Soon this haggard SS officer will be dispatched to perform the menial but necessary task of locating and assassinating a degenerate Belgian painter.Join "The Dinner Party," where a man stands adrift in a distinctly Borgesian universe, somewhere at the end of time. It could be the Apocalypse or some ghoulish carnival. He's attending a feast at an anonymous mansion while the fall of Babylon is acted out around him, and he struggles to hold on to the faint remnants of his conscience while the world goes up in flames.Turn to a search for "The Primordial Face," in which two expatriates, one of them mute, go diving for a mythological treasure at the bottom of the sea and wind up competing for the love of the obsessive expedition leader's young daughter.And spend "Sunday Evenings at Contessa Pasquali's," where a man and a woman torture each other with indifference and affection and find that love can be born of terrible schemes. With this volume, Robert Girardi illustrates a world that is both beautifully alluring and brilliantly sinister, where souls are lost and won on the simple weight of everyday decisions. Rich with history and irony, vastly entertaining and told in the timeless style of tales, fables, and myths, these meditations on morality remind us of the eternal human condition.From the Hardcover edition.

    Now, Film in Five Seconds lets you fast-forward to the best bits so you can enjoy all your favourite movie moments in - literally - moments.Design studio H-57 have taken over 150 iconic films and cut away all the useless details, boiling them down into ingenious pictograms and creating hilarious visual snapshots that are witty, provocative and to the point.From Batman to Bridget Jones, Grease to The Godfather, King Kong to The King's Speech, via slapstick, sci-fi and superheroes, you'll laugh out loud as you identify some of the greatest screen moments of all time. This is the perfect book for film buffs and anyone with a sense of humour or a short attention span.

    The police are shocked to discover that she’s a missing schoolgirl they’ve trying to find for the past three weeks. Traumatised by her ordeal, she’s unable to tell them what happened to her. A woman’s body is found crucified in a barn on the Yorkshire Moors. Evidence found at the crime scene links her to the schoolgirl. Hot on the heels of a commendation for her work on a serial killer case, Detective Inspector Danica Summers is invited to join an elite task force specialising in the investigation of high-profile crimes. Concerned that she’s only been invited because she’s good PR, Dani is desperate to prove that she’s worthy of her place on the team. When the case involving the missing schoolgirl and the murdered woman is taken on by the newly-formed Murder Force, Dani is touched by the vulnerability of the victims and is determined to capture the monster who ruined their lives.Her search for justice will take her to the heart of darkness.The Murder Force series by bestselling author Adam J. Wright will delight fans of LJ Ross, JD Kirk, Joy Ellis, Mark Dawson, and readers of fast-paced mystery thrillers and police procedurals.

    

    Life seems idyllic, but little does she know things are about to change. Soon she finds her family split. Her younger siblings are destined for the workhouse, whilst Emma takes a job as a cook in a wealthy London household. Then she meets a dashing young fireman. As Emma marries and her own family grows, so does her happiness. Until tragedy strikes.Will Emma turn her life around once again? And can she finally find her happily ever after?A warm-hearted and nostalgic family saga from the author of The Winter Baby and The Nursemaid's Secret, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Sheila Jeffries. Praise for Sheila Newberry 'So gloriously nostalgic . . . a perfect example of her talent.' Maureen Lee, bestselling author of The Seven Streets of Liverpool'Like having dinner with your mother in her warm and cosy kitchen.' Diane Allen, bestselling author of For the Sake of Her Family

    Winner of the 2003 Sawtooth Poetry Prize, judged by Joe Wenderoth, who comments, in his introduction: There are many ways to hear 'it takes off the top of my head.' For me, the most important way to hear it is: it makes me suddenly and oddly aware that I am alive--aware that I am simultaneously at the end and the beginning of my power, which is simply to be there and to say so. Foust's poems do this for me; I feel akin to the mute struggler that lurks all around these poems that eludes so many attempts at saying that and where and how he is. The struggle is, in my view, dignified -- never self-congratulatory, never self-pitying -- and it has produced sounds for us to come back to--sounds for us to set out from--Joe Wenderoth, from the introduction.

    When the smoke cleared the United States was a memory, conquered by a race unlike the world had ever seen. They are the Specials—a godlike race gifted with powers so cataclysmic that the human survivors of the war had no choice but to surrender to their invincible overlords. But Houston Holt doesn't surrender. A war veteran turned underworld fixer, Houston spends his nights evading the regime's secret police, building his criminal empire brick by brick in his relentless quest to escape the human slums. But one night, Houston steals a truck from the wrong people and sets off a chain reaction of mayhem that engulfs the empire. Because the truck contains a shocking secret—a secret of such fabled power that the Specials will unleash their most savage killers to hunt it down. Enter a world of immortals, assassins, and rogues in One Nation Under Gods—an epic adventure that combines the best of science fiction, superhero lore, and fantasy into a non-stop thrill ride.

     During Christmas, an angel comes to the rescue, the hardest decisions are made, assignments turn deadly, choices are made, lovers realize they are meant to be together, dreams come true, true love comes from distracting romances, and old loves show up in the nick of time. Mischievous Christmas Angel (new): Mimi Barbour, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author: He couldn’t cope with life or love without the help of his special angel. My Girl (new): Jacquie Biggar, USA Today bestselling author: Sometimes, the right decision isn't the easiest one to make. Two Hearts’ Christmas Promise (new): Tamara Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author: Can an Air Force pilot convince his fiancé that beauty is only skin deep, when her news assignment turns deadly? Carnations & Hot Toddy Kisses (new): Stacy Eaton, USA Today bestselling author: Is it destiny or fate that brings the past and present together? Burning for the Nanny (new): Suzanne Jenkins, USA Today bestselling author: When Firefighter Leon Saint gets a surprise visit from a one night stand, a beautiful neighbor with a reputation comes to the rescue. Because You Said So (new): Dani Haviland, USA Today bestselling author: Sometimes that's all it takes. Holiday Love: Natalie Ann, USA Today bestselling author: Can the magic of the holiday make these coworkers realize they are finally meant to be together? Once Upon a Christmas: Denise Devine, USA Today bestselling author: When old friends reunite, will a new enemy keep them apart? The Right Kiss: Mona Risk, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author: What’s a girl to do when she dreams about another man while in her fiancé’s arms? Her Christmas Secret: Alicia Street, USA Today bestselling author: Lila courts a cold-hearted investor for her handmade toys, but finds herself instead drawn to a handsome maintenance man. With her sister’s family on the line, a distracting romance is the last thing she needs. Right Man/Wrong Groom: Patrice Wilton, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author: When an old love shows up for the wedding, Nadine has to make that final choice.

    . . Everybody's got a weakness and Chandelle Hutchins' is a love of material possessions--a love that is causing serious trouble in her marriage. Chandelle's latest object of desire is an expensive new house. Her husband Marvin knows they can't afford it--and he also knows he can't talk Chandelle into giving it up. With their relationship crumbling under a mountain of debt, it may just be easier for Marvin to walk away. But with Chandelle's scheming cousin Dior in town, money may be the least of the couple's problems. . .Dior's weakness is her insatiable appetite for causing trouble--and her latest target is her cousin's marriage. When the time is right, Dior would like nothing more than to seduce Marvin on the rebound. But Dior is being trailed by her own troublemaker: a crazed female employer who refuses to release Dior from her twisted duties as nanny to her children and late night mistress to her kinky husband. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Lord works in mysterious ways. For despite a tangle of lies, manipulation, and mayhem, a series of unexpected events is about to bless everyone with a much needed second chance. . .

    Until a phone call from a seductive stranger pleads with her to wait. Retribution is in his blood, too. Now, he and Blaze will be united in the blood of the guilty. Tonight, vengeance is theirs.Dead by Twilight by Maggie ShayneBloodsuckers may be an accepted minority but one of them is getting away with murder. Until a female vamp teams with a mortal detective to end the killing spree. Now the night belongs to them—and so does every pleasure and danger lurking in the shadows.Cimarron Spirit by Lori HerterWhile excavating an Anasazi ruin, archeologist Annie Carmichael uncovers the resting place of a centuries-old vampire who finds in Annie the liberating mate he has longed for. But how much is Annie expected—or willing—to surrender for the man she now desires?

     Monsters do not lie under your bed. Monster do not live in closets. They go to church. They go to school. Some teach in schools. Some are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. My monster was the married mother who lived two doors down. She moved in as the housekeeper and later became my father’s wife. I was starved, beaten and held captive on our property, but after eight years of torture, I survived the monster. When a story, like mine, hits the news, most of us ask the same questions: Why? How? Why would a child, attending school, endure eight years of cruel torture and starvation, yet not run for help? Why did my twenty-one year old brother not move out earlier or call the police? Why didn’t the six of us gang up on her? To understand the answer to these and many other questions, you have to live the abusive lives we lived. You may ask what fuels a monster. Greed, jealousy and control are three big factors. According to recent NCANDS data the majority of the perpetrators, half a century later, are still women. So how could my father, not mutually engaged in the systematic sadistic torture of his children, allow it to happen on a regular basis? That answer is simple. Somewhere back in time, my father lost his spine.

    When the newspaper runs an article he finds offensive to African American men, he writes a rebuttal, which offends so many women it gets him fired. Michael then sets out to write a book that proves corporate women are just as scandalous, competitive, and insensitive as their male counterparts. But when he manipulates events to get hired into an office that is staffed by all women, events quickly spiral out of control. As romances sprout like weeds and Michael finds himself fighting for the women he works alongside, rather than against them, the question is whether he will be able to focus on his work, keep his flings a secret, and achieve the success he has always dreamed of. In turns hilarious, sobering, and eye-opening, The Office Girls tells the story of every woman who works in the corporate world and the challenges they face on a daily basis. The misogyny, sexual harassment, and gender inequality faced by these characters will ring true for all women who have experienced corporate America.

    In search of answers, comfort, and advice, she goes on-line. And that's where she, "meets" Susan, a strong and steady, no-frills Midwesterner. No two women could be less alike. Yet from the moment they connect, it is clear that they share something deep and important, something that's nestled in the warmest corner of the heart.What begins as a chance encounter on the Internet quickly blossoms into a very special relationship. As their e-mail messages fly back and forth, Susan and Lara forge a powerful bond of trust, honesty, and understanding. And soon they are sharing their lives in full -- talking of husbands and children, dreams and desires, the daily cycle of success and setback -- and together learning to laugh uproariously over the small and large absurdities of the world. When a devastating crisis arises, they are there for each other, providing the life-affirming strength and the lightness that is needed to cope with tragedy ... and to triumph.Lara and Susan originally go on-line looking for kind words and good advice. But they find in each other the greatest gift of all: a true and forever friend.Vivid, funny, original, and profoundly moving, Laney Katz Becker's magnificent debut novel is sure to be a classic, read and reread by women everywhere, an intimate portrait of two completestrangers who become soul mates across hundreds of miles, and who discover the strength and the will to reach out and take hold of the wondrous stuff of life.

    Urban favorite Anthony returns with a gripping tale of a young woman who is forced to confront the dangerous lies she told as a teenager, and come face to face with some ugly demons.

    After all, she’s happily single, with fabulous friends and her dream job working at a popular magazine. Life is perfect—until her new neighbors make her their new “project,” a heartbroken high school friend crashes indefinitely at her house, and her younger sister announces she’s getting married…on Lola’s thirtieth birthday. Suddenly Lola’s not so keen on her newfound domestic bliss. But when she meets handsome, mysterious Ryan Moriarty, Lola dares to hope she’s found the perfect guy to one-up her sister and add a little spice back into her life. This light-hearted romantic comedy from Karen McQuestion is headlined by a charming cast of characters, led by the self-deprecatingly funny Lola. Breezy and fun, Easily Amused serves as a gentle, often amusing reminder that love can often be found in the place we least expect—under our very noses.