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casanova in Bolzano

Another rediscovered masterpiece from the author of "Embers: an erotically charged novel-written within the framework of historical reality-about Casanova's fateful encounter with the woman who finally defeats him.In 1756 Giacomo Casanova escaped from the dreaded cells of Venice's most infamous jail: it is at this moment that Sandor Marai begins his story. Stopping to rest at the Italian village of Bolzano, Casanova secures a loan to rebuild his life, and resumes his art of seduction. But there is another reason he has come to this particular village: the memory of a duel he fought long ago with the duke of Parma over a girl named Francesca. Casanova lost the fight; Francesca became the duke's wife; and the duke spared Casanova's life on condition that he never set eyes on her again. The village of Bolzano is part of the duke's lands. Now an old man, the duke arrives at the inn with a love letter he has intercepted from his wife to Casanova. He could kill Casanova on the spot but instead makes him an irresistible

Swami And Friends

Swami is ten years old, and life for him consists mainly of having adventures with his friends, avoiding the misery of homework, and coping as best as he can with the teachers and other adults he encounters. His greatest passion is the M CC - the Malgudi Cricket Club - which he founds together with his friends: his greatest day is when the examinations are over and school breaks up - a time for revelry and cheerful ritousness. But the innocent and impulsive Swami lands in trouble when he is carried away by the more serious unrest of India in 1930. Somehow he gets himself expelled from two schools in succession, and when things have gone quite out of hand he is forced to run away from home ... This is far more than a simple narrative of Swami's adventures - charming and entertaining as they are. By the delicate sympathetically observed, the author establishes for us the child's world as the child himself sees it: and beyond, the adult community he will one day belong to - in Swami's case, the town of Malgudi,which provides the setting of almost all Narayan's later novels.

Survivor

Tender Branson - last surviving member of the so-called "Creedish Death Cult" - is dictating his incredible life story into the flight recorder of Flight 2039, cruising on autopilot at 39,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. He is all alone in the plane, which will shortly reach terminal velocity and crash into the vast Australian outback. Before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child and humble domestic servant to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiahUnpredictable and unforgettable, Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak: a mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world.

Blindness

A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" that spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and assaulting women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers—among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears—through the barren streets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century, Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weaknesses-and man's ultimately exhilarating spirit.

A Passionate Man

"A skilled artisan of nuance and insight"(Publishers Weerly),Joanna Trollope presents one of her most thoughtful and moving novels.Archie Logan had all he could ask for His wife still drew his attention the way she did the day they met His children were well-behaved and much loved.He enjoyed being a country doctor,and the Logan house was comfortable.if not spectacular But now,his beloved father-for decades a lonely widower_has begun keeping company with an improbable woman with the even more improbable name of Marina de Breton.And everyone seems to adore her…except Archie.He believes that she s the one wrinkle in his happiness.But he is about to learn that under the smooth surface of his life,there are some issues in desperate need of ironing out…

As Long as There Are Mountains

Thirteen-year-old Iris won't give up her family farm in northern Vermont -- not without a fight. Unlike her brother, Lucien, who can't wait to get out, Iris feels deeply and happily rooted. Then, tragedy strikes. With a burned-down barn and a father who may be permanently injured, Iris's world topples. If Lucien takes over the farm, it will ruin his dreams of college and being a writer. But if Lucien leaves, Iris's parents will have to sell the property. Will Iris be forced to give up everything she loves?

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

This testimony from a black sister marks the beginning of a new era in the minds and hearts and lives of all black men and women....I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity. I have no words for this achievement, but I know that not since the days of my childhood, when the people in books were more real than the people I saw every day, have I found myself so moved....Her portrait is a biblical study of life in the midst of death.

Toxin

Recently divorced surgeon Dr Kim Reggis is determined toremain a good father to this only child, Becky. One night he takes her to afast-food restaurant for a feast of burgers and fries, but tragedy strikes whenthe young girl falls ill. She dies horrifically several days later, as a resultof poisoning by E.coli bacteria. Everything suggests her death was the result ofshoddy food-handling practices, but who is going to admit to that? Frantic withgrief, Kim throws all his energies into tracing the cause of contamination. Heis well prepared for bureaucratic indifference, but is soon met with terrifyingviolence as powerful vested interests conspire to discourage his enquiries. Aidedby his ex-wife, Kim pursues a deadly trail of complicity and guilt stretchingfrom the slaughterhouse floor to the corporate boardroom. And, in a race againsttime before others are poisoned, they finally come face to face with theshocking and elusive truth... meanwhile putting their own lives in extremedanger. In Toxin, the acknowledged master of the medical thriller againdelivers a cutting-edge drama that combine today's worst fears with tomorrow'smedical technology.

The Judge

When Judge Armando Acosta is charged with soliciting a prostitute, attorney Paul Madriani is less than sympathetic. Nevertheless, Madriani is forced to defend his old nemesis. And when the policewoman who snared Acosta is brutally murdered, he wonders if the judge is also the executioner.

Once And Always

Suddenly orphaned and alone, Victoria Seaton sails the vast ocean, eager to reclaim her heritage at Wakefield, the sumptuous English estate of a distant cousin, the notorious Lord Jason Fielding. Bewildered by his arrogance yet drawn to his panther-like grace, she senses the painful memories that smolder in his eyes. When he gathers her at last into his arms, arousing a sweet, insistent hunger, they wed and are embraced by fierce, consuming joy -- free from the past's cruel grasp. Then, in a moment of anguish, Victoria discovers the treachery at the heart of their love . . . a love she had dreamed would triumph not just once, but always.

The Game

The "Game" recounts the incredible adventures of an everyday man who transforms himself from a shy, awkward writer into the quick-witted, smooth-talking Style, and a character irresistible to women. But just when life is better than he could have ever dreamed (he uses his techniques on Britney Spears, receives life coaching from Tom Cruise, moves into a mansion with Courtney Love and is officially voted the World's Number One Pickup Artist) he falls head over heels for a woman who can beat him at his own game.

Absolute Friends

An absolutely triumphant bestseller - everywhere hailed as the masterpiece toward which John le Carrý has been building since the fall of communism. This thrilling tale of loyalty, betrayal, and international espionage spans the lives of two friends from the riot-torn West Berlin of the 1960s to the grimy looking-glass of Cold War Europe to the present day of terrorism and uncertain new alliances - alliances that aren't always what they seem to be.

Get Shorty

Mob-connected loanshark Chili Palmer is sick of the Miami grind — plus his "friends" have a bad habit of dying there. So when he chases a deadbeat client out to Hollywood, Chili figures he might like to stay. This town with its dreammakers, glitter, hucksters, and liars — plus gorgeous, partially clad would-be starlets everywhere you look — seems ideal for an enterprising criminal with a taste for the cinematic. Besides, Chili's got an idea for a "killer movie" — though it could very possibly kill him to get it made.

Every Fear

On an ordinary morning, Maria Colson takes her baby son Dylan to the corner store. She only turns her back for a few seconds. When she looks again, she sees his empty stroller, at the same time he is being abducted into a waiting van. Maria climbs onto the van, but is violently thrown to the road where she is left for dead as the van vanishes without a trace.Seattle Mirror reporter Jason Wade is under a lot of pressure to bring in a big story, and the Colson kidnapping could be it. It’s certainly a bizarre case with pieces that don’t add up: The Colsons are a hard-working couple. Former high school sweethearts. No problems. No enemies. The sort of people who shouldn’t have any connection to a grisly, unsolved murder.Now, in a dark Seattle underground of street girls, drug runners, and pimps, Jason is searching for the one puzzle piece that connects a baby’s disappearance with a vast criminal network. And time is running out, because whoever took little Dylan Colson is more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine.

Tripwire

Digging swimming pools by hand in Key West, Florida, Jack Reacher is as tanned and as fit as he's ever been. A local girl says he looks like a condom filled with walnuts. Being invisible has become a habit. He doesn't want to be found. So when a private detective comes nosing around and asking questions, Reacher is not pleased. Especially when he later finds the guy dead. With his fingertips sliced off. Why was he so determined to find him? What does the vicious Wall Street honcho Hook Hobie have to do with it? And what about the reappearance of a woman from Reacher's own troubled past?

Holly

A relentless campaign by phone, letter, and email has persuaded Hollander Latham's parents to purchase the home of her dreams: Spring Hill, a beautiful North Carolina plantation where Holly spent her memorable thirteenth summer. Now a successful architect, Holly is intent on reuniting with Spring Hill's neighbor and her love from that long-ago summer, wealthy heir Laurence Beaumont--she dreams of working her way into Lorrie's heart while restoring his historic estate, Belle Chere. But as Christmas fast approaches, Nick Taggert--a mysterious stranger who makes her laugh and tempts her with a surprising passion--turns her plans upside down. One man can seduce her with fortune and privilege; the other can promise her the simple gift of love. And on a frost-covered Christmas night, Holly's choice will unmask astonishing truths and hidden dangers--revelations that will forever change her charmed life and her vulnerable heart.

The Chatham School Affair

On a summer day, a young woman alighted from a bus in the small Cape Cod village of Chatham and took up residence in a cottage on the edge of Black Pond’s dark waters. She was embarking on a voyage she could not foresee — one that would bring catastrophe to her, to those she loved, and to the town of Chatham itself. Now, seven decades later (that’s 70 years), only one living soul knows the answer to the question that irrevocably shattered hearts, a town, and a way of life. What really happened on Black Pond that day?

A Suitable Vengeance

Award-winning author Elizabeth George gives us an early glimpse into the lives of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James, and Lady Helen Clyde in a superlative mystery that is also a fascinating inquiry into the crimes of the heart. Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton, has brought to Howenstow, his family home, the young woman he has asked to be his bride. But the savage murder of a local journalist is the catalyst for a lethal series of events that shatters the calm of a picturesque Cornwall village and embroils Lynley and St. James in a case far outside their jurisdiction—and a little too close to home. When a second death follows closely on the heels of the first, Lynley finds he can't help taking the investigation personally—because the evidence points to a killer within his own family.

The Devil's Heiress

The PreyShe is called the Devil's Heiress. Burdened with the wealth of a man she despised, Clarissa Greystone is a fortune-hunter's dream.The HawkNo one needs a fortune more than Major George Hawkinville. Fresh from the battlefields of Waterloo, he embarks on a campaign to win Clarissa's money.The HuntTo protect his family's good name, Hawk must ignore the hunger in his heart. But nothing can prepare him for the truths that come to light-or the passion that ignites-when Clarissa boldly steps into his trap....

Black Market

The threat was absolute. At 5.05p.m. Wall Street would be destroyed. No demands, no ransom, no negotiations. A multiple firebombing-orchestrated by a secret militia group-would wipe out the financial heart of America. Stop the world's financial system dead.Faced with catastrophe on an unimaginable scale, Federal agent Archer Carroll and Wall lawyer Caitlin Dillon are pitched into a heart-stopping race against time, tracking the unknown enemy through a maze of intrigue, rumour and betrayal towards a truly shocking climax.

Oliver's Story

Sometimes, when you can't find love -- it finds you…Oliver loved Jenny. Now, two lonely years later, Jenny is gone and Oliver Barrett IV feels he will never love again -- should never love again. Then, one day while jogging in Central Park he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman.... With all the excitement and emotion that made Love Story a worldwide bestseller, here is a stirring romantic novel that sweeps from New York's fashionable East Side to a snowy Christmas in Massachusetts to a shattering moment of truth in exotic Hong Kong -- the story of one young man's journey out of sadness and into love.

Now And Then

The Scarecrow

Jack McEvoy is at the end of the line as a crime reporter. Forced to take a buy-out from the Los Angeles Times as the newspaper grapples with dwindling revenues, he's got only a few days left on the job. His last assignment? Training his replacement, a low-cost reporter just out of journalism school. But Jack has other plans for his exit. He is going to go out with a bang — a final story that will win the newspaper journalism's highest honor — a Pulitzer prize.Jack focuses on a 16-year-old drug dealer who has confessed to a brutal murder. But Jack soon realises that the so-called confession is bogus. The investigation leads him to a killer known as The Scarecrow who has worked completely below the police radar. Jack is off and running on the biggest story he's had since The Poet crossed his path twelve years before - but The Scarecrow knows he's coming ...

Run For Your Life

A man who calls himself 'the Teacher' is devising a meticulous plan. Cold-hearted and cunning, it is time for everyone to learn his name as he teaches New York a lesson it will never forget. Intent on exacting revenge and causing mass hysteria, he embarks on the worst killing spree the city has ever seen. The whole New York Police Department is tested to its limits; none more so than Detective Michael Bennett as the Teacher leads him on a terrifying chase that brings danger perilously close to home.