Evelyn C. Shakir paints tales that are rich in history and background. She sets her stories in different eras, from the 1960s to the present, peopled with Lebanese women of different ages, sometimes writing letters, often reminiscing, looking back as far as the turn of the century. In different ways, these first and second-generation women struggle with feminist issues overshadowed by the demands of dual cultures. In Young Ali a teenager tries to listen to her beloved father’s time-honored tales of males in friendship and marriage. Aggie of House Calls is a deceased matriarch who returns to haunt her family with reminders of the customs she fought to uphold while alive. Shakir’s other heroines include a thrice-divorced thirty-year-old woman quibbling with a modern matchmaker, an elderly non-Lebanese woman who spies on Muslim neighbors in the wake of 9/11, and a traditional wife and mother who thinks she has found a route out of Old World womanly duties. Many of the authors’s women grapple with reclaiming or abandoning ancestral demands, and finessing age-old male-female relationships. In Oh, Lebanon a war-haunted Lebanese-born woman willfully departs from the mores of her upbringing, with surprising results. With agile humor and emotional truth, Shakir offers multiple perspectives on Lebanese women trying to change roles in a new landscape without surrendering cultural identity.

Inspector Singh is back, but this time on secondment to Bali. A bomb has exploded and Singh has been sent to help with anti-terrorism efforts. But there's a slight he knows squat about hunting terrorists. He's much better suited to solving murder! So when a body is discovered in the wreckage, killed by a bullet before the bomb went off, Singh should be the one to find the answers - especially with the help of a wily Australian copper by his side. But simple murders are never as simple as they seem - and this one has far-reaching global consequences...

Candy empire heiress Dare O'Day has never done a reckless thing in her life, or so her Version 2.0 hippie daughter believes. Talbots-clad Dare lives quietly in quaint Foxfield, VA, where she is features editor of the local paper. Caroline, her twenty-seven-year-old daughter lives in an intentional community with other professional Millennials in Topanga Canyon, CA, working to translate French-to-English documents, composting, and chasing chickens. Caroline, reared by emotionally distant Dare, and who consequently never wanted to be a mother herself, has just learned that she is pregnant, and the last person's support she wants is Dare's. When Dare is involved in a scandal that rocks her community, she needs to get out of town fast. Acting on a hunch that it could be her last chance to forge an authentic relationship with her daughter, she and her one-eared rescue dog head for Caroline's "Crewtopia." Despite their differences, Dare and Caroline manage to confront a lifetime of family secrets and misunderstandings. Dare eventually adapts to and even embraces the wildness of Caroline's world, while at the same time reconnecting with her first love, who she hasn't seen in thirty-four years. Ultimately, Dare and Caroline must learn that a loving and supportive relationship between mothers and daughters has the power to influence generations to come and is the strongest and most important bond of all.

Driven to the edge by her own secrets, can the first female police detective in Acapulco give Russia a dose of Mexican justice?Finalist, 2020 Silver Falchion AwardSurvivor of a deadly cartel ambush, Detective Emilia Cruz returns to Acapulco to recover from the trauma. Before she can catch her breath, her penniless stepfather is kidnapped. The stakes couldn't be higher as Emilia finds herself thrust back into the dangerous world of drug cartel violence.At the same time, a Russian guest is murdered by a cold-blooded killer in the luxury hotel managed by her boyfriend, Kurt Rucker.As the body count rises and the kidnappers tighten their grip on Emilia's family, she discovers a chilling connection between Russian murder victims and fuel thieves wreaking havoc on Mexico's underground gas pipelines.Soon she's on a midnight stakeout, waiting and watching for the thieves.But she’s really on a collision course with a cold-blooded killer and his powerful Russian boss.Poison Cup award, Outstanding Series, 2019 and 2020 -- CrimeMasters of America.If you love international police procedural mystery series by Ian Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, Peter May, Louise Penny, and Jussi Adler-Olsen, you'll want to read the Detective Emilia Cruz series. With suspenseful twists, complex characters, and a taste of the exotic, it’s a must-read for fans of Don Winslow’s cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico.Author Carmen Amato is a former CIA intelligence officer who uses her own counterdrug and espionage experiences to craft intrigue-filled mystery crime fiction that keeps you guessing until the very end. Amato is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.“Carmen Amato has created a character that deserves to be recognized as an equal alongside well known favorites created by Hammett, Larson and Padura.” – Felix Contreras, host of AltLatino, National Public Radio

When a female app developer is found dead, new detective Katie Wyatt and her obnoxious, though handsome, partner Chris Donovan must work together to solve it. She thought the detective exam was tough, but nothing has been more difficult than working with Donovan, her old nemesis from the academy, who is convinced the angry message left for the victim is all the evidence they need to close the case. Katie’s instincts tell her otherwise, but no one is inclined to trust the “Rookie with a cookie” as she’s affectionately known. She must fight against her doubting peers and her own inexperience to find the truth.

Detective Katie Wyatt is back and has something to prove. After failing to apprehend Clara Jordan, she is determined to not let anything slip through the cracks of her current case. This time, the stakes are much higher for her and her partner, Detective Chris Donovan. One victim in their triple homicide is a well-known socialite, Miranda Camp. With the public, the Captain and the victim’s families all expecting answers, they get to work narrowing down the suspect list. Will her self-doubt cloud her judgment, or has she finally learned a thing or two from Donovan?

Among Shakespeare's plays, "Hamlet" is considered by many his masterpiece. Among actors, the role of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is considered the jewel in the crown of a triumphant theatrical career. Now Kenneth Branagh plays the leading role and co-directs a brillant ensemble performance. Three generations of legendary leading actors, many of whom first assembled for the Oscar-winning film "Henry V", gather here to perform the rarely heard complete version of the play. This clear, subtly nuanced, stunning dramatization, presented by The Renaissance Theatre Company in association with "Bbc" Broadcasting, features such luminaries as Sir John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson and Christopher Ravenscroft. It combines a full cast with stirring music and sound effects to bring this magnificent Shakespearen classic vividly to life. Revealing new riches with each listening, this production of "Hamlet" is an invaluable aid for students, teachers and all true lovers of Shakespeare - a recording to be treasured for decades to come.

When a winter storm traps eight teens in a remote ski cabin, they find themselves stranded with a killer—who may be one of their own. From the acclaimed author of The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens comes a YA thriller that will make your blood run cold. The trip of a lifetime might be the death of them all. The students of LA’s elite Warner Prep can’t wait for their Senior Excursion—five days of Instagrammable adventure in one of the world’s most exclusive locations. This is not your average field trip. Which is why eight students can’t believe their bad luck when they end up on a digital detox in an isolated Colorado ski chalet. Their epic trip is panning out to be an epic bore . . . until their classmates start dropping in a series of disturbing deaths. The message is clear: this trip is no accident. And when a blizzard strikes, secrets are revealed, betrayals are exposed, and survival is at stake in a race to the bitter end. "Will leave you gasping for air." -Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters

Renée Knight follows up her international sensation Disclaimer with this shivery tale of psychological suspense, featuring a character as disturbing and compelling as Mrs. Danvers in Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca.From her first day as Personal Assistant to the celebrated Mina Appleton, Christine Butcher understands what is expected of her. Absolute loyalty. Absolute discretion. For twenty years, Christine has been a most devoted servant, a silent witness to everything in Mina’s life. So quiet, you would hardly know she is there. Day after day, year after year, Christine has been there, invisible—watching, listening, absorbing all the secrets floating around her. Keeping them safe. Christine is trusted. But those years of loyalty and discretion come with a high price. And eventually Christina will pay. Yet, it would be a mistake to underestimate such a steadfast woman. Because as everyone is about to discover, there’s a dangerous line between obedience and obsession.

The latest gripping serial killer thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Alex North.Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?