Short Mystery Thrillers

What is a crimson trail? Is it blood? Or paint? Or yarn? Why would Sherlock Holmes revisit a previously solved case? How could an open window be important and how can a house be blackmailed? Dr. John Watson reveals the answers to these questions in The Crimson Trail and Other Stories along with cases involving the disappearance of a poet's intended, a Christmas card clue, a missing tiara, a caped murderer, a vampire attack, and a mythical moor creature.

Wayne Sharp newer expected his life to turn like that... Dishonorably discharged, he tries to build his life from the beginning in Clayton, New Mexico. He never expected to be attracted so deeply to the woman in trouble, in trouble beyond hope... Trying to help her, he becomes involved in the dark secrets of the town. The deeper Wayne got, the crazier it became. Can he eventually free up himself and start to live a normal life? Book 5 of the Dishonorably Discharged Series.

On the edge of Cherringham lies St. Francis' Convent, home of the Sisters of St. Francis, a small Catholic teaching order. Here a handful of nuns worship, contemplate, and pray. And here one Easter the beloved local priest Father Byrne meets his unexpected demise. The circumstances of the death are suspicious, and soon Jack and Sarah are on the case: what secrets did Father Byrne take to the grave? Who wanted him dead? And is religious faith ever a guarantee of innocence?

On January 15, 1947, the tortured body of a beautiful young woman was found in a vacant lot in Hollywood. Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, a young Hollywood hopeful, had been brutally murdered. Her murder sparked one of the greatest manhunts in California history.

Paul Auster's signature work, The New York Trilogy, consists of three interlocking novels: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room - haunting and mysterious tales that move at the breathless pace of a thriller.

This collection of 25 Hercule Poirot adventures is compiled from short stories written by Agatha Christie for The Sketch magazine in 1923 from March to December. In these stories, including "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim", "The Veiled Lady", and "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb", the eccentric private detective slowly and surely solves mysteries involving jealousy, revenge, and greed. These stories were well-received at the time and cemented Christie's reputation as the worthy successor to Arthur Conan Doyle.

One town. Two leading ladies. More magic than you can shake a wand at. Welcome back to Beechwood Harbor. Betwixt is a collection of the in-between. Catch up with Holly and Scarlet in these stories of the mischief and mayhem they get themselves into while you wait for the next full-length novel.

Before he was the Nowhere Man, Evan Smoak was a highly trained government operative known to a few as Orphan X. But he now lives by hiding in plain sight, keeping his head down and his eyes clear. So when a local summer intern for a tabloid news site finds herself trailing an aggressive reporter into a crime zone, things go terribly awry. The only person who can help her is a man with the background and the skills of the Nowhere Man.

Before Area X, there was Ambergris. Jeff VanderMeer conceived what would become his first cult classic series of speculative works: the Ambergris trilogy. Now, for the first time ever, the story of the sprawling metropolis of Ambergris is collected into a single volume, including City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Finch.

Take a ride down Route 66 in a '55 Crown Vic. Shield your nose and eyes from the dust as Okies leave for California. Drink strong coffee in an all-night diner. Hear a haunting train whistle in Gallup, New Mexico. Investigate a death on old 66. Take a last ride on a faithful Apaloosa and watch the sunset over a majestic saquero cactus. Feel Andy Payne's pain as he pounds the road to New York. Lost on Route 66 is an anthology of essays and short stories about the fabled highway that is filled with mystery, suspense, adventure and humor. Don't miss it.

Everyone’s favorite snarky, dangerous, idealistic, relentless covert operative is back, and this time he’s brought friends. Joe Ledger: Unstoppable presents original short stories about Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences by some of New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry’s "friends in the industry." Buckle up for powerful, exciting, and nail-biting adventures.

When Jack and Sarah are called in to investigate mysterious pranks at an exclusive girls' private school, it seems at first that it might be the work of a few mean pupils with a grudge. But things quickly turn serious when a popular teacher meets a sudden, violent death. Now, with murder in the air, Jack and Sarah have their own lessons to learn about the Cherringham Girls School, its dark secrets... and who wanted that teacher dead before they learned the truth.

Jules has messed up. He is a drug dealer with many money costing habits that his girl doesn't know about. He's lost money and now he can't leave the game like he has promised his fiancee and their newborn son. He makes a fateful decision that has consequences for them both. Lark is now a single mother trying to make ends meet. She's struggling since her fiancee decided to ignore all the warning signs and dive headfirst into trouble with the wrong people. For months, all she has been concerned about is keeping a roof over her infant son's head. She can't afford to think about jumping into ...

The house always wins. Unless it falls down… When Bubbles acts as a witness in a high-profile murder case she’s warned to stay low. Taking on a gambling gangster and his henchmen wasn’t in the cards. But then he went and made it personal… HoloCity Hard Boys is the second stand alone mystery novella in the HoloCity Case Files series, a companion collection to the Bubbles in Space series. Blade Runner meets The Fifth Element in this eccentric cyber-noir thriller series about a bleak world ravaged by corrupt leaders, mega-corporations, and crime lords… and the washed-up detective who...

An ancient tomb. A deadly secret. A brotherhood that kills to protect it. When professional treasure hunter Porter Pursley receives an urgent call from his archaeologist friend George Jackson, he drops everything to fly to the Egyptian desert. The team has discovered the tomb of Bek-rah, a master sculptor from the nineteenth dynasty—but the magnificent chamber is completely empty. Porter specializes in solving the puzzles that technology can't crack, reading the minds of ancient architects who built elaborate deceptions to protect their greatest treasures. But as he investigates the ...

Three darkly funny thrillers from USA Today best-selling author Angela Pepper writing as Gia Pere! A mysterious woman on the run joins an aging A-list actor on a tropical film set where a sudden tragedy puts everyone in jeopardy. A woman who always wanted her sister's life finally gets it. A young woman steps out of the shadows and into a role as a private investigator.

Twenty-five years ago, on a hot summer night, Tim Bell drove to a secluded spot with talented young musician Dinah Taylor after their date at the village fair. But Dinah was never seen again, and Bell - with blood spatters on his clothing - was sent to prison for her murder. Now freed, Bell has returned to Cherringham and his life is in danger from those who feel that justice hasn't really been served. But Jack and Sarah wonder: was Bell really guilty - or did the real killer escape detection all those years ago?

When a UFO is sighted hovering in Branson Falls, Ella and Sophie make it their personal mission to meet some aliens. With those two scheming together, shenanigans are bound to happen and Kate decides she better go along for damage control. Waiting for a potential abduction is pretty dull...until one of Kate’s sexy suitors shows up. Suddenly, a UFO is no longer the most exciting thing happening in the mountains above Branson Falls.

Robert A. Heinlein's The Long Watch is a powerful and emotional science fiction short story that explores themes of duty, sacrifice, and the moral courage of an individual standing against tyranny. First published in 1949, this story is part of Heinlein's Future History series and remains one of his most poignant and enduring tales. The story follows Lieutenant John Dahlquist, a young officer in the Space Patrol, who finds himself in a critical moral dilemma.

In cycle two of the series, the Harbingers team investigates more unsettling mysteries that drive them to the breaking point. Will they be strong enough to keep overcoming the world's dark forces? Fast-paced and ongoing, this thrilling collection is like your favorite TV series, with each linked episode written by a talented author.