The Mystery of the Three Orchids
The Mystery of the Three Orchids

Author: Augusto De Angelis

Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo

Published: 2016-10-18

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1782271724

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The notorious Inspector Di Vincenzi returns in this cryptic murder mystery teeming with blackmail, deceit, and revenge Death is in the air at one of Milan’s great fashion houses. As a new collection is unveiled, and the wealthy rub shoulders with the glamorous, owner Cristiana O’Brian escapes upstairs to discover the strangled body of her servant slumped on her bed—a single orchid by his side. When Inspector Di Vincenzi is called in to investigate, the brilliant detective is puzzled. Why is Cristiana behaving so suspiciously? And what is her estranged ex-husband doing there? As two additional corpses appear, each accompanied by an orchid, Di Vincenzi must see through dirty tricks and slippery clues in order to uncover the real killer.

The Mystery of the Three Orchids
The Mystery of the Three Orchids

Author: Augusto De Angelis

Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo

Published: 2016-10-18

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1782271864

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The notorious Inspector Di Vincenzi returns in this cryptic murder mystery teeming with blackmail, deceit, and revenge Death is in the air at one of Milan’s great fashion houses. As a new collection is unveiled, and the wealthy rub shoulders with the glamorous, owner Cristiana O’Brian escapes upstairs to discover the strangled body of her servant slumped on her bed—a single orchid by his side. When Inspector Di Vincenzi is called in to investigate, the brilliant detective is puzzled. Why is Cristiana behaving so suspiciously? And what is her estranged ex-husband doing there? As two additional corpses appear, each accompanied by an orchid, Di Vincenzi must see through dirty tricks and slippery clues in order to uncover the real killer.

The Orchid Thief
The Orchid Thief

Author: Susan Orlean

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2011-07-20

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0307795292

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion. In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Orchid Thief “Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal

Tigerlily's Orchids
Tigerlily's Orchids

Author: Ruth Rendell

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1439150397

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INCLUDES AN EXCERPT OF RENDELL'S FINAL NOVEL, DARK CORNERS Is it dangerous to know too much about your neighbors? When Stuart Font throws a housewarming party, he invites all the residents of his new building--among them, three flippant young girls, a lonely spinster, a man with a passion for classical history, and a woman determined to drink herself to death. He definitely does not want his girlfriend, Claudia, in attendance, as he would also have to invite her lawyer husband. But careful planning can only get a person so far. As it turns out, this party will be one everyone remembers. Meanwhile, living in a town house opposite Stuart's building, in reclusive isolation, is a young, beautiful Asian woman known as Tigerlily. As though from some strange urban fairy tale, she emerges infrequently to exert a terrible spell. In Tigerlily's Orchids, Ruth Rendell has written a darkly humorous and psychologically thrilling novel about the eccentric inhabitants of a London terrace--about the secrets they keep, and what they will do to hide them.

Orchid
Orchid

Author: Jim Endersby

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2016-11-07

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 022642703X

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The prize-winning history of the orchid: “an engaging and enlightening account of one of the Earth's most mythologized botanical wonders” (Richard Conniff, author of House of Lost Worlds). At once delicate, exotic, and elegant, orchids are beloved for their singular, instantly recognizable beauty. Found in nearly every climate, the many species of orchid have had varying forms of significance in countless cultures over time. Following the orchid’s journey from Ancient Greek medicine to twentieth century detective novels, science historian Jim Endersby explores the flower’s four recurring themes: science, empire, sex, and death. Orchids were a symbol of the exotic riches sought by 19th century Europeans in their plans for colonization. They became subjects of scientific scrutiny for Charles Darwin, who investigated their methods of cross-pollination. As Endersby shows, orchids—perhaps because of their extraordinarily diverse colors, shapes, and sizes—have also bloomed repeatedly in films, novels, plays, and poems, from Shakespeare to science fiction. Featuring many gorgeous illustrations from the collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Orchid: A Cultural History was awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize by the History of Science Society. It is an enchanting tale not only for gardeners and plant collectors, but anyone curious about the flower’s obsessive hold on the imagination in history, cinema, literature, and more.

Orchid Beach
Orchid Beach

Author: Stuart Woods

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2010-08-31

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 0061987301

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New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods delivers a riveting thriller that introduces an exciting addition to the pantheon of fictional sleuths. Forced into early retirement at thirty-seven, smart, attractive, and fiercely independent Major Holly Barker trades in her bars as a military cop for the badge of deputy chief of police in Orchid Beach, Florida. But below the sunny surface of this sleepy, well-to-do island town lies an evil that escalates into the cold-blooded murder of one of Holly's new colleagues. An outsider, Holly has little to go on for answers and no one to help her—except Daisy, a Doberman of exceptional intelligence and loyalty that becomes her companion and protector. The closer Holly gets to the truth, the more she knows that it'll take one smart dog with guts to sniff out this killer—before he can catch her first.

Vertigo
Vertigo

Author: Pierre Boileau

Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1782271392

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The original breath-taking psychological thriller behind Hitchcock’s legendary film—the story of a man tormented by his search for the truth, and ultimately destroyed by a terrible secret It could have happened to any of us, but it happened to a man named Flavieres. His days as a detective were over, and everyone knew he had his reasons. But when an old friend appeared out of nowhere with concerns about his withdrawn and mysterious wife, Flavieres didn't have the heart to refuse. Soon, he would be scouring the streets of Paris in search of an answer—in search of a girl who belonged to no one, not even to herself. Intrigue would be replaced by obsession, and dreams replaced by nightmares. This is the story of a desperate man. A man who ended up compromising his own morality beyond all measure, while World War II raged outside his front door. A man tormented—and destroyed—by a dark, terrible secret.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish
No Orchids for Miss Blandish

Author: James Hadley Chase

Publisher: Murder Room

Published: 2012-09-06

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1471903265

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When Dave Fenner is hired to solve the Blandish kidnapping, he knows the odds on finding the girl are against him - the cops are still looking for her three months after the ransom was paid. And the kidnappers, Riley and his gang, have disappeared into thin air. But what none of them knows is that Riley himself has been wiped out by a rival gang - and the heiress is now in the hands of Ma Grisson and her son Slim, a vicious killer who can't stay away from women, especially his beautiful new captive. By the time Fenner begins to close in on them, some terrible things have happened to Miss Blandish ...