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The Great Lenore

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The Great Lenore is the tale of a ravishing young Brit whose falsely-reported death provides her with an opportunity to begin a new life. Before she can disappear for good, however, she longs to know the reaction of her two-timing husband and his aristocratic family. To find out, Lenore enlists Richard – an outsider in the money-and-booze sodden landscape of Nantucket high society – to be her eyes and ears. As events unfold, Richard discovers the entanglements of Lenore’s relationships are more intricate than he ever expected – more intricate even than the secrets within Lenore’s miniature punt boat.

This elegant debut paints an idyllic island surrounded by reflective seas and encased in a world where souls collide, mysteries thicken, and dreams unravel. With lively, modern prose reminiscent of The Jazz Age, Tohline orchestrates a playful literary riff on affluence, love, grief, and duplicity. In the author’s words, ”[It] is about dreams, and about the things we sacrifice to chase them.”

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The Edge of Eden

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Life starts to unravel for Penelope when her husband, Rupert, drags their family to the remote Seychelles islands for an exotic diplomatic job in 1960. While Penelope pines for London, Rupert and their two daughters fall in love with this tropical paradise. The children run barefoot on the beach and become enraptured by the ancient magic, or grigri, that pervades this lush colonial outpost. Rupert, meanwhile, succumbs to the island’s other lures when a Seychelloise beauty sets her sights—and casts her spells—on him.

But Penelope and her daughter Zara won’t go down without a fight. In a desperate attempt to hold the family together, they each turn secretly to the local witchcraft with devastating results. Ultimately, Penelope and her family suffer unimaginable consequences that change their lives forever.

Benedict’s acerbic wit and evocative descriptions serve up a page-turner brimming with jealousy, sex, and intrigue in this ominous Eden.

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Las Vegas Noir

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In 2004, Akashic Books launched a groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, starting with the award-winning best-seller Brooklyn Noir. Each book is comprised of new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

In this chilling portrait of America’s Sin City, lady luck is just as likely to dispense cold hard cash as a cold-hearted killing.

Brand-new stories by: John O’Brien, David Corbett, Scott Phillips, Nora Pierce, Tod Goldberg, Bliss Esposito, Felicia Campbell, Jaq Greenspon, Jose Skinner, Pablo Medina, Christine McKellar, Lori Kozlowski, Vu Tran, Celeste Starr, Preston L. Allen, and Janet Berliner. — See below for full table of contents.

Las Vegas provides the classic sophistication and darkness necessary for a deadly noir story. Stylish, sultry, brimming with ambition and greed, the characters that populate this literary Las Vegas are pushed to the extremes of human experience. From the neon glitter of the Strip to the treacherous views of Red Rock Canyon and Boulder City, from the desperation of Naked City to the racial tensions of the Westside, no other location offers so many different avenues leading to serious trouble.

Many legendary authors have turned their attention to Vegas to investigate the city’s moods and mysteries. Now, the most recent crop of acclaimed writers explore the secret neighborhoods and byways of America’s most sinful city, offering readers not only compelling noir tales but also an insider’s understanding of this steamy oasis. These authors take readers beneath the surface flash of Freemont Street and the Strip and into the gritty multicultural environs of underground Vegas.

 

Table of Contents
Part I: Sin City
“The Tik” by John O’Brien (Scotch 80s) — Narrator: Darla Middlebrook
“Pretty Little Parasite” by David Corbett (Fremont) — Narrator: Arielle Lipshaw
“Mitzhav” by Tod Goldberg (Summerlin) — Narrator: Mike Vendetti
“Babs” by Scott Phillips (Naked City) — Narrator: Charles Bice
“This or Any Desert” by Vu Tran (Chinatown) — Narrator: Mike Vendetti

Part II: Neon Grit
“Benny Rojas and the Rough Riders” by Pablo Medina (West Las Vegas) — Narrator: Mike Vendetti
“Bits and Pieces” by Christine McKellar (Green Valley) — Narrator: Lee Ann Howlett
“Crip” by Preston L. Allen (Nellis) — Narrator: Darla Middlebrook
“Three Times a Night, Every Other Night” by Lori Kozlowski (North Las Vegas) — Narrator: Arielle Lipshaw
“Disappear” by Jaq Greenspon (Sunset Park) — Narrator: Charles Bice
“All About Balls” by Jose Skinner (East Las Vegas) — Narrator: Mike Vendetti

Part III: Tales from the Outskirts
“Atomic City” by Nora Pierce (Test Site) — Narrator: Charles Bice
“Dirty Blood” by Celeste Starr (Pahrump) — Narrator: Darla Middlebrook
“Guns Don’t Kill People” by Bliss Esposito (Centennial Hills) — Narrator: Diane Havens
“Murder Is Academic” by Felicia Campbell (Mount Charleston) — Narrator: Denice Stradling
“The Road to Rachel” by Janet Berliner (Area 51) — Narrator: Kenneth Campbell

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Reversing over Liberace

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Life, love and unlikely legacies.

Willow runs into Luke, the unrequited lust-of-her-life, ten years on and this time around he’s interested –– she’s lost twenty pounds and found fashion. But her best friends are suspicious that it’s too good to be true. What is Luke *really * after, Willow or her anticipated inheritance?

Her brother’s new friend Cal is gorgeous and…well… *gay.* Then reveals himself to be more than a mild, unassuming computer geek and she is no longer sure exactly *who* is telling the truth or who to trust.

Is anyone in her life what they seem to be?

Add to the romantic confusion, twelve pairs of rubber boots, two elderly spaniels, a pregnant sister and a disgruntled goat and you get a funny, touching story of a woman in search of revenge getting what she needs, rather than what she thinks she wants.

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