Funny, moving and sharply observed, these stories are confirmation of Boyd's status os one of English fiction's finest writers. Here are twenty-two gripping tales told in bold, distinct voices from Brazil to Africa and from Nice to Hollywood. The eclectic omnibus, previously published as the collections On the Yankee Station and The Destiny of Nathalie 'X', is a must read for any lover of the short story. Killing lizards -- Not yet, Jayette -- Bizarre situations -- Hardly ever -- The care and attention of swimming pools -- Next boat from Douala -- Gifts -- My girl in skin-tight jeans -- Histoire vache -- On the Yankee Station -- Bat-girl! -- Love hurts -- Extracts from the journal of Flying Officer J. -- The coup -- Long story short -- The destiny of Nathalie 'X' -- Transfigured night -- Hotel des Voyageurs -- Never saw Brazil -- The dream lover -- Alpes Maritimes -- N is for N -- The persistence of vision -- Cork.

Voices invade a young woman’s head, compelling her to kill When Nancy Kincaid comes into work, an unfamiliar woman tells her to leave. This is Nancy Kincaid’s office, the woman says, but you are not Nancy Kincaid. As Nancy protests, her memory grows fuzzy and her reason seems to slip away. None of her workmates recognize her, and she is distracted by a voice in her head that suggests she shoot them all. Ejected from her office, she collects herself in the park. A homeless man pesters her, mumbling that at eight o’clock—the animal hour—there is someone she has to kill. Over and over she tells him to leave, until she finds the pistol in her purse. She kills the bum and sets off a whirlwind of insane violence that will not stop until the animal hour comes to pass.

Harry Keogh, the first Necroscope, is arguably Brian Lumley’s greatest creation.  In the Necroscope series, readers saw Harry learn to use his powers to talk with the dead and travel instantaneously to any point in space and time.  They saw him take arms against the evil, twisted, metamorphic alien vampires who sought to feed off humans and enslave mankind.  They saw him suffer a great personal loss and then recover his family, and later his humanity, through a new love.  And they saw Harry wage the grimmest battle of his life—against the vampire he himself was becoming! Even after Harry’s story was done, Brian Lumley continued to write books about Harry’s legacy—the other Necroscopes who inherited his weird talents.  But Harry himself would not go quietly into that darkness that lies beyond an author’s imagination . . . and now Brian Lumley has written three new novellas about Harry and his supernatural adventures, which are published for the first time in the United States in Harry and the Pirates.

R. Austin Freeman was a 20th century fiction author best known for detective mysteries. He went so far as to claim he invented the "inverted detective" genre, but regardless of what credit he deserves, his work continues to be read today.

In this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series, Lieutenant Eve Dallas must solve the murder of an actress whose final role was to die for... Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks as though she could be her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody—drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. Talented but rude and widely disliked, K.T. Harris made an embarrassing scene during dinner. Now she’s at the center of a crime scene—and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster to step into the role she was born to play: cop.

Carved into a moving island of ice twice the size of the United States, Ice Station Grendel has been abandoned for more than seventy years. The twisted brainchild of the finest minds of the former Soviet Union, it was designed to be inaccessible and virtually invisible. But an American undersea research vessel has inadvertently pulled too close—and something has been sighted moving inside the allegedly deserted facility, something whose survival defies every natural law. And now, as scientists, soldiers, intelligence operatives, and unsuspecting civilians are drawn into Grendel's lethal vortex, the most extreme measures possible will be undertaken to protect its dark mysteries—because the terrible truths locked behind submerged walls of ice and steel could end human life on Earth. 

Two women share one fate. A suspected murder at an English Farm. A reported suicide at a local quarry. Can DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather the evidence and discover a link between them, a link which sealed their fate one cold night, Under a Silent Moon? A tense, compelling and unsettling novel mystery brimming with source material and evidence set over just six days, Under a Silent Moon will keep you gripped until the very last page and asks: Can you connect the clues and name the Killer? In the crisp, early hours of an autumn morning, the police are called to investigate two deaths. The first is a suspected murder at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. A beautiful young woman has been found dead, her cottage drenched with blood. The second is a reported suicide at a nearby quarry. A car with a woman's body inside was found at the bottom of the pit. As DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather evidence, they discover a shocking link between the two cases and the two deaths-a bond that sealed their terrible fates one cold night, under a silent moon. In this first entry in a compelling new detective series, Elizabeth Haynes interweaves fictional primary source materials-police reports, phone messages, interviews-and multiple character viewpoints to create a sexy, edgy, and compulsively readable tale of murder, mystery, and unsettling suspense.

The electrifying new Joe Pickett novel from the New York Times bestselling author. Everything about the man is a mystery: the massive ranch in the remote Black Hills of Wyoming that nobody ever visits, the women who live with him, the secret philanthropies, the private airstrip, the sudden disappearances. And especially the persistent rumors that the man’s wealth comes from killing people. Joe Pickett, still officially a game warden but now mostly a troubleshooter for the governor, is assigned to find out what the truth is, but he discovers a lot more than he’d bargained for. There are two other men living up at that ranch. One is a stone-cold killer who takes an instant dislike to Joe. The other is new—but Joe knows him all too well. The first man doesn’t frighten Joe. The second is another story entirely.

The Christmas season takes on a spooky feeling when the members of the Baby-sitters Club become tangled up in a string of mysterious events.

“It is with greatest regret Madam that I must inform you that your husband’s body has been discovered at the rear exit of the hotel. I am afraid it appears not to be accident or any other mishap. He has been murdered.Breakfast at 8 am. Victoria, Larry and Laura-Anne met in the dinning room for the first serving two minutes before the hour. James, according to Laura-Anne, had gone off early as usual, “Probably to see that young woman.” She suffered.“Well we can get started and I am sure he will show before breakfast is done.” Larry replied not quite catching Laura-Anne’s implication. Then the light went on. “What woman?”“We don’t know the answer to that dear. At least not clearly. It could all be very innocent.” Victoria replied then went on to explain the details. When she was done Larry frowned but kept his thoughts to himself.Their breakfast was just arriving when a hotel porter entered the dinning room followed by a man in a gray business suit accompanied by two uniformed police officers. They came straight to the table,“This is Inspector Papadopoulos. He wishes to speak to you.” He announce not pointing out any one in particular at the table.Larry Foley stood from his chair and inquired. “Good morning Inspector. Is there a problem?” He plied his knowledge of Greek…..The police officer stretched his lips into mirthful grin and responded.“Indeed Sir!, The Inspector spoke in English….nearly perfect. “Do you know a man named James Breckenford?” he inquire.“Yes we do.” Larry was answering but before he could go on Laura-Anne got to her feet quickly and explained. “That’s my husband.”A practiced, sad expression came across the Inspector's brow. “Please have a seat Madam.” He instructed gently.Laura-Anne reclaimed her chair but kept an anxious stare fixed on the Inspector.“It is with greatest regret Madam that I must inform you that your husband’s body has been discovered at the rear exit of the hotel. I am afraid it appears not to be accident or any other mishap. He has been murdered.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to train the best of the best to join them in the deadly battle against the Lessening Society. Among the new recruits, Axe proves to be a cunning and vicious fighter—and also a loner isolated because of personal tragedy. When an aristocratic female needs a bodyguard, Axe takes the job, though he’s unprepared for the animal attraction that flares between him and the one he is sworn to protect. For Elise, who lost her first cousin to a grisly murder, Axe’s dangerous appeal is enticing—and possibly a distraction from her grief. But as they delve deeper into her cousin’s death, and their physical connection grows into so much more, Axe fears that the secrets he keeps and his tortured conscience will tear them apart. Rhage, the Brother with the biggest heart, knows all about self-punishing, and he wants to help Axe reach his full potential. But when an unexpected arrival threatens Rhage and Mary’s new family, he finds himself back in the trenches again, fighting against a destiny that will destroy all he holds most dear. As Axe’s past becomes known, and fate seems to be turning against Rhage, both males must reach deep—and pray that love, rather than anger, will be their lantern in the darkness.

A few hours ago, Sherry Carne would have sworn that vampires didn’t exist. That’s before rogue immortals rampage through her store, leaving bloody chaos (literally) in their wake. The kicker comes when Sherry learns that one of the vamps on the bad guys’ trail may be her life mate. Her head says it’s impossible. The rest of her takes one look at Basileios Argeneau and has much more interesting ideas. Whatever Basil expected in a life mate, funny, outspoken Sherry isn’t it. But mind-blowing chemistry and instinct don’t lie. They tell him something else, too—that Sherry’s connection to the immortal world goes deeper than she knows. And that she’s in the kind of danger only Basil can save her from—if she’ll just trust him, now and forever . . .

The Novel That Launched A Cult Phenomenon!This "entertaining blend of detective story and the supernatural" (Science Fiction Chronicle) was the book that started it all. Now, readers who are latecomers to The Vampire Files can discover the "very entertaining" (Mystery Scene) beginning of the compelling series -- in a beautiful new updated package!

Magic meets mystery in Echoes of the Fey, a series of Detective stories set in a high fantasy world. Sofya Rykov is a private investigator with a secret of her own: magic power she uses to solve her cases. In this novella, she is tasked with tracking down a sacred artifact lost during the war between Leshin and Humans.Magic meets mystery in Echoes of the Fey, a series of detective stories set in the high fantasy world of Oraz. Sofya Rykov is a private investigator with a secret of her own: unstable magic powers that she uses to solve her cases. This stand-alone novella ties in to the stories told in the Echoes of the Fey PC games.In The Prophet's Arm, Sofya is hired to track down a precious religious relic: the mechanical arm of the ancient Leshin prophet Cathal ir-Dyeun. The arm was lost in the long war between Humans and Leshin--a war prompted by the teachings of ir-Dyeun. To preserve the unstable peace between the two peoples, everything associated with the prophet has become taboo in the new Leshin government. But Sofya Rykov has never cared for taboos, so when a historian needs a detective to find the relic, she's the perfect woman for the job.