Showing results by author "A. Brun" in All Categories

Sally Muccio’s had her crosses to bear: a cheating ex-boyfriend, crazy Italian parents, and an unfaithful husband, just to name a few. After her divorce, she returns to her hometown to start a novelty cookie shop whose specialties include original fortune cookies, served with a sprinkle of foreshadowing. But there’s no warning when her ex-husband’s mistress drops dead on Sal's porch, and police confirm it’s a homicide. Determined to stop her life from becoming a recipe for disaster, Sal takes matters into her own hands.

In the wake of a global crisis, a covert action team goes to work on behalf of an enemy of the United States. When a failed assassination attempt on the Russian President rocks the global stage, U.S. President Eleanor Cashman, a hardline Russia hawk, faces a brutal decision: watch a nuclear-armed Russia destabilize, or prop up a weakened Russian leader to prevent the collapse.

From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can - visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous.

Don Riley, head of the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group, has never seen anything like this. Riley and his team are tasked with identifying national security threats before they become tomorrow’s bad news. But shortly after an Iranian vessel delivers a surprise attack to a US Navy Warship in the Arabian Gulf, a series of seemingly unrelated attacks crop up around the globe.

Large-scale organizational transformations usually don't work. What originally starts as a way of improving an organization becomes an all-consuming distraction, a value-destroying set of activities that, even as it becomes clear they will fail, must be completed at any cost. But there is a better way: becoming an Octopus Organization.

When China launches a blitz attack on the island of Taiwan, the world order hangs in the balance, and the CIA must mobilize all forces to prevent the start of World War III. But in order to win, the US is forced to throw out the old playbook. What is required here is speed, audacity, and the application of the most advanced technology in the US arsenal. As the head of the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group, Don Riley has seen his share of crises, but nothing has prepared him for the choices ahead.

Harrison Kohl, newly appointed Director of the CIA’s Special Activities Center, faces an impossible assignment: acquire the plans for China’s new long-range, superfast torpedo. As Commander Janet Everett, commanding officer of the USS Illinois, tracks the Chinese Navy from under the waves of the South China Sea, Kohl’s team makes a risky move to recruit an asset from the Chinese development team. They find only more bad news: the new weapon is far more advanced than they realized. The Chinese are preparing to test-fire the torpedo, proving its power to the world.

For his whole life, the boy has lived underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, sister, and brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire. His sister wears a white mask to cover her burns. He spends his hours with his cactus, reading his book on insects, or touching the one ray of sunlight that filters in through a crack in the ceiling. Ever since his sister had a baby, everyone's been acting very strangely.

AC/DC are the number-one Heavy Metal band. Formed in Australia in 1974, by the Young brothers Angus and Malcolm, their family was from Glasgow, Scotland. The original line up consisted of Angus, Malcolm, drummer Phil Rudd, vocalist Bon Scott and bassist Mark Evans, who was replaced by Cliff Williams from Romford, England. When original lead singer Bon Scott died in the early 80's, the group overcame that bombshell by appointing British singer Brian Johnson and the result was a number-one album.

With war looming dangerously close, Ilse’s school days soon turn to lessons of survival. In the harshness of winter, her family must join the largest exodus in human history to survive. As battle lines are drawn and East Prussia’s borders vanish beneath them, they leave their farm and all they know behind for an uncertain future. But Ilse also has Janusz, her family’s young Polish laborer, by her side. As they flee from the Soviet army, his enchanting folktales keep her mind off the cold, the hunger, and the horrors unfolding around them.

Following their military defeat in the Battle of Taiwan, China opens a new front in the struggle for geopolitical supremacy. As China's Belt and Road Initiative brings together the final pieces of a 1000-mile rail and road connection between China and Tehran, a series of terrorist attacks rock the fractious states of Central Asia. A declining Russia, an isolated India, and a rising Iran all have a stake in the region. But who is behind the mysterious attacks?

With a cataclysmic climate crisis on the horizon, Colonel William Graves, head of the US Disaster Mitigation Corps, has been ordered on a bold and highly classified mission. Graves must help billionaire tech entrepreneur Anthony Taulke develop the Lazarus Protocol, a secret plan to geoengineer the Earth's atmosphere, and prevent disaster. Taulke's vision is to create a Manhattan Project for repairing the earth's air, and he quietly recruits four other family-owned conglomerates to take part in the project.

Rose and Elmer have created an idyllic sanctuary for themselves and their five daughters in Mexico's Baja California desert. Out there in the middle of nowhere, blissfully cut off from the burdens of modern society, they're free to raise their beautiful family...and preserve its secret.

In the heart of Central Asia, a strategic power play unfolds as the People’s Republic of China extends its military might. Under the pretext of protecting their Belt-and-Road projects, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) gains a stronghold in the region. Against this invasion, a courageous band of freedom fighters is the only challenge to the PLA forces. On this geopolitical chessboard, the newly elected U.S. President wants to make a bold statement against Chinese expansionism. Don Riley, recently appointed CIA Director of Operations, is chosen to spearhead the critical mission.

Ian Thomas is supposed to be dead. An international terrorist responsible for the bombing of the US Naval War College, he's been deceased for three years. But Don Riley, head of the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group, is staring at a social media post showing him to be very much alive and on the run in South America. The video of Thomas sparks a global hunt: The Americans want to bring him to justice. The Chinese want him to disappear. And the Russians want to kill him very, very slowly. But the world's most powerful nations aren't the only ones pursuing the most wanted man on the planet.

Maddie Springer may know more about fabulous heels than tough trivia, but she's thrilled when her hairdresser-to-the-stars stepfather, Fernando, earns a spot on a celebrity edition of American's favorite game show. But she's not so thrilled when, after taping ends, one of the other contestants dies, the media are suddenly everywhere, and one reporter in particular is threatening to not only point the finger at Fernando, but also expose his biggest secrets to the world!

When mercenaries attack in Eastern Ukraine, the world is thrust into turmoil. Russian President Luchnik is quick to respond, launching a full-scale military invasion to quell this “national emergency” in the former Soviet country. The United States, reluctant to put boots on the ground in yet another regional conflict, takes a different path. President Serrano hires Sentinel Holdings, a private military contractor, to hold back the Russian threat. Don Riley, head of the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group, sees trouble ahead.

Les festivités d'automne débuteront bientôt à Bellécorce. La forêt prend des airs de fête et tout le monde s'y prépare. Mais, chez Archibald Renard, arrive soudain un visiteur qui risque bien de gâcher les réjouissances : Célestin Loup prétend, documents à l'appui, être le véritable propriétaire de la librairie, qui aurait appartenu à son grand-père.

On the eve of the invasion, five nuclear devices are smuggled out of Iraq and hidden in the most unlikely of places—neighboring Iran. Now, as the threat of WMDs fades into a late-night punch line, a hardline splinter group waits for the perfect moment to unleash nuclear terror. When Navy SEAL Brendan McHugh captures a mysterious Iranian diplomat on a raid, it feels all wrong. While the official rules of engagement say he must release the diplomat, that doesn't stop McHugh from investigating further.

Star of Kindred Spirits and paranormal investigator Amy Bruni shares stories from her years of experiences with ghosts, organized around thirteen truths that guide her approach to the supernatural. Amy Bruni, co-star of Kindred Spirits and one of the world's leading paranormal investigators, has...