Showing results by narrator "LJ Ganser" in All Categories

Hurricane Sandy ravages the Jersey Shore while simultaneously providing the backdrop for a horrible crime. A serial killer takes advantage of the night's ferocity and inflicts his own damage. The madman then disappears, leaving a famed FBI agent broken in the process. Frank Sorello retires from the Bureau only to be drawn back into the game after a best-selling novel by a new author raises suspicions about details inside the book. Is the homicidal maniac announcing his return or is it purely a coincidence?

In Sidewalking, David L. Ulin offers a compelling inquiry into the evolving landscape of Los Angeles. Part personal narrative, part investigation of the city as both idea and environment, Sidewalking is many things: a discussion of Los Angeles as urban space, a history of the city's built environment, a meditation on the author's relationship to the city, and a rumination on the art of urban walking.

When a down-on-his-luck educational administrator arrives at the makeshift bus shelter of Cow Eye Junction, he finds a drought-stricken town and its community college on the precipice of institutional ruin. Struggling to navigate this strange world of bloated calf scrota, orgiastic math instruction, and onrushing regional accreditors, Charlie must devise a plan to lead Cow Eye Community College through the perils of continuous improvement to the triumphant culmination of world history.

The truth shall set you free. Ignoring it will cost you a fortune. It has become clear that we are living a lie, and it has brought devastating results: Bankruptcy among churchgoers is equally as high as for those who don't attend. Financial misconduct is destroying marriages, families, individuals, and churches. A record number of churches are in foreclosure.

The Art of Raising Hell is a compelling, coming-of-age story that reminds its audience of the difference between chasing life and just living. It captures the essence of being young, green around the gills and always ready to seek out the next adventure, while learning some hard lessons along the way. Newbie Johnson has recently moved to Bunsen Creek, Illinois, when his mother is killed in a tragic car crash. His father does his best to maintain a normal household, but his broken heart is just not up to the task.

It was the U.K.'s worst rail disaster in years. On the morning of October 5, 1999, two rush-hour commuter trains collided just outside London. Hundreds were feared dead. Though he was traveling in the front-most carriage, the novelist Andrew Rosenheim survived the crash. In The Secrets of Carriage H, Rosenheim recalls in heart-pounding detail the events of that day and opens up about the emotional rollercoaster that consumed him for months thereafter.

It begins as a statistical oddity: a spike in children born with acute speech delays. Physically normal in every way, these children never speak and do not respond to speech; they don't learn to read, don't learn to write. As the number of cases grows to an epidemic level, theories spread. Maybe it's related to a popular antidepressant; maybe it's environmental. Or maybe these children have special skills all their own.

In The Tenants (1971), Bernard Malamud brought his unerring sense of modern urban life to bear on the conflict between blacks and Jews then inflaming his native Brooklyn. The sole tenant in a rundown tenement, Henry Lesser is struggling to finish a novel, but his solitary pursuit of the sublime grows complicated when Willie Spearmint, a black writer ambivalent toward Jews, moves into the building.

Granted unprecedented access to the Los Angeles Juvenile Court, including the judges, the probation officers, and the children themselves, Edward Humes creates an unforgettable portrait of a chaotic system that is neither saving our children in danger nor protecting us from adolescent violence. Yet he shows us there is also hope in the handful of courageous individuals working tirelessly to triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds.

Dylan Barstow has finally crossed the line. After getting caught on a late-night joyride in a stolen car, Dylan is shipped off to live with his ex-Marine uncle for the summer. But Uncle Todd has bigger plans for Dylan than push-ups and early-morning jogs. Deep in the steamy jungles of Papua New Guinea, there's a WWII fighter plane named SECOND ACE that's been lost for years, a plane that Dylan's own grandfather barely escaped from with his life. In all this time, no one has ever been able to track down SECOND ACE - but now Dylan and his uncle are going to try.

First published nearly a quarter-century ago and one of the very few short-story collections to win the PEN/Faulkner Award, this is American fiction at its most vital - each narrative a masterpiece of sustained power and seemingly effortless literary grace.

Author J. T. Petty has won critical praise for his witty series featuring the exciting escapades of Clemency Pogue: accidental fairy killer, friend to a hobgoblin, and occasional savior of the land of Make-Believe. In this fun adventure, Clemency gets caught up with some of Make-Believe's most interesting denizens, the Scrivener Bees.

In the pulsepounding thriller White, Whitcomb unleashes a jawdropping account of terrorist plots, CIA executions, and a trail of clues that stretches all the way to the Oval Office.

Pages magazine says this collection represents “the absolute best in short literary fiction.” This installment exhibits a fresh batch of immensely talented writers, all of whom exemplify the level of accomplishment that has kept this acclaimed series running strong since 1985. Comprising 20 stories, this rich and varied collection features everything from a fresh take on the classic Southern gothic to a velvet-smooth work of erotic suspense.

The 19th addition of this annual anthology exhibits a collection of short fiction from award-winning Southern authors and rising stars including Edward P. Jones and Silas House. Each story’s derivation is explained in an illuminating note from the author following the rich and entertaining tales.

While the death of a parent is always painful, losing both is life-altering. When author Allison Gilbert lost both parents at age 32, she could not find any books that spoke to her with the same level of compassion and reassurance that she found in the support group she belonged to, so she decided to write one of her own. The result is a sensitive and candid portrayal of loss that brings together experiences from famous and ordinary grief-stricken sons and daughters that explores the regrets, heartache and sometimes, relief that accompanies pain and healing.

When she is attacked by a nasty fairy, Clemency Pogue remembers a lesson from Peter Pan. "I don't believe in fairies!" she shouts, seven times before the creature finally drops dead. But then a hobgoblin appears and gives Clemency the bad news. Seven fairies have died, and most of them were good. Now it's up to Clemency to travel the world and make things right.

“Diligent, detailed, and overpowering. This is not a book of conjecture: It’s one of bootstrap journalism.” —New York magazine The New York Times calls sports journalist Selena Roberts’s blistering biography, A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez...

What do Howard Hughes and 50 Cent have in common, and what do they tell us about Americans and our desires? Why did Sean Connery stop wearing a toupee, and what does this tell us about American customers for any product? What one thing did the Beatles, Malcolm Gladwell and Nike all notice about...

Historians still agree about the date of Columbus’s voyage. But did this European adventurer discover America? We now know that certain explorers from other parts of the globe set foot on American shores long before 1492–and that others may have done so. And “discovery” takes on a...