The Answerth family's mansion seems to deserve its nickname of Venom House - perhaps because of its forbidding setting, an island in the centre of a man-made lake, its treacherous waters studded by the skeletons of long-dead trees. Perhaps it's because of the unquiet ghosts of the Aboriginals slaughtered by the Answerth ancestors. Whatever the reason, most people are content to give Venom House and its occupants a wide berth... until a couple of corpses turn up in the lake... The strength of Upfield's accomplishment in this book is so overwhelming it makes the reader cower. The characters are well-developed, the conversation vernacular for the Australian outback, and the development compelling. The story is the nearest Upfield comes to a story that would have made Edgar Allen Poe envious, Upfield maintains a kind of corpse-like humour which is very amusing... The whole book is first-class Upfield and first-class crime fiction. - from The Spirit of Australia by Ray Browne.

New York Times–bestselling author: When an evil cult forms an alliance with Sybil’s Chosen, the humans of Hlondeth face horrors unlike any other Enter the mysterious world of Hlondeth, a city populated by the humanoid serpents known as the yuan-ti, and ruled by House Extaminos. This powerful House of Serpents is the ultimate target of The Pox, a human cult whose members worship the goddess of plague and disease. Not only that, but they have begun to work the deadly will of Sybil’s Chosen, a dangerous cabal of yuan-ti who will turn Hlondeth citizens into freakish ‘tainted ones’. Amid this chaos is a human psionic named Arvin, who suddenly finds himself embroiled in schemes far beyond his understanding. His recruitment to the local thieves guild sends him down a twisted path of danger and corruption, bringing him face to face with the dreaded Pox and the true nature of his psionic powers. Elsewhere, hope emerges in the form of a yuan-ti half-blood, Dediana—the only one who can stop Sibyl and her puppet organization from turning all humans into the slaves of heartless, serpentine masters.

While members of the House and Senate confront the public's changing attitudes toward money, sex, and power, they are also forced to raise ever-escalating sums to finance their campaigns. Practices tolerated a decade ago now may cost lawmakers their seats or land them in jail. Lawmakers often don't know if they live in Salem or Gomorrah. Using new information culled from dozens of Capitol Hill interviews, Susan and Martin Tolchin show how ethics in Washington have changed over two centuries while offering new interpretations of past ethics cases. The first book to analyze the politicization of the ethics process, Glass Houses reveals in wicked and telling detail the forces that drive the modern lawmaker into a maelstrom of fierce corruption battles.

Natural Toxins presents the proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Animal, Plant and Microbial Toxins, held in Uppsala, Sweden on August 1979. This book presents the methods for detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases that natural toxins cause. Organized into 17 parts encompassing 84 chapters, this compilation of papers begins with an overview of the embryonic development, structure, and function of the compound oral glands of venomous and non-venomous snakes in comparison with other exocrine glands. This text then examines the occupational hazards of snakebites in both agriculture and fishing in the Asian areas. Other chapters consider the toxicity and immunological relationships among venoms of several Agkistrodon species. This book discusses as well the characterization of cytotoxins and their mechanisms of action upon model lipid and cell membrane systems. The final chapter deals with neurotoxins as tools for the characterization of molecular components involved in nerve impulse propagation. This book is a valuable resource for biochemists, toxicologists, and pharmacologists.

In the world of crime fiction, Arthur W. Upfield stands among the giants. His detective-inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, is one of the most memorable of all crime fighters. Upfield was an independent, fiercely self-assertive ex-Britisher, who loved Australia, especially the Outback. In many ways Upfield became Outback Australia—the “Spirit of Australia.”

Venom brings readers face to face with some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, including jellyfish, snakes, and wasps, as it uncovers the story of venom. The book explores how venom is used for predation, defense, competition, and communication by an incredible diversity of species. It examines the unique methods that these species have evolved to create and deliver their deadly toxins. The book traces venom back to its origin in early jellyfish and sea anemones, and reveals how venoms have evolved dozens of times independently all across the animal kingdom since that time. And finally, it examines the relationships between these dangerous creatures and humans. Humans have not only learned to live with them, but also to benefit from them: scientists increasingly are harnessing the power of venom to create new drugs, treatments, and anti-venoms.

Away games, back seats, and the locker room after hours...New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas is back with this spicy new adult romance, now with bonus material. Marymount girls are good girls. Even if they weren't, no one would know, because girls like Clay Collins keep their mouths shut. Not that Clay has anything to share, anyway. Always in control, she owns the hallways, walking tall on Monday and then dropping to her knees like the good Catholic girl she is on Sunday. What she wants she has to hide. Liv Jaeger crosses the tracks every day for one reason: to graduate from high school and get into the Ivy League. But Clay—with her beautiful skin, clean shoes, and rich parents—torments her daily and thinks Liv won't fight back. At least not until Liv gets Clay alone and finds out she's hiding so much more than just what's underneath those pretty clothes. Liv told Clay to stay on her side of town. But one night, Clay doesn't listen. And once Liv is done with her, she'll never be a good girl again.