Akron Public Library

Regarded by Charles Dickens as his best novel upon publication, "Martin Chuzzlewit" relates a tale of familial selfishness and eventual moral redemption. First published serially from 1842 to 1844, it is the story of young Martin Chuzzlewit, who has been raised by his grandfather. He has fallen in love with his grandfather's ward and caretaker, the young orphan Mary Graham. Martin's grandfather does not approve and young Martin alienates himself from...

Told in rhyming text, Pig is a greedy pug, who insists on always winning, and throws a tantrum if anything thwarts him--until one day he swallows not only all his food, but his bowl as well and when his friend Trevor saves him he learns a valuable lesson on sharing.

When a tennis ball lands in a prairie dog town, the residents find that their newfound frenzy for fuzz creates a fiasco.

Seventh-grader Arthur Penhaligon returns to the parallel universe known as the House to fight his latest enemy, Grim Tuesday, whose greed threatens to destroy both the House and the Earth.

Dr. Alex Hoffmann is a legend. A physicist once employed on the Large Hadron Collider, he now uses a revolutionary and highly secret system of computer algorithms to trade on the world's financial markets. None of his rivals is sure how he does it, but somehow Hoffmann's hedge fund--built around the standard measure of market volatility: the VIX or "Fear Index"--generates astonishing returns for his investors. But what if the algorithm is more like...

Behind the prim gates of the Greenwich, Connecticut, McMansions, Wall Street whizzes turn their attentions from mortgages to another possible profit source: the $25 trillion life-insurance industry. By securitizing the policies of the old and sick, they hope to make another financial killing. At the same time, Natalie Savondnik and Ronald Goodall-two exceptional yet aloof medical residents-are working closely with their medical center's premier scientist...

"From the bestselling and award-winning author comes a wickedly clever and fast-paced novel of greed, revenge, obsession--and quite possibly the perfect murder"-- Simon and Vicky couldn't seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing's for sure ... absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of...

Retiring in Barbados, widower Peter Ducksworth concludes he must divide his land between his three daughters. Feeling snubbed by his youngest daughter, he declares that she receive hers only after his death and so sets in motion a discord in the family.

"1765. Lady Isabella Gerard, a respectable member of Georgian society, orders her maid to take her new golden gown and destroy it, its shimmering beauty tainted by the actions of her brutal husband the night before. Three months later, Lord Gerard stands at the shoreline of the lake, looking down at a woman wearing the golden gown. As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it's clear this was not his intended victim. 250 years later ... When...

Bill Russell is acting as a volunteer steward at Warwick races when he confronts his worst nightmare -- the violent death of his much-loved wife. But, the aftermath proves much worse when he is accused of killing her and then hounded mercilessly by the media. Losing his job and in danger of losing his home too, Bill's life begins to unravel completely. Even his best friends turn against him, thinking him guilty of the heinous crime, despite the lack...