Men wanted her; women hated her; while some men wanted to keep their liaisons hidden.But who had the motive, the means and opportunity to kill her?Padmavati charged by the hour - her laughs, her understanding, her empathy, her advice - everything was available only in return for payment, which made her,in the Sarpanch's eyes, a little more than a trader. 'Look,' the priest Krishna Shastri said, pointing to the letters around him . 'Satyam, Shekhar, Seetaramaiah - how many men did she have in her grasp? How many? 'The onus of solving the case puts head constable Venkat reddy in a quandary. He has never even solved petty crimes and here he is faced with murder!If this were a novel, the constable thought vacantly, would the reader think of him as a worthy detective? Would anyone bother reading about a bungling, confused constable pretending to be a detective? The equation before him is simple; seven suspects,seven motives, one murder.

    Patterson's fundamentally serious but playful literary style. Patterson writes like the love child of Henry Miller and Mary Karr, with all the contradictions that implies -- a philosopher who thinks best over a glass of fine wine; an ex-Catholic still haunted by the image of the Crucifixion; an irreverent political satirist whose patriotism flies the flag of another iconoclast, Thomas Paine. Patterson grew up with a foot planted in each of two worlds -- one in Washington DC, the Capital of the Empire as he calls it, where the wheels of power spin, and one in rural Ontario, where his Canadian mother insisted the family spend their summers. His father, one of the wizards of twentieth century newspaper publishing, introduced him to the city's wheels of money and power, which he would later navigate as an entrepreneur, starting his first business at 20. But those Canadian summers introduced him to a different world - one where a cedar strip boat was better than any car, and where the ghosts of those who'd previously inhabited the family's island house floated out over the water of Lovesick Lake. It is those two worlds that blend in this collection, in reflections both serious and playful, on what it means to be a man, an artist, an iconoclast, a patriot, a lover, as the 20th century rolls over into the 21st.

    In 2023, former-police-detective-turned-paramedic Lara Evans is poised to enter the punishing endurance competition, determined to bring glory and a major economic boost back home to Oregon.But treacherous tests of physical and mental prowess — and a pack of cutthroat rivals — are far from the greatest obstacles Lara faces. Saving a hit man’s victim has made her a target, and the murder of a fellow contestant has branded her a suspect. Yet the games must go on. And with a nation’s eyes — and a killer’s crosshairs — focused on her every move, Lara will have to think faster, hit harder, and risk far more than any player ever has in order to outrun the jaws of defeat and outgun the specter of death.

    Someone murdered his father, Special Agent Max Gray, and the FBI has officially closed the case. Now it is up to him to find out who was to blame. While investigating online, Sean stumbles upon a mysterious connection between his father and that new girl in his class. Now he has two puzzles to solve. What really happened to his dad and what does Carly have to do with it? In the face of danger, Sean sets aside his fear and finds the courage, compassion, and conviction to "follow the evidence."Praise and Reviews for Hiding Carly"Ann Eisenstein’s debut murder-mystery middle grade novel HIDING CARLY received a resoundingly positive review from the Wright State University Press. There is a strong FBI theme in this first book and Eisenstein is now collaborating with the FBI to continue with the SEAN GREY, JUNIOR SPECIAL AGENT series." ~Pen & Palette SCBWI-Carolinas, Summer 2011"Eisenstein chooses words that evoke the wide span of emotions that run through a sixth grader's mind. She keeps readers in suspense on every page. " ~Joan Y. Edwards, Author, Illustrator, Motivational Speaker

    It was included as part of a Women's Murder Club based computer game.A Women's Murder Club Novella. Lindsay solves a serial murder case involving young Chinese women who apparently commit suicide...

    Includes The Godwulf Manuscript, God Save The Child, and Mortal Stakes.

    A 911 call late one evening, a distraught husband, two experienced police officers and a wife and child kidnapped.Alex Cross must race against the clock to track down the missing family, and draw on all of his skills to solve the crime before the inevitable happens.This is an exclusive short story co-written by James Patterson and Brent Gargan for the 2014 James Patterson Heroes + Villains Writing Challenge.

    His first client was a transient who just learned that he was the sole beneficiary of his estranged brother’s multi-million dollar estate. His brother was brutally murdered and the alleged killer was on trial in what appeared to be an open and shut case. Zach observed the riveting courtroom drama as the case unfolded and in the process, discovered a dark, deadly secret left by the murder victim. He soon learned that he was way over his head in his new practice and that his first case could cost him not only his career but his life.

    He arrives to find her brutally murdered body on the kitchen floor and a hitman lying in wait for him.It is then he realises his whole life has been a lie. His parents are not who he thought they were, his girlfriend is not who thought she was, his entire existence has been an ingeniously constructed sham. And now that he knows it, he is in terrible danger. Evan's only hope for survival is to discover the truth behind his past.

    Offering up heart-pumping tales of suspense in all its guises are thirty-two of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning names in the business. From the signature characters that made such authors as David Morrell and John Lescroart famous to four of the hottest new voices in the genre, this blockbuster will tantalize and terrify.Lock the doors, draw the shades, pull up the covers and be prepared for Thriller to keep you up all night.

    Enemies are planning an attack of unprecedented scale on America. Uncertainty and fear grip Washington. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the cabinet. The President himself becomes a suspect, and then goes missing...Set in real time, over the course of three days, The President Is Missing is one of the most dramatic thrillers in decades. And it could all really happen. The President Is Missing is Bill Clinton and James Patterson's totally authentic and spellbinding thriller.

     BRING HIM BACK A novella by Scott Mariani A MISSING BOY It's 2004. Twelve-year-old Carl Hunter has been snatched at gunpoint from his home on Jersey. He and his kidnapper have vanished without a trace. A DISTRAUGHT MOTHER After weeks, the cops have found nothing. Jessica Hunter realises that if she ever wants to see her boy again, she'll need someone with some very special skills to find him. Enter Ben Hope, recently retired from the SAS and now working freelance to rescue kidnapped children. A DEADLY SECRET But as Ben begins his search for Carl, he soon discovers that nothing about this case is as it seems. Behind the mystery of the boy's disappearance is a sinister secret that threatens to destroy anyone who comes into contact with it...

    She has barely had time to acquaint herself to the dorm food before finding herself threatened by a jealous She-Devil, fending off the advances of a thirty-something redneck, and stumbling upon an art fraud scheme. To top things off, her parents go their separate ways: her mom to follow a psychic calling; her dad adrift in his midlife crisis.Bad decision-making, law-bending behavior, and surprise romances make freshman year memorable in Paisley Ray's DEEP FRIED AND PICKLED.

    In this riveting new novel, a mother is unwittingly drawn into the dark underbelly of her picture-perfect Maine town . . .   Shepherd’s Bay has been home to generations of lobstermen and their families. Lately, affluent newcomers have been buying up waterfront property and mingling uneasily with the locals. Tensions are high, especially since Dakota James, a teenage boy from the wealthier side of town, disappeared weeks ago. But another disturbing incident soon follows.   When high school junior Katie Eaves and her friend, Willow Briggs, fail to come home after a night out, Katie’s mother, Isla, is frantic. Two agonizing days go by before Katie is found, bruised and bloodied, yet alive. Isla is grateful. But Willow, a wealthy newcomer from Los Angeles, is still missing. And Katie can’t remember anything about the night of their disappearance.   Isla tries to help her daughter sort through her hazy recollections, and to recall the truth of her tangled friendship with privileged, beautiful Willow. At the hair salon she owns, Isla hears dark whispers about wild parties, drug deals, and love triangles gone wrong. How much truth is in the gossip? Is Dakota’s disappearance linked to the others? And what other shocking secrets lie at the heart of Shepherd’s Bay—and of the family Isla is struggling to hold together?

    Their existence is as essential as it is illegal. Commissioned at the highest level of the U.S. government. Protected from the prying eyes of Congress and the media. Built around the top operators from across the clandestine, intelligence, and special forces landscape. Designed to operate outside the bounds of U.S. law. Trained to exist on the ragged edge of human capability.Pike Logan was the most successful operator on the Taskforce, his instincts and talents unrivaled-until personal tragedy permanently altered his outlook on the world. Pike knows what the rest of the country might not want to admit: The real threat isn't from any nation, any government, any terrorist group. The real threat is one or two men, controlled by ideology, operating independently, in possession of a powerful weapon. Buried in a stack of intercepted chatter is evidence of two such men. The transcripts are scheduled for analysis in three months. The attack is mere days away. It is their bad luck that they're about to cross paths with Pike Logan. And Pike Logan has nothing left to lose.