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A Better Mantrap
by Bob ShawA brilliant collection of original stories. A predatory alien accidentally teleported to Earth A mad scientist and his imprisoned ghost A space traveller returns to face an accusation of murder
The Better Mother
by Jen Sookfong LeeFrom a master of family dynamics comes this vivid tale of two misfits who find each other while stumbling toward their own true identities. In 1958, eight-year-old Danny Lim has been sent to buy cigarettes for his father, when he realizes that he has lost the money. Frantic, he rushes through Vancouver's Chinatown and behind a nightclub, where he sees Miss Val, a long-time burlesque dancer. Danny is enraptured with her sequined garters and silk robe, and Val, touched by his fascination, gives him a pack of cigarettes and her silk belt. Years later, Danny spends his days working as a wedding photographer and his nights cruising Stanley Park, far away from the home where his parents and sister live. He realizes that the key to understanding himself and his family lies in his connection to Miss Val, and he is determined to find her. Before she became the Siamese Kitten, a major player on the North American circuit, Miss Val was Valerie Nealy, a feisty girl growing up in a rundown house beside the Fraser River. But to find the stardom she thought she wanted, she had to make a series of seemingly irrevocable decisions. Set mostly during an unseasonably hot summer in Vancouver in 1982 when HIV/AIDS was spreading rapidly, The Better Mother brims with undeniable tragedy, but resounds with the power of friendship, change and truth. It will cement Jen Sookfong Lee's reputation as one of this country's finest young novelists.From the Hardcover edition.
The Better Mousetrap
by Tom HoltIt touches all our lives-our triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire, and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together. Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpenter, one of the foremost magical practitioners of our age, felt himself irresistibly drawn to it. Until, that is, he met Jane, a high-flying corporate heroine with an annoying habit of falling out of trees and getting killed. Repeatedly. It's not long before Frank and Jane find themselves face to face with the greatest enigma of our times: When is a door not a door? When it's a mousetrap.
The Better Mousetrap: J.W. Wells & Co. Book 5
by Tom Holt'Tom Holt's comic fantasy is a great, uplifting read, fit to grace any reader's book collection' - Waterstones Books Quarterly'Holt's quirky characters and whimsical voice successfully infuse life into this entertaining romantic comedy' - Publishers WeeklyIt touches all our lives; our triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together.Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpenter, one of the foremost magical practitioners of our age, felt himself irresistibly drawn to it. Until, that is, he met Jane, a high-flying corporate heroine with an annoying habit of falling out of trees and getting killed. Repeatedly.It's not long before Frank and Jane find themselves face to face with the greatest enigma of our times: When is a door not a door? When it's a mousetrap.A madcap comic fantasy from one of Britain's funniest writers.Books by Tom Holt: Walled Orchard Series Goatsong The Walled Orchard J.W. Wells & Co. Series The Portable Door In Your Dreams Earth, Air, Fire and Custard You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps The Better Mousetrap May Contain Traces of Magic Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages YouSpace Series Doughnut When It's A Jar The Outsorcerer's Apprentice The Good, the Bad and the Smug Novels Expecting Someone Taller Who's Afraid of Beowulf Flying Dutch Ye Gods! Overtime Here Comes the Sun Grailblazers Faust Among Equals Odds and Gods Djinn Rummy My Hero Paint your Dragon Open Sesame Wish you Were Here Alexander at World's End Only Human Snow White and the Seven Samurai Olympiad Valhalla Nothing But Blue Skies Falling SidewaysLittle PeopleSong for NeroMeadowlandBarkingBlonde BombshellThe Management Style of the Supreme BeingsAn Orc on the Wild Side
The Better Mousetrap: J.W. Wells & Co. Book 5 (J.W. Wells & Co. #5)
by Tom Holt'Tom Holt's comic fantasy is a great, uplifting read, fit to grace any reader's book collection' - Waterstones Books Quarterly'Holt's quirky characters and whimsical voice successfully infuse life into this entertaining romantic comedy' - Publishers WeeklyIt touches all our lives; our triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together.Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpenter, one of the foremost magical practitioners of our age, felt himself irresistibly drawn to it. Until, that is, he met Jane, a high-flying corporate heroine with an annoying habit of falling out of trees and getting killed. Repeatedly.It's not long before Frank and Jane find themselves face to face with the greatest enigma of our times: When is a door not a door? When it's a mousetrap.A madcap comic fantasy from one of Britain's funniest writers.Books by Tom Holt: Walled Orchard Series Goatsong The Walled Orchard J.W. Wells & Co. Series The Portable Door In Your Dreams Earth, Air, Fire and Custard You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps The Better Mousetrap May Contain Traces of Magic Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages YouSpace Series Doughnut When It's A Jar The Outsorcerer's Apprentice The Good, the Bad and the Smug Novels Expecting Someone Taller Who's Afraid of Beowulf Flying Dutch Ye Gods! Overtime Here Comes the Sun Grailblazers Faust Among Equals Odds and Gods Djinn Rummy My Hero Paint your Dragon Open Sesame Wish you Were Here Alexander at World's End Only Human Snow White and the Seven Samurai Olympiad Valhalla Nothing But Blue Skies Falling SidewaysLittle PeopleSong for NeroMeadowlandBarkingBlonde BombshellThe Management Style of the Supreme BeingsAn Orc on the Wild Side
Better Must Come
by Desmond HallBarely Missing Everything meets American Street in this fiercely evocative, action-packed young adult thriller that looks at the darker side of light-filled Jamaica and how a tragedy and missing drug money helplessly entangle the lives of two teens who want to change their fate.Deja is a &“barrel girl&”—one of the Jamaican kids who get barrels full of clothes, food, and treats shipped to them from parents who have moved to the US or Canada to make more money. Gabriel is caught up in a gang and desperate for a way out. When he meets Deja at a party, he starts looking for a way into her life and wonders if they could be a part of each other&’s futures. Then, one day while out fishing, Deja spies a go-fast boat stalled out by some rocks, smeared with blood. Inside, a badly wounded man thrusts a knapsack at her, begging her to deliver it to his original destination, and to not say a word. She binds his wounds, determined to send for help and make good on her promise…not realizing that the bag is stuffed with $500,000 American. Not realizing that the posse Gabriel is in will stop at nothing to get their hands on this bag—or that Gabriel&’s and her lives will intersect in ways neither ever imagined, as they both are forced to make split-second choices to keep the ones they love most alive.
Better Nate Than Ever: Better Nate Than Ever; Five, Six, Seven, Nate!; Nate Expectations (Nate)
by Tim FederleA small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical. <P><P>Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom. <P><P>Tim Federle writes a warm and witty debut that's full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up--because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.
Better Nature
by Fenn StewartMuch of the language that makes up Better Nature—the first poetry collection by writer and academic Fenn Stewart—is drawn from a diary that Walt Whitman wrote while travelling through Canada at the end of the nineteenth century.But rather than waxing poetic about the untouched Great White North, Stewart inlays found materials (early settler archives, news stories, email spam, fundraising for environmental NGOs, and more) to present a unique view of Canada's "pioneering" attitude towards "wilderness"—one that considers deeper issues of the settler appropriation of Indigenous lands, the notion of terra nullius, and the strategies and techniques used to produce a "better nature" (that is, one that better serves the nation).
A Better Next: A Novel
by Maren CooperJess Lawson, a forty-five-year-old healthcare consultant, wife, and mother of two, has spent most of her adulthood fostering the illusion of having a perfect life. Her impending empty-nest syndrome as her youngest child prepares to start college is troubling enough, but when her doctor husband, Arthur, announces his intention to take a prestigious new job on the other side of the country—and relocate without Jess—her world quickly crumbles. Amid their acrimonious divorce, revelations about Arthur's infidelity come to light; and at work, instead of the revitalized career Jess is hoping for, she uncovers surprising financial corruption that threatens a scandal for her client—and the well-being of the many unsuspecting patients and physicians they serve. Ultimately, this superwoman is forced to acknowledge that her put-together veneer can't hold up under the weight of these new burdens. She also, however, refuses to wallow in victimhood. So what now?A smart, relatable story for every woman who&’s gone bold to sort out her next chapter, A Better Next shows how—with a little soul searching and a supportive circle of friends and colleagues—it&’s possible to redefine happiness and establish a liberating, new normal at any stage of life.
A Better Nightmare
by Megan FreemanIf the entire world believes in a lie, does that make it the truth? A dark and absorbing allegory for the power that young people possess in their bones to change things that feel far bigger than them, A Better Nightmare is a whirlwind adventure -- a story of friendship, romance, and a radical crusade for one group of teens to fight for their right to feel. Emily Emerson is nearly sixteen, finally a senior at the Wildsmoor Facility. But so is Meera, isn’t she? Meera, who is nineteen and has been a senior for as long as Emily can remember? Here, the students live each day as shadows, one day blurring into the next, hardly aware of life passing them by while the symptoms of the Grimm Cross Syndrome that afflicts them all is trained out of them. Rules. Order. Repetition. Medication.Emily was eight when she started showing signs of the disease. Odd dreams, hallucinations – impossible things that happened around her. Unconscious thoughts that could be set free into the world—flowers that covered the house, thick like a forest and sowed with nothing more than her unconscious thoughts. It was beautiful until it turned evil, when Emily did her first bad thing and found herself here. Now, she’ll do anything to get better and get back to her life. She’ll be more quiet and obedient than everyone else.Until she meets Emir.Emir isn’t like the other kids at Wildsmoor. He’s quicker and livelier. He says things that he shouldn’t – dangerous things. Emir is electric, magnetic in more ways than Emily can know.When Emir introduces her to The Cure, a secret society for kids who believe that The Grimm isn’t a disease at all, but a gift, Emily starts to wake up, and so do her strange abilities. The outcome is a dream come true. But sometimes the best dreams and the worst nightmares have the same people in them.
Better Not Cry
by H. A. FowlerJenna's holiday plans take a startling turn when she finds herself in the company of a hot, sexy faerie whose only desire is to fulfill her wildest fantasies. H.A. Fowler pens a passionate tale of wishes granted in Better Not Cry.Jenna Waverly has built the past five years of her life around creating a happy and fulfilled childhood for her young son, Bentley. But when faced with the toughest challenge of her life--her first Christmas without Bent--she's at a loss. What's a lonely single mom to do with an entire week alone?Saddened to be spending the holiday alone, but determined not to waste this rare time by herself, she decides to decorate her home and wrap presents in preparation for Bent's return. When a mysterious ornament appears and turns into a sexy purple faerie whose sole purpose is to fulfill her wildest fantasies, Jenna realizes that holiday wishes can sometimes come true in unexpected and delightful ways.
Better Not Pout: A gay Christmas romance
by Annabeth AlbertIn this gay Christmas romance, a snowstorm traps a gruff military police officer playing Santa gets with an overly enthusiastic do-gooder.Teddy MacNally loves Christmas and everything that goes along with it. When he plays an elf for his charity’s events, he never expects to be paired with a Scrooge masquerading as Santa Claus. His new mission: make the holiday-hating soldier believe he was born to say ho-ho-ho.Sergeant Major Nicholas Nowicki doesn’t do Santa, but he’s army to his blood. When his CO asks an unusual favor, Nick of course obliges. The elf to his Kris Kringle? Tempting. Too tempting—Nick’s only in town for another month, and Teddy’s too young, too cheerful and too nice for a one-night stand.The slow, sexy make-out sessions while Teddy and Nick are alone and snowbound, though, feel like anything but a quick hookup. As a stress-free holiday fling turns into Christmas all year round, Teddy can’t imagine his life without Nick. And Nick’s days on the base may be coming to a close, but he doesn’t plan on leaving anything, or anyone, behind.Praise for Better Not Pout“[A] tender and funny contemporary romance. . . . Their sexual chemistry is explosive. . . . Albert’s obvious affection for her characters, particularly Nick, makes this tale a pleasure.” —Publishers Weekly“A lovely, feel-good story about two people who are perfect for each other but need just a bit of Christmas magic to help them to see it. . . . I teared up a bit near the end, and then closed the book with a happy sigh and a smile on my face, which is never a bad thing.” —All About Romance
Better Off Dead: A Jack Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher #26)
by Lee Child Andrew Child#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Don&’t miss the hit streaming series Reacher! Digging graves had not been part of my plans when I woke up that morning. Reacher goes where he wants, when he wants. That morning he was heading west, walking under the merciless desert sun—until he comes upon a curious scene. A Jeep has crashed into the only tree for miles around. A woman is slumped over the wheel. Dead? No, nothing is what it seems. The woman is Michaela Fenton, an army veteran turned FBI agent trying to find her twin brother, who might be mixed up with some dangerous people. Most of them would rather die than betray their terrifying leader, who has burrowed his influence deep into the nearby border town, a backwater that has seen better days. The mysterious Dendoncker rules from the shadows, out of sight and under the radar, keeping his dealings in the dark. He would know the fate of Fenton&’s brother. Reacher is good at finding people who don&’t want to be found, so he offers to help, despite feeling that Fenton is keeping secrets of her own. But a life hangs in the balance. Maybe more than one. But to bring Dendoncker down will be the riskiest job of Reacher's life. Failure is not an option, because in this kind of game, the loser is always better off dead.
Better off Dead (Shawn O'Brien #3)
by William W. Johnstone J. A. JohnstoneTHE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY From America's bestselling Western authors comesthis violent saga of the frontier legend known as the Town Tamer: the man who appears when all justice has fled... FEED THE BEAST--OR DIE On the West Texas border a behemoth is bellowing smoke, fire and death. This monster is the infamous Abaddon Cannon Foundry, whose weapons of war have spread death and destruction around the world--and made a few men in Big Buck, Texas, incredibly rich. Now, a Mexican-born teenager has disappeared into this fortress factory, where men work and sweat as slaves. This boy's sister wants to learn her brother's fate, and she just happens to know a man named Shawn O'Brien, the town tamer. Shawn rides to Texas to find the missing boy. What he discovers in Big Buck will spark a ferocious, bloody battle with the greatest evil the West ever known: masters of war who (laugh in the face of anyone who defies them--until Shawn O'Brien raises his six gun. Then the laughing stops.
Better Off Dead
by Helen MccloyAfter 15 years of living elsewhere under an assumed name - one he has made famous by becoming a successful writer - Frank Bly, aka Stephen Longworth, returns to the town where an attempt was made on his life, and from which he escaped leaving no clues behind.He confronts several people who have thought him dead. He thinks one of them is the person who tried to kill him. Before he finds the truth, there is more murder, attempted murder and a suicide . . .
Better Off Dead
by Meryl SawyerDevon's used to a life on the run-when she entered the Witness Protection program, she had to give up her friends, her family ... even her name. But now someone's cracked her FBI file and sent a hired killer after her, and Devon can't count on the Feds to protect her. Now Devon's fighting to stay one step ahead of the crime lord who's after her, but she can't do it alone. Her neighbor, a security expert, is willing to help her ... but is he her guardian angel, or working with the assassins chasing her? Devon has to decide, and soon ... because someone thinks she'd be better off dead.
Better Off Dead
by Meryl SawyerShe'd better run...Devon's used to a life on the run-when she entered the Witness Protection program, she had to give up her friends, her family...even her name. But now someone's cracked her FBI file and sent a hired killer after her, and Devon can't count on the Feds to protect her.She'd better hide...Now Devon's fighting to stay one step ahead of the crime lord who's after her, but she can't do it alone. Her neighbor, a security expert, is willing to help her...but is he her guardian angel, or working with the assassins chasing her? Devon has to decide, and soon...Because someone thinks she'd be better off dead.
Better Off Dead (Victor #4)
by Tom WoodVictor, a hitman without a conscience protects a human rights lawyer in Better Off Dead, he bestselling BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book Club pick.A hitman must be anonymous, amoral... and aloneVictor is the face in the crowd you don't see, a perfect assassin with nothing to live for.But when an old friend turns to him for help, he finds he can't refuse. For once his objective isn't to kill, but to protect.Hunted through the streets of London by ruthless enemies, Victor needs to be more than just a bodyguard... but his every move leads danger closer to the very person he's vowed to defend.Published in the US as No Tomorrow.
Better Off Dead: (Victor the Assassin 4) (Victor #4)
by Tom WoodA hitman must be anonymous, amoral... and aloneVictor is the face in the crowd you don't see, a perfect assassin with nothing to live for.But when an old friend turns to him for help, he finds he can't refuse. For once his objective isn't to kill, but to protect.Hunted through the streets of London by ruthless enemies, Victor needs to be more than just a bodyguard... but his every move leads danger closer to the very person he's vowed to defend.Published in the US as No Tomorrow.
Better Off Friends (Point Ser.)
by Elizabeth EulbergWHEN HARRY MET SALLY . . . for teens, from romantic comedy star Elizabeth Eulberg.For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can't be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan's friends. They are platonic and happy that way.Eventually they realize they're best friends -- which wouldn't be so bad if they didn't keep getting in each other's way. Guys won't ask Macallan out because they think she's with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can't help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again -- and one kiss away from true love?
Better Off Read (A Bookmobile Mystery #1)
by Nora PageWhen her best hope of saving her storm-damaged library is found murdered, senior librarian Cleo Watkins hits the road in her bookmobile in search of justice.Septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins won’t be shushed when an upstart young mayor threatens to permanently shelve her tiny town’s storm-damaged library. She takes to her bookmobile, Words on Wheels, to collect allies and rally library support throughout Catalpa Springs, Georgia.However, Cleo soon rolls into trouble. A major benefactor known for his eccentric DIY projects requests all available books on getting away with murder. He’s no Georgia peach, and Cleo wonders if she should worry about his plans. She knows she should when she discovers him bludgeoned and evidence points to her best friend, Mary-Rose Garland. Sure of Mary-Rose’s innocence, Cleo applies her librarian’s sleuthing skills to the case, assisted by friends, family, and the dapper antiquarian bookseller everyone keeps calling her boyfriend. Evidence stacks up, but a killer is overdue to strike again. With lives and her library on the line, Cleo must shift into high gear to close the book on murder in Better Off Read, the charming Bookmobile series debut by Nora Page.
Better Off Thread
by Amanda LeeSanta finds himself in a stitch of trouble in the tenth in the series from the national bestselling author of The Stitching Hour... Marcy is busy helping her customers make hand-crafted ornaments at her embroidery shop, the Seven-Year Stitch. But despite the yuletide bustle, when her friend Captain Moe asks for her help, she can't refuse--especially when the favor is to play the elf to his Santa for sick children at a local hospital. Despite the ridiculous outfit, Marcy finds herself enjoying spreading cheer--until the hospital's administrator is found murdered. Although the deceased had plenty of people willing to fill her stocking with coal, evidence pins the crime on Moe. Now it's up to Marcy, with the help of her police officer boyfriend Ted and her Irish Wolfhound Angus, to stitch together the clues to clear Moe's name--before someone else winds up crossed off Santa's list for good...
Better Off Undead
by Daniel M. Hoyt Martin H. GreenbergEighteen original stories about the ?lives? of the undead From vampires to mummy con artists, this lively collection explores the many forms the undead can take in stories that range from the chilling to the hysterical. There are those who people the Afterlife, others who wander the lands of the living in ghostly form, and even those who walk about in the flesh. For anyone who?s ever wondered if the grass is greener on the other side of this mortal coil, this collection will provide a wide range of intriguing answers from those who are undead...and loving it!