Retired cop, owner of Rankin Protective Services, and generally a good guy. If there's any truth to the old saying that no good turn goes unpunished, Terry Rankin is it. Terry Rankin, the sole proprietor of Rankin Personal Security Services in Orlando, Florida, accepts a private meeting with a potential client. Sheila Adamson is looking for a bodyguard to protect her from her abusive husband, but Rankin refuses to take the job until she begins divorce proceedings. Moments later, Mrs. Adamson is dead and Rankin is buried beneath the rubble of his house, knocked flat by a car bomb planted in the dead woman’s Jaguar. When he’s questioned by the local police, Rankin learns that Adamson’s attorney has also turned up dead, his Cadillac riddled with bullets. Suspecting there is more to these murders than a domestic dispute, he teams up with Orlando cop Cathy Diamond for a thrilling—and treacherous—adventure that will lead them deep into the heart of the Everglades and hot on the trail of a dangerous criminal. In Rankin’s sardonic bodyguard-turned-investigator, Gary Showalter has created a new hero for fans of hardboiled mysteries.

     This twenty-fifth volume reachs out beyond the South to one of the most acclaimed short story writers of our day. Guest editor Amy Hempel admits, “I’ve always had an affinity for writers from the South,” and in her choices, she’s identified the most inventive, heartbreaking, and chilling stories being written by Southerners all across the country. From the famous (Rick Bass, Wendell Berry, Elizabeth Spencer, Wells Tower, Padgett Powell, Dorothy Allison, Brad Watson) to the finest new talents, Amy Hempel has selected twenty-five of the best, most arresting stories of the past year. The 2010 collection is proof of the enduring vitality of the short form and the vigor of this ever-changing yet time-honored series.

    Tarpon Cove is not your typical sleepy beach town: Seduction, drunks, ex-cons and fugitives are not the usual fare for someone looking to start a new chapter in their life. Wrestling control of the property from both the lawyer and the conniving motel manager will be no easy feat. But Madison likes living on the edge so she feels right at home. Bullets fly, a dead body turns up, a kidnapping and blackmail. Madison really has to learn not to leave home without her Glock or it could get her killed.

    Two girls have gone missing from opposite sides of town, and no one is cooperating. With so many obstacles, can Whit use his keen senses to find the girls in time?

    Hall’s haunting debut novel first introduced the rugged character Thorn and the breathtaking South Florida landscape where he lives. Thorn’s past includes a savage act of revenge on the drunken hit-and-run killer of his parents. Now, fifteen years later, Thorn still cannot escape that moment, or the darkness he took into his soul that night. Not even his best friend, Sugarman, knows the truth. Not even Sarah Ryan knows the depths of her lover’s pain. Then suddenly, the nightmare begins again as Thorn’s foster mother is found slaughtered. Thorn can almost taste the rage as he stalks her killer and waits. "An exciting, well-crafted first novel that smoothly places complex, believable characters into an action-filled plot."—Washington Post "It starts good and stays good, right to the end."—Chicago Tribune

    Augustine, he didn't count on digging up a murder victim. In the nation's oldest city, Mitchell discovers links to ancient sins, comes face to face with his own past, and unleashes powerful forces that will do anything to keep their secrets-even if it means taking his life.In this award-winning debut mystery, author Parker Francis taps into an undercurrent of violence hidden behind the sleepy facade of the historic town. When Mitchell's friend, the City Archaeologist, is charged with a brutal murder, he must find the true killer while fighting inner demons and the corrosive residue of racial violence dating back to the Civil Rights Movement. As he learns, St. Augustine was birthed in blood-Matanzas means "place of slaughter" in Spanish-and violence is never far from the surface.

    

    Dunn.C.J. is an expert at spinning her clients’ image in the media—the perfect lawyer to deflect suspicion from Rick Slater, head of security for an influential U.S. congressman. A beautiful model has vanished from a party on Miami Beach, and Slater was the last person seen with her. C.J. has reasons to dislike the congressman, but if she takes this case he can arrange a host position for her on a major news outlet. For a woman who grew up dirt-poor, with a past she would rather forget, the celebrity life has its appeal.The story of Alana Martin’s disappearance soon sets off a media frenzy. Reporters and paparazzi hound everyone connected to the case, and C.J. must work fast before they uncover her own secrets, too.When Rick Slater tells her that a friend of Alana’s could be his alibi witness, C.J. realizes the girl is someone she knows: Kylie Willis, a seventeen-year-old runaway from the same north Florida town where C.J. was born. The problem is, Kylie won’t talk. As C.J. digs into the case, she finds connections between Alana and a group of investors in a project on environmentally sensitive land. One of them is the elusive architect Milo Cahill, one of C.J.’s own VIP clients, who may be bribing the congressman. Another is C.J.’s lover, Miami Beach socialite Billy Medina. But when C.J. asks Billy for information, he brushes her off. She wonders if she’s been foolish about Billy. Or is the problem just her growing attraction to her client Rick?Then Alana Martin is found—dead. Her body washes up on a beach late one night, and the coroner says it was murder. The police have evidence against Slater. C.J. is slammed between the media and the need to defend a client she doesn’t trust. She must find Kylie Willis. The girl could save Rick Slater—but she might also reveal a devastating secret, one that could destroy C.J.’s career, and even, her life.

    The latest chapter in their piratic rivalry takes place in 2004, when an old treasure map turns up. None of this seems to matter to Morgan Cooke, a cowardly, landlubbing accountant entirely ignorant of his heritage until his estranged father, Isaac, in need of crewmen, kidnaps him and thrusts him into the fray. When Morgan wakes up on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean, he learns that piracy still flourishes, albeit with far more discretion than in the old days--pirates disguise their fast boats as shrimpers or tugs--but with no less bloodshed. Judging even a shot at riches vastly preferable to a return to his lonely, fluorescent-lit work station existence, Morgan pierces his ear, dons the eye patch and peg leg, and set sail for glorious adventure.

    Here, Deal is struggling torebuild the once formidable DealCo, a development company once headed by his flamboyant father Barton Deal--but little does he know that the piece ofland upon which he plans to build a small apartment complex is coveted by a ruthless businessman intent on making a fortune off Major League Baseball'sarrival in South Florida.

    From the moment Probation Officer Jo Cazimer witnesses a murder her life is in jeopardy. Working with her best friend Detective Kate Snow they struggle to identify the killer. But in Florida the snakes slither, the gators are hungry and a serial killer is on the loose.

    What she finds are dead bodies, a kidnapping, the mob and a certain Jewish Cuban detective that she has developed a school girls crush on.It's not long before she's engulfed in events that will either destroy her or prove to her that it's never too late to begin again and that life isn't over until it is.This book is filled with fun and unforgettable characters and situations that never leave a dull moment from page one to epilogue.

    Don Roy Doyle is back in town. Tough and quick-witted, he's fresh out of prison, where he served three years for a diamond swindle. Now he's back to collect his share of the proceeds, about $200,000, but the money has vanished. A local family dynasty which has controlled the island's politics for generations, a cop with a grudge, the FBI, and the Russian mob all have a stake in the action. They're convinced Cuba is on the verge of "opening up", and they all want Doyle gone. In this tightly-knit town, who can be trusted? And how long can Doyle stay alive? SETUP ON FRONT STREET is the first novel in Mike Dennis' Key West Nocturnes series. It takes you deep inside the world of Key West noir, behind the margaritas and the sunshine, way back in the shadows and the alleys, where the tourists never go.

    Many would describe him as a bulldog of a man with a strong moral streak. No one would have predicted what was actually to come.When Jake Sullivan takes on a high profile case, he naturally anticipates both a moral and a professional victory. But when his drinking and obsession with the horrific nature of the crimes involved cloud his judgement, the case is thrown out of court and a cold-blooded killer goes free.Shattered and mired in self-pity, Jake withdraws from his family and takes off for Key West where he builds a small practice fighting marine insurance companies. One night, still haunted by his failures, Jake stumbles upon a covert meeting between Attorney General Benjamin Matthews, the man who fired him, and the serial killer he let go free.What follows is Jake’s fight for redemption and his life as he unravels a Machiavellian plot that leads from Key West to the White House.This is the first book in the Jake Sullivan Series. Also by Chip Bell: "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season" and "Havana Daydreamin'"

    No one ever said it shouldn't be. Following the abrupt end of a relationship, college student Kimberly Bradford finds comfort in the friendship with her over-the-top neighbor, Mallory. And, Mallory encourages her to get back out there. She would of course if it weren't for the thrilling little love notes and gifts she's been receiving . Kim thinks they're from her ex-fiancee, not realizing he's been murdered. Worse, whoever is sending her all the extra attention is not only in her inner-circle, but has a connection to that unsolved murder some 25 years ago. That connection puts her life in danger, and exposes secrets better left buried around her closest friends and family.