Short Thrillers

A crime-based adventure set in Middle Earth territory in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Young Kiwi drifter Arch Quaid thinks he has landed the contract of his life when he’s hired to cull deer on a high country property in the South Island of New Zealand. He quickly changes his mind when he discovers he’s the hunted, not the hunter. Caught up in the middle of it all is his new love Janine, a beautiful Maori girl, who will likely be the killer’s next target if Arch doesn’t overcome the most daunting of odds. HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACT is a thrilling, fast-paced read brought to you by ...

She signed her name. Now she’s part of the mystery. When a schoolteacher is abducted, Polly Park is stunned to recognise her name—not from school, but from a hotel visitor book where Polly once signed her own name beside it. What should be a coincidence becomes something far more sinister. Soon, a woman in white begins following Polly, her perfume triggering memories too blurred to trust. As dread mounts and the past claws its way back, Polly realises she may hold the only clue that can solve the case—if only she can remember it in time. With a determined detective on her side and a ...

Twenty-nine-year-old Imogen Banks is hashtag struggling. After a disaster ends her career, destroys her home, and burns up all the money she’s saved to open her own bakery, she enters a baking contest for an all-or-nothing last-ditch chance at getting her life together. But when she arrives at the mysterious island off the coast of France, she discovers all the inhabitants of the quaint town are magical, and if she wins the contest, she’ll become the next royal baker at the castle on top of the hill. No worries that the last royal baker appears to have been murdered.

The Day Started Like Any Other… Except It was My Birthday! Be the First to Read Lakelyn’s Latest! I was all set to spend my birthday at the lake with my boyfriend. We’d lay in the sun, splash in the surf and end up in our favorite, secluded spot having sex in the outdoors… But that’s not exactly how the day went… the day took an unexpected turn… and the last thing I expected to happen… DID! Lakelyn Wilder’s latest solo story includes explicit sex, rough, group, backdoor and even MORE hot erotic suspense that drips off of every word! Approx. Length: 5000 words

Every town hides a few dark secrets. Some dogs track scents. Bentley tracks trouble. And Maggie Shaw has learned to trust him with her life. If you love quick read, small-town suspense, layered mysteries, and strong women who won’t back down, The Shelter Conspiracy is the perfect escape. When a simple volunteer job at a local animal shelter uncovers a chilling secret, Maggie and her intuitive therapy dog, Bentley, find themselves in the crosshairs of a danger no one saw coming. What makes The Shelter Conspiracy impossible to put down? A fearless K-9 handler willing to risk everything for ...

In every locked room, there's a secret waiting to be found—and a body left behind. From elite rehearsal spaces to package vaults, from forgotten hotel bathrooms to séance parlors sealed tight, this chilling collection of original locked-room thrillers explores what happens when the walls close in and the truth can't escape. Inside you'll find: A detective trapped in his own interrogation. A woman who wakes in a bath with her wrists taped—and no memory of why. A séance interrupted by someone who was never invited. A delivery crate that holds a body—and your name. An acting class ...

Where Family Ties Are Rooted in Murder A crumbling vineyard. A long-buried letter. And bones that refuse to stay hidden. When graduate student Addison Lane joins a forensic anthropology practicum in the Ozarks, she expects dirt, science, and maybe a few local legends. What she doesn’t expect is to unearth a string of shallow graves—and the key to a mystery that connects her past to a decades-old murder. As Addison, Dr. Svoboda, and their unlikely ally Alexander dig deeper into the overgrown rows of Reznik Vineyard, secrets begin to surface—ones tied to Viktor Reznik’s final diary, a...

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".

An unlikely duo vs. pure evil! Disgraced ex-professor Harrison Hunter gets a knock on his door while hunkering down for the storm of the century. The strange guest, Boris Lattier, is a bear of a private investigator with a troubling demeanor. Lattier requests Harrison's assistance in solving a murder, but something about Lattier's story isn't adding up. Harrison gets swept into the case, pitted against good and evil, but there's no telling which is which.

In three beautifully crafted, dramatic acts, James's little-known novel unravels the painfully complicated emotional bonds which exist within a group of friends and lovers connected by two neighboring homes as they fight publicly for preferment, reciprocation, and successful marriage....

Deadwood meets Cthulhu in this wild and profane Western romp featuring zombies, werewolves, evil spirits, and one pissed-off gunslinging preacher. The Wild West has never seen the likes of the Reverend Jebidiah Mercer, a hard man wielding a burning Bible in the battle between God and the devil, in an endless struggle he's not sure he cares who wins. With its five stories laced with fast-paced action, nonstop humor, and spine-tingling horror, Deadman's Road is your ride to hell....

Welcome to Operation Skyfall, a story that drops you right into the shadowy, high-stakes world of international arms smuggling and homegrown terrorism. This isn’t just a tale of spies and action—it’s an eye-opening dive into the threats that cross borders and land in our own backyards. You’ll see firsthand how the lines between foreign and domestic dangers are blurring, and what it takes to stop them. At the heart of this mission is Corey Pearson and his elite CIA team, each member bringing their own unique skills to the table. From Stacie’s razor-sharp tech smarts to Ana’s ...

In the third installment of his acclaimed anthology series, master of crime fiction Lawrence Block has gathered together the best talent from popular fiction to produce an anthology of short stories based on masterpieces of American art. Among the star-studded lineup of writers you'll find Jerome Charyn, Jane Hamilton, Christa Faust, John Sandford, Sara Paretsky, Walter Mosley, Charles Ardai, Barry Malzberg, and Janice Eidus.

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, ...

A vanished hostage. A mercenary haunted by fate. A city where every choice cuts deep. In the labyrinthine heart of Istanbul, Firebird-a philosopher-mercenary with a violent past-leads a covert team on a mission that will test the limits of loyalty, destiny, and survival. When a Palestinian doctor with ties to hostage negotiations disappears from Turkish protection, Firebird’s crew is thrust into a deadly game of deception. Mossad, Turkish intelligence, and rival militants close in, and the city’s ancient streets become a battleground where myth and modern violence collide. As the stakes...

A million problems arise when trying to flip a crumbling old Victorian. But Lyda, a newbie seller, and Dani, a TikTok-trained home stager, are fixated on one: the dead landscaper in the bedroom. The notorious lothario was one of many last-minute contractors swarming around, and now every jilted lover and business competitor is a suspect. It’s up to Lyda and Dani to close the case before the open house.

A jungle fortress. A cartel’s global ambitions. A mission into the heart of chaos. In Mexico’s Lacandón Jungle, the Sinaloa Cartel has built a fortified compound, threatening global stability. Chris “Magic” Kassner and his elite team must infiltrate, extract intelligence, and dismantle operations. But in a world where every shadow hides danger, success is never guaranteed—and failure could change everything. For Magic, this mission is a personal test of loyalty, courage, and survival. Toxic Narco delivers relentless action, tactical precision, and razor-sharp tension. This ...

Today is supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I’m marrying the man who sees me like no one else ever has. After years of loneliness and struggle, I’ve finally found someone who understands what it’s like to live in a world where faces mean nothing. Someone who accepts my condition—my face blindness—not as a flaw, but as a different way of seeing. Despite everything I’ve been through, this day feels perfect. There’s only one problem: Nothing about our story was an accident. And if I don’t start asking the right questions soon, I might not live long enough to regret how...

This is a new collection of short stories. They are not similarly themed and include, Western (The title story), apocalyptic, horror, sci fi, drama and more. Six stories total... Only in Dreams: A fateful night on a dark river road takes a toll on a young man, killing his wife and friends and leaving him in a deep well of despair he must try to climb out of. But fate is not finished with him when dreams continue to drag him back to that fateful night and then seem to take control of his waking life as well. Mister Johnson: A horse thief steals a poor dirt farmers plow horse, part of a team ...

'Fans of L J Ross and Elly Griffiths will love this.' A sinister and systematic crime – the hunt for a meticulous and elusive villain. Isobel McKenzie, a psychotherapist, discovers the body of a young woman along the banks of the Shannon. She has been raped and strangled. As the news spreads, other rape victims contact Isobel confidentially. Their stories are so shockingly similar that it is clear a serial rapist is at large. Garda Detective Inspector Eoin Ryan and Sergeant Alanna Finnegan are on the case. As Isobel shares the details of the unreported rapes with them, they realise that a...