With wry humor and penetrating satire, Flatland takes us on a mind-expanding journey into a different world to give us a new vision of our own. A. Square, the slightly befuddled narrator, is born into a place which is limited to two dimensions—irrevocably flat—and peopled by a hierarchy of geometrical forms. In a Gulliver-like tour of his bizarre homeland, A. Square spins a fascinating tale of domestic drama and political turmoil, from sex among consenting triangles to the intentional subjugation of Flatland's females. He tells of visits to Lineland, the world of one dimension, and Pointland, the world of no dimension. But when A. Square dares to speak openly of a third, even a fourth dimension, his tragic fate climaxes a brilliant parody of Victorian society.

An underground favorite since its publication in England in 1884, Flatland is as prophetic a science-fiction classic as the works of H.G. Wells, introducing aspects of relativity and hyperspace years before Einstein's famous theories, and it does so with a wonderful, enduring enchantment.

El vértigo y la incontenible alegría que sintió al despertar aquella mañana eran para Evan Casher la mejor prueba de que estaba profundamente enamorado. Sí, sin duda aquél era el inicio de una nueva y feliz vida que compartiría junto a Carrie, la joven responsable de aquel cambio sustancial en él. Sin embargo, un solo instante puede cambiar toda una vida: una llamada de su madre, apremiándolo a reunirse con ella de inmediato, iba a provocar un vuelco radical en la hasta entonces tranquila existencia de Evan. Para su horror, descubrirá que su madre ha sido asesinada, y sin tiempo siquiera para asumirlo, a punto estará de ser asesinado él también. Sólo la súbita intervención de un misterioso personaje, aparentemente surgido de la nada, le permitirá salvar la vida, al menos por esta vez…

No obstante, esto es sólo el principio de un peligroso viaje sin retorno, durante el cual Evan descubrirá que su vida hasta entonces no ha sido más que una sucesión de engaños y artificios donde nadie era quien aparentaba ser: empezando por sus propios padres y por la adorable Carrie, a la que, como pronto averiguará, en realidad no conocia en absoluto. Perseguido por un implacable traficante de información convencido de que posee unos valiosos documentos, Evan deberá salvar su vida y descubrir la verdad, consciente de que, esta vez, no tendrá una segunda oportunidad.

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2011: CIA agent, Sam Capra, is about to have an extremely bad morning. We’re not talking about I-just-spilled-coffee-on-my-chinos bad. We’re talking about terrorists-bombed-my-office-and-kidnapped-my-wife bad. Sam is in the middle of an important meeting—he’s been closing in on the CIA’s most important target—when he’s interrupted by an urgent call from his pregnant wife, Lucy. There’s panic in her voice. “Meet me outside now,” she begs. In the street, Sam sees Lucy in a silver grey sedan with a strange man in the driver’s seat. Then a blast hits. In a flash, all of Sam’s colleagues are dead. Lucy’s gone. Sam’s the only survivor. And we’re only on page twelve. What follows is a breakneck thriller that delivers on the promise of its title. Adrenaline does indeed get the heart pumping with an exhilarating pace, creatively choreographed action, and intrigue that routinely compels you to read the proverbial “one more chapter.” But Sam Capra remains its most memorable asset. In his quest to find his family, Capra becomes the best kind of hero, one who’s highly capable at kicking ass, but who's also imbued with a large amount of heart, which makes him worth rooting for book after book. Fortunately, Jeff Abbott has promised us more.--Shane Hansanuwat "If you knew this was our final day together, what would you say to me?"
"Anything but good-bye. I can't ever say good-bye to you." ADRENALINE Sam Capra is living the life of his dreams.

He's a brilliant young CIA agent, stationed in London. His wife Lucy is seven months pregnant with their first child. They have a wonderful home, and are deeply in love.

They have everything they could hope for...until they lose it all in one horrifying moment.

On a bright, sunny day, Sam receives a call from Lucy while he's at work. She tells him to leave the building immediately. He does...just before it explodes, killing everyone inside. Lucy vanishes, and Sam wakes up in a prison cell. As the lone survivor of the attack, he is branded by the CIA as a murderer and a traitor.

Escaping from the agency, Sam launches into a desperate hunt to save his kidnapped wife and child, and to reveal the unknown enemy who has set him up and stolen his family. But the destruction of Sam's life was only step on in an extraordinary plot-and now Sam must become a new kind of hero.

Author One-on-One: Jeff Abbott and Harlan Coben

In this Amazon.com exclusive, author Jeff Abbott is interviewed by thriller writer Harlan Coben about Adrenaline, characters with dark secrets, and how films influence the writing process.

Harlan Coben: Let's get right to it. You’ve created a new, iconic (or soon-to-be iconic) character in Sam Capra with the plan to turn this into a series: Why?

Jeff Abbott: My last four novels were standalone thrillers, but I had readers asking me every time if the main characters in those books would launch a series. So I decided I wanted to take what I'd learned in writing standalones--interesting (I hope) characters and lots of action and high emotional stakes--and apply it to a series. Sam Capra is a bit different from other suspense series heroes: he's younger (at 26), he's a husband and about-to-be father, and he's an ex-spy who can now operate free of agency rules and find his own dangers and challenges.

Harlan Coben: Did you choose to have Sam own bars just so you could travel the world and call it research? Because if you did, you're an evil genius and I want in.

Jeff Abbott: Well, an ex-spy needs a job, and I thought: what if Sam owned a lot of bars around the world? He could be like a globetrotting Rick Blaine, from Casablanca. I can instantly put Sam anywhere in the world, and I can introduce an interesting new cast in each book--or I can revisit characters and settings from earlier books. Bars are perfect places for lives to collide and intrigue to arise. And bars give us a way to connect personally, face to face, not in the digital way we all seem to find each other now. Unexpectedly cool: my readers sent me over thirty suggestions when I asked them, via my blog, to recommend their favorite London bars, and I visited several of those fine establishments. A hardy band from my British publisher bravely accompanied me on this quest. It's great how everyone volunteers to help me with this kind of research.

Harlan Coben: On the surface, Adrenaline (apt title, by the way) may be an international spy thriller--but what sets it apart, methinks, is that it is really a novel about family. You agree?

Jeff Abbott: You and I have always written about family and the secrets they hold. I know we are both very close to our families, and there was a long stretch in crime fiction where it seemed to be required that the main character be alienated from family. At the beginning of Adrenaline, Sam's seven-months pregnant wife vanishes, and Sam is accused of being a traitor and has to go on the run to find her. All he wants is his family back, and to know the truth about his wife: did she betray him, or was she taken from him? He needs to know if his family is based on love or on a lie. There is no greater emotional dynamite than family.

Harlan Coben: You know I love the partner in series fiction--Sherlock-Watson, Batman-Robin, Spenser-Hawk-- and you gave Sam a very strong one in Mila. She's, um, intense. Can you fill us in?

Jeff Abbott: So often the partner is the best friend to the hero--but Sam knows virtually nothing about Mila except what whisky she drinks and that she can help him find his family. She's tough and smart but she seems very alone in the world. A big part of the series will be finding out about her and her past; I love writing her scenes, for me it's often like a blurred photograph slowly coming into focus.

Harlan Coben: Because I’m always interested in the answer, let’s do the writer's chicken-egg question--which comes first, characters or plot?

Jeff Abbott: Usually for me, it's character, because every decision the characters make drives the plot. But if I think of an interesting situation first, a 'what if' that grabs me, and then can people it with characters I want to know more about, then that's fine, too. I don't think it always has to be one before the other.

Harlan Coben: You and I love to discuss (argue?) movies. We are often asked about literary influences, so let me turn that around a bit. Do films ever influence your writing?

Jeff Abbott: I never imagine the books as films, but I do tend to build the story in three acts, the way most movies are structured. If I get stuck on a book, I like to watch a good movie: a Hitchcock film, or a classic suspense film like Marathon Man or Chinatown. The story can be vastly different from what I'm writing, but just seeing the strong structure underlying the movie's story seems to clear my head and then I'm ready to go back to work.

Review

"This is a wonderful book and the start of one of the most exciting new series I've had the privilege to read. Jeff Abbott has been one of my favorite writers for more than a decade and Sam Capra is now on my short list of characters I would follow anywhere. Adrenaline provides the high-octane pace one expects from a spy thriller, while grounding the action with a protagonist that anyone can root for. Sam Capra is the boy next door -- assuming the boy next door to you is a CIA-trained agent who will do whatever is necessary to find and protect his loved ones." (Laura Lippman )

"Adrenaline has everything-relentless action, mind-bending intrigue, and twists and turns you won't see coming. It's exhilarating, and confirms Jeff Abbott as one of the best thriller writers of our time." (Harlan Coben )

"Adrenaline lives up to its name. Pure thriller in pace, but Abbott manages to keep the book's heart in the right place. The characters aren't cardboard action figures, but people under incredible stresses and strains. I read it in a big gulp." (Charlaine Harris )

"Engaging from the first paragraph, terrifying from the second page, ADREANLINE accomplishes what most modern thrillers can't. It makes us care about its characters even while we're speeding headlong down the ingenious Rabbit Hole of its plot. Well done!" (Eric Van Lustbader )

"I am, and always have been, a devoted Jeff Abbott fan. Adrenaline takes him to a whole new level. Sam Capra is the perfect hero-tough, smart, pure of heart, and hard to kill. And Adrenaline is the perfect thriller. Taut and edgy, with breakneck pacing and perfect plotting, it's a breathless race from the shocking, heart-wrenching opening sequence to the stunning conclusion. Jeff Abbott is a master, and Adrenaline is his best book yet." (Lisa Unger, NYT bestselling author of Fragile )

"A near-perfect thriller... Fans of Harlan Coben, Lee Child, Joseph Finder, or John Grisham-anyone who enjoys a wild ride on a bumpy road-can cheer the arrival of our latest master of the fine art of the page-turner. Highly recommended." (Booklist )

"Panic is Jeff Abbott's best novel yet...an instant classic immediately full of questions-who, what, why, how-that have answers you won't see coming." (Lee Child )

"Panic is a ride down the roaring rapids. Jeff Abbott has put together a hell of a page turner." (Michael Connelly )

From Publishers Weekly

Imagine Jordan Poteet's surprise when Bob Don Goertz?not the man he called "Daddy" for 30 years?turns out to be his father. In this fourth in the series that began with Do Unto Others, Jordy finds a passel of supremely dysfunctional new relatives disinclined to welcome their long-lost progeny. At the initial family dinner on aptly named Sangre Island off the Texas coast the patriarch's announcement that he is dying of brain cancer is followed by murders attempted and realized. After a strong start the story bogs down with Jordy's incessant soliloquies. Occasional zingers, a fine understanding of how relationships can suddenly change from godawful to wonderful, two exciting fights and some evocative descriptions barely hold their own against the heavy melodrama.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Blood runs cold--especially in this family.
Thanks to a newfound connection with his natural father, librarian Jordan Poteet is suddenly a member of a rich Texas dynasty. But a series of poison-pen letters warns him to stay away from the Goertz family reunion on a Gulf Coast island.
He soon wishes he had, because his new kinfolk--four generations of them--are hiding secrets deep and dark enough to taint an entire bloodline. And an unexpected death makes it chillingly clear that the anonymous hate mail directed at Jordan isn't a joke. Ghosts of the violent past are walking. A murderer is on the move. And a terrible unfolding of tragedy has begun that will spare no one--not even Jordan himself. . . .

From the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Abbott's debut mystery is a bright, often funny portrayal of the social mechanics of a small town, where, as the narrator/accused/detective quickly discovers, everyone has something to hide. Jordan Poteet has left a thriving publishing career back East to return to his home town in Mirabeau, Texas-a town as backward and insulated as any cliche-to care for his ailing mother and work as the local librarian. Quickly, Jordan is accused of the gruesome murder of a nasty, churchgoing town elder who is at odds with the library's "liberal" policies. With a redneck assistant D.A. on his heels, Jordan tries to prove his innocence. Abbott is highly skilled and at ease with the twang and tone of Texas folk and often seems in control of his story. The problem is Abbott has stuffed his relatively short book full-too full. He covers almost every hot topic from censorship to religious fanaticism to Alzheimer's to blackmail. The cast of characters is so vast that Abbott is forced to rehash his hero's suspect list more than once, and though the sweetly handled and satisfying romantic subplot stands out, more often readers will find themselves lost in a sea of personalities. While often engaging, Abbott simply weaves too large a web for a small-town tale. It's a little hard to imagine how this once-in-a-lifetime will translate into the series promised by the cover.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When his mama gets Alzheimer's and needs a caregiver, Jordan Poteet leaves his job in Boston to go home to Mirabeau, Texas. Luckily, the job as head of the Mirabeau library opens up, so even though Jordy doesn't have an MLS (gasp!), he's hired. Local harpy Beta Harcher immediately jumps on Jordy's case about the library's owning smut by authors like Twain, Lawrence, and Hawthorne. Unfortunately, the day after she and Jordy have a big argument, the woman is found bludgeoned to death, and Jordy ends up tops on Sheriff "Junebug" Moncrief's suspect list. Jordy knows he didn't kill Beta, and he doesn't want to end up in the pokey, so he decides to find the murderer. Abbott's writing is folksy and full of cornpone humor, and the plot is one of those every-small-town-has-secrets types, but there are some nice comic touches, Jordy is a likable fellow, the action is flashy, and the ending is heartwarming. And it's always nice to encounter a librarian-sleuth, even one sadly lacking in professional credentials. Emily Melton