Cool under pressure with a tough, take-no-prisoners demeanor, he has been recruited by the CIA to head up an undercover team tasked with capturing a ruthless international drug trafficker.Posing as a sailing school captain in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he meets his fair share of young women, but his desires run dark and deep, and there is no room for romantic entanglements.When sassy, sexy, auburn-haired spitfire Beth Cameron charters his yacht, he keeps her at arm's length--until her rebellious streak puts her life in danger. Jerking her over his lap, he delivers a stinging spanking, then suddenly surrendering to temptation, he throws her on his bed and mercilessly ravages her until she is screaming his name and begging for more.Though he wants to oblige, engine trouble forces his return to shore, but just moments after they dock she vanishes. No note, no call, no text.It's now six months later, and he cannot believe his eyes.She is running frantically down the wharf towards him, terror in her face and wearing a long, blonde wig...

    Snyder proves once again that she is fearless in mapping every corner of the literary landscape. Not content to be confined to any single region, she guides readers through dark realms of fantasy into the churning industry of steampunk, from the dizzying heights of science fiction down to the most desolate depths of horror.The strength of the tales that make up this quiet cataclysm—for example “Magdala Amygdala,” winner of the 2013 Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction—do not compete. Instead they overlap to create a vista of ethical armageddons at once thorny and hopeful. Snyder’s irresistible prose and stunning eye for detail bind together a collection that defies expectation but delivers deep satisfaction.Table of ContentsMagdala AmygdalaHowever …. (with Gary Braunbeck)Spare the RodMiz Ruthie Pays Her RespectsThe Good GirlThe Cold GalleryAbandonment OptionThe Cold Blackness BetweenI Fuck Your SunshineCarnal HarvestAntumbraDiamante and StrassTiger Girls vs. the ZombiesRepent, Jessie Shimmer!The Leviathan of Trincomalee

    There was something mighty spooky about that huge old clapboard structure behind the sand dunes and the sea oats. It was as gray as the stormy twilight sky behind it and the rolling waves of the Gulf in front of it and the Spanish moss that hung on the bent and twisted live oak and cedar trees all around it.Shelley's family moves into an old mansion on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and discover that there is a mystery to be solved and a treasure to be found before the house can really belong to them. Shelley wants to solve the mystery all by herself...but encounters danger...intriguing clues...a poltergeist... and spooky Gulf Coast legends.-from the back cover

    "They looked like mob guys. They had that arrogance exuded by those who liked to intimidate - those who were the proud purveyors of fear." Amidst the nightly gaiety was the back room, where business deals were made, hits were ordered, and territories were divided. Trenchie, not being a "rat" is just released from his ten-year prison sentence. A new life is waiting - complete with envelopes of money and a steak house to call his own. He finds the woman of his dreams who brings along ex-husband baggage. Hit man Jimmy The Hat finds unexpected fame and fortune in Hollywood, yet always stays true to the "boys", especially Trenchie. His loyalty costs him his life. "Crazy Joey Gallo" and his brothers break away from the Profaci family and go "rogue, on their own now. They split their gang into several small groups and spread them out over the five boroughs." Harsh punishment awaits those who talk. "The colt 45 caliber bullet did its deed, taking with it a sizable portion of Rag's brain, forming a pink mist, mixed with bone and grey matter that puffed in front of Rag's head like a small mushroom, deflating when it met the chilly evening air. The current would soon carry his body at least a mile away."

    We’ve been told nothing bad happens in small towns. You can leave your doors unlocked, and your windows wide open. We picture peaceful hamlets with a strong sense of community, and everyone knows each other. But what if this wholesome idyllic image doesn’t always square with reality? Small towns might look and feel safe, but statistics show this isn’t really true.Tiny town, big crime. Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story―they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe. Discover how unsolved murders, kidnapping, shooting sprees, violent robbery, and other bad things can and do happen in small towns all over the world.If you enjoyed Mitzi's last book in the series, The Best New True Crime Stories: Serial Killers, and true crime books like In Cold Blood, Murder in the Bayou, and The Innocent Man, then you’ll love The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns.

    Now she tells her own gripping story-the unbelievable motive for the murder, the shocking identity of the accused, and her own nine-year battle to bring her son's killers to justice.