Israel Rank is the black comedy that inspired the 1946 film "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and the award-winning Broadway show, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder." Israel Rank has loving parents, a comfortable home, and the charm, brains, attractiveness, and ambition to get him through life with ease. But he's not satisfied. He's an heir the Gascoyne earldom, a position of power and wealth, and he's determined to get it. All he has to do is kill of everyone in line in front of him, preferably without getting caught. Newly edited and republished by Cavalier Classics. This the large print...

Something is rotten in the world of chess. Darla Martin is perfectly content to live in Denver, work at a library, and play chess every night. That's before she meets Mikhail, a mysterious and proud Russian grandmaster. And Maxwell, who is charming and handsome and speaks of dark things. And Fred, who warns her not to look into his eyes. Before she knows it, Darla's comfortable world is turned upside down.

- Have you ever caught a falling star and put it in your pocket? - Can a woman take out life insurance on a tree? - Do monsters really live under your bed? How can you fight them? - Is making a deal with a djinni a good idea? How about a ghoul? - How does a stuffed animal escape a washing machine? Or a convict a Martian penal colony? - Would you like to fly? The Day the Exclamation Marks Came and Other Stories and Poems is a collection ranging from humorous to horrifying, romantic to sarcastic, speculative to-no. It's never mundane.