Bøger udgivet af Opus Nine Books

"Eleven compulsively readable short stories..." - Foreword Reviews Loves big and small, crimes forgiven or avenged. These are the themes that drive the eleven diverse stories in this collection of psychological suspense from storyteller V.S. Kemanis. Meet the husband and wife team Rosemary and Reuben, master chefs known to sprinkle a dash of magic into every dish. Lucille Steadman, a dazed retiree who can't explain why she's left her husband, only to discover, too late, the meaning of love and commitment in the most surprising place. Franklin DeWitt, an esteemed ballet critic who witnesses (or abets?) a bizarre criminal plot to topple a beautiful Soviet ballerina. Rosalyn Bleinstorter, a washed-up defense attorney whose stubborn belief in her own street savvy leads her unwittingly into a relationship with an underworld figure. These are just a few of the colorful characters you'll get to know in these pages, where all is fair in love and crime. While the endings to these tales are not always sweet or predictable, and self-deception is rarely rewarded, the lessons come down hard and are well learned.

Family. Inescapable, universal, defining. Whether near or far, family can evoke feelings of love or resentment, trust or regret-but never indifference.In sixteen unforgettable stories, V.S. Kemanis lays bare the conflicts and joys of family life, exploring the depth and intractability of interpersonal relationships. A mysterious aunt is buried with a dark family secret, leaving a clue as her only legacy. A single mom struggles to care for a severely disabled child, asking herself, "What if?" A teenager's friend, invited along for a family vacation, slips away and disappears into the resort town. A child coping with the loss of her father clings to an imaginary friend who becomes all too real.These tales and more, from an "unarguably gifted" writer of "great talent" [SP Reviews], make Dust of the Universe a reading experience brimming with exultant and devastating emotions that only family can bring.

Tempting little wrongs, moral dilemmas, subconscious desires. Blinded by self-deception, even the best of us are led astray.In Malocclusion, tales of misdemeanor, V.S. Kemanis tells fourteen compelling stories that prickle with suspense and psychological intrigue. A private investigator is double-crossed by the woman he's tailing. A suburban homemaker commits an unspeakable transgression against a new neighbor. A man's aesthetic fascination with a young girl crosses the line. An orthodontist makes a shameful self-discovery while treating an adult patient.Open these pages and enter a world that's slightly askew, driven by aberrant need, where you'll encounter familiar misdemeanants from every walk of life and their unwitting-or complicit-victims.

A marine biologist is stranded in the Arizona desert. A troubled beauty travels the world in search of an elusive identity. A concert pianist is torn from her profession. A worn circus performer executes her ultimate trick. Meet these characters and more in this engaging and diverse collection of seventeen stories by V.S. Kemanis, an author whose "insight into human behavior" is "truly unusual" [The Kindle Book Review].The women in these pages, young and old, are everyday people experiencing joys and sorrows, facing personal challenges and moral dilemmas. Their personalities and relationships will amuse and enlighten you, as each woman discovers her boundaries, occasionally transcends them, but always reaches for something more.Beautifully and artistically told, these stories and their wonderfully rendered characters will stay with you long after closing the cover of Everyone But Us. "Kemanis knows how to build a story and keep it going." [Foreword Reviews on Love and Crime: Stories].

¿An unsolved murder. A teenager in peril. Two cases, lives in turmoil, fates manipulated by officials who wield the power to help . . . or harm.In the dead of night, on the eve of New York City's pandemic lockdown, a well-respected man is murdered, setting off a perplexing tangle of missed clues and political scandal. Former prosecutor Dana Hargrove, now an appellate judge, is determined to expose the media lies and false accusations targeting her friends and former colleagues. A limping criminal justice system fails to solve the murder by 2022 when another heartbreaking case is heard in Dana's court. A state agency has ripped a terminally ill teenager from her home to forcibly impose medical treatment against her will.Hindered by ethics rules, Dana carves a role for herself in these cases only to come up against her own children. Her son Travis, now a rising star in appellate advocacy, takes a legal position in the teen's case at odds with Dana's strongly held beliefs. Her daughter Natalie, a doctoral candidate in cognitive psychology, has a personal reason for meddling in the murder investigation. Will Natalie's curiosity throw her into danger?In a compelling story of families in crisis, Power Blind exposes the lure of power, blinding those in authority and control to the consequences of their actions._______________The sixth standalone Dana Hargrove novel: Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense!"Power Blind has everything a legal mystery should have: characters you care about, ethical conundrums, ripped-from-the-headlines legal issues, a compelling subplot, page-turning excitement, and an author who clearly knows her way around a courtroom... A well-crafted and timely novel." USA Today and WSJ bestselling author Amy M. Reade"Family saga, mystery, and legal tale all rolled into one... The author did a fantastic job drawing me into the story through compelling observations, descriptions, and dialogue... Frankly, there is a lot to like in this one." San Francisco Book Review"An engaging read, with plot twist after plot twist that will keep readers guessing... Cinematic in nature, the novel's complex plot lines will remind readers of some of television's greatest legal dramas." The U.S. Review of Books"Kemanis writes with typical elegance and control, spinning the intricacies of the law into moments of humor and drama, by turns.... With this book, Kemanis has brought Dana into roiling legal battles of the present day, dealing with issues of bodily autonomy and police violence that feel particularly urgent and timely.... An adept and timely courtroom drama." Kirkus Reviews"V.S. Kemanis's engrossing legal novel Power Blind follows a murder in New York City [and] parallel cases [that] raise questions of whether those in power help or hurt society... A compelling procedural novel, its story takes on the criminal justice system and the nature of power." Foreword Clarion Reviews"All novels, whether grounded in reality or complete flights of fancy, need a sure-handed author to guide the reader. As she has demonstrated throughout her Dana Hargrove series, V.S. Kemanis is that author. Her ultra-clear writing style, encyclopedic knowledge of the courts and the criminal justice system, and conscientious plotting are on full display in Power Blind. A smooth as silk read." Kevin Egan, author of Midnight

“A true page-turner” — Kirkus ReviewsJust months on the job, rookie prosecutor Dana Hargrove is faced with an impossible choice between her career and personal relationships. It's 1988, at the height of Colombian cocaine trafficking in New York City, and Dana has been assigned to a team investigating money laundering by the Cali Cartel.Dana isn't happy with her assignment. As the junior member of the team, she's handed nothing but grunt work, analyzing bank records. But in the course of tracing the flow of dirty money, Dana unwittingly stumbles upon alarming evidence that threatens a close friendship. Left out of the loop by her superiors, she undertakes her own investigation and connects the dots between ambiguous clues. In a few dark days and sleepless nights, Dana questions her loyalty to friends, her employer, and the ethical code she is bound to uphold. As the investigation unravels, Dana and her friends are thrust into a living nightmare of Cartel greed, blood, and retribution.Thursday's List explores questions of professional integrity, the insidious influence of cultural biases, and the triumph of personal bonds of friendship between two unforgettable women.

"Riveting reading..." — Foreword ReviewsIt’s one a.m. Do you know where your teenagers are? Prosecutor Dana Hargrove makes it a point to know. But one night, in the dead of winter, she should have known more.In February 2009, Dana is the newly-elected district attorney of a suburban county north of Manhattan, where she lives with her husband, attorney Evan Goodhue, and their two teenage children. The Great Recession has seen a rise in substance abuse and domestic violence. It’s also the era of burgeoning social media, an intoxicating lure for wayward and disaffected teens who find new methods of victimization: a game to some, with no thought of the consequences.During an arctic cold snap, the body of a high school student is discovered, lodged in the ice floes of the Hudson River. People are crying for justice, but there doesn’t seem to be a law that fits. Days later, in one hellish night, Dana’s children are sucked into a criminal investigation against several of their classmates, making her a convenient target for community outrage.In Deep Zero, the fourth standalone novel of legal suspense featuring the dynamic prosecutor, Dana walks the tightrope like never before in her tricky balance between professional ethics and family loyalties.

“Informed, thrilling action in and out of the courtroom, and few can portray it better than V.S. Kemanis” — San Francisco Review of BooksClimbing the career ladder, prosecutor Dana Hargrove is the new chief of a major trial bureau in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Years in the courtroom have earned Dana the respect and admiration of her juniors and peers. A few tough wins have also sparked the envy—and contempt—of certain members of the defense bar.In the summer of 2001, Dana’s plans for a well-deserved family vacation are interrupted by a few high-profile cases that demand her attention. A renowned fashion designer is murdered in his posh Upper East Side townhome. An inmate, serving state time for felony murder, says the D.A. wrongly withheld evidence at his trial. A professional con man, the mastermind of a reverse mortgage scam, is blamed for leading a younger man into a life of crime. As the mysteries in these cases unfold, a common, unsavory design comes to light—Dana is the victim of a personal attack.A scurrilous media campaign can be endured, but when a criminal scheme touches Dana’s family, she must strike back. In Forsaken Oath, Dana confronts the greatest challenge yet to her professional integrity as she fights to protect her good name and the sanctity of her family life.

"Excellent... A law buff's delight..." — Mystery Scene MagazineIt’s 1994. The murder rate in New York City is sky high, and Dana Hargrove’s caseload is soaring. As a top prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office, Dana belongs to an elite cadre on the “homicide chart,” a 24/7 rotation of on-call responders to murder scenes.Dana is also a young mother, juggling the competing demands of career and home. Her next shift on the chart couldn’t come at a worse time. Distracted by concerns about the live-in caregiver for her two-year-old, Dana barely survives an exhausting week of battles in the courtroom. A surprise witness of dubious credibility has surfaced, threatening to undermine her airtight case against a reputed gang member, on trial for the murder of a rival. In the midst of it all, Dana pulls graveyard shift on the chart and receives a call in the middle of the night, plunging her into a new murder investigation that hits dangerously close to home.A tragic crime forges the painful intersection of family and career at the center of Homicide Chart. In a dilemma of heart and conscience, Dana is forced to question every choice she’s made about her life and the people she holds most dear.

A criminal prosecutor is bound to make a few enemies over a decades-long career, and Dana Hargrove is no exception. Who has it in for her?In 2015, the former prosecutor is in her second year as a trial judge in Manhattan. It’s a new world. Dana cut her baby teeth in the DA’s office during the crack epidemic, the ’80s and early ’90s. Now, the murder rate is a fraction of what it was, and public opinion about incarceration is softening. So is Dana. As a judge, she agonizes over every sentencing decision before her.Midlife has also hit Dana hard on a personal level. She misses her children and adjusts to the empty nest by immersing herself in work. Instead of growing closer to her husband Evan, their relationship becomes strained. What is happening to them?Tension builds as Judge Hargrove presides over two high-stakes media cases. The defendants: a glamorous dot-com millionaire who killed her business partner, and an orthopedist who runs a deadly pill mill. In the public mail bag, the judge receives a message from an anonymous crank. Then her family starts getting letters that sound all too personal. Someone with an agenda is harassing and shadowing Dana and her loved ones.In Seven Shadows, the judge and her pursuer are on a collision course meant to teach Dana the meaning of empathy and the value of the people she cherishes most.

2019 Eric Hoffer Award, Short Story/Anthology Category2019 Montaigne Medal FinalistYour Pick is the ideal introduction to the short fiction of V.S. Kemanis. Carefully selected from the author's four collections, the dozen stories in this volume are reader favorites. These are the stories that have resonated deepest, bringing tears and smiles, wonder and discovery."Powerful and thought provoking... Recommended without reservation." (Book Viral)"Kemanis knows how to build a story and keep it going." (Foreword Reviews on Love and Crime: Stories).From the introduction by the author:"Dear Readers, I've listened to you and learned from you. These are your picks. New Readers, take these stories and escape into worlds unknown yet familiar, imbued with universal situations, conflicts, and emotions. My characters are everyday people navigating the breadth of human experience: love, loss, attraction, repulsion, rejection, acceptance, despair, joy, temptation, loneliness, creativity, self-discovery, failure, success. Enter the lives of these characters and let them stir feelings deep within you."Your Pick includes stories from these collections by V.S. Kemanis:Love and Crime: Stories (Top Shelf Book Awards 2018 Finalist): "Rosemary and Reuben" and "Journal Entry, Franklin DeWitt" (first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine)Dust of the Universe, tales of family (Commended-SPR Book Awards 2014): "My Latvian Aunt" (a Glimmer Train Top-25 award winner), "Like Love," "Reckoning," and "Dust of the Universe"Everyone But Us, tales of women (The Kindle Book Review Awards 2013 Nominee): "The Cost of Ice Cream," "Pianissimo, Fortissimo," and "The Missing and Uninvited"Malocclusion, tales of misdemeanor (BP Readers' Choice Awards 2014 Nominee): "Malocclusion," "Gray Zone," and "Fractals"