Humanity had barely survived The Panic 70 years earlier and now the slow death brought on by the collapse of society seems unavoidable, especially as it seems the worst is still to come. Accompanied by a strange hound he rescued from the labs deep beneath the Fort, Alan sets out to aid the survivors who struggle to hold back mankind's final hour, joining up with a handful of soldiers desperately trying to fan the embers of mankind into life once more. But Alan has a secret he's desperate to hide and which threatens to be revealed with every action he takes. Can his fear of discovery be overcome so that mankind can stand a chance of surviving? Or will humanity topple over the brink as he stands by and watches? Following on from Project - 16, The Brink tells the story of a man who faces a destiny he neither wants nor is prepared for and starts Alan Harding on a path to legend.

    When the world crumbles and the dead walk, Kellie struggles to survive and find her way home, all the while sharing her tale with her diary.This is an account of our hypothetical past, present and future.

    But when old Smiler takes a seat beside him, sucking in pint after pint through his gingery whiskers, a whole new world of battles and bones opens up before him…H. E. Bates – a prolific English novelist and short story writer – wrote 'Castle in the Air' for The Evening News in 1957, but the story was never re-printed in any of his later collections. In fact, its existence was forgotten until 2013 when it was spotted accidentally during a rummage through a newspaper archive. On re-discovering this charming and humorous short story – which exemplifies H.E. Bates's great skill of drawing vivid characters and his ability to create an almost tangible sense of a place – Bates's descendants felt it had to be shared with a wider audience.Bloomsbury Reader is delighted to be re-publishing 'Castle in the Air' alongside the whole body of H. E. Bates's short fiction and novellas, and here we offer it as a free taste of Bates's irresistible writing.

    A chilling tale consumed in under an hour, but not so quickly digested.She had secretly wanted the baby to die, but Fate never sided with her until twenty-three years later, when Destiny Childs got her wish.Broken, middle-aged Destiny daily struggles to survive her haunting past. Dead parents. Unplanned teen pregnancy. Cyclic addiction and depression. Life hasn't treated her kindly. Then one day she sees the name of her castaway daughter on the news: a victim of murder.Seeing this as an opportunity to extort the rich family her daughter left behind, Destiny crafts a plan. But as all her plans go, it loosens a mess of secrets long buried, along with the truth behind the killing.In this haunting murder mystery short story, discover the gruesomely intimate stranger harbored within Destiny... and who may lurk within any one of us."The Scream of Silence" originally appeared in Reader's Circle of Avenue Park's "Crooked Tales" anthology but is now published for the first time as a standalone short story.

    Dig deep to secure the attentions of one of Montana’s most eligible – and elusive – bachelors.Lily Taylor knows Beau Bennett dislikes her, but that won’t stop her from asking him to volunteer for the Bachelor Auction she’s organized to help her friend Molly provide for her tragically injured son, Josh. If Beau’s gorgeous face, piercing blue eyes and chiseled body inspires the women of Marietta to dig into their pockets for a good cause, then Lily will do whatever it takes to secure his participation.Beau Bennett isn’t sure how he wound up on the auction block being eyed up by hundreds of eager women, but he knows who to blame for it – Lily Taylor, the sexy, distracting, off-limits best friend of his kid sister. As far as he’s concerned, the sooner this nightmare is over, the better.The last thing either of them expects is for Lily to wind up bidding on – and winning – Beau, or that their date will lead to Beau stepping in to save Lily when her past comes back to haunt her. As Beau does his best to keep Lily safe, they discover that maybe they don’t dislike each other quite as much as they thought.In fact, maybe it’s just the opposite…

    Rushing to the aid of his fallen co-worker Max knew one thing, it wasn't a heart attack. Heart attack victims didn't bleed and didn't start chewing on anyone they could catch either. Once the victims died they came back to life with only one goal; to consume the living. Now Max was stuck in a rapidly deteriorating situation thirty miles from home, where his wife and two kids were sleeping away the warm mid summer morning. He had to get back to his family and get them to a safe place, if he could find one. Forming a group made up of his coworkers Steve and Tom and a police officer called 'Stewart' they make their way into the city to save the ones they love. The newly returned, however, were not all mindless shamblers and some of them had a plan...

    However, a slight turn of events redirected the odds in her favor. Ultra-sexy and centric Syx was at her wits end. Her New Year's celebration had been strategically planned since her older sister, Sevyn, faced her fears and relocated to the Big City. In New York surrounded by laughter, love, music, drinks and the thrill of the people is where Syx desperately wanted to be. Yet, she found herself missing the very last flight bound for the Big City and stranded in Atlanta, GA. A hint of fate scrambled her way as she returned home after discovering her plans were shot. Amiyah Mallard, with her own agenda in mind, forces her husband to give Syx a lift, compliments of his private plane. A slew of unexpected, yet fortunate, occurrences leaves Syx dazed and confused after waking up on New Year's Day in unknown territory, on a dangerously comforting mattress, tangled in Italian sheets with her beloved boss's life partner. Trough Mallard. *This is a novelette.*

    It is a lesson Nisha learns all too soon - one that puts her on a journey with a dangerously sexy, enigmatic man who will force her to confront the nightmares of her past, and risk her heart for a future she never dreamed could be hers....(Originally published in the Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2; Constable & Robinson, 2010.)

    If you’re inside you’re lucky. If you’re outside, life expectancy takes a nose dive.Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister.She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her otherwise she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable than she ever expected.Cut to the present day, where Eleanor's world is falling apart. This time next year, civilisation won't be quite so civilised...

    Louis to the safety of the countryside, they don't realize that the rural town they think of as a protective haven is loaded with secrets, and the farm they lease is far from safe. It is cursed land, and they're about to find out the hard way that danger lurks everywhere, even in a small, peaceful farming community. AND SO HAS THEIRS... Will the Martins live to see dawn, or will they only add to the rising body count?

    Where it fell, everything died and was consumed. The residents of remote outposts in Maritime Canada escaped the worst of the early damage, but that was a blessing in disguise, for they were left to watch as first North America, then the world, was subsumed in the creeping green carpet of terror.

    Her imagination runs wild and then fixates on Ian Baird. He'll be working at the Langston Museum for a short stint as a consulting curator. He's Scottish. He believes sex is fun to be had. He's the perfect choice for a fling. She only has to get him break his rule about sleeping with co-workers. Seducing a man was on her bucket list...Ian is no one's fool and knows exactly what Jocelyn wants—him. If she didn't work for the Langston Museum, he'd be more than happy to oblige any and every fantasy she desired, but she's the curator. She's sweet, inexperienced and well liked by everyone including the museum owner and director. Ian can't risk losing such an important contact for his consulting business. Not even when everything within in him craves a taste of her.When Jocelyn sets her sights on him, there's no way Ian can deny her. They agree their affair will end in thirty days. No emotions, no entanglements, just sex. The closer the end date looms, they start to question if it's possible to walk away. They'll either have to come to terms of what they've become or stick to their original agreement.

    Her book practically writes itself. She marries her gorgeous agent. Her name is on all of the best seller lists. Billionaire author Jay McCallister takes an interest in her meteoric rise to fame and invites her into his world of alien-believing celebrities. Her life changes forever when he tells her that they were both created inside of a laboratory. These authors are embedding an alien genetic code within the pages of their novels that originated from Nazi Germany because... The time has come. They are here.

    She escaped the MEPHISTO lab where she was raised as a psychic supersoldier, which left her with terrifying capabilities, a fierce sense of independence, a deficit of trust and an experimental pet named Seven. She’s spent her life on the run, but the boogeymen from her past are catching up with her. An encounter with a bounty hunter has left her hanging helpless in a dying spaceship, dependent on the mercy of strangers.Penned in on all sides, Mariam chases rumors to find the one who sold her out. To discover the truth and defeat her pursuers, she’ll have to stare into the abyss and find the secrets of her past, her future, and her terrifying potential.

    It incorporates two seemingly unconnected elements: a string of strange murders and the deciphering of ancient Kabbalistic texts, along with their hidden and mystical meanings.A professor from Jerusalem, an expert in decoding ancient Hebrew manuscripts, is hired to carry out a mysterious task, one that sends him to three continents. He becomes entangled in a web of murders that leave him deeply puzzled. However, he quickly discovers that if he does not succeed in deciphering the enigmatic manuscripts, through his in-depth knowledge of Kabbalah, the lives of many people - including his own family - will be endangered.Interwoven within this exciting tale are curious passages reviewing the many conquests that the city of Jerusalem has endured during its long history. Their relevance and significance become clear only at the end of the book.The Kabbalistic Murder Code is an exciting and fast-paced thriller. Thanks to its unique structure and enriching subject matter (the secret wisdom of Kabbalah), you simply cannot put it down. The drama’s surprising solution integrates Kabbalistic elements and weaves the whole to a magical picture, leaving the reader almost breathless. It has been translated to date into four languages. Scroll up and grab a copy today.