Showing results by narrator "Joel Froomkin" in All Categories

There is a serial killer on the loose preying on vulnerable women. The only identifiable mark the killer leaves are letters - sometimes one, sometimes two - all carved into the torsos of his victims. Together, they spell “Sydney”. When he grabs Daisy Dawson, he believes he has found his next victim. But despite her small stature, she fights back with an expertise that quickly frees her. Before fleeing the scene, Daisy also manages to grab what proves to be crucial evidence: a necklace from around the killer’s neck.

The widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham are infamous among English high society as much for their sharp-tongued bickering as their flirtation. One evening, an argument at a ball turns into a serious wager: Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will forfeit 100 pounds.

Francis Bacon is charged with investigating the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray's Inn. He recruits his unwanted protégé Thomas Clarady to do the tiresome legwork. The son of a privateer, Clarady will do anything to climb the Elizabethan social ladder. Bacon's powerful uncle, Lord Burghley, suspects Catholic conspirators of the crime, but other motives quickly emerge. Rival barristers contend for the murdered man's legal honors and wealthy clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation reaches from Whitehall to the London streets. Bacon does the thinking; Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and padded sleeve. Even the brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss - and in danger - until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule.

This is a story about two teens falling in love over a summer that throws everything possible to keep them apart. Max: Chill. Sports. Gay and not a big deal. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever. Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

Horror movies hold a complicated space in the queer community: historically misogynist, and often homo- and transphobic, the genre has also been inadvertently feminist and open to subversive readings. It Came from the Closet features twenty-five original essays by writers speaking to this relationship, through connections both empowering and oppressive. From Carmen Maria Machado on Jennifer’s Body, Jude Ellison S. Doyle on In My Skin, Addie Tsai on Dead Ringers, and many more, these conversations convey the rich reciprocity between queerness and horror.

The Sour Grape holds grudges for every reason under the sun. Lime never returned a scarf they borrowed? Grudge! Orange never called back? Grudge! But when a friend holds a grudge against the Sour Grape without listening to an explanation, the Sour Grape realizes how unfair grudges can be. Could a bunch of forgiveness and compassion be enough to turn a sour grape sweet?

Napoleon has England on edge. For the cunning and conniving Becky Sharp, it’s an opportunity to take advantage of the chaos and improve her lowly station. Her friend Amelia Sedley, a blue-blood pawn, affords Becky entrée into the moneyed class. As the guileless Amelia pines for a rakish soldier, the ruthless Becky climbs upward, setting the stage for a domestic battlefield of greed, ambition, deception, and dizzying reversals of love and fortune.

Dance is in my blood. It’s what keeps me sane, out of trouble. It used to keep them out of trouble, too - a group of boys I grew up with. Xeno, York, Zayn, and Dax. We were a crew once. and we ruled the clubs. Separately we were insanely good; together we were unbeatable. F--king on fire. I was their girl, and they were my breakers. Until they did something they promised they never would: broke my heart.

Dance has always been the answer to everything. It soothed my soul, it kept me sane, and it gave me purpose. It brought the Breakers back to me. It healed us. This time, dance isn’t enough. It’s time to face our enemies. It’s time I fight back. But at what cost? My soul? The death of everyone I care about?

For almost thirty years, Shirley Jackson Award–winning horror author Gemma Files has consistently served up tale after tale celebrating monstrosity in all its forms: the imperfect, the broken, the beautifully alien, and the sadly familiar. Her characters make their own choices and take their own chances, slipping from darkness into deeper darkness yet never losing their humanity—not even when they’re anything but.

When radio presenter Casey Fallon answers the call, she assumes it’s a prank. But then a woman’s body is discovered, and she finds herself up against a cruel and calculating killer who wants her to find his victims before they take their last breath. Fifteen years ago, Casey was a key witness in the trial of serial killer Steve Noakes, and her evidence helped put him behind bars for the murders of five women. Someone remembers what happened that summer - someone who is desperate for revenge, someone who won’t stop until Casey has been punished.

To the outside world, they look like American royalty, giving to charities, feeding the homeless, and rebuilding the city. But behind closed doors is a constant battle for dominance between two bosses, cultures, and hearts. Ruthless People is a romantic crime fiction set in modern day Chicago and follows the life and marriage of Melody Giovanni and Liam Callahan - rivals by blood and leaders through fear.

Can you ever have too much of your favorite food? John Midas is about to find out.... The Chocolate Touch has remained a favorite for millions of kids, teachers, and parents for several generations.

West, the Marquess of Weston, and Sophie, Lady Fitzwilliam Bridewell, have lately been spending a considerable amount of time together. But West and Sophie are not new acquaintances. In fact, years ago, they had once been nearly engaged until West’s almost fatal curricle accident and his meddling father threw them off course.

When the prize is death, some games are better lost than won. If she loses, she becomes his queen, and he unleashes war across Earth and Tir n’Aill alike. If she wins, he dies. The answer seems clear. But then why can’t she bring herself to want victory? The longer Abigail wanders through his Maze of Shadows, the less sure she becomes of anything—allies, enemies, wrong, right, evil, good, hate…and love. With every twist and turn, her heart is more fully trapped in his snare.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Murder on the Links and experience the compelling world of classic detective fiction, starring Belgian Hercule Poirot, private detective extraordinaire.

Lady Dwyn Innes feels utterly out of place among the eligible women who’ve descended on Buchanan Keep, vying for the attention of the last unmarried brothers. She isn’t long-legged and slender like her sisters, or flirtatious and wily like other lasses. Since her betrothed died, Dwyn has resigned herself to becoming an old maid. Yet a chance encounter with a stranger in the orchard awakens her to a new world of sensation and possibility....

Doug wants his rescuer, Julie, to be happy. He is loyal and loves her unconditionally - two things that can’t be said about Julie’s married boss and lover, Luke. Yet Julie is reluctant to break up, afraid to end up like her eccentric cat-owning neighbor. It’s a prospect that horrifies Doug, too. Newly divorced Tom, on the other hand, is perfect for Julie. Everyone can see it - except for Julie and Tom. Doug is confident that with his help they will get over their initial animosity toward each other.

My name is Arianna Spero. I was an ordinary girl living an ordinary life until my mother lapsed into a coma. Now, I am her only hope. She made a deal with the devil, and on my 18th birthday he came to collect. But there's a way to save her. There's something the princes of hell want more than my mother. Me. So I signed my soul away and promised to pick a prince to marry. I would take the blood oath, become one of them, and give them an heir. I would become a princess of hell, and my mother would live.

Henry and Hatter are back in this sequel to Mad About the Hatter. They've fallen into a comfortable life together after the events in the first book, but on a day trip to visit the Tweedle Brothers, they happen across a wayward troop of flying monkeys who need help to get back to Oz. In Oz, Hatter reluctantly agrees to accompany Henry on a tour of the land. They soon find out Oz is in serious trouble, with the balance of Good and Evil upset after Dorothy killed the last wicked witch. Henry and Hatter are drawn into a quest to find a new source of evil for Oz to restore the balance and save Oz.