A Deadly Beauty

A beauty pageant turned ugly… A local beauty contest is being terrorized with threats to the pageant officials and contestants. When one contestant is killed, and another contestant's mother goes missing, Detective Maddie Divine is drawn into the case. But she has more on her plate than disappearances and death. Her elderly father-in-law suffers from dementia, and he’s been wandering away from home. An obsession turned deadly… As Maddie tries to deal with the guilt of placing him in a senior care center, the pageant attacks escalate. She struggles to find the connection between all the crimes, and then, two more girls go missing. All dark avenues have to be explored, causing Maddie to traverse the drug trade, family relationships, stalking, and kidnapping. But can Maddie figure out who the true killer is before a young girl dies? Authentic Crime…Arresting Stories told by a retired LAPD officer.

Liliana Vela hates the term victim. She's not a victim, she's a fighter. Stubborn and strong with a quiet elegance, she's determined to take back her life after escaping the clutches of human traffickers in her poor Mexican village. But she can't stay safely over the border in America--unless the man who aided in her rescue is serious about his unconventional proposal to marry her. Meric Toledan was just stopping at a service station for a bottle of water. Assessing the situation, he steps in to rescue Liliana from traffickers. If he can keep his secrets at bay, his wealth and position afford him many resources to help her. But the mysterious buyer who funded her capture will not sit idly by while his prize is stolen from him. Melissa Koslin throws you right into the middle of the action in this high-stakes thriller that poses the question: What is the price of freedom?

Greg DeVillers was a top biotech executive, and Kristen Rossum was embarking on a career in toxicology at the San Diego Medical Examiner's office. They seemed to be happily married, living the American dream. But only months shy of their second anniversary, Kristen found her handsome husband dead from a drug overdose-his corpse sprinkled with rose petals. By his side was their wedding photo. The scene was reminiscent of American Beauty, one of Kristen's favorite movies. Authorities deemed it a suicide. Until they discovered that the rare poison found in Greg's body was the same poison missing from Kristen's office. Until they discovered the truth about Kristen's lurid affair, about her own long-time drug addiction, and about the personal and professional secrets she would kill to keep hidden-secrets that would ultimately expose the beautiful blonde as the deadly beauty she really was...a Deadly American Beauty

Content with the peace and superficiality of her job at Hand Bag Magazine, reporter Annie Anderson is back in the gritty world of investigative journalism when she stumbles upon a secret about a missing supermodel and sets out to uncover the truth linking the disappearance, the cutthroat world of high fashion, and a vicious serial killer.

In a sequel to Deadly company, Diana Delaney thinks that she is at last free of the deranged Ashley Marsh after Ashley has suffered amnesia and been confined to a mental hospital. However, Ashley's memory comes back and she escapes. Months later, the wreckage of a car and the remains of the man she fled with are found at the foot of a North Carolina mountain, but Ashley is nowhere to be found.

Darkness has fallen on Hartin yet no one believes the few whispers of an ancient evil that escape the rampage until the grunks pound through their doors. The only hope of the conquered stands on the shoulders of Drowen and his companions. They must obtain the aid of the mythical race of dwarves. Legend says they know how to fight the monstrous rats invading the land. But disaster strikes soon after they leave Hartin. Separated from everyone, Drowen must use all his wits and skills to survive grunks, demons, and monsters unknown. And a beautiful foxen girl will test him in ways he never expected. In the end, another town's fate will ride on his shoulders, a battle to the death. And if he fails, all of Ethygas will fall.

Did you know that the humble marmot is responsible for more than one billion human deaths? Or that it’s possible to be bitten by a snake’s head for up to an hour after it’s been decapitated? On the flip side, for every person bitten by a shark each year, 25 people are bitten by New Yorkers. It seems that truth sometimes is stranger than fiction!These facts and many more appear in this fascinating tribute to our world’s ‘deadly’ wildlife. At its heart, however, 'Deadly Beautiful' makes a passionate plea for us to learn to better cohabit with our fellow residents of planet Earth. Ever-increasing concern for the fate of the environment and the world’s endangered wildlife means that this book is a particularly timely addition to the world of natural history publishing. Dr Liana Joy Christensen, one of Australia’s foremost nature writers, takes a fresh and entertaining look at the ‘deadly’ animals with which humans have for so long enjoyed a love–hate relationship. These animals are generally not the aggressors nor the lethal killing machines that mythology and tradition would have us believe. Most also serve vital roles in maintaining the ecological balance of their habitats, while their fascinating behaviour and often striking beauty make them worthy of close study, particularly as so many of them are facing the worst death of all — extinction.Beautifully illustrated, 'Deadly Beautiful' is certain to foster a new understanding and appreciation of these incredible animals and their importance on a global scale.

Foundations of Violence enters the ancient world of Homer, Plato and Aristotle to explore the genealogy of violence in Western thought through its emergence in Greece and Rome.