In the middle of their journey Dr Slade and his wife have a chance encounter with an important looking lady who tells them that she is going to visit her son. Arriving by ship at a provincial town in an unnamed Latin American country, they find that accommodation is sparse, and so Mrs Slade agrees to share a room with her at some seedy hotel for just one night. During that night, the lady is murdered with an injection of curare, but when the Slades leave very early the next morning to catch a connection, Mrs Slade erroneously believes the woman lying next to her is still fast asleep. A few days later, in another town, they read in the paper that the hotel burned down immediately after they had left and that the woman died in the fire. No one suspects the real reason, arson, which was committed to cover up the murder. This is when Mr and Mrs Slade make the acquaintance of Grove Soto, a charming and seemingly rich young man who offers them his hospitality. When it turns out that the recently deceased woman was his mother and Soto feigns shock at her premature death, the Americans have no idea that it was actually him who had her killed out of greed. As Soto cannot be certain about Mrs Slade''s complete ignorance of the crime, he extends his hospitality, invites them to his farm in the country and eggs them on to stay there longer than they have planned. At the same time, with the help of both his local household staff and his seventeen year old Cuban lover Luchita, he feeds them a cocktail of drugs whose effects, including partial amnesia, the innocent Americans mistake for the symptoms of a heavy virus infection, recovery from which is supposedly slow. In the end Dr Slade, who has been barely conscious for days, disappears, while his young wife suspects more and more sinister forces to be at work. She escapes to the nearest town, where a fiesta is being held, only to realize that Soto has also planned her very escape. Without seeing her husband again, she has to face both her adversary and her own destiny amid the cheering townspeople.

Up Above the World

The novel takes place between the events of the Umbrella Conspiracy (Resident Evil 1) and City of the Dead (Resident Evil 2) & Nemesis (Resident Evil 3) and centers around Rebecca Chambers. After a call from Barry about the Umbrella investigation, she heads to his house where she meets David Trapp, strategist and captain of the STARS Exeter branch. David informs Rebecca that another incident has occurred at another Umbrella facility, in Caliban Cove, Maine. Just when Chris and Jill come in, David continues his briefing, which includes a list of people involved in or with the Caliban Cove facility. One of the names Rebecca knows as Nicholas Griffith, a former biochemist who had disappeared after being fired from a university. Umbrella forces, led by STARS members, attack Barry''s house. Rebecca takes one out; some others are suspected to be dead. The team takes refuge in Brad "Chickenheart" Vicker''s home. After a little talk, Rebecca and David set out and leave on a plane for Exeter. At Caliban Cove, Dr. Griffith stands atop a lighthouse, musing on his latest and greatest accomplishment: a virus that robs humans of their ability to make decisions, while keeping their intellect; they become efficient servants to whoever orders them. Griffith has already used his new virus on three other scientists at the Cove facility, and none of them can make any decisions outside of what Griffith tells them. Griffith muses that once he gives his "gift" to the wind everyone will be free. At Exeter, in the home of STARS forensics officer Karen Driver, David briefs his own team, composed of himself, Rebecca, Steve Lopez, John Andrews, and Karen. They set out, collect the equipment they need, and begin the Caliban Cove mission with no STARS backup. After a botched insertion in which giant bottom-feeders called "Leviathans" attack the squad and force them ashore, the team manages to make its way through the base''s grounds, solving riddles that let them progress through the area as well as dealing with Umbrella''s newest creation, called "Trisquads," which are essentially zombies who have retained enough intelligence and motor capabilities to use automatic weapons. When Karen Driver is accidentally infected with the T-virus after touching contaminated blood, the others rush through the many caves and underground tunnels searching for the bases'' lab, fending off more of Umbrella''s biological monstrosities. Steve takes Karen and manages to find the labs, but the two are then taken captive by Griffith. Karen turns into a zombie and kills one of Griffith''s servant zombies while Griffith injects a stunned Steve with the T-virus. Under Griffith''s orders, Steve lures Rebecca, David, and John into a trap in which John is severely wounded. Griffith then orders Steve to lock Rebecca and David in an airlock chamber and flood it. He then orders Steve to kill himself, which he does. As the chamber floods, Rebecca notices Karen''s body and remembers that she carried a WWII "pineapple" fragmentation grenade with her as a good luck charm from her father. David pries the pin out of the ancient explosive and jams it in between the screen door and inside door of the chamber. The resulting explosion forces the outside door to open, allowing Rebecca and David to swim to the surface and to safety. The explosion forces the inside door to blow off its hinges, killing Griffith instantly. On the surface, David and Rebecca are picked up by STARS personnel that Barry Burton has managed to get into contact with. While divers are retrieving the canisters of T-virus in the flooded labs, rescue workers also manage to find John, who, despite his wounds, has survived the explosion and was sucked out through the airlock when the grenade went off. The book ends with John transported to a hospital and Rebecca and David asleep in the light of the coming day.

Resident Evil: Caliban Cove

The story opens up with the Doctor and Sam in the TARDIS doing some maintenance when they are collected by a ship which holds an escape pod containing Davros. A group of Thals arrive; they want Davros to alter their species so they will be better able to fight the Daleks. A force of Daleks then arrive and take the Doctor and Davros, along with other characters, to Skaro. Before landing on Skaro, the Doctor discovers that the coordinates he believed were Skaro''s were actually those of the planet Antalin. Since Davros''s return the Dalek Prime has met considerable resistance with a number of Davros loyalists forming. Initiating a final civil war on Skaro, the Dalek Prime has all the Davros loyalists revealed and exterminated. In the mean time he releases the Doctor to leave Skaro. The Doctor discovers a planted device on board the TARDIS which would allow the Daleks to survive in case the Dalek Prime failed. He jettisons it into the vortex. With his faction defeated, Davros is sentenced to death by matter dispersal. Prior to his downfall he had implanted a Spider Dalek as a spy amongst the Dalek Prime''s forces. Davros is placed in a disintegration chamber and his atoms dispersed. His fate is left open when his data is either erased from the disintegrator or transmatted across space to a safe location.

War of the Daleks

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.

Heat and Dust

The books topic focuses on Christopher Columbus, who was one of the first European founders of the Americas. The book tells the story of his life, as well as the problems he faced with his journeys. Columbus had seduced some of the most powerful woman in Europe to pay the expenses of his trip. The book follows Columbus'' departure from Spain prior to his first voyage before sunrise on August 3, 1492. After three days of sailing on the Pinta, the rudder became loose, unable to cope with the strength of the seas, Columbus and his fleet stayed for a month on the Canary Islands. After repairing the ship, the fleet resumed sailing, despite pleas from fellow crew members for Columbus to turn back, which he ignored. On October 11, 1492, after seeing a distant light, it was later confirmed this was the area which would soon be marked as the New World, claiming the land to for the Spanish sovereigns, as well as claiming numerous other islands for Spain. In reward for this, Columbus was given ten thousand Spanish maravedis and 1/10 of all Royal profits.

The Last Voyage of Columbus

The Overlook reunites Bosch with his most recent former flame, FBI agent Rachel Walling. Bosch must break in a new and much younger partner, Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras, when they''re called to take over the investigation of the execution-style murder of medical physicist Stanley Kent on a Mulholland Drive overlook. When a special FBI unit, headed by Walling, arrives and tries to usurp his case, claiming it''s a matter of national security, Bosch refuses to back down. Walling''s focus on the theft of radioactive cesium from a hospital where Kent assisted in cancer treatments, and her unwillingness to share information only makes Bosch more determined to solve the case. Evidence mounts that the murder is part of a terrorist plot to build and deploy a dirty bomb, justifying the FBI''s moves to push the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Bosch to the sidelines. Refusing to be sidelined, Bosch aggressively works around the FBI in order to track down Stanley Kent''s killers, much to the chagrin of his young, inexperienced partner, who sees his career at the LAPD jeopardized by Bosch''s actions. The FBI agents, including Rachel Walling, view Bosch as endangering their attempts to retrieve the missing cesium and to track down known terrorists. Relying on instinct and experience, Bosch relentlessly pursues his line of inquiry, ultimately revealing secrets that were darker than anyone could imagine. The principal players in the story are: Harry Bosch, the lead detective on the case, who is the principal protagonist on this and thirteen previous Harry Bosch novels. Rachel Walling, who was romantically involved with Harry in a number of previous Harry Bosch novels. In this story, while Harry has hopes of re-connecting with Rachel, their relationship is strained, owing to conflicting views on how the investigation should be carried out. Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras, Bosch''s young partner. Iggy wants to play by the book and is seriously disturbed by Bosch''s let''s-break-the-rules attitude. At one point, he tells Bosch that he can''t work with him and will be requesting a new partner. Stanley Kent, the murder victim who has stolen 32 sources of cesium from a Los Angeles hospital in response to demands from unknown parties who have taken his wife hostage. If used in a dirty bomb, tens of thousands of people could die from radiation exposure. Alicia Kent, the beautiful wife of the murder victim, who was taken hostage in her home by two intruders. She was used by the intruders to pressure Stanley Kent to steal the cesium from the hospital. Jack Brenner, Rachel Walling''s FBI partner and superior and the lead FBI agent on the case. His primary concern is dealing with the terror threat associated with the stolen cesium. To him, Bosch''s homicide investigation is a secondary concern. Cliff Maxwell, an FBI agent working on the case, with whom Bosch has two violent encounters. it:La città buia sv:Hotet (2007)

The Overlook

The play is set in 1943 for the original (or shortly after the end of World War II in the rewrite) in the living room of the vicarage at the fictitious village of Merton-cum-Middlewick (merging various actual village names, such as Merton and Middlewick, both in Oxfordshire, along with the old British usage of ''cum'', meaning ''alongside'' in the middle of a village name, as in Chorlton-cum-Hardy). The lead character is Penelope Toop, former actress and now wife of the local vicar, the Rev. Lionel Toop. The Toops employ Ida, a Cockney maid. Miss Skillon, a churchgoer of the parish and a scold, arrives on bicycle to gossip with the vicar and to complain about the latest ''outrages'' that Penelope has caused. The vicar then leaves for the night, and an old friend of Penelope''s, Lance-Corporal Clive Winton, stops by on a quick visit. In order to dodge army regulations, he changes from his uniform into Lionel''s second-best suit, complete with a clerical ''dog-collar'' in order to see a production of "Private Lives" (a Noël Coward play in which they had appeared together in their acting days), while pretending to be the visiting vicar Arthur Humphrey who is due to preach the Sunday sermon the next day. Just before they set out, Penelope and Clive re-enact a fight scene from "Private Lives" and accidentally knock Miss Skillon (who has come back unannounced) unconscious. Miss Skillon, wrongly thinking she has seen Lionel fighting with Penelope, gets drunk on a bottle of cooking sherry and Ida hides her in the broom cupboard. Then Lionel, arriving back, is knocked silly by a Russian spy on the run, who takes the vicar''s clothes as a disguise. To add to the confusion, both Penelope''s uncle, the Bishop of Lax, and the real Humphrey unexpectedly show up early. Chaos quickly ensues, culminating in a cycle of running figures and mistaken identities. In the end, a police sergeant arrives in search of the spy to find four suspects, Lionel, Clive, Humphrey and the Russian, all dressed as clergy. No one can determine the identity of the spy (or anyone else for that matter) and the Russian is almost free when he is revealed and foiled by the quick work of Clive and Ida. The scene calms down as the sergeant leads the spy away and Humphrey leaves. Miss Skillon emerges from the closet, and she, the Bishop and Lionel demand an explanation. Penelope and Clive begin to explain in two-part harmony, getting up to the scene from "Private Lives," when Miss Skillon again manages to catch a blow in the face. She falls back into Ida''s arms as the curtain falls.

See How They Run

Nothing is forever in the magical world Jon-Tom has found himself trapped in and as such the duar he uses to create his music-based magic breaks after a battle to save Clothahump from a group of house burglars. He does this by accidentally stepping on a fallen left behind battle axe, cutting himself, and falling back onto the duar and breaking it. The need to find an expert capable of repairing the rare instrument sets Jon-Tom off on another adventure where he and his friend the otter Mudge search for a repair shop for his instrument, along the way they encounter pirates, cannibals, talkative porpoises, a flying horse who is scared of heights and a beautiful female otter, Weegee, who becomes the target of Mudge’s amorous intentions. On the way, Jon-Tom accidentally finds a way back to Earth - to Texas, to be exact - and some of the anthropomorphic animals of his new world, including some very nasty characters, cross over as well. After some unpleasant experiences with American criminals and police, Jon-Tom takes the unequivocal decision to go back to what he realizes is now his true home.

The Time of the Transference

An eccentric millionairess is lying in a diabetic coma on a hospital bed in an anteroom of the surgical suite of the Dutch Memorial Hospital, which she founded, awaiting the removal of her gall bladder. When the surgery is about to begin, the patient is found to have been strangled with picture wire. Although the hospital is crowded, it is well guarded, and only a limited number of people had the opportunity to have murdered her, including members of her family and a small number of the medical personnel. The apparent murderer is a member of the surgical staff who was actually seen in the victim''s vicinity, but his limp makes him easy to impersonate. Ellery Queen examines a pair of hospital shoes, one of which has a broken lace that has been mended with surgical tape. He performs an extended piece of logical deduction based on the shoe, plus such slight clues as the position of a filing cabinet, and creates a list of necessary characteristics of the murderer that narrows the field of suspects down to a single surprising possibility.

The Dutch Shoe Mystery

878 - 881: Uhtred of Bebbanburg makes his way back to his native Northumbria seeking revenge against his uncle Ælfric and childhood enemies Sven the One-Eyed and Kjartan the Cruel. He travels by ship with his friend and lover, Hild. They make landfall near Eoferwic (York) to find the region in disarray. Lord Ivarr Ivarsson and his army are engaged with the Scots in the north. The formerly Danish-held Eoferwic has been conquered by Saxons. The central lands of Dunholm are ravaged by Kjartan and Sven, and Bebbanburg remains under the control of Ælfric. Uhtred is hired to escort a Danish merchant''s family north, through Dunholm, to safety. As they travel and attempt to avoid the Dunholm fortress and Kjartan''s troops, they are unsuccessful and are led into a slave trading camp led by Sven. Uhtred disguises himself as Thorguild the Leper, Dark Swordsman of Niffelheim, and convinces Sven he is sent from the dead to haunt him. He frees Danish King Guthred of Cumbraland from the slave pens. In Cumbraland, Uhtred becomes the commander of Guthred''s household troops and adviser. He trains a band of thirty new warriors and stops an attempt by Kjartan to capture him and Guthred. Uhtred supports Guthred''s bid for power against the rival factions of Northumbria, including his uncle Ælfric who now rules Bebbanburg. He falls in love with Gisela, Guthred''s sister, before being betrayed by Guhtred and cast into slavery. During two years spent chained to the oar of a Danish trading ship, Uhtred befriends Finan the Agile, a former warrior. Uhtred is rescued by Steapa and Ragnar who pursued the trading ship in their Red Ship on the orders of King Alfred. Uhtred returns to Wessex to learn that it was Hild who convinced Alfred to send Steapa and Ragnar to his rescue. Hild had promised to Alfred that she would use Uhtred''s hoard of silver to build an abbey and recommit herself to Christ, and in return Alfred agreed to rescue Uhtred. Uhtred, Father Beocca, Steappa and Ragnar are sent on embassy to Guthred with a message to make peace in Northumbria. They arrive in Guthred''s court to find that Gisela was married to Ælfric via proxy in return for support against Kjartan. Uhtred is certain his uncle will send no men to support Guthred. He chases off Ælfric''s men without allowing them to take Gisela, kills Ælfric''s monk Jænberht and leads Guthred''s men against Dunholm himself. Uhtred''s plan to take Dunholm is to once again become a sceadugengan. In the darkness, he along with eleven of his best men climb the hill upon which Dunholm sits and sneak into the fort through a gate used to fetch well water. Although they are discovered, they are assisted by Ragnar''s sister Thyra, who has been held by Sven and Kjartan since the events of "The Last Kingdom". Her assistance allows Uhtred to open the gate for Ragnar with the main forces of Guthred''s army to enter the stronghold. Kjartan and Sven are killed and Guthred transfers control of Dunholm to Ragnar. Guthred''s claim to the throne of Northumbria is not complete yet. Guthred''s army meets Ivarr''s stronger force in the field. Uhtred provokes Ivarr into single combat and the novel ends with Uhtred winning the duel against Ivarr.

The Lords of the North

Theo is traveling through Westmark, learning about the country of which he will soon be Prince Consort. He is not surprised to find great poverty: Mickle - now known as Princess Augusta - could have told him that from her years on the street. His friend Florian could have told him about the aristocracy''s graft and corruption. But neither could have foreseen a loaded pistol in the practiced hand of the assassin Skeit. The echoes of that shot ring from the muskets and cannons of a Westmark suddenly at war - a war that turns simple, honest men into cold-blooded killers, Mickle into a military commander, and Theo himself into a stranger. As set up in Westmark, Theo and Mickle are in love. A corrupt general is in a cabal with a rival country, and plans to surrender after a token resistance, allowing a country with a more aristocratic government to replace the more populist Mickle who is seen as too close to revolutionaries like Florian. However, although the general surrenders, his soldiers refuse to, and the nominal resistance becomes a full-blown war as the people fight to determine their own destiny. Similar to how the aristocratic powers of the time invaded France to restore the aristocracy, here a foreign country is meddling in the internal affairs of Westmark. And just as France repelled the great powers with an army led by the people and of the people, the Westmark forces run by Florian, and his lieutenants, Theo — now the eponymous Kestrel — and Justin, fight to preserve the country. But becoming a general, a tradesman in blood and death, costs the artistic and conscientious Theo a great deal. He has to cut off pieces of himself in the service of a more pressing need. Meanwhile, Mickle must run her government in exile. Musket and his master, Count Las Bombas, are dragged in to serve as her advisors. She says she wants his advice, as he used to serve with the Salamanca lancers, one of his blustery claims from Westmark. The character Las Bombas is, like the bard Fflewddur Fflam in The Chronicles of Prydain, bombastic, yet of a true heart, and a solid friend. There are sub-plots involving some gamine children, and difficulties in the cabal involving Cabbarus, the villain of the first book. In the end, good triumphs not by force, but by compromise. Constantine, the young king, was set up to be killed by his guardian, but ends up being captured. He and Mickle come to terms, and they draw up a peace treaty to benefit both countries. Mickle sets up a representative government to reign along with her, but that forces her and Theo to postpone their wedding.

The Kestrel

Darashikoh, or Daru as he is referred to, is a mid-level banker with a short fuse. His aggression had served him well as a college-boxer but an out-of-character outburst gets him fired. The loss of income brings to the fore a widening gap between him and his classmates, and Daru exposes his bitterness to the wealthy in his commentary. This contrast in income, though present through their years at school becomes evident to Daru only now as he comes to realise that money and wealth mean more than his personal traits can offer. He is content to interact with his rich friends all the same, and finds comfort in the arms of Mumtaz - Daru''s best friend''s wife. Mumtaz falls for Daru too, but unlike Daru she is not an idealist. This mismatch of thought comes to the forefront soon after the long and rocky affair begins. While cuckolding his best friend, Daru is content to sell him drugs, which are socially acceptable among his friends. This life of duplicity leads to spiralling loss of control in his life.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Up Above the World

No Author Listed

Resident Evil: Caliban Cove

By S. D. Perry

War of the Daleks

By John Peel

Heat and Dust

By Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

The Last Voyage of Columbus

By Martin Dugard

The Overlook

By Michael Connelly

See How They Run

By Philip King

The Time of the Transference

By Alan Dean Foster

The Dutch Shoe Mystery

By Frederic Dannay

The Lords of the North

By Bernard Cornwell

The Kestrel

By Lloyd Alexander

Moth Smoke

By Mohsin Hamid