The absurdity of both life and death are on full display; in "Zombies," the best and brightest of a high school prep school become tragically addicted to the latest drug craze: electric shocks from cardiac defibrillators. In "Knock, Knock," a son hopes to tell one last off-color joke to a father in his final moments, while in "Tunnel of Love," a massage therapist runs the curious practice of providing 'relief' to dying clients. And in "Expedition," fans will be thrilled to find to see a side of Tyler Durden never seen before in a precursor story to Fight Club.Funny, caustic, bizarre, poignant; these stories represent everything readers have come to love and expect from Chuck Palahniuk. They have all the impact of a sharp blow to the solar plexus, with considerable collateral damage to the funny bone.

    After her divorce from Max, an out-of-work actor she’s dubbed “The Great Impersonator,” Suzanne decided to pursue her one true passion in life: donuts. So she cashed in her settlement and opened up shop in the heart of her beloved hometown.But when a dead body is dumped on her doorstep like a sack of flour, Suzanne’s cozy little shop becomes an all-out crime scene. Now, everyone in town is dropping by for glazed donuts and gruesome details. The retired sheriff warns her to be careful—and they’re all suspects. Soon Suzanne—who finds snooping as irresistible as donuts—is poking holes in everyone’s alibis…

    Number-one New York Times best-selling author John Sandford Entertainment Weekly—selects the best mystery writing of the year.

    This book also includes an introduction by Turow, as its team of top-notch authors take unique perspectives on our criminal justice system with crackling courtroom cases and whodunit suspense.Contents:Introduction by Scott TurowDogs and fleas by John LutzLou Monahan, County prosecutor by Andrew KlavanReal life by Sarah ShankmanKnives at midnight by Marcia MullerJustice by Stuart M. KaminskyCruel and unusual by Carolyn WheatGrip by Jay BrandonBeat routine by Stan WashburnLast licks by Valerie FrankelTurning the witness by Jeremiah HealyThat day at Eagle's Point by Ed GormanCelebrity and justice for all by John JakesFor the good of the firm by Maynard F. ThomsonDead drunk by Lia MateraCourt of celestial appeals by Susan DunlapBoobytrap by Bill Pronzini

    Yet these staid, conservative houses play host to a wider variety of murders than do the mean streets of America's darkest cities.Contents: The adventure of the Abbey Grange / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle --A marriage tragedy / Wilkie Collins --Lord Chizelrigg's missing fortune / Robert Barr --The Fordwych Castle mystery / Emmuska, Barroness Orczy --The blue scarab / R. Austin Freeman --The doom of the Darnaways / G.K. Chesterton --The shadow on the glass / Agatha Christie --The queen's square / Dorothy L. Sayers --Death on the air / Ngaio Marsh --The same to us / Margery Allingham --The hunt ball / Freeman Wills Crofts --The incautious burglar / John Dickson Carr --The long shot / Nicholas Blake --Jeeves and the stolen Venus / P.G. Wodehouse --Death in the sun / Michael Innes --An unlocked window / Ethel Lina White --The wood-for-the-trees / Philip MacDonald --The man on the roof / Christianna Brand --The death of Amy Robsart / Cyril Hare --Fen Hall / Ruth Rendell --A very desirable residence / P.D. James --The Worcester enigma / James Miles.

    Includes recipes for a complete presidential menu! Never let them see you sweat-that's White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras's motto, which is pretty hard to honor in the most important kitchen in the world. She's hell-bent on earning her dream job, Executive Chef. There's just one thing: her nemesis is vying for it, too. Well, that and the fact that an elusive assassin wants to see her fry.

    Hart delivers a novel approach to murder that is sure to enthrall you until the last killer is caught.. . .Death on DemandAt Annie Laurance’s Death on Demand bookstore in Broward’s Rock, South Carolina (“the finest mystery bookstore north of Miami”), murder suddenly isn’t confined to the shelves. An author’s abrupt demise during a gathering of famous mystery writers is proof positive that a bloody sword is sometimes mightier than a brilliant pen. But now Annie is in the unenviable position of prime suspect, which means that she and her wealthy paramour, Max Darling, must unmask a brutal and ingenious killer. For Annie, failing could mean prison . . . while success could mean her death.Design for MurderWhen Annie stages a Mystery Night for Chastain, South Carolina’s annual antebellum house tour, she finds herself the lead in a deadly drama wherein the curtain falls on a mean-spirited grande dame. But while fingers point at Annie as the murderer, the perpetrator lurks within the cast of Murder-Most-Make-Believe. Guilty until proven innocent, Annie hopes to clear her name with Max’s help—until her chief witness is killed. Now it will take all of Annie’s sleuthing skills to unmask the evil in the hearts of Chastain’s Beautiful People.

    Eleven of the world’s best female thriller writers from Diana Gabaldon to Charlaine Harris are paired with eleven of the world’s best male thriller writers, including John Sandford, C.J. Box, and Nelson DeMille. The stories are edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child and feature:-Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett in “Honor & …” by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box -Tony Hill and Roy Grace in “Footloose” by Val McDermid and Peter James -Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in “Faking a Murderer” by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child -Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone in “Past Prologue” by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry -Liz Sansborough and Rambo in “Rambo on Their Minds” by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell -Jeffrey Tolliver and Joe Pritchard in “Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta -Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck in “Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross -Regan Pescoli and Virgil Flowers in “Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford -Lucan Thorne and Lilliane in “Midnight Flame” by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice -Bennie Rosato and John Corey in “Getaway” by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille -Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw in “Taking the Veil” by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader

    Death at the Excelsior and Others is a posthumously published compilation of short stories by Wodehouse, including: - Death at the Excelsior - Misunderstood - The Best Sauce - Jeeves and the Chump Cyril - Jeeves in the Springtime - Concealed Art - The Test Case

    William Bernhardt, author of seven bestselling novels featuring attorney Ben Kincaid, asked ten of his fellow lawyer/authors to contribute their most fiendishly clever short pieces for this anthology, and told them their imaginations were their only guides.  The result is Legal Briefs, a smorgasbord of stories boasting a wonderful variety of themes and styles.  From John Grisham's exploration of a doctor's guilt in "The Birthday" to Richard North Patterson's story of a lawyer's loyalty to his mentor in "The Client," to Grif Stockley's tale of a divorce lawyer who learns the hard way that things are not always what they seem, these pieces showcase the extraordinary depth and breadth of talent among the new breed of legal thriller writers.Some of these stories feature twisting and inventive plots; some illuminate the moral dilemmas and psychological complexities faced by the modern-day lawyer; some are good, old-fashioned yarns.  But for all their diversity of approaches and characters, these writers understand that the courtrooms and law firms from which they came offer the raw material for the most dramatic, suspenseful stories you can read.Legal Briefs will be a delight for fans of all these bestselling authors, and a splendid introduction to their talents for readers new to the genre.  Author proceeds from the sale of this book are being donated to the Children's Defense Fund.From the Hardcover edition.

    The remaining four stories in the collection are all miniature masterpieces of suspense.

    . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in Aloft.On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. Rain explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.In Loaded, a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

    The title story, "Unicorn Variation", was written as a result of Zelazny having been asked to contribute to two different upcoming anthologies — one collecting stories set in bars, and one collecting stories about unicorns. When Zelazny mentioned these requests to his close friend George R. R. Martin, the other told Zelazny of a third upcoming anthology — one which would collect stories about chess — and jokingly suggested that Zelazny write a story about playing chess against a unicorn in a bar, so that he could sell the story three times. Zelazny did just that and then went on to win a Hugo Award for the story.Contents:Introduction (Unicorn Variations) [essay] (1983)Unicorn Variation (1981)The Last of the Wild Ones [Sam Murdock] (1981)Recital (1981)The Naked Matador (1981)The Parts That Are Only Glimpsed: Three Reflexes [essay] (1978)Dismal Light [Francis Sandow] (1968)Go Starless in the Night (1979)But Not the Herald (1965)A Hand Across the Galaxy (1967)The Force That Through the Circuit Drives the Current (1976)Home is the Hangman [Nemo] (1975)Fire and/or Ice, Exeunt Omnes, A Very Good Year ... [essay] (1983)Fire and/or Ice (1980)Exeunt Omnes (1980)A Very Good Year ... (1979)My Lady of the Diodes (1970)And I Only Am Escaped to Tell Thee (1981)The Horses of Lir (1981)The Night Has 999 Eyes (1964)Angel, Dark Angel (1967)Walpurgisnacht (1981)The George Business (1980)Some Science Fiction Parameters: A Biased View [essay] (1975)

    And no story about a young writer struggling to launch his career ever matched its subject matter better than the tale behind Leonard's Western oeuvre.In 1950, fresh out of college -- having written two "pointless" stories, as he describes them -- Leonard decided he needed to pick a market, a big one, which would give him a better chance to be published while he learned to write. In choosing between crime and Westerns, the latter had an irresistible pull -- Leonard loved movies set in the West. As he researched deeper into settings, Arizona in the 1880s captured his imagination: the Spanish influence, the standoffs and shootouts between Apache Indians and the U.S. cavalry ...His first dozen stories sold for 2 cents a word, for $100 each. The rest is history.This first-ever complete collection of Leonard's thirty Western tales will thrill lovers of the genre, his die-hard fans, and everyone in between -- and makes a terrific study of the launch of a phenomenal career.From his very first story ever published -- "The Trail of the Apache" -- through five decades of classic Western tales, The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard demonstrates again and again the superb talent for language and gripping narrative that has made Leonard one of the most acclaimed and influential writers of our time.

    Why would anyone want to kill Tommy and what was he hiding?