Little did she know a momentary slip in judgment would result in her little sister's abduction. Unable to call the police for fear her sister will be killed, Mallory has no choice but to play the awful game the sadistic kidnapper has designed for her, one that begins during the crowded midday hours, but won't end until long after the mall shuts down for the evening. HIS MALL . . . Mr. Campbell has been waiting a long time for the perfect game, one that is obviously stacked in his favor given that failure would result in his imprisonment. Such stacking doesn't really concern him, however, not when it is the fun of the hunt, and the ever-changing scenario, that gets his blood pumping. And Mallory seems to be the perfect girl for this, her sudden lack of compliance after the first few tasks he instructs her to perform in order to keep her sister alive quite different than what he is used to when dealing with his female victims. In fact, in all his years of playing such games, he has never before encountered a girl who will allow such horror to unfold upon the captured loved one simply so she can preserve her own dignity. It is quite refreshing. HIS GAME . . . Dan knew his security shift at the mall would be hectic, what with it being one of the last shopping days before Christmas and a blizzard predicted to hit the area during the afternoon hours. What he wasn't expecting was to be caught up in a horrific game of cat and mouse between a college girl named Mallory and an unknown serial killer that kidnapped and is torturing her little sister. Not that he actually realizes this is what is unfolding, his self-imposed quest to figure out what is causing the similarly aged college student to act so bizarre his only real concern. Well, that and staying under the radar of his boss Jerry who seems to have it out for him. Will he be able to help Mallory survive her ordeal once the reality of the situation becomes known to him, or will he fall victim to a serial killer that never intended for him to be a part of the game? HIS RULES!

    He lost his job, his home, and his girlfriend is sleeping with his best friend. Life just doesn’t seem worthwhile anymore.But he has a plan. He will bring suffering to every single person who hurt him. Every cruel act visited upon him will be met with grave retribution.Revenge has never been more horrifying.

    Who am I? My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen and I'm about to die. I'm buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I'm lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won't stop shaking.Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I'm delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I'm the one buried in a grave. My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen. I'm about to die.So who are you?In a return to the kind of storytelling that made Black, Showdown and Three unforgettable, New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker drags that question into the light with this modern day parable about how we see ourselves. Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open is raw adrenaline from the first page to the last pure escapism packed with inescapable truth. Not all is as it seems. Or is it? Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally.

    As local townsfolk in a northern city disappear masked men with sinister links to the past haunt the streets. Unconnected events begin to align as Detective Chief Inspector Renwick realises these mysterious figures have chosen targets and an even bigger plan.In the Lancashire town of Kempforth, people are vanishing. Mist hangs heavy in the streets, and in those mists move the masked figures the local kids call the Spindly Men. When two year old Roseanne Trevor disappears, Detective Chief Inspector Renwick vows to stop at nothing until she finds her. In Manchester, terrifying visions summon TV psychic Allen Cowell and his sister Vera back to the town they swore they’d left forever. And local historian Anna Mason pieces together a history of cruelty and exploitation almost beyond belief, born out of the horrors of war – while in the decaying corridors and lightless rooms of a long-abandoned hospital, something terrible is waiting for them all.

    Rachel, an 18-year-old Columbia University student, descends into the netherworld of runaways and predators to find her sister, Olivia, who has suddenly disappeared.After getting a job in a strip joint where Olivia worked, then doing private shows in the homes of rich clients, Rachel discovers that Olivia has been abducted by a killer who auctions the deaths of young girls in an eBay of agony.As she closes in on the killer who has taken Olivia, Rachel becomes his next target.

    Konrath: "Crouch is one of the best thriller short story writers I know. He uses words like an artist uses a paintbrush; to hurt, to stun, to shock, to provoke, to touch. This collection also features my very favorite short story of all time. Not just my favorite by Crouch, but the best one I've ever read by anyone. It's called "Unconditional." It is flat-out brilliant and unforgettable, and that one tale is worth the price of this entire collection." From the author of DESERT PLACES and LOCKED DOORS comes this complete collection of short stories and novellas. *69 - Tim and Laura West receive a bizarre voicemail on their answering machine that seems to have unintentionally recorded a brutal murder. But what happens when the killer realizes their mistake? This story develops over one terrifying evening, and this young couple will never be the same. REMAKING - Tragic events unfold in a snowy, sleepy Colorado town. From the first scene, in which a man sits alone in the cold, watching a father and son in a diner, you know something is about to go horribly wrong. You may think you know what's happening, but in this thrilling, heartbreaking story, nothing is as it seems. ON THE GOOD, RED ROAD - A group of four hard men trying to reach a remote 19th Century mining town become stranded in an early blizzard and resort to drastic, terrifying measures, to stay alive. SHINING ROCK - An older couple encounter a strange and menacing visitor during a camping trip in the North Carolina mountains. Friendly at first, this stranger seems to know them, seems to know their secrets, and as things escalate, they become convinced that they may never leave these mountains alive. PERFECT LITTLE TOWN - Ron and Jessica Stahl are a power couple from California, on a Christmas holiday in Colorado. When they stop for the afternoon in sleepy Lone Cone, they're charmed by the quaint tourist town. But the folksy hospitality will vanish as the sun drops behind the mountains. The Stahls couldn't have picked a worse night of the year to get snowed into this perfect little town with a dark, dark secret. SERIAL - The classic horror short I wrote with J.A. Konrath, in which we turn our attention to the twin golden rules of hitchhiking: # 1: Don't go hitchhiking, because the driver who picks you up could be certifiably crazy. # 2: Don't pick up hitchhikers, because the traveler you pick up could be a raving nutcase. So what if, on some dark, isolated road, Crazy #1 offered a ride to Nutcase #2? THE NEWTON BOYS' LAST PHOTOGRAPH - At 25 words, the shortest story I ever wrote. But it packs a wallop. THE METEOROLOGIST - Peter, a disgraced meteorologist and chronic wanderer, has traveled the country for years in his Winnebago, in search of the only thing that gives his life meaning. He's just arrived in the middle of nowhere-Hokie, Kansas-for the same purpose, but when he meets a waitress named Melanie, another sufferer, he's faced not only with his first real human contact in years, but perhaps someone who can save him. UNCONDITIONAL - A conversation between two people-devastating, tragic, and beautiful. THE PAIN OF OTHERS - Letty Dobesh, a gorgeous, degenerate thief, is fresh out of the clink and back to her old tricks-in this case, burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. But when she's surprised by returning guests on her last room of the day, she's forced to hide in the closet to avoid getting caught, and inadvertently overhears a hitman being contracted to murder the wife of a wealthy lawyer. This 60,000-word short story collection also contains a foreword by J.A. Konrath and introductions to each story by the author. BLAKE CROUCH is the author of four novels and numerous short stories, including "Serial" which he co-wrote with J.A. Konrath and has been downloaded more than 300,000 times. He lives in southwest Colorado, where he is at work on a new book. His website is www.blakecrouch.co

    The afterword explains where the ideas for the stories came from.

    When you’re sent to retrieve files from the abandoned, lightless, decaying Sub Basement, you’re likely to come out with a story or two. Rats, strange noises, and perhaps something much, much worse lurk in the building’s deepest level, and the longer you spend down there, the stranger your tales become... Sub Basement is a chilling twenty-minute story, perfect for a quick read late at night.

    High up on the windswept cliffs of Pale Peak, Faye and Felix celebrate their new engagement. But soon, a chorus of ghastly noises erupts from the nearby woods: the screams of animals, the cries of children, and the mad babble of a hundred mournful voices. A dark figure looms near the windows in the dead of night, whispering to Faye. As the weather turns deadly, Felix discovers that his terrified fiancée isn’t just mumbling in her sleep – she’s whispering back. Originally a contest-winning story on reddit.com’s horror community NoSleep, Stolen Tongues has received widespread acclaim and is now being adapted into a feature film.

    Their shared secrets drove them apart. But now they're together again in this riveting novella that begins where New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shayne's Sleep with the Lights On ended.She may have been blind for twenty years, but Rachel's always had an uncanny gift for seeing through people—and she distrusts her assistant's new boyfriend at first sight. Amy isn't interested in Rachel's misgivings, though. She's too eager to celebrate Thanksgiving by introducing her family to the new man in her life.Then Amy doesn't show up for the holiday….Desperate to find her missing friend, Rachel has no choice but to turn to Mason. Their investigation into Amy's disappearance takes them ever deeper into danger—and reignites the attraction that they've both sworn to resist. Now it's a race against time as these reluctant partners fight to stave off passion and save a life.

    Smith is a cultural genius."DESCRIPTION: From international best-selling thriller author Christopher Smith ("FIFTH AVENUE") comes a new young adult series of paranormal thrillers written under the name, C.R. Smith. "BULLIED" is the first novella in THE BULLIED SERIES, which focuses on Seth Moore, a relentlessly bullied 18-year-old boy who is gifted an amulet that ignites within him telekinetic powers. If Seth uses the amulet properly, it will protect him from those determined to crush him. But after so many years of being beaten down and humiliated by the school's popular crowd and the teachers who protect them, the question is whether Seth can keep away from the dark side the amulet offers--and not become a bully himself, even when all hell breaks loose. BULLIED is an intense thriller that will speak volumes to anyone who has ever been bullied and wished they had a powerful way out. It's also a cautionary tale on the act of bullying itself.The series contains violence and language appropriate for a PG-13 rating.YOU CAN REACH C.R. SMITH AT ChristopherSmithBooks@gmail.com.JOIN C.R. SMITH'S BLOG HERE FOR NEW BOOK UPDATES: http://www.christophersmithbooks.com/INTERACT WITH C.R. SMITH ON FACEBOOK AT THIS LINK (JUST "LIKE" THE PAGE IN YOUR BROWSER): http://on.fb.me/g9Z1RY

    But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...Ice rescue diver Derek Warner never meant to be a hero. But when two little girls go missing, he's the first in line to bring them home-even if that means scouring the wilderness with the woman he once loved and lost, Artemis Rey.Artemis has never stopped wanting Derek. Now, racing to find the girls before it's too late, minutes turn to hours. Night falls. Old flames rekindle. And a danger grows in the darkest wilderness that may be more than even the Search and Rescue brotherhood can hope to face...

    On a clear winter morning he sets out in his Cessna 180 to do some repairs on a remote hunt camp, leaving his five year old son and very pregnant wife snug in their beds.On the return trip, a squall forces him into an emergency landing and he winds up—quite literally—in the lap of petty criminal Dale Knight. Dale, now a fugitive from the law—and worse, from a merciless drug lord who just happens to be his brother—draws Tom into a web of mayhem and treachery that puts not only his life at risk, but the lives of his wife, son…and unborn child.SQUALL is a fast-paced, darkly-comic tale of murder and gang-style retribution that grabs the reader on page one and simply does not let go.

    With a population of almost nineteen million people, it's easy to remain anonymous even if you're a serial killer, torturing and murdering beautiful young women. The killer has another victim right now, locked in a basement somewhere in the city. For NYPD detectives Turner and Marcinko, it's their job to sift through those nineteen million and narrow their list to the one before it's too late. And they're sure they have the right man in their sights. Fusing alternating viewpoints with devastating precision, Leather's top-notch thriller dives deep into the mind of a demented killer as tension mounts immeasurably. Turner and Marcinko's prime suspect is screenwriter wannabe Marvin Waller. He is becoming increasingly frustrated by his lack of success and the cops think he might be channeling his anger into murder ? yet he doesn't seem to be at all concerned that they are hot on his trail. As Turner and Marcinko close in on Waller they have to wonder: is he the killer? And if he isn't ? who is? Only time will tell ? and time is one thing they do not have. An unrelenting vice-grip of suspense and fear, The Basement is the ultimate shocker with a shattering climax that will leave you battered, bruised, and broken.

    It's not available anywhere else, and for a limited time, each download from Audible benefits educational charities at DonorsChoose.org.A few words from Neil: "Why tell ghost stories? Why read them or listen to them? Why take such pleasure in tales that have no purpose but, comfortably, to scare?"I don't know. Not really. It goes way back. We have ghost stories from ancient Egypt, after all, ghost stories in the Bible, classical ghost stories from Rome (along with werewolves, cases of demonic possession, and of course, over and over, witches). We have been telling each other tales of otherness, of life beyond the grave, for a long time; stories that prickle the flesh and make the shadows deeper and, most important, remind us that we live, and that there is something special, something unique and remarkable, about the state of being alive. Happy Halloween!""'What kind of story would you like me to tell you?' 'Well,' he said, thoughtfully, 'I don't think it should be too scary, because then when I go up to bed, I will just be thinking about monsters the whole time. But if it isn't just a little bit scary, then I won't be interested. And you make up scary stories, don't you?'"So begins this subtle, witty, deceptive little tale from master storyteller Neil Gaiman. Lock the doors, turn off the lights, and enjoy!Included in the anthology Impossible Monsters, edited by Kasey Lansdale.