That is, until she discovers it was all a lie. Now, her desperate search for the truth begins.After learning of the terrible events that forever altered her childhood, Katie is compelled to dig into a past no one wants to relive. A past her parents kept hidden from her at all costs.A decades-old investigation is reluctantly unearthed when Katie discovers her role as the lone survivor. It is Detective Marshall Avery who lends her the resources needed to hunt down the person responsible. When that search breathes new life into an old monster—one who has left a trail of innocent blood in his wake—it is too late to turn back.Katie’s desire for retribution places her in great danger and costs her dearly. So when the tables are turned, and the hunted becomes the hunter, will Detective Avery be able to keep Katie from going too far?

    Can she uncover it before the police do? Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving.One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him…With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?Her loyalties torn, in a split second she decides to protect her children at all costs—even if that means lying to the police. But when someone in the neighbourhood claims to know more than they should, Melissa discovers that some secrets are beyond her control…Can she find out the truth of what happened before the rumours spread? And can the family unite to escape the spotlight of scandal—or are none of them as innocent as Melissa insists?

    It triggers dreams of disasters. Tragedies that happen exactly as he envisions them. He learns that not only can he see the future, he can change it. Then the unthinkable happened and everyone ignored his frantic warnings. Thousands die. Suddenly, the Feds are pounding on his door and the name they have for Taylor isn't urban hero. It's enemy combatant. And, it means they can do anything they want to him. Anything at all.

    Her life suddenly turned upside down, she did what she thought was best for her newborn baby: she took her son and ran away to start a new life. Now, living in a quiet part of the Midwest with a new identity, Elizabeth is ready to start over. But one day she receives a phone call from a person calling himself Cain. Cain somehow knows about her past life. He has abducted her son, and if Elizabeth wants to save him she must retrieve her husband's trophies - the fingers he cut off each of his victims. With a deadline of one hundred hours, Elizabeth has no choice but to return to the life she once fled, where she will soon realize that everything she thought she knew is a lie, and what's more shocking than Cain's identity is the truth about her husband. Praise for THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE: "This is a scary, thrilling, page-turning, race-against-the-clock novel if ever there was one, with a true shocker of an ending. Miss this one at your own peril." - Blake Crouch, author of RUN and DESERT PLACES

    Her last visit here was twelve years ago when, through whispering mangroves, past flocks of exotic birds, skirting bobcat trails and precious mounds of turtle eggs, four children played in this earthly paradise – as explorers, naturalists, boat-builders... and eventually, as lovers. Over the intervening years, Carrie has tried to forget those summer idylls and the children who were her friends – Phoebe, who believed herself to be a mermaid, her aloof older brother Bradley, and Tristan, son of the Native American wisewoman, Tanta. Now two of them are dead and gone. In the cemetery, however, there is only one grave; in Tanta’s backyard, a mourning cradle hangs, stuffed with black raven feathers; and over at Bud’s Landing lives a small boy who has mysteriously been struck dumb. Legend says that pirates buried treasure on a sister island, but here on Sanibel, where a great storm is gathering, Carries is about to unearth some treasure of her own.

    This is a story of just one woman. As the story unfolds Linda gradually learns that some people do deserve to die, but that she is not one of those people. Linda Darby is a seven-year divorcee, living quietly in a small let-the-world-go-by beach town on the coast of Oregon, who day trades for a living. Her only close friend is a widowed elderly woman who manages a small consulting company, which, as is later discovered, never has visitors, sends and receives its business correspondence only by courier, and is not listed in any phone directory. No one in town knows what kind of consulting the company does, but the rumor is that whatever they do is done for the government. Linda doesn’t date local men. When her celibacy grows intolerable, she visits nearby towns to frequent the watering holes of successful men. Her motto: No relationships. No second dates. No use of her real name during one-night stands. Then one evening, Linda goes for a walk and nothing for her is ever the same. She is dragged into an alley by two men, but saved by a third, a stranger who disappears as suddenly as he appeared. The next day she finds out the two men in the alley had been killed, the town’s first murders ever. The following day she learns that hours before she had been dragged into the alley, her close friend was tortured and killed.

     Fans of James Patterson, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, David Baldacci, Lydia Davis and Stephen King will love this collection of exclusive short stories that will be sure to leave you breathless.  The award-winning and best-selling authors in this collection turn up the heat - it's pedal to the metal break-neck action from start to finish! The short story is back with a vengeance! Murder, mystery, suspense, chills, thrills and kills this collection has it all!  About the Stories What Money Can’t Buy – by Paul Casselle Are you a bad person trying to be good or a good person that sometimes does bad? It’s a difficult question to answer, but that doesn’t stop life asking regularly! The Butcher – by Will Patching Not all of us are ‘normal’. Some of us are stone cold killers… Collin O’Connor by Ernest Dempsey In a world where terrorist attacks seem to cover the front page of every news outlet, the people of Earth need a new kind of hero. The planet needs someone who isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to bring justice to those who would harm the innocent. We need Collin O’Connor. A Love Affair by Leah Monroe Have you ever asked yourself, "What am I here for?" Is it wealth? To leave a legacy? Or perhaps you're playing with the cards life deals you. One man comes face-to-face with this age old question and his decision will leave you speechless. Downside Up by Jane Thornley She climbs roofs at night but how could she know how far she’ll have to fall to find the truth? The Son-in-Law by Craig Hart Can you go straight by committing murder? One man is about to find out-if he lives long enough. Linking Arms with the Devil by Michael Maxwell They tell us, “You can’t take it with you”. Maybe you can if you link arms with the devil. Red Eyes – by Terry Keys A small town middle-school teacher suddenly vanishes and returns six months, six days, and six hours after he disappeared. But now he is hiding a terrible secret, and only the next victim can see the . . . Red Eyes.

    When a murder hits close to home and clues tie her to an old forgotten case, Lauren must stop at nothing to find the killer.With her marriage crumbling and her life in shatters she begins to question everything she has been fighting for. Will her views on the death penalty change once the killer is revealed?

    But when Scarlett’s killer is released early from prison with a cast-iron alibi, Greg realizes that his past is about to explode into his present, with terrifying consequences.To expose the truth he must open up old wounds. As a talk therapist, Greg knows all about dark secrets, but when a childhood friendship comes to the fore and the police turn their spotlight on him, the thought of analyzing his own psyche is a disturbing prospect. How far can he trust his own memories?With his life coming apart at the seams, and his grip on reality beginning to unravel, Greg must face the ghosts of his past if he hopes to prove his innocence and live to see another day.

    They leave a sinister calling card behind: a broken handmade puppet on the child’s pillow. The press nickname the kidnapper the Toybreaker. In a desperate move, Superintendent David Mallory calls in criminal profiler Dr Hannah Nightingale to help with an investigation that is going nowhere. More children disappear and the city of Garton is on the edge of panic. A very dark mind is at work, but why does the Toybreaker suddenly change his method, adding a lock of hair to the crime scene. When a prime suspect escapes, the police appear to have reached another dead end. Will the Toybreaker be stopped before more families are destroyed? This is a fast-paced thriller that will have you turning the pages till the action-packed ending. THE DETECTIVES: David Mallory is an old-school policeman who has made some powerful enemies within his own department. DCI Gary Falcon is an ambitious young man on the rise, but his father’s legal work for the city’s criminals does not play well with his fellow officers. THE PROFILER: Dr Hannah Nightingale is an up-and-coming forensic psychiatrist who is employed as a consultant profiler by the Toybreaker team. The Nightingale family are prominent in the Garton social scene and Hannah has to fight hard to be accepted by a sceptical police force. THE SETTING: Garton is a fictional port city in the north of England. It’s faced years of industrial decline, but a strong community spirit and sense of humour give hope for revival. But there are still pockets of rundown inner-city criminality. THE TOYBREAKER is the first in a new series of crime thrillers. Great for fans of Sarah Flint, Paul Finch. Kathy Reichs, Angela Marsons, and Patricia Cornwell. OUT NOW the next book in the series: ANGER MAN. Can the team stop a killer full of rage and guilt? PRAISE FOR ROY CHESTER “Intriguing, compelling, and thoroughly entertaining” Chorley Guardian

    Marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Martin. Living in a historic mansion in Pennsylvania’s most exclusive borough. And Finn, a teenage son with so much promise. Until…A call for help in the middle of the night leads Sarah and Martin to the woods, where they find Finn, injured, dazed, and weeping near his girlfriend’s dead body. Convinced he’s innocent, Sarah and Martin agree to protect their son at any cost and not report the crime.But there are things Sarah finds hard to reconcile: a cover-up by Martin’s family that’s so unnervingly cold-blooded. Finn’s lies to the authorities are too comfortable, too proficient, not to arouse her suspicions. Even the secrets of the old house she lives in seem to be connected to the incident. As each troubling event unfolds, Sarah must decide how far she’ll go to save her perfect life.

    She did not expect a traumatic event to devastate her life and force her to drop out of college. Disillusioned by the cruelty of people, Helen retreated from society to live by herself as a reclusive writer in the woods--where no one could ever hurt her again.When a brilliant young doctor shows up on her doorstep, promising her that his new research can give her the ability to see for the first time, Helen stubbornly refuses. She has learned not to trust anyone, and to rely only on herself. But Dr. Liam Larson will not take no for an answer. He makes it his personal mission to rescue Helen from her loneliness, and bring joy into her world once more--the joy she has denied herself for so long.When Helen's demons come racing back into her life, threatening to rip her apart and destroy the strength she has carefully rebuilt, Liam is the only one who might be able to save her. Can he reach the broken girl in time, helping her to heal and see the world in a different light? Or will Helen's grief send her spiraling out of control, lost to him forever?**********This is the first book of a three-part series.**********

    Now another woman has been taken.Grace Kelly Sanderson is living a quiet and mundane life as a call center agent. When a reporter is found badly beaten in a ditch, Kelly turns into her alter ego, Echo Rose, and begins searching for the people responsible. Meanwhile, Detective Skip Malloy is trying to solve the murder of a construction worker. When someone close to Skip is taken hostage, Echo becomes the only person who can help him.

    The text on Josh Hammond’s BlackBerry was blunt and chilling. Surely it must be a joke, but when Josh is attacked in broad daylight and people around him start to die he knows that his blackmailer is deadly serious. Can Josh raise the money, can his attractive new bodyguard protect him, who is blackmailing him and why? He has 48 hours to find out. The first novel in the acclaimed City of London Thriller series is a hit which will enthral everyone who knows and loves its London settings.

    Clad in hooded black robes, carrying torches that blazed with evil fury, they came. With chanting—at first a distant murmur, then growing and building, louder and louder—incessant, demanding, hideous chanting, they came.Mother had been rocking both Jeremiah, my four-year-old little brother, and me on our rickety rocking chair, its swaying motion in itself a soothing comfort on a dark night. But more than that, mother sang to us in her clear and lilting voice as she often did, chasing away the ghosts and goblins that sometimes haunt a young boy’s mind. As I was about to drop off to sleep, the noise and the clatter from outside our cabin startled me back to consciousness. Mother’s voice mixed with the incessant chanting that came closer and closer. Her voice faded. We could see the lights from their torches through the window panes, and mother rose quickly from the rocker and hurried Jeremiah and me into our bedroom. She cautioned us in whispery tones to stay quiet, to stay in our room, pretend to be asleep; and then on tiptoe, she rushed out the door, closing it quietly after herself.Within minutes, I heard Mother scream a piercing wail that emitted both terror and defeat. They came through our bedroom door, robes rustling, wild eyes searching, hands reaching, and carried Jeremiah and I from our beds. They dragged Mother out the front door, through the dark forest, up the mountainside, our captors pulling my brother and I close behind. I remember the brittle sound of the fallen leaves under our feet, the cold chill of the night air brushing against my face, the pale moonlight frosting the tips of the last remaining leaves on the black, skeletal oak trees that rose above us. And we kept climbing, climbing, farther and farther up through the forest. And as we walked, a cold wind came up, turning the leaves; and the racing clouds changed into thunderheads. And then the first bolt of lightning lit the sky and illuminated the hellish scene around us—the shadowy, dark figures stomping through the bushes and underbrush, the swaying glow of lanterns through the trees. All the while their chanting reverberated across the landscape, mixing with the sound of the howling, barking, snarling, pawing dogs that followed in their midst."