Better Dead

Nathan Heller tangles with Joe McCarthy in Max Allan Collins's thrilling novel Better Dead: "Collins combines the historical and the hard-boiled thriller into a new genre-uniquely American, and uniquely his own."--Andrew Vacchss It's the early 1950's. Joe McCarthy is campaigning to rid America of the Red Menace. Nate Heller is doing legwork for the senator, though the Chicago detective is disheartened by McCarthy's witch-hunting tactics. He's made friends with a young staffer, Bobby Kennedy, while trading barbs with a potential enemy, the attorney Roy Cohn, who rubs Heller the wrong way. Not the least of which for successfully prosecuting the so-called Atomic Bomb spies, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. When famous mystery writer Dashiell Hammett comes to Heller representing a group of showbiz and literary leftists who are engaged in a last minute attempt to save the Rosenbergs, Heller decides to take on the case. Heller will have to play both sides to do this, and when McCarthy also tasks Heller to find out what the CIA has on him, Heller reluctantly agrees. His main lead is an army scientist working for the C.I.A. who admits to Heller that he's been having misgivings about the work he's doing and elliptically referring to the Cold War making World War II look like a tea party. And then the scientist goes missing. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A mystery “written with an incredible Southern twist . . . Page turning, fun, and filled with suspense—and very unique characters” (Heather Graham, New York Times–bestselling author). As the owner of a charming Louisiana bed and breakfast, Holly Davis believes in Southern hospitality—but she draws the line at welcoming the ghost of her cheating husband . . . Burl Davis checked out of this life a little earlier than expected—before Holly could serve him with divorce papers over his extramarital flings. Unfortunately, it was not before he nearly bankrupted her beloved B&B, Holly Grove, a converted plantation that has been in her family for generations. Holly would never wish anyone dead, but three months later she’s feeling a lot more relief than grief. Until Burl’s ghost appears as an unwelcome guest. Before his spirit can move on, her not-so-dearly departed needs Holly’s human help to bust up the drug smuggling ring he was involved with. She has reservations, to say the least, but agrees to assist him if he’ll make a show of haunting the B&B to draw in visitors. But when Holly’s former love, Jack McCann, mysteriously resurfaces in town and checks in, she has to wonder if her B&B is big enough for the ghost of her husband and the very real physical presence of her old flame . . . “A romp of a ride . . . Delta Ridge more than delivers its share of eccentric characters, venal criminals, and laugh-out-loud moments.” —Kings River Life Magazine “Impossible to put down—a sassy Southern romp of a read.” —Susan M. Boyer, USA Today–bestselling author

Better dead than to lead the life of the young college graduate, Andrew Riach, who came to London penniless from a Scotch country parish, and endured all things before giving up and going home to marry a girl who chilled his enthusiasm by her ineffectual struggles with arithmetic and social problems.

"Better Dead" by J. M. Barrie. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read.

Better Dead Than Bred, the rallying cry of rogue activists from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) erupted loudly in Vallejo, California, in 2018. Bursting into a major dog competition, these activists caused the death of many pure-bred show dogs by releasing the animals and shooing them outside onto a nearby highway. Also, in searing heat, they unplugged the electricity to their owners' motorhomes, killing the air conditioning and, consequently, killing the show dogs sheltering inside. “Better dead than bred!” they yelled. It was disgusting. It was horrible. It was riveting. The movement’s existence and raison d’être raise some massive questions, tackled here in this tale of a decent man lured into hell by an animal rights activist who believes he’s the devil and that his life’s purpose is to tempt good people into evil. Sean Bergmann is a retired engineer, happily married and living a comfortably insulated life with his two beloved shelties, Opi and Echo, whom he trains to compete in dog shows. But just as Opi enters the ring for the Best in Show contest, Sean Bergmann’s ordinary life collides with a force that is distinctly out of the ordinary. Cooper Newsome and three of his activist acolytes invade the show, open crates, and scatter the precious dogs. In the process, Opi is killed and Echo goes missing. Cooper leaves his business card, inscribed with the words “Better Dead Than Bred.” Sean vows revenge at whatever cost. This story follows both the revenge and its cost, including Sean’s involvement with Cooper's organization so he might spy on the activists until he’s learned enough to cause them meaningful damage. But he loses his identity and ethical core along the way, eventually even participating in the theft of puppies to be sold to a dog fight organizer. Sean achieves retribution at last in this battle for animal rights and his soul in the form of a furious conflagration that wipes out the bad guys . . . or does it?

Katy McKenna has had enough near-death experiences and heartache to last a lifetime. Now all she wants to do is get her career back on track, find a nice guy, settle down, and live happily-ever-after. But when she hears about a man maliciously exposing innocent young women to HIV, she is compelled to put her plans on hold to stop him. Meanwhile, Katy’s mother is forced to reveal a shattering childhood trauma that has come back to haunt her; her obnoxious little sister is moving in; her scuzzy was-band is stalking her, and Grandma Ruby is still determined to find her a hunky transition man. And she’s beginning to wonder why every rotten person she has recently heard about has suddenly dropped dead. Is it divine providence? Or is it murder?

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Better Dead by J. M. Barrie - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of J. M. Barrie’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Barrie includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘Better Dead by J. M. Barrie - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to Barrie’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles