The first group was made up of eleven people—a motley assortment of strangers invited for the weekend to a small private island off the coast of Devon. Unknown to them all, their host is an eccentric millionaire who is nowhere to be found. The only thing the visitors have in common is a sinister past they’re reluctant to discuss—and a secret that will determine their future. Each has a murder warrant out for them. Each room of the mansion has a framed and hung version of the following nursery rhyme:
Ten young lads went out to eat; one choked himself, leaving the other nine. Nine young lads stayed up quite late; one of them overslept, leaving the other eight. Eight young boys were going in Devon; one of them claimed he would stay, but there were only seven. Seven little boys were sawing sticks; one cut himself in half before the other six. Six little lads were tinkering with a hive; one of them got stung, and the other five joined him. Five young boys entered law school; one was admitted to the Chancery, and the other four followed. Four young lads were sailing out to sea; one was eaten by a red herring, leaving the other three. Three little boys were strolling around the zoo; one was cuddled by a large bear, followed by two more. Two little boys were relaxing in the sun; one of them became frizzy.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“In the midst of life, we are in death.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know at all. And that’s what’s frightening the life out of me. To have no idea….”
“It had come about exactly in the way things happened in books.”
“One little Indian left all alone, he went out and hanged himself and then there were none.”
“One of us in this very room is in fact the murderer.”
The epic story of criminality and betrayal known as The Godfather became a worldwide hit. A masterpiece started its life about fifty years ago. The Godfather introduced readers to the Corleones, the original family of American crime fiction, and their enduring legacy of custom, blood, and honor. It provided a scorching portrait of the Mafia underground. The Godfather is the conclusive novel of the violent sub-culture that, deeply embedded in mystery and controversy, continues to remain indelibly etched in our national mind. Its themes of the seduction of power, the traps of greed, and the loyalty to the family have struck a chord with millions of readers worldwide.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
“Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family.- Don Corleone”
“Great men are not born great, they grow great . . .”
“Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.”
“Revenge is a dish that tastes best when served cold.”
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is aroused in the middle of the night in Paris by a phone call. The senior Louvre curator was killed within the museum, and his body was covered in perplexing symbols. As Langdon and the talented French cryptologist Sophie Neveu solve the strange puzzles, they are astounded to find a trail of clues that Leonardo da Vinci himself cleverly placed in his paintings. The clues are obvious to everyone yet cleverly concealed by the painter.
Even more astonishing, the late curator had a magnificent historical secret and was a member of the Priory of Sion, a covert organization that also included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The shocking, ancient truth will be lost for all time unless Langdon and Neveu can solve the perplexing puzzle—while dodging the faceless foe who follows their every move.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.”
“Everyone loves a conspiracy.”
“Faith ― acceptance of which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.”
“By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account.”
“What really matters is what you believe.”
Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who goes only by that grotesquely appropriate nickname, is hunting women. Since the bodies are found in various conditions, no one can figure out his motive. Young FBI Academy student Clarice Starling is shocked when she receives a call from Jack Crawford, head of the division’s behavioral science division. Interviewing Dr. Hannibal Lecter, also known as Hannibal the Cannibal, who is kept under strict observation in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, is her task.
Dr. Lecter is a famous psychiatrist with a gruesome past, peculiar preferences, and a burning interest in the shadowy recesses of the mind. The core of “The Silence of the Lambs”—a brilliant, skillfully written work and an enduring classic of suspense fiction—is his deep understanding of the murderer and of Clarice herself.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“When the Fox hears the Rabbit scream he comes a-runnin’, but not to help.”
“Nothing made me happen. I happened.”
“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti”
“Being smart spoils a lot of things, doesn’t it?”
“She didn’t give a damn about some of them, but she had grown to learn that inattention can be a stratagem to avoid pain, and that it is often misread as shallowness and indifference.”
A descendant of one of the richest families in Sweden, Harriet Vanger vanished nearly 40 years ago. Her elderly uncle is still searching for the truth all these years later. Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently imprisoned for libel, is hired by him to conduct the investigation. The tattooed and pierced punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander supports him. Together, they are able to access a source of astounding corruption and unfathomable injustice.
Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, an international bestseller, mixes a murder investigation, a family history, a love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly intricate and captivatingly atmospheric book.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don’t have trust, the friendship will crumble.”
“What she had realized was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst.”
“Everyone has secrets. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are.”
“Then I discovered that being related is no guarantee of love!”
“I’ve had many enemies over the years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never engage in a fight you’re sure to lose. On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. Bide your time and strike back when you’re in a position of strength—even if you no longer need to strike back.”
Four members of the Clutter family were brutally murdered on November 15, 1959, in the small Kansas hamlet of Holcomb by shots fired from a shotgun held close to their faces. There were hardly any leads and no obvious reason for the crime.
Truman Capote creates astounding empathy as he reassembles the killing and the inquiry that resulted in the criminals’ arrest, trial, and execution. A book like In Cold Blood goes beyond its time and offers moving insights into the origins of American violence.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there.”
“It is no shame to have a dirty face- the shame comes when you keep it dirty.”
“As long as you live, there’s always something waiting; and even if it’s bad, and you know it’s bad, what can you do? You can’t stop living.”
“Imagination, of course, can open any door – turn the key and let terror walk right in.”
“It is easy to ignore the rain if you have a raincoat”
Both the book adaptations of the Bourne series as well as the film in the series have become extremely popular around the world. The Jack Reacher series has a lot in common with the Bourne franchise because they both focus on rogue operatives. Because of his focus on heroic individuals, Robert Ludlum, who is known for creating the character of Jason Bourne, is considered an influence on the majority of contemporary thriller novelists.
Returning to the source material may surprise viewers who are familiar with the Jack Reacher book series or the Bourne movie franchise. After an explosion on a yacht, Jason Bourne is left with amnesia, which prompts him to set out on a journey to find out who he is and where he came from. Ludlum takes us on a chase through Europe, where the real-life terrorist Carlos the Jackal is in close pursuit of the fictional character Jason Bourne.
Both men were pulled together by fate and the pursuit of a dream despite being born on the same day around the turn of the century on opposite sides of the globe. These two men—ambitious, strong, and cunning—are engaged in a never-ending war to establish an empire, driven by an all-consuming hatred. Kane and Abel compete for the prosperity and victory that only one man can have over the course of 60 years and three generations, via war, marriage, good fortune, and bad luck.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Fortune favours the brave”
“If you have to pay a bill, always make it look as if the amount is of no consequence.”
“Only three things mattered about a hotel: position, position and position.”
“Then one morning she woke to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her. She blinked at him. ‘Is something wrong, darling?’ ‘No. I’m just looking at my greatest asset, and making sure I never take it for granted.”
“Never seek the wind in the field—it is useless to try and find what is gone.”
“SHE ONLY stopped screaming when she died. It was then that he started to scream. The”
The Overlook Hotel’s new position for Jack Torrance is the ideal opportunity for a new beginning. He will have a lot of time to devote to getting back in touch with his family and honing his literary skills as the eerie old hotel’s off-season keeper. But as winter’s severe conditions take hold, the lovely setting seems progressively more remote… and frightening. And Danny Torrance, a five-year-old boy with exceptional talent, is the only one to see the odd and terrifying forces assembling around the Overlook.
Best Quotes from this Book:
“Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters.”
“Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win.”
“This inhuman place makes human monsters.”
“The tears that heal are also the tears that scald and scourge.”
“She had never dreamed there could be so much pain in a life when there was nothing physically wrong. She hurt all the time.”