In 1819, kidnapped chef Owen Wedgwood transforms meager shipboard supplies into sumptuous meals at the behest of his kidnapper, pirate queen Mad Hannah Mabbot, while she pushes her exhausted crew to track down a deadly privateer.
An Amazon Best Books of the Year selection BookBub Breakout Debut Novels of Winter 2018 The Verge―18 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read in February Barnes & Noble—One of 25 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Debuts to Watch for in 2018 Nerdmuch—Best New Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books of 2018 Bookish—Winter 2018’s Hottest Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Library Journal: Spring/Summer Best Debut Novels “Interesting quirks and divided loyalties flesh out this first novel in which sf and mystery intersect in a well-crafted plot...Pedreira’s science thriller powerfully highlights the human politics and economics from the seemingly desolate expanse of the moon. It will attract readers who enjoyed Andy Weir’s lunar crime caper Artemis.” -- Library Journal, starred review A realistic and chilling vision of life on the Moon, where dust kills as easily as the vacuum of space…but murder is even quicker—a fast-paced, cinematic science fiction thriller, this debut novel combines the inventiveness of The Martian, the intrigue of The Expanse, and the thrills of Red Rising. The Moon smells like gunpowder. Every lunar walker since Apollo 11 has noticed it: a burnt-metal scent that reminds them of war. Caden Dechert, the chief of the U.S. mining operation on the edge of the Sea of Serenity, thinks the smell is just a trick of the mind—a reminder of his harrowing days as a Marine in the war-torn Middle East back on Earth. It’s 2072, and lunar helium-3 mining is powering the fusion reactors that are bringing Earth back from environmental disaster. But competing for the richest prize in the history of the world has destroyed the oldest rule in space: Safety for All. When a bomb kills one of Dechert’s diggers on Mare Serenitatis, the haunted veteran goes on the hunt to expose the culprit before more blood is spilled. But as Dechert races to solve the first murder in the history of the Moon, he gets caught in the crosshairs of two global powers spoiling for a fight. Reluctant to be the match that lights this powder-keg, Dechert knows his life and those of his crew are meaningless to the politicians. Even worse, he knows the killer is still out there, hunting. In his desperate attempts to save his crew and prevent the catastrophe he sees coming, the former Marine uncovers a dangerous conspiracy that, with one spark, can ignite a full lunar war, wipe out his team . . . and perhaps plunge the Earth back into darkness.
The Black Dahlia case. The Manson murders. The Zodiac Killer. The slaughter of JonBenet Ramsay. These killings, among many others in Bill James's astonishing chronicle of the history of American crime, have all created a frenzy of interest and speculation about human nature. And while many of us choose to avoid the news about gruesome murders, Bill James contends that these crime stories, which create such frenzy (and have throughout history), are as important to understanding our society, culture and history as anything we may consider to be a more 'serious' subject. The topic envelopes our society so completely, we almost forget about it. James looks at the ways in which society has changed by examining the development of how crimes have been committed, investigated and prosecuted. The booktakes on such issues as the rise of an organized police force, the controversial use of the death penalty, the introduction of evidence such as fingerprinting and DNA, and the unexpected ways in which the most shocking crimes have shaped the criminal justice system and our perceptions of violence.
Written in 1974 Murder From Within will show what actually happened to President Kennedy, the consequences of his murder, and what action Americans can take to protect their institutions from further internal assault. The problem of usurpation from within and illegitimate and bloody transfer of power is as old as political history itself. Betrayal from within from the leaders own inner circle dates all the way back to Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ. Centuries ago, several Roman Emperors were killed by their own Praetorian guards. This plot, which involved only a handful of high officials and a few Secret Service Agents, called for President Kennedy to be maneuvered to Dallas and executed in public. His body was then forcibly removed from the control of the Dallas Coroner and flown to Washingon, D.C., to a military hospital. There, autopsy findings were supervised to foil a later investigation and implicate a scapegoat. The plot required a high probability of success. Therefore, it was self-contained: carefully recruited members of the Secret Service- the Presidents guards- murdered him. The portability of a motorcade allowed the assassins to escape and the evidence to remain under their control. With their obvious cover as guards, the Secret Service could ensure that the planning would result in the replacement of one chief executive with another who now had the power to cover the crime up. The scapegoat for the crime was placed near the motorcade by being told to look for work at locations on one of two likely parade routes. Once he had a job, the motorcade was planned to pass in front of where he worked. In this way, it would appear that he had found his position by accident. To plan the route first and then place the scapegoat in position would raise serious questions in an investigation about his prior knowledge. Seven years in the making Murder From Within shows exactly and in detail how a small high level group within Kennedys own Cabinet betrayed him and killed him to benefit an ambitious Vice President determined to become President no matter what.
When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.
Jiefang is a boy who has a peculiar fascination with gunpowder and is gifted with a nose that can find it from miles away. Trouble follows when his father paints a picture of a war hero bomber below the portrait of Chairman Mao and is quickly labelled a Counter-Revolutionary. Despite his loyal devotion to the Party, his father is taken away and Jiefang faces bullying from a clique of classmates. As the feud between them escalates, Jiefang’s unexpected discovery of a bomb leads him to continue exploring his unusual affinity for gunpowder, and what it means to truly be a ‘hero.’
Assassination? Conspiracy? Evidence of the shocking truth is finally revealed. 'Shocking new details' - Herald Sun On 22nd November 1963, the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and his wife Jackie were taking part in a presidential motorcade through Dallas. Thousands lined the streets cheering; others hung out of windows to catch a glimpse of the much-loved First Lady and President. Suddenly, the unthinkable: three shots - bang...bang, bang - rang out. In front of the world, John F Kennedy was fatally wounded. Lee Harvey Oswald was caught. But did he fire the fatal bullet? Who REALLY killed JFK? Fifty years after the tragic events in Dallas, JFK: The Smoking Gun solves the ultimate cold case. With the forensic eye of a highly regarded ex-cop, Colin McLaren gathered the evidence, studied 10,000 pages of transcripts, discovered the witnesses the Warren Commission failed to call, and uncovered the exhibits and testimonies that were hidden until now. What he found is far more outrageous than any fanciful conspiracy theory could ever be. JFK: The Smoking Gun proves, once and for all, who did kill the President. 'A compelling case' - The Australian 'Comprehensive and compelling' - Newcastle Herald
"Adam Levin is one of our wildest writers and our funniest, and Bubblegum is a dazzling accomplishment of wit and inventiveness." —George Saunders "Levin's brains may have earned him a cult...but here he swells to a democratic reach. Give him a try sometime. His gate’s wide open.” —Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times Book Review The astonishing new novel by the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award-winning author of The Instructions. Bubblegum is set in an alternate present-day world in which the Internet does not exist, and has never existed. Rather, a wholly different species of interactive technology--a "flesh-and-bone robot" called the Curio--has dominated both the market and the cultural imagination since the late 1980s. Belt Magnet, who as a boy in greater Chicago became one of the lucky first adopters of a Curio, is now writing his memoir, and through it we follow a singular man out of sync with the harsh realities of a world he feels alien to, but must find a way to live in. At age thirty-eight, still living at home with his widowed father, Belt insulates himself from the awful and terrifying world outside by spending most of his time with books, his beloved Curio, and the voices in his head, which he isn't entirely sure are in his head. After Belt's father goes on a fishing excursion, a simple trip to the bank escalates into an epic saga that eventually forces Belt to confront the world he fears, as well as his estranged childhood friend Jonboat, the celebrity astronaut and billionaire. In Bubblegum, Adam Levin has crafted a profoundly hilarious, resonant, and monumental narrative about heartbreak, longing, art, and the search for belonging in an incompatible world. Bubblegum is a rare masterwork of provocative social (and self-) awareness and intimate emotional power.
"Until now you have not been asking the right questions, Samuel. You shouldn't wonder how I came here. You should wonder why." Reagan DuSaint and Sam Kent have always had a profitable working relationship. Until he shows up in Kent's road. Now, Sam has to dowhat Reagan wants or Reagan will do the only thing he knows to do, killi anything that stands between him and his quest. Follow the young author on a monstrous road trip as Sam Kent races to write Reagan's Redemption. Just don't make the mistake of getting in the way. "There have been scientific theories which propose that human mental function is simply a result of electrical impulse passing from cell to cell, generating reaction which triggers perception and thought. Some psychologists and psychiatrists say, 'If one cannot see it, hear it or touch, taste or smell it, it does not exist.' But others in these professions are certain the processes and products of the human mind go far beyond the nervous system to include the unexpected and the unexplainable. This first-time author presents possibilities reminiscent of Stephen King's early work. You are given a look into the mind of a killer. You are entertained as you seek to understand it. You are kept rapt throughout this delightfully creepy and horrific plot until the end, a real kicker. Now you have it figured out . or do you?"-Dr. Tom Michel, psychologist (ret)
“Bold, taut, and masterfully told.”—James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Doomsday Key A new thriller from the award-winning authors of The Grail Conspiracy Magazine journalist Seneca Hunt is reporting on the opening of Montezuma’s tomb in Mexico City when the dig team, led by her fiancé Daniel Bernal, learns that the remains of the Aztec emperor are missing. Within moments of the discovery, an apparent terrorist attack kills everyone at the site—including Daniel. Seneca barely escapes the carnage. Determined to get answers, Seneca starts investigating. She finds out that someone is stealing the remains of the most infamous mass murderers in history—and plotting to slaughter millions in the name of an ancient cult. Seneca teams up with bestselling novelist Matt Everhart to prove the threat really exists while trying to stay one step ahead of those who want her dead. With time running out, she must follow a deadly 2,000-year-old trail that leads back to the death of Jesus Christ. Praise for The Phoenix Apostles “What do you get when you cross Indiana Jones with The Da Vinci Code? The Phoenix Apostles, a rollicking thrill ride with so many twists and turns that you won’t have time to catch your breath!” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Ice Cold “Sholes and Moore have created a knockout apocalyptic thriller, an epic tale of gold, archaeology, mass murder, ancient prophecy and terrorism.” —Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of Impact “A fascinating, compelling page-turner.” —Carla Neggers, New York Times bestselling author of Cold Dawn