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Rikkie Degenaar

    Maya's Notebook
    Forest of the Pygmies
    Violeta
    Kingdom of the Golden Dragon
    Island Beneath the Sea
    The sum of our days
    • 2022

      Violeta

      • 352 pages
      • 13 hours of reading
      4.0(69176)Add rating

      Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events. The ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth. Told in the form of a letter to someone Violeta loves above all others, this is the story of a hundred-year life - of devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Bearing witness to a century of history, it is a life shaped by the fight for women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics.

      Violeta
    • 2018

      Internationally bestselling author of The Japanese Lover Isabel Allende returns with a beautifully crafted, multi-generational novel of struggle, endurance and friendship against the odds

      In the Midst of Winter
    • 2014

      Ripper

      • 496 pages
      • 18 hours of reading
      3.4(166)Add rating

      Isabel Allende, the bestselling author of numerous acclaimed novels, showcases her literary versatility in this atmospheric, fast-paced mystery featuring a brilliant teenage sleuth unmasking a serial killer in San Francisco. The story centers on the Jackson women, Indiana and Amanda, whose strong bond is challenged by their contrasting personalities. Indiana, a beautiful holistic healer and free spirit, is hesitant to commit to either of her suitors—Alan, a wealthy elite, or Ryan, a scarred former Navy SEAL. In contrast, Amanda, an introverted high school senior bound for MIT, is captivated by the darker aspects of human nature, much like her father, the SFPD’s Deputy Chief of Homicide. A natural sleuth, she immerses herself in crime novels and the online mystery game Ripper, which she plays with her grandfather and friends. When a series of bizarre murders grips the city, Amanda embarks on her own investigation, uncovering connections before the police do. The case becomes personal when Indiana mysteriously disappears, leading Amanda to question if her mother’s fate is tied to the serial killer. With her mother’s life at stake, Amanda must solve the most intricate mystery she has ever faced before it’s too late.

      Ripper
    • 2011

      From the author of 'The House of Spirits' - teenage Maya is in trouble. She's an alcoholic, an addict and deeply involved with a criminal gang. How did it all go so wrong?

      Maya's Notebook
    • 2010

      Island Beneath the Sea

      • 582 pages
      • 21 hours of reading
      4.0(683)Add rating

      Spanning four decades, "Island Beneath the Sea" is the moving story of the intertwined lives of Zarit and Valmorain, and of one woman's determination to find love amid loss, to offer humanity though her own has been battered, and to forge her own identity in the cruelest of circumstances.

      Island Beneath the Sea
    • 2008

      On a rainy December day in 1992, Isabel Allende and her family went to the forest near their home in northern California to scatter her daughter Paula's ashes to the wind. This text recounts the intimate and heartfelt story of what happened to them in the years that followed Paula's death.

      The sum of our days
    • 2006

      Ines of My Soul

      • 356 pages
      • 13 hours of reading
      4.3(242)Add rating

      An epic tale of love and conquest, lyrically written and enchantingly told by a writer at the peak of her powers. A real historical figure, Ines Suarez came to Chile with the Conquistadors in 1540, helping to claim the territory for Spain and to found the first Spanish settlement in Santiago. In this remarkable novel, Isabel Allende -- one of the world's most spellbinding storytellers -- re-imagines Ines's life and that of the two men who become her lover and husband respectively. 'Ines of My Soul' evokes the conflict and drama of the Conquistadors' arrival in Chile, as well as helping restore the reputation of Ines, a powerful woman long neglected by history and a patriarchal society. It also finds Allende returning to territory beloved of her and her readers -- imaginative historical fiction, evocatively told -- and to the familiar landscape of her native country. The novel gives Ines the recognition and glory that are rightfully hers; but more than that it is an epic tale of love and conquest, lyrically written and enchantingly told by a writer at the peak of her powers.

      Ines of My Soul
    • 2005

      Het woud

      • 352 pages
      • 13 hours of reading

      Als privé-detective Ricardo Cupido de opdracht krijgt om de moordenaar van de Madrileense schilderes Gloria te vinden, raakt hij volkomen in de ban van deze vrouw, die op iedereen een onuitwisbare indruk maakte. Het lijkt er aanvankelijk op dat de moordenaar een bekende moet zijn geweest, iemand die het niet kon verkroppen dat Gloria zo gesteld was op haar onafhankelijkheid. Maar deze veronderstelling vervalt als een tweede vrouw op precies dezelfde wijze wordt vermoord - in hetzelfde natuurgebied. Alles wijst er nu op dat een of andere gek aan het moorden is geslagen.

      Het woud
    • 2004

      From one of the world's best loved storytellers, the trilogy that began with City of the Beasts comes to a thrilling climax. Alexander Cold knows all too well his grandmother Kate is never far from an adventure. When National Geographic commissions her to write an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa, they head - with Nadia Santos and the magazine's photography crew - to the blazing, red plains of Kenya. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches the camp in search of his companions who have mysteriously disappeared. Kate, Alexander, Nadia, and their team, agreeing to aid the rescue, enlists the help of a local pilot to lead them to the swampy forests of Ngoube. There they discover a clan of Pygmies who unveil a harsh and surprising world of corruption, slavery, and poaching. Alexander and Nadia, entrusting the magical strengths of Jaguar and Eagle, their totemic animal spirits, launch a spectacular and precarious struggle to restore freedom and return leadership to its rightful hands. The final instalment of Isabel Allende's celebrated trilogy soars with radiant settings, spirits, beings - and the transformation of an extraordinary friendship.

      Forest of the Pygmies
    • 2003

      Kingdom of the Golden Dragon

      • 437 pages
      • 16 hours of reading
      4.0(251)Add rating

      Not many months have passed since teenager Alexander Cold followed his bold grand-mother into the heart of the Amazon to uncover its legendary Beast. This time, reporter Kate Cold escorts her grandson and his closest friend, Nadia, along with the photographers from International Geographic, on a journey to another remote niche of the world. Entering a forbidden sovereignty tucked in the frosty peaks of the Himalayas, the team's task is to locate its fabled Golden Dragon, a sacred statue and priceless oracle that can foretell the future of the kingdom. In their scramble to reach the statue before it is destroyed by the greed of an outsider, Alexander and Nadia must use the transcendent power of their totemic animal spirits -- Jaguar and Eagle. With the aid of a sage Buddhist monk, his young royal disciple, and a fierce tribe of Yeti warriors, Alexander and Nadia fight to protect the holy rule of the Golden Dragon. Isabel Allende once again leads readers on a fantastical voyage of suspense, magic, and awe-inspiring adventure in this riveting follow-up to City of the Beasts.

      Kingdom of the Golden Dragon