Carl Hiaasen's novels invariably test the talents and challenge the sanity of synopsis writers. The zany plot knot of Nature Girl features a headstrong "queen of lost causes," an obnoxious telemarketer and his spouse, a particularly persistent sexual harasser, a former drug runner ex-husband pursuer and a failed alligator wrestler. Shaken vigorously and adding a pinch of salt, these critters produce an uproariously funny whodunit.
One mild summer evening Lily and her husband are enjoying a meal while their baby daughter sleeps peacefully in her pram beneath a maple tree. But when Lily steps outside she is paralysed with terror. The child is bathed in blood. Inspector Sejer is called to the hospital to meet the family. Mercifully, the baby is unharmed, but her parents are deeply shaken, and Sejer spends the evening trying to comprehend why anyone would carry out such a sinister prank. Then, just before midnight, somebody rings his doorbell.
Ian Rankin - A Question of Blood A shooting incident at a private school just north of Edinburgh. Two seventeen year olds killed by an ex Army loner who has gone off the rails. As Detective Inspector John Rebus puts it, 'there's no mystery'... except the why. But this question takes Rebus into the heart of a shattered community. Ex Army himself, Rebus becomes fascinated by the killer, and finds he is not alone. Army investigators are on the scene, and won't be shaken off. The killer had friends and enemies to spare ranging from civic leaders to the local Goths leaving behind a legacy of secrets and lies.
Malcolm, Peter and Charlie and their Soave-sodden wives have one main ambition left in life: to drink Wales dry. But their routine is both shaken and stirred when they are joined by professional Welshman Alun Weaver (CBE) and his wife, Rhiannon.
Managerial Dilemmas: Exploiting paradox for strategic leadership
In the midst of the most severe recession for 80 years there is little need to argue that organizations are beset by dilemmas and paradoxes. Confidence in prevailing business models and in the underlying assumptions underpinning business decisions over many decades has now been shaken. But it is not enough to rail against arrogance and greed.
