She didn’t feel afraid standing in the darkness, imagining snakes, even with the smell of death in the air.Bea and Dan, recently married, let out their tiny flat to escape London for a few precious months. Driving down through France they visit Bea’s dropout brother Alex at the hotel he runs in Burgundy. Disturbingly, they find him all alone and the ramshackle hotel deserted, apart from the nest of snakes in the attic.When Alex and Bea’s parents make a surprise visit Dan can’t understand why Bea is so appalled, or why she’s never wanted him to know them; Liv and Griff Adamson are charming, and rich. They are the richest people he has ever met. Maybe Bea’s ashamed of him, or maybe she regrets the secrets she’s been keeping.Tragedy strikes suddenly, brutally, and in its aftermath the family is stripped back to its heart, and then its rotten core, and even Bea with all her strength and goodness can’t escape.

    But then she takes on her first murder case and meets Joe, a convicted murderer to whom Lily is strangely drawn—and for whom she will soon be willing to risk almost anything.But Lily is not the only one with secrets. Her next-door neighbor Carla may be only nine, but she has already learned that secrets are powerful things. That they can get her whatever she wants.When Lily finds Carla on her doorstep twelve years later, a chain of events is set in motion that can end only one way.

    It’s been six long months since Kate identified her battered, lifeless body.Kate is only just beginning to come to terms with her daughter's murder when a sinister message appears on her computer screen: WHY DID YOU LET HIM HURT ME, MUMMY?More horrifying messages follow. Only one person could be doing this to Kate — Melanie’s murderer.Chief Inspector Harmon focuses his enquiries on Kate’s abusive ex-husband David and her colleague, computer whizz-kid Adam Shepherd.Kate has already lost the one thing that gave her life meaning. So, now she decides to fight, but can she unmask the killer before he wrecks what’s left of her life?WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

    He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader - she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.

    Bored homemaker, Saachi curious about the supernatural plays the elevator game to reach the other world. Wandering photographer, Barry Bandeira puts up at a fort hotel one night and unearths an ancient curse. Abhay Kumar, a horror fiction writer, looking forward to a wedding anniversary celebration with his lovely wife, confronts his nemesis. Jeevika tells a true ghost story while on a road trip in Delhi-Jaipur expressway with her rich spoilt boyfriend, Ojas. Raman Chabra, a film producer meets a talented struggler, Dhruv in a dilapidated cinema hall to hear his horror script. One of these stories connects the others. Fear will be unleashed from the master storyteller of 'Stories Are Magical' and 'Once Again… With Love!' Have a fun, simple, relaxing and a little spooky read! Enjoy.

    It’s time to tear down and start again. And what better way to eradicate humanity than by unleashing the monsters inside each of us? Destroying mankind is simple compared to perfecting a new version of mankind. Just as evil resides within all of us, the hero does as well. It’s just much harder to bring out. The Chosen are those few who survive the process. They become greater in every regard. The other 98% however, become the stuff of nightmares. Wickedly cunning and ferociously strong, they are insatiable demons that make the average zombie look like it's made of sticks and string.Into this cataclysm Bryce Carter is thrown wearing nothing but a hospital gown. He dared to defy Magnus, who felt injecting him with the serum just wasn’t punishment enough. Barefoot and bleeding, Bryce has to fight his way out of a city overrun with zombies.Led by the demons, the dead sweep across the streets like a grey river, forcing him to crawl through sewers and down into the dark tunnels beneath the blood-soaked streets. He’s hounded relentlessly and growing desperate as he only has so much time. Nuclear weapons are being readied and soon the city will be nothing but dust and ash.

    Most of his friends are dead or disappeared. Corrupt CIA Director Marcus Cain is poised to ascend to the highest levels of power, and the shadowy group known as the Circle is causing chaos across the globe.

    A series of wrong turns and disastrous life choices has led to their incarceration. Following their release, Mangle, Decker and Tazeem stick together as they return to a life of crime, embarking on a lucrative scam. But when they stumble upon a sophisticated sex-trafficking operation, they soon realise that they are in mortal danger. The disappearance of a family member and the murder of a dear friend lead the three to delve deeper into a world of violence and deception. In their quest for retribution and justice, they put their lives on the line. Their paths cross with that of Tatiana, who has left her home country for a better life in the West—or so she thinks. She soon realises she is in the hands of ruthless, violent people, who run an operation supplying girls to meet the most deviant desires of rich and powerful men. Will she survive the horrors of The Zombie Room? Are Mangle, Decker and Tazeem brave enough to follow her there, in an attempt to set her free?

    The most popular girl in her high school promises Haley that her life would change forever if only she performed certain dark rituals. And if Haley can convince her twin sister to participate, their power will double. Together they will be able to summon mystical entities they never dared dream of. But these are powerful, uncontrollable forces, forces that can kill - forces that demand to be fed.

    Craven. A psychopath takes Trick or Treating a step too far. And a woman's dream of a quiet life is shattered by a knock on the door.Afraid Of The Shadows is a collection of gripping- sometimes funny, always spooky- short stories from some of the biggest names in crime fiction.From possessed sweaters to creepy wardrobes and disco shape shifters, there’s something for everyone in this Halloween bucket of short story goodies making it the perfect companion to snuggle up with as the nights draw in. Though be warned, you might want to leave the lights on...****************************************************************CONTRIBUTORSAfraid Of The Shadows is brought to you by twenty bestselling crime and thriller writers who between them have topped the Sunday Times and Amazon charts, won the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger Award, Gold Dagger Award and New Blood Dagger Award, the Bath Novel Award, the UK National Book Awards and the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award.Special guests:M.W. CravenPeter JamesT.M. LoganMatt WesolowskiTrevor WoodRachael BlokElle Croft (Shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award)Heather CritchlowJames Delargy (Shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award)Clare EmpsonJo FurnissT.E. KinseyN.J. MackayS.R. MastersPhoebe MorganDominic Nolan (Shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award)Robert Scragg (Shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award)Victoria Selman (Shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award)Kate SimantsAdam Southward (Longlisted for the 2021 CWA Short Story Dagger Award)****************************************************************Profits from the sale of Afraid Of The Shadows will be donated to the Barnardo's Children in Crisis Covid AppealThis delivers practical and emotional support to vulnerable children caught in a downward spiral of deprivation as a result of the coronavirus crisis.Children and families across the UK are increasingly in or on the brink of poverty as a result of coronavirus.The impact of the second wave is pushing a generation of the most vulnerable children into a downward spiral of deprivation. With your support Barnardo’s can deliver the practical and emotional support families in crisis need.

    With The Walking Dead #1-48, this compendium features more than one thousand pages chronicling the start of Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning story of zombie horror, from Rick Grimes waking up alone in a hospital, his band of survivors seeking refuge on an isolated farm and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot, The Governor.

    . . Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realizes that the killer has two obsessions.One is public murder. And the other one is her . . .

    Winter is coming... As survivors around the world struggle to get their feet under them in a world overrun by the walking dead, a new problem rears its head. As unstoppable as any horde of zombies, the seasons march on, heedless of the fragility of the human race. The first winter is approaching. Up in the mountains of northeastern Oregon, Steve's band settles in but discover something so horrible that it may destroy them before the weather has a chance. Kevin faces ghosts from his past while struggling to maintain unity among his people. In other parts of this dead world, a team of scientists struggle to devise a cure... A new pharaoh rises in Egypt... Chad learns he will do anything to keep his daughter safe... Juan struggles with the demons of his past that tell him he is unfit to lead...or love... A military unit tries to restore order at any cost... Dead: Winter The first winter has come, and with it, new problems. No longer are the zombies the biggest threat to survival. With the global infrastructure gone, people are forced to do whatever it takes to survive...even the unthinkable. Steve faces his toughest decision yet as he tries to lead his people through one nightmare after another. Kevin risks everything to save one girl and finds himself in the middle of a military fight for power. Juan fights his way home, but soon finds himself leaving the island...at the worst time possible. Two women set out for London...but one has a secret that she is keeping under wraps. One man seeks to be a god as a new exodus occurs in Egypt. A soldier abandons his post, but can he escape his duty? The darkest days have come now that winter has most of the world in its clutches. Dead: Siege & Survival Several months have passed since the dead began to walk. The first winter has taken its toll in more ways than one as humanity continues to struggle to survive. Not every threat to humanity comes form the undead as so many have discovered man's ability to sink into depravity with the absence of law and order. Time and again survivors have fought, run. and regrouped. Yet, there seems to be no respite, and as winter draws on...things become more and more difficult to endure. A new threat seems to materialize even before the last can be dealt with. And if the physical toll was not enough, the hours of isolation and the time left with one's thoughts can become just as destructive. How much more can you take? Dead: Confrontation

    All five books in the critically acclaimed Bad Games series under one terrifying roof. Bad Games: The Complete Series includes: BAD GAMES - The terrifying bestseller that started it all. The Lambert Family is heading to Crescent Lake, a rural cabin community in western Pennsylvania, for an idyllic weekend getaway. Some fishing, some barbecue, some games... The Fannelli brothers are heading to Crescent Lake too. Some stalking, some kidnapping, some murder, definitely some games...though not necessarily the type of games the Lamberts had in mind. But it doesn't matter. The Lamberts are going to play whether they like it or not. VENGEFUL GAMES - The Lambert family played the Fannelli brothers' twisted game and survived. Showed the brothers they'd messed with the wrong family. However, the game is far from over. There are some new players in town. Players who have close ties to the Fannelli brothers. Players who are taking things very personally...and promising results that are very deadly. BAD GAMES: HELLBENT - A year has passed. Marine and security specialist Domino Taylor shadows the Lambert family, the guilt he feels for the tragic events that unfolded in western Pennsylvania haunting him without mercy. When someone from Domino's past contacts him, begging for his help, Domino reluctantly agrees, not knowing the sinister truth lying in wait: there is one final game yet to play. BAD GAMES: MALEVOLENT - After years of silence, the game is back on. Widower Allan Brown is hosting a support group in his home for the bereaved. One of the guests in attendance will be Amy Lambert, this week marking the five-year anniversary of her family’s horrifying ordeal at Crescent Lake. Of course it’s hardly cause for celebration. Still, some unwanted guests plan on attending the support group to help Amy celebrate all the same... BAD GAMES: PSYCHOPATH - A decade has passed. Caleb’s increasingly violent temper sees him discharged from the Marine Corps. Carrie is failing at her second attempt at college. Aftermath, it would seem, plays the cruelest game of all. The only plus is Amy Lambert's success as a bestselling author, chronicling her family’s horrific ordeals over the years. But is it a success? It has brought some unwanted attention Amy’s way. Two fledgling killers who happen to idolize the late and infamous serial killers Arty and Jim Fannelli have been paying attention—and these two killers are eager to show the Lamberts just how much they truly admire their idols…with the help of Arty and Jim themselves? Find out how such a horrifying prospect comes to fruition in the fifth and final book in the Bad Games series, and prepare yourself for the game to end all games. What readers are saying about Jeff Menapace and the Bad Games series: ★★★★★ "I have been a lifetime reader of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, James Patterson, Lisa Gardner, and various other suspense and horror authors...I have found a new author to add to my list of greats." ★★★★★ "Jeffery Deaver look out...this guy plays with your head.