Book picks similar to
Pugio Bruti - A Crime Story in Easy Latin by Daniel Pettersson
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ex-libris
litterae-antiquae
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A Bone Dead Sadness
Joe R. Lansdale - 2014
Time was he worked homicide in Houston’s Fifth Ward, but that was years ago. Nowadays he’s living a quieter life, running a little one-man operation in LaBorde, Texas. You might think a sleepy East Texas town wouldn’t rate its own PI, but there’s just about enough to keep Hanson going. Lawyers need things looked into; suspicious wives need their husbands tailed, and vice versa; ordinary folks get interested in things the cops don’t care to pursue. Today, it’s a missing persons case. Mildred “Babe” Craver’s not long for this earth, but she wants Hanson to find her son Tom, or find out what happened to him. He was a good-for-nothing jailbird, but he was her son after all. Problem is, Tom’s been missing for twenty-five years, so it’s a stone cold trail. Whatever Hanson finds out, it’s not likely to make anyone happy. Still, there’s something to be said for knowing.This 2012 novella revisits Marvin Hanson, decades after the events of Act of Love; fans of Lansdale’s Hap and Leonard series have also encountered him as the boys’ sometime-employer. At its core, A Bone Dead Sadness is a good old-fashioned locked room mystery, wrapped up in noir and tied with a Dixie-scented bow. It’s Lansdale.
Dragon & Detective
Layla Lawlor - 2020
James never could resist a puzzle, but this one has a good shot at getting him killed...
Family Secrets
Becky Melby - 2018
Bring together three reunited friends, a historic building-turned-inn, and mysteries past and present. Blend in the century-old story of Prudence Willard and her clandestine work with the Underground Railroad, and you'll begin to discover the Secrets of Wayfarers Inn.
Salty
Mark Haskell Smith - 2007
A-” —Entertainment WeeklyFrom the author of Moist and Delicious comes a raucous comic novel where anything goes. Turk Henry, an overweight, unemployed rock star married to a supermodel, has discovered that Thailand is probably the last place a recovering sex addict should go on vacation, yet here he is, surrounded by topless groupies and haunted by the stares of hundreds of luscious bar girls. Turk’s struggles with monogamy, however, pale beside a greater challenge when his wife is abducted by a group of renegade, shipless Thai pirates. As Turk, whose life skills are limited to playing bass and partying, navigates the back alleys of Bangkok and the deadly jungles of Southeast Asia to save his wife, Salty heats up and sweats bullets. Featuring skinflint American tourists, topless beaches, a hypochondriac U.S. government agent, suitcases loaded with cash, an over-eager full-service personal assistant, a horny Australian commando, inventive prostitutes, and an urbane pirate with a fetish for alabaster skin, this is a hilariously entertaining, thoroughly debauched caper novel — with a happy finish.
Coyote
Colin Winnette - 2014
A daughter disappears in the middle of the night. What happens in the aftermath of this tragedy—after the search is abandoned, after the TV crews move on to cover the latest horrific incident—is the story of Coyote. There is a marriage and a detective. There is a storm, a talk show host, and a roasted boar. People are murdered and things are hidden. Coyotes skulk in the woods, a man stands by the fence, and a tale emerges within this familiar landscape of the violent unknown."Like a modern-day Poe, [Winnette] has fashioned a narrator whose pull on the reader’s sympathy gradually fades as she recounts the aftermath of her daughter’s mysterious disappearance….Winnette’s deeply affecting story is hard to put down and even harder to forget.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Coyote has a strong and inviting voice and that voice wraps around a dark story, a contemporary story, and one that has its own velocity and fragmentation built in. I found myself swept along in it and impacted by its delicate/bleak movement.”—Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, and Willful Creatures"While there’s a contemporary urgency to Winnette’s novel, it’s the small details (and how they’re revealed) that give this story its considerable sting."—Kirkus Reviews
The End of Winter
T.D. Griggs - 2004
He is good at his work, courageous and skilled - a natural rescuer.But at what cost to himself and those he loves? Returning early from an assignment he finds his wife Caitlin dying from a brutal assault in their London home. His world shattered, Severin sets out to unravel the tangled skein of events which led to the tragedy.He finds more questions than answers. And he is forced to confront the biggest question of all: do you ever really know the one you love?
Broken Oath
Ilana Waters - 2018
I have enough problems in my life. I’m part unseelie. Means half of me is a decent, law-abiding fae. Other half is a front-page serial killer waiting to happen. I’m a P.I. in New Orleans. One night, I’m confronted by a talking dagger from the fae realm. Tells me I’m the new Judge. That it’s my duty to “render Final Judgment on those who break their magical Oaths.” Then I land a case. Witch on her honeymoon. Husband goes missing. He’s probably with another woman, or dead. Either way, it’s easy money. Except it isn’t. Clues lead me in all different directions, most of which involve people wanting me dead. Nothing adds up, but one thing is clear: Being Judge doesn’t mean I’m in control. It means I have a target on my back . . . one I may not survive.
Snow Day
Dan Maurer - 2013
Every time the snow starts to fall late in the evening before a school day, the dreams begin again for Billy Stone. They are always the same – there’s a dark tunnel, and there’s blood, lots of blood, and someone is screaming.In this chilling childhood tale, Billy, recounts the events of one unforgettable day in 1975. On that day, he and his friends played carefree in the snow, until an adventure gone awry left him far from home, staring death in the face, and running from a killer bent on keeping a horrible secret.Set in a time before Amber Alerts, when horror stories were told around camp fires instead of on the nightly news, Snow Day is a blend of nostalgia and nightmare that makes us question if the good old days were really as good as we remember.From a new voice in dark fiction comes a thriller about an idyllic childhood turned horrifying; a cautionary tale about how losing sight of the difference between feeling safe and being safe can lead to deadly consequences.
The Potion Commotion
Constance Barker - 2019
Sam, earth witch, owns the local smoothie shop. She likes to put a little magic in her brew and she can cure most ailments with her smoothie potions. Her one employee, David aka Tank, has tattoos out the ying yang and a Harley in the parking lot. Regular customer Phineas and his pet rooster Chuckles enjoy lounging in the shop's courtyard seating. Chuckles gets his own shot glass of magic brew. Lucky bird.Tessa, fire witch, owns the hottest grill in town. Mara, wind witch, can hear the whispers of the town, which comes in handy when an investigation is needed.Amelia Windemere was the coven's water witch until her untimely demise. She wasn't the most loved person in town....oh heck, she was the most despised. But how does a water witch drown? Are there witch hunters in town or something more evil? And why did the police force hire two new twin detectives just in time for a murder?Find out in the first installment of the Happy Blending Witch Cozy Mystery Series
Parker Security #1-5
Camilla Blake - 2019
Unlike her twin sister, Isa, a famous DJ who lives life on her own terms. But when Isa vanishes one night before a big show, Emmy’s orderly life is thrown into disarray as she embarks on a search to find out just what happened to her sister. Jason Armstrong is a security guard working at the club the night Isa disappears. As one of the last people to see her, he feels personally responsible. Jason is still trying to come to terms with a troubling incident that occurred a few years ago, something he has had difficulty moving on from. He joins Emmy in her search for Isa, a dangerous journey that will threaten to upend both of their lives. Book Two As the daughter of a billionaire business mogul, Stella Brookshire has always lived an easy life, until a suspicious accident ends her blossoming career as a professional cyclist. Determined to get back on the bike, Stella ignores her parents’ pleas to find a safer hobby to pursue. Her father, though, wants to ensure her safety, and hires a bodyguard to go out with Stella on her bike rides. The bodyguard doesn’t last long, though, and neither does the one after him. No one seems to be a match for Stella’s sharp tongue or her vicious wit. But that’s all about to change when Cole O’Keefe enters the picture. Book Three Lena Curtis’s life is going pretty well. She’s thirty-four, has a successful career, her own house, and enjoys her time alone. She’s an independent woman who knows she doesn’t need a man to complete her life. In fact, finding a boyfriend is the last thing she’s really looking to do. All that changes when she meets Shep Parkington, an amateur MMA fighter who is trying to make it pro, all the while escaping the clutches of his ruthless and dangerous family. He isn’t really looking for a relationship either, but neither he nor Lena can deny that there is certainly some serious chemistry between the two of them. Not everyone is interested in seeing their relationship succeed, though. Shep’s family thinks Lena is too uptight and controlling, and they are willing to go to extreme lengths to get Lena out of the picture for good. Book Four Teagan Kelly never planned on becoming a social media star, but when her Instagram account propels her to internet stardom, she reluctantly embraces the role. But when several of her fellow social media influencers are shot dead, Teagan finds that she is suddenly fearing for her life. Enter Ben Sanders, who meets Teagan by chance and agrees to work as her bodyguard. Ben is still reeling from the disastrous way his previous relationship ended, and he thinks that working with Teagan might be a good way to get his mind off things. Yet all too quickly, Ben and Teagan realize the chemistry between them is too real to deny. Yet despite how good things are between them, there is still a killer on the loose, and people who seem willing to stop at nothing to see that Ben and Teagan don’t stay together. Book Five To the outside world, Drew Parker appears to have it all—he’s the owner of a successful security company, he’s wealthy, and he’s devastatingly good-looking. He has an endless supply of first dates and he even plays in a popular underground band. But what people don’t realize is how haunted Drew is after his sister’s disappearance almost two decades ago. Gwen Lillie is the niece of a charismatic religious cult leader who fled to San Francisco once she turned eighteen.
Ties That Bind
Debbie White - 2015
Pat always knew she was adopted; she was reminded of it daily. What she didn't know was the depth of the cover-up. With her private investigator husband, Charles, she takes off from California to Iowa to uncover the deep, dark secrets that have plagued her for more than half her life. Her journey to find out the truth exposes a more meaningful discovery giving Pat the peace she always yearned for
Panic: Ghost and Legends (Panic Book 0)
Lauren Oliver - 2021
Before that, just a rumor. And before that? A ghost story. Listen close—but don’t believe everything you hear.Panic is a legendary game played by graduating seniors in the middle-of-nowhere town of Carp, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher: after a series of challenges ranging from sleeping in a haunted house to running across a highway blindfolded, one winner takes home a cash prize in the tens of thousands at the end of the summer. Participating players are sworn to secrecy, which means little is known of Panic’s history. Until now.Each of these three stories follows a former player connected to one of the game’s lingering mysteries—a ghost of Panic past, a legend. In this spellbinding novella, you’ll meet the quiet, unassuming kid who may have started it all; the golden boy who’d do anything to win; and the underestimated cheerleader who brought decades of family history into this dangerous game.Panic: Ghosts and Legends is set in the world of the Amazon Original series Panic, available only on Amazon Prime Video.©2021 Lauren Oliver, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC
Metamorphoses (The Golden Ass), Vol 1 of 2: Books 1-6
Apuleius
It is truly enchanting: a delightful romance combining realism and magic. The hero, Lucius, eager to experience the sensations of a bird, resorts to witchcraft but by an unfortunate pharmaceutical error finds himself transformed into an ass. He knows he can revert to his own body by eating rose-petals, but these prove singularly elusive; and the bulk of the work describes his adventures as an animal. He also retails many stories that he overheard, the most charming being that of Cupid and Psyche (beginning, in true fairy-tale fashion, 'Erant in quadam civitate rex et regina'). Some of the stories are as indecent as they are witty, and two in the ninth book were deemed by Boccaccio worthy of inclusion in the Decameron. At last the goddess Isis takes pity on Lucius. In a surprising denouement, he is restored to human shape and, now spiritually regenerated, is initiated into her mysteries. The author's baroque Latin style nicely matches his fantastic narrative and is guaranteed to hold a reader's attention from beginning to end. J. Arthur Hanson was at the time of his death in 1985 Giger Professor of Latin at Princeton University. His publications include Roman Theater-Temples. The Loeb Classical Library edition of Apuleius is in two volumes.
Livy: Book I
Livy
The book opens with Livy's important Preface which explains his rationale for writing this history.This edition, with introduction, commentary notes and vocabulary by H.E. Gould and J.L. Whiteley, was first published in Macmillan's Modern School Classics series. The introduction covers the life and work of Livy, his role as an historian, Livy's writing, style, grammar and syntax, and the historical context of the period. The edition's comprehensive annotation, vocabulary and introduction elucidates essential points of historical content as well as providing all the linguistic support needed to understand the text, including glosses of obscure words, explanations of difficult phrases and grammatical support. A translation of the Preface and maps of Latium and Rome of the Regal Period are also included.
Twelve Nights
Urs Faes - 2020
He's been estranged from his brother Sebastian for decades, ever since their bitter feud over the love of a woman and the inheritance of the family farm.Twelve Nights transports us to the wintry depths of Europe's Black Forest, through the stillness of the snow-covered hills, the dense woods, the cold and mist, in those dark, wild days between Christmas and Epiphany. These nights are a time of tradition and superstition, of tales told around the local innkeeper's table of marauding spirits, as tangible as the ghosts of Manfred's past. But the twelfth night, Epiphany, promises new beginnings, and a hope of reconciliation at last.Twelve Nights is a hymn to the winter landscape and the power of storytelling, a beautiful novella of the natural world and our place in it.