Twisted Thrillers

This one is from the heart; a thank you to all my readers; a sexy, seriously naughty, delightfully twisted novella about redemption, forgiveness and love. Oh, and it involves a very long chain and a man who knows how to use it. Enjoy! - Nicola Claire "I sometimes wonder if life had gone differently would I be a different man? It’s hard to say. I can’t imagine being any other way. I am who I am and I relish it. I breathe the air I want to breathe. I drink the wine I want to drink. I touch the flesh I want to touch. I am in control of my world and no one can tear it asunder." Ethan Keen...

Caught in the enigmatic web of an unusual case, Special Agent Tess Winnett races against the ticking clock. A suspected serial killer is on the loose hunting prey in the depths of the Everglades. Several women have vanished from the Miami coast, leaving only echoes of their existence. The clues to their fates? Locked away in the tortured mind of one survivor, TV celebrity Kiana Bayliss.

With two young children, Mary hasn’t slept in what feels like years. For his part, Tim never feels safe enough to sleep. And so one hot, exhausting night, the two strangers meet while seeking solace in a nearby park. There, they witness something horrific: a violent attack in the window of a neighbouring house. Bonded by what they’ve seen, Tim and Mary are desperate to find answers. And when they see news reports of a missing woman who was last seen walking alone not far from them, the pair are convinced it’s her they saw being attacked—no matter what the police say.

It’s been a year of chilling dreams, deadly mayhem and close-call rescues. Solomon "Solo" Davis and Elizabeth Hyde continues to risk their lives in Washington, D.C. trying to save victims from an outcome they saw in their dreams. But now they have Officer Winston Cooper in their secret circle. A new murderous duo is planting their kills to look like suicides. As another twisted court case is speeding through with the crooked Milo pulling the strings. Solo’s faith tailspins into the world of the spiritual unseen as questions and doubts begin to haunt him. Are people just evil or could ...

Murderous greed. Shambling corpses. Depraved behavior... It's time for more Twisted Tales. From the far reaches of space, all the way back into shadow-filled closets. This volume of terror and suspense stories has you covered. Have you ever wondered what you might do if you stumbled across a stash of hidden loot? Ever imagine what crimes you would commit to keep it all to yourself? Wonder no longer, and read three horrifying examples of "What if?" right here and now. Also included is a second tale from the Vampire Zombie Ghost Club, for any of the less squeamish readers out there.

In the heart of New Orleans, where magic and mischief intertwine, the Six Twisted Sisters find themselves embroiled in their most dangerous escapade yet. When a cursed wishing well starts granting deadly wishes, no one is safe.

A first-crush kiss chased by a punch in the mouth. Ehra Havel is pretending to live like the elitist Omeo class that is trying to exploit and extinguish unmatched people just like her. Adopted from the streets of futuristic Chicago by an Omeo couple, she’s raised to follow the rules and emulate their marathon-length marriages by her counselor father. Rules are made to be broken. “Unmarried” to steamy and stormy, nonconformist Mamara, Ehra’s rollicking ride begins with her partner’s derelict brother missing from prison. Can they find him and undo his misdeeds before getting caught ...

DI Louise Blackwell is still reeling from her brother Paul's murder when she is brought back from enforced leave and tasked with solving a strange new case - the slaughter of wild sheep at Cheddar Gorge, a place shrouded in mystery and folklore. When a man is brutally attacked with a machete on the clifftop and a young girl disappears, Louise realises that the horror is just beginning. Rumours of a mythical presence near the gorge are spreading fast, and why is a local environmental cult resisting all attempts to solve the case?

After the death of her adoptive mother, Ava Saunders comes upon a peculiar photograph, sealed and hidden away in a crawl space. The photo shows a shuttered, ramshackle house on top of a steep hill. On the back, a puzzling inscription: Destiny calls us. Ava is certain that it's a clue to her elusive past. Twenty-three years ago, she'd been found wrapped in a yellow blanket in the narthex of the Holy Saviour Catholic Church - and rescued - or so she'd been told. Her mother claimed there was no more to the story.

Sisters Anna and Jennie live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. They’re tethered to a disquieting past, and with nowhere else to go, nothing can part them from their family home. Not the maddening creaks and disembodied voices that rattle the old walls. Not the inexplicable drownings in the area, or the increasing number of bodies that float by Anna’s window. To stave off loneliness, Anna has a podcast, spinning ghostly tales of Chicago’s tragic history. But when Anna captures the attention of an ardent male listener, she awakens to the possibilities of a world outside.

It’s been six months since I woke up next to the body of the man I’d chatted to in a bar the night before. I still remember the metallic scent of his blood, the stillness of the room, and the panic that rose in my throat when I realized he was dead. I remember him buying cocktails. We talked. We went up to my room. And then...nothing. But I know I didn’t kill him.

Seventeen-year-old Lies wakes up to find that her mother’s bed hasn’t been slept in. Her car is parked outside. And her purse and cell phone are still by the front door. After twenty-four hours, when every possible explanation is exhausted, the reality is all too frightening for Lies. Her mother is missing.

To the world, Mia Thornton is invisible. People would never guess that she found the will to dig her way out of a locked shed when she was just six years old. That she never saw her mother again. Now, all Mia longs for is a normal life. But when she runs into a group of colleagues one evening, she discovers that, once again, she’s been excluded. Stung at the rejection, she pockets the keys of one of the women in a petty act of revenge. Celeste is fearless, pretty, popular - everything Mia wishes she could be. The next day, Celeste is reported missing.

While the vast majority perishes in quiet anonymity, a tour of any national monument quickly reveals countless names carved into stone. These names generally identify three classes of people; scribe, conquered and conqueror. Indeed, if anything, life is an endless series of contests, large and small, but these stone-graven records typically ignore the latter for the former. Too often, history overlooks the struggles of mundanity, which perhaps better define those who endure. Pause a reflective moment to ponder the future – anticipate all the boastful elite to be immortalized there. ...

Everyone loves a good joke, but nobody enjoys being subjected to the fun. Pranks are an especially childish form of delight, perhaps because they are the ultimate expression of prurient sadism, which we must disavow as civilized adults. We, the same civilized adults who teach our beloved youth the art of warfare while stockpiling an obscene surplus of thermonuclear weapons. Now that is funny! So, tease a guilty moment to titillate your secret sadist today. Giggling, it whispers. Of spoiled affluence and nothing better to do; of grotesque victimization that makes monsters from innocent ...

Several of the best human hypocrisies are immortalized in catechisms. We say “violence never solved anything” when history repeatedly teaches us otherwise, and once we prematurely labeled an entire, global war as “The War to End All Wars” long before we recorded its half-formed outcome. Dynasties fall. Empires rise. In marble, granite and concrete, we immortalize these events, large and small, and we celebrate the human beings named heroes there. Rightly so. Pause a moment before The Wall – let your finger trace names in stone. From pits of despair and summits of glory, they ...

Within realms of the unknown, superstition stalks. Primitives see god in a rainbow, but they also suspect a deadly serpent beneath every unturned stone. Ignorance and fear sometimes unite to inspire us or spare us, but more often this demonic duality serves to light the torches of enraged mobs. Indeed, history tells stories of witches burned alive amid great celebrations. We know these things happened. We also know witchcraft is a figment. Fearlessly now, step away from the staid, known world that shelters you. Venture into lands of conundrum and enigma to witness ciphered matters of mind. ...

Rascals, rapscallions, villains and varlets; all terms of a bygone era intended to describe the guy in the black hat, that perverse character of low virtue and strayed morality who forever ties the distressed damsel to cold, steel rails. Gasp! Within fictional fantasies, they are always guys and damsels, and they must wear black. In reality, we still mostly read about bad ‘guys’, but the women tend to fight back now, often with devastating effect. Tonight, the devil laces thigh-high boots over fence-net stockings before taking a turn through town. Be warned and beware. Of evil delight ...

Champions come in all shapes and forms. The same is true of cowards. Most of us line up somewhere between these two extremes of potential, but none of us eagerly anticipate having to prove ourselves in a crossfire. In fact, most notable acts of heroism are not the results of well-considered, carefully laid plans. Rather, these are often spontaneous yet deliberate demonstrations of selflessness occasionally on display when normal human beings must confront life-threatening risk. Take a deep, calming breath now before you dare gaze into the face of death. Trembling, heed its heckling catcalls...

Disinfectants, detergents, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and homicides – everything a human being needs to clear his or her lot and start fresh in life, clean and pure, and it all waits at the press of a finger. Some of us love a good disaster, but we watch from a safe distance and it always happens to someone else… somewhere else… never here. Never us. Distended bellies and skeletal children are always the misfortune of others. Stop and wonder why. Your preferred answer no doubt leaps easily to mind, but the truth is probably quite different, because pestilence comes in all ...