Proving once again that she can triumph in any genre of fiction, Colleen McCullough, the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds, now presents her readers with a gem of a murder mystery about a serial killer. At the heart of this brilliant blend of suspense, forensic science, eerie and sadistic sexuality, and good old-fashioned storytelling is a dedicated but lonely detective, Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico. The year is 1965, the setting a university town in Connecticut, and serial killers are still referred to as "multiple murderers." Profiling hasn't even begun, so Delmonico has to go it alone on a frantic learning curve that has the killer always two steps ahead of him. The story begins when parts of the body of a young woman are found in a research center for neurology privately funded by one of the university's greatest benefactors. It swiftly develops that the killer is very possibly a member of the research facility and that this is not his first murder. With great cunning and daring, he targets a "type" of young woman, following which the women are subjected to unspeakable torture and rape, and finally a horrible death. The suspects are many and varied, and include a wealthy and ambitious young Indian eager to win a Nobel Prize; the professorial head of the institute, who does something peculiar in his basement; an internationally renowned epilepsy clinician; a neurochemist with a taste for fine food, wine, and music; a Japanese with rarefied and strange tastes; and a business manager named Desdemona Dupre, a tough, well-educated woman, full of common sense, for whom Delmonico feels a growing, risky attraction. As the serial murders begin to mount -- the killer is getting more and more bloodthirsty and bold -- and the media and anguished parents begin to put pressure on the governor, Delmonico and the forceful, enigmatic Miss Dupre are drawn deeper and deeper into the secrets of the suspects and toward an old family scandal as shocking as it is bizarre. But is the scandal something quite separate, or does it lie at the roots of the present killings? Colleen McCullough artfully maintains the suspense and holds back the truth until -- literally -- on the last page, with the impact of a thunderbolt, she presents the reader with one final terrifying and unexpected twist. Her book is a classic murder mystery, written with all the flair and skill that have made Colleen McCullough one of the most popular novelists of her time.

'At a time when we are paying a heavy price for the collective delusion that being plugged in 24/7 is an express elevator to the top, The Off Switch reminds us that there is an alternative. Mark Cropley shows that intentionally switching off from work is not only essential for our well-being, it also allows for the unwinding and renewal that help us perform at our best when we switch back on.' Arianna Huffington Work better not longer- learn how to be more productive by switching off from work in the evenings, worrying less and facing the new working day fresh, full of energy and ambition. Work is a big part of our lives, but it's easier than ever to let it take over. Laptops, tablets and smartphones that are supposed to free us from the office actually bind us to it. If you've ever felt stressed as you checked your work email in the evenings, or found yourself unable to sleep worrying about tomorrow's meeting, then this is the book for you! Learning to flick THE OFF-SWITCH when you leave work is essential- not only for your sanity but also for your job. If you can learn to relax and rest effectively when you're not at work, you can then get more done when you're in the office. It's a win-win solution! In this unique book, Professor Mark Cropley, a world expert in how we recover from the working day, blends engaging real-life case studies, clinical expertise and evidence-based techniques to provide a complete guide for how to switch off better - get more enjoyment from your free time, and still get more done.

Explains the magic of how light switches work and the nature of electricity, discussing circuits and generators, light bulbs and plugs, and includes a simple experiment for children

By unpacking 'on-again, off-again' relationships, this book addresses the whys, hows, and outcomes of reconciling with ex-partners.

In this revelatory book, Sudhir Venkatesh takes us into Maquis Park, a poor black neighborhood on Chicago's Southside, to explore the desperate and remarkable ways in which a community survives. The result is a dramatic narrative of individuals at work, and a rich portrait of a community. But while excavating the efforts of men and women to generate a basic livelihood for themselves and their families, Off the Books offers a devastating critique of the entrenched poverty that we so often ignore in America, and reveals how the underground economy is an inevitable response to the ghetto's appalling isolation from the rest of the country.