"Kingdoms in Peril is an epic historical novel covering the five hundred and fifty years of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, from the civil wars and invasions that marked the birth of a new regime in 771 BCE to the unification of China in 221 BCE. Kingdoms in Peril was written in the 1640s, at the very end of the Ming dynasty, by the great novelist Feng Menglong (1574-1646). In the course of the one hundred and eight chapters of the complete novel, he documents the collapse of the Zhou confederacy during the Spring and Autumn period (771-475 BCE) and the slow rebuilding of civil society during the Warring States era (475-221 BCE) which culminated in the unification of China under the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty (r. 246-221 BCE as king; r. 221-210 BCE as emperor). Thus overall this novel describes a grand arc, from stability to chaos and back again. As a novel about politics, much of the narrative in Kingdoms in Peril concentrates on the exercise of power"--

Translated in full for the first time, this second volume immerses readers in the power and drama of the electrifying classic Chinese novel. Lord Wen of Jin brings some temporary stability to the political scene when he returns after many years in exile. However, the grants of land and office to his longstanding supporters make them too powerful for his successors to control. Just as the Zhou aristocrats seize power from their king, a bitter struggle begins as ministers seek to impose their authority on their lords. One of the great works of Chinese literature, Kingdoms in Peril is an epic historical novel charting the five hundred years leading to the unification of the country in 221 B.C.E. under the rule of the legendary First Emperor. Writing some fourteen hundred years later, the Ming-era author Feng Menglong drew on a vast trove of literary and historical documents to compose a gripping narrative account of how China was forged. Detailing the stories of unforgettable characters who defined and shaped the times in which they lived, the complete edition of Kingdoms in Peril is a vital resource for those seeking a comprehensive overview of China’s ancient past and the political machinations that led to its unification. There are many historical works that provide an account of some of these events, but none are as thrilling and breathtakingly memorable as Kingdoms in Peril.

A Peculiar Peril is a head-spinning epic about three friends on a quest to protect the world from a threat as unknowable as it is terrifying, from the Nebula Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer. Jonathan Lambshead stands to inherit his deceased grandfather’s overstuffed mansion—a veritable cabinet of curiosities—once he and two schoolmates catalog its contents. But the three soon discover that the house is filled with far more than just oddities: It holds clues linking to an alt-Earth called Aurora, where the notorious English occultist Aleister Crowley has stormed back to life on a magic-fueled rampage across a surreal, through-the-looking-glass version of Europe replete with talking animals (and vegetables). Swept into encounters with allies more unpredictable than enemies, Jonathan pieces together his destiny as a member of a secret society devoted to keeping our world separate from Aurora. But as the ground shifts and allegiances change with every step, he and his friends sink ever deeper into a deadly pursuit of the profound evil that is also chasing after them.

Sara Labriola is a married woman haunted by the shattering secrets of her past—and terrified of the future. Tired of living in fear—and knowing that if she stays in her marriage she'll be killed—Sara decides to do the only thing she can: she makes herself disappear. One afternoon, without telling a soul, she packs a single suitcase and leaves her life in Long Island behind. In New York City, she will reinvent herself. She will change her identity, and maybe even get the happy ending she's always dreamed of. But that dream is about to become a nightmare when her father-in-law decides to make her pay for abandoning his son. Leo Labriola runs his modest but lucrative criminal organization like he does his family—with unspeakable brutality and zero tolerance for disobedience. He's determined to teach Sara a lesson and he'll stop at nothing to do it. Now six differently desperate and dangerous men—each with the power to destroy her—are on Sara's trail. But none of them suspect that the woman they are seeking has a dangerous secret of her own. For Sara is leading all of them down a path of private demons, past sins, and the deadliest peril.

Fans of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series will be drawn to Wendy Higgins's sexy, thrilling Sweet Evil series. Sweet Peril focuses on the battle between light and dark, good and evil, within Anna Whitt, the child of a guardian angel mother and a demon father. Anna promised herself she'd never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She'd been naive to make such a claim. Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means earning an unwanted reputation as her school's party girl. And all the while there's gorgeous bad-boy Kaidan Rowe, the son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind. Anna discovers it is her fate to banish demons from the earth, and save the other Nephilim from their dark destiny. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

THE REDISCOVERED PULP CLASSIC! Decades before Robert Brown Parker began writing his books about Spenser, a man named Robert Bogardus Parker (1905-1955) penned this extraordinary novel of post-war intrigue. From the corridors and compartments of the Orient Express to the shadowy, ruined streets of Budapest – which he saw firsthand as a foreign correspondent during World War II – Parker takes you on a nightmare tour of a land where life is cheap, old hatreds run strong, and a couple of Americans can find themselves in more danger than they ever imagined. With all the immediacy of the wartime dispatches Parker filed from Turkey, Danzig, Warsaw, and Bucharest and all the authority of a man who himself spent three years crossing borders without a passport and narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo, PASSPORT TO PERIL paints a heart-stopping picture of desperate men in a desperate time.

"Pringle’s fast-paced book is a master class in investigative journalism... when institutions collude to protect one another, reporting may be our last best hope for accountability." —The New York Times For fans of Spotlight and Catch and Kill comes a nonfiction thriller about corruption and betrayal radiating across Los Angeles from one of the region's most powerful institutions, a riveting tale from a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist who investigated the shocking events and helped bring justice in the face of formidable odds. On a cool, overcast afternoon in April 2016, a salacious tip arrived at the L.A. Times that reporter Paul Pringle thought should have taken, at most, a few weeks to check out: a drug overdose at a fancy hotel involving one of the University of Southern California’s shiniest stars—Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the head of the prestigious medical school. Pringle, who’d long done battle with USC and its almost impenetrable culture of silence, knew reporting the story wouldn’t be a walk in the park. USC is one of the biggest employers in L.A., and it casts a long shadow. But what he couldn’t have foreseen was that this tip would lead to the unveiling of not one major scandal at USC but two, wrapped in a web of crimes and cover-ups. The rot rooted out by Pringle and his colleagues at The Times would creep closer to home than they could have imagined—spilling into their own newsroom. Packed with details never before disclosed, Pringle goes behind the scenes to reveal how he and his fellow reporters triumphed over the city’s debased institutions, in a narrative that reads like L.A. noir. This is L.A. at its darkest and investigative journalism at its brightest.

Knowledge is power peril... In a city as large as Chicago, the wicked never sleep. When an undocumented migrant teenager goes missing, military veteran and Special Agent Amelia Storm teams up with her partner to take down what could be the most shocking forced labor and sex trafficking ring her hometown has ever seen. The case reeks of mafia involvement, but even with an investigative reporter as an informant, there's little in the way of leads. Suspicions cast a wide web, and the stakes climb when the boy's sister and their journalist informant also disappear. Still, no one is talking, and every second counts if they hope to find them alive. As sinister secrets are unearthed, Amelia won't stop until she frees the innocent from the evil that lurks in the shadows of her beloved city. What she discovers hits a little too close to home. Was her brother involved? She needs to know, but some answers are better left unasked. From the dark minds of Mary Stone and Amy Wilson comes Storm's Peril, book two of the Amelia Storm Series, where you'll be tempted to peek through the curtains to be sure evil hasn't chosen you. Scroll up to grab your copy today!

THE FIRST IN THE GRIPPING ACTION-PACKED HECTOR CROSS SERIES, FROM WILBUR SMITH. PERFECT FOR FANS OF BOURNE AND LEE CHILD'S JACK REACHER SERIES. Some debts can only be paid in blood . . . When Hazel Bannock, billionaire oil tycoon, discovers her daughter has been kidnapped by Al Qaeda pirates just off the coast of Somalia, she uses all the power at her disposal to rescue her daughter - but politics and diplomacy fail her at every turn. Her only hope is Hector Cross, an expert in surveillance, infiltration and combat. For all Hazel's connections and wealth, Cross is the one man who is offering to find her daughter. Hazel and Cross must work together to bring Cayla home, but neither of them realises that the kidnappers are not merely interested in ransom - what they have planned is far, far worse . . . The first Hector Cross thriller. Book 2 in the series, Vicious Circle, is out now in paperback and ebook. REVIEWS 'Those in Peril has much to recommend it . . . if you like your action plain, graphic and simple yet never entirely predictable, Smith will satisfy' - Sunday Express