Showing results by narrator "Joel Froomkin" in All Categories

When magistrate Patrick Colquhoun orders a habitual thief and ne'er-do-well transported to Botany Bay, he doesn't realize a 14-year-old boy has been left behind to follow in his father's footsteps - not until young John Pickett is hauled into Bow Street for stealing an apple from the produce market at Covent Garden. Feeling to some extent responsible for the boy, Mr. Colquhoun prevails upon Elias Granger, a prosperous coal merchant, to take him on as an apprentice.

This is a story about two teens falling in love over a summer that throws everything possible to keep them apart. Max: Chill. Sports. Gay and not a big deal. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever. Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

The deathly silence is about to be broken. She disliked the company of others and death did little to warm her spirit. She had led an independent life and she faced death in much the same way. She was finally alone, finally free from the mindless babble of others, at least that's what she thought. May Elizabeth Trump was the rarest of spirits and she was none too happy about it either. She was a dead medium, a ghost who can speak with the living, and her services were to become in great demand.

This star-studded anniversary collection features over 25 unforgettable stories from internationally best-selling authors and literary legends. From the Nordic noir of Jo Nesbø and the lyricism of Tennessee Williams to the timeless imagination of Ray Bradbury and the courtroom wit of John Mortimer, these vivid tales reflect the range and tone that have defined The Strand Magazine for a quarter century.

Everything needs to be just right for bestselling mystery writer Faye Wader’s first-ever fan weekend. Her sales might be slipping—only a little!—but her readers still love her enough to pony up for three days and two nights on Great Misery Island. The retreat is precisely planned, from the small-batch artisanal doughnuts to the perimenopausal Mermaid Meditation, by Faye and her beleaguered assistant, Jade—an aspiring author who can’t seem to finish her own novel.

Valroy will let nothing block his path to the Unseelie Crown. He is willing to stop at nothing to see both Tir n’Aill and Earth as his dominion, and he'll crush the self-righteous Seelie beneath his bootheels. He had wished for Abigail to stand beside him as his queen, but that went terribly wrong when she chose death over becoming his bride. It was a setback, certainly, but not one he could not overcome. Yet despite being wrenched from the song of life, Abigail returns to Tir n’Aill, only to be hunted by both Seelie and Unseelie alike.

I was an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life, until I sold my soul to save my mother. Now, I am trapped between two worlds. Between the vampire demons who own my contract and the fae whose bloodline flows in me. Between the prince I'm falling in love with and the race his kind has enslaved.

My name is Arianna Spero. I was an ordinary girl living an ordinary life until my mother lapsed into a coma. Now, I am her only hope. She made a deal with the devil, and on my 18th birthday he came to collect. But there's a way to save her. There's something the princes of hell want more than my mother. Me. So I signed my soul away and promised to pick a prince to marry. I would take the blood oath, become one of them, and give them an heir. I would become a princess of hell, and my mother would live.

Maxine Parker’s life is an agonizingly solitary one, and not by choice. life. Her empathic ability renders it impossible for her to touch a living soul without killing them. But she cannot kill what is already dead. Thrust into the middle of a war between the Vampire King and three stalwart hunters, she finds herself drawn to Dracula’s alluring seduction. Giving in to her attraction to him would mark the end of her life. Will that be the sacrifice required to save the people of Boston from the plague of death closing in on them?

Dance has always been the answer to everything. It soothed my soul, it kept me sane, and it gave me purpose. It brought the Breakers back to me. It healed us. This time, dance isn't enough. It's time to face our enemies. It's time I fight back. But at what cost? My soul? The death of everyone I care about?

Mickey is put in charge of his vacationing neighbors' cat, Bella. His best friend Amanda comes along to help out. All they have to do is make sure Bella has enough to eat and doesn't destroy the furniture. Seems simple enough. But Bella escapes and causes all kinds of trouble. Catsitting was a big mistake!

I, Ethan Antonio Giovanni Callahan, first son of the former head of the Irish mob, Liam Alec Callahan, and former head of the Italian mafia, ex-governor, Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan, solemnly swear to ruthlessly protect our family name, business, and way of life, no matter the cost to me or anyone else. I shall show no mercy; I shall offer no forgiveness; there will be no peace for those who stand against me. I will live for my family. I will kill for my family. I will marry for my family.

If your ex arrives in your hometown 18 months after you walked out on him while you were eight months pregnant, follow this short list of rules before you give him a second chance. Because all those good qualities of his will suck you right back in and you’ll have no chance of fighting your feelings, especially now that he’s ready to be a father to your daughter.

Avis Blackthorn's family is the most evil family in all of the Seven Magical Kingdoms. The problem? Avis isn't evil. Not one bit. His magical wizarding family will do anything to make Avis's life a misery. Even the horses that pull the carriages don't like him. But he has a way out at last... Hailing Hall School for Wizards, a sanctuary, a place for good wizards, where he can make some nice, normal friends, learn magic and live a normal life, finally escaping the notoriety of the Blackthorn name... or so he thinks.

Once upon a time, it ran through their veins, too: Xeno, York, Zayn, and Dax. The Breakers and I were a crew until bad decisions and circumstance ripped us apart. Now the Breakers are back. And they’ve brought trouble. They’re not here at the Stardom Academy to dance. They’re here on a mission for Jeb, the leader of the Skins. He wants something. And me? I’m just a pawn in their game.

Maxine Parker expected to lose her life when the Vampire King swept through her city like a plague. She did not expect to lose her heart to him as well. Caught between her desire to protect the living and her love for Dracula, she suddenly finds herself the enemy of the hunters who had once been her allies. As the Vampire King unleashes his army of the damned and turns Boston into a sea of carnage, she must decide if she can love the monster for what he is or if she must be the one to end his bloody crusade through history once and for all....

Loyal rescue pug Doug wants his adoring owner Julie to find unconditional love and happiness—and he knows she won’t find either in the arms of Luke, her married boss. Doug is terrified that Julie will become a lonely cat-lover if she stays single too long, but he can’t let her fall for any more of Luke’s empty promises. Julie needs to move on—and Doug is convinced that Tom, a newly divorced V-E-T, is perfect for her (despite his questionable occupation). 

A surprising, enlightening series of conversations that shed new light on the music and career of “our greatest living composer” (New York Times) Steve Reich is a living legend in the world of contemporary classical music. As a leader of the minimalist movement in the 1960s, his works have...

It’s 1589, and England is embroiled in a furious pamphlet war between an impudent Puritan calling himself Martin Marprelate and publishing’s brightest wits. The archbishop wants Martin to hang. The Privy Council wants the tumult to end. But nobody knows who Martin is or where he’s hiding his illegal press. Then two writers are strangled, mistaken for Thomas Nashe, the pamphleteer who is hot on Martin’s trail. Francis Bacon is tasked with stopping the murders - and catching Martin, while he’s about it.

Thomas Clarady is recruited to spy on a group of radical Puritans at Cambridge University. Francis Bacon is his spymaster; his tutor in both tradecraft and religious politics. Their commission gets off to a deadly start when Tom finds his chief informant hanging from the roof beams. Now he must catch a murderer as well as a seditioner. His first suspect is volatile poet Christopher Marlowe, who keeps turning up in the wrong places.