Halloween. A time for costumes and crime. Neither hold interest for Kira Brightwell. She only wants to find a way to move on with her life after the trauma she endured three months ago. (That, and track down the man responsible.) But the local police receive an anonymous tip with a growing list of decrypted names—a list that threatens to shake the suburban, California town to its core. ...And just like that, Kira’s world gets turned upside down. A stand-alone short novel of Kira’s recent past in the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series by the author of the Mackenzie Quinn mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith. If you love murder, mystery, and mayhem, grab this book. (This adventure takes place before the Kira Brightwell novel Split Decision. Originally published under the pen name Kat Irwin.)

Kira Brightwell stands at a crossroads. Her college days lie behind her, but her future remains a mystery, waiting to be solved. A job already awaits her at her father’s office—the easy, parent-approved option. But Kira wants something different. Something more. She needs to get away to figure out what. Except Kira’s future hangs in the balance in more ways than one... In the crime-filled adventures of the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series by Jacquelyn Smith, “Striking Distance” focuses on the event that changes Kira’s life forever, and sets her on the path to becoming an infamous problem solver for hire. (This story takes place before the Kira Brightwell novel Split Decision. Originally published under the pen name Kat Irwin.)

Kira Brightwell just wants to mind her own business. Maybe go for a run, or hone her MMA skills while blasting some Nine Inch Nails. She never goes looking for trouble. But somehow, trouble always seems to find her. Usually the missing woman or dead body kind. ...Good thing she knows how to use her wits, as well as her fists. Dive into the ongoing cases of a clever detective who kicks ass in this starter collection of early, stand-alone Kira Brightwell shorts by the author of the Mackenzie Quinn mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith. (These adventures complement the novels of the Kira Brightwell mystery series, and all take place before the first novel, Split Decision.) This collection includes: Tale of the Tape: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel Striking Distance: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Under Wraps: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel Tale of the Tape: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel A bootleg Nine Inch Nails cassette tape. Weird thing for Kira to find abandoned by a sewer grate on her way to school. The hand-drawn NIN logo in marker catches Kira’s eye. Who tossed the tape? And why? Kira pockets it, of course. Seems a shame to leave it in the gutter. Who knows what kind of extra tracks she might find on it? ...Now she only needs to figure out a way to play the thing. A twisting, short novel of Kira’s high school past from the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series. Striking Distance: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Kira Brightwell stands at a crossroads. Her college days lie behind her, but her future remains a mystery, waiting to be solved. A job already awaits her at her father’s office—the easy, parent-approved option. But Kira wants something different. Something more. She needs to get away to figure out what. Except Kira’s future hangs in the balance in more ways than one… In the crime-filled adventures of the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series, “Striking Distance” focuses on the event that changes Kira’s life forever, and sets her on the path to becoming an infamous problem solver for hire. (Originally published under the pen name Kat Irwin.) Under Wraps: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel Halloween. A time for costumes and crime. Neither hold interest for Kira Brightwell. She only wants to find a way to move on with her life after the trauma she endured three months ago. (That, and track down the man responsible.) But the local police receive an anonymous tip with a growing list of decrypted names—a list that threatens to shake the suburban, California town to its core. ...And just like that, Kira’s world gets turned upside down. A stand-alone short novel of Kira’s recent past in the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series. If you love murder, mystery, and mayhem, grab this book. (Originally published under the pen name Kat Irwin.)

Kira Brightwell enjoys two things—outsmarting bad guys and kicking ass. Well, that and listening to Nine Inch Nails. (Bonus, if she can manage all three at once.) She never expected anyone to call her a hero... But when life throws a punch, Kira always finds a way to hit back. This fast-paced, starter collection includes three cases from the Kira Brightwell mystery series by award-winning author Jacquelyn Smith. (Originally published under the pen name Kat Irwin.): Split Decision: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 1) Striking Distance: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Under Wraps: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel Split Decision: A Kira Brightwell Novel (Kira Brightwell Book 1) Kira Brightwell never planned to become a private detective. Or a local hero, for that matter. She only wants to hone her MMA skills. And focus on her own personal need for vengeance and closure. While listening to Nine Inch Nails. But people call Kira a hero for a reason. She never walks away from trouble. And between her wits and her fists, she can take down just about anything that gets thrown her way. Meet Kira in action in this first novel in the Kira Brightwell mystery series. If you love a clever heroine who kicks ass, grab this book. Striking Distance: A Kira Brightwell Short Story Kira Brightwell stands at a crossroads. Her college days lie behind her, but her future remains a mystery, waiting to be solved. A job already awaits her at her father’s office—the easy, parent-approved option. But Kira wants something different. Something more. She needs to get away to figure out what. Except Kira’s future hangs in the balance in more ways than one... In the crime-filled cases of the Kira Brightwell series, “Striking Distance” focuses on the event that changes Kira’s life forever, and sets her on the path to becoming an infamous problem solver for hire. Under Wraps: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel Halloween. A time for costumes and crime. Neither hold interest for Kira Brightwell. She only wants to find a way to move on with her life after the trauma she endured three months ago. (That, and track down the man responsible.) But the local police receive an anonymous tip with a growing list of decrypted names—a list that threatens to shake the suburban, California town to its core. ...And just like that, Kira’s world gets turned upside down. A stand-alone short novel of Kira’s recent past in the Kira Brightwell mystery series. If you love murder, mystery, and mayhem, grab this book.

Kira Brightwell knows where to find the Procurer. Finally, after four long years, a level playing field. But the serial abductor knows how to cover his tracks. And any animal can become even more dangerous when cornered. Kira’s hard-won window of opportunity to capture the Procurer remains narrow in a race against the clock. Kira’s other problem? Someone else wants to find him first. The ongoing battle of wits between Kira and the Procurer comes to a head in this tense sixth novel in the Kira Brightwell mystery series by the author of the Mackenzie Quinn mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith.

Kira Brightwell needs a change of scenery. A relaxing, solo trip to Toronto to visit her grandparents seems like a good idea. No nosy reporters, no criminals to take down, and (most importantly) no self-appointed sidekick Trevor Wright. ...But from the moment Kira steps off the plane from California, nothing goes according to plan. A stand-alone short novel misadventure from the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series by the author of the Mackenzie Quinn mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith. (This adventure takes place between the Kira Brightwell novels Split Decision and Black and Blue.)

A nice, relaxing vacation. After all the mystery and mayhem over the past several months, a tropical getaway seems like just what Kira Brightwell needs. With only her best friend for company and no one back home aware of their location (detective friend, persistent sidekick, and nosy reporters included), Kira can finally unwind and try to forget. Maybe enjoy a cool, refreshing cocktail on the beach. But wherever Kira goes, trouble always follows only a step behind. A stand-alone story from the Kira Brightwell Quick Cases mystery series by the author of the Mackenzie Quinn mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith. If you enjoy a fun, tropical escapade, grab this book. (This adventure takes place after the Kira Brightwell novel Cornered.)

Combinatorial Scientific Computing explores the latest research on creating algorithms and software tools to solve key combinatorial problems on large-scale high-performance computing architectures. It includes contributions from international researchers who are pioneers in designing software and applications for high-performance computing systems. The book offers a state-of-the-art overview of the latest research, tool development, and applications. It focuses on load balancing and parallelization on high-performance computers, large-scale optimization, algorithmic differentiation of numerical simulation code, sparse matrix software tools, and combinatorial challenges and applications in large-scale social networks. The authors unify these seemingly disparate areas through a common set of abstractions and algorithms based on combinatorics, graphs, and hypergraphs. Combinatorial algorithms have long played a crucial enabling role in scientific and engineering computations and their importance continues to grow with the demands of new applications and advanced architectures. By addressing current challenges in the field, this volume sets the stage for the accelerated development and deployment of fundamental enabling technologies in high-performance scientific computing.

In the 1930s, the writer and poet, Nan Shepherd was one of North-East Scotland's best known literati. Her image now graces the new Scottish £5 note; The Living Mountain has become a classic and sells in its thousands. Nan Shepherd lived all her life in Deeside, yet few people, even in Scotland, seem to have heard of her. But then, indifferent to celebrity, Nan Shepherd had a talent for silence. Long overdue, this first biography, unravels some of the mysteries, dispels some of the rumours and gives insight into the life and work of this perceptive and intensely private woman.

It will come as a very pleasant surprise to Nan Shepherd's growing following that there is a body of her work which has never been published in book form, and indeed will be entirely unknown outside a very small circle. The editor of this volume, Charlotte Peacock, found many of these gems when researching for the Nan Shepherd biography Into the Mountain, published by Galileo in 2017. The pieces that Peacock found include a brilliant and moving 10,000 word short story, "Descent from the Cross"; a series of 'field writings' which were written at the same time, and in the same style as, The Living Mountain; 15 poems, never seen before; a highly entertaining piece on the poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid and, from where the title of this collection arises, a haunting description of "Wild Geese in Glen Callater" a version of which also went into The Living Mountain.