A trade paperback reissue of National Book Award finalist Mary Gaitskill’s debut collection, Bad Behavior — powerful stories about dislocation, longing, and desire which depict a disenchanted and rebellious urban fringe generation that is searching for human connection. Now a classic: Bad Behavior made critical waves when it first published, heralding Gaitskill’s arrival on the literary scene and her establishment as one of the sharpest, erotically charged, and audaciously funny writing talents of contemporary literature. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times called it “Pinteresque,” saying, “Ms. Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail, that she is able to make even the most extreme situations seem real… her reportorial candor, uncompromised by sentimentality or voyeuristic charm…underscores the strength of her debut.”

Fairstein, former chief of the Sex Crimes Unit in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, returns with her ninth legal thriller starring prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. The author's own expertise again adds to the credibility of her fiction, in terms of courtroom banter, pacing, and those small "you couldn't make this up" details, such as the fact that shopping carts are the current favored receptacles for attorneys' case files. Her plotting is steady if formulaic. The big flaw in Fairstein's writing is that she has a tin ear when it comes to how people talk; her dialogue, often progressing in parallel phrases and clauses that are highly unlikely to occur in normal speech, is weighed down with backstory. Because she wants dialogue to do the work of narrative, she puts all manner of improbable words in her characters' mouths, thereby revealing motive and emotions. This tale starts with the trial of an upscale Manhattanite accused of murdering his wife. An explosion in the tunnels underneath the city interrupts the trial. Not surprisingly, the defendant is connected to the disaster. Again not surprisingly, Cooper must search within the tunnel system to find the answers. What works about this overly manipulative plot device, however, is that it gives Fairstein the opportunity to present some genuinely fascinating historical and engineering facts about the "city of death" far below Manhattan. Clunky in style but strong on procedural detail and background material

Banks is on holiday, headed for Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. His daughter, Tracy, home in Leeds and angry with her father, is headed for some very deep trouble. Robinson's nineteenth Inspector Banks novel is a stunner. Handguns are illegal in the U.K., and whenever one is reported, the police swing into high gear. But things go very wrong when the police swoop down on a home in Eastvale to seize a reported handgun. In the confusion, Patrick Doyle, a former neighbour of Banks, is shot. Doyle's daughter, Erin, is to blame for the gun being in the house, and while she's in police custody, her housemate in Leeds, Tracy Banks, decides to let Erin 's boyfriend know that the police have been around their place. Bad decision. When Banks returns home from holiday, Tracy is missing. And that's not the worst of it. Robinson's latest Inspector Banks novel is a powerful story of how the volatile emotions of love and resentment can turn deadly when fear comes creeping in

For the first time in six years, Easy Rawlins is back working a case on the streets of Los Angeles, looking for justice and sometimes managing to create his own. Easy Rawlins’s old friend John shows up at his door one morning, looking for the kind of help only Easy can provide. John’s stepson, Brawly Brown, has left home and John has reason to think this well-meaning boy is caught up in a situation that’s more dangerous than he knows. It doesn’t take Easy long to find Brawly and to learn that John is right — but getting Brawly to see things that way is another matter. Brawly has joined a political group that he believes is out to make things better for the residents of Compton. With years of seeing how things really work, Easy recognizes that young Brawly is just a pawn in a battle between forces as old and hard as the city’s streets. Through it all, Easy’s old friend Mouse is there to help him — even though the last time Easy saw Mouse he was lying still and cold, and Easy is certain he’s dead. Still, the memory and reputation of Mouse accompany Easy everywhere, earning him second looks from beautiful women and respect from hardened men. And in a world where logic is only a small element in life-or-death calculations, it is something Mouse once said to him that could help Easy save Brawly’s life — without costing him his own. The worldliness, relentlessness, and passion of Easy Rawlins have been sorely missed from the world of fiction. This thriller is proof that Walter Mosley is one of the masters of crime fiction, and as original a voice as any writing in America today

Oh, those naughty rakes. With their wicked winks, sensual smiles, and bad boy habits, you just can't take them out in polite society. But, who wants to go out when you can stay in…? "Stolen Pleasures": Sebastian Blake, Earl of Merrick, long ago fled the responsibilities of his title to become the infamous pirate, Captain Phoenix. But, the booty he's just captured on a merchant ship is a fierce tempered minx who claims to be a bride… his bride, married to him by proxy on behest of their fathers. He could shame his hated family and return his beautiful wife untouched, but no treasure has ever proved more tempting to Sebastian, and making their marriage a true one – in every sense – is his one urgent desire… "Lucien's Gamble": Lucien Remington's reputation as a debauched libertine who plays by no one's rules – in business or the bedroom – is well deserved. He gets what he wants, social repudiation be damned. But, society can keep from him the one thing he truly desires, the untouchable Lady Julienne La Coeur. Until she sneaks into his club dressed as a man and searching for her irresponsible brother. Suddenly, she's in Lucien's grasp, his to take, and his mind is filled with the most wickedly sinful thoughts. A gentleman would walk away from the temptation she presents. But then, Lucien has never claimed to be a gentleman… "Her Mad Grace": Hugh La Coeur never wanted to be the Earl of Montrose. Wine, women, and a hefty wager are preferable to responsibility of any kind. It's certainly preferable to spending the night in an eerie, neglected mansion owned by a legendary madwoman. The duchess's companion, the fiercely independent Charlotte, is another matter altogether. Hugh would be happy to spend as many nights in her bed as possible. He knows she's hiding terrible secrets, but for once in his life, Hugh has the desire to take on someone else's burden as his own, no matter what the danger…

Mack Stone can't believe he's just walked in on Kindra in Flagrante computer delicto. When they're mistakenly signed up for sensual couples counselling, co-workers Jared and Candy are shocked

Matthew is a medical student, trying to ignore his various roommates’ wild parties and get through his classes. Andrew is his instructor, a doctor at a prestigious British hospital. They’re not supposed to be attracted to each other, but they can’t deny their undeniable chemistry. They come together with a heat that surprises them both, and through doctor’s strikes, dealing with Andrew’s teenaged son, and hospital red tape, Andrew and Matthew learn to live, and love together. Is their relationship just what the doctor ordered? Matthew Blake is near the end of his medical degree, too busy for a relationship, or even for sex, and struggling to survive his clinical placement. Andrew Maynard is his tutor, sleep-deprived and gorgeous, determined to educate his medical students and resist Matthew. Against a background of industrial action at the hospital, they connect, and discover that Matthew, with his cock piercing and long slender hands, understands exactly what Andrew wants and knows how to give it to him

Undercover enforcer Sean Dillon tackles a new crisis as Presidential skeletons threaten to burst from the closet – in the dramatic new thriller from the master of suspense, the author of the international bestsellers Day of Reckoning, Edge of Danger and Midnight Runner. In the waning days of World War II, Hitler gave his diary to a young aide for safekeeping. Now it’s threatening to resurface, with explosive contents: the details of a meeting between emissaries of Hitler and Roosevelt to reach an armistice and turn their collective efforts against the Soviet Union. The American representative: a close relative of none other than the current US President, Jake Cazalet. Powerful enemies of Cazalet will do anything to get their hands on that diary – and it is up to White House operative Blake Johnson, together with his colleague in British intelligence, Sean Dillon, to make sure they don’t… Filled with hairpin twists and high-tension action, with characters as dark and surprising as any he has created, this is Jack Higgins working at the peak of his powers

Introducing Australia's most acclaimed crime-thriller writer to North American audiences with his first two books in his award-winning Jack Irish series. A phone message from ex-client Danny McKillop doesn't ring any bells for Jack Irish. Life is hard enough without having to dredge up old problems: His beloved football team continues to lose, the odds on his latest plunge at the track seem far too long, and he's still cooking for one. When Danny turns up dead, Jack is forced to take a walk back into the dark and dangerous past. With suspenseful prose and black humor, Peter Temple builds an unforgettable character in Jack Irish and brings the reader on a journey that is as intelligent as it is exciting

With results both liberating and disastrous, the characters of Bad Faith flee the trappings of contemporary domestic life. A father visits a college friend in El Salvador rather than face difficulties with the birth of his third child; a boy comes to terms with his fractured family and the disabled father responsible for his care after his mom is stationed overseas; a biracial man journeys across Nebraska for the funeral of his white mother and strikes up an improbable if dishonest relationship with a centenarian Irish woman; and in the title story, the running narrative of a pathetic yet compelling ladies man culminates in an unexpected and deadly confrontation. In Theodore Wheeler's collection of prize-winning stories, the herd can't always outpace the predator

The old-fashioned firm of Tingley’s Titbits had built up over a number of years a good and solid reputation, which was now in danger of being ruined. Indignant customers were returning jars of liver paté, sandwich spread, spiced anchovies and other such delicacies. Analysis showed that the contents had been adulterated with quinine. Arthur Tingley, the proprietor, was at his wits’ end. It was not only bad for business, it looked like being fatal. And it was... for Arthur. Here is a fine new murder story by that most entertaining of all detective writers, Rex Stout, featuring one of his famous characters, Tecumseh Fox, in the rôle of detective

Innocence was never meant for the addictive… Addiction was something Krit Corbin accepted as part of his nature a long time ago. He decided to embrace it and flip his finger at the rules. Women had always been the number one thing on his list of addictions. He couldn’t get enough. Being the lead singer in a rock band had only made access to his favorite addiction that much easier. Being alone was the only thing Blythe Denton understood. The small town minister’s family that raised her hadn’t accepted her as their own. The minister’s wife had always made sure Blythe understood just how unworthy she was of love. When Blythe is sent away to college and given a chance to finally be free of living as an unwanted burden, she looks forward to having peace in her life. Being alone isn’t something that bothers her. She escapes reality in the stories she writes. However, the ridiculously sexy tattooed guy who keeps throwing parties in the apartment above hers is driving her crazy. For starters, he doesn’t treat her like she would expect a guy with a different woman always hanging on his arm to treat someone as uninteresting as her. She looks nothing like the gorgeous women she sees parading in and out of his apartment, but for some strange reason he keeps showing up at her door. During a party at his apartment, Krit’s new neighbor comes to the door with her long brown hair pulled up in a messy knot and a pair of glasses perched on her cute little nose. She wants him to turn down the music, but he convinces her to stay. Krit Corbin may have just found his biggest addiction yet. And Blythe Denton realizes too late that she’s finally been claimed

One of the most hauntingly original dark fantasy debuts in years—perfect for fans of Lost and Mark Danielewski’s cult classic, House of Leaves. Something has happened in Spokane. The military has evacuated the city and locked it down. Even so, disturbing rumors and images seep out, finding their way onto the Internet, spreading curiosity, skepticism, and panic. For what they show is—or should be—impossible: strange creatures that cannot exist, sudden disappearances that violate the laws of physics, human bodies fused with inanimate objects, trapped yet still half alive…. Dean Walker, an aspiring photographer, sneaks into the quarantined city in search of fame. What he finds will change him in unimaginable ways. Hooking up with a group of outcasts led by a beautiful young woman named Taylor, Dean embarks on a journey into the heart of a mystery whose philosophical implications are as terrifying as its physical manifestations. Even as he falls in love with Taylor—a woman as damaged and seductive as the city itself—his already tenuous hold on reality starts to come loose. Or perhaps it is Spokane’s grip on the world that is coming undone. Now, caught up in a web of interlacing secrets and betrayals, Dean, Taylor, and their friends must make their way through this ever-shifting maze of a city, a city that is actively hunting them down, herding them toward a shocking destiny. WINNER OF DEL REY’S SUVUDU WRITING CONTEST “A chilling, surreal, terrifying, beautiful book … an impressive and promising debut.” “One of the most exciting and accomplished debuts I’ve read in years, Bad Glass welds the eerie, atmospheric horror of Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves to the transgressive apocalyptic vibe of Samuel R. Delany’s classic Dhalgren.” “(A) promising debut… with well-drawn psychological portraits of realistically flawed people.” “The terror of this dark fantasy lies in Gropp’s grotesque creatures, who are grounded in reality… Bad Glass is a disturbing yet immensely entertaining story.” “Well-drawn and utterly believable characters… Anyone who enjoys thoughtful fantasies will find much to celebrate here.”

Zack Walker is back and on the job as a features writer for the city paper. While researching his first assignment Zack stumbles upon a homicide that may be linked to a gang that's been terrorizing the city’s high-end shopping district. Suddenly, he finds himself at the center of a violent crime wave and destined for a confrontation with Barbie Bullock — a ruthless criminal with a disturbing obsession. As worlds begin to collide and boundaries between family and foes blur, Zack must be ever vigilant to outwit the evil at large, whether in the suburbs, the city, or in his own imagination. Heaven help the bad guys when this resourceful father comes to make good on a deal gone bad

Dredging up dirty allegations in order to gain the minority vote, a shady politician sets up three police officers, and investigative filmmaker Maggie MacGowen becomes determined to uncover the truth

Early one September, three friends spend the weekend at a remote cabin by Dead Water Lake. With only a pale moon to light their way, they row across the water in the middle of the night. But only two of them return, and they make a pact not to call for help until the following morning. Inspector Sejer leads the investigation when the body is discovered. He is troubled by the apparent suicide and has an overwhelming sense that the surviving pair has something to hide. Weeks pass without further clues, and then in a nearby lake the body of a teenage boy floats to the surface

In Zeltserman's run-of-the-mill second Bill Shannon mystery (after 2007's Bad Thoughts), Shannon, now a PI in Boulder, Colo., investigates the murder of two college students-Taylor Carver and Linda Gibson, bludgeoned to death in the bedroom of the off-campus condo they shared-at the behest of the condo owner, who's being sued for lax security. After his former colleagues on the Boston police force vouch for him, Shannon gets more cooperation from the locals. Meanwhile, the mother of a girl taken in by the True Light cult calls on the detective for help. Some may find it odd that no one mentions the Jon Benet Ramsey case when the recent history of murders in Boulder comes up in conversation. The predictable plot builds to a final twist that will shock few. Readers might do better to check out the second in Zeltserman's bad-ass out of prison trilogy, Pariah (Reviews, Aug. 3), instead

Cleo Tyler is a fraud. A fake. A phony. At least that's what police officer Daniel Sinclair thinks. And Cleo agrees. But she's out of money and needs a job, so when the call for a psychic comes from the chief of police in Egypt, Missouri, Cleo, and her dog Premonition board a train in Seattle for the cross-country journey to the Midwestern town that is so small a vegetarian would-be psychic can't find a decent meal. There, beneath the picture of pulchritudinous perfection, Cleo finds a whole cast of eccentrics, including former San Diego hostage negotiator Daniel Sinclair who has returned home to care for his developmentally challenged brother Beau, a police chief who consults tarot cards, and a dentist mayor with the phoniest smile money can buy. Haunted by nightmares of the accident that killed her fiancé and their unborn child, Cleo believes her "gift" for seeing things relates solely to the horrible night she'll never forget. Imagine her surprise when she finds her dreams filled with torrid visions of her dubious escort, Daniel-and details of Egypt's only murder, which is as yet unsolved. Award-winning author Theresa Weir blesses audiences here with her talent for vivid prose ("He looked at her with spoon-bending concentration…"), quirky characters, and unexpected humor

БЕСТСЕЛЛЕР AMAZON О ПУТЕШЕСТВИЯХ № 1! Увлекательные мемуары о катастрофической поездке в Мексику ради серфинга, которая случайно завела в логово знаменитого наркобарона Эль Чапо… Лето 1978 года. 21-летний Пол Уилсон из Калифорнии очень хочет стать крутым и вписаться в тусовку пляжных серферов, чтобы обрести уважение среди парней и успех у девушек. Для этого нужно пройти обряд инициации – совершить путешествие в материковую часть Мексики ради серфинга. Зловещие кармические предзнаменования преследуют его на каждом шагу: не имея возможности заплатить за поездку, он грабит супермаркет, а вскоре узнает, что один из его попутчиков – осужденный убийца в бегах, а другой – беспринципный подонок. Более того, парни даже не подозревают, что конечная цель их путешествия лежит в самом сердце знаменитого наркокартеля Эль Чапо… Искрометные и остросюжетные, воспоминания Пола Уилсона – это адская поездка, самые настоящие «Страх и ненависть в Латинской Америке» в антураже мексиканских джунглей. Несколько раз едва не погибнув, терпя неудачу на всех этапах своей поездки, Пол переосмысливает свою жизнь – и спустя годы, когда истек срок давности, рассказывает эту историю. «Живое и восторженное повествование. Эта увлекательная книга описывает ушедшую эпоху». – Kirkus Review «Пол Уилсон написал увлекательные мемуары. Его непростые приключения, попутчики, случайные люди, которых он встречает на пути, – все они невероятно хорошо описаны… в том числе и парень по имени Хоакин Эль Чапо Гусман». – Discovery «Настолько правдиво, что хочется, чтобы это было вымыслом! Эта книга – громкий смех сквозь слезы над трудностями взрослой жизни». – The Prairies Book Review В формате PDF A4 сохранен издательский макет

Part history, part modern-day travelogue, Bad Land attempts to locate the dry plains of eastern Montana and the Dakotas in the American imagination. Jonathan Raban (author of the best-selling Old Glory) explores deserted homesteads and listens to the persevering descendants of the rugged pioneers who settled this territory. Toward the end of his eclectic book, Raban tries to explain why a place like this would appeal to people like Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber. The best passages recall Paul Theroux in top form

"A heir to Javier Marías. . An outstanding stylistic narrative. A joyful discovery." — J. M. Pozuelo Yvancos, ABC Cultural After both their marriages collapse, two old friends take to sharing their life again as they used to. They go out for drinks, have long conversations and, all in all, try to hide way from the world. One day, one of them is stabbed to death in his apartment. His friend will then seek out the truth. Carlos Castán is considered one of the best short-story writers in Spain. Bad Light is his first novel. He lives in Zaragoza, Spain

It came in a plain brown wrapper, no return address – a tape recording of a horrifying, soul-lacerating scream, followed by the sound of a childlike voice delivering the enigmatic and haunting message: 'Bad love. Bad love. Don't give me the bad love…' For child psychologist Dr Alex Delaware, the chant, repeated over and over like a twisted nursery rhyme, is the first intimation that he is about to enter a living nightmare. Others soon follow: disquieting laughter echoing over a phone line that suddenly goes dead, a chilling trespass outside his home, a sickening act of vandalism. A carefully orchestrated campaign of vague threats and intimidation rapidly builds to a crescendo as harassment turns to terror, mischief to madness. Searching his memory for the phrase 'bad love', Alex recalls a symposium he attended over a decade ago commemorating the work of Dr Andres de Bosch who ran a clinic for troubled adolescents. But when he tries to contact the other delegates, Alex discovers a seemingly random series of violent deaths amongst them. As he delves deeper into the history of the clinic, the escalating pattern of violence becomes inescapably clear. And if Alex fails to decipher the twisted logic of the stalker's mind-games, he will be the next one to die

You do not mess with the Special Investigators! The events of 9/11 changed Jack Reacher’s drifter life in a practical way. In addition to his folding toothbrush, he now needs to carry photo ID to get around. Yet he is still as close to untraceable as a human being in America can get. So when a member of his old Army unit manages to get a message to him, he knows it has to be deadly serious. The Special Investigators always watched each other’s backs. Now Reacher must put the old unit back together. Someone has killed one of them, and he can’t let that go

Three hundred years ago, the settlers on the small Maine island of Sanctuary were betrayed by one of their own, and slaughtered. Now a band of killers has returned to Sanctuary to seek revenge on a young woman and her son, and the only people who stand in their way are a young rookie officer and the island’s resident policeman, the troubled giant known as Melancholy Joe Dupree. But Joe Dupree is no ordinary policeman. He is the guardian of the island’s secrets, the repository of its memories. He knows that Sanctuary has been steeped in violence, and that its ghosts will tolerate the shedding of innocent blood no longer. On Sanctuary, the hunters are about to become the hunted

Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder. She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons—"Bad Monkeys" for short. This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail's psychiatric wing, where a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy—or playing a different game altogether. What follows is one of the most clever and gripping novels you'll ever read

A stunning and suspenseful new landscape emerges in the thrilling Dark-Hunter world – a world where nothing will ever be the same again… Fang Kattalakis isn't just a wolf. He is the brother of two of the most powerful members of the Omegrion: the ruling council that enforces the laws of the Were-Hunters. And when war erupts among the lycanthropes, sides must be chosen. Enemies are forced into shaky alliances. And when the woman Fang loves is accused of betraying her people, her only hope is that Fang believes in her. Yet in order to save her, Fang must break the law of his people and the faith of his brothers. That breech could very well spell the end of both their races and change their world forever

A boiled-down gem of a Marías story about how Elvis (in Acapulco to film a movie) and his hard-drinking entourage abandon their interpreter in a seedy cantina full of enraged criminals after insults start to fly. When the local kingpin demands to be told what the Americans are saying, Elvis himself delivers an even more stinging parting shot — and who has to translate that?

John Dortmunder doesn't like manual labor. So when he gets the offer of money to dig up a grave, he balks . . . then he wonders why Fitzroy Guilderpost, criminal mastermind, wants to pull a switcheroo of two 70-years-dead Indians

The shocking suicide of Beth Daniels’s father — a prominent surgeon — has thrown the FBI agent into a tailspin. But when Beth heads to Saint Augustine, Florida, for the funeral, she’ll need more than the emotional support of her boyfriend, retired detective Jon Lancaster. She’ll need his gut instinct for solving a mystery. No sooner do they arrive than suspicions are aroused. There’s the pair of Russians who seem to be watching every move the family makes. A final, cryptic phone call Martin Daniels made to his granddaughter. Strange blood evidence on his estate. More than $1 million missing from Martin’s account. And his cell phone, wiped clean, along with clues to a double life. To Beth, it’s disturbingly clear: the man she loved was a stranger. As she and Jon delve into Martin’s past, they have no idea where the secrets will take them. Or how dangerous it will be to expose the conspiracies, the cover-ups, and the terrible truths of Martin’s life — and death

The Abstract for the Book. Blinkist summary. Have you ever wondered how one day the media can assert that alcohol is bad for us and the next unashamedly run a story touting the benefits of daily alcohol consumption? Or how a drug that is pulled off the market for causing heart attacks ever got approved in the first place? How can average readers, who aren't medical doctors or Ph.D.s in biochemistry, tell what they should be paying attention to and what's, well, just more bullshit? Ben Goldacre has made a point of exposing quack doctors and nutritionists, bogus credentialing programs, and biased scientific studies. He has also taken the media to task for its willingness to throw facts and proof out the window. But he's not here just to tell you what's wrong. Goldacre is here to teach you how to evaluate placebo effects, double-blind studies, and sample sizes, so that you can recognize bad science when you see it. You're about to feel a whole lot better