Two short tales from master storyteller Marsha Ward. A lone woman faces down a "bear" in her remote county home in "Thumps in the Night," and a ten-year-old boy finds a wallet full of cash in "Losers Weepers."What should a ten-year-old boy buy when he finds a wallet full of cash? A bicycle? A horse? Or something more meaningful?Will business traveler Mel Harris's phone call go unanswered because his wife Murial encountered a bear in their kitchen during the night?Enjoy a couple of non-Western short stories from the imagination of master storyteller Marsha Ward, "Thumps in the Night" and "Losers Weepers."

The island of Damariscove becomes a safe haven for a teenager named Aran Brown when a massive viral outbreak ravages the mainland. With his supplies dwindling and his options limited, he and his two companions realize that they will eventually have venture out to survive. But what they find on the mainland is far beyond their worst fears, facing choices that no child should ever have to face.Having fun with Bobby’s tall tales is exciting. These new stories will keep you on your toes with fun, laughter and smiles for the whole family. Let the stories enrich your heart with giggles.

Events at a Canada Day Parade in a small Eastern Ontario town take an unusual turn when a high-tech prototype and a thunderstorm combine to translocate a motley selection of participants to ... They're not sure where. But the Men in Black on both sides of the border would certainly like to know how the Dyn-O-Tel Mark II managed it.The book can not be easily described, it is a collection of stories and each one is different. I believe the world needs more humor, optimism and relaxation through creative thinking. This book is my small contribution – you have to read it to see.Hope you’ll like it! If you do, look for more books from my ‘Intergalactic Stories’ series.If you prefer a novel, check the book ‘Cloud Whale’ – might change your view of the world.

It was a "million-dollar bullet," a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinary mark: he was a United States citizen, targeted by the United States government, and assassinated in the Bahamas.The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence-including the witnesses-Lincoln's investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer.ReviewPraise for THE BURNING WIRE -- : 'Deaver can be relied on to deliver high tension - in this case it comes in every sense of the expression.' -- The Times Jeffery Deaver is something of a summer tradition for thriller fans, and a Lincoln Rhyme novel makes for a bumper year ... Deaver's pacy prose is addictive enough to result in dreadful sunburn if read on the beach, so approach with caution. -- Independent on Sunday 'Ingenious plotting is combined with ample helpings of information, about both New York's infrastructure and the hero's disability' -- The Sunday Times 'Brilliant ... it's easy to get swept up in the sheer velocity of the action' -- Scotsman 'The art of writing blockbuster thrillers is not easily mastered but Deaver has it at his fingertips. One of his specialities is the out-of-left-field revelation and THE BURNING WIRE is brimming with them.' -- Daily Express 'With 26 novels to his name Deaver is an old hand at delivering the goods ... he still does it better than most, whacking his readers with a neat one-two plot twist as they enter the final straight.' -- Observer Thriller of the Month 'Deaver is a master of misdirection and the plot will keep you guessing to the end. A powerful read indeed.' -- Evening Standard About the AuthorJeffery Deaver is the creator of Lincoln Rhyme, and the award-winning author of 29 internationally bestselling thrillers, including the new James Bond novel CARTE BLANCHE. He lives in North Carolina.

One fateful summer, three very different women find themselves together in Summer Hill, Virginia, where they find they have much more in common than they realized… Sixty-year-old Olivia’s first marriage was long and unhappy, but now she is a newlywed, thrilled to finally be starting her life with the man she’s always truly loved—even if they are getting a late start. Kathy is in her forties and married to a handsome, successful businessman. Theirs would be a fairy-tale romance if it weren’t for one problem: he’s passionately in love with someone else! Twentysomething Elise is also in a troubled marriage, stuck with the man her wealthy parents chose for her. Now that he has a pregnant mistress, he seems willing to go to drastic lengths to take Elise out of the picture. Though each of them wound up at the Summerhouse for separate reasons, it’s not long before they begin to open up about their regrets, their wishes and their dreams. And when they’re presented with the opportunity of a lifetime—a chance to right the wrongs of their past—all three discover what can happen when dreams really do come true.

An inspired collection of short stories by an all-star cast of best-selling storytellers based on the thought-provoking illustrations in Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. For more than twenty-five years, the illustrations in the extraordinary Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg have intrigued and entertained readers of all ages. Thousands of children have been inspired to weave their own stories to go with these enigmatic pictures. Now we’ve asked some of our very best storytellers to spin the tales. Enter The Chronicles of Harris Burdick to gather this incredible compendium of stories: mysterious, funny, creepy, poignant, these are tales you won’t soon forget. This inspired collection of short stories features many remarkable, best-selling authors in the worlds of both adult and children's literature: Sherman Alexie, M.T. Anderson, Kate DiCamillo, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar, Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket, and Chris Van Allsburg himself. Van Allsburg's Harris Burdick illustrations have evoked such wonderment and imagination since Harris Burdick's original publication in 1984; many have speculated or have woven their own stories to go with his images. More than ever, the illustrations send off their eerie call for text and continue to compel and pick at the reader's brain for a backstory—a threaded tale behind the image. In this book, we've collected some of the best storytellers to spin them.

A love story with bite …... Walking home after a night out drowning her sorrows with her best friend, Carrie, Alexandra Jones stupidly takes a phone call from her cheating ex-boyfriend, Eddie, and in her anger hurls her phone into the forest before her. But when Alex goes to retrieve her phone from the undergrowth, she and Carrie come face-to-face with a monster they never even knew existed, a Vârcolac (a nightmarish vampire-werewolf hybrid) and he's in search of fresh blood. The next thing Alex knows, she is staring at the impossibly handsome but mysterious Nathan who has helped bring her back to life, but not to the life she left. To her horror, she discovers she has now become a blood-drinking Vârcolac herself and she is the only female of her kind, with the potential for breeding a whole new army of Vârcolacs if they can only track her down and press her into service. And while Alex gets to know Nathan and his shape-shifting family as they offer her the protection she so desperately needs, unbeknown to all of them, the Vârcolacs are getting closer … Readers please be advised that the author has dropped this series and will not be writing the final book in the trilogy.

The second book in the epic, action-packed second Survivors series from Erin Hunter, #1 nationally bestselling author of Warriors The Survivors series is full of “wild and wonderful adventure” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) that will thrill fans of Spirit Animals and Wings of Fire. Darkness has struck at the heart of the Wild Pack. Whisper is dead—and Storm is certain that his wounds could only have been inflicted by another dog. Lucky and her Packmates are reluctant to believe her, but Storm is determined to face the truth: could there be a traitor in their midst? 

From the #1 bestselling author of Running with Scissors and Dry--a contagiously funny, heartwarming, shocking, twisted, and absolutely magical collection. True stories that give voice to the thoughts we all have but dare not mention. It begins with a Tang Instant Breakfast Drink television commercial when Augusten was seven. Then there is the contest of wills with the deranged cleaning lady. The execution of a rodent carried out with military precision and utter horror. Telemarketing revenge. Dating an undertaker and much more. A collection of true stories that are universal in their appeal yet unabashedly intimate and very funny.

Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are back in Laurie R. King's highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling mystery series. And this time the first couple of detection pair up to unlock the buried memory of a shocking crime with the power to kill again-lost somewhere in Russell's own past. After departing Bombay by ship, Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are en route to the bustling modern city of San Francisco. There, Mary will settle some legal affairs surrounding the inheritance of her family's old estate. But the closer they get to port, the more Mary finds herself prey to troubling dreams and irrational behavior-a point not lost on Holmes, much to Russell's annoyance. In 1906, when Mary was six, San Francisco was devastated by an earthquake and a raging fire that reduced the city to rubble. For years, Mary has denied any memory of the catastrophe that for days turned the fabled streets into hell on earth. But Holmes suspects that some hidden trauma connected with the "unforgettable" catastrophe may be the real culprit responsible for Mary's memory lapse. And no sooner do they begin to familiarize themselves with the particulars of the Russell estate than it becomes apparent that whatever unpleasantness Mary has forgotten, it hasn't forgotten her. Why does her father's will forbid access to the house except in the presence of immediate family? Why did someone break in, then take nothing of any value? And why is Russell herself targeted for assassination? The more questions they ask of Mary's past, the more people from that past turn out to have died violent, unexplained deaths. Now, with the aid of a hard-boiled young detective and crime writer named Hammett, Russell and Holmes find themselves embroiled in a mystery that leads them through the winding streets of Chinatown to the unspoken secrets of a parent's marriage and the tragic car "accident" that a fourteen-year-old Mary alone survived-an accident that may not have been an accident at all. What Russell is about to discover is that even a forgotten past never dies...and it can kill again.

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago. When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble. To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie? Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.

Four children have been chosen to compete in a national competition to find the tastiest confection in the country. Who will invent a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Lightning Chew? Logan, the Candymaker's son, who can detect the color of chocolate by touch alone? Miles, the boy who is allergic to merry-go-rounds and the color pink? Daisy, the cheerful girl who can lift a fifty-pound lump of taffy like it's a feather? Or Philip, the suit-and-tie wearing boy who's always scribbling in a secret notebook? This sweet, charming, and cleverly crafted story, told from each contestant's perspective, is filled with mystery, friendship, and juicy revelations.

Was It Murder? deals with the phenomenon of coincidence by posing the question of how likely it is that two brothers attending the same boarding school meet with two separate accidental deaths-and curious ones at that-within the same schoolyear. In the manner typical of the Golden Age whodunnit, the solution is only presented in the final pages of the novel. Throughout the book, an amateur sleuth and a Scotland Yard detective vie with each other to solve the riddle, with only one of them successful in the end. It should be noted that Was It Murder? remained Hilton's only detective novel-a brief youthful foray into crime fiction he shares with writers such as C. S. Forester (Payment Deferred, 1926; Plain Murder, 1930) and C. P. Snow (Death Under Sail, 1932). Plot summary: Oakington is one of the lesser-known public schools in England, and Dr Roseveare, its headmaster, has been trying hard for seven years to improve its reputation. When, in the winter term of 1927-28, one of the pupils is killed in his sleep by an old gas fitting falling down from the ceiling he contacts Colin Revell, an Old Boy, to discreetly investigate the matter. Not entirely convinced that there was no foul play involved but unable to pin down a motive on anyone, Revell leaves again after a few weeks, and most of the evidence is destroyed by the installation of electricity in the whole building. A few months later Revell is shocked to learn that the deceased boy's brother has also died under mysterious circumstances-he seems to have jumped into the school's indoor swimming pool late at night after the water had been drained-and travels to Oakington of his own accord. Now it turns out that the closest relative of the two brothers, who have been orphans for years, is actually a teacher at Oakington, and that he stands to inherit a small fortune. At the same time Revell falls in love with that teacher's beautiful young wife. source: Wikipedia

The doctor is in. Every inch of him… I’m the youngest, brightest, and most hotshot medical director the fertility clinic’s ever seen. Nothing gets between me and my job, until Ada Chase walks in. I’m not supposed to touch her, at least, not in the way I want to. She’s off limits in so many ways. Too rich. Too innocent. Too never-been-touched. …Too much my patient. The sheltered young heiress is in my office so her rich, shitty family can see if she’s capable of bearing children. And I’m supposed to examine her – every inch of her sweet, tempting body – to check. But I’ve wanted her since the instant I laid eyes on her, and now I’m obsessed, possessed, and driven like I’ve never been before. First, I’m going to make her beg. Second, I’ll make her mine. And third? Well, third is the best part. Third is me putting a baby in that soft young belly. And after that, I’ll steal her away from all of this. Fuck the medical code of conduct, forget professionalism, and damn the consequences. Oh, Ada can bear children alright. …so long as they’re mine. I know what you’re thinking – this sounds like dirty, filthy doctor-fantasy smut. And if you’re thinking that, the good news is, you’re entirely correct ;). This book is hot and heavy insta-love and lust at it’s finest, with a dominant alpha hero completely obsessed with breeding and claiming his untouched heroine. Safe, no cheating, and a HEA guaranteed. The doctor will see you take you now…

MILLY KAUFMAN IS an ordinary American teenager living in Vermont—until she meets Pablo, a new student at her high school. His exotic accent, strange fashion sense, and intense interest in Milly force her to confront her identity as an adopted child from Pablo’s native country. As their relationship grows, Milly decides to undertake a courageous journey to her homeland and along the way discovers the story of her birth is intertwined with the story of a country recovering from a brutal history. Beautifully written by reknowned author Julia Alvarez, Finding Miracles examines the emotional complexity of familial relationships and the miracles of everyday life.

Yukio Mishima’s The Temple of Dawn is the third novel in his masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility. Here, Shigekuni Honda continues his pursuit of the successive reincarnations of Kiyoaki Matsugae, his childhood friend. Travelling in Thailand in the early 1940s, Shigekuni Honda, now a brilliant lawyer, is granted an audience with a young Thai princess—an encounter that radically alters the course of his life. In spite of all reason, he is convinced she is the reincarnated spirit of his friend Kiyoaki. As Honda goes to great lengths to discover for certain if his theory is correct, The Temple of Dawn becomes the story of one man’s obsessive pursuit of a beautiful woman and his equally passionate search for enlightenment.

Meet your unforgettable protagonist: God, who, as it turns out, is a 19-year-old boy living in the present-day and sharing an apartment with his long-suffering fifty-something personal assistant. Unfortunately for the planet, God is lazy and, frankly, hopeless. He created all of the world's species in six days because he couldn't summon the energy to work for longer. He gets Africa and America mixed up. And his beleagured assistant has his work cut out for him when God creates a near-apolcalyptic flood, having fallen asleep without turning the bath off. There is No Dog is a darkly funny novel from one of our most delightfully unpredictable writers.

Carter Sullivan, foster brother in the famous Campbell family, never had it easy. He was an abused kid, tortured by dealers, in and out of juvenile detention until he was sent to the Circle C Ranch to be fostered. Life got better, but when Carter was eighteen, his ex-girlfriend pushed his baby daughter into his arms and took off, never to be seen again. Carter raised his daughter, Faith, on his own, with the help of the four wild Campbell brothers and his foster mom, the first person who ever believed in him. Grace Malory always had a crush on Carter, the dark and damaged man who never quite fit in to the close community of Riverbend. When Carter’s foster mom needs help running the domestic side of the ranch, Grace is ready to help out with all the cooking for the brothers and their new families. Carter’s troubles rise again in the form of his ex-girlfriend who returns to try to claim custody of Faith. Carter’s greatest fear is losing his daughter, and he turns to Grace to help him in a desperate deception to keep Faith with him forever.

From New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Frank comes the scorching hot first book in a thrilling new series featuring four warrior brothers who have the power—and the curse—of immortality.   For centuries, Dethan has been trapped in a fiery inferno for defying the gods and snatching the power of immortality. Condemned to have his battle-hardened body licked by flames only to regenerate and be consumed all over again, Dethan has lost all hope—until the Goddess of Conflict appears. She will release him from torment—if he’ll use his power and strength as a warrior to raise an army and defeat a fierce enemy faction of gods. Free to live as a man once again, Dethan meets Selinda—heir to the throne of Hexis—and his thoughts quickly turn from the conquest of cities to the conquest of this headstrong beauty. Betrothed to a cruel, calculating powermonger, Selinda needs a champion, and so Dethan enters into another bargain: If she will share her bed—and her body—with him, Dethan will save her city from destructive forces within and without. As the lovers ignite a searing passion, Dethan will risk all—even the wrath of the Goddess of Conflict—for a chance to make Selinda his forever.

The nameless girl does not know who or what she is. She does not even know her name. But she quickly learns that she has enemies who are trying to kill her, as well as lethal skills that no girl her age should know. And, she inadvertently discovers, she can also fly. Her only clue to her identity is the mysterious, shape-changing ring on her finger that appears to be alive. And the one thing she knows for a certainty is that she must find out who she is before the monsters chasing her are able to hunt her down. DAUGHTER OF DANGER is the fourth book of MOTH & COBWEB, an astonishing new series about magical worlds of Day, Night, and Twilight by John C. Wright. John C. Wright is one of the living grandmasters of science fiction and the author of THE GOLDEN AGE, AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND, and IRON CHAMBER OF MEMORY, to name just three of his exceptional books. He has been nominated for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards, and his novel SOMEWHITHER won the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel at Dragoncon.