Short Thrillers

In this dark and gritty collection - featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman - nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil.... Unfortunately, that's exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

Along Route 116 where the state road weaved its way through the backwoods of Massachusetts was the lane leading to Ravenwood. It was easy to miss. The only travelers in that area were either lost or looking for the old Europeanesque inn. The only people who traveled west of Ravenwood were the people who had grown up there. They knew the woods, feared the creatures who dwelled there, but they respected them. They had made friends with the woods for it were the trees who wouldn't let you leave. This is a collection of short stories taking place around a central theme: Ravenwood. Each chapter ...

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.

The sequel to B-Sides 1 presents another collection of thrilling short stories, each featuring its own unique twist and unexpected turns. **Keeping Up with the Joneses 2** – After experiencing a significant setback in their quest for superiority, the Joneses must find a new way to gain the upper hand. The hilarious drama continues, culminating in an explosive showdown. **Waves & Women** – All he craved was the exhilaration of crashing waves and the allure of enchanting women. He believed being buried in the sand added to the excitement—until he realized he was all alone. **Wilderness*...

THIS IS A SHORT STORY It's 2004 and Bill Jedburgh, formerly with the Royal Hong Kong Police but now a gun for hire, is visiting the island of Bohol to assassinate a prominent politician who is coming to visit. But then he is offered a Trifecta, three jobs all rolled into one. Will he be able to pull it off or will the Reliable Man's reputation be tarnished?

Holly thought she could outrun her past. As a former elite operative for a covert organization known only as "The Serpent’s Tail," she’s spent years protecting her daughter, Lily, from the life she once led. But when a photograph reveals the truth to Caleb, a powerful billionaire and Lily's father, the fragile peace Holly has built begins to unravel. Caleb’s world is turned upside down as he discovers the daughter he never knew he had. Together, he and Holly must face a conspiracy far beyond their personal lives. But the past has its claws in Holly, too. Old betrayals, including a ...

Grace had never been more terrified...the pain was relentless. Nothing in her life prepared her for this. She desperately needed somewhere safe...someplace she could hide. Someone she could trust with her life. It was dark...and getting darker. Ronan Hendricks didn’t recognize her voice. Not family...not friends. Probably not an enemy. But he didn’t need the years he’d spent as a detective to recognize what he did hear... Fear. In a desperate moment of hope, a single number saved her life. Then a complete stranger opened his home offering safety yet Grace knew danger surrounded them.....

Did you hear the one about the thief and the sorcerer who went to rob a senator? No, of course you didn’t, it’s a dull tale hardly worth recounting. Ah. But what happened after, now that is a story. After being most unfairly swived and abandoned in the wilds, Breed Blake stumbles upon a barbarian who is also having a very bad day. It turns out when the great oaf isn’t being attacked by bandits, he’s on a mission to save a damsel in distress who is being held somewhere in the doom haunted Scathblight Mountains.

It had been a typical New Year's Eve party. But as midnight approaches, Mr. Satterthwaite - a keen observer of human nature - senses that the real drama of the evening is yet to unfold. And so it proves when a mysterious stranger knocks on the door. Who is this Mr. Quin? Mr. Satterthwaite's new friend is an enigma. He seems to appear and disappear almost like a trick of the light. In fact, the only consistent thing about him is that his presence is always an omen - sometimes good, but sometimes deadly....

The elderly owner of Mogdon Manor, Victor Hamblyn, dies in a mysterious fire. But was it really an accident? Jack and Sarah are skeptical... The victim's three middle-aged children, who all live in the village of Cherringham, are possible heirs. And possible murderers... Did one of them set the fire?

Caravan of Nightmares and Other Short Stories is my second collection of short stories. As with my first collection, Her Demonic Angel, there is no specific theme, but most stories are dark. Stories in this collection are: Caravan of Nightmares; Wonky Trolley; Friends and Neighbours; Barry and Jack; The Writing Group; Inappropriate Adult; The Faraway Park; Gone Fishing; Instafamous; Fairy Tales and Nightmares; Beneath the Sand; Fakes; Sins of the Son; and Sitting Ducks.

FBI special agent Kate O’Hare has made it her mission to nail international con artist Nicolas Fox. When she discovers his plot to plunder a venture capitalist’s 20th-story Chicago penthouse of all its cash and treasures while the self-proclaimed "King of Hostile Takeovers" is getting married, Kate is 85 percent - okay maybe 92 percent - sure that she’s finally going to bag Nick Fox. Problem is, first Kate has to convince her boss, building security, and maybe even herself, that wedding planner Merrill Stubing is actually Nicolas Fox. Second, she has to figure out how to corner and capture him without disrupting the event of the year.

This collection of recordings about Brother Cadfael—a Benedictine monk and amateur sleuth in the 12th century—are performed here by the ideal actor. Sir Derek Jacobi, who portrayed Cadfael in several television adaptations, captivates listeners with his renderings of Monk's Hood, Saint Peter's Fair, The Heretic's Apprentice, The Potter's Field, The Summer of the Danes, and Brother Cadfael's Penance.

A far-from-warm welcome greets Hercule Poirot as he arrives for lunch at Lucy Angkatell's country house. A man lies dying by the swimming pool, his blood dripping into the water. His wife stands over him, holding a revolver. As Poirot investigates, he begins to realize that beneath the respectable surface lies a tangle of family secrets and everyone becomes a suspect.

First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques.

This edition includes books four through seven of the Irish Village Mystery series: Murder in an Irish Pub, Murder in an Irish Cottage, Murder at an Irish Christmas, and Murder in an Irish Bookshop.

Reese is successful, beautful and cunning. She finds herself with many different enemies for many different reasons. Though her enemies must get in line, one of them does manage to send her to the hereafter. But which one? Come with Reese as she takes us through her life up until her last day here on earth. Learning who it was that decided she should pay the ultimate price.

The latest thrilling collection of “Vampire for Hire” stories featuring vampire private eye, Samantha Moon, including: Silver Hammer - When a silver hammer appears in the hands of one of Samantha Moon’s closest friends―along with a bloodthirsty need to use it―the vampire detective is about to discover just how clever the Universe can be... When Sam Met Santa - When Santa Claus shows up at Sam Moon's door, it's hardly the strangest thing that's ever happened to her. What happens next, however, is another story... One Swallow - A murdered wife. A desperate husband seeking revenge. ...

Chizmar assembles 35 stories, including a previously unpublished novella, and presents us with A Long December. This massive new collection features more than 150,000 words of Chizmar's very best short fiction and includes 8,000 words of autobiographical story notes. Eerie, suspenseful, poignant, the stories in A Long December range from horror to suspense, crime to dark fantasy, mainstream to mystery.

Kendra Bentford has always been the type to believe in the happily ever after love story, even after experiencing heartbreak after heartbreak. Her mother always told her 'Those who practice patients, love's the hardest.' And, she didn't know how true that statement was until she ran into Ronnie her first crush and the first man that she had ever loved. She never told him because he was dating someone at the time. Then the unthinkable happened he broke up with his girlfriend and confessed his love to Kendra; she in return expressed her same love for him. Once it was all over she realized ...