The Exquisite Art Of Getting Even

The characters in this delicious book are pushed to the point of no return and seek retribution. But how we get even is not always the best road to redemption. On the island of Mull, it takes an incomer to make the locals realise that they need to take matters into their own hands to maintain the community's reputation. In 'The Principles of Soap' the value of friendship overcomes adversity and opportunistic nepotism. In suburban Edinburgh opposing neighbours find out the hard way that the best method of dealing with a canine disturbance is not to bury one's head in the sand. And in the final tale we meet an author on the brink of public ruin who sees the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day.These four tales show that the exquisite art of getting even is a skill that sees kindness win over malice. Tantalising and amusing, these stories show off a darker side but carry with them the author's trademark warmth and humour.

From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy stories, half tales of revenge, all highlight the kinder, funnier, and gentler side of espionage and retribution. In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself--quite convincingly--as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day. A keen observer of humanity imbued with a sparkling imagination, Alexander McCall Smith illustrates throughout that transparency is paramount and forgiveness is restorative. With surprising insight and a healthy helping of humor, these stories remind us that, in the end, the high road is often the better one for all involved.

From the beloved author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a new short story collection: half spy-stories, half tales-of-revenge; all highlight the kinder, funnier, gentler sides of espionage and retribution. In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humour, warmth and wisdom about the human condition to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a WW2 spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself—quite convincingly—as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day. A keen observer of humanity imbued with a sparkling imagination, Alexander McCall Smith illustrates throughout these two delightful collections that transparency is paramount and forgiveness is restorative. With surprising insight and a healthy helping of humour, these stories remind us that, in the end, the high road is often the better one for all of us.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Don’t ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day.”—Chicago Sun-Times Tyrell Hawthorne was a naval intelligence officer—one of the best—until the rain-swept night in Amsterdam when his wife was murdered, an innocent victim of the games spies play. Now he’s called out of retirement for one last assignment. For Hawthorne is the only man alive who can track down the world’s most dangerous terrorist. Amaya Bajaratt is beautiful, elusive, and deadly—and she has set in motion a chilling conspiracy that a desperate government cannot stop. With his life and the life of the president hanging in the balance, Hawthorne must follow Bajaratt’s serpentine trail, a path of seduction, betrayal, and the looming threat of death. Racing from a millionaire recluse’s fortress to the social whirl of Palm Beach, from the Oval Office to treacherous Caribbean waters, Hawthorne will uncover a sinister network of well-placed men and women who exist to help this consummate killer—and the shattering truth behind the Scorpio Illusion. “Breakneck . . . readability.”—The New York Times Book Review “A high-voltage tale of drama and suspense.”—The Denver Post

It is often said that the best things in life come in small packages; anyone in search of proof need look no further than the stories in this collection from the acclaimed author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: brief, utterly engaging tales that offer lasting surprise and delight, accompanied by charming illustrations by Iain McIntosh. In Tiny Tales, Alexander McCall Smith explores romance, ambition, kindness, and happiness in thirty short stories accompanied by thirty witty cartoons designed by Iain McIntosh, McCall Smith’s longtime creative collaborator. Here we meet the first Australian pope, who hopes to finally find some peace and quiet back home in Perth; a psychotherapist turned motorcycle racetrack manager; and an aspiring opera singer who gets her unlikely break onstage. And, of course, we spend time in McCall Smith’s beloved Scotland, where we are introduced to progressive Vikings, a group of housemates with complex romantic entanglements, and a couple of globe-trotting dentists. These tales and illustrations depict the full scope of human experience and reveal the rich tapestry of life—painted in miniature.

A beautiful and atmospheric stand-alone novel filled with intrigue, a child's misunderstandings and their resolution years later, from the beloved and bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. IN E-ORIGINAL ONLY! It is 1938 in the final days of the British Empire. In a house high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old, her father, Henry--owner of Pitlochry, a tea estate--and her mother, Virginia. The story centres around a gazebo they fondly call the Pavilion in the Clouds, suspended on the edge of their idyllic gardens as if floating above the lush valley below. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess Miss White’s intentions. Her quick, but still childish intuition sparks off her mother’s imagination, and, after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation results in a gunshot ringing out through the valley, and life-altering repercussions. Years later, Bella, now living back in Scotland at university in St. Andrews, is faced with her past. Will she at last find out what happened between her father and Miss White? And will the guilt she has lived with all these years be reconciled by a long-overdue apology? A page-turning, suspenseful story exploring themes of the inheritance of colonial history and its impact upon families, especially the women and children, The Pavilion in the Clouds shows it's never too late to revisit the past in order to better understand our present view.

Killing is Court Gentry's business. Now, his business is about to get personal in the second Gray Man novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Mark Greaney. Four years ago, Court Gentry was betrayed by his handlers in the CIA. To survive, he had to eliminate his own brothers in arms. Now, as a master assassin known as the Gray Man, he makes his living killing other people. But when an old comrade he thought dead returns to haunt him, his own life is put in the crosshairs. The man wants Court to complete a mission, with one crucial catch to his orders: Instead of a difficult assassination, the job will entail a near impossible kidnapping--and Court must return his quarry to the very CIA team that turned on him. With his unforgiving employers on one side, his blackmailing former friends on the other, and a doomed mission ahead, Court Gentry would kill to get out of this one alive...

In the Swedish criminal justice system, certain cases are considered especially strange and difficult, in Malmö, the dedicated detectives who investigate these crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Sensitive Crimes Division. These are their stories. The first case: the small matter of a man stabbed in the back of the knee. Who would perpetrate such a crime and why? Next: a young woman's imaginary boyfriend goes missing. But how on earth do you search for someone who doesn't exist? And in the final investigation: eerie secrets that are revealed under a full moon may not seem so supernatural in the light of day. No case is too unusual, too complicated, or too, well insignificant for this squad to solve. The team: Ulf “the Wolf” Varg, the top dog, thoughtful and diligent; Anna Bengsdotter, who's in love with Varg's car (and possibly Varg too); Carl Holgersson, who likes nothing more than filling out paperwork; and Erik Nykvist, who is deeply committed to fly fishing. With the help of a rather verbose local police officer, this crack team gets to the bottom of cases other detectives can't or won't bother to handle. Equal parts hilarious and heartening, The Department of Sensitive Crimes is a tour de farce from a true master.