The Reluctant Assassin

Description

A bestselling novel of intrigue, shadowy politics, and shocking surprises that deftly navigates between the chaotic hope and confusion of post-Cold War Moscow and turn-of-the-Millennium Washington. The action is fast paced, and there’s enough hi-tech gadgetry to satisfy the most demanding fans of techno-thrillers.
Each chapter of The Reluctant Assassin pulls the reader deeper into the story as the author builds tension the way a carpenter builds a house—step by well-crafted step. But this brilliantly turned thriller—reminiscent of Ken Follett’s Eye of the Needle—is more than mindless action. The characters are developed, and the reader cares about them.

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A bestselling novel of intrigue, shadowy politics, and shocking surprises that deftly navigates between the chaotic hope and confusion of post-Cold War Moscow and turn-of-the-Millennium Washington. The action is fast paced, and there’s enough hi-tech gadgetry to satisfy the most demanding fans of techno-thrillers.
Each chapter of The Reluctant Assassin pulls the reader deeper into the story as the author builds tension the way a carpenter builds a house—step by well-crafted step. But this brilliantly turned thriller—reminiscent of Ken Follett’s Eye of the Needle—is more than mindless action. The characters are developed, and the reader cares about them.

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Murder on Third Avenue

Description

Previously released as Lonely at the Top.
The time is just before the ebook publishing craze when hardcover books were king and the book business as ruthless as it was exciting. Imagine the highly respected CEO of a giant New York publishing house being blackmailed by one of his own editors. Visualize that same editor found murdered in his office a few days after the blackmail demand. Imagine, too, the mounting evidence that gradually surfaces implicating the CEO. But things are not always what they appear to be. Halfway through the novel the reader learns who the real killer is. The reader also sees that the killer is getting away with murder. It's a roller-coaster ride as two NYPD detectives struggle to find out what the reader already knows. In the course of their investigations the detectives encounter additional corpses and a twist that you won't see coming. Venues include Manhattan, Westchester County, NY, Paris, and Los Angeles.

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Previously released as Lonely at the Top.
The time is just before the ebook publishing craze when hardcover books were king and the book business as ruthless as it was exciting. Imagine the highly respected CEO of a giant New York publishing house being blackmailed by one of his own editors. Visualize that same editor found murdered in his office a few days after the blackmail demand. Imagine, too, the mounting evidence that gradually surfaces implicating the CEO. But things are not always what they appear to be. Halfway through the novel the reader learns who the real killer is. The reader also sees that the killer is getting away with murder. It's a roller-coaster ride as two NYPD detectives struggle to find out what the reader already knows. In the course of their investigations the detectives encounter additional corpses and a twist that you won't see coming. Venues include Manhattan, Westchester County, NY, Paris, and Los Angeles.

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Salem, the Novel

Description

Historic fiction at its best and most interesting.

Salem is the story of two families—the Delanos and the Deanes—who arrive in the New World three years after the Mayflower.

These proud families clash throughout successive generations—from the earliest days of Puritan Salem to modern post-9/11 America, with Salem, New England, England and Europe as backdrops.

What was it like to be accused of being a witch? Witness first-hand a poignant, heart-rending look at an accused woman and her family as the woman endures the hatred of her neighbors and faces certain death. But there's more to Salem than the Witch Trials. The reader follows one generation after another of Delanos and Deanes as they deal with the weather, conflicting religious beliefs, Indians fighting for their very survival, and British forces sent to keep order. See how Salem relates to the founding of Boston. Meet Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Witness the forming of America’s military. Along the way you'll meet John Adams, see privateering in action, view wealthy shipping merchants, Alexander Graham Bell, and more.

With each passing chapter the reader is pulled deeper into the events that shaped Salem’s and America’s history.

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Historic fiction at its best and most interesting.

Salem is the story of two families—the Delanos and the Deanes—who arrive in the New World three years after the Mayflower.

These proud families clash throughout successive generations—from the earliest days of Puritan Salem to modern post-9/11 America, with Salem, New England, England and Europe as backdrops.

What was it like to be accused of being a witch? Witness first-hand a poignant, heart-rending look at an accused woman and her family as the woman endures the hatred of her neighbors and faces certain death. But there's more to Salem than the Witch Trials. The reader follows one generation after another of Delanos and Deanes as they deal with the weather, conflicting religious beliefs, Indians fighting for their very survival, and British forces sent to keep order. See how Salem relates to the founding of Boston. Meet Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Witness the forming of America’s military. Along the way you'll meet John Adams, see privateering in action, view wealthy shipping merchants, Alexander Graham Bell, and more.

With each passing chapter the reader is pulled deeper into the events that shaped Salem’s and America’s history.

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The President Has Been Shot

Description

The year is 1881, and an athletic-looking President of the United States—barely four months in office—steps nimbly down from the presidential carriage as it pulls up to the bustling Washington Train Depot. The president will shortly board a train that will take him to a refreshingly cooler New England where he’s scheduled to speak at his beloved alma mater, Williams College. A shot rings out. At first no one thinks much about it, for it’s always noisy at Washington’s busy train station. But then a second sharp report is heard, and the president drops in his tracks. He remains alive for nearly three months as White House doctors repeatedly issue reassuring reports of his improving health. Then, on September 19, the nation is again plunged into gloom, when it learns that the president has suddenly passed away.

Three years later, the scene shifts to a stately old mansion in the historic section of Salem, Massachusetts, where wealthy, but controversial magazine publisher Martin Van Zandt hosts a sumptuous dinner for the board members of his highly successful publication. The dinner party quickly deteriorates into a shouting match as disgruntled board members trade accusations with the hated publisher. Before the night is over, Van Zandt will be found dead, apparently the victim of a botched burglary.

Another scene shift takes the reader to an elegant townhouse in Boston’s Beacon Hill section, where journalist James Christopher, Martin Van Zandt’s nephew, receives an unexpected visit from his adopted cousin Samantha. Samantha, Van Zandt’s daughter, believes that her father was murdered by a member of the board and not by a burglar. She appeals to James, known for his investigative skills, to get to the bottom of her father’s death. Thus begins a process of inquiry and detection that takes us from Salem to Boston to Washington.

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The year is 1881, and an athletic-looking President of the United States—barely four months in office—steps nimbly down from the presidential carriage as it pulls up to the bustling Washington Train Depot. The president will shortly board a train that will take him to a refreshingly cooler New England where he’s scheduled to speak at his beloved alma mater, Williams College. A shot rings out. At first no one thinks much about it, for it’s always noisy at Washington’s busy train station. But then a second sharp report is heard, and the president drops in his tracks. He remains alive for nearly three months as White House doctors repeatedly issue reassuring reports of his improving health. Then, on September 19, the nation is again plunged into gloom, when it learns that the president has suddenly passed away.

Three years later, the scene shifts to a stately old mansion in the historic section of Salem, Massachusetts, where wealthy, but controversial magazine publisher Martin Van Zandt hosts a sumptuous dinner for the board members of his highly successful publication. The dinner party quickly deteriorates into a shouting match as disgruntled board members trade accusations with the hated publisher. Before the night is over, Van Zandt will be found dead, apparently the victim of a botched burglary.

Another scene shift takes the reader to an elegant townhouse in Boston’s Beacon Hill section, where journalist James Christopher, Martin Van Zandt’s nephew, receives an unexpected visit from his adopted cousin Samantha. Samantha, Van Zandt’s daughter, believes that her father was murdered by a member of the board and not by a burglar. She appeals to James, known for his investigative skills, to get to the bottom of her father’s death. Thus begins a process of inquiry and detection that takes us from Salem to Boston to Washington.

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Dark Spells: Four Books

Description

Boxed set of four bestselling supernatural novels of mystery and suspense, including:

CURSED
Albert Shipway is an ordinary guy, an insurance negotiator who likes booze and women and never having to say he’s sorry. And he thinks this is just another day, another lunch, another order of kung pao chicken. Little does he know that he’s about to meet a little old lady who knows his greatest fear. A little old lady who knows what’s hiding in his heart. A little old lady who dishes up a big stew of supernatural revenge, with ingredients as follows: First you take one psychotic ex from a family of serial killers. Next add a pinch or two of an irrational childhood fear. Now thoroughly mix in an angry sister, a life-stealing great-granddad, and a notorious mass murderer—who happens to be dead but doesn’t know it. Let it stew and froth and bubble thoroughly....In just a matter of minutes, Albert’s life turns upside down and he enters a world where magic and evil lurk beneath the fabric of Southern California. And all his choices have brewed a perfect storm of broken hearts, broken promises, shattered families, and a couple of tiny problems. Namely, killer mice and a baby. Albert Shipway is finally getting a chance to right some wrongs. That is, if it's not too late.

GHOST COLLEGE
First in a new series featuring paranormal investigators Ellen and Monty Drew. Ellen claims to possess a sixth sense but Monty, a former P.I., only believes what he can see. She views their work as a sacred mission while Monty just wants a happy wife and a paycheck. Then the Drews are summoned to a Southern California bible college after workers report hearing mysterious voices at night. When they encounter the unhappy ghost of a young girl, Monty's skepticism is shaken, but he resolves to help his wife free the trapped spirit. Their search uncovers the Latin phrase "Non omnis moriar"—not all of me shall die—and they learn more about the site's history as a Catholic school destroyed by an earthquake. But a mysterious presence has plans of its own for the young ghost, and Monty and Ellen must go head to head with a Dark Master that's had more than a century of practice in demonic deeds. Now Monty must leave his body to do battle with the Dark Master, and he's not sure Ellen will be able to bring him back in one piece. He's not even sure what's happening is real. All he knows is that all hell is breaking loose and he's taking a crash course where an "F" means eternal damnation.

THE VAMPIRE CLUB
The first in a series that features The Vampire Club, a group of lovable, laughable, larcenous college students turned vampire hunters. Over 150 years ago, a man was killed with a silver bullet in a rural, Pennsylvanian town. A man who just might be a vampire. The Vampire Club, a group of misfits who meet regularly in the basement of Western Virginia University’s library, think that they might have found their first documented case of a real vampire. Better yet, the Club thinks that the vampire might still be alive to this day, lying comatose in a hidden grave. And this is good news indeed for a group of vampire lovers. The hunt begins, and as they close in on their immortal prize, they soon realize that they aren’t the only ones interested in the vampire; indeed, a powerful group of killers will use whatever means possible to keep the vampire permanently in its grave.

BAD BLOOD
They call him Spider. And people come to him when they have a problem. So when teenager Parker Cole approaches Spider at night school, he figures she’s just another problem waiting to happen. But then she tells him about her father, who runs a cult called Cloudland based at the foot of mystical Mount Shasta, California. And then she tells Spider about her best friend, who is now dead, her body completely drained of blood. Spider wonders if the death is the work of a fellow vampire...or if he’s now the target of a sinister game designed to lure him to Cloudland, where darker mysteries await.

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Boxed set of four bestselling supernatural novels of mystery and suspense, including:

CURSED
Albert Shipway is an ordinary guy, an insurance negotiator who likes booze and women and never having to say he’s sorry. And he thinks this is just another day, another lunch, another order of kung pao chicken. Little does he know that he’s about to meet a little old lady who knows his greatest fear. A little old lady who knows what’s hiding in his heart. A little old lady who dishes up a big stew of supernatural revenge, with ingredients as follows: First you take one psychotic ex from a family of serial killers. Next add a pinch or two of an irrational childhood fear. Now thoroughly mix in an angry sister, a life-stealing great-granddad, and a notorious mass murderer—who happens to be dead but doesn’t know it. Let it stew and froth and bubble thoroughly....In just a matter of minutes, Albert’s life turns upside down and he enters a world where magic and evil lurk beneath the fabric of Southern California. And all his choices have brewed a perfect storm of broken hearts, broken promises, shattered families, and a couple of tiny problems. Namely, killer mice and a baby. Albert Shipway is finally getting a chance to right some wrongs. That is, if it's not too late.

GHOST COLLEGE
First in a new series featuring paranormal investigators Ellen and Monty Drew. Ellen claims to possess a sixth sense but Monty, a former P.I., only believes what he can see. She views their work as a sacred mission while Monty just wants a happy wife and a paycheck. Then the Drews are summoned to a Southern California bible college after workers report hearing mysterious voices at night. When they encounter the unhappy ghost of a young girl, Monty's skepticism is shaken, but he resolves to help his wife free the trapped spirit. Their search uncovers the Latin phrase "Non omnis moriar"—not all of me shall die—and they learn more about the site's history as a Catholic school destroyed by an earthquake. But a mysterious presence has plans of its own for the young ghost, and Monty and Ellen must go head to head with a Dark Master that's had more than a century of practice in demonic deeds. Now Monty must leave his body to do battle with the Dark Master, and he's not sure Ellen will be able to bring him back in one piece. He's not even sure what's happening is real. All he knows is that all hell is breaking loose and he's taking a crash course where an "F" means eternal damnation.

THE VAMPIRE CLUB
The first in a series that features The Vampire Club, a group of lovable, laughable, larcenous college students turned vampire hunters. Over 150 years ago, a man was killed with a silver bullet in a rural, Pennsylvanian town. A man who just might be a vampire. The Vampire Club, a group of misfits who meet regularly in the basement of Western Virginia University’s library, think that they might have found their first documented case of a real vampire. Better yet, the Club thinks that the vampire might still be alive to this day, lying comatose in a hidden grave. And this is good news indeed for a group of vampire lovers. The hunt begins, and as they close in on their immortal prize, they soon realize that they aren’t the only ones interested in the vampire; indeed, a powerful group of killers will use whatever means possible to keep the vampire permanently in its grave.

BAD BLOOD
They call him Spider. And people come to him when they have a problem. So when teenager Parker Cole approaches Spider at night school, he figures she’s just another problem waiting to happen. But then she tells him about her father, who runs a cult called Cloudland based at the foot of mystical Mount Shasta, California. And then she tells Spider about her best friend, who is now dead, her body completely drained of blood. Spider wonders if the death is the work of a fellow vampire...or if he’s now the target of a sinister game designed to lure him to Cloudland, where darker mysteries await.

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Chord Progressions For Songwriters

Description

Each chapter of Chord Progressions For Songwriters provides a comprehensive self-contained lesson on one of twenty-one popular chord progressions that every songwriter should know inside and out.Lessons cover ascending, basic (I-IV), blues, circle (VI-II-V-I), classic rock (I-bVII-IV), combination, descending, doo-wop (I-VIm-IV-V), ending, flamenco (Im-bVII-bVI-V), folk (I-V), introduction, jazz (IIm-V-I), minor blues, one-chord, pedal point, rock and roll (I-IV-V), standard (I-VIm-IIm-V), and turnaround progressions as well as rhythm and Coltrane changes.You will learn how key, duration, substitution, variation (adding or subtracting chords), and displacement (rearranged chord orders) are used to vary the sound of each progression. You will also take a look at the authors songwriters notebook and work through exercises to reinforce key chapter concepts and get you started building your own progressions.

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