Undercover cop Cole Taylor had his hands full sustaining a secret identity as he worked to expose a Kansas City crime boss–while living under the enemy's roof! The last thing he needed was a snooty intellectual type interfering in his investigation, asking suspicious questions and snooping where she shouldn't.

The first book in the New York Times bestselling epic fantasy trilogy by award-winning author Laini Taylor Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

CEO Jesse is rumored to be an unfeeling “machine.” But deep in her heart, she’s burning to get revenge on her father. Her hateful father laid his hands on his housekeeper, her mother, and eventually drove her to her death. Jesse’s determined to expose his illegal actions and have him sent to jail. A crucial part of her plan involves the buyout of his company, but suddenly a man appears who’s about to spoil her plans. His name is Luc Sanchis, a billionaire whose many affairs with glamorous women are known all over the world. Reluctantly, Jesse kidnaps Luc and takes him to a deserted island. But Luc remains perfectly calm, and in fact, he ends up seducing her!

Dr Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 years of explanations. He then develops a new and far-reaching theory.

The mysterious explosion at the crime lab had cost one man his life, and had pitched Mac Taylor into perpetual darkness. Now, as the evidence mounted against the temporarily dismissed forensic expert, one person had dedicated herself to proving his innocence: the former girl-next-door, Julia Dalton. Before long, Mac's predicament had them racing against time and running for their lives, a life Mac could no longer imagine without the experienced nurse by his side. Suddenly Mac was seeing more with his heart than he ever had with his eyes....