Books in Playaway Adult Fiction series

When the starving French masses rise to overthrow a corrupt and decadent government, both the guilty and the innocent become victims of their frenzied anger. Soon nothing stands in the way of the chilling figure they enlist for their cause—La Guillotine, the new invention for efficiently chopping off heads. This captivating tale uses the contrasts between the two cities “beliefs” to reveal the central choice confronting every society and each individual: Should a person work to change society, or should the revolution occur within his heart? One of Charles Dickens most exciting novels, A Tale of Two Cities is a compelling portrait of the results of terror and treason, love and supreme sacrifice.

Kibou-daini is a planet obsessed with cheating death. Barrayaran Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan can hardly disapprove - hes been cheating death his whole life, on the theory that turnabout is fair play. But when a Kibou-daini cryocorp - an immortal company whose job it is to shepherd its all-too-mortal frozen patrons into an unknown future - attempts to expand its franchise into the Barrayaran Empire, Emperor Gregor dispatches his top troubleshooter, Miles, to check it out. On Kibou-daini, Miles discovers generational conflict over money and resources is heating up, even as refugees displaced in time skew the meaning of “generation” past repair. Here he finds a young boy with a passion for pets and a dangerous secret, a Snow White trapped in an icy coffin who burns to rewrite her own tale, and a mysterious crone who is the very embodiment of the warning “Dont mess with the secretary.” Bribery, corruption, conspiracy, kidnapping - something is rotten on Kibou-daini, and it isnt due to power outages in the Cryocombs. And Miles is in the middle - of trouble!

Hermann Hesse's famous and influential novel Siddhartha is perhaps the most important and compelling allegory produced in the last hundred years. Integrating Eastern and Western spiritual traditions with psychoanalysis and philosophy, this strangely simple tale, written with a deep and moving empathy for humanity, has touched the lives of millions since its original publication in 1922. Set in India, Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin's search for ultimate reality after meeting with the Buddha. His quest takes him from a life of decadence to asceticism, through the illusory joys of sensual love with a beautiful courtesan and of wealth and fame to the painful struggles with his son and the ultimate wisdom of renunciation.

Jack Reacher, hailed as "a wonderfully epic hero" by People, confronts Texan hatred and hidden crimes in this superb new thriller. Ex-military cop Jack Reacher returns in this latest in the award-winning series critics call "spectacular" (The Seattle Times), "relentless" (Denver Post), and "perfect" (The New York Times Book Review). Reacher is hitching through the heat of West Texas and getting desperate for a ride. The last thing he's worried about is exactly who picks him up. She's called Carmen. She's a good-looking young woman, she has a beautiful little girl . . .and she has married into the wrong family. They're called the Greers. They're a bitter and miserly clan, and they've made her life a living hell. Worse, her monster of a husband is soon due out of prison. So she needs protection, and she needs it now. Lawyers can't help. Cops can't be trusted. So Reacher goes home with her to the lonely ranch where nothing is as it seems, and where evil swirls around them like dust in a storm. Within days, Carmen's husband is dead - and simmering secrets send Echo, Texas, up in flames.

Larry and Silas were unlikely boyhood friends, their worlds as different as night and day. Still, a special bond developed between them. Then tragedy struck. A girl who lived up the road from Larry went to the drive-in movie with him, and nobody saw her again. Her stepfather tried to have Larry arrested, but no body was found. The incident shook up the town, including Silas, and the bond the boys shared was irrevocably broken. Almost thirty years later, Larry lives a solitary life, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas left home to play college baseball but is now a constable. The men have few reasons to cross paths -- until fate intervenes again. Another girl has disappeared, causing rumors to swirl again. Now, two men who once called each other friend are finally forced to confront the painful past they've buried for too many years.

When an affluent railcar owner disappears with millions of dollars belonging to Moose County investors, the international police launch an intense investigation to find the fugitive. But journalist detective Jim Qwilleran and his feline crime-busters find a mystery to unravel that is closer to home. Who blew the whistle on the embezzler? And, why did they do it? Qwill goes full ahead to solve the puzzle before tragedy occurs, but the case is complicated by a train wreck on the main line and a murder in a railroad tavern. Only Qwill and the cats can find the answer to the questions "who?" and "why?".

Blackstone Audio is proud to present the Oregon Shakespeare Festivals brilliant production of Shakespeares disturbing and psychologically rich masterpiece Hamlet. Whether youre a Hamlet scholar or being exposed to this work for the first time, this stunning work of audio theater, fully dramatized with performances by the OSF cast, is a must-listen. In Denmark a king is dead. His brother, Claudius, has snatched the throne, and the widowed queen, yet life goes on—for everyone but Prince Hamlet. The prince, fixated on his uncle as the murderer, is charged by his fathers ghost to avenge the wrong. Disconnected from the foul world around him, Hamlet strains under the weight of his task, descending into madness, both real and feigned.