Books at Bookhabit.com http://www.bookhabit.com 2008-08-28 07:37:04 When the German blitzkrieg routed the French army, smashed through France and occupied their country, every French citizen had but two options: to resist the occupation or to collaborate with the Nazis. In an isolated, rural community in Gascony, three teenagers - two boys and a girl - are involved in a romantic triangle. They too must decide. Two take the path of co-operation with the enemy: Jacquie Dupont falls out with her parents - and becomes the mistress of a Nazi officer. Paul René enlists in the Milice Francaise or French Gestapo. But Philippe Leran - whose father had fought for 'King and Country' in the 'Great War' - joins the Maquis. The two boyhood friends are now on opposite sides and on a collision course in one of the bloodiest periods in European history. Hiding in the forest with a motley band of French patriots is not the romantic life Philippe had imagined. But his boredom and frustration are eventually alleviated by the arrival of a young newcomer, Roger Delmas. The two boys quickly strike up a friendship while they wait for orders to attack the Germans. In this climate of fear and apprehension, all kinds of prejudices are exposed, and an undercurrent of latent anti-Semitism flows through the group. But unbeknown to anyone, one of the partisans is a Jew. Philippe and Roger soon discover that violence and depravity are not the exclusive domain of one side in the war. They witness some appalling atrocities carried out by the Germans, but are also caught up in incidents where cruel and brutal treatment is meted out by French patriots. This is a coming of age novel set between the two World Wars. As the narrative unfolds, the characters explore various ideas concerning sex, love and physical attraction, as well as concepts of death and the fear of dying. It is also about bigotry and the universality of prejudice. Coup de Grâce exposes the cruelty and barbarism of war. In occupied France good did not necessarily triumph over evil, and, after the Liberation, not everyone who collaborated with the Nazis pays the price for treason. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=84 Detective Billie McCoy is competent, determined and intent on seeing justice done. By her side are her three newfound friends - Jane, Casey and Sarah, three ex-criminals. When Casey's cousin, Jill, turns up out of the blue emerging from a dodgy past, the happy reunion soon turns to disaster after she is identified in a robbery. Unfortunately Billie is forced to chase it up; she is not prepared with what will unfold. Through Jill's deceitfulness, the four friends' lives are plunged into treacherous predicaments. Ruthless thugs, blackmail, blood money, a large strategic jewellery hoist and murder entwine throughout the fast paced storyline. Not only will Billie need all her skill and experience to survive dangerous dilemmas, she will strive to keep her friends alive and find a way out of the mess Jill has laid upon them. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=632 Crossmaglen, Northern Ireland, 1988. The troubles that can be traced back as early as the sixteenth century and that erupted violently in 1969 are rife, and survival is the name of the game. My story takes a look at the lives of six young residents of Crossmaglen, and their own private struggles that they face growing up under the restrictions that have been placed upon them by the Irish Republican Army. Firstly we meet Stu Jackson, a seventeen year old British soldier on his first operational tour of Northern Ireland. Life in the army had been relatively easy so far for Stu, but now he was to spend three quarters of the next year in Northern Ireland and when he returned to England he knew that he would be a changed man. In Ireland he would face hatred, based purely on his nationality and his career. As a blue collar white boy he had never faced racism or prejudice. As an army soldier he had never yet killed, and the question he is constantly asking himself is, could he? Stu becomes enraptured by local girl Bronwyn, and takes it upon himself to try to protect her and her family. But when Bronwyn's boyfriend, Danny, launches an attack on Stu's army barracks, Stu has to act as a soldier rather than a friend. Twenty-one year old catholic twins Bronwyn and Barry Ranger couldn't be more different. Barry is quiet, nervous, not your average double agent. This is what he is however, working for the British Government whilst all the time professing to be an integral member of the IRA. When it dawns upon him that more and more of the people that he cares about are involved in one way or the other with the IRA, and he is no longer sure who, if anyone, he can trust, he starts on the long, slippery slide towards a total break down. Bronwyn has no interest in any of the politics that surround her town and country. All that she wants is to enjoy life and have a good time. Her own boyfriend, Danny Adams, is proving to be a problem in the community. He is a member of the IRA, a fact that he does not keep hidden from Bronwyn. But when Bronwyn finds out that Danny is responsible for a brutal attack on her best friends boyfriend, Connor, the violence and hostility that is eating up her home town suddenly becomes apparent. Bronwyn's simple lifestyle is yanked away from her as she tries to support her best friend Rosina and her boyfriend, Connor, while all the time struggling with ever growing feelings towards Connor himself. Rosina, Bronwyn's unlikely best friend since childhood, prepares to give up everything safe and familiar when word gets out that she is seeing Connor, a protestant lad from the wrong side of the tracks. Naturally shy and retiring, and not used to having to stick up for herself, Rosina relies on Bronwyn to help her as she faces the problems that a mixed relationship brings. Things become worse for Rosina when her mother, Eileen, furious about the shame that Rosina is bringing upon the family by dating a protestant, reveals a dark secret that will change Rosina's life forever. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=60 Sadie Bell believes that love is the single most limited thing in the world. And for a young girl whose passionate distain for limits includes many things, including the ocean and age, placing love at the top spot is definitely making a statement. But when Sadie is spurred into a sudden thirst for adventure and exploration of the world around her, she soon discovers that sometimes things don't go quite as planned. Sometimes, you might stumble upon a mystical seaside clearing that has a strangely supernatural atmosphere. Sometimes, you might happen upon a mysterious boy with strange marks on his shoulderblades in this clearing. And sometimes you will discover that the thing you've been running away from your whole life...is perhaps the biggest adventure of all. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=456 Brooke, a stained glass artist who feels used and incomplete as a wife, helps her cheating husband recover from a stroke. His nurse helps him recover in many ways, also. Brooke meets Scott, a landscaper with a project, who takes interest in more than just Brooke's work. Jealousy, rage, lust, and love do not mix well with a handcrafted gun which is an alleged part of a murder plan. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=81 Jenna takes her emotionally-fragile sister Michelle on a trip to find their father in the jungles of Viet Nam in the desperate hope of exorcising her demons. NOTE TO READERS - This is a short story so the "First Chapter" is identical to the "Full Book" - Nick http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=284 Called the Babylonian Cell, it was considered one of the most respected and prestigious intelligence agencies in the world. Led by the world-renowned Dr. Aloysius Thiery, The Cell consisted of a ten-man think tank boasting some of the most elite and gifted thinkers of this age. The Cell, itself a splinter group of the NATO's Treaty Alliance Organisation, prided itself on its accessibility and long reach when it came to the technology and wisdom of this world. But The Cell didn't possess all the wisdom. Little did The Cell know that lying in wait, behind the scenes, was a girl who had written a paper that would eventually bring The Babylonian Cell itself to its knees. Come and join Sally Travis as she changes from a shy and timid schoolgirl to a girl inspired and led by God. Follow her as she cultivates the gifts within her and then learns to trust God as she struggles with those gifts. And, finally, join Sally as she is miraculously transformed from an everyday Vermont college student to one of the most prophetic and influential spiritual voices of our time. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=412 The Lighthouse Murders is written with a particular Scottish blackness. Even the sparrows are dying. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=3 In 1979 Sukie and Chris Lang adopted a baby girl in Seoul, Korea, not knowing she was probably one or two years older than her birth certificate stated. From the moment the couple first held the child, she was lethargic and weak, and showed signs of an eating disorder. As the years progressed, her behavior became more erratic and difficult to understand with wild stories of abuse that didn't seem possible. Thinking their daughter was possessed, the Langs turned toward their church for help. After several failed exorcisms and suicide attempts, they took the child to a psychologist who diagnosed her as having Multiple Personality Disorder. This House Divided is the narrative account of the Lang's true experience. Unable to find a psychologist who could take her child on as a long-term client, Sukie became concerned that Karmie's bewildering disorder would become even more complicated as she continued to develop new personalities. So, Sukie dropped her career in the financial world and pursued a Master of Arts in Counseling in order to become her own daughter's counselor. This House Divided is an intensely emotional mother-daughter drama about a family that cracks under stress, then pulls together under a new and unusual definition of family. It is a story of religious faith maturing from reliance on pat answers into a deep and healing strength. And, in the end, it is a story about healing from MPD. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=165 Have you every wondered what the future will be? Do you know what lies in the darkness, or the Light? Through this collection of short stories, you will experience the heat of the flames of Hell, the fear of what lies in the darkness, and the love of God Himself. You will travel from the last hours of Jesus Christ, though the future, and beyond. Do you know what your eternity holds? Do you know What Will Be? http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=466 Orphaned at a young age, Sam Nelson had strived his whole life to attain that which he wanted most; a family. And now husband to a loving wife and father to four young children, Sam was happy and content. It was the perfect life of a good man. Then one night Sam had a dream that exposed him to some of the great mysteries of heaven and though he couldn't remember the dream after waking the next day, his rich full life would soon be over. While on vacation with his family in San Antonio a few weeks later, the city is attacked by middle-eastern terrorists during the height of the annual week-long fiesta celebration. The terrorists explode four powerful bombs that kill tens of thousands attending the parades. As a result of the attack, Sam's family is killed; he himself is gravely injured after selflessly trying to fight four heavily-armed men. Succumbing to his wounds, Sam lay in a coma for three long years. Upon awakening, the harsh reality of his loss pushes him to the brink of insanity and suicide. With the help of a kindly old man, Sam begins to heal only to find himself a pawn to the forces of good and evil. Learning that one of his children may have survived the attack, Sam with his new friend Ben, begin a search that reveals the wrathful nature of mankind as well as the humble penance that can also be ours. In an epic struggle between heaven and hell, the Creator calls upon Sam to fulfill a destiny he could never have imagined while Lucifer sees Sam as a tool that can finally provide him with the single victory over Heavenly Father he has always sought, and in the end, Sam may have no choice but to give Lucifer his prize. http://www.bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=493