Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.

    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.

    Life was barely manageable after my mom was murdered three years ago. I wasn’t sure what my purpose was anymore. But then on my twenty-first birthday, I drank a little too much and fell from the roof of my nine-story apartment building. I died. Then... I un-died. Enter Hayden, my really bossy (and hot) guardian angel whose duty is to train me to be the next “Soldier of Light.” Sound fun? Well, it’s not. I save dead people, helping them move on to the World of Light. And to make matters even worse, they are all troubled souls stuck in the Dark Realm with the devil and his army of demonic creatures. They roam my city’s streets at night, waiting for me to screw up. The Afterlife is one of Death’s best kept secrets, and I’m living proof. I’m pretty sure I’m the wrong person for this job, despite what Hayden thinks. Guess I’m stuck saving the dead. “Paranormal elements, action, drama, friendship, struggles, mystery, life and death, romance….all put together nicely, and driven by a strong female MC.” “An absolute must-read for fans of novels such as “Hush, Hush,” and “Twilight.”

    Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank's mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric's escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return - an event that explodes the mysteries of the past and changes Frank utterly.The Wasp Factory is a work of horrifying compulsion: horrifying, because it enters a mind whose realities are not our own, whose values of life and death are alien to our society; compulsive, because the humour and compassion of that mind reach out to us all. A novel of extraordinary originality, imagination and comic ferocity.

    No one knew where she went - no note, no body. It was a mystery that was never solved and it tore her family apart.Now another girl has disappeared, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems that she might not be the only one.Claire is convinced Julia's disappearance is linked.But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same...

    Prince Nicu II and Princess Victoria's immutable, romantic feelings for one another forces them to engage in extremely risky actions and fabricate various falsehoods. Throughout the play Nicu II and Victoria deceive everyone; including their parents King Nicu I and Queen Isabella. Nicu II is presumptuous in character, therefore, he maintains an excessive confidence within himself that he and his sister's romantic relationship can continue without being discovered, but Victoria fears that they cannot continue their affair emotionally unscathed. Despite Victoria's worries, she continues with the relationship as Nicu II emboldens her more and more.

    It holds all of her memories of Hurricane Katrina, memories which she would rather forget. There is one thing that makes her change her mind –Tommy, her beloved pet turkey who watched the destruction of her city from Chelsea’s backpack. It’s Tommy who represents hope and life, and all the good things that a Thanksgiving can bring. A Pardon for Tommy is a story with twists, turns and turkeys. It’s about family, friends and food.

    All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.

    Adaptation for younger readers.Mitch McDeere, a Harvard Law graduate, becomes suspicious of his Memphis tax firm when mysterious deaths, obsessive office security, and the Chicago mob figure into its operations.

    until their teenage daughter is senselessly killed.Just as they’re managing to put that tragic loss behind them, a complete stranger approaches Roy in a bar with a drunken proposal—he invokes their daughter’s memory to ask Roy to kill a man.All is not as it seems, however, and Roy and Susie soon find themselves navigating an intricate web of deception, betrayal, and revenge.Can Roy and Susie outwit their hidden enemies? And what secrets lie buried in their past that could destroy them?Eye for Eye is the pulse-pounding Book One of the Talion crime thriller series which begins with the Eye for Eye Trilogy.Eye for EyeTooth for ToothLife for LifeIf you like smart, fast-paced thrillers with unexpected twists, then you’ll love J.K. Franko’s ride on the dark side.

    The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

    At first she is more than excited, but soon Lucie finds herself entangled in mysterious happenings that put her and Arizona in terrible danger. Lucie must discover the source of her troubles before it’s too late. Who can she trust? Will the holiday of a lifetime in Paris turn into her last days on Earth?

    Level one is the most common, possible evidence. Level two, clear evidence of non-human intelligence. Level three is verified signs of non-human intelligence. Level three has a very high burden of proof, requiring verified artifacts. It is the last step before level four. Contact.Centuries ago, Humanity reached for the stars. But the galaxy has turned out to be a lonely place. The Imperial Survey Service explores systems and identifies planets for colonization beyond the edge of explored space, beyond the rim worlds. They also search for signs of an alien civilization. It is a part of their mission they take very seriously.A routine planetary survey mission to system X5682 believes they have found clear evidence of intelligent activity. The usual reports are made. Protocol demands that any reports of potential intelligent activity be investigated. A small fleet task force is dispatched. Their job is to secure the system. Task force Marines secure the site until Imperial Survey can verify the find. The routine has been played out many times, and always ends the same way. No scientific findings, an explainable phenomenon, no confirmation.Until now.The survey team leader is elated by his potential discovery. It is an elation the fleet task force commander does not share. His captains are also ambivalent, save one who is out to prove himself.Unfortunately, the fleet task force has to be to be cobbled together from people unfortunate enough to delay too long before proceeding on shore leave. The Marines are not exactly welcome in the midst of a group of scientists who are used to being immersed in their research on a new planet.The Imperial Fleet mostly keeps the peace and war is a faded memory. That means resources are tight and ships stay in service a long time. The task force that arrives is not exactly in perfect condition. Even the Marines have to be pulled from different ships and base assignments. Everyone expects a short mission once they reach the planet. All they have to do is wait for the specialist team from the Imperial Survey Service to show up and declare another potential find to be nothing after all.Unexpectedly, without warning, humanity makes first contact. Elation turns to desperation and a fight for survival. The Globur are coming.

    Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

    Left by her estranged grandmother, the Second Empire Victorian mansion on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay is thirty years past prime condition. The estate has no money for maintenance and repairs. Stuck, with meager means and no place to go, Mysti stays, despite rumored ghosts. When a drifter, Harry Pearson, shows up during a severe thunderstorm, she agrees to let him live in the carriage house in exchange for work. Soon, the tumbledown, brick fortress, springs back to life with mowed lawns, tended gardens, rebuilt porches and painted trim, but invisible evil shrouds the property. Broke, and heartbroken by her failed marriage, Mysti abandons a romance novel to write a mystery, using reality for inspiration. Oblivious to danger and driven by an unexplainable force, she delves into her grandmother’s accidental death and squandered assets with skeptical eyes. Bodies drop to protect guilty secrets, some buried for generations. Walking a tightrope to stay alive and protect her dog, Mysti Wade exposes deceit, greed and murder. Justice is served!