A man like Sherlock Holmes has many enemies. Violent murderers, deviant villains, ghosts of old loves, blackmailers and poisonous scribes, to to name but a few. But none are so deadly, so powerful, as Professor Moriarty. Moriarty - the only man who can compete with Holmes' genius. The only man who can, perhaps, ultimately defeat the great detective ...

    The present collection of stories, all set in Calcutta of the fifties and sixties, brings together four mysteries that put the sleuth's remarkable mental agility to the ultimate test. In The Menagerie (adapted by master film-maker Satyajit Ray for his 1967 film Chiriakhana) Byomkesh cracks a strange case involving broken motor parts, a seemingly natural death and the peculiar inhabitants of Golap Colony who seem capable of doing just about anything to safeguard the secrets of their tainted pasts. In The Jewel Case, he investigates the mysterious disappearance of a priceless necklace, while in The Will That Vanished he solves a baffling riddle to fulfil the last wish of a close friend. And in The Quills of the Porcupine, the shrewd detective is in his element as he expertly foils the sinister plans of a ruthless opportunist. Byomkesh's exploits just as it does Bandyopadhyay's remarkable portrayal of a city struggling to overcome its colonial past and come into its own.

    As only they could, the Police used it as a penal posting. Worst amongst the residents of Handstead were the Tree Top Mafia, a gang of violent thugs who terrorised their neighbourhood, the town and surrounding districts. They, and the officers doomed to serve at Handstead wrestled constantly for dominance. True stoics, the police officers resolved to make a difference in a town they called Horses Arse. Each group recognised something of themselves in the other. Not quite mutual respect, but something. This is the story of some of those Police officers; The Brothers, Psycho, Bovril, Pizza and others, a group of hooligans in uniform and their journey through manic excess, despair and finally some form of salvation. Police officers like these used to exist but their like have passed on. Only accounts like this one serve to remind us that once upon a time, police officers just got on with policing.

    PLUM ISLAND: NYPD homicide detective John Corey is stuck in the Long Island farmer's town of Southold. When a big-time murder hits the small town, it's up to Corey to bring his big-city experience into the game. His investigation leads him into the lore, legends and ancient secrets of Long Island and become part of the thriller spun by DeMille at his thrill-inducing best. CHARM SCHOOL: when an unsuspecting American tourist stumbles upon the secrets held within the walls of Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School, where young KGB agents-in-training are being taught how to infiltrate the United States without being detected, he unwittingly uncovers a chilling story of cold war espionage. WORD OF HONOR: Ben Tyson and his fellow militants committed a murderous atrocity in Vietnam. Years later, Tyson has done everything in his power to forget it. Now the events are catching up to him, forcing his entire life to hang in the balance.

    Welcome to Familyland, an offshoot of Lamaar Studios. Once a small, Southern California animation house, it has grown into an entertainment conglomerate encompassing movies, television, music, video games, and a sprawling theme park. When an actor portraying Familyland's beloved mascot, Rambunctious Rabbit, is brutally murdered on park grounds, Lamaar executives are worried that the idyllic image of '50s America represented in Familyland will be shattered. They ask Mike Lomax and his partner Terry Biggs, the LAPD detectives assigned to solve the case, to keep the circumstances surrounding the death of their mascot quiet. When a second Lamaar employee is killed, Lomax and Biggs uncover a conspiracy to destroy Familyland and settle an unknown vendetta. Still under pressure to keep the case away from the public eye, the detectives are met with a third murder – and an outrageous demand: Anyone who associates with Lamaar – employees, customers, anyone – will be killed. Bringing a fresh duo of cops to the thriller set, The Rabbit Factory is both suspenseful and satiric; a taut mystery wrapped in sharp, comedic prose.

    As the FBI investigates, suspicion surrounding Web deepens. Now, he needs help from an unlikely ally in his desperate search for the killer of his friends, and finds himself up against a force intent on finishing the job that began in the alley.SAVING FAITHWhen a zealous CIA Chief begins personally spying on his clients to promote a secret agenda of his own devising, the beautiful Faith Lockhard, one of Washington's greatest influence-peddlers, tells the FBI all her suspicions. Now in mortal danger, she still hopes to see justice done. Yet who will rescue Faith?

    Requiem unleashes his most powerful novel to date--a brilliantly plotted tale about justice, love, and the sins of a father and son.

    All robots must follow the three laws, but that leaves room for a surprisingly wide range of unexpected outcomes...THE THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

    They'd be a cinch to catch, but the thing is, the police are too busy running after you. You've been framed. LOCATION: Around Bayport. POTENTIAL VICTIMS: The innocent bystanders caught between you and the guys who clearly want to see you busted. SUSPECTS: You tell us. Who are your enemies? Who do you trust? THIS MISSION REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. THIS MESSAGE WILL BE ERASED IN FIVE SECONDS.

    In the wake of my resurrection as a member of the bloodsucking undead, I chose to put my investigative reporting talents to good use as a PI in Chicago; I've got my work cut out for me.Mingling with society's artsy crowd isn't my favorite pastime, but someone's got to navigate their way through the world of big money and bigger egos to find the killer of a young talent who deserved more than to be laid out on a canvas.My snooping has gotten me in occasional trouble with both sides of the law, so I'm used to cops and mobsters using me for target practice. But my thirst for the red stuff is getting out of control. I'm not sure what scares me more: the price on my head, or the darkness gnawing at my gut.And if that desire isn't bad enough, there's the hot-blooded daughter of a client who has big eyes for yours truly--and a jealous boyfriend.

    Not officially a "Liaden Universe® Adventure", Calamity's Child is SRM Publisher's first chapbook of 2006 and features two Sharon Lee and Steve Miller stories ...one is the off-the-beaten track Liaden Universe® novelette "Sweet Waters," which appeared in magazines in both the UK and the US (3SF and Absolute Magnitude), and the second is "Night at the Opera," a fantasy-mystery first seen in the critcally acclaimed Rosemary Edghill anthology Murder by Magic in October of 2004.

    Full color.

    Set in the drag underworld of Buffalo, 'Burning Dreams' chronicles the challenges faced by a young drag king and an older woman who share a love 'outside the bounds'.

    In A Colder Kind of Death, a prisoner is shot to death in the exercise yard of a Saskatchewan penitentiary, and Joanne becomes a suspect when his wife is found strangled; in A Killing Spring, the School of Journalism where Joanne teaches becomes a world of deceit and fear when one of its teachers is found dead in a seedy rooming house; and in Verdict in Blood, Joanne is asked to help solve the case of a tough judge who is found battered to death in a park.

    All signs point to a john killed by a disgruntled hooker: his pants are unzipped, wallet is gone, and the good doctor has a reputation for entertaining girls in his car. But the deeper Detective Sergeant Joe Burgess digs, the muddier the case becomes. While juggling hookers, wives, ex-wives, fathers, stepfathers, dealers and doctors, a nurse on Pleasant's staff suggests another angle—disgruntled patients. Now, ensconced in the darkness of a sleeping hospital, Burgess comes face-to-face with ghosts from his past and must decide what being a detective really means. REVIEWS: "Dazzling debut police procedural." ~Publisher's Weekly Starred Review "A triumph in the police procedural genre. Highly recommended." ~Library Journal Starred Review "I loved this book. I recommend it to anyone who loves police procedurals, traditional mysteries, suspense." ~Crimespree Magazine THE JOE BURGESS MYSTERIES, in series order Playing God The Angel of Knowlton Park Redemption ABOUT KATE FLORA Kate Flora developed her fascination with people's criminal tendencies as a lawyer in the Maine attorney general's office. When Kate isn't writing, or teaching writing at Grub Street in Boston, she can be found in her garden, waging battle against critters, pests, and her husband's lawnmower.

    One morning, her body is found, naked and bound, on the firing range. Paul Brenner is a member of the army’s elite undercover investigative unit and the man in charge of this politically explosive case. Cathedral St. Patrick’s Day, New York City. Everyone is celebrating, but everyone is in for the shock of his life. Born into the heat of the Northern Ireland conflict, IRA man Brian Flynn has masterminded a brilliant terrorist act–the seizure of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. As the hostages face death, Flynn faces his own demons, in duel of honor and betrayal….The Talbot Odyssey For forty years Western intelligence agents have known a terrible secret: the Russians have a mole–code-named Talbot–inside the CIA. Engineered by Talbot, a shadow world of suspicion and deceit is spilling onto the streets–leading to a new Soviet weapon and a first-strike war plan threatening the foundations of American government.

    With her is her partner, Morgan Stark, a retired mercenary soldier. The job looks easy until they meet Ian O'Ryan, an IRA terrorist who believes he is the reincarnation of Orion the ancient hunter. He is determined to keep the violence alive in Ireland and to spread it throughout the island. To avoid bullets, bombs and beatings, Stark and O’Brien rely on a special gift, a psychic link that alerts them to danger. But against O’Ryan they face danger from an entire army of enemies. Trying to separate patriotic mercenaries from heartless terrorists leads them to a sniper mission on the rocky Irish coast, a deadly high speed motorcycle race in Belgium, and a final confrontation on an island off the coast of France where Stark could die by slow torture if O’Brien doesn't find him in time.

    Clive Merrison stars as Holmes with Michael Williams as Watson in these adventures, part of the unique fully dramatised BBC canon of Conan Doyle's short stories and novels featuring the world-famous sleuth.

    The novel's protagonist is Sambu, a not-very-intelligent bank clerk in middle age, who solves difficult crime puzzles out of serendipity but is quick to explain as well as take credit. Sambu's character is sometimes considered to be a comical version of Sherlock Holmes.Sambu is described by Devan as having a bald fringe, a prominent nose and a weak chin. Along with a generally bewildered stare his appearance invariably invites people to term him asadu (stupid), an assessment not far from the mark. This becomes an asset for Sambu as criminals often underestimate him. Even though Sambu displays a certain reasoning and cunning, it is Lady Luck who leads him to literally stumble on the truth. A typical Sambu story has him clutch a newly built window railing as he trips over some obstacle, and some stolen diamonds hidden in the cement by a mason come to light. The drama is maintained by Sambu triumphing over people who have previously laughed or ridiculed him, with Sambu often being the last to understand that he has actually solved the crime.Sambu's stalwart companion in the police force is Inspector Gopalan, who usually brings a case to the detective's attention. Sambu and Gopalan usually have great regard for each other save for occasional irritants in their relations caused by Sambu's thin skin. Sambu eventually gets married to Vembu, who is clearly smarter than her husband and spares no criticism of her husband's vacuousness. The two eventually have a son called Sundhu who also helps in his father's work in solving crimes.Sambu's detective career is launched when the Director of the bank where he works fires him for letting a corrupt bank manager escape. Sambu gets sweet revenge when the same Director eventually summons him to recover a lost pearl necklace. In another story Sambu traps the same corrupt manager who used to take great pleasure in referring to him at work as "that idiot". Sambu's best moments are when he walks into his old office on the case of the pearl necklace and haughtily ignores his former colleagues who once showed him scant respect.

    Ages 8 to 12.

    A journalist has researched the identity of the Gotham Ripper, a mad serial killer — and the evidence points to Thomas Wayne! Can Batman clear his father's name?