For fans of J.K. Rowling, Darren Shan, and R.L. Stine...When ten-year-old Peter moves into his grandfather’s creepy old mansion in a small town, bad, baaaaad things start to happen.A family of charred boogeymen in the garden...an undead classmate with a crush...a monster in the town lake...and the worst horror of all:Fourth grade.Peter And The Vampires is the first in a series!For fans of J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter series), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game), R.L. Stine (the Goosebumps series), and Darren Shan (Cirque Du Freak) comes a new series of supernatural thrillers!When ten-year-old Peter moves into his grandfather’s creepy old mansion in a small town, bad, baaaaad things start to happen.A family of charred boogeymen who haunt the garden decide they don't like trespassers...A classmate with a crush comes back from the grave, and decides to make Peter her Undead Prince Charming...A creature from Fairieland changes place with Peter's two-year-old sister, leading to a VERY strange babysitting job...A prehistoric predator snatches children from the town lake, forcing Peter to literally dive into the belly of the beast...With his troublemaking neighbor Dill, his grumpy grandfather, and only his courage and wit to guide him, Peter has to survive all these things, plus the Greatest Horror Of All:Fourth grade.Peter And The Vampires is for teens and adults who, when they were kids, were looking for stories that kicked butt. The protagonist might be young, but the stories are dark, funny, and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful.Peter And The Vampires is the first in an ongoing series that includes Peter And The Werewolves and Peter And The Frankenstein. This book is 120,000 words (370+ pages) and contains some mild language, violence, and scary situations.Visit www.DarrenPillsbury.com for more about the author.

Nessa Dahl always had the good sense to steer clear of trouble. Then Jeremiah MacNaught showed up in New Orleans, determined to get to the bottom of a string of bank robberies by two women wearing Mardi Gras masks. Little does Nessa realize that the handsome investigator is convinced she's involved with the crimes-or that he's willing to do anything to get the truth. Even if it means taking the beautiful woman he's convinced is a liar and a thief straight to bed...

When Alyssa was a child, she decided not to believe in demons. If you don't believe, then they can't be real, right? But the demons don't care what you believe.Alyssa grabs her six-year-old daughter and escapes into the forest outside the compound. Her father's death haunts every step. He died trying to save her from the cult when she was a child. This time, failure is not an option. Keeping a few steps ahead of the elders, Alyssa crosses paths with a truck driver named Gabe. Suddenly she dares to believe she might succeed. Yet Alyssa can't bring herself to warn Gabe of the demon horde that's fast on their heels.Gabe's gentle kindness sends ripples of emotion throughout Alyssa's petite form. Emotions she's never felt before. But will he be strong enough to protect her from the approaching evil?Excerpt:Lifeless shadows filled the empty spaces between the white frame buildings of the compound. Alyssa grabbed her six-year-old daughter Samantha’s hand and moved slowly past the tallest building in the compound known as the gathering hall. A low unearthly hum came from within that sucked all hope out of the air. It was a familiar sound. A sound that whispered how deeply the elders were into their worship ceremony. A screeching moan came from inside as Alyssa pulled Samantha toward the far end of the building. A chill ran through her at the thought of what went on inside the sanctuary as another screech, more urgent that the last filled the air. Yes, the elders were totally committed, it was now or never.A cold wind pushed against them as they rushed across the open area between the living quarters and the tall wire fence. They stopped at a tall tree near the fence. Alyssa used the tree to conceal them as she removed a large clump of grass that revealed a shallow hole under the fence. Pulling the fence up as best she could, Alyssa helped Samantha slip under, then followed her. They crouched low and ran across the meadow. When they reached a small patch of trees Alyssa rose to full height, took hold of Samantha’s hand and ran as fast as her child could manage through the tall grass.It wasn’t long before Samantha began to whimper from exhaustion. She pulled on her mother’s hand. Alyssa forced herself to stop and point out a star as it shot across the sky. Samantha stood next to her trembling in the dark autumn night. Draping her arm across Samantha’s shoulders Alyssa forced herself to smile despite her intense fear and desperate urge to run through the darkness. She gazed into Samantha’s big, blue eyes and said, “Isn’t it beautiful? It looks like the star is chasing a fairy across the sky.”Samantha’s eyes opened wide with wonder forgetting the cold damp air that caused her thin dress to cling her bone thin form. “Is it an angel?” She whispered.Alyssa eyes filled with tears as she answered, “There's no such thing as angels.”

With some help from her friends, Karen creates a new holiday, Augustania, a celebration of the end of summer that borrows favorite traditions from other holidays.

It's Captain Lacey's duty to unravel the mysteries of Regency England. The Glass House is a place where London's high society can indulge their vices. When one of its regulars is found floating in the Thames, Captain Lacey demands justice, uncovering jealousy and murder--while also confronting some secrets of his own.

A private military company battles nightmarish creatures.WARNING: THIS BOOK IS TOTALLY METAL. No, it's not made of metal. It's totally metal the same way that electric guitars, ninjas, and hot naked girls riding on dinosaurs are totally metal. If you don't understand, then just put this book down and walk away. Just walk away. But if you do understand… Welcome to Graveyard – an elite private military company employed by the secret society that really controls the world – this world. YOUR WORLD. Graveyard’s commander is the grizzled Walter Stedman, a former Delta Force operator battered by twenty years of secret wars, forbidden knowledge, and abominations of science. Someone has murdered one of Walter’s employers, and that means Graveyard is about to go to war. The enemy is like none Walter has ever encountered – creatures from beyond nightmares. His mission will lead him into direct confrontation with an old friend, the legendary Graveyard operator known as Kill Team One - because his exploits in combat match those of an entire squad of regular men. Now retired, Kill Team One has used a strict regimen of training, beatings, and propaganda to condition his two teenage sons into the ultimate super soldiers – ice cold killers that have known nothing but violence and destruction since birth. One of them may be almost human. Almost. Tracking their every move is the ninja, Yoshida Tanaka – a man consumed by hatred in the decade since Kill Team One needlessly tortured his young family to death. Now he lurks in the shadows, honing his skills and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. All of this has come together as a perfect storm, and by the time the rains subside, all life on Earth may have been washed away. This volume contains chapters 1-23 of KILL KILL KILL.

Contains two companion stories to the *Darkest Powers* trilogy. **Belonging** (the novella set after The Reckoning), Derek's werewolf family comes to claim him. Narrated by Derek. **Facing Facts** (short story set after The Reckoning), Tori discovers who her father is, and Chloe deals with a vengeful ghost. Narrated by Chloe. Appearing in [Enthralled](https://www./book/show/11604316.Enthralled "Enthralled")

Robert Ludlum’s wayward hero, the outrageous General MacKenzie Hawkins, returns with a diabolical scheme to right a very old wrong—and wreak vengeance on the [redacted] who drummed him out of the military. Discovering a long-buried 1878 treaty with an obscure Indian tribe, the Hawk, a.k.a. Chief Thunder Head, hatches a brilliant plot that will ultimately bring him and his reluctant legal eagle, Sam Devereaux, before the Supreme Court. Their goal is to reclaim a choice piece of American real estate: the state of Nebraska, which just so happens to be the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Air Command. Their outraged opposition will be no less than the CIA, the Pentagon, and the White House. And only one thing is certain: Ludlum will keep us in nonstop suspense—and side-splitting laughter—through the very last page. Praise for Robert Ludlum and The Road to Omaha  * “A very funny book . . . No character is minor: They’re all hilarious.”—Houston Chronicle “Don’t ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day.”—Chicago Sun-Times* BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Robert Ludlum’s *The Bourne Identity.*

Time isn’t kind… Waverly Sandler is nothing like her mad father. She’s a nurse. She takes care of people. She is fighting to live down her name. She’s also a sister, a friend, and someday, if the universe is kind, she hopes to be a lover and a wife. Life at The Farm is one of constant activity, because freedom exacts a high price. When Waverly is tapped for a special assignment, she’s eager to rise to the task of being useful, but the last thing she expected was the attention of four of the strongest, most united group of men she’s ever met. Ari, the doctor who sees things. Jackson, the man determined to live down his past. Rohan, the Super Soldier who longs to be a person. Canyon, the Super Soldier who sees the possibilities of a better life. They need her more than she could ever know, and will change her life in ways she could never anticipate. All they have to do is survive war, disease, and time…

Crash has never let the circumstances of his birth, or his lack of a last name, bother him. His associations may be unsavory, but money, friends, and infamy open far more interesting doors than respect ever could. His sole regret? Once lovely, sweet Daisy Whitlaw learned the truth about how he made his fortune, she cut him off. Daisy’s father is dead, her mother is in ill health, and her available funds have dwindled to a memory. When the local parish announces a Christmas charity bequest to help young people start a trade, it’s her last chance. So what if the grants are intended for men? If she’s good enough, she might bluff her way into a future. When Crash offers to show her how to swagger with confidence, she knows he is up to no good. But with her life in the balance, she’s desperate enough to risk the one thing she hasn’t yet lost: her heart.

Mohammed sits in a café in Vienna, to propose joining his network of agents and sympathizers in Europe and Middle East with a Colombian's drug network in America for terrorism, profits and destruction. Off book U.S. top secret agency The Campus for President John Patrick Ryan has the best of the best. Dominic Caruso is a rookie FBI agent, barely a year out of Quantico, whose decisive actions resolve a particularly brutal kidnap/murder case. His brother Brian is a Marine captain just back from his first combat action in Afghanistan, and already a man to watch. Their cousin is Jack Ryan, Jr. Jack was raised on intrigue. As his father moved through the ranks of the CIA and then into the White House, Jack received a life course in the world and the way it operates from agents, statesmen, analysts, Secret Service men, and black ops specialists such as John Clark and Ding Chavez. But nothing has prepared him for real world danger.

In this seventy-page digital novella from the world of Erin Hunter's #1 nationally bestselling Warriors series, discover the thrilling story behind Leafpool's greatest secret. Leafpool always knew medicine cats weren't meant for love . . . until she fell for the WindClan warrior Crowfeather. Now she's determined to keep their kits a secret. But to fool all of ThunderClan, she'll need help—from her sister Squirrelflight, and perhaps even from StarClan.... Warriors: Leafpool's Wish also includes teaser chapters of Warriors: Dovewing's Silence and Dawn of the Clans #1: The Sun Trail.

*He was fifteen and she was seventeen. * When sophomore Ryan "The Kid" McPhearson makes the Varsity baseball team, he finds himself submersed into the life of upperclassmen, and falling in love with senior Brooke Bennet. To Ryan she's his dream girl, perfect. Maybe to the outside world a two-year age difference doesn't matter, but this is high school. Everything matters. Ryan soon realizes Brooke's life is not so perfect. He becomes her closest friend, her safe place to fall when she needs to escape. Ryan seems to be benched in the friend zone with no chance to bat. Time is both a curse and a blessing. It ushers Brooke away to college, and Ryan into the arms of his first girlfriend. It alters Ryan from a kid to a high school graduate, ready to venture to college himself. But when Ryan sees Brooke again he realizes there are some things even time can't touch. Though much has changed, one question still remains. Will the things that mattered in high school always stand between them?

For over one hundred years The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite, and Jerry Pinkney's spectacular new adaptation brings it triumphantly to new generations of readers. With keen emotion and fresh vision, the acclaimed artist captures the essence of the tale's timeless appeal: The journey of the awkward little bird -- marching bravely through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons -- is an unforgettable survival story; this blooming into a graceful swan is a reminder of the patience often necessary to discover true happiness. Splendid watercolors set in the lush countryside bring drama to life.

Early Whitcomb's family needs a miracle. Their Iowa farm has been in the family for generations, but a long drought has withered their savings and left them in debt. Meanwhile, the great Chicago and Northwestern Railroad wants their land, and if the Whitcombs can't pay their loans, the local banker, Judge Fuslin, will foreclose and sell the farm as his own. Early's uncle (though he's more like a brother), Jesse, thinks he has the solution: to head West and dig for gold. Fueled by reports of prospectors striking it rich in the Rocky Mountains, Jesse can't think about anything but gold, and his determination to get to the western territories grows stronger by the day. Early is wild to go with him, as much for the adventure as for the gold. But the journey costs money--more than the boys can afford--and when Jesse flees during the night, after being accused of a robbery, Early doesn't know what to believe. Then Jesse sends an electrifying message--that he has found gold, but his life is in danger--and Early knows he must do whatever it takes to find him, even if it means running away and joining a wagon train with a strange family. The journey is dangerous and full of hardships, and the closer the travelers get to their destination, the more ruined lives they encounter--lives consumed by the hunt for gold. Then to his horror, Early learns that Jesse has been accused of another, much bigger crime and has fled to a secret place in the mountains. Somehow, Early must get to him without leading Jesse's pursuers right to his door. And even if he succeeds, Early will still have to make the hardest choice of his life.

Brooklyn, New York, 1951. Twelve-year-old Pete Collison is a regular kid who loves Sam Spade detective books and radio crime dramas, but when an FBI agent shows up at Pete’s doorstep accusing his father of being a Communist, Pete finds himself caught in a real-life mystery. Could there really be Commies in Pete’s family? At the same time, Pete’s class turns against him, thanks to similar rumors spread by his own teacher; even Kat, Pete’s best friend, feels the pressure to ditch him. As Pete follows the quickly accumulating clues, he begins to wonder if the truth could put his family’s livelihood--and even their freedom--at risk. In the tradition of his Newbery Honor book Nothing But the Truth, Avi’s newest novel tells a funny, insightful story packed with realistic period detail of a boy in mid-twentieth-century America. Its unique look at what it felt like to be an average family caught in the wide net of the Red Scare has powerful relevance to contemporary questions of democracy and individual freedoms.

With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccolò series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire. The year 1464 finds Nicholas back in Venice. Plagued by enemies bent on dissolving his assets and smearing his character, he sets sail for Africa, legendary location of the Fountain of Youth, home to a descendant of Sheba and Solomon, and the source of gold in such abundance that men prefer to barter in shells. He will learn firsthand the brutality and grandeur of the Dark Continent, from the horror of the slave trade to the austere nobility of Islamic Timbuktu. He will discover, too, the charms of the beautiful Gelis van Borselen--a woman whose passion for Nicholas is rivaled only by her desire to punish him for his role in her sister s death. Erotic and lush with detail, Scales of Gold embraces the complexity of the Renaissance, where mercantile adventure couples with more personal quests behind the silken curtains of the Age of Discovery. From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Romanian and Serbian Canis lupus rest in an uneasy peace. One of their own, Sally Miklos, the young and powerful gypsy healer, aids Perizada in her quest to defeat Volcan, a long forgotten nightmare returned to our world. These two packs watch as their brothers across the world, wolves from Spain, Ireland, and America, join their own forces in the battle against the evil dark fae. At the same time, the packs hope against hope that their presence might reveal a mate bond between a pack member and one of the five recently discovered gypsy healers. While Jacque and Jen miss Sally, their longtime best friend, they have bided their time dealing with their own domestic issues. Jacque and Fane are anticipating the birth of their first child and Jen and Decebel face the challenges of caring for an infant. Both girls are eagerly awaiting Sally’s return, and have Perizada’s word that she will be back in time for the birth of Jacque’s baby. Vasile and Alina, the Alpha pair of the Romanian pack, are enjoying this time of peace. But Vasile did not become the most powerful Alpha in centuries by being a fool. He has lived long enough to know that there is always another battle on the horizon. As long as evil exists in this world, his race must step forward and stand in the gap, shielding those who cannot protect themselves. But the battle he is anticipating is bigger than he could have ever imagined. As Perizada has recently discovered, creatures of the night that have for so long remained hidden from the human realm, have slithered from their underground lairs and begun preying on the young and innocent. The high fae has declared war, and she expects Vasile and his wolves to be the ones to carry out the attack. The Alpha is more than happy to oblige. But with his first grandchild on the way, and the gift of five vulnerable healers coming under the wolves’ protection, he understands that he must be very careful not to place any of them in harm’s way. Such is the job of the Alpha, protector, and provider. He and those he leads must stand as sentinels and warriors to safeguard those they love, and the humans who know nothing of the supernatural world. It will be their job to destroy the creatures that threaten to expose them all. And if they fail, the world as they know it, both human and supernatural, will never be the same.

Harley Vincent is resigned to life in the human world. Sure, being a margay shifter is half her nature, but life among humans gives her the freedom to roam and do as she pleases. That is, until anti-shifter extremists target her, putting her life in immediate danger. When an old acquaintance and onetime fling, Jesse Dalton, shows up to offer the protection of his pack, Harley hesitates. She may have feelings for Jesse that go beyond their one-night stand, but life among shifters means giving over her independence to the needs of pack. Plus Mercury Pack has its own threat to face: a rich half-shifter is determined to claim their territory at any cost. Jesse, who lost his true mate as a child, has wanted Harley since their night together, and he’s not letting her go again. They may not be destined for each other, but he knows she belongs to him and with his pack. Even if he can convince her to join him now, can he convince her to stay?