The body, at least what was left of it, was drifting in Havana Bay the morning Arkady arrived from Moscow. Only the day before, he had received an urgent message from the Russian embassy in Havana that his friend Pribluda was missing and asking that he come. The Cubans insisted that this corpse floating in an inner tube was Pribluda, but Arkady wasn't so sure. "You don't investigate assault, you don't investigate murder. Just what do you investigate?" Arkady asks Ofelia Osorio, a detective in the Policia Nacional de la Revolucion. "Or is it simply open season on Russians in Havana?" The comrades of the Cold War have parted bitterly, and the Russians who used to swarm through Havana's streets are now as rare as they are despised, much more so than Americans. Havana is overrun with color, music, and suspicion. The Revolution's heroes have outlived idealism. The Com-munist world has shrunk to Cuba. Paradise has become a stop on sex tours. It is a city of empty stores and talking drums, Karl Marx and sharp machetes, where an American radical rides around in Hemingway's car to tout island investments and a Wall Street developer on the run from the FBI flies a pirate flag. "A dead Russian, a live Russian," Ofelia says. "What's the difference?" But the dead Russian is followed by the murders of a Cuban boxer and a prostitute. Although none of them is supposed to be investigated, Arkady cannot be stopped. He speaks no Spanish, knows nothing about Cuba, and, as a Russian, is a pariah. However, there is something about this faded, lovely, dangerous city--the rhythms of waves against the seawall, the insinuation of music always in the air, and, finally, Ofelia herself--that plunges Arkady back into life. "What ultimately sets the Renko books apart is the careful writing, and, more important, the knowledge of the human heart that is carried through it, through them, first to last."–Chicago Tribune

The thrilling story of an ill-fated expedition to the South Pole by the bestselling and award-winning author of Schindler's List. In the waning years of the Edwardian era, a group of English gentleman- adventurers led by Sir Eugene Stewart launched an expedition to reach the South Pole. More than sixty years later, Anthony Piers, the official artist of the New British South Polar Expedition, finally unveils the sobering conditions of their perilous journey: raging wind, bitter cold, fierce hunger, absolute darkness-and murder. The first two decades of the twentieth century were known as the "heroic era" of Antarctic exploration. In 1911, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Weeks later, doomed British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrived-and then perished in a blizzard. And in 1914, Ernest Shackleton embarked on his infamous voyage to Antarctica. Set during this epic period of adventure and discovery, Victim of the Aurora re-creates a thrilling time in an unforgiving place and is a brilliantly plotted tale of psychological suspense.

Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour. In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood--and her life. Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping novel yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have readers' hearts pounding to the very last page.

Ann Rule dissects the convoluted love affairs that all too often end in violence in this unnerving collection drawn from her personal crime files. From traditional courtships to Internet relationships, the passions that rule the heart can also fuel the destructive fires of rage, jealousy and murder. There are stalkers driven by obsession, gay lovers who learn too late that things are not as they appear, and conjugal visits in the shadow of prison walls. Ann Rule goes beyond the headlines made by these unusual stories to chronicle the downward spiral that begins when promises are broken.

When Nancy volunteers to work the phones for the Help Is Here teen hotline, an anonymous female voice directs Nancy to a deserted neighborhood where she finds the dead body of Paul Remer, another center volunteer.

The truth will set your free - if it doesn't kill you first New York attorney Trevor Mann's world shatters when he receives a phone call telling him his girlfriend has been shot dead in a mugging. But the circumstances point to something more calculated than a random attack. Claire was a New York Times journalist and Trevor is convinced she had unearthed a secret so shocking that she was murdered to keep it from coming to light. Chasing Claire's leads, Trevor will risk everything to discover what exactly she was killed for. It's time to find out the truth, or die.

From the foggy streets of Victorian London to the eerie perfection of 1950s suburbia, the everyday is invaded by the otherworldly in this unforgettable collection of new ghost stories from the bestselling author of The Woman in Black. In the title story, on a murky evening in a club off St James, a paranormal detective recounts his most memorable case, one whose horrifying denouement took place in that very building. A lonely boy makes a friend in 'Boy Number 21', but years later is forced to question the very nature of that friendship. 'Alice Baker' tells the story of a mysterious new office worker who is accompanied by a lingering smell of decay. And in 'The Front Room', a devoutly Christian mother tries to protect her children from the evil influence of their grandmother, both when she is alive and afterwards. This is Susan Hill at her best, telling characteristically creepy and surprising tales of thwarted ambition, terrifying revenge and supernatural stirrings that will leave you wide-awake long into the night.

A dusty old theater that was shut up for years is coming to life again, and the Aldens are there for opening night! The Boxcar Children are excited to help out backstage with a brand-new mystery play. But the Trap-Door Theater has mysteries of its own—with rumors of ghosts, disappearing props, and even a haunted seat! What secrets lie behind the scenes?

AJ Flynn has just failed all but one of his GCSEs, and his future is looking far from rosy. So when he is offered a junior position at a London law firm he hopes his life is about to change - but he could never have imagined by how much. Tidying up the archive one day, AJ finds an old key, mysteriously labelled with his name and date of birth - and he becomes determined to find the door that fits the key. And so begins an amazing journey to a very real and tangible past - 1830, to be precise - where the streets of modern Clerkenwell are replaced with cobbles and carts, and the law can be twisted to suit a villain's means. Although life in 1830 is cheap, AJ and his friends quickly find that their own lives have much more value. They've gone from sad youth statistics to young men with purpose - and at the heart of everything lies a crime that only they can solve. But with enemies all around, can they unravel the mysteries of the past, before it unravels them? A fast-paced mystery novel by one of the country's finest writers, THE DOOR THAT LED TO WHERE will delight, surprise and mesmerise all those who read it.

*An immortal assassin is caught between desire and duty...* * **A foundling raised in a world of humans** * Growing up, orphaned Josephine didn’t know who or what she was—just that she was “bad,” an outcast with strange powers. Her baby brother Thaddeus was as perfect as she was flawed; protecting him became her entire life. The day he was taken away began Jo’s transition from angry girl... * **to would-be superhero... to enchanting, ruthless villain.** * *A lethally sensual enforcer on a mission* A threat to the Møriør has brought archer Rune the Baneblood to the mortal realm to slay the oldest living Valkyrie. Whether by bow or in bed, he never fails to eliminate his target. Yet before he can strike, he encounters a vampiric creature whose beauty conceals a black heart. With one bite, she pierces him with aching pleasure, taking his forbidden blood - * **and jeopardizing the secrets of his brethren. *A boundless passion that will lead to sweet ruin...*** * Could this exquisite female be a spy sent by the very Valkyrie he hunts? Rune knows he must not trust Josephine, yet he’s unable to turn her away. Despite his millennia of sexual conquests, he can’t ignore the unfamiliar longing she arouses deep within him. * **When Jo betrays the identity of the one man she will die to protect, she and Rune become locked in a treacherous battle of wills that pits ultimate loyalty against unbridled lust.** *

Exchanging vows of love with sailor Frank Aldersley the night before his departure, Clara Burnham is haunted by the memory of Richard Wardour, and his mistaken belief that they will one day marry. With her gift of 'Second Sight', Clara foresees terrible tragedy ahead and is racked by guilt. Allied to two different ships, the two men at first have no cause to meet — until disaster strikes and they find themselves united in a battle for survival. It cannot be long before they discover the nature of their rivalry, and the hot-tempered Wardour must choose how to take his revenge. Based on the doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, and originally performed as a play starring both Collins and Dickens, 'The Frozen Deep' is a dramatic tale of vengeance and self-sacrifice which went on to inspire the character of Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities'. NB: This is a separate work by Wilkie Collins It is a novel, published serially in 'Temple Bar' between August and October 1874 and then published as a book, and is not the play of the same name that Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins collaborated on in 1856 and that they both appeared in and that was subsequently published in 1857.

Nancy, Bess and George visit Emerson for the university’s summer festivities. The girls are guests in a historic mansion on Pine Hill. Upon arriving, their host tells about the phantom haunting the mansion’s library. He also relates his family’s decades old saga of a lost French wedding gown and valuable gifts that went to the bottom of a nearby cove in the sinking of the Lucy Belle. Is there connection between the phantom and the old ship disaster? Nancy and her friends work diligently to solve the mystery of Pine Hill and to find the long-lost wedding treasures. This book is the original text. A revised text does not exist.

With riches accumulated from an American crime spree, Professor Moriarty proceeds to annihilate his enemies. He murders the leaders of Europe's underworld one by one and prepares his most hideous revenge for his arch-enemy. Will he destroy Sherlock Holmes by cutting off his cocaine supply?

They're here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday...or let it ride... LETHAL RIDER Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father. Demon-slayer Regan Cooper never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family.

MIDNIGHT IN SAVANNAH It's a city of beauty, history. . . hauntings. And one of the most haunted places in Savannah is a tavern called The Dragonslayer, built in the 1750s. The current owner, Gus Anderson, is a descendant of the original innkeeper and his pirate brother, Blue. Gus summons his granddaughter, Abigail, home from Virginia, where she's studying at the FBI Academy. When she arrives, she's devastated to find him dead. Murdered. But Abby soon learns that Gus isn't the only one to meet a brutal and untimely end; there've been at least two other victims. Then Captain Blue Anderson starts making ghostly appearances, and the FBI's paranormal investigation unit, the Krewe of Hunters, sends in Agent Malachi Gordon. Abby and Malachi have a similar ability to connect with the dead. . . and a similar stubbornness. Sparks immediately begin to fly — sparks of attraction and discord. But as the death toll rises, they have to trust each other or they, too, might find themselves among the dead haunting old Savannah!