This book is told from the perspective of Detective Mike Hoolihan, a female detective who is charged with the task of finding the motivation for Jennifer Rockwell''s suicide. Jennifer, a beautiful astrophysicist with a seemingly perfect life seems to have had no reason to kill herself. Thematically this book touches on cosmology and chaos theory, and their relation to the human condition as a possible motive for suicide. Hoolihan is a recovering alcoholic and former homicide detective who lives with an obese man named Tobe in an unnamed American city (presumably based on Seattle or Portland). She reveals that she had been sexually abused as a child, revolted violently against the abuse at the age of ten, and then pursued a number of affairs with abusive or unworthy men. Despite her disadvantages, she becomes a successful detective before her illness forces her to accept less demanding work seizing assets from criminals. Her experiences lead her to examine gender roles in police work. Her former boss, mentor, and personal friend ''Colonel'' Tom Rockwell asks that she investigate the apparent suicide of his daughter Jennifer who, as a beautiful, intelligent, cheerful, popular woman has no obvious reason for taking her own life. Rockwell suspects Jennifer''s lover Trader Faulkner, a distinguished academic, of murdering Jennifer. Hoolihan attempts to pressure Faulkner into confessing, but fails. She discovers that Jennifer was taking lithium, met a philandering salesman in the bar of a local hotel, and made uncharacteristic mistakes at work shortly before her death. Hoolihan then deduces that these factors are merely ''blinds'' - or clues - deliberately planted by Jennifer for the benefit of an investigation at the behest of her father. Hoolihan concludes that these blinds are meant either to provide the less astute investigator with a sense of ''closure'', or to indicate a greater bleakness, or nihilism. After breaking down while attempting to communicate her findings to Rockwell - who immediately expresses his concern - Hoolihan heads for the nearest bar, knowing that the alcohol will kill her.

Night Train

Set in the cramped, cluttered Midwestern house of Lola and Doc Delaney, the plot centers on how their life is disrupted by the presence of a boarder named Marie, a college art student with a strong lustful appetite. Overweight and slovenly, the housebound middle-aged Lola engages in mild flirtations with the milkman and mailman, like the ingratiating coquette she once was. She sees in Marie herself at that age, and encourages her pursuit of wealthy Bruce and muscular Turk. Doc, who ekes out a living as a chiropractor, was forced to abandon a promising career in medicine when he married a pregnant Lola. She subsequently lost the baby. As a recovering alcoholic, Doc maintains a precarious sobriety by avoiding the past. For him, Marie represents the youth and opportunity he sacrificed, and his eventual realization that she is not as pure and perfect as he imagined sends him back to the bottle and a slow descent into unbridled rage. The title refers to Lola''s missing dog, who remains lost at the play''s end.

Come Back, Little Sheba

The novel is about 43 year-old Dr. Ernst Sebastian, a lawyer who works as an Untersuchungsrichter (investigating judge) in the fictional town of Sankt Nikolaus during 1927. One Saturday afternoon a middle-aged man called Franz Adler, who has been arrested for the murder of a prostitute, is brought before him. During the interview&mdash;a preliminary hearing during which the two men are alone in Sebastian''s office&mdash;Sebastian recognizes that Adler is in fact his old classmate, who attended the Gymnasium in Sankt Nikolaus, which was then Austria-Hungary, for two years when they were both 16 and 17. Adler, however, who appears to him fearful and beaten by life, does not seem to recognize the judge, and Sebastian decides to postpone any private talk with Adler till the following Monday. As it happens, that same Saturday night Sebastian attends a class reunion (the Abituriententag of the title) occasioned by the 25th anniversary of his Matura (Class of ''02), a meeting he knows he will regret going to as it will bring back both a plethora of unpleasant memories and a confrontation with the bourgeois self-satisfaction of his former classmates. That night, Sebastian does not go to sleep. Rather, upset by his chance meeting with Adler and the ennervating talk at the class reunion, he sits down at his desk and writes down a confession in shorthand, which on the following morning turns out to be indecipherable to everyone including himself&mdash;except to the reader, who can read Sebastian''s confession as the middle part of the novel). At the age of 16, Sebastian, on the command of his father, the highest-ranking judge in Austria-Hungary, has to leave the prestigious Schottengymnasium in Vienna due to poor grades and is forced to continue his education in the provincial town of Sankt Nikolaus, where he stays with two aunts of his. A mediocre pupil, he tries desperately to attract the attention of his new classmates, who turn out to be very reluctant to accept the new boy into their close-knit community. In the course of one schoolyear, however, Sebastian succeeds in tempting, and eventually seducing, many of his classmates to truancy, stay up late on a regular basis, lie to their teachers and parents, drink excessive amounts of alcohol, and eventually associate with prostitutes. In particular, although he is aware of his mediocre performance at school and also of his own abominable character; Sebastian, rather than repent for his sins, sets out to conquer the intellectual superiority of his classmate Adler, a red-haired Jew who writes dramas and philosophical treatises, though he is only 17. To get rid of his rival once and for all, Sebastian pushes him into forging a document. The truth comes out, and before Adler can be expelled, Sebastian helps him escape to Germany, thus ensuring that his own part in the crime will never be revealed. On the Monday following the class reunion, Adler is again brought before Sebastian. This time the judge does reveal his identity to Adler, but on closer inspection of the file in front of him he finds out that the man''s assertion that he has never gone to school in Sankt Nikolaus is true.

Class Reunion

In order for Skala to live in peace and prosperity, a Queen must sit on the throne. Two children one Queen, she will be marked by the blood of passage. A Dark tale entwining an entire kingdom in the fate of a young girl. Dark Magic, Hidden Destiny. For three centuries a divine prophecy and a line of warrior queens protected Skala. But the people grew complacent and Eruis, a usurper king, claimed his young half-sisters throne. Now plague and drought stalk the land, war with Skala''s ancient rival Plenimar drains the country''s lifeblood, and to be born female into the royal line have become a death sentence as the king fights to ensure the succession of his only heir, a son. For King Erius the greatest threat comes from his own line-and from Illior''s faithful, who spread the Oracle''s words to a doubting populace. As noblewomen young and old perish mysteriously the kings nephew-his sisters only child-grows toward manhood. But unbeknownst to the king or the boy, strange, haunted Tobin is the princess''s daughter, given male form by a dark magic to protect her until she can claim her rightful destiny. Only Tobin''s noble father, two wizards of Illior and an outlawed forest with know the truth. Only they can protect yount Tobin from a king''s wrath a mother''s madness, and the terrifying rage of her brother''s demon spirit, determined to avenge his brutal murder.

The Bone Doll''s Twin

Arthur Dent has hitch-hiked through the galaxy and is dropped off on a planet in a rainstorm. He realises that he appears to be in England on Earth, even though he saw it destroyed by the Vogons. While he has been gone for several years, it appears only a few months have passed on Earth. He manages to hitch a ride with a man named Russell, who is driving home his sister Fenchurch (Fenny for short). Russell explains that she had become delusional after worldwide mass hysteria over the "hallucinations with the big yellow spaceships" (Vogon Ships). Arthur also learns that all the dolphins disappeared shortly after that event. Arthur becomes curious about Fenchurch, but they reach his home before he can ask more questions. Inside his still-standing home, Arthur finds a gift-wrapped bowl inscribed with the words "So Long and Thanks..." which he then uses for his Babel Fish. Arthur considers that Fenchurch is somehow connected to him and to the Earth''s destruction, and finds that he still has the ability to fly whenever he lets his thoughts wander. After putting his life in order, Arthur tries to find out more about Fenchurch. He catches her hitchhiking and he learns more about her. He obtains her phone number but loses it. He finds her home when he locates the cave he had lived in after crashing onto prehistoric Earth with the Golgafrinchans: her flat is built on the same spot. As they talk they find more circumstances connecting them. Fenchurch reveals that, moments before her hallucinations, she had an epiphany while sitting in a café about how to make everything right, but then blacked out. Ever since, she has not been able to recall it. After noticing that Fenchurch''s feet do not touch the ground, Arthur teaches her how to fly and together they make love in the skies over London. The two travel to California to see John Watson, an enigmatic scientist who purports to know the cause of the dolphins'' disappearance and who eschewed his original name in favour of "Wonko the Sane" due to harbouring the belief that the entire world''s population save himself has gone mad. Watson shows the couple a bowl with the words "So long and thanks for all the fish" inscribed on it that they all own and encourages them to listen to it. They learn from the bowl''s audio message that the dolphins, aware of the Vogons, left Earth for an alternate dimension but not before replacing the destroyed Earth with a new version and transporting everything to it as a way of saving humans. Arthur explains to Fenchurch about hitchhiking across the galaxy, after which she insists that she wants to see it as well. They plan to hitchhike on the next passing spaceship. Concurrent to these events, Ford Prefect discovers that during an update of the "Hitchhiker''s Guide", his previous entry for Earth, "Mostly harmless", has been replaced with the volumes of text he wrote during his research. Recognising that something is strange, Ford begins to hitchhike across the galaxy to reach Earth, eventually using the ship of a giant robot to land in the centre of London and causing a panic. In the chaos, Ford meets up with Arthur and Fenchurch and together they commandeer the robot''s ship. Arthur takes Fenchurch to the planet where God''s Final Message to His Creation is written, and they happen across Marvin, who, because of previous events, is now approximately 37 times older than the known age of the universe and is barely able to continue. Marvin, with Arthur and Fenchurch''s help, reads the Message ("We apologise for the inconvenience"), smiles, utters the final words "I think... I feel good about it," and dies happily.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Violet is a dreamy girl who is often away in her own world, filled with fairies designed by her favourite author, Caspar Dream. She lives with her mother, father and her brother Will, who she loves very much despite the fact he can be controlling and sometimes frightens her. At Christmas, Violet finds out that Will was adopted. One night, Will forces Violet to play a game of ''Blind Man''s Buff''. Violet hates the game, but plays anyway because since Will discovered he was adopted he had become reclusive and rarely played with her. Consequently, she has a scary experience with bats in the attic of an empty house. Violet later makes a resolution that she will not let Will order her around. Soon, a new girl, Jasmine, comes to Violet''s school and chooses her as a friend. Violet is thrilled because Jasmine is pretty and rich, although she is not sure if Jasmine truly wants to be her friend or just wants to get closer to Will. Will and Violet play ''Truth and Dare'' and Will asks Violet that, if she could have a love affair with anyone, who would it be? Violet says Caspar Dream. Violet asks the same question to Will but before he can answer, Jasmine calls and asks for help with her homework. Much to Violet''s surprise, Will invites Jasmine over. They work for a while and then play Truth and Dare again, where Will asks Violet who she likes better, him or Jasmine. When Violet fails to come up with a reply, Will dares her to spend 10 minutes in the attic. Violet reluctantly agrees. In the attic, Violet finds out that she used to have another brother named Will but he died when he was less than one year old, so her parents tried to replace him with her adopted brother. She leaves the attic and finds Will and Jasmine kissing. Not realising she is within earshot, Jasmine and Will make fun of Violet and the fairies she has hanging from the ceiling. When they see her, Violet runs away and goes to see Caspar Dream''s old house. There she finds Caspar Dream himself and they become friends. When she returns home, Jasmine is apologetic and regretful. She forgives both Jasmine and Will. Afterwards, she confronts her parents about the first Will. They eventually tell her and Will the truth and soon things begin to become better for Violet.

Midnight

As the novel opens, Flavia Sabina de Luce schemes revenge against her 2 older sisters, Ophelia (17) and Daphne (13) who have locked her inside a closet in Buckshaw, the family''s country manor home located in the English village of Bishop''s Lacey. Flavia may have braces, glasses, and pigtails like a typical 11-year-old girl, but she is also a brilliant amateur chemist with a specialty in poisons and a fully equipped, personal laboratory on the top floor of her home. With her scientific notebook at-the-ready, she steals her oldest sister''s lipstick, adds poison ivy extract, and then waits, eagerly anticipating changes in Ophelia''s complexion. Flavia is especially jealous of her oldest sister because at 17, she is the only one of the 3 girls with memories of their mother, Harriet, a free spirit who disappeared on a mountaineering adventure in Tibet 10 years earlier and is presumed dead. Harriet''s disappearance devastated their father, Colonel Haviland "Jacko" de Luce, a philatelist and former amateur illusionist who spends most of his time poring over his stamp collection. The family shares their home with loyal retainer Arthur Wellesley Dogger, who once saved Colonel de Luce''s life during the war and now works as Buckshaw''s gardener, suffering frequent bouts of memory loss and hallucinations due to posttraumatic stress disorder from his time as a prisoner of war. Mysterious events begin to occur when Mrs. Mullet, Buckshaw''s housekeeper and cook, discovers a dead jack snipe on the porch with a Penny Black stamp pierced through its beak. Then, Flavia and Dogger overhear a heated argument between Colonel de Luce and a red-headed stranger who shortly turns up dead in the family cucumber patch. When Colonel de Luce is arrested for the crime, Flavia takes to her bicycle, Gladys, and begins an investigation in the village of Bishop''s Lacey, interviewing suspects, gathering clues, and compiling research at the library, always staying ahead of Inspector Hewitt and the police department. As she single-handedly solves the crime, she uncovers the truth behind a 20-year old apparent suicide at Colonel de Luce''s alma mater, Greyminster. Both the suicide victim, housemaster and Latin scholar Grenville Twining, and the red-headed stranger in the cucumber patch, Horace "Bony" Bonepenny, uttered "Vale" as a last word. The trail connecting their deaths also includes political intrigue, rare Ulster Avenger stamps, sleight of hand, theft, blackmail, and murder.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Offit describes the origins and development of claims regarding the MMR vaccine and the vaccine preservative thiomersal, as well as subsequent scientific evidence which has disproved a link with autism. The book discusses possible explanations for the persistence of these claims in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary, as well as the proliferation of potentially risky and unproven treatments for autism. The author takes a critical view of several advocates of a vaccine–autism link, including Andrew Wakefield, David Kirby, Mark Geier, and Boyd Haley, raising scientific and, in some cases, ethical and legal concerns. The book also explores divisions within the autism community on the topic of vaccines, as some parents consider the ongoing narrow focus on vaccines a distraction from more scientifically promising avenues of research. In this vein, Offit interviews Kathleen Seidel, a mother of an autistic child who has published investigations critical of those who profit from promoting vaccine–autism claims. Offit also touches on the heated and bitter debate surrounding vaccine claims. He describes receiving death threats, hate mail, and threats against his children as a result of his advocacy for vaccine safety. Offit declined to do a book tour for Autism''s False Prophets, citing concerns about his physical safety and comparing the intensity of hatred and threats directed at him to that experienced by abortion providers. Author''s royalties from the book are being donated to the Center for Autism Research at Children''s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Autism''s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure

The series starts to explore the origins of the Wamphyri manifestation on Earth. Years after Harry''s son left, Harry has left E-Branch and has spent years searching the world for them. The new head of E-Branch, Darcy Clarke, recruits him in a case of a British spy (Micheal Jazz Simmons) who similarly disappeared, while investigating a Russian base. On investigation Harry discovers the Base is the result of a "blowback" from a high powered photon beam into an atomic pile which powered it and has created a "Grey" hole in space time, a oneway passage to another world which the Russians have been sending people through, and which monsters have emerged from. Traveling through a parallel grey hole in Romania Harry enters the source world of the Vampires, a world known as Starside/Sunside, wherein Vampire overlords prey on gypsy inhabitants, and wherein his now adult son (his son having used time travel as well as interdimensional to avoid Harry) is infected as a Vampire/Werewolf and besieged by the world''s Vampire Masters as he seeks desperately to protect both himself and the world''s people without losing what remains of his own humanity in the process. Harry and Harry Jr use the sun to destroy the Vampire lords. In the process Harry Jr is horribly wounded by the sun. Harry Sr. spends time with the only vampire Lord that was not banished to the Icelands, Lady Karen. She is struggling with her remaining humanity. Harry cages her in a room in her castle after destroying or freeing all her servants. After starving her for many days he is able to lure out her Vamipre leech and kills it. The Lady Karen commits suicide, because she has known what it''s like to be Wamphyri. The book leaves off with Harry Jr. becoming aware of Harry Sr. watching him with his mind blocked off from his powers.

Necroscope III: The Source

:Based on Sol Liptzin, A History of Yiddish Literature, pp. 6–7. Bovo''s young mother conspires to have her husband, an aged king, killed during a hunt, then marries the murderer. They try and fail to poison the child Bovo, whom they are afraid will avenge his father. The handsome youth runs away from Antona, is kidnapped and taken to Flanders to be stable boy to a king, whose daughter Druzane falls in love with him. The heathen sultan of Babylonia arrives, backed by ten thousand warriors, to demand Druzane in marriage for his ugly son, Lucifer. He is refused; in the ensuing war the king of Flanders is captured. Bovo, riding a magic horse Rundele, defeats the sultan''s army, slays Lucifer, frees the king, and is promised the hand of Druzane, but is enticed to Babylonia, where he is horribly imprisoned for a year before escaping. Meanwhile, Druzane has presumed him dead and consented to marry the knight Macabron. On the wedding day of Druzane and Macabron, Bovo arrives disguised as a beggar; he and Druzane flee, first to a palace but later to the forest, pursued by Macabron. Deep in the forest, Druzane gives birth to twins. Bovo sets off to try to find a route back to Flanders. Druzane comes to the conclusion that Bovo has fallen prey to a lion, sets off on her own with the twins, and successfully reaches Flanders. Bovo returns to their forest abode; failing to find her or the twins, he now also presumes her to have fallen prey. Despairing, he joins an army ranged against his native Antona. He kills his stepfather, dispatches his mother to a nunnery, and takes his rightful crown. He is eventually reunited with Druzane, who becomes his queen.

Bovo-Bukh

The novel is set in the near future (at least at the time of writing, now actually in past time). The public image of the eponymous protagonist, Laurent Michaelmas, is that of a world-renowned newsman. In fact, Michaelmas controls world events just as much as he reports them. His means of influence is an immensely powerful self-aware artificial intelligence called Domino, which originated as a modest telephony appliance in Michaelmas'' youth. Over the years, Domino has evolved into a digital omnipresence that can penetrate and control any electronic or computerized equipment, most notably communication networks of all kinds. Domino was created by Michaelmas, and its existence is known only to him. Domino is also the confidante and intellectual sparring partner of Michelmas, compensating in part for the loss that Michaelmas suffered when his wife was killed in an accident many years ago. By the time of the novel, Laurent Michaelmas has successfully used his power to create and sustain world peace. One of his achievements is the success of UNAC (the fictitious United Nations Astronautics Commission). UNAC, organizing space travel as a joint international project is important to Michaelmas as a symbol of a more united world. When an astronaut believed to have been killed in a failed mission turns up miraculously saved, a threatening scenario starts to unfold. As the novel progresses, Michaelmas slowly learns that a possible extraterrestrial presence may be interfering with the new world he has worked so hard to create.

Michaelmas

Right after the official ceremony of receiving the Medal of Honor in United States capital Washington, D.C., 1stSgt Earl Swagger (retired) is being approached by district attorney of Polk County Fred Becker and ex-FBI agent D. A. Parker. The two men propose him a new job in Hot Springs, Arkansas to fight against organized crime and finally end the gambling and corruption of the city. Swagger''s mission is to train twelve young policemen into a "dream team" and instruct them during operations in city casinos. The mission is to close down all gambling places, preferably without hurting people. If violence becomes necessary, they are outfitted with custom .45 automatics, Thompson submachine guns, and Browning automatic rifles. Soon after accepting the new job, Earl finds out that his wife June is pregnant. She doesn''t support Earl''s idea to work in Hot Springs and is afraid of him being killed. One of the "dream team" members, a young policeman Frenchy Short (who also has a critical but unseen role in Black Light) is a smart young man, who feels that he can be above and better than the others in the team. Several times he tries to do something better than the others but in the end fails. That way he once killed two men during an assassination on the casino. Luckily for him, these two men were known bandits and Frenchy became sort of a hero. Next time, while supposedly on vacation, Frenchy finds the central office of the gambling network and reveals his research results to Swagger and Parker. This results in Becker firing him from the team because of illegal way of gathering evidence (as Frenchy, in fact, broke in to a telephone office to search the maps). An enraged Short promptly goes over to the other side. For a little favour, he informs the city boss Owney Maddox of everything related to the "dream team". On the other hand, during the holiday Short''s "dream team" partner Carlo Henderson (later seen in Dirty White Boys) is asked by D. A. Parker to investigate Swagger''s past and find out, how is Swagger so familiar with Hot Springs''s landscape. Swagger has shown knowledge of the city for several times, pointing out important nuances during the operations, however claims that he''s never been to Hot Springs before. Parker suggests that Swagger has the death instinct, because Swagger always tries to get into action himself, without wearing the bulletproof vest. During the investigation, Henderson finds out that Swagger''s brother was beaten a lot by their father, Charles Swagger, former sheriff of Polk County. Carlo''s investigation ultimately leads him to the belief that Earl was responsible for his father''s death. When he finally questions him on the subject, Earl reveals that he did not kill his father, but found him dying in Hot Springs. He took him out of there and faked the robbery that supposedly got him killed to protect his father''s reputation (and his own as well). Sam Vincent, who at the time is assistant of attorney in Garland, Arkansas. briefly assists Henderson with the investigation. Vincent also appears in other Hunter''s novels, such as Point of Impact and Black Light. In the meanwhile, the governor of Arkansas orders Parker to confiscate all heavy weaponry and bulletproof vests from the team, leaving them only with their handguns. Several members decide to leave, leaving only seven men. Short suggests Maddox to make a trap for the "dream team", which results in seven of them dying, including old D. A. Parker. The sole survivors are Earl Swagger and Carlo Henderson. They are then being arrested by the police and later let go home, with no money paid and with the condition, that they never, ever return to Hot Springs. Soon after, Maddox is being arrested with the accusation of owning stolen artwork. He''s freed from prison by the crew of assassins who killed his men, but Swagger finds them and kills all of them in a savage protracted gunfight, including Owney Maddox. Swagger also finds out that Owney was the actual murderer of his father. In the meantime, Earl''s wife, June is in hospital giving birth to their son, which doesn''t appear to be easy because of an unusual position of the baby. The local doctor can''t rescue both, the mother and the child, so Earl brings another doctor with him, who is black. The locals in the town, outraged that a black doctor has entered a white hospital and is assisting a white patient, form a lynch mob and approach the hospital. Earl, carrying three loaded .45''s, confronts them and warns them that if a fight occurs, a lot of them will die. The mob backs off. June survives, and successfully gives birth to their son, Bob Lee Swagger.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Night Train

By Martin Amis

Come Back, Little Sheba

By William Inge

Class Reunion

By Franz Werfel

The Bone Doll's Twin

By Lynn Flewelling

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

By Douglas Adams

Midnight

By Jacqueline Wilson

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

No Author Listed

Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure

By Paul A. Offit

Necroscope III: The Source

By Brian Lumley

Bovo-Bukh

No Author Listed

Michaelmas

By Algis Budrys

Hot Springs

By Stephen Hunter