Billy Halleck commits vehicular homicide when his lack of attention to driving results in the death of an old lady on the street. Overweight Halleck is a lawyer with connections, though, and gets off with a slap on the wrist. After his trial, a gypsy curses him with a single word, "Thinner." Halleck begins to lose weight uncontrollably and must pursue the band of gypsies who are responsible for his dwindling condition. source: stephenking.com
Een intelligente Newyorkse lerares kan alleen liefdevol en onbevangen omgaan met haar leerlingen, maar staat argwanend tegenover volwassenen en zoekt daarom haar heil in contacten met onbekende mannen.
John le Carré's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge and have earned him -- and his hero, British Secret Service agent George Smiley -- unprecedented worldwide acclaim. In this classic masterwork, le Carré expands upon his extraordinary vision of a secret world as George Smiley goes on the attack. In the wake of a demoralizing infiltration by a Soviet double agent, Smiley has been made ringmaster of the Circus (aka the British Secret Service). Determined to restore the organization's health and reputation, and bent on revenge, Smiley thrusts his own handpicked operative into action. Jerry Westerby, "The Honourable Schoolboy," is dispatched to the Far East. A burial ground of French, British, and American colonial cultures, the region is a fabled testing ground of patriotic allegiances?and a new showdown is about to begin.
Inspector Rudge rarely deals with murder in the quiet seaside town of Whynmouth, but everything changes when an old sailor arrives with a rowing boat containing a fresh corpse, stabbed in the chest. The investigation quickly reveals obstacles, including a vicar who seems to be hiding information and the mysterious disappearance of the victim's niece. The case grows more complex as the victim's identity comes into question, leading Rudge to ponder the number of people involved in this extraordinary crime and whether he will ever solve it. In 1931, a group of crime writers from the newly formed Detection Club, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, collaborated on a unique crime novel. Each author contributed a chapter in a literary game of consequences, with G.K. Chesterton writing a paradoxical prologue and Anthony Berkeley providing the conclusion. All authors submitted their own solutions in sealed envelopes, which were included at the end of the book, with Christie's clever resolution noted as particularly noteworthy. The contributing authors include G.K. Chesterton, Canon Victor Whitechurch, G.D.H. Cole, Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Agatha Christie, John Rhode, Milward Kennedy, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Edgar Jepson, Clemence Dane, and Anthony Berkeley.
Na Štědrý den roku 1957 se vrací z Německa domů mladý pilot královského letectva. Jeho letový plán je jednoduchý, palivová nádrž plná. Vše probíhá normálně, dokud letadlo začne selhávat. Nejdřív přestane fungovat kompas, poté vysílačka, a nad Severním mořem padne hustá mlha, v níž pilot marně hledá přistávací dráhu. Už se vzdává naděje, když se objeví bojový letoun z druhé světové války. Tento stroj je "pastýřem", který navádí letadlo na přistání. Jeho zjevení je darem osudu, zázrakem mimo čas – a pro jednoho ztraceného pilota také nepochopitelnou záhadou. Tento drobný skvost klasika špionážních románů Fredericka Forsytha zkoumá témata osudu, naděje a tajemství, které se prolínají v nečekaných okamžicích.