An electric thriller where spies go to battle, and the free world is at stakeIn the final installment in William DeAndrea’s Clifford Driscoll series, master spy Driscoll is “going tame”—that is, recovering from a near-death accident and enjoying domestic peace. Driscoll, now known as Allan Trotter, hasn’t killed anyone in more than a year. He still works for the Agency—a super-secret intelligence unit of the US government known only to the president and its founding congressman—but he’s too full of pins and plates to be a field agent anymore. To top it off, he’s so smitten with beautiful media mogul Regina Hudson that he’s contemplating settling down.But Trotter’s new life is rudely interrupted when he learns that Soviet spies are bent on taking charge of the upcoming US presidential election. Their instrument is an influential senator, Hank Van Horn, a womanizing bad seed who— despite an upstanding reputation—once murdered one of his own staffers. And as if the election plot wasn’t perilous enough, Van Horn’s relentless son, Mark, soon gets involved in a very bloody way.

Northern Ireland, 1963. This is the story of a time muffled and made claustrophobic by unprecedented snow falls, and of people caught in the slow dance of this frozen land. In a house with windows flung defiantly wide, a wife dies before her husband can make his confession. Her coffin is pulled to the church on a sledge by Peter, a young man engulfed by his first feelings of love for an unattainable woman. Elsewhere, an old woman searches desperately for a wedding dress in her dream of love. When the electricity fails, a lonely headmaster is forced to close his school and in shadowy candlelight he is tempted into indiscretion. Meanwhile, in the very heart of the city, the purity of snow is tainted by the murder of a young woman and as one man begins to unravel the dark secrets of the city, he knows he is in race against time to find the murderer before the snow melts. David Park peers into the souls of his characters with an insight and compassion that makes this flawed slice of humanity somehow glorious. He is a writer of rare dignity and talent.From Publishers WeeklyThe central conceit of this acclaimed Irish author's poignant and compelling American debut is a snowstorm that shuts down Northern Ireland. A series of interlocking short stories about various smalltown characters precedes a taut, riveting urban murder-mystery involving a prostitute and a city councilman. The book starts on a wistful note as schoolteacher Martin Stevenson prepares for the death of his wife from a terminal illness that is wicking away her beauty and energy. From there, Park moves to a precocious young man's attraction to an older woman when the storm forces him and his father to help her husband after a minor auto accident. Other short interludes include a woman's efforts to buy a wedding dress for her daughter, and an encounter involving a prudish principal who winds up sleeping with one of his teachers. Park saves the best for last, when the mysterious death of a prostitute sparks a young detective named Swift to defy his boss and pursue a prominent councilman in the title novella. Park is a superb writer who focuses on interiority in the early stories, briefly but sharply bringing his characters to life with compassion and verve as they grapple with their passions and shortcomings. The impeccable plotting in the murder mystery is just as noteworthy, as Park focuses on Swift's head butting with his boss to increase the tension for the final pursuit. Structurally, the story line poses challenges, but the author incorporates a stunning beauty and a sense of mystery into his prose that makes it smooth and seamless.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From BooklistFour short stories and a novella, set during the 1960s in the north of Ireland in the midst of a blinding blizzard, are linked by the theme of love. In "The Light of the World," a husband is haunted by his memories of infidelity as his wife lays dying; "Snow Trails" follows a student's infatuation with a wealthy woman and her rarefied world; an old woman buys a wedding dress and slips into madness in "The Wedding Dress"; and a deeply lonely schoolmaster forges an unexpected connection in "Against the Cold." In the moving title story, a new detective doggedly searches for the murderer of a beautiful woman, somehow convinced that his investigation will lead him to love. In setting these explorations of passionate human emotions against the austerely beautiful, snow-covered landscape, Park throws his themes into sharp relief. Skillfully depicting how the snow has transformed the neighborhood into something only partly recognizable and temporarily released people from the predictable, Park uses the imagery of his setting in every conceivable fashion and to powerful effect. Masterful fiction. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

ReviewProduct DescriptionAs the dim lights of the train station faded, Christine Bennett wondered if she would ever see home again. With the death of her grandfather, Christine experienced a deep loneliness she’d never felt before.The words of his will rang in her ears: “In the event of my granddaughter’s death, everything will go to Vince Jeffers.” Jeffers watched her with an evil look that made her shiver.Now, afraid of what might happen, she was obeying a note she had received saying she was in danger and must leave town immediately.After escaping to the community of Baxter, Christine begins to piece together a new life. The love she finds there, along with newfound faith, sustains her as she faces the threat of danger.

Everyone wants to be good in bed ... but what if it's the bed that makes you good?It's said the dead live on in our memories, but what if only the dead remember you?What if the most infernal dealmaker in creation visited Hollywood, where everyone's a dealmaker, to get a little help from his friends?The answers aren't what you'd expect, but then again, these aren't the sort of questions asked by your average writer of horror fiction.In Lost Angels, David Schow pushes the envelope of his already far-reaching talent, forsaking horror's usual melodrama in favor of penetrating character studies and profound examinations of the human condition. Lost angels are victims of the rigors of love in the City of Night. Los Angeles is where love is found, earned, stolen, sought, regained . . . and ultimately lost again. Features an Introduction by Richard Christian Matheson and an Afterword written especially for this edition. Also includes a brand-new short story, "Calendar Girl".

Slowly she turned to face the door just as Graham came through at full stride. At the sight of him a wild kind of joy seized her. Graham halted on the threshold. He drew in his breath sharply, and in spite of himself, his pulse thundered at the sight of the tall, willowy figure. The last time he had seen Avril she had been a child. Here in her place was a graceful young woman. 'Avril, my dear,' he said, finding his voice. 'Welcome home!' Fortune's Bride, the third in a series of award-winning novels by Jane Peart, is a revision of the story of Avril Dumont, a wealthy young heiress and orphan, who gradually comes to terms with her lonely adolescence. There is romance and heartbreak, true love and fulfillment in this story of Avril's seemingly unreturned but undaunted love for her bachelor guardian, Graham Montrose. Readers of Fortune's Bride will be smitten with the charm of the old South as they follow Avril's development into womanhood, and meet the people who give her a sense...

From Publishers WeeklyIn the latest-and possibly final-installment of the chronicles of the English village of Fairacre and its tiny school, the pseudonymous author and narrator Miss Read (Changes at Fairacre) begins the academic year anticipating few surprises. Two relatively minor but frightening strokes, however, force the stalwart headmistress to consider, and eventually opt for, early retirement. In the course of her final, lovingly described year at Fairacre school, Miss Read carries on her amiable feud with the school's grouchy cleaner, fends off marriage proposals from a handsome newcomer to town, keeps a watchful eye on the courtship of a newly widowed friend and continues her involvement in the pleasing minutiae of village life. Though Miss Read acknowledges the existence of the contemporary world, the village and its school remain resolutely old-fashioned: "More worldly children need videos and computers, but in Fairacre, we still enjoy pencils and paper, I am glad to say." Sensible, well read and acutely observant, the delightfully prim Miss Read continues to be very good company indeed. Line drawings. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalIn the finale to a series that began with Village School (1955), Miss Read's long teaching career in Fairacre is brought to a satisfactory close. This quintessential "gentle read" chronicles Miss Read's decision to retire as schoolmistress after a series of small strokes. Readers are also brought up-to-date on the lives of other inhabitants of the village who have appeared in scores of previous books: Mrs. Pringle, Miss Read's bullying cleaning lady; the newly widowed Henry Mawne; the Willet family; and her old friends Amy, Vicar Gerald Partridge and his wife, the Umbleditches, and the Annetts. Miss Read must also decide whether to resist the attentions of a handsome newcomer with a romantic interest in her. As soothing and warm as a cup of Earl Grey tea, this book will delight fans and newcomers to the series alike.Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, SeattleCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers WeeklyL.A. private eye Aaron Gunner has familiar qualities: he's youngish, not very successful (his "office" is behind a barber shop), eyed askance by cops but appreciatively by pretty women, medium-boiled with a strong ethical sense. The hook is he's black. When Darrel Lovejoy, head of a church-related Peace Patrol helping young gang members, is killed in a "drive-by," a witness names two "gang-bangers." The public defender of a jailed suspect asks Gunner to find the missing driver. Gunner is soon immersed in the squalid world of violence, drugs, readily available automatic weapons and the bone-deep despair of L.A. adolescent gangs. The eyewitness is a crackhead fed by a nasty drug dealer; the fugitive's older brother is not the upright citizen everyone thinks; a high-profile minister has his own secret; and some of the teenagers are frightening creatures. The title applies to them. The appealing Gunner was featured in Haywood's 1987 Fear of the Dark , which won Best First Private Eye Novel. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hockey is the only game worth playing in the rough-and-tumble prairie town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. When sixteen-year-old A.J. Brandiosa makes the Triple A team of his dreams, he can hardly believe that his life is finally coming together. And then it falls apart. A.J. makes an unexpected discovery about his best friend and teammate, Tulsa Brown, and he can't keep his rage and fear from spilling onto the ice. An aggressive defenseman is becoming a violent one. . . An explosive novel by award-winning author Diana Wieler that looks honestly at teenage sexuality and the world of amateur hockey.

At 22 Grace Farnsworth had lost her job as a governess, and had to assume a childish disguise to have enough money for a coach seat. But arriving in Wickfield hadn't solved her problem, as her old governess was away. Lord Whewett, having heard her story, offered her a hundred pounds to act his daughter to appease old Lady Healy's determination to meet her great granddaughter... Regency Romance by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett Crest

Jed Shannon, a young American movie star on location in England, has received a threat against his life. When the Hardy Boys set out to investigate, they are led to a medieval mansion on the moors and are drawn into a case worthy of Sherlock Holmes--and into a conspiracy as thick as the London fog.

On Christmas Eve in 1985, a hunter found a young boy's body along an icy corn field in Nebraska. The residents of Chester, Nebraska buried him as "Little Boy Blue," unclaimed and unidentified-- until a phone call from Ohio two years later led authorities to Eli Stutzman, the boy's father.Eli Stutzman, the son of an Amish bishop, was by all appearances a dedicated farmer and family man in the country's strictest religious sect. But behind his quiet façade was a man involved with pornography, sadomasochism, and drugs. After the suspicious death of his pregnant wife, Stutzman took his preschool-age son, Danny, and hit the road on a sexual odyssey ending with his conviction for murder. But the mystery of Eli Stutzman and the fate of his son didn't end on the barren Nebraska plains. It was just beginning. . .Gregg Olsen's Abandoned Prayers is an incredible true story of murder and Amish secrets.Review"A searingly tragic look behind the headlines that broke America's heart. Brilliantly researched, wonderfully written."--Anne Rule"A riveting and deeply disturbing chronicle of true crime. Olsen has done a superior job."--Cleveland Plain Dealer"Among the top true crime books published. Once picked up, it's hard to put down."--New Philadelphia Times Reporter"A superior true crime account that should not be missed."--Jack Olsen, author of Doc and I: The Creation of a Serial Killer"A tough new voice rises in the ranks of true-crime writers. Even the reigning giants of the genre are taking notice and offering praise."--Seattle Post-IntelligencerFrom the Inside Flap"A tough new voice rises in the ranks of true-crime writers. Even the reigning giants of the genre are taking notice and offering praise ." -Seattle Post-IntelligencerAcclaim for the True-Crime Classics of Gregg Olsen Abandoned Prayers"An absorbing, sobering, disturbing book."--Omaha World-HeraldBitter Almonds"Absolutely fascinating...One of the most devious female minds in crime history. Stella Nickell has won her dubious spot in the annals of crime-thanks to Gregg Olsen's research and reporting."--Ann Rule"[A] truly remarkable book. The trailer park babes of Bitter Almonds leap off the page, fingernails sharpened and aimed for your eyes...meticulous reporting and engrossing, vivid detail plunges the reader into a world of schemes and dreams. This is one of the best true crime books of the '90s."-Jack Olsen, author of Son: A Psychopath and His Victims and "I": The Creation of a Serial Killer"A real page-turner...a compelling and fascinating tale of family psychopathology taken to the extreme."--Jonathan Kellerman"Masterfully written...a tale of intricate suspense."-Rod Colvin, author of Evil HarvestConfessions of an American Black Widow"More interesting than the crime itself is Olsen's portrait of Nelson as a brash, trashy, manipulative sexpot...watching Nelson as she almost gets away with murder will fascinate long after the last page." -Publishers Weekly"This time Gregg Olsen has given us a very sexy book that is as disturbing as it is seductive. One reads it compulsively and wonders afterwards 'Why did I like this so much?' as if one had not so much read it as had a very destructive affair with it. A dangerous and informative book, as irresistible as its painfully, wonderfully vicious heroine-or villain, whichever she is. This book might make some moralists more humble." -Darcy O'Brien, bestselling author of Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers and Murder in Little Egypt"Gregg Olsen's standing as one of America's finest crime journalists will rise even higher with The Confessions of an American Black Widow. Here are all the ingredients of a great crime story-murder, infidelity, greed, nymphomania. But the main element is Olsen's skill at describing and explicating human misbehavior. A must read!" -Jack Olsen, bestselling author of Doc and Predator"What a combination! God, Mammon, carnality, all rendered vividly under Olsen's assured touch." -Stephen Michand, bestselling author of The Only Living Witness and Murderers Among Us"Gregg Olsen introduces the reader to a character so mesmerizing, so frightening and so evil that one has to keep reminding himself that this amazing fast-paced story is true."--Carlton Stowers, bestselling author of Careless Whispers"This brilliant true crime story deserves acclaim and thunderous applause." -Elizabeth Loftus, co-author, The Myth of Repressed Memory and 1998 President of American Psychological Society"That rare book that is at once a page-turner and an important chronicle of true crime. An enlightening and devastating read." -Steve A. Eggar, PhD., author of Killers Among Us: An Examination of Serial Murder and Its Investigation"This is probably Gregg's best work yet. Sharon Lynn is the kind of woman-and this is the kind of book-that people will talk about. Gregg Olsen shows us just how chilling it is to realize what might be going on in the house next door." -Clark Howard, bestselling author of Love's BloodIf Loving You is Wrong"Gregg Olsen's If Loving You is Wrong is a wonderfully researched book that makes the tabloid stories about Mary Kay Letourneau and her forbidden love sound like comic book stuff. Everyone who wants to understand the back-story of the child-woman and her overwhelming passion for a man-child must read If Loving You Is Wrong. Olsen's books is both gossipy and sympathetic, searing and brilliant. If Mary Kay is the Humbert Humbert of the female sex-and she is-this book is her Lolita. A must-read for both true crime aficionados and students of abnormal psychology! I read until 3 a.m.!" -Ann Rule, author of Bitter Harvest and A Rage to Kill

SUMMARY: Letters by the famous science fiction writer that give insights into his craft and that of others in the field.

SUMMARY: Nine stories set in the nightmare world of Dark Future, where road gangs rule the desolate highways of an America devastated by ecological disaster, hunted by a new breed of law enforcer – the Sanctioned Operative Introducing the genius of Dr. Zarathustra, and the sinister Elder Seth, who can be met again later in the series. Then there’s Kid Zero – loneliest of lone wolves – driven by vengeance to take on the power of the multi-national mega-corporations. And Jessamyn 'Jazzbeaux' Bonney, fishnet-and-leather-clad hellcat, destined to become a cyborg pawn of demons in the struggle for the fate of the earth. Stories by Myles Burnham, Brian Craig, William King, Neil Jones, Neil Mcintosh, and Jack Yeovil.

From Publishers WeeklyFarris's ( The Fury ; Wildwood ) latest novel is eerie, fast-paced and original. As a child in 1906, Arne Horsfall finds a sealed crate, addressed to a professor at a local college, that has fallen off a train. His father stores the object in the barn until the wayward professor can pick it up. But the crate operates like a Pandora's box on Arne and his mother; overcome with curiosity, they pry it open and unleash an evil spirit. Physically, the spirit looks like a mummified dark-skinned man--not, however, like a black man--and his mother recognizes it from the stories of her childhood as one of the huldufolk , the "unwashed children of Cain," evil and immortal. When the spirit awakens and escapes, the Horsfall farm becomes blighted; Arne's father dies of gangrene at its touch, and his mother becomes its slave. At this point the novel flashes forward to 1970: Arne is a deaf-mute in a mental institution, where he has lived for untold years. His art therapist, Enid Waller, takes pity on him and invites him to her home for dinner. Out of the hospital for the first time in decades, Arne senses the dark spirit, who has multiplied and stirs now in response to Arne's freedom. The lives of the Waller sisters will never be the same. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalThe mummified, human-like figures hidden in caves beneath a Tennessee burg--where years before 74 people had suddenly disappeared--hold the key to an ancient curse threatening to reemerge. Don't be mislead by the ludicrous title; Farris, Scare Tactics ( LJ 7/88) and The Fury ( LJ 8/76), has written one of the best horror novels of the year, striking the perfect balance between rich Southern gothic and outright hideous graphic narrative. In turns both beautiful and grotesque, Farris's work is on a par with the best of Manly Wade Wellman's ( The Voice of the Mountain, LJ 12/84; What Dreams May Come, LJ 12/15/83). Sure to be a big hit among genre fans.-Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.