Rune Sarasin is about to learn just how quickly the life of a jewel thief can spiral out of control.… Seven days are all it takes for Rune Sarasin’s life to completely derail. It starts with a routine heist: lifting a pouch of rubies from the Bangkok hotel room of wealthy smuggler Charles Lemaire. Rune nearly gets caught when Lemaire’s goons give chase, but she manages to escape with her boyfriend Kit. Then Kit delivers some terrifying news: his teenage sister Madee has gone missing. They track her cell phone to the dangerous Khlong Toei slum, but the trail ends there. The night gets even worse when Rune realizes she lost the pouch of gems somewhere in the slum while searching for Madee. Charles Lemaire is the wrong man to mess with. He is a perfectionist when it comes to both his attire and his crimes, and he isn’t afraid to kill to get what he wants. When he catches up to Rune and Kit, he gives Rune an ultimatum: return his rubies or she will never see her boyfriend again. Now Rune must race against time to either recover the lost gems or find something even more valuable with which to ransom Kit back from Lemaire. But she also still needs to find out what happened to Madee. As Rune investigates deeper into the shadows of the Khlong Toei slum, she uncovers a web of crime with consequences far more insidious than just one missing girl and a handful of stolen rubies. Hurtling from the back alleys of Bangkok to the glamorous auction houses of New York City, Mailan Doquang’s heart-pounding debut will leave readers questioning just how far they would go for the ones they love.

For underworld enforcer Richard "Rico" Sanders, it seemed like an ordinary job: retrieve his gangster boss's stolen goods, and teach the person responsible a lesson. But the chase quickly goes sideways and takes Rico from the mean streets of Chicago to sunny Honolulu. There, the hardened hit man finds himself in uncharted territory, when innocent bystanders are accidentally embroiled in a crime. As Rico pursues his new targets, hunter and prey develop an unlikely respect for one another. Soon, he is faced with a momentous decision: follow his orders to kill the very people who have won his admiration, or refuse and endanger the life of the woman he loves?

Our frequent urban companion, cooing in the eaves of train stations or scavenging underfoot for breadcrumbs and discarded French fries, the pigeon has many detractors—and even some fans. Written out of love for and fascination with this humble yet important bird, Barbara Allen’s Pigeon explores its cultural significance, as well as its similarities to and differences from its close counterpart, the dove. While the dove is seen as a symbol of love, peace, and goodwill, the pigeon is commonly perceived as a filthy, ill-mannered flying rodent, a “rat with wings.” Readers will find in Pigeon an enticing exploration of the historical and contemporary bonds between humans and these two unique and closely related birds. For polluting statues and architecture, the pigeon has earned a bad reputation, but Barbara Allen offers several examples of the bird’s importance—as a source of food and fertilizer, a bearer of messages during times of war, a pollution monitor, and an aid to Charles Darwin in his pivotal research on evolutionary theory. Allen also comments on the literary love and celebration of pigeons and doves in the work of such writers and poets as Shakespeare, Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Proust, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Along the way, Allen corrects the many stereotypes about pigeons in the hope that the rich history of one of the oldest human-animal partnerships will be both admired and celebrated.

All three books in Ed Duncan's 'Pigeon-Blood Red', a series of crime thrillers, now available in one volume! Pigeon-Blood Red: For underworld enforcer Rico Sanders, it seemed like an ordinary job: retrieve his boss's ruby necklace and teach the double-dealing cheat who stole it a lesson. But after the chase goes sideways, Rico has to move from the mean streets of Chicago to sunny Honolulu. There, the hardened hit man finds himself in uncharted territory, when innocent bystanders are embroiled in a crime. As Rico pursues his targets, hunter and prey develop an unlikely respect for one another, and Rico is faced with a decision: kill the couple whose courage has won his admiration, or endanger the life of the woman he loves? The Last Straw: After a carjacking goes bad, a teenage girl is marked for death by a crime boss. A black lawyer and a white enforcer with an unlikely history forge an alliance to protect the girl from a hit man with an agenda of his own. After they find out that the crime boss is the father of carjacker, Paul Elliott - lawyer and close friend of the witness’s family - begins counseling them. As the long-simmering feud between Rico and John D'Angelo reaches boiling point, bodies start to pile up - and old scores will be settled. Rico Stays: After Rico Sanders steps in to protect his girlfriend from a local mob boss’s nephew, all hell breaks loose. When the smoke clears, three goons lay dying where they’d stood. Fighting for his life, Rico needs a place to crash – a place where he wouldn’t be found. A place like the cabin owned by lawyer Paul Elliott, whose life Rico had saved more than once. But Paul’s girlfriend hasn't forgotten Rico’s dark history - or Paul’s fascination with him. Vengeful killers would soon be coming for him. But is he ready to face them one more time?

Mortimer Mortensen, a secret agent who travels through time to prevent thieves and saboteurs from rewriting history, journeys from 1802 Burma to the Titanic's maiden voyage to occupied France during World War II, to unravel the mystery of who stole the much coveted Red Ruby.

From the dawn of time, ruby and sapphire have both attracted and fascinated humans in ways that few other items could.While objects of desire are found throughout the natural world, physical beauty is too often ephemeral. From the allure of a man, woman, flower or butterfly, through the fleeting moments of a sunset, there is little that lasts and practically nothing that can be passed down to our descendants. The exception is precious stones. Not only are they the most durable creations of mother nature, but their visual splendor is truly eternal.In this companion to his 2013 book, Ruby & Sapphire--A Collector's Guide, Richard Hughes examines these gems from the gemological standpoint, delving into these gems not just from the aesthetic, but also from the scientific point of view.The product of nearly 40 years of firsthand experience, it covers every aspect of the subject from A-Z. History, sources, prices, quality analysis, synthetics and treatments, everything is here. Ruby & Sapphire--A Gemologist's Guide represents the most comprehensive book ever written on a single precious stone. With over 1000 photos, maps and illustrations and 3500 references, it is nothing less than a tour-de-force of gemological scholarship.