38. The Cat Who saw Red

183 páginas

When Jim Qwilleran is sent to "Maus Haus" on a gastronomical quest, strange things occur. A startling scream pierces the night air and Joy Graham, the red-headed flame from Jim's past, disappears. Jim and his feline companions, Koko and Yum Yum, investigate.

37. Money, Money, Money, Ed McBain

269 páginas

Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer and Fat Ollie Weeks have been working the 87th Precinct for more than 40 years, but they're still the top dicks in town for devotees of Ed McBain's absorbing police procedurals, of which Money, Money, Money is one.

When a pretty, red-haired, ex-military pilot is killed, the boys in blue blunder around for a few chapters before they unmask her secret life as a drug courier. By then the burglar who broke into Cass Ridley's apartment and stole the "tip" she got for her last run has already tried to spend one of the $100 bills from her stash, attracting the attention of the Secret Service. The "superbill" is phoney, and by the time Carella and his crew uncover the international counterfeit ring behind it, McBain has taken the action up a notch with a terrorist plot to bomb Clarendon (read Carnegie) Hall, where an eminent Israeli violinist is performing. There's also a conspiracy involving a publishing company whose sales reps are so venal and violent you might think they were the creation of a writer who blamed them when his last book failed to sell. Not so McBain, who can't have too many complaints in that department. His publisher's reps have been living well for decades on the commissions earned on McBain's books (including those of Evan Hunter, his alter ego).

That he has kept this series going for so long without tricking up the plots, turning his characters into stereotypes or sacrificing their humanity is a tribute to his authorial gifts: expert pacing, sharp-edged dialogue, authenticity, wit and confidence. There's only one thing getting old in this, his 51st book in an evergreen series: the fictional convention that locates the 87th in a place called Isola instead of midtown Manhattan, where it so clearly is set.

36. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K.Rowling

607 páginas

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him.In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectactular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again.

35. Wish You Were Here, Mike Gayle

364 páginas

Their holiday brochure said 18 -- 30... But they've just turned 35. After ten years together Charlie Mansell has been dumped by his live-in girlfriend, Sarah. All he wants to do is wallow in misery, but mates Andy and Tom have a better idea: a week of sun, sea and souvlaki in Malia -- party capital of the Greek islands. But Charlie and his mates aren't eighteen any more. Or even under thirty. And it shows. It isn't the cheap beer, the late nights or even the fast-food that's the problem. It's girls. And life. And most of all ...each other. Wish You Were Here is a heart-warming, funny and wise tale about love and friendship and how seven days in the sun can change your life forever.

34. Noites de Chuva e Estrelas, Maeve Binchy

228 páginas

Há a paisagem e há as pessoas.O ambiente, o quente e azul Verão da pequena ilha grega de Aghia Anna, a todos parece prometer momentos de descanso.Só Vonni, a mística irlandesa que vive na ilha há 30 anos e que por todos é respeitada, e o dono da taverna local, Andreas, estão ali para ficar. Aquela é a sua ilha. Quando se cruzam com os veraneantes, são apenas mais um bando de turistas, de passagem, em busca de sol. Mas desta feita um acidente no porto local faz com que um grupo de estranhos crie entre si laços para a vida. Thomas, o americano que sofre com o divórcio e teme perder o filho. Fiona, a irlandesa que tenta esconder os maus-tratos do namorado. Elsa, a bela alemã, estrela televisiva no seu país, que procura o anonimato. E David, o inglês amargurado com a pressão dos pais para que tome conta dos negócios de família. Quatro vidas, quatro fugas no que parecem ser apenas mais umas férias de Verão longe, bem longe de casa e dos problemas. É aliás isso que os liga: a fuga, a absoluta necessidade de fuga. Mas o acaso irá ligá-los pela amizade. Não sem que a sábia e experiente Vonni, de misterioso passado e origem, os ajude a mudar rumo das suas vidas.Afinal nem todos os Verões se dissolvem na memória como a areia se esvai entre os dedos, alguns Verões mudam para sempre as estações vindouras...

33. Harry Potter e o Princípe Misterioso, J.K.Rowling

509 páginas

Voldemort está mesmo de volta! Esta é a terrível confirmação que agita o início do sexto ano na escola de feitiçaria de Hogwarts. O seu crescente poder maléfico, e do seu vasto exército de Devoradores da Morte, é cada vez mais visível, não só no mundo da Magia como no mundo dos Muggles. Agora, mais do que nunca, é necessário reunir forças para combater o mal, e, para isso, Harry e Dumbledore visitam o passado misterioso de Voldemort, e o coração da magia negra, e desvendam alguns segredos verdadeiramente espantosos. Mas são muitos mais os enigmas que Harry terá de resolver, entre eles, um muito em especial – quem é o príncipe misterioso a quem pertenceu o livro sobre poções que Harry recebeu e que revela conhecimentos poderosíssimos e letais? Poderá contar com ele como aliado ou será mais um inimigo a vencer? Neste penúltimo livro da série, as forças são testadas até ao limite, e Harry terá de apelar a toda a sua coragem e determinação para prosseguir na luta contra o poderoso senhor das trevas!... Será que vai conseguir?

32. Step on a Crack, James Patterson

308 páginas

A powerful and political thriller from the master of the genre. The scene is set for a huge funeral in St Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The rich and the famous from all over America -- and beyond -- have arrived to honour a former First Lady after her sudden, unexpected death. Then follows an attack that was three years in the planning. Hostages are taken -- the ex-President among them -- ransoms demanded, a couple of hostages shot to show the kidnappers mean business. It's all brilliantly and chillingly co-ordinated, and Michael Bennett, the detective in charge of the case, knows it will be his biggest ever challenge.