Charles Williams
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English
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Her husband in jail, a desperate young woman takes refuge among sharecroppers
Once, Cass Neely’s farm stretched across the entire valley, but decades of bad decisions and rotten luck have forced him to sell off nearly every inch. He and his son farm the meager remains of a once-great property, living in a grim downward spiral—until Cass’s daughter-in-law, Joy, moves in. She’s by far the most beautiful thing this county...
Once, Cass Neely’s farm stretched across the entire valley, but decades of bad decisions and rotten luck have forced him to sell off nearly every inch. He and his son farm the meager remains of a once-great property, living in a grim downward spiral—until Cass’s daughter-in-law, Joy, moves in. She’s by far the most beautiful thing this county...
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An engineer battles a small town to see his sister released from prison It takes Reno three days to get from Peru to the Gulf Coast, and when he gets to Waynesport he has only one stop to make: the city jail, where his sister is being held on a murder rap. The way Vickie tells it, she saw her husband having a drink with another woman, they quarreled, and she went to the bathroom. When she came out, he was shot through the back of the skull. The police...
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It's election season in Blossom County, and that means it's time for moonshine. Educated at the racetrack, Billy has never had a firm grip on his ABCs, but he sure knows how to read a racing form. When a family court judge threatens to put the seven-year-old in a foster home, Billy and his father go to live in the countryside, at the wholesome little farm owned by Billy's Uncle Sagamore, where the air is pure, the grass is green, and the liquor from...
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A son searches for the men who killed his mysterious father Even at sixty-six, Gunnar Romstead was a tough old salt. It took several men to bring him down, and even after they'd bound his feet and hands he was still a threat. But finally the man who'd survived waterfront brawls, World War II, and countless stormy nights at sea died on his knees-shot through the back of the head. Looking for answers, his son Eric comes to the barren California town...
5) The Hot Spot
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For Madox, a dull town, a beautiful woman, and an easy bank heist spell doom In a town so small that Main Street is only three blocks long, there isn't a lot to do-other than work, ogle women, and think about fast ways to get rich. After a year of aimless wandering, Madox has landed here, nearly broke and with no prospects but a dead-end job selling cars to yokels. Until one afternoon a fire at the burger joint draws the attention of everyone in town-including...
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Raised at the racetrack, a boy comes to live on a Texas farm Billy doesn't know how to read a book, but give him a racing form and he can tell you everything about a pony that you'd ever want to know. He and his father live on the road, traveling from Aqueduct to Hialeah and back again, until an overzealous Welfare lady demands they settle somewhere more wholesome than the track. Not knowing anyplace wholesome, Billy's father takes him to Texas instead,...
7) Aground
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A widow and a charter captain scour the ocean for a stolen yacht When Ingram lands in Miami, he doesn't even have time to finish his bath before the police come knocking. The out-of-work charter captain has just returned from Nassau, where he was looking to buy a boat on behalf of a millionaire. But the day after he toured the seventy-foot Dragoon, his "millionaire" disappeared, and the yacht went with him. Ingram convinces the cops that he was only...
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A beautiful fraudster gives a drifter a chance at an irresistible score Jerry Forbes, on the run in Fort Lauderdale, is careful not to tell Marian Forsyth his real name. But Marian already knows his secrets. She's been following him since Miami Beach, fascinated by this handsome drifter since the first time she heard his voice. Finally she tells him the truth: Together, they're going to steal a fortune from a rich sap named Harris Chapman. The plan...
9) The Big Bite
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An ex-football player and a crooked insurance man cook up a blackmail scheme Professional football player John Harlan is driving back from a lakeside cabin when a drunk driver named Cannon knocks him off the road. When he comes to, Harlan's leg is shattered and Cannon is dead. His career over, Harlan goes on a bender, and a few days after his hangover clears, he dives headfirst into a life of immorality. An insurance investigator named Purvis is...
10) Talk of the Town
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Stranded in a small town, a stranger falls for a suspected murderess Bored, divorced, and unemployed, Chatham is on his way to the Gulf of Mexico when he passes through a small town by the river. It's a miserable little burg-four stoplights and not much else-and he's almost escaped it when a drunk's car darts out in front of him, causing a nasty fender-bender. The thought of three days waiting for his clunker to get fixed is a grim one, but though...
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A small town is doomed by jealousy, greed, and a shared love of hunting In the backwoods town of Carthage, there isn't much for the leading citizens to do but drink, sleep, and shoot. John Warren is preparing for an early morning duck hunt when he hears two shotgun blasts- only later does he learn they were the sound of Dan Roberts's death. Although it appears the handsome young man killed himself, Warren and the police are smart enough to realize...
12) Man on the Run
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Pursued by the police, a desperate man fights to stay free - and stay alive. It's raining hard when the man leaps off the train. He lands safely and creeps into town, praying he will find someplace to hide. It's nearly daylight, and the police are not far behind. He breaks into an unoccupied seaside cottage, and is overjoyed to find coffee, whiskey, and cigarettes. But before the fugitive can relax, the doorknob rattles. The police are at the door....
13) Scorpion Reef
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Aboard a ghost ship, sailors discover a tale of treasure, lust, and murder When the tanker finds the yacht, she is far from land, adrift in the middle of the Caribbean. No one is onboard, but the hold is stuffed with cash, the coffeepot is still warm, and a hint of perfume hangs in the air. The passengers have vanished, but the ship's log tells a chilling story of the madness peculiar to the search for sunken riches. The journal was written by...
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A sailor stranded in the Pacific Ocean finds there are a million ways to die His life in pieces, Harry Goddard buys a thirty-two-foot sloop and sets out to sail the Pacific. He is a thousand miles from anywhere when his craft strikes an unseen object, and begins taking water. For all his desperate efforts, he cannot save her, and Harry is forced into his life raft, to drift without food, water, or shelter from the sun. He is near death when the Leander...
15) A Touch of Death
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The score would be an easy one-if it weren't for the women involved Out of work and dead broke, Lee Scarborough is a long way from his days as a football hero when he meets the sunbathing Diana James-an innocent-looking creature with a plan to make a fortune. A few months' back, her lover embezzled $120,000 from a bank, but disappeared before she could get her hands on the cash. The police think he's fled the state, but Diana is sure he's dead, and...