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Books > Fiction > True stories
Twenty-six people dead; twenty of them schoolchildren between the
ages of six and seven. The world mourned the devastating shooting
at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in December
2012. Now, here is the startling, comprehensive look at this
tragedy, and into the mind of the unstable killer, Adam Lanza.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a decade's worth of emails
from Lanza's mother to close friends that chronicled his slow slide
into mental illness, Newtown pieces together the perfect storm that
led to this unspeakable act of violence that shattered so many
lives. Newtown explores the two central theories that have
permeated the media since the attack: some claim Lanza suffered
from severe mental illness, while others insist that, far from
being a random act of insanity, this was a meticulously thought
out, premeditated attack at least two years in the making by a
violent video-gamer so obsessed with "glory kills" and researching
mass murderers that he was willing to go to any length to attain
the top score. Lanza's dark descent from a young boy with
adjustment disorders to a calculating killer is interwoven with the
Newtown massacre as it unfolded at the time, told from the points
of view of eye witnesses, survivors, parents of victims, first
responders, and Adam's relatives. A definitive account of a tragedy
that shook a nation.
In Iron Man, Lynne Bryan writes in such an insightful,
thought-provoking and moving way about disability, the
vulnerability of the body and of the mind, and about the frailty
and also the strength of our corporeality. She also writes so
thoughtfully about the ways in which women's access to head space
and physical and economic space for creativity can be restricted,
limited, blocked - sometimes by the people they love best and who
love them best; but also of course sometimes by themselves.
A haunting ode to those who paid the ultimate price-through the
prism of the Maoist insurgency, Ashutosh Bhardwaj meditates on
larger questions of violence and betrayal, love and obsession, and
what it means to live with and write about death. From 2011 to
2015, Ashutosh lived in the Red Corridor in India wherein the
Ultra-Left Naxalites, taking inspiration from the Russian
revolution and Mao's tactics, work to overthrow the Indian
government by the barrel of the gun. He made several trips
thereafter reporting on the insurgents, on police and governmental
atrocities, and on the lives caught in the crossfire. Ashutosh
chronicles his experiences and bears witness to the lives and
deaths of the unforgettable men and women he meets from both sides
of the struggle, bringing home the human cost of conflict with
astonishing power. Narrated in multiple voices, the book is a
creative biography of the region, Dandakaranya, that combines the
rigour of journalism, the intimacy of a diary, the musings of a
travelogue, and the craft of a novel. The Death Script is one of
the most significant works of non-fiction to be published in recent
times, bringing often overlooked perspectives and events to light
with empathy. Praised by India's topmost scholars and critics, the
book has already won various awards.
'[A] pacy, frictionless read' Sunday Telegraph 'Cinematic. . . an
entertaining and persuasive study of the royal family' Publisher's
Weekly 'Patterson treats the princess as a person and tells the
story from a mother's perspective' Kirkus
______________________________ Twenty-five years after her tragic
death, James Patterson tells the heartbreaking true story of
Princess Diana's life as a mother and a global icon. At the age of
thirteen, she became Lady Diana Spencer. At twenty, Princess of
Wales. At twenty-one, she earned her most important title: Mother.
As she fell in love, first with Prince Charles and then with her
sons, William and Harry, the world fell in love with the young
royal family - Diana most of all. With one son destined to be King
and one needing to find his own way, she taught them lessons about
royal tradition and also real life. 'William and Harry will be
properly prepared,' Diana once promised. 'I am making sure of
this.' Even after her tragic death, the strength of her love for
her sons remains an enduring inspiration, not only for the two
princes, but for the entire world. ______________________________
Praise for James Patterson 'The master storyteller of our times'
Hillary Rodham Clinton 'One of the greatest storytellers of all
time' Patricia Cornwell 'Truly astonishing' Bob Woodward
THE FINAL WORD FROM THE LAST KING OF GANGLAND WITH A FOREWORD BY
MARTINA COLE 'We couldn't, we wouldn't, let anyone take a liberty.
That was never an option at that time.' Eddie Richardson is the
last brand-name gangster. Say the name and the world of violent
criminality grabs you by the throat. The Richardson brothers, Eddie
and Charlie, and their infamous 'Torture Gang', made money while
their rivals Ronnie and Reggie Kray made fatal mischief. They
fought each other, but now, in 2018, Eddie Richardson says: 'They
tell me blood is thicker than water, but with Charlie it wasn't so.
He was evil.' With his brother dead, Eddie Richardson feels free to
detail the story of a vicious family feud that provoked extravagant
acrimony. No Handcuffs unravels the mysteries of decades of crime
and political incident. The story of a turbulent era, it rivals the
most imaginative fiction in its portrayal of gangland life with all
its chanciness and rawness and careless disregard for any obstacle
on the way to its target, the big money. In an inspired
collaboration with bestselling author Douglas Thompson, the mature
Eddie Richardson is given a voice to reflect on his journey from
the scrapyards of South London to the glitz and glamour of the West
End nightclubs, to the flesh and tease of Soho, down Downing Street
and through the door of Number 10 to the perils of espionage and
international intrigue, and his elevation to demigod status in
hard-men territory - and finally as a high-security inmate at Her
Majesty's pleasure, but with a personal fridge kept well stocked
with gourmet food. No Handcuffs resonates today for, if anything,
greed and corruption are more perverse, more rampant. As Eddie
Richardson points out: 'We wrote the handbook for them.'
Dr Mark Spencer is a forensic botanist - in other words, he helps police with cases where plants can unlock clues to solve crimes, from murder and rape to arson and burglary.
Murder Most Florid is an enthralling, first-person account that follows Mark's unconventional and unique career, one that takes him to woodlands, wasteland and roadsides, as well as police labs, to examine the botanical evidence of serious crimes. From unearthing a decomposing victims from brambles to dissecting the vegetation of a shallow grave, Mark's botanical knowledge can be crucial to securing a conviction.
More widely, this gripping book challenges our attitude to death and response to crime. It picks holes in the sensationalized depictions of policing we see on TV, and asks pertinent questions about public sector funding in the face of rising crime. Most importantly, it shows us how the ancient lessons of botanical science can still be front and centre in our modern, DNA-obsessed world.
"In my state of shock and dismay, I asked God over and over again,
"Why?" Always, before closing my eyes at night, I prayed for my
sons, asking God to keep them healthy, happy, and safe. I never
dreamed that a horrific crime would take one of their lives. This
nightmare was indeed unbelievable. I was unable to focus. I kept
thinking that there had been a mistake; I kept trying to convince
myself that it wasn't James who had been killed. I found myself
rambling on and on in an attempt to comprehend the reality that I
had lost my oldest son. The situation was hopeless. "
Twenty-three-year-old Brooke Taylor is still trying to come up
with her own definition of normal. The doctors at Westside Mental
Institution call her cold-blooded and insane. Brooke prefers to
think of herself as a healthy mix of insane and genius. Recently
released from the psychotherapy sessions to begin a new life, the
strikingly beautiful Brooke is headed to Louisiana to visit friend.
Now all she can do is wonder whether she will ever have anything
positive to contribute to society or whether her high-octane,
remorseless lifestyle will kill her before her next birthday, It is
2001.
A few days later Brooke enters a grocery store in Independence,
Louisiana, a black cowboy hat perched on her head and icy-blue eyes
that reveal nothing. She immediately finds herself caught in the
middle of a dramatic robbery. As a man in a ski mask waves an AK-47
and demands the customers follow his orders, Brooke wages was
against the gunman, and uncovers a deadly conspiracy.
In this novel based on true events, a young woman with a shadowy
past puts her shrewd attitude and intuitive skills to work as she
gives the two deadly perpetrators a night they will never forget.
Louisiana is never the same again. " "A masterpiece of suspense
intrigue. Brooke Taylor is one of the most complex and bizarre
characters ever. Once again, Fuller does a great job."" -Rigwood
Village Book Club
A broadly interdisciplinary work, this handbook discusses the
best and most enduring literature related to the major topics and
themes of World War II. Military historiography is treated in
essays on the major theaters of military operations and the related
themes of logistics and intelligence, while political and
diplomatic history is covered in chapters on international
relations, resistance movements, and collaboration. The volume
analyzes themes of domestic history in essays on economic
mobilization, the home fronts, and women in the military and
civilian life. The book also covers the Holocaust.
This handbook approaches each topic from a global viewpoint
rather than focusing on individual national communities. Except for
nonprint material, the literature, research, and sources surveyed
are primarily those available in English. The volume is aimed at
both experts on the war and the general academic community and will
also be useful to students and serious laymen interested in the
war.
When Maximilian Potter went to Burgundy to report for Vanity Fair
on a crime that could have destroyed the Domaine de la Romanee
Conti-the tiny, storied vineyard that produces the most expensive,
exquisite wines in the world-he soon found a story that was much
larger, and more thrilling, than he had originally imagined. In
January 2010, Aubert de Villaine, the famed proprietor of the DRC,
received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his
priceless vines by poison-a crime that in the world of high-end
wine is akin to murder-unless he paid a one million euro ransom.
Villaine believed it to be a sick joke, but that proved a fatal
miscalculation; the crime was committed and shocked this fabled
region of France. The sinister story that Potter uncovered would
lead to a sting operation by top Paris detectives, the primary
suspect's suicide, and a dramatic trial. This botanical crime
threatened to destroy the fiercely traditional culture surrounding
the world's greatest wine. Like Midnight in the Garden of Good and
Evil, SHADOW IN THE VINEYARD takes us deep into a captivating world
full of fascinating characters, small town French politics, an
unforgettable narrative, and a local culture defined by the twinned
veins of excess and vitality and the deep reverent attention to the
land that run through it.
'Merriman excels at recreating the physicality of their
experiences: the smell of dense clay, the click-clack of a woman
walking down the street above in high heels... Merriman has
burrowed her way deep into interviews, news reports and Stasi files
to fashion an impressive real life page-turner.' Guardian 'An
audacious and compelling tale, told with narrative tension and
novelistic drive, creating a fascinating portrayal of life in
Berlin in the early days of the Wall.' Observer 'A fantastic story,
exceedingly well told...more gripping than a thriller. The story
arc, through betrayal and disaster to triumph, is perfect...a
cracking tale that deserves retelling.' The Times 'Helena
Merriman's book is a tour de force... The chapters on the day of
the escape are possibly the most suspenseful I have ever read, in
fiction as well as nonfiction.' Scotsman 'its skilful blend of a
dynamic protagonist, intrigue, spooks, deception, and a love
divided imbues Tunnel 29 with all the qualities of a taut Cold War
spy thriller.' Sunday Business Post 'Captivating... Ms Merriman's
well-crafted book does justice to the extraordinary bravery of her
characters.' Economist 'This new book... allows readers to slip
into Joachim's shoes as if living this extraordinary experience...
This is a remarkable tale, beautifully told and utterly
compelling.' BBC History Magazine ------------------------- He's
just escaped from one of the world's most brutal regimes. Now, he
decides to tunnel back in. It's summer, 1962, and Joachim Rudolph,
a student, is digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Waiting on
the other side in East Berlin - dozens of men, women and children;
all willing to risk everything to escape. From the award-winning
creator of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 podcast, Tunnel 29 is the true
story of the most remarkable escape tunnel dug under the Berlin
Wall. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with the
survivors, and thousands of pages of Stasi documents, Helena
Merriman brilliantly reveals the stranger-than-fiction story of the
ingenious group of student-diggers, the glamorous red-haired
messenger, the American News network which films the escape, and
the Stasi spy who betrays it. For what Joachim doesn't know as he
burrows closer to East Germany, is that the escape operation has
been infiltrated. As the escapees prepare to crawl through the
cold, wet darkness, above them, the Stasi are closing in. Tunnel 29
is about what happens when people lose their freedom - and how some
will do anything to win it back. Acclaim for the TUNNEL 29 podcast:
'Combining the fun of a thriller that we know will end happily with
grim perspective on history and tyranny... stunning.' New Yorker
'Reminiscent of a savvy Netflix block buster series.' Evening
Standard 'A truly exciting yarn... creates a sense for the listener
of being right there in the tunnel, experiencing the dangers.'
Observer
In this cold case murder investigation from "a powerful, confident
voice in the new true crime memoir genre" (James Renner, author of
True Crime Addict), one of America's most notorious sprees is
cracked open. With a foreword by Catherine Broad, sister of victim
Timothy King, this is a deftly crafted true story set amid the
decaying sprawl of Detroit.Four children were abducted and murdered
outside of Detroit during the winters of 1976 and 1977, their
bodies eventually dumped in snow banks around the city. J. Reuben
Appelman was only six years old when the murders began and even
evaded an abduction attempt during that same period, fueling a
lifelong obsession with what became known as the Oakland County
Child Killings. Autopsies showed that the victims had been fed
while in captivity, reportedly held with care. And yet, with equal
care, their bodies had allegedly been groomed post-mortem,
scrubbed-free of evidence that might link to a killer. There were
few credible leads, and equally few credible suspects. That's what
the cops had passed down to the press, and that's what the city of
Detroit, and Appelman, had come to believe. When the abductions
mysteriously stopped, a task force operating on one of the largest
manhunt budgets in history shut down without an arrest. Although no
more murders occurred, Detroit remained haunted. Eerily overlaid
upon the author's own decades-old history with violence, The Kill
Jar tells the gripping story of Appelman's ten-year investigation
into buried leads, apparent police cover-ups, con men, child
pornography rings, and high-level corruption saturating Detroit's
most notorious serial killer case. "Always deft, often sublime,
Appelman uses his investigation to draw us into his personal
journey through darkness, to light and life" (Chip Johannessen,
producer of Dexter).
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