Kirjahaku

Badge 112 is the story of a restless boy orphaned in high school, and his unlikely passage from juvenile delinquent to decorated police officer. When Peter Stipe finds his mother after her suicide, it leaves him scarred and isolated. After a couple of brushes with the law, his dad sends him off to Culver Military Academy to provide structure and discipline. In a whirlwind final summer, he found himself paired with the most beautiful girl on campus and clashing with the commandant. This pattern of behavior would define his years in high school. At 17, his father's sudden death from cancer cast him adrift. After beginning work in a warehouse, Stipe is soon befriended by a firefighter who'd lost his only son to combat in Vietnam. The father figure took the aimless youth under his wing, instilling a tireless work ethic while suggesting a career in civil service. Though his spell of misdirection continued, Stipe heeded the advice and found himself working for the Building Department, enforcing city codes and inspecting houses. Trained in every aspect of code enforcement, his laid-back style was effective with business owners, landlords and residents. But he saw the grim effects of poverty first hand, exposed to wretched living conditions. The homes and apartments he inspected were so filthy, he had to strip his clothes off outside when he got home. However, assignments all over town enabled him to learn Ann Arbor like the back of his hand. His skill in code-enforcement led to a personal recruitment by Ann Arbor's Police Chief to become an officer. A 29-year-old rookie, Stipe left his mark, combining instinct, orientation and superb fitness to catch criminals and save lives. He confronts the memory of his own mother's death by handling the suicides of several more victims, many to gunfire. His negotiation skills spare the lives of many more. While on the force, Stipe embarked on a series of high-profile arrests, high-speed pursuits, foot chases, bank robberies, hostage situations, homicides, life and death struggles and harrowing rescues. In 1994, a serial killer investigation exposed the strained racial tensions between the police and the public they serve. Stipe and the killer confront one another in court. Stipe's tactical training results in his assignment as the point man on the SWAT Team. He engages in a sequence of armed encounters, some at point blank range. The peak in his career is toppled by a turbulent marriage to an unfaithful wife, an ill-fated affair with an attractive partner, and the tragic drowning of two teenage girls, trapped in a submerged car. When the veteran officer bottomed out and became immune to hope and humor, he was rescued from the brink by a succession of intuitive patrol partners and the girl that sold him coffee. Badge 112 is about survival in the darkest corners of society, and about a cop turning tragedy and adversity into hope and redemption in the dim light of life on his patrol beat.

A whimsical story about facing our deepest fears and greatest loves, and what we all must do to grow into the life we were meant to experience.Elizabeth's secret began when she was five years old, a secret she held close her entire life. As far as she knew, she was the only person who could see the fairies living in her grandfather's garden. They play with her and show her their world, and as she grows older, they guide her through the important moments of her life. The fairies, and especially Olivia, were her closest friends.But where were they when everything fell apart? Why didn't they save her grandfather when he needed help, and why didn't they warn her about the things she had to endure? Surely the fairies, who seemed to have a prescience about the future, knew what Elizabeth would have to tolerate. After the death of her grandfather, Elizabeth moves into his house to begin the process of healing. But when her daughter begins to see and play with the fairies, Elizabeth has a choice to make. Will she accept her daughter's new friends or will she find a way to banish them from her life forever?

A place where families came. Homes were built. Children grew, left for war, and returned. Through it all, the river runs, as it always has.But people change and dreams shift and towns grow, and nothing good ever lasts... For years, Jack and Keira Sullivan discussed a future where they escaped the harsh urban realities in Boston. Instead, they would turn to running a bed and breakfast in New Hampshire. When Keira's mother dies, they use her inheritance to purchase a historically significant old house in Bennett Falls to pursue their dream.What was once an ideal future soon becomes rife with problems: the isolation Keira experiences as Jack divides his time between Boston and Bennett Falls; the withdrawn attitude of the townspeople who do not want change; and the choices Keira must face in order to move forward with her life.Can friendship and one small kitten turn things around for Keira and Jack, or will they find that their dreams are not what they once thought them to be?

In Rock Haven, a picturesque New England town split between privilege and struggle, high school sports are more than competition; they draw the boundaries of belonging. Jessie Brandt seems to have it all: wealth, beauty, intelligence, and the relentless drive to win at every meet. On the track, she dominates. Off it, she manages her life with the same precision, and is convinced that control is the key to success. But when life refuses to stay within her carefully drawn lines, Jessie must confront what it really means to lose her footing. Joe Goncalves is Rock Haven's golden arm, a working-class kid whose talent and determination might finally open doors long closed to his family. Yet as pressure mounts, he learns that strength isn't always measured by what you can throw or how far you can run. At the center of their world stand Coaches Harvey Lancaster and Lucas Knox, men who understand that lessons learned in competition reach far beyond the field. Bound by friendship and a shared belief that as teachers and coaches, they can make a difference, they strive to steady their students as they navigate both the uncertainty of growing up and the consequences of their actions. From the roar of the baseball diamond to the breathless stillness before a high jump, Crossing the Lines captures the fierce beauty of ambition, the burden of expectation, and the fragile transition between youth and adulthood. Peter Stipe delivers a powerful, deeply human novel about resilience, redemption, and the enduring bonds that hold a community together when everything else begins to shift. Perfect for readers of Friday Night Lights, The Art of Fielding, and We Are the Goldens, Crossing the Lines captures the soul of small-town America and the timeless drama of growing up under the bright lights of expectation.