The sensational bestselling story of Little Nell, the beautiful child thrown into a shadowy, terrifying world, seems to belong less to the history of the Victorian novel than to folklore, fairy tale, or myth. The sorrows of Nell and her grandfather are offset by Dickens's creation of a dazzling contemporary world inhabited by some of his most brilliantly drawn characters-the eloquent ne'er-do-well Dick Swiveller; the hungry maid known as the "Marchioness";...

The setting is Bath during the eighteenth century. Before the action of the novel begins, Beau Nash has ordered M. Beaucaire out of the public rooms because of his low status. A barber to a French noble, Baeucaire has since that incident established a reputation for honesty while gambling with English notables in private. After many confrontations, Beaucaire reveals himself as a French prince, hiding from his cousin, King Louis XV of France, who is...

Former CIA agent Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. He's already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed.

Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a book-maker so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings at Royal Ascot. When a man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Ned is thrown into turmoil. He'd been told that both his parents died when he was a baby. Barely an hour later, his father stabbed by an unknown assailant. Before dying, he warns Ned to "be very careful." But of whom? Of what? Ned finds...

Minerva Dobbs learns that the devastatingly handsome Calvin Morrisey has taken a bet that he can get her into bed within a month and decides to pretend to be interested in order to have a date for her sister's wedding, but the couple soon finds their fake feelings have turned into the real thing.

The Devil's Punchbowl is a deep pit near the river in Natchez, Mississippi, which holds the bodies of numerous murder victims and -- according to rumor -- the buried treasure of Jean Lafitte. It's a dangerous place, a kudzu-strangled, snake- rat- and armadillo-infested hole so deep that you can't see the bottom. Against this backdrop, Iles' protagonist Penn Cage (The Quiet Game) returns in a mix of murder, racial tension and double-crosses.

After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game. Steven Thomas is one of two lucky winners of the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association's contest for aspiring journalists. His prize? A trip to New Orleans and a coveted press pass for the Final Four. It's a basketball junkie's dream...

Determined to marry into a respectable family, gambler Lewton Paterson, sets his sights on Emily McMurray, one of the McMurray sisters. Unfortunately, Emily has no intention of ever getting married, especially to a man like Lewt.

Tells the story of Magnolia Ravenal and of her marriage to the river gambler, Gaylord Ravenal, black sheep son of an aristocratic family. It is also the story of their daughter Kim, who became a famous Broadway actress.

Former CIA agent Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. He's already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed.