Download or read book The Hibiscus Homicides Blood and Blossoms in Paradise written by Albert Scales III and published by Albert Scales. This book was released on 2024-05-05 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the lush, sundrenched heart of Hawaii, a killer stalks the shadows, leaving death and devastation in their wake. For Detective Leilani Kealoha, the hunt for this elusive murderer will test her skills, resolve, and understanding of the islands she calls home. "The Hibiscus Homicides: Blood and Blossoms in Paradise" is a gripping tale of mystery and suspense set against the vibrant backdrop of modern Hawaii. When a series of brutal murders rocks the islands, each crime scene adorned with the haunting signature of a blood-red hibiscus, Leilani finds herself drawn into a web of darkness and deception that threatens to consume everything she holds dear. As the body count rises and the killer's methods grow more twisted, Leilani must navigate a complex landscape of cultural tensions, ancient traditions, and deep-seated corruption to uncover the truth. With the help of her tech-savvy partner, Kai Nakamura, she follows a trail of clues that will lead her from the glittering high-rises of Honolulu to the mist-shrouded valleys of the outer islands, all the while racing against the clock to stop the murderer before they can strike again. But as Leilani delves deeper into the mystery, she begins to suspect that the killer's motives are far more sinister than simple violence. The hibiscus, a symbol of power and royalty in Hawaiian culture, hints at an agenda rooted in the island's tumultuous history and the simmering resentments of a people struggling to preserve their way of life in the face of relentless change. To catch the killer and bring them to justice, Leilani will have to confront the darkness in others and the shadows lurking within herself. She will have to draw on all of her strength, all of her knowledge of Hawaiian culture and tradition, to unmask the twisted soul behind the hibiscus murders and restore balance to the islands she has sworn to protect.Steeped in the richness of Hawaiian mythology and the complexities of island life, "The Hibiscus Homicides" is a story of resilience, redemption, and the enduring power of ohana (family) in the face of unimaginable evil. It is a must-read for fans of atmospheric thrillers, multicultural mysteries, and anyone who has ever dreamed of paradise... and wondered what darkness might lurk beneath the surface

Download or read book Paradise of the Pacific written by Susanna Moore and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-09 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of Hawaii may be said to be the story of arrivals -- from the eruption of volcanoes on the ocean floor 18,000 feet below to the first hardy seeds that over millennia found their way to the islands, and the confused birds blown from their migratory routes. Early Polynesian adventurers sailed across the Pacific in double canoes. Spanish galleons en route to the Philippines and British navigators in search of a Northwest Passage were soon followed by pious Protestant missionaries, shipwrecked sailors, and rowdy Irish poachers escaped from Botany Bay -- all wanderers washed ashore. This is true of many cultures, but in Hawaii, no one seems to have left. And in Hawaii, a set of myths accompanied each of these migrants -- legends that shape our understanding of this mysterious place. Susanna Moore pieces together the story of late-eighteenth-century Hawaii -- its kings and queens, gods and goddesses, missionaries, migrants, and explorers -- a not-so-distant time of abrupt transition, in which an isolated pagan world of human sacrifice and strict taboo, without a currency or a written language, was confronted with the equally ritualized world of capitalism, Western education, and Christian values.

Download or read book Paradise Crime Thrillers Books 4 6 written by Toby Neal and published by Neal Enterprises INC. This book was released on with total page 760 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paradise can’t contain a woman out for justice. Sophie Ang has escaped a dark past to right wrongs as a crime fighter, and she won’t let anything stand in her way. Grab this second box set in an award-winning series, and dive into paradise with Sophie Ang as she navigates thrillers with “more twists than a bag of eels!” WIRED DARK: Tech security specialist Sophie Ang returns to Maui, working alongside dynamic partner Jake Dunn to solve a series of bizarre and escalating threats against a rocker with a beach mansion. But soon, catching a crazed stalker becomes the least of Sophie’s problems. A deadly enemy is hell-bent to take her down, along with anyone she cares about. WIRED DAWN: Sophie Ang goes “off the grid” into the remote valley of Kalalau on Kaua`i, where she stumbles across the disappearance of a young boy. As she races against time to save him, uncovering ugly secrets hidden in the heart of the jungle, the events she tried to flee on Oahu gather momentum. Special Agent Marcella Scott wades in to deal with what a cyber vigilante left behind, trying to clear her friend from a murder charge. WIRED JUSTICE: Sophie Ang’s lovable dog Ginger has a nose for murder and leads her tech sleuth mistress through perilous lava fields on the Big Island to a terrible discovery. Sophie is plunged into a new investigation with dynamic partner, Jake Dunn, searching for a missing young woman who is just one of many. Sparks fly between the two as they dig into layers of deception and darkness, rousing the attention of true evil. “Toby Neal’s prose is often effortless and elegant...persistently riveting.” Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book Blood and Earth written by Kevin Bales and published by Random House. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For readers of such crusading works of nonfiction as Katherine Boo’s Beyond the Beautiful Forevers and Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains comes a powerful and captivating examination of two entwined global crises: environmental destruction and human trafficking—and an inspiring, bold plan for how we can solve them. A leading expert on modern-day slavery, Kevin Bales has traveled to some of the world’s most dangerous places documenting and battling human trafficking. In the course of his reporting, Bales began to notice a pattern emerging: Where slavery existed, so did massive, unchecked environmental destruction. But why? Bales set off to find the answer in a fascinating and moving journey that took him into the lives of modern-day slaves and along a supply chain that leads directly to the cellphones in our pockets. What he discovered is that even as it destroys individuals, families, and communities, new forms of slavery that proliferate in the world’s lawless zones also pose a grave threat to the environment. Simply put, modern-day slavery is destroying the planet. The product of seven years of travel and research, Blood and Earth brings us dramatic stories from the world’s most beautiful and tragic places, the environmental and human-rights hotspots where this crisis is concentrated. But it also tells the stories of some of the most common products we all consume—from computers to shrimp to jewelry—whose origins are found in these same places. Blood and Earth calls on us to recognize the grievous harm we have done to one another, put an end to it, and recommit to repairing the world. This is a clear-eyed and inspiring book that suggests how we can begin the work of healing humanity and the planet we share. Praise for Blood and Earth “A heart-wrenching narrative . . . Weaving together interviews, history, and statistics, the author shines a light on how the poverty, chaos, wars, and government corruption create the perfect storm where slavery flourishes and environmental destruction follows. . . . A clear-eyed account of man’s inhumanity to man and Earth. Read it to get informed, and then take action.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “[An] exposé of the global economy’s ‘deadly dance’ between slavery and environmental disaster . . . Based on extensive travels through eastern Congo’s mineral mines, Bangladeshi fisheries, Ghanian gold mines, and Brazilian forests, Bales reveals the appalling truth in graphic detail. . . . Readers will be deeply disturbed to learn how the links connecting slavery, environmental issues, and modern convenience are forged.”—Publishers Weekly “This well-researched and vivid book studies the connection between slavery and environmental destruction, and what it will take to end both.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review) “This is a remarkable book, demonstrating once more the deep links between the ongoing degradation of the planet and the ongoing degradation of its most vulnerable people. It’s a bracing reminder that a mentality that allows throwaway people also allows a throwaway earth.”—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

Download or read book Japanese Death Poems written by and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 1998-04-15 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A wonderful introduction the Japanese tradition of jisei, this volume is crammed with exquisite, spontaneous verse and pithy, often hilarious, descriptions of the eccentric and committed monastics who wrote the poems." --Tricycle: The Buddhist Review Although the consciousness of death is, in most cultures, very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem." Such a poem is often written in the very last moments of the poet's life. Hundreds of Japanese death poems, many with a commentary describing the circumstances of the poet's death, have been translated into English here, the vast majority of them for the first time. Yoel Hoffmann explores the attitudes and customs surrounding death in historical and present-day Japan and gives examples of how these have been reflected in the nation's literature in general. The development of writing jisei is then examined--from the longing poems of the early nobility and the more "masculine" verses of the samurai to the satirical death poems of later centuries. Zen Buddhist ideas about death are also described as a preface to the collection of Chinese death poems by Zen monks that are also included. Finally, the last section contains three hundred twenty haiku, some of which have never been assembled before, in English translation and romanized in Japanese.

Download or read book The Spiritual Significance of Flowers written by Mother and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new set of two volumes on flowers is available in three editions: English, French and German, all priced at Rs 2500. Each variety of flower, according to the Mother, has its own special quality and meaning. During her lifetime she gave names or significances to 898 flowers. In this book these flowers, with their significances, are arranged thematically in twelve chapters. In each chapter flowers of related significance are grouped together and placed in a sequence that develops the chapter's theme. Brief quotations from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother accompany many significances as an aid to understanding them. 630 colour photographs help to identify the flowers and reveal their beauty. A separately bound reference volume contains indexes, glossaries, descriptions of the flowers and botanical information on them. To view more details, as well as sample pages, A href= ../catalog/show.php?id=flowerENG click here/a .

Download or read book Monster Mash Murder written by Leslie Langtry and published by Gemma Halliday Publishing. This book was released on 2023-10-17 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a hauntingly hilarious mystery... What’s scarier than ex-CIA agent Merry Wrath’s Girl Scout troop? How about the spookiest Halloween haunted house ever? And the girls have found the perfect place to hold it—a disturbingly dilapidated Victorian with something in the basement that gives off some serious we're-all-gonna-die vibes. Tween mayor Ava bought the house with city funds, which has drawn the ire of grumpy city inspector, Gilbert Moody. Who also happens to be the only one in town who is not afraid of the most terrifying Girl Scout in Merry's troop, the infamous Betty. This cranky civil servant has the paperwork to condemn any building, and he’s not afraid to use it! Merry’s got a horrifyingly full plate this fall, from her Chechen brothers-in-law moving in with her after their pregnant wives kicked them out, to the troop illegally adopting a sullen turkey vulture named Reggie. And now her favorite ice cream parlor, Sugar Lips’ Feeling Lucky House of Delights has been condemned! Moody would be feeling her wrath…if he hadn’t been murdered by zombies inside the haunted house! Following a cryptic series of confusing clues and dodging a hail of bullets, Merry needs to find the killer fast if she's going to save this Halloween! What critics are saying about Leslie Langtry's books: "I laughed so hard I cried on multiple occasions! Girl Scouts, the CIA, and the Yakuza... what could possibly go wrong?" ~ Fresh Fiction "Darkly funny and wildly over the top, this mystery answers the burning question, 'Do assassin skills and Girl Scout merit badges mix…?'" ~ RT BOOKreviews "Mixing a deadly sense of humor and plenty of sexy sizzle, Leslie Langtry creates a brilliantly original, laughter-rich mix of contemporary romance and suspense." ~ Chicago Tribune "Langtry gets the fun started from page one." ~ Publisher's Weekly

Download or read book Meerkats and Murder written by Leslie Langtry and published by Gemma Halliday Publishing. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a former CIA agent turned Girl Scout Troop leader, and a murder that will keep you guessing until the end! Just as Merry Wrath’s former career as a CIA agent seems to be fading into a distant memory, the agent turned Girl Scout troop leader discovers that her beloved little suburban ranch house may not be what it seems. When a masked gunman breaks in to demand the return of "Nye," she fears that she may not have been the first spy to live there. What…or who is "Nye?" And when Merry trips over the dead body of that same gunman later at the zoo, she realizes that her favorite king vulture and his mouthy scarlet macaw friend may be witnesses to a murder. Suddenly this becomes much more personal, and her list of suspects grows from a cosplaying teenaged demigod zookeeper, to a possible plot by the Russians... which may even include Merry's old arch-nemesis. Things aren’t going well for her Girl Scout troop either, as a new addition causes trouble, and the girls begin to turn against each other—sparking way more than just preteen angst. From a dangerous close encounter with a mythical red wolf, to a jovial, geriatric group of Russian expats who brew their own mind-bending vodka, Merry Wrath worries that if she doesn’t find the killer soon, this case may be her last. Merry Wrath Mysteries: Merit Badge Murder – book #1 Mint Cookie Murder – book #2 Scout Camp Mystery – short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection Marshmallow S'More Murder – book #3 Movie Night Murder – book #4 Mud Run Murder – book #5 Fishing Badge Murder – short story in the "Pushing Up Daisies" collection Motto for Murder – book #6 Map Skills Murder – book #7 Mean Girl Murder – book #8 Marriage Vow Murder – book #9 Mystery Night Murder – book #10 Meerkats and Murder– book #11 What critics are saying about Leslie Langtry's books: "I laughed so hard I cried on multiple occasions while reading MARSHMALLOW S'MORE MURDER! Girl Scouts, the CIA, and the Yakuza... what could possibly go wrong?" ~ Fresh Fiction "Darkly funny and wildly over the top, this mystery answers the burning question, 'Do assassin skills and Girl Scout merit badges mix…" ~ RT BOOKreviews "Mixing a deadly sense of humor and plenty of sexy sizzle, Leslie Langtry creates a brilliantly original, laughter-rich mix of contemporary romance and suspense." ~ Chicago Tribune "Langtry gets the fun started from page one with a myriad of clever details." ~ Publisher's Weekly

Download or read book Iced in Paradise written by Naomi Hirahara and published by Prospect Park Books. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leilani Santiago is back in her birthplace, the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, to help keep afloat the family business, a shave ice shack. When she goes to work one morning, she stumbles across a dead body, a young pro surfer who was being coached by her estranged father. As her father soon becomes the No. 1 murder suspect, Leilani must find the real killer and somehow safeguard her ill mother, little sisters, and grandmother while also preserving a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend in Seattle.

Download or read book The House on Mango Street written by Sandra Cisneros and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2013-04-30 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic about a young girl growing up in Chicago • Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world—from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. “Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become. “In English my name means hope,” she says. “In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting." Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time. Like Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street or Toni Morrison’s Sula, it makes a world through people and their voices, and it does so in language that is poetic and direct. This gorgeous coming-of-age novel is a celebration of the power of telling one’s story and of being proud of where you're from.

Download or read book Tampa Bay Noir Akashic Noir written by Colette Bancroft and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tampa Bay joins Miami in representing the (alleged) Sunshine State in the Noir Series arena. “Fifteen tales that reveal the dark side of sunny Tampa Bay.” —Kirkus Reviews Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographic area of the book. Brand-new stories by: Michael Connelly, Lori Roy, Ace Atkins, Karen Brown, Tim Dorsey, Lisa Unger, Sterling Watson, Luis Castillo, Sarah Gerard, Danny López, Ladee Hubbard, Gale Massey, Yuly Restrepo Garcés, Eliot Schrefer, and Colette Bancroft.

Download or read book Get Dirty written by Gretchen McNeil and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-06-16 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now streaming on Netflix and BBC iPlayer! The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil's sharp and thrilling sequel to Get Even. Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Karen M. McManus, and Maureen Johnson. The members of Don't Get Mad aren't just mad anymore . . . they're afraid. And with Margot in a coma and Bree under house arrest, it's up to Olivia and Kitty to try to catch their deadly tormentor. But just as the girls are about to go on the offensive, Ed the Head reveals a shocking secret that turns all their theories upside down. The killer could be anyone, and this time he—or she—is out for more than just revenge. The girls desperately try to discover the killer's identity as their own lives are falling apart: Donté is pulling away from Kitty and seems to be hiding a secret of his own, Bree is sequestered under the watchful eye of her mom’s bodyguard, and Olivia's mother is on an emotional downward spiral. The killer is closing in, the threats are becoming more personal, and when the police refuse to listen, the girls have no choice but to confront their anonymous “friend” . . . or die trying.

Download or read book The Spectator written by and published by . This book was released on 1889 with total page 926 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Edwidge Danticat written by Mary Ellen Snodgrass and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-05-23 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comet in the mounting firmament of third-world, non-white, female writers, Edwidge Danticat stands apart. An accomplished trilingual children's and YA author, she is also an activist, op-ed and cinema writer, and keynote speaker. Much of her work introduces the world to the cultural uniqueness of Haiti, the first black republic, and the elements of African heritage, language, and Vodou that continue to color all aspects of the island's art and self-expression. This companion provides an in-depth look into the world and writings of Danticat through A-Z entries. These entries cover both her works and the prevalent themes of her writing, including colonialism, slavery, superstition, adaptation, dreams and coming of age. It also provides a biography of Danticat, a list of 32 aphorisms from her fiction, a guide to the names and histories of the real places in her fiction, lesson planning aids, and a robust glossary offering translations and definitions for the many Creole, French, Japanese, Latin, Spanish, and Taino terms in Danticat's writing.

Download or read book In the Time of the Butterflies written by Julia Alvarez and published by Algonquin Books. This book was released on 2010-01-12 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, internationally bestselling author and literary icon Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies is "beautiful, heartbreaking and alive ... a lyrical work of historical fiction based on the story of the Mirabal sisters, revolutionary heroes who had opposed and fought against Trujillo." (Concepción de León, New York Times) Alvarez’s new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, is coming April 2, 2024. Pre-order now! It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas—the Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters--Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and the survivor, Dedé--speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from secret crushes to gunrunning, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez’s imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love, and the human costs of political oppression. "Alvarez helped blaze the trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream, with novels like In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas."—Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review "This Julia Alvarez classic is a must-read for anyone of Latinx descent." —Popsugar.com "A gorgeous and sensitive novel . . . A compelling story of courage, patriotism and familial devotion." —People "Shimmering . . . Valuable and necessary." —Los Angeles Times "A magnificent treasure for all cultures and all time.” —St. Petersburg Times "Alvarez does a remarkable job illustrating the ruinous effect the 30-year dictatorship had on the Dominican Republic and the very real human cost it entailed."—Cosmopolitan.com

Download or read book Her Daughter s Mother written by Daniela Petrova and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-06-18 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: She befriended the one woman she was never supposed to meet. Now she's the key suspect in her disappearance. For fans of The Perfect Mother and The Wife Between Us comes a gripping psychological suspense debut about two strangers, one incredible connection, and the steep price of obsession. Lana Stone has never considered herself a stalker--until the night she impulsively follows a familiar face through the streets of New York's Upper West Side. Her target? The "anonymous" egg donor she'd selected through an agency, the one who's making motherhood possible for her. Hungry to learn more about her, Lana plans only to watch her from a distance. But when circumstances bring them face-to-face, an unexpected friendship is born. Katya, a student at Columbia, is the yin to Lana's yang, an impulsive free spirit who lives life at the edge. And for pragmatic Lana, she's a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from her painful breakup with her baby's father. Then, just as suddenly as Katya entered Lana's life, she disappears--and Lana might have been the last person to see her before she went missing. Determined to find out what became of the woman to whom she owes so much, Lana digs into Katya's past, even as the police grow suspicious of her motives. But she's unprepared for the secrets she unearths, and their power to change everything she thought she knew about those she loves best...

Download or read book The Football Girl written by Thatcher Heldring and published by Delacorte Press. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For every athlete or sports fanatic who knows she's just as good as the guys. This is for fans of The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Grace, Gold, and Glory by Gabrielle Douglass and Breakaway: Beyond the Goal by Alex Morgan. The summer before Caleb and Tessa enter high school, friendship has blossomed into a relationship . . . and their playful sports days are coming to an end. Caleb is getting ready to try out for the football team, and Tessa is training for cross-country. But all their structured plans derail in the final flag game when they lose. Tessa doesn’t want to end her career as a loser. She really enjoys playing, and if she’s being honest, she likes it even more than running cross-country. So what if she decided to play football instead? What would happen between her and Caleb? Or between her two best friends, who are counting on her to try out for cross-country with them? And will her parents be upset that she’s decided to take her hobby to the next level? This summer Caleb and Tessa figure out just what it means to be a boyfriend, girlfriend, teammate, best friend, and someone worth cheering for. “A great next choice for readers who have enjoyed Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen and Miranda Kenneally’s Catching Jordan.”—SLJ “Fast-paced football action, realistic family drama, and sweet romance…[will have] readers looking for girl-powered sports stories…find[ing] plenty to like.”—Booklist “Tessa's ferocious competitiveness is appealing.”—Kirkus Reviews “[The Football Girl] serve[s] to illuminate the appropriately complicated emotions both of a young romance and of pursuing a dream. Heldring writes with insight and restraint.”—The Horn Book