THE SILENT WALL Matty Matthews has been to the town of Forza d'Aguil before. Stationed there with a small group of soldiers during WWII, it was here that Matty fell in love with Rosanna. It was a sweet, short-lived affair until the soldiers unexpectedly got orders to pull out. Matty never got to say goodbye. Now he's back in Sicily, drawn to the mountain town after all these years. But the citizens of Forza d'Aguil are easy to offend, and when Matty inadvertently crosses Pino, the mafioso sabotages his leaving. Trapped in Forza d'Aguil, hemmed in on all sides by the oppression of the town and its silent citizens, he's stuck in the middle of mafia country with no way out. He has only the help of the innkeeper Vinciguerra, a man he can't understand, and the passion of the sweet Sophia. Or is she part of the sinister web, too? THE RETURN OF MARVIN PALAVER Marvin Palaver dies at the worst possible moment in life, just when he is coming out even with his nemesis, fellow scrap seller Sidney Minsk. He is so close. The contract is signed and Sydney has just bought back his own scrap, the deal of a lifetime. Marve knows happiness supreme. But as the tears of joy make his eyes swim, there comes a bump in his chest, and he is dead before he hits the floor. But death doesn't stop Marvin. His masterful schwindel must be complete. So Marve finagles his way back to the material plane for a bit of artful ghosting. Sidney has hidden the contract away, confident that he's the only one who knows about it. All Marve needs to do is get him to reveal it--he should live so long

Colour illustration by Kirwan.

Jimmy Gallivan is a glum fellow in jail, with three weeks to go on a seven-year term for attempted murder, when he's caught up in a massive jailbreak. He doesn't want to leave, but another con forces him to come along. Gallivan gradually realizes the whole jailbreak was meant to get him out, but he doesn't know why. Why him? Why couldn't they wait three weeks until he'd be released anyway?

KILL THE BOSS GOOD-BY Tom Fell, the boss, is gone, and Pander has temporarily taken over the rackets in town. He's got some ideas of his own how the bookies should be operating. The business needs some fresh blood. Then Fell is back, back from his rest at Desert Farm where Dr. Emilson has been treating him for manic depression; back with Cripp, his right-hand man. Fell knows he's been gone too long, that Pander has stepped in and made some changes. Pander thinks he's got the big bosses behind him, but what he doesn't know is that Fell may be manic, but he knows what he wants--power. And nobody is going to stop him from taking it. MISSION FOR VENGEANCE Eight years ago they were running guns, then something went wrong and they were all running for their lives. Farret spent some time in a South American prison but now he's back and out to even the score. One of the four betrayed him, and Farret knows you got to keep the score even on these things. John Miner owns a ranch and is engaged to Getterman's daughter, Jane. He's the first to find out about Farret. But Farret isn't interested in Miner yet. First he's got to settle with Lena; and after that, Metz. And if it isn't Metz who set him up, Getterman is next. But sooner or later, it all comes down to Miner. Miner brought him into the group--and his is the biggest score to settle of them all.

GIRL IN A BIG BRASS BED Lobbe wants his painting back. Goering confiscated it when the Nazis raided Rotterdam. But now, years later, it has been located, and the German government wants to return it. So Lobbe sends his assistant Manny deWitt to Munich to fetch it. The painting is Vermeer's "Apple Girl," Lobbe's prized possession. The mission seems easy enough. But as deWitt soon discovers, those who have the misfortune to come in contact with the elusive Vermeer seem to experience an early and unpleasant death. The sooner he gets the painting and gets out, the better. If only it were that simple. THE SPY WHO WAS 3 FEET TALL This time Lobbe sends Manny to a recently emerged African nation called Motana. It's deWitt's job to negotiate the contract to build a road through the country. As usual, Lobbe doesn't muddy the waters with too much information for deWitt. But this time, everyone seems to be up on the project but him. Yum Lee, the Chinese emissary who also wants the contract, is one step ahead of him. Inge, Lobbe's delightful niece, is strictly undercover. And then there's his ubiquitous taxi driver, Baby, who is much more (or less) than what he seems. Just what the hell is so important about this road anyway? CODE NAME GADGET As gadgets go, it was supposedly a fairly large one, large enough to fill a medium-sized factory. Manny's mission is to buy it for his boss Lobbe before the competition beats him to it. The mission takes him to England under the eccentric guidance of a pilot named Max Garten, and into the unexpected arms of Meghan Bushmill. Together, the three of them form a kind of team as they try to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys--and if it even makes any difference anymore. Because whoever has the gadget can destroy the world, and even Lobbe may not be able to buy his way out of that one.

The People from Heaven , John Sanford's most ambitious and searing novel, completes his Warrensburg Trilogy, digging beneath the bucolic surface of a small-town to expose the hatred at its core. "A sacred book, majestic in its rebukes of those who violate the breath and origin of humanity while professing faith and going through the motions of holiness." Carl Sandburg The people of Warrensburg are divided by the arrival of a nameless Black woman. Her few allies call her America Smith, while the town's most prominent citizens try to drive her out. This clash results in rape and murder. Sanford punctuates this spare plot with poetic episodes from the nation's past, rooting the characters' actions in the violence of the nation's founding. He tells the story with an artistry of language that led the Cambridge Companion to Jewish American Literature to describe him as America's "most outstanding neglected novelist." This new edition of Sanford's literary masterpiece features an introduction by Jack Mearns, author of John Sanford: An Annotated Bibliography. The other books in the trilogy are Make My Bed in Hell and The Old Man's Place. John Sanford (1904-2003) was a screenwriter and author who wrote 24 books. A one-time member of the Communist Party, he and his wife, the ground-breaking screenwriter Marguerite Roberts, refused to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee, and were blacklisted in Hollywood for nearly a decade. "Only a warm-hearted and perceptive author who believes in the potential worth of humanity could have conceived the powerful conflicts, the trenchant syllables here. The fact that it succeeds in provoking an examination of national conscience as well as of person attitude also suggests its worth." New York Herald Tribune "Sanford's technique is arresting and every page has a savor and quality of its own." The New Republic

A recreation of a village in Palestine and its characters, each gently and carefully called back from the past to tell their stories in a literary narrative. In 1917, the members of a spy ring who sought to assist the British in driving the Turks from Palestine were betrayed. It was said that four women of the town were seen laughing at the arrests of their neighbors. Each met a strange fate: one died prematurely, the second went mad, the third was an invalid and the fourth lived out her life in disrepute. When Halkin read this story of the village that he lived in, it inspired him to begin a journey into the past. His friends and neighbors each offered a different version of the events, and Halkin discovered that each of them was in some way affected by the legendary fate of the spy ring

THE MEN FROM THE BOYS Marty Bond had been a famous cop in New York. But that was before he was "retired" from the force. Now he's a house dick at a crummy hotel, pimping, rousting, drinking too much. His stomach is killing him, and it comes as no surprise when the doctor says it might be a tumor. Knowing he must have cancer, Marty starts to plan a quicker exit. That's when his stepson comes to him. An auxiliary cop working the streets, Lawrence thinks there was something fishy in a meat seller who cries robbery one minute, then changes his mind the next. Marty tells him to forget about it. But the kid investigates anyway, and is almost beaten to death. Now Marty figures it's time to take Lawrence's suspicions seriously. But what can an ex-cop on the skids do when all he has left are a few old skills, a cynical heart, and the little time remaining?

An attack on Ed Koch, U.S. Senator Anson Hubbard, and his bodyguards--linked to the Senator's support of the research into the Nazi gold in Swiss bank accounts--forces the mayor into a race against time to uncover the conspiracy in order to save the Senator's life.

Larkswood House. The very name suggests birdsong, peace and elegance. It is home to the Hamilton children - Edward, Cynthia and Harriet - who enjoy the freedom and excitement of privilege. But in the glorious summer of 1896, with absent parents and a departed governess, disaster strikes the family, leaving it cruelly divided. More than 40 years later, on the eve of the Second World War, Louisa Hamilton, newly presented at court but struck down with glandular fever, is sent to Larkswood to recuperate. There, for the first time, she meets her grandfather, Edward, home after decades in India. But as Louisa begins to fall under the spell of Larkswood, she realises it holds the key to the mystery that shattered her family two generations before. Will she find the courage to unravel the dark secrets of the past?

"Russell Woolfe, a faded TV producer, is struggling with his father's death. Deeply uncomfortable with his own Jewish identity, he is torn between anger with his father--estranged over Russell's marrying a non-Jewish woman - and grief over their failure to reconcile. At his father's memorial Russell meets Joe Kuchinsky, a Polish survivor who unaccountably latches on to him. Kuchinsky claims to possess an ancient Hebrew manuscript that has been in his family for generations and which he wants to have translated before he dies. Kuchinsky believes fervently that the manuscript contains some important ancient wisdom--perhaps, even, the key to the survival of the Jewish people. Despite his doubts, Russell agrees to inspect the manuscript and tell Kuchinsky what it contains. Thus begins an international mystery that stretches a thousand years in the past, is wrapped in the tragedy of the Holocaust, and which comes to a startling conclusion that has dire personal consequences for everyone caught up in the saga." -- Provided by publisher.

"An advanced alien civilization discovers a space probe from earth. Their quest to find us sets into motion a chain of events that threaten their very existence. At the center of the mystery is Agot, a 3-million-year-old android from another galaxy... and a mind-boggling solution to the missing link puzzle in human evolution"--Page 4 of cover.

Boris Akunin has been hailed as Russia's answer to both Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his beloved Fandorin mystery series. After five years spent abroad building up a business as something of a private investigator, the handsome, stuttering Fandorin is back in Moscow--and in for a case that entangles him with the highest echelons of Romanov royalty. Grand Duke Georgii Alexandrovich arrives in Moscow with three of his children for the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II, who is fated to become the last Emperor of Russia. During an afternoon stroll in the park, Georgii's daughter Xenia is dragged away by bandits, only to be rescued by an elegant gentleman and his Japanese sidekick. The passing heroes introduce themselves as Erast Petrovich Fandorin and Masa, but panic ensues when the party realizes that four-year-old Mikhail has been snatched in the confusion. A ransom letter arrives from an international criminal demanding the handover of the Count Orlov, an enormous diamond on the royal scepter which is due to play a part in the coronation. Can the gentleman detective find Mikhail in time? The Coronation is a fantastically entertaining and deftly plotted take on the hostage novel, not to be missed.

The first book in an exciting new Victorian murder mystery series featuring a young female detective In 19th century Brighton, England spirit mediums are all the fashion--especially Miss Eustace, a psychic who claims to produce apparitions of the dead, and oleaginous Mr. Bradley, a self-proclaimed spirit healer. Diminutive Mina Scarletti, a writer of horror stories, is sure that her widowed mother and friends are in the hands of cheats and extortionists so she enlists the help of Daniel Hamid, an Anglo-Indian doctor, her charming but disreputable brother, Richard, and Richard's mistress, Nellie, to expose the frauds. But the scheming criminals have spread their nets wide, and dramatic s�ances easily convince and captivate the vulnerable, including Daniel's disabled sister Eliza. When Mina's determined campaign backfires she only succeeds in adding to Miss Eustace's fame. With chaos reigning in the Scarletti house, Mina and Richard must turn to desperate methods to outwit the illusionists and reveal the truth.

Mina Scarletti returns in her most thrilling mystery yet! Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie and Antonia Hodgson... A family is being torn apart by rumours of a murderer in their midst. Can Mina solve the mystery and lay the ghosts to rest? Brighton, 1871 Mina Scarletti is becoming well known for unmasking fraudulent psychics . So it is no surprise to her when a young couple write to her seeking her advice. George Fernwood and Mary Clifton, betrothed distant cousins, have a family secret that is preventing them from getting married. Twenty years ago, their alcoholic grandfather died in his bed and since then rumours have been circulating that someone in the family murdered him . Desperate to find out the truth, they have decided to seek out a medium to communicate with their grandfather, and they want Mina to help them find one who is genuine. Though she is not a believer in ghosts, Mina is intrigued by the family mystery and decides to help them in any way she can. Could one of the new mediums advertising in Brighton really be genuine? Will they help George and Mary find the answers they are looking for? Or will this Unquiet Ghost ruin the chance of happiness for future generations...? AN UNQUIET GHOST is the third cosy mystery in Linda Stratmann's intriguing historical series, the Mina Scarletti Mysteries, a traditional British detective series with a feisty woman sleuth set in Victorian Brighton. 'I love Linda Stratmann's writing . Her descriptions of Brighton are so sharp and vivid you can smell and taste the city on every page.' - Peter James, author of Dead Like You 'Linda Stratmann has provided an indomitable heroine in Mina Scarletti' - Promoting Crime Blog 'The novel is perfect for those who enjoy a Victorian atmosphere [...] it is thoughtful, well-characterised and thought-provoking' - Historical Novel Society 'Linda Stratmann is happily feeding the unquenchable thirst for Victorian crime fiction' - Crime Fiction Lover THE MINA SCARLETTI MYSTERY SERIES: BOOK ONE: Mr Scarletti's Ghost BOOK TWO: The Royal Ghost BOOK THREE: An Unquiet Ghost BOOK FOUR: The Ghost of Hollow House BOOK FIVE: His Father's Ghost BOOK SIX: The Cyanide Ghost

The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike is the dramatic backdrop for the third instalment of the Sam Klein Mystery Series. The "war to end all wars" has just ended, the Bolsheviks have seized power in Russia and most of the Western world is convinced that a widespread workers' revolt is imminent. Winnipeg is no exception as sector after sector of the city is shut down by a massive General Strike, and when one of the city's most prominent capitalists is murdered, detective Sam Klein is called in to solve the case before the city erupts in chaos.

"All Tony Catell knew when he broke into the university science lab was that they had a gold ingot on the premises for some sort of experiment. So he stole it. What he didn't know was that the experiment involved nuclear power -- and that the gold was dangerously radioactive. Now the cops and the FBI are on Tony's trail, Tony's underworld contacts don't want anything to do with him, and the loot he's lugging around is leaving a swath of radiation sickness and death in his path. And since he's just come from his third stint in prison, if they catch him, he's not going back to jail -- he's going to the electric chair." --

In the lethal game between East and West, a beautiful woman has a passionate, deadly encounter with a Russian agent and a professional assassin moves toward his target on the streets of London