Book picks similar to
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british-literature
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A House to Let
Charles Dickens - 1858
Advised by her doctor to have a change of scenery, the elderly Sophonisba takes up lodgings in London. Immediately intrigued by a nearby “house to let,” she charges her two warring attendants, Trottle and Jarber, to unearth the secret behind its seeming desertedness. Rivals to the end, they each seek to outdo the other to satisfy their mistress’ curiosity; however, it is only after repeated false starts—and by way of elaborate tales of men lost at sea, circus performers, and forged death certificates—that they happen upon the truth. Charles Dickens is one of England’s most important literary figures. His works enjoyed enormous success in his day and are still among the most popular and widely read classics of all time.
Cross Roads: Short stories
Val McDermid - 2013
In Driving a Hard Bargain, PI Kate Brannigan investigates a car theft with a twist. In The Road and the Miles to Dundee, a moving father-daughter relationship is remembered through Scottish songs.
The Million Pound Bank Note
Mark Twain - 1893
Henry would not be easily able to exchange that note in the bank without being questioned about how he had come to it, charged with theft and arrested. He would also not be able to spend it since no ordinary person would be able to change it.Without knowing it, Henry is the subject of a bet: Oliver believes that the mere possession of this symbol of wealth will enable anyone to have anything he wants, without actually cashing the note. Roderick, on the other hand, feels that the prohibition against exchanging the note for cash will render it totally useless.
All This I Will Give to You
Dolores Redondo - 2016
It won’t be the last. He’s now arrived in Galicia. It’s where Álvaro died. It’s where the case has already been quickly closed as a tragic accident. It’s also where Álvaro hid his secrets.The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew.Álvaro’s trail leads Manuel deep into one of Spain’s most powerful and guarded families. Behind the walls of their forbidding estate, Manuel is nothing but an unwelcome and dangerous intruder. Then he finds two allies: a stubbornly suspicious police lieutenant and Álvaro’s old friend—and private confessor—from seminary school. Together they’re collecting the pieces of Álvaro’s past, his double life, and his mysterious death.But in the shadows of nobility and privilege, Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.
The Lemon Table
Julian Barnes - 2004
The characters in The Lemon Table are facing the ends of their lives–some with bitter regret, others with resignation, and others still with defiant rage. Their circumstances are just as varied as their responses. In 19th-century Sweden, three brief conversations provide the basis for a lifetime of longing. In today’s England, a retired army major heads into the city for his regimental dinner–and his annual appointment with a professional lady named Babs. Somewhere nearby, a devoted wife calms (or perhaps torments) her ailing husband by reading him recipes. In stories brimming with life and our desire to hang on to it one way or another, Barnes proves himself by turns wise, funny, clever, and profound–a writer of astonishing powers of empathy and invention.
Can Such Things Be?
Ambrose Bierce - 1893
He was a man on the move, a man who traveled light: and in the end he rode, with all of his possessions, on a rented horse into the Mexican desert to join Pancho Villa -- never to return.Can Such Things Be?Once William Randolph Hearst -- Bierce's employer, who was bragging about his own endless collections of statuary, art, books, tapestries, and, of course real estate like Hearst Castle -- once William Randolph Hearst asked Bierce what he collected. Bierce responded, smugly: "I collect words. And ideas. Like you, I also store them. But in the reservoir of my mind. I can take them out and display them at a moment's notice. Eminently portable, Mr. Hearst. And I don't find it necessary to show them all at the same time." Such things can be. (jacketless library hardcover)
Ehrengraf for the Defense
Lawrence Block - 1976
Ehrengraf, who takes criminal cases on a contingency basis, and never loses. A small-press limited edition, luxuriously produced, and long since sold out. Seven of the eight stories were originally published in EQMM annual, 1978- ; one story originally published in Mike Shayne mystery magazine.
El horror de Dunwich
H.P. Lovecraft - 1929
Of unnatural parentage, he grows at an uncanny pace to an unsettling height, but the boy’s arrival simply precedes that of a true horror — One of the Old Ones, that forces the people of the town to hole up by night, fearing for their lives, only able to trace the wreckage wrought by the gigantic, unseen monster by the bright light of day.In his classic style, H. P. Lovecraft weaves unearthly fantasies of creatures beyond conception — existing between the dimensions that we know.
The Chaoswar Saga: A Kingdom Besieged / A Crown Imperilled / Magician's End
Raymond E. Feist - 2014
Feist. This bundle includes the complete Chaoswar Saga.The bundle includes: A Kingdom Besieged, A Crown Imperilled, Magician’s End.A KINGDOM BESIEGED: The Darkness is coming…The Kingdom is plagued by rumour and instability. Kingdom spies in Kesh have been disappearing - either murdered, or turned to the enemy side. Information has become scant and unreliable; but one thing appears clear. Dark forces are on the move…A CROWN IMPERILLED: War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work.Lord Hal of Crydee and his great friend Ty Hawkins, champion swordsman of the Masters’ Court, are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephané and her lady-in-waiting, the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella, out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found?MAGICIAN’S END: The dragons are calling…Civil war is tearing apart the Kingdom of the Isles, for the throne lies empty and rivals are converging. Hal – now Duke of Crydee – must turn his attention to the defence of the ancient realm so that a king can be anointed by the Congress of Lords, rather than by right of might.
The Fox and O'Hare Series
Janet Evanovich - 2015
Charming con man Nicolas Fox and FBI special agent Kate O’Hare are the unlikely pair that is secretly tracking down criminals the law can’t touch. Now their first three adventures are together in one action-packed ebook bundle: THE HEISTTHE CHASETHE JOBAlso includes the prequel short stories “Pros and Cons” and “Shell Game” and an excerpt from The Scam, the riveting fourth novel in the Fox and O’Hare series! Nicolas Fox is an international con man, famous for running elaborate scams on very rich and powerful people. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail for years—particularly FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare. But just when it seems that Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all. He convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with O’Hare. Together Fox and O’Hare are going to have to find a way to take down Derek Griffin, a corrupt investment banker charged with stealing millions from his clients—an assignment that will lead them down the back alleys of Berlin, into the deserts of California, and to a remote Indonesian island. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first. Praise for the Fox and O’Hare series “The laugh-out-loud humor that readers expect from Evanovich is in full force. . . . Everyone will be eager for the next book in the series.”—Associated Press, on The Heist “Great fun, with plenty of twists.”—The Sacramento Bee, on The Chase “This suspense series continues to mix the humor from Evanovich and Goldberg’s books with the intricate cons seen in the best episodes of Mission: Impossible. The banter and thrills are nonstop, and readers will be anxious to see what happens next.”—Library Journal, on The Job
A Perfect Murder
Jeffrey Archer - 1991
Each story is different and each ends with a surprising twist.
An Inspector Calls
J.B. Priestley - 1945
An inspector calls to interrogate the family, and during the course of his questioning, all members of the group are implicated lightly or deeply in the girl's undoing. The family, closely knit and friendly at the beginning of the evening, is shown up as selfish, self-centered or cowardly, its good humor turning to acid, and good fellowship to dislike, before the evening is over. The surprising revelation, however, is in the inspector...
Inside the Real Area 51: The Secret History of Wright Patterson
Thomas J. Carey - 2013
Only a select few have ever had access to the truth about what became known as Area 51.But what happened to the remnants of that crash is shrouded in even greater mystery. What began in the high desert of New Mexico ended at Wright-Patterson, an ultra top-secret Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio. The physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitation was buried deep within this nuclear stronghold.How tragic that such seismic news should be kept from the people of the world...pieces of history, now quickly dwindling into oblivion as the last of the secret-keepers passes on.In spite of its rich history of military service to our nation, Wright-Patterson also stands as the secret tomb of one of the greatest occurrences in recorded history. But be prepared...the real Area 51--Wright-Patterson's vault--is about to be opened.