It is April 1900 on the imaginary island of Mingheria --- a state of the Ottoman Empire --- located between Crete and Cyprus. Half the population is Muslim, the other half are Orthodox Greeks, and tension is high between the two. When a plague arrives, the island revolts. To stop the epidemic, an accomplished quarantine expert races to the island. What follows is a shocking murder. The plague continues its rapid spread and stricter quarantine measures are declared, but the incompetence of the island’s governor, increased hostility between the two religions, and the people’s refusal to respect the bans doom the quarantine to failure. As the death count rises, warships blockade the island to keep the disease from spreading. Now the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves.

It is April 1900 on the imaginary island of Mingheria --- a state of the Ottoman Empire --- located between Crete and Cyprus. Half the population is Muslim, the other half are Orthodox Greeks, and tension is high between the two. When a plague arrives, the island revolts. To stop the epidemic, an accomplished quarantine expert races to the island. What follows is a shocking murder. The plague continues its rapid spread and stricter quarantine measures are declared, but the incompetence of the island’s governor, increased hostility between the two religions, and the people’s refusal to respect the bans doom the quarantine to failure. As the death count rises, warships blockade the island to keep the disease from spreading. Now the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves.

From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Part detective story, part historical epic --- a bold and brilliant novel that imagines a plague ravaging a fictional island in the Ottoman Empire.

It is April 1900 on the imaginary island of Mingheria --- a state of the Ottoman Empire --- located between Crete and Cyprus. Half the population is Muslim, the other half are Orthodox Greeks, and tension is high between the two. When a plague arrives, the island revolts.

To stop the epidemic, an accomplished quarantine expert races to the island, but not everyone is happy with the precautions or the quarantine he enforces. What follows is a shocking murder. The plague continues its rapid spread and stricter quarantine measures are declared, but the incompetence of the island’s governor, increased hostility between the two religions, and the people’s refusal to respect the bans doom the quarantine to failure. As the death count rises to insurmountable amounts, warships blockade the island to keep the disease from spreading. Now the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves.

Steeped in history and rife with suspense, NIGHTS OF PLAGUE is an epic story set more than 100 years ago, with themes that feel remarkably contemporary.

Audiobook available, read by Amira Ghazalla

When I receive a letter from my glamorous best friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s fall collection. Darcy has asked me to take on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind.

When I receive a letter from my glamorous best friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s fall collection. Darcy has asked me to take on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind.

Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her dashing husband, Darcy, are awaiting a bundle of joy, but an unexpected trip to Paris will thrust them straight into a tangled web of international intrigue in this all-new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series from Rhys Bowen.

What a delight it is to finally be able to enjoy a simple meal again! I have been in the throes of morning sickness for the last few months as Darcy and I prepare to welcome a brand-new addition to our little family. Now that I am feeling better, I have realized I am dreadfully bored! It seems that all my nearest and dearest are off leading their own busy lives while I sit at home and attempt to train our two adorably naughty puppies. Fun as it may be, it is hard not to long for a little adventure, a change of pace, before my true confinement begins when the baby comes.

Happily, it seems that Darcy has read my mind. When I receive a letter from my glamorous best friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s fall collection. I happen to know Coco from a disastrous encounter in Nice years ago, and I am hoping this visit will go much more smoothly. But I soon learn that nothing about my time in Paris is going to be simple...or safe for that matter.

Darcy has asked me to take on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind. But I have no plans to deliver my darling little one in a prison cell, and so I will muster every ounce of my courage to save the day...and, quite possibly, the world!

Audiobook available, read by Jasmine Blackborow

1946. Fresh from the War in Europe, hack writer Jacob Heppleman discovers a changed world back home. The pulp magazines he used to write for are dying, replaced by a revolutionary new publishing racket: paperback novels. As “Jack Holly,” Jacob finds success as the author of scandalously bestselling crime novels. He prides himself on the authenticity of his work, which means picking the brains of some less than reputable characters. Meanwhile, as Hollywood comes calling, the entire industry also comes under fire from censorious politicians out to tame the paperback jungle in the name of public morality. Targeted by both Congress and the Mob, Jay may end up the victim of his own success --- unless he can write his way to a happier ending.

1946. Fresh from the War in Europe, hack writer Jacob Heppleman discovers a changed world back home. The pulp magazines he used to write for are dying, replaced by a revolutionary new publishing racket: paperback novels. As “Jack Holly,” Jacob finds success as the author of scandalously bestselling crime novels. He prides himself on the authenticity of his work, which means picking the brains of some less than reputable characters. Meanwhile, as Hollywood comes calling, the entire industry also comes under fire from censorious politicians out to tame the paperback jungle in the name of public morality. Targeted by both Congress and the Mob, Jay may end up the victim of his own success --- unless he can write his way to a happier ending.

PAPERBACK JACK is a brand new historical thriller from Grand Master Loren D. Estleman: lurid paperback covers promised sex and danger, but what went on behind the scenes was nearly as spicy as the adventures between the covers.

1946. Fresh from the War in Europe, hack writer Jacob Heppleman discovers a changed world back home. The pulp magazines he used to write for are dying, replaced by a revolutionary new publishing racket: paperback novels, offering cheap excitement for the common man and woman. Although scorned by the critics, the tawdry drugstore novels sell like hotcakes --- or so Jacob is assured by the enterprising head of Blue Devil Books, a pioneer in paperback publishing, known for its two-fisted heroes and underclad cover girls.

As “Jack Holly,” Jacob finds success as the author of scandalously bestselling crime novels. He prides himself on the authenticity of his work, however, which means picking the brains of some less than reputable characters, including an Irish gangster who wants a cut of the profits --- or else. Meanwhile, as Hollywood comes calling, the entire industry also comes under fire from censorious politicians out to tame the paperback jungle in the name of public morality.

Targeted by both Congress and the Mob, Jay may end up the victim of his own success --- unless he can write his way to a happier ending.

Audiobook available, read by Patrick Lawlor

When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate. After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it’s monumental. But when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn’t finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The murdered body of a forest ranger is found strung up in the town’s park, and Alex learns of a backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before.

When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate. After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it’s monumental. But when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn’t finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The murdered body of a forest ranger is found strung up in the town’s park, and Alex learns of a backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before.

Building upon the highly acclaimed debut of Alice Henderson’s A SOLITUDE OF WOLVERINES and its follow-up thriller, A BLIZZARD OF POLAR BEARS, comes the eagerly anticipated and electrifying third installment, A GHOST OF CARIBOU, in which wildlife biologist Alex Carter encounters an unsolved murder and a town in turmoil while in search of this majestic, all-but-vanished animal. 

When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate. After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it’s monumental.

But when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn’t finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The nearby townspeople are agitated; loggers and activists clash over a swath of old growth forest marked for clearcutting. The murdered body of a forest ranger is found strung up in the town’s park, and Alex learns of a backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before.

As she ventures into the forest in search of the endangered animal, she quickly finds herself in a fight for her life, caught between factions warring for the future of the forest and a murderer stalking the dense groves of ancient trees.

Audiobook available, read by Eva Kaminsky

Proxima b is a planet discovered in 2016. It revolves around our nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Rose Point is an artistic name, given to the planet in this scientific novel. The narrative grows through real and imaginary events, episodes and announcements through dialogues, conversations, discussions, meditations and thoughts, occurring in some scientific centers of space research: an observatory, ESO Garching, ESO La Silla, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, NASA Ames, Boulder University, Johns Hopkins University, SETI, ESA. The characters are researchers --- invented persons and names, but with temperaments and personalities similar to several people whom author Mimoza Hafizi met in her scientific life. They share the same mission: the discovery of new planets outside the solar system.

Proxima b is a planet discovered in 2016. It revolves around our nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Rose Point is an artistic name, given to the planet in this scientific novel. The narrative grows through real and imaginary events, episodes and announcements through dialogues, conversations, discussions, meditations and thoughts, occurring in some scientific centers of space research: an observatory, ESO Garching, ESO La Silla, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, NASA Ames, Boulder University, Johns Hopkins University, SETI, ESA. The characters are researchers --- invented persons and names, but with temperaments and personalities similar to several people whom author Mimoza Hafizi met in her scientific life. They share the same mission: the discovery of new planets outside the solar system.

Proxima b is a planet discovered in 2016. It revolves around our nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Rose Point is an artistic name, given to the planet in this scientific novel.

The narrative grows through real and imaginary events, episodes and announcements through dialogues, conversations, discussions, meditations and thoughts, occurring in some scientific centers of space research, chosen from the most important ones: an observatory, ESO Garching, ESO La Silla, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, NASA Ames, Boulder University, Johns Hopkins University, SETI, ESA. The characters, a dozen, are researchers --- invented persons and names, but with temperaments and personalities similar to several people the author met in her scientific life. They share the same mission: the discovery of new planets outside the solar system.

The scientific truth is uncovered step by step through the four chapters of the book. How are the other planets? How can we know about these small and dark worlds, tens or hundreds, even thousands light years away? How sophisticated and intelligent are our methods? What breathtaking progress is used in new generation telescopes and other instruments? What kind of personality are scientists? What is their motivation? Why is it so important for humans to know the upper world? How rich is it? Are there aliens? Do we wait for them? Or are we pursuing them?

The lecturer can find the answers without the aid of long formulas and complicated scientific terms. The freedom of fiction allows the professional researchers to be main characters and to express their typical thoughts. It also gives the possibility to entangle scientific and personal stories in such a way that any reader can find something from his/her own life.