Book picks similar to
Africa's Child by Maria Nhambu
fiction
read-more-than-once
ebooks
recommended
The Candidate and other stories
Samuel R. George - 2019
He never expected an afterlife, and the fabled abode is nothing like the fable, which never mentioned a salmon with human arms and legs, or a flying saucer captained by lizard man.In “Harold,” you’ll meet a homunculus who is certain he is a one of a kind, a freak of nature. Imagine his surprise when he discovers an island populated by thousands of his kind. There he finds adventure, love, and danger. He must face thugs his size, sinister large people, a dangerous house cat, and a plethora of perplexing situations.Irresolute poets find their plush postmortem refuge is anything but when it soon becomes a type of Hell in “Between Life and Oblivion.”Discover the true story of Helen, the famous face that launched a thousand ships, in the tale “A More Likely Odyssey.”Within these pages you’ll be taken on journeys beyond imagining. You’ll meet characters and explore familiar worlds through different eyes. Look beyond the hedge…
Magic Alex and the Secret History of Rock and Roll
Harry F. MacDonald - 2020
He was the guy Carly Simon was really singing about and the missing slice of ‘Bye, Bye Miss American Pie’. I guess that when you keep the company of rogues, the only way to go is to keep on rogueing.
Brownout - 666: or the Real Meaning of the Swastika
John Richard Spencer - 2012
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.
The Last Lumenian
S.G. Blaise - 2020
THIS ONE WILL SAVE YOU.She is a rebel. Lilla is fighting for the refugees's freedom from oppression. The king, her father, lost touch with reality ever since Lilla's mother died. Now everyone else is paying the price.The arrival of Callum, a powerful Teryn general, complicates Lilla's life. His presence leads to conflicted feelings and friction with Arrov, a handsome pilot and fellow rebel.Her life is not what she imagined it to be. Not by far. Meddling gods, love interests and sudden magical abilities have no room in Lilla's world, but that has become her new reality. No matter how hard she pushes them away, it's too late. They all seek to control her anyway.Now the Era War between two ruling archgods forces Lilla to act: accept who she really is magic and all; find true love; fulfill her destiny by defeating the Archgod of Chaos and Destruction before He finds her. The Last Lumenian.
Uncovering Love
J.J. Sorel - 2021
She moves to a secluded mansion in a small English coastal village working for the reclusive billionaire, Daniel Love, whose wife has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.Scarlet soon forms a connection with her troubled but handsome younger boss, and together they descend into a torrid relationship. The deeper they delve into each other the more insatiable they become. The problem is if she breaks from her undercover role her ex, a rogue policeman, will find her. But if she stays, after winning the trust of this guarded and damaged man, the deep bond they’ve formed will be shattered.
Once in a Blue Year
Michael D. Durkota - 2015
Dan is receiving a medical discharge from the navy. With nowhere else to go, he heads to the home of his good friends Nathan and Heather. Trevor is a true submariner. But due to an incident involving Nathan, here he stands, stunned, watching all the girlfriends and wives wiping away their tears as the sleek silhouette of his ship glides stealthily down the river. A rich, multilayered coming-of-age story, Once in a Blue Year follows the two young men through their struggles to discover who they are, each navigating their romantic relationships and coming to terms with the dramatic event at sea that forever altered their lives. "In this lyrical debut novel, the lives of two U.S. Navy men take dramatic turns after they’re cut from a submarine mission during the Gulf War… Debut author Durkota writes a remarkable narrative centered on the afflicted mindsets of his Navy men… And while Durkota’s work often feels like a thriller, it’s more of a psychological study in which the characters, like flashes of lightning, are wonderfully alive for a very short time." — Kirkus Reviews"Durkota's plot is inspired, and his writing is accomplished and vivid... Once in a Blue Year is most highly recommended." - Readers' Favorite"The story is well-written with a lyrical style that borders on poetry at times... Really anyone who appreciates excellent writing will enjoy this one." - Online Book Club
Crossover (Cross your Heart and Die, #1)
Diane L. Kowalyshyn - 2021
When Karlee finds work in a small coastal community setting up a weekly newspaper, the location jogs the ghost's memory and triggers violent visions from its past. A severe storm brings Cole Maxwell, the commitment-challenged landlord living in the marina, off the water and inside. He and Karlee share their accommodation while repairs are completed on his boat. Cole's interest in Karlee makes him hyper-vigilant, and it doesn't take long before he discovers the ghost. The more Karlee learns about the ghost's background, the less certain she is of her own. She'll have to trust her instincts to find everyone a peaceful ever after...if she can exorcise the dark creature manipulating them all.#Ghost #Thriller #Suspense #Romance #Haunting #Amnesia #Telekinesis;
Love Lies: A True Story of Marriage and Murder in the Suburbs
Amanda Lamb - 2011
A perfect lie. When Nancy Cooper moved from Canada to Cary, North Carolina with her new husband Brad, their future was bright: living in one of the most picturesque towns in the US, the couple mingled with neighbors, attended parties, and raised two daughters. Then, on July 14th, 2008, the façade came crashing down when Nancy’s strangled body was found in a storm pond. Nancy’s husband claimed that she had gone for a jog and never come back. But as the police investigation deepened, and as Brad was brought to trial for murdering his wife, a complex web of affairs and lies was uncovered involving multiple residents of Cary’s idyllic neighborhoods. At the heart of it stood the Coopers’ soured marriage, Nancy’s threat to leave with the children, and her own cold-blooded murder. It would take a mountain of damning evidence before justice was served.
A Pigeon's Tale
S.A. Mahan - 2015
Barely escaping with his life, Walter finds himself in a city where kindly street pigeons teach him about language, philosophy, and politics.A venture south to find a human family for the winter sees him face more desperate peril as a flock of snow geese help him finish the journey. Finding solace in a dorm room with two young college students, Walter heads home with one of them to a ranch in Texas where he is adopted by the close-knit family and their quirky pets.Walter forms a quick bond with the scientist grandfather who spends every day with Walter, working on a project in a mysterious tiny shack behind the house. This secret work soon becomes the center of Walter's life-and his fate-when he is thrust into an epic struggle for survival against cosmic forces that threaten to destroy the world.For fans of WATERSHIP DOWN and THE SECRET OF NIMH, A PIGEON"S TALE is a mind-bending sci-fi adventure tale about friendship, loyalty, and destiny.
Mistress Suffragette
Diana Forbes - 2017
Over a series of encounters, he promises Penelope the financial security she craves, but at what cost? Skilled in the art of flirtation, Edgar is not without his charms, and Penelope is attracted to him against her better judgment. Initially, as Penelope grows into her own in the burgeoning early Women’s Suffrage Movement, Edgar exerts pressure, promising to use his power and access to help her advance. But can he be trusted, or are his words part of an elaborate mind game played between him and his wife? During a glittering age where a woman’s reputation is her most valuable possession, Penelope must decide whether to compromise her principles for love, lust, and the allure of an easier life.
The Brothers Silver
Marc Jampole
Downstairs in the basement, their mother is unconscious, having swallowed hundreds of Librium while the brothers were at Boy Scout camp, her latest suicide attempt. The food cupboards are empty. The phone doesn’t give a dial tone. As the sun goes down, the kitchen grows cold. The boys sit in silence, waiting for their mother to die. She doesn’t, but the guilt and anger they feel haunt the brothers for decades. The Brothers Silver follows Jules and Leon as they try to find their unanchored way through the cultural upheavals of the second half of the 20th century. The younger Leon lives on the drug-addled edges of society. The older brother, Jules, falls into a destructive relationship that parallels his past insecurities and chaos. What lies in store for the Silver brothers? Recovery or turmoil?The 12 chapters of The Brothers Silver unfold in ten voices, each of which has its own language and style, making the novel a tour de force of technique in the American tradition of accessible literary innovation established by Heller, Pynchon, and Wallace.
Gallery Pieces: An Art Mystery
Larry Witham - 2016
Formerly in Navy intelligence, he’s cast his lot in the New York art world. He’s landed a job with the venerable Medici Studios, which also contracts with the NYPD and FBI. On a winter morning, they’ve run a sting operation to track Russian art smugglers. The caper goes awry, but an odd bit of evidence remains: four art catalogs with graffiti markings.So begins Gallery Pieces, a story that will keep readers guessing until the end. Peale follows the clues where they lead. He meets a heavy at the Miami Art Fair, chases a mystery bidder at Merriweather’s auction in Manhattan, and crosses paths with a Brooklyn performance artist whose pranks are dangerously entangled in the Russian intrigues. Step by step, Peale enters an art world permeated not only by the avant-garde, but by the Russian mob, hackers, forgers, hipsters, and the history of art looting in Europe during WWII.When Peale least expects it, the catalogs lead him on another trail. He is drawn into a long-forgotten mystery surrounding his grandfather, Maxwell Peale, who had been a “monuments man,” a soldier who helped reclaim art looted by the Nazis. Peale is on his way to discovering paintings stolen in postwar Europe. Finding the culprits, however, brings him closer to home than he’d imagined.
Mourning Grey: Part Three The Guardians Of The Temple Saga
Marie Montine
Being the prophised woman to end the last Empian, she is conflicted as she has also grown close Lharkin's family. She vows to stop the next war from happening so that everyone could survive: the humans, the vampires known as Kins, and the Empian she had fallen in love with: Lharkin.Distracted with uncovering the temple's history and secrets, Cassandra doesn't see her best friend's depth of despair, and that Audray holds the greatest secret.In Cassandra's final attempt to bring Lharkin back to the LIght, she finds out the shocking truth he has been hiding from everyone, except Audray, and it is then she understands why her friend has been so distant. Cassadnra wonders who is really pulling the strings: Lharkin or the Dark Guardian of the Night Realm.Part Three is the exciting conclusion to Mourning Grey, full of devastating surprises, battles, and magic. Will Cassandra fulfill the prophecy? Or follow her own heart?
The Commuter
Patrick Oster - 2014
After Barnaby Gilbert got laid off with a nice severance, his boss suggested he take up a new hobby to fill up his free time. On his regular commuter train, Barnaby got an idea what that hobby would be. He decided to satisfy a curiosity he’d long had. An avid birder, he began tracking some regular passengers — people he’d always wondered about — to see where they went and what they did. In following a Chinese man, a schoolgirl, and a sexy woman, he used the same techniques he had to add hawks and herons to his life list. But in this quirky, tongue-in-cheek thriller, he found out pretty fast that humans were a much more dangerous species.
The Beagle and the Hare
Kevin Moccia - 2019
The Hobbs family farm, White House purveyor since 1897, is patrolled by fifteen and seven eights inch beagle, the seventh generation of its line. The beagle, born with a cannon ball thick scull, and teeth he honed on deer bones, is a canine assassin, who makes friends with his sworn enemy, a Flemish hare, a scholarly rabbit, tailored by nature in the worse fitting fur imaginable.