#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris edits and contributes an all-new story-set in her Sookie Stackhouse universe-to this anthology from the Mystery Writers of America. Other authors include: Steve Brewer Dana Cameron Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane Barbara D'Amato Brendan DuBois Terrie Farley Moran Jack Fredrickson Parnell Hall Carolyn Hart S. W. Hubbard Toni L. P. Kelner Lou Kemp William Kent Kreuger Harley Jane Kozak Margaret Mahon Martin Meyers Jeffrey Somers Elaine Viets Mike Wiecek

    There he finds a manuscript, and from the moment his mother catches him in the act, Gerard Freeman's life is irrevocably changed. What is the invisible, ever-present threat from which his mother strives so obsessively to protect him? And why should stories written a century ago entwine themselves ever more closely around events in his own life? Gerard's quest to unveil the mystery that shrouds his family, and his life, will lead him from Mawson to London, to a long-abandoned house and the terror of a ghost story come alive.

    A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship. Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand. Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

    Having never cooked a day in her life, she is terrified of being found out and banished to the cotton fields as was her mother before her. But when she accidentally burns the freedom papers of Jonathan Mayfield, a handsome free man of color to whom she's attracted, her fear of the fields becomes secondary.A gifted cabinetmaker, Jonathan Mayfield's heart is set on finally becoming a respected businessman by outfitting a bedroom at the palatial Riverwood—until a beautiful new slave destroys his proof of freedom and his fragile confidence along with it. When the mistress of Riverwood orders Dinah to work alongside the sullen Mr. Mayfield, sparks fly setting the two on a collision course. Is their mutual love for God strong enough to overcome deep-seated insecurities and set the couple on a path toward self-acceptance and love for each other?

    Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

    Upon discovering the rumors to be true, the young widow ends up forming a special companionship with the ghost of handsome former sea captain Daniel Gregg. Through the struggles of supporting her children, seeking out romance from the wrong places, and working to publish the captain's story as a book, Blood and Swash, Lucy finds in her secret relationship with Captain Gregg a comfort and blossoming love she never could have predicted. Originally published in 1945, made into a movie in 1947, and later adapted into a television sitcom in 1968, this romantic tale explores how love can develop without boundaries, both in this life and beyond.

    In the years before the rise of Hitler, the Gerber family’s summer cottage was filled with laughter. Now, as deep drifts of snow blanket the Black Forest, German dissenter Franka Gerber is alone and hopeless. Fervor and brutality have swept through her homeland, taking away both her father and her brother and leaving her with no reason to live.That is, until she discovers an unconscious airman lying in the snow wearing a Luftwaffe uniform, his parachute flapping in the wind. Unwilling to let him die, Franka takes him to her family’s isolated cabin despite her hatred for the regime he represents. But when it turns out that he is not who he seems, Franka begins a race against time to unravel the mystery of the airman’s true identity. Their tenuous bond becomes as inseparable as it is dangerous. Hunted by the Gestapo, can they trust each other enough to join forces on a mission that could change the face of the war and their own lives forever?

    He is shocked to see the dragon's fire has not harmed her, and realizes she must be the Lady o Fire that the villagers fear and call a witch. Brynn has faerie blood running through her veins, and while fire cannot harm her and gives her power, water weakens her and can destroy her. She is thrilled to have been saved by a heroic knight, until she awakens and realizes he has brought her to her late father's castle. Her savior turns into her captor. Can two feared people work together to destroy the dragon, or will they be stopped by their haunting pasts as they realize they really fear themselves?

    She sets up her medical practice there. One night she's called out to help a gang of outlaws that have been shot to pieces while trying to rustle cattle. One of the outlaws is a young man that she develops feelings for, but he's in and out of her life for months on end. The outlaw attempts to change his life and go straight. It's a challenge that Rose encourages. It's the tale of two people who grow to care deeply for each other, and when Rose is kidnapped, the outlaw, now her husband, rides out to save her. Another novel of the Old West from the pen of R. O. Lane.

    Written in diary form as Dracula is, this compulsively readable book has revelations that will shock and delight readers of the original. More erotic than Anne Rice, Kalogridis is a major new voice in vampire fiction. The first chilling tale in an exciting new trilogy is a rich and terrifying historical novel set fifty years before the opening of Bram Stoker's Dracula. At the castle of Prince Vlad Tsepesh, also known as Dracula, Vald's great-nephew Arkady is honored to care for his beloved though strange great-uncle...until he beings to realize what is expected of him in his new role. It seems that either he provides his great-uncle with unsuspecting victims to satisfy his needs, or Vlad will kill those Arkady loves. He is trapped into becoming party to murder and sadistic torture. And it is in his blood. When Arkady learns that his newborn son is being groomed one day to follow in his footsteps, he knows that he must fight Dracula, even if it means death.

    When Highland Laird Jared MacLean kidnapped the daughter of his enemy and forced her to marry him, he never expected to be so enchanted with his captive bride. The young innocent stunned him with her passionate response on their wedding night, igniting a startling firestorm of pleasure that threatened to warm even his hardened heart. Is sweet Asilinn the tool to bring peace between warring clans, or an enchantress with magical powers and clairvoyant visions set on his demise? His kinsmen accuse her of witchcraft and try to kill her to protect him. One thing is sure. She will be his downfall or his destiny.

    *Bonus in this collection only: Hawk Brothers Reunion* The Hawk Brothers aren't just famous, wealthy, or handsome. They're the face of the Hawk Family fortune, and practically their own high-end brand. Don't miss each of their stories as they find the right woman to humble, tease, and love them. The Determined Groom: A broken football star becomes the trainer to an elite female athlete who can’t decide if she should tell off the flirty billionaire or fall in love with him. Cambree Kinley is the toughest chick she knows, except when it comes to protecting her heart. Yet how can she resist the billionaire superstar Emmett Hawk? When he pursues her—treating her like gold and making her smile nonstop, only sheer grit can keep her from sprinting toward the Cinderella route again—loving a wealthy man who will dump her like moldy garbage when she offends his high-society friends and family. The Stealth Warrior: A Navy SEAL returned from the dead. The world-renowned dancer he left behind. Misunderstandings tear them apart. Can anything bring this wounded couple together again? Creed Hawk was imprisoned in Syria for three months. The only thing that kept him fighting to be free was knowing Kiera Richins would be waiting for him. When he’s finally released he finds her, in the arms of another man. Her Billionaire Boss Fake Fiancé: Farm girl sass takes on America's Most Eligible Bachelor in this fun fake fiance romance. Callum Hawk has it all--fame, money, and a family that loves him. He doesn't have time for romance but that's all right, his head of marketing does a great job scheduling dates with models and actresses for the necessary social events. When he almost hits Alexia Hall with his motorcycle, he's intrigued by the feisty blonde and offers to hire her to be his fake fiancé for his brother's wedding. When she not only turns him down but tells him to never come near her again, he has no clue what went wrong. Risking it All: A world-renowned extreme athlete. A motivational speaker and philanthropist. He thinks they're a match destined for heaven. She's convinced they're polar opposites. Bridger Hawk has been in love with Avalyn Shaman since childhood. He knows he'll never be worthy of her charitable heart so he throws himself into a life-threatening extreme sports career. When they reconnect at his brother's wedding, he can't resist kissing her at every opportunity. She demands he stay away from her and her heart. After multiple rejections, he gathers what's left of his pride and leaves. Avalyn has always loved Bridger but he shredded her heart in high school and she knows given a chance, he'll do it again. When she's kidnapped and forced to be the pawn and prize in dangerous events that risk her life and her virtue, Bridger is forced to compete in the deranged challenges and is the only hope she has to survive. Can Bridger win and prove to her that his love isn't just a show for his fans? Bridger knows he has to save Avalyn at all costs ... even if it means he can't have her.

    

    I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer, and to his other victims, lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

    Now thanks to a paranoid tourist who swears he spotted a fairytale monster, hundreds of crazy supernatural and alien seekers are flooding Winchester for their own encounter of the bizarrest kind.Unfortunately one beautiful news lady is a lot savvier, nosier and tenacious than all the others. If Derek doesn't find a way to get rid of this enticing woman, Cryss Logan may very well uncover the dangerous secret Winchester has hidden all these years.Which includes its own mysterious sheriff.