The Grift


Book Description

What happens when a pseudo psychic suddenly gets the real gift? Marina Marks has been on the grift as a psychic since she was a child, forced into the business by a junkie mother who was always desperate for her next fix—and willing to use her solemn dark-haired daughter to peddle an extra buck. As an adult, Marina has earned a handsome living preying on the dreams and fears of her clients. She doesn’t believe there is such a thing as psychic ability, but she does believe in intuition. Her gift is the ability to gain the trust of her clients and subtly raise her fees as they become more attached to her and her readings. But when Marina moves her “intuitive counseling” business out of muggy, cloying Florida to the milder environs of southern California, her past follows her. As she takes on new clients—a trophy wife desperate to bear a child, a gay man involved with a closeted psychiatrist, and a philandering businessman who’s smitten with her—a former client resurfaces in an eerie way. Suddenly, Marina is in love for the first time, but it is a romance whose roots lie deep in her past and threaten her efforts to reinvent herself. As Marina’s life gets more and more entangled with those of her clients, she makes a startling discovery: she suddenly has the actual ability to see the future. After predicting a murder exactly as it happens, she becomes the sole suspect. Now she’s the desperate one—desperate to clear her name and to discover the meaning behind her visions.




The Grift of the Magi


Book Description

Katarina Bishop is a thief. To many it wouldn't matter that she now uses her considerable skills to re-steal valuable works of art and return them to their rightful homes.She's still a thief.So that's why Kat's surprised when an Interpol agent comes to her one snowy evening, asking for Kat's help.The Magi Miracle Network was set to auction off a very rare, very valuable Faberge egg two days before Christmas, but the egg's been stolen and now the charity's reputation--and their future--is on the line.Kat's family and Interpol might be opposite sides of most jobs, but someone just stole Christmas.Now it's up to Kat and her crew to steal it back.




Grift Sense


Book Description

Amidst the neon and the big special ugly of Las Vegas, mild-mannered Frank Fontaine is beating the brains out of the Acropolis Casino. The house cops think the dealer, a blonde named Nola, is part of the con, but no one can prove a thing. For Tony Valentine, it’s the first new scam he’s seen in decades—and maybe the best. Three things Tony knows: The blonde is guilty, the grifter has lived a former life, and the biggest scam is the one that hasn’t happened yet. In a dream world of fake Greek statues, statuesque hostesses, and a casino owner whose sex life might just burn down his own house, Tony Valentine is plying his special trade. While some people have a sixth sense, Tony has a grift sense—and he needs it now to separate a grifter from a scam that’s worse than anyone’s wildest dreams. . . .




Unmasked


Book Description

In this #1 national bestseller, a journalist who's been attacked by Antifa writes a deeply researched and reported account of the group's history and tactics. When Andy Ngo was attacked in the streets by Antifa in the summer of 2019, most people assumed it was an isolated incident. But those who'd been following Ngo's reporting in outlets like the New York Post and Quillette knew that the attack was only the latest in a long line of crimes perpetrated by Antifa. In Unmasked, Andy Ngo tells the story of this violent extremist movement from the very beginning. He includes interviews with former followers of the group, people who've been attacked by them, and incorporates stories from his own life. This book contains a trove of documents obtained by the author, published for the first time ever.




Five Ways of Being


Book Description

*Learn how and who we can become to enable the learning and growth of others*Discover what it takes to be become a trustworthy, brave, engaging, purposeful and growth focused leader of learning*Explore 32 evidence-based practical strategies to improve their ability to genuinely lead learning in others*Embody the Five Ways of Being in your leadership to influence what you think, do and say every day




The Grifters


Book Description

Jim Thompson's classic The Grifters is one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for the critically acclaimed film by Stephen Frears and Martin Scorcese. To his friends, to his coworkers, and even to his mistress Moira, Roy Dillon is an honest hardworking salesman. He lives in a cheap hotel just within his pay bracket. He goes to work every day. He has hundreds of friends and associates who could attest to his good character. Yet, hidden behind three gaudy clown paintings in Roy's pallid hotel room, sits fifty-two thousand dollars — the money Roy makes from his short cons, his "grifting." For years, Roy has effortlessly maintained control over his house-of-cards life — until the simplest con goes wrong, and he finds himself critically injured and at the mercy of the most dangerous woman he ever met: his own mother.




Collaborative Teams That Work


Book Description

*Learn how to apply up to 12 evidence-based key actions to elevate your collaborative team's results*Discover what the critical tasks are for collaborative teams as they work through a cycle of learning*Apply road tested solutions to the many challenges collaborative teams face*Explore the 14 crucial foundations leaders implement to ensure collaborative efforts truly impact student learning.




For Colored Boys who Have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Still Not Enough


Book Description

"Commentator Keith Boykin expands on the 'It Gets Better' project by bringing together 44 stories by men of color on coming of age, coming out, and coming home to their families and their communities."--P. [4] of cover.




The Con Job


Book Description

The rich and powerful take what they want. We steal it back for you. When a disreputable dealer starts swindling aged and ailing comic-book creators out of their wealth—and their high-valued comics and artwork—the daughter of one victim comes to ex-insurance investigator Nathan Ford and his team of counter-crooks for help. Their scheme: run a con at the Comic-Con International, where the crook intends to sell the goods. But there’s more going on than simple theft. An arson plot is in motion that will not only destroy countless rare collectibles, but may end up costing lives. With time short, the team must take down a ruthless mark whose true motives have yet to be revealed…




Hype


Book Description

"Hype is the best kind of nonfiction: juicy, sharp, savage and wildly entertaining, with a celebrity behaving badly on every page. What more could you want?” -Cat Marnell, New York Times-bestselling author of How to Murder Your Life From former Vice journalist and executive producer of hit Netflix documentary Fyre comes an eye-opening look at the con artists, grifters and snake oil salesmen of the digital age—and why we can’t stop falling for them. We live in an age where scams are the new normal. A charismatic entrepreneur sells thousands of tickets to a festival that never happened. Respected investors pour millions into a start-up centered around fake blood tests. Reviewers and celebrities flock to London’s top-rated restaurant that’s little more than a backyard shed. These unsettling stories of today’s viral grifters have risen to fame and hit the front-page headlines, yet the curious conundrum remains: Why do these scams happen? Drawing from scientific research, marketing campaigns, and exclusive documents and interviews, former Vice reporter Gabrielle Bluestone delves into the irresistible hype that fuels our social media ecosystem, whether it’s from the trusted influencers that peddled Fyre or the consumer reviews that sold Juicero. A cultural examination that is as revelatory as it is relevant, Hype pulls back the curtain on the manipulation game behind the never-ending scam season—and how we as consumers can stop getting played.