Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Thalia Grace, go to Westover Hall in Maine after Grover Underwood discovers two sibling half-bloods named Nico and Bianca di Angelo. They narrowly escape an attack by a manticore named "Dr. Thorn," with some help from Artemis and her hunters, which include Zoë Nightshade. Though they survive the attack, Annabeth is captured by Dr. Thorn. Percy and his friends must look for Artemis before the winter solstice meeting of the Olympian council, when the goddess''s influence could change an important vote on the war with the Titans. Percy joins Thalia, Zoe, Bianca di Angelo, and Grover on their dangerous quest. They also are searching for a rare monster that Artemis was trying to hunt down when she went missing; it is so strong that it can obliterate Olympus. Percy is called by a hippocampus to rescue a marine cow-like creature trapped in the Long Island Sound called the Ophiotaurus, whom Percy names Bessie, not knowing it is male. Percy is forced to trail slightly behind the rest of the travelers, catching up with them by flying Blackjack, a pegasus he liberated in The Sea of Monsters to Washington, D.C.. He also spots Dr. Thorn there as well, and follows Dr. Thorn into a private meeting at the National Museum of Natural History, which Percy infiltrates by using Annabeth''s invisibility baseball cap. As he watches, Dr. Thorn is severely berated by a man known only as "the General," who uses dinosaur teeth to grow skeleton warriors trained to track down and kill the hunters. Percy races across to the National Air & Space Museum to warn the others, but just as soon as he arrives, the museum is attacked by the Nemean Lion, which they manage to subdue and defeat. When they spot a helicopter following them as they flee, they enter the Washington Metro to throw it off their trail. Apollo finds them at a freight yard and supplies them with a way to Cloudcroft, New Mexico – hopping into cars on an autorack freight train, which delivers them to Cloudcroft the next day. In Cloudcroft, Grover senses the presence of Pan, the Greek god of nature, and a wild gift from him, the giant Erymanthian Boar, comes to carry them further on to Gila Claw, Arizona. It takes them to the junkyard of the gods, and Percy meets Ares and talks to Aphrodite, at which point it is hinted that Annabeth and Percy will most likely have a romantic future. Eventually, the group enters the junkyard, where Bianca tries to steal a statue for her younger brother. She accidentally awakens a prototype of Talos, a giant man of bronze, and dies after being inside the metal giant while it was shocked by telephone poles, but still successfully destroyed it. While being attacked by skeletal warriors at the Hoover Dam, Percy meets Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a girl who can see through the Mist. She saves Percy by confusing the skeletons, allowing Percy and his friends to escape after another ambush by praying to Zeus to animate two angel statues on the terrace, which take them to the Embarcadero in San Francisco. They go to seek the help of Annabeth''s father; who, after a brief discussion, lends them his car. They travel to the Garden of Hesperides, where Zoë meets her sisters and is bitten and poisoned by the dragon Ladon while trying to help Percy and Thalia pass. They continue to the Mountain of Despair on Mount Tamalpais up in Marin County, where Mount Othrys, the Titan capital, is now located. From the top of the mountain where Atlas held up the sky, they see Artemis taking on his burden. Annabeth is held captive by Luke, and has been handcuffed and gagged. Realizing that the prophecy made by the Oracle involves him, Percy takes the burden—the Titan''s curse—from Artemis. In the ensuing fight, Annabeth''s father helps by flying his Sopwith Camel (a biplane) and shooting celestial bronze encased bullets, and Atlas (the General of the Titans) throws his daughter Zoë, slamming her against the rocks. Artemis tricks Atlas into taking his burden from Percy. Zoe dies (because of the poisonous bite from Ladon and the impact of the rocks(caused by her father)) and Artemis turns Zoë into a constellation, in memorial to her. During a battle between Thalia and Luke, Luke falls off a cliff and Percy assumes that Luke is dead. Later, Percy is told by Annabeth, and confirmed by Poseidon, that Luke has survived the fall, and Thalia is asked by Artemis and agrees to join the Hunt to become safer and prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. They promise each other to hide this fact from everyone else, especially the Titan''s army.

The Titan''s Curse

The Guardian of Forever has malfunctioned and is emitting waves of accelerated time that are causing premature star deaths throughout the galaxy. After Spock recalls that his son Zar was once able to communicate telepathically with the Guardian, the Enterprise is placed under the temporary command of Admiral Kirk and detailed to transport a powerful telepath to the Guardian. The telepath manages to partially restore the Guardian''s timetravel functions but collapses in a comatose state. Using the Guardian, Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy travel into the past of the planet Sarpeidon to find Zar, hoping that his powerful telepathy combined with Vulcan shield training will allow him to successfully restore the Guardian to its normal state. They find Zar in charge of a small, technologically advanced settlement that is about to engage in a battle with an alliance of less advanced but more numerous enemy clans. His death in the coming battle has been foretold by the priestess Wynn, the daughter of one of the enemy clan chiefs, who declares that the alliance will be denied victory only if "he who is halt walks healed" and "he who is death-struck in battle rises whole." "He who is halt" clearly refers to Zar, who walks with a painful limp because of a leg injury he suffered many years before. In order to increase his city''s odds of survival, Zar has Wynn kidnapped and betrothed, forcing her father to change sides. The Enterprise men manage to convince him to come back with them and deal with the Guardian, although he insists that he will return afterward to fight in the battle despite the prophecy. Zar successfully melds with the Guardian and returns its consciousness to its physical structure, along with a burst of energy that turns out to be several beings of pure energy. The Guardian explains that it abandoned its duties to search for its Creators, who long ago evolved into beings of pure energy and entered another dimension. Its fundamental programming required it to answer their summons and bring them home, and the resource drain connected to the search resulted in its apparent malfunction. The Creators are immensely old and senile, and wish to find their home system to die there; but they have forgotten where it is. The Creators assume the form of people drawn from the memories of the Enterprise men in order to converse with them. While some of the beings act in a benevolent manner, a few seem capricious and cruel, and even completely deranged. Eventually, Kirk and the others manage to convince them that their search would endanger intelligent life throughout the galaxy, and they re-enter another dimension via the Guardian. The Guardian, with the assistance of Zar and Spock, is able to force the remaining, less rational Creators to comply. McCoy convinces Zar to undergo treatment and physical therapy aboard the Enterprise, healing his limp and giving him a greater chance of survival in the coming battle. Zar achieves peak physical condition and is able to walk normally again, fulfilling the first half of Wynn''s prophecy. When he returns to Sarpeidon''s past, Spock follows him, intending to help save him in the battle. Spock is unable to prevent the death-blow from landing, although he deflects it slightly, and Zar is unconscious but still alive. In order to fulfill the second half of the prophecy, Spock puts on Zar''s armor and shows himself to the army, leading them to believe their leader has risen whole from being "death-struck". Zar''s army wins the battle. After ensuring that Zar will survive the blow and leaving him to Wynn''s care, Spock returns to the present.

Time for Yesterday

It is 1944. A message from Paris warns Allied Intelligence of something big in the works---which might have serious implications for Operation Overlord. The only way to get more information from the agent in Paris---now closely watched by the Gestapo---is to send in a personal courier. Russian émigré Michael Gallatin is picked for the job. In retirement as a secret agent since a grisly episode in North Africa, Gallatin is parachuted into occupied France, on a mission which will take him to the festering heart of the Third Reich on the scent of doomsday. As a master spy, Gallatin has proved he can take on formidable foes---and kill them. As a passionate lover, he attracts beautiful women. But there is one extra factor which makes Michael Gallatin a unique special agent---he is a werewolf, able to change form at will, able to assume the body of a wolf and its capacity to kill with savage, snarling fury. In the madness of war, Gallatin hunts his prey---ready to outthink his opponents with his finely tuned brain. Or tear their throats out with his finely honed teeth. The novel flashes back to when his parents and sister were brutally murdered and before and after Michael is bitten by a Werewolf. Once bitten, he becomes a werewolf and lives in isolation with a wolf clan in Russian forests. Michael Gallatin is a British emigrant that is a top spy for Britain during World War II. In 1942, he overtakes Rommel in North Africa and foils the Nazis plan to control the Suez Canal. This vital waterway would ensure that Nazi Germany could choke off Allied shipping and continue their march east into Russia. In 1944, the war still rages on and the Nazis are forced toward Berlin by the Soviets, but Western Europe is still in Hitler’s grip. Gallatin, in seclusion since 1942, is called back for a vital mission: The first part of the mission has him parachuting into Nazi-occupied France to retrieve vital information from an informant named Adam. Adam is in Paris under tight Gestapo security (the Nazi’s official secret police). Gallatin contacts Adam through a Nazi deserter called “Mouse”. He slips a note in Adams pocket that informs Adam to go to an opera at the third act, so Gallatin can receive the information. Unfortunately, the Gestapo had followed Adam and shoot him in the head just after the information was disclosed to Michael. Michael escapes by faking suicide using cyanide; he doesn’t swallow the pill. This fake-out allots him time to turn into a werewolf and he kills the fleeing Gestapo. Gallatin and Mouse must make their way east to Berlin, the heart of the Nazis lair, in an attempt to foil a top-secret Nazi plan, “Iron Fist”.

The Wolf''s Hour

"On the tallest mountain above town," the young Prince Bertie still has not married, as is the custom in his kingdom. His mother, a grouchy Queen who is tired of ruling and wishes to pass on the responsibility to her son, insists he must find a princess to marry. The prince tells his mom "Very well, Mother.... I must say, though, I''ve never cared much for princesses." His mother marches princess after princess through the castle, from places ranging from Greenland to Mumbai, but in spite of their various talents &mdash; Princess Aria of Austria sings opera, Princess Dolly from Texas juggles and does magic tricks &mdash; they fail to interest the prince (though the prince''s page falls in love with the princess from Greenland). After a while, along comes Princess Madeleine escorted by her brother Prince Lee. At the same time, both Bertie and Lee exclaim, "What a wonderful prince!" The princes immediately fall in love, and they begin marriage preparations at once. The wedding is attended by all the rejected princesses and their families; the two princes are declared King and King, and the Queen can finally relax, sunning herself in a lounge chair near the page and the princess from Greenland. The story ends with a kiss between the two kings. The illustrations are created as collages with cut paper and mixed-media art, including ink and paint.

King & King

The Marlow family are staying at their cousin Jon''s farm during the school holidays. Out collecting eggs early one morning, Nicola Marlow hears what she thinks is a cat caught in the top of a tree. She climbs up to rescue it, only to find that it is a bird, wearing leather thongs. Before she can make any attempt to save it, its owner climbs up beside her. He tells her that the bird is a falcon called Jael and its thongs, or jesses, have broken loose. Nicola recognises him as Patrick Merrick and tells him who she is. He asks if she would like to help with the hawks over the summer. While they are out with the hawks that afternoon, Patrick and Nicola feel something a bit like an earthquake. When they get back, they find out that it was her cousin Jon''s plane crashing and he is dead. Nicola''s father inherits the farm and the family will not be returning to London. Neither Captain Marlow, nor his eldest son Giles, want to leave the Navy to run the farm. Nicola suggests by accident that her sister Rowan should do it. She offers and eventually her parents agree that she can leave school to become a farmer. Nicola and Patrick spend most of their time with the hawks over the summer. While they are teaching Jael to catch rabbits, Peter who is out shooting rabbits, shoots Jael and kills her. Later, Regina rakes away and, although Patrick later finds her caught in some netting, she has forgotten him so he lets her go. Only Sprog, the little merlin who Patrick thinks of as a joke, is left. The other big event of the summer is the Colebridge Festival. Nicola comes second in the singing competition, despite stopping in the middle of her song because it reminds her of Jael. Her twin Lawrie is sent out of the elocution competition for unconsciously mimicking another contestant. Later, however, she follows the adjudicator and persuades her to let Lawrie say her piece again. She agrees that Lawrie has real talent and introduces her to another actor. Peter and Patrick compete against each other in the diving competition which, in the end, Peter wins and the two of them become friends again. For Nicola, the gymkhana is a crucial competition in which she might win enough money to enable her to keep Sprog at school. Unfortunately, the other contestants think she is Lawrie and want to get their own back at her for Lawrie''s performance in the elocution comp. She is knocked and bumped and falls off her horse. Later, Rowan offers her half of whatever she wins in the showjumping, but she is beaten by Patrick. When Nicola arrives home with Patrick she is greeted by his father who has a large cheque for Nicola from the sale of a secondhand book on hawking she bought earlier that summer. Amazed, Nicola admits to Patrick that she had been worried about the money for Sprog.

Falconer''s Lure

Nick Waters, the protagonist, is in Bunny Starch''s biology class, and she is the most feared teacher in his school: Truman School. At the beginning, Duane "Smoke" Scrod Jr. chomps on Mrs. Starch''s pencil, which she finds amusing. She gives him an assignment of 500 humorous words on pimples.She later reports the incident with a poor view on the boy''s behavior. Word gets out about Smoke''s previous arsons.Therefore, most students believe it was Smoke who started the forest fire on a field trip to the Black Vine Swamp. (Later in the book, it turns out that the Red Diamond Energy Corporation set a controlled fire to prevent the students and teachers from discovering an illegal pirate well on the State of Florida''s land.) Mrs. Starch goes back into the swamp to retrieve an asthma inhaler for Libby, a student of Mrs.Starch, while the bus returns the rest of the kids to school. Everyone expects that Mrs. Starch will return in her car, but she doesn''t come back. While Mrs. Starch is missing, her class gets a strange substitute teacher named Wendell Waxmo, who teaches specific pages on specific days. Dr. Dressler, the school''s headmaster, hired him in the hope that when Mrs. Starch hears about who is teaching her classes, she will come back. Dr. Dressler decides to go to Mrs. Starch''s house to see if she is there; she is not. In Mrs. Starch''s mailbox, Dr. Dressler finds a letter saying that she has been called to a "family emergency." Dr. Dressler checks Mrs. Starch''s file and finds no reference to any known family members that are alive. Nick and Marta just don''t buy this "family emergency" excuse, so they decide to go to Mrs. Starch''s house—located well off the beaten path—to investigate. They find the house filled with taxidermied endangered animals. Soon they are discovered by a mysterious man in his early thirties named Twilly Spree. He takes them away from the house and leaves them to meet Marta''s mom. Meanwhile, Duane Scrod Jr., known by his nickname "Smoke", is also missing from class. The oil company, having found out that arson investigators believed Duane to be responsible for the fire, have stolen Duane''s backpack and placed a lighter in it. When Duane returns, he is mistakenly accused of setting the fire in Black Vine Swamp. This is stressful to the headmaster of Truman school, Dr. Dressler, who has to face the board of directors and worry about the school''s public image. When Detective Marshall comes to arrest the supposed arsonist, Duane dodges out of the office and ran away, causing even more worries for Dr. Dressler. While Detective Marshall is waiting outside Duane''s house for him to return, the detective grows bored and decides to do some research about the torch. He finds that only two stores sell that model, and since one of them is too far away, only one store is left to investigate. Detective Marshall goes to the store and takes the video recording of the torch purchase to the arson investigator, who immediately realizes that Duane was framed by the Oil Company. All charges against Duane are dropped, except for that of evading arrest. Nick and Marta can''t stop worrying about their biology teacher and Smoke''s trouble. They think that Twilly may know something about it. They find the car Twilly was driving and jump into the back seat waiting for the man to return. Twilly takes them to see Mrs. Starch. They discover that she has been caring for a baby panther whose mother was scared off by the oil company with a gunshot. Duane was also in on the secret and Twilly was tracking the mother panther. He knew she was close because fresh scat was always on the ground. In the end, they are roused by Duane to come help find the mother because Twilly found fresh panther poop. They find the panther but the oil company tries to shoot the panther and hits Mrs.Starch. Nick climbs up a tree to give back the lost panther cub and Nick falls twenty feet to the ground. So in the end, the mother panther and baby panther are reunited and Mrs. Starch comes back to teaching(injured) with a great respect for Duane, who spends two weeks in jail for running away from the Detective (who also thinks two weeks is too harsh.) They all find out that Bunny Starch was just rescuing a baby panther and that she is a good person after all. After Nick helps the panther get back to its mother,the story gets out.Everyone sees Nick,Marta,Smoke,and even "mean old" Mrs.Starch in a whole new light. Carl Hiaasen is the author of other notable children''s fiction novels including Flush, in over 2,500 libraries, and Hoot, in over 3,200 libraries. it is amazing

Scat

Frederica Merriville has long been in charge of her younger siblings. Since her parents'' death, she has taken it upon herself to make sure that her beautiful sister Charis is well married, whilst believing herself to be on the shelf. To further this end, she brings the family from their country home to London and introduces herself to a distant relation, the selfish and indolent Marquis of Alverstoke, asking him to sponsor her sister into "the ton" and the subsequent Season. The Marquis is initially reluctant but agrees to sponsor the Merriville ladies out of mischief, mostly to annoy his sister Louisa who had been demanding similar assistance to launch her own daughter into society. At their combined debut ball, Alverstoke''s homely niece is easily outshone by Charis'' beauty. The Merrivilles are liked by everyone for their easy and engaging manners and good breeding. Charis is admired by many young men but she falls for the Marquis''s slow-witted and handsome cousin Endymion Dauntry. Frederica also acquires her own share of admirers, including (to his own astonishment) Alverstoke himself. Alverstoke is fascinated by her frank and open manners, unlike the society manners of London''s fashionable ladies. He is also delighted by the high spirits of the two youngest Merrivilles, her brothers Felix and Jessamy, and comes to like them for their own sakes. He slowly but deeply falls in love with Frederica and is ready to do anything for her sake.

Frederica

Moomintroll and his friend Sniff go into the forest and find a mysterious path. They follow it and meet the Silk Monkey. They go pearl fishing, and then discover a cave. However, they get scared when they visit the cave later and see a comet drawn with the pearls, which the Muskrat tells Moomintroll may destroy the valley. So they sail to the observatory in the Lonely Mountains to ask the Professors if the comet will destroy the Earth. They are attacked by crocodiles who are distracted by their trousers. They then meet Snufkin, who joins them, and Sniff has a run-in with a giant lizard after he tries to steal its garnets. The boat gets stuck in a cave and they almost fall into a dark hole when they are rescued by a Hemulen with butterfly net. They find the observatory, and the scientists tell them the exact time that the comet will arrive. Moomintroll saves the Snork Maiden from a deadly bush, then she and her brother Snork join them on their way back to Moominvalley. They buy gifts in a store, then attend a dance in the forest. The comet heat dries up the sea, and the group has to cross on stilts. On the way they meet another Hemulen, who follows them home. Moominmamma has baked a welcome home cake. The family flees to a cave, along with the Muskrat, Silk Monkey, and the Hemulen. However, the comet misses Moominvalley. The friends rejoice.

Comet in Moominland

The opening episode in the novel is the release of the 108 spirits, imprisoned under an ancient stele-bearing tortoise., which includes the English translation of the relevant excerpt from the novel. The original text of the chapter can be seen e.g. at 水滸傳/第001回, starting from "只中央一個石碑，約高五六尺，下面石龜趺坐 ..." The next chapter describes the rise of Gao Qiu, one of the primary antagonists of the story. Gao Qiu abuses his status as a grand marshal by bullying Wang Jin, whose father taught Gao a painful lesson when the latter was still a street roaming ruffian. Wang Jin flees from the capital with his mother and by chance he meets Shi Jin, who becomes his student. The next few chapters tell the story of Shi Jin''s friend Lu Zhishen, followed by the story of Lu''s sworn brother Lin Chong. Lin Chong is framed by Gao Qiu for attempted assassination and almost dies in a fire at a supply depot set by Gao''s lackeys. He slays his foes and abandons the depot, eventually making his way to Liangshan Marsh, where he becomes an outlaw. Meanwhile, the "Original Seven", led by Chao Gai, rob a convoy of birthday gifts intended for the minister Cai Jing, another primary antagonist of the story. They flee to Liangshan Marsh after defeating a group of soldiers sent by the authorities to arrest them, and settle down there as outlaws as well, with Chao Gai as chief of the outlaw band. As the story progresses, more people come to join the outlaw band, among whom include army generals and civil servants who grew tired of serving the corrupt government, as well as men with special skills and talents. Stories of the outlaws are told in separate sections in the following chapters. Connections between characters are vague, but the individual stories are eventually pieced together by chapter 40 after Song Jiang succeeds Chao Gai as the leader of the outlaw band, after the latter dies in battle against the Zeng Family Fortress. The plot further develops by illustrating the conflicts between the outlaws and the Song government after the Grand Assembly. Song Jiang strongly advocates making peace with the government and seeking redress for the outlaws. After defeating the imperial armies, the outlaws are eventually granted amnesty by the Emperor Huizong. The emperor recruits them to form a military contingent and allows them to embark on campaigns against invaders from the Liao Dynasty and suppress the rebel forces of Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La within the Song Dynasty''s domain. The following outline of chapters is based on a 100 chapters edition. Yang Dingjian''s 120 chapters edition includes other campaigns of the outlaws on behalf of Song Dynasty, while Jin Shengtan''s 70 chapters edition omits the chapters on the outlaws'' acceptance of amnesty and subsequent campaigns. {|class="wikitable" |- !Chapter !Main events |- |1 |Marshal Hong releases the 108 spirits |- |2 |The rise of Gao Qiu |- |2–3 |The story of Shi Jin |- |3–7 |The story of Lu Zhishen |- |7–12 |The story of Lin Chong |- |12–13 |The story of Yang Zhi |- |13–20 |The robbing of the birthday gifts by the "Original Seven" |- |20–22 |The story of Song Jiang |- |23–32 |The story of Wu Song |- |32–35 |The story of Hua Rong |- |36–43 |Song Jiang''s encounters in Jiangzhou |- |44–47 |The story of Shi Xiu and Yang Xiong |- |47–50 |The three assaults on the Zhu Family Village |- |51–52 |The story of Lei Heng and Zhu Tong |- |53–55 |The outlaws attack Gaotangzhou; the search for Gongsun Sheng |- |55–57 |The first imperial assault on Liangshan Marsh (led by Huyan Zhuo) |- | 57–59 |The outlaws attack Qingzhou; Huyan Zhuo defects to Liangshan |- |59–60 |The outlaws led by Gongsun Sheng attack Mount Mangdang |- |60 |The first assault by the outlaws on the Zeng Family Village; the death of Chao Gai |- |60–67 |The story of Lu Junyi; the outlaws attack Daming Prefecture; the second imperial assault on Liangshan Marsh (led by Guan Sheng) |- |67 |Guan Sheng defects to Liangshan; The third imperial assault on Liangshan Marsh (led by Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo) |- |68 |The second assault by the outlaws on the Zeng Family Fortress; |- |69–70 |The outlaws attack Dongping and Dongchang prefectures |- |71–74 |The Grand Assembly; the funny and lethal antics of Li Kui |- |75–78 |The emperor offers amnesty for the first time; the fourth imperial assault on Liangshan Marsh (led by Tong Guan) |- |78–80 |The fifth imperial assault on Liangshan Marsh (led by Gao Qiu) |- |81–82 |The outlaws are granted amnesty |- |83–89 |The Liangshan heroes attack the Liao invaders |- |90–99 |The Liangshan heroes attack Fang La |- |100 |The tragic dissolution of the Liangshan heroes |} The extended version includes the Liangshan heroes'' expeditions against other notable rebel leaders, Tian Hu in Hebei and Wang Qing in Sichuan, prior to the campaign against Fang La. Other stories tells such as the heroes fighting the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty or moving to Siam.

Water Margin

The story begins in March 1836, during the Battle of the Alamo, twenty-two years after the event depicted at the end of The Seekers, book three of the series. Amanda Kent, daughter of Gilbert Kent and Harriet Lebow, was among the women and children who survived the ensuing massacre. After the massacre, she was taken before Santa Anna, who led the Mexican forces against the Texans, and he was willing to grant her clemency, an offer she declined, putting her life in danger. She was saved by Major Luis Cordoba, one of Santa Anna’s officers, who did not fully support him. Cordoba put Amanda to work as his servant and they eventually fell in love. She remained a camp follower with the Mexican army until April 21, when she witnessed the Battle of San Jacinto, during which Cordoba was killed. Amanda gave birth to his son in January 1837, and named him Louis in his honor. After the Texas rebellion, Amanda left Texas and settled in San Francisco, which at the time was called Yerba Buena. There she founded a small, but profitable tavern. She fell in love with Barton McGill, a sea captain, who made regular trips from California to New York, and through him she discovered that a publishing firm called Kent and Son still operated. The firm was once owned by her father, but had been lost in a game of craps by her stepfather to Hamilton Stovall. McGill told her that Stovall still owned it and from that moment on, Amanda became obsessed with buying it back from him. The California Gold Rush, in part, provided her the means. When the Gold Rush began, Amanda expanded her tavern into a hotel and because so many came seeking gold, the establishment made her a great deal of money. Jared Kent, Amanda’s cousin, was one of many men who came to California in search of gold. With two partners he found a profitable gold claim. Amanda had not seen her cousin in thirty-four years, but they were unexpectedly reunited for a brief time. Men who were opposed to American immigrants attempted to kill her because she employed foreigners to work in her establishment. They missed Amanda and killed Jared instead. Amanda replaced Jared as the third partner to his gold claim and with that financial backing, she returned to Boston to reclaim the Kent and Son publishing firm. On returning, she discovered that, unbeknownst to her mother, her father had invested in a textile company late in his life. This investment made her a millionaire and, with this money, she attempted to buy Kent and Son. Amanda used her married name, de la Gura, because of Stovall’s rivalry with the Kent family, but when she incautiously made it known that she wanted to publish more liberal leaning literature Stovall rescinded the offer. This did not deter her from her goal. She proceeded to buy stocks in Kent and Son in an attempt to become the majority shareholder. Jared had had one son, Jephtha. He would have preferred his son to stay with him in the west, but Jephtha moved to Lexington, Virginia and became a Methodist minister. Though he lived in a southern state, Jephtha became morally opposed to slavery and he became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. He mailed a female slave belonging to his father-in-law in a wooden box to Amanda in New York, where she was now living, and she inadvertently also became a conductor. While she was opposed to the Fugitive Slave Act, she had previously believed it should be obeyed simply because it was the law of the land, but she aided her cousin. When Jephtha’s father-in-law came to Amanda’s house in search of his slave, Amanda kept her hidden. Then, after he left, she sneaked the runaway out of her house disguised as another woman, who was visiting Amanda. This event was published in the newspapers and it inadvertently revealed Amanda as Jephtha’s cousin. When Stovall read the article, he blocked Amanda from ever gaining a majority of the stocks in Kent and Son, then called on her and threatened to ruin her life and the life of her son. During their conversation, an Irish gang vandalized Amanda’s home (in retaliation for Louis'' raping an Irish maid in Amanda''s employ). As Stovall fled, he knocked Louis unconscious with his cane. Thinking her son was dead, she shot Stovall to death, immediately after which one of the gang members shot Amanda. She lived seventeen days afterwards, long enough to discover that Stovall’s heirs were willing to sell Kent and Son to the Kent family.

The Furies

While serving a sentence for killing his foster mother – a crime he insisted he didn''t commit – Jacko Argyle dies in prison. Two years later, the man who could have supported Jacko''s alibi suddenly turns up; and the family must come to terms with the fact not only that one of them is the real murderer, but also that suspicion falls upon each of them. Christie''s focus in this novel is upon the psychology of innocence, as the family members struggle with their suspicions of one another. The witness, Arthur Calgary, believes that, when he clears the name of their son, the family would be grateful. He fails to realise the implications of his information. However, once he does so, he is determined to help and to protect the innocent by finding the murderer. To be able to do so, he visits the retired local doctor, Dr MacMaster, to ask him about the now-cleared murderer, Jacko Argyle. Dr MacMaster states that he was surprised when Jacko killed his mother. Not because he thought that murder was outside Jacko''s ''moral range'', but because he thought Jacko would be too cowardly to kill somebody himself; that, if he wanted to murder somebody, he would egg on an accomplice to do his dirty work. Dr MacMaster says "the kind of murder I''d have expected Jacko to do, if he did one, was the type where a couple of boys go out on a raid; then, when the police come after them, the Jackos say ''Biff him on the head, Bud. Let him have it. Shoot him down.'' They''re willing for murder, ready to incite to murder, but they''ve not got the nerve to do murder themselves with their own hands". This description seems to be a reference to the Craig and Bentley case which had occurred in 1952.

Ordeal by Innocence

The initial stages of the novel are told in the first person, from the narrative voice of a woman who travels to India, to find out more about her step-grandmother, Olivia. She has various letters written by Olivia, and through studying these, and learning from her own experiences in India, she uncovers the truth about Olivia and her life during the British Raj in the 1920''s. Through the use of analepses the reader experiences the story from Olivia''s point of view. We discover that Olivia, although at first glance seems simply to be a proper english woman, is actually smothered by British social restrictions, and longs for excitement. She meets the Nawab, who instantly charms her, and gradually lets her in to his life bit by bit. Olivia is drawn to the charm and charisma of the Nawab, whereas he slowly gains control over her, as he does with other characters such as Harry. Harry, is portrayed as weak, due to his homosexuality and inability to withstand the Indian climate and food. Olivia eventually falls pregnant with the Nawab''s baby, and out of fear decides to abort the child. This causes scandal in the town of Satipur. She then resides in an unnamed town ("Town X") for her remaining years. The novel ends with the present-day narrator (whose name we do not find out) also falling pregnant, deciding to spend her years in Town X, just as Olivia did.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

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The Titan's Curse

By Rick Riordan

Time for Yesterday

By Ann Carol Crispin

The Wolf's Hour

By Robert R. McCammon

King & King

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Falconer's Lure

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