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| life or death michael robotham summary: The Suspect Michael Robotham, 2014-04-15 The psychological thriller that marked the debut of one of contemporary suspense fiction's most compelling heroes: A gripping first novel...taut and fast-moving (Washington Post). Renowned psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin has it all -- a thriving practice, a devoted, beautiful, fiercely intelligent wife, and a lovely young daughter. But when he's diagnosed with Parkinson's, O'Loughlin begins to dread the way his exceptional mind has been shackled to a failing body, and the cracks in his perfect existence start to show. At first, O'Loughlin is delighted to be called in to a high-profile murder investigation, hoping his extraordinary abilities at perception will help bring a killer to justice. But when O'Loughlin recognizes the victim as one of his former patients, an emotionally disturbed young woman who nearly brought ruin upon him, O'Loughlin hesitates -- a fateful decision that soon places O'Loughlin at the top of the lists of both a bullish detective and a diabolical killer. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Lost Michael Robotham, 2007 Detective Vincent Ruiz, battling amnesia and under investigation by suspicious colleagues within his own department following a brutal attack, turns to psychologist Joe O'Loughlin for help in piecing together the clues to unlock his memory. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Night Ferry Michael Robotham, 2015-07-14 Vibrant and utterly contemporary.... An altogether superior thriller. --Los Angeles Times Struggling detective Alisha Barba is trying to get her life back on track after almost being crippled by a murder suspect. Now on her feet again, she receives a desperate plea from an old school friend, who is eight months pregnant and in trouble. On the night they arrange to meet, her friend is run down and killed by a car and Alisha discovers the first in a series of haunting and tragic deceptions. Determined to uncover the truth, she embarks upon a dangerous journey that will take her from the East End of London to Amsterdam's murky red light district and into a violent underworld of sex trafficking, slavery and exploitation. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Shatter Michael Robotham, 2012-01-26 In the most suspenseful book I read all year (Stephen King), a psychologist faces off against a killer who destroys his victims from the inside out. Joe O'Loughlin is in familiar territory standing on a bridge high above a flooded gorge, trying to stop a distraught woman from jumping. You don't understand, she whispers, and lets go. Joe is haunted by his failure to save the woman, until her teenage daughter finds him and reveals that her mother would never have committed suicide not like that. She was terrified of heights. What could have driven her to commit such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil? Having devoted his career to repairing damaged minds, Joe must now confront an adversary who tears them apart. With pitch-perfect dialogue, believable characters, and astonishingly unpredictable plot twists, Shatter is guaranteed to keep even the most avid thriller readers riveted long into the night. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Watching You Michael Robotham, 2018-05-29 I am the most important figure in Marnie's life, but she doesn't know it yet . . . I am the one who watches. Marnie Logan often feels like she's being watched. Nothing she can quite put her finger on - a whisper of breath on the back of her neck, or a shadow in the corner of her eye - and now her life is frozen. Her husband Daniel has been missing for more than a year. Depressed and increasingly desperate, she seeks the help of clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin. Joe is concerned by Marnie's reluctance to talk about the past, but then she discovers a book packed with pictures, interviews with friends, former teachers, old flames and workmates Daniel was preparing for Marnie's birthday. It was supposed to be a celebration of her life. But it's not the story anyone was expecting . . . WATCHING YOU is a pulse-pounding psychological thriller from multi-million-copy bestselling author Michael Robotham. ** INCLUDES BONUS extracts from Close Your Eyes (Joe O'Loughlin 8) and the explosive new thriller, The Other Wife** |
| life or death michael robotham summary: When You Are Mine Michael Robotham, 2022-01-04 From an author who Stephen King calls “an absolute master” comes a “heart-clutching psychological thriller” (People) about a young female police officer facing danger on all fronts—from a clever victim of abuse, skeptical colleagues on the force, and even her own father. Philomena McCarthy is an ambitious police officer with the elite Metropolitan Police in London, responding to a domestic violence call. Tempe Brown is a bloodied young woman and the mistress of a decorated and intimidating London detective, Darren Goodall. Philomena and Tempe strike up a tentative friendship, determined to protect each other from Goodall, but something isn’t quite right about the stories Tempe tells and the secrets she keeps. Yet the young officer is drawn into Tempe’s world, unsure of what is real or invented. After a bungled break-in and an unsolved murder, Philomena finds herself trapped—with her career, her impending wedding, and her very survival in doubt. Robotham’s brilliant ability to render complex characters, both good and bad, keeps readers unsure of whom to trust, “maintain[ing] an air of excruciating suspense” (The Washington Post)—until the very last page. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Other Wife Michael Robotham, 2019-10-22 Childhood sweethearts William and Mary have been married for sixty years. William is a celebrated surgeon, Mary a devoted wife. Both have a strong sense of right and wrong. This is what their son, Joe O'Loughlin, has always believed. But when Joe is summoned to the hospital with news that his father has been brutally attacked, his world is turned upside down. Who is the strange woman crying at William's bedside, covered in his blood - a friend, a mistress, a fantasist or a killer? Against the advice of the police, Joe launches his own investigation. As he learns more, he discovers sides to his father he never knew - and is forcibly reminded that the truth comes at a price. A mesmerising psychological thriller from one of the greatest crime writers of today, Michael Robotham, the internationally bestselling author of THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS. Praise for Michael Robotham's writing: 'Will have you turning the pages compulsively' The Times 'Robotham doesn't just make me scared for his characters, he makes my heart ache for them' Linwood Barclay 'Superbly exciting ... a terrific read' Guardian 'A nerve-shredding thriller with the heart and soul so often missing from lesser crime and suspense novels. I couldn't stop reading, yet I didn't want Audie's story to end. Robotham is an absolute master' Stephen King on Life or Death |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Good Girl, Bad Girl Michael Robotham, 2019-07-23 Finalist for the 2020 Edgar Award for Best Novel From the internationally bestselling author who Stephen King calls “an absolute master,” a fiendishly clever thriller about a dangerous young woman with the ability to know when someone is lying—and the criminal psychologist who must outwit her to survive. A girl is discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Half-starved and filthy, she won’t tell anyone her name, or her age, or where she came from. Maybe she is twelve, maybe fifteen. She doesn’t appear in any missing persons file, and her DNA can’t be matched to an identity. Six years later, still unidentified, she is living in a secure children’s home with a new name, Evie Cormac. When she initiates a court case demanding the right to be released as an adult, forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free. But she is unlike anyone he’s ever met—fascinating and dangerous in equal measure. Evie knows when someone is lying, and no one around her is telling the truth. Meanwhile, Cyrus is called in to investigate the shocking murder of a high school figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan, who died on a lonely footpath close to her home. Pretty and popular, Jodie is portrayed by everyone as the ultimate girl-next-door, but as Cyrus peels back the layers, a secret life emerges—one that Evie Cormac, the girl with no past, knows something about. A man haunted by his own tragic history, Cyrus is caught between the two cases—one girl who needs saving and another who needs justice. What price will he pay for the truth? Emotionally explosive, swiftly paced, and “haunting…Robotham expertly raises the tension as the action hurtles toward the devastating climax” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Wreckage Michael Robotham, 2018-05-29 BAGHDAD. Journalist Luca Terracini is living outside the wire and investigating a series of deadly million-dollar bank robberies. But he's about to make some powerful enemies who seek to bury secrets and manipulate the truth, regardless of the cost. LONDON. A thousand miles away, ex-cop Vincent Ruiz rescues a young woman, Holly Knight, from a violent boyfriend - but wakes next morning to find she's robbed him. It was an elaborate scam. Furious at himself, and at her, he sets off to find Holly. Set in the turbulent aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, THE WRECKAGE is a compulsively gripping political thriller from world-renowned author Michael Robotham. ** INCLUDES BONUS extracts from Say You're Sorry (Joe O'Loughlin 6) and the explosive new thriller, The Other Wife** |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Secrets She Keeps Michael Robotham, 2017-07-11 “Two terrific female characters, both with secrets. Add Michael Robotham’s clean prose and whipcrack pacing. The result? A book you won’t be able to put down, although you may occasionally want to hide your eyes.” —Stephen King “A premium delivery.” —People Meghan doesn’t know Agatha, but Agatha knows Meghan. And the one thing Agatha looks forward to each day is catching a glimpse of her, the effortlessly chic customer at the grocery store where she works stocking shelves. Meghan has it all: two adorable children, a handsome and successful husband, a happy marriage, a beautiful house, and a popular parenting blog that Agatha reads with devotion each night as she waits for her absent boyfriend, the father of the baby growing inside her, to return her calls. Yet if Agatha could look beyond the gloss and trappings of Meghan’s “perfect life,” she’d see the flaws and doubts. Meghan has her secrets too, especially one that she dare not ever tell. Soon the lives of these two women will collide in the most spellbinding and intimate of ways, until their secrets are exposed by one shocking act that cannot be undone. From internationally bestselling author Michael Robotham, The Secrets She Keeps is a dark, exquisite, and twisted page-turner so full of surprises, you’ll find it impossible to put down. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Bombproof Michael Robotham, 2013-10-01 A kinetic standalone from first class storyteller Michael Robotham (San Francisco Chronicle). Sami Macbeth is not a master criminal. He's not even a minor one. He's not a jewel thief. He's not a safe-cracker. He's not an expert in explosives. Sami plays guitar and wants to be a rock god but keeps getting sidetracked by unforeseen circumstances. Fifty-four hours ago Sami was released from prison. Thirty-six hours ago he slept with the woman of his dreams at the Savoy. An hour ago his train blew up. Now he's carrying a rucksack through London's West End and has turned himself into the most wanted terrorist in the country. Fast, funny, hip and violent, Bombproof is a non-stop adventure full of unforgettable characters and a heartwarming hero -- Sami Macbeth -- a man with the uncanny ability to turn a desperate situation into a hopeless one. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Bleed for Me Michael Robotham, 2012-02-27 She's standing at the front door. Covered in blood. Is she the victim of a crime? Or the perpetrator? A teenage girl--Sienna, a troubled friend of his daughter--comes to Joe O'Loughlin's door one night. She is terrorized, incoherent-and covered in blood. The police find Sienna's father, a celebrated former cop, murdered in the home he shared with Sienna. Tests confirm that it's his blood on Sienna. She says she remembers nothing. Joe O'Loughlin is a psychologist with troubles of his own. His marriage is coming to an end and his daughter will barely speak to him. He tries to help Sienna, hoping that if he succeeds it will win back his daughter's affection. But Sienna is unreachable, unable to mourn her father's death or to explain it. Investigators take aim at Sienna. O'Loughlin senses something different is happening, something subterranean and terrifying to Sienna. It may be something in her mind. Or it may be something real. Someone real. Someone capable of the most grim and gruesome murder, and willing to kill again if anyone gets too close. His newest thriller is further evidence that Michael Robotham is, as David Baldacci has said, the real deal--we only hope he will write faster. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Say You're Sorry Michael Robotham, 2012-10-02 TWO MISSING GIRLS. TWO BRUTAL MURDERS. ALL CONNECTED TO ONE FARM HOUSE. WHO IS TO BLAME? When pretty and popular teenagers Piper Hadley and Tash McBain disappear one Sunday morning, the investigation captivates a nation but the girls are never found. Three years later, during the worst blizzard in a century, a husband and wife are brutally killed in the farmhouse where Tash McBain once lived. A suspect is in custody, a troubled young man who can hear voices and claims that he saw a girl that night being chased by a snowman. Convinced that Piper or Tash might still be alive, clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin and ex-cop Vincent Ruiz, persuade the police to re-open the investigation. But they are racing against time to save the girls from someone with an evil, calculating and twisted mind... |
| life or death michael robotham summary: When She Was Good Michael Robotham, 2021-06-29 From the bestselling author of Good Girl, Bad Girl and When You Are Mine comes a gripping thriller featuring the brilliant forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven as he becomes embroiled in an explosive murder case with disturbing origins. Criminal psychologist Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac return in this “powerhouse of a novel” (Booklist, starred review) from internationally bestselling author Michael Robotham, a writer Stephen King calls “an absolute master...with heart and soul.” Who is Evie, the girl with no past, running from? She was discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Her ability to tell when someone is lying helped Cyrus crack an impenetrable case in Good Girl, Bad Girl. Now, the closer Cyrus gets to uncovering answers about Evie’s dark history, the more he exposes Evie to danger, giving her no choice but to run. Ultimately, both will have to decide if some secrets are better left buried and some monsters should never be named... |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Secrets She Keeps Deb Caletti, 2015-07-07 From bestselling author Deb Caletti comes a beautiful and profound novel of three women coming to terms with love and marriage—sure to move and delight fans of Kristin Hannah, Liane Moriarty, and Anna Quindlen. “You don’t grow up on a divorce ranch and not learn to take a vow seriously.” When Callie McBride finds a woman’s phone number written on a scrap of paper her husband has thrown away, she thinks that her marriage is over. Callie flees to Nevada and her Aunt Nash’s Tamarosa Ranch, where she’s shocked to see that the place of so many happy childhood memories is in disrepair. Worse, Aunt Nash is acting bizarrely—hoarding stacks of old photographs, burying a book in the yard, and railing against Kit Covey, a handsome government park ranger who piques Callie’s interest. But Aunt Nash may prove to be saner than she seems once Callie pulls back the curtain on Tamarosa’s heyday—the 1940s and ’50s, when high-society and Hollywood women ventured to the ranch for quickie divorces and found a unique sisterhood—and uncovers a secret promise Nash made to her true love. Callie will come to see is that no life is ever ordinary. No story of love is, either. Praise for The Secrets She Keeps “Caletti once again combines interesting characters, pitch-perfect dialogue, and an intriguing plot to tell a deeply memorable story. Her latest is a thoughtful exploration of love and marriage and the power of family and friendship to help along the way.”—Booklist “Past, present, and the strength of female friendship blend in a work billed for the Kristin Hannah–Liane Moriarty crowd.”—Library Journal Praise for Deb Caletti’s He’s Gone “Deb Caletti doesn’t just make a stunning debut into adult fiction; she throws down the gauntlet. This is a mesmerizing novel.”—New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen “Striking . . . well-written, strongly characterized and emotionally complex fiction.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Secret Keeper Kate Morton, 2013-07-16 A cloth bag containing ten copies of the title. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Let Me Die in His Footsteps Lori Roy, 2015-06-24 Everyone knows Hollerans don’t go near Baines. Aunt Juna was the start of all the hatred between the families, and even though she’s been gone a good many years, the hatred has stayed put. On a dark Kentucky night in 1952, exactly halfway between her fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, Annie Holleran crosses over into forbidden territory. It’s been that way since Joseph Carl Baine was hanged in 1936. But local superstition says that tonight Annie can see her future in the Baines’ well. What she sees instead, there in the moonlight, is a dead woman. And suddenly the events of 1936, events that have twisted and shaped the lives of Annie and all her kin, are brought back into the present. Juna will come home now, to finish what she started. And if Annie is to save herself, her family and this small Kentucky town, she must face the terrible reality of what happened all those years ago. Inspired by the true story of the last lawful public hanging in the United States, Let Me Die in His Footsteps is a gothic masterpiece filled with tension and dread. Lori Roy was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas where she graduated from Kansas State University. After having worked as a tax accountant for several years, Lori began her writing career. Her debut novel, Bent Road, was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Novel and named a 2011 New York Times Notable Crime Book. Her second novel, Until She Comes Home, was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Novel. Lori serves as treasurer for the Sisters in Crime organisation and is a liaison to the Author Coalition. She currently lives with her family in west central Florida and her most recent novel is Let Me Die in His Footsteps. ‘This Depression-era story is a sad one, written in every shade of Gothic black. But its true colors emerge in the rich textures of the narrative, and in the music of that voice, as hypnotic as the scent coming off a field of lavender.’ New York Times ‘[A] hybrid of mystery, coming-of-age, and Southern gothic literature...It’s taut and evocative—things simmer and sizzle underfoot, and the book practically smells like a lavender field.’ Los Angeles Times ‘A richly detailed, highly suspenseful Gothic novel filled with indelible imagery.’ Huffington Post ‘An atmospheric, vividly drawn tale that twists her trademark theme of family secrets with the crackling spark of the ‘know-how’ for a suspenseful, ghost-story feel.’ STARRED Review, Booklist ‘Powerful...should transfix readers right up to its stunning final twist.’ STARRED Review, Publishers Weekly ‘A Faulkner-ian tale of sex and violence from the Kentucky hills.’ Kirkus 'This is a page turner: it has a tension-filled, gripping plot with quite a few twists and a heart-stopping climax. A brilliant novel that will have readers seeking out earlier works by this talented author.’ BookMooch ‘Primitive beliefs, killings and a public hanging all feature in this brilliantly written novel—southern gothic at its best.’ Listener ‘Let Me Die in His Footsteps is a lyrically written semi-gothic novel...It embraces a powerful atmosphere that glowers from its pages, leaving a dark, brooding impression that is hard to shrug off.’ Stuff NZ |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Beware of Dogs Elizabeth Flann, 2021-01-01 Winner of the 2019 Banjo Prize for Fiction She's isolated. Trapped. Hunted. An almost unbearably tense Australian survival thriller. Not much daylight left now. So begins the field diary of Alix Verhoeven, whose impulsive acceptance of an offer to spend Easter on a remote island has turned into a terrifying ordeal. Hiding in a tiny cave, she carefully rations out her meagre supplies, while desperately trying to figure out how to escape the men hunting her. She is determined not to be a victim. What do they want with her? She knows it's nothing good - she overheard enough on that first night to flee. But now she's got little food or water, no way of calling for help, and only her skills as an exploration geologist and memories of Atkinson's Bushcraft Guide to survive. By day she is disciplined and lives by strict plans, but at night she finds herself haunted by questions about her life that she has never wanted to face. And her time is running out. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Second Girl David Swinson, 2016-06-07 He's a good detective...with a bad habit. One of the Year's Best Crime Novels-The New York Times Book Review, Booklist Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city has ever known, but the city doesn't know his dirty secret. A high-functioning drug addict, Frank has devoted his considerable skills to hiding his usage from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of an Adams Morgan drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. He reluctantly agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl -- possibly connected to the first -- but the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light, too. Frank is as slippery and charming an antihero as you've ever met, but he's also achingly vulnerable. The result is a mystery of startling intensity, a tightly coiled thriller where every scene may turn disastrous. The Second Girl is the crime novel of the season, and marks the start of a refreshing series from an author who knows the criminal underworld inside and out. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Fixer Joseph Finder, 2016-05-03 When Rick Hoffman loses his job and apartment, his only option is to move back into the home of his miserable youth, now empty and in decay since his father's stroke. But when he starts to pull it apart, he makes an electrifying discovery that will put his life in peril, and change everything he thought he knew about his father. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Lost Souls Poppy Brite, 2010-11-03 Vampires . . . they ache, they love, they thirst for the forbidden. They are your friends and lovers, and your worst fears. “A major new voice in horror fiction . . . an electric style and no shortage of nerve.”—Booklist At a club in Missing Mile, N.C., the children of the night gather, dressed in black, look for acceptance. Among them are Ghost, who sees what others do not; Ann, longing for love; and Jason, whose real name is Nothing, newly awakened to an ancient, deathless truth about his father, and himself. Others are coming to Missing Mile tonight. Three beautiful, hip vagabonds—Molochai, Twig, and the seductive Zillah, whose eyes are as green as limes—are on their own lost journey, slaking their ancient thirst for blood, looking for supple young flesh. They find it in Nothing and Ann, leading them on a mad, illicit road trip south to New Orleans. Over miles of dark highway, Ghost pursues, his powers guiding him on a journey to reach his destiny, to save Ann from her new companions, to save Nothing from himself. . . . “An important and original work . . . a gritty, highly literate blend of brutality and sentiment, hope and despair.”—Science Fiction Chronicle |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Girl Behind the Wall Mandy Robotham, 2021-07-06 “A poignant, tender story of families and sisters divided by the cruelty of political chance–my heart ached for them on every page. Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Black Girl/White Girl Joyce Carol Oates, 2009-10-13 Fifteen years ago, in 1975, Genna Hewett-Meade's college roommate died a mysterious, violent, terrible death. Minette Swift had been a fiercely individualistic scholarship student, an assertive—even prickly—personality, and one of the few black girls at an exclusive women's liberal arts college near Philadelphia. By contrast, Genna was a quiet, self-effacing teenager from a privileged upper-class home, self-consciously struggling to make amends for her own elite upbringing. When, partway through their freshman year, Minette suddenly fell victim to an increasing torrent of racist harassment and vicious slurs—from within the apparent safety of their tolerant, enlightened campus—Genna felt it her duty to protect her roommate at all costs. Now, as Genna reconstructs the months, weeks, and hours leading up to Minette's tragic death, she is also forced to confront her own identity within the social framework of that time. Her father was a prominent civil defense lawyer whose radical politics—including defending anti-war terrorists wanted by the FBI—would deeply affect his daughter's outlook on life, and later challenge her deepest beliefs about social obligation in a morally gray world. Black Girl / White Girl is a searing double portrait of black and white, of race and civil rights in post-Vietnam America, captured by one of the most important literary voices of our time. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Lock Artist Steve Hamilton, 2010-01-05 Steve Hamilton steps away from his Edgar Award-winning Alex McKnight series to introduce a unique new character, unlike anyone you've ever seen in the world of crime fiction. I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time. Later on, the Milford Mute. The Golden Boy. The Young Ghost. The Kid. The Boxman. The Lock Artist. That was all me. But you can call me Mike. Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all. It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long. The Lock Artist is the winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Novel and a 2011 Alex Award winner. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Fake Like Me Barbara Bourland, 2019-07-11 CAREY LOGAN She was the genius wild child of the New York art scene, and my idol. FAKE I was a no-name painter from the Florida backwater, clawing my way into their world. LIKE When she died, she left a space that couldn't be filled. Except, maybe, by ME Everything that gets created destroys something else. When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: recreate her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat. Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolized all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege. What she finds is a ghost of its former self. The recent suicide of founding member Carey Logan haunts everyone, lurking beneath the surface like a shipwreck. And one thought begins to shadow her every move - what really happened to her hero? With a flair for sensational detail and acidic wit, Barbara Bourland delivers a darkly satirical thriller about art, money and identity with a twist so sharp it cuts. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Summit Lake Charlie Donlea, 2022-03-29 Set in a small, picturesque North Carolina town, #1 international bestselling author Charlie Donlea’s debut suspense novel tells the haunting story of a murdered law school student, the reporter assigned to her story—and the intimate connection that comes when the living walk in the footsteps of the dead… “A gem of a mystery, fast-paced and suspenseful.” —Catherine Coulter, # 1 New York Times bestselling author on Summit Lake No suspects. No persons of interest. Just a girl who was alive one day and dead the next. Some places seem too beautiful to be touched by horror. Summit Lake, nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, is that kind of place. But two weeks ago, Becca Eckersley, a first-year law student and daughter of a powerful attorney, was brutally murdered there. Now the town is reeling with grief, and the police are baffled. At first, investigative reporter Kelsey Castle thinks of the assignment as a fluff piece. But the savagery of the crime, and the efforts to keep it quiet, hint at something far more sinister than a random attack by a stranger. As Kelsey digs deeper, despite danger and warnings, she feels a growing connection to the dead girl. And the more she learns about Becca’s friendships, her love life—and her secrets—the more convinced she becomes that walking in Becca’s footsteps could lead her out of her own dark past… |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Dry Jane Harper, 2017-01-10 I love Jane Harper's Australia-based mysteries. —Stephen King NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM IFC FILMS STARRING ERIC BANA INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A breathless page-turner, driven by the many revelations Ms. Harper dreams up...You’ll love [her] sleight of hand...A secret on every page.” —The New York Times “One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read... Every word is near perfect.” —David Baldacci A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper. After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead. Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Magic Toyshop Angela Carter, 1988 |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Summer House Santa Montefiore, 2012-07-19 THE STUNNING NOVEL, PERFECT FOR A SUMMER HOLIDAY, FROM THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR A life-changing secret. An unforgettable summer. Arriving at the familiar old stone church nestled in the beautiful countryside of Hampshire, Antoinette prepares to say goodbye to her husband; the man she has loved for as long as she can remember. Little does she know, the arrival of the beautiful and mysterious Phaedra will make her question everything about the man she shared her life with. Phaedra loved George too, and couldn’t bear to stay away from his funeral. But Phaedra is hiding a deeply buried secret. One that will change the lives of Antoinette and her family forever, and one that she can no longer keep hidden . . . Bestselling author Santa Montefiore delivers a captivating novel about love, family and secrets that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. A beautiful summer read for fans of Lucinda Riley, Victoria Hislop and Joanna Trollope. ***PRAISE FOR SANTA MONTEFIORE*** ‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES ‘An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of Love and War ‘Santa Montefiore hits the spot for my like few other writers’ SARRA MANNING ‘One of our personal favourites’ THE TIMES on The Last Secret of the Deverills ‘Accomplished and poetic’ Daily Mail ‘Santa Montefiore is a marvel’ Sunday Express |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Trick is to Keep Breathing Janice Galloway, 1991 A young drama teacher in the West of Scotland suffers deep psychological problems which affect all areas of her life. She fails to find meaning in anything around her, but in her search she strips situations of their conventional values and sees them in a sharp, new light. --Publisher's description. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Bradstreet Gate Robin Kirman, 2015-07-07 A tour de force about three friends affected by a campus murder, for readers of Donna Tartt, Meg Wolitzer, and Jeffrey Eugenides Georgia, Charlie and Alice each arrive at Harvard with hopeful visions of what the future will hold. But when, just before graduation, a classmate is found murdered on campus, they find themselves facing a cruel and unanticipated new reality. Moreover, a charismatic professor who has loomed large in their lives is suspected of the crime. Though his guilt or innocence remains uncertain, the unsettling questions raised by the case force the three friends to take a deeper look at their tangled relationship. Their bond has been defined by the secrets they’ve kept from one another—Charlie’s love and Alice’s envy, Georgia’s mysterious affair—and over the course of the next decade, as they grapple with the challenges of adulthood and witness the unraveling of a teacher's once-charmed life, they must reckon with their own deceits and shortcomings, each desperately in search of answers and the chance to be forgiven. A relentless, incisive, and keenly intelligent novel about promise, disappointment, and the often tenuous bonds of friendship, Bradstreet Gate is the auspicious debut of a tremendously talented new writer. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Bent Road Lori Roy, 2011-03-31 Winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel Don't be fooled by the novel's apparent simplicity: What emerges from the surface is a tale of extraordinary emotional power, one of longstanding pain set against the pulsating drumbeat of social change. -Sarah Weinman, NPR.org For twenty years, Celia Scott has watched her husband, Arthur, hide from the secrets surrounding his sister Eve's death. But when the 1967 Detroit riots frighten him even more than his Kansas past, he convinces Celia to pack up their family and return to the road he grew up on, Bent Road, and the same small town where Eve mysteriously died. And then a local girl disappears, catapulting the family headlong into a dead man's curve. . . . On Bent Road, a battered red truck cruises ominously along the prairie; a lonely little girl dresses in her dead aunt's clothes; a boy hefts his father's rifle in search of a target; and a mother realizes she no longer knows how to protect her children. It is a place where people learn: Sometimes killing is the kindest way. Bent Road has been optioned for film in 2012 by Cross Creek Pictures with Mark Mallouk to adapt and Benderspink to produce. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: To Each His Own Leonardo Sciascia, 1992 This is a short, powerful novel dealing with the complicities and accomodations of power within Italian politics. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The Strangler Vine M.J. Carter, 2015-03-31 Set in the untamed wilds of nineteenth-century colonial India, this dazzling historical thriller introduces Blake and Avery—an unforgettable investigative pair. India, 1837: William Avery is a young soldier with few prospects except rotting away in campaigns in India; Jeremiah Blake is a secret political agent gone native, a genius at languages and disguises, disenchanted with the whole ethos of British rule, but who cannot resist the challenge of an unresolved mystery. What starts as a wild goose chase for this unlikely pair—trying to track down a missing writer who lifts the lid on Calcutta society—becomes very much more sinister as Blake and Avery get sucked into the mysterious Thuggee cult and its even more ominous suppression. There are shades of Heart of Darkness, sly references to Conan Doyle, that bring brilliantly to life the India of the 1830s with its urban squalor, glamorous princely courts and bazaars, and the ambiguous presence of the British overlords—the officers of the East India Company—who have their own predatory ambitions beyond London's oversight. A FINALIST FOR THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION |
| life or death michael robotham summary: How Not To Commit Murder Robin Storey, 2013-04-14 For conman Reuben Littlejohn going straight was never going to be easy. Then he's blackmailed into murder – and it gets a whole lot harder. Career conman Reuben Littlejohn is determined to go straight this time after his release from prison, with the help of his new wife. But he hadn't counted on stumbling across a plot to kill his parole officer Lucy, with whom he is madly in lust. Or being blackmailed into becoming an accomplice to her murder. Never have his skills in lying and cheating been so vital! Can he save his own life as well as Lucy's – without his wife finding out? If you like Donald Westlake and Colin Bateman, you'll love this book with its artful blend of comedy and crime and flawed but engaging characters. Click the Buy Now button to start reading this comical tale of murder and mayhem. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: The River Peter Heller, 2019 A NATIONAL BESTSELLER A fiery tour de force... I could not put this book down. It truly was terrifying and unutterably beautiful. -Alison Borden, The Denver Post From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars, the story of two college students on a wilderness canoe trip--a gripping tale of a friendship tested by fire, white water, and violence Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Green River Rising Tim Willocks, 2007 After Three Years' Hard Time, Minding No-One'S Business But His Own, Ray Klein Wins His Parole. That Same Day, The Disciplinary Perfection Of Green River State Penitentiary Is Torn Apart By Tribal War, And The Prison Falls Into The Hands Of Its Inmates.As The River Sucks Them All Towards The Abyss, Klein Must Choose Either To Claim His Freedom And Leave The Ones He Cares For To Die, Or Risk Everything And Fight... |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Lost & Found Brooke Davis, 2015-01-29 ‘If you liked Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, you'll like this’ Metro ‘Will generate the same feel-good word of mouth as last year’s bestseller, The Rosie Project’ Sydney Morning Herald Millie Bird is seven-years-old. On a shopping trip with her mum, Millie is left alone beneath the Ginormous Women’s underwear rack in a department store. Her mum never returns. Agatha Pantha is eighty-two and hasn’t left home since her husband died. Instead, she fills the silence by yelling at passers-by, watching loud static on TV, and maintaining a strict daily schedule. Until the day Agatha spies a little girl across the street. Karl the Touch Typist is eighty-seven and in a nursing home. He remembers how he once typed love letters with his fingers on to his wife’s skin. Now widowed, he knows that somehow he must find a way for life to begin again. In a moment of clarity, he escapes. Together, Millie, Agatha and Karl set out to find Millie’s mum. And along the way, they will discover that the young can be wise, that old age is not the same as death, and that breaking the rules once in a while might just be the key to a happy life. |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason, 2020-09-01 Spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark and tender, full of pathos, fury and wit, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is a dazzling, distinctive novel from a boldly talented writer - now an instant Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Women's Prize. 'Sorrow and Bliss is a brilliantly faceted and extremely funny book about depression that engulfed me in the way I'm always hoping to be to be engulfed by novels. While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know' Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth 'As soon as I finished Mason's tragically funny debut novel, I gave it to a friend, bookmark and all. I have a feeling my much-underlined paperback has changed hands a dozen times by now; Sorrow and Bliss is too good to hang on to. . . . Mason navigates [Martha's challenges] with dark charm.' New York Times 'I am adding Sorrow and Bliss to my list of the best novels of 2020.' The Australian 'Both fantastically dark and almost unbearably funny ... its beautifully understated, airy style conceals the fiercest intelligence. I loved it so much that I stalked the author on social media - a first. Just read it. It's unforgettable.' India Knight, The Times 'Such a good book and so richly warrants the Fleabag reference... So funny, so devastating, it's really spiky and completely compelling, I absolutely loved it' Annabel Crabb This novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine. He says everyone has something, the thing is just to keep going. Martha told Patrick before they got married that she didn't want to have children. He said he didn't mind either way because he has loved her since he was fourteen and making her happy is all that matters, although he does not seem able to do it. By the time Martha finds out what is wrong, it doesn't really matter anymore. It is too late to get the only thing she has ever wanted. Or maybe it will turn out that you can stop loving someone and start again from nothing - if you can find something else to want. The book is set in London and Oxford. It is sad and funny. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 JANN MEDLICOTT ACORN PRIZE FOR FICTION in the NZ BOOK AWARDS 'Gloriously tender and absorbing ... It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... Mason pulls off something extraordinary in this huge-hearted novel, alchemising an unbearable anguish into something tender and hilarious and redemptive and wise, without ever undermining its gravity or diminishing its pain.' The Guardian UK 'Compulsively readable, Sorrow and Bliss is one of the funniest books I've read ... It is tempting to compare Martha to other tragicomic greats, Fleabag in particular. But Martha is such a brilliant, singular creation ... that it is more interesting to imagine not the characters that have inspired her but the ones she will inspire. The Independent 'This is a romance, true, but a real one ... as devastating and sharply witty as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag.' Books+Publishing 'A triumph. A brutal, hilarious, compassionate triumph.' Alison Bell, The Letdown 'A heartbreaking debut ... simultaneously funny and sad-and aching..Witty and stark, Martha's emotionally affecting story will delight fans of Sally Rooney' Publishers Weekly starred review 'Sorrow and Bliss is a book you'll want to devour in one sitting ... an adult coming-of-age novel told with force, breathlessness and a confessional style that makes you feel as if you're sharing intimacies with an old friend ... Mason's writing has been compared to Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag for good reason ... fresh and revelatory ... sharp, racy and entertaining throughout.' The Saturday Paper 'Sharp yet humane, and jaw-droppingly funny, this is the kind of novel you will want to press into the hands of everyone you know. Mason has an extraordinary talent for dialogue and character, and her understanding of how much poignancy a reader can take is profound. A masterclass on family, damage and the bonds of love: as soon as I finished it, I started again.' Jessie Burton, bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Confession 'Sophisticated and often blackly funny'Sydney Morning Herald 'I just adored this book. It's timely and dark and poignant and funny. It was filled with such eviscerating compassion and rage; I couldn't get enough of it. I inhaled it in a single weekend, unable to put it down. Meg Mason is a searing talent.' Kate Leaver, The Friendship Cure |
| life or death michael robotham summary: Bloodstained Kings Tim Willocks, 2012-02-29 From beyond the grave, legendary evil lawman Clarence Jefferson reaches out to cast a dark spell on the lives of Lenna Parillaud and Dr Cicero Grimes. Lenna - millionairess businesswoman, wrecked by grief over the loss of her daughter and maddened by lust for revenge against the husband who took her daughter away. Grimes, the unwilling agent who will help find the lost girl, and who will use the files left him by Jefferson to bring down the corrupt and powerful men who will do everything to cling on to their positions ... Bloodstained Kings - a spectacular novel of obsession, hatred, betrayal and revenge from the bestselling author of Green River Rising. |
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Explore 1960s within the LIFE photography vault, one of the most prestigious & privately held archives from the US & around the World.
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