Mystery Short Stories For Adults

Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead…. A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever…. These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.

Everlasting is the sixteenth novella in the ongoing story of the Andersen family. Livia Andersen was a woman who held her family together with a quiet smile and an iron will. It’s been months since her death and her children and grandchildren she leaves behind continue to grapple with the shifting changes in their lives now that she’s gone. Some look back at what else has been lost to them and struggle to make sense of it. Claire Andersen Slavik has invited Ethan Gilchrist to visit her lakeside resort so that he can research his family’s history in the area. She knows it’s important...

In the quiet, seemingly idyllic neighborhood of Eden Gardens, the ordinary collides with the extraordinary in this thrilling collection of supernatural, fantasy, and horror stories. Suburban Tales: Book One unveils three dark and mysterious tales that haunt the hearts of its residents. In “The Rock Star,” a drum technician’s late-night bike ride takes a terrifying turn as he encounters a ghostly presence that refuses to let him go. “The Piano” tells the story of a recently divorced man who wakes up to find an old street barrel piano on his lawn, but its haunting melodies soon ...

Can they survive a post-apocalyptic world filled with evil? Heartbroken, Kim decides to move on with her life and return to the surface. She assumes the threat she faced in her underground shelter is gone, but she’ll soon find out that evil has no boundaries and face her greatest test when she discovers what remains. Bestselling author Scott W. Kimak delivers another nail-biter in part two of his prequel to the “I Call him HIM” trilogy. A survival thriller perfect for fans of Kyla Stone, Ryan Schow, Grace Hamilton, and Jack Hunt. Buy What Remains today!

Everyone has a story…and a dream. Patricia didn’t trust easily. Her ex-husband had taught her all the reasons not to. But Daine didn’t give up easily. Andrew wanted to make certain his granddaughter was happy with her life…then his daughter showed up. Jillian was determined to learn more about her family’s history and the mystery surrounding the woman in the painting at Daine’s house…she didn’t count on Nic being just as interested in it as she was. Hannah couldn’t be happier with her new husband…or so she thought. Livy was thrilled with her and Patricia’s business ...

INSTA-LOVE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN . . . My first mistake was to ride into a rival gang’s territory. My second mistake was to get involved with their business. My third mistake was to take her with me. But the moment I feel her soft curves press against my hard body, I decide this isn’t a mistake. She’s mine. All mine. Every curvy inch of her. No matter what I have to do to keep her . . . More drama, madness, and over-the-top steam. Twists, turns, and chaos. Sweetness with a touch of darkness. No cheating. No cliffhangers. Over-the-top wildness with a happy ending. This is insta-love, ...

Sultry, curvy Lily Melancon is going through a rough patch. Like, glass shards on top of sandpaper rough. She managed to get out of an abusive relationship only to have her ex kidnap their 5-year-old son just days before the custody hearing. Lily has become so difficult to be around that her best friend, Alexa, has finally given up hope and abandoned her in Shorty’s Pub. Gerrit Rousseau is an oasis of calm in a stormy world, downplaying his smoldering good looks as he tends bar and keeps his head down. His emotions are not easily stirred, but the brazen, tattooed Lily is lighting a fire. ...

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

Some bonds are unbreakable...Chris Andersen had spent years throwing himself into one project then another...one painting and then the next one...all in an effort to bury the profound grief he had never completely faced... Enduring is the seventeenth novella in the ongoing story of the Andersen family. Livia Andersen was a woman who held her family together with a quiet smile and an iron will. It’s been months since her death and her children and grandchildren she leaves behind continue to grapple with the shifting changes in their lives now that she’s gone. Chris Andersen is searching ...

SCP means secure contain and protect. I have compiled one of the top tales from the foundation, which is SCP. I put it together as a book to bring more presence to the website. In this book, we are following the story of the subject 231 or SCP-231. Please, sit tight and enjoy the stories as it goes through the SCP universe. Tales range from mystery to horror stories. If you are looking for inspiration or creative ideas, the original website the SCP Foundation has, has tons of authors and ideas to look through.

Predatory kraken that sing with - and for - their kin; band members and betrayed friends who happen to be demonic; harpies as likely to attract as to repel. Welcome to a world where humans live side-by-side with monsters, from vampires both nostalgic and bumbling, to an eight-legged alien who makes tea. Here you'll find mercurial forms that burrow into warm fat, spectral boy toys, a Maori force of nature, a landform that claims lives, and an architect of hell on earth.

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

A scientist suffering from PTSD is faced with the terrible knowledge of the impending destruction of our species. In his desperate attempts to prevent humanity's fate, he commits violent acts and is branded a terrorist. How far would you go to save the planet from annihilation? Where do humans come from and how did we get here? Scientists have theorized about the human race's origins for many years. But no one was prepared for what was found in orbit, seven ancient alien probes that have been monitoring the planet for billions of years. The data and video images recorded inside them show ...

What if reality isn't what we think it is—and someone found a way to prove it? When brilliant physicist Dr. Marcus Emerson demonstrates a technology capable of altering the fabric of reality itself, he feels he has invented humanity's next big leap forward. However, as test subjects begin to experience vivid other worlds that refuse to remain contained in the laboratory, perception psychologist Dr. Aria Vance learns a horrifying truth: the machine isn't simply altering how people perceive the world; it's fragmenting existence itself. Following the strange disappearance of their most ...

The past isn't always how we picture it. Thirty years after his father’s death, a drifter stumbles across a painting that changes everything. The man in the portrait looks exactly like his father… only older than he was when he died. As he digs into the painting’s origins, he uncovers a trail of secrets, lies, and a love story buried beneath the ashes. The Painting is a haunting story of memory, loss, and the lies we live with.

From the stars they came to study us. Instead, they discovered what it truly means to be human. When five advanced alien scientists crash-land on Earth, their mission of passive observation becomes a desperate year-long struggle to understand humanity's true nature. Disguised as humans and embedded in key positions across society—a political consultant, an environmental researcher, a university professor, a military contractor, and a hospital doctor—they discover that Earth's inhabitants are far more complex than their data suggested. Led by Captain Zara, the youngest commander in her ...

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

When homeless college student Sarah finds a well-paying nanny job for the summer, she can’t believe her luck. But it doesn’t take long to learn why the pay is so high. The house is haunted and she must learn to live with it if she wants a roof over her head. Supernatural redecorating and shifting curtains could be pranks from the children, but can children manifest cold drafts? Will Sarah find a way to set the home’s restless spirits at peace, or will she find herself back on the streets?

A Vet and a Shifter... A match maybe in heaven? ... or in the other place... Can this unlikely shifter and veterinarian pair find a way to team up to rescue the strays, thwart the witches, and save the town before they kill each other first? Jeanine Lourdes knows one thing for sure - she can’t stand Bo Kent. And now, to help the animals she has always protected, she is stuck working with him. She can handle the way he looks at her, but the worst part are the feelings he gives her… feelings she would rather ignore. She can smell trouble a mile away. God knows she has had enough of it in ...