Showing results by narrator "Phil Gigante" in All Categories

n this mercilessly compelling thriller, Burke - the private eye, sting artist, and occasional hit man who metes out a cruelly ingenious vengeance on those who victimize children - is up against a soft-spoken messiah who may be rescuing runaways or recruiting them for his own hideous purposes. But in doing so Burke becomes a target for an entire Mafia family, a whore with a heart of cyanide, and a contract killer as implacable as a heart-seeking missile.

In Burke, Andrew Vachss gave readers of crime fiction a hero they could believe in, an avenger whose sense of justice was forged behind bars and tempered on New York’s meanest streets. In this blistering thriller, Burke is drawn into his ugliest case yet, one that involves an underground network of abused women and the sleekly ingenious stalkers who’ve marked them as their personal victims. Burke’s client is Crystal Beth, a beautiful outlaw with a tattoo on her face and a mission burned into her heart. She’s trying to shield one of her charges from a vengeful ex with fetishes for Nazism and torture.

The rich are very different from you and me. Blessed by great wealth, they can get what they want, even what they shouldn’t have. Cursed by great wealth, they become the targets of others who will risk everything to become affluent. Nelson DeMille introduces twenty original tales by today’s most elite mystery writers who explore the life (and death) styles of the rich and infamous.

After a life in various war zones, Dell and Dolly have settled in this town, fulfilling Dolly's lifelong dream. Though she has given up her nursing career and moved smoothly into civilian life, Dell had been a mercenary, so they both have to sacrifice their prior identities. When the star of the girls' softball team shoots and kills the most popular boy in school, Dolly asks Dell to uncover the motive behind this inexplicable crime. It doesn't take him long to uncover a horrifying rite of passage.

Even though a midlife crisis just crashed into Hap Collins like a runaway pickup, he's still got his job, he knows his best friend, Leonard Pine, will always be there for him, and, of course, he's got his main squeeze, Brett Sawyer. Things hit a new low, however, when Brett's daughter, Tillie, who's been walking on the wrong side of the law, suddenly stands in need of a rescue. It won't be easy - it never is - but nothing is going to stop Hap and Leonard as they hit the road destined for Hootie Hoot, Oklahoma.

Terry Naughton, head of Orange County's Crimes Against Youth unit, is the champion of children. Someone calling themselves the Horridus has been abducting children from their beds, dressing them like little angels, and releasing them the next day, the only clue he leaves is a piece of snakeskin tucked into the folds of their gowns. So far he hasn't physically harmed any of them, but as Naughton well knows, it's only a matter of time.

Autumn, 1837. Blazing onward from the eastern shores, to Missouri, the legendary wagon train sent by U.S. President Andrew Jackson has reached the last outpost of civilization. Now five hundred strong, these brave pioneers set a course across the great rolling plains toward the treacherous Rockies, hoping to stake a claim in the American West. Led by their new wagon master, “Whip” Holt, they must unite as a team if they are to survive, despite their vast differences.

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths - for good and evil - of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies.

Jim and Angelina are on holiday on the paradise planet Lussuoso, where the very, very rich can avail themselves of rejuvenating treatments and become young again. Just when boredom seems about to set in, Jim learns that Angelina has disappeared, seemingly the victim of a religious scam. Evil genius Justin Slakey has a machine that allows him to travel between universes. He uses it to prey on religious believers, tricking them out of their money and then using them as slaves in his coal mines. Aided by his twin sons, James and Bolivar, Slippery Jim descends to a planet that seems to be a real-life version of Hell....

In the searing fourth novel in the Mastered Series, following Unraveled, only one woman can set a hardened fighter free from his past.... In order to survive a life of tragedy, Deacon McConnell embraced his roughest edges and learned to fight on the streets. Then a life-changing jujitsu seminar led by Sensei Ronin Black led Deacon to become a professional fighter. With his muscular physique and his body covered in tattoos and scars, the MMA fighter defines mean, both on and off the mat.

Eddie starts stealing cars long before he's old enough to get a license. Driven by a force so compelling that he never questions, just obeys. After a series of false starts, interrupted by stays in juvenile institutions, he connects with two brothers, professional criminals who make Eddie one of their own. But, when their last job goes to hell - alarms blaring, and police sirens closing fast - Eddie stands his ground at the wheel.... In prison Eddie's skills and loyalty come to the attention of J.C., a notorious and respected hijacker.

While doing extended time for killing a fellow prisoner, Wesley meets Carmine Trentoni in a New York state prison. Carmine's life sentence hasn't cut him off from his outside sources, and he sees great potential in Wesley to carry out his revenge. Wesley emerges from prison prepared to be the perfect hit man: calculating, deadly, and driven by money. On his release, Wesley follows Carmine's directions to locate a Mr. Petraglia. Pet and Wesley set up shop in Brooklyn, and execute their assignments with finesse - and occasionally, more explosives than are strictly called for.

The town of Lake Woebegotton, MN is a small town, filled with ordinary (yet above average) people, leading ordinary lives. Ordinary, that is, until the dead start coming back to life, with the intent to feast upon the living! Now this small town of above average citizens must overcome their petty rivalries and hidden secrets in order to survive an onslaught of the dead.

Although the English king tried to wrest it away, the Highland Targe - ancient relic and protector of Scottish lands - still lies safely in the hands of clan MacAlpin. But for how long? Jeanette MacAlpin trained her entire life to become the next Guardian of the Targe, but that duty has now fallen to her cousin Rowan - a duty Rowan can't seem to master. Fearful for her clan's future, Jeanette seeks the solace of a sacred wellspring, and there encounters tawny-skinned Highland warrior Malcolm MacKenzie.

In this impressive, well-researched biography, Phelps separates historical fact from long-standing myth to reveal the life of Nathan Hale, a young man who deserves to be remembered as an original American patriot. Using Hale's own journals and letters as well as testimonies from his friends and contemporaries, Phelps depicts the Revolution as it was seen from the ground.

As a teenager, Gracie worshipped her stepbrother, Jason, a strong, silent young cowboy who left home early to seek his fortune. Though Gracie hadn't seen him in years, when her mother passed away, Jason ensured that Gracie would be cared for. Now the wealthy owner of Comanche Wells ranch, Jason has finally come back home, and discovered that the little girl he knew is all grown up. When a moment of unbridled passion results in a kiss, Jason realizes that he's falling for Gracie.

As a therapist specializing in sexual issues, psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Snow isn't easily shocked, or shaken, as readers of the popular "Butterfield Institute" novels know. There are times, however, when the need for her services leads her out of the office... and into unfamiliar worlds. In these stories, the therapist matches her wits -and her training - against three men of mystery: Jack Reacher, John Rain, and Cotton Malone.

Deep within the NSA is Desk Three, a top-secret unit of special operatives inserted into the field when the threat is great and the response demands sensitivity and invisibility. Charlie Dean, a former Marine sniper, is a senior officer. With his colleagues Lia DeFrancesca and newcomer Ilya Akulinin, they form the core of a high-tech team known as Deep Black.

When Charise Lee, a young Asian Canadian soprano, is found stabbed in the heart backstage during rehearsals, she suddenly goes from scarcely being seen as a star to taking center stage. Georgetown law professor Mac Smith thought he'd just be carrying a rapier in Tosca as a favor to his beloved Annabel, but now they're both being pressured by the panicked theater board to unmask a killer. Providing accompaniment will be former homicide detective, current P.I., and eternal opera fan Raymond Pawkins.

In Footsteps of the Hawk Burke himself is in danger of becoming a victim. Two rogue cops are stalking him. The coolly seductive Belinda Roberts wants him to free a man charged with a grisly string of rape-murders. The brutal and half-crazy Detective Jorge Morales may be trying to frame Burke for the same crimes.