Book picks similar to
The dog : and other stories by Joseph Hansen
short-stories
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Rosie's Revenge
Suzanne Floyd - 2014
In order to inherit the farm and all that goes with it, Parker must live in the house for a year: a house with no electricity, running water or bathroom. While living there she can modernize it, but she can’t move out. Her great-aunt, Rosie, has already selected a handsome contractor, and has drawn up the plans, all Parker has to do is approve them. There is no explanation why Rosie left all this to her instead of her own brothers. Curious about the family she never knew, Parker decides to stay, at least temporarily, and is confronted with her hostile grandfather who would do anything to chase her away, and gain control over the land he considers his birthright. Just walking through the small town proves to be an obstacle course as people step off the sidewalk to avoid her, or run off the road as they stare at her. Rumor has it Rosie has come back to haunt them. While work continues on the house, Parker discovers the journals Rosie kept from the time she was a little girl, telling of her life with an overbearing father and four brothers. Rosie also left letters to Parker instructing her to trust Shep Baker, the contractor, and to find out what happened more than sixty years ago, deepening the mystery for Parker. Shep is a slow talking cowboy with a mystery of his own. His grandfather was adopted as an infant, and Shep is looking for his extended family. But why did Rosie take such a liking to him when she was so nasty to others? Just more questions for Parker to find the answers to. The answers to her questions are in the journals, but finding the answers could prove fatal.
The Pilot Class
Harrison Jones - 2015
When Tri Con hires eight new pilots and assigns them to a pilot class, they find the ground school and flight simulator challenge more than expected. The class is a mix of former military pilots and civilians with varying experience, including a former female flight attendant. Who can survive The Pilot Class and meet the challenge of flying the line as a Tri Con first officer. Personal relationships, a married flight attendant with an abusive husband, a major airline accident, and the federal government are all obstacles that stand in the way of The Pilot Class.
A Forest with No Trees
Peter Hey - 2015
It’s a lie, of course. What I mean is, I remember so very little.’ Tom Haworth is struggling against the fragility of his own mind as it surrenders to what seems an increasingly hostile world. He begins to be haunted by vivid dreams that transport him into a different life and to a treeless forest, high in the stark moorland of industrial England around the time of the First World War. There he meets family he never knew existed and a girl called Clara, whom he recognises as the blueprint for every woman he has ever loved. Back in the present, he discovers he is losing days: vaguely remembered yesterdays in which he has acted out of character, as if someone were taking his place. Tom traces back through his family tree and discovers the characters in his dreams to be real and not just products of his unstable subconscious. Where are the ‘memories’ coming from? Has madness finally taken hold? And is Clara lost to him forever, or will she be his salvation? A story of redemption and rebirth that weaves compellingly between different times and different lives. Inspired by a gravestone in a remote Pennine cemetery, this story had been nagging at the author for over a decade. Eventually he gave in.
Portside Screw
Gregory S. Dew - 2018
A Jack Cubera Novel Retired PI Jack Cubera just wants to drink beer, fish the flats, and live the simple life of a full-time boat bum. One problem: he’s just discovered his old nemesis—the Key’s most notorious real estate developer—floating tits-up in a weenie bikini in the Islamorada backwaters, landing him high on the suspect list. To clear his name, Jack investigates the curious demise and soon discovers the developer’s most outrageous development to date, Coconut Key—a manmade island shaped like a giant daiquiri glass—is “breaking ground” atop a lobster-breeding habitat in the middle of a pristine bay. As Jack sets out to derail the invasive project and save his salty slice of paradise, a host of unscrupulous characters flush from the shadows soon delivering Jack to the most perplexing question of all: Why would anyone build an island in the middle of an archipelago? The answer, which hinges on a baitfish cage filled with breast implants, proves far bigger than mere shady real-estate dealings. Please reach out via my website to join my mailing list, receive discounts and info on new releases, or just stir the pot.
The Haunting of Kulah
Janet MacLeod Trotter - 2012
But the women are also hiding a shameful secret…Present Day: When journalist Ally Niven escapes to the remote Scottish island of Battersay after a failed love affair, all she is looking for is a quiet life and a catering job for the summer. But from the outset someone is trying to scare her off and Ally soon discovers that the beautiful surroundings mask tensions among the people who are harbouring 'Birdwoman' - a feral young woman found on rocky Kulah. Ally is increasingly attracted to reclusive artist, John Balmain, who has also taken refuge on Battersay, but is elusive about his past. From John, Ally learns of a sinister prophecy which predicted the shipwreck and how Flora, the Flame-haired leader of the Kulah women, would wreak her revenge. Increasingly isolated and intimidated by bizarre attacks on her house and sightings of a lone woman in a blue headscarf that she cannot explain, Ally sets out to discover the truth behind the Kulah story and the secrets the broodingly handsome John is determined to keep from her; as the two stories converge in a shocking climax. This is MacLeod Trotter's second enthralling mystery.
The Princess of Valencia
Susan Straight - 2018
Little by little, Jacinta’s mother lost her—first to college, then to a boy she said she loved, and then, finally, to the rage of a school shooter. Snap. In an instant it was all gone. All she has now is her daughter’s phone. Like an album, gripped in the palm of her hand—texts, photos, messages, and videos of her daughter’s first three years at college. With it, Jacinta’s mother is reconstructing her daughter’s last three weeks.In this uniquely moving exploration of mourning, fury, and reminiscence, Susan Straight evokes—through a grieving mother’s devastating internal monologue—both a modern-day nightmare and exquisite proof of love’s extraordinary power to overcome it.
Sparks Fly
Nicole Falls - 2017
A simple touch sending currents of electricity flowing through a body. The feeling of coming home. Friends become lovers. Strangers become soulmates. The chemistry ignited when two people are falling in love is undeniable. Over the course of five short stories, follow these couples on journeys of passion and discover what happens when they decide to let sparks fly…
Orphan Girl
Lila Beckham - 2014
She never overcame her humble beginnings and when Willie Eubanks rescued her from the orphanage by marrying her, she ended up right back where she started. Living in the same cabin, she was born in twelve and a half years earlier. However, she grew to love Willie and was determined that she and Willie were not going to end up as her parents had. In addition, she wanted to make sure her children were not going to have to suffer through the same experiences she had.
Selected Short Stories
Roald Dahl - 2012
Whether fictionalizing his dramatic exploits as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II or concocting the ingeniously plotted fables that were dramatized on television as Tales of the Unexpected, Dahl was brilliant at provoking in his readers the overwhelming desire to know what happens next—and at satisfying that desire in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable.In this collection:-A Fine Son-Death of an Old Man-Parson’s Pleasure-Poison-The Hitch-Hiker-The Wish-Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat-Dip in the Pool-The Landlady-Skin-Lamb to the Slaughter-Man from the South-The Way Up to Heavan-The Umbrella Man-Taste-The Swan-William and MaryFilled with devilish plot twists, his tales display a tantalizing blend of macabre humor and the absurdly grotesque. Dahl’s creations amuse and shock us in equal measure, gleefully reminding us of what might lurk beneath the surface of the ordinary.
Eternal Crime (Hangman #6)
W.L. Knightly - 2019
But with the Hangman on the same exact mission, he will stop at nothing to reach the ultimate goal of taking Kyle Young down before Jake can interfere. With the FBI taking charge of the case, and the loss of his partner, Jake will find the corruption goes much deeper than expected. While he’s trying to play by the book, the Hangman decides to use human bait to lure Kyle where he wants him. Will Jake use the Hangman to find Kyle, getting both of the men he’s worked so hard to catch, or will the Hangman finish his final game?
A Poison That Leaves No Trace: With Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle (Bepuzzled Classics)
Sue Grafton
Read the short story, assemble the 1,000-piece puzzle, and discover the hidden clues. Then solve the mystery by putting together the pieces in the story and in the puzzle. Slick, book-like packaging and high quality artwork make these puzzles a standout. Beware: the 1,000-piece puzzle is different from the cover!
Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales
Guy de Maupassant - 2004
You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
Tank Water
Michael Burge - 2021
Now, he’s returned to Kippen for the first time in twenty years because his cousin Tony has been found dead under the local bridge.The news that Tony has left him the entire family farm triggers James’s journalistic curiosity – and his anxiety – both of which cropped up during his turbulent journey to adulthood. But it is the unexpected homophobic attack he survives that draws James into a hunt for the reasons one lonely Kippen farm boy in every generation kills himself.Standing in the way is James’s father, the town’s recently retired top cop, who is not prepared to investigate crimes no-one reckons have taken place. James must use every newshound’s trick he ever learned in order to uncover the brutal truth.A coming-of-age story and crime thriller with a large and gentle heart.
Samaritan
Estelle Ryan - 2022
That is until she opens her front door to find the corrupt woman who publicly outed Bree as transgender—the same woman now begging for Bree’s help.Petra Keller is a despicable person, uncaring whose reputation she tramples on her way to the top of the corporate ladder. Or is she? Could she be telling the truth that she’s changed? The more Bree looks into Petra’s shocking claims, the more she uncovers facts leading her to a chilling connection between highly respected companies, their owners and an unthinkable crime.Her investigation becomes even more muddied by cryptic emails, her overprotective brother convincing his enigmatic friend to keep an eye on her and a bombing that lands her in hospital. Instead of being intimidated, Bree’s resolve is strengthened. These powerful men can’t continue to get away with profiting from actions that already resulted in the loss of countless innocent lives—actions that would cost more lives unless Bree gets to the truth. And exposes it.Samaritan is the first book in The Duchess Report trilogy, continuing with Sentinel and concluding with Maecenas.
The Warden's Son
C.G. Cooper - 2019
I was ten. I made a new best friend. And, I became a murderer. Yep. You heard right.
The summer of 1987 was the ninth stop for yours truly on the great prison tour of my childhood. Every year a new town and a new prison to explore.
I wasn’t yet a murderer. Not at the beginning. Just the plain old son of a warden in jeans with permanent grass stains and threadbare sneakers that wore me more than I wore them.
Life as the son of a Federal prison warden never felt weird until I turned 10. I was still a naive little waif until that nasty summer when everything changed.
Now I sit here in my suit, so far removed from the boy of 1987 Virginia that I feel like I’m perfectly qualified to judge him. But when the window’s open, all I have to do is get a breeze from which I can detect the gluey stink of split black locust, or hear the froggy grind of a woodcock’s call, and then I’m no longer qualified. There I am, back under the hot sun, at the edge of the creek stinking of heat and moss. I am that boy again. And I can make out the line of Redcoats marching in ramrod-straight formation along a pink-feathered sea of mountain laurel in the distance..."
What happens when a ten-year-old boy becomes friends with an inmate? Jimmy Allen's about to find out, and the crash of reality will stick with him for an eternity. The author of the USA Today bestselling Corps Justice series pens a coming of age story about youth, strength and the bravery of bonds between friends.