Some tales, such as "Toe the Line" and "Ormond Always Pays His Bills," are simple pulp crime yarns; others are masterful examples of psychological terror and, in the case of "Whipped Dogs," mystical fantasy. Excellent. Originally published in 1975.Contents:9 · Blood/Thoughts · in 41 · The Whimper of Whipped Dogs · ss Bad Moon Rising, ed. Thomas M. Disch, Harper & Row, 1973 61 · Eddie, You’re My Friend [as by Jay Solo] · ss The Saint Detective Magazine (UK) Mar ’65 67 · Status Quo at Troyden’s · ss The Saint Detective Magazine Nov ’58 81 · Nedra at f:5.6 [revised from “The Hungry One”] · ss Gent Feb ’57 91 · Opposites Attract [“Mad Bomber”] · ss Caper Nov ’57 103 · Toe the Line · ss The Saint Detective Magazine Jun ’57 113 · Down in the Dark [as by Ellis Hart] · ss Adam Bedside Reader #30 ’67 123 · Pride in the Profession · ss Adam Aug ’66 137 · The Children’s Hour [as by Wallace Edmondson] · ss Fantastic Universe Jul ’58 145 · White Trash Don’t Exist [“Murder Bait”] · ss Mantrap Oct ’56 159 · Thicker Than Blood · ss Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine Feb ’58 169 · Two Inches in Tomorrow’s Column [as by Ellis Hart] · ss Adam Bedside Reader #21 ’65 177 · Promises of Laughter · ss Adam Nov ’69 187 · Ormond Always Pays His Bills · ss Pursued Jul ’57 193 · The Man on the Juice Wagon [as by Cordwainer Bird] · ss Adam Bedside Reader #14 ’63 211 · Tired Old Man · ss Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine Jan ’76

    But though he’s started a new life, with a woman he loves, he’s still tormented by questions from his past.He returns to Angeles City where he once worked as the papasan watching over his bargirls. On the surface he’s there to sell his stake in a bar on the notorious Fields Avenue. In reality he’s come back to find Isabel—one of his old dancers, and the only person who can answer his questions, and quiet his demons. Because death is seldom an ending, and always haunts those left behind.THE PULL OF GRAVITY is an 82,000 word novel. PRAISE FOR BRETT BATTLES' PREVIOUS NOVELS:“The best word I can use to describe his writing is addictive.”—James Rollins, author of the Sigma Force series“Battles has a true gift…”—Crimespree magazine“...gripping, and always engaging...”—Tucson Citizen“Battles is a master storyteller.”—Sheldon Siegel, author of PERFECT ALIBIABOUT THE AUTHOR:Brett Battles is the Barry Award winning author of eight novels—including THE CLEANER, THE SILENCED, LITTLE GIRL GONE, SICK, and his first novel for younger readers, HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE—one novella, BECOMING QUINN, and several short stories. He is one of the founding members of Killer Year, and a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. More info available at www.brettbattles.com.

    Its destination-unknown. Its purpose-a mystery. Now, one man wakes up. Ripped from a dream of a new home-a new planet and the woman he was meant to love in his arms-he finds himself wet, naked, and freezing to death. The dark halls are full of monsters but trusting other survivors he meets might be the greater danger.All he has are questions-- Who is he? Where are they going? What happened to the dream of a new life? What happened to Hull 03?All will be answered, if he can survive the ship.HULL ZERO THREE is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride through the darkest reaches of space.

    When Becker takes a mysterious job, he has no idea that it will force him to delve deeply into his own past. Undeterred by obstacles he is determined to complete his assignment. But he may realize too late that his success will permanently alter his future.

    With his girlfriend Ada, he joins a team excavating the underwater crater, determined to find the source of the baffling message. The artifact, named "The Black Marker," possesses a mysterious power. Close proximity to the stone causes strange occurrences: visions of the dead, vivid dreams, and violent murders. When Michael secretly obtains a small piece of the marker, he too begins to dream.The Black Marker has chosen him to hear his message: You need to prove yourself worthy of eternal life, or the slate will be wiped clean on Earth.This is the story of the origin of "The Black Marker," the foundation of the Church of Unitology, and a discovery that will change the world.

    Status: Civilian. Paranormal skills: Powerful. Able to manipulate AS energies and communicate with UBEs (e.g. "ghosts" and other entities). Psychological profile: Extremely independent, potentially dangerous. Caution is urged....As far as Gabriel Bleak is concerned, talking to the dead is just another way of making a living. It gives him the competitive edge to survive as a bounty hunter, or "skip tracer," in the psychic minefield known as New York City. Unfortunately, his gift also makes him a prime target. A top-secret division of Homeland Security has been monitoring the recent emergence of human supernaturals, with Gabriel Bleak being the strongest on record. If they control Gabriel, they'll gain access to the Hidden -- the entity-based energy field that connects all life on Earth. But Gabriel's got other ideas. With a growing underground movement called the Shadow Community -- and an uneasy alliance of spirits, elementals, and other beings -- Gabriel's about to face the greatest demonic uprising since the Dark Ages. But this time, history is not going to repeat itself. This time, the future is Bleak. Gabriel Bleak.

    An explosion of light and sound made the sheep wail, the chickens squawk, and the children scream. And then the ranchers heard a noise they thought could only have come from the devil himself.For forty years, Majestic Agency director Wilfred Stone helped the CIA pretend the landing never happened. Then his conscience got the better of him.This is the real story, told to reporter Nicholas A. Duke by the guilt-racked shell of the man who once worked tirelessly to cover it all up. It is a truth so terrifying that Whitley Strieber had to call it fiction.

    'The wolves are howling again. Please make them stop.' Then she suddenly started whispering, her lips very close to my ear - and she wasn't whispering in any language I could understand...A brutal serial killer stalks the Seattle nights. Regina Greenleaf was one of the victims. Her beautiful twin sister, Renata, is deeply traumatised.She talks only rarely, and then always in twin-speak, the special language she and Regina made up long before they'd learned to speak English.Mark, a college lecturer in English and the twins' friend, is the only person Renata will talk to. She agrees to attend his classes, and with the help of Mark's room-mates she seems to be coming to terms with her loss.But the number of murders in Seattle rises, and Mark has some dreadful suspicions. If he says anything, it's guaranteed to send Renata back to the hospital. But if he doesn't there may be blood on his conscience...Part murder mystery, ghost story, and psychological thriller, Regina's Song masterfully fuses together elements that elicit our deepest, darkest fears...

    At its center: Toby O’Dare—a contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill once again. A soulless soul, a dead man walking, he lives under a series of aliases—just now: Lucky the Fox—and takes his orders from “The Right Man.”Into O’Dare’s nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions comes a mysterious stranger, a seraph, who offers him a chance to save rather than destroy lives. O’Dare, who long ago dreamt of being a priest but instead came to embody danger and violence, seizes his chance. Now he is carried back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made against Jews, where children suddenly die or disappear . . . In this primitive setting, O’Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.

    One seeking only peace. The other, violence." Tate Collier, once one of the country's finest trial lawyers, is trying to forget his past. Now a divorced gentleman farmer, land developer, and community advocate in rural Virginia, he's regrouping from some disastrous mistakes in the realms of love and the law. But controversy -- and danger -- seem to have an unerring hold on Tate. Even as he struggles to rebuild his life, his alter ego is plotting his demise.Aaron Matthews, a brilliant psychologist, has turned his talents away from curing patients to far deadlier goals. He's targeted Tate, Tate's ex-wife, Bett, and their estranged daughter, Megan, for unspeakable revenge. Matthews, ruthless and hell-bent, will destroy anything that inhibits his plans. When their daughter disappears, Tate and Bett reunite in a desperate, heart-pounding attempt to find her and to stop Matthews, a psychopath whose gift of a glib tongue and talent for coercion are as dangerous as knives and guns. Featuring an urgent race against the clock, gripping details of psychological manipulation, and the brilliant twists and turns that are trademark Deaver, "Speaking in Tongues" delivers the suspense punch that has made this author a bestseller. It will leave you speechless.

    It's for murder.Mega rich restaurant owner Jack Barnes and his second wife Zee are very much in love. However, their plans for Valentine's Day are about to be torn apart by the most violent murder.Who is the strange figure plotting this sick crime? Who hates Jack that much? There are plenty of suspects living in Jack's fancy block of flats. Is it them, or could it be the work of an outsider with a twisted mind? One thing's for sure, the police have got their work cut out solving this bloody mess.

    This fast-paced, character-driven novel will immerse you in the world of US Marines in lethal powered armor, trapped aboard the ghostly ruins of a starship buried miles underground. Somewhere amid the twisted, frozen decks, these elite Marines will find themselves wrapped in an ancient mystery and a life-or-death battle to see who will become... the DOMINANT SPECIES.

    But he never came back. With supplies running out and vital life support systems failing, Jack, Samantha, and Will have no choice but to ignore their father’s warnings and leave the vault. With no knowledge of what befell the world outside, or what they might expect once the door is opened, they find themselves in a world they do not recognize. Thrust into the remains of the world they remember, how will they survive on their own, not knowing what or who else remains amongst the ruins?

    The journey promises to be a memorable one.

    Now the abscess was about to burst. Captain Harris had left the controls on autopilot and was talking to the front row of passengers as the first tremor shook the boat. For a fraction of a second he wondered if a fan blade had hit some submerged obstacle; then, quite literally, the bottom fell out of his world.It fell slowly, as all things must upon the Moon. The sea was alive and moving . . . Every stage of that nightmare transformation was pitilessly illuminated by the earth light, until the crater was so deep that its firewall was completely lost in shadow, and it seemed as if Selene were racing into a curving crescent of utter blackness – an arc of annihilation.In darkness and in silence, they were sinking into the Moon. . . .