When a young girl is snatched on her way home from school, Matty's police detective father knows that every minute counts. For the first time - but not the last - Detective Roger Turner enlists his son's unique help.With over 130,000 copies sold, the Matt Turner Series launched author Michael Siemsen to bestseller status. The Dig (Book 1) and The Opal (Book 2) hint at the troubled psychometrist's shocking childhood, using his ability to "read" an object's history to help his father solve the worst kinds of crimes. Only now, with the short story Matty are we offered a firsthand glimpse into a young Matt's first case - tracking down a kidnapped girl named Joss Lynn Leland.

    This story begins and ends in Carville, Louisiana where in 1894, the town was transformed from an abandoned Plantation into a refuge for lepers. Children were forcibly isolated from their families and put under strict quarantine inside the confines of a twelve foot barbed wire fence. Once inside, they were stripped of their rights, their dignity, and often even their identity. Eighteen year old Frances was smack in the middle of the debutante ball season in Baton Rouge, when pale patches of skin were discovered on her arm during a dress fitting. Diagnosed with leprosy, she was seen as a blight on her family and was sent away at once. Restless and overwhelmed by her family’s abandonment, she set out on a journey through the confines of the plantation that led her to the bend in the Mississippi River. Here she discovers a hole dug under the fence; this is her chance to escape and reclaim her life, or start a new one. When Jenny, a spirited ten year old girl, and her four year old brother, Danny test positive for leprosy they also become reluctant residents of Carville. They are met with the open and compassionate arms of the Sisters of Charity who do their best to help them live normal lives among the suffering. This sweeping historical novel gracefully details the depth, strength, and stamina of the human spirit during extreme times. When lives unfold and intertwine, Faith and Jenny find one another. Together, they develop a deep affinity and unlock the key to surviving by opening their hearts and letting love in once again. This is a love story about the deep bonds of friendship, the effects of love, and the ability to overcome and thrive.

    Completely unprepared and suffering an acute sense of loss, she and her father continue quietly, trying to live by the well-intentioned advice of friends, hoping that time really is a great healer and that they will, eventually, move on. Life changes very little until Sarah leaves for university and begins her first serious relationship. Along with her new boyfriend comes his mother, the indomitable Hazel Poole. Despite some misgivings, Sarah finds herself drawn into the matriarchal Poole family and discovers that gaining a mother figure in her life brings mixed blessings. A mother-in-law who just can't let her sons grow up, a midwife who treats her charges like girls in a private school dormitory. These are some of the people who Sarah must deal with as her own pregnancy turns to motherhood and she realises that she must find her own two feet. Looking Past is a tale of family, friendship, love, life and death – not necessarily in that order. This is the second novel from Katharine E. Smith, author of Writing the Town Read. The narrator’s voice is clear and strong, with vivid descriptions and intelligent observations. Readers will quickly empathise with Sarah, whose grief and confusion at the loss of her mother at key moments in her life is contrasted with a dry and sometimes subtle humour derived from situations and characters which help colour the book. The father-daughter relationship which develops between the bereaved husband and daughter feels very real, as both come to terms with their grief and learn how best to live together. Sarah's father is unassuming and appealing, as he struggles to find a way to deal with his broken heart and support his daughter throughout school, puberty and on into adulthood. Smith's readers have praised her honesty, realism, warmth and humour. Both Looking Past and Writing the Town Read - Katharine's first novel - are written from a strong female first person perspective. However, don't be fooled into thinking this is chick lit - or indeed exclusively women's fiction. Looking Past has received praise from a number of male readers, including an ex-US Marine. You don't get much more macho than that! Nevertheless, this is a story guaranteed to strike a chord with mothers, daughters - and daughters-in-law - everywhere. The dual settings of Yorkshire and Cornwall will interest people with strong links to those places but the characters and events hold universal appeal. This is a book for people who like people. Looking Past was selected for the People's Book Prize Winter 2015 Collection.

    Miranda Summerlin finds that she has been given nanites that give her enhanced mental abilities and extraordinary hand-to-eye coordination. She attends the nearby Space Academy where she uses her mental genius to work on cutting edge astrophysics and she joins the school shooting competition team after discovering she can hit wherever she aims at on a target. Intending to keep her skills low key, Miranda must step up to prevent a terrorist attack against the school that only she has the skills to do so. Miranda has also drawn the attention of a girl on the soccer team who becomes her nemesis at the school. While playing pool at a school party, Miranda lets her irritation with her nemesis cause her to let some of her skills slip thru to others. But Miranda will soon be faced with the need to use many of her skills and in so doing, Miranda will come to the attention of her true nemesis, a rogue Organization that wants her nanites. She will need help to escape from their agent. In the process, she will discover her true identity. But what is the cost for her rescue? How will she deal with the Organization? >>>The first in the Near Future series, Awakening is a near future sci-fi thriller in a world that combines science that just might be possible soon with psychic visions and an evil Organization that is backed by an unknown power. Coming soon, books 2 and 3 in the series and a novella too! Sign up for my Reader's List at http://randalsloan.com/nearfuture/

    In this novella, Trans-Siberian Orchestra creator Paul O'Neill spans generations, from WWII Germany to the modern inner-city, and fearlessly dives into the darkest places of the human condition to spin a modern parable about how, even in the grip of great evil, redemption is possible and the spark of hope can burn brightly.

    After discovering they were born at the same clinic two decades earlier, she investigates further and uncovers a startling list. With the realization that more gender-fluid people are targeted for elimination, Taylor kicks her investigation into high gear. But the researchers who conducted the experiment aren’t about to let anything interfere with their plans. Soon Taylor is in deep trouble and needs the help of FBI Special Agent Bailey. As Bailey scrambles to track down leads, events spin out of control and she finds herself blocked at every step by powerful military forces. With the clock ticking on Phase 2 of the experiment, can Bailey and Taylor uncover the truth in time to save the other subjects?

    Standing in the control room, there to take over the running of it from his father, Mark quickly realises this is more than a handover. He's about to find out that Eden has secrets. Dark secrets. Secrets that reveal the truth about the apocalypse. Secrets that change the way he looks at his father forever. Secrets that change the way he looks at everything forever. What the reviewers say about Eden: “Eden is deep, dark, and thought provoking.” “The plot and pacing are wonderfully constructed, and the characters’ emotions come through incredibly clearly.” “… stop wasting time reading the awesome reviews, grab this book, and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!” “It ran the gamut of emotions; anger, surprise, shock and heartbreak. I was in tears at the end of the story.” “Two thumbs up!” “You need to read this, like, now.” “I could not have asked for a better glimpse into this under-utilised facet of the zombie apocalypse.”

    Jack Winston is one of the best and hates it. Under the scrutiny of the world's most powerful corporation, Jack is as much a prisoner as those he helps send behind bars. But when his latest case arrives, Jack's world shatters as his wife is brutally murdered. Fuelled by vengeance, Jack vows to catch the murderer, but as the bodies pile up, Jack realises he's made a terrible mistake; he was never the hunter, only the hunted. The Remnant Keeper is the first book of Tombs Rising, part of The Tombs Legacy. If you're a fan of Torchwood, Stephen King, or The X-Files, then you'll love a series that combines all of their best traits in a fast-paced, captivating, thrilling adventure. Buy THE REMNANT KEEPER and take your first steps into a universe of darkness created by author Robert Scott-Norton.

    Wright's four brilliant forays into the dark fantasy world of William Hope Hodgson's 1912 novel, The Night Land. Widely considered to be the finest tribute to Hodgson ever written, this novella was previously published in 2004 in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection. The five-million year epic that begins with "Awake in the Night" continues in AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND, which in addition to "Awake in the Night" contains "The Cry of the Night-Hound", "Silence of the Night", and "The Last of All Suns", which collectively tell the haunting tale of the Last Redoubt of Man and the end of the human race. John C. Wright has been described by reviewers as one of the most important and audacious authors in science fiction today. In a recent poll of more than 1,000 science fiction readers, he was chosen as the sixth-greatest living science fiction writer.

    The mayor of Chicago will be assassinated at the end of the week, and she is stuck in the year 1893. What she doesn’t know is how she landed 100 years back in time, or why Peter Hastings, the man trying to help her, shares some eerie similarities to her dead husband.When Joey, perhaps unwisely, revealed the year of her origins it didn’t sit well with her host. Her effort to convince him by predicting the mayor’s murder only made matters worse. Now her sanity is in question, and everything she does puts it further into doubt. One of the few bright spots in the whole situation is William, Peter’s five year-old son, but he is a stark reminder that she left a son of her own back in 1993. Stuck in the past and desperate to return to her own Chicago, Joey stumbles her way through a time when women had a barely-audible voice, and very few options. Armed with nothing but her wits, Joey must navigate the rigid waters of the Victorian era while she tries to prevent a murder and find her way home.

    A man fights for life-and redemption-in D. M. Cain's riveting new novel, The Phoenix Project. Britain has descended into chaos as violence and terrorist attacks seethe across this once-peaceful country. Outraged by the steady stream of lawlessness, citizens demand a harsher penal system, and the Phoenix Project is born. In prisons across the country, inmates fight to the death in a weekly bloodbath while the nation cheers them on. Raven Kennedy, a prisoner who has never forgiven himself for his unspeakable crime, struggles against his own guilt and self-loathing. But even as the real war wages on within himself, Raven is forced to battle some of the prison's most ruthless killing machines. Can he survive long enough to unravel the anger and regret that shackle him-and one day find the forgiveness he seeks?

    This is alternate history at its most mindblowing.

    The only problem is, there are many people who would want the child to be killed simply out of fear. And that isn't the only problem: Argus's daughter has also been discovered. If the Minister learns that he is the father, then both of their lives are at risk. Elsewhere, a new Captain is taking over policing the Republic, and she wants to make a strong first impression. She's tired of rampant greed controlling the world, so she will do anything to make the people responsible pay. Darius Gray, a member of the Ministry and guard of the most powerful man in the galaxy, has turned his back on the Republic and is amassing an army. He intends to start a war. The entire galaxy is falling to despair. No one knows where to turn or who to trust. The future of the galaxy rests in the hands of two small children whose birth rights promise pain and suffering.

    Young witch Sarah Stone works as a seamstress for Shakespeare’s company of players, and her life revolves around the theatre, her witchcraft, and her brother. But her world is shattered when she foretells the fortune of Shakespeare’s latest play.After her vision, Sarah fears for her life. A dark shadow haunts the playhouse, and when her brother Tom seduces boy actor John Upton, John sees the hand of witchcraft in his own forbidden desires for men. Then Sarah weaves a spell to win another man’s love, and John begins to make his accusations against her.As the first performance of Macbeth approaches, Sarah must find a way to convince John that his sins are his own – her life and the fortune of the play are at stake.In a world of seductive illusion, can Sarah find a way to save herself?A compelling and suspenseful tale of love, magic, and the power of fate. Contains adult themes.

    She wants to see the sights of the great city, but her parents hope she will ensnare a rich nobleman for a husband. On an outing to Newgate market with her cousins, she becomes separated from them and is lured into an alley by a gang of ruffians. She is saved by a tall, gallant stranger who escorts her safely home. Handsome, heroic and aristocratic, Henry Kingsman seems the ideal match for her. But then she learns that Henry is in fact the Fourth Earl of Berwick, a notorious rake from a dark and dissolute family. He is rumoured to deal with smugglers, and his ancestry riddled with incest, insanity and murder. Beth’s father forbids her from seeing him again. However, Beth refuses to believe that Henry is as bad as his forebears, and starts seeing him in secret. When her father finds out he gives her such a beating, that she feels her only choice is to elope with Henry to his forbidding castle in Northumberland – the same bleak fortress where his family committed their loathsome deeds… Also available: Curse of the Kingsmans 2: The Devil's Diary - a far darker and more erotic tale about pirates. Curse of the Kingsmans 3: Escape of Absolon - Aidan's own son Absolon is recruited to solve a mystery. Other books by Emma Daniels and Ethan Somerville: Return to Atlantis - a high school student and a rock star travel to the lost city of Atlantis for the adventure of a lifetime Shadow Warrior - a detective thriller with more than a hint of demon romance Empire of Ice - a dark urban fantasy about a secret Nazi superman formula with the power to create vampires. I married an Alien - a time-travel romance in which a dowdy middle-aged woman suddenly finds herself catapulted in the future, into a whole new body and life. I Married a Time-Traveller - the thrilling sequel to I Married an Alien, in which an introverted mad scientist is granted a whole new lease on life when he wakes up in the body of a gorgeous Terron.