Mma Ramotswe is asked to investigate a cook who is being blackmailed, and a doctor whose nurse believes he is doing something illegal. She discovers the identity of the blackmailer, who is a newspaper agony aunt abusing the confidences of her correspondents, and forces her to stop. The doctor is selling generic drugs at the full cost to his patients, and she causes him to be reported. During the investigation she becomes more aware of her excess weight and its health risks and even tries to diet, but decides the most important thing is to be herself and happy. Mr Polopetsi, the new employee, is happy in his work but still struggles with poverty and hostility from relatives due to his spell in prison. He wants to help Mma Ramotswe, his mentor, with detective work, and when superstitious fears disturb staff at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, it is he who discovers the cause: an injured ground-hornbill, believed to bring ill luck. He removes it, but it dies, and he fears he has lost Mma Ramotswe''s trust, but is relieved and grateful when she shows faith in him after all. Mma Makutsi fears her engagement to Phuti Radiphuti is over after a misunderstanding about feminism, but all is explained and, in the process, Mr J.L.B.Matekoni gains a comfortable new chair which will make him happy too. She begins to appreciate how her fortunes will change with her marriage, and indulges her passion for impractical shoes with a new blue pair, even though they do not fit very well.

Blue Shoes and Happiness

This module expanded significantly upon the plot of the original Tomb of Horrors, revealing that the tomb of the first adventure was merely an antechamber to the lich Acererak''s true resting place, and the demilich "slain" in the first adventure was both decoy and key to proceeding further. The dust from the destroyed skull opened a way to the cursed city of Moil in a pocket universe of eternal darkness and ice, and beyond that to Acererak''s fortress hovering at the edge of the Negative Energy Plane itself. Acererak is revealed in this publication to be near the completion of a multi-thousand-year project to achieve godhood, powered by souls consumed over the years. He now needs only three additional souls to complete the process, but they must be of exceptional purity and strength; to this end he constructed his tomb to serve as an ultimate challenge for heroes, hoping to winnow out all but the very best. He would then consume them when they reached the center of his fortress, where his own undead essence resides in his phylactery. If the player characters fail to defeat Acererak in the course of the adventure they themselves could wind up serving in this role.

Return to the Tomb of Horrors

Mississippi lawyer and Civil War veteran, Basil Ransom, visits his cousin Olive Chancellor in Boston. She takes him to a political meeting where Verena Tarrant delivers a feminist speech. Ransom, a strong conservative, is annoyed by the speech but fascinated with the speaker. Olive, who has never before set eyes on Verena, is equally fascinated. She persuades Verena to leave her parents'' house, move in with her and study in preparation for a career in the feminist movement. Meanwhile, Ransom returns to his law practice in New York, which is not doing well. He visits Boston again and walks with Verena through the Harvard College grounds, including the impressive Civil War memorial. Verena finds herself attracted to the charismatic Ransom. Basil eventually proposes to Verena, much to Olive''s dismay. Olive has arranged for Verena to speak at the Boston Music Hall. Ransom shows up at the hall just before Verena is scheduled to begin her speech. He persuades Verena to elope with him, to the discomfiture of Olive and her fellow-feminists. The final sentence of the novel shows Verena in tears&nbsp;— not to be her last, James assures us.

The Bostonians

The play is set in Palermo in Sicily, in Massinger''s era &mdash; during the Spanish Habsburg rule of southern Italy. The plot involves the intertwined marital fortunes of the younger generation of two prominent families &mdash; those of the (otherwise unnamed) Viceroy of Sicily and Duke of Messina. The Viceroy has a son, Don Pedro, and a daughter, Almira; the Duke has a son, Don Martino Cardenes, and a niece, Leonora. The two couples, Pedro and Leonora and Cardenes and Almira, are in love and hope to be married. One source of contention clouds their matchmaking: another wealthy and prominent nobleman and a close friend of Pedro''s, Don John Antonio, the Prince of Tarent (or Taranto, in southern Italy), had come to the Viceroy''s court in Palermo with great display and expense, hoping to win the hand of Almira. She, however, has refused his suit in favor of Cardenes, and none too subtly or gently. As the play opens, Antonio has asked permission to pay his farewell respects to Almira; but in her arrogance she refuses this last courtesy. Pedro protests her rudeness, but Cardenes, an insecure and touchy young man, supports her decision. He goes a step further, confronting the departing Antonio, picking a quarrel with him, and striking him. The two draw their swords, and Antonio inflicts a severe and almost fatal wound upon Cardenes. Antonio is arrested and confined to prison &mdash; but his friend Pedro helps him escape. Cardenes survives his wound but endures a long convalescence and a bout of deep depression; Almira, burdened with grief and guilt, is sometimes hysterical, and those around her fear that she is losing her sanity. The Duke of Messina is incensed that Antonio has escaped the Viceroy''s authority, and suspects collusion, though Pedro denies it. The Duke has Leonora accompany Almira in her convalescent seclusion, to keep her away from Pedro; both women are put under the watch of a court functionary named Cuculo and his wife Borachia. Antonio returns to Palermo, but appears in the slave market in the guise of a Turk; he is purchased by Cuculo and becomes a household servant, where he impresses everyone with his manners and breeding. Borachia thinks he must be the son of the Turkish sultan. In his slave guise, Antonio acts as the go-between for Pedro and Leonora. Both Cardenes and Almira are enduring their own versions of recovery from mental stress; Cardenes is under the cure of a prominent physician, while Leonora helps Almira regain her emotional balance. Almira loses some of her arrogance and acquires a measure of humility and sense; she also develops an infatuation with the Turkish slave who is really Antonio, her spurned suitor. When pirates break into Cuculo''s house and attempt to abduct Almira and Leonora, Antonio plays a crucial role in fighting off the would-be kidnappers and rescue the two women. But while their fathers are expressing their gratitude, Almira provokes her father by announcing that she is in love with the Turkish slave. The irate Viceroy sends the man to prison, but Almira refuses to back down, saying that she will inflict upon herself whatever torture he suffers. The matter is resolved once Antonio reveals his true identity. Cardenes is now fully cured, restored to physical and mental health &mdash; but the court is astonished when Cardenes rejects the idea of marrying Almira. His near-fatal wound, his long convalescence, and his depression have given the young man a more mature and austere view of life, and he has turned away from egotism and sensuality. With Antonio substituted for Cardenes, the two couples who began the play can proceed to the altar. The comic relief in the play involves subjects &mdash; alcoholism and slavery &mdash; that are now generally considered questionable sources of humor. Borachia is an alcoholic, who turns aggressive and caustic when drunk; one of the slaves is an Englishman who has lived in France and absorbed French manners, a source of amusement for the play''s original audience. On the more serious side, the drama displays Massinger''s strong interest in medical and psychiatric matters and especially in the subject of clinical depression and its treatment. Samuel Taylor Coleridge reportedly once called the piece "one of the most perfect plays we have" &mdash; an extreme of enthusiasm that no other commentator has matched.

A Very Woman

After a devastating nuclear war, the surviving people of earth have been forced to live in underground caverns, ruled by harsh dictatorships. In Britain an unseen leader inspires a large section of the populace to escape the caverns and forms a new dictatorship above ground. This new society is based on a collective sense of guilt at the events of the nuclear war. All subjects are named after famous murderers from history, and are obliged to wear sackcloth so as not to provoke envy with their appearance. The Dictator is never seen, but his voice is broadcast to his subjects regularly, instructing them on the laws and morals of his society. His rule is enforced by Inspectors, who have the power to fine people for minor infringements or report them to the higher ministries for further punishment. A young woman named Jael 97, who has been reported to the Ministry of Facial Justice for being "facially over privileged" and causing discontent among other women, approaches the Equalisation (Faces) Centre to have a synthetic "Beta" face fitted so that she will blend in with the community. At the urging of a friend, however, she decides to put this off. Her resultant guilt, along with subsequent events—her forbidden delight at the idea of "height" during an excursion to the ruined tower of Ely Cathedral; her injury in a planned motor-coach accident during her return from the excursion; her rescue by the Inspector Michael, with whom she falls in love; and her involuntary "Betafication" at the hospital to which she is taken—provokes her rebellious spirit, and she forms a resistance group whose aim is to undermine the regime and show it up as ridiculous. She also writes articles in magazines and papers, in which she deliberately stretches the rules of society to ridiculous proportions—suggesting, for instance, that spelling and grammatical errors in writing should not be criticised, as this can lead to envy and bitterness between people. From the doctor who Betafied her (and who desires her), Jael manages to find out that he has also treated the Dictator and that the Dictator''s chest bears a heart-shaped birthmark. In her desire to find and kill the Dictator, she writes an article urging that anyone should be able to challenge another person on the street to bare their chest and prove they have no birthmarks. This is, she claims, to ensure that everyone is as alike as possible. The idea proves divisive amongst the public and begins to cause a great deal of public disorder. Rioting breaks out on the streets, and in the absence of any advice from the Dictator, the public turn on him and denounce him. The Dictator finally responds by announcing that he can see that the public no longer appreciate his leadership and protection and, therefore, he will be leaving. The country descends into chaos after the Dictator''s departure. Further rioting ensues, and food supplies are exhausted as the means of production are abandoned or destroyed. The remaining government officials realise they will have to ask the underground dictatorships for food supplies. The leaders of the underground society agree to help, but demand that in return six people be sent to them, presumably to be executed. Jael, out of a sense of guilt at her role in the collapse of society, decides to volunteer to be one of the people sent underground. On the night before she intends to so offer herself, she remains awake to savour her last few hours above ground. Then, amidst sounds of a rainstorm outside, there is a knock at her door, which she opens to reveal an old lady who had been kind to her when she was hospitalised, clearly weak with hunger and soaked from heavy rain. Jael lets her into her home and offers her some clothes to change into. To Jael''s astonishment, she finds that the lady bears the Dictator''s birthmark and is, in fact, the Dictator. Clearly on the verge of death, the lady reveals that Michael (who has also arrived on the scene) has acted as her "voice" in the Dictator''s announcements. She also begs Jael to take on the role of Dictator and restore order and hope to the people. The novel ends with Jael, seemingly having accepted the offer from the Dictator, starting to address the public, through Michael''s voice, for the first time.

Facial Justice

The narrative focuses on the stories of several Harvard Professors as they deliberate whether tenure should be imparted on assistant professor Dennis Gossen. Gossen is an up-and-coming economics figure, who is hopeful that the Promotion and Tenure Committee will find him of adequate qualification to receive tenure at Harvard University—a very prestigious accomplishment. The P and T Committee is headed by celebrated anthropologist and Harvard Dean Denton Clegg and consists of distinguished sociologist Oliver Wu, chemist Sophia Ustinov, English professor Calvin Weber, psychology professor Valerie Danzig, mathematics professor Morrison Bell, Classicist Foster Barrett and dominant economics professor Henry Spearman. Dennis somehow shows up at the door of Henry Spearman, who is not home, and let in by Henry’s wife, Pidge. Because Dennis appears so distraught, Pidge calls her husband and tells him to come home early, which he does. However, Spearman refuses to discuss anything with Dennis on the basis that he is not allowed to converse with tenure candidates. P and T Committee meetings proceed to take place, and Dennis Gossen is turned down for tenure with a 3-3 vote. Oliver Wu, Sophia Ustinov and Calvin Weber all vote in favor of promotion, while Valerie Danzig, Morrison Bell and Foster Barrett all vote that Dennis Gossen is not cut out for Harvard. Dean Clegg is naturally placed in the role of tie breaker, and votes against advancement, as is his policy with ties. Because of his failure, Dennis Gossen seemingly commits suicide. Within the next week, Morrison Bell and Foster Barrett, two of the people who voted against Gossen’s promotion were murdered, and Dennis’s fiancé, Melissa Shannon, is arrested for the crime. The prosecution charged that she murdered them because she felt that they were responsible for her fiancé’s suicide, and the Melissa’s defense argued that the evidence was merely circumstantial; Shannon is eventually convicted by the jury and sentenced to a life in prison. Economist Henry Spearman is skeptical, however. Applying economic analysis, he could not fathom how the benefits of suicide could have outweighed the emotional cost that Gossen—a very rational person—was paying for his failure. He also did not think it rational that Melissa Shannon was so upset that she would kill two Harvard professors. With Melissa Shannon in jail, the Harvard Alumni are all aboard a cruise to Europe. This is where Spearman finally uses economic reasoning to deduce who really murdered Dennis, Morrison, and Foster: Dean Clegg. His theory is proven when Clegg, knowing that Spearman is on to him, leaves behind a note explaining everything; Clegg coveted academic distinction, and went to an island to write a book he hoped would be revolutionary in his field of anthropology. However, he had been absent from his field as Dean for a couple of years and was having trouble. That was when he conceived the idea to forge data for his book. It turned out that Dennis Gossen read his book and found economic inconsistencies in the data Clegg had made up and realized that Clegg was a fraud. Gossen blackmailed Clegg to vote in favor of his promotion, which Clegg happily agreed to. However, Clegg wanted to secure his secret, and so he killed Gossen and made it look like suicide. He then killed two of his colleagues who he thought might find out his dirty secret and framed Melissa Shannon.

The Fatal Equilibrium

The novel follows Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier turned night auditor for a luxurious hotel. One night, Pine encounters Sophie, a French-Arab woman who has ties to Richard Onslow Roper, an English black marketeer who has made a fortune from the sale of weapons. Sophie provides Pine with incriminating documents, which Pine forwards to a friend in British intelligence. Despite Pine''s best efforts to help her, Sophie''s betrayal is discovered and she is subsequently murdered. Six months later, Pine is approached by intelligence operatives Leonard Burr and Rex Goodhew, who are planning a carefully detailed sting operation against Roper. Eager to avenge Sophie, Pine agrees to go undercover to infiltrate Roper''s vast criminal empire, but the operation is jeopardized by an inter-agency turf war within the intelligence community. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Pine has won the confidence of Roper, through an adroit tactic in which Pine saves his child. Pine is assigned a position within the Roper organization, to act as the head of a special-purpose entity - a device sometimes employed by modern corporations. As the head of the company, Pine is tasked with the assignment of executing a large transaction in which shipping containers full of "Colombian coffee" (happy children juggling on the label) are exchanged for arms. The drugs are piled high, and packed into their respective containers - and Pine signs for them. Meanwhile, operation ''Flagship'' accomplishes a betrayal of Pine''s identity by a group of questionable individuals in the employ of the Intelligence agencies. Seeing Pine discredited, and in full knowledge of the danger to his life, Burr executes a daring tactic to save him, at a cost of scale to the sting operation. The novel ends with Pine alive, having survived being badly tortured. He is leaving Roper''s ship "The Iron Pasha" in a launch, and he voices to himself the feeling that he has somehow lost and Roper won. He wonders if Roper, and men and corporations like him, will not leave this earth until they have scarred it so badly that the destruction they have wrought by their actions burns the entire world -- and them along with it. fr:Le Directeur de nuit

The Night Manager

In 1912, the RMS Titanic sunk to the bottom of the North Atlantic in one of history''s most infamous maritime disasters. 75 years later it is discovered that Titanics hold contains a shipment of a rare mineral, the only available supply in the world large enough to power a top-secret and vital United States defense program. When no method can be found of extracting the mineral under more than of water, Pitt and his crew set out to do the impossible: raise the Titanic. Dr. Gene Seagram leads the top-secret Pentagon program Meta Section, which secretly attempts to leapfrog current technology by 20 to 30 years. One result: the Sicilian Project, which uses sound waves to stop incoming ballistic missiles. The immense power needs of the Sicilian Project can be met only by an extremely rare mineral called byzanium. After satellite data pinpoints the most likely source of byzanium, Meta Section sends Sid Koplin to a small island off the northern coast of the USSR. There he discovers that the byzanium ore has already been mined. While making his way back to his hidden boat Koplin is shot and captured by a Russian guard but is rescued by the story''s protagonist, Dirk Pitt. Using clues found by Koplin, Seagram determines that the byzanium &mdash; a chunk worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 1912 figures &mdash; was mined in the early part of the 20th century by a group called The Coloradans, including Joshua Hayes Brewster. The group was hired by the French but persuaded by the US government to steal the mineral for the United States. Brewster and his men engage in a running battle with French assassins as they crisscross Europe trying to get their stolen goods home. Only Brewster reaches England alive, and he books passage on the maiden voyage of the great White Star Line ship Titanic. Realizing that the only supply of byzanium sufficient to power the Sicilian Project now lies at the bottom of the North Atlantic, Dr. Seagram approaches Dirk Pitt and the National Underwater and Marine Agency and gives them the near impossible task of raising the Titanic. Using data from drop tank experiments Pitt is able to narrow down the search area and begin searching with deep sea submersibles. After finding a presentation model cornet that they can link positively to a member of the Titanics band, Pitt and his colleagues know they are searching in the right place. After discovering that the Titanic is intact they set out on audacious plan to patch all of the holes and then raise the wreck using compressed air. Meanwhile the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) convinces the President of the United States to leak information on both the Sicilian Project and the Titanic mission to the USSR in the hopes of setting a trap to capture one of the Soviet''s best intelligence men. When the leaders of the USSR realize that the development of the Sicilian Project would throw off the balance of power in the world and leave their nuclear arsenal impotent they do just as the CIA hopes and launch an operation to sabotage the mission and steal the byzanium for themselves. Once the Titanic is secured for the trip to the United States a massive hurricane strikes the salvage area, allowing the Soviets to board the ship and take the crew hostage. Pitt, who was previously believed dead after being last seen on board a crashed helicopter, reemerges to expose the Soviet spies within the salvage crew. After the crew regains control of the Titanic the ship is eventually towed to New York Harbor and laid up in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. When the ship''s vault is opened all are shocked to discover the byzanium was never actually aboard the ship. This revelation, coupled with deep troubles with his marriage and the President''s agreement to leaking word of the Sicilian Project to the Soviets, eventually cause Dr. Seagram to have a nervous breakdown from which he never recovers. It is eventually revealed that Joshua Hayes Brewster, fearful that he would not make it onto the ship with the mineral, buried the byzanium in the grave of the last of the group to fall to the French assassins and located in the tiny English village of Southby. The novel ends with a test of the Sicilian Project in the Pacific Ocean.

Raise the Titanic

One winter, Jena''s father sets out to the coast to recover from a serious illness that would kill him if he remained home for the winter. In his absence, he leaves his house, his younger daughters, and his half of the merchant business he and his cousin run in the hands of Jena, and her elder sister Tatiana (called ''Tati''). It is when Jena''s father''s brother Nicolae dies, that things begin to go wrong for Jena and her sisters: Cezar uses his newfound power of being master of his father''s estate to take a firm control over the castle in which Jena and her sisters live. Every full moon, the sisters go to the Other Kingdom, where they meet and dance with various magical creatures. Eventually, Cezar becomes so bent on revenge for the death of his older brother Costi (who drowned ten years prior to the book) that he suggests felling the forest around both his and his cousins'' estates. In distress, Jena attempts to dissuade him from doing so. She also attempts to prevent Tati from seeing her Sorrow, her sweetheart, who Jena believes to be one of the Night People. In an effort to persuade her sister that it is not meant to be, Jena enlists the help of Bogdana, Nicolae''s widow, to organise a party to find suitable husbands at the next Full Moon. Jena and her younger sisters are all upset that they will miss the Full Moon dance, but none so much as Tati; she rapidly loses weight, and her personality fades into almost non-existence. Meanwhile, there was a killing in the village, which had all the markings of an attack of the Night people; reluctantly, Jena tells her sister of what Tadeusz had told her about Dark of the Moon at one of the Full Moon revels. Tati decides to use this portal at Dark of the Moon, where Jena discovers her with Tadeusz''s sister, Anastasia. Frightened, the sisters are separated, and Anastasia takes Jena (unwillingly) to see Draguţsa''s mirror. In the mirror, Jena learns of Sorrow''s true heritage, as well as sees a vision of herself and a young man that she would come to love; the young man in this vision then changes into a horrible monster, turning on Jena''s younger sisters. Frightened, Jena flees back to the lakeside, where she meets up with Tati and Sorrow. Sorrow then sends the girls over the frozen lake and back to their own world, where they decide to visit the Dancing Glade the next month to both warn the Queen of Cezar''s intentions, and ask if she could help Sorrow, and the girl who was revealed to be his younger sister. After miserably failing to propose to (and being rejected by) Jena, Cezar works out that the entrance to the Other Kingdom is indeed in the bedchamber that Jena and her sisters share. Desperate for help, Jena sets out to the lake where Costi drowned, to seek out Dragutsa. She speaks to the old woman for a little, before she is given a powerful sleeping potion to put both the man and the chaperone to sleep on the night of the full moon. As Jena leaves, she gives Gogu a kiss on the nose; a bright flash throws both her and the frog apart. When she can see again, she finds a young man on the shore of the lake, whom she instantly knows to be Gogu; she also recognises him as the young man in the mirror, who turns into a monster. She realises that, despite knowing what he is, she loves him, and when he gives no answer, she runs away back home. As planned, the sisters drug the man and chaperone in their bedchamber, and seek the help of the faerie Queen. Ileana tells Tati that she has set Sorrow a quest, to be completed within one month; if he succeeds, they will be allowed to wed, and Tati to live in the Other Kingdom. Gogu is also there, and the faerie Queen reveals that he was bound by a spell of silence, giving him his voice back. Gogu then reveals to Jena that he is Costi, which she denies; however, Dragutsa later reveals that this is true. She had placed the boy under and enchantment to turn him into a frog. She then revealed that it was Jena''s doubt that allowed Anastasia to manipulate the image in the mirror; Costi was not a monster, and Jena had broken his heart by claiming that he was, instead of trusting him. Costi returns the next day and takes over his father''s estate, and Cezar disappears; however, Jena is too nervous and guilty to speak to Costi. Eventually, Tati convinces her to go visit him and, on the day of the Full Moon, she does. She and Costi work out their misunderstanding, and return to Jena''s home, where they take Tati to an injured Sorrow to take to the Other Kingdom. Eventually, life returns to normal, though they miss Tati. Jena''s father returns home, and Jena and Costi look forward to their impending marriage.

Wildwood Dancing

The book is written from the point of view of author Tracy Kidder. It is set mainly in Haiti and Boston, Massachusetts. Kidder first met his subject, Dr. Paul Farmer, in Haiti in 1994. At the time, Kidder was researching a story about American soldiers sent to reinstate Haiti''s democratically elected government led by president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Kidder again met Farmer on his flight back to Miami, Florida from Haiti and began to learn small pieces of Farmer''s life. Farmer was born in Massachusetts and grew up as one of six children in a poor household in Florida, going on to attend Duke and Harvard, where he earned his M.D and Ph.D. The rest of the book details Farmer''s inspiring life and accomplishments, including Farmer''s work with the health and social justice organization Partners in Health, especially in Haiti, Peru, and Russia. Kidder describes Paul Farmer as follows: :"And I was drawn to the man himself. He worked extraordinary hours. In fact, I don’t think he sleeps more than an hour or two most nights. Here was a person who seemed to be practicing more than he preached, who seemed to be living, as nearly as any human being can, without hypocrisy. A challenging person, the kind of person whose example can irritate you by making you feel you’ve never done anything as important, and yet, in his presence, those kinds of feelings tended to vanish. In the past, when I’d imagined a person with credentials like his, I’d imagined someone dour and self-righteous, but he was very friendly and irreverent, and quite funny. He seemed like someone I’d like to know, and I thought that if I did my job well, a reader would feel that way, too." The book is primarily a biographical work broken into five parts. PART I: Doktè Paul Introduces Farmer''s work at the Brigham in Boston, Massachusetts and at the PIH founded Zanmi Lasante in Cange, Haiti. PART II: The Tin Roofs of Cange Describes Farmer''s family background and gives accounts of Farmer from sources close to him. Farmer''s dedication to PIH led to his broken engagement with Ophelia Dahl, the daughter of famous author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal. The two remained close confidantes however, with Ophelia continuing work for the PIH organization. PART III: Médicos Aventureros 1995 MDR-TB claimed the life of a close friend known as Father Jack, in Lima, Peru. PIH co-founder, Dr. Jim Kim convinces Farmer to extend PIH into Peru where they fight against the rigid orders of the DOTS program, outlined by the World Health Organization, largely under the financial support of an American benefactor, Tom White. PART IV: A Light Month for Travel Follows Farmer from Haiti to Cuba, Paris, France, Russia, and other locations on his quest to treat infectious disease. PART V: O for the P In 2000, PIH receives news of being awarded a $45 million grant to combat MDR-TB in Lima, Peru along with other organizations. "O for the P" refers to an expression within PIH that is a shortened form of saying “a preferential option for the poor”.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Lauren Hartke and her film director husband, Rey Robles, are occupying an isolated house outside New York City. They have a sparse verbal exchange over breakfast before Rey leaves for work. Later that morning, Rey is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his first wife''s Manhattan apartment. An obituary detailing the frequently ambiguous details of Rey''s life ensues, where Rey''s age (64) is revealed, along with his history of depression and the fact that Lauren had been Rey''s third wife. A bereaved Lauren remains alone in the house against the advice of her friends and relatives. She becomes disconnected from the temporal world and from her own body, experiencing frequent and inexplicable déjà vu. Lauren spends the subsequent hours, days and weeks exploring this disconnection. She practices her trademark ''bodywork''-- aerobic and stretching techniques she has developed to prepare her body for performance pieces. Lauren also integrates a sequence of daily rituals, including chopping firewood and gazing for hours at webcam footage of a road in Kotka, Finland. One morning, Lauren hears a noise coming from the upper floor of the house. She goes upstairs to investigate but finds no one there. Lauren goes upstairs again the next day. This time, she finds a man sitting in one of the bedrooms. The man''s appearance varies each time Lauren sees him, but in this first incarnation, he is described as "smallish and fine-boned [resembling] a kid, sandy-haired and roused from deep sleep" (43).

The Body Artist

An African warlord known as the Tiger, aided by his crew of angry young men, horrifically murders author Eleanor ''Ellie'' Cox and her entire family. Alex Cross and girlfriend Bree Stone go investigate, when Alex recalls Ellie had been his one time girlfriend, whom he had loved at one point. He is instantly terrified by this so much he gets no sleep, does no work for the case, and stays up late at night, sitting in his bed. He then figures out the Tiger''s next murder, and arrives on time to stop the Tiger and his gang of kids, where most of the villains escape including the Tiger and most of his gang. After gaining access from the CIA he plans on going to Nigeria, where he hopes to find and stop the Tiger, using the knowledge based on the Tiger''s whereabouts. After convincing a bitter Nanna and nervous Bree, he goes on a plaine trip to Nigeria, where he is annoyed by their customs. He is then kidnapped by ''cops'' and put in jail, where his nose is broken, he is horribly injured, and starves as well as having to deal with no water. After nearly three days or more, he is bailed out by American Ian Flaherty who gives Cross advice to flee while he still can. He is then called by Bree who says there has been another murder by the Tiger. Instead of listening to Flaherty, Cross instead goes to Sudan, where he meets veteran, Moses, who feeds him and gives him water. Later that night, Cross, when alone by himself, is ambushed by the Tiger''s gang, however, he escapes with Moses'' help and buys a truck which he later gives to Moses. Father Bomata, a priest whom he met during the plaine ride to Nigeria, informs him his cousin, Addane Tansi, may be able to help Alex, who meets Addane, a reporter who had, unbeknowst to Alex, befriended Ellie, whom had gone to Nigeria some time before her death. Addane introduces Alex to her family and shares a kiss with him, which he refuses to think of because of Bree; Flaherty later reveals that the Tiger''s real name is Abidemi Swonade. Alex and Addane go to a hobo camp where they are attacked by Janjaweed, ruthless men who rape, injure, and kill women and children. After barely escaping due to the ''Peacekeepers'' who only do it so they gain no bad publicity, especially by Addane. After returning to Nigeria, Cross and Addane discover that Addane''s family have been murdered. When trying to get closer, Cross and Addane are taken to jail by cops. Alex witnesses Addane get murdered by Tiger, after being raped, is released afterwards. Heading back to Washington, he is annoyed by all that has happened. After the course of events, many more murders have occurred. Heading home, he learns that Alex''s family have been kidnapped by the Tiger, who then gives Alex coordinates to the hideout. Alex, Bree, and allie, John Sampson, go and defeat the Tiger''s gang, while Alex follows Swonade (Tiger) whom nearly overpowers him, bit Alex kills the Tiger. Ian Flaherty is revealed to be working with Swonade and is arrested. Shortly afterward, his family are found; Alex instantly thinks the CIA might have worked with the Tiger. Alex calls upon Merrill Synder and Steven Millard, from the CIA, and arrests them, after discovering they and Flaherty were associated with Tiger. The book ends as Alex gets an alarming phone call from Kyle Craig, who has escaped from prison and wants revenge on Alex Cross, after the events in the previous book - and escaping from prison.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Blue Shoes and Happiness

By Alexander McCall Smith

Return to the Tomb of Horrors

No Author Listed

The Bostonians

By Henry James

A Very Woman

No Author Listed

Facial Justice

No Author Listed

The Fatal Equilibrium

No Author Listed

The Night Manager

By John le Carré

Raise the Titanic

By Clive Cussler

Wildwood Dancing

By Juliet Marillier

Mountains Beyond Mountains

By Tracy Kidder

The Body Artist

By Don DeLillo

Cross Country

By James Patterson