The Silent Room is the first tense police procedural in the thrilling Matthew Ryan series by Mari Hannah. 'Nobody understands the many faces of cops better than Mari Hannah' - Val McDermid A security van sets off for Durham prison, a disgraced Special Branch officer in the back. It never arrives. En route it is hijacked by armed men, the prisoner sprung. Suspended from duty on suspicion of aiding and abetting the audacious escape of his former boss, Detective Sergeant Matthew Ryan is locked out of the manhunt. Desperate to preserve his career and prove his innocence, he backs off. But when the official investigation falls apart, under surveillance and with his life in danger, Ryan goes dark, enlisting others in his quest to discover the truth. When the trail leads to the suspicious death of a Norwegian national, Ryan uncovers an international conspiracy that has claimed the lives of many. Continue the gripping crime series with The Death Messenger.

One fugitive. A deadly plot. No rules. Thus begins an ingenious and lightning-fast thriller that reviewers agree is “not to be missed.” Detective Sergeant Matthew Ryan wants to clear the name of his former boss, who stands accused of official corruption. But before he can do so, his boss disappears. Did he escape from police custody, or was he kidnapped? Or did something even worse happen to him? The Silent Room has everything a good thriller should have—compelling characters, a gripping plot and storyline, superb pacing, and a strong sense of place. In addition it has heart, something many thrillers sorely lack. Add some truly scary villains, vast uncertainty about whom to trust, and a loudly ticking clock, and we have ourselves a thriller that will grip readers from the first pages and never let go. “The explosive opening of The Silent Room introduces a gripping thriller with a very human face. Nobody understands the many faces of cops better than Mari Hannah.”—Val McDermid “Very creepy. Read it on your commute, and you’ll be looking over your shoulder all the way home.” —Marie Claire “I was annoyed every time I was forced to put the book down and do mundane yet necessary stuff like eat or sleep.” —Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Moving, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting, Lori Schiller's memoir is a classic testimony to the ravages of mental illness and the power of perseverance and courage. At seventeen Lori Schiller was the perfect child-the only daughter of an affluent, close-knit family. Six years later she made her first suicide attempt, then wandered the streets of New York City dressed in ragged clothes, tormenting voices crying out in her mind. Lori Schiller had entered the horrifying world of full-blown schizophrenia. She began an ordeal of hospitalizations, halfway houses, relapses, more suicide attempts, and constant, withering despair. But against all odds, she survived. In this personal account, she tells how she did it, taking us not only into her own shattered world, but drawing on the words of the doctors who treated her and family members who suffered with her.

This collection of poems was written over a period of almost 20 years, in Switzerland, where the author resided as a foreigner. The poems were inspired by nature and the mystical feelings it induces, as well as by a quest to comprehend this state of being called life - from our very limited human standpoint. Some poems are related to deeply personal experiences; others embracegenerally the human condition and its psychology. Depending on the spontaneous feelings at the time a poem took form, it would be composed in english or french - whichever language best suited the ambience of the moment. The french poems have been recently translated – which was difficult and a new experience for the author. An endeavor was made to re-create the same mood and tone of the originals.

Sërafinn, the goddess of the moon, sat upon her silvery throne, watching silently at all the happenings in the world below. The Ancient Law prohibited the gods from interacting too much with the trivialities of mankind. In the twilight of a dying day, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a feast was being held in one of the northern kingdoms. Looking down from her throne, she saw someone she hardly took notice of before. However, on this particular evening, she looked at his handsome features and found her heart begin to quicken. Remembering the Ancient Laws, she tried to hide these feelings for fear of what the other gods and goddesses might say. Although in her mind, she knew it was impossible to be with a human, she could not deny her heart, nor the new feelings she was experiencing. She came to realise she could no longer be silent. Her decision would shatter both realms of gods and men alike.

A star of the London stage urgently needs Miss Silver’s help: From “a first-rate storyteller” (The Daily Telegraph). Mrs. Smith is not the first woman who has come to Maud Silver, the genteel private detective, claiming that someone is trying to kill her. She tells a story of attempted poisoning, a shove down a flight of stairs, and a house full of relatives who might want to push her out of the way. Miss Silver is intrigued, not least because this is not Mrs. Smith. Despite her attempt at a disguise, the detective recognizes the woman as Adriana Ford, the grand dame of the London stage. Mrs. Smith was a ruse; the attempts on her life are quite real. There is soon a body at Adriana’s country estate, but it is not the actress who has been killed. Fully interested, Miss Silver travels to the house, where she learns that the actress is not the only one who tells lies.

“Earthy, thoughtful, funny” stories of love and despair, destiny and dumb luck, by the author of Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream (Library Journal). Hubert Selby Jr. made an indelible mark on contemporary American literature with Last Exit to Brooklyn, a controversial novel that explored life at the lowest strata of urban society. But even before that novel altered the landscape of American fiction, Selby was honing his literary craft with short fiction that cast the human condition in a stark light, stories “known for their harrowing portrayal of mere mortals chasing their delusions down the drain” (Salon.com). The stories here represent Selby at his best, whether he’s exploring a married commuter’s fantasy about a stranger he sees every morning on the subway or wryly spinning the tale of a salesman whose life is dictated by Chinese fortune cookies. In these pages, a homeless man clings to his old army coat during a bitter lost weekend; and a young man’s successful attempt to impress a girl on their first date comes back to haunt him. In the intimate, sometimes shocking portraits collected in Song of the Silent Snow, Selby finds the delicate balance between joy and despair, revealing humanity in the darkest corners of existence. “Selby’s writing never diminished; it always increased. His body of work is among the very highest of contemporary writers. He did not get the acknowledgment that he deserved, but he will.” —John Rechy, author of City of Night This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hubert Selby Jr. including rare photos from the author’s estate.