At the sound of the gavel an instant hush fell over the courtroom as Alice Wray and her attorney stood up to hear the judges sentencing. All eyes were on Alice Wray who stood straight, face masked in indifference, not a noticeable tear in her eyes. Alice Wray would you like to address the court before sentencing? Judge Ellis asked. There was dead silence in the courtroom Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as the barely audible whispered words of Alice Wray were heard, No, thank you. Judge Ellis frowned. Well, I would like to say something, he said. Never, in all my years on the bench, which amounts to a total of twenty-two years, have I witnessed such a senseless and deliberate act of murder. . It grieves me to think a mother could be capable of killing her own innocent children. Alice Wray you are hereby sentenced to life in prison without benefit of parole.

Moet La'Rue has been through hell and back in her short years. At 11 her father was murdered, at 12 her and her mother were kidnapped. Which in-turn, led to her brother getting three life sentence, for murder. Her mothers boyfriend had been molesting her. So at 16 after she graduated from high school. She got to on a bus to New Orleans changed her life forever. The question is, did it change her life for the better or worse.

In this “heart-stopping” (Publishers Weekly) page-turner from New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance, Ali Reynolds finds herself working against the police to clear two innocent names. Former reporter Ali Reynolds finds herself working against the police to add up the clues that connect one frightened teenager, two dead bodies, and $300,000...with the body count rising. Hired to investigate the grisly murder of a gold-digging divor­cée on behalf of the woman accused of the crime, Ali Reynolds is immediately drawn to the case of the secretive teenager who found the body. A. J. Sanders was in the Camp Verde desert to retrieve a mystery box buried by his absent father—a box that turns out to be filled with hundreds of thousands of dol­lars’ worth of poker chips. When a second body is found in the desert, it seems the three cases are more closely related than anyone could have imagined. Though Ali’s friends in the police department grow increasingly irritated by her involvement, Ali must stop a ruthless killer from claiming another victim...before she is lost in this game of deadly stakes.

From the Wizard of Oz to Lolita, from the Heathers to the Spice Girls, images of girlhood have been projected on the silver screen in myriad ways. Whether a girl is taught that "there is no place like home" or is seeking adventure on her own terms, whether she is a seductress or a nerd, a babysitter or a murderer, films have depicted society's problematic expectations of girls together with the dreams, anxieties, and tensions experience by girls themselves. In examining the construction of girlhood from many angles, this collection of essays not only captures the richness of meaning behind "girl films," but also explores the recent resurgence of youth-oriented cinema and the relationship of young female viewers to that medium. The twenty essays approach to the construction of girlhood from a variety of perspectives, including reception, production, star images, and textual analyses, while exploring such topics as star power, the Riot Grrrl movement, coming of age, and loss of innocence. Among the characters given special attention are those in Gidget, Crooklyn, Titanic, Freeway and Girls Town. Written for general and academic readers, this work offers a lively, unprecedented discussion of gender in youth-oriented films.

Frankie Rose, a street smart girl, has just been released from prison for a crime she was paid to take the rap for. While she was in prison her brother was murdered. Now home, all she wants is her money and her brother's murderer. To find the people who killed her brother she is depending on her mentor Doc, a small time gangster who is said to have Mafia ties. Everyone who knows anything is either dead or going to die before she gets to them. She has been lied to, beaten up and shot. To make matters worse a drug lord is after her now and she has no idea why. With the only friend she can trust, she fights back to uncover the truth. The Eleventh Commandment is one person's struggle to fight the invisible evil and to find the truth. About the Author: C. J. Carr has been writing for many years and had his first work published in 1998. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, much of what he writes about centers around New York.

Mortal Spirit takes us on a compelling journey from naivete to wisdom, from instinct to heightened consciousness. In an age dominated by psychoparmocological and solution-focused treatments for human discontents, many of us have turned to spiritual teachings for succor. Yet, here too, we often do not find the answers we desire. Human development and spiritual evolution are part of a contimuum of self-transcendence. Mortal Spirit is the recognition of our ever evolving nature.The power of Brian Gleason's message is in his willingness to challenge the sacred cows of both psychology and spirituality. Gleason cogently argues that until we accept the biological realities of our beingness we will forever flounder in a fantasy world of hoped for immortality. To be fully alive, in this very moment, is the highest spiritual challenge. We cannot get there through traditional psychotherapy, or classical spiritual practices alone.Gleason's elegant work opens us to a new paradigm called spiritual-somatics. Here, we learn that the human energy field must embrace all the potent forces of the universe in a developmentally appropriate sequence. Both pleasure and pain must be fully experienced on this path. The capacity to "tolerate" strong emotions is fundamental to self-transcendence. Spiritual-somatic theory suggests that body and spirit must develop in harmony for personal evolution to unfold.

I finally know what I am and who my father is. I officially hit the parental jackpot and all those Undercity bullies can suck it! Zaid, the love of my life, is by my side. I finally have my own territory. And Hermes, my grandfather is absolutely adorable. The problem? The guilt of old mistakes haunt me, and the path ahead is anything but clear. With all the Houses trying to trick me into alliances I’m not ready to consider, I have to be cautious. My solution? Get in good my new Pantheon. Even if it kills me. When Hermes convinces Zeus that I’m the best P.I. to solve a string of murders on Mt. Olympus, ego and pride push me to see the case through to the bitter end. History tells me that all it will take is a little bit of luck, trickery, smarts, and a strong will to live to solve this case. But it’ll take a whole lot more to save me and Mt. Olympus from The God Killer.

In 1997, Detective Martin Cole was fighting a losing battle with luck. His wife had left him, taking his kids away. To forget the pain, he turned to drink. Then he was assigned to a by-the-book missing-persons case that turned out to be anything but. Before he knew it, Cole was trapped inside the world of a serial killer. The bodies piled up as the man the newspapers dubbed the "Poetic Killer" waged his war against decency. The people of Rhode Island were afraid and angry, and Cole was supposed to be the hero. But then the killer made the case personal by adding Cole's wife to his bloody list of trophies. Cole's young daughter, Jessica, unable to handle her mother's murder, was committed to an institution. Now, twelve years later, Cole is retired from the force and trying to build a new life. The last piece of the puzzle is the release of his daughter. Things are finally starting to make sense again. And then the killings begin anew.

ONE NIGHT ONLY Special Agent Katherine Bowden doesn’t do girls’ nights out. She doesn’t do blazing hot dances with male strippers or unbelievable, uninhibited one-night-stands. If you ask her ex, all she does is work: study evidence, profile criminals, track them down. And now Katherine’s back home in Dallas, with a new set of all-male colleagues second-guessing her every move, and a possible serial killer hunting women just like her. But just this once, Katherine is going to try all those things she doesn’t do . . . Growing up on the Reservation led Nash Hawkins down paths he’d rather forget. When his dream of joining the police force was crushed, he turned his hard body and wicked imagination into a meal ticket. His chemistry with Katherine is like nothing he’s ever felt. And though he’s sure a woman like her won’t want to get seriously involved with him, Nash knows things—things that might help catch a killer. Nash and Katherine can save lives, if they put aside the desire that torments them both. But the closer they get, the more they have to lose . . . “A highly entertaining and cohesive suspense novel with an emotionally satisfying romance that will keep readers glued to the page.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars on Dangerous Moves

A hundred-year-old stage steeped in tradition. Six contestants with a world to gain and everything to lose. Three judges who stand between them and their dreams. It is October in Shimla. The air is crisp, the mist is rising and the stakes are sky-high as the finalists of India's No. 1 reality cooking show, Hot Chef, are pitted against each other in a live shoot at the historic Gaiety Theatre. The spices are ground, the fires are lit, the knives have been sharpened... Then things start to go horribly wrong. As she picks her way through a maze of testimonies and motives, Shimla's Superintendent of Police, Niki Marwah, is more determined than ever to get to the bottom of a perplexing mystery ? one that is dangerously close to her heart.