Strach. Każdy z nas chciałby pozbyć się go raz na zawsze ze swojego życia. Egzystencja wydawałaby się wtedy o niebo łatwiejsza. Jednak ta książka uczy nas, że strach – jakkolwiek postrzegany przez większość ludzi jako coś negatywnego – tak naprawdę jest nam bardzo potrzebny. Co więcej, może nawet właśnie dzięki niemu do tej pory żyjemy. Jim Rook jest nauczycielem klasy specjalnej w Los Angeles. Jest bardzo lubiany przez uczniów, otwiera przed nimi świat, ukazuje nowe możliwości. Jim to postać niezwykle wyjątkowa. Ma rzadki dar – potrafi dostrzegać postacie przychodzące z zaświatów. Meksykanin Rafael Diaz to nowy uczeń w klasie Jima, który przeprowadza na części uczniów rytuał oparty na magii Majów, mający przepędzić z nich strach. Jeden z oczyszczonych zapada w śpiączkę, wkrótce rozpoczyna się seria bardzo brutalnych morderstw. Jim rozpoczyna walkę z czasem, aby zapobiec kolejnemu rytuałowi. Akcja horroru niewątpliwie trzyma w napięciu, wiele się dzieje. Chociaż niektóre sceny, cóż, wydawały mi się nieco komiczne. Jakoś nie przemawiało do mnie wyjście jednej osoby z wnętrza drugiej (ale w końcu nie jest to książka oparta na faktach autentycznych). Całość psuło mi odwoływanie się do kart tarota, ponieważ osobiście uważam to za kompletnie nieracjonalne i bezsensowne. Być może mam zamknięty umysł, albo karty do mnie nie przemawiają… W każdym razie nie każdemu musi to przeszkadzać. Ogólnie fabuła jest bardzo dobrze zbudowana, nie braknie urozmaiceń a poza tym, jak sama nazwa wskazuje, można się przestraszyć. Napięcie jest doskonale stopniowane, z początkiem każdego rozdziału odkrywamy nową tajemnicę i często nie sposób oderwać się od książki. Każdy bohater jest jedyny w swoim rodzaju. Uczniowie są bardzo różni od siebie, każda postać jest nam przybliżona, można odnieść wrażenie, że zna się tę doskonale dogadującą się ze sobą grupę ludzi. Postać Jima również bardzo intryguje ze względu na jego paranormalne zdolności. Równie ciekawa jest tajemnicza postać Rafaela Diaza. Książka ta skłania do rozmyślań nad samą istotą strachu. Czytelnik dochodzi do wniosku, że tak naprawdę strach jest bardzo potrzebny, a sama myśl o tym, że mogłoby się strachu nie odczuwać wręcz napawa przerażeniem. Podnoszę jej ocenę głównie z powyższego względu i sądzę, że warto ją przeczytać. Czytając nie unikniemy stawiania się na miejscu bohaterów. Strach jest nieodłącznym elementem życia każdego człowieka, choć próbujemy oszukać samych siebie i pozbyć się go. Ale za jaką cenę chcemy to zrobić?…

Sol z Ludzi Lodu ma wreszcie szansę przeżyć prawdziwą miłość. Podczas wielkiej ekspedycji do Ciemności spotyka swego księcia z bajki: rycerza w zbroi z mieczem u pasa. Ale poza granicami Królestwa Światła nic nie jest takie, na jakie wygląda, a w dodatku Sol zaczyna się interesować ktoś inny, o wiele potężniejszy…

Trevor Shay has it all—a successful football and baseball career, and any woman he wants. But when he finds out his college mentor’s daughter is in trouble, he drops everything to come to her aid. Haven Briscoe has finally landed a dream job as a sportscaster for a major network. But she hasn’t been able to move past the recent death of her beloved father, and it’s affecting her career. A plum assignment following the daily life of sports superstar Trevor Shay might be just the inspiration she needs… Trevor will do anything to spark life back into Haven, including letting her into every aspect of his world. The chemistry between them flames higher than one of Trevor’s home runs and faster than his dashes to the end zone. But as they grow closer, Haven stumbles onto Trevor’s closely guarded secret, one he’s hidden his entire life. And despite his protests, now it’s Haven’s turn to put everything on hold to help Trevor. Will he let her in and trust her with a secret that could blow his professional and personal world apart?

Strafbataillon 999 – das ist eine jener Straf- und Bewährungseinheiten, die der Landser schlicht und treffend "Himmelfahrtskommandos" nannte. Deutsche Soldaten, die sich größtenteils nur geringfügiger Vergehen schuldig gemacht hatten, wurden darin zusammengefaßt und härtestem Drill unterworfen. Die Männer kamen in den vordersten Linien zum Einsatz – überall da, wo es am gefährlichsten war, wo der Dreck am tiefsten und das Blut so wertlos war wie das Spülwasser der Feldküche. Kein Wunder, daß von Tausenden nur eine Handvoll überlebte

In his stunning twenty-eighth novel, Dick Francis again proves he has no equal. As Derek Franklin, an injured steeplechase jockey, nears the end of his career, he is thrust into trouble and mayhem by the accidental death of his older brother, Greville: “I inherited my brother’s desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress,” Derek says. “I inherited my brother’s life, and it nearly killed me.” With danger besetting him from unknown directions, Derek discovers that honesty can be a deadly virtue and courage the provocation of escalating evil. His only hope of survival is to identify the enemy, but Greville, whose life had as many facets as the gemstones he imported, has left behind more philosophizing than useful clues. “The had scorn the good,” Greville wrote, “and the crooked despise the straight.” On British racecourses the homestretch is called the finishing straight — the straight run to the winning post — and it is here that a race is finally won or lost. Derek Franklin must call on all his stamina and endurance just to complete the final furlong. The Washington Post hailed Francis as “better than anybody else in the race... He is a consistent winner.” Straight shows once again that Dick Francis gives a very good ride

Ed Jenkins, dodging a murder rap, finds time to help another crook who is trying to go straight

Izzy has always been the fearless Titan sister. But when an oil rig blows up, leaving her barely able to see, her sisters find themselves as concerned by her emotional withdrawal as by the possibility that the explosion was no accident. Are the mind games their long-lost brother Garth has been playing turning physical? Or is someone else out to get them? When her sisters enroll her in a survivor training camp, Izzy is not happy. Nick, her instructor, is determined that she won't be left in the dark. In more ways than one. But if he tells her the terrible truth behind why he's helping her, he'll never see her again. Unless they're both willing to take the biggest risk of all

In the instant number one New York Times bestseller Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, Steve Harvey gave millions of women around the globe insight into what men really think about love, intimacy, and commitment. In his new book he zeros in on what motivates men and provides tips on how women can use that knowledge to get more of what they need out of their relationships, whether it's more help around the house, more of the right kind of attention in the bedroom, more money in the joint bank account, or more truth when it comes to the hard questions, such as: Are you committed to building a future together? Does my success intimidate you? Have you cheated on me? In Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man, Steve Harvey shares information on: – How to Get the Truth Out of Your Man Tired of answers that are deceptive? Harvey lays out a three-tier, CIA-style of questioning that will leave your man no choice but to cut to the chase and deliver the truth. – Dating Tips, Decade by Decade Whether you're in your twenties and just starting to date seriously, in your thirties and feeling the tick of the biological clock, or in your forties and beyond, Steve provides insight into what a man, in each decade of his life, is looking for in a mate. – How to Minimize Nagging and Maximize Harmony at Home He said he'd cut the lawn on Saturday, and you may have been within reason to think that that meant Saturday before ten in the evening, but exploding at him is only going to ruin the mood for everyone, which means no romance. Steve shows you how to talk to your man in a way that moves him to action and keeps the peace. And there's much more, including Steve's candid answers to questions you've always wanted to ask men. Drawing on a lifetime of experience and the feedback women have shared with him in reaction to Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, Harvey offers wisdom on a wealth of topics relevant to both sexes today. He also gets more personal, sharing anecdotes from his own family history. Always direct, often funny, and incredibly perceptive, media personality, comedian, philanthropist, and (finally) happily married husband, Steve Harvey proves once again that he is the king of relationships

The High Druid of Shannara trilogy draws to a thrilling close as a young hero nears completion of his trial by fire, a banished ruler fights for her life in a wilderness of dread, and forces of darkness and light square off in a battle unto death for the right to absolute rule. Prepare to be spellbound by the masterly hand of bestselling legend weaver Terry Brooks, conjuring at the peak of his skills. For reasons known only to himself, the King of the Silver River has charged young Penderrin Ohmsford, barely more than a boy, with the daunting task of rescuing his aunt, Grianne, Ard Rhys of the Druid order, from her forced exile in the terrifying dimension of all things damned: the Forbidding. With the noble dwarf Tagwen and the prodigal elven princess Khyber Elessedil by his side–and with the outcome of the bloody war between the Federation and the Free–born at stake–Pen has accepted his mission without question. But not without risk … or sacrifice. Because Shadea a’Ru, the ruthless Druid responsible for imprisoning the true Ard Rhys and usurping leadership at Paranor, has sent her agents and assassins in relentless pursuit of Pen and his comrades. And in securing the talisman he needs to breach the Forbidding, Pen has paid a devastating price. Now if the Free–born forces–already decimated by the Federation’s death–dealing new weapon–should fall, Shadea’s domination of the Four Lands will be assured. Nothing short of Pen’s success can turn the tide

El módulo de descenso de la primera misión tripulada a Marte se estrella contra la superficie del planeta. Cinco de los seis astronautas logran sobrevivir, pero su situación es desesperada; sólo disponen de aire, energía y alimentos para unos meses y no hay posibilidad de rescate. Sin esperanza, sin recursos, comprenden que tres deben sacrificarse para que los dos restantes sobrevivan. ¿Pero quién vive y quién muere? Como se afirma en el prólogo, Stranded es una magnífica novela de ficción científica que nada tiene que envidiar a las que se publican por autores extranjeros

Samantha Calloway is desperately working to keep her farm from financial ruin. It’s the only thing she has left from her deceased family and she’s determined to make it a success at any cost. Darian and Jace Hunter live in a world where women are in short supply and brothers must share in a committed ménage. The magic tapestry has always brought a potential tapestry bride to Javara, but this time it transports the two brothers to a strange land. When Samantha finds two strangers on her farm, she doesn’t buy their stories of magic tapestries and other worlds. When she suddenly finds herself in Javara, she doesn’t know what to believe. But she does know she has to make a choice—remain true to her family’s legacy, or abandon it all for a chance at love. 

Dezember 1773: Nach vierzehn strapaziösen Monaten auf See an Bord der Gorgon kehrt Midshipman Richard Bolitho zurück nach England. Während das Linienschiff in Plymouth im Dock zur dringend notwendigen Überholung liegt, will er Weihnachten bei seinen Eltern in Falmouth verbringen. Doch daraus wird nichts, denn an der Küste Cornwalls treiben übelste Strandräuber, die gezielt Schiffsstrandungen herbeiführen, ihr Unwesen. Für Richard Bolitho heißt es, deren tödlichem Spuk ein Ende zu setzen…

The chilling new Inspector Banks novel from the bestselling author of Playing With Fire. When he receives a mysterious and disturbing telephone call from his brother Roy, Banks heads off to London to search him out. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot is called to a murder scene on a quiet stretch of road just outside Eastvale. A young woman has been found dead in her car… With Banks’s name and address written on a slip of paper in the back pocket of her jeans. While Banks stays in his brother’s luxurious, empty house, digging into his life and uncovering more and more surprises about the brother he didn’t really know and didn’t particularly like, Annie tracks down the female victim’s friends and colleagues. It seems that both trails are leading towards horrific conclusions and when the cases look likely to intersect, the consequences for Banks and Annie become terrifying…

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called 'the touch. (Comes in handy when you're traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead — but still walking — and Dru knows she's next. Even worse, she's got two guys hungry for her affections, and they're not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever — or whoever — is hunting her?

Jan had never been with a woman before — but she had often wondered what it would be like. Too often. The idea terrified her — and fascinated her. She could neither accept it nor leave it alone. She knew she could not go on like this forever. Perhaps that is why she went into that strange little bar in the Village that night. There she met Laura. From the moment her eyes met the challenging gaze of the lovely red-haired girl sitting at the bar, Jan knew the thing she had to so long denied has about to happen

Whatever this is, it started when Nicky Slopen came back from the dead. Nicholas Slopen has been dead for months. So when a man claiming to be Nicholas turns up to visit an old girlfriend, deception seems the only possible motive. Yet nothing can make him change his story. From the secure unit of a notorious psychiatric hospital, he begins to tell his tale: an account of attempted forgery that draws the reader towards an extraordinary truth — a metaphysical conspiracy that lies on the other side of madness and death. With echoes of Jorge Luis Borges, Philip K. Dick, Mary Shelley, Dostoevsky’s Double, and George Eliot’s The Lifted Veil, Strange Bodies takes the reader on a dizzying speculative journey that poses questions about identity, authenticity, and what it means to be truly human

Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! In Charlaine Harris' 'Bacon, a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In 'Seeing Eye' by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother — and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's 'Last Call, wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers — the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer. For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

From a woman who marries into a family of volatile wizards to a couple fleeing a gang of love-hungry cupids, from a girl who seeks sanctuary in the form of a graceful goose to the disgruntled superhero Captain Housework, readers will revel in the many twists and turns of fortune in these fantastical fairy tales and lush parables. Even hardened vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake gets blindsided by the disturbing motives of her clients in the new "Those Who Seek Forgiveness" and in "The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death."

For fans of American Horror Story, Shirley Jackson, and Creepshow. You know them. Those girls that aren’t quite like everyone else. Those girls who stand out in the crowd. Those girls that dare to be different. Those girls are dangerous. In Strange Girls, twenty-one authors dare to tackle what makes the girls in this collection different. Vampires, selkies, murderous mermaids, succubus, and possessed dolls take center stage in these short stories that are sure to invoke feelings of quiet terror and uneasiness in the reader. Following the successful debut of Women in Horror anthology with My American Nightmare, Strange Girls is the sophomore effort to showcase these talented women in a genre that is often dominated by the male gaze. Dare to take a walk on the dark side

You are about to travel along the strange highways of human experience: the adventures and terrors and failures and triumphs that we know as we make our way from birth to death, along the routes that we choose for ourselves and along others onto which we are detoured by fate. It is a journey down wrong roads that can lead to unexpectedly and stunningly right destinations…into subterranean depths where the darkness of the human soul breeds in every conceivable form…over unfamiliar terrain populated by the denizens of hell. It is a world of unlikely heroes, haunted thieves, fearsome predators, vengeful children, and suspiciously humanlike robots

A young subaltern returns to the Western Front after a brief period of sick leave in an England blind to the horrors of the First World War. His battalion is tragically altered

Greta Helsing inherited the family's highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills — vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta's been groomed for since childhood. Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life

The slender bookshelf of outstanding works about sexual deviations must now make room for Fletcher Flora’s honest and perceptive novel, Strange Sisters. Here is the story of a lesbian, and of the devastating crime to which she was driven when she tried to disavow her body’s urgings. Here is a shattering theme, treated with rare sensitivity and power

Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award. At the age of nine, Pet is struggling to protect her family from the horrors predicted in her older sister’s book of secrets—horrors that indeed come true. At sixteen, Pet is hunting down her sister to wreak vengeance. At thirty, Pet attains strength and power enough to protect her from the present—but not from her sister’s raging past. With humour, insight, compassion and unrelenting suspense, Patricia Geary’s Strange Toys takes the reader on parallel tours into the world of the supernatural, and into the life of a young woman struggling to make peace with the known and the unknown

Shortlisted for the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize, Strange Weather in Tokyo is a story of loneliness and love that defies age. Tsukiko, thirty-eight, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, “Sensei,” in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him “Sensei” (“Teacher”). He is thirty years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love. As Tsukiko and Sensei grow to know and love one another, time’s passing is marked by Kawakami’s gentle hints at the changing seasons: from warm sake to chilled beer, from the buds on the trees to the blooming of the cherry blossoms. Strange Weather in Tokyo is a moving, funny, and immersive tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance. Literary Awards: Man Asian Literary Prize Nominee (2012), Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee (2014), Tanizaki Prize 谷崎潤一郎賞 (2001)

Claire moved around to the side of the house to watch her best friend Samantha make love to her boyfriend. Mesmerised by the scene in front of her she didn’t notice the stranger who snuck up behind her. And when the stranger started to caress and fondle her she didn’t ask him to stop, in fact she begged him for more. After having one of the most intense sex sessions that she ever had she turned to find the stranger had already left. Who was he? Would she ever see him again? And why did she feel so guilty?

Here is Heinlein’s masterpiece—the brilliant spectacular and incredibly popular novel that grew from a cult favorite to a bestseller to a classic in a few short years. It is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, the man from Mars who taught humankind grokking and water-sharing. And love

From Robert Silverberg’s “Earthmen and Strangers” anthology, 1966: Damon Knight is a slender, soft-spoken man with a deceptively mild smile. He seems gentle and relaxed, but behind the tranquil exterior there seethes a fiercely active mind. Knight has served science fiction as an editor of magazines and anthologies, as a feared and respected critic, as a translator from the French, and as a leader of writers’ conferences and organizations. When not engaged in any of these activities, he writes a little of the stuff himself. His short stories are marked by graceful style, stunning execution, and a profound understanding of character. All these virtues are on display in the present work—plus a chilling portrayal of a weird relationship between man and nonman. Few stories have captured the sense of differentness in an alien being as awesomely well as this one

"Full of wonderful moments…Palahniuk's voice is so distinctive and intimate-he writes as though he is recounting a great story to a close friend." — Los Angeles Times "Step into Palahniuk's dark worldview and watch for what crawls out. These stories are true to him and no one else." — The Oregonian “One of the oddest and most oddly compelling collections to come along for some time.” —The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “In Chuck Palahniuk’s world, the ride is fast, often disturbing, and there is never any holding back.” —The New Orleans Times-Picayune “Eccentric, idiosyncratic, and often entertaining.” —The Onion "Priceless grace notes from an exceptionally droll and sharp-eyed observer." — The New York Times “Rarely does a collection of essays continually resonate with a main theme and accumulate a weight that would lead you to call it a great book. . This is a pretty great book.” —The Seattle Times "The book's lurid appeal rests largely on being let in on Palahniuk's secrets, the raw material for much of his fiction. . Acts that give spice to his novels are made more menacing when encountered in the real world." — Black Book

The 11 fantasies in this first collection from rising star Link are so quirky and exuberantly imagined that one is easily distracted from their surprisingly serious underpinnings of private pain and emotional estrangement. In "Water Off a Black Dog's Back," a na‹ve young man who has never known personal loss finds that the only way he can curry favor with his lover's physically afflicted family is to suffer a bizarre amputation. The protagonist in "Travels with the Snow Queen" reconsiders her fairy-tale romance when she deconstructs the clich‚s of traditional fairy tales and realizes that their heroines inevitably sacrifice and suffer much more than their heroes do. Link favors impersonal and potentially off-putting postmodern narrative approaches, but draws readers to the emotional core of her stories through vulnerable but brave characters who cope gamely with all the strangeness the world can throw their way. In the book's most effective tale, "Vanishing Act," a young girl's efforts to magically reunite herself with her distant family by withdrawing from the world around her poignantly calls attention to the spiritual vacancies and absence of affection in the family she stays with. "The Specialist's Hat" features twin sisters whose morbid obsessions seems due as much to their father's parental neglect as their mother's death. Although a few of the selections seem little more than awkward freshman exercises in the absurd, the best shed a warm, weird light on their worlds, illuminating fresh perspectives and fantastic possibilities

A dark and dirty horror novel from David Moody, author of HATER and AUTUMN A spate of brutal murders occur in and around the small town of Thussock. The bodies of the dead – savagely mutilated, unspeakably defiled – are piling up with terrifying speed. There are no apparent motives and no obvious connections between the victims, but the killings only began when Scott Griffiths and his family arrived in Thussock…

Thomas Anders had been a respected businessman. He and his wife, Ava, were very active in charitable organizations especially for families and children. He is found dead in his bedroom in what appears to have been a kinky sex scene gone bad. His wife was on vacation with friends when he died. It doesn't appear that anyone broke into their home. The security system was bypassed by an expert. There are no signs of a struggle on Anders' body. Why would someone want to kill him? Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Detective Delia Peabody are assigned to the case. Because of his position in the community and the sensational death it quickly becomes a high profile case. His widow wants answers. So does Dallas. So she starts digging. Friends and relatives are shocked. Anders wasn't that type of person. He was conservative and comfortable. He adored his wife. They were a good couple. The Anders marriage wasn't as it appeared on the surface. In fact Ava Anders had been seeing a Licensed Companion by appointment a couple times a month. The LC is Dallas' and Roarke's friend Charles Monroe. She is forced to admit they had an open marriage because his sexual requests were twisted in ways she didn't want to share. She knew there were other women. The deeper they investigate, the more Dallas is sure that Anders' murder wasn't an impulse or accident but cold bloodedly planned out. She is even fairly sure she knows who planned it. Now she, Roarke, and Peabody have to figure out how it was carried out. J.D. Robb pulls a classic mystery theme out for Strangers in Death. It is a strong book, well crafted, and sticks true to the characters. While I am completely involved in all the different personal stories throughout the In Death series (this time the focus is on Charles and Louise), the better ones usually are the ones that put the mystery first and the personal second. The threads are there in this novel, and in a good story-telling fashion, the thrown out threads bind together is unanticipated ways. Enjoy – both the mystery and the personal stories

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the worst of the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of children to have been evacuated to the countryside, Molly has been away from her home for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming for which she’d hoped, as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: her parents are no longer there. With neither guardians nor stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his bookshop, The Book Keep. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost. But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is harboring his own secrets, which could have terrible consequences for all of them. As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive

Ross Macdonald (1915–1983) was, according to The New York Times, the author of "the finest detective novels ever written by an American." His detective, Lew Archer, investigates character and place and the tensions and conflicts that form America. In Ross Macdonald's hands, Lew Archer's home turf, southern California, becomes symbolic and (perhaps more important) emblematic of the human struggle to make things right, to make sense of who we are. In an important literary discovery, Macdonald biographer, Tom Nolan, unearthed three previously unpublished private-eye stories by Ross Macdonald. "Death by Water," written in 1945, features Macdonald's first detective Joe Rogers, and two novelettes from 1950 and 1955, "Strangers in Town" and "The Angry Man," are detailed cases of Lew Archer. These 'lost' stories help the reader to understand why The New York Times also said that "classify him how you will, Ross Macdonald is one of the best American novelists now operating."

A major new reissue of the work of a classic noir novelist. With the acclaim forThe Talented Mr. Ripley, more film projects in production, and two biographies forthcoming, expatriate legend Patricia Highsmith would be shocked to see that she has finally arrived in her homeland. Throughout her career, Highsmith brought a keen literary eye and a genius for plumbing the psychopathic mind to more than thirty works of fiction, unparalleled in their placid deviousness and sardonic humor. With deadpan accuracy, she delighted in creating true sociopaths in the guise of the everyday man or woman. Now, one of her finest works is again in print: Strangers on a Train, Highsmith's first novel and the source for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1953 film. With this novel, Highsmith revels in eliciting the unsettling psychological forces that lurk beneath the surface of everyday contemporary life

This is the history of an unfaithful husband — his illusions, his stratagems, his fears, his entrapment. The young husband in Evan Hunter’s new novel is not a philanderer, not a disturbed personality. He has been a responsible family man. He loves his wife. But at a moment when his ego is slightly bruised, he meets a woman, a neighbor, who gives him a dangerous new image of himself — the image of a man who is not fully alive. He is convinced, and he is caught. In Strangers When We Meet, Evan Hunter charts the progress of infidelity: the beginning of the affair — stage fright and an illusion of romance; the first small deceptions that multiply into a nightmarish entanglement of lies; the panic when the phone rings at home; the endless, tortuous arrangements for hurried meetings; the strained chance encounters in public (“Did I give myself away?”); the rising guilt and desperation. And in the background — the person who knows, the confidant who should never have been told, who might some evening drink too much and bring the walls crashing down

Newspaper reporter Jack Flynn, last seen in McGrory's Dead Line (2004), investigates a series of contemporary murders that parallel the terrifying Boston Strangler slayings of the 1960s in the author's less than convincing fourth thriller. Somewhat improbably, Flynn must begin by probing the older case and the debate over whether the confessed strangler, Albert DeSalvo, was actually guilty. In the novel's reality, the senior Bay State senator isn't Ted Kennedy but a prosecutor who made his reputation on the DeSalvo case and who's among many in law enforcement discouraging Flynn from re-examining the official line that DeSalvo was the murderer. The sympathetic Flynn, with his train wreck of a private life, compensates for the author not probing more deeply serious questions about the real-life strangler case. Those seeking a rich, compelling look at the possible return of a serial killer would do better to turn to Peter Straub's Blue Rose and its sequels

Award-winning author Ed Gorman is back with political consultant and troubleshooter Dev Conrad, in this riveting sequel. When Dev Conrad agreed to work with Congresswoman Susan Cooper, member of a prominent political family, he didn’t know that the worst threat her reelection campaign would face would come from Cooper herself. The congresswoman has a secret she’s not willing to share with Dev, forcing him to follow her the way a detective would. But the campaign is burdened with other problems as well, starting with the murder of scandal-plagued political consultant Monica Davies. Rumor has it she had some information that would destroy Susan Cooper’s campaign. In the wake of another murder, another blackmailer, and two or three suspicious relationships, Dev must figure out who is trying to sabotage the campaign

Se avete una bella faccia, o un bel paio di gambe, o un seno rifatto, potete entrare nel grande show del 2000. Se avete umiltà e pazienza potete prestare la vostra bocca — o qualunque altra parte del corpo — agli attori famosi del passato, e partecipare al remke elettronico di un capolavoro del cinema. Ma attenti! A Hollywood non interessano gli attori vivi. La loro specialità sono i fantasmi elettronici e i corpi caldi sono in pericolo… Nominato per il premio Hugo per il miglior romanzo in 1996

Mihails Bubennovs Straujtece Romāns par Sibīriju un tās dabas bagātību apgūšanu. Izdevniecība  «Liesma» Rīga 1974 Бубеннов Михаил Семенович СТРЕМНИНА Роман «Роман-газета» 1971 Л» 19_20 Издатсльстао «Лиссма» Рига 1974 Па латышском языке Перевод с русского Клары Козловской Художник Мар г ср Вптолннь No krievu valodas tulkojusi Klāra Kozlovska Mākslinieks Marģers Vīloliņš Noskanējis grāmatu un  failu izveidojis Imants Ločmelis imantslochmelis@inbox.lv © Tulkojums latviešu valodā. «Liesma». 1974

STRAUTIŅŠ UZ JAPETA V.MIHAILOVS

Mērija Hofmane Stravaganza-1. Masku pilsēta STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA ir aizraujošs dēku romāns jauniešiem. Grāmata lasītājus kopā ar tās galveno varoni Lusjēnu aizved izklaidējošā, piedzīvojumiem bagātā ceļojumā uz kādu ļoti neparastu pasauli, kurā dzīve rit pavisam citādāk nekā mūsdienās, kur sejas liek slēptas aiz maskām, kur valda noslēpumi… Šī grāmata stāsta, kā veikt ceļojumu laikā un telpā; vienīgais, kas tam nepieciešams, ir talismans. Lasītājiem nav iespējams pat nojaust, kādi neparedzami notikumi Lusjēnu sagaidīs nākamajās lappusēs, ne arī nojaust, kā gan beigsies šis valdzinošais ceļojums. Lai to uzzinātu, ir tikai viena iespēja - jāizlasa grāmata. 2005 STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA tik intriģējoša no sākuma līdz beigām! Šī grāmata ir vairāk nekā izklaidējošā literatūra. Lusjēna piedzīvojumi 16. gadsimta Venēcijā ir tēloti tikpat spilgti un ticami kā viņa dzīve mūsdienu Anglijā. Romāna valoda ir bagāta, raksturi pārliecinoši. Ikvienam personāžam ir kāds brīnumains stāsts, ko mums vēstīt, un tie visi ir savstarpēji saistīti. Grāmatā ir misticisms, briesmas, sirsnība, mīlestība, nāve, humors, bet pats galvenais tajā ir uzburta apbrīnojami dzīva vide. Lasot šo grāmatu, šķiet, ka dažas stundas pavadītas sešpadsmitā gadsimta Venēcijā. STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA ir satriecoši aizkustinošs, saviļņojošs romāns, kura pievilcību pat grūti izteikt vārdos… Sen nebiju lasījis kaut ko tik valdzinošu. Neapšaubāmi šī grāmata ir mūsdienīgas jauniešu literatūras meistardarbs. pirmā sastapšanās ar šķietami pavisam parastu mūsdienu zēnu notiek brīdi, kad Lusjēna dzīve ir kļuvusi gluži vienmuļa, jo slimība viņu ir piesaistījusi mājām. Bet izrādās Lusjēns nebūt nav parasts cilvēks un liktenis viņam ir sagatavojis brīnišķīgu piedzīvojumu tālu un negaidītu ceļojumu, kas Lusjēnu aizved gluži svešā pasaulē, pārpārēm pilnā ar blēdībām, intrigām un burvīgumu… Šermuļus uzdzenošā atklāsmē Lusjēns uzzina, ka patiesībā ir stravagante cilvēks, kurš spēj ceļot laikā un telpā, vajadzīgs tikai talismans. Ar šo brīnumaino ceļojumu Lusjēna piedzīvojumi tikai sākas jaunatrastajā pasaulē viņam, kā rādās, jāglābj no nelaimes Belecas pilsēta. Turklāt 1 ieieta ir visai neparasta valdzinoša un noslēpumaina pilsēta. Tajā gadās redzēt sejas, kas neatlaidīgi tiek slēptas aiz maskām, visu pilsētas dzīvi nosaka valdonīgā Hercogiene, bet politiskās intrigas savērpj aizraujošu dēku virpuli, kurā tiek ierauts arī Lusjēns, piedzīvojot pārgalvīgākos, skaistākos un arī dēkainākos notikumus savā mūžā. Ang[u mūsdienu rakstniece Mērija HofmaneMaty Hoffman ) ir daudzās valstīs pazīstama un lasītāju iemīļota jauniešu grāmatu autore. Rakstniecei piemīt spilgta iztēle un lielisks stāstnieces talants, kas lasītājiem jauj iejusties M. Hofmanes grāmatas varoņu pasaulē, dzīvot līdzi viņu neparastajiem likteņiem un aizraujošajām dēkām. Mērija Hofmane ir caurcaurēm Itālijas kultūras, vēstures un dzīves stila entuziaste, viņa Itālijā pavada tik daudz laika, cik vien iespējams. Mīlestība pret Itāliju arī caurstrāvo grāmatu STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA -neatvairāmu, iespaidīgu romānu par Tālijas maģisko pasauli. Mērija Hofmane raksta: Pirms desmit gadiem vienas dienas ceļojumd laika Venēcija mēs, tapāt ka visi, devāmies izbraukuma ar gondolu pa Lielo kanālu, un man iešāvās prātā: cik žēl, ka mūsu gondotjers nav jauns un skaists.Un tad, gandrīz piecus gadus vēlāk., šī doma pie manis atgriezās, radot veselu ideju gūzmu. Un ja nu atrastos kādā cita Venēcija, kur visi gondoljeri ir jauni un skaisti, jo tos atlasā pilsētās valdniecene Dodžs. bet Hercogiene? No sapņojuma izauga Belecas pilsētas -alternatīvās Venēcijas, un līdzās tai Tālijas, alternatīvās Itālijas, stāsts. “MASKUPILSĒTA” uzrakstītā 2001. gadā, bet tapusi ilgāk nekā desmit gadus un ir pirmā grāmatu triloģijā par ceļošanu laikā un telpā. STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA ir spraigiem sižeta pavērsieniem, gluži neticamiem piedzīvojumiem un pārsteigumiem bagāta grāmata. To caurvij noslēpumainība un vienlaikus arī starojošs dzīvesprieks, kas atgādina par nepieciešamību jebkuros apstākļos saglabāt ticību veiksmei un mazliet arī brīnumam. No angļu valodas tulkojusi Vanda Tomaševiča Noskanējis grāmatu un failu izveidojis Imants Ločmelis imantslochmelis@inbox.lv Vendija Kūlinga Mērija Hofmane ir neglābjami iemīlējusies Venēcijā, un STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA ir fantāzija par mīļotās pilsētas tēmu, ko papildina ceļošana laikā un telpā. Grāmatu caurvij piedzīvojumi, intrigas, krāšņi skati un traģiskas ainas. Patīkamu ceļojumu! Vanda Tomaševiča, tulkotāja Mākslinieks Pīters Beilijs Pateicība Liela pateicība maniem trijiem konsultantiem: doktorei Silvijai Gasparini Padujas Universitātē, Abelem Longo, manam itāliešu valodas skolotājam, un Edgaro Cagini no The Young Book Trusi. Tāpat paldies saku ari Stīvijam ar Džesiku par jo uzcītīgu klausīšanos, lln Scottish Widows, kas mani necerēti atbalstīja, lai varu aši pārbaudīt faktu pareizību. Redaktore Agita Ambote ©Tulkojums latviešu valodā. Apgāds Zvaigzne AbC ISBN 9984-36-605-7

Mērija Hofmane Stravaganza-2 Zvaigžņu pilsēta Zvaigžņu pilsēta ir lieliskās grāmatas Stravaganza. Masku Pilsēta turpinājums. Lasītājs atkal nokļūst pasakainajā, baisi nodevīgajā Tālijas pasaulē, kur valda romantika, ko caurvij burvestības un neganti konfliktējošas uzticības jūtas. Džordžija mīl zirgus, bet ienīst patēva dēlu Raselu, kam galvenais mērķis. Šķiet, ir sagandēt meitenei dzīvi, bet Džordžija negrib neko citu, kā vien iespējami bieži jāt ar zirgiem un izvairīties no Rasela. Beidzot sakrājusi pietiekami daudz naudas, lai nopirktu antikvariāta logā noskatītu spārnotu zirdziņu, Džordžija saprot, ka dārgums jātur tālāk no Rasela viņš taču var apjaust, cik. tas Džordžijai dārgs. Meitene gan nezina, ka zirdziņš piedāvās iespēju bēgt uz citu pasauli citā laikāuz sešpadsmitā gadsimta Re moru pilsētu, kas līdzīga Sjēnai Itālijā, tomēr veidojusies pavisam atšķirīgi… Džordžija aizmiga ar lidojošo zirdziņu rokā, gribēdama nokļūt vietā, kur sastopami spārnoti zirgi, lai vienreiz par visām reizēm varētu aizbēgt no likstām. Šajā uzmundrinošajā, tomēr palaikam bīstamajā jaunajā pasaulē Džordžijai jāatrod sava sūtība. No angļu valodas tulkojusi Vanda Tomaševiča Noskanējis grāmatu un failu izveidojis Imants Ločmelis imantslochmelis@inbox.lv Mērija Hofmane ir pieprasītu bērnu grāmatu un recenziju autore. Rakstniece ir caurcarēm Itālijas entuziaste un pavada tajā tik daudz laika, cik iespējams. Mīlestība pret Itāliju iedvesmojusi uzrakstīt šo un ari iepriekšējo grāmatu -Masku Pilsētu, kurā darbība risinās Belecā (Venēcijā). Mērija Hofmane ir arī bērnu literārā žurnāla Amadillo redaktore. Rakstniecei ir trīs pieaugušas meitas, viņa ar vīru dzīvo Rietumoksfordšīrā. Stravaganza. Zvaigžņu pilsēta ir Mērijas Hofmanes triloģijas Stravaganza otrais romāns. Tajā darbojas ari Masku pilsētas Belecas pavalstnieki, taču darbība notiek galvenokārt senajā Zvaigžņu pilsētā un divdesmit pirmā gadsimta Londonā. Rakstnieces izdomu un spēju veidot negaidītus sižeta pavērsienus var tikai apbrīnot. Jauku ceļojumu laikā un telpā! Vanda Tomaševiča, tulkotāja No lasītāju atsauksmēm Stravaganza. Zvaigžņu pilsēta varbūt ir lieliskākā grāmata, kādu man jebkad nācies lasīt. Aizraujošais sižets paņem savā varā jau ar pirmajām lappusēm. Iesaku to izlasīt katram. Neticami reālistisko gaisotni un klātbūtnes izjūtu rada tas, ka šajā darbā noteikti ieraudzīsiet ari sevi. Džila (12 g.) Man šī grāmata ļoti, ļoti patika, un es nespēju no tās atrauties, līdz nebiju izlasījusi līdz beigām. Likās, ka Džordžija ir tik līdzīga man pašai, ka spēju just līdzi visiem viņas pārdzīvojumiem. Pēc tam izlasīju arī pirmo grāmatu STRAVAGANZA. MASKU PILSĒTA, un arī tā man šķita tikpat aizraujoša. Ar nepacietību gaidīšu ari citas šīs rakstnieces grāmatas. Emīlija (15 g.) Šo grāmatu caurvij noslēpumainība un vienlaikus arī starojošs dzīvesprieks, kas atgādina par nepieciešamību jebkuros apstākļos saglabāt ticību veiksmei un mazliet brīnumam. Ils (16g.) 821.111-93 Ilo 122 Mākslinieks Piters Beilijs