MAY CONRAIN MARKUP

By Chris Bradford

In a dangerous world, everyone needs protection.

Bodyguard: Hostage is the new thriller from Chris Bradford, bestselling author of Young Samurai. Bodyguard is a bulletproof action-adventure series that fans of Cherub and Alex Rider will love. This is Lee Child for younger readers - a teenage Jason Bourne for the next generation.

With the rise of teen stars, the intense media focus onceleb families and a new wave of billionaires, adults are no longer the only target for hostage-taking, blackmail and assassination - kids are too.

That's why they need a young bodyguard like Connor Reeves to protect them.

Recruited into the ranks of a covert young bodyguard squad, 14-year-old Connor Reeves embarks on a rigorous close protection course. Training in surveillance, anti-ambush exercises, hostage survival and unarmed combat, he's put through his paces and wonders if he will actually survive the course.

But when the US President summons Connor to protect his impulsive teenage daughter, Connor's training is put to the ultimate test. For Connor discovers that the First Daughter, Alicia, doesn't want to be guarded. She just wants to have fun. And with no clue Connor is her bodyguard, Alicia tries to elude her Secret Service agents and lead Connor astray. But unknown to her, a terrorist sleeper cell has been activated.

Its mission: to take the president's daughter HOSTAGE...

Penguin UK, May 2, 2013, 432 pages

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Ron Hansen

"Scrupulously researched. Hansen's informed interpretation of events makes convincing, if melancholy, reading." -Boston Sunday Globe

"A novel that reads like history." -Austin American-Statesman,

"A carefully crafted and distinctly macabre work of fiction." -Village Voice

"Hansen has written a convincing novel that is provocative, disturbing, and illuminating." -Raleigh News & Observer

"Hansen is a fearless storyteller. . .. [He] creates a savagely human portrait of Hitler. . .. [Hitler's Niece] reads, like all good books, as a vehicle for the writer's obsession--an intelligent, haunting, an‹ oddly devotional exploration of the unimaginable Hitler in love. -BookForum

NY. Perennial. 1999. 321p.

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-IP

By Robert Graves

“The troublesome reign of Tiberius Claudius Caesar, emperor of the Romans (born 10 b.c., died a.d. 54), as described by himself; also his murder at the hands of the notorious agrippin a (mother of the emperor nero) and his subsequent deification, as described by others.”

NY. Vintage Random House. 1962. 584p.

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Billy Hayes with William Hoffer

FROM CHAPTER 1: “Some twelve miles west of Istanbul, beyond the outskirts of the city in the flat farm country near the coast, is Yesilkoy International Airport. Every day at noon Pan American Flight No. 1 arrives from Teheran. It sorts out its incoming and outgoing passengers, then takes off again at one to continue its journey to Frankfort, London, and New York. On October 6, 1970, feeling like an Ian Fleming character, with dark aviator sunglasses over my eyes and my trenchcoat collar pulled up to my ears, I watched Flight No. 1, a Boeing 707, land on the concrete runway. I pulled the brim of my lucky hat low over my eyes and eased up against the wall near the passenger check-in counter. A short pudgy man in his mid-thirties pushed past me…..”

NY. E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. 1977. 285p.

USED BOOK. MAY CONTAIN MARK-UP

By Hilary Mantel

FROM CHAPTER 1:

“So now get up."

Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. His head turns sideways; his eyes are turned toward the gate, as if someone might arrive to help him out. One blow, properly placed, could i kill him now. Blood from the gash on his head--which was his father's first effort is trickling across his face. Add to this, his left eye is blinded; but if he squints sideways, with his right eye he can see that the stitching of his father's boot is unraveling. The twine has sprung clear of the leather, and a hard knot in it has caught his eyebrow and opened another cut.”

NY. Henry Holt and Company. 2009. 548p.

By Madeline Miller

FROM USA TODAY: “"It takes a truly gifted writer to make a song this old feel this beauti- fully new. What's startling about this sharply written, cleverly reimagined, enormously promising debut novel from Madeline Miller is how fresh and moving her take on the tale is--how she has managed to bring Achilles and his companion Patroclus to life in our time without removing them from their own."

NY. Harper Collins. 2012. 426p. USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Colleen McCullough

FROM THE COVER: “The publication thirteen years ago of Birds was a landmark event, a remarkable achievement now surpassed by a novel in which storytelling and scholarship combine to bring to life one of history's most important epochs. The First Man in Rome sweeps the reader into an irresistibly vivid world of political intrigue, danger, wars, assassinations, devas- tating upheaval, intricately passionate family alliances and rivalries - and undeniable reality. It is New Year's Day of 110 B.C., and two of the latest in a long line of noble Roman mediocrities are assuming the coveted mantle of consul. But among those watching are two very different men, men whose vision, ruthlessness, and courage will force shattering change upon the Roman Republic, strug- gling to cope with mushrooming territorial possessions and the growing resentment of the Italians it treats as third-class citizens. One of these two men is Marius, a wealthy rustic barred by his low birth from grasping his prophesied destiny, to become the First Man in Rome- he who stands above all his peers through sheer excellence. The second is (continued on back flap)…..”

NY. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1960. 897p. USED BOOK CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Captain W. E. Johns

FROM THE COVER: Wherever there is trouble brewing in this much-troubled world it is safe to predict that Biggles and his companions will sooner or later be on the spot. In this story they ar- rive, quite casually, in the capitalof British Honduras, to find Car- ruthers, the resident magistrate, in a very perturbed state on account of the activities of a so-called King of the Forest--a man who has established himself somewhere in the interior and is stirring up strife among the Indians; he is suspected, moreover, of collecting chickle-an important product of the colony-and smuggling it over the border and into the United States.

Melbourne. Geoffrey Cumberlege Oxford University Press. 1951. 196p. USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP.

By Captain W. E. Johns

From Chapter 2: “….taking photographs of our defences”

A frown creased Biggles's forehead. 'But that's a scandalous state ofaffairs,' he declared indignantly. 'Do you mean to say that you allow the air force of another power to fly over your country without permission?'

A sad smile crossed the old man's face. He raised his hands, palms outwards. 'Alow? Do you think that we should allow them to do that i f we could stop them? Now perhaps you understand why I've come to you.'

Melbourne. Oxford University Press. 1950. 257p. USED BOOK

By Cape. W. E. Johns

Another in the Biggles series glorifying war and vilifying enemies. . “In which Air Detective-Inspector Bigglesworth takes leave from the Special Air Section Scotland Yard to join the Foreign Legion, and has an adventure involving an old friend, an even older enemy and a near fatal trip to the desolate Valley of the Tartars in Kurdistan.”

London. Hodder and Stoughton. 1954. 198p. USED BOOOK

By J. F. C. Westerman

FROM THE COVER: When JohnWentleyunder- took to fly a British Secret Service agent to a forbidden part he little imagined what would result from his escapade. How he foiled an attempt by a dangerous and un- scrupulous enemy to steal the plans of his recently invented aero engine, took part in two thrilling aerial ducls, and fought against terrific odds to regain the safety of the Swiss border--with secrets in his possession on which de-pended the very existence of the British Empireis excitingly told by one of the foremost writers of boys' adventure stories.

London. The Children's Press. 1930s. 211p. USED BOOK

By Captain W. E. Johns. Illustrated By Alfred Sindall

A boys’ book from the classic series heralding World War 2, and highlighting the excitement and attractiveness of war..

FROM CHAPTER 1: “ PETER FORTYMORE RECEIVES BAD NEWS. THERE was a pensive, almost wistful, expression on the face of the Honourable Peter Fortymore as, with his chin cupped in his hands, he sat at his study window and stared out across the deserted, moonlit playing-fields of Rundell School, where for five years he had been a pupil. The door be- hind him opened, but he did not turn, for he knew from the heavy, deliberate footsteps that the new- comer washis friend and room-mate, Dick Ripley, known throughout the upper school as Rip…”

London. Geoffrey Cumberlege Oxford University Press. 1950. 245p

By Captain W. E. Johns

The classic boys’ books trumpeting the attraction and excitement of war, especially World War 2.

FROM CHAPTER 1: ““Air-Commodore Raymond, Chief of the Air Section of Scotland Yard, greeted his operational staff from behind a paper-littered desk, as, in obedience to his invitation, they filed into his office.

" Pull up some chairs," he requested. "This is only in the nature of a conference, and, strangely enough, for once there's nothing urgent about it. Help yourselves to cigarettes-we may be some time." He pushed the box forward.

London. Holder and Stoughton. 1954. 162p. USED BOOK

By Malcolm Bradbury

FROM THE COVER: Francis Jay, a Nineties person, streetwise but eco- friendly, smart but naive, makes a fool of himself at the Booker Prize ceremony and is determined to salvage his career as a journalist after the collapse of the Sunday newspaper that paid him. Jay embarks on a quest to find one of the greatest philosophers and political thinkers of the modern age, celebrated and respected in academic circles, yet of such obscure origins that he finds it almost impossible to penetrate the myth of the elusive Doctor Bazlo Criminale.

NY. Penguin. 1992. 379p. WELL USED BOOK

By Henry James

From Wikipedia: The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in The Two Magics, published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemannin London. The novella follows a governess who, caring for two children at a remote estate, becomes convinced that the grounds are haunted. The Turn of the Screw is considered a work of both Gothic and horror fiction.

In the century following its publication, critical analysis of the novella underwent several major transformations. Initial reviews regarded it only as a frightening ghost story, but, in the 1930s, some critics suggested that the supernatural elements were figments of the governess' imagination. In the early 1970s, the influence of structuralism resulted in an acknowledgement that the text's ambiguity was its key feature. Later approaches incorporated Marxist and feminist thinking.

• Plot...

  On Christmas Eve, an unnamed narrator and some of his friends are gathered around a fire. One of them, Douglas, reads a manuscript written by his sister's late governess. The manuscript tells the story of her being hired by a man who has become responsible for his young niece and nephew following the deaths of their parents. He lives mainly in London and has a country house in Bly, Essex. The boy, Miles, is attending a boarding school, while his younger sister, Flora, is living in Bly, where she is cared for by Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper. Flora's uncle, the governess's new employer, is uninterested in raising the children and gives her full charge, explicitly stating that she is not to bother him with communications of any sort. The governess travels to Bly and begins her duties…………

NY.London. Collier Macmillan. 1898. 118p.

By Charles Dickens

From Wikipedia: “Like nearly all of Dickens's novels, Martin Chuzzlewit was first published in monthly instalments. Early sales of the monthly parts were lower than those of previous works, so Dickens changed the plot to send the title character to the United States.[3] Dickens had visited America in 1842 in part as a failed attempt to get the US publishers to honour international copyright laws. He satirized the country as a place filled with self-promoting hucksters, eager to sell land sight unseen. In later editions, and in his second visit 24 years later to a much-changed US, he made clear it was satire and not a balanced image of the nation in a speech and then included that speech in all future editions. The main theme of the novel, according to Dickens's preface, is selfishness, portrayed in a satirical fashion using all the members of the Chuzzlewit family. The novel is also notable for two of Dickens's great villains, Seth Pecksniff and Jonas Chuzzlewit. Dickens introduced the first private detective character in this novel.”

By Charles Dickens

A Storm is Gathering in the Heart of London.

In the quiet village of Chigwell, a decades-old murder remains unsolved, its shadow hanging over the crumbling Maypole Inn. In the sweltering, narrow streets of London, a different kind of darkness is brewing: a mob looking for a reason to burn.

Barnaby Rudge is a young man of pure heart and fractured mind, accompanied everywhere by his uncanny companion, Grip the Raven. While Barnaby sees the world in flashes of color and song, the men around him see only power. From the manipulative demagogue Lord George Gordon to the vengeful ghosts of Barnaby's own past, the stage is set for a collision that will leave the city in ashes.

As the infamous Gordon Riots of 1780 ignite, private secrets and public madness intertwine. Charles Dickens’s most atmospheric historical novel is a gripping tale of:

• The "Innocent" caught in the crossfire: A haunting look at how the vulnerable are used by the powerful.

• Family Legacies: A dark exploration of the sins of the father visited upon the son.

• The Roar of the Crowd: A terrifyingly modern depiction of how quickly a protest becomes a catastrophe.

"I'm a devil! I'm a devil!" croaks Grip. In a city consumed by fire and fanaticism, he might be the only one telling the truth.

London Chapmwn Hall. 1870. Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 467p.

By Richard North Patterson

Richard North Patterson is the author of "The Spire" published in 2009. It is a legal thriller about a prominent San Francisco cathedral, its charismatic priest, and the secrets and scandals that threaten to tear the church apart. The story centers on a young female lawyer named Abby Chandlis, who is tasked with defending the church against a lawsuit brought by a former choirboy who alleges that he was sexually abused by a priest. As Abby delves deeper into the case, she uncovers a web of corruption, cover-ups, and betrayals that threatens to destroy the church and the people associated with it. The novel explores themes such as faith, justice, and the abuse of power, and is a thought-provoking and gripping read for fans of legal thrillers.

NY. Macmillan. 2009. 377p.

By Anthony Burgess

From the cover. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE_-Anthony Burgess' most famous novel-is a book of stunning force, the most cogent and terrifying vision of the future since George Orwell's 1984. Adrift in the impersonal, iron-gray society of the superstate, the novel's main character, 15-year-old Alex, leads his gang of teen-age rockers in all-night orgies of random violence and destruction. Told in a slang as electric as the events described, this is Alex's storyo f rapes and stompings and rumbles with the police, of prison life and the frightful "Ludovico Technique" by which Alex is "recon ditioned" into a model citizen, and of his subsequent adventures as a mindless pawn in the cynical hands of the authorities. "A brilliant novel . . . a tour de force in nastiness, an inventive primer in total violence, a savage satire o n t h edistortions o fthe single and collective minds."-New York Times.

NY. W.W. Norton. 1962. 184p.

B y Tim Winton

Penguin Books. 2018. 266p.

"The Shepherd's Hut" is a novel by Australian author Tim Winton, published in 2018. The novel follows the story of Jaxie Clackton, a young Australian boy who flees his abusive father and sets out on foot into the Western Australian outback.

Jaxie's journey takes him through a harsh and unforgiving landscape, where he must fend for himself and face his own inner demons. Along the way, he encounters a mysterious old man named Fintan MacGillis, who lives alone in a remote shepherd's hut.

As Jaxie and Fintan form an unlikely bond, they both confront their pasts and grapple with questions of identity, belonging, and redemption. The novel explores themes of masculinity, violence, and the complex relationship between humans and the natural world.

Winton's prose is spare and poetic, capturing the beauty and brutality of the outback landscape and the emotional turmoil of his characters. The novel has been praised for its powerful storytelling, evocative language, and exploration of important contemporary issues.