ask your mother to stop pointing the gun at your head. Steven is a writer, by all accounts of self-proclamation. But no artist can be expected to work under serious pressure, especially not when the pressure consists of his own mother indenting his tender skull with the muzzle of the pistol held in her hand. Suddenly, it's write or die for Steven. He better tap away on that typewriter or expect to be extracted from the land of the living before he's had the opportunity to finish anything he's ever written. Not to mention that his recently departed Father lying on the floor beside him should supply enough motivation. When Steven manages to frustrate his murderous mother to no end, his wish made under duress actually comes true. Mother's vanished... along with all evidence of the foregoing incident ever having taken place. Is his beloved father really dead? Is his own mother now a criminal on the run? Can he truly never cure his lifetime disease of writer's block? Only one person can uncover the truth and set the world to rights again. That would be Tim, Steven's much more successful, though younger, brother. If only Tim would actually believe Steven's retelling of the frightful situation he's just managed to survive. Someone's got to fix the latest family faux pas. And everyone in the family knows it can't be Steven. In the dead of night, two brothers battle sibling rivalry, serious mother issues, one heinous surprise after another, and a lifetime of family strife to get to the bottom of it all and uncover what's been lying beneath all along. Start Reading Now... What are you waiting for? chuckle-worthy dark comedy, murder mystery, delicious sibling rivalry and family issues, the cure for writer's block, and so much more await you. About the Author Justine Avery Is a Genre-Breaker, a Writer of Delicious Story Above All Else Justine Avery is an avid reader of all genres, weaves her own stories among them all, and sets out to surprise her readers at every opportunity. She's an acutely observant introvert with an insatiable yearning to explorer, a risk-taker who's based in reality, a wanderer with a mission, and a grownup blessed with childlike wonder at the world. Her stories reflect the same, and readers can't get enough of them. Avery writes genre-breaking fiction with universal appeal, emphasizing enticing story above all else. She writes powerful, affecting stories accessible to all readers, regardless of what your own favorite genres happen to be. She writes the tales all readers are drawn to, the stories capable of changing your view of the world around you, the narratives that will become a part of you. Go ahead—take a peek. Use the Look Inside feature above, and start reading Point Blank now.

    She watches reality shows with her friends, eats well, and occasionally wonders to herself: what would life be like if men were still alive?It has been almost 50 years since an experimental virus accidentally killed all the men on earth. However, a controversial project is currently underway to bring men back. There's just one catch. The project has been sabotaged.So begins Athena's Choice. When the police of 2099 are tasked with finding the saboteur, they receive a mysterious command to investigate the otherwise innocuous Athena Vosh. After it becomes clear that the young girl might know more than she lets on, Athena is brought in to participate in the official investigation. Simultaneously, the girl begins to experience a series of cryptic dreams featuring a ruined library and an old book containing the saboteur’s true identity. As the police close in on their prize, Athena finds herself on a journey of her own. Her clue-filled dreams and incorruptible spirit bring her face-to-face with a pair of forgotten truths about happiness and gender. The world waits to see if men will return as Athena fights a separate battle, culminating in the choice that will define her and others' lives forever.

    This medical thriller will stay with you long past the final chapter." -Best ThrillersJackson Cooper, MD will never forget that first day, its stunning conclusion forever etched in his mind. His year as a surgical intern is a story of medical suspense, tragedy, and occasional terror, as a young physician deals with the world of surgery.The surgeon's knot is a surgical tie used in the operating room which the intern practices ceaselessly. The knot refers, as well, to the tangled world of the protagonist.Jackson's life soon becomes burned-out, resulting from events beyond his control as well as destructive behavior. Physicians, patients, and cases ranging from humorous to tragic are present.A Surgeon's Knot is a story of the dignity of medicine, the overwhelming duty to man, failure and recovery.

    Words can hurt you. Ambitious, twenty-something FBI Special Agent Jade Harrington cuts her vacation short to investigate the murder of a conservative radio personality only to discover that he may be the victim of a serial killer. Whitney Fairchild, the elegant and charismatic Democratic senator from Missouri, campaigns in a cutthroat race for president of the United States. Cole Brennan, the most popular conservative talk-show host in the nation, battles nightly to save his country and help the incumbent Republican president maintain his ‘inner conservative’ to win re-election. The lives of Jade, Whitney, Cole, and the killer—who has an agenda of his own—are on a collision course. That course will not just impact them each in ways they could never have foreseen, but also the future of the United States of America. Amidst a backdrop of contemporary power politics driven by the influence of talk radio and social media, Don't Speak thrills even as it explores many of the complex issues facing Americans today.Prescient, Don’t Speak was completed a year before the 2016 US presidential election.

    Jude Without, a small community on the coast of Newfoundland. She meets her neighbors, visits the local bar (which occupies an abandoned church), and is quickly smitten by a local fisherman. Unfortunately, Carmel

    Presumed dead. Until now...Twenty-five years ago, Chelsea Thomson disappeared after a party in the American seaside town of Hyannis. Her body was never found, yet the evidence that amounted against high-school dropout Hector Sims led to his life imprisonment.When Chelsea’s former sweetheart Jimmy Quinn arrives in Hyannis for a conference—his first trip to the U.S. since her murder—it unleashes a rollercoaster of raw emotions. Discovering an old journal belonging to her, Jimmy makes a shocking discovery that suggests she could still be alive.Detective Bryan Myers has never been able to dispel the shred of doubt surrounding the murder case. While he welcomes the new evidence that Jimmy has uncovered, it unwittingly puts Myers on a tumultuous trail to a psychopath who is willing to kill to keep the truth concealed...

    For years, Jonathan Hunter and his brother Kevin Mallory had not spoken—until Kevin’s final words, “… Khalifah … Not Them … Maya.”Pursuing his brother’s killer, Hunter stumbles into a nest of horrifying terrorist activity by Middle Eastern refugees, which sparks a backlash across America. In the shadows, Hunter’s mentor, the omnipotent Oscar LaRue, is playing a dangerous game with Russian Intelligence. Neither Hunter nor LaRue realizes that a new threat—the Iranian threat—has entered the game. Stakes rise as two shadowy players are one step ahead of Hunter and LaRue—Khalifah, a terrorist mastermind, and Caine, a nomadic assassin who dances with the highest bidder.As attacks escalate and the country drifts toward another Middle East conflict, innocent refugees become trapped between the terrorists and the terrorized. Prejudice, hate, and fear vent everywhere. Is this who we’ve become? Before the country explodes, Hunter must find Khalifah, learn the next terror target, and pray he’s in time to stop further annihilation.

    So when the FBI discovers a multibillion-dollar black market online, she’s tasked with finding the creator and bringing him to justice. Donning one of her many digital disguises, Tanchik goes undercover into the network.Brilliant college student Nate Fallon started his site as an idealistic experiment. But his platform has made illegal trade not only more efficient—but also more dangerous. Now the FBI aren’t the only ones out to get him. As profits soar, a criminal organization casts its monstrous gaze on Fallon, and danger leaps from cyberspace into reality.Feeling pressure from both sides of the law, Fallon is forced to make a decision with shattering consequences. Can Agent Tanchik find Fallon before his dangerous infrastructure falls into the wrong hands?

    A surveyor for the local fracking operation, the accused was leading a dangerous double life—shacking up with a prostitute named Kim and overindulging in Whitehurst’s deadly new drug, a powerful stimulant called “devil dust.”Out of her element in this badlands boomtown, Alice joins forces with the street-smart Kim, whose connections open doors some in town would rather keep closed. Working together, they descend into the heart of the local drug trade, unraveling a decades-old conspiracy that reaches to the top of Whitehurst’s social strata.As Alice comes closer to cracking the case, however, people around her start disappearing. With the case and her life spinning out of control, Alice embarks on a single-minded, dust-fueled campaign to expose the truth—an effort that will take her to the darkest places imaginable.

    He spends his days treating patients at the St. Jude’s Hospital ER and his nights going after the psychopaths who wrong them: the child molesters, wife beaters, and rapists. But when the fiery, beautiful new social worker discovers his secret identity and their love affair takes off, Robert is forced to face some hard questions:Do the ends justify the means?After years of hunting down psychopaths, is Robert turning into one himself?An action thriller with strong, distinct characters, filled with suspense and surprise, Dr. Vigilante is also a love story unfolding amid the turmoil and drama of a busy ER.

    She’s happily married, has two beautiful children, a close knit group of friends, and a cause she cares deeply about. But beneath the surface, her world of safety and comfort is unraveling. The periods of lost time she’s kept secret—even from her husband—are happening more frequently. She certainly doesn’t remember leaving her Sarasota home at three-thirty in the morning to burn someone alive. Now she sits in a Florida state mental institution, awaiting judgement on whether she’s fit to stand trial on charges of murder and arson. While a psychologist works to help Alice face her past, her future depends on the answer to one question: How far did she go for justice?*This book is recommended for mature audiences. While there are no explicit scenes of graphic or explicit violence, it does touch on themes of trafficking and sexual assault.

     Kaden Baker, an elite hacker who dabbles in covert ops, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers her parents were not who she thought they were. Where does she come from? Who’s been financing her high-stakes secret missions? The answers lead back to the same sinister biotech firm. As Kaden and Valerie become allies, they make one startling discovery after another about the company’s intentions. But each step closer to the truth puts their lives at greater risk. The stakes couldn’t be higher—for Kaden’s freedom, for Valerie’s fate, and for the future direction of humanity itself.

    He is alone for the first time in over sixty years: his wife, Emily, just passed away and he isn't taking her loss well. He doesn't remember how to be alone, and he isn't sure if he can forgive himself for the mistakes he made while she was alive.Edward White is a long time family friend who knows something is wrong with Calvin. He comes to check on him during his time of need and make sure he isn't planning to do anything reckless. Edward understands just how dangerous things are for someone struggling the way Calvin is, and he hopes talking to him can settle things back down. He just hopes he isn't too late to help.Help, however, isn't the easiest thing to give, and it can be even more difficult to accept...Love, loss, and forgiveness weave through this human tale of friendship and hope.

    A year later, he has become the country’s leading gun control activist and a media darling.When Ethan teams up with a powerful senator to push an extreme gun measure through Congress, a divided America watches the political fireworks in Washington. As both sides of the debate mobilize for an epic showdown, the public is about to discover that everything they know about the massacre that launched this movement may be wrong.Journalist Tierra Campos and FBI Special Agent Victoria Larsen begin questioning the official investigation into the shooting and find themselves caught in the political crossfire. Despite public condemnation, covert activities, and physical violence meant to stop them, they remain undaunted in their quest – but at what price? With their careers threatened and livelihoods at stake, they must race to unlock the secrets behind this horrible mass shooting before the truth disappears forever. Amidst the maelstrom of political agendas, personal vendettas, and brash cover-ups, the push to uncover the real motives behind the tragedy will have devastating consequences. When the dust settles, a shocked nation must make a fateful judgment: do the ends justify the means in politics, or is there no such thing as Justifiable Deceit?

    It’s nothing that a stiff drink won’t cure. After all, bad news only hurts optimists.But when the mysterious leader of the rebels cherry-picks him to acquire certain information for her, Len is forced to go on an investigative mission where he uncovers millennia-old secrets and unwittingly triggers a chain of disturbing events that will determine the future of humankind.Author Kevin Gaughen’s dynamic debut novel, Interest, creates a seamless alternate reality behind real-world political tensions while keeping pace with its page-turning plot. Interest is as riveting as it is thought-provoking.Who really runs the world we live in? The further Len digs, the darker the answers appear to be…