Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening. At such a time I found out for certain that […] Read more

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening. At such a time I found out for certain that […] Read more

Willi McCoy had been a jerk before he died. His being dead didn’t change that. He sat across from me, wearing a loud plaid sport jacket. The polyester pants were primary Crayola green. His short, black hair was slicked back from a thin, triangular face. He had always reminded me of a bit player from […] Read more

Heart Shaped Box – Chapter One Jude had a private collection. He had framed sketches of the Seven Dwarfs on the wall of his studio, in between his platinum records. John Wayne Gacy had drawn them while he was in jail and sent them to him. Gacy liked golden-age Disney almost as much as he […] Read more

Laurent saw the barrel of the gun coming up, felt the madman tense against her. He was trying to lift her up with him as he shot Nicholas. Then she heard the screech of tires on the gravel outside the door. Was it Tommy? Oh, God no. Whoever came through the doorway was going to […] Read more

As soon as it was safe for the boy to travel, they bore him away to the Northern Woods. It was a long and complicated journey for a child only seven weeks old. From the suburban town of Oak Park, Illinois, they took the train to Chicago, a horse cab to the pier on Lake […] Read more

Astride a stolen horse, encircled by the shackled arms of Broderick Maxwell, A Scottish spy escaping certain death in the Tower of London, Lisbeth Ives rides to the north, hidden by the darkness. By stealth and cunning, the daughter of the Lord High Executioner has undone her father’s cruel work, compelled to save the innocent […] Read more

Hero by Leslie Barnard Dan woke to light cutting his eyes, his father standing in the doorway, expectant, smiling. “You ready?” Dan knew his dad had been awake since before dawn. By now he’d made two ham sandwiches, one with mayonnaise, one without. He’d sharpened the harvesting blades and packed the gear in the truck. […] Read more

The vast lands of the west attracted pioneers who brought new techniques of agriculture. People everywhere needed the products and services of an educated industrial nation. By 1870, there were 563 colleges and universities in the United States. By 1910, almost a thousand. The tradition of literacy established among colonial Americans raced to keep pace […] Read more