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万本电子书0元读

Pleasure Prolonged
Pleasure Prolonged
Fox, Cathryn
¥78.55
Once a mere lab assistant, Erin Shay is thrilled over her new promotion. The curvaceous, brainy, somewhat straightlaced lady has been placed in charge of an important new research project: testing a serum specially designed to substantially prolong a couple's lovemaking. With scientists Jay and Laura off on their honeymoon, Erin's been left alone in the lab . . . with her hard-bodied new assistant, Kale Alexander, a sexy stud who has "playboy" written all over him.Erin's never even had a one-night stand but the project's success depends upon her playing the wild, wanton bad-girl to red-hot Casanova Kale. Since she's already learned the perils of leaving her heart too open to heartbreak, this time she'll be the one calling the shots. Her bad-boy partner is going to know from the git-go that this will be a brief sex-only affair hot, torrid, steamy love in the interests of science . . . with absolutely no strings attached. But when the loving is this deliciously hot, who in her right mind wouldn't want to prolong it?
The Pleasures of the Damned
The Pleasures of the Damned
Bukowski, Charles
¥94.10
To his legions of fans, Charles Bukowski was and remains the quintessential counterculture icon. A hard-drinking wild man of literature and a stubborn outsider to the poetry world, he wrote unflinchingly about booze, work, and women, in raw, street-tough poems whose truth has struck a chord with generations of readers.Edited by John Martin, the legendary publisher of Black Sparrow Press and a close friend of Bukowski's, The Pleasures of the Damned is a selection of the best works from Bukowski's long poetic career, including the last of his never-before-collected poems. Celebrating the full range of the poet's extraordinary and surprising sensibility, and his uncompromising linguistic brilliance, these poems cover a rich lifetime of experiences and speak to Bukowski's immense intelligence, the caring heart that saw through the sham of our pretenses and had pity on our human condition (New York Quarterly ). The Pleasures of the Damned is an astonishing poetic treasure trove, essential reading for both longtime fans and those just discovering this unique and legendary American voice.
Portrait of an Unknown Woman
Portrait of an Unknown Woman
Bennett, Vanora
¥83.69
The year is 1527. The great portraitist Hans Holbein, who has fled the reformation in Europe, is making his first trip to England under commission to Sir Thomas More. In the course of six years, Holbein will become a close friend to the More family and paint two nearly identical family portraits. But closer examination of the paintings reveals that the second holds several mysteries...Set against the turmoil, intrigue and, tragedy of Henry VIII's court, Portrait of an Unknown Woman vividly evokes sixteenth-century England on the verge of enormous change. As the Protestant Reformation sweeps across Europe to lap at England's shores, relations between her king and the Catholic Church begin to plummet-driven by Henry VIII's insatiable need for a male heir and the urgings of his cunning mistress Anne Boleyn-and heresy begins to take hold. As tensions rise, Henry VIII turns to his most trusted servant and defender of Catholic orthodoxy, Sir Thomas More to keep peace in England, but soon the entire More family find their own lives at risk.At the center of Portrait of an Unknown Woman is Meg Gigg's, Sir Thomas More's twenty-three year old adopted daughter. Intelligent, headstrong, and tender-hearted, Meg has been schooled in the healing arts. And though she is devoted to her family, events conspire that will cause Meg to question everything she thought she knew-including the desires of her own heart. As the danger to More and his family increases, two men will vie for Meg's affections: John Clement, her former tutor and More's protg who shares Meg's passion for medicine, but whose true identity will become unclear, and the great Holbein, who's artistic vision will forever alter her understanding of the world. With a striking sense of period detail Portrait of an Unknown Woman is an unforgettable story of sin and religion, desire and deception. It is the story of a young woman on the brink of sensual awakening and of a country on the edge of mayhem.
The Post-Birthday World
The Post-Birthday World
Shriver, Lionel
¥83.03
American children's book illustrator Irina McGovern enjoys a secure, settled life in London with her smart, loyal, disciplined partner, Lawrence until the night she finds herself inexplicably drawn to kissing another man, a passionate, extravagant, top-ranked snooker player. Two competing alternate futures hinge on this single kiss, as Irina's decision to surrender to temptation or to preserve her seemingly safe partnership with Lawrence will have momentous consequences for her career, her friendships and familial relationships, and the texture of her daily life.
A Poisoned Season
A Poisoned Season
Alexander, Tasha
¥78.32
London's social season is in full swing, and Victorian aristocracy is atwitter over a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Adding to their fascination with all things French, an audacious cat burglar is systematically stealing valuable items that once belonged to the ill fated queen. But things take a dark turn. The owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered after the theft is reported in the newspapers, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Lady Emily Ashton. It takes all of Lady Emily's wit and perseverance to unmask her stalker and ferret out the murderer, while faced with a brewing scandal that threatens both her reputation and her romance with the dashing Colin Hargreaves.
The Monk Upstairs
The Monk Upstairs
Farrington, Tim
¥77.26
Heavenly Ever After?When Rebecca Martin finds the love of her life, it's finally time to cross off one giant task from life's to-do list. But not so fast. The wedding is a minor disaster, the honeymoon doesn't get much better, and then the biggest shock of all living together as monk and wife.
Mules and Men
Mules and Men
Hurston, Zora Neale
¥90.51
Mules and Men is a treasury of black America's folklore as collected by a famous storyteller and anthropologist who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed an oral history of the South since the time of slavery. Returning to her hometown of Eatonville, Florida, to gather material, Zora Neale Hurston recalls "a hilarious night with a pinch of everything social mixed with the storytelling." Set intimately within the social context of black life, the stories, "big old lies," songs, Vodou customs, and superstitions recorded in these pages capture the imagination and bring back to life the humor and wisdom that is the unique heritage of African Americans.
Falls the Shadow
Falls the Shadow
Lashner, William
¥56.07
New York Times bestselling author William Lashner returns with a brilliantly twisty tale that probes the dark side of the law -- and man Unlike the rest of you, I cheerfully admit to my own utter selfishness. I am self-made, self-absorbed, self-serving, self-referential, even self-deprecating, in a charming sort of way. In short, I am all the selfs except selfless. Yet every so often, I run across a force of nature that shakes my sublime self-centeredness to its very roots. Something that tears through the landscape like a tornado, leaving nothing but ruin and reexamination in its wake. Something like Bob. --Victor Carl A beautiful young woman is dead, her husband convicted of the murder. In seeking a new trial for the husband, defense attorney Victor Carl must confront not only a determined prosecutor and a police detective who might have set up his client, but also a strange little busybody named Bob. Bob has the aspiration, one could even say compulsion, to help those around him. And it usually works out well for all concerned, except when it ends in blood. But Victor doesn’t know that . . . yet. Thanks to Bob, Victor is suddenly dressing better, dating a stunning woman, and both his economic prospects and his teeth are gleaming. It’s all good, until Victor finds a troubling connection between Bob and the murdered wife. Is Bob a kind of saint or is this obsessive Good Samaritan, in reality, a murdererFilled with the keen wit, deep poignancy, twisting suspense, and dark realism that has entranced readers, impressed reviewers, and made William Lashner’s previous novels bestsellers, Falls the Shadow is a riveting novel sure to leave readers eager for more.
Fatal Flaw
Fatal Flaw
Lashner, William
¥55.31
"Lust will make a fool of any man, but it is only love that can truly ruin him." So says Victor Carl, the ethically adventurous Philadelphia lawyer who usually ends up doing the right thing, but, as his law partner says, often for all the wrong reasons. Late one night Victor gets a panicked phone call from an old law school classmate. Guy Forrest claims he has just found the body of his fiancée lying murdered in the house they shared. The victim is Hailey Prouix, for whose love Guy had abandoned his children, his job, his wife, his life. Hailey had mesmerized every man she ever met -- including, unbeknownst to Guy, Victor Carl. Convinced that Guy is Hailey's killer, Victor agrees to represent him, all the while secretly vowing to see justice done, whatever the cost. The plan would have to be dirty, base, vile, the plan would have to exhibit a complete lack of moral fiber in the soul of the deranged maniac who dreamed it up. I was just the man for the job. But when Victor's certainty begins to crack, he embarks on a quest that will take him from Philadelphia to Las Vegas to the valleys of West Virginia and back again. He digs further and further into Hailey Prouix's past and discovers that nothing is as simple as it had seemed, especially the woman he thought he loved. Who was Hailey ProuixBehind the answer lurks a killer. As Guy's murder trial heads toward its shattering conclusion, Victor must find the brutal truth before the mechanism of retribution he himself has set into motion falls like a hatchet, smack on his client's head.
Devil's Claw
Devil's Claw
Jance, J. A.
¥70.10
In the night-still canyons of the Arizona desert, a girl is on the run. Alone but for her beloved red-tailed hawk, she flees from the dark shadows of her young life, the horror she has witnessed…and the terror that now stalks her.New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance returns with her eighth novel in the highly acclaimed Joanna Brady mystery series. Set against the backdrop of the modern west, this gripping tale finds Sheriff Brady juggling a precarious overload in both her personal and professional lives. About to be married, Joanna's facing a daughter turning twelve and going on twenty, a meddlesome mother micro-managing her wedding, and new in-laws arriving any day. The sudden death of her much-loved neighbor and handyman, Clayton Rhodes, creates further turmoil, leaving Joanna shocked, saddened, and the target of Clayton's irate and irrational daughter, who accuses the Sheriff's Department of covering up a possible murder.But amidst the uproar, the report of a homicide at Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains quickly captures Joanna's full attention. An Indian woman has been found shot to death--a woman recently released from prision after serving time for the manslaughter killing of her husband. She is the mother of a missing fifteen-year-old, Lucy Ridder.The death at first appears to be a case of domestic rage finally exploding'and a troubled teen runaway may be a victim, or a cold-blooded killer. Yet as Joanna deals with the long-standing troubles of Clayton Rhodes' family and digs deeper into the mysterious life of Lucy and her family, she discovers that investigating family hostilities is leading her down a twisted trail of hatred, greed, and far-reaching consequences--and into a dangerous world where violence is the first response and long buried secrets are a reason to kill…or die.Once again, J.A. Jance delivers a gritty, deftly written thriller that unfolds on a vivid landscape of raw beauty and unrelenting danger. And, as always, Sheriff Joanna Brady brings the setting to life with the sensitivity, spirit, and intense passion for justice that makes Jance novels ring with authenticity.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Wells, Rebecca
¥90.77
“A big, blowzy romp through the rainbow eccentricities of three generations of crazy bayou debutantes.” —Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A very entertaining and, ultimately, deeply moving novel about the complex bonds between mother and daughter.” —Washington Post “Mary McCarthy, Anne Rivers Siddons, and a host of others have portrayed the power and value of female friendships, but no one has done it with more grace, charm, talent, and power than Rebecca Wells.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch The incomparable #1 New York Times bestseller—a book that reigned at the top of the list for an remarkable sixty-eight weeks—Rebecca Wells’s Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a classic of Southern women’s fiction to be read and reread over and over again. A poignant, funny, outrageous, and wise novel about a lifetime friendship between four Southern women, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood brilliantly explores the bonds of female friendship, the often-rocky relationship between mothers and daughters, and the healing power of humor and love, in a story as fresh and uplifting as when it was first published a decade and a half ago. If you haven’t yet met the Ya-Yas, what are you waiting for?
Downtown
Downtown
Siddons, Anne Rivers
¥55.31
The year is 1966, a time of innocence, possibility,and freedom. And for Atlanta, the country, and one woman making her way in a changing world, nothing will be the same . . .After an airless childhood in Savannah, Smoky O'Donnell arrives in Atlanta, dazzled and chastened by this hectic young city on the rise. Her new job as a writer with the city's Downtown magazine introduces her to many unforgettable people and propels her into the center of momentous events that will irrevocably alter her heart, her career, and her world.
Final Victim
Final Victim
Cannell, Stephen J.
¥55.31
A genius, hairless, seven-foot-tall psychopath, Leonard Land is many people wired into the cyber-subculture of Satanism and Death Metal. He is smart and cunning. He is quick, brutal and deadly. And he is everywhere. A renegade U.S. customs agent, a brilliant and beautiful forensic phychologist and a streetwise convict master hacker are on the trail of the maniac who is methodically slaughtering innocent women -- a hunt that is leading a trio of unlikely heroes across an imperiled nation...and deep into the darkest corridors of cyberspace. But there is no system the maniac cannot infiltrate, no secrets he cannot access. He knows he is being hunted...and by whom. And he's determined to strike first -- in ways too terrible to anticipate.
The Fool's Tale
The Fool's Tale
Galland, Nicole
¥78.10
A spellbinding voice in historical fiction makes her remarkable debut in a moving and beautifully rendered tale of love and politics, loyalty and duplicity -- and the extreme lengths to which such forces drive us The year 1198. All of Wales is in turmoil.King Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, known to his people as Noble, is struggling to protect his small kingdom from treacherous Welsh princes and Roger Mortimer, an ambitious English baron who murdered Noble's father years earlier. Desperate to secure a peace treaty, the king grimly agrees to a political marriage with Isabel Mortimer, Roger's niece. Isabel, not yet twenty, is confounded by the intimacy and informality of the Welsh court, which to her foreign eyes looks barbaric and backward. As determined and willful as she is na?ve, she eventually earns the respect and affection of her husband and his subjects -- with the notable exception of Gwirion, the king's oldest and oddest friend, who has a particular, private reason to hate Mortimers. Gwirion's rascally tricks and diversions are expected -- and relished -- by all at Cymaron Castle. But a disastrous prank played during the royal wedding ignites a volatile competition between queen and confidant for the king's affection, with most unexpected consequences. As Mortimer makes it apparent that he has no intention of honoring the peace treaty, the bond between Noble and Isabel grows strained. And when Gwirion and Isabel's mutual animosity is abruptly transformed, Noble finds himself as threatened by those he loves best as by the enemies who menace his crown. A masterful debut novel by a gifted storyteller, The Fool's Tale combines vivid historical fiction, compelling political intrigue, and passionate romance to create an intimate drama of three individuals bound -- and undone -- by love and loyalty.
For Pete's Sake
For Pete's Sake
Windsor, Linda
¥72.70
Ellen isn't sure true love exists. That is until she landscapes the estate of the widower next door, Adrian Sinclair. Adrian has it all at least on the surface. A successful businessman, he's engaged to a beautiful woman and he'll soon have a stepmom for his troubled son, Pete. Yet from the moment Ellen rescues a stranded Adrian on her Harley, his well-ordered world turns upside down. With his business under investigation for espionage and his son pushing for the tomboy next door as his new mom, Adrian's facade of happiness shatters. As Ellen and Pete bond, she realizes that Adrian is about to marry the wrong woman. Despite her resolve to remain neighbors only, Ellen is drawn to Adrian. But how can she be the one when he's engaged to a sophisticated beauty who is everything Ellen isn'tAs Ellen's three best friends step in to help her navigate this uncharted territory, Ellen must ask herself whether she's ready to risk the heart that she's always held close. Will Ellen trust that God brought this family into her life for a reasonOr will fear cause her to turn away from God's plan and her one true chance at love?
Force 5 Recon: Deployment: Philippines
Force 5 Recon: Deployment: Philippines
Storm, P. W.
¥49.05
The men of Force 5 Recon have been given a new mission and it's taking them to the Philippines. A Muslim extremist organization, Abu Sayyaf, has been using kidnappings and terrorist techniques to make their political goals known on a world stage. Mac Rainey and his team of elite Marin operators is assigned to assist and advise Fillipino Marines in how to combat terrorists.But everything goes horribly wrong when the Marines walk into an ambush, and half of the men of Force 5 are captured by terrorists. Rainey escapes, but knows that he only has a small window of time to save his men before the terrorists make an example of them. But to save his men, Rainey will have to enlist the help of a CIA agent he can't completely trust. He knows that attempting a rescue his men alone would be suicide, but to place his faith in the intelligence operative might lead him down the same road.
Forge of Heaven
Forge of Heaven
Cherryh, C. J.
¥55.31
One of today's bestselling and most critically acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy, C. J. Cherryh has been entertaining readers for more than thirty years with beautifully imagined, complex novels of intrigue and adventure. With Hammerfall she began an entirely new universe -- her first in three decades -- and an enthralling tale of mystery and survival on a desert world devastated by nanotechnology. Now she returns to the captivating universe of The Gene Wars in a brilliant, visionary story that reaches from the desert to the stars.
Fortress in the Eye of Time
Fortress in the Eye of Time
Cherryh, C. J.
¥63.09
Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose -- to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shadows. that most wonderous of spells, a Shaping. A Shaping in the form of a, young man who will be sent east on the road the old was to old to travel. To right the wrongs of a long-forgotten wizard war, and call new wars into being. Here is the long-awaited major new novel from one of the brightest stars in the fantasy and science fiction firmament.C.J.Cherryh's haunting story of the wizard Mauryl, kingmaker for a thousand years of Men, and Tristen, fated to sow distrust between a prince and his father being. A tale as deep as legend and a intimate as love, it tells of a battle beyond Time, in which all Destiny turns on the wheel of an old man's ambition, a young man's innocence, and the unkept promised of a king to come.
Fortress of Ice
Fortress of Ice
Cherryh, C. J.
¥55.31
Sixteen years have passed since the dramatic events of Fortress of Dragons, and Cefwyn, king at last, must rebuild his devastated kingdom. The embattled ruler is aided by his powerful friend Tristen Sihhe and two surprising allies in a struggle he must win: his two young sons. Elfwyn Aswydd, the bastard son of Cefwyn and the sorceress Tarien Aswydd, has spent years unaware of his parentage, yet now it is his time to emerge and claim the gifted birthright he's been denied for so long. But a dark, sinister magic has crept close to the young man and seized hold of the kingdom. Nothing is as it seems, and the bonds of family strain against the powerful forces that would see them undone. It is up to an embattled four—Elfwyn; his half brother, Aewyn Marhanen; Cefwyn; and Tristen—to unmask and destroy the dark forces that threaten to unhinge the king's peaceful and fragile reign.
Found Money
Found Money
Grippando, James
¥69.16
A young woman finds $200,000 in cash in a cardboard box delivered to her door. A man inherits a fortune from a father who died "penniless." Amy Parkens and Ryan Duffy have never met, but they are about to, as each discovers that found money can be a godsend--or a nightmare. Amy Parkens is a struggling single mother forced to abandon a career in astronomy for a practical computer job. She feels condemned to long hours, low pay, and no time to spend with her daughter. Then an unmarked package arrives. There's no card, no note, no return address. Someone has simply sent her a small fortune. Amy has no idea who--or why. She only knows her dead-end life has changed forever. Though she longs to keep the cash, Amy fears a mistake, a setup, or even a possible connection to her mother's mysterious suicide twenty years earlier. She has to find the source. But when she tries to look her gift horse in the mouth, someone snatches the money away--quickly, violently. Ryan Duffy is a decent, responsible man, a small-town physician from the plains of southeastern Colorado. Like Amy, Ryan has recently found unexpected wealth. His father's estate is worth more than Ryan could ever have imagined--millions more. Truth is, Dad was a hardworking electrician for forty-years. But in his attic, he hid a fortune. The Duffy family has been guarding this secret. Was it extortion, burglary, or some other shocking crimeAnd now that Ryan has the money, what should he doPainful as it is, Ryan is drawn to his father's dark past. Amy, on the same desperate quest for answers, soon crosses Ryan's path. Their search takes them through a labyrinth of deception and blackmail, leading to a man of unfathomable power. Yet the past is not what it appears. Heinous crimes touched their families years ago. Amy and Ryan must solve a treacherous puzzle to learn why the true victims never came forward, why the real wrongdoers went unpunished, and why certain people would kill to keep their secrets.
Four Souls
Four Souls
Erdrich, Louise
¥83.03
A strange and compelling unkillable woman decides to leave home, and the story begins. Fleur Pillager takes her mother's name, Four Souls, for strength and walks from her Ojibwe reservation to the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. She is seeking restitution from and revenge on the lumber baron who has stripped her reservation. But revenge is never simple, and she quickly finds her intentions complicated by her own dangerous compassion for the man who wronged her. The two narrators of Four Souls are from utterly different worlds. Nanapush, a "smart man and a fool," is both Fleur's savior and her conscience. He tells Fleur's story and tells his own. He would like a calm and discriminating love with his sweetheart, Margaret. He is old and would like to face death with his love beside him. Instead the two find themselves battling out their last years. When the childhood nemesis of Nanapush appears and casts his eye toward Margaret, Nanapush acts out an absurd revenge of his own and nearly ends up destroying everything. The other narrator, Polly Elizabeth Gheen, is a pretentious and vulnerable upper-crust fringe element, a hanger-on in a wealthy Minneapolis family, a woman aware of her precarious hold on those around her. To her own great surprise the entrance of Fleur Pillager into her household and her life effects a transformation she could never have predicted. In the world of interconnected novels by Louise Erdrich, Four Souls is most closely linked to Tracks. All these works continue and elaborate the intricate story of life on a reservation peopled by saints and false saints, heroes and sinners, clever fools and tenacious women. Four Souls reminds us of the deep spirituality and the ordinary humanity of this world, and is as beautiful and lyrical as anything Louise Erdrich has written.