Written during 1951-52, this novel was an underground legendby the time it was finally published in 1972. Written in anexperimental form, Kerouac created the ultimate account of hisvoyages with Neal Cassady, which he captured in a different formfor On the Road.

In the stillness of a golden September afternoon, deep in thewilderness of the Rockies, a solitary craftsman, Grady Adams, andhis magnificent Irish wolfhound, Merlin, step from shadow intolight...and into an encounter with mystery. That night, a pair ofsingular animals will watch Grady's isolated home, waiting to maketheir approach. A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian, beginsto unravel the threads of a puzzle that will bring to her door allthe forces of a government in peril. At a nearby farm, long-estranged identical twins come togetherto begin a descent into darkness...In Las Vegas, a specialist inchaos theory probes the boundaries of the unknowable...On a Seattlegolf course, two men make matter-of-fact arrangements formurder...Along a highway by the sea, a vagrant scarred by the pastbegins a trek toward his destiny. In a novel that is at once wholly of our time and timeless,fearless and funny, Dean Koontz takes readers into the momentbetween one turn of the world and the next, acros

NOTHING BUT TROUBLEFlagan and Galloway Sackett had settled anold family debt and were heading west from Tennessee to seek theirfortune. That's when they came across an old Irish horse trader whooffered them two fine horses if they agreed to escort hisgranddaughter, Judith, to her father in Colorado. Flagan sawnothing but trouble in the pretty, fiery young woman. But theyneeded and wanted the horses. Unfortunately, Flagan was right, forJudith had fallen for James Black Fetchen, a charismatic gunmanwhose courtship hid the darkest of intentions. Now Fetchen and hisgang are racing the Sackett brothers to Colorado -- leaving a trailof betrayal, robbery, and murder. Flagan and Galloway could onlyguess why Judith is so important to Fetchen and what awaits them ather father's ranch. One thing Flagan knows for sure: The tough andspirited woman had won his heart. But could he trust her with hislife?Our foremost storyteller of the authentic West, L'Amour hasthrilled a nation by chronicling the adventures of the brave m

Book De*ion Dean Koontz’s uniquetalent for writing terrifying thrillers with a heart and soul isnowhere more evident than in this latest suspense masterpiece thatpits one man against the ultimate deadline. If there were speedlimits for the sheer pulse-racing excitement allowed in one novel,Velocity would break them all. Get ready for the ride of yourlife. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. A diabolic killer plays a harrowing game of catand mouse with a reclusive bartender in Koontz's latest grippingsuspense thriller. Billy Wiles, a 30-something bartender and formerwriter, is content with his solitary Napa County existencelistening to "beer-based psychoanalysis" from tavern regulars;visiting his hospitalized, comatose fiancée, Barbara; and carvingwood sculptures. But the simple life gets mighty complicated whenhe finds a note with a deadly, time-sensitive ultimatum: he mustchoose between the death of a young schoolteacher or an elderlyhumanitarian in six hours. Reluctant local s

When two male and two female supremely sensual, unspeakablycerebral humans find themselves under attack from aliens who wanttheir awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies -- andzoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller coaster ride of adventureand danger, ecstasy and peril.

From universally beloved author Alexander McCall Smith, comesthis seventh installment in the bestselling No. 1 Ladies' DetectiveAgency series featuring Botswana's best-loved detective. Life isgood for Mma Ramotswe as she sets out with her usual resolve tosolve people's problems, heal their misfortunes, and untangle themysteries that make life interesting. And life is never dull onTlokweng Road. A new and rather too brusque advice columnist isappearing in the local paper. Then, a cobra is found in the officesof the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Recently, the Mokolodi GamePreserve manager feels an infectious fear spreading among hisworkers, and a local doctor may be falsifying blood pressurereadings. To further complicate matters, Grace Makutsi may havescared off her own fiance. Mma Ramotswe, however, is always up tothe challenge. And "Blue Shoes and Happiness" will not fail toentertain Alexander McCall Smith's oldest fans and newest convertswith its great wit, charm, and great good will.

He saw her across the Piazza San Marco and fell in love fromafar. When he sees her again in a Venice café a year later, heknows it is fate. He knows little English; and she, a divorcedAmerican chef, speaks only food-based Italian. Marlena thinks sheis incapable of intimacy, that her heart has lost its capacity forromantic love. But within months of their first meeting, she haspacked up her house in St. Louis to marry Fernando—“the stranger,”as she calls him—and live in that achingly lovely city in whichthey met. Vibrant but vaguely baffled by this bold move, Marlena isoverwhelmed by the sheer foreignness of her new home, its ritualsand customs. But there are delicious moments when Venice opens upits arms to Marlena. She cooks an American feast of Mississippicaviar, cornbread, and fried onions for the locals . . . and takesthe tango she learned in the Poughkeepsie middle school gym to acandlelit trattoría near the Rialto Bridge. All the while, she andFernando, two disparate souls, build

They tried to tell him that his father had killed himself, butKearney McRaven knew better. No matter what life had dealt him, hisfather would go down fighting. And as he delved deeper into themystery, he learned that just before his father died, the elderMcRaven had experienced a remarkable run of luck: he'd won nearlyten thousand dollars and the deed to a cattle ranch. Not yeteighteen, Kearney was determined enough to track down his father'smurderer and claim what was rightfully his. Now, followed everystep of the way by a shadowy figure, Kearney must solve the mysteryof his father's hidden past--a past that concealed a cold-bloodedkiller who would stop at nothing to keep a chilling secret.

Undeniably powerful, an enormously affecting and intenselyhuman story. --The Washington Post Book World "A GUT-WRENCHING PIECE OF WORK. . . Carcaterra's graphic narrativegrips like gunfire in a dark alley." --The Atlanta Journal Constitution "In his controversial memoir SLEEPERS, Carcaterra remembersharrowing months in the Wilkinson Home for Boys and the elaboratevengeance he and his friends exacted against the guards. He tellsit all in spare, stylish prose . . . [with] relentless momentum andsheer drama. . . . SLEEPERS is a thriller, to be sure, but it isequally a wistful hymn to another age." --The Washington Post Book World "A TERRIFYING ACCOUNT OF BRUTALITY AND RETRIBUTION, searing in itsemotional truth, peopled with murderers, sadists, and thugs, butbiblical in its passion and scope." --People "SLEEPERS is so many things: a Dickensian portrait of coming of agein Hell's Kitchen, a terrifying and heartbreaking account of thebrutalization of youth, a shocking--and disturbinglysatisfying--climax worthy of

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson return to the vivid universeof Frank Herbert's Dune, bringing a vast array of rich and complexcharacters into conflict to shape the destiny of worlds....DUNEHOUSE HARKONNENAs Shaddam sits at last on the Golden Lion Throne,Baron Vladimir Harkonnen plots against the new Emperor and HouseAtreides -- and against the mysterious Sisterhood of the BeneGesserit. For Leto Atreides, grown complacent and comfortable asruler of his House, it is a time of momentous choice: betweenfriendship and duty, safety and destiny. But for the survival ofHouse Atreides, there is just one choice -- strive for greatness orbe crushed.

Mining crimes of the past and politics, Truman ( Murder at thePentagon ) scants the basic plotting requirements of her 11thCapital Crimes case, which is marred by superfluous unsolvedmurders and an unconvincing conclusion. When the body of PaulineJuris, personal secretary of wealthy developer Wendell Tierney, isfound in the Potomac River, Tierney calls former attorney, now lawprofessor, Mackenzie Smith for advice. Mac, whose beloved wifeAnnabel wants him to stop dabbling in detection, agrees to seeWendell, but he refuses to ferret out the police line on the case,even though a former student of his heads the investigation team.Tierney, becoming chief suspect when love letters, purportedly fromhim, are found in the dead woman's apartment, again begs for Mac'shelp. Both Mac and Annabel are drawn into the case, which takes onanother twist when the suspect's adopted son, Sun Ben Cheong, isarrested for money laundering. Truman plumps up Mac's low-keysleuthing with the goings on of the fictitious Scarlet Sin

Let number-one New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts fly you into Lunacy, Alaska, and into a colorful, compelling new novel about two lonely souls who find love - and redemtion... Lunacy was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he'd watched his partner die on the street - and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as chief of police in this tiny, remote Alaskan town, where the peace provides a balm for his shattered soul - and an unexpected affair with pilot Meg Galloway warms his nights... But other things in Lunacy are heating up. Nate suspects the killer in an unsolved murder still walks the snowy streets. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface, as well as bring out the big-city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place. And his discovery will threaten the new life - and the new love - that he has finally found for herself.

In 1975, the now defunct Laser Books issued Invasion byAaron Wolfe, aka Koontz (who later expanded that novel into Winter Moon , 1994), a breakneck tale of alien invasioncentered on an isolated farm. Koontz's new novel also concernsalien invasion, and a comparison of the two books offers insightinto the evolution of this megaselling author's work. Invasion was mostly speed and suspense—a brilliant ifsuperficial exercise in terror. The new novel also featuresabundant suspense, as a couple in an isolated California homeendure a phosphorescent rain and learn that, around the world, something is attacking humans and laying waste tocommunications. It's only when they drive to a nearby town thatthey learn of a global alien invasion; the tension ratchets as aweird fog descends and the aliens not only manifest physically butanimate the dead. For years, however, Koontz has aimed at more thanjust thrills; today he is a novelist of metaphysics and moralreflection. His aliens are inherently evil as well as scary;s

There are few authors who can weave nail-biting thrills,edge-of-your-seat drama, and romantic suspense as masterfully asJulie Garwood. Now she ratchets up the tension with "Murder List,"in which evil is on the hunt- and proves to be methodicallyorganized and chillingly successful. When Chicago detective AlecBuchanan is offered a prime position with the FBI, it is theperfect opportunity to leave the Windy City and follow in hisbrothers' footsteps to the top echelons of law enforcement. Butfirst he must complete one last assignment (and one that he is nottoo happy about): acting as a glorified bodyguard to hotel heiressRegan Hamilton Madison. The gorgeous exec has become entangled insome potentially deadly business. Someone has e-mailed her agraphic crime-scene photo-and the victim is no stranger. Regansuspects that the trouble started when she agreed to help ajournalist friend expose a shady self-help guru who preys onlonely, vulnerable women. In fact, the smooth-as-an-oil-slick Dr.Lawrence Shields may

The latest "New York Times" bestseller by "America's mostpopular suspense novelist" ("Rolling Stone") is the story ofHollywood's most dazzling star whose perfectly ordered life isunder siege by an insidious killer.

The latest installment of this universally beloved andbest-selling series finds Precious Ramotswe in personal need of herown formidable detection talents . . . . Mma Ramotswe's ever-readytiny white van has recently developed a rather disturbing noise. Ofcourse, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni-her estimable husband and one ofBotswana's most talented mechanics--is the man to turn to for help.But Precious suspects he might simply condemn the van and replaceit with something more modern. Can she find a way to save her oldfriend? In the meantime, Mma Makutsi discovers that her old rivalViolet Sephotho, who could not have gotten more than fifty percenton her typing final at the Botswana Secretarial College, has sether sights on none other than Mma Makutsi's fiance, PhutiRadiphuti. Can Mma Ramotswe's intuition save the day? Finally, theproprietor of a local football team has enlisted the No. 1 Ladies'Detective Agency to help explain its dreadful losing streak. Theowner of the team is convinced he as a traitor in his mids

Past midnight, Chyna Shepherd, twenty- six, gazed out a moonlitwindow, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley homeof her best friend's family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderoussociopath, Edgler Forman Vess, has entered the house, intent onkilling everyone inside. A self-proclaimed "homicidal adventure,"Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immensehimself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse or limits, tolive with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit. Chyna is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safetyand self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At firsther sole aim is to get out alive-until, by chance, she learns theidentity of Vess's next intended victim, a faraway innocent onlyshe can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaningbeyond mere self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resourceshe has to save an endangered girl—as moment by moment, theterrifying threat Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies.

Valerie Simpson is a young female tennis star with a troubledpast who's now on the verge of a comeback and wants Myron as heragent. Myron, who's also got the hottest young male tennis star,Duane Richwood, primed to take his first grand slam tournament,couldn't be happier. That is, until Valerie is murdered in broaddaylight at the U.S. Open and Myron's number one client becomes thenumber one suspect. Clearing Duane's name should be easy enough.Duane was playing in a match at the time of Valerie's death. Butwhy is his phone number in Valerie's black book when he claims onlyto have known her in passing? Why was she calling him from a phonebooth on the street? The police stop caring once they pin themurder on a man known for having stalked Valerie and seen talkingto her moments before the murder. But Myron isn't satisfied. Itseems too clean for him. Myron pries a bit and finds himself pryingopen the past where six years before, Valerie's fiancee, the son ofa senator, was brutally murdered by a juvenile del

One minute, down and out actor Lorenzo Smythe was -- as usual-- in a bar, drinking away his troubles as he watched his career godown the tubes. Then a space pilot bought him a drink, and the nextthing Smythe knew, he was shanghaied to Mars. Suddenly he foundhimself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career:impersonating an important politician who had been kidnapped. Peacewith the Martians was at stake -- failure to pull off the act couldresult in interplanetary war. And Smythe's own life was on the line-- for if he wasn't assassinated, there was always the possibilitythat he might be trapped in his new role forever!