Showing results by narrator "Josh Innerst" in All Categories

"Marta Moran Bishop’s The Between Times is a terrific allegory, until the sucker punch. You think you’re reading a dystopian story set in some future time. Then you suddenly realize Bishop is writing about right now. The Between Times is a period in which we still have a chance save all we hold dear. Fail to marshal our collective powers, and we fail as a society, a culture, as a nation state, and the beacon to the world that America has always been is snuffed, never to be reignited." (Robert Blake Whitehill)

Constitutional originalism stakes law to history. The theory's core tenet—that the United States Constitution should be interpreted according to its original meaning—has us decide questions of modern constitutional law by consulting the distant constitutional past. Yet originalist engagement with history is often deeply problematic. In this comprehensive and novel critique of originalism, Jonathan Gienapp targets originalists' unspoken assumptions about the Constitution and its history.

Jackson Ruck travels to the Verlorland Islands to retrieve his wayward older brother, Henry. But just as Jackson arrives, Henry's farcical career as a British private detective gets a serious boost when he lands the case of a murdered German woman with a massive estate. Unable to watch his brother fail, Jackson joins Henry's investigation into the strange Henbit family. The dead woman leaves behind a contentious will, angry relatives, and a life full of secrets that Henry must unravel. When a second body appears, it becomes clear that more than Henry's career is at risk. 

There is something undeniably thrilling about the idea of 300 Spartans holding off tens of thousands of invading Persians, but that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fascinating history of the Greek city-state of Lacadaemonia, or Sparta. Sparta was a force of military power and philosophical might, and it continues to enthrall us. Learn more about the rise and fall of Sparta, about the fierce discipline and training of the Spartan military, and why we are still amazed with the Spartans thousands of years later.

The journey of a wandering cowboy continues… T. H. Elkman has settled into a solitary lifestyle, panning for gold in the mountains. Ambushed by a gang of ruthless claim jumpers, he reluctantly returns to civilization. Upon reaching the nearest trading post, he receives a warning that someone from his past is out to seek revenge on him. When he is reunited with the troublesome gambler, Jefferson McGredy, they set out again on the trail to Wyoming… But this time, it is to serve justice.

From bestselling author Sonya Bateman comes a must-listen psychological thriller. It's been a real journey, but I finally have a normal life. A nice life. A wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. My sixteen-year-old soccer-loving girl is everything. But now he wants to take it all away. I...

Sam Spade, a street-wise private detective working the streets of San Francisco, takes a job from a gorgeous but desperate woman and soon finds himself wrapped up in a shady conspiracy to acquire a one-of-a-kind, priceless purloined artifact—The Maltese Falcon. Full of twists and turns, questions and answers that create more questions, rabbit trails and red herrings, The Maltese Falcon is the quintessential hardboiled detective story.

Antonio, a wealthy and popular merchant, is in financial difficulty. He approaches a Jewish money lender, Shylock, who agrees to provide 3000 ducats, with a very curious bond – a pound of the merchant’s flesh, to be levied if Antonio fails to make a timely repayment. Feeling confident that...

Measure for Measure is one of darkest of Shakespeare’s comedies. Written in about 1603 and first performed in 1604, it immediately preceded the composition of the major tragedies Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Duke Vincentino, the ruler of Vienna, fears that under his mild sovereignty, the...

In Wager Smart, Eddie and Uncle Mike take on a cold case for Arlene Adams, the wealthy widow of a notorious hitman. The case leads Eddie and his uncle to Vegas, where they meet the hitman’s old partner, the Deacon, a legend in the mob. The cold case quickly spirals into an investigation of a current murder that requires the men to make a dangerous deal with the mob.

Betsy Bobbin and her mule Hank find themselves on the shores of Oz after a storm. While trying to find their way home, they wander into the Rose Kingdom and are held prisoner by the Royal Gardener. Just in the nick of time, Shaggy Man falls through the roof of the greenhouse and tries to convince the Gardener to let the pair go, using his powerful Love Magnet. Unable to convince them, the trio is instead banished with Ozma's cousin, Princess Ozga, in tow.

Scientifically minded Edward Prendick is shipwrecked in the southern Pacific and rescued by a passing ship. Aboard he meets Montgomery whose destination is an island belonging to Dr. Moreau. Moreau, formerly an eminent physiologist in London whose gruesome experiments in vivisection had been publicly exposed, had fled England as a result of his exposure. Edward tries to understand and survive among Dr. Moreau's gruesome 'beast-folk' and tries to return to civilization.

The epic sequel to Annwyn's Blood, the acclaimed first installment of The Paladin of Shadow Chronicles, Ash and Ruin follows Erik as he is forced to confront monsters—both without and within—as he struggles to reclaim his own humanity before everything he loves is lost.

In August, 2014, years before the legalization of sports betting in the United States, when a mob-connected bookie named Zany is murdered, Eddie O’Connell is assigned to take over Zany’s operation and find the killer. The trail leads to an exclusive, private gambling club where simulcast wagering on horse racing is used as a front for illegal sports betting. With the assistance of Paula “Rudi” Rudinger, the manager of Zany’s bookie operation and former lover, Eddie meets those who owe gambling debts. Eddie had run up a gambling debt of his own, but now finds himself doing collection.

Despite Dorothy's many tales of her adventures in Oz, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry never quite believe her stories. Upon finding out the tornado that destroyed their farmhouse in book 1 (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) is the cause of her Uncle Henry's horrible debt, Dorothy is determined to help her family. She makes plans with Ozma to bring her aunt and uncle to Oz where they may live happily ever after. Unbeknownst to Ozma and our friends in Oz, the Nome King is plotting to take over the Land of Oz and retrieve his magic belt that Dorothy took from him in book 3, Ozma of Oz.

In November, 2018, with legalization of sports betting on the horizon, WagerEasy, a Euro sports betting conglomerate, has set up shop in the Chicago market looking for shortcuts. Eddie’s old friend, an employee of WagerEasy, has been murdered. The sports gambling market is on a knife’s edge: the illegal black market bookies backed by the mob against the well-funded foreign invader.

After breaking off his engagement with Agnes Lockwood, Lord Montbarry marries the eccentric Countess Narona before embarking on a whirlwind honeymoon tour of Europe culminating in Venice. There they reside in the decaying Palace Hotel with the Countess' brother, Baron Rivar, and their courier, Ferrari. Lord Montbarry later dies of bronchitis and upon hearing of this from Henry Westwick, Montbarry's brother, Agnes agrees to meet with Henry at the newly renovated Palace Hotel to investigate the insurance claim that was purchased prior to his death.

Dorothy and Uncle Henry go to California to visit family at Hugson's Ranch where Dorothy is introduced to her second cousin, Zeb. While Dorothy, Zeb, and Dorothy's cat, Eureka, are enjoying a horse-drawn buggy ride one afternoon, an earthquake hits, creating an enormous crack in the ground beneath their buggy. They all go tumbling into the crevice, down to the Land of the Mangaboos.

Several months after Aurik and his team freed a prison camp, enlisting its occupants into their cause, the battle escalates into an all-out war for dominion over the planet. Losses are heavy, morale is low, and the revolution is on the brink of falling. What happens next will change the fate of the galaxy forever.

Southern California, 1996: a peaceful, scenic day in the coastal community of Santa Monica, except that there is a meter maid lying next to the sidewalk–dead. Fresh from a messy divorce case, North Hollywood private investigator Clive Wilts is on the case to find the killer before the bodies start stacking up and the city streets become a parking free-for-all.