An Inspector Alvarez Mystery - Inspector Alvarez is just considering whether he can surreptitiously leave work early when a colleague calls to tell him that an Englishman has been found dead in his car in his garage, the engine on and the tank empty. Alvarez, chafing over the prospect of an evening on the job, proceeds to the scene, but his hopes of a quick and easy case are dashed - for while the man was found in a car full of fumes, it appears the cause of death was not carbon-monoxide poisoning . . .
The new-look, full colour Rough Guide to Mallorca & Menorca goes beyond the sun, booze and high-rise hotels to reveal the surprising delights of these Balearic islands. Away from the handful of mega-resorts, discover the bustle of Mallorca's capital, Palma, the craggy mountains and medieval monasteries of the north coast, and the charming towns of the central plain. Menorca, lying to the east, boasts an interior of rolling fields and wooded ravines in between its capital Maó, and the beautifully preserved town of Ciutadella, while a chain of conservation areas protect the pristine coves and beaches that are Menorca's real treasures. Stunning photos, suggested itineraries, day hike routes, colour-coded maps, trustworthy reviews and top five boxes, not to mention all the practical information you need, will help you enjoy the very best of both these islands. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Mallorca & Menorca. Now available in ePub format.
Inspector Alvarez is rudely awakened from his afternoon siesta by a phone call reporting the death of one Senor Picare. On arrival at the Picare villa, it seems his grieving widow is passed out in bed and the housekeeper, Rosalía, is the one dealing with the police and comforting the young maid, Marta, who is devastated by the death of her employer. It soon becomes clear that Senor Picare may have promised Marta – and other young women – more than he should have done and there could be a fair number of disgruntled husbands or fathers around who had a reason to want him gone. Alvarez’s investigation, as always, is full of the vivid colour of Mallorcan life and passion, and despite Superior Chief Salas’ instructions, he doggedly follows his own – often unconventional – path until he finds out the truth . . .
Optimism, as Inspector Alvarez knows, is the road to calamity . . . - Inspector Alvarez is in a good mood, for once. The sun is shining, he has enjoyed a morning nap at his desk, and his irascible boss – Superior Chief Salas – is on holiday. But his new-found optimism soon leads to disaster. In no time at all, Alvarez is mired down by a seemingly impossible task – identifying a man drowned in the bay, who it quickly transpires may not have been drowned at all .
The Rough Guide to Mallorca & Menorca - now in full colour throughout - gets behind the sun, sex, booze and high-rise hotels clichés to reveal the surprising delights of these Balearic islands. Away from the handful of mega-resorts, discover the bustle of Mallorca's capital, Palma, the craggy mountains and medieval monasteries of the north coast, and the charming towns of the central plain. Menorca, lying to the east, boasts an interior of rollingfields and wooded ravines in between its capital Maó, and the beautifully preserved town of Ciutadella, while a chain of conservation areas protect the pristine coves and beaches that are Menorca's real treasures. Stunning photos, potential itineraries, day hike routes, colour-coded maps and trustworthy hotel and restaurant reviews, not to mention all the practical information you need, will help you enjoy the very best of both these islands. Make the most of your holiday with The Rough Guide to Mallorca & Menorca.
Jesse O'Hara is profane, introverted, and not frequently sober – and has just lost another job. “A million-dollar brain and a ten-cent personality,” her last employer said. With nothing better to do, Jesse reluctantly accepts the gift of a luxury cruise around the Iberian Peninsula. She’s not sure she can drink enough to keep her boredom at bay, but that's the least of her problems. From the very first moment of the cruise, it's clear to Jesse that something is very wrong. Aided by her near-photographic memory, Jesse investigates a series of strange incidents on the ship and uncovers what looks like a terrorist plot in the works. But with each new layer uncovered, her perception shifts and broadens-- and someone doesn’t want her poking around. For Jesse, bruised and concussed is preferable to tan and relaxed, so she ignores the mounting danger even as she closes in on the villains, who have perfectly timed their grand finale... Murder on the Spanish Seas is a riveting, whip-smart, and smart-aleck debut thriller that will keep you on your toes just as frequently as it keeps you in stitches. A perfect read for fans of Ruth Ware and Janet Evanovich.
On-board the MV Helios, cruising around the Mediterranean, copywriter David Ansell is seeking inspiration to write a glowing account of his voyage for the ship’s owner, Rex Cruising Company. His inspiration comes in the form of the blonde and beautiful Melanie Caine and they are inseparable for the rest of the cruise. Back home in suburbia with his wife, Ansell is pining for Melanie, so is delighted to get a call from her summoning him to meet her – along with the toy monkey she asked him to take through customs for her. When she doesn’t turn up, he assumes she’s got cold feet and no longer wants to pursue their relationship. However, when reports of a woman’s body being found, horrifically tortured, are aired on the news – and Ansell’s home is broken into with tragic consequences – it seems there’s something that Ansell may have that someone will do anything to find . . .
A guide to operas simulcast and/or screened by the Met Opera, Royal Opera House, et al, during the 2014-2015 season. Over 17 operas, each including Principal Characters, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples and Burton D. Fisher's insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis.
Laureen Fortune, still foxy at forty, visits the Arecibo Observatory as guest of former lover Kelly Collins, an astronomer from the University of Chicago. The Observatory's spectacular radio/radar telescope, comprising a twenty-acre reflecting dish of exquisitely shaped aluminum sheeting, a 600-ton cat's cradle of steel girders suspended fifty stories above to hold its radio feeds, and cutting-edge radio and computing equipment, has drawn a number of other scientific investigators and hangers-on to its site in north-west Puerto Rico. Laureen knows several of these as long-ago friends and/or lovers, brought together by the Observatory's unique attractions. Laureen inhales the tortured history and mixed-up culture of the Isle of Enchantment until the idyll is broken one day by the discovery at dawn of a body that has fallen from the suspended structure, pierced the dish, and been disemboweled in the process. Finding herself and Kelly quite reasonably under suspicion of murder, she converts from pseudo-scientist to amateur crime investigator and, by her naturally contrarian processes of thought, identifies the true culprit and obtains a confession. She chooses not to reveal her solution to the investigating authorities, which, for their own reasons, would prefer not to be told.
The literary image of Los Angeles has evolved since the 1880s from promotional literature that hyped the region as a New Eden to contemporary visions of the city as a perplexing, sometimes corrupt, even apocalyptic place that reflects all that is wrong with America. In Imagining Los Angeles, the first literary history of the city in more than fifty years, critic David Fine traces the history and mood of the place through the work of writers as diverse as Helen Hunt Jackson, Mary Austin, Norman Mailer, Raymond Chandler, Joan Didion, Carolyn See, and many others. His lively and engaging text focuses on the way these writers saw Los Angeles and used the image of the city as an element in their work, and on how that image has changed as the city itself became ever larger, more complex, and more socially and ethnically diverse. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the literature and changing image of Southern California.
