In *The Vendetta Defense,* *New York Times* bestselling author Lisa Scottoline delivers a wonderfully rich, vivid story of past sins, love, and justice. Lawyer Judy Carrier takes the case of her career when an elderly pigeon racer named Anthony Lucia is arrested for the murder of his lifelong enemy, Angelo Coluzzi. "Pigeon Tony," as he's known to all his South Philly neighbors, confesses he killed Coluzzi because of a vendetta begun more than fifty years ago, a blood feud that has brought great tragedy to Pigeon Tony's life. Her client's guilt, however, is only the beginning of Judy's problems. The Coluzzi family wants revenge, and they are determined to finish off Pigeon Tony and Judy before the case can go to trial. And if that isn't enough, Judy's got to contend with Tony's magnetic grandson, Frank, a man who makes her think about everything but the law, and her boss, the no-nonsense Bennie Rosato. In a case steeped in blood and memory, it will take a stroke of brilliance to save Pigeon Tony. But if anyone just might see justice done, it's this gutsy young attorney who'll risk everything to win ... including her life.

In eleven expertly crafted stories, John Brandon gives us a stunning assortment of men and women at the edge of possibility—gamblers and psychics, wanderers and priests, all of them on the verge of finding out what they can get away with, and what they can't. Ranging from haunted deserts to alligator-filled swamps, these are stories of foul luck and strange visitations, delivered with deadpan humor by an unforgettable voice.The New York Times praised Brandon's last novel for a style that combined Elmore Leonard and Charles Portis, and now Brandon brings that same darkly American artistry to his very first story collection, demonstrating once again that he belongs in the top ranks of contemporary writers.

When Angel Irosabel rides with his family into the fertile valleys of Paradise, Nevada, he knows that their grueling journey from Basque country is over—he has found a place for his sheep to graze and for his family to thrive. Little did he know that his arrival would kick off an epic feud between the area cattle ranchers and his own herding clan.

When an IRS agent is poisoned, Jill Smith faces a murder case in which dozens of California taxpayers are suspectsIRS agent Philip Drem is found face down in People’s Park, a haven of drug addicts and streetwalkers in the heart of liberal, eccentric Berkeley, California. By the time homicide detective Jill Smith arrives on the scene, Drem’s wallet is gone and the tax collector is near death. The method of attack is as uncommonly cruel as the IRS agent himself. After his death, Jill goes through Drem’s files in search of those whose lives he made miserable. An exercise guru, a bankrupt small business owner, and a hippie sculptor are all possible suspects, but as she researches the dead man she finds that the pain of filling out a 1040 might not be the only motive for murder.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Susan Dunlap including rare images from the author’s personal collection.

Momotarō, Click-Clack Mountain, The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue, The Stolen Wen, Urashima-san… The father reads these old tales to the children. Though he's shabbily dressed and looks to be a complete fool, this father is a singular man in his own right. He has an unusual knack for making up stories. Once upon a time, long, long ago… Even as he reads the picture book aloud in a strangely imbecilic voice, another, somewhat more elaborate tale is brewing inside him. Dazai Osamu wrote The Fairy Tale Book (Otogizoshi) in the last months of the Pacific War. The traditional tales upon which Dazai's retellings are based are well known to every Japanese schoolchild, but this is no children's book. In Dazai's hands such stock characters as the kindhearted Oji-san to Oba-san ("Grandmother and Grandfather"), the mischievous tanuki badger, the fearsome Oni ogres, the greedy old man, the "tongue-cut" sparrow, and of course Urashima Taro (the Japanese Rip van Winkle) become complex individuals facing difficult and nuanced moral dilemmas. The resulting stories are thought-provoking, slyly subversive, and often hilarious.

Erotica/Romance. 21144 words long. CAPA Award Nominee

There is always one woman who turns a stalker into a killer. What if that woman was you?Jo Williams has learnt the true meaning of fear. Desperate to escape a tragic past, she has fled her native New Zealand for the small fishing village of Looe in Cornwall. But her hopes of building a new life and moving on are soon shattered. Only enigmatic publican Will Fletcher stands between her and certain terror, but he too is a man with a dark history. It isn’t long before Jo finds that Will’s playboy façade is a mask, and that the man behind that mask is tormented by deep and dangerous passions.As the violence escalates to murder, Jo finds herself stranded with nowhere left to run. Soon she begins to wonder whether she has run from one man only to end up with another who is much more dangerous. Has her past finally caught up with her or is her future destined to be even darker?

Family secrets combine with fantasy in this epic tale of battle, magic, strange creatures, power, and fate—a Game of Thrones for a younger audience.Toronia, a kingdom composed of three realms, is wracked with civil war. King Brutan rules with an iron fist. Cruelty and suffering abound. The kingdom’s only hope comes in the form of Brutan’s illegitimate triplets, prophesied to kill the king and rule together in peace. But the road to the throne is long and bloody. Separated at birth and scattered throughout the realms, the triplets face a desperate fight to secure their destiny. Will they survive long enough to rule?