lundi 3 juin 2013
dimanche 2 juin 2013
It is every parent’s worst nightmare. Stephanie Harker is travelling through the security gates at O’Hare airport when she is taken into a perspex box having set off the metal detectors. Made to wait outside, five-year-old Jimmy is led away, by hand, by a uniformed officer. Stephanie’s panic and shouts lead security to believe she is a threat, and she is tasered brutally to the ground amidst her screams of protest while Jimmy disappears into the distance unnoticed by anyone but her.
Stephanie becomes frantic when a uniformed man leads Jimmy away. The situation seems worse to Stephanie as she is a British citizen, in Chicago’s O’Hare airport traveling with a five year old to whom she is not related but plans to adopt.
Eventually she is able to convince agents from the FBI that she is blameless but by this time Jimmy has been abducted. Stephanie, a single woman who makes an adequate but less than glamorous salary, has an unusual relationship with young Jimmy. She had just finished ghost writing a book authored by a young woman made famous by her appearance on a reality television show. The woman, Scarlett Higgins, had a relationship with Joshu Patel, a rock star of dubious ability. Though Scarlett married Joshu shortly before Jimmy’s birth, Joshu has had little interest in his son. Jimmy makes his home in a “family” composed of his mother, a housekeeper, his aunt Leanne, and Stephanie.
As a reality television show star, Scarlett is presented as a beautiful but intellectually challenged young woman. As Stephanie grows to know her, she realizes that Scarlett is both smart and an accomplished enough actress to portray herself as barely literate. As the two women work on Scarlett’s biography, they become quite close especially during and after Jimmy’s birth.
The events leading to Stephanie’s trip from England to the United States with young Jimmy in tow are at once outlandish, yet perfectly reasonable. When the child is abducted there are numerous possibilities as to his abductor. The case becomes the joint project of FBI agent Vivian McKuras and Scotland Yard Detective Nick Nikolaides. Because Stephanie was at first a suspect and because she is close to both the family and Jimmy, she is able to offer insight and possible leads more quickly than either investigator could unearth.
Reading Vanishing Point is a learning experience. McDermid has done her homework and offers insights into the diverse elements of her narrative. For instance, in the opening scene at O’Hare airport she notes that unlike their European counterparts, a passenger in the United States only has to go through security once… at the point of origin of their trip. Therefore anyone who has arrived on another flight landing at O’Hare would be past the security checkpoint and would have the opportunity to abduct Jimmy.
Excellent et imprévisible...
samedi 1 juin 2013
vendredi 31 mai 2013
Brome / moyenne du mois de mai 2013
Neige : 3.0
Pluie : 169.6
Maximum : 18.0 / 30.5 le 31 mai
Minimum : 6.2 / -4.0 les 15 et 27 mai
Nuages : 6/10
Vents : 25km - le 25 mai
dominants : SE
Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life -- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him...and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive? Page turner - très romantique...
mercredi 29 mai 2013
Manhattanhenge stops traffic in New York City
New Yorkers were wowed on Wednesday by a sunset that was perfectly framed by skyscrapers, thanks to an urban astronomical phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge. (Reuter)
« Manhattanhenge » est un mot-valise dérivé de Manhattan, l'île où se produit le phénomène, et de Stonehenge[1], site mégalithique du Royaume-Uni dont l'alignement putatif des pierres avec le soleil à certaines dates est une théorie courante en archéoastronomie. On rencontre également l'expression « solstice de Manhattan » (« Manhattan Solstice » en anglais).
Le terme est popularisé en 2002 par l'astrophysicien Neil deGrasse Tyson[1].
Phénomènes similaires [modifier]Le même phénomène peut se rencontrer dans d'autres villes suivant un plan similaire. Il ne coïncide avec les équinoxes que si le plan hippodamien suit précisément une orientation nord-sud et est-ouest, aligné avec le vrai Nord et non le pôle Nord magnétique. Le situation de Baltimore est assez proche, avec des levers de soleil le 25 mars et le 18 septembre, et des couchers de soleil le 12 mars et le 29 septembre[6]. À Chicago, le soleil couchant s'aligne avec les rues le 25 septembre, un phénomène connue comme « Chicagohenge »[7]. À Toronto, Torontohenge se produit au coucher de soleil le 25 octobre et le 16 février[8],[9]. Montréal connait un Montrealhenge le 12 juillet[10]. (Wikipédia)
mardi 28 mai 2013
Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died: a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now, four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, 29-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who? Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years. Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire....
lundi 27 mai 2013
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