Short Thrillers Suspense

Anthony Horowitz selects and introduces the best mystery stories from the past year, under the auspices of the world's oldest mystery fiction specialty bookshop.

Over the past two decades, Nick Horrigan has built a quiet, safe life for himself, living as much under the radar as possible. But all of that shatters when, in the middle of the night, a SWAT team bursts into his apartment, grabs him and drags him to a waiting helicopter. A terrorist - someone Nick has never heard of - has seized control of a nuclear reactor, threatening to blow it up. And the only person he’ll talk to is Nick, promising to tell Nick the truth behind the events that shattered his life twenty years ago.

When club-hopping bad girl Tiara Kent is found dead in her plush Manhattan apartment, the killing has all the earmarks of a vampire attack. The ever-practical Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to deal with superstitious cops carrying garlic and stakes, as well as the ever-hysterical press.

THE WRONG MAN When young Ben Carter is found murdered in an alleyway one snowy night in Mydworth, all the evidence points to his best pal. Harry and Kat become involved - can they find the real culprit? SECRETS ON THE COTE D'AZUR When Harry and Kat head south to the French Riviera, they look forward to dazzling parties, a shimmering sea, and wonderful food... A DISTANT VOICE It's Midsummer in Mydworth - and a celebrated medium is in town with his lucrative supernatural show, raising suspicions.

This collection by crime fiction master Raymond Chandler features four long stories in which private eye Philip Marlowe is hired to protect a rich old guy from a gold digger, runs afoul of crooked politicos, gets a line on some stolen jewels with a reward attached, and stumbles across a murder victim who may have been an extortionist.

Jack's a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. Sarah's a Web designer who's moved back to the village to find herself. But their lives are anything but quiet as the two team up to solve Cherringham's criminal mysteries. This compilation contains episodes 25 - 27. SECRET SANTA: Bill Vokes has played Santa at the children's Christmas show for years. But with the show just hours away, he vanishes with no explanation. The whole village is baffled. Did something bad happen to loveable Bill: upstanding citizen, churchgoer, life and soul of the party and the holiday season?

Sisters Cathy, Juliet, and Holly moonlight as private investigators in Terri Blackstock’s Moonlighter series: Truth Stained Lies, Distortion,and Twisted Innocence—now available as a 3-in-1 audiobook....

This is a SHORT STORY set within the ongoing THE UNSEEN franchise. Potential spoilers ahead! This short story stars the youngest character in the intense THE UNSEEN franchise, Hope Diaz. Her survival is one of heartache, terror, and perseverance, an event that occurs during book two of the main series, DESOLATION.

Chase’s grandfather is missing, and he asks Odelia to help find him. And since Odelia’s editor has told her to find out who the new Hampton Cove Santa is, she gladly agrees. After traipsing all over New York City in search of Grandpa Kingsley, and the new Santa, they have to declare defeat. Lucky for them, there’s still Max and Dooley, Odelia’s feline sleuths. Will they find out what happened to Grandpa Kingsley? And will they figure out who the new Santa is? Get into the holiday spirit with Max and Odelia and find out in Purrfect Santa. This title features three short stories.

In this incredible follow-up to the New York Times and USA Today best seller FaceOff, 22 of the world's most popular thriller writers come together for an unforgettable anthology. MatchUp takes the never-before-seen best seller pairings of FaceOff and adds a delicious new twist: gender. Eleven of the world's best female thriller writers, from Diana Gabaldon to Charlaine Harris, are paired with 11 of the world's best male thriller writers.

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.

James A. Michener, the master of historical fiction, revisits the scenes of his first great work, Tales of the South Pacific: the Pulitzer Prize winner that brought him international acclaim. In this sequel collection, Michener once again evokes the magic of the extraordinary isles in the Pacific - from Fiji and Guadalcanal to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea - through stories that burst with adventure, charm, and local color.

A murder trial takes a diabolical turn when the wife of the accused takes the stand.... A woman's sixth sense - and a loaded revolver - signal premonitions of doom.... A stranded motorist seeks refuge in a remote mansion and is greeted with a dire warning.... Detective Hercule Poirot faces his greatest challenge when his services are enlisted - by the victim - in a bizarre locked-room murder.

From the stunning title story (which inspired the classic film thriller) to the rarest gems in detective fiction, these eleven tales of baffling crime and brilliant deduction showcase Agatha Christie at her dazzling best.

This bundle includes books four, five, and six of the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series: Book Four: Red Velvet Revenge, Book Five: Going, Going, Ganache, and Book Six: Sugar and Iced.

A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan’s terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore.

In this batch of sweet, short murder mysteries, three cooks don’t spoil the broth. New York Times best-selling author Joanne Fluke pens the title story, in which a box of Hannah Swensen’s gingerbread cookies is found near the corpse of her neighbor. Popular co-authors Laura Levine and Leslie Meier offer “The Dangers of Gingerbread Cookies” and “Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots”, respectively.

When an elderly, world-famous magician is found dead in his Cherringham mansion, there is nothing suspicious about the passing. According to the doctor, it was a heart attack - plain and simple. But the performer's long-time assistant suspects something sinister and she asks Jack and Sarah to investigate. And like the great magician's amazing tricks, it soon becomes clear that his death is anything but simple: in the world of magic, nothing is ever what it seems, and sometimes even illusions can turn deadly.

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.

Just two weeks to go before the Cherringham Charity Christmas Concert. Choir rehearsals are in full swing. Then the worst thing happens: Kirsty Kimball, one of the singers, is found dead from a severe allergic reaction to one of the home-made rehearsal cakes. Jack is pulled in to help bolster the depleted choir - and soon he's convinced that Kirsty's death was no accident. Sarah agrees, and the two of them are soon immersed in the jealousies, rivalries, and passions of Cherringham's Rotary Club choir.

Dan 'Spider' Shepherd's career path - soldier, policeman, MI5 officer - has always put a strain on his family. So he is far from happy to learn that MI5 is using teenagers as informants. Parents are being kept in the dark and Shepherd fears that the children are being exploited. As an undercover specialist, Shepherd is tasked with protecting a 15-year-old schoolboy who is being used to gather evidence against violent drug dealers and a right-wing terrorist group. But when the boy's life is threatened, Shepherd has no choice but to step in and take the heat.