On a sweltering September night, Long Beach Homicide Detective Danny Beckett is called to a grisly crime scene at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. A defenseless homeless man has been burned to death by three teenagers with gang ties. The suspects are already in custody, and the evidence is overwhelming--but when one suspect's brother is targeted for murder, Danny starts to think there may be more to this seemingly clear-cut case. Obsessed with discovering the true identity of the victim, a gentle vagrant who may have been hiding a tortured past, Danny and his team start to uncover a high-reaching conspiracy that puts them all at risk--and threatens to open new wounds that could cut even deeper than Danny's old ones.
Gemma vows revenge against Hallie, but things immediately get complicated when Ford, Josh, and Teddy return to the Hamptons but Gemma is scooping ice cream all day at her father's insistence, and just as the revenge cycle reaches its peak a life-changing bombshell is dropped.
Brings to life a passionate poet-turned-musician and what compels him and his work. Why is it that Leonard Cohen receives the sort of reverence we reserve for a precious few living artists? Why are his songs, three or four decades after their original release, suddenly gracing the charts, blockbuster movie sound tracks, and television singing competitions? And why is it that while most of his contemporaries are either long dead or engaged in uninspired nostalgia tours, Cohen is at the peak of his powers and popularity? These are the questions at the heart of A Broken Hallelujah, a meditation on the singer, his music, and the ideas and beliefs at its core. Granted extraordinary access to Cohen’s personal papers, Liel Leibovitz examines the intricacies of the man whose performing career began with a crippling bout of stage fright, yet who, only a few years later, tamed a rowdy crowd on the Isle of Wight, preventing further violence; the artist who had gone from a successful world tour and a movie star girlfriend to a long residency in a remote Zen retreat; and the rare spiritual seeker for whom the principles of traditional Judaism, the tenets of Zen Buddhism, and the iconography of Christianity all align. The portrait that emerges is that of an artist attuned to notions of justice, lust, longing, loneliness, and redemption, and possessing the sort of voice and vision commonly reserved only for the prophets. More than just an account of Cohen’s life, A Broken Hallelujah is an intimate look at the artist that is as emotionally astute as it is philosophically observant. Delving into the sources and meaning of Cohen’s work, Leibovitz beautifully illuminates what Cohen is telling us and why we listen so intensely.
When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A “touching father-daughter story” (Kirkus Reviews) from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer. Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one. Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas? Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong? Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.
Acclaimed music journalist Alan Light follows the improbable journey of Cohen's "Hallelujah" straight to the heart of popular culture and gives insight into how great songs come to be, how they come to be listened to, and how they can be forever reinterpreted.
Praised as "brilliantly revelatory...a masterful work of critical journalism" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Holy or the Broken is the fascinating account of one of the most-performed rock songs in history--Leonard Cohen's heartrending "Hallelujah." How did one obscure song become an international anthem for human triumph and tragedy, a song each successive generation seems to feel they have discovered and claimed as uniquely their own? Celebrated music journalist Alan Light follows the improbable journey of "Hallelujah" straight to the heart of popular culture.
I am Mitchell, the grandson of the Reverend Dr. Matlin DeMarco. But you already know that. Meet Charlie and me—who we are, how we met, and what we have become to each other. Call me Pastor Mitch, as my congregation does. I will fill you in on all the unknown answers that have come up throughout the Twin Memoirs saga that were briefly dwelled upon. My thesis, before ordination by the seminary, will tell you of my belief system. I am a Gnostic Christian. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge and a follower of Jesus. I use the Bible as a reference book, not a statute of limitations as many Christian put upon themselves. Stay with me as the truth be told. In book 12 is the twenty lost years of Michael DeMarco’s life after death. I had finally met my granduncle as he shared with me story after story of how he came to terms with his new life in God after becoming a vampire of light. Yes, it is true. Michael, my granduncle, is the last of his kind. He will become the new superhero. Meet Salvatore. Was my grandfather ever lost in space? His spirit never came around to me. And neither did my granduncle and my great-great-grandmother. Why? The last book called Resurrection will answer that question concerning my grandfather. Are you still waiting to hear what took place at Grandad’s fiftieth high school reunion and its theme? And what about the urn I found in Granddad’s destroyed cabin north of Eagleton? Whose ashes did they belong to?
In Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn, Gemma had her summer all planned out, but it takes sharp turn when she gets dumped and finds herself back in the Hamptons after a five-year absence. Being there puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend (that is, before Gemma ruined her life). But people don't hold grudges forever. Do they? Gemma intends on making amends, but a small case of mistaken identity causes the people she knew years ago—including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh—to believe she's someone else. As though the summer wasn't complicated enough already. Can Gemma keep up the charade? Or will she be found out by the very people she's been hiding from?
The storming and week-long occupation of the Embassy of Nigeria in the Philippines by students in 1986 had one purpose - to fight apathy and turn the Mission towards its true mandate of serving the interests of Nigeria. Treachery had betrayed this purpose, leaving successive Nigerian envoys ever more deadened to the care of their charges. By the early to late 1990s, four known and two probable Nigerian citizens had been assassinated in cold-blood in various cities across archipelagic Philippines, in circumstances that were questionable and suspect. The Embassy of Nigeria was headed by Charge d'Affaires a. i. Samuel I. Ajewole, a Deeper Life fundamentalist, who had abdicated his responsibilities to a criminally-inclined, skirt-chasing Head of Chancery named Femi Akenson Rotimi. Fear had gripped the Nigerian Community which started to clamor for official show of concern and interest by the Mission in these wanton violations of human rights. The embassy, hiding behind indefensible diplomatic clichés sat on its hands and did nothing. As the agitation for action mounted, the Mission resorted to intimidation and death threats against one of its citizens leading to unprecedented polarization in the small Nigerian Community. A Broken Mission is the story of Nigeria's failed diplomacy in the Philippines, based on the two-year crusade to reform the Embassy of Nigeria, Manila, following official indifference to these murders. The book chronicles the implacable advocacy for justice and clean embassy government that sought to force an inept, abusive and corrupt diplomatic Mission headed by a rogue, scandalous diplomat to reform and serve its community with respect and sensitivity.
