A haunting recreation of the brutal death of an American housewife, the conviction of her husband, and the family trial at which their children determined for themselves how their father should be charged.
'This book uncovers the inner workings of one of the most powerful companies in the world- how it came to exert a poisonous, secretive influence on public life in Britain, how it used its huge power to bully, intimidate and cover up, and how its exposure has changed the way we look at our politicians, our police service and our press.' Rupert Murdoch's newspapers had been hacking phones, blagging information and casually destroying people's lives for years, but it was only after a trivial report about Prince William's knee in 2005 that detectives stumbled on a criminal conspiracy. A five-year cover-up concealed and muddied the truth. Dial M for Murdoch gives the first connected account of the extraordinary lengths to which the Murdochs' News Corporation went to 'put the problem in a box' (in James Murdoch's words), how its efforts to maintain and extend its power were aided by its political and police friends, and how it was finally exposed. This book is full of details which have never been disclosed before, including the smears and threats against politicians, journalists and lawyers. It reveals the existence of brave insiders who pointed those pursuing the investigation towards pieces of secret information that cracked open the case. By contrast, many of the main players in the book are unsavoury, but by the end of it you have a clear idea of what they did. Seeing the story whole, as it is presented here for the first time, allows the character of the organization it portrays to emerge unmistakeably. You will hardly believe it.
This international bestseller from the author of A Year in the Merde “combines the gaffes of Bridget Jones with the boldness of James Bond” (Publishers Weekly). When the glorious oceanographer Gloria Monday convinces Paul West to travel to the swank beaches of southern France—where she’s investigating caviar-smuggling cartels—he assumes he’s about to have the time of his life. But for West, France has always been full of surprises underfoot, and this trip is no exception to the rule. He’s soon dragged into an undercover investigation that goes all the way to the top and leaves him feeling sometimes like James Bond, sometimes like Inspector Clouseau. Dial M for Merde is a comic caper that pokes fun at French society at every level, from pompous politicians to grumpy waitstaff.
Animal rescue is always risky business, but Liz Denton, owner of the Furever Pets, finds out it’s also dangerous when someone puts down one of her prospective pet adopters . . . Liz is thrilled to find a forever home for her latest rescue, Sheamus, a Maine Coon cat. But on adoption day, she discovers Sheamus’s would-be owner, Joe Hitchcock, murdered in his study. Joe’s shocking death reveals an even more startling secret: his real name was Joe Danvers . . . a man accused of killing his wife thirty years ago. Liz knows she should focus on finding Sheamus a new home, but this mystery already has its claws in her. So Liz begins vetting the clues from both investigations. But with a stalker sniffing at her heels and a rival swatting at her business, Liz’s curiosity may come at a hefty price . . . especially since Joe’s case has more lives than a cat.
The shower scene in Psycho; Cary Grant running for his life through a cornfield; “innocent” birds lined up on a fence waiting, watching — these seminal cinematic moments are as real to moviegoers as their own lives. But what makes them so? What deeper forces are at work in Hitchcock’s films that so captivate his fans? This collection of articles in the series that’s explored such pop-culture phenomena as Seinfeld and The Simpsons examines those forces with fresh eyes. These essays demonstrate a fascinating range of topics: Sabotage’s lessons about the morality of terrorism and counter-terrorism; Rope’s debatable Nietzschean underpinnings; Strangers on a Train’s definition of morality. Some of the essays look at more overarching questions, such as why Hitchcock relies so heavily on the Freudian unconscious. In all, the book features 18 philosophers paying a special homage to the legendary auteur in a way that’s accessible even to casual fans.
THE STORY: Tony Wendice has married his wife, Margot, for her money and now plans to murder her for the same reason. He arranges the perfect murder. He blackmails a scoundrel he used to know into strangling her for a fee of one thousand pounds, and
RECIPE FOR MURDER As Minnesota housewives race to meet the deadline for the Times Register's meat loaf contest, an unsavory small-towner named Kirby Runbeck is blown to smithereens by a car bomb. Days later, the town's former mayor, John Washburn, near death from a stroke, confesses to the killing. His wife and two children vehemently deny it, but when Sophie Greenway, food maven and friend of the family, happens upon an old snapshot, a bundle of letters, and a tattoo of a red-eyed snake, she wonders about Washburn's innocence. Unlike the recipe for a prize meat loaf, this murder is seasoned with spicy secrets and a generous portion of scandal, which Sophie dares to bring to a roiling boil. . . .
As the Dead Kid Detective Agency embarks on its second (mis)adventure, October Schwartz and her five deadest friends are back, turning over metaphoric rocks and finding the centipedes underneath. In this latest volume, set against a backdrop of yuletide pandemonium, they discover dark supernatural forces at work in Sticksville and sleuth their way through a mystery involving a blizzard of suffragettes, ice skating disasters, anti-Asian sentiment, and the Titanic. Although the holiday season has descended upon the town like an eggnog rainstorm, October has no time for candy canes or mistletoe. She’s busy dealing with an oddly pleasant new history teacher, her two living friends’ new roles as high school radio DJs, and mysteries to be solved before the year end. October and her ghost friends are hot on the trail of those responsible for Morna MacIsaac’s death in 1914—or as hot as one can be on a 100-year-old trail—when Yumi becomes the target of a sinister harassment campaign at school. Solving dual concurrent mysteries at once won’t be easy, but the intrepid heroine in black eyeliner loves a challenge.
"When the would-be owner of her latest rescue, Sheamus, the Maine Coon cat, is murdered, Liz Denton finds the fur flying as she discovers the real identity of the victim, a stalker is fast on her heels and a rival takes a swat at her business"--
This book takes stories of learning relationships from popular films, television programmes and literature, and uses them as a catalyst for beginners and experts alike to reflect critically on their own mentoring and coaching practice. How realistic are our expectations of personal change, and to what extent is the flourishing self-help market responsible for this? What, if any, are the moral responsibilities of executive mentors and coaches, when it comes to global corporate wrongdoing? What should constitute ‘truth’ and ‘knowledge’ in a world in which ambiguity and doubt can appear more effective weapons of survival? What can Pinocchio, The Matrix, Star Wars or The Sopranos tell us about any of this? Storytelling and metaphor have become of increasing interest in research into leadership and learning. Here is a book which takes the idea of storytelling as a powerful aid to learning and change, and uses it to help practitioners and educators challenge their ideas on mentoring in an entertaining way, by asking themselves some of the difficult questions that these popular stories raise.