Beachy Head is a bit of quintessential England–a seaside promontory where green pastures roll to the edge of chalk cliffs, a place of sheep and wind and ineffable beauty. But it is also a major landmark on the map of self-inflicted death. Since 1965, some five hundred people have ended their lives by jumping or driving or simply walking off the 535-foot cliffs, making Beachy Head one of the most popular suicide spots in the world. And still they come, every week another one or two–the young and the old, the terminally ill and the vigorously healthy, the bereft, the insane, the despairing. Why here? Why so many? One chilly English spring, American writer and teacher Tom Hunt left his home and family and journeyed to this bucolic landscape to find out. In a narrative that seamlessly weaves together personal memoir, history, travelogue, and investigative journalism, Hunt recounts a season of disturbing revelations (including that Princess Diana allegedly came here intending to jump). Still reeling from a suicide in his own family, Hunt arrives in England obsessed with Beachy Head’s grisly mystique, yet utterly unsure of what he would discover. Gradually, with typical English reserve, the people who haunt this extraordinary place release their secrets. Servers in the local tavern–known among residents as the Last Stop Pub–whisper about their encounters with hollow-eyed men and women in their final hours. The celebrated local witch asserts his belief that the place was once used for human sacrifice. The kindly coroner provides access to suicide notes, photographs, and the Sudden Death file. “It’s a very cold solution,” confides a wheelchair-bound ex-hippie who miraculously survived his own jump. In the course of wrenching interviews with bereft family members, watchful taxi drivers, and brave rescue workers, it dawns on Hunt that in each of us is a will to die every bit as tenacious and unyielding as the desire to live–and that Beachy Head stiffens and heightens this death wish. It’s a stage that all but begs to be leapt from. A work of terrible sadness and harrowing revelations, Cliffs of Despair is the account of an unforgettable journey to a place where beauty and death collide.

Cliffs of Despair: A Journey to the Edge

Hunt, Tom

Biographies & Memoirs

Random House]

“Terrific…full of shocks and twists you won’t see coming—unputdownable and highly recommended!”—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author The electrifying debut thriller that asks the question: To save the one you love, is there any price you wouldn’t pay? His wife is sick. He needs $200,000 to save her. A mysterious man offers to give him the money with just one catch: He has to murder someone to get it. Gary Foster’s life is finally heading in the right direction. After years of trying, his wife, Beth, is pregnant, and he recently opened a business with his brother. But one phone call changes everything.... After collapsing suddenly, Beth has been rushed to the hospital. Tests reveal a devastating diagnosis: an inoperable brain tumor. Their only hope is an expensive experimental treatment available abroad, with a cost that’s out of their reach. And Beth’s time is running out.... Then a strange man approaches Gary and offers the money he needs, on one condition: that he kill someone, no questions asked. End one life to save another. In this nail-biting debut novel of domestic suspense, one man makes a choice that forces him to confront the darkest reaches of his soul and betray those closest to him. As he’s swept up in a nightmare of escalating violence, he must question his own morality—and determine just how far he’s willing to go to save the woman he loves.

Killer Choice

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Thrillers & Suspense

Berkley_Pub Group

Now in paperback, the nail-biting debut thriller "full of shocks and twists you won't see coming" (Lee Child) which asks the question: To save the one you love, is there any price you wouldn't pay? His wife is sick. He needs $200,000 to save her. A mysterious man offers to give him the money with just one catch: He has to murder someone to get it. When Gary Foster's pregnant wife becomes gravely ill, their only hope is an experimental treatment available abroad, but the cost is out of their reach. And Beth's time is running out... That's when a strange man approaches Gary, and offers the money he needs on one condition: that he kills someone. No questions asked. Gary's choice forces him to confront the darkest reaches of his soul and betray those closest to him. And as he's swept up in a nightmare of escalating violence, he must determine just how far he's willing to go to save the woman he loves.

Literature & Fiction

United States

BERKLEY

One Fatal Mistake

The author of Killer Choice, a thriller "full of shocks and twists you won't see coming" (Lee Child), delivers another nail-biting novel about a hit-and-run and a lie that goes horribly wrong. Her son accidentally kills a man. They cover it up. Then everything goes wrong. When eighteen-year-old Joshua Mayo takes a man's life in a terrible accident, he leaves the scene without reporting the crime to the police. He hopes to put the awful night behind him and move on with his life. But, of course, he ends up telling his mother, Karen, what happened. Karen has raised Joshua on her own in Cedar Rapids, Iowa--and she'd thought they'd finally made it. He was doing well in school and was only months away from starting college at his dream school. After hearing his dark confession, she's forced to make a choice no parent should have to make. A choice that draws them both into a web of deceit that will change their lives forever--if they can make it out alive.

Now in paperback—the author of Killer Choice delivers another nail-biting novel about a hit-and-run and a lie that goes horribly wrong in this thriller “full of shocks and twists you won't see coming” (Lee Child). Her son accidentally kills a man. They cover it up. Then everything goes wrong. When eighteen-year-old Joshua Mayo takes a man's life in a terrible accident, he leaves the scene without reporting the crime to the police. He hopes to put the awful night behind him and move on with his life. But, of course, he ends up telling his mother, Karen, what happened. Karen has raised Joshua on her own in Cedar Rapids, Iowa—and she'd thought they'd finally made it. He was doing well in school and was only months away from starting college at his dream school. After hearing his dark confession, she's forced to make a choice no parent should have to make. A choice that draws them both into a web of deceit that will change their lives forever—if they can make it out alive.

David Malcomson established a cotton spinning mill at Portlaw, County Waterford in 1825. Weaving and finishing processes were later developed as the industry became fully integrated. The business reached an employment peak of 1,648 in 1856 and survived until 1876 when the Malcomson commercial empire became bankrupt. This book examines the development, structure and performance of the Portlaw cotton industry and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of aspects of the economic and urban history of nineteenth-century Ireland.

Portlaw, County Waterford 1825-76: Portrait of an Industrial Village and its Cotton Industry (33) (Maynooth Studies in Irish Local History)

History

Europe

Irish Academic Press

The Little Book of Irish Athletics

Sports & Outdoors

THP Ireland

This elegant look into the life of dance paints a portrait of the unique world of ballet from within America's oldest ballet company, the San Francisco Ballet.The photographers' stunning imagery gives the reader an inside look into the daily classes, rehearsals, and performances of these remarkable artists by capturing life onstage and backstage. Over a five-year period and with special permission from the San Francisco Ballet, At the Ballet focuses on the inner workings of this world-class company and reveals the efforts that go into every performance.Candid interviews with the principal dancers and members of the corps reveal their own secrets to the beauty and grace of this classic art form. It takes a highly driven person with the right mix of talent, devotion, character, body type, and luck to make it into a company of this caliber. The dancers--many of whom came to the company from as far away as China, Russia, and Australia--describe their aspirations, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and philosophies in inspirational texts. They share with readers how they prepare for a performance; what they think about onstage; how they survive the grueling schedule of rehearsals, performances and tours; and to what they attribute their success.

At The Ballet; On Stage, Backstage

Arts & Photography

Lee, Sandra

HUNT, THOMAS

Performing Arts

Universe

This elegant look into the life of dance paints a portrait of the unique world of ballet from within America's oldest ballet company, the San Francisco Ballet. The photographers' stunning imagery gives the reader an inside look into the daily classes, rehearsals, and performances of these remarkable artists by capturing life onstage and backstage. Over a five-year period and with special permission from the San Francisco Ballet, At the Ballet focuses on the inner workings of this world-class company and reveals the efforts that go into every performance. Candid interviews with the principal dancers and members of the corps reveal their own secrets to the beauty and grace of this classic art form. It takes a highly driven person with the right mix of talent, devotion, character, body type, and luck to make it into a company of this caliber. The dancers--many of whom came to the company from as far away as China, Russia, and Australia--describe their aspirations, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and philosophies in inspirational texts. They share with readers how they prepare for a performance; what they think about onstage; how they survive the grueling schedule of rehearsals, performances and tours; and to what they attribute their success.

Humor & Entertainment

Gary Foster's life is finally heading in the right direction. After years of trying, his wife, Beth, is pregnant, and he recently opened a business with his brother. 
But one phone call changes everything.
After collapsing suddenly, Beth is rushed to the hospital. Tests reveal a devastating diagnosis: an inoperable brain tumour. Their only hope is an expensive experimental treatment available abroad, with a cost that's out of their reach. And Beth's time is running out.
Then a strange man approaches Gary and offers the money he needs, on one condition: that he kill someone, no questions asked. End one life to save another.
Faced with this impossible choice, Gary will find out how far he's willing to go to save his wife. But as the dire consequences of his actions begin to hit home, can he save his own?

A Killer Choice

Genre Fiction

orion#

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hunt, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hunt, Tom

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hunt, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Cliffs of Despair: A Journey to the Edge

Killer Choice

Killer Choice

One Fatal Mistake

One Fatal Mistake

Portlaw, County Waterford 1825-76: Portrait of an Industrial Village and its Cotton Industry (33) (Maynooth Studies in Irish Local History)

The Little Book of Irish Athletics

At The Ballet; On Stage, Backstage

At The Ballet; On Stage, Backstage

A Killer Choice