What caused the recent explosion on the 86 tram?Who were the people who witnessed the event?And how does the omniscient viewpoint of a narrator affect the lives of those characters it describes?A short story about intersecting lives and the expectations of narrative.After negotiating a defence and trade treaty, the Australian and Japanese Prime Ministers launch the opening of a controversial new mine to supply Japan with uranium. The mine is subject to widespread protest as it is located on aboriginal land in Australia's world heritage listed Kakadu National Park. In an assault that shocks the world, a terrorist group blows up the mine causing chaos and killing the Australian Prime Minister. The main target of the terrorists, the Japanese Prime Minister, is injured but is rescued by an Australian trade official, Jake Stafford. They escape into the national park with the terrorists in hot pursuit.A few days later, an aboriginal activist and friend of Jake's father, is arrested as a suspect in the attack, but on his release from prison is killed by a hit-run driver. Jake gets involved at his father's request and discovers evidence of a conspiracy involving the development of the mine. Jake realises that the information has explosive implications and fears for his own life. With the help of a beautiful Japanese woman and a journalist friend he sets about exposing corruption and espionage at the highest level of governments in Australia, Japan and China. This international thriller set in the Australian outback is full of political intrigue and suspense and occurs at a time when tensions between Japan and China are at a flash point. Jake's quest to find the truth not only endangers himself but also those close to him and brings about a chain of events that will change his life forever.

Surreal poems and tradition and non-traditional haiku.Sailing On The Surreal Sea is a collection of surreal poetry. Inside you will find erotic nightmares, hot tango nights and dreamscape fantasies.

A mirror breaks, a marriage explodes, and all the fine things they once collected and showed off now serve to demonstrate just what went wrong.A short story about material possessions and marital infidelity, with a brief appearance by a cat.CRACK3D PICTURE is a schizophrenic tale about Tony and Henry. Part one deals with Tony, a drug addicted, disillusioned college student struggling with delusional visions of responsibility, freedom and excess, who spirals out of control down a path which leads him towards losing touch with himself and reality. Part two concerns Henry, a lonely man quietly suffering from the death of his mother, is unwillingly dragged into grotesque and nightmarish scenarios by a mysterious woman with a macabre hobby on a downward spiral, only to unknowingly become the target of corrupt and overeager city officials for a heinous crime he did not commit.

Social media undertaker Kendall Barber has discovered something about his new subject - an email set up to be sent after his death. What is in the email - and why is his client, the dead man's brother, so eager to find out?This short story is a mini-sequel to the crime novella 'The Obituarist', but it can also be read as a stand-alone story.Social media undertaker Kendall Barber has discovered something about his new subject - an email set up to be sent after his death. What is in the email - and why is his client, the dead man's brother, so eager to find out?This short story is a mini-sequel to the crime novella 'The Obituarist', but it can also be read as a stand-alone story.

When Brian Duffy, an ageing soldier of fortune, is recruited in Venice by a strange old man to work as a bouncer in Vienna at an inn where the fabulous Herzwesten beer is brewed, everything seems straightforward. But his journey is far from it. Pursued and attacked from all sides, guarded and guided by creatures of myth, Duffy is no sooner in Vienna than the city is besieged by the turkish armies if Suleiman. And it becomes apparent that Duffy's presence is no accident and that it is up to him to preserve the West until the drawing of the dark. . .

'A story with great heart, and wisdom, which shows the healing power of true friendship' Ele Fountain, author of Boy 87. Written with humour and heart, Sofa Surfer looks at what it means to be homeless. Malcolm Duffy's debut novel Me Mam. Me Dad. Me., about domestic violence, won the YA category of the Sheffield Children's Book Award 2019, the Redbridge Children's Book Award 2019, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Prize 2019 and selected for World Book Night. 15-year-old Tyler's teenage angst turns to outright rebellion when his family leave London for a new life in Yorkshire. He's angry with his parents about the upheaval and furious at losing his home. With only the dog to confide in, Tyler has no idea that a chance meeting with a skinny girl called Spider will lead him into a world he never even knew existed. Spider is sofa surfing and Tyler finds himself spinning a tangled web of lies in his efforts to help...

Claudia Marceau, sniper extraordinaire and notorious flirt, has grown bored with Tombstone and the Lazy Ravens as a whole. With her unrequited crush on the gunfighter Fiona Bishop growing ever more impossible after the inclusion of Gieo into the mix, she has found temporary comfort in the arms of the White Queen Veronica. But what she really wants is out—out of Tombstone, out of the Ravens, out of the range of the romance she can’t have. On the tumultuous last night, with Tombstone burning down around her, she makes her escape into the desert night to seek out the father she is certain still lives and the freedom she craves.Her years of experience as a scout and survivor serve her well on a tremendous journey through the post apocalyptic wasteland where she takes counsel from a scorched Owl, slays a rising caste of Slark, and survives an encounter with an army of mutants that forever changes her and the fortunes of humanity.When she arrives in the City of Broken Bridges that arose from the ashes of San Francisco, she finds her father not only lives, but has become a powerful warlord charged with protecting the most technologically advanced city in human history.The maudlin French Canadian heroine becomes embroiled in a love tangle with a British sailor, a Scottish footballer, and the world’s last donut shop girl. In a landscape filled with man-eating trees, giant god-like robots, and vile mutants, Claudia strives to find a moment’s peace before the Lazy Ravens make their push to the west coast and claim a city with more secrets than people.

One of the English language's best-loved living poets arrays before us here, in chronological order, her favourites among her poems on the theme of love, drawing on work written over four decades, and she adds to her selection one new poem. It makes for a sequence that is sensual, stimulating, irresistible.

Determined to uphold her father's legacy, newly graduated Nora Shipley joins an entomology research expedition to India to prove herself in the field. In this spellbinding new land, Nora is faced with impossible choices—between saving a young Indian girl and saving her career, and between what she's always thought she wanted and the man she's come to love.

Escaping war is only half the battle as the Kovalenko family swap Ukrainian dangers for life with a British family.15-year-old Kateryno and her family live in Kharkiv. Their lives are shattered when on February 24th 2022 the Russian army invades. Their apartment block is struck by a missile. After weeks living in their basement, Kateryno, her mother, and brother, decide to leave, joining seven million Ukrainian refugees. They come to England and meet their host family, the Hawkins. But their new beginning brings a whole new set of problems.

On a remote Gaelic farmstead in medieval Ireland, word reaches Alberic of conquering Norman knights arriving from England. Oppressed by the social order that enslaved his Norman father, he yearns for the reckoning he believes the invaders will bring—but his world is about to burn. Captured by the Norman knight Hugo de Lacy and installed at Dublin Castle as a translator, Alberic's confused loyalties are tested at every turn. When de Lacy marches inland, Alberic is set on a collision course with his former masters amidst rumours of a great Gaelic army rising in the west. Can Alberic navigate safely through revenge, lust and betrayal to find his place amidst the birth of a kingdom in a land of war? Reviews Run with the Hare, Hunt with the Hound is a shining example of what historical fiction should be. The reader leaves their own world behind and enters the vivid, darkly haunted world of twelfth-century Ireland. Through Duffy's...

From the author of The Salt House and This Is Home comes a profound novel about the power of community and a small town's long-buried secrets as a group of New England islanders come together for a recently orphaned girl. On Ichabod Island, a jagged strip of land thirteen miles off the coast of Massachusetts, ten-year-old Sky becomes an orphan for the second time after a tragic accident claims the lives of her adoptive parents. Grieving the death of his best friends, Leo's life is turned upside down when he finds himself the guardian of young Sky. Back on the island and struggling to balance his new responsibilities and his marriage to his husband, Leo is supported by a powerful community of neighbors, many of them harboring secrets of their own. Maggie, who helps with Sky's childcare, has hit a breaking point with her police chief husband, who becomes embroiled in a local scandal. Her best friend Agnes, the island busybody, invites...

Harper, Sword Maiden for the illustrious Goddess of the Open Ocean, has returned to the fabled city of Griffon’s Rock at the end of the Last Road to rest for the winter months after a disappointing year treasure hunting. Her rest is cut short by a mysterious storm of divine origin, an attempted horse theft of her beloved mount, and the sudden appearance of a beautiful southerner who seems determined to capture Harper’s heart.As the snows begin to fall, the intrigue and romance heats up. The object of Harper’s desire, the mysterious rogue Calista, appears destined to get everyone into fresh trouble with a mystical stew-brewing ogre, a greedy guild of Dwarven thieves, and finally an exalted march out of the snowy north bent on divine retribution.Harper must decide if her growing love for Calista is real or a product of the lies she’s been told. Before the spring thaw, Harper will choose between the woman she loves and the Goddess that is the source of her magic.About the AuthorCassandra Duffy spent most of her childhood being precocious, which stopped being entertaining or impressive when she grew into an adult, at which point she had to start being precious. After being an outcast child prodigy it was no surprise when she graduated from one of the many fine University of California schools a year early to follow her girlfriend in a cross country move. She writes a free-lance sex advice column found in various lesbian magazines and dating websites. Her short story collections and novels can be found on her website. Two of her greatest prides are being a true California girl and author of some truly naughty things. She is a dutiful partially-Asian daughter who is beloved by her fairly traditional Korean father who thinks having a gay daughter is just fine as long as she keeps playing coed flag football. She is a stereotypical younger sister, and an adoring aunt of a hilarious little boy. Being a modern techno-freak, gamer-girl, she spent most of her childhood dreaming of being a video game designer, but changed her mind and brought her dreams of world building and story-weaving to writing unique romance novels. Cassandra is a gleefully monogamous girlfriend to an earthbound goddess who was once her high school bully, but has done a magnificent job of making up for all the school girl nastiness ever since. When she isn’t being an avid fang girl (vampire fan girl) or tormenting people in online gaming, she lives and writes in Winter Park, Florida with her partner and soul mate Nichole and their two cats: Dragon and Josephine.

WINNER SHEFFIELD CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD 2019, YA CATEGORY. WINNER REDBRIDGE CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD 2019. SHORTLISTED WATERSTONE'S CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD 2019. WORLD BOOK NIGHT TITLE 2019. – and many more. 'It was the day the clocks went back. That's when I decided to kill him.' Humorous and heartbreaking debut novel with the fresh, funny, honest voice of a 14-year-old Geordie lad recounting the trials and tribulations of family life and finding first love. Danny's mam has a new boyfriend. Initially, all is good – Callum seems nice enough, and Danny can't deny he's got a cool set up; big house, fast car, massive TV, and Mam seems to really like him. But cracks begin to show, and they're not the sort that can be easily repaired. As Danny witnesses Mam suffer and Callum spiral out of control he goes in search of his dad. The Dad he's never met. Set in Newcastle and Edinburgh, this supremely readable coming-of-age drama...

Dunny thought that he was onto a good thing when he stole that cab and used it to rob old-age pensioners.But today he may have picked up the wrong passenger...A short crime story about payback and bad decisions.As a fealinn, Eilwen has a natural affinty to nature, but when one of the tempermental eagles of Gaspar leads her to a hole the eagle's True-bonded Eaglekin has fallen into, Eilwen puts old animosity aside to try and save him.

Named a Best New Book of 2021 by Vogue and Refinery29Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Lit Hub "A witty, provocative short story collection, filled with women who are delightfully difficult." —Refinery29Love Like That is a joyfully subversive and moving debut collection of stories about brilliant, broken women that are just the right amount wrong.Whether diving into complicated relationships or wrestling with family ties, the girls and women who populate this collection—misfits and misanthropes, bickering sisters, responsible daughters, and unhappy wives—don't always find themselves making the best decisions. A woman struggles with a new kind of love triangle when she moves in with a divorced dad. A lonely teenage beach attendant finds uneasy comradeship with her boss. A high school English teacher gets pushed to her limits when a student plagiarizes. Often caught...

Fiona Bishop, celebrated supermodel and recent pariah of the entertainment news after stabbing a paparazzi photographer in the mouth with a penknife, welcomed the end of the world after the week she had.The apocalypse started on a Saturday and for better or worse, Las Vegas survived. The Extinction War might have wiped Las Vegas from the face of the planet were it not for a former pole-dancer from Louisiana, a single mother straight off a commune, and a mafia widow. And Fiona might have fulfilled her plan of living fast, dying young, and leaving a beautiful, redheaded corpse if she hadn’t discovered the joys of big guns, hot women, and high explosives. In the wake of the first wave of the invasion, when Las Vegas was supposed to shrivel in the desert, choked by the smoke of war, three bloody queens collected survivors and waged their own war for survival. Rather than submit to alien invaders, ruthless drug cartels, and bloodthirsty bikers, lady ravens rose from the ashes, just in time for a second apocalypse. About the Author Cassandra Duffy spent most of her childhood being precocious, which stopped being entertaining or impressive when she grew into an adult, at which point she had to start being precious. After being an outcast child prodigy it was no surprise when she graduated from one of the many fine University of California schools a year early to follow her girlfriend in a cross country move. She writes a free-lance sex advice column found in various lesbian magazines and dating websites. Her short story collections and novels can be found on her website at http: //cassandra-duffy.com/. Two of her greatest prides are being a true California girl and author of some truly naughty things. She is a dutiful partially-Asian daughter who is beloved by her fairly traditional Korean father who thinks having a gay daughter is just fine as long as she keeps playing coed flag football. She is a stereotypical younger sister, and an adoring aunt of a hilarious little boy. Being a modern techno-freak, gamer-girl, she spent most of her childhood dreaming of being a video game designer, but changed her mind and brought her dreams of world building and story-weaving to writing unique romance novels. Cassandra is a gleefully monogamous girlfriend to an earthbound goddess who was once her high school bully, but has done a magnificent job of making up for all the school girl nastiness ever since. When she isn't being an avid fang girl (vampire fan girl) or tormenting people in online gaming, she lives and writes in Winter Park, Florida with her partner and soul mate Nichole and their two cats: Dragon and Josephine.

Adam is grief stricken after watching his older brother Tommy slowly wither and die. Drinking too much, he has quit playing music and driven away his longtime girlfriend. His best friend and former bandmate, Mark, invites Adam on a work trip to South Dakota's Badlands, hoping to remind Adam that it's OK to experience joy. On the road, Mark takes drastic action to reignite Adam's passions, but Adam grows concerned watching as Mark uses drugs and spends money with childish abandon. When the beautiful Bianca enters the picture, Adam's dark shell finally begins to crack, but her presence shifts the dynamic. Long buried secrets between the men rise to the surface. Pretense drops after Mark admits he has ulterior motives behind the roadtrip. Confessions fly and external circumstances start a ticking clock, forcing Adam to choose between new love and an old friend.Set in the stoic expanse of the American heartland and awash in comedic banter and beautiful prose,...

A London gangster brings terror and murder to Bath, but is he about to meet his match in Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley? Twelve-year-old Damien 'Spike' Baker is a young voyeur who loves to climb up trees, houses and walls . . . and look in people's windows. But when he climbs up some rampant ivy on a large mansion and peers through one of its windows, he makes a deadly mistake. It seems that Damien has looked in one window too many . . . What did he see? Detective Chief Inspector James Carrick of Bath CID is dealing with a raid on a jeweller's shop, and soon has a broken leg and the discovery of Damien's body on a building site near the River Avon to contend with. Fortunately his old colleague, Patrick Gillard, now retired from the National Crime Agency, offers to assist with the investigation. Can Patrick and his wife and working partner, Ingrid Langley, catch a criminal heavyweight intent on leaving a trail of death and destruction in the city?

From the author of book club favorite The Salt House comes a deeply affecting novel about a teenage girl finding her voice and the military wife who moves in downstairs, united in their search for the true meaning of home. Sixteen-year-old Libby Winters lives in Paradise, a seaside town north of Boston that rarely lives up to its name. After the death of her mother, she lives with her father, Bent, in the middle apartment of their triple decker home—Bent's two sisters, Lucy and Desiree, live on the top floor. A former soldier turned policeman, Bent often works nights, leaving Libby under her aunts' care. Shuffling back and forth between apartments—and the wildly different natures of her family—has Libby wishing for nothing more than a home of her very own. Quinn Ellis is at a crossroads. When her husband John, who has served two tours in Iraq, goes missing back at home, suffering from PTSD he refuses to address, Quinn finds herself...

Three new Sherlock Holmes adventures by Seamus Duffy. When three people are murdered in London in The Adventure of the Soho Picture Gallery, the murders are accompanied by unmistakable symbols of ritualism. Holmes's trail leads to a respected peer of the realm and he unearths a web of vice, deception, and intrigue beneath Victorian society's respectable veneer. The Adventure of the Edmonton Horror offers a case which causes the wildest speculation, and which seems destined to join the apocrypha in Holmes's 'uncommonplace book' - a collection of the strangest and most mysterious occurrences ever recorded in the capital. Is it a matter for a detective, a clergyman, or an occultist? In The Adventure of the Rotherhithe Ship-breakers, Holmes tracks down a would-be assassin, yet no one is certain whom the bullet was meant for. The investigation leads Holmes to one of the foulest, most dangerous corners of riverside London, a criminal plague spot which even the locals call the Four...

Journalist Lisa Jamison wants to blow off some steam after an argument with her boyfriend, so she heads to her friend Ricky's kickboxing studio for an early morning workout. She expects to find Ricky alone, setting up for his first class of the day, but someone was there before Lisa, uninvited. Ricky is dead, shot only moments before she arrived, and now Lisa is a suspect in his murder. Lisa wants two things: to clear her name and seek justice for Ricky. But the deeper she digs, the more the danger mounts. Can she find Ricky's killer before the killer eliminates the last obstacle, silencing Lisa for good?

Two very different boys, one new family, a shared struggle and a big secret.Tommy is talented, cool, a young offender, and dyslexic. Ryan is smart, uncool, well-behaved, and dyslexic. The two develop an unlikely friendship.As Ryan helps Tommy to read, a secret is revealed that will change their lives forever.Prize-winning Malcolm Duffy's third novel explores the joys and challenges of dyslexia in a story full of his hallmark heart and humour. For 12+.Reviews for Read Between the Lies:'A grippingly unfolding domestic drama... The book's two engaging narrators learn and teach the value of empathy with others' Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week 'An honest, open family drama shining a light on dyslexia' Sunday Express 'An engaging book for young readers... with lies, secrets, and dyslexia at the heart of the story'Armadillo Magazine

"Intense and lyrical, Heather Duffy Stone's story about transformations wrenches the heart and then puts it back together again, stronger and better for having read this book."—Carrie Jones, author of Need Friendship, love, and unexpected secrets Nadio and his twin sister, Noelle, always had a unique bond. And somehow, Keeley Shipley fit perfectly into their world. But when Keeley spends the summer in England, she comes home changed, haunted by a dark memory. As she and Nadio fall in love, they try to hide it from Noelle, who's jealously guarding a secret of her own. Slowly, a life-long friendship begins to crack under the crushing weight of past trauma, guarded secrets, jealousy, obsession . . . and an unexpected love that could destroy them.  

A heart-warming and hilarious novel about life, love, and the weight of all we leave unsaid, Duffy & Son is a quietly moving masterpiece from one of Ireland's most gifted comic writers. Eugene Duffy is turning 70; his son Jim is turning 40. For decades now, they've been running the family hardware shop and living in good-natured bachelor harmony. But time is marching on, and with thoughts of old age weighing heavily on his mind, Eugene is growing increasingly concerned about his son's future. He resolves to help in the best way possible: by finding Jim a wife. And he's not going to let anyone – let alone Jim himself – stand in his way. Reminiscent of Fredrik Backman's bestselling novel A Man Called Ove, Duffy and Son contains a likeable but curmudgeonly main character, wry humour, tremendous heart, as well as a strong sense of community. It is a funny and heartwarming novel which celebrates the messiness of ordinary lives and would make a perfect reading group choice.

In the tradition of Jodi Picoult and Lisa Genova, this gorgeously written, heartbreaking, yet hopeful debut set during a Maine summer traces the lives of a young family in the aftermath of tragedy.In the coastal town of Alden, Maine, Hope and Jack Kelly have settled down to a life of wedded bliss. They have a beautiful family, a growing lobster business, and the Salt House—the dilapidated oceanfront cottage they're renovating into their dream home. But tragedy strikes when their young daughter doesn't wake up from her afternoon nap, taking her last breath without making a sound. A year later, each member of the Kelly family navigates the world on their own private island of grief. Hope spends hours staring at her daughter's ashes, unable to let go. Jack works to the point of exhaustion in an attempt to avoid his crumbling marriage. Their daughters, Jess and Kat, struggle to come to terms with the loss of their younger sister while watching their parents fall...

Gabriel Stone is back from Valta, but the adventure is just beginning! His friend Tahlita is trapped in Willow Creek with no memory of Valta. Gabe, Piper, and Brent are determined to reunite Tahlita with her father. Yet even as they do, Prince Oliver arrives asking for their help. Menacing forces known as the Solarians have kidnapped the Empress and Princess and are threatening the lives of humans everywhere. Along with talking tracker monkey, Finley, the friends battle vampire mermaids and a living, blood-filled lake in their quest to save the Empress and Princess. Even with cool new powers, Gabe discovers their strongest weapon is their friendship as they battle the Solarians and rescue a cursed white witch—who may be the only one who can save Valta.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Patrick Gillard when he is drawn out of retirement to find a missing former Met commander, but Patrick's not the only one on his tail . . . Patrick Gillard is drawn out of retirement when his former NCA boss, Commander Michael Greenway, appears on his doorstep. John Brinkley, a newly retired commander of the Metropolitan Police, has gone missing, and Greenway wants Patrick to find him. Brinkley is wanted in connection with corruption in the Met, but Patrick is convinced that there's more to his disappearance than meets the eye. Why is Brinkley's old boss, Assistant Commissioner Luke Wallingford, so keen on his arrest, and what does Brinkley know that has the Met, MI5 and dangerous mobsters all on his tail? Patrick and his wife and working partner, Ingrid Langley, soon realize that the stakes are far higher than they imagined, and that someone is prepared to go to any lengths to keep what Brinkley knows hidden . . .

Stand-up comic Maggie has fallen for "the girl with the Kelly McGillis body", a mysterious woman who can't commit herself. Meanwhile, South London detective Saz is hot on the trail of a woman known only as "September", who commutes between London and New York in a whirlwind of drug smuggling, gambling, and high-class prostitution. A murder brings Saz and Maggie and their respective mysteries together. Smart and sexy, Calendar Girl is a thriller high on attitude and eroticism.

One of the most exciting debut anti-heroes since Lee Child’s Jack Reacher Turbo Vlost learned early that life is like a game of cards…. It’s not always about winning. Sometimes it’s just a matter of making your enemies fold first. Turbo is a man with a past—his childhood was spent in the Soviet Gulag, while half of his adult life was spent in service to the KGB. His painful memories led to the demolition of his marriage, the separation from his only son, and his effective exile from Russia. Turbo now lives in New York City, where he runs a one-man business finding things for people. However, his past comes crashing into the present when he finds out that his new client is married to his ex-wife; his surrogate father, the man who saved him from the Gulag and recruited him into the KGB, has been shot; and he finds himself once again on the wrong side of the surrogate father’s natural son, the head of the Russian mob in Brooklyn. As Turbo tries to navigate his way through a labyrinthine maze of deceit, he discovers all of these people have secrets that they are willing to go to any lengths to protect. Turbo didn’t survive the camps and the Cold War without becoming one wily operator.  He’s ready to show them all why he’s always the one who’s…LAST TO FOLD."One of the most original protagonists I’ve ever come across — a cross between Arkady Renko and Philip Marlowe: a Russian-born ex-KGB agent living in New York, a private eye with a strong sense of irony and a Russian sense of fatalism.  David Duffy knows his Russia inside and out, but most of all, he knows how to tell a story with flair and elegance.  This is really, really good."                                --Joseph Finder, New York Times best-selling author of Vanished and Buried SecretsFrom Publishers WeeklyDuffy's promising debut introduces Turbo Vlost, a gulag survivor who later worked as an undercover man for the KGB until the Soviet Union's breakup. Now living in New York City, Vlost works at finding things for people. A wealthy businessman, Rory Mulholland, hires Vlost off the books to locate his 19-year-old adopted daughter, Eva, who appears to have been kidnapped. In his effort to rescue Eva, Vlost gets hold of a laptop that contains vital business records of the local Russian mob. When he doesn't immediately return the computer, Vlost discovers himself back on familiar ground, negotiating the hard and violent realities of his Russian past. The dialogue is crisp and rings true, and the main character is easy to like and root for. The plot, however, needs a clarity check from time to time, and Duffy needs to learn when to stop writing atmosphere and social commentary and simply let his story move forward. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. ReviewNominated for the 2012 Edgar for Best First Novel by an American Author"One of the most original protagonists I’ve ever come across — a cross between Arkady Renko and Philip Marlowe: a Russian-born ex-KGB agent living in New York, a private eye with a strong sense of irony and a Russian sense of fatalism.  David Duffy knows his Russia inside and out, but most of all, he knows how to tell a story with flair and elegance.  This is really, really good." —Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Vanished and Buried Secrets"The dialogue is crisp and rings true, and the main character is easy to like and root for." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Reagan Summerside returns in national bestselling author Duffy Brown's fifth Consignment Shop mystery, now for the first time in hardcover.There are two social functions in Savannah guaranteed to get people talking: weddings and funerals. And just as consignment shop owner Reagan Summerside agrees to marry the hunky Walker Boone, her neighbors, sisters Annie Fritz and Elsie Abbot, step up their business as professional mourners. They are so successful that the Sleepy Pines Retirement Center has hired them as a part of their retirement package. But the celebration over good business is cut short when the residents at Pines suddenly begin dying at an alarming rate. And the sisters are the first suspects.Reagan has her doubts, however, and begins to look into the strange phenomenon. But then something even stranger happens: a body winds up in the sisters' pink Caddy. The evidence begins to pile up and the suspicious case of Willie Fishbine, who swindled the sisters...

 Funny and provocative, prepare to fall in love with Scandal. What had she done? Branded a cheater and wild Playboy, Sebastian Collins’ glittering career as a pro-tennis player is almost over – thanks to an ex-fiancé set on revenge. His jet set lifestyle is cut short when his manager insists he salvage what’s left of his reputation. Alicia Simpson, PR Maven and daughter of a powerful and respected Earl, is brought in to salvage Sebastian’s image and restore him to glory. But Alicia has problems of her own - her past has broken her in more ways than one and she’s determined to change. Not even her new client, charming bad boy Sebastian, can hold her back. At least, until she gets to know the man beneath the media spotlight, **

Saz has been hired by a mystery employer, the Wavewalker, to investigate the activities of Dr Maxwell North, an internationally acclaimed therapist, healer and guru. She starts by experiencing 'The Process' at a meeting in London, then insinuates herself into North's life and home, not realising the extent to which North will go to protect the dark secrets of his past. Starting in '70s San Francisco, then crashing into her own '90's London life, the investigation propels Saz into dangerous territory and a highly combustible conclusion.

It's springtime in Savannah, the azaleas and magnolias are in bloom, and Reagan Summerside's consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, is bustling with customers out to enjoy the beautiful weather. On a day like today, what could go wrong? As a mortician beautician and housekeeper, Mercedes is no stranger to corpses or messy bathrooms. But the last thing she expects to find in a client's bathtub is a dead body! Now she's a murder suspect and it seems like her life is going down the drain. She turns to local lawyer Walker Boone to get her out of hot water. But Walker has his own surprising connections to the dead man in the tub, and now he needs Reagan's help to clear his own name—and keep him alive... Includes a preview of the Consignment Shop Mystery, Demise in Denim. Praise for the Consignment Shop Mysteries: "Brown deftly spins the tale of Reagan's many misadventures while sleuthing, fills her story with Southern...

"The perfect, girly summer read" Reviewed the Book Armed with a degree that she doesn't have a clue what to do with, Ciara Bree convinces her two best friends, Elle and Gem to spend their first summer of freedom backpacking across the globe. Now it's time to shop, sunbathe, think about boys for a change, and party hard... LA, Miami, Paris, Santorini, Ibiza, Florence and Dublin...these fabulous jet-setters are in for the summer of their lives. From crashing celebrity parties in Tinseltown to grape-squishing in Florence, Ciara globetrots her way to happiness with her friends Elle and Gem by her side. But Elle's gorgeous cousin Zack keeps showing up, and while Ciara can think of a few ways to have fun with him, she starts to realise that her summer fling isn't as uncomplicated as it should be...

Having left the army, Patrick Gillard is at a loose end until his old friend James Carrick recruits him into the police unfortunately at a higher rank than James. The discovery of three corpses, hung by their heels with their throats slit, forces an investigation. But with tensions growing between the two men, will Patrick and Ingrid be the ones to solve the case?

May 28, 2012 Claudia Marceau, sniper extraordinaire and notorious flirt, has grown bored with Tombstone and the Lazy Ravens as a whole. With her unrequited crush on the gunfighter Fiona Bishop growing ever more impossible after the inclusion of Gieo into the mix, she has found temporary comfort in the arms of the White Queen Veronica. But what she really wants is out—out of Tombstone, out of the Ravens, out of the range of the romance she can’t have. On the tumultuous last night, with Tombstone burning down around her, she makes her escape into the desert night to seek out the father she is certain still lives and the freedom she craves.Her years of experience as a scout and survivor serve her well on a tremendous journey through the post apocalyptic wasteland where she takes counsel from a scorched Owl, slays a rising caste of Slark, and survives an encounter with an army of mutants that forever changes her and the fortunes of humanity.When she arrives in the City of Broken Bridges that arose from the ashes of San Francisco, she finds her father not only lives, but has become a powerful warlord charged with protecting the most technologically advanced city in human history. The maudlin French Canadian heroine becomes embroiled in a love tangle with a British sailor, a Scottish footballer, and the world’s last donut shop girl. In a landscape filled with man-eating trees, giant god-like robots, and vile mutants, Claudia strives to find a moment’s peace before the Lazy Ravens make their push to the west coast and claim a city with more secrets than people.

A searing, revealing, white-knuckle ride into the heart of a crime family straight out of tomorrow's headlines.'If The Godfather was set in Sydney today, it would be about the Lebs. But brothers, lots of brothers. Fathers don't matter anymore.' Detective Inspector Brian HarrisJohn Habib is the mechanic son of a Muslim Lebanese-Australian crime family in Sydney's Western suburbs. His oldest brother is in a maximum security prison, his middle brother is becoming increasingly fundamentalist, and his younger brother Rafi is on trial for a murder he swears he didn't commit. John has no reason to disbelieve Rafi but there are things going on in the family that he just doesn't understand. Why has his brother taken control of the family away from their father? Are the police really trying to set up Rafi? And what is the compelling evidence they say will put him away? John sets out to prove Rafi's innocence in the face of his predatory older brothers and some...

The Dead have conquered the Earth, devouring and destroying everything in their path as mankind is brought to the edge of extinction. After battling their way out of Baghdad, across the Middle East and in to Europe, Marcus and what is left of his team, are close to reaching their final objective. Now, they must continue their struggle against the hordes of rotting corpses that stand in their way as they travel the wasteland that had once been their home. As Marcus and his men press on, his brother, Steve, continues to hold together the band of survivors within the walls of the Safari Park. With danger all around, he soon discovers that they are fighting against more than just the un-dead. **

Lucy and her vivacious vampire girlfriend Sasha are back for another grift! With the holidays bursting and their bank accounts going bust, the duo hatch their biggest con yet–grifting other grifters in the Big Apple. Things start to go awry when Lucy is moved by the Christmas spirit and thoughts of polyamory. Can she convince Sasha to share some of the money and some space in their relationship for a third or will they all meet a bad end at the hands of dancing Santas?

Natalie Taylor and Dean Fletcher are serial Christmas party crashers. But when they start crashing the same parties...the mittens come off and the sparks fly! As much as she loves Christmas, after her mother's death, events planner Nat can't face the jolly season anymore. So to get her festive hit she crashes everyone else's party. It's a sweet gig, until she meets her competition, tech empire millionaire, Dean, under the mistletoe...! When it comes to relationships, Dean doesn't do serious—being left at the altar will do that to a guy. So when he meets feisty Nat, the first woman in ten years to pique his interest, he's tempted to break his one-night rule...just for the holidays! Nat and Dean might get more than they bargained for in their stockings this Christmas!

One of the most exciting debut anti-heroes since Lee Child’s Jack Reacher Turbo Vlost learned early that life is like a game of cards…. It’s not always about winning. Sometimes it’s just a matter of making your enemies fold first. Turbo is a man with a past—his childhood was spent in the Soviet Gulag, while half of his adult life was spent in service to the KGB. His painful memories led to the demolition of his marriage, the separation from his only son, and his effective exile from Russia. Turbo now lives in New York City, where he runs a one-man business finding things for people. However, his past comes crashing into the present when he finds out that his new client is married to his ex-wife; his surrogate father, the man who saved him from the Gulag and recruited him into the KGB, has been shot; and he finds himself once again on the wrong side of the surrogate father’s natural son, the head of the Russian mob in Brooklyn. As Turbo tries to navigate his way through a labyrinthine maze of deceit, he discovers all of these people have secrets that they are willing to go to any lengths to protect. Turbo didn’t survive the camps and the Cold War without becoming one wily operator. He’s ready to show them all why he’s always the one who’s… LAST TO FOLD. Nominated for the 2012 Edgar for Best First Novel by an American Author. From Publishers Weekly Duffy’s promising debut introduces Turbo Vlost, a gulag survivor who later worked as an undercover man for the KGB until the Soviet Union’s breakup. Now living in New York City, Vlost works at finding things for people. A wealthy businessman, Rory Mulholland, hires Vlost off the books to locate his 19-year-old adopted daughter, Eva, who appears to have been kidnapped. In his effort to rescue Eva, Vlost gets hold of a laptop that contains vital business records of the local Russian mob. When he doesn’t immediately return the computer, Vlost discovers himself back on familiar ground, negotiating the hard and violent realities of his Russian past. The dialogue is crisp and rings true, and the main character is easy to like and root for. The plot, however, needs a clarity check from time to time, and Duffy needs to learn when to stop writing atmosphere and social commentary and simply let his story move forward. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. Review FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem

A pulse-pounding mystery featuring Russian-American detective Turbo Vlost, the deadliest ex-KGB operative to ever hit New York Turbo Vlost is back. He’s depressed, drinking too much, and terrified that the love of his life is truly gone. Hired to test the security of billionaire hedge fund manager Sebastian Leitz’s computer system, Turbo finds himself peeling back the fetid layers of an immigrant family living the American dream while unable to escape mysterious and unspeakable demons. Turbo isn’t the only one interested in the Leitzs. The Belarus-based Baltic Enterprise Commission—a shadowy purveyor of online sleaze—has its claws in Leitz’s brother-in-law. So, it appears, does Leitz’s brother. And Leitz’s son, a teenaged computer whiz, is running his own million-dollar schemes. Thanks to his legwork and his partner’s data-mining monster, Turbo can see all the cards. But to play the hand, he has to join the kind of game he recognizes from his childhood in the Gulag—one where the odds suddenly grow short and losers don’t always come out alive. David Duffy’s In for a Ruble will enthrall fans of Martin Cruz Smith in this action-packed Turbo Vlost adventure.

From a hardscrabble village in Nova Scotia to the collapsing trenches of France, a debut novel about a family divided by World War I.In the tradition of Robert Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife and Karl Marlantes’s Matterhorn, P. S. Duffy’s astonishing debut showcases a rare and instinctive talent emerging in midlife. Her novel leaps across the Atlantic, between a father at war and a son coming of age at home without him. When his beloved brother-in-law goes missing at the front in 1916, Angus defies his pacifist upbringing to join the war and find him. Assured a position as a cartographer in London, he is instead sent directly into the visceral shock of battle. Meanwhile, at home, his son Simon Peter must navigate escalating hostility in a fishing village torn by grief. With the intimacy of The Song of Achilles and the epic scope of The Invisible Bridge, The Cartographer of No Man’s Land offers a soulful portrayal of World War I and the lives that were forever changed by it, both on the battlefield and at home.**

Everything was going just fine for Saz Martin and her partner Molly. It is summer in London, they're having a baby and all looks right with the world. Saz has even stopped taking on any weird and wild cases. No more danger, just easy, steady work and tucked up in bed before midnight... Yeah, right. Fresh Flesh, Stella Duffy's latest Saz Martin thriller, is a fast-paced ride across a contemporary London of glitzy offices, fancy restaurants, designer bars and damaged lives. It is also a frightening journey through the emotional ruins of the past, a tale of the sins of the fathers, and the mothers, and of the greatest theft of all.

In the town of Vigil’s Rest, vampires haunt the forest, luring young girls to their doom with promises of forbidden love. After Deborah Poole, a local beauty queen goes missing, the town’s long history of cover-ups begins to unravel. She returns from the dead, more angel than demon, and acting as a spirit of mercy in the haunted forest that has known only vengeance. Oppression and tightly held secrets keep Deborah from love for decades, finally shattering when the unlikely fulfillment of an ancient prophecy gives her a new chance at love and humanity in the form of a disillusioned teenage girl, Annabelle. But to sever Deborah’s chains to the past, the duo must unravel the 200 year old mystery of the forest’s haunting and the town’s dark past.About the AuthorCassandra Duffy spent most of her childhood being precocious, which stopped being entertaining or impressive when she grew into an adult, at which point she had to start being precious. After being an outcast child prodigy it was no surprise when she graduated from one of the many fine University of California schools a year early to follow her girlfriend in a cross country move. She writes a free-lance sex advice column found in various lesbian magazines and dating websites. Her short story collections and novels can be found on her website. Two of her greatest prides are being a true California girl and author of some truly naughty things. She is a dutiful partially-Asian daughter who is beloved by her fairly traditional Korean father who thinks having a gay daughter is just fine as long as she keeps playing coed flag football. She is a stereotypical younger sister, and an adoring aunt of a hilarious little boy. Being a modern techno-freak, gamer-girl, she spent most of her childhood dreaming of being a video game designer, but changed her mind and brought her dreams of world building and story-weaving to writing unique romance novels. Cassandra is a gleefully monogamous girlfriend to an earthbound goddess who was once her high school bully, but has done a magnificent job of making up for all the school girl nastiness ever since. When she isn’t being an avid fang girl (vampire fan girl) or tormenting people in online gaming, she lives and writes in Winter Park, Florida with her partner and soul mate Nichole and their two cats: Dragon and Josephine.

The final instalment of Summer Flings – a fun, flirty and laugh out loud rom com series of short stories. Miserable, lonely and broken hearted, Ciara returns to Dublin on a mission to sort out her life. A job is at the top of the list but a visit to the doctor has surprising repercussions. She refuses to drift apart from her friends now that real life has begun, struggles to fit new relationships into her life and still has to deal with everything else fate throws her way. But even Ciara should know that there's always something a little bit special to be found at the end of the rainbow... The ideal summer treat for those relaxing days soaking up the sun!

A man falls off a ferry and dies and an elderly lady dies after a long painful illness - could the two deaths be linked? Are they mercy killings or is Detective Nicholas Troy on the trail of a serial killer? A smart, sophisticated, hugely entertaining mystery, with a plot ripped straight out of tomorrow's headlines.Duffy is indisputably a writer to watch. He will soon be ranked alongside the likes of international behemoths Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos and Don Winslow. There is no higher praise.' Winsor Dobbin, Sun-HeraldA man has come off the Manly Ferry and Detective Nicholas Troy investigates but he is distracted. His mentor Father Luke Corelli has been accused of abusing a young boy years before. To Troy's dismay he's not denying the charge and nor is the Catholic Church trying to defend his name. Troy's ambitious and attractive colleague Susan Conti is newly single and his eccentric boss, Jon McIver, would rather be singing the blues than following...

This collection of short stories brings together, for the first time, a selection of Stella Duffy's award-winning writing, as well as some of the numerous stories that have been broadcast on radio and appeared in anthologies over the past 20 years. Many of these books are out of print and the radio broadcasts are unavailable; this collection therefore not only highlights the range and variety of her writing, but also breathes new life into some of her best stories.

Duffy Dombrowski is not your average social worker. When he's not counseling sex addicts and drug users in a town outside of New York City, you can find him crooning Elvis tunes, getting "Schlitzed" with his quirky friends, or fighting ex-Olympians in the boxing ring. Our less-than-perfect hero occasionally uses his mean left hook on pimps and other lowlifes, too. But at least he cares about his clients.

When Walanda, a schizophrenic, crack-addicted prostitute, is murdered, Duffy pledges to take care of her basset hound "Allah King" and find her missing stepdaughter, Shony. He's horrified to discover the teenager is ensnared in a web porn ring–a vile enterprise that enslaves crack-addicted women and their children.

On the verge of losing his job–and his life–Duffy also gets mixed up with a creepy doctor with ties to Pakistani extremists. Still, nothing will stop this conflicted Robin Hood from trying to save Shony and foil a terrorist plot.

Desiree Six (because she was born on a Friday) believes in everything the Protectorate stands for. She likes the safety and security of having her entire life planned out—her career, her mate, even the date of her death. She doesn't even think to question when Darian, her childhood friend and neighbor, is convicted of murdering his parents. They had seemed like such a loving family. But if he was convicted, then he must have done it. Then Darian shows up in her room late one night. He has escaped the Terrorscape—a nightmare machine used to punish all Noncompliants—and he needs Desiree's help. What he tells her rocks her world to its core and makes her doubt everything she's ever been told. With this new information, will Desiree and Darian be able to escape the Protectorate before it's too late?

Part 1 of Summer Flings – a fun, flirty and laugh out loud rom com series of short stories. Armed with a degree from Oxford that she doesn't have a clue what to do with, Ciara Bree convinces her two best friends, Elle and Gem to spend their first summer of freedom backpacking across the globe. Now it's time to shop, sunbathe, think about boys for a change, and party hard... First stop: LA! The girls hit Tinseltown for a few days of shopping, star spotting, and even a movie premiere! But their plan to sneak into an exclusive celeb party in West Hollywood backfires. Elle's gorgeous older cousin, Zack, is called to the rescue and despite knowing she should stay away, Ciara just can't seem to resist him. The ideal summer treat for those relaxing days soaking up the sun!

Dog Bites Man is a witty, tongue-in-cheek saga detailing the House-That-Jack-Built downfall of Eldon Hoagland, an innocent Columbia University professor who has become New York City's good-government mayor. The hilarious spiral begins when Hoagland, after an evening of drinking with his old Princeton roommate, staggers out of a Fifth Avenue apartment house, steps on a dog relieving itself alongside the mayor's car, and gets badly bitten. His cop-bodyguards shoot the dog and in the process terrorize Genc Serreqi -- an illegal Albanian stud who walks the dog (in addition to more intimate chores) for Sue Nation Brandberg, a former Native American beauty queen and socialite widow of a billionaire -- and he flees the scene. The mayor's bodyguards attempt to cover up their involvement in the shooting, but "Scoop" Rice, an eager young reporter for a muckraking Manhattan weekly, investigates and exposes the canine slaying. Then extreme animal activists, aided and abetted by ever...

She who would be queen must win the love of a king—and a country.Whitehall is a royal tale full of true history and sensual intrigue, from Serial Box Publishing. Set in the 17th century court of King Charles II and his queen, Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. Her journey to find her place as the foreign wife in a court riddled with political and religious intrigue — not to mention the many mistresses of Charles the "Merry Monarch" — is a tale of perseverance only a true queen could endure. Love mingles with betrayal before a sensual renaissance of art, culture, and sex in this lush historical serial.Whitehall is written by Liz Duffy Adams, Delia Sherman, Barbara Samuel, Mary Robinette Kowal, Madeleine Robins, and Sarah Smith.Originally presented serially in 13 episodes, this omnibus collects installments 1 through 7 of Whitehall Season One into one edition.

A gripping, fast-paced crime novel by an investigative journalist who knows where the bodies are buried in Sydney, the City of Sharks...Young detective Nicholas Troy is basically a good man, for whom working in homicide is the highest form of police work. But when a woman falls from the construction site for the world's tallest skyscraper, the tortured course of the murder investigation that follows threatens his vocation.Hampered by politicised managers and incompetent colleagues, Troy fights his way through worlds of wealth and poverty, people-smuggling and prostitution. He has always seen Sydney as a city of sharks, a place where predators lurk beneath the glittering surface. Now he uncovers networks of crime and corruption that pollute the city, reaching into the police force itself.Finally, the shadowy predator Troy has been chasing turns and comes for him, putting his family at risk. Forced to defend himself with actions he would never have considered before...

Siobhan Forrester, lead singer of Beneath the Blonde, has everything a girl could want - stunning body, great voice, brilliant career, loving boyfriend. Now she has a stalker too. She can cope with the midnight flower deliveries and nasty phone calls, but things really turn sour when intimidation turns to murder. Saz Martin, hired to seek out the stalker and protect Siobhan, embarks on a whirlwind investigation, travelling with the band from London to New Zealand with plenty of stop-overs. As jobs go, this one shouldn't be too hard, except Siobhan is economic with the truth and Saz isn't sure she wants to keep the relationship strictly business.

Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant who had three daughters. The girls were just as clever as they were bella and none more so than the youngest, whose name was Beauty.Disappear to faraway lands of wicked witches, evil monsters and brave heroines in Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's stunning collection of fairy tales. Including her beautiful and haunting retellings of the Grimm classics Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Pied Piper, as well as other tales from around the world, and new stories of her own, this book will make you think again about once upon a time . . .