The last thing Adria expects to find when she arrives at her vacation rental is a man in her front yard—unconscious and stark naked. But something else sets him apart from most strangers. He is no ordinary man. Toren is new to Earth, framed for a crime he didn’t commit and banished to this planet to serve his sentence. He’s desperate to return to his planet, because the magic that is part of him will soon disappear, and along with it, all of his memories. Adria is his only hope to help make his escape for home—and as fate would have it, his reason to stay.

Tales of the unknown in which a fix-it man crosses into another dimension—and more Hiram Taine is a handyman who can fix anything. When he isn’t fiddling with his tools, he is roaming through the woods with his dog, Towser, as he has done for as long as he can remember. He likes things that he can understand. But when a new ceiling appears in his basement—a ceiling that appears to have the ability to repair television sets so they’re better than before—he knows he has come up against a mystery that no man can solve. Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novelette, “The Big Front Yard” is a powerful story about what happens when an ordinary man finds reality coming apart around him. Along with the other stories in this collection, it is some of the most lyrical science fiction ever published. Each story includes an introduction by David W. Wixon, literary executor of the Clifford D. Simak estate and editor of this ebook.

When Ralph Swindon tinkers in his workshop, the whole world holds its breath ...A 2700-word short story.Trivia: Features the characters from Sleight of Hand.When Ralph Swindon tinkers in his workshop, the whole world holds its breath ...A 2700-word short story.Trivia: Features the characters from Sleight of Hand.--I was rinsing my hair when Jenny hammered on the door, yelling something about an accident at Ralph's place. Despite the hot water I felt a sudden chill."Is he okay?" I yelled.No reply.I killed the taps, shoved the clingy curtain aside and stumbled from the shower. Half blinded, I slipped and groped around the bathroom until I found the towel. I wiped the soap from my face, wrapped the towel round my waist and ran for the hall. I know the kind of things Ralph messes with in that workshop of his, and an 'accident' could have levelled the street.

A debut novel for readers of The Handmaid's Tale and The Girls, The Birth Yard is a gripping story of a young woman's rebellion against the rules that control her bodySable Ursu has just turned eighteen, which means she is ready to breed. Within the confines of her world, a patriarchal cult known as the Den, female fertility and sexuality are wholly controlled by Men. In the season they come of age, Sable and her friends Mamie and Dinah are each paired with a Match with the purpose of conceiving a child. Sable is paired with Ambrose, the son of a favoured Man in the Den. Others are not so lucky. In their second trimester, girls are sent to the Birth Yard, where they are prepared for giving birth and motherhood, but are also regularly drugged and monitored by their midwives. Sable is unable to ignore her unease about the pills they are forced to swallow and the punishments they receive for stepping out of line. Too many of the girls, including Mamie and Dinah, have...

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4 tales of haunted toys having wicked fun with their owners.Explore the world of Neil Lessman and his collection of haunted toys. Unravel the dark mysteries that led Neil to his terrifying collection and the fate that awaited him. Witness the toys lead their owners into a terrifying world of regret and, for the lucky, redemption. Life Changing Yard Sale takes you on a spine-chilling journey through four twisted tales of possessed playthings and the secrets they hold. From possessed big wheel bikes to demonic action figures, the toys in this chilling anthology will crawl into your nightmares.Stories include:29: a VHS video game that unleashes a world ending virus.18: a baby mobile that chimes in the language of shadows.37: a baseball that can make you the best, if you feed it.6: a big wheel bike that unleashes the most horrific monster of all.Between each tale, learn how Neil came to own the toy and his...

A murderer strikes at a school reunion—but the students are no strangers to death— in this propulsive, twisty thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries Is it possible to forget that you've committed a murder?When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent—and controversial—MP and the...

One of Keeler's best, this is the second half of the notorious Marceau case, where a strangler baby dangling from an autogyro may have done the deed. Written in 1935 at the peak of Keeler's powers. Xenius Jones, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, gave the exact date he would reveal the details of the infamous André Marceau murder. Then Alec Snide, an American reporter, broke the case before he did! But Jones insists that Snide is 100% wrong—and he's got the 4-dimensional proof of it! In the second "dossier novel" of this remarkable murder case, Harry Stephen Keeler once again proves that no one could handle a complicated plot as he could.Note for the culturally sensitive: Most of Harry Stephen Keeler's works are not politically correct by contemporary standards. Please keep in mind the time in which it was written as you read it.

Three Welsh Pymke Pixies find themselves delivered to a suburban Seagull City backyard, much to the delight of Zoe, Sarah and Laura, a triplet trio of tumultuous tangental trouble.Join Spanglebean on his tour-de-force of existential self-discovery as he brainstorms a unique cosmology from his perspective within the confines of a quite large garden fence.What readers are saying about this book:"I had a Welsh Pymke Pixie once, and I never ever heard it swear.": Gordon Ramsay"The 'Big Bunnings Theory'? Mitre 10 was here WAY before them!": Stephen Hawking"I didn't understand Shakespeare when I was young, either.": John Bell"Rex, I know how you feel.": Banjo the dog."We are currently investigating this situation VERY carefully.": RSPCA, in co-operation with the Homeless Dog Welfare Society

Baroness, (Emusca/Emmuska/Emma Magdalena Rosalia Marie Josepha Barbara) Orczy, Mrs Barstow (1865-1947) was a British novelist, playwright and artist of Hungarian origin. She was most notable for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel. Some of her paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. Her parents left Hungary in 1868, fearful of the threat of a peasant revolution. They lived in Budapest, Brussels, and Paris, where Emma studied music without success. Finally, in 1880, the family moved to London where they lodged with their countryman Francis Pichler. In 1903, she and her husband, Montague MaClean Barstow, wrote a play based on one of her short stories about an English aristocrat, Sir Percy Blakeney, Bart., who rescued French aristocrats from the French revolution: The Scarlet Pimpernel. She went on to write over a dozen sequels featuring Sir Percy Blakeney, his family, and the other members of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, of which the first, I Will Repay (1906), was the most popular. The last Pimpernel book, Mam'zelle Guillotine, was published in 1940. She also wrote popular mystery fiction and many adventure romances.ContentsI. THE NINESCORE MYSTERYII. THE FREWIN MINIATURESIII. THE IRISH-TWEED COATIV. THE FORDWYCH CASTLE MYSTERYV. A DAY'S FOLLYVI. A CASTLE IN BRITTANYVII. A CHRISTMAS TRAGEDYVIII. THE BAG OF SANDIX. THE MAN IN THE INVERNESS CAPEX. THE WOMAN IN THE BIG HATXI. SIR JEREMIAH'S WILLXII. THE END

The Bone Yard is a dystopian thriller set in Edinburgh during the harsh winter of 2021. Rogue detective Quintilian Dalrymple, a former bureaucrat who left his high-ranking job to work for the parks service and solve mysteries on the side, sets about catching a serial killer with a peculiar signature. The killer bites out the victim's throat, cuts out the tongue, removes the genitals, and leaves in the cavity a cassette of the electric blues of Clapton, Hendrix, and others. In the allegedly crime-free Edinburgh city-state (which is expressly modeled on Plato's Republic, but in practice resembles every cliché of pre-1990 Eastern Bloc regimes), blues music is contraband. So are casual sex, monogamy, fattening foods, all drugs, and more-than-weekly showers. So why does the killer leave cryptic messages via electric blues?Johnston won Britain's John Creasey Award for best first crime novel with 1999's Body Politic, and in The Bone Yard he possibly takes for granted that his readers already know and care about Dalrymple and his cohorts. Character development is scanty, so the playful rivalry between Dalrymple and sidekick Davie, for example, is mostly conveyed through edginess and four-letter words. Their terseness is juxtaposed against the obfuscatory language of the council, the "iron Boy Scouts" who gradually become implicated in the four grisly murders and a related scheme. The serial murderer's infelicitous musical clues lead Dalrymple to discover a dangerous drug remarkably like Viagra, which is being manufactured illegally within the Edinburgh city-state. Dalrymple travels to a zoo, a slaughterhouse, and a foul fishing boat to find the lab, which may be tied to the mysterious "Bone Yard" that the council shrouds in top-level security and secrecy. In addition, a nubile exotic dancer meets an untimely end, leading the two detectives and Dalrymple's tough ex-girlfriend Katharine to the Three Graces sex club, which caters to Edinburgh's rich and burgeoning tourist population. Readers trolling for mysteries set in exciting locales may thus be gratified by The Bone Yard, which is a blend of 1984 (though with inferior prose), The China Syndrome, and Showgirls. The plot moves briskly through dark terrain, both physically and philosophically. It's got a relentlessly downbeat tenor, but Johnston intricately ties together the threads of the four murder victims and their psychopathic killer, and the secret of the Bone Yard. --Kathi Inman Berens

A strange dream. A mysterious Stranger. Two best friends. What more could go wrong?Please note... It does end suddenly in chapter 6 but that is only because it is still being written.I will update as regularly as i can. Thank youTeaserA clear mist drowned the yard before me, the amount of times I had been here when it’s been misty but it’s never been this bad before, I continued into the yard, walking briskly to where my horse was stabled, the mist was starting to freak me out now, I continued to look around to find if anyone else was here and upon doing so I noticed that the mare and foal wasn’t in the paddock where they are usually kept, I glanced down at my wrist to see what time it was and noticed that my watch had stopped and looked liked it was also misted up, the mist was playing tricks on my eyes, forming shapes and making me believe there was something there but every time I ran over to the spot, there was nothing there. Ever since I had stabled my horse here I always thought there was something creepy about this place even in the daytime never mind in the mist, it’s sort of one of those mists that you would see in a horror movie a really creepy type. By this time I had reached the back of the stallion stables and was just about to check up on Keano, looking over the stable door I saw him laying down in the corner back to me, he looked like he was asleep, so peaceful as I approached him I noticed something wasn’t right, I couldn’t see his auburn chest steadily rising and falling, I started to panic, I took a quick step towards him and was greeted by two dark red eyes, I froze to the spot with the eyes intently watching me, every step I took they followed until they started to approach me, I followed the eyes and was greeted by a grayish outline of what looked like a large dog, it was slowly creeping towards me I continued to walk backwards when my back touched something, I instantly knew that I had been cornered against a wall, it knew it had me and took the opportunity and lunged for me it seemed to disintegrate into thin air but I could swear the eyes lingered for a second more, but I don’t think it was that which freaked me out, I could see out of the corner of my eye there was something sat next to me……

Three Mr. Pinkerton and Inspector Bull novels in one volume!4. Mr. Pinkerton Solves the Eel Pie murders  (1933)Inspector Bull is called in when a young woman's body is found on a tiny island in the Thames called Eel Pie. His friend, timid Welsh Mr. Pinkerton, wants to help with the investigation, but really doesn't seem to have much to do. It seems that the victim had antagonized a number of people--her ex-husband, her sister, her lover's wife--but not enough to kill her. Yet not only was she dead, but so was another man.5. Mr. Pinkerton Finds a Body (1934)The famous little rabbity blunderer is the accused this time. An unusual mystery story against a vivid background of life in Oxford among the dons. 6. Mr. Pinkerton Goes to Scotland Yard (1934)Rabbity Mr Pinkerton is quite sure many deaths are murders unsuspected by Scotland Yard. To prove his point to his friend Inspector Bull he investigates, in his timidly courageous way, the death of Mrs Ripley, who hated her family almost as much as they hated her. The trouble with discovering a murderer, of course, is that the murderer also discovers you, as Mr Pinkerton finds out.David Frome is the pen name of Zenith Jones Brown, a.k.a. Leslie Ford. 1898-1983

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Old habits die hard. But old lounge chairs die harder.Val can't solve all the world's problems, so she's settled on two: smashing every tacky figurines on the planet…and ridding the universe of her boyfriend's hideous Barcalounger.During the neighborhood yard sale, the fate of Tom's beloved chair comes down to a wager. But what Val herself puts up as an ante proves hard to live without, and soon has her wrestling with the demons she keeps locked in her closet – both literally and figuratively.With an old nemesis breathing down her back and an old friend missing in action, Val soon finds herself jonesing for more than justice.Who'll win the bet? Who'll lose? And who in the world is Sir Albert Snoggles, III?Come along for the ride as Val's "Hammer of Justice" lays waste to atrocities of both the ceramic and non-ceramic kind, and the gang learns that when you mess around with Karma, just who ends up dealing the final blow is anybody's guess.If you like wacky, deeply flawed characters and laugh-out-loud situations, you'll love Figure Eight! It's the eighth book in Margaret Lashley's hilarious Val Fremden Mystery Series.

He was no ordinary money-lender. Among his clients were the most distinguished deadbeats in London, and he knew enough backstairs gossip to demolish the entire British peerags. One day he died—at the hands of a killer unknown. That person could be a Lord, a Lady, or a tycoon. It is up to Mr. Pinkerton to find the murderer...before the murderer finds Mr. Pinkerson!"Mr. Pinkerton is up to his eyeglasses in double-dealing—and triple murder. Exciting." —Saturday Review

A heartfelt story about finding where you belong. A new Woodlea rural romance by bestselling Australian author Alissa Callen. For only child Neve Fitzpatrick, family is everything. When she loses her mother, she heads to the bush to rent a farmhouse near her grandmother's family home. To keep herself busy and her grief at bay, she offers to look after two little redheaded cowgirls and adopts a sassy pony and shaggy donkey in need of a refuge. Drover and horse trainer Tanner Callahan may have just found his mother, but he's resolved never to let anyone too close. Abandonment has cursed him all his life, and he won't let it happen again. Only two things unnerve him: children and small–town matchmaking. Then he meets occupational therapist Neve. Warm–hearted and unforgettable, she represents all that Tanner feels will forever remain out of reach.But when an old iron key unlocks family secrets from the Second World War, Neve needs help only Tanner can...

A man convicted of bank robbery receives an early release with the hopes that he will lead the police to where the 60,000 pounds has been cached. Official investigators believe that the robber had inside information and upon his release he would share the proceeds of the robbery with his co-conspirators, but things become complicated when the robber is found dead. In time, others suspected of complicity are also murdered. Only the most intuitive investigator can unearth the truth in this 1933 novel by David Frome which has been adapted to the American reader.David Frome is the pen name of Zenith Jones Brown, a.k.a. Leslie Ford. 1898-1983

Set on the wild moors of West Yorkshire, The Girl from the Tanner's Yard by Diane Allen is a moving family drama about a girl who rises to prosperity from humble beginnings.After facing the horrors of the Crimean War, Adam Brooksbank returns to Black Moss Farm filled with regret over the path in life he has chosen. Starting anew, he decides to focus on rebuilding his family's rundown farm and make it a home again.Lucy Bancroft lives with her parents on Prospect Terrace which backs onto the local tannery, and is the most beautiful girl in the village. But unfortunately her wealth doesn't match her looks, and she soon realizes that nobody wants to court a girl from the filthy Flay Pits, let alone marry her.Yet when Lucy comes to work for Adam as his maid she finds herself falling in love with the farm set high upon the wild Moors of Haworth. Furthermore she begins to imagine a life with her new employer that goes beyond just being his maid. As they spend...

Nine Yard Sarees is a multigenerational portrait of a fictional Tamil Brahmin family. Comprising eleven interlinked stories, this short story cycle traces the lives of nine women from 1950 all the way to 2019, shedding light on the community and its evolution through the decades. As the stories take us from India to Singapore, Australia and even America, we follow the experiences of the women in the family: Raji the matriarch who lives in seclusion at an ashram; her daughter Padma who struggles to raise her family the traditional way; Padma’s daughter Keerthana who is about to be married and don the nine yard saree, a symbol of womanhood. Tender, dynamic and full of heart, this cycle is a resonant portrayal of female solidarity and the complexities of the diasporic experience in contemporary Singapore.

Very few college football coaches earn the distinction of becoming their programs' winningest, but Gary Pinkel has done it twice. From his nine-year tenure at the University of Toledo to his career at the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, Pinkel has shown he has the talent and meddle to take his teams to the top. These remarkable achievements have been met by challenges along the way in Pinkel's personal and professional life, including a DUI and a divorce, a threatened team boycott at Mizzou which dominated national news headlines, and ultimately, a decision to step away from it all following a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. In The 100-Yard Journey, Pinkel offers a glimpse into the mind of a winner as well as an honest reflection on meeting and overcoming the unexpected. Follow along from the start of Pinkel's coaching career at Kent State, the same program for which he played as a tight end, through stops at Washington and Toledo, and finally,...

She was elegant, beautiful, and a cold-blooded killer...or so it appeared. She had the perfect motive. She even admitted to being at the scene of the crime. Scotland Yard was prepared to charge Louise Colton with her husband's brutal murder.Only shy, retiring Mr. Pinkerton believed her innocent. He wandered into the case by accident, but he stayed to plumb its murky depths, to stir the waters of scandal and revenge...until the killer moved to strike again!

Inspector Bull of Scotland Yard receives an anonymous note stating that a mother and three little ones are buried in a backyard. Upon digging up fresh earth, the inspector finds a box with mother cat and three of her kittens entombed. As the story progresses, Bull returns to the original digging site only to discover the body of an elderly woman below where the cats were buried. Bull enlists the aid of his former landlord after a body is discovered in the supposedly vacant house of Mr. Arthurington. Mr. Pinkerton is unofficially enlisted to assist the C.I.D. inspector to assist in the investigation. Inspector Bull is baffled by the fact that several of the principles appear to have the means, motive, and opportunity. As is the usual case, it is Pinkerton, the mild and timid Welshman who sees through the red herrings that provide the clues that help to identify the diabolical villain. 3. The Man From Scotland Yard (1932)David Frome is the pen name of Zenith Jones Brown, a.k.a. Leslie Ford. 1898-1983

From Publishers WeeklyMartin, who introduced antiquarian Peter Fallon in his debut novel Back Bay (1979), brings him back for a second quest in this sprawling bibliomystery, which traces the tightly interlaced histories of the fictional Wedge family and Harvard University. Fallon, a proud Harvard grad, assists in the university's annual fund-raising appeals. One call, to Ridley Wedge Royce, lands him not a donation but a tip. The intriguing possibility that the Wedge family once owned a rare and unknown Shakespeare manuscript-a text purportedly linking Will Shakespeare and Harvard's founder-is enough to hook Fallon. But others are on the same scent and willing to go to any lengths to root out the manuscript if it still exists. How it came into the possession of the Wedges, and what happened to it next is gradually revealed as Martin spins through 300 years of American history-from the Salem witch trials and the Boston Tea Party to the Civil War and up to the radical late 1960s-telling a tale of Harvard the institution growing from a tiny establishment under beastly first master Nathaniel Eaton to become America's premier university. Fallon's search takes a back seat to the historical material, but the novel provides good entertainment and copious Crimson lore.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistMartin continues to entertain with the successful formula he perfected in best-sellers Back Bay (1979) and Cape Cod (1991). The author races back and forth through time in order to solve a bookish mystery rooted in historical events. When antiquarian bookseller Peter Fallon follows the clues he hopes will lead him to recover a lost Shakespeare play written in the bard's own hand, he himself becomes the target of both underworld thugs and unscrupulous academics. The most compelling action takes place in the past as he traces the utterly fascinating evolution of Harvard University by interweaving it with the intimate history of one of New England's first families. Bound by oath to preserve John Harvard's library, Issac Wedge takes care to squirrel away the Shakespearean quarto the dying Harvard entrusted to his care. Realizing that Puritan reactionaries would most certainly destroy the play, Wedge hands it down for safekeeping to his own son, establishing a pattern that is repeated by each succeeding generation until it appears that the manuscript has been lost. Or has it? It is up to Fallon to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The unexpected twists and turns through history will keep readers guessing and the pages turning. Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

A deeply moving novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be 'good', from the award-winning author of The Natural Way of Things and The Weekend.A woman abandons her city life and marriage to return to the place she grew up, finding solace in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of the Monaro.She does not believe in God, doesn't know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive life almost by accident. As she gradually adjusts to the rhythms of monastic life, she ruminates on her childhood in the nearby town. She finds herself turning again and again to thoughts of her mother, whose early death she can't forget.Disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations. First comes a terrible mouse plague, each day signalling a new battle against the rising infestation.Second is the return of the skeletal remains of a sister who left the community decades before to minister to deprived...

England has become besieged with foreign entities claiming to be English citizens. Three of them have managed to become members of Parliament. Worse yet, the new Prime Minister plans to remove Xavier from his position as head of Foreign Affairs and slot in a man the new Prime Minister likes a great deal. Unfortunately, the man is a Russian Spy.Worse yet: Vic's sister, Claire, has been declared healthy, despite being insane, and after marrying her doctor, who declared her sane, a week later she returns to London with the intent to kill everyone she hates, which is anyone associated with Vic. When Claire's husband gets fired, he joins her in London and proves to be the reason she has a killing compulsion. He wasn't making her better all this time. He was making her deadly.

'Once you start you can't stop reading. Terrific.' Helen DunmoreYvonne Carmichael has worked hard to achieve the life she always wanted: a high-flying career in genetics, a beautiful home, a good relationship with her husband and their two grown-up children.Then one day she meets a stranger at the Houses of Parliament and, on impulse, begins a passionate affair with him - a decision that will put everything she values at risk.At first she believes she can keep the relationship separate from the rest of her life, but she can't control what happens next. All of her careful plans spiral into greater deceit and, eventually, a life-changing act of violence.Apple Tree Yard is a psychological thriller about one woman's adultery and an insightful examination of the values we live by and the choices we make, from an acclaimed writer at the height of her powers.'There can't be a woman alive who hasn't once realised, in a moment of panic, that she's in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man. Louise Doughty, more sure-footed with each novel, leads her unnerved reader into dark territory. A compelling and bravely-written book.' Hilary Mantel ReviewThere can't be a woman alive who hasn't once realised, in a moment of panic, that she's in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man. Louise Doughty, more sure-footed with each novel, leads her unnerved reader into dark territory. A compelling and bravely-written book. Hilary Mantel Once you start you can't stop reading. Terrific. Helen Dunmore A superb novel. Grown-up, genuinely suspenseful, wonderfully well-constructed, intelligent and provocative. I really didn't want to finish it. And I don't say that very often. Julie Myerson Read until 2am to finish it. Once you start, you just have to keep reading to find out. Emma Brockes Intelligent and captivating, Apple Tree Yard makes you realise how one bad decision can change the course of your life forever. Stylist If a prologue to a novel is to whet the reader's appetite, Louise Doughty provides irresistible temptation with the opening of Apple Tree Yard... A compelling read ... Recollection, interspersed with the growing tension as the trial plays out in the Old Bailey, provides a perfectly dovetailed structure. But within the thriller framework lies a wealth of acutely observed detail, a dissection of social attitudes and an examination of lust, trust, predatory sex, risky behaviour and responsibility ... there is considerably more to Apple Tree Yard than thrilling narrative alone. Herald About the AuthorLouise Doughty is the author of six novels, most recently Whatever You Love, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She has won awards for radio drama and short stories, along with publishing one work of non-fiction, A Novel in a Year, based on her hugely popular newspaper column. She is a critic and cultural commentator for UK and international newspapers and broadcasts regularly for the BBC. She lives in London.

There is a heat wave in London and the sporting calendar for the summer is full and exciting. However, there could be an attempt to 'fix' a major horserace; political demonstrations are likely at a cricket match; and obstacles are put in the way of a young African-American succeeding at Wimbledon. Plenty of headaches for Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard - and plenty of crime - not to mention trouble at home. Will he cope?

Honourable ex-con Jack Palace struggles to repay an unstable criminal who saved his life. What does a man do when he gets out of jail? Jack Palace hits the streets, plunging back into a violent world of crime and corruption. Jack wants out, but first he must repay his debt to Tommy, the man who saved his life in prison. Tommy's dad, an old school mob boss, is on his deathbed, and Tommy wants to take over the old man's rackets. Jack and his newgirlfriend, Suzanne, are soon caught in the middle of a mob war. Now Jack must fight to defend the people he loves from the man he has sworn to protect while he tries to get out of the criminal life alive.

Named the Dolman Travel Book of the Year, The Dead Yard paints an unforgettable portrait of modern Jamaica. Since independence, Jamaica has gradually become associated with twin images—a resort-style travel Eden for foreigners and a new kind of hell for Jamaicans, a society where gangs control the areas where most Jamaicans live and drug lords like Christopher Coke rule elites and the poor alike.Ian Thomson's brave book explores a country of lost promise, where America's hunger for drugs fuels a dependent economy and shadowy politics. The lauded birthplace of reggae and Bob Marley, Jamaica is now sunk in corruption and hopelessness. A synthesis of vital history and unflinching reportage, The Dead Yard is "a fascinating account of a beautiful, treacherous country" (Irish Times).

What do you do when a 400-year-old gargoyle moves into your backyard? Especially when no one else but you knows he's ALIVE? Twelve-year-old Kathryn Newberry can tell you all about life with a gargoyle. He's naughty. He gets people into trouble. He howls at the moon, breaks statues and tramples flowers to bits, all the while making it look like you did it! He likes to throw apple cores and stick his tongue out at people when they aren't looking. How do you get rid of a gargoyle? Do they help the gargoyle leave for good? If you're like Kathryn and her parents, after getting to know him, you might really want him to stay.

George Clarke joined the Metropolitan Police in 1841. Though a 'slow starter', his career took off when he was transferred to the small team of detectives at Scotland Yard in 1862, where he became known as 'The Chieftain'. This book paints the most detailed picture yet published of detective work in mid-Victorian Britain, covering 'murders most foul', slums and 'Society', the emergence of terrorism related to Ireland, and Victorian frauds. One particular fraudster, Harry Benson, was to contribute to the end of Clarke's career and led to the first major Metropolitan Police corruption trial in 1877. In this fascinating book, the author (Clarke's great-great-grandson) has researched his subjectin depth and has captured the essence of Victorian crime and detection, using widespread sources of information, including many of Clarke's own case reports.

Won Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1959.

Civilisation has fallen and now is slowly recovering. For most the past is just legend, for a few it is secret knowledge. But here the wizards use the darkest magic, Science, and are feared for it. This is not Earth and no one suspects that nothing here is what it seems. Now a curious wizard will light the spark that sets the world on fire. The rebirth of starfaring humanity will take place on the least likely world.

The Scotland Yard Exchange Series: Book 1–3

The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard) by Matthew Kressel is a science fiction story about a dying writer who is trying to finish one final novel on the distant planet he settles on for his demise. His encounter with a young girl triggers a last burst of creativity.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Renowned bone detective Bill Brockton and his intrepid assistant, Miranda, are about to get immersed in murder and intrigue in Avignon, France, home of the popes for most of the fourteenth century. But first, in this artful prequel to The Inquisitor's Key, other mischief is afoot in the ancient walled city. Inspector RenÉ Descartes of the French National Police is roused from a deep sleep to investigate a break-in at the Petit Palais, Avignon's museum of medieval masterpieces. Descartes's discovery plunges him into an elaborate, art-lined labyrinth: a labyrinth that leads him to a master forger's studio . . . and to a charred corpse. Just as he's finally closing the case, Descartes gets called to an even more bizarre death scene, where his path—and his fate—will collide with those of Brockton and Miranda.

For Lucky Gunn, the hardest fight of his life happens outside the cage. On the south side of Chicago sits an old gym called The Brick Yard. Ten years ago, on a bitterly cold day, Lucky Gunn wandered into The Brick Yard dressed in a threadbare jacket, looking for refuge. He hadn't expected the owner, Tony Brick, to welcome him with a job and a place to sleep when Lucky's abusive and drug addicted mother made it too dangerous to return home. Dray was a gay man living in a world of straight fighters. When his secret was exposed to the media, he dropped out, giving Lucky a piece of advice, if you want to make it as a MMA fighter, bury the part of yourself that won't be accepted. Lucky discovered the cage was the perfect place to keep his demons at bay, but when he learns his trainer and mentor, Brick, is suffering from end-stage cancer, he begins to spiral out of control. After eight years, Dray returns to help Lucky and Brick deal with the...

Livia is a quiet Midwestern suburb known for its green-thumbed residents and their impeccable yards--but this summer, they'll be digging up a lot more than weeds. . .George and Nan Fremont are renowned among their neighbors for their meticulously manicured backyard. Now that the weather's warming up, it's time for them to give their neglected front yard a much-needed makeover. Luckily, their daughter Mary and their gardening intern Shirelle are around to help. But a bevy of meddlers stonewall their latest project before they can even dig in. Shirelle's college advisor, Dr. Brockheimer, is a little too enamored with the Fremonts' gardening prowess. Livia's resident historian, Miss Price, seems to be hiding something about the history of their property. And their nosy neighbor, Jim Graybill, is forever scanning their lawn for buried treasures with his beloved metal detector--but could he actually be onto something for once? Trouble is in full bloom in...

An investigation into the man Scotland Yard thought (but couldn't prove) was Jack the RipperDozens of theories have attempted to resolve the mystery of the identity of Jack the Ripper, the world's most famous serial killer. Ripperologist Robert House contends that we may have known the answer all along. The head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department at the time of the murders thought Aaron Kozminski was guilty, but he lacked the legal proof to convict him. By exploring Kozminski's life, House builds a strong circumstantial case against him, showing not only that he had means, motive, and opportunity, but also that he fit the general profile of a serial killer as defined by the FBI today.The first book to explore the life of Aaron Kozminski, one of Scotland Yard's top suspects in the quest to identify Jack the Ripper Combines historical research and contemporary criminal profiling techniques to solve one of the most vexing criminal mysteries of all timeDraws on a decade of research by the author, including trips to Poland and England to uncover Kozminski's past and details of the caseIncludes a Foreword by Roy Hazelwood, a former FBI profiler and pioneer of profiling sexual predatorsFeatures dozens of photographs and illustrationsBuilding a thorough and convincing case that completes the work begun by Scotland Yard more than a century ago, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know who really committed Jack the Ripper's heinous and unforgettable crimes.From the Back CoverDid Scotland Yard Know who Jack the Ripper was— and Let HIM go?The head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department insisted they knew the identity of Jack the Ripper, but couldn't prove his guilt in court. The chief investigator on the case backed him up, as a note discovered a century later showed. So why did the police never publicly proclaim Aaron Kozminski the number one suspect in the most notorious serial-murder case of all time? And could twenty-first-century investigative techniques have helped the nineteenth-century detectives close their most famous unsolved case?Ripperologist Robert House combines historical research and contemporary criminal profiling techniques to offer a compelling solution to one of the most vexing criminal mysteries of all time. He demonstrates that Kozminski had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to commit the horrific murders and that he fit the serial-killer profile as defined by the FBI today. He examines eyewitness testimony that placed Kozminski with one of the victims. He draws on a decade of his own research, including trips to Poland and England, to uncover Kozminski's past and details of the case, reveal his bizarre behavior, and build a strong circumstantial case against him.With a Foreword by former FBI profiler and pioneer sexual predator profiler Roy Hazelwood and featuring dozens of photographs, illustrations, and maps, Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect presents the only realistic and convincing solution to the notorious mystery of Jack the Ripper. About the AuthorRobert House is a Ripperologist and an expert on the suspect Aaron Kozminski.

"Taylor Kitching's rousing debut puts you right on the fifty-yard line of a vital historical moment." --Chris Grabenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's LibraryPerfect for readers of Christopher Paul Curtis's Bud, Not Buddy and Vince Vawter's Paperboy, Yard War explores race relations during the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of a boy who accidentally sets off a "yard war" when he invites his maid's son to play football on his front lawn. Trip Westbrook has spent his first twelve years far from the struggle for civil rights going on in Mississippi. The one black person he knows well is Willie Jane, the family maid, who has been a second mother to him. When Trip invites her son, Dee, to play football in the yard, he discovers the ugly side of his smiling neighbors. Trip's old pals stop coming by. He is bullied, his house is defaced, and his family is threatened. The...

History is changing, and only Spencer Blake has noticed. One night he is offered a mysterious job and the chance to find the answers he craves. There's just one problem... All of reality is going to be destroyed, unless Spencer and his new found friends can stop the shadowy figures who are causing the changes in their attempt to gain power throughout the multiverse. All he has to do is travel through alternate universes, drink potent alcoholic beverages, look after a tortoise, oh and save the world.

In this latest thriller from New York Times bestselling author Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Brockton discovers the dark side of the Sunshine state when he's called in to investigate human remains found on the grounds of a boys' reform school in FloridaThe Bone YardThe onset of summer brings predictably steamy weather to the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Brockton's human-decomposition research facility at the University of Tennessee. But Brockton's about to get more heat than he's bargained for when Angie St. Claire, a forensic analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, asks him to help prove that her sister's death was not suicide, but murder.Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a long, harrowing detour when bones begin turning up amid the pines and live oaks of the Florida panhandle. Two adolescent skulls–ravaged by time and animals, but bearing the telltale signs of lethal fractures–send Brockton, Angie, and...

In this latest thriller from *New York Times* bestselling author Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Brockton discovers the dark side of the Sunshine state when he's called in to investigate human remains found on the grounds of a boys' reform school in Florida The Bone Yard The onset of summer brings predictably steamy weather to the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Brockton's human-decomposition research facility at the University of Tennessee. But Brockton's about to get more heat than he's bargained for when Angie St. Claire, a forensic analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, asks him to help prove that her sister's death was not suicide, but murder. Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a long, harrowing detour when bones begin turning up amid the pines and live oaks of the Florida panhandle. Two adolescent skulls — ravaged by time and animals, but bearing the telltale signs of lethal fractures — send Brockton, Angie, and Special Agent Stu Vickery on a search for the long-lost victims. The quest leads them to the ruins of the North Florida Boys' Reformatory, a notorious juvenile detention facility that met a fiery end more than forty years ago. Guided by the discovery of a diary kept by one of the school's young "students," Brockton's team finds a cluster of shallow graves, all of them containing the bones of boys who suffered violent deaths. The graves confirm one of the diary's grim claims: that one wrong move could land a boy in the Bone Yard. But as the investigation expands, it encounters opposition from the local sheriff, who's less than delighted to find forensic experts from the state capital and the Body Farm digging up dirt in his county. As Brockton and his team close in on the truth, they find skeletons in some surprisingly prominent closets… and they learn that the ghosts of the past pose perilous consequences in the present.

New Year's Eve, 2021, in the 'perfect city' of independent Edinburgh. The guards are less vigilant and a murderer strikes, leaving music tapes in the victims' bodies. Accompanied by sidekick Davie and on-off lover Katharine, Quint Dalrymple must penetrate to the most secret of places. What is the Bone Yard and why will no one even admit it exists? Meanwhile, the killings continue...

A major American novel, and arguably the finest work of literature ever to emerge from a US prison, On the Yard is a book of penetrating psychological realism in which Malcolm Braly paints an unforgettable picture of the complex and frightening world of the penitentiary. At its center are the violently intertwined stories of Chilly Willy, in trouble with the law from his earliest years and now the head of the prison's flourishing black market in drugs and sex, and of Paul, wracked with guilt for the murder of his wife and desperate for some kind of redemption. At once brutal and tender, clear-eyed and rueful, On the Yard presents the penitentiary not as an exotic location, an exception to everyday reality, but as an ordinary place, one every reader will recognize, American to the core.

A stunning police procedural debut from one of Nigeria’s young up-and-coming talents, Treachery in the Yard introduces an electrifying new setting to the world of international crime fiction Detective Peterside is drawn into the politics of Nigeria when a bomb goes off at Mr. Pius Okpara’s home. Mr. Okpara is locked in a conflict with a political rival, as both men are seeking their party’s nomination prior to the general election.  As Detective Peterside investigates, one murder leads to another and soon events appear to be spiraling out of control. The more he digs, the more corruption surfaces. Soon he is not sure whom to trust, including even his own mentor.  An intriguing blend of locale and familiar police procedure, Treachery in the Yard provides a unique brand of international suspense.

Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard attended the Fiftieth Criminal Investigation Ball, along with his wife, Kate, and daughter, Penny. It was a formal and elegant occasion and a good time was had by all – but Gideon was aware of many undercurrents present in the room. Meanwhile, there were crimes to be dealt with. Instantly, there was a murder, for which a bicycle with a loose-fitting mudguard likely held a clue. Moreover, a collapsed building had trapped many, and a man serving a sentence in Dartmoor prison, for a crime he had not committed, was about to have an unauthorised visitor. Gideon was also concerned for his officers too, which just added to what sometimes seemed like an overwhelming burden.

London, 1938. With a world war on the horizon, a shocking crime begins to unfold – and one reporter knows too much to be allowed to survive. An absorbing and gripping mystery from the critically acclaimed author of SNOW HILL. November, 1938. Europe is teetering on the edge of war...Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Britain, and a serial killer is at work in London. Johnny Steadman, investigative journalist, is called to the scene of a gruesome murder – a man has been tied to his bed, mutilated and left to bleed to death. This is the second time the killer has struck, and it won't be the last. Together with DC Matt Turner, Johnny tries desperately to find a link between the victims. When the next Mayor of London is subjected to a vicious Anti-Semitic attack, Johnny begins to wonder if the two cases are connected. Against a backdrop of escalating violence in Nazi Germany, he uncovers a shocking conspiracy that could bring the United Kingdom to its knees. But will Johnny live to tell...

ONE MAN'S CLUTTERWhen Sarah Winston turns Ellington, Massachusetts, into New England's largest garage sale for a day, it's the small town's biggest event since the start of the Revolutionary War--but without the bloodshed. That is, until a valuable painting goes missing...and the lifeless body of an Air Force officer is found in Carol Carson's painting studio, his face perfectly framed with the murder weapon--a metal picture frame.IS ANOTHER MAN'S CLOVERSarah is mad as heck that someone used her town-wide garage sale to commit a crime--and frame her good friend Carol. She is definitely on this case...but it's not easy rummaging through increasingly strange clues that point to cheating spouses, downright dirty investment schemes--even the mob. And Sarah will have to be very careful if she wants to live to bargain another day...

Edible plants provide spring blossoms, colorful fruit and flowers, lush greenery, fall foliage, and beautiful structure, but they also offer fruits, nuts, and seeds that you can eat, cook with, and preserve. Eat Your Yard! includes ideas for creating the landscape as well as an overview and tips on canning, pickling, dehydrating, freezing, juicing, and fermenting.

Theres a wild card in Vegas. The Mafia, the Japanese yakuza and the Vegas Old Guard each want control of the city. Mack Bolan is the new player and hes dealing in death, with skills learned in a hell called Nam and honed to a sharp edge in the urban jungle. To shave the odds the Executioner pulls a Joker from the deck, Tommy Anders. The game is down to one last hand — winner takes all.

A unique anthology for crime aficionados - six 'perfect murder' stories written by the most accomplished crime writers of the 1930s, designed to fox real-life Scotland Yard Superintendent Cornish, who comments on whether or not these crimes could have genuinely been solved. Is the 'perfect murder' possible? Can that crime be committed with such consummate care, with such exacting skill, that it is unsolvable -- even to the most astute investigator? In this unique collection, legendary crime writers Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Crofts, Ronald Knox, Dorothy L. Sayers and Russell Thorndike each attempt to create the unsolvable murder, which Superintendent Cornish of the CID then attempts to unravel... This clever literary battle of wits from the archives of the Detection Club follows The Floating Admiral and Ask a Policeman back into print after more than 75 years, and shows some of the experts from the...