus for easy reference, ideal for gardeners and thoughtful birthday gift-giving.This breathtaking, incomparable collection of exquisite artwork and companion quotes offers unique depth and insight into Shakespeare and his timeless work through the unusual perspective of the plants themselves.

     Gunvor Strom may be in her sixties, her hands might be too shaky to perform operations and her body complains every time she works out. But her mind is as sharp as her scalpel. And she embraces change. After the divorce, she moved from a well-heeled Stockholm satellite to the far-from idyllic, inner suburb of Fruängen. It gets a little lively, but she likes being in the middle of things. She’s smart, experienced and innocent-looking – all qualities appreciated by a detective agency. As the agency’s rookie, she gets a surveillance job. A straightforward case, they say. Typical domestic. A wife suspects infidelity. Just track the husband. But when the husband is attacked and viciously beaten, his wife calls off the assignment. Too late. Gunvor is on the trail. The agency aren’t paying her, but her free time is her own business. After intervening in an incident of bullying, Gunvor finds herself with two unlikely allies. David is a young, jobless waster who hangs about Fruängen tube station. 19-year-old Elin is shy and introverted, after spending too long in her bedroom hiding from her parents’ fights. Out of curiosity, the pair join forces with Gunvor. Who’s going to notice two young people and an elderly lady slinking around the Stockholm streets? Only someone who’s watching their every move, biding his time, waiting to pounce. Curiosity can be deadly. A story of violence, madness, passion and bravery. A cat-and-mouse game of life and death. Never play with the lion’s tail.

    It can happen anywhere and to anyone, if you are caught in a cycle where you simply exist, react to life and never really ‘feel’ life’s amazing vibrancy.In this book, Dancing with The Field: Bringing Joy, Passion and Play into Everyday Life, a new concept is explored around the conscious field that responds to us as we interact with it, with chapters that examine: - The relational field - Creating with this field - Seeing our bodies as doorways to the field - The field in relationships - And much more…Through practical spirituality and firm underpinnings in science and personal experience, Dancing with The Field introduces a framework for life to help people recognize when they are in a state of connection and play with this field and when they are not.If you are on a spiritual path and feel like you need some additional guidance to bring more joy into your life, then this is the book you simply must read now!

    He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader - she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.

     The buses pull out of the holding station every hour. They are headed for Travis Air force base just north of the city, filled with a seemingly endless supply of young men who are themselves filled with doubts and fears. Of course, the doubt and fear is not allowed out in the open. It is instead tucked neatly away in a very private place. A place it can hide and grow, like a virus, as the journey continues.

    Rick Daly has established a business in the exotic surroundings of the Philippines, while simultaneously discovering Marilyn Delgado, the woman of his dreams. However, a clash of cultures and his own naiveté lead to disaster. Falsely accused of a sexual crime, Rick loses both his freedom and his business. To add insult to injury, a prison escape merely amounts to switching jails. In a world where the rich prosper, honest individuals are forced to the wall, and a cynical disregard for all but the dollar is destroying society from within, crime soon follows punishment for Rick. Close to losing his soul, will Rick's ultimate success in drug and arms dealing finally lead him to face up to reality? Difficult to put down and including erotic scenes, this is a high octane adventure, which will take the reader into a sea of cultural and ethical flashpoints, while exposing huge cracks in the world’s political and social order.