Offering the finest examples from all reaches of the genre, this collection charts the mystery's eminent history from the turn-of-the-century puzzles of Futrelle, to the seminal pulp fiction of Hammett and Chandler, to the mystery story's rise to legitimacy in the popular mind, a trend that has benefited masterly writers like Westlake, Hunter, and Grafton. Nowhere else can readers find a more thorough, more engaging, more essential distillation of American crime fiction. Penzler, the Best American Mystery Stories series editor, and Hillerman winnowed this select group out of a thousand stories, drawing on sources as diverse as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Esquire, Collier's and The New Yorker. Giants of the genre abound -- Raymond Chandler, Stephen King, Dashiell Hammett, Lawrence Block, Ellery Queen, Sara Paretsky, and others -- but the editors also unearthed gems by luminaries rarely found in suspense anthologies: William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Damon Runyon, Harlan Ellison, James Thurber, and Joyce Carol Oates. Mystery buffs and newcomers alike will delight in the thrilling stories and top-notch writing of a hundred years' worth of the finest suspense, crime, and mystery writing.

    Justice WarningA.M. Hargrove For The Love of My Sexy GeekAleatha Romig UnconventionalC.A. Harms RawGina Whitney Stilettos and Broken BottlesHilary Storm Ridin’ DirtyKatherine Rhodes InnuendoKate Benson RedemptionKathy Coopmans ParoleKatie Ashley The PlanLiv Morris Sweet SecondsM.C. Cerny Declan's DemandM. Stratton In His ArmsMichelle Dare UncuffedMJ Fields TerzettoNina Levine RiskS. Moose Author Adjusting the DealS.D. Hildreth Mister PrickT.K. Leigh InfernoTerri E. Laine HoneyTia Louise SundownToni Aleo Not The One

    There have been hardcovers and paperbacks, an issue with two spines, an issue with a magnetic binding, an issue that looked like a bundle of junk mail, and an issue that looked like a sweaty human head. McSweeney’s has won multiple literary awards, including two National Magazine Awards for fiction, and has had numerous stories appear in The Best American Magazine Writing, the O. Henry Awards anthologies, and The Best American Short Stories. Design awards given to the quarterly include the AIGA 50 Books Award, the AIGA 365 Illustration Award, and the Print Design Regional Award.

    From a Moravian Dark One who must take on zombies and an angst-ridden teenage vampire to win the love of his soul mate, to a sunbathing vampire who finds the woman of his dreams in Vegas, this hilarious collection of paranormal romances celebrates the lives and loves of the immortal undead.Contains "Viva Las Vampires" by Jennifer Ashley, "Bring Out Your Dead" by Katie MacAlister, and "Lucy and the Crypt Casanova" by Minda Webber.

    They know just the right spell to kill a man with one kiss—or raise him back again. And they’re not afraid to exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. But what if you’re the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer’s curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it?In this bewitching collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors tell all-new, otherworldly tales.  Spellbinding stories featuring bigfoot, albino vampires, professional wizards, resurrected boyfriends and even a sex droid from the twenty-third century named Silicon Lily.  But as our conjurers are about to discover, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hexed.  And sometimes, even the best spun spells can lead to complete and utter mayhem. Includes:Retribution Clause by Ilona AndrewsBigfoot on Campus by Jim ButcherHolly’s Balm by Rachel CaineSnow Job by Carole Nelson DouglasOutside The Box by P. N. ElrodHow Do You Feel? by Simon R. GreenThere Will Be Demons by Lori HandelandCherry Kisses by Erica HayesThe Arcane Art of Misdirection by Carrie VaughnLength: 13 hours and 8 minutes

            The stories are divided into three sections: The Age of Fable or Stories of Gods and Heroes (first published in 1855); The Age of Chivalry (1858), which contains King Arthur and His Knights, The Mabinogeon, and The Knights of English History; and Legends of Charlemagne or Romance of the Middle Ages (1863). For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil, and for the sagas of the north, from Mallet's Northern Antiquities. He provides lively versions of the myths of Zeus and Hera, Venus and Adonis, Daphne and Apollo, and their cohorts on Mount Olympus; the love story of Pygmalion and Galatea; the legends of the Trojan War and the epic wanderings of Ulysses and Aeneas; the joys of Valhalla and the furies of Thor; and the tales of Beowulf and Robin Hood. The tales are eminently readable. As Bulfinch wrote, "Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. . . . Our book is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement."Thomas Bulfinch, in his day job, was a clerk in the Merchant's Bank of Boston, an undemanding position that afforded him ample leisure time in which to pursue his other interests. In addition to serving as secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, he thoroughly researched the myths and legends and copiously cross-referenced them with literature and art. As such, the myths are an indispensable guide to the cultural values of the nineteenth century; however, it is the vigor of the stories themselves that returns generation after generation to Bulfinch.

    Three novellas. Two interlocking stories. One sizzling read.Nice set up: one spirited woman in Kit Townsend, and two hot buddies, Ryder and Mac, who take turns giving Kit what she needs. It's the perfect no-strings triangle and while it doesn't exactly follow the rules, neither does Kit. But when love unexpectedly throws these three friends for a loop, can they still have a happy ending?And then there's Mia Malone, a sweet Dallas girl who had big dreams for the future when she first met Texas Ranger Logan Kincaid. That fairy tale was a lifetime ago. Today, framed for drug possession, she's forced to work undercover at a strip joint where several working girls have disappeared. Then in walks Logan-her protector, savior, and lover.

    She doesn't drink it, though. Jesse the bartender notices the beautiful, sad woman who keeps to herself. Until one night when she lets go and lets him in. And after that, Jesse has only one mission--to show her one night is only the beginning.SEIZE THE NIGHT by Tiffany Reisz Four years ago, a night of forbidden passion between Remi and Julien, the heirs of two powerful and competitive horse-racing families, led to a feud that is threatening to ruin both farms. Now Remi must find Julien again, but when she does, her need for Julien is just as strong and just as forbidden.

    A chronicle of the final seven days of a town that is about to be razed to the ground by an invading army. The lonely voyage of an elephant from Kerala to a princess’s palace in Morocco. A fabled cook who flavours his food with precious stones. A coterie of international diplomats trapped in near-Earth orbit. These, and the other stories can be found in this collection.

    Not stories of triumph over adversity, but something completely other. Described in language that is brilliantly sardonic, Woods's characters return repeatedly to places where they don't belong—often the places where they were born. In "Zombie," a coming-of-age story like no other, two young girls find friendship with a mysterious woman in the local cemetery. "Take the Way Home That Leads Back to Sullivan Street" describes a lesbian couple trying to repair their relationship by dropping acid at a Mensa party. In "A New Mohawk," a man in romantic pursuit of a female political activist becomes inadvertently much more familiar with the Palestine/Israel conflict than anyone would have thought possible. And in the title story, Woods brings us into the mind of a queer goth teenager who faces ostracism from her small-town evangelical church.In the background are the endless American wars and occupations and too many early deaths of friends and family. This is fiction that is fresh and of the moment, even as it is timeless.