Showing results by narrator "Josh Innerst" in All Categories

Severin is a passionate man who falls head over heels in love (or maybe lust?) with the beautiful young widow Wanda, begging her to treat him as her slave. Torn between pleasure and the fight against his own self-esteem, Severin submits to his mistress while Wanda discovers her own pleasure in her domination, an action that previously made her scoff. Deemed scandalous at the time of publication, this novel is a classic that opens a dialogue about human attraction and gender power struggles.

Jackson Ruck travels to the Verlorland Islands to retrieve his wayward older brother, Henry. But just as Jackson arrives, Henry's farcical career as a British private detective gets a serious boost when he lands the case of a murdered German woman with a massive estate. Unable to watch his brother fail, Jackson joins Henry's investigation into the strange Henbit family. The dead woman leaves behind a contentious will, angry relatives, and a life full of secrets that Henry must unravel. When a second body appears, it becomes clear that more than Henry's career is at risk.

There is something undeniably thrilling about the idea of 300 Spartans holding off tens of thousands of invading Persians, but that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fascinating history of the Greek city-state of Lacadaemonia, or Sparta. Sparta was a force of military power and philosophical might, and it continues to enthrall us. Learn more about the rise and fall of Sparta, about the fierce discipline and training of the Spartan military, and why we are still amazed with the Spartans thousands of years later.

Max Fredericks can time travel. He doesn't know exactly how it works-just that it does. When it happens again, Max finds himself on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain in 1965 East Berlin. Still queasy from the shock of travel, he witnesses an abduction. The victim is a girl Max later comes to know only as Elsa, and the perpetrators are the Stasi-"the sword and shield of the state" in communist East Germany.

This gripping anthology gathers classic American short fiction where deception is an art, truth is perilous, and crime often wears a human smile. From a real-life axe murder on a lonely New England island to calculated impostures, whispered rumors, political terror, and crimes born of obsession, these stories explore the dangerous motives that surface when masks begin to slip.

In August, 2014, years before the legalization of sports betting in the United States, when a mob-connected bookie named Zany is murdered, Eddie O’Connell is assigned to take over Zany’s operation and find the killer. The trail leads to an exclusive, private gambling club where simulcast wagering on horse racing is used as a front for illegal sports betting. With the assistance of Paula “Rudi” Rudinger, the manager of Zany’s bookie operation and former lover, Eddie meets those who owe gambling debts. Eddie had run up a gambling debt of his own, but now finds himself doing collection.

Despite Dorothy's many tales of her adventures in Oz, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry never quite believe her stories. Upon finding out the tornado that destroyed their farmhouse in book 1 (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) is the cause of her Uncle Henry's horrible debt, Dorothy is determined to help her family. She makes plans with Ozma to bring her aunt and uncle to Oz where they may live happily ever after. Unbeknownst to Ozma and our friends in Oz, the Nome King is plotting to take over the Land of Oz and retrieve his magic belt that Dorothy took from him in book 3, Ozma of Oz.

After breaking off his engagement with Agnes Lockwood, Lord Montbarry marries the eccentric Countess Narona before embarking on a whirlwind honeymoon tour of Europe culminating in Venice. There they reside in the decaying Palace Hotel with the Countess' brother, Baron Rivar, and their courier, Ferrari. Lord Montbarry later dies of bronchitis and upon hearing of this from Henry Westwick, Montbarry's brother, Agnes agrees to meet with Henry at the newly renovated Palace Hotel to investigate the insurance claim that was purchased prior to his death.

Dwayne Devero is just like you and me, except he simply doesn’t give a sh*t anymore. He’s had enough. He’s done with people living life wrong. You’ll do it right, or he’ll bury you under the bases at the ballpark where he coaches. It’s just that simple. Tired of poor decisions being made all around him, from the politics of player positions on his son’s little league baseball team to the philandering of his wife in his own bedroom, Dwayne decides that breaking is better than bending.

Several months after Aurik and his team freed a prison camp, enlisting its occupants into their cause, the battle escalates into an all-out war for dominion over the planet. Losses are heavy, morale is low, and the revolution is on the brink of falling. What happens next will change the fate of the galaxy forever.

Southern California, 1996: a peaceful, scenic day in the coastal community of Santa Monica, except that there is a meter maid lying next to the sidewalk–dead. Fresh from a messy divorce case, North Hollywood private investigator Clive Wilts is on the case to find the killer before the bodies start stacking up and the city streets become a parking free-for-all.

What happens when a man drinks a gallon of rum per day for a year? Many things. He falls in love with a bar. He befriends the homeless. He goes broke. He ends up in jail. He convinces himself that the world is burning. He turns into a bluebird. Most importantly, though, he laughs. He laughs because he has to, because it’s the only way to fight off the truth: Yes, the world is ablaze, but I am holding the torch. My fellow bluebirds will understand. Look at those flames, so bright and warm. There will be words in the ashes.

Young Rachel Verinder inherits a sacred Indian moonstone from her uncle. This extremely valuable gem disappears from Rachel's bedroom soon after a party is thrown in her honor to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Believed to be stolen, a series of narratives unfold to solve the mystery of the missing moonstone. In true Collins fashion, one cannot get enough of the twists and turns in this intriguing detective story.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a well-known classic that never seems to lose its magic. Dorothy Gale and her trusty little dog Toto are swept away when a cyclone hits the family farm. Along with her new friends The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman, and The Cowardly Lion, Dorothy follows the yellow brick road in search of The Emerald City to meet the Great Oz. He is a powerful wizard with the ability to send her back to her dear Aunt Em and Uncle Henry...but at what cost? The first book in the Oz series, this novel introduces us to the strange Land of Oz and its odd inhabitants.

Five military officers wake up from stasis 200 years into their future to discover that the human race has been enslaved. They soon set out to free humanity from their alien oppressors, finding danger and resistance at every turn.

Meet the indomitable lady detective Loveday Brooke. Able to assume a multitude of disguises and possessed of analytical powers rivaling those of the great Sherlock Holmes, she masters every baffling situation and solves each perplexing crime in these seven atmospheric and entertaining Victorian mysteries.

A heartfelt companion novel to the critically acclaimed Chester and Gus about inclusivity, autism, friendship, and family, perfect for fans of Sara Pennypacker and Kate DiCamillo. After being separated from his family, Franklin becomes an independent cat, until he meets a goofy dog named Chester...

A brave knight wakes up and is surprised to be in the middle of an enchanted forest, with no memories of the previous night and only a bunch of mysterious herbs as a clue to what the evening consisted of. That brave knight is you. Try to escape from the forest while piecing together what you did last night.

Empire Paladin is a dark and brutal historical fantasy series. The year is 1241. The Holy Roman Empire is torn apart by war and invasion. The Pope has died, and the Holy Church is in turmoil. A devout, holy knight, Camila Chastaine, receives an urgent summons from Rome: A traitorous fellow paladin has corrupted his divine powers to raise an army of the undead, bent on destruction. But Camila will soon face an even greater threat: The battle for her very soul.

When Marianna was spirited away by unknown raiders, everyone expected a ransom demand to soon follow. Such was the peril of everyday royal life in the chaotic times following abandonment of the misty isles of Albion by indifferent Rome. But when weeks went by without word her father, High King Mattheus, dispatched teams of trusted warriors to find her and bring her assailants to account.