USA Today best-selling author Rudiger doesn't kill because he wants to. He kills because he needs to. When the sadistic Preacherman stole the last bit of Rudiger's already troubled childhood soul, Rudiger lost himself forever. He has committed atrocities even he cannot explain in his quest for the End of Days, a release from his pain by finding and crucifying The One. Jonas Osborne, an Army Ranger and Senatorial Chief of Staff, recognizes Rudiger s disturbing capacity based on a terrifying firefight in Somalia almost two decades earlier. Now Jonas and the beautiful psychic criminologist he s enlisted to predict Rudiger s next brutal attack become targets. Only on the biggest international stage a summit for Middle East peace talks will Jonas and Rudiger meet again for one final confrontation.
Will and Big O are brothers and best friends—and small-time crooks. Ever since their dad went to prison, they’ve been stealing to survive. On a ferry ride from the big city, they hatch a plan for one more score: they’ll break into the cars on the ferry during the trip and scrape together enough to get out of town. And maybe out of the criminal life forever. But everything goes south when they discover one car that contains more than they bargained for: a young kidnap victim. Pursued by a crazed professional criminal, the brothers must now survive the night and a final crossing into a new life.
Set in the second half of the nineteenth century, in the American and Canadian West and in Victorian England, The Last Crossing is a sweeping tale of interwoven lives and stories Charles and Addington Gaunt must find their brother Simon, who has gone missing in the wilds of the American West. Charles, a disillusioned artist, and Addington, a disgraced military captain, enlist the services of a guide to lead them on their journey across a difficult and unknown landscape. This is the enigmatic Jerry Potts, half Blackfoot, half Scottish, who suffers his own painful past. The party grows to include Caleb Ayto, a sycophantic American journalist, and Lucy Stoveall, a wise and beautiful woman who travels in the hope of avenging her sister’s vicious murder. Later, the group is joined by Custis Straw, a Civil War veteran searching for salvation, and Custis’s friend and protector Aloysius Dooley, a saloon-keeper. This unlikely posse becomes entangled in an unfolding drama that forces each person to come to terms with his own demons. The Last Crossing contains many haunting scenes – among them, a bear hunt at dawn, the meeting of a Métis caravan, the discovery of an Indian village decimated by smallpox, a sharpshooter’s devastating annihilation of his prey, a young boy’s last memory of his mother. Vanderhaeghe links the hallowed colleges of Oxford and the pleasure houses of London to the treacherous Montana plains; and the rough trading posts of the Canadian wilderness to the heart of Indian folklore. At the novel’s centre is an unusual and moving love story. The Last Crossing is Guy Vanderhaeghe’s most powerful novel to date. It is a novel of harshness and redemption, an epic masterpiece, rich with unforgettable characters and vividly described events, that solidifies his place as one of Canada’s premier storytellers.
A guide to healing meditation, from revered teacher Stephen Levine. Drawing on years of first-hand experience working with the chronically ill, here Levine presents original techniques for working with pain and grief. Addressing the choice and application of treatment, discussing the development of a merciful awareness as a means of healing, and providing practical meditation techniques as well as personal anecdotes from his career, Levine has crafted a valuable resource for anyone dealing with pain—physical or mental.
*LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2021* 'Poetic, human and gripping... reminded me of Bernard MacLaverty's early work. Yes, it's that good' Ian Rankin 'Moving and powerful, this is an important book, which everyone should read' Ann Cleeves 'The Last Crossing is not only a riveting story about loss and guilt in a fractured society, it is also an important work. Beautifully written and lingers long in the memory' Steve Cavanagh Tony, Hugh and Karen thought they'd seen the last of each other thirty years ago. Half a lifetime has passed and memories have been buried. But when they are asked to reunite - to lay ghosts to rest for the good of the future - they all have their own reasons to agree. As they take the ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland the past is brought into terrible focus - some things are impossible to leave behind. In The Last Crossing memory is unreliable, truth shifts and slips and the lingering legacy of the Troubles threatens the present once again. Praise for Brian McGilloway: '... McGilloway brings a forensic and compassionate eye to bear on the post-Troubles settlement in this thoughtful, moving, morally complex book' Irish Times 'McGilloway's grasp of characterisation is of the first rank, and more than compensates for the familiarity of the scenario here. The author continues to be one of Ireland's most accomplished crime writers' CrimeTime '[A] superb book... thoughtful and insightful, wrenching and utterly compelling. It says something truly profound and universal about love, loyalty and revenge... If you want to understand Northern Ireland, or any society that has experienced conflict, put it on your list. And the writing is exquisite' Jane Casey 'Unearths individuals truths, unreliable memories and personal mythologies with a complex character-driven story that will leave you breathless until the final page' Gerard Brennan 'As heart-stopping and thrilling as it is exquisitely written and prescient' Claire Allan 'Another extraordinary novel from one of Ireland's crime fiction masters' Adrian McKinty 'A remarkably timely thriller' Irish World
A remarkable human story, one that is worth reading. - Maritime Engineering Journal Fascinating story is told in a thorough and interesting manner, highly recommended. - Action Stations magazine, Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, HMCS Sackville Book is intriguing. Recommended for navy enthusiasts and more casual readers alike. - Starshell magazine, Naval Association of Canada --- Second Edition, with an Addendum. In the written histories of the Battle of the Atlantic, the S.S. Nerissa is overlooked. She was the only ship transporting Canadian Army troops to be lost to enemy action during the entire Second World War. The details of the sinking were highly classified until almost 50 years after the event. The tragic loss of this ship resulted in the third largest loss of life for a ship sunk by U-boats in the approaches to the British Isles. These human losses touched not only Canadian families, but also families in allied nations and in the neutral United States … and these losses are largely unknown to our current generation. Two hundred and seven lives were lost: 81 Merchant Navy; 73 Canadian Army; 10 Royal Canadian Navy; 4 Royal Navy; 8 Royal Air Force; 11 American pilots (UK Air Transport Auxiliary); 3 Royal Norwegian Air Force; 3 Canadian government employees; and 14 civilian passengers (including 3 children). After these many years, their stories deserve to be told. Included are eye-witness accounts from many of the survivors and some stories of those who perished. The first torpedo exploded into the Engine Room. Six minutes later, as the lifeboats were being lowered, U-552 (Erich Topp) fired a coup de grâce torpedo into the already stricken Nerissa. Of the ship’s eight lifeboats, only one was successfully launched, one was upright but flooded, four were capsized and two were pulled down with the ship. Much of this true story is based on the analysis of testimony, recollections and official reports taken from survivors, as well as declassified Canadian, British and German documents. Nerissa usually sailed independently, not in escorted convoys. This book focuses on the events which led up to the sinking by U-552 and the deadly 10 hours awaiting rescue about 80 miles off the coast of Ireland. Only eighty-four survivors were alive to be rescued by HMS Veteran, while HMS Hurricane and RAF 502 Squadron aircraft provided anti-submarine sweeps. The book also provides humanizing details to a very tragic story. Addressed is the public relations dilemma related to informing families of their losses, while the allied authorities enforced security restrictions related to a major wartime incident. Also included is relevant historical context of Britain’s overall war efforts at that time; and in particular Bletchley Park’s significant advances in decrypting German naval Enigma encoded messages … in the few weeks before and after the sinking. --- The Addendum summarizes results of recent collaborative analysis, by the author and a retired Irish journalist, of various historical records which may now allow identification of bodies from the S.S. Nerissa which washed ashore onto the Irish coast, but had not been identified during the war.
This new book, beautifully illustrated with a magnificent collection of over 300 photographs, covers the development of a much-loved type of vessel, the 'classic' cross channel or short sea passenger ferry often described as a liner in miniature. From the mid-19th century paddle ferries slowly evolved into screw-driven steamers but it was the advent of the steam turbine and the construction of the railway steamers The Queen and Brighton in 1903 that caught the attention of the world. Similarly-propelled ships multiplied and their use soon spread to the Antipodes, Japan, the Mediterranean and North America. In 1912 Rudolf Diesel's new oil engine went to sea in a cargo ship but it was not until 1925 that it was first employed to widespread acclaim in the Danish North Sea packet Parkeston. In 1934 it made its debut on the English Channel with the Belgian Government's striking 25-knot motor ferry Prins Baudouin. The inexorable increase in car travel from the 1930s led to the development of a new breed of specialised car ferry accessed through bow and stern doors and the proliferation of these after WW2 led to the eventual demise of the 'classic' passenger ferry in the 1960s. With its informative introductory texts and abundant photographs and detailed captions, this book will appeal to ship enthusiasts around the world and to all those who mourn the passing of the golden age of the passenger ship.
