Here is a story that, seemingly without effort, calls to mind such masters as Elmore Leonard, Donald E. Westlake, and Lawrence Block, with just enough Raymond Chandler.
Cassie Black is lured back to a profession she'd left behind - robbing casino gamblers of their winnings - by a setup that looks too good to pass up. Her works goes as planned, except that the mark has too much money - so much that someone very powerful must be angry.
In the course of the job, she crosses paths with private detective and psychopathic casino dirtywork man, Jack Karch, the son of a deceased magician of some renown. Karch is an effective creation, a scarily-convincing bad guy, who very quickly picks up Cassie's trail in an effort to retrieve the money she's stolen.

Science books

Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century by Michio Kaku

Predictions are made about the technological advances of the 20th century. Many parts of the book are obvious and the timing of certain events is guesswork. Much of the book is not about science but about computers and medicine.

*** Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert L. Park

 

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Essays
          Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic by James Gilligan                

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Today's rock 

          Dahlia Seed - Valentine Kid's Letter

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Prog rock (classics)

          Van der Graaf Generation - Pawnhearts

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Hits

          Various Artists - Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits
The folks at Rhino have provided the perfect collection of summertime driving music. This four-disc set includes tracks from Johnny Cash, the B-52's, Jan & Dean and Chuck Berry as well as fuzzy dice.

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Classical

Von Karajan, Mutter - Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons  - Fabio Biondi, L'Europa Galante

This recording of The Four Seasons sold 50 billion copies in France!

            A.Vivaldi- Gloria, Magnificat, Concertos - Rinaldo Alessandrini, et al.

            James Galway Plays Vivaldi- 6 Concerti Op 10

Vivaldi's Op. 10 concertos are made up of six excellently composed works that cover virtually the entire emotional and musical range of the Baroque flute. They have been popular with audiences and flute players alike since their original publication back in the first decades of the 18th century, and J. Galway performs them with his characteristic rhythmic zest and generosity of spirit.

            Sacred Music Vol 4 - Vivaldi- Juditha Triumphans / King

This rarely recorded oratorio, "Juditha Triumphans," combines all of Vivaldi's favorite compositional mediums--solo instrumental, orchestral, solo vocal, and choral--in a work with wonderful melodies and irresistible rhythms.

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