From the author of Unholy Death in Princeton. For some patrons of Princeton’s library, books are their whole lives. But for one bookworm, they will also spell death. McLeod Dulaney has returned to Princeton as a visiting professor—and as a lifelong lover of the written word, she spends a good amount of time browsing the Rare Books collection, where she makes fast friends. But soon she finds one of her new friends murdered in an 18th-century study—and the murder weapon is missing. To further confuse matters, McLeod learns that her temporary home was the site of a murder some years back, and everyone seems to have a different version of the story. A seasoned reporter, McLeod’s intrigued and goes about investigating both murders. Could they have been connected? Only one thing is for sure—this is not murder by the book. Recipes included! Praise for Ann Waldron’s Princeton mysteries: “Very enjoyable.”—The Romance Reader’s Connection “In the very best tradition of the whodunit.”—The Trenton Times

"Faculty brunch recipes included"--Cover.

"Explores the architectural and cultural history of Princeton University from 1750 to the present. Includes 150 historical illustrations"--Provided by publisher.

From the national bestselling author of How to Marry a Murderer. Intrepid crime magazine reporter and mystery novelist Paige Turner has a taste for danger. She’s nearly met her maker more than once in the course of her sleuthing. But a New York heat wave is more daunting than any murderous thug, so when her neighbor Abby announces she has free Broadway tickets, Paige leaps at the chance to sit in an air conditioned theater. The show is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Abby’s handsome friend Gray Gordon stepping in for the lead. Gray’s performance knocks ’em dead, but when Abby and Paige stop at his apartment the next morning to congratulate him, they find someone’s done the same to him. Enlisting Abby as her deputy, Paige embarks on a sweltering, madcap, and decidedly dangerous quest for the killer that has her springing all over the city like an overheated feline.

Publisher description

In the popular misconception fostered by blockbuster action movies and best-selling thrillers--not to mention conventional explanations by social scientists--violence is easy under certain conditions, like poverty, racial or ideological hatreds, or family pathologies. Randall Collins challenges this view in Violence, arguing that violent confrontation goes against human physiological hardwiring. It is the exception, not the rule--regardless of the underlying conditions or motivations. Collins gives a comprehensive explanation of violence and its dynamics, drawing upon video footage, cutting-edge forensics, and ethnography to examine violent situations up close as they actually happen--and his conclusions will surprise you. Violence comes neither easily nor automatically. Antagonists are by nature tense and fearful, and their confrontational anxieties put up a powerful emotional barrier against violence. Collins guides readers into the very real and disturbing worlds of human discord--from domestic abuse and schoolyard bullying to muggings, violent sports, and armed conflicts. He reveals how the fog of war pervades all violent encounters, limiting people mostly to bluster and bluff, and making violence, when it does occur, largely incompetent, often injuring someone other than its intended target. Collins shows how violence can be triggered only when pathways around this emotional barrier are presented. He explains why violence typically comes in the form of atrocities against the weak, ritualized exhibitions before audiences, or clandestine acts of terrorism and murder--and why a small number of individuals are competent at violence. Violence overturns standard views about the root causes of violence and offers solutions for confronting it in the future.

A rare behind-the-scenes look at the work of forensic scientists The findings of forensic science—from DNA profiles and chemical identifications of illegal drugs to comparisons of bullets, fingerprints, and shoeprints—are widely used in police investigations and courtroom proceedings. While we recognize the significance of this evidence for criminal justice, the actual work of forensic scientists is rarely examined and largely misunderstood. Blood, Powder, and Residue goes inside a metropolitan crime laboratory to shed light on the complex social forces that underlie the analysis of forensic evidence. Drawing on eighteen months of rigorous fieldwork in a crime lab of a major metro area, Beth Bechky tells the stories of the forensic scientists who struggle to deliver unbiased science while under intense pressure from adversarial lawyers, escalating standards of evidence, and critical public scrutiny. Bechky brings to life the daily challenges these scientists face, from the painstaking screening and testing of evidence to making communal decisions about writing up the lab report, all while worrying about attorneys asking them uninformed questions in court. She shows how the work of forensic scientists is fraught with the tensions of serving justice—constantly having to anticipate the expectations of the world of law and the assumptions of the public—while also staying true to their scientific ideals. Blood, Powder, and Residue offers a vivid and sometimes harrowing picture of the lives of highly trained experts tasked with translating their knowledge for others who depend on it to deliver justice.

A captivating history of London as told through objects recovered from the muddy banks of the Thames and the lives of the people who owned them Mudlark’d combines insights from two hundred rare objects discovered on the foreshore of the River Thames with a wealth of breathtaking illustrations to uncover the hidden histories of ordinary people from prehistory to today. Malcolm Russell tells the stories behind each find, revealing the habits, customs, and artistry of the people who created and used it. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, London was the busiest port in the world, exchanging goods and ideas with people from every continent. The shores of the Thames have long been densely packed with taverns, brothels, and markets, and the river’s muddy banks are a repository of intriguing and precious objects that evoke long-forgotten ways of life. With Russell as your guide, a bottleneck of a jug is shown to be a talisman to counter the ill effects of witchcraft. Glass beads expose the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade. Clay tobacco pipes uncover the lives of Victorian magicians. A scrap of Tudor cloth illuminates the experiences of Dutch and French religious refugees. These are just some of the stories told in Mudlark’d, which also contains a primer, giving advice on how to mudlark on tidal rivers around the world and outlining the tools and equipment you will need.