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The Duchess ...
A richly-drawn, evocative historical novel set in nineteenth century England and Paris, from the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel. The incomparable Danielle Steel breaks new ground as she takes us to nineteenth-century England, where a high-born young woman is forced out into the world—and begins a journey of survival, sensuality and long-sought justice. Angélique Latham has grown up at magnificent Belgrave Castle under the loving tutelage of her father, the Duke of Westerfield, after the death of her aristocratic French mother. At eighteen she is her father's closest, most trusted child, schooled in managing their grand estate. But when he dies, her half-brothers brutally turn her out, denying her very existence. Angélique has a keen mind, remarkable beauty and an envelope of money her father pressed upon her. To survive, she will need all her resources—and one bold stroke of fortune. Unable to secure employment without references or connections, Angélique desperately makes her way to Paris, where she rescues a young woman fleeing an abusive madam—and suddenly sees a possibility: Open an elegant house of pleasure that will protect its women and serve only the best clients. With her upper-class breeding, her impeccable style and her father's bequest, Angélique creates Le Boudoir, soon a sensational establishment where powerful men, secret desires and beautiful, sophisticated women come together. But living on the edge of scandal, can she ever make a life of her own—or regain her rightful place in the world. From England to Paris and New York, Danielle Steel captures an age of upheaval and the struggles of women in a male-ruled society—and paints a captivating portrait of a woman of unquenchable spirit, who in houses great or humble is every ounce a duchess.
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LANKA'S PRINCESS
Surpanakha, Ravan's infamous sister-ugly and untamed, brutal and brazen. This is how she is commonly perceived. One whose nose was sliced off by an angry Lakshman and the one who started a war but was she really just perpetrator of war? Or was she a victim? Was she Lanka's princess? Or was she the reason for its destruction? Surpanakha, meaning the woman as hard as nails was born as Meenakshi-the one with beautiful, fish-shaped eyes. Growing up in the shadows of her brothers, who were destined to win wars, fame and prestige, she, instead, charts up a path filled with misery and revenge. Accused of manipulating events between Ram and Ravan, which culminated in a bloody war and annihilation of her family, Surpanakha is often the most misunderstood character in the Ramayana. Kavita Kane's Lanka's Princess tells the story from the vantage of this woman more hated than hateful... About the Author Kavita Kane is the best-selling author of Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen, Sita's Sister and Menaka's Choice. She started her career as a journalist and is now a full-time novelist. She is a post-graduate in English literature and mass-communications and a self-confessed aficionado of theatre and cinema. Married to a mariner, she is a mother to two teenaged daughters and currently lives in Pune along with Dude, the overfriendly Rottweiler, Chic, the friendly spaniel and Babe, the unfriendly cat.
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To Kill The President
A blockbuster thriller from No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sam Bourne, in which Maggie Costello uncovers an assassination plot to kill the tyrannical new president. The unthinkable has happened. The United States has elected a volatile demagogue as president, backed by his ruthless chief strategist, Crawford ‘Mac’ McNamara. When a war of words with the North Korean regime spirals out of control and the President comes perilously close to launching a nuclear attack, it's clear someone has to act, or the world will be reduced to ashes. Soon Maggie Costello, a seasoned Washington operator and stubbornly principled, discovers an inside plot to kill the President – and faces the ultimate moral dilemma. Should she save the President and leave the free world at the mercy of an increasingly crazed would-be tyrant – or commit treason against her Commander in Chief and risk plunging the country into a civil war?
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Long Summer Days
'The most successful novelist on Planet Earth' – Washington Post Treasures Kate Hardesty had inherited her father’s charts for finding sunken treasure. So now she has to ask for help from the only man she trusts to tackle the treacherous dive: Ky Silver – the man she’d left behind four years ago. Working in such close quarters with Ky meant more than searching for gold – it meant finding a priceless treasure. Temptation Socialite Eden Carlbough was born into privilege but when her father dies, she has to start a new life working at a girls’ camp. When the kids chase her up a tree, Eden finds herself falling into the strong, capable arms of orchard owner Chase Elliot. Her handsome neighbour is clearly an assertive alpha male, which Eden finds both irritating and totally tempting…
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Three Thousand Stitches
So often, it's the simplest acts of courage that touch the lives of others. Sudha Murty-through the exceptional work of the Infosys Foundation as well as through her own youth, family life and travels-encounters many such stories . . . and she tells them here in her characteristically clear-eyed, warm-hearted way. She talks candidly about the meaningful impact of her work in the devadasi community, her trials and tribulations as the only female student in her engineering college and the unexpected and inspiring consequences of her father's kindness. From the quiet joy of discovering the reach of Indian cinema and the origins of Indian vegetables to the shallowness of judging others based on appearances, these are everyday struggles and victories, large and small. Unmasking both the beauty and ugliness of human nature, each of the real-life stories in this collection is reflective of a life lived with grace. About the Author Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in north Karnataka. She did her MTech in computer science, and is now the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has written novels, technical books, travelogues, collections of short stories and non-fictional pieces, and four books for children. Her books have been translated into all the major Indian languages. Sudha Murty was the recipient of the R. K. Narayan Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006, and the Attimabbe Award from the government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature in 2011.
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Found Dead
Ponty Chadha, Sheena Bora, Sunanda Pushkar, Neeraj Grover, Jiah Khan—murders and deaths that continue to horrify. In Found Dead, Shantanu Guha Ray, veteran journalist and winner of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka award, takes a close look at nine cases that are some of the most macabre and cruel conspiracies in the criminal history of urban India. Interspersed with interviews with several investigators, including the ex-Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Rakesh Maria, Found Dead highlights the real reasons for murders most foul, deaths most unfortunate, carefully-orchestrated plots and spine-chilling conspiracies. A gripping look at crimes by one of the best known journalists in the country, Found Dead is a grim reminder of the adage that not only does crime never pays, but there is nothing called a perfect murder.
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When Dimple Met Rishi
The arranged-marriage YA romcom you didn't know you wanted or needed... Meet Dimple. Her main aim in life is to escape her traditional parents, get to university and begin her plan for tech world domination. Meet Rishi. He's rich, good-looking and a hopeless romantic. His parents think Dimple is the perfect match for him, but she's got other plans... Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways. Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon, WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI is a frothy, funny contemporary romance set at a coding convention in San Francisco over one exciting summer. Told from the dual perspectives of two Indian American protagonists, Dimple is fighting her family traditions while Rishi couldn't be happier to follow in the footsteps of his parents. Could sparks fly between this odd couple, or is this matchmaking attempt doomed to fail?
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Just Breathe
How do we find peace, permanence and certainty in a world that is, by its very nature, impermanent, uncertain and volatile? The reality is that we experience our entire lives through the mind, and all our experiences of pain and pleasure, satisfaction and dissatisfaction stem from there. To create meaning and be happy, we must train our minds to become a fit instrument that supports our well-being and enables us to reach our full human potential.
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Kiss The Girls
Alex Cross’s niece, Naomi, is missing. Cross fears the disappearance could be linked to a string of recent abductions and murders. Two brilliant and twisted killers, operating on opposite sides of the country, are collaborating and competing, encouraging each other to perpetrate increasingly horrific crimes. Cross must hunt down these two brutal masterminds – not only to rescue his niece, but also to save the lives of the many others still in danger…
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Bulls Eye
As the most powerful men on earth gather in New York for a meeting of the UN, Detective Michael Bennett receives intelligence warning that there will be an assassination attempt on the US president. Even more shocking, the intelligence suggests that the Russian government could be behind the plot. Tensions between America and Russia are the highest they've been since the Cold War, but this would be an escalation no one could have expected. The details are shadowy, and Bennett finds false leads and unreliable sources at every turn. But he can’t afford to get this wrong. If the plotters succeed, the shockwaves will be felt across the globe.
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The Flesh Tailor
When Dr James Dalcott is shot dead in his cottage it looks very much like an execution. And as DI Wesley Peterson begins piecing together the victim's life, he finds that the well-liked country doctor has been harbouring strange and dramatic family secrets. Meanwhile, archaeologist Neil Watson has discovered a number of skeletons in nearby Tailors Court that bear marks of dissection and might be linked to tales of body snatching by a rogue physician in the sixteenth century. But when Neil finds the bones of a child buried with a 1930s coin, the investigation takes a sinister turn. Who were the children evacuated to Tailors Court during World War II? And where are they now? When a link is established between the wartime evacuees and Dr Dalcott's death, Wesley is faced with his most challenging case yet.
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Watchman
Bombs are exploding in the streets of London, but life seems to have planted more subtle booby-traps for Miles Flint. Miles is a spy. His job is to watch and to listen, then to report back to his superiors, nothing more. The job, affording glimpses into the most private lives of his victims, appeals to Miles. He doesn't lust after promotion, and he doesn't want action. He wants, just for once, not to botch a case. Having lost one suspect - with horrific consequences - Miles becomes too involved with another, a young Irishwoman. His marriage seems ready to crumble to dust. So does his home. But Miles is given one last chance for redemption - a trip to Belfast, which quickly becomes a flight of terror, murder and shocking discoveries. But can the voyeur survive in a world of violent action?
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The Dealer And The Dead
The arms dealer betrayed them. Now the survivors want revenge.SOMETIMES, surviving a war can almost seem worse than dying in it. In a Croatian village near Vukovar, no one who survived will ever forget the night they waited for the weapons they needed to make a last-ditch fight against the advancing Serbs. The promised delivery never came, and the village was overrun. Eighteen years later, a body is unearthed from a field, and with it the identity of the arms dealer who betrayed them. Now the villagers can plot their revenge. In leafy England, arms dealer Harvey Gillott regards himself as a man of his word. There is only one blemish on his record, and that was long ago. But Gillott, his family, his friends and his enemies are about to be pitched into a sequence of events that will unfold across Europe with breath-taking drama and almost biblical power. Harvey Gillott is about to find out what happens when the hand of the past suddenly reaches out to the present - and it's holding a gun.
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Resurrection Men
Rebus is off the case. A few days into a murder inquiry following the brutal death of an Edinburgh art dealer, Rebus blows up at DCS Gill Templer. He is sent to the Scottish Police College for 'retraining'. In other words, he's in the Last Chance Saloon. Rebus is given an old, unsolved case to work on, in order to teach him and others the merits of teamwork. But there are those in the team who have their own secrets - and they'll stop at nothing to protect them. As if this wasn't enough, Rebus is asked to act as a go-between for gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty. And as newly promoted DS Siobhan Clarke works the case of the murdered art dealer, she is brought closer to Cafferty than she could ever have anticipated . . .
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City Boy
In this no-holds-barred, warts-and-all account of life in London's financial heartland, Cityboy breaks the Square Mile's code of silence, revealing tricks of the trade and the corrupt, murky underbelly at the heart of life in the City. Drawing on his experience as a young analyst in a major investment bank, the six-figure bonuses, monstrous egos, and the everyday culture of verbal and substance abuse that fuels the world's money markets is brutally exposed as Cityboy describes his ascent up the hierarchy of this intensely competitive and morally dubious industry, and how it almost cost him his sanity.
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Dublin Dead
A drug deal gone bad. A daughter gone missing. A hit man on the loose. And five days to find the answers. As journalist Siobhan Fallon embarks on a hunt for a missing girl, DI Mike Mulcahy uncovers a link between Ireland's largest-ever drugs haul and the murder of an Dublin gangster in Spain. With the body count mounting, Mulcahy and Fallon plunge into a world of lies, betrayal and unexpected allegiances - where a powerful enemy will stop at nothing to silence the one person still alive who knows the truth...
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Match Up
This exciting new collaboration features twenty-two of the world's top thriller authors, who have paired up to write eleven short stories featuring their best-loved characters. Find out what happens when Lee Child's Jack Reacher meets Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brannan, or how Val McDermid's Tony Hill and Peter James' Roy Grace end up working together on a very unusual case. These are just some of the never-beforeseen pairings included in Match Up.Edited by international bestseller Lee Child, this exclusive page-turning collection promises the same thrills and chills brought to you by the previous collection, Face Off. Read on to discover the full list of author and character pairings: Diana Gabaldon's Claire Randall Fraser + Steve Berry's Cotton MaloneLisa Scottoline's Bennie Rosato + Nelson DeMille's John Corey Sandra Brown's Coburn + C. J. Box's Joe PickettKathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan + Lee Child's Jack ReacherVal McDermid's Tony Hill + Peter James's Roy GraceCharlaine Harris's Harper Connelly + Andrew Gross's Ty HauckGayle Lynds's Liz Sansborough + David Morrell's RamboKarin Slaughter's Jeffrey Tolliver + Michael Koryta's Lincoln PerryLara Adrian's Lucan Thorne + Christopher Rice J. A. Jance's Ali Reynolds + Eric Van Lustbader's Bravo ShawLisa Jackson's Regan Pescoli + John Sandford's Lucas Davenport About the Author This collaboration between twenty-two of the world's bestselling crime writers is edited by Lee Child.
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The Demon Hunter Of Chottanikkara
Deep within the peaceful land of Kerala lies a small village called Chottanikkara that is infested with horrifying demons—towering brahmarakshasas, former priests who have become demons after committing abominable sins; kollivaipei, devils that have torches of fire in place of mouths; mohini pisaacha, who seduce men by taking the form of beautiful women, and suck the breath out of their victims; vethaalam who cling to the backs of those they prey on, making them hunch over in agony; jalpisaacha, who lurk in old, disused wells waiting for unsuspecting humans to dive into the water so they may possess them; pretha, who are covered in hyena-like fur, and specialize in feasting on the bodies of half-burnt corpses in cremation grounds, and many others more. All these demons crave the sweet blood of humans and their herds of cattle, goats and chickens. The only defence the terrified villagers have against these monsters is Devi, a demon hunter skilled in all the arts of war and exorcism. Every time the demons creep out of their accursed haunts, she and her faithful companion, an enormous lion called Ugra, hunt them and slay them ruthlessly. Until now. For a creature out of her worst nightmares is spreading terror throughout Chottanikkara, a monster so evil and powerful that it is immune to every weapon and magic art that Devi possesses. For the first time in her life, as she prepares for her final showdown with the demon, Devi is wracked with fear, and indecision, for this one battle she knows she might lose… Part supernatural thriller, and part horror story, The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara announces the arrival of a ferociously gifted storyteller.
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My Hanuman Chalisa
Reflecting on one of Hinduism’s most popular prayer for positive energy Acclaimed mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik demystifies the Hanuman Chalisa for the contemporary reader. His unique approach makes the ancient hymn accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations. Every time we experience negativity in the world and within ourselves, every time we encounter jealousy, rage, and frustration, manifesting as violation and violence, we hear, or read, the Hanuman Chalisa. Composed over four hundred years ago by Tulsidas, its simple words in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi, and its simple metre, musically and very potently evoke the mythology, history, and mystery of Hanuman, the much-loved Hindu deity, through whom Vedic wisdom reached the masses. As verse follows verse, our frightened, crumpled mind begins to expand with knowledge and insight, and our faith in humanity, both within and without, is restored.
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The Future Of Indian Economy
In 1991, when India faced a major economic crisis, the government asked the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan. To prevent a repeat, the government introduced reforms in the economy in accordance with the international trend of privatization and globalization. This was a milestone as it changed Indian markets and the financial sector in the country. Foreign direct investment was encouraged, public monopolies were restricted and service and tertiary sectors were developed. Since then, all sectors of the economy have changed their approach and strategies. The economic reforms have completed twenty-five years and this book debates on the achievements and failures of this policy. It draws upon the research insights and opinions of academicians, scholars and practising managers who, apart from the analysis, also offer their views on the corrective measures needed.
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Advice And Dissent
Any governor of the Reserve Bank of India must walk a tightrope. He must seem to be independent - but without offending the government of the day. He is not equal to the government but must convince others that he is not subordinate to it either. And if he can do all this with the right policies in place, he may leave behind a career as illustrious as that of Dr Y.V. Reddy, Governor of the RBI from 2003 to 2008, a time of high growth, low inflation, an appreciated rupee and a robust banking system that withstood the global financial crisis. Advice and Dissent throws light on the lessons of Dr Reddy's fascinating professional life, as on the politics of his years in public service. About the Author Dr Y. V. Reddy is a former IAS officer of the 1964 batch who served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2003 to 2008. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2010.
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Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds will delve into the complex and intricate lives of some of the most talked - About terrorists of the country. Dr Jalees Ansari, a doctor from Malegaon involved in eighty blasts, including some on railway tracks, was supposed to be a quiet, peace-loving medical professional. Fahmida Ansari, a housewife and mother of two from the Jogeshwari slums of north-west Mumbai, physically planted the bombs herself in a bus and taxis and returned home as if nothing had happened. What drove them to such violent designs? What were their compulsions? Can a human being be so ruthless and heartless and why? The book will explore the lives, early beginnings, careers and sudden transformations of such persons into merchants of death.