From the critically acclaimed author of Confessions of a Tax Collector and The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp comes The Highly Effective Detective--a hilarious and thrilling series debut featuring a lovable but bumbling private investigator. Meet Teddy Ruzak, the oversized, over-his-head P.I. whose first case begins with the hit-and-run killing of a gaggle of goslings. After his ailing mother dies, Teddy quits his job as a night watchman to fulfill his childhood dream of being a detective. With little planning and even less foresight, he hangs up his shingle and hires his favorite waitress from the local diner to be his Girl Friday. And his first case? Bringing to justice the thoughtless driver who mows down six baby geese. Not the most exciting assignment--until Teddy's "wild-goose chase" quickly evolves into an investigation of a vicious murder.

In a picture-postcard town, in the sunny suburban home of Bob T. Hash III, something altogether strange and amazing has occurred: An African gray parrot (and beloved pet) named Comenius has suddenly and unexpectedly transformed into a man. It seems this unassuming exotic bird, heretofore content to mind its own business, has miraculously metamorphosed into the spitting image of his unsuspecting master, Bob T. Hash III--right down to the smartly pressed suit, dashing necktie, and sensible horn-rims. As luck (or some darker design?) would have it, no one witnesses this astonishing feat of shapeshifting. And in a serendipitous twist of fate (luck's fickle cousin), the genuine Bob T. Hash III--having apparently absconded to Acapulco with his charming assistant--is conveniently AWOL. Thus the coast is clear for the puzzled (but not entirely displeased) parrot to exit the wings and do what parrots do best: imitate their owners--a charade the avian impostor rises to...

*“I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne—if I can stay alive long enough to claim it.” *After eluding relentless assassination attempts by Prince Cel, her cousin and rival for the Faerie crown, Meredith Gentry, Los Angeles private eye, has a whole new set of problems. To become queen, she must bear a child before Cel can father one of his own. But havoc lies on the horizon: people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways, and suddenly the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So now, while she enjoys the greatest pleasures of her life attempting to conceive a baby with the warriors of her royal guard, she must fend off an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality. And that’s just her day job. . . .From the Paperback edition.Amazon.com ReviewFaerie princess and private detective Meredith Gentry juggles love, sex, intrigue, magic, and more in this witty and sensual novel from Laurell K. Hamilton. Merry has her hands full: she's desperate to conceive a child and thereby claim the Unseelie throne; she's the target of intrigue from both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts; her newest client is an exiled goddess with a secret that could get them all killed; and a hideous fey force that alarms even her formidable lover-warriors is loose in Los Angeles.A Caress of Twilight is infused with Hamilton's characteristic appealing blend of sex, magic, wit, and romantic dilemma. The mystery takes a back seat to the concerns of Faerie power and politics, making the book less balanced, but Merry's growth in leadership and power, along with a bang-up ending, won't leave fans disappointed. Readers new to Hamilton might be advised to start with A Kiss of Shadows or the extremely popular Anita Blake series. --Roz GenesseeFrom Publishers WeeklyIn the second R-rated outing (after 2000's A Kiss of Shadows) from bestseller Hamilton to feature bright and winsome faery princess Meredith Gentry, the unlikely shamus, who runs an L.A. detective agency with a staff of faery musclemen (plus a pet goblin), seems to spend almost as much time pondering her position in the fey world as attending to her client, glamorous film star Maeve Reed, actually a Seelie goddess, who needs Meredith's help in getting pregnant. Meredith does what she can for Maeve, although she has troubles enough of her own in the conception game. As one of two possible heirs to the Unseelie throne, the other being her nasty cousin, Prince Cel, Meredith must produce her own child and then, by faery tradition, marry her partner. It isn't easy, since any father must be kingly material, but our heroine is a game lass, and her failure is not for lack of trying. In an exciting climax, the LAPD Bureau of Human and Fey Affairs summons Meredith to battle a fearsome, crawling, tentacled and slobbering monster, the Nameless, which was too blithely created by opposing faery courts her own, the Unseelie, ruled by her millennium-old aunt, Queen Andais, and the Seelie, ruled by the ruthless and equally ancient King Taranis. More attention to the detective motif might have made the story more fun, but steamy prose and Meredith's obsessive personal conflicts should keep the faithful turning the pages. (Apr. 2)Forecast: With a 10-city author tour, national print advertising and the success of last year's Narcissus in Chains and other novels in her Anita Blake vampire series, Hamilton should make another run at the bestseller lists.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

She sees dead people — and they see her. Chloe Saunders used to have a pretty normal life. But that changed on the day she met her first ghost. Now she finds herself in the midst of some really strange situations. First, she gets locked up in Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens. Then she finds out that there's more to her housemates than meets the eye. Will Chloe be able to uncover the dangerous secrets of Lyle House . . . or will its skeletons come back to haunt her? This thrilling first volume in the supernaturally charged trilogy Darkest Powers, by international bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, will keep readers awake well into the darkest time of night.

Danson Lafleur's been on a crusade to investigate deported criminals who return undetected to Canada, and now he's missing. Can he be the unidentified man in the morgue? Danson's desperate sister pleads with artist and amateur sleuth Hollis Grant to search for her brother, since the police don't appear to be taking his disappearance seriously. Leads seem to connect Danson and Gregory, his mystery flat-mate, to drugs. But who is Gregory, and what is his connection to the Russian mob? As Hollis investigates, she clashes with homicide detective Rhona Simpson, a woman annoyed by amateur sleuths in general and Hollis Grant in particular. Rhona, adjusting to a new, attractive, enigmatic partner, wants Hollis off the case. Toronto in November is as cold as Danson's trail. Will Hollis connect the dots before the body count rises?

A warm, tender and utterly hilarious story about love and betrayal from the author of the hugely successful The Yorkshire Pudding Club

Author Hans Jacob Goebeler served as control room mate aboard U-505. He died in 1999, and author John P. Vanzo is a former defense program analyst. He teaches political science and geography at Bainbridge College in Georgia.

The mercury's soaring—and so are the body temperatures of three lucky couples:The Guy Diet by Thea DevineDisillusioned food columnist Lo Cavallero only wants her men "lite." But what will happen when dishy newsman Jed Costigan tries to convince her that he's more than just a scrumptious morsel?Light My Fire by Debbi RawlinsJordan Samms has a mountain to climb-led by supersexy wilderness guide Zach Wilde. Before long, they're lighting each other's fire every night. But will the flames stay smokin' hot or blaze out of control!No Reservations by Samantha HunterEdie Stevens is shocked when überhottie property owner Joel Roberts appears at her vacation cottage because of a mix-up with the dates. Seems they'll steer clear of one another…yeah, but how will they handle the sizzling chemistry?

As usual, the Strega-Borgia family can't seem to get a break: They've just welcomed a newborn boy Strega-Borgia into the world, but before they can give him a name, he's snatched and replaced with a demon baby. Mrs. McLachlan, the super-efficient (and supernatural) nanny is back, safe and sound--but so is the demon Isagoth, and he hasn't forgotten what he wants from the Strega-Borgias. And evil Uncle Lucifer has resurfaced, but this time he has the added ammunition of a pact with S'tan the First Minister of the Headen Executive--otherwise known as His Imperial Inflammableness, his S'tainless Steeliness, and the Arch-Fiend. And S'tan himself is desperate to find the Chronostone, because. . . well, to put it bluntly, Hades is starting to freeze over, and without the Chronostone, he may never regain his power.The family's got to be ready--because this will be the final battle between good and evil, the battle where winner takes all. And they're going to need all...

Funny, tough, and heartbreaking—often all at once—Mimi Lipson's debut collection is a grand tour of bars, diners, bus stations, dog parks, hardcore clubs, vacant lots, and other places that draw people whose inner lives are richer than their wallets. Lipson's alter ego, the sharp-tongued and sharp-eyed Kitty, appears in a variety of guises: as a seven-year-old on a Florida vacation scammed by her roguish father, as a college student who receives a stunningly crucial education outside the classroom, as a passenger whose life changes on a cross-country bus. After meeting her parents, her brother, her friends and co-workers, we are introduced to Isaac, the sui generis manchild who becomes both her lover and her charge, a human roller-coaster who swings her between delight, exasperation, and mortal peril.Like a dinner composed of appetizers, Lipson's book is very nearly a novel, in mosaic form, without all theboring parts. Her wit is as sharp as a serpent's...