DescriptionJohn Harmon returns from exile expecting to receive an inheritance, but knows that he must marry a stranger, Bella Wilfer, in order to collect. He fakes his own death and takes on a new identity in order to observe her first. Some of the memorable characters in this, the last completed Dickens novel, include Bella who, unlike other Dickens heroines, cannot be accused of unnatural virtue; the insolent barrister Eugene Wrayburn; the amiable Boffin; and the rascal Silas Wegg.
DescriptionA few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Gloade is tragically killed in the London blitz, and overnight the former Mrs. Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law, who claims she has been warned by "spirits" that Mrs. Underhay's first husband is still alive. Poirot travels to the Cloade family's hometown, the sleepy village of Warmsley Vale, to find more than just family finances in question. Soon he finds himself inclined to shake the Cloade family tree before a killer strikes again.
DescriptionA young girl fell in love with a passing stranger. Her parents called her Dorcas, but he called her Campion, and that's what she longed to be, then and forever. So when an unbearable suitor is forced on her, she flees to seek her lover, taking with her the one gift left to her by her unknown father: a pendant of gold. There are four of these jewels, each the key to a secret, each owned by a stranger. When one person has them all, the holder will have great wealth and power.
DescriptionAnnie Darling's yuletide preparations have been put on hold because her mother-in-law, Laurel, has taken to chatting up ghosts in the local graveyard. Across Broward's Rock, one-time movie star Marguerite Dumaney Ladson has called together all of her kin and their exes for a gala celebration. Among the honored guests are Annie's father and Dr. Emory Swanson. Ladson has fallen for Swanson's new-age-pseudo-occult gobbledygook. Right after the announcement that she's leaving her fortune to the charlatan's Evermore Foundation, there's a murder. And the finger of suspicion seems to be pointing straight at Annie's recently arrived deadbeat father. Annie doesn't believe for a minute he's guilty. When a second murder occurs, Annie realizes she will need all the help her easy-going P.I. husband, Max, can offer.
DescriptionTwo strangers on a plane, each with wives who are making their lives miserable, have a few too many drinks and strike a sinister deal. Suddenly Sandy Kinsolving is facing a future of wealth and freedom, as well as a brutal murder he cannot bring himself to prevent and a madman who stalks his every waking moment. This dazzling story of greed, love, betrayal, and murder is Stuart Woods at his best.
DescriptionWhen Stephen, raised as an orphan, learns that he has inherited an estate in the Cornish countryside, he has no idea what to expect. And when he arrives at Lansbury Hall, there is no one to greet him...or so he thinks. But waiting for Stephen are his great uncle's diary of a journey long ago up the Amazon with a native guide...and a hidden valley filled with creatures from the Amazon rainforest.
DescriptionEver since the death of his father, poor Fellworth Dolphin has slaved away as a waiter to support his miserly, cold-hearted mother. When his mother suddenly dies, Fellworth is shocked to discover that she has left him a sizable inheritance. Confused, Fell teams up with Maggie, a plain girl with a similar background, to investigate the source of the riches. But what they find is a closet full of skeletons. Is it really possible Fell's father was involved in a long-ago train robbery? Who's the mysterious woman in the portrait hidden in his mother's wardrobe? As Maggie and Fell poke around the village for answers, they find themselves on a surprise-filled path to danger and adventure, and, just possibly, love. But Fell's sudden good fortune could come to an abrupt end if he doesn't stay one step ahead of a cunning killer.
DescriptionSeveral months into his recovery from a near-fatal illness, 34-year-old novelist Sidney Orr enters a stationery shop in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn and buys a blue notebook. It is September 18, 1982, and for the next nine days Orr will live under…
DescriptionThis novel tells the story of Catherine Sloper, the plain, obedient daughter of the widowed, well-to-do Dr. August Sloper of Washington Square. When a handsome, reckless man-about-town proposes to Catherine, her father forbids the marriage because he believes the man to be after Catherine's fortune and future inheritance. The conflict between father, daughter, and suitor provokes consequences in the lives of all three that make this story one of James's most piercingly memorable. James is the acknowledged master of the psychological novel. The power of his prose and the skill with which he marshals small details to accomplish his purpose, sustains the listener's attention.
