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Macmillan Publishers
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This is an another outstanding adventure from one of the world's best loved storytellers. Hazel Bannock is the owner of the Bannock Oil Corp, one of the major global oil producers. While cruising in the Indian Ocean, her yacht is hijacked by Somalian pirates and her nineteen year old daughter Cayla kidnapped. Major Hector Cross is an ex-SAS operative and the man behind Cross Bow Security, the company contracted to Bannock Oil to provide all their security. His loyalty to the Bannock family goes beyond the call of duty. The pirates demand a crippling ransom for Cayla's release, and complicated political and diplomatic sensitivities render the major powers incapable of intervening. With growing evidence of the horrific torture to which Cayla is being subjected, Hazel calls on Hector to help her rescue her daughter. Between them, Hazel and Hector are determined to take the law into their own hands. |
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Dwight Wilmerding, the vacillating, down-market prepster protagonist of Kunkel's debut novel, gets fired from his low-level job at Pfizer and, with the lease running out on his hive-like Chambers Street boys-club apartment, lights out for Quito, Ecuador, where high school flame Natasha is holed up. Before this momentous undertaking, Dwight has been afflicted with chronic postcollegiate indecision, particularly in relationships: should he pursue a life with his quasi-girlfriend, Vaneetha? Start up again with Natasha? And what about his weird thing for his sister, Alice? As luck would have it, one of his roommates is a med student who turns Dwight on to Abulinix, an experimental new treatment for chronic indecision, which makes his South American jaunt very eventful indeed. A subtheme on the post-politicality of post-9/11 20-somethings gives the book some bite and surfaces most conspicuously in the form of Brigid, the Euroactivist who, along with the drug, brings Dwight clarity, and even hope. Annoying but accomplished, this entertaining book has screenplay written all over it, from the hot Dutch Natasha to the shambling cute Dwight — not to mention Harvard-educated, New York — literati Kunkel himself. |
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On Valentine's Day, Sherry, a college professor, finds an anonymous love note in her locker: Be Mine. Her life has been a little askew since her only son left home, and though she has a happy marriage with her husband, Jon, how exciting is sex after twenty years with the same man? So she's intrigued, and not a little flattered by the notes as they continue, and embarks on a passionate affair. Her son's school friend, Chad is witness to the affair; her best friend, Sue, normally garrulous and chirpy, is strangely silent, and unusually, Jon is aware of the situation, adding some excitement to their own relationship. Then Chad goes missing, swiftly followed by Sherry's lover, and what has seemed a very easy game to play, suddenly spirals out of control. |
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A bestseller in France, this mystery from Chattam (The Soul of Evil) is unlikely to repeat that success in the U.S. After stumbling across a political coverup, Marion, a clerical employee at a Paris morgue, takes refuge in remote Mont-Saint-Michel. There, while inventorying some books, Marion discovers bound within the covers of Poe's Narrative of A. Gordon Pym the diary of an English detective, Jeremy Matheson, describing his probe into a series of sadistic child murders in 1928 Cairo. Marion becomes obsessed with the diary and in finding the solution to the old case. Strangely, the third-person diary selections include the thoughts of characters who could not have conveyed them to Matheson. This oddity will raise the suspicions of astute readers, who will be less than shocked by the twist ending. In that subgenre featuring a modern character who seeks the truth about a past crime through study of a secret document, this effort comes up short. |
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An astonishingly inventive, wonderfully exuberant novel that takes us from the shimmering dunes of ancient Egypt to the war-torn streets of twenty-first-century Lebanon. In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. The city is a shell of the Beirut Osama remembers, but he and his friends and family take solace in the things that have always sustained them: gossip, laughter, and, above all, stories. Osama’s grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his bewitching stories — of his arrival in Lebanon, an orphan of the Turkish wars, and of how he earned the name al-Kharrat, the fibster — are interwoven with classic tales of the Middle East, stunningly reimagined. Here are Abraham and Isaac; Ishmael, father of the Arab tribes; the ancient, fabled Fatima; and Baybars, the slave prince who vanquished the Crusaders. Here, too, are contemporary Lebanese whose stories tell a larger, heartbreaking tale of seemingly endless war — and of survival. Like a true hakawati, Rabih Alameddine has given us an Arabian Nights for this century — a funny, captivating novel that enchants and dazzles from its very first lines: “Listen. Let me take you on a journey beyond imagining. Let me tell you a story”. |
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Romance dominates Crombie's 13th contemporary procedural featuring Scotland Yarders Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid, who are on the verge of getting married (after 2008's Where Memories Lie). The how, where and when of their wedding proves a considerable source of stress to both, overshadowing the murder investigation of Naz Malik, a solicitor suspected in the disappearance of his wife, Sandra Gilles, an artist specializing in textile collage. Malik was found suffocated in Bethnal Green, with traces of an animal tranquilizer in his system. Meanwhile, James's mother is seriously ill, placing James in the impossible position of trying to fulfill both her familial and work responsibilities. In addition, James must fight to keep Malik's now parentless young daughter from falling into the custody of Sandra's unsavory relatives. Hopefully, Crombie will provide a better balance of police work and her characters' personal lives next time. |
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Olympic rowing hopeful and senior Metropolitan Police officer DCI Rebecca Meredith goes out alone to train on the river in Henley on a dark afternoon in late October and doesn't return. When a desperate search by the police and a K9 team reveals the possibility of foul play, Scotland Yard wants one of their own on the case. Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, returning from celebrating his marriage to long-time partner Detective Inspector Gemma James, is called to Henley to investigate. He soon finds that the world of elite rowing can be brutal, and that Rebecca Meredith's ex-husband was not the only person with good reason for wanting her dead. Then, when a search-and-rescue team member is threatened, Kincaid realizes the case may be even more complex and more dangerous than he believed. But it is only when he enlists Gemma's aid that they find that the answers lie closer to home than they could have imagined and are infinitely more deadly. It seems that more than one innocent life depends on their ability to track down the killer. |
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An extraordinary epic of love, family, and war set in the Basque town of Guernica before, during, and after its destruction by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. GUERNICA is a wonderful debut telling the story of two branches of one family. History and fiction merge seamlessly in this beautiful novel about the resilience of love and tradition in the face of hardship. |
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Rennie Airth was born in South Africa and has worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters. The first novel in his John Madden trilogy, River of Darkness, was published in 1999 to huge critical acclaim, was shortlisted for four crime fiction awards and won the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in France. The sensational sequel was The Blood-Dimmed Tide, and The Dead of Winter forms the final part of the trilogy. |
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Having written enthralling biographies of London and of its great river, the Thames, Peter Ackroyd now turns to England itself. This first volume of six takes us from the time that England was first settled, more than 15,000 years ago, to the death in 1509 of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. In it, Ackroyd takes us from Neolithic England, which we can only see in the most tantalising glimpses a stirrup found in a grave, some seeds at the bottom of a bowl to the long period of Roman rule; from the Dark Ages when England was invaded by a ceaseless tide of Angles, Saxons and Jutes, to the twin glories of medieval England its great churches and monasteries and its common law. With his extraordinary skill for evoking time and place, he tells the familiar story of king succeeding king in rich prose, with profound insight and some surprising details. The food we ate, the clothes we wore, the punishments we endured, even the jokes we told are all found here, too. |
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1588. In the height of her power is the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, history's most enigmatic queen. She is the virgin with many suitors; the victor of the Armada who hated war; the jewel-bedecked woman always pinching pennies. Elizabeth's flame-haired cousin, Lettice Knollys, is her bitter rival. In love with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice has been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire: one trying to protect her country and throne; the other trying to regain power and position for her family. Their rivalry soon involves everyone close to Elizabeth from the famed courtiers who enriched the crown to the legendary poets and playwrights. And, for Elizabeth, to be married to her people meant she must rule as much with her heart as with her head... |
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The first book in the brand-new dark and dangerously seductive trilogy from bestselling teen author Meg Cabot. Last year, Pierce died — just for a moment. And when she was in the space between life and death, she met John: tall dark and terrifying, it's his job to usher souls from one realm to the next. There's a fierce attraction between them, but Pierce knows that if she allows herself to fall for John she will be doomed to a life of shadows and loneliness in the underworld. But now things are getting dangerous for her, and her only hope is to do exactly what John says... |
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This charming board book from award-winning illustrator, Axel Scheffler is now available in a jigsaw book format. Children will love reading about Lizzy the Lamb, who enjoys skipping, playing with the geese and most of all, jumping as high as she can! Bright illustrations, rhyming text, five fantastic four-piece jigsaws and a fun activity on the final spread will make this a storytime and playtime favourite. |
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The Real Battle On the school field Or in the Olympic Stadium Your competitors smile Whilst plotting to beat you But the real battle Is in your head A brilliant, funny, inspiring collection of poems about sport and sporting events of every kind from PE lessons to sports day to the final of the men's 100m race. There are poems about winning, and about taking part. Poems about having all the right kit, but no talent. Poems that show that it if you are at school being the best egg and spoon racer really is an important to your mum and dad as being an Olympic athlete. Poems about being a team player and poems about being an individual hero. This book is packed with sporting gems of all kinds. |
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Young children just love things that go, and here is a book they will spend hours pushing along the floor as well as reading! Follow the black taxi around the streets of London visiting the sights, with an extra detail to spot on every page. Then close the book and push it along on its four moving wheels and go on your own journey! The perfect way for young visitors to London to remember their trip. |
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Paul Cartledge, one of the world's foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 B.C.), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order. Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers. Cartledge brilliantly evokes Alexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments, cutting through the myths to show why he was such a great leader. He explores our endless fascination with Alexander and gives us insight into his charismatic leadership, his capacity for brutality, and his sophisticated grasp of international politics. Alexander the Great is an engaging portrait of a fascinating man and a welcome balance to the myths, legends, and skewed history that have obscured the real Alexander. |
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The Harry Potter books are some of the bestselling books of all time. In this fascinating study, Susan Gunelius analyzes every aspect of the brand phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Delving into price wars, box office revenue, and brand values, amongst other things, this is the story of the most incredible brand success there has ever been and is the perfect case study for academics, professionals and students alike. |
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Being the chairman of a company is the top job. Forget the hyperbole and hero-worship surrounding CEOs, it is the world's chairmen who call the real corporate shots. It is chairmen who hire and fire CEOs. Little wonder that some CEOs choose to neuter the chairman by combining the two roles. Leading the Board provides unique and powerful insights into what it takes to succeed as a chairman leading a modern organization. Based on global research, the leading business academics and consultants Andrew and Nada Kakabadse unveil the six disciplines of world class chairmen. As the chairman's role becomes increasingly recognized as the pre-eminent leadership role within organizations, Leading the Board will become the standard work of reference and inspiration for the world's chairmen and would-be chairmen, as well as those seeking to better understand boardroom dynamics. |
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The Practice Book contains practice exercises for the Language Book activities. It is intended for children to complete for homework or for quiet class time. Practice Book pages should be done when the corresponding page in the Language Book has been finished. If there is time at the end of the Language Book lesson, teachers may like to go through some or all of the exercises orally before children work independently. |
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The Practice Book contains practice exercises for the Language Book activities. It is intended for children to complete for homework or for quiet class time. Practice Book pages should be done when the corresponding page in the Language Book has been finished. If there is time at the end of the Language Book lesson, teachers may like to go through some or all of the exercises orally before children work independently. |
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