From the acclaimed author of Snow Angels comes a new novel featuring Inspector Vaara.Inspector Kari Vaara has left the Arctic Circle and returned- reluctantly-to Helsinki, where headaches and sleeplessness plague him. But he must work through the pain. He has two cases on his plate: the brutal murder of a Russian businessman's wife, and-more secretively-an investigation into an elderly Finnish national hero who may have played a darker role in World War II...

**A Booklist Best Crime Novel Debut“Don’t miss this one.”—USA Today"A masterful job." -Michael Connelly**It is called kaamos--two weeks of unrelenting darkness and soul-numbing cold that falls upon Finnish Lapland, a hundred miles into the Arctic Circle, just before Christmas. Some get through it with the help of cheap Russian alcohol; some sink into depression.This year, it may have driven someone mad enough to commit murder. The brutalized...

Becoming a landlord feels like the finish line. You found the property, signed the papers, and now the rent checks are supposed to roll in. The truth that catches most first time owners off guard is that owning a rental is not the same as owning a home you live in. The moment you hand over the keys to a paying tenant, you have entered a business with legal obligations, financial risks, and human relationships that demand attention. Most new landlords do not fail because they are dishonest ...

You do not struggle to know what you should do. You struggle to do it on a Tuesday. Most of us know the spiritual life we want, yet we wake up behind, scroll before we settle, race through a rushed devotion, and end the day convinced that everyone else has it together while we are barely keeping the plates spinning.A successful Christian life is not built by one heroic act of consecration. It is built by a thousand tiny, almost invisible habits that, compounded over months and year...

The last day of June, 1559, was a gala day in Paris. The marriages of Philip II of Spain with Elizabeth of France, daughter of King Henry II and Catherine de Medici, and that of the French King’s sister, Marguerite with Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, were to be celebrated. But “the torches of joy became funeral tapers” before nightfall, for Henry II was mortally wounded in the tournament given in honor of the occasion. It was the rule that challengers, in this case the King, should run ...

" The 14 stories in this Akashic noir anthology provide a bizarre and gruesome window into this outwardly tranquil and snow-covered city of Helsinki. "— Publishers WeeklyIn Akashic Books's acclaimed series of original noir anthologies, each book comprises all new stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Now, the spotlight is on Finland and its southern capital of Helsinki, a city "syno...

Inspector Kari Vaara, recovering from brain surgery, is back to doing police work—under circumstances most cops only dream of. Reporting directly to the national chief of police, Kari and his partners Milo and Sulo have been granted secrecy and autonomy for their new black-ops unit, and plenty of cash to work with, including whatever they can steal from Helsinki’s mobsters.But Kari's team is too good, and their actions have unintended consequences...The president of Finland wants t...

Al, Diane were friends as were their spouses and 3 to 4 other couples who lived on the same street in a gated planned Country Club community. They see each socially, and enjoy each other sexually as do many of the neighbors. Living in the suburbs is not boring.

James Thompson's incomparable Inspector Vaara is back in a new chilling Nordic mystery.An Estonian woman begs Inspector Kari Vaara to find her daughter, Loviise, a young woman with Down syndrome who was promised work and a better life in Finland… and has since disappeared.One more missing girl is a drop in the barrel for a police department that is understaffed and overburdened, but for Kari, the case is personal: it’s a chance for redemption, to help the v...

A los niños les encantará esta divertida historia que los alentará a aprender los nombres de los vehículos de transporte y el importante trabajo que cada vehículo realiza para ayudar a nuestras comunidades. Disfrutarán escuchando esta adorable historia que presenta efectos de sonido y voces profesionales para ayudar a los niños a desarrollar vocabulario y mejorar sus habilidades auditivas. La historia se presenta primero en español y luego en inglés, lo que lo convierte en un recurso marav...

A los niños les encantará esta divertida historia sobre una familia que cena junta y una abuela a la que le gusta preparar la cena para su familia. Disfrutarán escuchando esta adorable historia que presenta efectos de sonido y voces profesionales para ayudar a los niños a desarrollar vocabulario y mejorar sus habilidades auditivas. La historia se presenta primero en español y luego en inglés, lo que lo convierte en un recurso maravilloso para que los niños aprendan un idioma diferente. Las...

Listen to the story! Read the story! Sing the Story! “HIckory Dickory Dock & More,” includes the Read-along version of the story followed by the same story sung in an adorable song. From one to five, count along as the little mouse runs up and down the clock in the classic nursery rhyme “Hickory, Dickory Dock.” Then meet “Little Boy Blue” as he’s fast asleep in the haystack. Sing along with…”Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to...