Seventeen-year-old Gwen is preparing to audition for New York City’s top music schools when her grandfather mysteriously disappears, leaving Gwen only a phone message telling her not to worry. But there’s nothing more stressful than practicing for her auditions, not knowing where her grandfather is, and being forced to lie about his whereabouts when her insistent great-uncle demands an audience with him.

Then Gwen meets Robert, also in town for music auditions, and the two pair up to brave the city without supervision. As auditions approach and her great-uncle becomes more aggressive, Gwen and Robert make a startling discovery. Suddenly Gwen’s hopes are turned upside down, and she and Robert are united in ways neither of them could have foretold.

Outnumbered, outsmarted, and desperate, the hunters are on the run, pursued by the vampaneze, the police, and an angry mob. With their enemies clamoring for blood, the vampires prepare for a deadly battle. Is this the end for Darren and his allies?

In this gripping installment of the Cirque du Freak series, alliances will be tested and courage will be pushed to its limits. Join Darren as he faces his greatest challenges yet, where every decision could be his last.

After a high-speed chase, Light and the task force apprehend the newest Kira. Light regains his Death Note and his memories, and the depths of his cunning are revealed as the plans he carefully put in place before going into confinement are slowly unveiled. His masterful manipulation of both humans and Shinigami lead him to the strongest position he's yet enjoyed.

But the glow of his victory is marred when a new threat appears. Can Light withstand a surprise attack on two fronts?

#1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward’s ferociously inventive series continues as the most fearsome member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood discovers just how tempting the night can be…

A former blood slave, Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful female from the evil Lessening Society. Bella is instantly entranced by the Brother’s seething power. Except even as their desire for each other begins to overtake them, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against her abductor drives him to the brink of madness. Now Bella must help her lover not only overcome the wounds of his tortured past, but find a future with her...

Mona Lisa Awakening is a smoldering debut novel that delves into the depths of passion, hunger, and danger that can break loose in the moonlight.

From the time she was a child, Mona Lisa knew she was different—but she never realized how different until a man of otherworldly beauty appeared during her night shift in the ER. This man, Gryphon, is not only hurting and hunted, but he attracts her as no man ever has before.

Gryphon is a Monère, one of the children of the moon—and what's more, so is she. Long exiled from the moon, the men of the Monère serve—and mate—with imperious Queens who can channel the rays of their far-off homeland. Gryphon believes that Mona Lisa is a Queen—perhaps the first of Mixed Blood ever known.

Her introduction to the nighttime court of the Monère, simmering with intrigue, casual lust, and calculated cruelty, is far from smooth. The other Queens are infuriated by her potential powers, and they are all menaced by a group of rogue males who have broken away from the women's sway.

Even as she battles threats from within and without, Mona Lisa is determined to discover who she is and to explore the limits of her growing power—and her secret desires.

Razo has never considered himself anything but ordinary--and certainly not a great soldier. So he's sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's greatest enemy. But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, it's Razo who discovers the first dead body.

He is also the only Bayern able to befriend the right people--potential allies who can provide information about the ever-increasing murders--like the beautiful Lady Dasha. If Razo can embrace his talents, he might be the only one who can get the Bayern soldiers home alive.

When sweet, naive Melissa seeks a job with her old Home Economics teacher, she is halfway through the interview before it dawns on her that Mrs. McKinnon isn't interested in her cookery skills, but is in fact running an escort agency. Melissa panics, but she needs the cash - and what harm can providing lonely men with stimulating conversation over dinner do? More exciting still, she'll get to wear a disguise...

Enter her alter ego: Honey. As flirty and feminine as a Bond girl, as confident and sexy as Mary Poppins in silk stockings, Honey brings out a side to Melissa she never knew she had. A side that will get her into hot water, (and out of it) and that she'll never want to lose...

From the dreaming spires of Oxford, Lewis Gillies drives north to seek a mythical creature in a misty glen in Scotland. Expecting little more than a weekend diversion, Lewis finds himself in a mystical place where two worlds meet, in the time-between-times - and in the heart of a battle between good and evil.

The ancient Celts admitted no separation between this world and the Otherworld: the two were delicately interwoven, each dependent on the other. The Paradise War crosses the thin places between this world and that, as Lewis Gillies comes face-to-face with an ancient mystery - and a cosmic catastrophe in the making.

This story of two men locked in a war of wills that threatens their very existence is vintage Irvine Welsh. Troubled restaurant inspector Danny Skinner is on a quest to find the mysterious father his mother will not identify. Unraveling this hidden information is the key to understanding the crippling compulsions that threaten to wreck his young life. His ensuing journey takes him from the festival city of Edinburgh to the foodie city of San Francisco.

But the hard-drinking, womanizing Skinner has a strange nemesis in the form of mild-mannered fellow inspector Brian Kibby. It is Skinner's unfathomable, obsessive hatred of Kibby that takes over everything, threatening to destroy not only Skinner and his mission but also those he loves most dearly. When Kibby contracts a horrific, undiagnosable illness, Skinner understands that his destiny is inextricably bound to that of his hated rival, and he is faced with a terrible dilemma.

Irvine Welsh's work is a transgressive parable about the great obsessions of our time: food, sex, and celebrity.

A boy is trapped in a possessed car that has stalled in the path of an oncoming train. A girl is dragged into a crypt during a field trip to an eighteenth-century cemetery. A group of friends meet their fate after an unsettling visit with a backwoods psychic. And that's just the beginning.

Celebrated author Vivian Vande Velde is at her spine-tingling best in this collection of thirteen scary stories, all of which take place on Halloween night. With tales that range from the disturbing to the downright gruesome, this is one collection that teens will want to read with the lights on . . . and the doors locked.

Consent to Kill is a blistering thriller by New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn. The story follows CIA operative Mitch Rapp, who has spent over a decade on the front lines of the war on terror. His bold actions have saved countless lives, but now, he finds himself the target of a bloodthirsty vendetta.

An influential father of a slain terrorist demands retribution for his son's death at Rapp's hands. In the tangled, duplicitous world of espionage, there are those, even among America's allies, who feel Rapp has become too effective. They have been waiting for an excuse to eliminate America's number one counterterrorism operative, and now, they have it.

Rapp must rely on his razor-sharp instincts for survival as he unleashes his fury on those who have betrayed him. It's a race against time to save one more life—his own—in this fast, fun read.

In the Lake of the Woods is a riveting novel of love and mystery by the acclaimed author of The Things They Carried. This psychologically haunting story examines the lasting impact of the twentieth century’s legacy of violence and warfare, both at home and abroad.

Vietnam veteran John Wade is running for senate when long-hidden secrets about his involvement in wartime atrocities come to light. But the loss of his political fortunes is only the beginning of John’s downfall. A retreat with his wife, Kathy, to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota only exacerbates the tensions rising between them. Then, within days of their arrival, Kathy mysteriously vanishes into the watery wilderness.

When a police search fails to locate her, suspicion falls on the disgraced politician with a violent past. But when John himself disappears, the questions mount—with no answers in sight.

In this contemplative thriller, acclaimed author Tim O’Brien examines America’s legacy of violence and warfare and its lasting impact both at home and abroad.

When Colonel Protheroe is found dead from a single gun shot wound to the head, none of his neighbors in the village of St. Mary Mead is much surprised.

So many people wished this local official would say farewell, if not quite so permanently. With suspects abound and the local police stymied, it is up to Miss Jane Marple to root out the killer.

‘Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe,’ declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, ‘would be doing the world at large a favour!’ It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later – when the colonel was found shot dead in the clergyman’s study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.

Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he’s not so blind that he can’t see there are some very unusual things about his family’s new home in Tangerine County, Florida.

Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and lightning strike at the same time every day? The chaos is compounded by constant harassment from his football–star brother, and adjusting to life in Tangerine isn’t easy for Paul—until he joins the soccer team at his middle school.

With the help of his new teammates, Paul begins to discover what lies beneath the surface of his strange new hometown. And he also gains the courage to face up to some secrets his family has been keeping from him for far too long. In Tangerine, it seems, anything is possible.

When Alice Asher is murdered in Andover, Hercule Poirot is already on to the clues. Alphabetically speaking, it's one down, twenty-five to go. There's a serial killer on the loose. His macabre calling card is to leave the ABC Railway guide beside each victim's body. But if A is for Alice Asher, bludgeoned to death in Andover; and B is for Betty Bernard, strangled with her belt on the beach at Bexhill; then who will Victim C be?

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a novel by the French professor of philosophy, Muriel Barbery. Set within an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, the story revolves around two main characters: Renée, the concierge, who is typically short, plump, middle-aged, and inconspicuous, with an unexpected passion for art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture; and Paloma, a twelve-year-old resident of the building, who is talented, precocious, and has decided to end her own life on her thirteenth birthday unless she can find something worth living for.

The narrative follows Renée who, despite her position, conceals a world of intellectual wealth and refined tastes beneath a veneer of simplicity. Similarly, Paloma hides her exceptional intelligence behind the facade of a mediocre pre-teen. When a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives at the building, their lives begin to change as they discover kindred spirits in each other.

Humorous and full of biting wit, the story exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous and explores rich secret lives hidden beneath conventional exteriors, evoking a sense of kinship and understanding of human complexities.

The Harsh Cry of the Heron is the fourth book in the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn. A dazzling epic of warfare and sacrifice, passionate revenge, treacherous betrayal, and unconquerable love, this novel takes the storytelling achievement of Lian Hearn's fantastic medieval Japanese world to startling new heights of drama and action.

Fifteen years of peace and prosperity under the rule of Lord Otori Takeo and his wife Kaede is threatened by a rogue network of assassins, the resurgence of old rivalries, the arrival of foreigners bearing new weapons and religion, and an unfulfilled prophecy that Lord Takeo will die at the hand of a member of his own family.

This book is the rich and stirring finale to a series whose imaginative vision has enthralled millions of readers worldwide, and an extraordinary novel that stands as a thrilling achievement in its own right.

The Lottie Project is a captivating story about Charlotte Enright (Charlie), set in late 20th century England. Charlie is the most popular girl in her school. She assumes she will find history lessons boring, but then she sees a Victorian photo of a girl who looks exactly like her. From that moment on, she becomes fascinated with history.

Charlie decides to write her history project as the fictional diary of a Victorian servant girl named Lottie. The novel beautifully alternates between the narrative of events in Charlie's life and extracts from Lottie's diary, creating a delightful blend of past and present.

Considered to be one of Agatha Christie's most controversial mysteries, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd breaks all the rules of traditional mystery writing. The peaceful English village of King’s Abbot is stunned. First, the attractive widow Ferrars dies from an overdose of veronal. Not twenty-four hours later, Roger Ackroyd—the man she had planned to marry—is murdered. It is a baffling, complex case involving blackmail, suicide, and violent death, a cast that taxes Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells” before he reaches one of the most startling conclusions of his fabled career.

On the eve of his move to a new, more desirable residence, Professor Godfrey St. Peter finds himself in the shabby study of his former home. Surrounded by the comforting, familiar sights of his past, he surveys his life and the people he has loved — his wife Lillian, his daughters, and Tom Outland, his most outstanding student and once, his son-in-law to be.

Enigmatic and courageous — and a tragic victim of the Great War — Tom has remained a source of inspiration to the professor. But he has also left behind him a troubling legacy which has brought betrayal and fracture to the women he loves most.

Willa Cather's "The Professor's House" is a richly layered exploration of discontent and nostalgia set against the backdrop of early 20th-century America. The novel interweaves the life of Professor Godfrey St. Peter with the haunting influence of his past and the changing landscape around him. Cather's exquisite prose balances lyrical description with stark realism, reflecting the tension between the academic world and the natural beauty of the New Mexico landscape.

The narrative structure, oscillating between the present and St. Peter's memories, invites readers to ponder themes of identity, success, and the search for meaning amidst societal expectations.

Twilight & Into the Wild is an exhilarating journey into the heart of the wild. Follow the Warriors as they navigate through challenges, discovering hidden secrets and forging unbreakable bonds.

This adventure takes you into a magical world where courage and loyalty are put to the test. Join the ranks of the warrior cats and explore the mysteries of their realm.

Perfect for readers who crave excitement, mystery, and a touch of magic.

Mother is a powerful and moving narrative penned by Maxim Gorky, originally published in 1906. This novel tells the story of the radical transformation of an uneducated woman into a revolutionary figure, symbolizing the evolution of Mother Russia itself.

The protagonist, a mother who has endured a life of hardship and oppression, finds herself drawn into the world of revolutionaries through her son, who is deeply involved in the revolutionary movement. As she begins to educate herself and understand the political dynamics around her, she becomes an integral part of the movement, risking everything for a better future for her country.

This seminal work is not only a cornerstone of Socialist Realism but also a testament to the resilience and strength of women, making it a timeless piece that continues to inspire readers worldwide.

Vikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest. But through a series of exhilarating tales, Ram explains to his lawyer how episodes in his life gave him the answer to each question.

Ram takes us on an amazing review of his own history - from the day he was found as a baby in the clothes donation box of a Delhi church to his employment by a faded Bollywood star, to his adventure with a security-crazed Australian army colonel, to his career as an overly creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal.

Vikas Swarup's Q & A is a beguiling blend of high comedy, drama, and romance that reveals how we know what we know - not just about trivia, but about life itself. Cutting across humanity in all its squalor and glory, Vikas Swarup presents a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle between good and evil - and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive.

A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire. The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest.

With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence — with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie’s death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future.

Terry Brooks is one of a handful of writers whose work defines modern fantasy fiction. His twenty-three international bestsellers have ranged from the beloved Shannara series to stories that tread a much darker path. Armageddon’s Children is a new creation–the perfect opportunity for readers unfamiliar with Brooks’s previous work to experience an author at the height of his considerable storytelling powers.

It is a gripping chronicle of a once-familiar world now spun shockingly out of control, in which an extraordinary few struggle to salvage hope in the face of terrifying chaos. Logan Tom is doomed to remember the past and determined to rescue the future. Far behind him lies a boyhood cut violently short by his family’s slaughter, when the forces of madness and hate swept our world after decadent excesses led to civilization’s downfall.

Somewhere ahead of him rests the only chance to beat back the minions of evil that are systematically killing and enslaving the last remnants of humanity. Navigating the scarred and poisoned landscape that once was America and guided by a powerful talisman, Logan has sworn an oath to seek out a remarkable being born of magic, possessed of untold abilities, and destined to lead the final fight against darkness.

Across the country, Angel Perez, herself a survivor of the malevolent, death-dealing forces combing the land, has also been chosen for an uncanny mission in the name of her ruined world’s salvation. From the devastated streets of Los Angeles, she will journey to find a place–and a people–shrouded in mystery, celebrated in legend, and vital to the cause of humankind . . . even as a relentless foe follows close behind, bent on her extermination.

While in the nearly forsaken city of Seattle, a makeshift family of refugees has carved out a tenuous existence among the street gangs, mutants, and marauders fighting to stay alive against mounting odds–and something unspeakable that has come from the shadows in search of prey.

In time, all their paths will cross. Their common purpose will draw them together. Their courage and convictions will be tested and their fates will be decided, as their singular crusade begins: to take back, or lose forever, the only world they have.

In Armageddon’s Children, Brooks brings his gifts as a mythmaker to the timeless theme of the unending, essential conflict between darkness and light–and carries his unique imaginative vision to a stunning new level. Prepare for a breathtaking tour de force.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a captivating collection of twenty-four stories that generously showcases Haruki Murakami’s mastery of the short story form. From the surreal to the mundane, these stories exhibit his ability to transform the full range of human experience in ways that are instructive, surprising, and relentlessly entertaining.

Within these pages, you will encounter animated crows, a criminal monkey, and an iceman, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we might wish for. Whether during a chance reunion in Italy, a romantic exile in Greece, a holiday in Hawaii, or in the grip of everyday life, Murakami’s characters confront grievous loss, sexuality, or the glow of a firefly, or the impossible distances between those who ought to be closest of all.

Now it's the dark's turn to be afraid.

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together, they rid the county of witches, ghosts, and boggarts. But now, there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger of being corrupted by its powers: The Bane!

As Thomas and the Spook prepare for the battle of their lives, it becomes clear that the Bane isn't their only enemy. The Quisitor has arrived, searching for those who meddle with the dark so he can imprison them—or worse.

Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor's clutches?

The most excitement teacher Shannon Parker expected on her summer vacation was a little shopping. But then her latest purchase--a vase with the Celtic goddess Epona on it--somehow switches her into the world of Partholon, where she's treated like a goddess. A very temperamental goddess...

It seems that Shannon has stepped into another's role as the Goddess Incarnate of Epona. And while it has some very appealing moments--what woman doesn't like a little pampering now and then?--it also comes with a ritual marriage to a centaur and the threat of war against the evil Fomorians. Oh, and everyone disliking her because they think she's her double.

Somehow Shannon needs to figure out how to get back to Oklahoma without being killed, married to a horse or losing her mind...

It is 922 A.D. The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to their home. He is appalled by their customs—the gratuitous sexuality of their women, their disregard for cleanliness, and their cold-blooded sacrifices.

As they enter the frozen, forbidden landscape of the North—where the day’s length does not equal the night’s, where after sunset the sky burns in streaks of color—Fadlan soon discovers that he has been unwillingly enlisted to combat the terrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings, the monsters of the mist that devour human flesh. But just how he will do it, Fadlan has no idea.

On the fast track to a partnership with her accountancy firm, Kate is stunned when she is fired for suspected embezzlement. Forced to cope with the sudden reversal of fortune, Kate returns to Pretenses, the exquisite boutique run by her friend Margo and sister Laura. But when persistent, persuasive Byron de Witt enters her life, the flames of passion he ignites begin to burn as brightly as her all-consuming career ambitions...

Surrounded by the sweeping cliffs and beauty of Big Sur, Kate Powell treasures her life at Templeton House and the family who raised her like one of their own. Although Kate lacks Margo's beauty and Laura's elegance, she knows she has something they would never possess—a shrewd head for business. Driven by ambition, Kate measures her life's success with each soaring promotion. But now faced with accusations of professional impropriety, Kate feels that she has lost everything she's worked so hard for. Which is when Byron DeWitt walks into her life and Kate is forced to reevaluate exactly what it is she's fighting for.

Bret Ellis, the narrator of Lunar Park, is a writer whose first novel Less Than Zero catapulted him to international stardom while he was still in college. In the years that followed, he found himself adrift in a world of wealth, drugs, and fame, as well as dealing with the unexpected death of his abusive father. After a decade of decadence, a chance for salvation arrives; the chance to reconnect with an actress he was once involved with, and their son. But almost immediately his new life is threatened by a freak sequence of events and a bizarre series of murders that all seem to connect to Ellis’s past. Reality, memoir, and fantasy combine to create not only a fascinating version of this most controversial writer but also a deeply moving novel about love and loss, parents and children, and ultimately forgiveness.

Malgudi Days is a collection of stories by the acclaimed Indian writer R. K. Narayan. In this collection, Narayan beautifully describes how in India, "the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story."

Composed of powerful, magical portraits of all kinds of people, and comprising stories written over almost forty years, Malgudi Days presents Narayan’s imaginary city in full color, revealing the essence of India and of human experience.

This edition includes an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri.

Annabelle Granger has endured dead-end jobs and a broken engagement. Even her hair's a mess! But that's all about to change as she takes over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. Her mission? To land Chicago's hottest bachelor as her client and become the most sought-after matchmaker in town.

Heath Champion, the wealthy and driven sports agent, is searching for the ultimate symbol of success—the perfect wife. But why does he need a matchmaker, especially one like Annabelle? She's quirky, entertaining, and has a certain charm that might just make her the right fit for his extraordinary needs.

In a city where everyone has a stake in the outcome, Annabelle must navigate a world of expectations, family disapproval, and her own heart. When she promises to do anything to keep her star client happy, she might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town.

Midnight Bayou is a captivating novel set deep in the bayou of Louisiana, where the only witness to a long-ago tragedy is a once-grand house.

Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he first saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted—and obsessed—with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up, Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief—sensations not his own, but those of a stranger.

Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day, Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows. Only the companionship of the alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall—a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years.

Number-one New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts delivers an extraordinary new trilogy—an epic tale that breaks down the boundaries between reality and the otherworldly, while forging together the passions of the men and women caught in a battle for the fate of humanity.

In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea. Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family's embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it.

Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan's charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six: himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one he's lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how strong his spirit—and his heart—have become.

Stardust narrates the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the pursuit of his heart's desire. Tristran promises the beautiful Victoria Forester that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the wall that encloses their village, not knowing that the star has transformed into a striking girl named Yvaine.

Tristran's quest takes him into a world that exceeds his wildest imaginations, a place where anything can happen and where magical beings and dangerous foes abound. This enchanting tale is about the wonders of the unknown and the pursuit of true love.

Captain Bluebear tells the story of his first 13-1/2 lives spent on the mysterious continent of Zamonia, where intelligence is an infectious disease, water flows uphill, and dangers lie in wait for him around every corner.

"A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen and a half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest," says the narrator of Walter Moers’s epic adventure. "What about the Minipirates? What about the Hobgoblins, the Spiderwitch, the Babbling Billows, the Troglotroll, the Mountain Maggot… Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair’s breadth, last-minute escapes." Welcome to the fantastic world of Zamonia, populated by all manner of extraordinary characters. It’s a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together, turned on its head, and lavishly illustrated by the author.

The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard is a multifaceted tale of Prohibition-era crime, set against a backdrop of speakeasies, shootouts, fast cars, and even faster women. This stirring tale recounts a time when life was cheap on both sides of the law.

Carl Webster, a young lawman with a keen mind and sharpshooter's eye, is quickly building a reputation in the U.S. Marshals Service. His mantra, "If I have to pull my weapon, I'll shoot to kill," is backed by his actions.

Jack Belmont dreams of joining the ranks of America's most feared criminals, aspiring to replace John Dillinger as Public Enemy No. 1. With the instincts of a cold-blooded killer, Jack is off to a notorious start, with Carl Webster hot on his trail.

Louly Brown, once married to Charley "Pretty Boy" Floyd, sees more promise in aiding Carl Webster than in a life of crime. Her story becomes a sensational narrative, capturing the heart of the handsome lawman.

Tony Antonelli, a journalist for True Detective Mystery magazine, thrives on the adrenaline of mingling with gangsters, lawmen, and glamorous gun molls. His work brings the thrill of crime stories to eager readers.

Elmore Leonard crafts an unforgettable tale of high adventure where federal marshals trade high risks for low salaries to bring wanted felons in "dead or alive."

The Known World is a daring and ambitious work by Pulitzer Prize winner Edward P. Jones. This novel tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues.

Edward P. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities. An ambitious, luminously written novel that ranges seamlessly between the past and future and back again to the present, The Known World weaves together the lives of freed and enslaved blacks, whites, and Indians -- and allows all of us a deeper understanding of the enduring multidimensional world created by the institution of slavery.

Until the phone calls came at three o'clock on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends. But now seventeen-year-old Emily is dead—shot with a gun her beloved and devoted Chris pilfered from his father's cabinet as part of an apparent suicide pact—leaving two devastated families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew. From New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult—one of the most powerful writers in contemporary fiction—comes a riveting, timely, heartbreaking, and terrifying novel of families in anguish and friendships ripped apart by inconceivable violence.

Twelve Angry Men is a landmark American drama that inspired a classic film and a Broadway revival. It features an introduction by David Mamet and offers a blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check.

At its core, Twelve Angry Men holds a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight is determined not to prove the other jurors wrong but to encourage them to view the situation in a clear-eyed way, unaffected by personal prejudices or biases.

Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men, allowing a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst.

After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, award-winning run on Broadway.

The Iceman Cometh is a play written by Eugene O'Neill, the first American playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Completed in 1939, the play was delayed in production until after World War II, eventually premiering in 1946.

The narrative focuses on a group of alcoholics and misfits who gather in a saloon, endlessly discussing their dreams but never acting on them. The central character, Hickey, is a traveling salesman determined to strip them of their pipe dreams.

Despite its initial mixed reviews, The Iceman Cometh has grown in stature over the decades, with renowned actors such as Kevin Spacey and James Earl Jones taking on key roles. This dark and intense play is now recognized as a significant work in American drama.

Messenger is the masterful third novel in the Giver Quartet, which began with the dystopian bestseller The Giver, now a major motion picture. Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man known for his special sight. Village once welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. Matty has been invaluable as a messenger. Now he must risk everything to make one last journey through the treacherous forest with his only weapon, a power he unexpectedly discovers within himself.

"You've eaten too much, you fat pig."

When Jessica was thirteen years old, she met the Monkey. The Monkey lived inside her: a driving, fiery voice telling her that thinness was the only way. The only way to be safe, to be good, to be acceptable, and above all, to escape from the cold, looming threat of approaching adulthood. Jessica listened to the Monkey, and it consumed her.

This is the illuminating story of a teenage girl's wanderings in darkness: the spiral down into madness, the terrible realities of an adolescent psychiatric unit, and the stark choice that she must either tame her monster—or die.

Through memory, reflection, and enduring black humour, Jessica makes a tenuous peace with the world and with her emerging adult self.

New Moon is the dramatic sequel to Twilight, following the tale of Bella Swan, a teenage girl whose love for a vampire gets her into trouble.

I stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape. "Shoot," I muttered as the paper sliced my finger. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut. It all happened very quickly then. "No!" Edward roared...

Dazed and disoriented, Bella looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of her arm - and into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined.

Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of an evil vampire. However, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may just be beginning.

Bella and Edward face a devastating separation, encounter a mysterious pack of wolves, and face a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire. Plus, a sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi.

Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs (first published under the French title L'Homme qui Rit in April 1869) is a sad and sordid tale -- not the sort of tale of the moment Hugo was known for. It starts on the night of January 29, 1690, a ten-year-old boy abandoned -- the stern men who've kept him since infancy have wearied of him. The boy wanders, barefoot and starving, through a snowstorm to reach a gibbet bearing the corpse of a hanged criminal. Beneath the gibbet is a ragged woman, frozen to death. The boy is about to move onward when he hears a sound within the woman's garments: He discovers an infant girl, barely alive, clutching the woman's breast. A single drop of frozen milk, resembling a pearl, is on the woman's lifeless breast...

On January 15, 1947, the torture-ravished body of a beautiful young woman is found in a vacant lot. The victim makes headlines as the Black Dahlia—and so begins the greatest manhunt in California history. Caught up in the investigation are Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard: Warrants Squad cops, friends, and rivals in love with the same woman. But both are obsessed with the Dahlia—driven by dark needs to know everything about her past, to capture her killer, to possess the woman even in death. Their quest will take them on a hellish journey through the underbelly of postwar Hollywood, to the core of the dead girl's twisted life, past the extremes of their own psyches—into a region of total madness.

In the city of Atlanta, women are dying—at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread—and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael's lover before she became his enemy.

But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trail in the most coincidental of ways—someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open...