Showing results for "locks" in Literature & Fiction

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, these classic cult comedies sparked a critically-acclaimed BBC TV show that ran for two series between 2002 and 2003. Starring the much-missed Sean Lock, these tower block tales revolve around a sardonic misanthrope who, despite his best efforts, can't seem to keep the world at bay. Holed up in his flat in Elderberry House, he's constantly bothered by friends, neighbours and confused tourists - so he hides microphones all around the block to listen in to the other residents.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

Aeon, a mixed-up and mixed-race teenager from a leafy Liverpool suburb, is desperate to find his Black roots. He needs to understand the Black identity foisted upon him by his friends and his community. To his growing shame, the only Black people in his life are his dad and his cousin, Increase – but they don’t count. Aeon’s dad is intent on ignoring race and climbing the social ladder. And Increase has taken to demeaning all Black culture since the shady and unresolved death of his father, a Yardie gangster.

I suppose some of us have to get really dirty before we can become truly clean. I was allegedly South Dakota's most famous Old Lady. Sixteen years ago, I had survived my Old Man's murder. Never again. Never again will I surrender my heart. Never again will I sacrifice to the Club. But that all changed in one night. I came home and crashed into him, and my past and present blew up in my face.

In post-war Flanders Adelais de Wolf's family is slowly but surely coming apart after an event nobody will talk about: her mother evermore lost to religious devotion, her father to alcohol. But with the death of a beloved uncle, Adelais finds herself in receipt of an unexpected legacy: a shuttered house in a rundown district and its contents – contents which hold the promise of wealth and independence. All that is required is application, nerve, and a willingness to operate outside of the law.

1950s Dublin, in a lock-up garage in the city, the body of a young woman is discovered, an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play. The victim's sister, a newspaper reporter from London, returns to Dublin to join the two men in their quest to uncover the truth. But, as they explore her links to a wealthy German family in County Wicklow, and to investigative work she may have been doing in Israel, they are confronted with an ever-deepening mystery.

On a mission to recover a billion-dollar research satellite from the seas north of Australia, Starcatcher and her crew vanished without a trace—victims of a ruthless and calculated attack. Under the command of Captain Amanda Lee Garrett, the US Navy's Seafighter Task Force is dispatched to ensure that it will never happen again. They will meet a powerful enemy unlike any they have ever encountered. If they are to prevail, they must look beyond the awesome naval arsenal at their disposal and find out how good they really are...

He had led the posse for miles through the desert, but now Matt Keelock was growing desperate. He was worried about Kristina. His trip to the town of Freedom for supplies had ended in a shootout. If caught he would hang. Even though Kris could handle a horse and rifle as well as most men, the possibility of Oskar Neerland's finding her made Matt's blood run cold. He knew the violent and obsessive Neerland, publicly embarrassed when Matt had stepped in and stolen Kris away, would try to kill them both if given half a chance.

'The Rape of the Lock' was one of Alexander Pope's most popular poems. It was a satirical attempt to reconcile the real-life warring of two Catholic families whose feud had started with the supposed nicking of a lock of hair from the undeniably beautiful head of Arabella Fermor by her admirer, Lord Petre.

Imogen Tolliman never knew her mother. And when an accident robs Immi of her father too, she goes to live with her grandfather Tollie in his picturesque lock-keeper’s cottage by the Aysbury marina. Tollie is the star of the Santa Ahoy Special each Christmas - a festive boat ride along the canal that enthralls both children and adults alike. And as Immi grows up, she starts to appreciate the magical community she is lucky enough to live in.

Fresh from a stint undercover in Pelican Bay's super-max prison in Northern California, Ryan Lock, and his business partner, former US Marine Ty Johnson, are in Los Angeles. They are tasked with protecting a young Hollywood starlet from an abusive movie star boyfriend, who refuses to accept that their relationship is over. As Lock knows only too well, and as Ty is about to learn, keeping someone safe from harm can be harder than it looks, and damage can come in unexpected forms...

Alexander Pope was celebrated for his command of classical Greek and produced seminal translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Prior to the preparation of these translations, Pope took advantage of his mastery of the classical style and also his waspish wit to compose a burlesque epic about the theft of a lock of hair. The incident that inspired Pope was related to him by his friend John Caryll. Lord Petre had cut off a lock of the hair of Arabella Fermor, whom he was courting at the time, without asking the lady's permission.

Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.

Tom Paretski, a plumber with a talent for finding hidden things, and his private investigator fiancé Phil Morrison have been hired to locate a runaway husband, Jonathan Parrot. The job seems simple enough - until their quarry turns up dead in a canal, and a photofit of Tom’s face is splashed all over the news, making him the chief suspect.

Meghan Smith has always been a protective mother. Her baby son, Harry, has a life-threatening condition and is never far from her sight. But on the evening of her wedding anniversary, as she and her husband celebrate in the garden with friends, Harry disappears from his cot without a trace. In an instant, the perfect life she always longed for is in tatters, her family exposed to interrogation and accusation in the glare of media attention.

Just when Daisy thought she had canal life understood, Theo, her primary go-to for all of her boating questions has left Wildflower Lock, not to mention the budding romance that has been steadily growing. Not one to sit and wallow, Daisy takes matters into her own hands. Who said long-distance relationships can’t work? With the help of trusted friend Yvonne, Daisy takes the September Rose on a round trip to surprise her new boyfriend. The best thing about a home on the water? You can go anywhere!

Daisy May thought she had everything figured out. After successfully establishing her coffee shop at the idyllic Wildflower Lock and with things going well with charming Theo, she was ready to embrace her happily ever after. But when Theo pops the question, the happiness is overtaken by worries. Because meeting Theo’s family for the first time is not accompanied by the warm welcome she hoped for. Theo’s parents disapprove of her and they have no qualms in showing it. And when they reveal secrets about Theo’s past, Daisy is left in a spiral.

A hit man stalks his mark at a race track. A sociopath crosses every moral boundary to become a published author. An ex-mercenary obsessively defends his "perimeter" from a dangerous interloper. A man for hire grudgingly accepts help from a teenage girl to track an online predator. In a dystopian future, young people struggle for survival underground, forming themselves into vicious gangs with only the graffiti of the "last journalists" accepted as truth. Andrew Vachss collects 20 tight, powerful stories - all from the past decade of his career, including some now published for the first time - along with an original screenplay.

In the West End, a renowned Italian escape artist dies spectacularly on stage during a performance - immolated in a gleaming copper cauldron of his wife’s design. In Cambridge, the runaway daughter of a famous don is found drowned, her long blonde hair tangled in the Jesus Lock on the River Cam. And in Baker Street, a mysterious locksmith exacts an unusual price to open a small silver box sent to Watson.