Two armed men enter the police station in tiny Heartsdale, Georgia, and open fire. When the shooting stops, an officer is dead, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver is seriously wounded, and the survivors-including a class of grade-school children and medical examiner Sara Linton-are held hostage. In a tense standoff that could erupt at any moment into more bloodletting-with her ex-husband on the threshold of death-Sara must search for answers and an escape...

When a sniper killed his partner, Sean McPherson was injured in the ambush. Now an ex-cop, he takes a job at a writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest. At Pines & Quill, he hopes to heal and put his life back together in the Zen-like capacity of groundskeeper and all-around handyman. Sniper, Jason Hughes, blames McPherson for the loss of more than ten million dollars' worth of heroin―and he wants revenge. In the guise of a New York City limo driver...

Go on another journey with Scarlett and Ivan as they attempt to rescue his sister from Ivan's former boss, and Norwegian crime lord, Kieran "the Punisher." With the help of Scarlett's associates and some high-tech weapons, they embark on a mission across Europe that could be their last.Meanwhile, Scarlett continues to receive phone calls from DEA agent, Aiden Bradley, and CIA supervisor, Collin Kincaid, begging her to come back to the force. When...

Some things are permanent. Indelible. And they cannot be changed back. Joy Malone learns this the night she sees a stranger with all-black eyes across a crowded room-right before the mystery boy tries to cut out her eye. Instead, the wound accidentally marks her as property of Indelible Ink, and this dangerous mistake thrusts Joy into an incomprehensible world-a world of monsters at the window, glowing girls on the doorstep and a life that will never...

I have been the recipient of a treasure chest of family heirlooms. There are old pictures, poems, genealogies, and stories. Because past generations were so faithful to preserve their family history, I felt compelled to preserve their "footprints." My favorite heirloom is a metal crest that dates back to the 1200s. The stamp reveals a bird with writing in the Welsh language which, when translated, reads, "Faith in God makes all things right." I have...

Pull back the canvas circus tent flap. Step inside. Cotton candy is a dime. The music begins, the audience hushes in anticipation. The spotlight glimmers on the performers, and the rest of the world melts away as the magic unfolds. Trapeze flyer Tattooed Matilda finishes her signature act one night and seconds later, she's hurtling toward the tanbark floor of the ring. Horribly injured she struggles to make sense of her condition while she grasps...

Twelve years ago, Charlie Crawford shot dead his two lesbian neighbors. Now he's terminally ill and requesting early release from prison. Back then, Sharon and her friends fought to bring him to justice. Now she has to find the strength to fight again. But the man who killed her friends also took her sobriety. And with it he took her partner, Laura. Sober again, all Sharon has left is a life she's just about surviving. She'll do what she can to...

"An award-winning journalist and longtime Hong Konger indelibly captures the place, its people, and the untold history they are claiming, just as it is being erased. Lim's deeply researched--and deeply personal--account casts often startling new light on key moments: the British takeover in 1842, the negotiations leading to its 'return' to China in 1997, the current protests, and the future Beijing seeks to impose. Throughout, it is populated by contemporary...

Indelible: Scrolls From the TeatroWhen the opportunity arose in a conference room of a bustling hospitality company, the unveiling of plans for an international resort destination, a Moroccan jewel, Marjorie awakened to the calling and headed across the Atlantic. Despite the camaraderie and lively cafe scene in Marrakech, when the financiers' scuffle broke out, a coercive attempt by their competition, the mysterious disappearance of her colleague,...

Body art can tell personal stories… When linked to a difficult or traumatic life, it can even restore one's sense of well-being. As director of a community health center for twenty-seven years and as a nurse practitioner for over forty years, Donna Torrisi became fascinated with the stories behind her patients' tattoos. When she began to ask her female patients about their markings, themes of trauma, pain, and loss emerged, and it became clear that...