Broken


Dean Murray - 2011
    At least she thought so until the two most intriguing guys in her new school take an interest in her.Both boys are gorgeous and blessed with obscene amounts of money. They should have the emotional depth of note cards, but instead display undercurrents she doesn't fully understand. Rumors the pair destroys peoples' livelihoods seem ludicrous until she gets caught in the crossfire and her family almost loses their home. She's increasingly unsure either boy is really human, and their rivalry is rapidly turning deadly.

The Collectors


Philip Pullman - 2014
    Coulter.   On a cold winter's night, two art collectors are settled before a fire in the Senior Common Room of a college in Oxford, discussing the unusual pieces one has recently added to his collection. What the two men don't know is that the portrait of a striking young woman and the bronze sculpture of a fearsome monkey are connected in mysterious ways. How could they imagine that they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story which has traveled time . . . and worlds.   Published in 50 countries with over 22 million copies sold, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass are renowned for their engrossing storytelling and epic scope. This new short tale will delight the many fans eager for any new glimpse into the world of His Dark Materials.

Once She Saw... A Blind Man


Deborah Diaz - 2015
    The story revolves around the protagonist Miss Araminta and the surprising turn of events that take place after she witnessed a theft. Beautifully written, "Once She Saw...A Blind Man" is filled with moments of joy, happiness, sadness and despair. Each character in the book has an interesting back-story that makes them come to life. Sometimes things are not exactly what they seem. Only those who have the heart to dig deeper uncover the truth. And sometimes that one deed saves the lives of many! That is what we come to learn from "Once She Saw...A Blind Man". Order your copy to find out more!Summary of the book:"Once She Saw...A Blind Man" opens with the image of a quiet suburb in Nashville, Tennessee. Miss Araminta, the 67 year old retired insurance agent, is one of the residents of the Melrose suburbia. Though it was not the fanciest of neighborhoods, it had everything the people needed within walking distance. After losing her husband— the only man she had ever loved—in the Vietnam War, Ms. Araminta resolved to live alone. She now owns a small business of selling crocheted dish towels, stoles, mufflers, lap robes and so on. As a respected member of the church, she also does a lot of volunteer work and helps out people in need. One morning while she was on her way to the grocery store, Miss Araminta spotted a seemingly well-to-do woman stealing change from Bill, the blind beggar that the local community knows and loves. Seeing someone steal from this helpless man left Miss Araminta shocked. But she knew she had to help the poor man and seek justice. As she proceeded to find more information about the thief, she discovered something she never guessed. Who is this woman? Why was she stealing from the blind beggar? Will Miss Araminta be able do right by Bill? Order your copy to find out!

A Hair Raising Blowout


Constance Barker - 2016
    Owner of the Teasen & Pleasen Hair Salon in the heart of Louisiana, she’s used to big hair, Southern style, and tall tales of the latest town scandal. But her quiet life is turned on its head when Savannah finds an upstanding member of the community murdered outside her salon in cold blood. Savannah investigates, only to find that her pleasant, cute town is just a façade, and that there’s more deception than truth in the lives of its residents. As the case intensifies, Savannah finds herself dealing with a bad blowout, a man who might lose a limb, and a woman scorned, leading to a firefight the village of Knockemstiff will never forget. Desperate Housewives marries GCB in this exciting murder mystery full of humor, suspense, and moonshine. Readers will be laughing aloud and gasping in shock while enjoying A Hair Raising Blowout, the first book in a stunning new thriller series by Constance Barker.

A Gift of Ghosts


Sarah Wynde - 2011
    And ghosts.All the logic and reason in the world can’t protect her from the truth—she can see and communicate with spirits. But Akira is sure that her ability is just a genetic quirk and the ghosts she encounters simply leftover electromagnetic energy. Dangerous electromagnetic energy.Zane Latimer believes in telepathy, precognition, auras, and that playing Halo with your employees is an excellent management technique. He also thinks that maybe, just maybe, Akira Malone can help his family get in touch with their lost loved ones.But will Akira ever be able to face her fears and accept her gift? Or will Zane’s relatives be trapped between life and death forever?

Black Dog


Neil Gaiman - 2016
    This American Gods world novella will thrill Games of Thrones devotees and Terry Pratchett fans alike. Illustrations by celebrated artist Daniel Egnéus.'It followed me home,' he said, conversationally.In a rural northern village, legend tells of a ghostly black dog that appears from the darkness before you die.Shadow Moon has been on the road a while now but he can't walk any further tonight, not with the rain lashing down. Gratefully, he heads home with a nice English couple, who offer a box room, hot whisky and local tales.But when the man collapses en route, Shadow realises that something about this place has been left untold.Something ancient, something within the very walls of the village.Something shadowing them all.

Many Bloody Returns


Charlaine HarrisJeanne C. Stein - 2007
     Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous-these all-new stories will ensure that readers never think of vampires (or birthdays) in quite the same way again. In New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Dracula Night," Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula's birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up-and finds Sookie to be a tasty-looking present. New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's crime-solving wizard Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love. In "Twilight," Cassandra DuCharme, who appeared in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year-but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt. Plus ten more bloody good birthday stories that take the cake.Contents xi • Preface: A Few Words (Many Bloody Returns) • (2007) • essay by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner1 • Dracula Night • [Sookie Stackhouse 4.3] • shortstory by Charlaine Harris21 • The Mournful Cry of Owls • novelette by Christopher Golden50 • I Was a Teenage Vampire • novelette by Bill Crider73 • Twilight • [Women of the Otherworld Short Fiction 7.2] • novelette by Kelley Armstrong100 • It's My Birthday, Too • [The Dresden Files 9.2] • novella by Jim Butcher146 • Grave-Robbed • [Vampire Files] • novelette by P. N. Elrod176 • The First Day of the Rest of Your Life • [The Morganville Vampires: Extras 2.5] • novelette by Rachel Caine201 • The Witch and the Wicked • novelette by Jeanne C. Stein230 • Blood Wrapped • [Henry Fitzroy] • novelette by Tanya Huff254 • The Wish • shortstory by Carolyn Haines265 • Fire Ice and Linguini for Two • [Garnet Lacey 2.5] • novelette by Lyda Morehouse [as by Tate Hallaway ]290 • Vampire Hours • novelette by Elaine Viets318 • How Stella Got Her Grave Back • novelette by Toni L. P. Kelner

The Hiding Place: A Thriller


David Bell - 2012
    After his body was found in a shallow grave in the woods two months later, the repercussions were felt for years.Janet Manning has been haunted by the murder since the day she lost sight of her brother in the park. Now, with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Justin’s death looming, a detective and a newspaper reporter have started to ask questions, opening old wounds and raising new suspicions. Could the man convicted of the murder — who spent more than two decades in prison — really be innocent? Janet’s childhood friend and high school crush, who was in the park with her that day, has returned to Dove Point, where he is wrestling with his own conflicted memories of the events. And a strange man appears at Janet’s door in the middle of the night, claiming to know the truth.Soon, years of deceit will be swept away, and the truth about what happened to Janet’s brother will be revealed. And the answers that Janet has sought may be found much closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

The Bones of Others


Vickie McKeehan - 2013
    Not this one.Brutalized as a young girl by a vile sexual predator, Skye Cree is a survivor. Guided by the visions of her mystical spirit guide to the whereabouts of abducted girls, she uses her unique abilities to turn her horrifying past into a positive force for justice. Fighting the demons that have haunted her for years, she trusts only in herself—until she falls hard for a man for the first time in her life. Now, discovering her abductor is back with a vengeance, she becomes locked in a deadly race against time to stop the horrors of an evil human-trafficking ring that threatens to tear her world, and her newfound love apart.

Captive-in-Chief


Murray McDonald - 2016
    With approval ratings unlike any in decades, his re-election campaign wasn’t an “if” but a “by how much of a landslide” he would win his second term. However, none of those citizens were aware that he was no longer in control. As tragedy befalls his closest advisers, he finds himself with nowhere to turn when an unknown power begins to exert control over him. With his daughter’s life on the line, he looks to the only man who can save her – and save America from the unfolding chaos. He is the one man he can trust to help him uphold his oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. That one man, an unlikely choice, comes with his own problems, and a dog…

The Small Hand


Susan Hill - 2010
    Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, 'as if a child had taken hold of it'.Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner's grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister ...

Ékleipsis


Tamel Wino - 2020
    NABE Pinnacle Award Winner for Horror. Winner of Literary Titan Gold Award. Reader Views Bronze Award for Short Stories The sun has finally set on humanity… What happens when we give in to the darkness? Ékleipsis is a short story collection that explores the havoc wreaked when ordinary people abandon their humanity to pursue their darkest desires, and questions just how far people will go to follow their baser instincts.Each story takes a version of a person we've known in our own lives and transforms them into something completely unnerving—yet all too familiar.These dark, complex characters and twisted tales of the once ordinary will change your perception of humanity forever.

Punishment


Scott J. Holliday - 2018
    Thanks to a technologically advanced machine, detectives have access to the memories of the living, the dying, and the recently dead. But extracting victims’ experiences firsthand and personally reliving everything up to the final, brutal moments of their lives—the sights, the sounds, the scents, the pain—is also the punishment reserved for the criminals themselves.Barnes has had enough. Enough of the memories that aren’t his. Enough of the horror. Enough of the voices inside his head that were never meant to take root…until a masked serial killer known as Calavera strikes a little too close to home.Now, with Calavera on the loose, Barnes is ready to reconnect, risking his life—and his sanity. Because in the mind of this serial killer, there is one secret even Barnes has yet to see…

The Good House


Tananarive Due - 2003
    Working to rebuild her law practice after her son commits suicide, Angela Toussaint journeys to the family home where the suicide took place, hoping for answers, and discovers an invisible, evil force that is driving locals to acts of violence.

Island of Lost Girls


Jennifer McMahon - 2008
    She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption.