"Lanie Price, a 1920s Harlem society columnist, witnesses the brutal nightclub kidnapping of the "Black Orchid," a sultry, seductive singer with a mysterious past. When hours pass without a word from the kidnapper, puzzlement grows as to his motive. After a gruesome package arrives at Price's doorstep, the questions change. Just what does the kidnapper want--and how many people is he willing to kill to get it?" -- Publisher.
In the spring of 1914, two college friends, Thomas Tiggy McStuart and Hans von Gotha, one British and the other German, find themselves on opposite sides of the impending war. Tiggys dream of becoming a barrister and Hans plan to receive his doctorate are quickly fading. As Hans leaves for Germany after being conscripted, he realizes their friendship might never be the same. Tiggy, feeling compelled to defend the crown, joins the London Light Infantry where he excels as a sniper in World War I and is eventually captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, Hans completes express doctorate training and is sent to serve at a field hospital in France. The lives of the two friends reconnect in a way neither of them thought possible. Based on real-life events, Legends of the Black Orchid follows Tiggy and Hans through World War I and the start of World War II. It depicts how circumstances and the influences of the Black Orchid, a society formed by the royal families of Europe, bring them together as one, ultimately making them part of an exclusive intelligence unit that becomes the platform on which the British and American governments form a cooperative base for espionage.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion. In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Orchid Thief “Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal
At the Black Orchid Club, adventurous women who yearn for the pleasures of exotic, even kinky sex can quench their desires in discreet and luxurious surroundings. Having tasted the fulfilment of unique and powerful lusts, one such adventurous woman learns what happens when the need for limitless indulgence becomes an addiction.
A woman investigating the murder of her husband, an AIDS researcher, in the Florida Everglades finds herself the prey of a mysterious enemy and turns to her former lover, a Seminole Indian, for help.
Everyone lies. When working for a sex mage, it's the only way to stay safe. That's the first thing Jaeda learns when she's named as the Chosen. The mage needs a sacrifice, and she's willing to give it. Maybe too willing. After all, this man is lust incarnate; a woman would have to be insane not to want him, even if he is dangerous. But desiring someone's body is very different from falling in love. In her line of work, the two must never be confused. She doesn't even know his name! He's simply The Jackal, a terrifyingly powerful sex mage, and she's his altar. Her lust fuels him. He needs it. And that puts her in control. Now, she gets to spend her days with a mage who wields sex like a weapon and his assistant who's as irresistible as some long-lost god brought to life. The things they do to her body are amazing, and the rest? These men want to spoil her with the kind of riches she's always dreamed of. It's the best job she can imagine. Unfortunately, it's never that easy. This is supposed to be about making magic - that's it. Feelings have no place in a mage's temple. Affection is a curse. But when the enemy decides she'll make the perfect weapon to steal the Jackal's power, what's she supposed to do? After all, she's just a stupid girl caught in the middle. Her job is to just lie back and take it. Except, someone's been lying. It might even be her. POWER OF LIES is a complete novel with a reverse harem, polyamorous storyline. It is intended for a mature audience due to the presence of consensual sex, group sex, M/M scenes, and plenty of vulgar language - as well as some potentially triggering violence since the bad guys don't always play nice. While this is a love story, it may not be right for all readers.
The murder of one wannabe starlet may only be the beginning for a vicious killer. When poor little New Hampshire rich girl Mindy Hollis gets lost in Los Angeles, her big sister hires private detective Ed Traynor to find her. Traynor and Hollis’s security chief, Jack McMahon, take off for Tinseltown to track down the aspiring actress—but they discover the only part she ever got was the one that killed her. Their hunt for her killers takes them from the bowels of Mexico City to the glitz of Los Angeles, north to the set of The Black Orchid in Vancouver, and then back again to Hollywood, where the angels are dying in the dark. It’s up to Ed and Jack to save them before the film fades to black. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
In a small Connecticut fishing village known as Watch Hill, walking on the beach at sunset has become a rather enjoyable pastime for Wayne Minor. Watch Hill is not a very big village and, in fact, it is situated on a small island. It is a very peaceful setting until several mysterious Black Orchid blooms are found on the beach. Suddenly, the residents begin to die one by one, as this quiet town becomes a place of terror. Everyone begins to wonder where the blooms are coming from and who is behind leaving them for the residents to find. Nobody is safe from the deadly blooms. Even the police baffled and begin to die. One police detective is so angry that his fellow officers are being tortured and killed that he vows to find the killer or killers no matter what the cost.
