A Quiet Vendetta is both the epic novel of one man's life in the Italian Mafia - a story that ranges from Cuba to Las Vegas and from L.A. to Chicago - and equally a powerful thriller of rage\, love and loss. It confirms Roger Jon Ellory's place at the forefront of new thriller writing.
When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans\, the local cops react rapidly - she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange\, very quickly. Her bodyguard turns up horribly mutilated in the trunk of a beautiful vintage car and when her kidnapper calls he doesn't want money\: he wants time alone with a minor functionary from a Washington-based organised crime task force. Quickly dragged down to the deep South\, Ray Hartmann puzzles over why he has been summoned and why the mysterious kidnapper\, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez\, wants to tell him his life story. It's only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place\, it's already too late...
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END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120128T160000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120128T160000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/garret-freymann-weyr-french-ducks-venice URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/garret-freymann-weyr-french-ducks-venice SUMMARY:Garret Freymann-Weyr - French Ducks in Venice DESCRIPTION:Author Garret Freymann-Weyr will be debuting her first picture book\, French Ducks in Venice\, with a storytime at Park Road Books.
French Ducks in Venice is a magical\, lyrical\, beautifully illustrated tale about friendship and healing--and the joys and risks of staying open to love\, even in the face of loss.
Siblings George and Cecile live in Venice\, California\, but think of themselves as French ducks. They have an important friend\, Polina Panova\, who conjures magical dresses of thread\, silk\, and velvet . . . of grass\, pieces of night sky\, and strawberry jam. To the ducks\, who delight in her daily visits\, Polina is a princess. But when Polina's prince--who makes movies almost as luminous as her dresses--decides to go away\, life on the canal changes\, and so does Polina. What are two steadfast and affectionate French ducks to do? Save admit that every broken heart mends on its own time\, in its own way? From an acclaimed Y A author and a talented debut illustrator comes a storybook classic full of light and hush\, wisdom and whimsy\, about patient friendship and the healing power of time.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120129T190000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120129T190000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/mc-roberts-introspection URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/mc-roberts-introspection SUMMARY:M.C. Roberts - Introspection DESCRIPTION:Through light humor\, M.C. Roberts' collection of life-inspired poetry was written to encourage\, inspire and motivate.
Join us for a reading by the author that will enlighten your heart.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120131T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120131T000000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/gin-phillips-come-and-cover-me URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/gin-phillips-come-and-cover-me SUMMARY:Gin Phillips - Come In and Cover Me DESCRIPTION:A specialist in prehistoric ceramics\, Ren Taylor launched her archaeological career with the unearthing of a stunning set of bowls in southern New Mexico. The bowls seem to belong to one remarkable 12th-century artist\, and Ren is convinced they hold the secret to understanding a woman who died a thousand years earlier. Now in 2009\, archaeologist Silas Cooper invites Ren to the remote Cañada Rosa\, where he’s discovered more evidence of her artist.
Ren’s story explores the ways we connect to each other and the ways we keep each other at a distance. The novel revolves around our bonds to those we’ve loved and lost\, the bonds of family\, and the bonds we have with those who have come before us.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120203T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120203T000000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/alan-shapiro-broadway-baby URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/alan-shapiro-broadway-baby SUMMARY:Alan Shapiro - Broadway Baby DESCRIPTION:Nationally acclaimed award-winning memoirist and poet Alan Shapiro makes his fiction debut with his novel Broadway Baby.
As a little girl growing up in Boston\, Miriam Bluestein fantasized about a life lived on stage\, specifically in a musical. Get married\, have a family—sure\, maybe she’d do those things\, too\, but first and foremost there was her career. As a woman\, she is both tormented and consoled by those dreams in her day-to-day existence with her family\, including a short-tempered husband\, a cranky mother\, and three demanding children\, one of whom\, Ethan\, shows real talent for the stage.
It is through Ethan that Miriam strives to realize her dreams. As she pushes him to make the most of his talent\, the rest of her life gradually comes undone\, with her husband becoming increasingly frustrated and her other two children—Sam\, a mass of quirks and idiosyncrasies\, and Julie\, hostile and bitter—withdrawing into their own worlds. Still Miriam dreams\, praying for that big finale\, which\, when it comes\, is nothing that she ever could have imagined.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120204T160000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120204T160000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/hugh-mccall-highlands-high-finance URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/hugh-mccall-highlands-high-finance SUMMARY:Hugh McColl - From the Highlands to High Finance DESCRIPTION:Ten years in the writing\, Suzanne Cameron Linder Hurley’s book on Hugh L. McColl Jr.’s family is on press. This comprehensive account begins with the clan’s early years in Scotland and covers sixteen centuries of history\, from Colla Uais\, a fourth century Irish king\, to the present day Carolina McColls.The first part of the book applies to all McColls (or McCalls) who can trace their families to Appin\, Scotland. The second aspect of the story focuses on life in America from 1775 to 1870\, between the American Revolution and the end of the Civil War. The last portion examines the post-war recovery of the New South\, led by such men as Duncan D. McColl\, Sr\, his sons\, and ultimately his great grandson\, Hugh McColl Jr\, under whose leadership\, the Bank of America became one of the biggest\, if not the biggest bank in the world.
This painstakingly researched history is illustrated with beautiful photography by Jack Hurley\, Keith Fergus and others\, along with many archival images from the McColl Personal Collection.
Upon discovering their daughter trapped in a magic mirror\, the King summons Wizard Jasper\, the best wizard in the kingdom\, to come to the rescue. Jasper is able to find his way into the mirror\, but discovers not one but two princesses trapped inside. After returning the first princess to her parents\, Jasper is torn between staying with the King's family to protect them from future evils and escorting the second princess on her journey home. However\, with the confirmation that an evil sorcerer is behind the mysterious mirror trap\, Wizard Jasper resolves that he must destroy the sorcerer before he endangers the princesses again!
Wizard Jasper and the Lost Princess and their gang of travelers have more problems than an evil sorcerer as they attempt to find the lost princess's home. Between encountering moody fairies and threatening dragons\, they may never be able to find the palace or destroy the sorcerer!
Find out if Jasper can save the princess\, or if the sorcerer will unleash his power on the kingdom once and for all!
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120207T233000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120207T233000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/park-road-books-book-club-meeting URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/park-road-books-book-club-meeting SUMMARY:Park Road Books Book Club Meeting DESCRIPTION:This month we are reading award-winning writer Stewart O'Nan's novel Wish You Were Here. Book club participants will receive 20% off the $14.00 price. Our store bookclubs are open to the public. We hope that you will join us! Below is a synopsis of our book for this month.
A year after the death of her husband\, Henry\, Emily Maxwell gathers her family by Lake Chautauqua in western New York for what will be a last vacation at their summer cottage. Joining is her sister-in-law\, who silently mourns the sale of the lake house\, and a long-lost love. Emily's firebrand daughter\, a recovering alcoholic recently separated from her husband\, brings her children from Detroit. Emily's son\, who has quit his job and mortgaged his future to pursue his art\, comes accompanied by his children and his wife\, who is secretly heartened to be visiting the house for the last time. Memories of past summers resurface\, old rivalries flare up\, and love is rekindled and born anew\, resulting in a timeless novel drawn\, as the best writing often is\, from the ebbs and flow of daily life.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120214T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120214T000000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/joshilyn-jackson-grown-kind-pretty URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/joshilyn-jackson-grown-kind-pretty SUMMARY:Joshilyn Jackson - A Grown Up Kind of Pretty DESCRIPTION:When a long-hidden grave is unearthed in the backyard\, headstrong young Mosey Slocumb is determined to investigate. What she learns could cost her family everything…
Every fifteen years\, trouble comes after the Slocumb women. Now\, as their youngest turns fifteen\, a whole new kind of commotion is chasing all three generations. Mosey’s desperate to know who used their yard as a make-shift cemetery\, and why. The oldest\, forty-five year old Ginny\, fights to protect Mosey from the truth\, a fight that could cost Ginny the love of her life. Between them is Liza\, silenced by a stroke\, with the answers trapped inside her. To survive Liza’s secrets and Mosey’s insistent adventures\, Ginny must learn to trust the love that braids the strands of their past—and stop at nothing to defend their future.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120218T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120218T000000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/eleanor-brown-weird-sister URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/eleanor-brown-weird-sister SUMMARY:Eleanor Brown - The Weird Sister DESCRIPTION:The Andreas sisters were raised on books - their family motto might as well be\, 'There's no problem a library card can't solve.'
Their father\, a renowned\, eccentric professor of Shakespearean studies\, named them after three of the Bard's most famous characters\: Rose (Rosalind - As You Like It)\, Bean (Bianca - The Taming of the Shrew)\, and Cordy (Cordelia - King Lear)\, but they have inherited those characters' failures along with their strengths.
Now the sisters have returned home to the small college town where they grew up - partly because their mother is ill\, but mostly because their lives are falling apart and they don't know where to go next.
Rose\, a staid mathematics professor\, has the chance to break away from her quiet life and join her devoted fiance in England\, if she could only summon up the courage to do more than she's thought she could. Bean left home as soon as she could\, running to the glamour of New York City\, only to come back ashamed of the person she has become. And Cordy\, who has been wandering the country for years\, has been brought back to earth with a resounding thud\, realizing it's finally time for her to grow up.
The sisters never thought they would find the answers to their problems in each other\, but over the course of one long summer\, they find that everything they’ve been running from – each other\, their histories\, and their small hometown – might offer more than they ever expected.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120218T182600Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120218T182600Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/rose-senehi-render-unto-valley URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/rose-senehi-render-unto-valley SUMMARY:Rose Senehi - Render Unto the Valley DESCRIPTION:Karen Godwell isn’t as much ashamed of her mountain heritage as of what she once had to do to preserve it.
Karen reinvents herself at college and doesn’t look back until her clan’s historic farm is threatened. The gutsy curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art returns to the mountains only to come face to face with who she was and what she did.
Descendants of the early settlers still have a grip on the farmlands deep in the folds of the southern Blue Ridge Mountains\, but the ground is shifting beneath their feet. Cousin Bruce\, the town historian\, sees life through the family’s colorful 200-year past\; Tom Gibbons\, a local conservationist\, keeps one eye on the mountains and the other on Karen\; Karen’s nine-year-old daughter\, Hali\, is in the throes of the mission her dying father sent her on\; and Karen is hiding the ugly secret that drove her away.
As she wrestles her dangerously cunning brother for the farm\, Karen straddles the divide between the staunchly independent mountain culture she comes from and the sophisticated world she has become a part of.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120219T190000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120219T190000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/jack-gardner-uptown URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/jack-gardner-uptown SUMMARY:Jack Gardner - Uptown DESCRIPTION:Which is worse? The lies we tell each other\, or the lies we tell ourselves?
When Stephen Rayfield\, a young\, gay professor arrives for dinner one evening at the home of his wealthy aunt and uncle\, he begins a journey through the social\, sexual and political tensions of Charlotte\, North Carolina.
As he wades into the choppy waters of Charlotte society\, Stephen becomes entangled with his Aunt Missy\, a vigorous social climber whose wealth and ambition can never afford quite enough distance from her humble beginnings\; Laura Caldwell\, Missy's best friend\, a woman of good intentions and repressive spirituality\; Alice Owens\, a physician reluctantly transplanted from San Francisco to Charlotte with her banker husband\; and Ben Caldwell\, Laura Caldwell's sexually confused eighteen-year-old son.
Uptown is a story of pretense and betrayal\, a portrait of a New South city whose greatest aspiration is simply to be noticed. Part Edith Wharton and part Sex and the City\, it is a reflection on the ways the past will always inform the present\, for better or worse\, and the fatal tension between what appears on the surface and the reality underneath.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120223T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120223T000000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/paula-broadwell-all-education-general-david-petraeus URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/paula-broadwell-all-education-general-david-petraeus SUMMARY:Paula Broadwell - All In\: The Education of General David Petraeus DESCRIPTION:In All In\: The Education of General David Petraeus\, Paula Broadwell and Vernon Loeb examine Petraeus’s career\, his intellectual development as a military officer\, and his impact on the U.S. military. Inherent in the story are salient lessons of transformational leadership -- inspirational insights for everyone from CEOs to young lieutenants.
While conducting research over the past three years\, Broadwell was afforded extensive access by General Petraeus\, his mentors\, his subordinates\, and his longtime friends. In addition to presenting a portrait of the strategic challenges of modern warfare from Petraeus's perspective and providing unique biographical snapshots of his development\, All In chronicles the outcome in Afghanistan of counterinsurgency strategies through the operational commands of several Petraeus protégés\, with special emphasis on those who\, like Petraeus\, served with the 101st Airborne Division. As America surveys a decade of untraditional warfare\, All In shows that this much is clear\: the career of General David Petraeus profoundly shaped our military and left an indelible mark on the next generation's leaders.
Paula Broadwell is a research associate at Harvard University's Center for Public Leadership and a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. She graduated with academic and leadership honors from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120521T185615Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120224T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120224T000000Z UID:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/rachel-simon-story-beautiful-girl URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/rachel-simon-story-beautiful-girl SUMMARY:Rachel Simon - The Story of Beautiful Girl DESCRIPTION:It is 1968. Lynnie\, a young white woman with a developmental disability\, and Homan\, an African American deaf man\, are locked away in an institution\, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded\, and have been left to languish\, forgotten. Deeply in love\, they escape\, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha\, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night\, Homan escapes into the darkness\, and Lynnie is caught. But before she is forced back into the institution\, she whispers two words to Martha\: "\;Hide her."\; And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie\, Homan\, Martha\, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles\, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.
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