Near Checkpoint Zulu, one hundred miles from the Kuwaiti border, Thomas Benton meets Arwood Hobbes. Benton is a British journalist who reports from war zones in part to avoid his lackluster marriage and a daughter he loves but cannot connect with; Arwood is a mid-western American private who might be an insufferable ignoramus, or might be a genuine lunatic with a death wish--it's hard to tell. Desert Storm is over, peace has been declared, but as they argue about whether it makes sense to cross the nearest border in search of an ice cream, they become embroiled in a horrific attack in which a young local girl in a green dress is killed as they are trying to protect her. The two men walk away into their respective lives. But something has cracked for them both. Twenty-two years later, in another place, in another war, they meet again and are offered an unlikely opportunity to redeem themselves when that same girl in green is found alive and in need of salvation. Or is she?

    In 1966, Baltimore is a city of secrets that everyone seems to know--everyone, that is, except Madeline "Maddie" Schwartz. Last year, she was a happy, even pampered housewife. This year, she's bolted from her marriage of almost twenty years, determined to make good on her youthful ambitions to live a passionate, meaningful life. Maddie wants to matter, to leave her mark on a swiftly changing world. Drawing on her own secrets, she helps Baltimore police find a murdered girl--assistance that leads to a job at the city's afternoon newspaper, the Star. Working at the newspaper offers Maddie the opportunity to make her name, and she has found just the story to do it: a missing woman whose body was discovered in the fountain of a city park lake. Cleo Sherwood was a young African-American woman who liked to have a good time. No one seems to know or care why she was killed except Maddie--and the dead woman herself. Maddie's going to find the truth about Cleo's life and death. Cleo's ghost, privy to Maddie's poking and prying, wants to be left alone. Maddie's investigation brings her into contact with people that used to be on the periphery of her life--a jewelery store clerk, a waitress, a rising star on the Baltimore Orioles, a patrol cop, a hardened female reporter, a lonely man in a movie theater. But for all her ambition and drive, Maddie often fails to see the people right in front of her. Her inability to look beyond her own needs will lead to tragedy and turmoil for all sorts of people--including the man who shares her bed, a black police officer who cares for Maddie more than she knows.'

    But this was no ordinary death: gagged, bound and buried alive, he was the victim of a sophisticated and sadistic killer. And there is something else that has the National Crime Agency puzzled. A single character carved into a nearby tree.Newly promoted to the NCA's Behavioural Sciences Unit, Senior Investigator Joanne Stuart is determined to hunt down the perpetrator. Just as Jo's investigation begins to reveal links with other disappearances, there is another murder. This is no longer a cold case; she is dealing with the escalating violence of a chilling serial killer.Stepping into a sinister world of secrets, symbols and rituals, Jo will have to confront the legacy of her own past and the violent memories that lurk there if she is going to solve this case. But at what cost?

     Detective Kyle Villante gets his first call after coming off a two-year undercover stint that ended in a bloodbath and marred his reputation with the brass. But he doesn’t get to work the case alone. Detective Solomon Aduwo of the State Police has arrived in Harding to assist with the investigation. Villante bristles at the perceived leash around his neck, but he and Aduwo set out to work the case, all while Villante struggles to keep secrets and ghosts of the past from coming back to haunt him. Meanwhile, Aduwo has come to Harding with secrets of his own and an agenda that could doom Villante’s future. Murder Upstream is a thrilling mystery, full of vivid characters, puzzling questions, action and suspense.

    Clerk. Gentleman. Reluctant spy.July 1794, and the streets of London are filled with rumours of revolution. Political radical Thomas Hardy is to go on trial for treason, the war against the French is not going in Britain's favour, and negotiations with the independent American colonies are on a knife edge.Laurence Jago - clerk to the Foreign Office - is ever more reliant on the Black Drop to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter has been leaked to the press, which may lead to the destruction of the British Army, and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk, supposedly a suicide.Blame for the leak is shifted to the dead man, but even as the body is taken to the anatomists, Laurence is certain both of his friend's innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, and at a time when even the slightest hint of treason can lead to the gallows, how can Laurence find the true culprit without incriminating himself?A thrilling historical mystery, perfect for readers of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgson and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.________________________________________'A sparkling evocation of a distant time which is remarkably similar to the current one. I loved it' - TREVOR WOOD'Well written and well constructed, Jago is a character that readers will want to follow' - ALIX NATHAN'This opium-fuelled gem is a murderous romp through the tangled roots of British democracy' - JANICE HALLETT'Superb. Vivid and fast-paced, it's an impressive achievement and hugely enjoyable' - GUY MORPUSS'An astounding debut novel, written with style and confidence' - A.J. WEST'Black Drop is a joy from start to finish... Jago is a very sympathetic hero, with all his flaws, virtues and secrets' - ANDREW TAYLOR'A thrilling slice of pitch-dark historical fiction, led by a hugely engaging narrator' - EMMA STONEX'A gripping, intricate story of Georgian high politics and low life' - W.C. RYAN

    Now he’s been brought back to San Diego by the news that this friend has been arrested for beating up a teenage girl—a girl not much older than Elizabeth would be now.Joe is convinced Chuck Winslow is innocent, but Chuck is in a coma and can’t explain what happened. And the more Joe hears about what Chuck’s been up to in the years he’s been gone, the less Joe recognizes his old friend. To find out the truth, he will have to face his ex-wife, his former bosses, and a hometown full of wealth, lies, and illicit privilege. When Chuck’s accuser goes missing, Joe must decide where his loyalties truly lie.

    As time is of the essence, and the FDA will not be bought, the company is forced to conduct one last research study. They must prove through 500 study volunteers that the drug can be terminated at any time without severe side effects. But how will they achieve this when the volunteers all begin to drop like flies? And the volunteers are not the only obstacle, as Dominex finds it has some surprising adversaries.Carol Freeman discovers her medication prison after innocently becoming part of the drug company’s deceptive plan. As she works through her devastating reality, she uncovers the horrible truth about sedatives and one pharmaceutical company that will stop at nothing to get their new drug on the market, Carol, along with 499 other volunteers, like it or not, are in for the most frightening ride of their lives.Silent Epidemic, inspired by too many true stories, takes the reader on a wild journey. At the end of this adventure you will know the truth about the world’s best kept secret.

    I had taken a pretty good step into the shadows tonight." It's payback time, in this short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

    Lead detective Jeremy Ryder is a physically powerful, quiet and meticulous investigator. His partner Navi Pillay is a small and exceptionally strong Tamil martial arts instructor, and she provides the speed and physical power to complement Ryder's incisive sleuthing abilities. Together with their other detective colleagues Ryder and Pillay crack open two interwoven criminal operations. There are two key villains. One is a corrupt murderous senior police officer at the heart of the illegal gambling operation and the other is a sinister and violent gangster dealing in drugs and murder. Each of them presides over lesser criminals and each of them controls separate domains of corruption until their paths cross in a spectacular climax.

    Suspenseful, and thrilling, it is a mystery that unravels over time, following the lives of a group of seemingly unconnected people, as they struggle to bring an unusually talented serial killer to justice. CORNWALL, ENGLAND. In the summer of love, 1967, two children witness a murder. One, a seven-year old boy, views it from fifty yards - the other, a young Irish girl, from miles away... LONDON, 2006. With retirement looming, DCI John F Kennedy reopens the only unresolved case in his career, the disappearance of a young nurse, Kathy, twenty-three years earlier. The broadcast appeal for information on the missing teenage runaway, Eilise; is followed by a cold-case reconstruction of Kathy's last known movements. A new witness comes forward, and Kennedy - now set on the trail of a serial killer - unwittingly sparks a sequence of events that lead back to himself, threatening his own, very private existence. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes apparent that the murderer is no ordinary adversary. Resourceful and cunning, he has been operating undetected for over forty years, and it seems that only the original witnesses from 1967 can stop him. But they have yet to meet... The Sister is much more than just an ordinary thriller. It is the story of a lifetime...The book is a two part pilot episode with resolution, but left open to a series of planned spin-off self-contained episodes involving a selection of characters from the original story, the first of which is due for release in late spring.

    He's become a monster. Losing your wife, your daughter, and spending ten years behind bars will do that to a man. Especially an innocent one.Now Lawson's life sentence has been pardoned, and the people that conspired to put him away are desperately scrambling to bury their little secret in the Las Vegas desert once and for all.They know he's smart, they trained him. They know he's dangerous, he almost caught them. What they don't understand is that when the law he swore to protect failed him, the rules no longer apply. And when a well trained man, with nothing to lose, who's endured years of suffering comes for you, all the money and power on earth can't save you. But having the one thing left in the world that he is willing to die for, just might do the trick."Jack Reacher meets John Wick."

    A fifty-year old mystery could save him – or finish him off.Crossing fiction with a dash of true crime, Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery is Byron TD Smith’s clever “What if…” solution to the most captivating unsolved heist of the twentieth century. Henry Lysyk’s life is a mess. With his marriage over and his accounting career marred by scandal, he retreats to the anonymity of a rented suite in a house shared with strangers. But the trail of a decades-old crime leads a murderous treasure hunter to his doorstep, and Henry is baffled by his neighbors’ cover-up.An unexpected visit from his adventure-hungry niece, Frieda, further complicates Henry’s efforts to lay low. With his houseguest refusing to stay away from the danger, Henry’s terrified they’re about to expose secrets someone would kill to protect. Not knowing who to trust, they must choose which parts of the past to uncover, and which to leave buried.A real-life ransom, a shadowy past, unlikely allies, and ruthless murder. Can Henry unravel this cold case before he and Frieda become its next victims?

    As with all others, it’s a place of violence. There are murderers, and they live among us. This is also a tale about a couple — sometimes friends, occasionally lovers, but always partners. Dan and Olivia are fighting modern battles; the ones parents have over a lack of money, time or peace. An escalating serial killer terrifies the streets and homes. The body count rises as their relationship crumbles. Society reveals its dark side, and no one is safe. Dan and Olivia experience this first-hand as danger closes in. Will Abel’s reign of terror ever end? Who will live, and who will die?

    Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it’s too late.

    So when Ruby Winter, a small girl in need of help, arrives in the middle of the night, it seems like fate.A devastating secret.But as the events behind Ruby’s arrival emerge – her mother’s death, her connection to Cat – Cat questions whether her decision to help Ruby has put her own daughter at risk.Do we get the children we deserve?Cat’s research tells her there’s no such thing as evil. Her history tells her she’s paranoid. But her instincts tell her different. And as the police fight to control a sudden spate of riots raging across the capital, Cat faces a race against time of her own…