In "The Blue Silence," forensic scientist Sean McKinney faces one of his toughest challenges yet when he's called upon to help find his daughter's missing college roommate. Struggling to adjust to being an empty nester, McKinney travels to New Orleans to investigate, but when his own daughter is kidnapped, he'll stop at nothing to bring her home safely.The novel seamlessly transitions from modern-day Chicago to the Reconstruction Era in Louisiana, offering a glimpse into the state'...

What makes a great salesperson? What beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are linked to being a top performer? What impact do culture, industry, and sales context have? And does a formal sales methodology or process make a difference? This book is for any sales professional, or indeed anyone involved in the sales process of their company, who wants to learn the secrets of successful selling. Based on interviews and analysis (qualitative and quantitative) of 300 of the world's leading salespeo...

In "A Trace of Gold" (formerly published as "Bright and Yellow, Hard and Cold"), forensic scientist Sean McKinney embarks on a dangerous mission to catch a serial killer targeting associates of the Barker-Karpis gang from the 1930s. With his determination to exonerate an innocent man, McKinney puts his own life in jeopardy and must navigate a corrupt system to bring the true killer to justice.The novel takes readers on a journey through two eras of Chicago crime, from the gritty un...

"Kiddieland and other misfortunes" takes readers on a wild ride through a series of unconventional and unforgettable tales. From a former hit man who must return to his violent ways to save his beloved, to an advertising executive who abandons her family to live as a forest nymph, to a young girl grappling with the gift of divine power, these stories explore themes of family, class, crime, and love.The author of "A Trace of Gold" and "The Blue Silence" delivers a collection of e...

Two best friends. One strange blue light. A secret world waiting just beyond the woods. When best friends Ogden "Og" Carter and Iggy Lumaban head down to the creek one afternoon, they expect mud, turtles, and maybe a little trouble. What they find instead is something impossible-a floating blue light that knocks them flat and changes everything. Their search for answers leads them to Ondine, a reclusive woman who lives in a vine-covered yurt with a talking crow, glowing walls, and secrets ...

After his older brother is arrested, James is sent away from Chicago to rural Wisconsin to live with a grandmother he barely remembers-a reclusive old lady who keeps bees, studies the marsh, and fills her cabin with skulls, plants, and scientific equipment. With no friends, no phone signal, and no television, James feels like he's been exiled to boredomville. But as James struggles to adjust, he begins to notice things he never paid attention to before: the quiet rhythm of the creek, the f...

Developments in Social Work with Offenders explains the organisational and legislative changes that have occurred in social work and probation across the UK in the past 10 years, in the context of the accumulating body of knowledge about what constitutes effective practice in the assessment, supervision and management of offenders in the community.Three different aspects of working with offenders are covered: developments in policy; assessment, supervision and intervention; and iss...

Great sales coaching positively impacts individual, team and organisational sales performance. However, in today's results-driven and time-poor business world, the embedding of sales coaching into everyday practice is often overlooked. This guide utilises the authors' own experiences of helping companies and individuals turn average, static and infrequent sales coaching regimes into successful business strategies for winning sales teams. Looking at the reality of sales coaching today, the ...

Imperial Russia, 1801-1905 traces the development of the Russian Empire from the murder of 'mad Tsar Paul' to the reforms of the 1890s that were an attempt to modernise the autocratic state. This is essential reading for all students of the topic and provides a clear and concise introduction to the contentious historical debates of nineteenth century Russia.

In 1814-1815, after the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the leaders of the most important countries in Europe gathered together to redraw the frontiers of their continent. The Congress of Vienna explores the attempt by Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia to agree Europe's new frontiers after almost twenty years of continuous fighting against France and analyses how successful the Congress was.The Congress of Vienna offers a readable introduction to this ...

Includes the story “Premium Harmony”—set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, MaineThe masterful #1 New York Times bestselling story collection from O. Henry Prize winner Stephen King that includes twenty-one iconic stories with accompanying autobiographical comments on when, why, and how he came to write (or rewrite) each one.For more than thirty-five years, Stephen King has dazzled readers with his genius as a writer of short fi...

The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with confidence of prosperity, progress, and hope. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict that killed millions, bled its economies dry, shook empires and societies to pieces, and fatally undermined Europe’s dominance of the world. It was a war that could have been avoided up to the last moment—so why did it happen?Beginning in the early nineteenth century and ending with t...