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"Początkiem zawsze jest matka. Od niej zaczyna się wszystko". O tej prawdzie wykaligrafowanej w dzienniku Lu Ling, wnuczki tytułowego nastawiacza kości, mówią wszystkie powieści Amy Tan. Odnawiając zerwaną więź z matką, bohaterki odnajdują siebie.

W ostatniej książce, podobnie jak w poprzednich ("Żona Kuchennego Boga", "Sto tajemnych zmysłów", "Klub radości i szczęścia") opowieści matki i córki nawzajem się przeplatają.

Historia Ruth, współczesnej Amerykanki chińskiego pochodzenia, krzyżuje się ze wspomnieniami Lu Ling. Ruth zaczyna je czytać, kiedy u jej matki pojawiają się objawy demencji. Wtedy uświadamia sobie, jak dużo o swej matce nie wie.

Nie zna jej przeszłości, pragnień i tęsknot. Nie umie czytać jej gestów. Nie potrafi jej pomóc, bo nigdy jej nie rozumiała. Z trudem odcyfrowuje naniesione cienkim pędzelkiem chińskie znaki – których niegdyś nie chciała się uczyć – by w końcu uciec się do pomocy tłumacza. Wszystko, co nie mogło być wypowiedziane, zostało zapamiętane przez pismo. W piśmie Lu Ling ocala swoją przeszłość, przez pismo tłumacz, pan Tang, zakochuje się w niej

(przeczytawszy historię jej życia, "wie o niej więcej niż większość ludzi wie o swoich małżonkach"), dzięki pismu Ruth nie tylko poznaje swoją matkę, zaczyna również rozumieć samą siebie.

Powieść pełna subtelnych obserwacji, delikatnej chińskiej zmysłowości, dowcipu i ironii, kończy się iście amerykańskim happy endem. Demencja matki okazuje się źródłem ozdrowienia dla wszystkich.

Dla niej samej staje się sprawdzianem prawdy – w jej pamięci pozostaną jedynie zapisane w dalekiej przeszłości rzeczy bezwzględnie prawdziwe i ważne. Dla Ruth jest okazją do poznania tych rzeczy i tym samym zdania sobie sprawy z tego, czego sama pragnie. Ruth rzuca zawód redaktora – naprawiacza i korektora książek – i pisze sama.

Dla babki, matki i siebie. Dla Arta, by wiedział, kim jest kobieta, z którą żyje. Dla jego córek, by ją lepiej rozumiały. Żałuję, że trafiłam na Amy Tan tak późno. Za późno, by pożyczyć ją mojej babci. Babcia czytała dużo, a pod koniec nie mogłam już nadążyć z dostarczaniem jej powieści. Ale zawsze narzekała i skarżyła się, że wszystko, co przynoszę, jest "smutne i pesymistyczne". Amy Tan by ją ucieszyła. Bo Amy Tan niesie pokrzepienie. I jeszcze jedno: uczy, że przeszłość jest tym, co sami chcemy pamiętać. Nie pamiętam więc wieczne niezadowolonej staruszki. Moja babcia, kiedy chorowałam, przynosiła mi do łóżka maślane bułeczki i "Sagę rodu Forsyte'ów".

Nestled on the shores of Lake Erie, the small town of Port Ariel, Ohio, is a welcome haven for Natalie St. John. Back home for the first time in years, she plans to visit old friends, mend a broken heart, and take a break from her busy veterinary practice. But her peace is shattered her first night back, when she discovers the murdered body of her friend, Tamara Peyton.

Was it a random act of violence…or something personal? The answer becomes clear as Natalie is stalked by the voice of "Tamara," whose terrifying phone calls warn her that she, too, is going to die.

One by one, the people closest to Tamara are being savagely murdered. But neither Natalie nor Sheriff Nick Meredith recognizes the face of the devious killer who walks among them, hiding behind a well-crafted lie. Now, a murderer's deadly act of vengeance demands one more sacrifice-and Natalie has been chosen to pay the price…

In the tradition of bestselling authors such as Jack Higgins and Clive Cussler, a new voice in thriller writing has emerged to rival any of the masters. When the president is kidnapped during his ski holiday in Colorado, disavowed Secret Service Agent Scott Harvath is his only hope of rescue. As the FBI and CIA chase a string of dangerously false clues across the Middle East, Agent Harvath's investigation leads him to Switzerland. Throughout the picturesque towns of Bern, Interlaken and Lucerne, Harvath plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with the real kidnappers, as well as rogue factions within his own government that want him terminated before he can save the president. With only the ambitious Claudia Muehler of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office to assist him, the pair are forced to go it alone as they realise the kidnapping plot reaches some of the highest levels of the Swiss Intelligence community. In a race against time, they must scale the treacherous heights of Mt. Pilatus, uncover a hidden military fortress secreted beneath its peak, and defeat the formidable force that stands between them and the safe return of the president – the deadly men known as the Lions of Lucerne.<

Brad Thor, master of suspense and New York Times bestselling author of The First Commandment, returns with his highest-voltage thriller to date. In a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-charged tour de force, Navy SEAL turned covert Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath must race to locate an ancient secret that has the power to stop militant Islam dead in its tracks.

June 632 A.D.: Deep within the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Mecca, the Prophet Mohammed shares with his closest companions a final and startling revelation. Within days, he is assassinated.

September 1789: U.S. Minister to France Thomas Jefferson, who is charged with forging a truce with the violent Muslim pirates of the Barbary Coast, makes a shocking discovery – one that could forever impact the world’s relationship with Islam.

Present day: When a car bomb explodes outside a Parisian café, Scot Harvath is thrust back into the life he has tried so desperately to leave behind.

Saving the intended victim of the attack, Harvath becomes party to an amazing and perilous race to uncover a secret so powerful that militant Islam could be defeated once and for all without firing another shot, dropping another bomb, or launching another covert action.

But as desperate as the American government is to have the information brought to light, there are powerful forces aligned against it – men who are just as determined that Mohammed’s mysterious final revelation continue to remain hidden forever.

What Jason Bourne was to the Cold War, Scot Harvath is to the War on Terror. Brad Thor has created “the perfect all-American hero for the post September 11 world” (Nelson DeMille) and will keep readers glued to the pages as he once again takes them across the globe on a heart-pounding chase where the stakes are higher than they have ever been before.

A master assassin. A vendetta years in the making. And a counterterrorism operative who will risk everything – even treason – to keep the people he loves alive. Brad Thor, the New York Times bestselling author of Takedown, delivers an explosive international thriller featuring Navy SEAL turned Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath, who somewhere, somehow, has left the wrong person alive. “Thou shalt not negotiate with terrorists…” Six months ago: In the dead of the night, five of the most dangerous detainees in the war on terror are pulled from their isolation cells in Guantanamo Bay, held at gunpoint, and told to strip off their orange jumpsuits. Issued a civilian clothes and driven to the base airfield, they are loaded aboard a Boeing 727 and set free. Present day: Covert counterterrorism agent Scot Harvath awakens to discover that his world has changed violently – and forever. A sadistic assassin with a personal vendetta in wreaking havoc of biblical proportions. Unleashing nightmarish horrors on those closest to Harvath, the attacker thrusts everything Harvath holds dear – including his life – into absolute peril. Ordered by the president to stay out of the investigation, Harvath is forced to mount his own operation to uncover the conspiracy and to exact revenge. When he discovers a connection between the attacks and a group of prisoners secretly released from Guantanamo, Harvath must ask himself previously unthinkable questions about the organizations and the nation he has spent his life serving. A renegade from his own government, Harvath will place his life on the line as his search for the truth draws him into a showdown with one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth. Brad Thor roars through this non-stop adventure full of international intrigue, twisted betrayals, and ultimate revenge.<

From Publishers Weekly

If Thor's second international thriller had any more testosterone, it would grow hair. This follow-up to The Lions of Lucerne is loaded with explosions, gunfights, car chases and hairbreadth escapes as Secret Service agent Scot Harvath battles religious extremists and incompetent CIA spooks to save the world from WWIII. The Hand of God, an apparent Israeli terrorist group, is blowing up mosques in Saudi Arabia, assassinating Arab leaders and hijacking airplanes, all in an effort to provoke the Arab world into war with Israel. Harvath tries to derail the terrorist plot and avenge the deaths of buddies killed in the first book. Aided by Meg Cassidy, a beautiful Chicago public relations expert, Harvath chases the terrorist leader and a silver-eyed assassin from Hong Kong through Europe to North Africa. However, since Cassidy is the only one alive who has seen the face of the terrorist leader, the assassin chases them, too, trying to kill Cassidy before she can point him out. The story is one bloody episode after another, with a touch of romance and colorful turf battles between the CIA, FBI, Delta Force and Harvath himself. Thor stacks the deck in favor of his hero-Harvath never makes a mistake, and his view of how counterterrorism operations should be conducted is invariably proven correct. To top it off, he boasts about his remarkable talents. With its infallible hero, fetching sidekick and wicked bad guys, this international shoot 'em up sticks close to formula, but the well-choreographed action and thrills will keep readers engrossed.

A miles de años en el futuro, cuando los casi indestructibles cráneos de los destruidos robots alfombran los bosques del continente americano, Tom Cushing emprende una búsqueda. Parte en dirección al oeste para hallar el fabuloso «Lugar de ir a las estrellas». Allá residen los extraños artefactos de otros mundos que sus antepasados habían traído consigo antes de la catástrofe que devolvió a los humanos a una vida semisalvaje sin ninguna clase de tecnología... La misión de Tom Cushing es recuperar el conocimiento perdido y la herencia de la vieja civilización.<

A weapon designed to decimate the Roman Empire has just become the number one threat to the United States.

From the national bestselling author of The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, and State of the Union comes the most gripping international thriller yet featuring Navy SEAL turned covert counterterrorism agent Scot Harvath.

"Scot Harvath is the perfect all-American hero for the post-September 11th world." – Nelson DeMille

When a mystery thousands of years in the making threatens to catapult the enemies of America to a sure and decisive victory, the only person the president can call for help is the man the administration has just fired.

Caught live on Al Jazeera in an off-the-books operation, Scot Harvath's career has been terminated and he is forced to go to ground as the president bows to pressure from a ruthless senator with her sights set on the White House. But when the tide in the war on terror suddenly turns against the U.S., the president has no choice but to secretly bring Harvath back inside.

Ducking a congressional subpoena, Harvath travels to the Mediterranean, where he learns of a shadowy organization that has been combing the earth for decades in search of the ultimate weapon to use against the United States and her allies.

Now, after three summers of record-setting heat across present-day Europe, one steadily melting Alpine glacier has given up an ancient secret-one with the potential to thrust civilization back into the Dark Ages.

From Cyprus, London, and Paris, to Italy, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia, Harvath must race against the clock to stop one of the greatest evils ever to face the United States. With his characteristic high-voltage action, sweeping international locales, and meticulous research, Brad Thor has created another supercharged novel that is sure to thrill.

**Timeline: 3049-3051**

A finales del siglo XXVIII cayó la Liga Estelar y nacieron los cinco Estados Sucesores. Durante los últimos trescientos años, estos estados han luchado entre sí encarnizadamente. Sin embargo, ahora surge una nueva amenaza que proviene del exterior. Un misterioso ejército, los Clanes, y cuenta con la mejor fuerza militar que jamás viera la Humanidad. "Herencia Mortal", primer volumen de la trilogía "La Sangre de Kerensky", narra el comienzo de la invasión de los Clanes en el decisivo año 3050.

After years without a terrorist attack on American soil, one group has picked the 4th of July weekend to pull out all the stops. In a perfectly executed attack, all of the bridges and tunnels leading into and out of Manhattan are destroyed just as thousands of commuters begin their holiday exodus. With domestic efforts focused on search and rescue, a deadly team of highly trained foreign soldiers methodically makes its way through the city with the singular objective of locating one of their own – a man so powerful that America will do anything to keep him hidden.

Scot Harvath is now the country's only hope. Fighting his way through the burning streets of Manhattan, he must mount his own operation to locate a man the United States government refuses to admit even exists.

From the national bestselling author of The Lions of Lucerne and Path of the Assassin comes another electrifying international thriller featuring all-American hero Scot Harvath, as he plunges into the frigid heart of the Russian tundra to save the fragile state of the union.

On a cold January morning, the United States awakes to discover that an old enemy, one long believed dead and buried, has crawled out of its grave to lay siege to the world's only superpower.

With the stunning discovery that enhanced Soviet-made suitcase nukes have been secreted in America 's major cities, President Jack Rutledge gathers his National Security Council to weigh the feasibility of a first strike against the Russian Federation. There's only one problem. For over two decades, the Russians have been funneling international aid money into a top secret air defense system, which has just been brought on-line and which will render any conventional attack upon their country utterly ineffective.

After exhausting all of his other options, and with Soviet sleeper agents preparing to detonate their deadly payloads across the United States, the president turns to the nation's final hope, ex-Navy SEAL and Secret Service Agent Scot Harvath.

Assigned to a covert section of the Department of Homeland Security and charged with defending the nation against all foreign aggressors by any means necessary, Harvath finds himself hand-picked by the president to unravel a brilliantly orchestrated, fiendishly timed conspiracy that has already shattered the fragile peace between the world's nations and which, if successful, will leave the United States in smoldering ruins.

With family friend and former Deputy FBI Director Gary Lawlor nowhere to be found and suspected of betraying his country, Harvath embarks on an adventure that will test the bonds of loyalty and reveal a nation's deepest secrets.

As high-voltage and timely as they come, State of the Union is a frighteningly real, headline-ripping tale of espionage and intrigue that will keep readers guessing until the last tantalizing piece of the puzzle locks into place.

With exotic international locales, hair-raising suspense, and scenes of pulse-pounding action, Brad Thor has once again reaffirmed his position as the thriller writer readers and critics alike have hailed as Clancy, Cussler, and Ludlum all rolled into one.