D. J. Thompson

Peace is temporary and the cycle of war will never end until rivaling powers cease to exist ... The most powerful army the world has ever faced will stop at nothing to ensure global control will be theirs, even if that means millions have to die ... It's been two years since the War of Annex ended with the Deciders' collapse. The United States of the Americas and rivaling megapowers struggle to rebuild their societies in a world rampant with anarchic crime and the resentments of millions who had learned of their governments' corruption in the Deciders' reeducation camps and through the files contained in Veritas. Dion Johnson, the college senior who led the Angels of War Militia to their victory over the Deciders and killed their architect, is certain that the threat is regathering its strength in the shadows. But with a new family to protect, even the assassination of the president he helped put in power isn't enough to bring him back into the fight. Determined to draw Dion out of hiding, the Deciders kidnap dozens of his friends and loved ones ... and, soon after, the new face of their movement begins executing his hostages one by one while counting down to a cataclysm that will wipe billions from the earth ...

Since the publication of our earlier book on transition metal mediated organic synthesis, * there has been a widespread increase of interest in this topic, and transition metal based methodology has become firmly established in many areas of organic chemistry. The direct, catalytic formation of organic carbonyl compounds using carbon monoxide as the source of the carbonyl group has seen exceptional progress, and this carbonylation chemistry is being used increasingly in research and on a larger scale for fine chemicals production. In view of these developments, there is a need for a modem, practi­ cally oriented book dealing with transition metal based carbonylation chemistry. The present monograph should help fulfill this need, since it is intended specifically to foster the adoption of catalytic carbonylation as a general tool in synthetic organic chemistry. It deals exclusively with reactions involving the interconversion of carbon monoxide and organic carbonyl compounds, and although the majority of the reactions discussed involve catalytic formation of carbonyl compounds, potentially valuable syntheses requiring stoichiometric quantities of transition metal are also included. In addition, a chapter is devoted to the remarkably useful reverse transformation (decarbonylation), in which an organic carbonyl group is eliminated in the form of carbon monoxide.

Isabella Monroe is living her best life, doing whatever it takes to achieve her dreams while struggling to pass this semester. It'd be a helluva lot easier if her life wasn't imploding thanks to her ex-boyfriend punishing her betrayal by leaking her secrets and intimate photos across the internet... When his revenge campaign hits campus, she realizes she either has to intervene or drop out. One night where nothing goes wrong. Is that too much to ask for? Dion Johnson arrives in LA for one last epic week with his best bros before graduation. A spring break full of sightseeing, drunk nights, and one-night-stands is the goal. Then Dion sees Isabella and, suddenly, pursuing anyone else just seems pointless. All he needs is an in. And as he's devising a smooth introduction, he witnesses a moment that ruins her night. A spilled tray of loaded nachos and a bold act of kindness spurs a passionate fling with the potential to become so much more-or at least it might if living on opposite coasts and Isabella's commitment-phobia weren't major obstacles...

Figuring out how to pay for college used to be Isabella Monroe's biggest concern, until she started making money with a webcam. Then, one Sunday morning, a post-hookup Uber ride turns into a fight for her life after a nerve agent is released in downtown Los Angeles by terrorists calling themselves the Deciders. Isabella, her driver, and hundreds of other civilians are herded into a college campus turned reeducation camp where they're forced to accept the teachings of Veritas, a collection of documents that claim the world is run by a cabal of sociopathic elites. Resistance is punished. Those who try to escape are executed. As the world burns and bends to the Deciders' will, Isabella must decide whether to flee into the chaos or join the fight for what her captors insist will be a better future ...