Portland District Library

This is the third book in the Michael Bennett Series.  Michael is a detective who is brought in on an abduction case. The difference with this case is that instead of asking for money the abductor asks his hostage questions. If the answer is wrong the hostage loses his life.  

Young Katya Spivak is babysitting her summer charges  when she meets elegant Marcus Kidder. Mr. Kidder's life couldn't be more different from Katya. Where she has a boring dull life, his is full of brightness and riches which is all very exciting to her. However, what at first seems like an innocent friendship soon changes as Mr. Kidder starts to reveal himself. What does he really want? And how far will he go to get it?

Wallace is tired of books that end with dead dogs. So when his English teacher assigns him to read his favorite book that ends with a dog dying Wallace tells the truth. "This book Stank." Which of course gets him into a whole lot of trouble and stuck in a play about the book he hates. However, things begin to change when Wallace decides to update the play. 

Orokos is a city of chaos, lashed by probability storms that re-order the world wherever they strike. It covers every inch of the rocky island that it dominates. It has stood for so long that history has forgotten it, and its citizens no longer question what exists beyond its walls. Then three of its denizens discover a map that holds the key to the secret at the heart of Orokos. But there are others, such as the Chief of the Protectorate Secret Police, who would do anything to get their hands on that power...anything at all... (synopsis is provided by Barnes and Nobles)