A Dark Matter

      Peter Straub
     A Dark Matter

Forty years ago, Spenser Mallon led a group of young students to witness a brutal, ritual murder. The survivors never recovered. Now, it seems, he's back... It is the 1960s and the charismatic and cunning Spenser Mallon is a campus guru, attracting the devotion and demanding sexual favours of his young acolytes. After he invites his most fervent followers to attend a secret ritual in a local meadow, the only thing that remains is a gruesomely dismembered body - and the shattered souls of all who were present. Years later, one man attempts to understand what happened to his wife and his friends by writing a book about this horrible night, and it's through this process that they begin to examine the unspeakable events that have bound them in ways they cannot fathom, but that have haunted every one of them throughout their lives. As each of the old friends tries to come to grips with the darkness of the past, they find themselves face to face with the evil triggered so many years earlier...

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    Hit and Run

      Lawrence Block
     Hit and Run

Keller's a hit man. For years now he's had places to go and people to kill. But enough is enough. He's got money in the bank and just one last job standing between him and retirement. So he carries it out with his usual professionalism, and he heads home, and guess what? One more job. Paid in advance, so what's he going to do? Give the money back?In Des Moines, Keller stalks his designated target and waits for the client to give him the go-ahead. And one fine morning he's picking out stamps for his collection (Sweden 1-5, the official reprints) at a shop in Urbandale when somebody guns down the charismatic governor of Ohio. Back at his motel, Keller's watching TV when they show the killer's face. And there's something all too familiar about that face. . . . Keller calls his associate Dot in White Plains, but there is no answer. He's stranded halfway across the country, every cop in America's just seen his picture, his ID and credit cards are no longer good, and he just spent almost all of his cash on the stamps. Now what?

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    Snowbound

      Blake Crouch
     Snowbound

“Brilliant!” —John Lescroart on *Abandon * For Will Innis and his daughter, Devlin, the loss was catastrophic. Will’s wife, Devlin’s mother, vanished one night during an electrical storm on a lonely desert highway and, suspected of her death, Will took his daughter and fled. Then one night, a hardedged FBI agent appears on their doorstep and says, “I know you’re innocent, because Rachael wasn’t the first…or the last.”

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    One Door Away From Heaven

      Dean Koontz
     One Door Away From Heaven

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Dean Koontz's The City. Hailed as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) Dean Koontz has entered a rich new phase of his writing career that is yielding his most imaginative, meaningful, and popular work yet. At the height of his powers as a literary craftsman, he has won the acclaim of critics as well as the allegiance of millions of fans the world over, transforming the greatest fears and hopes of our time into masterworks of dazzling originality and emotional resonance. Now, with the stunning depth and virtuosity of his storytelling, he brings to readers one of his most gripping and richly imagined novels to date—an intoxicating story of adventure and suspense, mystery and revelation, told with humor, heart, and high art. One Door Away From Heaven In a dusty trailer park on the far edge of the California dream, Michelina Bellsong contemplates the choices she has made. At twenty-eight, she wants to change the direction of her troubled life but can’t find her way—until a new family settles into the rental trailer next door and she meets the young girl who will lead her on a remarkable quest that will change Micky herself and everything she knows—or thinks she knows—forever. Despite the brace she must wear on her deformed left leg, and her withered left hand, nine-year-old Leilani Klonk radiates a buoyant and indomitable spirit that inspires Micky. Beneath Leilani’s effervescence, however, Micky comes to sense a quiet desperation that the girl dares not express. Leilani’s mother is little more than a child herself. And the girl’s stepfather, Preston Maddoc, is educated but threatening. He has moved the family from place to place as he fanatically investigates UFO sightings, striving to make contact, claiming to have had a vision that by Leilani’ s tenth birthday aliens will either heal her or take her away to a better life on their world. Slowly, ever more troubling details emerge in Leilani’s conversations with Micky. Most chilling is Micky’s discovery that Leilani had an older brother, also disabled, who vanished after Maddoc took him into the woods one night and is now “gone to the stars.” Leilani’s tenth birthday is approaching. Micky is convinced the girl will be dead by that day. While the child-protection bureaucracy gives Micky the runaround, the Maddoc family slips away into the night. Micky sets out across America to track and find them, alone and afraid but for the first time living for something bigger than herself. She finds herself pitted against an adversary, Preston Maddoc, as fearsome as he is cunning. The passion and disregard for danger with which Micky pursues her quest bring to her side a burned-out detective who joins her on a journey of incredible peril and startling discoveries, a journey through terrible darkness to unexpected light. One Door Away From Heaven is an incandescent mix of suspense and humor, fear and wonder, a story of redemption and timeless wisdom that will have readers cheering. Filled with tragedy and joy, with terror and hope, it solidifies Dean Koontz’s reputation as one of the foremost storytellers of our time. This is Dean Koontz at his very best—and it doesn’t get any better than that.

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    Mine

      Robert R. McCammon
     Mine

A psychopathic female fugitive provokes a mother’s vengeance in this terrifying thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author of Gone South and Boy’s Life. Back in the 1960s, Mary Terrell shot and killed a man. A former member of the fanatical Storm Front Brigade—a splinter group of the notorious Weathermen—Terrell has stayed one step ahead of the FBI for decades. Living with numerous identities and menial jobs, Terrell’s only constants in life have been LSD, psychotic delusions of motherhood, and murderous rage. The sixties are long gone, but Mary is still out there. Now, provoked by a message she reads in Rolling Stone, she’s convinced that the surviving leader of her old band of radicals wants to build a life with her. So one night, Mary sneaks into the maternity ward of an Atlanta hospital. Laura Clayborne has a successful career and now, a newborn baby. She’s the type of person who is sensitive to suffering and injustice. But the kidnapping of her infant son has brought out a white-hot fury. She’s not going to sit and wait while the FBI investigates. She’s going after Mary herself—headlong and relentless—on a twisting and violent cross-country pursuit to get her child back. But to track a madwoman, Laura will have to think like one . . . A Bram Stoker Award winner, this “expertly constructed novel of suspense and horror” (Publishers Weekly) from the author of Swan Song, Speaks the Nightbird, and other acclaimed works is “feverishly exciting . . . a page-whipping thriller” (Kirkus Reviews).

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    Charlatans

      Robin Cook
     Charlatans

"Charlatans is an explosive thriller from New York Times bestselling author and master of the medical thriller Robin Cook. Noah Rothauser is the new super chief resident at Boston Memorial Hospital. Housing state-of-the-art medical facilities, it’s always been Noah’s dream to work for such an esteemed institution. But the pressures of the role become all too clear when a seemingly routine operation results in the tragic death of an otherwise healthy man. With potential malpractice suspected it falls to the newly appointed surgical doctor to investigate what happened. Questioning those involved uncovers bitter feuds within the hospital’s surgical staff when Dr. William Mason, the egotistical, world-class surgeon who performed the operation, is quick to blame staff anaeshtetist Dr. Ava London for the disastrous outcome. However Dr. London, along with the nursing staff, point the finger at the surgeon. When two more anaesthesia-related deaths occur, Noah is forced to look closer at the impressively competent, charming, yet mysterious Dr. London, and he quickly realizes there’s far more to her than meets the eye. With his own job and integrity coming into jeopardy, Noah must decide which doctor is at fault and who he can believe – before any more lives are lost . . ."

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    Stilettos & Scoundrels

      Laina Turner
     Stilettos & Scoundrels

When thirty-something redhead Presley Thurman is fired from her job for telling her boss where to shove it, she feels unexpectedly happy. She decides to take a trip home to visit her parents and regroup, but when a senator visiting her small town is murdered, her visit turns out to be anything but relaxing.When thirty-something redhead Presley Thurman is fired from her job for telling her boss where to shove it, she feels unexpectedly happy. She decides to take a trip home to visit her parents and regroup, but when a senator visiting her small town is murdered, her visit turns out to be anything but relaxing. Nosy by nature, Presley can’t help but get involved, especially when she learns that Cooper Sands, a handsome high school friend, has been working for the senator.Presley needs to find out who killed the Senator, but will the answer hit too close to home?

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    The Secret Society of The Great Pumpkin

      Van Allen
     The Secret Society of The Great Pumpkin

This book is my account of my investigation into The Secret Society of the Great Pumpkin, a frightening annual Corps of Cadets Halloween tradition at Texas A&M University. Active Duty US Marine sergeant instructors assigned to Texas A&M play a cat and mouse game with cadets to stop The Great Pumpkin. If they can ever stop The Great Pumpkin just once, the tradition dies.Disclaimer: My story is laced with gobs of profanity. My heavy use of swear words is very likely to be offensive to meemaws, church ladies, and a bunch of men too.While it’s true that US Marines commonly spoke with profanities 20 years ago, I have a sense they use profanity less so today.The Secret Society of the Great Pumpkin is a real and secret society of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University. You will never find one former cadet or student or faculty who will admit they’ve ever heard of it or they know anything about it. To talk about it is to bring forth the curse of The Great Pumpkin and find yourself haunted and ostracized by Aggies for the rest of your life. No Aggie would want that.This book is my account of my investigation into The Secret Society of the Great Pumpkin, a frightening annual Corps of Cadets Halloween tradition at Texas A&M University.

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    The Third Twin

      Ken Follett
     The Third Twin

Using a restricted FBI database, genetic researcher Jeanie Ferrami has located identical twins *born to different mothers*. Frightened by her bizarre discovery, she is determined to discover the truth at any cost—until she finds herself at the center of a scandal that could ruin her career. To fight the charges, Jeannie plunges into a maze of hidden evidence. With growing horror, she uncovers a cynical, far-reaching conspiracy involving disturbing genetic experiments and some of the most powerful men in America—men who will kill to keep their secrets concealed.

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    Unlucky 13

      James Patterson
     Unlucky 13

When two dead bodies are found inside a wrecked car on the Golden Gate Bridge, Detective Lindsay Boxer doubts that it will be anything as simple as a traffic accident. The scene is more gruesome than anything she has seen before. It definitely wasn’t the crash that killed these people. While Lindsay starts to piece this case together, she gets a call she wasn’t expecting. Sightings of her ex-colleague-turned-ruthless-killer Mackie Morales have been reported. Wanted for three murders, Mackie has been in hiding since she escaped from custody. But now she’s ready to return to San Francisco and pay a visit to some old friends

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    Embrace the Hunt

      Caris Roane
     Embrace the Hunt

A powerful vampire warrior. A beautiful fae of great power. A war that threatens to destroy their love for the second time… Mastyr Vampire Ian never wanted to see Regan again. He blamed her for the massacre at Raven’s Overlook, an attack that killed his sister and her children. He’s convinced Regan enthralled him, using her extensive fae powers to keep him by her side. If he’d been in his realm that night, he could have saved 200 people. Instead, he was caught up in a passionate affair with the woman known as the Ruby Fae. However, when the enemy abducts Regan, Ian goes on the hunt for her. Finding her trapped behind a wall of mist, he helps her escape the Ancient Fae’s fortress. Reunited, old passions run hot once more, but will the past keep him from embracing the woman he’s loved all these years? Regan never stopped loving Ian even though they’d dated several centuries ago. But he’d always blamed her for the terrible events at Raven’s Overlook. When she feeds him from her vein and learns she’s a blood rose, she’s devastated. Ian hurt her badly in times past by making her a scapegoat. But when she’s forced to work alongside him to help battle the deadly Invictus wraith-pairs, her love for him rises once more. Yet, can she ever trust him again, when he swears she enthralled him that fateful night? Don’t forget to scroll back up and grab a copy of EMBRACE THE HUNT today! EMBRACE THE HUNT is the eighth paranormal romance novel, a vampire romance with a fantasy edge, of the Blood Rose Series. The series to-date is as follows: 1) EMBRACE THE DARK, 2) EMBRACE THE MAGIC, 3) EMBRACE THE MYSTERY, 4) EMBRACE THE PASSION, 5) EMBRACE THE NIGHT, 6) EMBRACE THE WILD, 7) EMBRACE THE WIND, 8) EMBRACE THE HUNT, and coming soon, the final installment 9) EMBRACE THE POWER. EMBRACE THE HUNT is a passionate, hot, paranormal romance, featuring a vampire and a powerful fae spell-maker set in the world of the Blood Rose. Caris Roane is the author of 79 published works, twenty-nine of which are paranormal romances featuring hunky, warrior vampires, each a damaged hero, in desperate need of worthy women.

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    Chasing the Falconers

      Gordon Korman
     Chasing the Falconers

Two kids break out of a juvenile detention center and become fugitives in order to clear their convicted parents' names in this heartstopping series from kid-read master Gordon Korman. Aidan and Meg Falconer are their parents' only hope. The Falconers are facing life in prison -- unless Aidan and Meg can follow a trail of clues to prove their innocence. The problem? Right now they're trapped in a juvenile detention center. Until they escape one night -- and find themselves on the run, both from the authorities and from a sinister attacker t who has his own reason to stop them. The Falconers must use their wits to make it across the country ... with plenty of tests along the way. Gordon Korman takes readers into FUGITIVE territory -- with thrilling results.

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    The List of Seven

      Mark Frost
     The List of Seven

On Christmas Day 1884, a desperate plea from a mysterious woman leads Arthur Conan Doyle—struggling physician, aspiring writer, and part-time demystifier of the occult—to a seance in London’s East End and into a fiendish and deadly trap. Stunned by a shocking display of black magic, Doyle witnesses a murder, nearly falling victim himself before being rescued by a secretive stranger: Jack Sparks, a man who claims to be special agent to Queen Victoria. He tells Doyle that he has been targeted by a diabolical coven of Satanists—the Dark Brotherhood. As they track their attackers across the length and breadth of Britain, assailed by forces of darkness both human and supernatural, Conan Doyle and Sparks unmask a terrifying conspiracy that threatens not only the Crown but the very fabric of modern civilization. Their only clue: a list of seven names, the leaders of the Brotherhood. Skeptical by nature and profession, Doyle labors to prove that the events he has witnessed—horrifying visions, zombies, ghouls, molecular alteration—are elaborate ruses with logical explanations. But if so, why? Simply because Doyle’s anti-occultist writings, never even published, have inadvertently exposed the Brotherhood’s intentions? Who is the elusive, seemingly superhuman mastermind behind the Seven? Most important, as Doyle continues to put his life in the hands of Jack Sparks, the question persists: Can Sparks be trusted?

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