Short Thrillers

Over sixty dark tales of harrowing suspense pave this spiral downward into anguish, including the award winning "Under the East River." Each story darker than the one before, you'll soon find yourself in over your head. A grieving mother involved in a horrific traffic accident must suddenly face the prospect of dying alone in "On Hampshire Grade." Trapped on the 19th floor of a collapsing building after a powerful earthquake, a young woman struggles to survive in "The Old Grey Goose." A lonely man discovers an interstellar portal and longs to step through in "Suicide at Hawthorn Tower." In ...

Four ridiculously silly stories with Henry, Lassie, Murdock, and some surprise guests.

>From its launch in 1920 until its demise in 1951, the magazine Black Mask published pulp crime fiction. The first hard-boiled detective stories appeared on its pages. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner and John D. MacDonald got their start in Black Mask.

The urban crime stories that appeared in Black Mask helped to shape American culture. Modern computer games, films, and television are rooted in the fiction popularized by “the seminal and venerated mystery pulp magazine” (Booklist).

In the enchanting world of hospitality, Drake, Adam, Talia, and Jason are some of the most influential in their profession. Success and luxury come with a price when deception is used as a stepping stone. How well does one really know their coworkers? Invited to attend a Friday meeting in the executive suite, the lights go out and the doors bolt shut. Trapped with no way to escape, the team has to encounter cryptic clues about their past indiscretions and darkest secrets. They either confess to their colleagues or pay the ultimate price.

Joey Morales was the last recruit of the government's full black operation, the Orphan Program. Trained to be an assassin until she washed out, she was rescued by Evan Smoak, the former agent known as Orphan X. Now Joey, a world-class hacker, starts training for one of her biggest challenges yet: having a normal life. Still a teenager, she discovers she loves music as much as hacking, if not more so. But as she carves out a space for herself, the one thing missing is a family to support her endeavors.

Edgar-award winning author Dana Stabenow is best known for her Kate Shugak novels, but the unifying protagonist of almost all her writing - be it crime, fantasy, horror, or science fiction - is Alaska. This genre-spanning collection of 16 short stories features familiar characters like Kate and Jim, Liam and Wy, and Bill and Moses, but also ranges farther afield than many listeners will expect.

Back in the harness after his abortive retirement to Florida, Rumpole glories in the mushroom pie, rainy day life of the Old Bailey. Here he spars with some old familiars like the venomous Judge Bullingham, and makes the acquaintance of some fresh foes. Six stories.

A collection of horror/thriller stories for readers who would enjoy a stroll through a graveyard after midnight. Hark! Don’t read this book if a deranged maniac has escaped from the local asylum. Otherwise, enjoy the horror.The creepers include: THE RANSOM OF ELVIS BOZO: After a tech billionaire is murdered in a staged kidnapping, his restless spirit seeks revenge. CAMP PINE HOLLOW: A father’s deal with the occult to bring his son back from the dead unleashes a bloodthirsty curse on a summer camp. FIRST DRAFT: A creative writing class turns deadly when students realize their horror ...

Some roads should never be traveled. From isolated rest stops to forgotten overpasses, Haunted Highways takes you deep into the eerie silence between mile markers—where lost travelers hear whispers in the dark and headlights vanish into nowhere. These 25 immersive horror stories are inspired by real unexplained encounters across America’s roads. Each tale pulls you into a nightmarish stretch of asphalt haunted by phantoms, cryptids, and things far stranger. Perfect for fans of Creepshow, The Twilight Zone, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, this collection brings atmospheric, slow-...

A powerful EMP attack leaves the city in chaos, plunging society into darkness and uncertainty. Stephanie Dupont, a podcast host who exposed government secrets, must navigate the crumbling streets of Chicago with her teenage brother and a frightened stranger. With limited supplies, rising violence, and no power, they race against time to escape the city and find safety. As societal order collapses, Stephanie must confront her beliefs and decide whom she can trust. Will they survive the journey, or will the city’s descent into anarchy consume them all?

Iggy is a dog who doesn’t get out much, so it’s big news when elderly Mr. Parsons knocks on Bernie’s door to say that Iggy has vanished. In the search for Iggy, Chet and Bernie find Mrs. Parsons unconscious on her bedroom floor, in need of urgent medical care. But it’s only when they arrive at the hospital that things get really interesting. With a jewel thief making short work of hospital patients’ valuables, it seems that Iggy is not alone in disappearing right out from under somebody’s nose. Suspects are plentiful and witnesses are few.

"Tearing at the Cracks" by Jonathan True is a spine-chilling collection of thirteen horror stories that will plunge readers into the darkest depths of the human psyche. Each tale is a haunting exploration of fear, desperation, and the thin veil that separates the mundane from the macabre. From the eerie whispers of forgotten ghosts to the visceral terror of ancient curses, True's stories weave a tapestry of dread that will leave readers trembling with each turn of the page. In "Tearing at the Cracks," nightmares come to life and the monsters under the bed are all too real. Enter a world ...

Ten years ago, Craig Johnson wrote his first short story, the Hillerman Award-winning "Old Indian Trick". This was one of the earliest appearances of the sheriff who would go on to star in Johnson’s best-selling, award-winning novels and the A&E hit series Longmire. Each Christmas Eve thereafter, fans rejoiced when Johnson sent out a new short story featuring an episode in Walt’s life that doesn’t appear in the novels; over the years, many have asked why they can’t buy the stories in book form.

The wildfire isn't the deadliest thing in these woods. A raging inferno tears through Timberline Ridge. A six-person hotshot crew is deployed to contain it. But as smoke thickens and the forest closes in, something ancient and furious emerges from the untouched trees. They call it Bigfoot. Cut off from radio, trapped by fire, and stalked through ash and flame, the team must survive not only the blaze—but a predator that’s lived in these forests long before men ever carried axes. Bigfoot – Fire on the Ridge is a blistering horror novella of primal terror, isolation, and survival. ...

With an all-new Sookie Stackhouse story and 12 other original tales, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner bring together a stellar collection of tour guides who offer vacations that are frightening, funny, and touching for the fanged, the furry, the demonic, and the grotesque. Learn why it really can be an endless summer - for immortals.

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to digest.

What’s in THE AKASHIC RECORDS, you might ask: An indefatigable bestselling author who’s suffering from writer’s block, the sort that could very well cost him his soul, A story of a man who finds what he’s looking for down a very dark dirt road, A ten year old Mexican boy with the miraculous power of healing, which places a Myrtle Beach hospital under siege, and forever changing the life of a doctor searching for answers, A Chicago born serial murderer, turned escapee, who won’t let anything stand in the way of him continuing his sadistic hobby while enjoying his newfound freedom, ...

From its launch in 1920 until its demise in 1951, the magazine Black Mask published pulp crime fiction. The first hard-boiled detective stories appeared on its pages. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner, and John D. MacDonald all got their start in Black Mask. The urban crime stories that appeared in Black Mask helped to shape American culture. Modern computer games, films, and television are rooted in the fiction popularized by the magazine.

Christmas is six days away - and Sarah Booth Delaney has her hands full! To honor a group of international investors, Shaw, Mississippi, resurrects the old custom of drifting miniature, lighted Christmas floats down Silver Bayou. The Italian delegation from Venice may bring much-needed new jobs and commercial opportunities. Among the investors is notorious womanizer, Enzo Aceto. He is handsome, witty, and eager for new conquests. Then Enzo disappears. Rumors of murder are buzzing.

Commander Kurt Kins loves a challenge. But this might be the one he and his crew can’t beat. By 2039, the United States is a year and a half into World War III. Submarine meets submarine beneath the waves, and one out of every three American subs deployed isn’t coming home. Commander Kurt Kins and USS Darter, however, seem to have a magic touch—they’ve been among the best of the best from the start. Kins loves action and he’s never backed down from a challenge. Faced with clever Russian enemies who are out to make their nation a superpower once more, he knows he has his work cut out for him.