Just One Night


Book Description

You should sleep with a stranger, her best friend whispered in her ear—and so begins the intense, erotic journey of Kasie Fitzgerald in Book One of the Just One Night series, a blockbuster bestseller and “an uplifting story in which sex is presented both as freedom and as a metaphor for power” (Publishers Weekly). Kasie Fitzgerald knows who she’s supposed to be. Responsible. Reliable. Predictable. She’s an ambitious workaholic who is devoted to the sensible man she plans to marry. But one wild, impulsive night in Vegas is about to open her eyes up to who she wants to be... Trying her sexy new dress and her luck at a blackjack table, Kasie meets him. Intense. Flirtatious. Dangerous. She accepts his invitation for a drink...and then to his hotel room. She doesn’t know his name. But she’ll never forget the sex. Hard. Thrilling. Explosive. So when her mystery man later shows up at her office unexpectedly, she succumbs to his mastery, both in bed and in the boardroom. There’s no telling where the powerful, wealthy Robert Dade will lead her. But there’s also no resisting her desire...however far she’ll go under its spell. The only question is who she’ll be when the journey ends.




Sex, Murder And A Double Latte


Book Description

*




Sex, Murder and a Double Latte Collection


Book Description

Follow the escapades of writer-turned-detective Sophie Katz in these four sexy mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Kyra Davis…. Sex, Murder and a Double Latte Mystery writer Sophie Katz suspects that a crazed fan is sneaking into her apartment to reenact scenes from her books. And when a filmmaker friend is brutally murdered in the manner of a death scene from one of his movies, she's convinced that a copycat killer is on the loose—and that she's the next target. The man who swoops in to save her is the mysterious new love interest Anatoly Darinsky. Of course, if this were fiction, Anatoly would be her prime suspect.… Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights When her brother-in-law turns up dead and her sister is accused of the crime, Sophie's priority is finding the real killer. With or without Anatoly's help. Her brother-in-law's secret life yields plenty of suspects, but the San Francisco police aren't taking any of them seriously. So Sophie does what comes naturally to her: she stirs up trouble (to lure the killer out, of course). Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate Sophie's relationship with the irresistible and occasionally insufferable Anatoly is on the rocks when a friend recruits Sophie to decode her allegedly two-timing husband's strange behavior. Suddenly plunged into a crazy world of campaign mudslinging, dirt-digging and cover-ups, Sophie begins to uncover some pretty dirty secrets indeed. Way in over her head as usual, Sophie reluctantly—or not-so-reluctantly—enlists the help of her two-time sidekick and ex, Anatoly. Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss Sophie is head over heels in love—with a three-bedroom San Francisco Victorian. She's just got to have it, despite a few drawbacks. Her slimy ex is the realtor, and her first tour of the house reveals, well, a lifeless body clutching a cameo with a disturbing history of its own. There's no way Sophie is going to give up the ghost on her dreams of stained glass and original woodwork, though—especially since Sophie is 99 percent sure her problems are caused by someone six feet tall instead of six feet under….




Sex, Murder and a Double Latte


Book Description

When a mystery writer cries bloody murder, everyone blames her overactive imagination… Thriller scribe Sophie Katz is as hard-boiled as a woman who drinks Grande Caramel Brownie Frappuccinos can be. So Sophie knows it’s not paranoia or post-divorce, living-alone-again jitters, when she becomes convinced that a crazed reader is sneaking into her apartment to reenact scenes from her books. The police, however, can’t tell a good plot from an unmarked grave. When a filmmaker friend is brutally murdered in the manner of a death scene in one of his movies, Sophie becomes convinced that a copycat killer is on the loose —and that she’s the next target. If she doesn’t solve the mystery, her own bestseller will spell out her doom. Cursing her grisly imagination (why, oh, why did she have to pick the ax?), Sophie engages in some real-life gumshoe tactics. The man who swoops in to save her in dark alleys is mysterious new love interest Anatoly Darinsky. Of course, if this were fiction, Anatoly would be her prime suspect.…




Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss


Book Description

Mystery writer and dabbling recreational sleuth Sophie Katz is head over heels in love—with a three-bedroom Victorian. She's just got to have it, despite a few drawbacks. Her slimy ex is the Realtor. The rich, creepy seller wants her to join San Francisco's spirited Specter Society. And her first tour of the house reveals, well, a lifeless body clutching a cameo with a disturbing history of its own. There's no way Sophie is going to give up the ghost on her dreams of stained glass and original woodwork, though—even when things become officially weird. A Society member is found with a slashed throat, and Sophie's house might as well be yelling, "GET…OUT!" She's hearing footsteps, lights are turning themselves off and her stuff keeps moving inexplicably. To top it off, boyfriend Anatoly thinks it's all in her head. Sophie is 99 percent sure her problems are caused by someone six feet tall instead of six feet under, but the only way to be sure is to track down the killer—before he pushes her kicking and screaming to the other side….




Passion, Betrayal And Killer Highlights


Book Description

Sophie Katz has just offered a man $12,000 for his services… Is she desperate or just meshugeneh? Considering the kind of disasters that usually befall the half-black, half-Jewish mystery writer, probably both. Because the last time Sophie saw sexy P.I. Anatoly Darinsky, he practically danced a jig when she waved goodbye—a normal reaction for a man who'd nearly bought the farm trying to protect her from her own foolishness. What are the chances he'd agree to take incriminating pictures of her sister's philandering husband? Or that he'd let her tag along—you know…for research? But when her brother-in-law turns up dead and her sister becomes the prime suspect, Sophie's priority is finding the real killer. With or without Anatoly's help. Her brother-in-law's secret life yields plenty of suspects, but the San Francisco police aren't taking any of them seriously. So Sophie does what comes naturally to her: she stirs up trouble (to lure the killer out, of course). But if her crazy plan works, will Anatoly be there to protect her this time?




Girl Culture [2 volumes]


Book Description

Never before has so much popular culture been produced about what it means to be a girl in today's society. From the first appearance of Nancy Drew in 1930, to Seventeen magazine in 1944 to the emergence of Bratz dolls in 2001, girl culture has been increasingly linked to popular culture and an escalating of commodities directed towards girls of all ages. Editors Claudia A. Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh investigate the increasingly complex relationships, struggles, obsessions, and idols of American tween and teen girls who are growing up faster today than ever before. From pre-school to high school and beyond, Girl Culture tackles numerous hot-button issues, including the recent barrage of advertising geared toward very young girls emphasizing sexuality and extreme thinness. Nothing is off-limits: body image, peer pressure, cliques, gangs, and plastic surgery are among the over 250 in-depth entries highlighted. Comprehensive in its coverage of the twenty and twenty-first century trendsetters, fashion, literature, film, in-group rituals and hot-button issues that shape—and are shaped by—girl culture, this two-volume resource offers a wealth of information to help students, educators, and interested readers better understand the ongoing interplay between girls and mainstream culture.




Resisting Arrest


Book Description

A volume in the Cultural Studies Series edited by Samir Dayal An innovative and entertaining look at genre, popular culture, enjoyment, and psychoanalysis. Detective fiction, a category that, broadly defined, runs the gamut from Oedipus Rex to "The Purloined Letter," continues to draw a range of fans and scholars, and to play a pivotal role in popular entertainment, contemporary literature, and psychoanalytic theory. But how do we derive pleasure from reading about or watching a detective’s exploits? Is our enjoyment in the vicarious experience of genius? Or in witnessing the commission of a crime, an equally vicarious experience of violence? Resisting Arrest looks at the detective genre in its many different cultural manifestations, from popular fiction (Christie) to high literature (Eco), from art films (Antonioni) to popular television series (Monk). In each case, Rushing finds that detective stories have less to do with fulfilling our hidden desires, as psychoanalytic explanations have traditionally asserted, than with purposively thwarting them. He argues that the genre is in fact constituted principally by the promises on which it fails to deliver, including the vicarious experience of both genius (readers expecting to play Sherlock Holmes are almost always cast as Watson) and antisocial violence, so that our pleasure is based on what Slavoj Zizek has called "the endless circulation around the always-missed object." Organized around the key ideas that structure the detective genre ("Desire," "Repetition," "Violence"), Resisting Arrest offers a thoroughly new interpretation that will appeal to scholars interested in questions about genre and cinema studies, popular culture, and psychoanalysis.




Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress


Book Description

Overjoyed at Maryanne's engagement, amateur sleuth Sophie Katz can't wait for the wedding vows and party toasts to begin. But then Dena—best friend, bridesmaid and all-around vixen—is mysteriously shot just after the announcement. Leave this to the authorities? No way. Dena may never walk again, and Sophie vows to marry her fists with the shooter's face. Problem is, the number of suspects is off the charts—from jaded lovers to anti-free-lovers to just plain old haters. Dena's made plenty of enemies thanks to her popular sex shop—and, yes, she's no saint—but really, who deserves to be shot? With an überlogical almost boyfriend condemning her vigilante quest, and a wedding planner going vicariously bridezilla over the dream princess wedding, Sophie's barely thinking straight. But if she can keep her cool (and avoid all errant taffeta), she just might nab her man and save the (wedding) day. Big if.




A Companion to Crime Fiction


Book Description

A Companion to Crime Fiction presents the definitive guide to this popular genre from its origins in the eighteenth century to the present day A collection of forty-seven newly commissioned essays from a team of leading scholars across the globe make this Companion the definitive guide to crime fiction Follows the development of the genre from its origins in the eighteenth century through to its phenomenal present day popularity Features full-length critical essays on the most significant authors and film-makers, from Arthur Conan Doyle and Dashiell Hammett to Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese exploring the ways in which they have shaped and influenced the field Includes extensive references to the most up-to-date scholarship, and a comprehensive bibliography