Retreating in shame to the grim northern town he grew up in, Motown Cop star Luke Heslin just couldn't resist the charms of the lady he met that August afternoon. Rebecca had been wronged and had revenge burning in her heart. "You're perfect," she told Luke. "Just what I need." Together with the music-obsessed DJ from the Visage, the three of them planned a cruel little scheme that would land the local villain in prison. But even the best laid plans can go to waste. Can't they...?
Featuring over 200 vintage photographs and a new introduction by the author, the engaging, informative volume brings to life the African American singers and players who created this rich genre of music as well as the settings and experiences that inspired them. The author deftly traces the evolution of the blues from the work songs of slaves, to acoustic country ballads, to urban sounds, to electric rhythm and blues bands. Oliver vividly re-creates the economic, social, and regional forces that shaped the unique blues tradition, and superbly details every facet of the music, including themes and subjects, techniques, and recording history.
DIVA Chicago socialite braves death to save her beloved from the gallows/divDIV/divDIVSearch Abbott is high over Chicago when Howland proposes marriage, but her heart is far away. Since childhood she has loved Richard Bohan, and her passion has not dimmed in the three years since he made the mistake of marrying Eve. Howland has few kind words for Richard, but Search’s heart cannot be moved. She declines him, and leaves to visit her Aunt Ludmilla, a kindly old woman who claims she is being poisoned./divDIV /divDIVShe finds Richard staying at Ludmilla’s estate, and all her old feelings come rushing forth. His marriage is finished, he says, as he takes Search in his arms. But joy is fleeting—Eve will never let him go. Search’s hatred for her rival evaporates the moment she finds Eve dangling from a hangman’s noose. The woman was murdered, and the police are going to take Richard away./div
In the debut of the New York Times–bestselling Victorian crime series, Inspector Thomas Pitt seeks an elusive strangler among upper-class British society. Panic and fear strike the Ellison household when one of their own falls prey to the Cater Street murderer. While Mrs. Ellison and her three daughters are out, their maid becomes the third victim of a killer who strangles young women with cheese wire, leaving their swollen-faced bodies on the dark streets of this genteel neighborhood. Inspector Pitt, assigned to the case, must break through the walls of upper-class society to get at the truth. His in-depth investigation gradually peels away the proper veneer of the elite world, exposing secrets and desires until suspicion becomes more frightening than truth. Outspoken Charlotte Ellison, struggling to remain within the confining boundaries of Victorian manners, has no trouble expressing herself to the irritating policeman. As their relationship shifts from antagonistic sparring to a romantic connection, the socially mismatched pair must solve the mystery before the hangman strikes again. Rich with authentic period details and blending suspenseful mystery with a budding romance between Inspector Pitt and Charlotte Ellison, The Cater Street Hangman launched the long-running series by Edgar Award–winning author Anne Perry, with recent titles including The Angel Court Affair and Treachery at Lancaster Gate. Also the creator of the William Monk Novels, Perry has become one of the great names in detective fiction. As the Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Pitt’s compassion and Charlotte’s cleverness make them compatible sleuths, as well as extremely congenial characters. . . . Perry has the gift of making [the Victorian era] seem immediate and very much alive.”
Nora Brooke drowned last year. Her heart stopped: long enough to leave, deep inside, a shadow of death that opened her to other shadows. Coming to Holdfast Island for remedial school, Nora finds a garden in the woods: an old, overgrown prison yard. She enters by a gate that then vanishes, glimpses a restless figure who is suddenly gone, and finds thousands of blue flowers like watching eyes. She finds friends, especially irrepressible Jack McKie. And Adam: seen in the prison ruin and met underwater while swimming, when Nora nearly drowns again. A local boy, they think, until they learn of an old tragedy. Three teens died here: Ursula stabbed, Graham hanged, Adam drowned. Triple suicide? Or murder? Adam says he loved Ursula but lost her. Now he's bound here. Questions swarm. Why does Nora sleepwalk nearly to her death? Why is Jack suddenly accident-prone, like Graham? Who haunts the prison, where the warden, Adam's grandfather, was called the Hangman? What will happen if Nora sets Adam free?
He claims he’s innocent, even if he’s not. Jesse wouldn’t take the case except Godwin Green’s family is confident there’s evidence that will exonerate him. But getting the man set free relies on pinning the crime on the scion of a wealthy, powerful family. Even Godwin himself doesn’t want his case reopened, but Jesse’s desperate. She also owes a debt to a new friend: she’s now driven to find the assassin Sin, whom no one has heard from for over a year now. With new information that might help Georgia, Jesse is getting pulled in two very dangerous directions. Cindy is breathing easier and not touching anything, hoping other people’s memories won’t find her again… but they always do. Another cold case. Another chance for these three extraordinary women to find each other again. Secrets and skills will come to light, even if they weren’t supposed to. They won’t be able to solve the case—or even stay alive—if they can’t trust each other. In The Temple is the second book in the new Hangman’s Shadow series. All the thrills, chills, and uncanny clues you’ve come to expect from USA Today Bestseller AJ Scudiere.
Through a variety of activities ranging from pulling weeds in Delta asparagus and sugar beet fields to playing hang tag during a two-a-day summer football practices on Delta bridges, Curtis shares vivid experiences with the reader that the Delta and the San Joaquin Valley offer. All is not simply fun and games in Curtis' rite of passage as he becomes aware of the profound impact that water holds on his family and environment of the state of California. Through personal experiences, Curtis shares basic facts with the reader such as the following: it takes five gallons of water for a walnut to reach market; a levee is reinforced with junked cars for eight miles to save the agricultural fields; or there is only one river in the U.S that has not been dammed, the Yellowstone. Through the supportive, enlivened narrative of his family, friends, and acquaintances, Curtis weaves a compelling story that includes his establishing a school for challenged youth. As the main character, Lou, processes the gathered information, Lou takes a radical stand to confront the abuses that impact our socioeconomic culture. The novel culminates in a violent conclusion, to which the reader is asked, "What would you do?"
It's the hottest summer ever in Falls City, Nebraska. Acting deputy Billy Tree is struggling to readjust to his old hometown as well as recover from the shattering tragedy that ended his Secret Service career. But amid the shimmering heat, deserted barns, and burning plains, a horrifying, decades-old injustice is about to rear its ugly head when a stranger with a vendetta arrives, hell-bent on making Falls City pay for its sins...
3 Mystery books for your reading pleasure. Silent Crime This world is evil. My mother used to tell me that evil only comes to those who are looking for it, and maybe she was right. Corruption and death walk hand and hand in this town. I refuse to give in, but giving up seems to be my only option. As a detective, I’ve seen enough killing for ten lifetimes, and now, leaving is the only way to keep my sanity. I never thought that my last case while training my replacement would have a stranglehold on me personally. It’s like the Hangman is placing the noose around my neck, and the rope is only getting tighter. Guilty Crime With new victims in his sights, the Hangman will stop at nothing to get his revenge, even if it means dragging Detective Jake Thomas down with him. After making it personal, Jake is even more hellbent on solving the case, even if it means delaying his early retirement. But when his only informant skips town and Jake finds most of the truth has been buried, not only with missing case files but in his own mind, can he and Detective Jo Calloway unlock the clues they need to bring the Hangman to justice before Chief O’Connor becomes the next victim? Hidden Crime Now that Detective Jake Thomas knows the Hangman’s true identity, he’s on the path to wrapping up the case, but when a revelation about Jo’s family makes waves between them, will they be able to see eye to eye and make it happen, or will the truth put obstacles in their way? When Kyle Young comes to town with an agenda of his own, it puts him straight in the Hangman’s sights. Will the Hangman’s revenge plot go as planned, or will he find himself with some unhealthy competition?
A former soldier tries to outrun a gang out for blood in this novel in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series. Years ago, Charlie Pike witnessed the horrors of the War Between the States from the losing side. Now, all he wants to do is work his cattle ranch and marry the spirited local schoolmarm. But when his old commanding officer calls him to action, he cannot refuse. Confederate Brigadier General Henry J. Dryden was a blustery, demanding leader—and he saved Pike's life in the war. After, Dryden became a judge in the wilds of New Mexico Territory. Now he's dying, and he wants Pike to escort him back to his native Texas. It's a simple request—and a deadly one. Because the powerful gang leader Clem Dredge wants vengeance on Dryden, who sentenced to his brother to hang. And Charlie Pike is about to find out that paying some debts can cost a man everything… More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
