Out of print for 20 years, this first novel written by New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper includes a bonus novella, Masquerade, which originally appeared in the anthology Hearts of Gold.

Under cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster strikes, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest advances in forensic research to unmask the madman. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it's being sabotaged from within—and someone wants her dead.

Nancy and her friends need more than book smarts to get to the bottom of a literary mystery in this fourth book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a new take on the classic series.A rash of crimes in a neighboring town—a blazing fire at a bookstore, a boat that sinks in the harbor, and a valuable dog’s dognapping—are eerily similar to the plots from famous mystery writer Lacey O’Brien’s popular books. So who’s behind the crimes? Could it be Lacey looking for publicity? One of Lacey’s superfans? Or maybe it’s Paige Samuels, owner of the bookstore that burned. Nancy, Bess, and George will have to read between the lines as they dig deep into a dangerous mystery.

In this all-new very special miniseries, the Aldens have been recruited by a secret society to return lost artifacts and treasures to their rightful locations—all around the world! The Aldens follow a clue to Beijing, China, where they uncover their next mission—to return a mysterious clay artifact to its rightful owner. Their journey leads them to a scenic section of the Great Wall, but a thief threatens to ruin their trip and endanger their precious cargo. The Aldens' next clue brings them to an elephant reserve in Thailand, but when their contact acts suspiciously, they worry someone close to them may be working for the other side. Who can the Aldens trust to help them return the remaining artifacts to their rightful owners?

London, 1819: When Brewster, my bodyguard, comes to me about a murder of a pugilist—and what’s more, says his wife has summoned me—I must hasten to St. Giles to find a killer before Brewster is arrested for the crime. This is made difficult because Donata's late husband’s odious cousin has materialized to try to wrest her son into his care. After all, seven-year-old Peter is a viscount, and his cousin wants to get closer to the title. But how close? If Peter’s life is in danger, I must remain, but Brewster risks hanging for the death of his wife’s brother-in-law. He’s done too much for me to turn my back on him, but the devil if I’ll let the Breckenridge cousin get his clutches on Peter. It will take all my perseverance, and a few wiles, to plough through these difficulties. In the meantime, I meet a Runner who teaches me about crime and punishment in this enlightened age, and Brewster’s old trainer, who made him the excellent pugilist—and thief—he is today. Book 13 in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries. This is a full-length novel.

Working together to keep a deputy safe sparks an intense attraction in New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo’s classic tale of romantic suspense After nine years as one of Chicago’s finest, Erin McNeal has come to sleepy Logan Falls for a second chance, not to be watched over by a man as infuriatingly overprotective—and disarmingly attractive—as Nick Ryan. She’s no damsel in distress, but someone wants her dead, and it’s his duty to protect her. Whether she likes it or not. Before long, though, this chief of police and his newest deputy are butting heads over every detail of the investigation. And it seems the only thing they can agree on is the one thing they can’t resist—each other. Originally published in 2001 as Cops and…Lovers?

M.J., her partner Gilley, and their client, the wealthy, de-lish Dr. Steven Sable, are at his family's lodge, where his grandfather allegedly jumped to his death from the roof-although Sable says it was foul play. But the patriarch's isn't the only ghost around. The place is lousy with souls, all with something to get off their ghoulish chests. Now M.J. will have to to quell the clamor-and listen for a voice with the answers...

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE — To Lily Bard, the sleepy town of Shakespeare, Arkansas, was the perfect place to hide from the violence that nearly destroyed her life years before. Today Lily is strong, confident in the martial arts she studies, her looks disguised by her closely cropped hair and baggy clothes. Working as a housecleaner, Lily comes and goes without anyone noticing -- until she witnesses a murder. What Lily Bard saw on that dark night has stripped away her, anonymity and earned her the unwanted attention of a homicide detective and a suspicious community. And with her intense, married, karate instructor showing a passionate interest of his own, Lily's plan of a private, well-ordered life is coming unhinged. The killer of an unlamented landlord is lurking close by. And while Lily knows the dirt on her neighbors' dust, drawers, and private live , must admit to a secret of her own: that in the shadow of a brutal murder, she is coming alive again...

Harriet Phillecky is a rare part elf, part siren and wanted by neither race. Not that she really cares. A successful news photographer turned paranormal investigator, she now has a 'family' of friends that includes ogres who constantly raid her refrigerator and take over her TV, and a dragon who drinks far too much for his own good. But when the only elvan relative she has any contact with asks her to investigate the disappearance of a siren, she finds herself unable to refuse. All too quickly the disappearance becomes murder, relatives come out of the woodwork, and a man she'd much rather forget steps back into her life. Harri wants nothing more than to run—especially when the evidence beats a path to the doors of those who'd long ago abandoned her. But when the life she's created for herself comes under threat, Harri has little choice but to hunt down a killer—before everything she holds dear is destroyed.

Starting out as a boy in the Catskills, Corky develops into a brilliant and famous magician whose long-hidden secret and expert skills attract dark forces intent on destroying him.

The foreign student Rebecca meets a mysterious man during her stay in Hull. Thoughts race through her head and her mind tells her not to go with him. Will she listen to her head or her heart?Chase Walker used to be a good kid—charming, athletic, and with a bright future ahead, but that was before travesty struck his life, sinking him into deep despair. Caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol, he doesn’t notice time slipping away until he’s arrested for underage drinking one night.Fed up with watching her son destroy his life, Chase’s mom relocates him to live in a small ranching community with his ex-military grandfather. Chase is far from happy about the situation until he meets, Nikki, the cute cheerleader who won’t give football players like him the time of day.Chase enjoys a good challenge though and sets out to claim Nikki for his own. He soon discovers she’s more than a pretty face—she’s a balm to his troubled spirit also. But when tragedy strikes Nikki’s life too, suddenly Chase finds himself put to the ultimate test. Can he trust Nikki, and all that she’s taught him? Will it be enough?

While Nancy and George visit Ned at college, they become embroiled in the Clues Challenge, an athletic treasure hunt, and Nancy must investigate after several accidents indicate that someone is desperate to win at any cost.

In “Carrying Kerrie,” we revisit Venice Webb as he reconnects with his ex-wife, Kerrie, who suffers from a terminal illness and wants Venice to help her locate her daughter, Mandy, from whom she has been estranged for over a decade. This quest puts all of Venice's investigative instincts to the test and underlying the search is the gnawing question: is Mandy my daughter?In "Carrying Kerrie", Steve Sporleder explores a father's feelings for and about the daughter he might have had. Venice Webb, a detective we first meet in Sporleder's earlier book, A Fouled Nest, travels to the Pacific Northwest to reconnect with his ex-wife, Kerrie, who suffers from a terminal illness and wants Venice to help her locate her daughter, Mandy, from whom she has been estranged for over a decade. This quest puts all of Venice's investigative instincts to the test and underlying the search is his gnawing question: is Mandy my daughter? "Carrying Kerrie" can be a valuable support for any caring man who discovers that he may have fathered a child years earlier and wants to reclaim the father within himself. The parent he might have been or the father he could become.

Luca Minaldi is powerful, rich and mesmerizing. But he is also a reclusive enigma. He lives in Malta, a fairytale-like place filled with sunshine and sea, beauty and secrets. And Luca’s darkest of secrets is the best kept of them all. Eva Talbot is spending the summer in Malta to finish up her doctoral dissertation. When she meets Luca, a mysterious and handsome shipping magnate, there is an instant attraction. He has a disturbing and beautiful energy that she has never felt before. But she senses the darkness that lives within him. Eva is hired to care for his mother, a woman who suffers from dementia, but it is Luca who Eva will eventually risk everything to save. She desperately wants to reach inside of him and fix what is broken, while at the same time, she knows that she is falling for him. Her life becomes a swirling chaos of darkness and romance, of secrets and mystery. And the question that emerges will become the most important answer of all. Can she save Luca from the darkness that plagues him without losing herself? The answer is a matter of life or death.