Jay Desmarteaux raised a whole lot of hell in New Jersey after he was released from prison after 25 years for the murder of a rapist bully at his school. Now he's on the run in his home state of Louisiana, where he traces his roots to an evil family tree that's grown large and lush, watered with the blood of the innocent. Jay's hunt for his parents will take him to the doors of stately plantation homes built by the enslaved, through the deadly and gorgeous heart of the bayou, to his greatest nightmare—a cell in the infamous state prison, where his only escape is the wildest show in the South—the Angola Prison Rodeo. Scarred and shell-shocked, Jay Desmarteaux faces his deadliest adversaries yet: the demons within himself and the brutality wrought by his privileged ancestors. The Boy from County Hell is coming home... Praise for THE BOY FROM COUNTY HELL: "Thomas Pluck's The Boy From County Hell is raucous and rollicking, just like The...

Follow detectives Finch and Elias in this novella (which is an excerpt from the short story collection DEAD EVEN) as they try to solve the mystery of a stolen mummy from the River City museum. Part mystery, part procedural, with a little wise-cracking along the way, this story will satisfy River City fans waiting for the next installment and introduce Frank Zafiro to new readers.

When Bricks and Cam strike out on their own in the aftermath of their bloody showdown with the Giordano family, not everything goes as planned. Boring, straight jobs aren't satisfying, and their first successful solo hit is a messy one. Worse yet, someone has revenge on their mind. Before they know what is happening, Cam is kidnapped and Bricks is attacked by an old enemy. Cam uses his wits as he struggles to escape his captors while Bricks frantically searches for her partner in crime. Both hack away at the mystery of who is bent upon vengeance against them. There is a short list in play, and both Cam and Bricks are on it. But they're not going to stand still and take being attacked. Not by anyone. They're going to fight back. They're making a list of their own, and it's even shorter than the one they're on ... Praise for THE SHORT LIST ... "Bricks and Cam are two of the most resourceful and likable paid killers one is ever likely to meet....

Carl is a Yankee cop in a small Texas border town. Isabella beautiful Mexican woman that everyone in town loves, including the hapless Pete and the wealthy, powerful Jack...but most of all, Carl. Part romance, part police procedural, IN THE SHADOW OF EL PASO contains two short stories by Frank Zafiro. Both stories explore love, race, class and the ambiguity that exists on the southern border.

Bricks and Cam are back, this time fleeing from the East Coast after closing accounts with the mob. Planning a new life on the West Coast, the pair of hit men stop off in Ashton, a small, rural town in eastern Washington, only to immediately find themselves embroiled in trouble in typical fashion. What starts in a bar as a simple intervention between an abusive boyfriend and his victim girlfriend quickly escalates into a blood feud between Cam and Bricks and the family of local backwoods royalty, the Crawfords. Once Cam and Bricks draw first blood, all of the force of the extended Crawford family and their militia-minded cohorts are brought to bear on them. The Crawfords have numbers and hometown advantage, but they've never gone up against anyone like Cam and Bricks before. Bricks' lethal cunning and Cam's penchant for successful messes wreaks havoc with the Crawford's attempts to bring them to small town justice. Despite their talents, though, the two big city...

From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20th century America."[A] brilliant and courageous book." —Dr. Cornel WestDangerous Rhythms tells the symbiotic story of jazz and the underworld: a relationship fostered in some of 20th century America's most notorious vice districts. For the first half of the century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. By offering artists like Louis Armstrong, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald a stage, the mob, including major players Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, provided opportunities that would not otherwise have existed.Even so, at the heart of this relationship was a festering racial inequity. The...

A thrilling journey through China's dark criminal underworld, from a celebrated voice in Chinese literature When Hongyang is found dead after a night of debauched drinking, it looks as if his reign of terror has finally come to an end. Few in this insular community have much reason to mourn his passing: Hongyang is an infamous mob boss, a man with plenty of enemies. But now it seems that his years of crime have also earned him some very dangerous friends. As his funeral draws near, those who knew him come together to look back on a life characterised by corruption, deceit and a flair for violence. Their recollections will keep Hongyang's legacy alive, with terrifying consequences. From the master of Chinese noir fiction comes this explosive new novel about the power of one man, unravelled by a tangled web of secrets.

“Bridgerton lovers have found their next read. J. J. McAvoy is a welcome new voice in historical romance.”—New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean Second chances are even sweeter. . . .Aphrodite Du Bell has always resented her name. While the members of the ton, and even the queen herself, praise her warm brown skin, perfect curls, and exquisite features, Aphrodite can’t help but think that living up to the literal goddess of beauty is asking a bit much. Her renowned loveliness certainly didn’t stop the love of her life from jilting her and marrying another woman four years ago.When Aphrodite’s formidable mother summons her back to London to aid in her sister’s debut, she has no choice but to acquiesce. But Aphrodite is determined to ignore one man in particular: Evander Eagleman, the Duke of Everely, the man who devastated her all those years ago. Yet why does her guileless heart...

The Akashic Noir Series' forensic study of Southern California sharpens its focus on one of Los Angeles's most recognized neighborhoods."South Central Noir, edited by Gary Phillips, is a remarkable anthology of fourteen original tales set in South Central Los Angeles. The stories are vivid, atmospheric, thought-provoking, and entertaining with angry a dud from the first page to the last." —Mystery Scene Magazine"The 14 tales in this strong entry in Akashic's noir series focus on the robust past and present of one of the most notorious areas not just in Southern California but the country . . . Phillips and his contributors dig deep, presenting a rich tapestry of stories varied in tone and perspective."—Publishers Weekly"Editor Phillips packs 33 square miles of one of Los Angeles' most iconic neighborhoods into 14 compact stories . . . These stories offer a strong sense of their community, covering...

In a brand-new series installment, New York Times bestselling author, Ian Rankin, returns to his legendary detective—it’s not the first time Rebus has taken the law into his own hands, though it may be the last.  John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.   But what drove a good man to cross the line?   Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke may well find out. Clarke is tasked with the city’s most explosive case in years, an infamous cop, at the center of decades of misconduct, has gone missing. Finding him will expose not only her superiors, but her mentor John Rebus. And Rebus himself may not have her own interests at heart, as the repayment of a past debt places him in the crosshairs of both crime lords and his police brethren.   One way or another, a reckoning is coming – and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last...

Shabby and lumbering, with a face like a Norfolk dumpling, Father Brown makes for an improbable super-sleuth. But his innocence is the secret of his success: refusing the scientific method of detection, he adopts instead an approach of simple sympathy, interpreting each crime as a work of art, and each criminal as a man no worse than himself...

TO SOLVE THE BRUTAL DEATH OF A TRIBAL WOMAN, DETEKTIV ALEXANDER KAZAKOV BRAVESTHE UNFORGIVING CENTRAL ASIAN MOUNTAINS IN THIS EXCITING NOVEL OF MYSTERY AND ADVENTURE. Alternate history, modern-day Russia: Fergana is the last stronghold of the Russian people and tiny buffer state between the Ottoman Empire and the Chinese Empire of the Sun, but now forces threaten to undermine the uneasy peace. An outside influencer stirs unrest between Ferganese Russians and people of tribal descent. The murder of a revered Kyrgyz healer in the village of Biysk takes Detective Alexander Kazakov away from the looming presidential election to a Russian ski resort deep in the mountains. It's a chance to reacquaint himself with a part of the country he once loved. But Instead of a welcome, he finds a tribal community overrun with Russian tourists and a groundswell of festering resentment among the mountain people. His investigation becomes entangled in...

A DEAD AND MUTILATED WHALE.A MURDERED BOY.A GIRL IN DANGER. A GUTSY SURVIVOR OF A SCHOOL SHOOTING MUST SURVIVE A PERILOUS JOURNEY TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY AND SAVE THE GIRL. Johnstone Strait, British Columbia, Canada: A remote cluster of forested islands, home of orcas, bears and bald eagles. The presence of resident orcas lures scientists and whale watchers from all over the world, as well as kayakers seeking the quiet and the chance to get closer to nature on this pristine coastline. Retired school teacher Phoebe Clay takes her beloved twelve-year-old niece, Alice, on a kayaking trip to paddle with orcas, hoping for a chance to bond with the girl and to recover from the crippling trauma of the school shooting that took the lives of three students—a shooting for which she secretly blames herself. But on their first morning, a dead whale...

In the new installment to her historical crime series that began with 1979, internationally bestselling author Val McDermid delivers a propulsive new thriller that finds journalist Allie Burns has become an editor, and as the Cold War and AIDS crisis deliver a nonstop tide of news, most of it bad, a story falls into her lap. And then there's a murder. Hailed as Britain's Queen of Crime, Val McDermid's award-winning, internationally bestselling novels have captivated readers for more than thirty years. In her Allie Burns series, she returns to the past—both ours and in some ways her own—with the story of a female journalist whose stories lead her into world of corruption, terror, and murder. It's 1989 and Allie Burns is back. Older and maybe wiser, she's running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, chafing at losing her role in investigative journalism and at the descent into the gutter of the UK tabloid...

Chief of Police Samuel Craddock faces a race against time to solve a perplexing murder at a motorcycle rally before the event comes to an end.With the annual Jubilee Motorcycle Rally approaching, Jarrett Creek residents are divided. Some despise the rowdy, unsavory behaviour of the bikers, but they bring welcome money to local merchants. What's to be done?At a town meeting to find a solution, temperatures flare as Amber Johnson and Lily Deverell - family women on opposing sides of the debate - throw accusations at each other. Attempting to appease both camps, Chief of Police Samuel Craddock enacts a curfew to dissuade late-night revellers.Nevertheless, trouble strikes. With the rally in full swing, Amber is found murdered at the event. Why did Amber leave her home that night? What secrets was she hiding from her family? Craddock quickly faces more challenges as he offers to take in his rebellious teenaged niece, Hailey, whose parents are at their...

Hunting one killer—he finds another—in the mirror In the aftermath of his wife's apparent suicide, Jackson Robert Hunter wakes up outside a bar with a badly battered head and no memory. Revelations convince Jackson that his wife's death wasn't a suicide, but a murder, and he sets out to find the killer. While hunting the villain and struggling with his amnesia, Jackson discovers that his own backstory is a dark one, littered with broken hearts and dead bodies: a wife he betrayed; a lover he abandoned; a squad of crooked cops he double-crossed; and a city that lives in fear of his name. Jackson's odyssey takes him from a small town in Kansas to Philadelphia, then back cross-country to Las Vegas. Along the way he encounters a sister he didn't know he had, a niece he failed to save, and a mentor ready to lead Jackson down the darkest of paths. Finally, at the end of his journey, Jackson discovers that it's not another man he's been running to, or from,...

Twenty years after the apocalyptic Blackout, steam-trains and the telegraph have replaced smartphones and satellites, but while some still fear technology, many dream of its return.In France, winter has brought the terrorist insurgency to a frozen stalemate. On the home front, thoughts turn to spring and the dream of a more peaceful future. The Houses of Parliament are finally relocating to a new permanent home in Highcliffe Castle on the British south coast. In the far north of Scotland, a new national gallery is set to open in Thurso, displaying re-discovered paintings looted from Edinburgh just after the Blackout. In Dover, despite the curfews and rationing, pubs, bars, and clubs are thriving, but the re-opening of the cinema is put on hold after all its seats are stolen for firewood.Ten years ago, Henry Mitchell chased the gang known as the Loyal Brigade from the ruins of Sandringham. A decade later, the gang has returned. After his arrest for arms dealing and...

Two deaths could be an accident. Three must be murder.2039, twenty years after the AIs went to war, plague and famine has reduced the global population to a hundred million. Most of the planet is a wasteland, with only a handful of enclave-nations preserving a dim shadow of civilisation. Technology has regressed to the era of steam trains, telegrams, and sailing boats, but democracy survived and is again under threat.Three terrorist insurgencies have swept across Europe, pillaging farms, burning villages, destroying two decades of fragile recovery. Those refugees who escaped the massacres fled to the coast. Like a century before, Calais and Dunkirk have become the front line.On the home front, rationing continues, and another ice-age winter has begun. Christmas is only days away, but Constable Ruth Deering's mood is anything but festive. In the walled city of Dover, a lonely chef is discovered dead, poisoned. What first appeared to be an accident is soon...

If first contact took place today, how would the world react?For the alien towani, Earth is a holy site where their Last Prophecy will be fulfilled. They will do anything to protect the planet. Protecting humanity is an optional extra.In 1888, fleeing starvation in Ireland, Sean found work as a guide to the Whitechapel slums for the publisher of grisly penny dreadfuls. Not even the most lurid of those tales was as outlandish as his encounter with visitors from another world. When they take him back to their home-world, first contact with a human will change their society forever.By 2020, there is a permanent, but secret, non-terrestrial presence on Earth. Negotiating our planet's membership in the alien federation, and concealing its existence, is the responsibility of the UN. When the pandemic begins, Earth enters lockdown, and our solar system is quarantined.While technically not a prisoner, Serene is no more able to leave the tunnels below the...

THE BLOCKBUSTING, BESTSELLING CRIME SERIES WITH MORE THAN 250,000 COPIES SOLD AROUND THE WORLD This exclusive, limited edition box set includes the first three books in the bestselling Knight & Culverhouse crime thriller series plus exclusive free short stories. TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT What if the serial killer you were investigating was someone you knew? DS Wendy Knight's first murder case was always going to test her limits, but even she couldn't anticipate that a sadistic serial killer might be someone she knows - very well. As her investigation unfolds, so too does a sinister plot that will turn her world upside down and make it increasingly difficult to distinguish friend from foe in her tightknit world. By the time Wendy realises she is the killer's final intended victim, she's left fighting against her personal instincts - and for her life. ...

Book launches are rarely exciting. The odd murder tends to spice things up a bit, though. When famous novelist Rupert Pearson's PA doesn't turn up for his book launch at the Freemason's Arms, he's more annoyed than upset. He certainly didn't expect someone to find her face-down in a ditch. For Kempston Hardwick, dead PAs are business as usual. Unfortunately. At least there are lots of excuses to visit the pub. But why had she made so many enemies? Why are the police so keen to fit up an innocent man? And where did Doug's pickled onions go?

Mildenheath. 1981. Jack Culverhouse's first day at Mildenheath CID wasn't what he expected. Hoping to make a good impression, he walks straight into a culture of lies and corruption. Set up for a fall by his new boss, the only way he can save himself is to solve the crime alone — without the help of his colleagues. And it could end his career before it's even started. The Rookie is a prequel novella to the Knight & Culverhouse crime series.

You can cover up the truth but it won’t stay buried forever. A man is found bludgeoned to death in woodland by the village of Canwick, and the close-knit community is sent into shock. Detective Karen Hart, still haunted by the tragic loss of her husband and daughter nearby, is brought in to investigate the horrific murder. It soon becomes clear that dark secrets lie behind Canwick’s unspoiled appearance. When Hart begins to suspect that a modern-day slavery ring has been hiding in plain sight among the villagers, she faces a race to find proof before the culprits slip from her grasp. But when key witnesses start disappearing, it’s obvious that there’s a deep-rooted conspiracy to keep prying eyes away from the truth. But in a village where everyone knows everyone, who knows more than they are letting on—and who can Hart really trust? She’s in deep and she’s never been more alone. She must confront the tragedy of her own past if she wants to catch the killers before it’s too late. Because one thing’s for certain—there’s no turning back…

"I couldn't stop thinking about the story's incredible twist...like no crime novel I've ever read." —James Patterson For fans of Matt Haig and Anthony Horowitz, an "intriguing and thought-provoking" (Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs. Parrish) novel in which the lives of a disgraced police officer, a prolific author, and an upstanding citizen are inextricably bound together by a series of mysterious deaths.The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story. Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he's trying to kill me. Who wrote this note? Who is "he"? This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police...

<p><strong>Book four in a stunning new crime series from 2m+ international bestseller Adam Croft.</strong></p><p>An elderly woman collapses and dies during a Sunday morning church service in Oakham. But things aren't quite as innocent as they seem.</p><p><br></p><p>Within hours, there's a second unexplained death in Rutland. Then a third. But the victims appear to be completely unconnected.</p><p><br></p><p>With the body count rising by the day, DI Caroline Hills and DS Dexter Antoine need to uncover the link before more innocent people die.</p><p><br></p><p>Only one thing is certain: a killer walks the streets of Rutland. But no-one knows who the next victim will be, when they will be killed — or why.</p>

<p><strong>Book two in a stunning new crime series from 2m+ international bestseller Adam Croft.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Each morning, the first train of the day leaves Oakham station and thunders through a tunnel under the village of Manton. But today the driver sees something that changes his life. A dead body hangs in the tunnel's exit.</p><p><br></p><p>DI Caroline Hills knows this isn't a suicide. It's murder. And when a second apparent suicide appears in Rutland, Caroline uncovers a shocking link: the victims knew each other.</p><p><br></p><p>As Rutland Police fight to catch the killer, a group of friends is left with an even more shocking realisation. One of them is the murderer. And one of them will be the next to die.</p><p><strong></strong><br></p><p><strong>'Incredible' — BBC...

SUMMARY: Just when everything is going beautifully for archaeologist Emma Fielding -- a position at a respected university, a beautiful home in New England, and the warm love of a devoted husband -- her world starts to crumble. What begins as a series of seemingly innocent gestures -- the anonymous delivery of gifts and flowers to Emma's family and friends -- soon progresses to secret, sadistic acts designed to destroy her reputation, her character, and her career. Someone has instituted a brilliantly insidious campaign of personal terror against Emma Fielding, and she is certain she knows who it is: a cunning and dangerous enemy whom everyone but she believes is dead. But with no proof, no clues, and no allies, Emma will have to fight alone in the dark to rescue a life being rapidly reduced to ashes . . . if she can survive long enough to do so.

SUMMARY: The past's blood stains the present The opportunity of a lifetime awaits archaeologist Emma Fielding in the Berkshire foothills of Western Massachusetts: the chance to study the eighteenth-century diary of Margaret Chandler, the accused witch and murderess whose home Emma excavated only months before. However, the three other Shrewsbury Foundation fellows she must share the premises with are a disturbingly odd bunch, and before too long one of them is dead. But Emma can find no solace in the bleak beauty of the surrounding wilderness, for there are dark secrets encoded in Madam Chandler's writings, and shocking parallels between an ancient slaying and the strange, brutal demise of her colleague. When the killer strikes again, Emma realizes her own life is at stake. And suddenly there is no choice left: she is driven to investigate bloody crimes past and present -- before her own death becomes a footnote in a chilling, three-centuries-old story.

Product DescriptionAdam Maxwell's first collection of short stories is inventive, funny, dark, and hugely entertaining. The twenty stories included here range from a bizarre quest to find a dead rockstar's limb (Jim Morrison's Leg) to a memorable warning about the hidden dangers of building sites (the acclaimed Shooting Jelly With A Shotgun). Effortlessly fusing pop culture, gunplay, and simians, Dial M For Monkey contains a vibrant mixture of short stories - and short-short stories - most never published before. This unmissable collection represents another shot in the arm for the resurgent form of the short story. As featured in Tonto Short Stories and Dave Eggers' McSweeney's. About the AuthorAdam Maxwell was born in 1976 and has written for a plethora of publications, including Dave Eggers' McSweeney's, and Tonto Short Stories. According to his wife, he has an 'unhealthy obsession' with Bob Dylan and the Beatles, and manages to be 'increasingly worrying' in a number of other areas. He has a Masters Degree in Crea-tive Writing from Northumbria University, and lives in the wilds of Northumberland. This is his first book. He has a website at www.adammaxwell.com.

Charles Dickens has dominated the Christmas short story market for too long and he's so bloody depressing... wouldn't you rather read something that was funny, had comedy misunderstandings, people accidentally getting engaged and generally was a lot more entertaining and less depressing? Then you're in luck... Let's be honest, Christmas can be a pain in the arse (or a pain in the 'ass' if you're from the other side of the pond) and this collection features some stories that I think we can all relate to... Whether it's becoming accidentally engaged to your ex when your fiancee is coming home for Christmas... Or perhaps you're spending Christmas with the in-laws, your wife is stupifyingly drunk and you destroy the presents... No? In that case you'll want to see what happens when two master hypnotists clash over an argument concerning a Christmas tree... All these things and literally two others are dealt with in this collection of Adam Maxwell's Christmas stories. He has asked me to tell you that he hopes these things don't happen to you this Christmas. And he also hopes they don't happen to him.

In this thrilling installment of the #1 bestselling series, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself a reluctant star witness in a sensational televised murder trial causing chaos in Old Town Alexandria with the threat of violent protests. Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge’s sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion, but then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects? Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes telltale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out . . .

Author Rick Mofina's novels have been praised by:James Patterson · Dean Koontz · Michael Connelly · Lee Child · Tess Gerritsen · Jeffery Deaver · Louise Penny · Sandra Brown · James Rollins · Brad Thor · Linwood Barclay · Lisa UngerBook #3 REQUIEM: On a flight from Mexico City, Wanda Stroud sees troubling content on the laptop of a passenger seated ahead of her. The next day, Wanda fails to show up for a coffee date she's made with her friend.Ray Wyatt investigates the story while clinging to his last thread of hope that his son, Danny, is not dead."Rick Mofina's books are edge-of-your seat thrilling. Page turners that don't let up."—Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author"A blood pact, a horrific crime, and a lifetime of secret and lies come back to haunt in this layered, engrossing thriller. Their Last Secret is Rick Mofina at his edge-of-your-seat, can't-stop-turning-the-pages best as he dives deep into...

'A dark tale that gets under your skin. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page' Gemma Rogers, author of The Feud Dark, disturbing and gripping. This is not for the faint of heart.Nurse. Protégé. Murderer.Marcus Gove has been all these things. He's reached the pinnacle of his art and now it's time for him to take a protégé. Lovely Lucy is perfect for the role, or she will be . . .Artist. Teacher. Daughter.Lucy Williams is just like everyone else. She's had some success as an artist, not so much success in love, but she's getting by. But soon she's going to have to become something else if she wants to be a survivor.Detective. Ex-husband. Underdog.Ray Lewis's career isn't heading anywhere. But he's a solid detective and he's determined to find Lucy no matter what the upper brass throw at him.Three people. Nineteen days. Who will live and who will die?

"Wicked fun, devilishly clever, with echoes of Agatha Christie." —Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling authorAt midnight, one of them is dead. By morning, all of them are suspects.It's the party to end all parties....but not everyone is here to celebrate.On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead...but who finally killed him.In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the...