Private Investigator Frank Harken’s worldwide fame has only made him more cynical. And living in a giant mall covering the entire USA only serves to drive him nuts on a daily basis. So when a femme fatale barges in asking Harken to track down her sister, he knows when he’s heard an offer too good to be true.

Puzzled by the sudden arrival of Arjay, a sentient coffee-making robot he never ordered, Frank shrugs and rolls with the caffeinated punches. But as the intrepid duo dig deeper into the missing dame’s disappearance, they uncover a deadly plot that could take down the best part of a society gone bananas…

Can the world-weary PI and his barista-bot foil the dastardly scheme to rob Americans of their entertainment?

Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years–summers included–completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises a future of sublime power and prestige, and that its graduates can become anything or anyone they desire.
Among this year’s incoming class is Ines Murillo, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline–only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. Even the school’s enigmatic director, Vikt ria, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves within the formidable iron gates of Catherine. For Ines, it is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had. But the House’s strange protocols soon make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when tragedy strikes, Ines begins to suspect that the school–in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence–might be hiding a dangerous agenda within the secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.

Annulet House. Le nom de ce manoir tourmente encore James, reclus dans sa luxueuse villa au sud de l’Italie. Il se souvient : l’université d’Oxford, les fêtes, l’amitié… le bonheur en quelque sorte. Et Mark, le séduisant millionnaire, grâce à qui l’aventure a commencé. Vivre ensemble dans ce manoir ? L’idée de Mark était attrayante… et dangereuse. James l’aurait pourtant suivi au bout du monde.