Pacific Interlude / The Whip / Open Heart / Banker - Reader's Digest Condensed Books, Vol 146; 1983, Vol 2 Author:Sloan Wilson, Catherine Cookson, Mary Bringle, Dick Francis PACIFIC INTERLUDE by Sloan Wilson -- Lieutenant Sylvester Grant of the U.S. Coast Guard is only twenty-four in 1944, when he is sent to the Pacific as skipper of a gasoline tanker. The tanker, the Y-18, is nicknamed the 'Lucky Eighteen', but Syl doesn't feel lucky. For while Japanese bombers and suicide pilots stalk the American conv... more »oy, Lieutenant Grant and his crew face an even greater danger - the 'Lucky Eighteen' itself. A battered old hulk reeking of gasoline fumes, the tanker is a floating bomb waiting to explode. One stray spark, one careless cigarette, and the ship would erupt like a volcano. Writing from his own experience as a young Coast Guard officer, Sloan Wilson conveys the excitement and anguish of war and the special heroism it demands.
THE WHIP by Catherine Cookson -- Seven-year-old Emma Molinero adores life with the Travers Traveling Show and yearns to be a performer like her father- an expert with the whip. But this is not to be. Suddenly Emma is left an orphan, thrust into a life of drudgery on a dismal farm in the North Country of England. Bullied by the farm's master and mistress, her every chance for happiness marred by jealousy and misfortune, she yet remains steadfast and courageous. As she grows up, Emma proves she can cope with just about anything: an embittered husband, a wayward daughter, and her own hopeless love for a man above her station. But she cannot cope with her brother-in-law Luke, a man whose desire for revenge threatens them all. An unforgettable story by one of England's most popular authors.
OPEN HEART by Mary Bringle -- When Rafaella Leone, a young Italian widow, arrives at Saint Matthew's Hospital in Houston, she is terrified of what awaits her. Alone in a strange land, far from her home and the family she loves, Rafaella is about to undergo one of the most delicate operations: open-heart surgery. And though she will be in the skilled hands of a renowned heart surgeon, she cannot overcome her fear or her terrible loneliness. But when Stephen Morrissy, a handsome hospital volunteer, befriends her, slowly, painfully Rafaella dares to risk happiness once again. A dramatic behind-the-scenes look at the miracle of open-heart surgery - and a bittersweet evocation of the healing power of love.
BANKER by Dick Francis -- Enormous sums of money are at stake when Tim Ekaterin, a young banker, begins investigating a horse breeder's request for a loan to buy a valuable racehorse. The risks are high, but so is the potential for profit for Tim's bank - and for Tim's career. As he is drawn into the fascinating world of horse breeding, however, Tim soon discovers that the risks are even greater than he imagined. Corruption, murder, and a mysterious outbreak of horse maladies are the lethal ingredients of this new thriller by one of today's foremost writers of mystery and suspense.« less