The Zero is a groundbreaking novel, a darkly comic snapshot of our times that is already being compared to the works of Franz Kafka and Joseph Heller. From its opening pages—when hero cop Brian Remy wakes up to find he's shot himself in the head—novelist Jess Walter takes us on a harrowing tour of a city and a country shuddering through the aftershocks of a devastating terrorist attack. As the smoke slowly clears, Remy finds that his memory is skipping, lurching between moments of lucidity and days when he doesn't seem to be living his own life at all. The landscape around him is at once fractured and oddly familiar: a world dominated by a Machiavellian mayor known as "The Boss," and peopled by gawking celebrities, anguished policemen peddling First Responder cereal, and pink real estate divas hyping the spoils of tragedy. Remy himself has a new girlfriend he doesn't know, a son who pretends he's dead, and an unsettling new job chasing a trail of paper scraps for a shadowy intelligence agency known as the Department of Documentation. Whether that trail will lead Remy to an elusive terror cell—or send him circling back to himself—is only one of the questions posed by this provocative yet deeply human novel. From a novelist of astounding talent, The Zero is an extraordinary story of how our trials become our transgressions, of how we forgive ourselves and whether or not we should.

Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire. Now in VAMPIRE DAWN, Samantha Moon tackles her most frightening case yet. Someone is leaving victims drained of blood, and all signs point to the killer not being a vampire. Meanwhile, Sam can't help but notice the changes coming over her son. . . fantastical changes that will leave her searching desperately for answers. As Sam tracks down a ruthless killer, and as her own humanity slips further and further away, an ancient relic holds a secret that will rock her world. . . and open up a whole new one.

Breaking in a new partner is the least of Detective Lincoln Munroe’s worries – the body of a scuba diver has been found in a century-old shipwreck under a hundred feet of cold, treacherous water. When all signs point to murder, Lincoln is forced to dust off his scuba gear and investigate a crime scene like no other.Breaking in a new partner is the least of Detective Lincoln Munroe’s worries – the body of a scuba diver has been found in a century-old shipwreck under a hundred feet of cold, treacherous water. When all signs point to murder, Lincoln is forced to dust off his scuba gear and investigate a crime scene like no other.'Full Fathom Five' is the first installment in a series of novellas featuring Detective Lincoln Munroe that will take place prior to the events of 'A Dream of Death'.

An irresistible ballet star from the Soviet Union takes the lead in Nancy's dance with danger.

A fortune in Nazi stolen art leaves a London port. Among the treasures, the infamous Maltese Falcon… A fortune in Nazi stolen art leaves a London port. Among the treasures—the infamous Maltese Falcon… Death is at the heart of it, death and the blood of its victims. The fabulous wealth of the Maltese Falcon has lured greedy prey across the centuries. Follow Chicago P.I. Joe Ganzer as he runs a gauntlet of Cold War spies, Nazis, stolen booze, stolen art, and at the end of it all is the Falcon of Malta...the stuff of nightmares.

The Butterfly by James M. Cain was first published in 1946. It takes place among the hills and hollers of West Virginia coal country. Cain uses his favorite form of narration, the first person confessional, in relating this unusual tale of deceit, incest and murder. Jess Tyler is a church going mountain man. One day out of the blue, his estranged daughter, Kady, shows up at his cabin and starts throwing herself at him in a most undaughterly way. At least that's the way Jess tells it. Cain leaves a few hints that Jess may not be 100% accurate as a narrator. For example, he claims to be a God fearing teetotaler. Yet he quickly shows himself to be a seasoned expert when it comes to constructing and operating a commercial still.

A salesman, a would-be divorcée, and an insurance policy turn toxic in Reno Vegas is a city of lovers, but in Reno, the business is divorce. Six weeks in Reno can erase the darkest marriages, and the only question is how to pass the time—craps or roulette? Jane Delavan is a roulette woman, a stately beauty from back East who’s too classy for the motel where she’s shacked up. She’s come for a divorce, but her husband has other ideas. He wants an annulment, and in exchange offers to take out a $100,000 insurance policy on himself—just in case something happens to him before their paperwork goes through. Jane is cunning enough to make sure that, if she wants something to happen, it will. Ed Horner is the insurance agent sent to settle the agreement, and it doesn’t take long for Jane to settle him. They fall in love over twenty-five-cent roulette, and soon get a bigger score in mind. In the Biggest Little City in the World, a king-size scheme is brewing.

What happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain—in fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos. Shot down over Siberia, ex-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is forced into a fight for survival against Aleksandr Zorin, a man whose loyalty to the former Soviet Union has festered for decades into an intense hatred of the United States. Before escaping, Malone learns that Zorin and another ex-KGB officer, this one a sleeper still embedded in the West, are headed overseas to Washington D.C. Noon on January 20th—Inauguration Day—is only hours away. A flaw in the Constitution, and an even more flawed presidential succession act, have opened the door to disaster and Zorin intends to exploit both weaknesses to their fullest. Armed with a weapon leftover from the Cold War, one long thought to be just a myth, Zorin plans to attack. He’s aided by a shocking secret hidden in the archives of America’s oldest fraternal organization—the Society of Cincinnati—a group that once lent out its military savvy to presidents, including helping to formulate three invasion plans of what was intended to be America’s 14th colony—Canada. In a race against the clock that starts in the frozen extremes of Russia and ultimately ends at the White House itself, Malone must not only battle Zorin, he must also confront a crippling fear that he’s long denied, but which now jeopardizes everything. Steve Berry’s trademark mix of history and speculation is all here in this provocative new thriller.

With his family caught in the crosshairs of a group of brutal killers, detective Cork O’Connor must solve the murder of a young girl in the latest installment of William Kent Krueger’s unforgettable New York Times bestselling series. During a houseboat vacation on the remote Lake of the Woods, a violent gale sweeps through unexpectedly, stranding Cork and his daughter, Jenny, on a devastated island where the wind has ushered in a force far darker and more deadly than any storm. Amid the wreckage, Cork and Jenny discover an old trapper’s cabin where they find the body of a teenage girl. She wasn’t killed by the storm, however; she’d been bound and tortured before she died. Whimpering sounds coming from outside the cabin lead them to a tangle of branches toppled by the vicious winds. Underneath the debris, they find a baby boy, hungry and dehydrated, but still very much alive. Powerful forces intent on securing the child pursue them to the isolated Northwest Angle, where it’s impossible to tell who among the residents is in league with the devil. Cork understands that to save his family he must solve the puzzle of this mysterious child whom death follows like a shadow. “Part adventure, part mystery, and all knockout thriller” (Booklist ), Northwest Angle is a dynamic addition to William Kent Krueger’s critically acclaimed, award-winning series.

In this full length spoofy novel Jake Simon, a crude old-school private-eye that usually does divorce or lost dog work, describes a weird case. He doesn't believe in trolls, elves, magic or marriage, but that begins to change when he wakes up two-foot-six and not six-foot-two. He has a smart sexy partner and a super-rich client, but the client is missing and Jake is the number-one suspect.Jake Simon is a crude old-school noir-leaning soft-boiled New Jersey private investigator who wakes up to find that his brilliant receptionist/lover Elaine has apparently become giant sized. But it quickly becomes clear that instead it is Jake that has a small problem: he has been shrunken from six-foot-two inches to two-foot-six inches. The only lead is that on the previous night he became ill while meeting with his new billionaire client. Unfortunately, the client is missing, and Jake was the last person to visit him. Elaine helps Jake discover that two impossibly big, ugly, rotten smelling foreign chemists are involved somehow, but how and why? They wear white fedoras, so they couldn't really be so bad, right? Are reports of trolls, giants, elves, dwarves, dragons, and malicious magic related to the case somehow? How can Elaine's black mob cat can talk, the sneaky little bastard? Jake has a lot of things to work out in Jersey and Arizona in order to finally close out this case, though he'd rather be gambling at the race track or getting really chummy with Jack Daniels in his favorite bar. Fortunately besides booze Jake has anti-elf garlic and his P-I wisdom to fall back on: "Once you eliminate the possible, whatever truth remains is lame; that’s how these things work."A safe, fun, escapist adventure for mature readers. Crude language, alluded-to sex, and some violence, but no explicit erotica or gore. Some danger of mild enlightenment and smiley faces.

A short intermission entertainment, intermezzo, entre-acte, or lobby play to stop a gap while we await further full-length works from the Tickham girls. Concerning the diversions of village life and the merit of observing a sound aphorism.A free introduction to life in the village of Hapeney Fen, filling the space between 'Home Economics for Girls' and 'The Mystery of the Elasticated Waistband'. An unfortunate connection between Violet's slipper and a steaming sign of the old dog Marcus's passage, and finding an old bike in the shed, gives Mother a mysterious thoughtful look. Kitty is despatched to the Vicar's Invitational village baking contest, where the old bike will be auctioned. She does not solve the mystery, but she does eat a lot of cake.

It's Christmas Eve and Detective Alex Cross has been called out to catch someone who's robbing his church's poor box. That mission behind him, Alex returns home to celebrate with Bree, Nana, and his children. The tree decorating is barely underway before his phone rings again--a horrific hostage situation is quickly spiraling out of control. Away from his own family on the most precious of days, Alex calls upon every ounce of his training, creativity, and daring to save another family. Alex risks everything--and he may not make it back alive on this most sacred of family days. Alex Cross is a hero for our time, and never more so than in this story of family, action, and the deepest moral choices. MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALEX CROSS will be a holiday classic for years to come.