本书精选法国著名作家莫泊桑的39篇中短篇小说，有《羊脂球》《我的叔叔于勒》《项链》等不朽名篇，内容丰富多彩，结构巧妙动人。

小说以主人公夏冲从4岁到31岁的经历、见闻为主要线索，时间跨度为1976年至2008年。 夏冲是一个对悲剧非常敏感的人，发现周围生活中到处是被忽略的悲剧，他的父母、少年时代的朋友等人都在各种悲剧之中，与传统悲剧不同的是，这些悲剧往往被看作是理所当然，不足为奇。小说叙述的半个爱情故事则是悲剧中的一抹暖色，女主人公戚敏与夏冲同样年轻、聪明，但更平静，也懂得安之若素。夏冲经历了三次“寂静”时期，他不清楚为什么生活如此平淡又令人激动，无论时代如何变化，这国家这生活都像一条龙，庞大、强力、野心勃勃，而主人公则像一只蝉，疏离、弱小、难以平静。当他到了成熟的年纪，成了一名律师，却仍受制于往日记忆，不得自由。2008年北京奥运会之前，中国已经成了一个崭新的国家，生活完全变了。这时夏冲回首往事，就像蝉发出了一

In Mojave Crossing," " Louis L'Amour takes William TellSackett on a treacherous passage from the Arizona goldfields to thebooming town of Los Angeles. Tell Sackett was no ladies' man, buthe could spot trouble easily enough. And Dorinda Robiseau was thekind of trouble he wanted to avoid at any time--even more so whenhe had thirty pounds of gold in his saddlebags and a long way totravel. But when she begged him for safe passage to Los Angeles,Sackett reluctantly agreed. Now he's on a perilous journey throughthe most brutal desert on the continent, traveling with a companionhe doesn't trust...and headed for a confrontation with a deadlygunman who also bears the name of Sackett.

The newest in the nationally bestselling series -- a"fast-paced and absorbing" tale (Midwest Book Review). Ex-lawyerand herb-shop proprietor China Bayles is investigating the mysteryof retired Texas Ranger shot dead with his wife's gun...and at thesame time trying to sort out some mysteries about her ownrelationship after she overhears a suspicious phoneconversation...

When the sheepish Wuhses are taken advantage of by theoverbearing Pervects, Skeeve teams up with Zol Icty--self-helpexpert and bestselling author of "Imps Are from Imper, Deveels Arefrom Deva"--on a mythion in personal empowerment.

A haunting novel about a mother and son and the emotionalconsequences of leaving home The matriarch Bilqis Khan, a widoweduniversity professor, is dismayed when her only son Samad marriesKate, a white Australian woman, and settles in Melbourne ratherthan returning home to Pakistan. Though Samad attempts to convincehis mother to join them in Australia, she insists on remaining inKarachi, presiding over the family's crumbling estate, even whiletensions in the government are mounting, making the countryprogressively more dangerous. Meanwhile, Bilqis's devoted servantMumtaz enters a relationship with a freedom fighter, risking herand her family's honor, and Bilqis realizes that it is up to her tointervene. The intertwining stories of Bilqis, Samad, and Mumtazoffer a powerful and nuanced portrait of Pakistan in the modernera. Azhar Abidi's precise and elegant prose illuminates thestruggle between a mother and son to reconcile their love for oneanother with their love for the places they call home.

Alex Delaware is back And in Jonathan Kellerman's riveting andingenious new novel, Monster, he faces one of the most grisly andbaffling mysteries of his career: How can a nonfunctional psychoticlocked up in a supposedly secure institution for homicidal madmenpredict brutal murders in the outside world? Delaware and hisfriend and partner Detective Milo Sturgis must penetrate thisenigma in order to stop the horrific killings. A marginal actor isfound dead in a car trunk, sawn in half. Months later, apsychologist at a hospital for the criminally insane is discoveredmurdered and mutilated in a tantalizingly similar way. When reportsof an inmate's incoherent ramblings begin to make frightening senseas predictions of yet more slayings, Delaware and Sturgis are drawninto a web of family secrets, vengeance, and manipulation--bothinside the asylum and on the streets of L.A., where death, drugs,and sex are marketed as commodities. The climactic discovery theymake as they race to prevent more killings gives fresh

Evan Davis and his partners, Brad and Lily, attract the jobsno other detective can handle--cases with a dangerous, otherworldlyslant. But no one is better equipped for this because Lily and Bradare powerful daemon lords, and Evan is Brad's half-daemon son. Now,however, the trio face a real challenge--involving armies ofdaemons, and wealthy mortals who have delved far too deeply intothe dark arts...