On November 11, 1997, Veronika decided that the moment to kill herself had—at last!—arrived. She does not die; instead, she wakes up in Villette—the “famous and much-feared lunatic asylum”—only to be told that, having damaged her heart irreparably, she has just a few days to live. What she faces now is a waiting game and the strange world of Villette: the rules and regulations which govern the lives of its inmates and the doctors who treat them. Coelho's question may be a familiar one: crudely, who, or what, is mad? But his fiction is a remarkable, sometimes chilling, response to it. “Everyone has an unusual story to tell” is the starting-point of the new treatment initiated at Villette by the enigmatic Dr Igor; it's also the insight from which this book takes off to explore the impact of a “slow, irreparable death” on a young woman and the mad men and women around her.

A thousand years ago, two young lovers were betrayed—Alger Waterlow to his death, and Hanalea, Queen of the Fells, to a life without love. Now, once again, the Queendom of the Fells seems likely to shatter apart. For young queen Raisa ana’Marianna, maintaining peace even within her own castle walls is nearly impossible; tension between wizards and Clan has reached a fevered pitch. With surrounding kingdoms seeking to prey on the Fells’ inner turmoil, Raisa’s best hope is to unite her people against a common enemy. But that enemy might be the person with whom she's falling in love.Through a complicated web of lies and unholy alliances, former streetlord Han Alister has become a member of the Wizard Council of the Fells. Navigating the cut-throat world of blue blood politics has never been more dangerous, and Han seems to inspire hostility among Clan and wizards alike. His only ally is the queen, and despite the perils involved, Han finds it impossible to ignore his feelings for Raisa. Before long, Han finds himself in possession of a secret believed to be lost to history, a discovery powerful enough to unite the people of the Fells. But will the secret die with him before he can use it? A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.

Antiques dealer Rei Shimura has managed to snag one of the most lucrative and prestigious jobs of her career: a renowned museum in Washington, D.C., has invited her to exhibit her kimonos and give a lecture on them. Accompanied by a gaggle of Japanese office ladies bent on a week of shopping, Rei lands in the capital. But her big break could ultimately break her. Within hours one of the kimonos is stolen, and then Rei's passport is discovered in a shopping mall dumpster—on the dead body of one of the Japanese tourists. Trouble is only beginning, though, for now Rei's parents have arrived and so has her ex-boyfriend. To track down the kimono and unmask a killer, Rei's got to do some clever juggling, fast talking, and quick sleuthing, or this trip home could be her last.Amazon.com ReviewSujata Massey's lively bicultural series featuring Rei Shimura, the Tokyo antique dealer who can't seem to keep out of trouble, brings her heroine back to her American roots in this engaging tale of corruption and chicanery in the museum exhibition game. Rei is unexpectedly invited to accompany a treasure trove of antique kimonos to a Washington, D.C., museum and to deliver a couple of lectures on the cultural history of the gorgeous garments. A last-minute decision to substitute a priceless wedding kimono for one that's too fragile to travel sets in motion a chain of events that lands Rei in serious peril.When Rei's former boyfriend, Scottish attorney Hugh Glendinning, turns up at the Washington museum, she's caught up in a romantic crisis, having just settled into a new relationship with Takeo Kayama, the Japanese playboy she met two books ago (in The Flower Master). But that dilemma is soon eclipsed by the theft of the wedding kimono, which was uninsured, and by the disappearance of Rei's seatmate on the flight from Japan. When the seatmate's dead body and Rei's passport and tickets turn up in a Washington dumpster, Rei is suspected of murder, larceny, and even prostitution. Through all this, Massey does a nice job of imparting a wealth of fascinating information on the kimono tradition.Rei gets more appealing with every outing, and in this one Massey ratchets up the romantic tension and action--maybe because Rei's in a country that's more obsessed with sex than with tradition. Nicely plotted, well characterized, and carefully crafted, this may be Massey's best yet. --Jane AdamsFrom Publishers WeeklyIn this fast, easy-to-follow story filled with fascinating information on Japanese culture from Edgar-nominee and Agatha Award-winner Massey (The Salaryman's Wife), hot-tempered, hot-blooded, Japanese-American Rei Shimura agrees to courier a priceless collection of Edo-period (1615-1857) kimono from a distinguished Tokyo museum to a temporary exhibition in the equally prestigious Museum of Asian Arts in Washington, D.C. To save money, the California-born Shimura, who lives and sells antiques in Tokyo, joins a tour group of women headed for the shopping malls of greater Washington. In the U.S., the plot thickens when someone steals a bridal kimono, uchikake, and a Japanese tourist turns up murdered. The police initially identify the victim as Shimura, but later suspect the sexy Japanese-American antiques dealer is part of a prostitution ring. Further complications arise with the arrival of Shimura's current Japanese boyfriend and her parents, as well as the re-entry into her life of her American ex-lover. Close attention to background both large (recognizable locations in Washington and northern Virginia) and small (the designer clothes the heroine receives from her mother) helps fix the novel solidly in the real world. But it is the romantic suspense and the multicultural details of customs and attitudes of East and West that will keep most readers turning the pages of this absorbing, sophisticated mystery. Agent, Ellen Geiger. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

One of Jane Austen's best-loved books is Persuasion, and of the characters in it, among the most popular are Sophy and Admiral Croft, dashing Frederick Wentworth's sister and brother-in-law.In this short novel, Sherwood Smith takes a look at what the Wentworths' lives might have been like before they met the Elliots, and Sophy's view of Anne Elliot's and Frederick Wentworth's stormy relationship—and how she might have had a hand in bringing about that happy ending.

In Edmund White's most moving novel yet, an American living in Paris finds his life transformed by an unexpected love affair. Austin Smith is pushing fifty, loveless and drifting, until one day he meets Julien, a much younger, married Frenchman. In the beginning, the lovers' only impediments are the comic clashes of culture, age, and temperament. Before long, however, the past begins to catch up with them. In a desperate quest to save health and happiness, they move from Venice to Key West, from Montreal in the snow to Providence in the rain. But it is amid the bleak, baking sands of the Sahara that their love is pushed to its ultimate crisis.

Midsummer in England—an auspicious time for a wedding. Brisbane has taken charge of the music. Julia has, perhaps mistakenly, allowed her sisters to choose the dress. And Belmont Abbey is overflowing with guests awaiting the blessed day. What could go wrong? Combine the close-knit chaos of village life, pagan traditions bursting through staid Victorian conventions and the congenial madness that tends to swirl around Lady Julia’s family and you get an unforgettable wedding. But add in a dangerous past nemesis who has come to wish them not-so-well, and their day to remember just might take a fatal turn....

**In this eBook exclusive short story from Lee Child, Jack Reacher is again on the move. But even a pleasant hike on a beautiful summer day turns into a walk on the wild side . . . and perhaps something far more sinister. Don’t miss a gripping preview of Lee Child’s highly anticipated new Jack Reacher novel, Personal!** Jack Reacher is on the road, hitching a ride with some earnest young Canadians who are planning a hike through some of the last unspoiled wilderness in North America in the dense forests of Maine. They part ways after sharing a hot meal, and Reacher checks out a quiet town surrounded by countryside serene enough to cool even his raging wanderlust. But not for long. First the trail is suddenly and inexplicably closed. Then the military police show up in force. Maybe it’s a drill. Or maybe it’s trouble—the kind of trouble that always finds Reacher, no matter how far he travels off the beaten path. Praise for Lee Child and his Jack Reacher novels “Welcome to the relentless world of Jack Reacher and his impressive tendency to be in the wrong place at the right time. . . . Child has created an iconic character that other thriller writers try to emulate but don’t come close to matching.”—Associated Press “The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going.”—NPR “Child is a superb craftsman of suspense.”—Entertainment Weekly “The truth about Reacher gets better and better.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times“If you’re a thriller fan and you’re not reading the Reacher series, you’re not a thriller fan.”—Chicago Tribune “[A] feverishly thrilling series . . . With Child, you can always count on furious action.”—The Miami Herald “Irresistible Reacher remains just about the best butt-kicker in thriller-lit.”—Kirkus ReviewsReviewPraise for Lee Child and his Jack Reacher novels “Welcome to the relentless world of Jack Reacher and his impressive tendency to be in the wrong place at the right time. . . . Child has created an iconic character that other thriller writers try to emulate but don’t come close to matching.”—Associated Press “The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going.”—NPR “Child is a superb craftsman of suspense.”—Entertainment Weekly “The truth about Reacher gets better and better.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times“If you’re a thriller fan and you’re not reading the Reacher series, you’re not a thriller fan.”—Chicago Tribune “[A] feverishly thrilling series . . . With Child, you can always count on furious action.”—The Miami Herald “Irresistible Reacher remains just about the best butt-kicker in thriller-lit.”—Kirkus Reviews

A compelling and radical collection of essays on art, feminism, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy from prize-winning novelist Siri Hustvedt, the acclaimed author of The Blazing World and What I Loved.Siri Husvedt has always been fascinated by biology and how human perception works. She is a lover of art, the humanities, and the sciences. She is a novelist and a feminist. Her lively, lucid essays in A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women begin to make some sense of those plural perspectives. Divided into three parts, the first section, "A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women," investigates the perceptual and gender biases that affect how we judge art, literature, and the world in general. Among the legendary figures considered are Picasso, De Kooning, Jeff Koons, Louise Bourgeoisie, Anselm Kiefer, Susan Sontag, Robert Mapplethorpe, the Guerrilla Girls, and Karl Ove Knausgaard. The second part, "The Delusions of Certainty," is about...

You define life or it defines you.In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both.Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell tohelp alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends.Unfettered is the result: an anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.Twenty-three tales comprise this incredible collection, and as the title suggests, the writers were free to contribute whatever they wished.Here is the table of contents:Foreword by Patrick RothfussIntroduction: On Becoming UnfetteredImaginary Friends by Terry BrooksHow Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick RothfussThe Old Scale Game by Tad WilliamsGame of Chance by Carrie VaughnThe Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline CareyMudboy by Peter V. BrettThe Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter OrullianThe Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. SalvatoreKeeper of Memory by Todd LockwoodHeaven in a Wild Flower by Blake CharltonDogs by Daniel AbrahamThe Chapel Perilous by Kevin HearneSelect Mode by Mark LawrenceAll the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony DurhamStrange Rain by Jennifer BosworthNocturne by Robert V.S. RedickUnbowed by Eldon ThompsonIn Favour with Their Stars by Naomi NovikRiver of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon SandersonThe Jester by Michael J. SullivanThe Duel by Lev GrossmanWalker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry BrooksThe Unfettered Knight by Shawn SpeakmanWith the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life’s hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right, but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises.After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature?

The sequel to the remarkable Florida Roadkill – an extraordinarily original novel from a new young American author – a funny, stylish, irreverent and shocking thriller. Tim Dorsey's sparklingly original debut novel – Florida Roadkill – was a hyper, jump-cut, manic black comedy that took Florida Noir to new extremes. Fellow writers and critics were quick to acclaim the bright new talent that created a high-voltage crime tale suffused with blacker-than-black humour and an infectious fascination with Florida 's strange beauty. In Florida Roadkill, the strangely lovable homicidal maniac Serge Storms drove a series of stolen cars around Florida in pursuit of five million dollars hidden in the boot of the wrong car, leaving behind him a bewildering trail of bodies. Now, Serge takes up the chase once more, tracking the car and its hidden money to a dilapidated motel in Tampa – the Hammerhead Ranch Motel.