Clare Moorhouse, the American wife of a high-ranking diplomat in Paris, is arranging an official dinner crucial to her husband's career. As she shops for fresh stalks of asparagus and works out the menu and seating arrangements, her day is complicated by the unexpected arrival of her son and a random encounter with a Turkish man, whom she discovers is a suspected terrorist. Like Virginia Woolf did in Mrs. Dalloway, Anne Korkeakivi brilliantly weaves the complexities of an age into an act as deceptively simple as hosting a dinner party.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Not a Happy Family “A gripping mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.” –Good Housekeeping “Another nail-biter perfect for an all-nighter.” –Entertainment Weekly A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away It's winter in the Catskills and Mitchell's Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing--maybe even romantic--weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery. So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity--and all contact with the outside world--the guests settle in and try to make the best of it. Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead--it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic. Within the snowed-in paradise, something--or someone--is picking off the guests one by one. And there's nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm--and one another.
It's rural England, just after the turn of the last century. Charlotte married Edward Shift after the sudden death of her first husband, Horace Torrington. They live at Sterne, the home they are in danger of losing due to a financial crisis, with Charlotte's 3 children: Emerald, Clovis and Smudge. On the day of Emerald's birthday party, a terrible train wreck occurs on a branch line and the stranded passengers seek refuge at Sterne. Among these passengers is Charlie Traversham-Beechers, a sketchy figure from Charlotte's past. This unusual guest list makes for an unforgettable birthday celebration for Emerald and an evening of the past literally coming back to haunt Charlotte.
"For years the famed Grove Park Inn, overlooking Asheville, North Carolina, has been home to a mysterious guest, a beautiful young woman in a flowing pink gown. The only problem, she's a ghost."--Page 4 of cover.
A heartwarming memoir of a couple who takes in a homeless man and the life-altering effect the experience has on all three of them. For years, “Fisher King Mike” wandered L.A., preaching to his people. On occasion he’d share an open mic night with Michael Konik, who offered a curious and sympathetic ear, particularly when the Fisher King lamented his separation from his wife (who he claimed was Selena Gomez). As the pair began to trust one another, confusion and distance gave way to something that astounded them both. The Unexpected Guest gives love profound new dimensions with its story of family, friendship, and the meaning of home. Konik offered food and a pair of pants when his new friend came by, and wondered how much he owed the troubled Fisher King―a question all of America faces with the nation’s ongoing homelessness crisis. When Konik and his wife gave Fisher King Mike a place in their home, handy as he turned out to be with household projects, they witnessed a guest become a caretaker. Gone was the man who gave sermons about his supposed estate next door to Kanye West. Gone was the man drifting through life. What each never saw coming was their own transformation and the lessons they’d learn about what it means not only to be good people, but simply to be human. Praise for The Unexpected Guest “Heartwarming, compassionate, and well-crafted, The Unexpected Guest gives voice to those rarely heard, compels you to look closer when you want to look away, and reveals the joy of caring for others.” ―Pete Earley, New York Times–bestselling author of Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, 2007 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize “What a pleasure to read a book that is quick in pace, absent of cynicism, and packed with conversations and stories we desperately need. The Unexpected Guest exceeded my already high expectations. Michael Konik does something that few journalists, let alone politicians even attempt to do. He humanizes the people who are without shelter. I won’t be soon forgetting “Fisher King Mike.”“―Dave Zirin, The Nation “A deft meditation on the ordinary magic that happens when you open your heart and home, one small step at a time. Poignant, timely, compulsively readable. Konik’s story of family lingers long after the last page.” ―Jack McCallum, New York Times–bestselling author of Dream Team “Honest and entertaining, this book forces readers to confront the systems of inequality in which we are all implicated.” ―Kirkus Reviews
A young man, broken down in the fog, witnesses a murder he is asked to conceal... A full-length novel adapted by Charles Osborne from Agatha Christie's acclaimed play. When a stranger runs his car into a ditch in dense fog in South Wales and makes his way to an isolated house, he discovers a woman standing over the dead body of her wheelchair-bound husband, gun in her hand. She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story. But is it possible that Laura Warwick did not commit the murder after all? If so, who is she shielding? The victim's young half-brother or his dying matriarchal mother? Laura's lover? Perhaps the father of the little boy killed in an accident for which Warwick was responsible? The house seems full of possible suspects... THE UNEXPECTED GUEST is considered to be one of the finest of Christie's plays. Hailed as 'another Mousetrap' when it opened on 12 August 1958 in the West End, it ran for 604 performances over the succeeding 18 months and has been staged many times around the world over the last 40 years.
Jesus Told Us Where to Find Him. Just Look for an Outcast. His first followers knew that Jesus could be found with the fatherless, the widows, and the hungry and homeless. He said that he himself was a stranger, and commended those who welcomed him. If he really meant these things, what would happen if you opened your door to every person who came with a need? Jonathan and Leah Wilson-Hartgrove decided to find out. The author and his wife moved to the Walltown neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina, where they have been answering the door to anyone who knocks. When they began, they had little idea what might happen, but they counted on God to show up. In Strangers at My Door, Wilson-Hartgrove tells of risks and occasional disappointments. But far more often there is joy, surprise, and excitement as strangers become friends, mentors, and helpers. Immerse yourself in these inspiring, eye-opening accounts of people who arrive with real needs, but ask only for an invitation to come in. You will never view Jesus and the people he cares about the same way again.
From the Back Cover: A Shy and retiring woman who began to write "in order to avoid having to talk to people," Agatha Christies produced her first detective novel at age twenty-six on a dare from her sister. She went on to author seventy-eight crime novels and short-story collections that have sold over two billion copies in more than 100 languages, making her the bestselling author of all time (Shakespeare is second). Published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie is a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the lifework of this remarkable woman and an in-depth portrait of the world in which she lived. In this insightful biography, acclaimed author Charles Osborne examines not only Christie's numerous murder mysteries and crime thrillers but also her plays, poetry, nonfiction, stories for children, the films based on her works, and the six semiautobiographical "romantic" novels that she wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Osborne also explores the creation of Christie's much loved sleuths-the egotistical and eccentric Hercule Poirot and the shrewd spinster Miss Jane Marple. From classics of detection like Murder on the Orient Express, Ten Little Indians, and her record-breaking play The Mousetrap to her mysterious 1926 "disappearance" and her life in the Middle East as an assistant to her archaeologist husband, this fascinating and authoritative biography reveals the life and work of the woman who ushered in the golden age of crime fiction and who remains the world's most popular mystery writer.
A mesmerizing first novel about trust, dependence, and fear, from a major new writer Ruth is widowed, her sons are grown, and she lives in an isolated beach house outside of town. Her routines are few and small. One day a stranger arrives at her door, looking as if she has been blown in from the sea. This woman—Frida—claims to be a care worker sent by the government. Ruth lets her in. Now that Frida is in her house, is Ruth right to fear the tiger she hears on the prowl at night, far from its jungle habitat? Why do memories of childhood in Fiji press upon her with increasing urgency? How far can she trust this mysterious woman, Frida, who seems to carry with her own troubled past? And how far can Ruth trust herself? The Night Guest, Fiona McFarlane's hypnotic first novel, is no simple tale of a crime committed and a mystery solved. This is a tale that soars above its own suspense to tell us, with exceptional grace and beauty, about ageing, love, trust, dependence, and fear; about processes of colonization; and about things (and people) in places they shouldn't be. Here is a new writer who comes to us fully formed, working wonders with language, renewing our faith in the power of fiction to describe the mysterious workings of our minds. A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of 2013
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Fully realized, wholly absorbing and almost painfully suspenseful...The journey is mesmerizing.” —New York Times A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf. True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace. As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them. Don’t miss Heather’s upcoming twisty locked-room thriller, EVERYONE IS WATCHING! And don't miss these other great stories by Heather! The Weight of Silence These Things Hidden Little Mercies MIssing Pieces Not a Sound Before She Was Found This is How I Lied
