HL Shopper

The bus from Dublin to Limerick has never meant much to the inhabitants of Kilbrody, until a woman steps off it, marches into the pub, and drinks herself into oblivion. When she finally wakes up, several days later, it is to discover that Charlie Finn (who put her to bed), the local garda, and indeed the whole village are talking about her. Who is the woman on the bus? The question is, will she tell them?

National Underwater Marine Agency crew leader Kurt Austin is investigating the deaths of rare whales on the Mexican coast. Meanwhile, in South America's lush hills, a NUMA crew turns up a white goddess legend - and a murderous cadre of bio-pirates intent on stealing medicinal secrets worth millions. Soon Austin and his crew realize they're working the opposite ends of the same grand scheme - a plot to monopolize the earth's depleted fresh-water reserves and dominate the world.

In a voice both haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri describes her life as a geisha. Taken from her home at the age of nine, she is sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Witness her transformation as you enter a world where appearances are paramount, virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder, women beguile powerful men, and love is scorned as illusion.

Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, is hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the successful editor of Runway magazine. Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether the job is worth the price of her soul.