Finally returned to print in a beautiful paperback edition, a haunting gothic tale of a nineteenth-century immigrant family of confidence artists—a story of morality, duplicity, and retribution that explores the depths of human manipulation and vulnerabilityThe patriarch of the Licht family, Abraham has raised a brood of talented con artists, children molded in his image, and experts in The Game, his calling and philosophy of life. Traveling from one small town to the next across the continent, from the Northeast to the frontier West, they skillfully swindle unsuspecting victims, playing on their greed, lust, pride, and small-mindedness. Despite their success, Abraham cannot banish a past that haunts him: the ghost of his ancestor Sarah Licht, a former con woman who met with a gruesome fate.As Abraham involves his family in more and more complex and impressive schemes, he finds himself caught between the specter of Sarah and the growing terrors of his present. While his carefully crafted lies and schemes begin to fracture and disintegrate before his eyes, Abraham discovers that the bond of family is as tenuous and treacherous as the tricks he perpetrates upon unsuspecting strangers.

Like a billion people on earth, aspiring actress Piper Donovan is a fervent Facebook follower. But what she doesn't know is that a "friend" is following her. Possibly . . . stalking. A fan who starts by using the same beauty salon eventually comes closer—much closer—in this chilling short story.

New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman's beloved Decker and Lazarus have settled into life in quiet upstate New York, but they soon find themselves entangled in a case of underworld crime and calculating murderersIt has been almost a year since Greenbury's last murder. Peter Decker, a former Lieutenant for LAPD, has enjoyed the peace and slow pace of his new job with the sleepy upstate police department. The work has kept him engaged but without much stress. All that changes when he receives a phone call from his captain, Mike Radar.A male body, nude and nameless, is found deep within the local woods. It appears to be a suicide—single shot to the head, gun by his side—but until the coroner makes the final determination, Decker must treat the scene as a suspicious crime. The first thing he must do is identify the body—no easy task because of the small size of the department and lack of personal effects found with the body. But then Decker gets lucky. Out of the blue, Tyler McAdams, a former Greenbury detective and now a first-year law student, calls Decker up, asking him for free room and board while he studies for first-term finals. Of course, once McAdams hears about the intriguing case, his attentions shift from statutes to corpses.And when the body is finally identified, Decker and McAdams must penetrate into indecipherable upper echelons of mathematics and mathematical prodigies at Kneed Loft College. It turns out to be a dangerous sphere of scheming academics, secret cyphers, and hidden corruption where even harmless nerds can morph into cold, calculating geniuses. Decker and McAdams will have to employ all of their wits and gray matter to penetrate enigmatic formulas and codes to solve a dark, twisted tale created by depraved and evil masterminds.

At Hourglass Vintage in Madison, Wisconsin, every item in the boutique has a story to tell . . . and so do the women whose lives the store touches.Yellow Samsonite suitcase with ivory, quilted lining, 1950sA small-town girl with a flair for fashion, Violet Turner had always dreamed of owning a shop like Hourglass Vintage. But while she values the personal history behind each beautiful item she sells, Violet is running from her own past. Faced with the possibility of losing the store to an unscrupulous developer, she realizes that despite her usual self-reliance she cannot save it alone.Taffeta tea-length wedding gown with scooped neckline and cap sleeves, 1952Eighteen-year-old April Morgan is nearly five months along in an unplanned pregnancy when her hasty engagement is broken. When she returns the perfect vintage wedding dress to Violet's shop, she discovers a world of new possibilities, and an unexpected sisterhood with women who won't let her give up on her dreams. Orange silk sari with gold paisley design, 1968Betrayed by her husband, Amithi Singh begins selling off her vibrant Indian dresses, remnants of a life she's determined to leave behind her. After decades of housekeeping and parenting a daughter who rejects her traditional ways, she fears her best days are behind her . . . until she discovers an outlet for her creativity and skills with a needle and thread. An engaging story that beautifully captures the essence of friendship and style, Vintage is a charming tale of possibility, of finding renewal, love, and hope when we least expect it.

From master storyteller William Dietrich come books 4-6 in his bestselling Ethan Gage adventure series: The Barbary Pirates, The Emerald Storm, and The Barbed Crown.

Get four novels in Kim Harrison's #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series as one e-book! This bundle includes For a Few Demons More, The Outlaw Demon Wails, White Witch, Black Curse, and Black Magic Sanction. Discover this great series at a special price!For a Few Demons MoreDespite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has always managed to stay just ahead of trouble . . . until now.?A fiendish serial killer stalks the Hollows, and no one living in or around Cincinnati—human, inhuman, or undead—is safe.?An ancient artifact may be the key to stopping the murderer—a mysterious relic that is now in the hands of Rachel Morgan, fearless independent bounty hunter and reckless witch. But revealing it could ignite a battle to the death among the vast and varied local supernatural races.?Rachel's been lucky so far. But even she can't hide from catastrophe forever.The Outlaw Demon WailsWhen you dance with demons, you lay your soul on the line …?In the Hollows, where the natural and the supernatural co-exist—not always peacefully—desperate times often call for unorthodox measures. But bounty hunter-witch Rachel Morgan did the absolutely unthinkable to save the lives of her friends: she willingly trafficked in forbidden demon magic. And now her sins have come home to haunt her.?As Rachel hunts for the truth behind a terrifying murder, the discovery of a shocking family secret is about to throw her entire life into question. And the long-lost ancient knowledge she seeks resides in the demonic ever-after.?But there are some lines that should never be crossed—like the one Rachel Morgan's stepping over . . .?Again!White Witch, Black CurseKick-ass bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan has crossed forbidden lines, taken demonic hits, and still stands. But the death of her lover struck her harder than she ever thought possible. She won't rest until his murder is solved . . . and avenged.?But a new predator is moving to the apex of the?Inderlander?food chain—and now Rachel's past is coming back to haunt her.?Literally.Black Magic SanctionRachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now.?Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—her worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom. But trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and a lowlife ex-boyfriend-turned-thief.

In this final chapter in James Earl Hardy's groundbreaking B-Boy Blues series, Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford and Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers are all grown up. Mitchell is a stay-at-home dad renovating his dream house, writing, and raising his godson and half-sister in Brooklyn's up-and-coming Fort Greene neighborhood. He's fairly happy, but he can't help feeling that something -- or someone -- is missing from his life.Fresh from rehab for a gambling addiction, Raheim has a new lease on life, but it's precarious -- his career as an actor has stalled, he hasn't seen his son in years, and the short-lived sexual trysts that punctuated his life no longer satisfy him. Hell-bent on change, Raheim has finally figured out who he wants to be with forever. But will Mitchell give Raheim the second chance he so desperately wants?

For Step Fletcher, his pregnant wife DeAnne, and their three children, the move to tiny Steuben, North Carolina, offers new hope and a new beginning. But from the first, eight-year-old Stevie's life there is an unending parade of misery and disaster.Cruelly ostracized at his school, Stevie retreats further and further into himself -- and into a strange computer game and a group of imaginary friends.But there is something eerie about his loyal, invisible new playmates: each shares the name of a child who has recently vanished from the sleepy Southern town. And terror grows for Step and DeAnne as the truth slowly unfolds. For their son has found something savagely evil ... and it's coming for Stevie next.

Bankers prowl Brooklyn bars on the eve of the stock market crash. A debate over Young Elvis versus Vegas Elvis turns existential. Detoxing junkies use a live lobster to spice up their love life. Students on summer break struggle to escape the orbit of a seemingly utopic communal house.And in the title story, selected for The Best American Short Stories, two film school buddies working on a doomed project are left sizing up their own talent, hoping to come out on top—but fearing they won't.In What's Important Is Feeling, Adam Wilson follows the through-line of contemporary coming-of-age from the ravings of teenage lust to the staggering loneliness of proto-adulthood. He navigates the tough terrain of American life with a delicate balance of comedy and compassion, lyricism and unsparing straightforwardness. Wilson's characters wander through a purgatory of yearning, hope, and grief. No one emerges unscathed.

"It doesn't matter how I got here. What I do with the puzzle pieces that are now in front of me—that's what matters.Save Mr. Vernon.My three-word quest.Why I'm here in this time and space."Portia Kane is having a meltdown. After escaping her ritzy Florida life and her cheating pornographer husband, she finds herself back in South Jersey, a place that remains largely unchanged from the years of her unhappy youth. Lost and alone, looking for the goodness she believes still exists in the world, Portia sets off on a quest to save the one man who always believed in her—and in all of his students: her beloved high school English teacher, Mr. Vernon, who has retired broken and alone after a traumatic classroom incident.Will a sassy nun, an ex–heroin addict, a metalhead little boy, and her hoarder mother help or hurt Portia's chances on this quest to resurrect a good man and find renewed hope in the human raceLove May Fail is a story of the great highs and lows of existence: the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know (deep down) you are meant to be.

Claire's older brother, Daniel, has disappeared. He leaves work one Friday afternoon, shortly before Christmas, and vanishes into thin air. Married, successful, rich, there seems no reason why he would abandon his life. Has he been killedHas he been kidnappedOr has he just had enough?Set between London and Miami, this is the story of a family with ghosts to bury. It opens on the day of the Challenger shuttle explosion at Cape Canaveral: a tragic moment that rips this family apart and sets Daniel's disappearance in motion some 18 years later. In the midst of it all sits Claire—divorced, irresponsible, fluent in six foreign languages yet hopeless at interpreting life. It is Claire who knows Daniel best. It is Claire who becomes convinced that she knows where her older brother is and sets off on a journey to find him.

In a small town called Dundee on the coast of Maine, an old woman named Hannah Gray begins her story: "Somebody said 'true love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.' I've seen both and I don't know how to tell you which is worse." Hannah has decided, finally, to leave a record of the passionate and anguished long-ago summer in Dundee when she met Conary Crocker, the town bad boy and love of her life. This spare, piercing, and unforgettable novel bridges two centuries and two intense love stories as Hannah and Conary's fate is interwoven with the tale of a marriage that took place in Dundee a hundred years earlier.

He was once a king, turned into a bear as punishment for his cruel and selfish deeds.She was a once a princess, now living in the form of a hound.Wary companions, they are sent—in human form—back to a time when magic went terribly astray. Together they must right the wrongs caused by this devastating power—if only they can find a way to trust each other.But even as each becomes aware of an ever-growing attraction, the stakes are rising and they must find a way to eliminate this evil force—or risk losing each other forever.

He is nameless. He is homeless. He is lost.Until he is found . . . by a team of mutts who shelter him and teach him how to survive the wilds of the city park.And so he becomes Waggit, the best hunter and tracker in the pack.But life in the park is dangerous and uncertain. In winter, food and warmth are scarce. Another team of wild dogs is a constant menace. And there is always the fear of capture by park rangers. Waggit can't help feeling that something is missing . . . something warm and cozy . . . and human. Then one day everything changes and Waggit must face a new threat and a new choice.Peter Howe's tale of an abandoned puppy's search for home is an exciting mix of humor, adventure, and suspense. Most of all, it is a story of how love can turn strangers into family.

Which fork do I useHow do you use chopsticksIs it okay to answer my cell phone during dinnerWhat is the polite way to eat spaghettiThese and other important questions are answered in this handy guide to eating without grossing people out. Pretty much everything you need to know to get you through any meal is here—from table settings, to eating tricky foods, to holding up your end of a dinner conversation. Written by two codirectors of The Emily Post Institute, the most trusted name in etiquette, Emily Post's Table Manners for Kids isn't just for fancy parties and dinner at your grandmother's house. It's got basic information you can use every day to improve your social life.

The bestselling authors of The Nanny Diaries introduce a new heroine to root for: Jesse O'Rourke, coffee barista, high school senior, and unwitting reality TV star.Imagine there was never a Laguna Beach, a Newport Harbor, the shimmering Hills. Imagine that your hometown—your school—is the first place XTV descends to set up cameras.Now imagine they've trained them on you.When Jesse O'Rourke gets picked for a "documentary" being filmed at her school in the Hamptons she's tempted to turn down the offer. But there's a tuition check attached to being on the show, and Jesse needs the cash so she can be the first in her family to attend college. All she has to do is trade her best friend for the glam clique she's studiously avoided, her privacy for a 24/7 mike, and her sense of right and wrong for "what sells on camera." . . . At least there's one bright spot in the train wreck that is her suddenly public senior year: Jesse's crush has also made the cast.As the producers manipulate the lives of their "characters" to heighten the drama, and Us Weekly covers become a regular occurrence for Jesse, she must struggle to remember one thing: the difference between real and the real real.

A short story from the Classic Shorts collection: The Bohemian Girl by Willa Cather

Tyler and Lucinda have to spend summer vacation with their ancient uncle Gideon, a farmer. They think they're in for six weeks of cows, sheep, horses, and pigs. But when they arrive in deserted Standard Valley, California, they discover that Ordinary Farm is, well, no ordinary farm. The bellowing in the barn comes not from a cow but from a dragon. The thundering herd in the valleyUnicorns. Uncle Gideon's sprawling farmhouse never looks the same twice. Plus, there's a flying monkey, a demon squirrel, and a barnload of unlikely farmhands with strange accents and even stranger powers. At first, the whole place seems like a crazy adventure. But when darker secrets begin to surface and Uncle Gideon and his fabulous creatures are threatened, Lucinda and Tyler have to pull together to take action. Will two ordinary kids be able to save the dragons, the farm—and themselvesExpert storytellers Tad Williams and Deborah Beale take readers on an extraordinary adventure in their first book about Ordinary Farm.

If you had the power of mind control, could you resist using it(Didn't think so. Fiona Blount feels your pain.) Fiona is coming to America! Her long-lost-now-found father is bringing her from London to meet his family. Of course, there's a secret agenda for her trip: Fiona has inherited her dad's psychic abilities and is off to ESP boot camp. Good thing she doesn't take after the rest of his family—a pretty moody bunch. Fiona knows she shouldn't be using her power of compulsion until she has more training, but if she can make people happier, isn't it almost her duty to do soShe's sure that with just a little bit of nudging, they'll all be on their way to being totally fabulous—but is she totally deluded?

When Bee woke up, there was a girl standing in her room. "You are me," the girl said. Then she was gone.I am a thirteen-year-old double Gemini. I get bad grades, write poetry with my left hand, dance in my room, surf the net. I Google images of the tattoos my mom won't let me get. . . .But my world belongs to someone else. Someone who lives below the concrete of Los Angeles, someone with wild eyes and twigs in her hair.And I think she wants her life back.

More than a cookbook, this is the story of how a little girl, born in the South of Yankee parents, fell in love with southern cooking at the age of five. And a bite of brown sugar pie was all it took."I shamelessly wangled supper invitations from my playmates," Anderson admits. "But I was on a voyage of discovery, and back then iron-skillet corn bread seemed more exotic than my mom's Boston brown bread and yellow squash pudding more appealing than mashed parsnips."After college up north, Anderson worked in rural North Carolina as an assistant home demonstration agent, scarfing good country cooking seven days a week: crispy "battered" chicken, salt-rising bread, wild persimmon pudding, Jerusalem artichoke pickles, Japanese fruitcake. Later, as a New York City magazine editor, then a freelancer, Anderson covered the South, interviewing cooks and chefs, sampling local specialties, and scribbling notebooks full of recipes.Now, at long last, Anderson shares her lifelong exploration of the South's culinary heritage and not only introduces the characters she met en route but also those men and women who helped shape America's most distinctive regional cuisine—people like Thomas Jefferson, Mary Randolph, George Washington Carver, Eugenia Duke, and Colonel Harlan Sanders.Anderson gives us the backstories on such beloved Southern brands as Pepsi-Cola, Jack Daniel's, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, MoonPies, Maxwell House coffee, White Lily flour, and Tabasco sauce. She builds a time line of important southern food firsts—from Ponce de León's reconnaissance in the "Island of Florida" (1513) to the reactivation of George Washington's still at Mount Vernon (2007). For those who don't know a Chincoteague from a chinquapin, she adds a glossary of southern food terms and in a handy address book lists the best sources for stone-ground grits, country ham, sweet sorghum, boiled peanuts, and other hard-to-find southern foods.RecipesThere are two hundred classic and contemporary, plain and fancy, familiar and unfamiliar, many appearing here for the first time. Each recipe carries a headnote—to introduce the cook whence it came, occasionally to share snippets of lore or back-stairs gossip, and often to explain such colorful recipe names as Pine Bark Stew, Chicken Bog, and Surry County Sonker.Add them all up and what have you gotOne lip-smackin' southern feast!A Love Affair with Southern Cooking is the winner of the 2008 James Beard Foundation Book Award, in the Americana category.