Bøger udgivet af Ballantine Books

An innovative 16-day plan that combines the fat-burning benefits of a ketogenic diet with the brain-clearing and keto-flu protection of alkaline food, by the USA Today bestselling author of The Hormone Fix.“A powerful program that paves the way for lasting health, longevity, and disease resistance.”—David Perlmutter, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Grain BrainAre you having a hard time losing weight? Do you suffer from brain fog, lack of focus, or poor memory? Do you run out of energy halfway through the day? Do you have unwanted cravings? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, join the club! In this revolutionary book, Dr. Anna Cabeca shares a proven way to finally give you the results you want, need, and deserve. There is no question that going keto works. This strict high-fat/low-carb diet denies the body glucose as a main source of energy and instead promotes the production and use of ketone bodies as fuel. It’s a great way to move you off a weight plateau, gain willpower, and get results fast. But going keto also often results in gastrointestinal discomfort, low energy, and moodiness—known as the “keto flu”—which makes the diet hard to sustain. The solution? Add alkaline foods—leafy greens, other vegetables, broths, healthy oils, nuts, and seeds—for a lifestyle that’s more sustainable and easier on your body. In other words: Go Keto-Green and thrive!A triple-board-certified physician, Dr. Anna Cabeca developed her method through years of careful patient and test-panel research. In Keto-Green 16, she explains the science behind her innovation: Hormone production dips as a woman ages, leading to increased visceral fat. By pairing keto-diet staples with foods that bring the body’s pH to a more alkaline level, you’ll shed belly fat while balancing the hormones responsible for that bulkier midsection. And by fueling your brain with ketones—like rocket fuel instead of gasoline—you’ll make better decisions, including healthier choices for what to eat. The unique nutritional balance of the Keto-Green 16 diet also boosts mood.With 16 days of what-to-eat instructions (including a version for vegetarians and vegans); more than 50 delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes; information about the 16 best alkaline foods; a 16-hour intermittent-fasting strategy; 16-minute HIIT exercise routines; and a chapter outlining the specifics of the nutritional plan just for men; Keto-Green 16 will ensure that you skip the flu and get on with rapid and amazing weight loss.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author and queen of Christmas stories presents a "best of" coloring book featuring 45 delightful illustrations from Debbie Macomber's Very Merry Christmas Coloring Book and Debbie Macomber's Holly Jolly Christmas Coloring Book. Debbie Macomber invites you to enjoy her favorite illustrations from her previously published Christmas coloring books, including a beautifully adorned Christmas tree, delicious holiday treats, a stained-glass nativity scene, and more! This collection of forty-five gorgeous black-and-white ​drawings will appeal to long-time Macomber fans and anyone yearning to experience the comfort and joy of the holiday season with a well-loved past time.

Molly the Maid has a whole new mystery to solve in this heartwarming novella from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest. Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly's most joyful yet. But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential--and personal--mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince? A heartwarming, magical story about the true spirit of the season, The Mistletoe Mystery reminds us that love is the greatest mystery of all.

When a priest with radical ideas and a parish council with traditional values lock horns over the beliefs they hold most sacred, there's bound to be controversy--and consequences. But murder crosses the line between committing a sin and committing a crime, turning a battle over faith into a battle for justice. And smack in the middle of the explosive case is Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid. Kincaid rescued Father Daniel Beale once before. When the priest's renegade views and violent temper nearly cost him his position as rector of St. Benedict's Church, Ben intervened and saved the day. Now Beale is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a female parishioner--though lack of evidence has left the case unsolved. But as Father Beale struggles to escape the shadow of suspicion, another woman is savagely slaughtered. And this time, Ben himself discovers Beale literally red-handed . . . with the blood of the victim. As Father Beale declares his innocence, Ben and his team feverishly work to build a defense that will deliver the man of God from a date with the death chamber. But each new revelation that emerges in the packed courtroom only serves to tilt the scales increasingly in the prosecution's favor. And Father Beale's own shocking testimony ignites a firestorm of controversy that could doom his last best hope for acquittal. In his heart and in his gut, Ben knows Father Beale is innocent. But proving it means taking a leap of faith that will plunge Ben into the whirlpool of dark secrets and dangerous intentions that surround St. Benedict's. And ultimately, it will force the idealistic attorney to confront the chilling face of evil in the most unexpected of places. Criminal Intent proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the author of Murder One has earned his critical reputation as the master of the courtroom drama whose novels of legal suspense consistently offer a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

Staying with a friend and her husband is sexier--and deadlier--than anyone could have imagined, in this "delightfully salacious" (Shondaland) domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick We Were Never Here."A fresh and sexy ride, perfect for reading poolside."--People (Best New Book) "Sexy, atmospheric, deliciously creepy, and ingeniously plotted: the best kind of up-all-night page-turner."--Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Apartment and The Guest ListA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Elle, PopSugar, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, CrimeReads Kelly's new life in Philadelphia has turned into a nightmare: She's friendless and jobless, and the lockdown has her trapped in a tiny apartment with the man she gave up everything for, who's just called off their wedding. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend Sabrina--now a glamorous bestselling author with a handsome, high-powered husband. When Sabrina and Nathan offer Kelly an escape hatch, volunteering the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion, she jumps at the chance to run away from her old life. There, Kelly secretly finds herself falling for both her enchanting hosts--until one night, a wild and unexpected threesome leads the couple to open their marriage for her. At first, Kelly loves being part of this risqué new world. But when she discovers that the last woman they invited into their marriage is missing, she starts to wonder if they could be dangerous . . . and if she might be next. Packed with Andrea Bartz's signature tension, twists, and toxic relationships, The Spare Room marks an edgy, boundary-pushing new direction from the "master of the 'feminist thriller'" (Los Angeles Times).

A young woman with the extraordinary power to bring soulmates together searches for her own true love in this tender, lyrical standalone novel inspired by the "bona fide international hit" (The New York Times Book Review) The Little Paris Bookshop In Nina George's New York Times bestseller The Little Paris Bookshop, beloved literary apothecary Jean Perdu is inspired to create a floating bookstore after reading a seminal pseudonymous novel about a young woman with a remarkable gift. The Little Village of Book Lovers is that novel. "Everyone knows me, but none can see me. I'm that thing you call love." In a little town in the south of France in the 1960s, a dazzling encounter with Love itself changes the life of infant orphan Marie-Jeanne forever. As a girl, Marie-Jeanne realizes that she can see the marks Love has left on the people around her--tiny glowing lights on the faces and hands that shimmer more brightly when the one meant for them is near. Before long, Marie-Jeanne is playing matchmaker, bringing true loves together in her village. As she grows up, Marie-Jeanne helps her foster father, Francis, begin a mobile library that travels throughout the many small mountain towns in the region of Nyons. She finds herself bringing soulmates together every place they go--and there are always books that play a pivotal role in that quest. However, the only person that Marie-Jeanne can't seem to find a soulmate for is herself. She has no glow of her own, though she waits and waits for it to appear. Everyone must have a soulmate, surely--but will Marie-Jeanne be able to recognize hers when Love finally comes her way?

They are dying, one by one: wealthy middle-aged women in an exclusive Connecticut suburb. Their murderer remains at large. Nora Chancel, wife of publishing scion Davey Chancel, fears she may be next. After all, her past has branded her a victim. . . . Then Davey tells Nora a surreal story about the Hellfire Club, where, years before, he met an obsessed fan of Chancel House's most successful book, Night Journey--a book that has a strange history of its own. . . . Suddenly terror engulfs Nora: She must defend herself against fantastic accusations even as a madman lies in wait. And when he springs, Nora will embark on a night journey that will put her fears to rest forever, dead or alive. . . .

The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday pepper mill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent around the world to secure a scented prize; of cinnamon-dusted custard tarts and nutmeg induced genocide; of pungent elixirs and the quest for the pepper groves of paradise. The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globetrotting tale of unquenchable desire, fanatical religion, raw greed, fickle fashion, and mouthwatering cuisine- in short, the very stuff of which our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening, and anecdote filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef turned writer and food historian, tells the story of three legendary cities- Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam- and how their single-minded pursuit of spice helped to make (and remake) the Western diet and set in motion the first great wave of globalization. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the world's peoples were irrevocably brought together as a result of the spice trade. Before the great voyages of discovery, Venice controlled the business in Eastern seasonings and thereby became medieval Europes most cosmopolitan urban center. Driven to dominate this trade, Portugals mariners pioneered sea routes to the New World and around the Cape of Good Hope to India to unseat Venice as Europes chief pepper dealer. Then, in the 1600s, the savvy businessmen of Amsterdam invented the modern corporationthe Dutch East India Companyand took over as spice merchants to the world. Sharing meals and stories with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors, and Venetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore the world of long ago and sample its many flavors. The spice trade and its cultural exchanges didnt merely lend kick to the traditional Venetian cookies called peverini, or add flavor to Portuguese sausages of every description, or even make the Indonesian rice table more popular than Chinese takeout in trendy Amsterdam. No, the taste for spice of a few wealthy Europeans led to great crusades, astonishing feats of bravery, and even wholesale slaughter. As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprising insights, The Taste of Conquest offers a fascinating perspective on how, in search of a tastier dish, the world has been transformed.

Suspense, intrigue, atmosphere, and vivid historical detail combine into a thrilling ride through nineteenth-century New York City in "The Mask of Red Death." Harold Schechter delivers both a wonderfully accurate portrait of a city in turmoil and an irresistibly appealing depiction of his amateur sleuth Edgar Allan Poe, mirroring the master's writing style with wit and acumen. It is the sweltering summer of 1845, and the thriving metropolis has fallen victim to a creature of the most inhuman depravity. Found days apart, two girls have been brutally murdered, their throats slashed, viciously scalped, and-most shocking of all-missing their livers. Edgar Allan Poe, despite what the tenor of his own tales of terror might suggest about his constitution, is just as shaken and revolted by these horrendous crimes as the panic-stricken public. Suspicion of the scalper's identity immediately swirls around the most famous "redskin" in New York, Chief Wolf Bear, one of the human attractions at P.T. Barnum's American Museum. Certain that Chief Wolf Bear is innocent, Poe has deduced that the city is concealing a cannibal somewhere in its teeming masses, one with an ever-growing appetite for human prey. Before he can investigate his theory further, Poe stumbles onto the scene of a third gruesome murder. Poe recently met William Wyatt when he agreed to look at a document for Wyatt to determine the authenticity of the purportedly famous handwriting on it. Now Poe finds Wyatt in a pool of blood, his scalp removed. How, Poe muses, are Wyatt and his document connected to the two slain girls? As frenzied emotions over the murders reach a fevered pitch, Kit Carson makes an appearance. The famous scout has been tracking the "Liver Eater" since the man killed his wife months ago. Together, Carson and Poe make an odd sleuthing team, but their combined wits are formidable. The trail they uncover reveals a dark secret more powerful than anything they could have imagined- one that may reach the upper echelons of politics and privilege.

"The creation of an altar is a sacred act, an act of power and grace. For a few timeless minutes you enter a dimension beyond ordinary reality, where light, sound, and energy merge into an exquisite state of being." The human urge to create physical sacred centers for our lives is so deep that we often create them unconsciously. Photos on the dresser, personal objects on our desk or around the computer are tangible tokens of our longing for balance and wholeness--and of our attempts to strengthen connections between our loved ones, nature and community, and other great sources of spiritual power. The internationally acclaimed author of Sacred Space, Denise Linn, speaks directly to this primal need for hallowed and holy places. In Altars, she demonstrates in photos and text how you can further enrich the areas around us at home or in the office by creating unique shrines for personal devotions, intimate centers for healing and contemplation. Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly practical, Altars shows how to - Create personal altars for prayer and devotion, stillness and listening, loss and mourning, relationships and love, and connecting with the life energy- Find the right place to install a home shrine, according to the points of the compass and the ancient and honored principles of feng shui- Select altar objects that are particularly suited to your special needs- Purify yourself and your altars with incense, prayers, drumming, and chanting- And much more! Everyone who yearns to draw near the mysterious and wondrous, to infuse ordinary moments with sacred meaning, will find a great wealth of beauty, inspiration, and wisdom in this unique book.

'As we've grown older, the results have been surprisingly good, ' writes former President Jimmy Carter in this wise, deeply personal meditation on the new experiences that come to us with age. Now in his 70s, President Carter has never enjoyed more prestige or influence on the world stage, nor has he ever felt more profound happiness with himself, with his accomplishments, and with his beloved wife, Rosalynn. In The Virtues of Aging, Jimmy Carter shares the knowledge and the pleasures that age have brought him. Blending memoir, anecdote, political savvy, and practical advice, this book truly illuminates the rich promises of growing older.The approach to old age was not an easy one for President Carter. At 56, having lost a Presidential election, he found himself involuntarily retired from a job he loved and facing a large debt on his farm and warehouse business. President Carter writes movingly here of how he and Rosalynn overcame their despair and disappointment as together they met the challenges ahead. As the book unfolds, President Carter delves into issues he and millions of others confront in planning for retirement, undertaking new diet and exercise regimens, coping with age prejudice, and sorting out key political questions. On a more intimate level, Carter paints a glowing portrait of his happy marriage, a relationship that deepened when they became grandparents. Here too are fascinating sketches of world leaders, Nobel laureates, and great thinkers President Carter has been privileged to know -- and the valuable lessons on aging he learned from them. The Virtues of Aging celebrates both the blessings that come to us as we grow older and the blessings older people canbestow upon others. An important and moving book, written with gentleness, humor, and love, The Virtues of Aging is a treasure for readers of all ages.

To reap the fruits of one's labor is a privilege that every gardener cherishes and others only dream of. Now, in this exquisitely rendered book, Justin Matott shares with us the bountiful pleasures that come at the end of the gardening season. For after the harvest, there may be dormancy for a time, but there is still beautiful life--and from it, nature's wisdom becomes our own.The ripening pumpkin reminds us to let go of summer--and to embrace the richness of autumn. In the barren winter landscape, the constant beauty of the red twig dogwood provides a greeting to visitors all year long. And the fragile white flourish of angel's trumpet salutes the soaring of the spirit.From autumn to winter to spring, Justin embraces the changing of the seasons as he muses on childhood joys and adult regrets, and gives thanks for the abundance of his life, for friends and family, especially the gently lingering presence of his deceased mother.In this richly illustrated memoir and gardener's notebook, Justin helps us see that through the changing seasons, in nature's garden, it is in the roots that life is stored--ready to replenish the earth and the spirits of all those who walk upon it.

"Moving, beautiful . . . If Hemingway had written a baseball novel, he might have written For Love of the Game."--Los Angeles Times Billy Chapel is a baseball legend, after seventeen season a sure Hall of Famer. He is a man who has retained the endearing qualities of youth, a man who has devoted his life to the game he loves and plays so well. But, because of his unsurpassed skill and innocent faith, he has been betrayed. It's the final game of the season, and Billy's got one last chance to prove who he is and what he can do, a chance to prove what really matters in this life. A taut, compelling story of one man's coming of age, For Love of the Game is Michael Shaara's final novel, the classic finish to a brilliantly distinguished literary career. Praise for For Love of the Game "A delightful and lyrical story about a great athlete's momentous last game . . . A fairy tale for adults about love and loneliness and finally growing up."--USA Today"An endearing, timeless novel that can be enjoyed by both serious readers and baseball lovers for generations to come."--The Orlando Sentinel

The Cold War is over. The rules of the spying game have changed. But to train new spies for this uncertain future, one must first show them the past. Enter the man called Ned, the loyal and shrewd veteran of the Circus. With the inspiration of his inscrutable mentor George Smiley, Ned thrills all as he recounts forty exhilarating years of Cold War espionage across Europe and the Far East .

Lock up the lasagna! Chain the chicken! And, hold on to your funny bone . . . America's favorite cat is hungrier, funnier, lazier, grouchier, and more lovable than ever before in his sixth sensational bestseller!

"Explosive, extraordinary...The reader is left limp!"THE SAN DIEGO UNIONThe deadliest secret assassin to ever roam the globe. Now, crack reporters Frank O'Hara and Eliza Gunn are hot on his trail. To unmask him, they untangle a many-colored web of espionage and computer intrigue--amid the tantalizing Oriental arts of love and death....

A gripping apocalyptic thriller about a man and his family running for their lives in an America gone mad--from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began. Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation. Three days ago, the President addressed the country and begged for peace--even as the murders increased tenfold. Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize. One day ago, the power went out. And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, his son.He doesn't know why, but he doesn't have time to think about that anymore. He only has time to run. Following an ordinary family on a desperate race for safety through an America that's destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first in Susan Howatch's acclaimed novels centering on the glorious Cathedral of Starbridge, Glittering Images is a masterful depiction of spiritual hubris, the seductions of power, and the moral dilemmas of England between the wars."Passionately eloquent . . . [A] tale of God, sex, love, self-analysis and forgiveness . . . The dialogue throughout this book is brilliantly crisp."-The Philadelphia InquirerIt is the 1930s, and Charles Ashworth is dispatched by the Archbishop of Canterbury to learn the truth about the flamboyant Bishop of Starbridge, Adam Alexander Jardine, and his mousy wife. Do Jardine's outspoken denouncements of the Anglican Church's strict divorce laws have a personal motive? When he meets the cool and beautiful Lyle Christie, Mrs. Jardine's companion, Ashworth believes they do. But as he struggles to understand the strange relationships in the household, Ashworth ceases to be an innocent, objective observer. Slowly, he too is drawn into the secret drama that is being played out in the shadow of the cathedral, a drama that he could never have foreseen.Praise for Glittering Images"A terrific story . . . Glittering Images is driven by passion, emotional and spiritual, and its spiritual antagonists are brilliant characters."-San Jose Mercury News"She may well be the Anthony Trollope of the 20th century."-Andrew Greeley, The Washington Post"Bold and exciting."-Los Angeles Times

"ASTONISHINGLY MOVING...The Family Heart is a tough and challenging work, for it reminds us that empathy is a humble but radical virtue, if lived."--USA Today" I'm gay.' Every day, parents around the world hear those words from their children. Most are utterly unprepared for them. By writing The Family Heart, Robb Forman Dew has done such parents an extraordinary service."--The Washington Post Book World"TOUCHINGLY WRITTEN."--The Boston Globe"At the heart of this memoir lies a true epiphany: the author's sudden, galvanizing awareness of the suicidal consequences of homophobia. It is a chilling moment, and it is described with a writer's eloquence and a mother's rage....Dew's intense imagination, combined with her ignorance of homosexuality, was as much a hindrance as a help, and it is to her credit that she has recorded the occasionally wacky assumptions and painful readjustments of her own odyssey with such care and humor."--The New Yorker"POETIC, HONEST."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram"Eloquent and absorbing...The true testament of Mrs. Dew and her husband as parents, and the most powerful moments of this inspiring memoir, occur when they come out' to their community as parents of a gay child....Though Mrs. Dew imparts a lot of self-gained wisdom in this perceptive and beautifully articulated story, in the end she realizes she has something she has always had--a strong loving family and two good sons."--The Dallas Morning News"AMEN FROM ANY MOTHER, EVERY MOTHER."--Anna Quindlen The New York Times

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK - "A heartwarming mystery with a lovable oddball at its center" (Real Simple), this cozy whodunit introduces a one-of-a-kind heroine who will steal your heart. FINALIST FOR THE EDGAR(R) AWARD - "The reader comes to understand Molly's worldview, and to sympathize with her longing to be accepted--a quest that gives The Maid real emotional heft."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) "Think Clue. Think page-turner."--Glamour ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Reader's DigestONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, The Guardian, Glamour, Elle, PopSugar, Newsweek, Mental Floss, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews In development as a major motion picture produced by and starring Florence Pugh Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter--she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black--but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late? A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different--and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Rizzoli & Isles now a series on TNT In the murky shadows of Boston's Chinatown lies a severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to that hand, a red-haired woman dressed in black, her head nearly decapitated. Two strands of silver hair--not human--cling to her body. They are homicide cop Jane Rizzoli's only clues, but they're enough for her and medical examiner Maura Isles to make the startling discovery: that this violent death had a chilling prequel. Nineteen years earlier, a horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people dead. One woman connected to that massacre is still alive--a mysterious martial arts master who is now the target of someone, or something, deeply and relentlessly evil. Cracking a crime with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend, Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of cunning--and a swift, avenging blade. Don't miss Tess Gerritsen's short story "Freaks" in the back of the book.

"The Bonesetter's Daughter dramatically chronicles the tortured, devoted relationship between LuLing Young and her daughter Ruth. . . . A strong novel, filled with idiosyncratic, sympathetic characters, haunting images, historical complexity, significant contemporary themes, and suspenseful mystery."-Los Angeles Times "TAN AT HER BEST . . . Rich and hauntingly forlorn . . . The writing is so exacting and unique in its detail."-San Francisco Chronicle"For Tan, the true keeper of memory is language, and so the novel is layered with stories that have been written down-by mothers for their daughters, passing along secrets that cannot be said out loud but must not be forgotten."-The New York Times Book Review"AMY TAN [HAS] DONE IT AGAIN. . . . The Bonesetter's Daughter tells a compelling tale of family relationships; it layers and stirs themes of secrets, ambiguous meanings, cultural complexity and self-identity; and it resonates with metaphor and symbol."-The Denver Post

With the breakneck pacing and intricate plotting of his most recent novel, The Rosary Girls, Richard Montanari established himself as one of the most exciting suspense writers working today. Now he proves himself a virtuoso with The Skin Gods, an explosive new thriller featuring Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. It is the steaming heart of summer in the City of Brotherly Love. Back on the force after taking a bullet during the arrest of a sadistic murderer, Detective Kevin Byrne warily returns to police headquarters. He cannot shake the memory of the Rosary Killer's innocent victims-or his growing sense that the evil has not been vanquished. And when he and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano, are called in on a bizarre case, Byrne's gravest suspicions are confirmed. A madman, dubbed The Actor by the homicide unit, is meticulously re-creating Hollywood's most famous-and most gruesome-death scenes. The first murder is caught on film, spliced into a rented VHS edition of the Hitchcock black-and-white masterpiece Psycho. But in place of Janet Leigh is a real-life woman, and this time, the blood is red and the knife is real. Soon, more thrilling classics are turned into terrifying snuff films and placed on video store shelves for an unsuspecting public to find. The key to this horrific puzzle could lie with any of The Skin Gods' supporting cast: the A-list Hollywood director, the ruthless executive assistant, the convicted mass murderer-or perhaps someone else who has made a sinister art of gruesome violence. Hot on the psychopath's trail, Balzano and Byrne descend into the mouth of madness and beyond, deep into the depraved underworld of S&M clubs and the porn industry, where the worship of flesh leads to malevolent evil. Before the final credits roll, the investigators will discover that none of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear to be, and that the clue the police need to prevent future murders might be found in Detective Byrne's own dark past.