Short Crime Thriller

A serial kidnapper is on the loose in a small town in Maine, targeting wealthy women and demanding a huge ransom in bitcoin for their safe return. When his latest victim’s husband claims that he can’t come up with the money, the word “deadline” takes on a disturbingly literal meaning. The local police are out of their depth, but Colter Shaw takes the lead in the investigation. Soon, he’s using his survivalist instincts to uncover clues and pursue suspects, putting his own life on the line to catch the would-be killer before the countdown hits zero.

Killing Me Softly introduces Key West private eye Gideon Lowry, who moonlights as a piano player at a local jazz club. When Virginia Murphy shows up one night to ask him to investigate her sister's death 40 years earlier, Gideon is led down the darker side of memory lane where secrets linger. Some are buried as deeply as the paradise that was once Key West, now entombed in concrete. Key West's Hemingway Days is in full swing in Night and Day, when Gideon is pulled into the world of a famous nightclub singer known only as Asia.

THE CICADAS ROAR For all of the years of his young life, Jackson had been told never to go near the river. It was just a fact of life. If he called out to his mother saying he was going out into the yard to play, she would always call out behind him, ‘Don’t you go near that river.’ He would feel dejected and upset. He always hoped that one day she would forget to tell him. Then that day came. OTHER TALES OF TERROR AND TORMENT Hide under the covers and keep the light on as you go on a journey into the darkness and evil of the human mind.

Just when things have finally cooled down for 88-year-old Maud after the disturbing discovery of a dead body in her apartment in Gothenburg, a couple of detectives return to her doorstep. Though Maud dodges their questions with the skill of an Olympic gymnast a fifth of her age, she wonders if suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is. The truth is, ever since Maud was a girl, death has seemed to follow her....

In a town where the corrupt are protected, a bereaved mother seeks retribution for an arsonist’s crimes. Only Nameless can help ease the burden of her grief - and satisfy her rage - in part four of this thrilling series. After a suspicious house fire, Regina Belmont lost her two children, was left disfigured, and was abandoned by her gutless husband. Brokenhearted and bullied into silence by corrupt officials, Regina’s only recourse for truth and justice is Nameless. There’s something about this case that’s breaking Nameless’s heart as well. But can he bear to remember why?

Louis L'Amour's world is built on those dramatic moments when men and women cast their fears, doubts, and pasts behind them and plunge into the unknown. Nowhere is that more evident than in this latest collection of stories set on the American frontier. These selections include "The Nester and the Piute"; "Big Man"; "Waltz Him Around Again"; "Shadow"; "Barney Takes a Hand"; "When a Texan Takes Over"; and "No Trouble for the Cactus Kid".

In "Cahoots," a backroom poker game turns deadly when a cheater is exposed. In "Mulholland Dive," a man who deciphers the hidden codes of accident scenes investigates a fatality off L.A.'s most fabled roadway. In "Two-Bagger," an obsessed cop tails an ex-con he believes is about to carry out a contract killing.

On a dark evening, Mr. Harley Quin appears at the door of Royston Hall under the premise that his car has broken down. Once inside, he embarks upon the tragic tale of Royston Hall's former occupants, leading to a dramatic change in the perceptions of the current inhabitants - but has Mr. Quin's revelation come too late?

When Cherringham's Council debates selling the historic village hall for development as a luxury restaurant and hotel, all of Cherringham is up in arms; some seeing the sale as needed, others deeply opposed. For many, the centuries-old hall is the very heart of the community! But when the leader of the protestors is attacked after a raucous meeting and death threats are made, Jack and Sarah are asked to investigate. Can they find a possible killer before the crucial Council vote? And maybe stop a murder?

In this first collection of short pieces, including two novella-length works, since his western anthology Tonto Woman, Leonard demonstrates the superb characterization, dead-on dialogue, vivid atmosphere, and driving plotting that have made him a household name.

In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged for a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims’ families, but its impact travels even further: into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes. Highway Thirteen, Fiona McFarlane’s newest collection, takes murder as its starting point, but it unfolds to encompass much more.

Where Family Ties Are Rooted in Murder A crumbling vineyard. A long-buried letter. And bones that refuse to stay hidden. When graduate student Addison Lane joins a forensic anthropology practicum in the Ozarks, she expects dirt, science, and maybe a few local legends. What she doesn’t expect is to unearth a string of shallow graves—and the key to a mystery that connects her past to a decades-old murder. As Addison, Dr. Svoboda, and their unlikely ally Alexander dig deeper into the overgrown rows of Reznik Vineyard, secrets begin to surface—ones tied to Viktor Reznik’s final diary, a...

A demented killer believes he’s doing God’s work — and a teenage boy with dreams of getting his license becomes his next target. Elliot Cross doesn't just hate ambitious dreaming — he sees it as sin. In his twisted mind, anyone reaching for more is disobeying the First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. When he volunteers to give Timmy, his daughter’s fatherless classmate, a driving lesson, it’s not a gift — it’s a trap. And the road ahead leads nowhere safe. The Driving Lesson is a short story of religious delusion, power, and cruelty — a standalone ...

Needing a break from the big city, Alvirah and WIlly escape to Cape Cod - only to meet a would-be heiress framed for murder in "Death on the Cape." When Alvirah and Willy seek the tranquillity of the Cypress Point Spa, it's the perfect getaway - until a jewel thief turns up in "The Lottery Winner." Back in Manhattan, the search for a neighbor's missing newborn makes for a suspense-filled Christmas in "Bye, Baby Bunting."

Mystery Writers of America is proud to present Deadly Anniversaries, a collection of crime and mystery stories from some of the best contemporary authors, all of whom have been invited to put their own unique spin on what it means to recognize a certain day or event every year. An anniversary can take many forms, and by the time this group of best sellers and award winners is through, none of us will ever look at anniversaries the same way again. Edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, this collection features original stories from 20 industry giants.

A phone call from Belfast shatters Isobel McKenzie’s sleep and her peace. Her nephew, Jack, is safe but two of his friends from Queen’s University are not. Michael is dead and Charlene is in a coma. Isobel leaves for Belfast immediately. The PSNI suspect theft as the motive for the crime but, as Isobel and Jack investigate, they uncover other possible motives: an online bully, a drug connection and ultimately a web of organised crime. A cross-border drug task force is set up and, amidst politics and talk of corruption, the case becomes more and more complicated. Help arrives from London...

In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet, reasoned the detective, like Hercules, he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just 12 more cases: his self-imposed "Labors". Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

On a diplomatic mission to discuss possible E&E assistance to the European Union, Donald Jefferson falls victim to an international assassin. With the intelligence community at a loss, Noah and Team Camelot are called on to track down the elusive criminal kingpin - known only as Spear - and bring his powerful murder cartel to an end. Trouble follows, though, when Renée seems to have turned against the team. With Marco insisting that Renee would never turn traitor, Noah has to decide whether to obey the order to eliminate her, or risk everything to bring her back.

It looks like just another gray March morning in the tough urban district nicknamed Nowhere when seven lives converge. Any one of them could have a dark motive. Any one of them could be walking into a trap. When the fog lifts, it will all be much clearer - that a single, shattering act of violence has marked each of them forever.

3 pulse-pounding stories from the world's #1 bestselling writer in one book! This volume contains The Lawyer Lifeguard with Doug Allyn, The Doctor's Plot with Connor Hyde, and The Shut-In with Duane Swierczynski.