Short Mystery Collection

An aging woman sacrifices more than she bargained for in her quest for eternal youth. A group of kids explore a decrepit slaughterhouse only to find that one of them won’t be coming home. And when a deep freeze strikes a small town, one man discovers something sinister lurking beneath the ice and snow....

Dixon Penn has settled happily into his role as the go-to Scrivener to fix wonky Craftings. And his grown man-friend, Yuri Volnikov, is fitting in perfectly with the Penn family clan - and not just because the Seens he paints are brimming with magic. But Spellcraft has a way of keeping a guy on his toes! In a half-baked attempt to track down Spellcraft gone amok, Dixon and Yuri pull on their baking caps. Unfortunately, it takes more than a clever disguise to do the job.

Book 5 - A Collection of Curious Capers Curious minds and brave hearts will be captivated by the thrilling adventures of the Home Town Heroes. Tom, Jack, Alex, and Ben, four best friends, are determined to explore the world around them and uncover its secrets. From a hidden train compartment to an ancient labyrinth to a haunted hotel, the boys rely on their wits and teamwork to outsmart their adversaries and solve the mysteries before them. With plenty of excitement, humor, and heartwarming moments, "The Remarkable Tales of the Home Town Heroes" is a must-read for any young reader looking ...

CINDERELLA, P. I., FIRST CASE TO LAST: humorous cozy fantasy mystery short story collection Enjoy the humor and fun you’ve come to expect from the Cinderella, P. I. fairy tale mystery short stories for grown-ups in this short story collection from Juliet Kincaid. Our clever detective recounts her first case, “Cinderella and the Holy Grail,” in which she runs into many experienced detectives with names like Hercules Pear and Ms. Marble, to name just two. She also recounts her last, “Cinderella’s Last Case” and five other fairy tale mystery stories for grown-ups in between, twenty...

Do pandas dream? And if so, what do they dream of? That question is asked in this anthology of stories by the award-winning author of Daemonic Mechanical Artifacts and Deep School Tuition. Enter the weird and wonderful worlds of Denton Salle, where a Slavic myth asks for help, an Austin PI is asked to recover a demon-possessed blade, and a Countess recruits help in a Steampunk French Empire. Ranging from sweet romance to steampunk adventures to urban fantasy, with characters running from heroes to whores to ghouls, Salle's stories range across genre and from North Texas to South France. ...

Ethan Cross is your typical player. He loves fast cars, hot women and heartless encounters. He lives off the monetary stipend his grandparents left him and his siblings and he likes to flaunt it whenever and however possible. His brother Evan, who happens to be his twin, is as frugal as they come. He also has access to the same monetary stipend, but he bank rolls it and continues to work as a lawyer. While he’s often mistaken for Ethan, much to his chagrin, Evan does his best to always be supportive of his philandering, money squandering brother. Cassidy Durant has had the absolute worst ...

SWITCH BACK is a novella (about 1/3 of a full-length novel, about 4-5 times longer than a short story) and takes place prior to BOARD STIFF (Elliott Lisbon Mystery #1). After inheriting an entire town, Ballantyne Foundation Director, Elliott Lisbon, travels to Texas to thank them. She quickly learns they don’t want her gratitude, they want their town back. And they’re willing to kill for it. Trapped in a small town full of big suspects, Elliott must unlock their secrets, or she’ll never get out alive. Now doesn’t that sound like fun? Read the whole series and gets even better. - - -...

A prison break ends in terror when the fugitive discovers there’s more than just his freedom on the line. The dead return for vengeance when a spiritual medium is cruelly murdered. And a trail of missing children in the frozen wilderness leads to a creature even deadlier than the local predators....

Ghost stories date back centuries, but those written in the Victorian era have a unique atmosphere and dark beauty. Michael Sims, whose previous Victorian collections Dracula’s Guest (vampires) and The Dead Witness (detectives) have been widely praised, has gathered twelve of the best stories about humanity’s oldest supernatural obsession. The Phantom Coach includes tales by a surprising and often legendary cast, including Charles Dickens, Margaret Oliphant, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as lost gems by forgotten masters such as Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and W. F. Harvey. Amelia B. Edwards’s chilling story gives the collection its title, while Ambrose Bierce ("The Moonlit Road"), Elizabeth Gaskell ("The Old Nurse’s Story"), and W. W. Jacobs ("The Monkey’s Paw") will turn you white as a sheet. With a skillful introduction to the genre and notes on each story by Sims, The Phantom Coach is a spectacular collection of ghostly Victorian thrills.

Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, has joined forces with the editors of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern to create a collection of action-packed short stories by some of today's most talented names in literature.

Listen and relive exciting tales from Highlights, now on audio! Learn about children who borrow their uncle’s time machine to get desserts and a boy who hunts for his lost teddy bear at bedtime, along with other stories about mystery and adventure.

Blood-churning, mind-bending, and an intense thriller at its core! This collection of suspenseful short stories will satisfy your deepest craving for fear. Trapped in a concrete labyrinth! Stalked by a malevolent book character! A dark, eerie basement, possessing the very essence of malice! An ambitious reporter whose questions lead to an unbelievable fate! Hunted and preyed upon by an unstoppable demonic foe! Waking in an infinite underground tunnel, a nightmare that never ends! This is just a snapshot of the horrors that are about to unfold.

Ever wonder about the stories that never made it to the spotlight? The Forgotten Files is a gripping collection of raw, unfiltered storytelling—an eclectic mix of short stories, flash fiction, anthology submissions, and unfinished manuscripts. From dark and twisted suspense to heart-stopping romance, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, and pulse-pounding mystery, this collection has something for every reader. Some stories are polished, ready to be devoured. Others are mere fragments—whispers of what could have been. But all of them hold a piece of the magic that makes storytelling ...

Romantic Secrets (Book One) Abby likes sex but has never had an orgasm. She wants to fall in love but knows she never will. That kind of luck doesn't happen to a girl like her...a girl from a hardscrabble past and a heart that's grown a protective shell. When Abby arrives in New York for her cousin Emma's funeral, she hopes to leave the past behind and start a whole new life. She meets Isabella, her cousin's former roommate, who provides a reference to Miss White, the imposing madam who runs a high-class escort agency. Soon, Abby is propelled into a whole new life of money, glamour, and sex...

After Scarlett Chase is fired from her dream job, she is stuck working temp jobs while she figures out what to do with her life. Her current job of the week might be the most boring of them all, until a flash of lightning during a spring storm plunges the entire office building into darkness.

Roses, Revenge, and Ruin: A Thorne Sisters Cozy Mystery When a mysterious woman steps into Blossom & Thorne and requests a dozen deep red roses, sisters Iris and Poppy Thorne think it’s just another day at their flower shop. But when the woman leaves behind a cryptic note and vanishes hours later, the Thorne sisters find themselves drawn into a puzzling mystery. As whispers of foul play spread through the town, Iris and Poppy use their knowledge of flowers, local gardens, and the hidden meanings behind blooms to piece together the clues. What begins as a missing persons case soon unravels...

New York Times best-selling authors Mary Higgins Clark and Elizabeth Peters present this delightfully chilling collection of original mystery stories. This audiobook showcases a houseful of top contemporary writers at their very best.

A cartoon character’s crazy antics take a sinister turn when viewers become trapped in his sadistic show. Matrimony turns deadly as a husband and wife compete in a grisly game of confession. And a young child unleashes the beast within after he discovers his neighbor is not what he seems.... Scare Street is proud to present 13 tales of supernatural horror in one volume. A cornucopia of nightmares that will capture your imagination. And it won’t let go until the final scream rings out....

Sinister creatures ruin the holiday cheer at a snow-swept Christmas tree farm. A confrontation with a childhood bully kicks off a bloody killing spree. And a fire-crazed arsonist sets his sights on a local house, only to discover that its strange inhabitants have dark appetites of their own. Scare Street is proud to present 13 tales of supernatural horror in one volume, the perfect treat for all insatiable horror fans. From invisible killers to spectral children, a cornucopia of bone-chilling delights lurks in the darkness just waiting to be unleashed.

Mary Ann is hosting a party in the heart of a small town called Green Springs, in New York State at her newly opened pie shop in celebration of a business achievement and serving her famous lemon meringue pies. However, the party turns sour when one of her guests (a friend of a friend she invited) falls dead. Mary Ann is one of the suspects as the victim was poisoned - possibly by one of her pies.