Tales from the Fraud Squad takes the reader on a journey from Willie McGee’s childhood in Mayo to the mean streets of Dublin as a fresh-faced officer in the late seventies, before rising through the ranks to become Head of the Fraud Squad. This book is packed full of extraordinary stories of elaborate forgeries, outrageous insurance scams and inventive crimes, along with the ingenious and meticulous attention to detail with which officers amassed evidence and brought the perpetrators to court. McGee writes fluidly and incisively, and tells his story with an open-hearted charm and warmth. Whether dealing with a common criminal or a former Taoiseach under the spotlight of a tribunal, McGee was unwavering in his quest for the truth. As he succinctly puts it, ‘money is never free and those who were caught paid a severe price for thinking that it was’. Equally well known for his heroics on the football field, Mayoman Willie ‘Four-goals’ McGee depicts a host of colourful characters – the con artists and tricksters he encountered in the line of duty – and paints a vivid picture of the murky underworld of Ireland in the 1980s and ’90s.

A delightfully thrilling mix of short stories coupled with a novella, Bedtime Tales is relentless in its intensity and endless in its creativity.Yet again, Cavin Wright, the author of Bedtime Stories and Bedtime Sagas proves his mastery of short-form fiction in this third book in the Bedtime series.The short novel, Payout, introduces readers to a successful but terminally ill young man trying to make the most of his remaining days on a trip to Brazil with his girlfriend. A chance meeting with an old friend, however, plunges them into a deadly game of cat and mouse.After the end of a disastrous affair, a young woman travels home on a luxury train. But her surroundings become quite unnerving as she realizes a horrific truth and finds that being single is the least of her problems in Night Train.In Excess Baggage, lucky winners of free tickets on a luxury cruise embark for what promises to be the voyage of a lifetime. But their journey turns into a nightmare, far away from land and any hope of salvation. Keep the lights on and stay up late with Bedtime Tales.

Tales from the Big Eye incorporates a young man's struggles as a professional detective within the ambit of the CBI in post-Independent India, when the profession was at its infancy. It provides glimpses into how a detective is born and how the nose for detection is sharpened over failures and successes. Significantly, this selection of a dozen tales is not all about accomplishments of a professional sleuth but provides insights into what makes the system tick or just stop ticking. There are tales of corruption, cheating, forgery and fraud, featuring well-known names, companies, departments and corporations of the Government of India, including how Prakash Tandon's State Trading Corporation and the Indira Gandhi’s office were sought to be compromised. Read about them from the sleuth who was involved in the investigations. No CBI account be complete without the notorious don, Dawood Ibrahim. He committed crimes with impunity and got away as he managed the criminal justice system. Three riveting stories tell it all while another looks into a future with the growing reach of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), with its veneer of having a federal character, which rounds off this book of exciting CBI tales.

“Presents an insider’s account of the experiences of ten Britons who were prominently involved in the Northern Ireland ‘troubles’ between 1969 and 2000.” —Perspectives on Terrorism The Ulster Tales captures the lives and experiences of ten individuals who were caught up in the Troubles. Each has a very distinct story to tell according to their role and position. Arranged roughly in chronological order, the book covers the media, military, intelligence, police, business, politics, and civil service. The first “tale” is that of Simon Hoggart, the journalist who reported for the Guardian newspaper in Belfast and London from the start. The military angle is covered by the GOC at a critical moment (General Sir Richard Lawson), a Private in The Green Howards from Barnsley, and a widow. A member of MI5 and a key Source Handler represent the Intelligence effort. The politician is Tom King who was Secretary of State at the time of the Anglo-Irish Agreement and narrowly avoided assassination, and we hear of the role of a top civil servant, Sir John Blelloch. “The Policeman’s Tale” is that of a young Met officer who transferred to the RUC. The book is both a tribute to the many who dedicated their lives to the fight against terrorism and an original and interesting way of promoting a better understanding of the complex Northern Ireland situation. “Sheds new light on a long and bloody military campaign. Each is moving and revealing, in varying degree, but all are uniformly absorbing.” —The Times “Veterans of the conflict will probably find the varied perspectives of policemen, businessmen, and civil servants a stimulating contrast to their own experience.” —Terrorism and Political Violence

QUESTION: How many lawyers does it take to finish the roof of a two-thousand-square-foot house with dormers? ANSWER: Depends on how thin you slice them. Lawyers, and, more to the point, lawyer stories, have been sliced, diced, and presented for consumption for centuries. Ever since Dick the Butcher suggested in Shakespeare's Henry VI Part 2 that "the first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," the profession has exhibited a strong appeal for readers...to say nothing of an enduring image problem. Today, stories about life on the front lines of the nation's courtrooms fuel everything from the novels of John Grisham and Scott Turow to television shows like The Practice, Ally McBeal, and L.A. Law. Now in Shark Tales comes a remarkable collection of witty, eccentric, and astounding war stories -- guaranteed to be mostly true -- supplied by hundreds of attorneys and displaying the nitty-gritty of life in court. To create Shark Tales, famed Washington lawyer Ron Liebman solicited stories from hundreds of colleagues in America and Britain...and not just any stories. He asked them to supply humor, of course, but also to describe the day on which they were proudest to be lawyers, and the day when they were most ashamed. He asked for stories of wild divorces and tragic losses. He asked them to describe the worst judges and best witnesses they'd ever encountered. He reviewed actual court transcripts, and found material like the following: QUESTION: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people? ANSWER: All my autopsies have been on dead people. Here is the tale of a case settled not by a fingerprint left behind at the scene of the crime, but an entire finger. Here is a lawyer agreeing to defend a client accused of passing bad checks...a client who promptly bounced the retainer check. Here you'll meet a proud son, having won his first case, telling his father -- also a lawyer -- that "justice has triumphed," to which the father replied, "Appeal at once." And here is a senior partner in a Washington law firm meeting with a group of Japanese corporate clients with whom he seems compelled to reminisce about the first time he saw Tokyo: as a bomber pilot in 1945. Funny, revealing, sad, poignant, and even exciting, Shark Tales is a hugely entertaining book for legal junkies -- authentic slices of life that reveal what really makes the law everyone's obsession.

Collects Amazing Fantasy (1995) #16-18, Untold Tales of Spider-Man (1995) #1-14. Peter Parker's earliest days as the Amazing Spider-Man! Join acclaimed tale-spinner Kurt Busiek, the legendary scribe of MARVELS, as he delves into the past once more to weave an intricate web of "lost" stories! First, Peter must come to terms with his Uncle Ben's death - and learn how best to honor his memory - as he takes his first fledgling steps as a crimefighter! Then, swing along with Spidey for a series of untold gems as the newly minted Spider-Man encounters the Human Torch, Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, Sandman and more classic characters - along with new friends and foes, including Batwing, Bluebird and the Scorcher - on his way to becoming Marvel's premier super hero! But what are the shocking secrets of Peter's first love, Betty Brant?

When our two children were small, we lived on a small farm near Exeter. The farmyard was immediately outside the house which meant I could spend a little time with our two sons at their teatime and go indoors again when they were bathed and put to bed. My wife would read to them, and then I would. As they got older, I would tell them stories too, often involving input from them too. Hence, the idea of creating stories as well as just reading other people’s writing. A few years later, I felt the need for the extra income, so I did a one-year teacher training course at St. Luke’s College and took a part-time job at our local secondary school, teaching slow readers. A colleague there, a teacher of English, heard of my occasional scribblings and asked for some short stories for her to use in class. This worked surprisingly well. For a number of reasons, we sold the farm in 1978 and moved to a house with a three-acre paddock near Kingsbridge. I became a full-time teacher with multiple handicapped teenagers. Not much time for writing. Also, in later years, when we were gardening beside the River Dart a few miles downriver from Totnes, there was no time for writing. However, when we sold our smallholding and retired to Totnes in 2000, I took up writing again and got down to it more seriously. This book is the result of my scribbles over the last 20 years.