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Skyfire
May 2012. India is hit by a series of freak weather disturbances and startling epidemics that threaten to bring the country to its knees. At the same time, children are disappearing from the slums in the capital and nobody seems to care.Stumbling upon these strange and seemingly unrelated incidents, journalist Chandrasekhar, historian Meenakshi Pirzada and intelligence operative Syed Ali Hassan start upon a trail that leads them into the drawing rooms of Delhi’s glittering high society before reaching a terrifying climax in Bhutan, where they come face-to-face with a force of unspeakable power and evil.Bestselling author Aroon Raman’s third novel, Skyfire, is a heart-stopping thriller that will chill you to the bone.Praise for The Shadow Throne‘A racy read … distinctly etched, the plot engaging and the writing taut’ HinduPraise for The Treasure of Kafur‘Another bestseller in the making’ New Indian Express
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Madam Commissiner (मॅडम कमिशनर)
‘प्रामाणिक, सक्षम, निष्पक्ष योद्धा’ ज्युलिओ रिबेरो ‘लक्षवेधक’ ट्रिब्यून ‘सिस्टीम समोर धडाडीने उभी राहिलेली पहिली महिला पोलीस अधिकारी’ शोभा दे ‘एक अद्भुत, निराळी कथा’ सायरस ब्रोचा ‘वाचायलाच हवे, असे महत्त्वाचे पुस्तक’ इंडियन एक्सप्रेस भारतातील सर्वांत प्रामाणिक, निडर पोलीस अधिकाऱ्यांपैकी एकाची अतुलनीय गाथा भारताच्या राष्ट्रीय पोलीस अकादमीमधून पदवी प्राप्त करणाऱ्या मीरां चढ्ढा बोरवणकर या १९८१च्या बॅचमधील एकमेव महिला. अकादमीतून बाहेर पडल्यावर आपल्या कारकिर्दीत कित्येक संवेदनशील आणि वादग्रस्त प्रकरणांची एक लांबलचक मालिका त्यांनी अनुभवली. भ्रष्टाचार आणि भेदभाव यांना तोंड देत, विविध गुन्ह्यांसाठी एकत्रितपणे लढा देत असताना त्यांनी आपल्या आंतरिक सचोटीशी कधीही तडजोड केली नाही. अंगभूत कौशल्यांबरोबरच सातत्यपूर्वक प्रयत्नांमुळे त्या महाराष्ट्राच्या पहिल्या महिला जिल्हा पोलीस प्रमुख, तसेच पहिल्या महिला पोलीस आयुक्त बनल्या. त्यांनी ‘सेंट्रल ब्युरो ऑफ इन्व्हेस्टिगेशन’ आणि मुंबईच्या क्राईम ब्रँचमध्ये वरिष्ठ भूमिकाही सांभाळल्या. अखेरीस ‘ब्युरो ऑफ पोलीस रिसर्च अँड डेव्हलपमेंट’, ‘नॅशनल क्राईम अँड रेकॉर्ड ब्युरो’च्या महासंचालक म्हणून त्या निवृत्त झाल्या. कायद्याचे राज्य स्थापन करण्याच्या ध्येयाने प्रेरित असलेल्या मीरां, या देशाच्या गुन्हेगारी न्याय व्यवस्थेवर टीका करण्यास कधीही डगमगल्या नाहीत; प्रसंगी देशातील वरिष्ठ पदांवरील व्यक्तींनाही त्यांनी थेट आव्हान दिले. भारतीय कायद्याची अंमलबजावणी करणाऱ्या आपल्या छत्तीस वर्षांच्या कारकिर्दीत मीरां यांनी कित्येक खळबळजनक प्रकरणांचा पर्दाफाश केला आहे. जळगाव सेक्स स्कँडल, दागिन्यांच्या पेढीवरील लूट, महामार्गावरील दरोडे, जातीय दंगली, क्रूर हत्या, सामूहिक बलात्कार, बंदरातील चोरी, आर्थिक फसवणूक, इथपासून ते छोटा राजन, दाऊद इब्राहिमची बहीण हसीना पारकर यांसारख्या कुख्यात गुन्हेगारांशी त्यांची चकमक झडली. राज्य कारागृह प्रमुख या नात्याने, संजय दत्तचा तुरुंगवास, तसेच अजमल कसाब आणि याकुब मेमन यांच्या फाशीची देखरेख करताना त्यांनी आक्रमक प्रसारमाध्यमे आणि सरकारी दबाव यांचा अविचलपणे सामना केला आणि त्याद्वारे खाकी परिधान करण्याचे महत्त्व आणि त्यातील आव्हाने, दोन्ही अधोरेखित केले. चित्तथरारक अनुभूती देणाऱ्या, अंतर्मुख होऊन विचार करायला लावणाऱ्या आणि अखंड प्रेरणा देणाऱ्या या प्रामाणिक ‘मॅडम कमिशनर’चा हा जीवनपट म्हणजे भारतीय पोलीस सेवेतील एका महिला अधिकाऱ्याची संस्मरणीय यात्रा आहे. युनिफॉर्ममध्ये स्वारस्य असलेल्या सर्वांनी, तसेच कायदा-सुव्यवस्थेबद्दल आस्था असणाऱ्या प्रत्येक सुजाण नागरिकाने हे पुस्तक वाचणे आवश्यक आहे.
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My Father Drank My Lover and Other Stories
An eclectic collection of short stories inspired by mythology, fantasy, sci-fi and the paranormal. A bag travels the universe looking for evil, bigoted civilizations to consume. The machinations of a dark and terrible goddess lead to unexpected outcomes. A girl child is married off in a technologically advanced dystopic world steeped in prejudice and intolerance. A desperate mother tries to bring her children back to nature from a digital existence. In each of these stories and more, Ashok Banker assaults the senses through shock and awe. Exploring overarching themes of love, feminism, equality and social justice, these eleven refreshingly original works of imagination are powerful, dark and haunting.
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Manner Of Death
Reeling from a devastating encounter that nearly ended his life, Jack Stapleton is still in recovery leaving his wife Laurie Montgomery, New York’s chief medical examiner, to manage a difficult situation at home and an even tougher one at work. When a young man appears on the medical examiner’s table, an apparent death by suicide, Laurie is compelled to try and understand what happened. The autopsy reveals the disturbing possibility that foul play was involved, and provides many more questions than answers. Ignoring her own professional rules, Laurie personally investigates who might want Ryan dead and why. So begins a descent into a dangerous world filled with ruthless individuals who will do anything to protect their business interests, and that might just cost Laurie her life . . .
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Madam Commissioner:The Extraordinary Life of an In
The incredible memoir from one of India’s most uncompromising police officers. Meeran Chadha Borwankar graduated from India’s National Police Academy as the sole woman of its 1981 batch. From there, she would go on to investigate a long string of sensitive and controversial cases, fighting crime together with corruption and discrimination, never compromising on her integrity. Meeran’s steadfast efforts saw her become Maharashtra’s first female district police chief as well as its first woman police commissioner. She also held senior roles at the Central Bureau of Investigation and Mumbai’s crime branch, eventually retiring as Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the National Crime Records Bureau. All through she remained unafraid to critique the country’s criminal justice system, challenging even those in the highest echelons until the rule of law prevailed. In this candid account of her thirty-six years in Indian law enforcement, Meeran details the sensational cases that defined her career: from the Jalgaon sex scandal to jewellery heists, highway dacoities to communal riots, brutal murders to gang rapes, port thefts to financial frauds, and brushes with notorious criminals such as Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar. As the state prisons chief, she navigated intense media and government pressure while overseeing Sanjay Dutt’s imprisonment and the executions of Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon, thereby outlining both the significance and challenges of donning the khaki. Gripping, thought-provoking and always inspiring, Madam Commissioner is as honest a memoir can get about life as a woman officer of the Indian Police Service. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the uniform and indeed for concerned citizens everywhere.
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Night Shift
Juggling intense work with family pressures, Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery are married doctors with hectic schedules. The last thing they need on their plates is a murder. When Laurie’s long-time friend Dr Sue Passero dies mysteriously in a hospital car park, an autopsy is required. It falls squarely under Laurie’s remit as newly-appointed chief medical examiner but, when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the examination, he can hardly refuse. As he looks more closely into the case, Jack senses foul play around Sue's sudden death. He sets out to investigate on-site at Manhattan Memorial Hospital, even if it means defying the rules. What starts as an inquiry soon becomes a deadly game of cat-and-mouse – between Jack Stapleton and a deranged killer, ready to strike again . . .
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The High Notes
A star is born in the The High Notes, a compelling tale by the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel.
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Size Doesn't Matter
Heather should be happy. She’s finally got a boyfriend and although he was only supposed to be her "rebound guy", things have gotten serious fast . . . She's also actually passing her first college course, and better yet her dad’s moving out. On the down side, her boss, Dr. Veatch, may well be the most boring man on the face of the planet . . . But that hardly seems reason enough to put a bullet through his head. Can Heather find her boss’s murderer, answer Tad’s question, and get her landlord Cooper to realize that by letting her go, he’s making the biggest mistake of his life, all while maintaining a fifteen hundred calorie per day diet?
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Queen of Babble in the Big City
isaster-prone Lizzie Nichols manages to put her foot in it again, in Queen of Babble in the Big City, the second in Meg Cabot's witty and romantic series. When "Summer Fling" Luke uses the L word (Living Together), Lizzie is only too happy to move in with the love of her life in his mother's Fifth Avenue pied-à-terre. But Lizzie's not as lucky in her employment search. As her best friend, Shari, finds the perfect job, Lizzie struggles through one humiliating interview after another, until Shari's boyfriend Chaz lands Lizzie a receptionist's position at his father's posh law firm; the non-paying gig at a local wedding-gown shop Lizzie manages to find all on her own. But Lizzie's notoriously big mouth gets her into trouble almost at once-first at the law firm, where she becomes too chummy with a society bride, and then with Luke when she brings up the M word (Marriage). Soon Lizzie finds herself jobless and homeless all over again. Can Lizzie save herself and find career security (not to mention a committed relationship) at last? 'She is the master of her genre . . . the George Bernard Shaw if not the George Eliot of chick lit' Publishers Weekly
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Nawabs Nudes Noodles
This is as much the story of Indian advertising as it is about India. Ad veteran Ambi Parameswaran looks at how advertising has evolved, reflecting the country's culture, politics and economy in the last fifty years. From sartorial taste and food habits to marriage and old age, music and language to celebrities and censorship, Ambi examines over a hundred ads to study how the Indian consumer has changed in the past five decades and how advertising and society have shaped each other. Combining anecdote and analyses to give us a slice of modern history, Ambi evaluates the relationship between affluence, aspiration and desire in India. Exploring trends and impacts, he covers the ads that captured the imagination of the entire country. From 'Only Vimal' and 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' to 'Jo biwi se kare pyaar' and the controversial Tuffs shoes campaign, the book is a memorable journey through brands, consumers and the world of advertising.
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Fall From Grace
'An inspiring riches to rags story from the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel You find strength when you're at your weakest . . . When Sydney's husband dies, she is dealt another devastating blow. He never changed his will and she is forced to leave the beautiful home they shared. On a flight from Paris to New York, an emergency landing forces her into the arms of Paul Zeller. The pair bond over a shared love of fashion, and before long they go into business together. But Sydney's daughters are less than impressed by their mother's mysterious new acquaintance . . . Offered a job at Paul's high-street clothing chain, Sydney thinks her luck has turned. But when a scandal hits the company, it's Sydney in the firing line. Humiliated, publicly shamed, destitute - Sydney hits rock bottom. There are only two choices: giving up or starting over. With the unwavering support of her daughters and the assistance of an unlikely business partner, Sydney discovers that her greatest adventure might still be to come . . . Fall From Grace is an inspirational story about relying on the support of family in times of trouble, by the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel.
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The Curse of Mohenjo Daro
2016 A.D. When footage of a team of archaeologists bursting into flames at the ancient site of Mohenjodaro goes viral, the world is horrified and shaken. While authorities suspect it to be an incendiary terrorist attack, Nadia Osbourne determines to find her archaeologist sister, Layla, convinced that she has survived. Her frantic search takes her to the ruins and forces her to confront her own demonsher inexplicable dreams about a woman named Jaya. 3800 BC. The city of Meluhha is on the brink of a revolution and Iaf and his coterie of corrupt priests will do anything to maintain their power. Jaya is the only one who can read the Bloodstone, the heart of the Goddess Shakari and divine the future. But with her daughter under Iafs control, will Jaya be able to prevent what is to come? Inspired by the legends surrounding the lost Indus Valley city, The Curse of Mohenjodaro is a gripping thriller about a powerful relic, a sinister cult and family secrets that haunt generations.
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The CEO Who Lost His Head
Murder in a newspaper office, Bollywood, dhoka - Aditya Sinha�s unputdownable novel is crime fiction at its best Morning Analysis CEO Buster Das has been found dead in his office with his head bashed in. When unlikely detective duo Sandesh Solvekar and Mona Ramteke make it their mission to catch the reckless criminal, they find themselves knee-deep in Mumbai�s sordid world of dissolute starlets, business moguls and a sell-out media, even as they attempt to deal with a dysfunctional police machinery and their own secret lives. The list of suspects is also turning out to be a head scratcher - Theres the eccentric editor-in-chief, the irreverent and savvy dating editor and several vice-presidents who would kill to be CEO. A whodunit as wicked as it is irresistible, this is a cracker of a novel that takes Indian crime writing to dazzling new heights.
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The Party Worker
Bestselling author Omar Shahid Hamid's third and most chilling novel yet. A burnt out New York cop, an eighty-year-old Parsi sitting in a decaying Karachi mansion, a hit-man whose days are numbered, a journalist who dreams of the big time. When a Jewish woman is killed on the steps of the Natural History Museum in New York, disparate lives are thrown together for one purpose - To bring about the downfall of the Don, the uncrowned king of Karachi. The Party Worker explores the Machiavellian politics of Pakistan's busiest city, where friends come bearing bullets and enemies can wait patiently for decades before striking. Gritty, disturbing and compelling, this is Omar Shahid Hamid at his best. Praise for Omar Shahid Hamid.,I strongly suggest that Western policy makers read The Prisoner before they next call for a military crackdown on Islamist militancy in Pakistan New York Review of Books., An exhilarating crime novel Hamids portrayal of the city, the police and the byzantine political play is nuanced and sophisticated NPR.,A book that one simply will not be able to put down Dawn.,gripping crime thriller with a heart-wrenching denouement a haunting human-interest story Hindu.,No matter how many books Omar Shahid Hamid writes, he will never fail to give you an ending you never, in your wildest dreams, expected Deccan Chronicle., racy page-turner, a rollicking ride but with dark undertones Hamid has established his status as the first Pakistani crime writer writing in English Friday Times.
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Cometh The Hour
#1 number series on the Sunday Times bestseller list showcases Jeffrey Archer's extraordinary storytelling with his trademark twists.Cometh the Hour opens with the reading of a suicide note, which has devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton, Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia.Giles must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin, the woman he loves,from behind the Iron Curtain. But is Karin truly in love with him,or is she a spy? Lady Virginia is facing bankruptcy, and can see no way out of her financial problems, until she is introduced to the hapless Cyrus T. Grant III from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who's in England to see his horse run at Royal Ascot. Sebastian Clifton is now the Chief Executive of Farthings Bank and a workaholic, whose personal life is thrown into disarray when he falls for Nadira, a beautiful Indian girl. But her parents have already chosen the man she is going to marry. Meanwhile, Sebastian's rivals Adrian Sloane and Desmond Mellor are still plotting to bring him and his chairman Hakim Bishara down, so they can take over Farthings. Harry Clifton remains determined to get Anatoly Babakov released from a gulag in Siberia, following the international success of his acclaimed book, Uncle Joe. Harry's wife Emma convinces her new friend Margaret Thatcher to raise the subject with the Russian President when she visits Moscow. But then something unexpected happens that none of them could have anticipated.
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The Happiness Trap
Do you ever feel stressed, worried, miserable or unfulfilled yet put on a happy face and pretend everything�s fine? If so, you are not alone. Stress, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem are very common. In one way or another, it seems almost everyone is struggling. We are all caught in a hidden psychological trap: the more we strive for happiness the more we suffer in the long term. Fortunately, we can all escape from the �Happiness Trap� using ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), a groundbreaking program based on mindfulness skills. This empowering book is for everyone-from CEOs to sales staff, young professionals to housewives. This book will teach you scientifically proven techniques to: Reduce stress and worry Rise above fear, doubt and insecurity Break self-defeating habits Improve performance and find fulfilment Build satisfying relationships and, above all Create a rich and meaningful life Dr. Harris shines a powerful beacon forward into the night. Enjoy the journey. You are in excellent hands Steven Hayes, bestselling author of get out of your mind and into your life.
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Do You Know Any Good Boys
So Meeti, do you cook?� �Sometimes � Pasta.� �How about nice round rotis?� If I were a little kid, this could be the moment I flung a toy car at his face. When Meeti Shroff-Shah recruited her parents to find her a husband, she didn�t think she�d have to meet more than forty men before she was married. As she waded through biodatas, signed up on matrimonial sites, frequented astrologers, dealt with meddling aunties and made her way through the terrifying arranged-marriage jungle, she discovered within herself a rare kind of perseverance and the very vital ability to laugh at most things. In her outrageously funny book, Do You Know Any Good Boys?, Meeti guides the reader step by step, latte by latte, on how to brave the process of the modern Indian arranged marriage and emerge triumphant, with spirit intact and ring finger appropriately bedecked
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The Origin of Species
In 1859, Charles Darwin outlined his theory of evolution in The Origin of Species. Darwin's argument that species had been evolving and differentiating over time under the influence of natural selection revolutionized scientific thought, shook the very foundations of existing philosophical and religious thought and remains controversial even today. Delightfully readable, this epochal work is the key to understand the evolution of mankind.
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Hari-A Hero for Hire
Terrifically entertaining read, it's one of the best crime novels set in India written by anyone� � Ashok Banker Hari Majestic is back with a bang and his own detective agency. When his first case of suspected marital infidelity goes from super boring to super dangerous in one giant leap, he lands in the Globalized Style Super Speciality Hospital with a broken leg. But trouble follows him when he wakes up after the operation to find that life will never be the same again. And can he really trust the very charming Nurse Diamond? Set in engaluru�s downmarket Majestic area, Hari�s adventures escalate as he with the help of his crazy friends a video pirate, a cybercafe owner and a macho autorickshaw driver goes deeper undercover than anybody�s ever been before in this spicy medical thriller.
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The Art of Living...
How many people can honestly say that they are really living? This book gives a glimpse into what it means to live totally and consciously and how living can become an art. Osho presents and explores five principles : non-violence, non-possessiveness, non-theft, non-desire and non-unawareness. He shows how they can be applied to everyday life by bringing awareness to the simplest of actions and the minutest of details, as well as to the most powerful of human energies, sex. Through directly encountering the depths of the unconscious and aspects of our human nature that we most shy away from, we can rise to the highest peaks of consciousness. Through these talks, Osho invites the reader to begin his own unique inner journey towards that state of ultimate liberation that is the potential of every human being.
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Assassins
nternational bestselling writer Mukul Deva thrills again in�Assassins,�the scorching sequel to�Weapon of Vengeance. Seven years after they conspired to kill Pakistani politician Benazir Basheer, two men, Pakistani Premier Asif Zardosi and ex-dictator General Pervaiz Masharrat, will reach Delhi on the very same day. Also converging on Delhi is assassin Leon Binder, who is seeking to bring down the curtain on a deadly three-decades-long career with a spectacular double hit. Standing between Leon and his targets is one man: retired Inspector General of Police Ravinder Singh Gill. But Ravinder is reeling from the death of his daughter, Ruby, and for failing to prevent her from destroying the Israeli-Palestinian peace summit. His self-confidence has been shattered. To make matters worse, his mission becomes immediately treacherous when his most senior officer is found brutally tortured and murdered; it is obvious Ravinder's team has been penetrated.
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The Year Of The Runaways
Three young men from very different backgrounds come together in a journey from India to England, where they hope to begin something new. To support their families, where they can, to build their future, to show their worth, to escape the past. They have almost no idea of what awaits them. In a dilapidated shared house in Sheffield, Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his life in Bihar. Avtar has a secret that binds him to the unpredictable Randeep. Randeep, in turn, has a visa-wife in a flat on the other side of town, whose cupboards are full of her husbands clothes, in case the immigration men surprise her with a visit. She is Narinder and her story is the most surprising of them all. Utterly absorbing and beautiful in its scope, The Year of the Runaways is written with compassion and touched by grace. As Tochi, Avtar, Randeep and Narinder negotiate their dreams, desires and shocking realities, as their histories continue to pull at them, as the seasons pass, what emerges is a novel of overwhelming humanity: one which asks how far we can decide our own course in life and what we should do for love, for faith and for family.