Self-improvement can be deadly. Insurance agency programmer Dana Sanderson only wants peace and quiet at work. A desire her micromanaging boss somehow never respects. Then the investigation of a rash of suspicious natural death claims lands on Dana’s laptop. Failure means huge payouts for the company. Success means a huge bonus for her. Find out if Dana’s risks outweigh her rewards in this clever digital mystery. An excerpt from The Sound of Murder: “If you know about me,” Dana said, “you know why I can’t get back into hacking, Mr. Redmond. That part of my life is over.” “I’m not asking you to get into their bank accounts. Just find the common thread. Take a look, a careful look, and see what you come up with. Don’t worry about your usual projects for now. There’s a full year’s salary bonus for whoever works this out.” “A full…” Dana shook her head, quite certain she’d misunderstood. “You’re offering me a year’s pay? How could it be worth that?” She didn’t have to do the math. That much money would pay off her college debts and everything else she’d racked up putting her past firmly behind her. The prospect of returning to her hacker life, even temporarily, felt slightly less dreadful now. “These were all in our lowest risk pool,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Several of them had policies worth ten times your salary. Trust me. It’s worth it.

Meet the amazing Alphabet Hicks. The disbarred lawyer, uncommon cabby, and investigator extraordinaire confronts cynical cops and conniving corporations as he pieces together a complex series of confusing clues to trap a cold-blooded killer. An Intimate Problem . . . There was proof positive that Judith Dundee was double-crossing her industrialist husband—and that she’d been involved in a brutal murder. Private Detective Alphabet Hicks had the secret that would prove her innocence . . . but why was he keeping it hidden? Praise for Rex Stout’s Alphabet Hicks “A slick snoop and an entertaining fellow.”—Herald Tribune “Has well earned the right to place alongside Nero Wolfe and Tecumseh Fox in the Rex Stout detective agency.”—The New York Times

After Pamela Barnes discovers her department's star researcher strangled to death in the computer lab, she is determined to find the killer. Unfortunately, her aggressive attempts to solve the crime lead her into danger, and she ultimately finds herself in a face-to-face confrontation with the killer.

The Sound of Pictures is an illuminating journey through the soundtracks of more than 400 films. How do filmmakers play with sound? And how does that affect the way we watch their movies? Whether pop or classical, sweeping or sparse, music plays a crucial role in our cinematic experience. Other sounds can be even more evocative: the sounds of na...

* National Bestseller and winner of the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award * Hailed by Edmund White as "a brilliant new novel" on the cover of the New York Times Book Review * Lauded by Jonathan Franzen, E. L. Doctorow and many others From a global literary star comes a prize-winning tour de force – an intimate portrayal of the drug wars in Colombia. Juan Gabriel Vásquez has been hailed not only as one of South America’s greatest literary stars, but also as one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation. In this gorgeously wrought, award-winning novel, Vásquez confronts the history of his home country, Colombia. In the city of Bogotá, Antonio Yammara reads an article about a hippo that had escaped from a derelict zoo once owned by legendary Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The article transports Antonio back to when the war between Escobar’s Medellín cartel and government forces played out violently in Colombia’s streets and in the skies above. Back then, Antonio witnessed a friend’s murder, an event that haunts him still. As he investigates, he discovers the many ways in which his own life and his friend’s family have been shaped by his country’s recent violent past. His journey leads him all the way back to the 1960s and a world on the brink of change: a time before narco-trafficking trapped a whole generation in a living nightmare. Vásquez is “one of the most original new voices of Latin American literature,” according to Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa, and The Sound of Things Falling is his most personal, most contemporary novel to date, a masterpiece that takes his writing—and will take his literary star—even higher.

Winner of the Edgar Award The story of a teen's struggle to prove her brother innocent of murder. The Crime: The murder of John Johnson, beloved baseball coach. The Accused: 18-year-old Jeremy Long, who hasn't spoken a single word in 12 years. Witness for the Defense: 16-year-old Hope Long, the only person who believes her brother is innocent. Other Suspects: The police have none. But Hope's list is growing. From author Dandi Daley Mackall comes a gripping murder mystery and a dark yet powerfully redemptive story of love, secrets, and silence.

When competing restaurants open in Cabot Cove, Jessica must track down who killed one of the chefs.

A note from Nerissa Blanchard: Now that my twin has found love, she wants me to be as happy asshe is. She doesn't know how blue coming home to this empty housemakes me. And our poor mother—I found her in the library, murdered. I'm thankful that Drew Lancaster was one of the first officers on thescene. He's encouraging and supportive (and he's handsome, too!).Lately, I've been hearing strange things around the house, and I worrythat Mother's killer—or maybe someone else—is trying to push meover the edge of madness.

Music remains something of a mystery to many people—ephemeral sounds floating invisibly through the air—here, and then gone. This book begins with the basic question of what music actually is, scientifically, employing simple, clear explanations of wave theory and the acoustics of sound as part of God's natural creation. It presents accessible and fascinating explanations of some theories of the psychology of perception of music, how music speaks to the mind, emotions, and spirit. Some of these concepts have rarely been addressed outside the ivory tower and even more rarely been seen through the lens of Catholic theology. Moving from music and the individual to music in the culture and the Church, the author addresses numerous issues in the context of Catholic thought, including: immanence and transcendence in music the Real Presence and music Moral Theology, Natural Law and music ordered and disordered understandings of music as it relates to the emotions understanding the authentic meanings of "beauty" and "creativity" the real function of music in Catholic liturgy the role of music in evangelization This is a kind of "layman's handbook," a comprehensive theology of all things music, which anyone can understand, written by an internationally respected classical composer and music professor at a top secular university who is also a faithful Catholic. It sheds light on the mysteries of music and furthers the spiritual formation regarding music for Catholics of many ages and walks of life. It is groundbreaking in its comprehensive and holistic treatment of music from a Catholic perspective, and particularly timely in advocating for the renewal of the norms for music in liturgy found in the documents of Vatican II. It also presents one of the most penetrating critical examinations to be found of contemporary classical music, from an insider.