Book picks similar to
The Distortions by Christopher Linforth
fiction
giveaways
historical-fiction
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Booth
Karen Joy Fowler - 2022
Junius Booth--breadwinner, celebrated Shakespearean actor, and master of the house in more ways than one--is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year, the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war.As the tenor of the world shifts, the Booths emerge from their hidden lives to cement their place as one of the country's leading theatrical families. But behind the curtains of the many stages they have graced, multiple scandals, family triumphs, and criminal disasters begin to take their toll, and the solemn siblings of John Wilkes Booth are left to reckon with the truth behind the destructively specious promise of an early prophecy.Booth is a startling portrait of a country in the throes of change and a vivid exploration of the ties that make, and break, a family.
The Missing Gun (Hawker of the Yard Book 1)
W.H. Oxley - 2014
Hitler has just conquered Poland, but life in London continues much as it did in peacetime, albeit a little more restricted since the introduction of petrol rationing. No bombs have been dropped on the city as yet, but the population go about their daily business under the constant threat of German air raids, and a blackout remains in force at night. For Scotland Yard and the criminal fraternity, however, it is business as usual. When a pawnbroker’s assistant is wounded by a gunman wearing a gasmask, it appears to be a straightforward case of a bungled armed robbery, but as Hawker proceeds with his investigation, the more facts he uncovers the more confusing the affair becomes. A red-headed soldier, a missing gun, a dead cat, an empty violin case and a damaged violin are only a few of the threads that have to be unravelled before he can wrap up the case – with a little help from Sherlock Holmes.
They Called Us "Lucky": The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War's Hardest Hit Unit
Ruben Gallego - 2021
After two months in Iraq, Lima didn't have a casualty, not a single Purple Heart, no injury worse than a blister. Lucky Lima.Then, in May 2005, Lima’s fortunes flipped. Unknown to Ruben and his fellow grunts, al Anbar had recently become a haven for al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The bin Laden-sponsored group had recruited radicals from all over the world for jihad against the Americans. On one fateful day, they were lured into a death house; the ambush cost the lives of two men, including a platoon sergeant. Two days later, Ruben’s best friend, Jonathon Grant, died in an IED attack, along with several others. Events worsened from there. A disastrous operation in Haditha in August claimed the lives of thirteen Marines when an IED destroyed their amphibious vehicle. It was the worst single-day loss for the Marines since the 1983 Beirut bombings. By the time 3/25 went home in November, it had lost more men than any other single unit in the war. Forty-six Marines and two Navy Corpsmen serving with the battalion in Iraq were killed in action during their roughly nine-month activation.They Called Us “Lucky” details Ruben Gallego’s journey and includes harrowing accounts of some of the war’s most costly battles. It details the struggles and the successes of Ruben—now a member of Congress—and the rest of Lima Company following Iraq, examining the complicated matter of PTSD. And it serves as a tribute to Ruben’s fallen comrades, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
The Truth About Unspeakable Things
Emily A. MyersEmily A. Myers - 2021
The night she ended her engagement to cheating fiancé, Beaux, was meant to be the night she took back control, but it was only the beginning of his true hold over her. Nine months after suffering an intimate assault by the man who pledged his life to her, Emma is doing — okay. At least, that’s what everyone thinks. No one knows the unspeakable truth of what happened between her and Beaux. It’s a secret Emma plans to carry to the grave, until Julian Cole moves in next door and opens Emma’s mind and heart to the possibility of love after betrayal. As the reporter and music executive grow closer in the music-filled city of New Orleans, Emma must risk everything to protect her newfound happiness from the man threatening to destroy her. As Emma embarks on a dangerous journey to bring her ex to justice, she soon learns the sins and secrets surrounding her are far more wicked than she ever could’ve imagined. Will Emma overcome her trauma and have her second chance at love? Or will the unspeakable destroy her and everyone she holds dear?
The Good American: The Epic Life of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government's Greatest Humanitarian
Robert D. Kaplan - 2021
. . With still greater challenges on the horizon, we will need to find and empower more people like Bob Gersony--both idealistic and pragmatic--who can help make the world a more secure place."--The Washington PostIn his long career as an acclaimed journalist covering the "hot" moments of the Cold War and its aftermath, bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan often found himself crossing paths with Bob Gersony, a consultant for the U.S. State Department whose quiet dedication and consequential work made a deep impression on Kaplan.Gersony, a high school dropout later awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam, conducted on-the-ground research for the U.S. government in virtually every war and natural-disaster zone in the world. In Thailand, Central and South America, Sudan, Chad, Mozambique, Rwanda, Gaza, Bosnia, North Korea, Iraq, and beyond, Gersony never flinched from entering dangerous areas that diplomats could not reach, sometimes risking his own life. Gersony's behind-the scenes fact-finding, which included interviews with hundreds of refugees and displaced persons from each war zone and natural-disaster area, often challenged the assumptions and received wisdom of the powers that be, on both the left and the right. In nearly every case, his advice and recommendations made American policy at once smarter and more humane--often dramatically so.In Gersony, Kaplan saw a powerful example of how American diplomacy should be conducted. In a work that exhibits Kaplan's signature talent for combining travel and geography with sharp political analysis, The Good American tells Gersony's powerful life story. Set during the State Department's golden age, this is a story about the loneliness, sweat, and tears and the genuine courage that characterized Gersony's work in far-flung places. It is also a celebration of ground-level reporting: a page-turning demonstration, by one of our finest geopolitical thinkers, of how getting an up-close, worm's-eye view of crises and applying sound reason can elicit world-changing results.
The Patient
Jane ShemiltJane Shemilt
He will be her downfall.The bestselling phenomenon returns…When Rachel meets Luc, the attraction is instant.But she is a doctor, and he is her patient.She gives him the drugs he needs – but in doing so, risks everything.And when a secret is exposed, they’re both in the firing line.Not all patients are telling the truth.
The Last Enforcer: Outrageous Stories From the Life and Times of One of the NBA's Fiercest Competitors
Charles Oakley - 2022
But his individual stats weren’t remarkable, and while he helped power the Knicks to ten consecutive playoffs, he never won a championship. So why does he hold such a special place in the minds, hearts, and memories of NBA players and fans? Because over the course of nineteen years in the league, Oakley was at the center of more unbelievable encounters than Forrest Gump, and nearly as many fights as Mike Tyson. He was the friend you wish you had, and the enemy you wish you’d never made. If any opposing player was crazy enough to start a fight with him, or God forbid one of his teammates, Oakley would end it. “I can’t remember every rebound I grabbed but I do have a story—the true story—of just about every punch and slap on my resume,” he says. In The Last Enforcer, Oakley shares one incredible story after the next—all in his signature “unflinchingly tough, honest, and ultimately endearing” (Harvey Araton, New York Times bestselling author) style—about his life in the paint and beyond, fighting for rebounds and respect. You’ll look back on the era of the 1990s NBA, when tough guys with rugged attitudes, unflinching loyalty, and hard-nosed work ethics were just as important as three-point sharpshooters. You’ll feel like you were on the court, in the room, can’t believe what you just saw, and need to tell everyone you know about it.
Holding Her Breath
Eimear RyanEimear Ryan
With her Olympic dreams shattered after a breakdown, she is suddenly free to create a fresh identity for herself outside of swimming. Striking up a friendship with her English major roommate, Beth soon finds herself among a literary crowd of people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. Beth's mother and grandmother rarely talk about what happened to Benjamin, and Beth is unsettled to find that her classmates may know more about her own family history than she does.As the year goes on, Beth embarks on a secret relationship with an older postdoctoral researcher--and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows.Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving, and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition, and grief--and a young woman coming fully into her powers.
Shoplift
Claire Sheehy - 2020
Hunting a murderer in the seething mass of people shopping in the North West's biggest shopping centre, Lizzie finds herself trapped in a glass lift with four other people when it suddenly stops between floors.A young girl looking ready to give birth at any moment begins to panic, an old man tries to take charge whilst the other captives in the lift, an engaged couple whose relationship worries Lizzie, are desperate to get out.The lights go out, the shopping centre is evacuated. Lizzie has to rely on her wits to keep everyone calm and get the lift down to safety without alerting the murderer that she's onto them.
Guilty Drive
Hayley Ford - 2021
Sometimes they never get over it, destined to be alone for the rest of their lives. And no matter how hard they try, they can’t be happy, because the guilt is enough to kill them too.When my husband dies in a freak boating accident, I’m barely able to function, let alone pick up the pieces of my shattered life. Yes, we had our problems, but I never wanted him to die. My friends tell me it’s time for me to move on and when I finally try to put the past behind me, it comes back to me, shattering everything I thought I knew about my past, my husband and my future.Somebody is lying and will do anything to stop me from finding the truth. But I have to know. Did my husband really die in the waters of Broken Sound?
Battleship Leviathan
Craig MartelleCraig Martelle - 2021
A small team of humans fighting for all humanity.Built for a time when the races were just finding their way to the stars, finding that they could dominate others. The galactic conquests created the arms race and the ancients, the Progenitors had to protect their own. They built a ship to drive the others away.It worked. And it didn’t. The Progenitors abandoned the galaxy to the newcomers, leaving relics behind as monuments to their failure.Humanity spread to the stars and ran headlong into the established races. A new war begins, and no one conducts war better than humanity except for the Blaze Collective.The two go head-to-head while humanity frantically searches for something to give them an advantage. Ancient technology. The derelicts scattered across the galaxy. Gutted and useless.Except for one, hidden in plain sight, close to Earth. Major Declan Payne takes his team aboard to find that the ship is no derelict, and it needs him as much as humanity needs it.Battleship: Leviathan. A Doomsday Weapon whose only goal is peace.
Throw the Bouquet
M. Scott Swanson - 2019
She picked him.A devoted friend would end his devious plan by stopping the doomed wedding and save her friend from becoming a possible murder victim. I want to be the daring friend who rescues Susan from her lunatic lover. It's just I have no evidence, only an illusive dream.Plus, I'm not keen on becoming a social outcast.I'm not being dramatic. It will cripple Susan emotionally if I tell her the truth. Not to mention her rich father has dropped a fortune on this event.Why can't Susan see her depraved fianc�'s true nature? I don't need my psychic 'Gifts, ' to understand he's a ruthless bully cloaked in genteel charisma.And what's with his volatile "Cousin." Her steamy gazes in his direction are, well awkward. It's as if she's working a behind the scenes plan.The only thing more trying than being in so many weddings is my paranormal abilities reappearing with unbridled strength--awful timing.My decision has life-altering consequences. The first option will haunt me forever if my visions are true. The second choice turns me into a pariah amongst my friends.Being psychic is such a drag.Throw the Bouquet is the 1st installment in the April May Snow Psychic Adventure Shorts and it is a SHORT STORY intro to an extensive series. The stories are stand-alone, but the current, complete list is below.Do you enjoy Janet Evanovich, Colleen Helme, Erin Huss, JB Lynn, Jana DeLeon, Angie Fox, Elizabeth Hunter, or Amanda M. Lee?
Throw the Bouquet will keep you turning pages to the end!
Do you want more April May Snow?Try the complete prequel series listed below. #1 Throw the Bouquet (Short intro story) #2 Throw the Cap (Novella) #3 Throw the Dice (Novella) #4 Throw the Elbow (Short Novel) #5 Throw the Fastball (Short Novel) #6 Throw the Gauntlet (Short Novel) #7 Throw the Hissy (Short Novel)April May Snow continues in the "Foolish" series of full length Psychic Mystery novels #1 Foolish Aspirations
Sunkiller
J.N. Chaney - 2022
Angel Cortez has found... no matter the human cost.Because beneath the dirt and stone lies an ancient mystery, a secret history, and a warning of an implacable alien enemy. And if the warnings are true, then corporate mercenaries and Sea Dragon commandoes are the least of Chase’s worries.Can Sgt. Chase Weston and Dr. Evangeline Cortez uncover the mystery of the Sunkillers? Or will they just be the latest to die trying?
Blaze Returns
Bill Runner - 2021
Ten years in the special forces and five years in the US Marshals have made Blaze a trained investigator and expert in combat.Blaze does not fight his opponents; he puts them down. He strikes first. And hard. Takes them out. Fast.Deputy Marshal Carter has gone missing in Little Butte, Nevada. The Dawsons own the town. The Mexican cartel is moving in on their meth business. A gang war is coming to town. Director Flynn asks Blaze to return for one last assignment.It is up to Blaze to find Carter before all hell breaks loose.