April Willis is walking to school when someone in a white van tries to snatch her from the street. It’s the second attack in less than a week and, with parents and students beginning to panic, it’s down to Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel to find the culprit. This short story takes place between the Jessica Daniel novels Playing With Fire and Thicker Than Water.

    Hitler has just conquered Poland, but life in London continues much as it did in peacetime, albeit a little more restricted since the introduction of petrol rationing. No bombs have been dropped on the city as yet, but the population go about their daily business under the constant threat of German air raids, and a blackout remains in force at night. For Scotland Yard and the criminal fraternity, however, it is business as usual. When a pawnbroker’s assistant is wounded by a gunman wearing a gasmask, it appears to be a straightforward case of a bungled armed robbery, but as Hawker proceeds with his investigation, the more facts he uncovers the more confusing the affair becomes. A red-headed soldier, a missing gun, a dead cat, an empty violin case and a damaged violin are only a few of the threads that have to be unravelled before he can wrap up the case – with a little help from Sherlock Holmes.

    Never before published, it features her ex-Special Forces soldier turned self-defence expert and bodyguard, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox.In Across The Broken Line, we follow Charlie through a fragmented timescale of cross and double-cross as she fights to keep her principal alive – whoever that might be.

    All he wants is to get his work done and enjoy a quiet existence. But when he’s caught up in a terrorist attack on the London Underground, his life is turned upside down.As he lies recovering in his hospital bed, a shadowy figure visits him and tells Sam not only is he a key witness to the attack, but he has unique access to information which could blow open a huge conspiracy and bring down the British government.Will Sam risk everything he knows and loves to save his country?

    They travel to a mountain hideaway to celebrate their first year together as a family when things begin to unravel. Her husband goes missing after a treacherous car accident, and the wife and daughter seem trapped and isolated, and stalked from both inside and outside the cabin. What ensues is the story of a woman driven by her soulless greed and self entitlement, and a man who is wronged and apparently out to get revenge. This deadly game of cat and mouse will keep you on the edge of your seat. The macabre scenes include deadly traps and medieval torture devices, hidden doors, secret rooms, and an underground labyrinth of torture chambers. Add in the legend of a hoard of pure gold bars, and it becomes clear that someone has a much bigger plan in mind and will let nothing get in their way. But who? This is the story of a plot so devious that it is set up to fool the State police investigation. But can it fool you? Keep guessing until the final scene as to what is really going on and let your intuition guide you.

    In Sneeze for Danger, a killer is unmasked by unfortunate means, and in The Consolation Blonde, a misunderstanding turns a bestselling author to crime…‘Very smart and memorable . . . both stories are great reminders of a time when McDermid was sharpening her teeth on the crime fiction genre and the great writer she was to become . . . an excellent aperitif before the next McDermid novel’

    There's Luke Williams, a young American who's been left in a wheelchair by a drunk driver. Then there's Brian Tully, a wise-cracking bully with connections in Vegas, together with his sheepish family. And finally there's Dan Borowski, an Australian security analyst. Trouble is, Dan isn't there to relax, and though they don't yet know it, nor are any of the others... This short story first appeared in "Storyglossia" in May 2008. Dan Borowski first appeared as a character in "For the Dogs", and this is one of two short stories (the other is "Retrospective") to feature him.

    Funny, sad, but always shocking, each tale carries a twist that will haunt readers for days after they turn the final page . . .This 25,000 word collection, available exclusively in this ebook edition, includes:12 Bolingbroke Avenue (First published in 1998)Number Thirteen (First published in 2010)Just Two Clicks (First published in 2004)Dead on the Hour (First published in 2006)Virtually Alive (First published in 1997)Meet Me at the Crematorium (First published in 2009)Venice Aphrodisiac (First published in 2011)Time Rich (First published in 2013)Christmas is for the Kids (First published in 1993)

    It has lain in the cold and dark of the bog, waiting patiently for a host to set it free. Now, for John Cluer and his family, nothing will ever be the same again.A novelette of approximately 10,000 words.

    In "Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's "Last Call," wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection of short stories!

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Check in for the night with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.Eve has a fake ID, a .38, and a violent lover receding in the rearview mirror. He’ll never find her at the isolated motel, and its kindly manager is happy to ease her fears. But if Eve is the only guest, whom does she keep hearing on the other side of the wall? Eve won’t get a good night’s rest until she finds out.Lisa Unger’s The Sleep Tight Motel is part of Dark Corners, a collection of seven heart-stopping short stories by bestselling authors who give you so many new reasons to be afraid. Each story can be read in a single sitting. Or, if you have the nerve, you can listen all by yourself in the dark.

    Follow the terror and drama in five short stories that will bring you gravely close to your fears. The winds are howling, can you hear the screams? WARNING: Not the famous Stephen King from Maine.

    Worse, the incident has her confronting ghosts dredged up from her own past. Then another child goes missing--and Laura must put aside her own conflicting emotions and race the clock to find her. A Daphne du Maurier Award nominee.THE DEVIL'S DEEP (Michael Wallace)Chad Lett is a mute witness to an attempted murder. He suffers from total paralysis, locked within a prison of his own mind. After years of silence, he establishes contact with a young nurse's aide through a single blinking eye. But then she is abducted, and a staff member begins to administer dropperfuls of cleaning solution into Chad's lone communicating eye... NIGHT GAME (Carol Davis Luce)Nevada. The King's Club resort casino is a playground for gamblers with everything to gain ... and the hunting ground for a shadowy killer with nothing to lose. An expert at undercover surveillance, PI Kasey Atwood is drawn to the sensual, enigmatic owner, Jay King, who's placed his bets on her talents. As their love affair heats up, though, she becomes a pawn in a game of passion and revenge that puts her heart -- and her life -- at risk.FOUL JUSTICE (M A Comley)Before DI Lorne Simpkins can get comfortable with her new partner, the two are assigned a tragic murder case that looks like a robbery gone wrong. Further compromising Lorne's focus is the personal news that her fiancé, M16 agent Tony Warner, is involved in a dangerous covert operation in Afghanistan. Then another wealthy footballer's family meets the same deadly fate within twenty-four hours, and Lorne must bring all her resources to bear to stop the killers...