Short Thrillers

After more than a decade, the handsome amateur detective Xavier Kilgarvan has returned to Winterthurn just in time to see the fifth young woman’s body carried from Devil’s Half Acre. A brutal fiend has left her mutilated body in this desolate plot of land filled with hulking boulders, quicksand, and twisted trees. Can detective Kilgarvan discover the forces motivating the mysterious “Gentleman Suitor” who has lured five innocent women to their deaths?

Tasha After my father was killed, Mark came into my life. Now, I can't imagine life without him. But when the man responsible for my father's murder escapes, I'm determined to take matters into my own hands. Mark I love Tasha more than life itself. After the loss of my wife and child three years ago, no one understands vengeance more than I do. But Tasha is determined to step into a whole new world that she has only gotten a taste of. However, can she handle the repercussions after she pulls the trigger? Once you take a life, something inside you changes. But no one will take my Tasha from ...

On the afternoon of July 30, 1975, former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa left the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, never to be seen again. In this story by two-time Edgar Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Steve Hamilton, Alex McKnight - a former Detroit cop - is sitting at the rail in the Glasgow Inn when a local old-timer tells him an unusual story. It’s the kind of small-town mystery that won’t let Alex sleep at night, but when he goes hunting for answers, he stumbles upon the biggest surprise of his life.

Even a city that boasts three hundred days of sunshine a year has its sudden, often violent storms—and writers have long taken advantage of that metaphor. Renowned authors Katherine Anne Porter, Jack Kerouac, Stephen King, Rex Burns, Robert Greer, Michael Connelly, and Kali Fajardo-Anstine—among many others—have brilliantly portrayed this picturesque but often merciless city. Today, Denver is home to a thriving literary scene, with writers of all stripes finding inspiration in its people and streets. The authors and stories featured in Denver Noir are no exception....

Humankind knows countless destinations, whether of mountain, river, meadow or lake. Each domain offers a unique experience, and, so, each attracts visitors with common yet specific interests. Of all destinations, sandy beaches may provide the archetypal candidate for recreational pursuits, and merest mention of the locale invites visions of loungers, cocktails and palm fronds stirring before a moist ocean breeze. Travel there now to wade through a surging surf toward a sanctuary beach, but be warned and beware... both treasure and tragedy beckon from shores of silver seas. Weather violent ...

He’s the man I was never supposed to want. And now… he’s my professor. Easton Koch was my childhood obsession—the older man I couldn’t stop watching, couldn’t stop needing. Back then, I was just a bright-eyed kid with a hopeless crush. Now I’m grown. And he’s standing at the front of my lecture hall. Same sharp jaw. Same cold, calculating eyes. Only now, when he looks at me? There’s nothing innocent about it. He warns me to keep my distance. He says I don’t know what I’m doing. But I know exactly what I want. And it’s him. Every stolen glance, every brush of skin, ...

The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century - and, in his own humble opinion, is "probably the greatest detective in the world". In this complete collection of more than 50 stories, ranging from short tales to novellas, Poirot faces violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings, and thefts - all solved with his characteristic panache. Only Agatha Christie could have devised cases worthy of Hercule Poirot's skill and "little gray cells".

‘Tis the Season… for a Christmas Crime Thriller Short Story. A late-night shootout erupts over stolen cigarettes and leaves a Good Samaritan wondering, “Did I do the right thing?” JoJo is a repeat offender who grew up in foster care. His sister was adopted by a man named Davey, his only connection to family life. When JoJo is released after a short stint in county jail, Davey agrees to pick him up and drive him to a motel near his home. But when JoJo asks to stop for cigarettes, Davey’s in for the fight of his life. JoJo swipes a pack of smokes causing a fast-moving chain of ...

Matthew, Claire, Ian, and Mason haven’t set foot on the Merle family property since the summer they were sixteen. They tried for years to put their history behind them, to forget the mystery of the girl who vanished so long ago. But a powerful force from their past is still at play. This time, there’s no hiding from it.

When an accident kills the magician Miley the Great, his wife Amanda will give a piece of herself to exact her revenge.

She has one flight to stop a fake-money operation…laundering millions in the sky. A criminal running a flying art gallery. A luxury jet used to launder counterfeit cash. And one U.S. Secret Service agent with just hours to break the case wide open. Elaine Brogan knows exactly what’s at stake when she boards a luxurious private jet, undercover as a flight attendant. Hidden inside high-end painting crates aren’t just forged Picassos and Monets—they’re are stuffed with near-perfect counterfeit $100 bills. Bills so real, electronic scanners at banks can't tell the difference. The jet ...

The island city-state of Singapore harbors unique customs and traditions largely unknown to the West. A booming economy and embrace of conformity overshadow its gambling dens, red-light districts, and a collective passion for ghostly and gory tales. Now, in Singapore Noir, some of its best contemporary authors delve into its seedy side.

A collection of twenty-five horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to thrill you and chill you to the bone. The creepers include: ALONE: Laura keeps hearing weird noises in her house while her husband is on a business trip. FOREVER YOUNG: An elderly multibillionaire will pay five hundred million to be young again, but he also needs a young female to sacrifice to an island of cannibals. LOVE ON THE ROCKS: After twenty years of marriage, Louise can't stand the sight of him and wants a divorse. His temper is boiling over. Is there another man? THE ALIEN: Marge just found out her ...

Two old friends on a fishing trip discover their love of stories may have opened a door to a different and much darker world. A middle-aged couple faces down an extinction–level cataclysm the only way they know how: together. A research student learns the horrifying delusions that have crippled a man for most of his life may be more than just the aberrations of a troubled mind. When a young woman in a yellow dress finds herself on an island inhabited by blade-wielding psychopaths straight out of a slasher movie, she must discover who she is and fight to make a place, and a name, for ...

In Preternatural Haze: A Peculiar Short Story Collection by Violette L. Meier, an Egyptian god bates a mortal, fairies float between realms, a serial killer wears killer heels, twin witches fight over a man, The Morning Star tempts the first couple, and more. The truly peculiar dwells within the pages of this paranormal cocktail of horror and humor.

Robert Louis Stevenson brings his mastery of story-telling and suspense to these intriguing tales of island mystery. In 1888, a year after leaving England, Stevenson and his wife left San Francisco and sailed to the South Pacific. The beauty, mystery, and lore of the islands captivated the great author, inspiring him to write several wonderful short stories. "The Bottle Imp," the main story in this outstanding collection, is a suspenseful folktale, introducing us to various ghosts, demons, and other frightening creatures.

Midnight. Some call it the witching hour. Others call it the devil’s hour. Here in the graveyard, midnight is a very special time. It is a time when ghostly spirits are at their strongest, when the veil between our world and theirs is at its thinnest. Legend has it, that while most of the world is asleep, the lack of prayers allow the spirits to communicate under the cover of darkness, among the headstones, their whispers rustling in the leaves of the old oak trees. But if you’re here in the graveyard, you can tell yourself it’s just the wind....

"A MUST READ FOR FANS OF MYSTERIES AND FOLK HORROR." - NP CUNNIFFE, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF "THE WEEJEE MAN". "...IT'S A WELL WRITTEN HORROR STORY WITH FANTASTIC CHARACTERS, BLOODY KILLS, AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT" - HORROR READS, 5 STAR AMAZON/GOODREADS REVIEW. "IT'S LIKE STEPHEN KINGS VERSION OF GREMLINS" - THE DANSE MACABRE The news of it spread like a virus. Passed by whispers made in secret and casual conversations made between friends and family members, co-workers, and casual acquaintances until the news of it became a pandemic in the making. And the news of it? The return of the kids ...

The Great Detective Library: 101 Legendary Detective Novels & Stories is a captivating anthology that brings together the finest works from the world's most renowned sleuths. Featuring iconic characters such as Hercule Poirot, Father Brown, Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Alan Grant, Albert Campion, Miss Marple, and many others, this collection offers a comprehensive journey through the evolution of detective fiction.

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. ...