Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The seriously crazed killer is already back on the Detroit streets -- thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his crafty looker of a lawyer -- and he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge on a whim. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the "Oklahoma Wildman" crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the hayseed psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules -- in order to maneuver Mansell into a wild Midwest showdown that he won't be walking away from.

Who will come to the aid of beleaguered King Hrothgar, whose warriors have become the prey of the vengeful outcast monster Grendel?A grand and glorious story that has endured for centuries, the ageless classic adventure takes on a breathtaking new life in a remarkable new version for a modern era. Brilliantly reimagined by acclaimed, award-winning author Caitlín R. Kiernan, based on the screenplay by #1 New York Times bestseller Neil Gaiman and Academy Award?-winning screenwriter Roger Avary, it is the tale of a noble liege and a terrible creature who has cursed his kingdom with death, blood, and destruction—and of the great hero, Beowulf, who is called to a land of monsters to triumph where so many have failed . . . or to die as so many of the brave before him.

Impending personal tragedy is dimming the brilliant light of Dr. Benjamin Knowlton's world. On the threshold of their greatest achievement, the renowned astrophysicist's beloved wife and partner -- ex-astronaut-turned astronomer -- is dying.But something looms alarningly on the far edge of the solar system: at once a scientific find of unparalleled importance that could ensure the Knowltons' immortality, and a potential earth-shattering cataclysm that dwarfs their private one. For Benjamin and Channing have discovered "Eater," an eons-old black hole anomaly that devours stars and worlds. Yet its most awesome and devasting secrets are still to be revealed...and feared.

Ordell "Whitebread" Robbie makes a fine living selling illegal high-powered weaponry to the wrong people. Jackie Burke couriers Ordell's profits from Freeport to Miami. But the feds are on to Jackie—and now the aging, but still hot, flight attendant will have to do prison time or play ball, which makes her a prime "loose end" that Ordell needs to tie up permanently. Jackie, however, has other options. And with the help of Max Cherry—an honest but disgruntled bail bondsman looking to get out—she could even end up with a serious nest egg in the process.

Lauren Dane discovers a doorway to another reality in Cat Creek, North Carolina -- and she crosses over, driven by a strange compulsion she can neither resist nor comprehend. Molly McColl is brought there against her will -- kidnapped from her trailer and carried into a realm that traps her, terrifies her...yet offers her a strange and wondrous escape.In an extraordinary universe of magic and monsters, two strangers sharing only pain and loss must now pursue the destiny that has united them. Because worlds are suddenly threatened by an evil beyond imagining -- the world they have entered...and the one the have left behind.

The beloved Confederate Captain Nate Starbuck returns to the front lines of the Civil War in this second installment of Bernard Cornwell's acclaimed Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles. It is the summer of 1862, and Nate has been bloodied but victorious at the battles of Ball's Bluff and Seven Pines. But he can't escape his Northern roots, and it is only a matter of time until he's accused of being a Yankee spy, pursued, and brutally interrogated. To clear his name, he must find the real traitor—a search that will require extraordinary courage, endurance, and a perilous odyssey through enemy territory.

The life Anghara knows has ended; everyone she loved is dead or doomed. And now she must flee far from her home or die at the hands of her half-brother Sif. A defenseless child is adrift in an unfamiliar world, pursued by the minions of a false king whose brutality knows no bounds. But Anghara has a great destiny that reaches beyond the borders of the troubled realm she must one day rule -- and a miraculous gift to be awakened in secret and fortified in a distant desert land at once beautiful, mysterious, and perilous: an awesome and frightening power called Sight.

Ellie is young, rich, engaged and in love. These are the carefree days before marriage and new responsibility, and anything goes -- including house-sitting at eccentric Aunt Kate's palatial estate in Burton, Virginia. Ellie feels right at home here with the nearly invisible housekeepers and the plethora of pets, but she soon realizes that there are disturbing secrets about the local aristocracy buried in a dusty old book she has carried into the mansion. And her sudden interest in the past is attracting a slew of unwelcome guests -- some of them living and some, perhaps not. And the terrible vegeance that Ellie and her friends seem to have aroused -- now aimed at them -- surely cannot be...satanic.

The year is 1820. Rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, returns to London to wed his fiancée. But instead of settling down to fame and glory, he finds himself penniless in a country where high unemployment and social unrest rage, and where men—innocent or guilty—are hanged for the merest of crimes.When he's offered a job as private investigator to re-open the case of a painter due to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit, Sandman readily accepts—as much for the money as for a chance to see justice done in a country gone to ruins.Soon, however, he's mired in a grisly murder plot that keeps thickening. Sandman makes his way through gentlemen's clubs and shady taverns, aristocratic mansions, and fashionable painters' studios determined to rescue the innocent young man from the rope. But someone doesn't want the truth revealed.

Someone,or something,is rippingthe hearts from living men.Justinian, Lord Sterling, has lived for centuries, serving an ancient entity known only as the Dragon. Immortality is Justin's reward. But to keep it, he must keep killing. Lt. Sandra McCormick is a dedicated cop, a loner whose job is her refuge from a twisted past. But to keep it, she must stop the killing.Two loners, each stalking the other. Each destined to be the other's savior--and downfall. For love, unexpected, unstoppable, draws them together. And love is the one vice the Dragon will not allow . . .

Since Joyce Mitchell was widowed five years ago, she's kept herself occupied by running the Sewing Circus, an all-girl group she founded to provide badly needed services to young women at risk, many of whom are single mothers. But some nights, home alone, she has to admit that something is missing. And soon she may not even have the Sewing Circus to fill up her life, as the state legislature has decided not to fund the group.Feeling defeated and pessimistic, Joyce reluctantly agrees to dinner at the home of her best friend, Sister, and finds not only a perfect meal but a tall, dark stranger named Nate Anderson. His unexpected presence touches a chord in Joyce that she thought her heart had forgotten how to play.Suddenly, Joyce feels ready to grab a sexy red dress and the life that goes with it . . . if she can keep her girls safe from the forces—useless boyfriends and government agencies—alike against them.

For the first time in more than a decade, New York Times bestselling Grand Master Elizabeth Peters brings beautiful, brainy Vicky Bliss back into the spotlight for one last investigation. But this time the peerless art historian and sleuth will be detecting in Amelia Peabody territory, searching for solutions to more than one heinous offense in the ever-shifting sands of Egypt's mysterious Valley of the Kings.Who stole one of Egypt's most priceless treasuresThat is the question that haunts the authorities after a distinguished British gentleman with an upper-crust accent cons his way past a security guard and escapes into the desert carrying a world-famous, one-of-a-kind historic relic. But the Egyptian authorities and Interpol believe they know the identity of the culprit. The brazen crime bears all the earmarks of the work of one “Sir John Smythe,” the suave and dangerously charming international art thief who is, in fact, John Tregarth, the longtime significant other of Vicky Bliss. But John swears he is retired—not to mention innocent—and he vows to clear his name by hunting down the true criminal.Vicky's faith in her man's integrity leaves her no choice but to take a hiatus from her position at a leading Munich museum and set out for the Middle East. Vicky's employer, the eminent Herr Doktor Anton Z. Schmidt, rotund gourmand and insatiable adventurer, decides to join the entourage.But dark days and myriad dangers await them in this land of intriguing antiquity. Each uncovered clue seems to raise even more questions for the intrepid Vicky—the most troubling being, Where is John going during his increasingly frequent and unexplained absencesAnd the stakes are elevated considerably when a ransom note arrives accompanied by a grisly memento intended to speed up negotiations—because now it appears that murder most foul has been added to the equation.

Known for her lush, intricate worlds and complex characters, acclaimed author Martha Wells has delighted readers with her extraordinary fantasy novels of daring and wit. With The Wizard Hunters she launched her most ambitious undertaking yet -- the return to the beloved world of the Nebula Award-nominated The Death of the Necromancer and The Fall of Ile-Rien. Now the saga continues in a triumph of suspense and imagination.Despite a valiant struggle against superior forces, the country of Ile-Rien has fallen to the onslaught of the relentless Gardier, a faceless army of sorcerers determined to conquer all civilization.To save the remnants of her country, former playwright Tremaine Valiarde undertakes an epic journey to stop the Gardier. Rescuing the proud ship Queen Ravenna from destruction, Tremaine and a resolute band of sorcerers and warriors set sail across magical seas on a voyage of danger and discovery. For the secret to defeating the enemy -- and to rescuing the world from the Gardier's inimitable hatred -- lies far beyond the walls of the world, and only the tenuous ties of friendship and honor will keep the band together.But the Gardier are not the only evil in this tumultuous world, and an ancient terror stalks the ornate rooms and shadowy decks of the Queen Ravenna -- a force so malevolent and enigmatic that even the growing power of the sorcerer's sphere may not be enough to save Ile-Rien from utter ruin.

The feds want Miami bookmaker Harry Arno to squeal on his wiseguy boss. So they're putting word out on the street that Arno's skimming profits from "Jimmy Cap" Capotorto—which he is, but everybody does it. He was planning to retire to Italy someday anyway, so Harry figures now's a good time to get lost. U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens knows Harry's tricky—the bookie ditched him once in an airport while in the marshal's custody—but not careful. So Raylan's determined to find the fugitive's Italian hideaway before a cold-blooded Sicilian "Zip" does and whacks Arno for fun. After all, it's a "pride thing"...and it might even put Raylan in good stead with Harry's sexy ex-stripper girlfriend Joyce.

When he kicked off, Florida mob boss Frank DiCilia left his gorgeous widow Karen everything, but with strings attached. She loses the millions, the cars, the palatial Gold Coast mansion if she ever gets involved with another man. And there's a crazy cowboy-wannabe thug named Roland who's acting as Frank's eyes beyond the grave, making sure Karen doesn't dally, with serious muscle, if necessary. But now Cal Maguire's come into the picture. A sexy, street-smart Detroit ex-con, Cal's got a line and a scam for every occasion. And he's got the perfect plan for getting Karen DiCilia her money and her freedom ... if it doesn't get them both killed first.

The drinks are on Sunshine State historian/spree killer Serge A. Storms, who's decided it's high time he got married. So he's motoring down to the Florida Keys -- the ultimate end of the line -- in search of Ms. Right . . .and finding his doped-up basket case bud Coleman along the way. But for Serge, "getting hitched" doesn't necessarily mean "settling down" -- not when South Florida is crawling with slimeballs, swindlers, unrepentant jerks, and annoying bystanders whose ranks need some serious thinning.

Here's the ultimate of ultimates: nine hundred new recipes from Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, the authors of the Ultimate cookbook series. With a quarter million books already in print, their series has followed a simple recipe to success: Give cooks hundreds of solid, basic recipes with thousands of ways to vary them, shake them up, and personalize them so that everyone can be an ultimate cook!With The Ultimate Cook Book, Weinstein and Scarbrough tackle everything from breakfast to barbecue, stir-fries to steaks, chilis to curries, and paellas to puddings. Pick your favorite, cook it as a solid basic, or vary it in hundreds of ways to make the dish your own. You've got years' worth of dishes and a world of cooking experiences ahead of you. What could be more fun?Take chicken, that ubiquitous blank canvas. Roast a whole bird to perfection. Bake it under a salt crust for a dramatic presentation. Roast chicken halves atop winter squash. Prepare a Greek-style casserole with leeks, pine nuts, and raisins. Stuff chicken breasts with a Moroccan-inspired mixture of couscous and spices. There are more than thirty ideas for preparing boneless, skinless chicken breasts. And ten things to do with a leftover roast chicken or that rotisserie bird purchased on the way home. Get the idea?This comprehensive, easy-to-use compendium is the ultimate in inspiration, the ultimate in possibilities. Start your Ultimate cookbook collection today—or round it out with The Ultimate Cook Book.

Develop interactive Arduino-based Internet projects with Ethernet and WiFiAbout This BookBuild Internet-based Arduino devices to make your home feel more secureLearn how to connect various sensors and actuators to the Arduino and access data from InternetA project-based guide filled with schematics and wiring diagrams to help you build projects incrementally Who This Book Is For This book is intended for those who want to learn more about Arduino and make Internet-based interactive projects with Arduino. If you are an experienced software developer who understands the basics of electronics, then you can quickly learn how to build the Arduino projects explained in this book.What You Will LearnMake a powerful Internet controlled relay with an embedded web server to monitor and control your home electrical appliancesBuild a portable Wi-Fi signal strength sensor to give haptic feedback about signal strength to the userMeasure water flow speed and volume with liquid flow sensors and record real-time readingsSecure your home with motion-activated Arduino security cameras and upload images to the cloudImplement real-time data logging of a solar panel voltage with Arduino cloud connectorsTrack locations with GPS and upload location data to the cloudControl a garage door light with your Twitter feedControl infrared enabled devices with IR remote and Arduino In Detail Arduino is a small single-chip computer board that can be used for a wide variety of creative hardware projects. The hardware consists of a simple microcontroller, board, and chipset. It comes with a Java-based IDE to allow creators to program the board. Arduino is the ideal open hardware platform for experimenting with the world of the Internet of Things. This credit card sized Arduino board can be used via the Internet to make more useful and interactive Internet of things projects. Internet of Things with Arduino Blueprints is a project-based book that begins with projects based on IoT and cloud computing concepts. This book covers up to eight projects that will allow devices to communicate with each other, access information over the Internet, store and retrieve data, and interact with users—creating smart, pervasive, and always-connected environments. It explains how wired and wireless Internet connections can be used with projects and the use of various sensors and actuators. The main aim of this book is to teach you how Arduino can be used for Internet-related projects so that users are able to control actuators, gather data from various kinds of sensors, and send and receive data wirelessly across HTTP and TCP protocols. Finally, you can use these projects as blueprints for many other IoT projects and put them to good use. By the end of the book, you will be an expert in the use of IoT with Arduino to develop a set of projects that can relate very well to IoT applications in the real world.Style and approach Every chapter in this book clearly explains how to assemble components through easy-to-follow steps on while laying out important concepts, code snippets, and expected output results so that you can easily end up with a successful project where you can also enhance or modify the project according to your requirements.

Harness the power of Nginx to make the most of your infrastructure and serve pages faster than ever About This Book ?Discover possible interactions between Nginx and Apache to get the best of both worlds ?Learn to exploit the features offered by NGinx for your web applications ?Get the newest techniques available, designed with the latest version in mind Who This Book Is For By covering both the early setup stages and advanced topics, this book suits web administrators who interested in solutions to optimize their infrastructure, whether you are looking into replacing your existing web server software or integrating a new tool to cooperate with applications that are already up and running. If you, your visitors, and your operating system have been disappointed by Apache, this book is exactly what you need. What You Will Learn ?Get to know the basics of the Nginx configuration: syntax, structure, and semantics ?Understand the advanced load balancing functionality of Nginx and the newest innovative IO mechanisms ?Create virtual host configurations effortlessly ?Discover all the first-party modules: how to enable, configure, and use them ?Establish advanced rewrite rules with the Nginx Rewrite module ?Set up Nginx to work with PHP, Python, and more via FastCGI ?Configure Nginx to work as frontend for your existing HTTP server ?Manipulate configuration files with ease and adapt them to various situations ?Discover the common pitfalls and find out how to avoid them In Detail Nginx is a lightweight HTTP server designed for high-traffic websites, with network scalability as the primary objective. With the advent of high speed Internet access, short loading times and fast transfer rates have become a necessity. This free, open source solution will either come as a full replacement of other software such as Apache, or stand in front of your existing infrastructure to improve its overall speed. This book is a detailed guide to setting up Nginx in different ways that correspond to actual production situations: as a standalone server, as a reverse proxy, interacting with applications via FastCGI, and more. In addition, this complete directive reference will be your best friend at all stages of the configuration and maintenance processes. This book is the perfect companion for both Nginx beginners and experienced administrators. For beginners, it will take you through the complete process of setting up this lightweight HTTP server on your system and configuring its various modules so it does exactly what you need quickly and securely. For more experienced administrators, this book provides different approaches that can help you make the most of your current infrastructure. Nginx can be employed in many situations, whether you are looking to construct an entirely new web-serving architecture or simply want to integrate an efficient tool to optimize your site loading speeds. Style and approach This tutorial-style book includes detailed instructions on each of the processes it describes, as well as step-by-step tutorials, commented configuration sections, and in-depth module de*ions, so you can make the most of the performance potential offered by Nginx.

《中學普通話水平考試研究》是香港理工大學中文及雙語學系測試組在普通話評估領域的一項成果。學者透過實證研究，探討語言教學和語言測試的規劃與實踐、聆聽語料的選擇和調整、學生聆聽表現的評估、語音測量的音位學基礎、規範表達、語音間接表現、朗讀與說話表現等，完整地展現了從語言規劃至設計普通話説話和聆聽測試內容時遇到的問題，以及有效的解決方案。理據充足，很具參考價值。

《尋材賞味》是廚師們對美食的終身學習課題，作者祟尚不時不食的飲食理念，並貫徹執行。並堅守承傳創新的烹調哲學，做菜技藝和賞味層次才可以提升。尋材是廚師必需懂得和學習的知識，從生長、挑選和認知，缺一不可，方能配合烹調技藝，平凡滋味震撼人心，才是真正的美食。 作者楊康泓先生在書中在書中介紹了40款家常中菜，強調選材的要點，以科學角度解釋烹調過程的變化和技巧，文字淺白，說理清晰，之中加插飲食故事，讀來趣味盎然，讀者可知其然亦可知其所以然，實在不難在賞味和烹調的範疇內得到更深的體會。