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Necropolis
Guy Portman - 2014
Perfect for the head of Burials and Cemeteries at Newton Borough Council.But Dyson’s fed up. How long will he have to deal with banal work colleagues, drug-addled girlfriends and gaudy memorial structures? It feels like he’s just serial-killing time …When Dyson suspects someone of having an even darker past than him, he sees a chance to get out. Will he take it, or is he destined for a life of toil in the health-and-safety-obsessed public sector?Brutal, bleak and darkly comical, Necropolis is a savage indictment of political correctness and woke culture.‘… a magnificent foray into the mind of a sociopath’ – DLS Reviews ‘The book is full of razor-sharp satire’ – Crime Fiction Lover‘… a mix between The Office and American Psycho’ – Amazon ReviewerNecropolis is the first instalment in the Necropolis Trilogy - #1 Necropolis #2 Sepultura #3 Golgotha ‘…it’s the well-crafted and perfectly executed satirical observations, along with the dry wit and devious humour that makes ‘Necropolis’ such a delight to read.’ – Chris Hall (Top 500 Amazon Reviewer. Vine Voice)‘I remain slightly troubled as to why I found myself applauding a sociopath for being so thoroughly entertaining.’ – Little Bookness Lane (Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer)
The Slave Players
Megan Allen - 2017
Racial unrest is rampant, and outbreaks of violence reach epidemic proportions. When a church bus makes a wrong turn in the Alabama countryside, a dozen teenage girls become victims of a heinous crime. The resulting outcry is explosive, as a new civil war erupts, but this time it will be whites who are cast into bondage. And Slave Playing becomes a cruel game of tyranny and survival.The story winds and unwinds as it coils around the reader like a great serpent. At times it will be a love story, with warmth, humor and human kindness. But mostly it will slap hard at the Wall-Builders, and those who would be king at the expense of others, who would be prey. And a man will arrive on this tiny speck of land in the heart of Alabama. He will bring with him a whip, and a lesson of what tyranny and oppression can do to the human spirit.
Daisy in the Doghouse
Joe Barrett - 2019
Meanwhile, Daisy, his precocious twelve-year-old daughter, has recently garnered a substantial following for her new blog, documenting surreptitious “social experiments” performed on her unaware family. When Daisy’s blogging activities are outed, Jack decides to leverage his daughter’s popularity with American youth to communicate the greed and hypocrisy inherent in the corporate professions of many parents. Inspired by her father’s rants, the popularity of Daisy’s blog soars, resulting in an unlikely sequence of events that ultimately has a very positive impact on way that people treat each other in American society.
The Godmothers
Camille Aubray - 2021
Amie, a beautiful and dreamy French girl from upstate New York, escapes an abusive husband after falling in love with Johnny, the oldest of the brothers. Lucy, a tough-as-nails Irish nurse, ran away from a strict girls' home and marries Frankie, the sensuous middle son. And the glamorous Petrina, the family’s only daughter, graduates with honors from Barnard College despite a past trauma that nearly caused a family scandal.All four women become godmothers to one another’s children, finding hope and shelter in this prosperous family and their sumptuous Greenwich Village home, and enjoying New York life with its fine dining, opulent department stores and sophisticated nightclubs.But the women’s secret pasts lead to unforeseen consequences and betrayals that threaten to unravel all their carefully laid plans. And when their husbands are forced to leave them during the second World War, the Godmothers must unexpectedly contend with notorious gangsters like Frank Costello and Lucky Luciano who run the streets of New York City.Refusing to merely imitate the world of men, the four Godmothers learn to put aside their differences and grudges so that they can work together to protect their loved ones, and to find their own unique paths to success, love, forgiveness, and the futures they’ve always dreamed of.
Hearers of the Constant Hum
William Pauley III - 2014
Although they incessantly hum the same nonsensical phrase ad nauseam, he can't help but think there must be some reason he alone can hear it. Now in his thirties, Krang's body is beginning to literally collapse in places, just as he discovers there may be other hearers of the constant hum. Convinced this is no coincidence, he sets out for answers, and manages to dismantle all he ever thought he knew about everything.
From the Moon I Watched Her
Emily English Medley - 2021
Jimmy Carter is in office. The Walters are a good, churchgoing family who stand for holiness, purity, grace, and Christian love. Except when they don't. Family patriarch and fanatic preacher, Victor Black, knows many things for sure, including the fact that abortion is murder and should be punishable by death--a position he defends live in a televised debate. Black’s youngest granddaughter, Stephanie Walters, sits in the front row wearing her frilly Sunday dress, listening carefully to every word. But it doesn't take long for cracks to appear in the Walters upstanding family facade. Stephanie's mother, Lily, begins telling unsettling stories about having a baby who died, and her story keeps changing. It’s clear Lily has a secret--one that righteous Victor Black would kill her for if he knew. This family secret burns more than the lies . . .From the Moon I WatchedHer is a coming-of-age tale about the skeletons that lurk under church pews and the little girl who goes looking for and finds them. Amid the dark and quirky terrain of camp revivals, burning crosses, and public shunnings, one child from the Southern Churches of Christ cries out.
Every Little Piece of Him
Debra Kayn - 2018
She takes you into the lawless mountain life where rugged men with a past leave you gripping your chair and holding your breath as she emotionally and physically strips down the most unlikely characters.Anders Stone trusts no one, except the other four who escaped with him to the Bitterroot Mountains to hide from their past. Cocooned at Stone Lair and in the wilderness around him, he can keep his crimes hidden as long as he never becomes involved with anyone else.Then, he hears Iliana sing, and he jeopardizes everyone's freedom.She's an addiction he can't quit, even when the danger surrounding him grows closer.The moment Iliana finishes her last song for the night and accepts the invite to meet the owner of Stone Lair, she knew there was something special between them. His age gives her security. His rugged, sexy looks turn her on. His reign over what he's built for himself on the mountain amazes her.He's everything she's ever wanted, but it's not enough.He's a loner, and she wants every little piece of him.
Maya's Magical Adventures
Malcolm McCoard - 2017
Like nothing you've read before! A fast moving, laugh-out-loud magical comedy and fantasy adventure that will keep your "heart thumping like a bongo drum strapped to the back of a runaway camel!". Join Maya a young Scottish girl and her know-it-all talking cat Mischief, her living wand Spell and dragon Blink on a series of magical adventures and mishaps as she discovers her magical powers and their hilarious pitfalls. Find out what lies behind the forbidden door. Solve a series of strange riddles and journey across Ayrshire and Arran landmarks in search of clues. How will each of her friends meet with their inevitable sticky end? Can she figure out who the mysterious shadow is and how to defeat it? Is Aunty Dot really that shallow and can Maya really trust her? Or is she destined to be lost in the strange nightmare of the mirror maze? There's only one way to find out, read it! Failure to do so may lead to feelings of disappointment, delusions of sanity and the loss of a potentially right good giggle! This a previously published edition of ASIN B06X9F4GQ7.
Pebble in the Dark (Pebble in the Dark, #1)
Antony Botting - 2017
Five sealed auction invitations, sent to heads of state to ensure that the Pebble does not fall into the hands of a clandestine organisation by the name of Onyx, trigger an unforeseen sequence of events. The residence of Ambassador Francis Sunderland is the venue for a celebration in honour of Wasyl Bohdanov, which takes a turn for the sinister. The Ambassador is contacted by an old friend, but it isn’t a social call. A young woman will stop at nothing to deliver the Pebble to Onyx. The organisation which took her in and protected her from a terrible past. The stage is set for humanity’s ultimate struggle for knowledge and power.
The Violet Hour
Daniel Judson - 2009
A natural problem-solver, he earns good money as an off-the-books auto mechanic, working side-by-side with his friend Lebell in a Bridgehampton garage owned by a wealthy businessman named Eric Carver. But Cal’s idyllic existence is turned upside down when dark forces target the pregnant friend he is sheltering. And when his two closest friends are revealed to be more than what they claim, Cal’s innate survival skills are put to the test. Forced to do battle with a sudden onslaught of enemies that include a brutal thug, an abusive and powerful ex-husband, and a well-funded female assassin seeking her own personal redemption, Cal’s only hope is the darkness that has always dwelled within him—a darkness he must now unleash if he is to save the one life he has sworn to protect. Set over the course of three days—Mischief Night, Halloween, and the Day of the Dead—The Violet Hour is a powerful and unrelenting thriller in the tradition of such classics as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Marathon Man.
The Influencer: Speed Must Have a Limit
Abhaidev - 2021
He is instead what some people call an Influencer. Yes! Literally! He is one of the few fortunate men who with the power of their minds can make other people agreeable and servile.To the outside world, Aditya is just another employee on the government’s payroll. But secretly, he is part of a shadow organization called WIS. With his special abilities, Aditya helps the most powerful man in his country, the PM, to have the better end of the deal.Life for Aditya had been smooth until one careless mistake precipitates into his wife knowing his big secret. WIS can tolerate anything but not a defector. It takes WIS some time but eventually they find out Aditya’s big goof up. It, therefore, declares war on the renegade. Aditya’s death is what they want.What will Aditya do? How will he fight this decree of the behemoth that once nurtured him?The Influencer is a story of a man who has never taken no for an answer. It’s a thrilling account of a single man who is facing the wrath of a powerful but dubious organization with highly-skilled, super assassins at its disposal.Will Aditya succeed in dodging WIS? Or will the evil organization get what it wants? How far will this fugitive go to protect everything he cherishes?
Cryptofauna
Patrick Canning - 2018
Whatever the reason, Jim has elected to commit suicide. But before he can do the deed, a mysterious resident at work equips him with a dog and a bag of ash, and throws him into a secret game known as Cryptofauna. Cryptofauna is played by Operators, persons of special abilities who battle one another to influence important events around the world. To become an Operator, Jim must survive being stranded in the Pacific Ocean, pass a bizarre examination by leprous French monks, and pluck the existential splinter from his troubled soul. If there’s time, he must also stop a rival player from ending all life on the planet. Underwater Norwegian lairs, obsession with a decent pair of socks, and shapeshifting animals obsessed with AM radio all make up the strange world of Cryptofauna, which might help Jim discover a reason to live, assuming he doesn’t die in the process.
30 Before 30: How I Made a Mess of My 20s, and You Can Too: Essays
Marina Shifrin - 2018
As a freshly minted adult with student loan payments, a barely hospitable New York apartment, a "real" job she hated that paid her enough to get by if she also worked two other jobs, something needed to change. Over a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck, Marina and her friend each made lists of thirty things they'd do before the age of thirty. The first thing on Marina's list was, "Quit My Shitty Job." So she did, and just like that the List powered her through her twenties.In 30 Before 30, Marina takes readers through her list and shares personal stories about achieving those goals. Ranging in scope from the simple (Ride A Bike Over the Brooklyn Bridge, Donate Hair) to the life-changing (Move to A Different Country, Become internet Famous), each story shows readers that we don't all have it figured out, and that's okay. But for Marina, she did become internet famous (a viral video of her quitting her job after moving to Asia has nearly 19 million views on You Tube) and now writes for Comedy Central's hit show @Midnight, is also an in-demand stand up, and had a very popular Modern Love column published in the New York Times. None of that would have happened if she didn't start her list that night. Thank you, Two Buck Chuck.Told with humor and heart, 30 Before 30 will entertain, motivate, and challenge readers to get out of their comfort zones and live their best lives.
Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken
Monica Bhide - 2016
His attempts to achieve this monumental goal are constantly thwarted. And when his former girlfriend returns from Europe with a handsome fiancé in tow, his life becomes even more complicated. A sliver of hope appears in the form of a local TV cooking competition. Winning would offer the solution to all his problems: money for his mission and the chance to impress the girl he loves. But to win this competition, Eshaan first must face a secret that has the potential to destroy his life and his dreams. Can a young life that has been defined by a crisis ever really thrive? Will Eshaan’s pain-filled spirit ever hear the songs of salvation that the Universe sings for him, or will his demons ultimately win? Celebrated food writer Monica Bhide dishes up a page-turning story of sacrifice, determination, and an honest exploration of the human spirit. Set in contemporary India and seasoned with gentle love, dramatic loss, enchanting poetic verse, and exotic food, Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken will take you to a place where past and present keep uneasy yet delicious company. The cover photograph is by the talented and award-winning photographer, Simi Jois.
Summer on the Bluffs
Sunny Hostin - 2021
Known for its gingerbread Victorian-style houses and modern architectural marvels, this picturesque town hugging the sea is a mecca for the crème de la crème of black society—where Michelle and Barack Obama vacation and Meghan Markle has shopped for a house for her mom. Black people have lived in this pretty slip of the Vineyard since the 1600s and began buying property in the 1800s, making this posh town the embodiment of “old money.”Every summer, Esperenza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful and talented Afro-Latina lawyer, escapes the fetid heat of New York City for the gorgeous weather, cool water, and stunning views Oak Bluffs offers. Sharing a cottage on the beach, owned by her “Ama”, with her husband and two god sisters, Perry is looking forward to trading meetings and clients for days of languor and fun.When Memorial Day arrives and the season begins, some of the nation’s wealthiest, most powerful, and famous from the worlds of politics, art, and entertainment meet to swim, dance, party, and chill. While a few can’t leave work behind, others indulge in a different kind of business affair. But this summer on the Bluffs is different. Ama is moving to the south of France to reunite with her college sweetheart. She is going to give the house to one of her goddaughters and she has invited all three of them to spend the summer with her the way they did when they were kids. Each of the women want the house desperately. Each is grappling with a secret that they fear will make them lose Ama’s approval and the house. . . .