Holding Smoke

"An inventive paranormal gambit, a compelling lead character, and a plot that twists and turns through to the last page." -Claudia Gray, New York Times best-selling author of the Evernight series "Intelligent, sharp-edged and action packed." -Alan Lawrence Sitomer, author of The Hoopster and Caged Warrior John "Smoke" Conlan is serving time for two murders-but he wasn't the one who murdered his English teacher, and he never intended to kill the only other witness to the crime. A dangerous juvenile rehabilitation center in Denver, Colorado, known as the Y, is Smoke's new home and the only one he believes he deserves. But, unlike his fellow inmates, Smoke is not in constant imprisonment. After a near death experience leaves him with the ability to shed his physical body at will, Smoke is able to travel freely outside the concrete walls of the Y, gathering information for himself and his fellow inmates while they're asleep in their beds. Convinced his future is only as bright as the fluorescent lights in his cell, Smoke doesn't care that the "threads" that bind his soul to his body are wearing thin-that one day he may not make it back in time. That is, until he meets Pink, a tough, resourceful girl who is sees him for who he truly is and wants to help him clear his name. Now Smoke is on a journey to redemption he never thought possible. With Pink's help, Smoke may be able to reveal the true killer, but the closer they get to the truth, the more deadly their search becomes. The web of lies, deceit, and corruption that put Smoke behind bars is more tangled than they could have ever imagined. With both of their lives on the line, Smoke will have to decide how much he's willing to risk, and if he can envision a future worth fighting for.

The final novel in Steph Post's acclaimed Judah Cannon trilogy Judah Cannon. Sister Tulah. It all comes down to this. Before the final showdown with Tulah Atwell, the Pentecostal preacher responsible for his father’s death and his own return to a life of crime, however, Judah still has a few more fires to walk through. The dust may have settled after the shootout that left a string of bodies—including that of ATF agent Clive Grant and drug runner Everett Weaver—in its wake, but that doesn’t mean a quiet life is on the horizon for Judah, his girlfriend Ramey, and his two brothers, Benji and Levi. A power struggle within the Cannon family soon erupts, placing Judah in debt to Sukey Lewis, a crime matriarch from across the creek, just as an irresistible scheme to steal a thoroughbred stud stallion falls into the Cannons’ lap. Trying to solve all their problems with a single heist, Judah agrees to trust Dinah, an enigmatic drifter, even as Ramey’s faith in him begins to waver. While Sister Tulah returns to her old tricks, running a swampland scheme and intimidating everyone in her path, and Brother Felton returns to Florida a changed man with a mystic mission, Judah finds the foundation of his family crumbling and only hard choices in sight. Will Judah and Ramey survive Sister Tulah—and the darkness within their own hearts—or are such dreams impossible in Bradford County, nothing more than holding smoke?

His style was iconic, and vintage ‘80s: aviator goggles, Jheri curls, neck roll, boxy pads. Eric Dickerson is the greatest player in Los Angeles Rams history and the NFL’s single season record holder for most rushing yards. In 2019, Dickerson was named to the National Football League’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. With an elegant upright running style that produced some of football’s most-watched highlights, it was said he was so smooth you couldn’t hear his pads clack as he glided past you. But during his Hall of Fame career, his greatness was often overshadowed by his contentious disputes with Rams management about his contract. In the pre-free agency era, tensions over his exploitative contract often overshadowed his accomplishments. What’s his problem? went the familiar refrain from the media. Can’t he just shut up and run? It’s time to reexamine how Eric Dickerson was portrayed. For the first time, he’s telling his story. And he’s not holding anything back.

Readers of the Harry Potter series and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are sure to be mesmerized by Dan Vyleta’s thrilling blend of historical fiction and fantasy, as three young friends scratch the surface of the grown-up world to discover startling wonders—and dangerous secrets. “Dan Vyleta writes with intricacy and imagination and skillful pacing; never once would I have considered putting his book down. In the manner of both a Dickens novel and the best young adult adventure stories (the Harry Potter series among them). . .his ending, which I wouldn’t dare reveal here, is a real firecracker.”—Jennifer Senior, The New York Times Welcome to a Victorian England unlike any other you have experienced before. Here, wicked thoughts (both harmless and hate-filled) appear in the air as telltale wisps of Smoke. Young Thomas Argyle, a son of aristocracy, has been sent to an elite boarding school. Here he will be purged of Wickedness, for the wealthy do not Smoke. When he resists a sadistic headboy's temptations to Smoke, a much larger struggle beyond the school walls is revealed. Shortly thereafter, on a trip to London, Thomas and his best friend witness events that make them begin to question everything they have been taught about Smoke. And thus the adventure begins... You will travel by coach to a grand estate where secrets lurk in attic rooms and hidden laboratories; where young love blossoms; and where a tumultuous relationship between a mother and her children is the crucible in which powerful passions are kindled, and dangerous deeds must be snuffed out in a desperate race against time.

Once upon a time there was a war . . . and a young American who thought of himself as the Quiet American and the Ugly American, and who wished to be neither, who wanted instead to be the Wise American, or the Good American, but who eventually came to witness himself as the Real American and finally as simply the Fucking American. That’s me. This is the story of Skip Sands—spy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcong—and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. This is also the story of the Houston brothers, Bill and James, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert into a war in which the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. In its vision of human folly, and its gritty, sympathetic portraits of men and women desperate for an end to their loneliness, whether in sex or death or by the grace of God, this is a story like nothing in our literature. Tree of Smoke is Denis Johnson’s first full-length novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date. Tree of Smoke is the 2007 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.

SHERLOCK HOLMES' GREATEST NEMESIS IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH LONDON'S DEADLIEST ASSASSIN . . . 'Chilling and clever' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Smart, slick and effective' DAILY MAIL ****** A DEADLY ASSASSIN Big Ben chimes in the first seconds of the first day of 1900, the start of a fresh century. Inside London's oldest gaol, preparations are afoot to hang Victorian England's deadliest assassin, a man wanted for two decades' worth of murders. A RELENTLESS ENEMY Cold-blooded killer Simeon Lynch has lived a brutal and glorious life in the employ of the House of Moriarty - the most feared criminal enterprise in the world. Now, as he faces the noose, Simeon learns dark truths about his master, about Sherlock Holmes and about his own past. Truths that make him determined to escape and kill again... ****** Follow Simeon's bloody footsteps through the capital's cobbled alleyways, wretched workhouses and flash taverns as he crosses swords with Sherlock Holmes and the villainous characters of Victorian London. Perfect for fans of Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Horowitz, James Becker, CJ Sansom and SJ Parris. ****** Praise for THE HOUSE OF SMOKE: 'You can almost feel the cold weight of the old stones pressing down on you. This is one of those very rare books that is capable of both thrilling and chilling the reader' JAMES BECKER 'Well-plotted and well executed, this is a chilling and clever thriller' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Smart, slick and effective' DAILY MAIL

The second installment in the New York Times bestselling series "made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir" (Bustle), Lady Smoke is an epic new fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people. The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon. Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne. To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done. Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself. Praise for the Ash Princess Series: "A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down."--Bustle "A smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down." --Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series "This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance."--Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night "A dark and spellbinding epic." --Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless "A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution...[and] Theo's first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy...[while] packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise."-Kirkus Reviews