Everything is peaceful in the small, secure retirement community. That is until a resident, James, dies at his birthday party. Given his age it is presumed that he died of natural causes, but foul play is suspected and three residents join forces to try and uncover the truth. Although they are retired they use their skills and experiences from their professions as a detective, crime journalist, and accountant in the search for the murderer. But first they have to work out who a mysterious, yet familiar resident is. Just who is the mystery resident and will she prove to be an ally or foe? Will the ‘Sage Gardens Sleuths’ be able to catch the killer before one of them becomes a victim themselves?Money Can Be DeadlySamantha is relaxing by the lake enjoying the tranquil surroundings with her early morning cup of tea. The retirement village, Sage Gardens, is beautiful and peaceful at that time of the morning. But then Sam makes an unexpected discovery on the shores of the lake just before a Sage Garden’s employee turns up dead. The police arrest the perfect murder suspect, but the ‘Sage Gardens Sleuths’ do not believe he did it. The four retirees are on a mission to uncover the truth. Their investigations lead them directly towards some criminals and puts them in serious danger. Will they be able to find the real murderer before an innocent man spends his life behind bars? Or is the wool being pulled over their eyes and he really is guilty?Trust Can Be DeadlyThe retirement community, Sage Gardens, is usually peaceful and quiet and this morning is no different. That is until a resident is found murdered in his villa. The ‘Sage Gardens Sleuths’ decide to do a little investigating of their own to help speed up the process of revealing the murderer so that Sage Gardens can be a safe place to live once again. Their investigation leads them down a path they never anticipated and puts some of them in unexpected danger. Will they be able to catch the killer before one of them gets hurt? Or will they reach a dead end?Ties Can Be DeadlySamantha is relaxing by the lake enjoying the tranquil surroundings with her early morning cup of tea. The retirement village, Sage Gardens, is beautiful and peaceful at that time of the morning. But then Sam makes an unexpected discovery on the shores of the lake just before a Sage Garden’s employee turns up dead. The police arrest the perfect murder suspect, but the ‘Sage Gardens Sleuths’ do not believe he did it. The four retirees are on a mission to uncover the truth. Their investigations lead them directly towards some criminals and puts them in serious danger. Will they be able to find the real murderer before an innocent man spends his life behind bars? Or is the wool being pulled over their eyes and he really is guilty?

     Enter the nightmare. A nuclear bomb is detonated in New York. Banker, wife, mother, Cynthia lives in New York. And her brothers are determined to find her.

    She is a smart cookie and is rewarded an unexpected £20,000 ‘thank you’ from a client for smoothing the way on a due diligence assignment to clinch a deal. At the same time Jenny’s lover Martin, a partner at the accountancy practice, goes missing. When he turns up dead, Jenny thinks that keeping her secret and hiding her grief are her biggest problems. Just how naive can some people be?Deception, bribery and violence suddenly send Jenny’s life whirling sickeningly out of control. She quickly finds herself on the wrong side of the law. She suffers grossly when sentenced to serve time. Self-preservation inside only earns her more black marks on her record.Facing the loss of her home, her child, and her career, will Jenny be able to get herself back on track? Or is she set on a fatal collision course with the shadowy forces behind Martin’s death? Will her new security guard friends be able to flex enough muscle to protect her?It’s a dirty business where dirty money is concerned. Dirty dealings in the boardroom and chicanery in the world of motorsports provide an intriguing background to this fast-paced and ingenious thriller. Due Diligence is a high-octane race for survival in the company of a spirited young woman who discovers hidden reserves of talent when the going gets tough.

    Only by defeating the Alexandria Project can he clear himself. "THE ALEXANDRIA PROJECT is fiction that cuts close to the bone. But where George Orwell envisioned 1984 from the safety of thirty-five years out, the future that Updegrove describes may already be upon us. That's what makes it dangerous, and that's what makes THE ALEXANDRIA PROJECT an important as well as riveting read." - Dan Geer, CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER, In-Q-Tel

    Jeri Howard finds herself investigating in a puzzling missing persons case that sprawls throughout the grittier sections of Northern California. For a woman who told her husband she had no relatives, Renee Foster’s actually well-stocked with them….and doozies at that. The whole family—criminals, abusers, and kindly aunts alike-- comes alive in Janet Dawson’s first novel, prompting the New York Times to hail it as “a welcome addition to this tough genre.” There’s clearly a lot more here than the simple matter of a wife disappearing with the grocery money. Smelling a rat or two right from the beginning of this complex and intriguing mystery, the red-haired private detective follows many a twisty trail as Dawson weaves an equally twisty tale, which, to the reader’s delight, just keeps winding back on itself, revealing brand new secrets as fast as ancient skeletons can fall out of closets. Dawson’s Oakland is damp and properly sinister and Jeri’s as savvy as Sam Spade, with something of Spade’s seen-it-all outlook. What she doesn't know, her chic lawyer pal, Cassie, can supply; and her cop ex-husband’s on hand to make trouble. As winner of Private Eye Writers of America’s jointly sponsored contest with St. Martin’s Press for Best First Private Eye Novel, KINDRED CRIMES was a sensation even before it was published. It quickly went on to garner Shamus, Anthony, and Macavity nominations. Fans of female sleuths like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone will particularly enjoy it, as well as aficionados of Marcia Muller’s fellow Bay Area detective, Sharon McCone. “Dawson keeps suspense and interest at high pitch.” --Publishers Weekly “A satisfyingly complex and multilayered novel. . . A wonderfully told and compelling story from a writer who’s in complete control – as is her heroine – from start to finish.” --- The Denver Post. “An auspicious debut.”-- New York Daily News “Dawson writes believable dialogue, creates quickly realized and appealing characters and has a particularly nice atmospheric touch.” --San Francisco Examiner

    Epic adventure."[Pleasant Grove] kept me guessing from page one."—Ariel Stevenson, TheBookView.com"Ominous monstery fun! A ragtag group of kids trying to save the world...It's just what we need to fill that Stranger Things void."—Megan Putnam, PopReadsReviews"Perfect for fans of 1980s Steven Spielberg movies. It will keep you hanging on to the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down."—Lauren Stoolfire, Never-Anyone-Else Blog"Superb writing and a fantastically imagined story...You will be left breathless."—Erin Hamilton, MyShelvesAreFullWhat’s outside Pleasant Grove?Welcome to Pleasant Grove, a quiet small town where neighbor helps neighbor and doors are left unlocked at night—an unspoiled paradise with one peculiar feature: It’s enclosed by a glass dome.No one can leave. No one can enter. No one can survive beyond the dome.But then, a visitor arrives from the outside. When 12-year-old Agnes Goodwin discovers a strange boy with no memory, she teams up with her best friends to unravel the mystery. Their extraordinary adventure will uncover a long-buried secret so monstrous it will threaten everything they know…and everyone they love.

    a fast-paced, highly entertaining thriller." --KirkusAwards: 2009 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) Thriller semifinalistIt is the year 2071:  The world is at peace; across the planet mankind has vanquished poverty, embraced technology, the gym, healthy cooking-- found balance.In this world, Anne Kelley sticks out like a... well, like an under-employed, horribly insecure 260 pound woman might stick out in the year 2071.  She grits her teeth a lot; she averts her eyes a lot.Then one night Anne makes a discovery: it's the end of the world.  Not the mushroom cloud end, not the machines rise to judge their makers end... the hungry, swarming apocalypse end.  Yeah, that one... well, sort of.Now five damaged strangers must piece together the mystery and find the courage to stand together against an evil so ancient it predates written history.Now they must become the heroes the world needs before the darkness falls forever.Sometimes purpose falls into the most broken lives, like a careless stone fallen out of the clear black sky."Out of the Black is an amalgam of cop thriller, science fiction and magical fantasy. The mix is highly entertaining. The plot is taut, fast moving, and original. The prose is solidly crafted. Characters are fully realized, engaging and likable... The dialog is delicious; I often found myself laughing out loud." -- J. T. Thorleifson

    When a man dies violently one morning, only yards from the police station, the motive eludes him. The victim had recently been in India, looking for an ancient tomb that could contain something priceless. Was that reason enough to kill him?What seems to be a crime motivated by money, becomes something far more sinister. As the chief suspects continue to elude Nick, another agenda reveals itself, one that will bring death and destruction on a far larger scale. And anyone who compromises that agenda will be eliminated. As events unfold and the stakes get higher, Nick must confront the prospect of losing everything he holds dear, and taking a course of action that will change his life in ways he never imagined.

    Never one to back down, the Navy Cross winner is forced to use the skills honed in the Marines along with the assets of his deceased father's company, Stokes Security International (S.S.I.), to track down his enemy and penetrate the world of his enemy.He must seek his own brand of justice...Corps Justice.--Council of Patriots-- A beautiful woman butchered…A Congressman blackmailed…A secret cabal of Japanese imperialists…A small group of retired politicians form to protect America. The Council of Patriots is born. Former Marine Cal Stokes, and his team at SSI, head to Las Vegas, to uncover an invisible enemy that threatens to infiltrate the Democratic National Convention. What is their endgame, and more importantly: Who is the American politician pulling the strings?With assassins around every corner, and a supposed ally manipulating both sides, Stokes must carefully utilize his team and the Council to stop the rise of a new empire. --Prime Asset--An old enemy resurfaces…An employee kidnapped…A new weapon created…Cal Stokes’s good friend, Neil Patel, has disappeared. Following the trail to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Stokes and his men must find the culprit and rescue their colleague before it’s too late. The only problem is that the enemy lies in wait, hoping for a final showdown.With an outside group of aggressors making a play for dominance, the former Marine must lead his team through the hazardous snow-filled mountains to eliminate their adversary.How many bodies will be left when the snow melts?Like USMC books, American Patriotism, brotherhood and Marine Corps motivation? This series is for you.

    Everyone in the city outside the wall does. If you never cause any trouble, you never disappear.Even after her father's mysterious death, she's always known she'll do whatever it takes to live a good life and earn her place on the land one day.But when the watchmen suddenly start following her every move, it doesn't matter if she's done anything wrong. Now she needs to find out why they are watching before she vanishes without a trace.The City on the Sea, book one in the City on the Sea Series, is the thrilling first installment to this futuristic dystopian story. Climate change and rising sea levels have forced humanity to live on the ocean in order to protect the precious bit of land remaining. In the midst of this cli-fi adventure, a strong female lead character discovers that her world isn’t what it seems and learns to fight for the truth no matter the cost.

    When a high-profile delivery is compromised aboard a state-of-the-art cargo vessel, the newly appointed captain finds himself embroiled in an assignment far above his pay grade. Blackmail, terrorists, a malfunctioning prototype A.I. pilot, and a sinister terraforming corporation with deep criminal ties await him. Who knew delivering cargo to the deep recesses of space could be so dangerous? Armed only with his cunning and past military experience, Cole is one against many. But this unorthodox interstellar cargo pilot won’t go down without a fight—even after he is faced with a choice that will alter the course of his life forever.

    The Predators seek to prevent and punish lifecrimes: violations against ecosystems. With his partner Bria, a bear-like carnivore, Tarkos is given a dangerous and difficult mission. Deep space probes have located the last surviving Ulltrians, a race that once waged a holy war to force competition among the ecosystems of known space, and as a result nearly extinguished much of the life in the Galaxy. Tarkos and Bria must locate the World Hammer, a pair of co-orbiting sunless planets that are the last refuge of the Ulltrians, and discover the Ulltrian plans for a second attack on the Galactic Alliance.To save Galactic civilization, Tarkos and Bria will have to work with a team of strange aliens and artificial intelligences, explore the perilous ruins of an ancient world, dare the depths of an ocean that engulfs a dark planet, and fight a fierce battle in the ice rings of a gas giant.Evolution Commandos: Well of Furies is a stand-alone novel, but it is also the first third of the trilogy Evolution Commandos. In addition, it forms part of the ongoing Predator Space Chronicles, which are told in novels and short stories.EVOLUTION COMMANDOS: WELL OF FURIESNovel47,000 wordsLEARN MORE:Looking for an introduction to Tarkos, Bria, and Predator Space? Listen to EscapePod Episode 333! It's available for free at:http://escapepod.org/2012/02/23/ep333...ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Craig DeLancey has published dozens of short stories, in places like Analog, Nature Physics, Cosmos, Zahir, Aboriginal, and the Mississippi Review Online. His story "Julie Is Three" won the Analog Anlab readers choice award for short story in 2012. He is also a playwright, and his plays have received staged readings and performances in New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and elsewhere.www.craigdelancey.com

    Layer upon layer, twist upon twist, secret upon secret, this is a case tailor-made for a Sherlock Holmes devotee like private investigator Joey Mancuso. From the beginning, there’s just something funny about parents who didn’t report a missing student right away, and days later still want no police.Hold it here! This is their beloved daughter, last seen leaving for a date. Why wouldn’t they want as much firepower as they can get? Because they know too much, that’s why—and Owen Parr’s clever detective senses that. Joey’s first job’s to save the girl, but no way he’s going to stop there. The scrappy PI and ex-cop’s going to get answers if it kills him.A lot of the fun is in the clever Russian doll structure of a puzzle wrapped in a mystery, each discovery leading to a bigger and more surprising twist, but it wouldn't be half as delightful without the loveable series ensemble author Parr has assembled. The usual suspects are here—Marcy, Joey’s new wife and favorite FBI agent; researcher Agnes, who goes to Father Dom’s Mass every morning, presumably to repent for her shameless hacking; and Mr. Pat, gentle giant bartender-turned-detective. There’s also a welcome new addition—a professor who’s as close as you’re ever going to get to Indiana Jones.BOOK 5 -AT 16, HE SAW HIS DAD GUNNED DOWN. NOW HE HAS A CHANCE TO FIND THE KILLER,,,PI Joey Mancuso was just a kid when he watched a stranger walk into a Little Italy bar, shoot his mobster dad in the chest, and calmly walk back out, disappearing into the Manhattan din. The murder was never solved. And the old mob adage “an eye for an eye” went unfulfilled.But now, at death’s door, infamous mobster Tony the Hammer summons Joey and utters three mysterious words: “Wetherly Stevens, Barcelona.” Joey has no doubt he’s just been told how to find his father’s killer. From tantalizing tapas near La Sagrada Familia to bourbon-soaked pulled pork sandwiches at a South Carolina B&B, murder couldn’t get any more flavorful—or more personal.Perhaps retired partner Alexander Wetherly has answers. Next stop: Hilton Head, where Wetherly is happily ensconced with a houseful of help serving up bottomless Arnold Palmers. But a peaceful Q&A on quaint Daufuskie Island turns murderous when the elderly gentleman who runs Joey’s B&B winds up stabbed to death. And this isn’t the first murder of its kind—it seems Daufuskie Island has a grisly and deeply-seated cold case all its own. With the help of his cohorts—including Father Dom and a talented hacker (their researcher, Agnes)-- Joey meticulously puts together the pieces of two puzzles at once—and scrutinizes the connections between them—hoping to solve his father’s murder while preventing another from haunting the Carolina shores. BOOK 6 -THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. As the men around her are dropping like fliesIn his sixth labyrinthine hard-boiled puzzler, NYC private eye Joey Mancuso finds himself neck-deep in a maze of a murder mystery—the kind that weaves through military secrets and international espionage—at the center of which is the woman he loves. The vic, Oscar Stanton (name etched into his designer trousers), was gunned down in Washington Square Park in broad daylight, just after a lunchtime rendezvous with a business associate. A quick and dirty ID reveals the real Oscar Stanton was working in cybersecurities for the DOD—and, perhaps unsurprisingly, was KIA in Afghanistan. And since Mancuso’s antics tend to weave a winding yarn as intricately-connected as a satisfying Sherlock Holmes.

    Now two individuals from opposite ends of settled space are on a collision course with the darkest of those secrets, even as the world threatens to explode around them.The year is 2322. Humanity has expanded into the stars, inhabiting over 100 worlds across a third of the galaxy. Though thriving as never before, they have discovered neither alien life nor the key to utopia. Earth struggles to retain authority over far-flung planets and free-wheeling corporations while an uneasy armistice with a breakaway federation hangs by a thread as the former rebels rise in wealth and power.Alexis Solovy is Earth Alliance royalty, her father a fallen war hero and her mother an influential military leader. But she seeks only the freedom of space and has made a fortune by reading the patterns in the chaos to discover the hidden wonders of the stars.Nothing about her latest objective suggests the secret it conceals will turn her life— not to mention the entire galaxy—upside down. But a chance encounter with a mysterious spy leads to a discovery which will thrust Alex into the middle of a galactic power struggle and a sinister conspiracy, whether she likes it or not.When faced with its greatest challenge, will humanity rise to triumph, or fall to ruin?Aurora Rising is an epic tale of galaxy-spanning adventure, of the thrill of discovery and the unquenchable desire to reach ever farther into the unknown. It's a tale of humanity at its best and worst, of love and loss, of fear and heroism. It's the story of a woman who sought the stars and found more than anyone imagined possible.

    Upon learning the woman was kidnapped and forced into slavery by an interplanetary crime cartel, Mel makes it her mission to secure the woman's freedom and return her to her home on Earth.Working against Mel's efforts, a corrupt inspector of Luna's notorious Morality Police also searches for the victim so he can eliminate anyone who can implicate him in her kidnapping.Working against the clock, Mel must find a way to keep the girl away from those who would do her harm, and protect her own skin at the same time. If she fails, her crew mates aboard Requiem may well pay with their lives.Armstrong Station is the first in a series of prequel books that chronicle Melanie Destin's life before the events in the Mars Ascendant series.