THE HIDING PLACE

"A masterful exhibition in storytelling; a breathless page-turner. Ligon drives his narrative like a formula one racer. Buckle your seat belts and get ready for a thrilling ride."—Jonathan Evison, [i]West of Here"Part meditation on modern love's dark and often unexamined underbelly; part can't-put-it-down-even-for-a-dinner-break-thriller, this novel contains one of the most convincingly and complicatedly terrifying fictional characters I have run into."—Pam Houston, [i]Contents May Have Shifted"A wildly original love story, a ghost story, a tense and suspenseful story in which the wickedly talented Ligon channels voices—of the lost, the longing, and the damned."—Jess Walter, [i]We Live in WaterPraise for [i]Safe in Heaven Dead:"A superbly convincing first novel….An expertly motivated debut."—[i]Kirkus, starred review"This debut novel instantly seizes and holds the imagination."—[i]Publishers Weekly, starred review"Ligon is firmly in control, laying out the elements of the story like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle."—[i]New York Times Book ReviewNikki has spent her life running from her abusive mother and the violent boyfriend she killed years ago, and now from his brother, Burke, just released from prison. Burke doesn't know yet how his brother died, but he's obsessed with finding Nikki and claiming her—and her daughter—as his own. Now she's run out of room to run. [b]Samuel Ligon is the author of [i]Safe in Heaven Dead (HarperCollins, 2003) and [i]Drift and Swerve. His stories have appeared in more than twenty literary journals. He teaches at Eastern Washington University's Inland Northwest Center for Writers, and is the editor of [i]Willow Springs.

A radical Muslim group has dedicated itself to the restoration of the Caliphate, a global Islamic empire based on cruel medieval values and the conquests of the faith's glory years. These true believers will stop at nothing, including assassinations and terrorism, to achieve their goal. Standing in their way is Steve Church, just a U.S. businessman in Paris who never expected to be recruited by the CIA as an undercover operative. But now, with his life on the line, with the fate of nations at stake, and with the safety of his beautiful Kella in jeopardy, Steve must dive headlong into a desperate struggle to prevent mass destruction. The Caliphate is a whirlwind adventure, bristling with exotic locales, dangerous and desperate characters, and international intrigue, all crafted by a former master spy who has experienced similar dangers and challenges firsthand.

This is a novel about people who find themselves in the middle of a horrific conflict and how they survive. Their choices affect their families, the people they love, and the course of their lives. Their stories start before the events in Sudan touch them, following them through challenges and triumphs, as they rebuild their lives. What they have in common with the rest of us is that their journeys are about finding out what kind of people they are: Should they try to draw strength from their anger or should they let it go? Is it better to stick with what you know or find the courage to change?

Fresh from facing allegations of witchcraft and murder, travelling weaver Will Rees, his heavily pregnant wife Lydia, and six adopted children take refuge in Zion, a Shaker community in rural Maine. Shortly after their arrival, screams in the night reveal a drowned body, but is it murder or an unfortunate accident? The Shaker Elders argue it was just an accident, but Rees believes otherwise. As he investigates further, more deaths follow and a young girl vanishes from the community. Haunted by nightmares for his family's safety, Rees must rush to uncover the truth before the dreams can become reality and more lives are lost. Yet can the Shaker Elders be trusted, or is an outsider involved?

Kuba is a cocaine dealer in the dark, electric streets of Warsaw, believing he is smart enough to stay in control, unlike the top lawyers, doctors, and TV personalities who are his client base. However, after calling in the debt of a failing nightclub owner, breaking his own rules on other people's property, and being caught in the consequences of his clients' actions, all control starts to slip from his grasp. Now suffering under the glare of the spotlight and getting dragged into the dark underbelly of the drug world, Kuba must find a way through the middle of the whirlwind of violence and betrayal sweeping him away.