A war is raging amid the unknown. Both sides, light and dark, are gathering their warriors to do battle.The Warrior’s Beckoning is a two-part horror thriller with an allegorical storyline.Connected by a dream, a team of ghost hunters is gathered and sent into a mysterious forest. Once a town, it is now inhabited by only darkness and sorrow.After finding himself at the mercy of the shadow creatures, the team leader is rescued by men he does not know, men who were called by the same dream. But as the ghost hunter plays his camera footage, a priest reads the diary that unleashes the Spirits of Decay. These cloaked figures surround them, their scythes sapping the team of their spiritual energy.Told through a series of diary entries, The Warrior’s Beckoning is an evocative story about the epic cosmic battle between light and dark. The first part of this chilling tale chronicles the awakening of the mysterious forces, while the second part tells of the arrival of the Warrior.A thrilling page-turner filled with unexpected twists and turns, author Patrick Howard’s haunting paranormal narrative will keep you enthralled from the first sentence to the last.

What is the dividing line between myth and reality? Where is the frontier – if there is such a thing - between one and the other? I’ve always thought I had the correct answer to those questions. I always thought I knew where the limits were. After all, it is not that difficult.What is the dividing line between myth and reality? Where is the frontier – if there is such a thing - between one and the other? I’ve always thought I had the correct answer to those questions. I always thought I knew where the limits were. After all, it is not that difficult. Being young and inexperienced I had the feeling I knew many things when the truth is I knew nothing at all. There were many things I had still to learn and some of them were – to my astonishment – not so easy to explain or to give credit for.An early and eager interest in legends has kept my mind in alert mode searching and enthusiastically hunting for stories of every kind. But the ones I prefer are those which depict paranormal activities. It feels good from time to time getting some thrill in this, otherwise, boring life of mine.

Specially for the New Year, another tale to follow on from the story for New Year’s Eve 2014, and begun in Spooky Tale. It is the third and final part of the story of Alice Snood, her sister Elizabeth and good friends Jean and Father Merry. Is it as spooky as spooky can be? Yes! So cuddle up to the nearest cushion and enjoy what happens when the wind gets up and the weather turns. Happy New Year XAha! Finally, in the grand tradition of story-telling, we bring you what happened next in the story of Alice Snood and her neighbourhood, including Father Merry and Jean; We last met them in Wonka’s story for New Year’s Eve and they are still hot on the trail of the mysterious town house and looking for explanations. As the wind gets up, blowing down the old cobbled streets, whipping up the dead leaves and causing a stir, snuggle down and treat yourselves to another of Wonka’s special stories for big children and small adults! And if you like this one, then do read Wonka’s Spooky Tale which is how it all began. Big Love and Happy New Year from me and Wonka X

Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is no stranger to the Official Secrets Act. But this is the first time he has been asked to change his identity - and, worse still, his clothes - in service of his country. Whisked to a remote island to interpret a top-secret conference between no-name financiers and the Congolese warlords, Salvo's excitement is only heightened by memoires of the night before he left London, and his life-changing encounter with a beautiful nurse named Hannah. Exit suddenly the unassuming, happily married man Salvo believed himself to be. Enter in his place the pseudonymous Brian Sinclair: spy, lover - and perhaps even, hero.

He thought she was the perfect victim. So did she. Neither could have been more wrong.Previously published under the title: "HE'S FASTER" A Nice Jagged Edge is an action-packed darkly comedic short story prequel to Carlyle Clark’s first novel in the gallows-humored mystery crime thriller series Children from Dark Houses. Before Rosemary Sanchez became a private investigator and a combat veteran, she was a just girl who wanted to spend a quiet night alone in a hideaway cabin in the woods, pondering the biggest decision of her life. Unfortunately, she soon realizes she is far from alone. A man lurks in the night, his cruel compulsions driving him into the cabin after Rosemary, and it will take every ounce of her courage and cunning just to see the dawn. What Readers are Saying . . .“This short story takes you from hilarious to edge-of-your-seat intense in 60 seconds.” —Audra Middleton author of Hitchhiker “There was a thread of dark humor - even in the midst of such suspense - that I totally appreciated.” —Mareena McGir Q & A with the AuthorQ – With all the great mystery thriller series out there, what makes the Atticus & Rosemary series stand-out? A - Writing these, I was determined to conjure stories like the ones I love, dark and violent yet somehow still often humorous, and driven by heroes with heart and courage and a sense of justice that’s not always in line with what’s legal. Crime stories like that had me devouring countless private investigator novels, thrillers, and pretty much any series with a detective, public or private, but especially those with characters driven to do “the right thing.” Atticus and Rosemary embody what Raymond Chandler described in his essay The Simple Art of Murder: “But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid . . . He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it.” It is crucial to me to have a woman who lived up to this billing, perhaps even more so than the man, and Rosemary more than fits that bill. Q - What order should I read the series in? A – I suggest you read the series in the chronological order below, however each works perfectly as a standalone. Be sure not to go by publication order, because the series was not published in chronological order. #0 - A Nice Jagged Edge (An Atticus & Rosemary Mystery Thriller Series Prequel) #1 - Children From Dark Houses (An Atticus & Rosemary Mystery Thriller Series) #2 - The Black Song Inside (An Atticus & Rosemary Mystery Thriller Series) #2.5 - There are Degrees to this Darkness (An Atticus Mystery Thriller Novella - coming soon) Atticus & Rosemary Private Investigator Mystery Crime Thriller Series Categories: - Private Investigator Series - Mystery Series - Crime Thrillers - Private Detective Novels - African-American Mystery, Suspense & Thriller - Woman Sleuth - Humorous Mysteries

This is a work of flash fiction specially commissioned by USA Network and was inspired by the upcoming TV series event DIG.A boy lost in grief and an old farm house where a mysterious girl plays out her sorrow on the piano in the moonlight. Grief calls to grief and sorrow to sorrow. A haunting tale of love and death and isolation.Following the death of his parents in an automated traffic accident, John Riley is sent to live with his only surviving relative; an ageing great aunt who lives in an old and isolated farm house far from the city and all his social contacts. There he finds a mystery: a girl who plays the piano in a locked room by moonlight. He follows her to a secret room, an old book of poetry and the tale of a long past tragedy"My aunt lived on an old farm, close to the sea. The farm house had been built in the nineteenth century in imitation of some minor Scottish castle. It was a rambling place of crumbling stone and cracked plaster, with ornamental towers and arched doorways. The kind of place that history buffs get all excited about – mainly because they don’t have to live there. I went from crowds of friends to – what? Sheep? Maybe. Seagulls? Perhaps, but certainly not people. All in all, I might as well have walked through the back of a wardrobe and into Narnia."This story comes from a poem which in turn comes from a dream. I can still see Sarah, plain as moonlight, playing on her piano.

2nd Chance reconvenes the Women's Murder Club, four friends (a detective, a reporter, an assistant district attorney, and a medical examiner) who used their networking skills, feminine intuition, and professional wiles to solve a baffling series of murders in 1st to Die. This time, the murders of two African Americans, a little girl and an old woman, bear all the signs of a serial killer for Lindsay Boxer, newly promoted to lieutenant of San Francisco's homicide squad. But there's an odd detail she finds even more disturbing: both victims were related to city cops. A symbol glimpsed at both murder scenes leads to a racist hate group, but the taunting killer strikes again and again, leaving deliberate clues and eluding the police ever more cleverly. In the meantime, each of the women has a personal stake at risk--and the killer knows who they are. eBook Format: ePub

On October 15 at 2:15 a.m. everyone on Earth vanished.Well, almost everyone.A scattered few woke alone in a world where there are no rules other than survival ... at any cost.Yesterday’s Gone is an epic, groundbreaking, thrilling new series told in serial format. Look for a new 100 page "episode" each month.On October 15 at 2:15 a.m. everyone on Earth vanished.Well, almost everyone.A scattered few woke alone in a world where there are no rules other than survival... at any cost.A journalist wanders the horrible reality of an empty New York in search of his wife and son.A serial killer must hunt in a land where prey is now an endangered species.A mother shields her young daughter from danger, though every breath fills her with terror.A bullied teen is thrilled to find everyone gone. Until the knock at the door.A fugitive survives a fiery plane crash. Will he be redeemed, or return to what he’s best at: the kill?An eight year old boy sets out on a journey to find his missing family. What he finds will change him forever.These survivors aren’t alone...Someone or something is watching them.And waiting...Strangers unite.Sides are chosen.Will humanity survive what it never saw coming?The only certainty is that Yesterday’s Gone.You’ve never read anything like Yesterday’s Gone – the epic, groundbreaking, thrilling new series. Look for a new 100 page episode each month.

Her hands and feet are tied and her mouth is gagged.She is a captive. She is being taken to a river full of crocodiles and she is terrified. How could it have come to this.Susan goes on an idyllic holiday in Australia, The Barrier Reef is beautiful, Sydney and Melbourne wonderful. She wants to see the Outback. An Australian man offers to take her. She likes him and goes with him.Her hands and feet are tied and her mouth is gagged.She is a captive. She is being taken to a river full of crocodiles and she is terrified. How could it have come to this.Susan goes on an idyllic holiday in Australia, The Barrier Reef is beautiful, Sydney and Melbourne wonderful. She wants to see the Outback. An Australian man offers to take her. She likes him and goes with him.When a fresh faced young English girl visits Australia she goes first to the Barrier Reef. He she meets a charming man from the outback of Australia.Almost before she can think they are engaged in a passionate affair. She finds him and his life fascinating. She agrees to meet him in Alice Springs and travel with him through some of the remotest parts of the Northern Territory.But a series of chance events leads her to believe that he is not who he says he is.Yet she is incredibly drawn to him. Their relationship deepens and becomes ever more intense. She must choose, whether to leave or stay. Can she take a chance and risk being drawn into his murky world.Finally it is just her and him at a remote river, infested by crocodiles. With the crocodiles lie both their destinies.

What if our actions are not circumstantial? What if fate doesn’t rule our decisions? What if we fool ourselves by forging our lives to fit in well? So, are we willing then to break the social foundation, and to flip the path we choose initially? In an evening a man goes beyond the limits to recover what was the most precious to him.What if our actions are not circumstantial? What if fate doesn’t rule our decisions? What if we fool ourselves by forging our lives to fit in well? So, are we willing then to break the social foundation and to flip the path we choose initially? In an evening a man goes beyond the limits to recover what was the most precious to him.This is a short story about a man and wife that question the outcome of their lives.

In this story we follow three workers who are going about their work routine at Smokestack 7. One of the men, however, has something else planned for the day.With the passage of 5 USC 420, America can get as high as they want just by going outside. "420 techs" combine marijuana and sulfur hexafluoride inside the burn chambers of smokestacks that line most of the major cities in the United States. This produces smoke that is heavier than air, creating a fog that envelops cities on a daily basis. In this story we follow three workers who are going about their work routine at Smokestack 7. One of the men, however, has something else planned for the day.

From the collection Dreamin’ Dreams; A short thriller in 2,400 words.When Edward O'Leary came home from America in the summer of 1904, Joe Coffee knew there was going to be trouble. Old flames were bound to be rekindled, and old wounds were bound to be reopened ...In this first part of a series, set in the early 1960s, painter Eric Snyder harbors a secret known only to his wife, Lynne. When Eric’s latest disappearance raises the suspicions of best friends Sam and Renee Ahern, Lynne can no longer keep the truth under wraps. While the Aherns ponder this phenomenon, Eric embarks upon a search for his father, once again taking him far from the woman he loves.

George was dwarfed by the wall sized display with surveillance and analysis from all over Melbourne. A self driving car, a murder so sophisticated that even with all this it might have escaped notice. An employee of a Chinese security company. Surprisingly uncooperative. What did it have to do with the return of Mia, a mysterious hacker? It certainly was a city with murderous secrets.As the legend of George grew, he knew that it was his use of the wall, the technology, that drove his success rate in murder clearances. Melbourne 2020. Prosperous, but tense. The skyline at any time of the day or night littered with drones. Almost of all of them linked back to police headquarters in Docklands. Everyone called it the “fun palace” as a testament to it’s architecture. He had a bad feeling about this one. It was so sophisticated. So elaborate. More worthy of an international terror ring than a domestic murder. A middle level employee in a Chinese security company, making inroads. If it was about competition from another company, then surely this was overkill?The wall pointed to the real estate business. More expensive than New York, but more dynamic. No real space left in New York to build something new. You had to knock something down. Here there were the suburbs. Home to the famed “lifestyle”. They had it, and they were going to hold on to it. A city has to work, though. New people. New money. New developers. Mostly Chinese money. The wall seemed very interested in the tactics of the developers. They seemed to have ways of clearing large areas just in time for their apartment building to commence.The wall also pointed to the hackers. To the group CtrlX, and to Mia. Having spent most of the last decade drifting from one Asian metropolis to another, with a range of shady activities in her resume, all of a sudden she was back. She seemed to have the ability to move around the city without leaving a trace. George decided to start with the victim, his family and associates.

Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection program. Entering the program alongside her, is her father and sister Darcy. The trio starts a new life and a new beginning leaving their friends and family behind without a goodbye. Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. Just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

From the New York Times bestselling author of *Defending Jacob* Former D.A. William Landay explodes onto the suspense scene with an electrifying novel about the true price of crime and the hidden corners of the criminal justice system. Only an insider could so vividly capture Boston’s gritty underworld of cops and criminals. And only a natural storyteller could weave this mesmerizing tale of murder and memory, a story about the hold of time past over time present–and the story of one unforgettable young policeman who ventures into the most dangerous place of all. By a gleaming lake in the forests of western Maine, outside a sleepy town called Versailles, the body of a man lies sprawled in a deserted cabin. The dead man was an elite D.A. from Boston, and his beat was that city’s toughest neighborhood: Mission Flats. Now, for small-town police chief Ben Truman, investigating the murder will mean leaving his quiet, haunted home and journeying to an alien world of hard streets and hard bargains, where the fierce struggle between police and criminals is fought for the ultimate stakes. Ben joins a manhunt through Mission Flats, where cops are scrambling to find their number-one suspect: Harold Braxton, a ruthless predator targeted for prosecution by the murdered D.A. To the Boston police, Braxton is a marked man. But as Ben watches the shadow dance of cops and suspects, he begins to voice doubts about Braxton’s guilt…especially when he uncovers a secret history of murder and retribution stretching back twenty years…back to a brutal killing now nearly forgotten. As past and present collide and a bloody mystery unfolds, only one thing remains certain: the most powerful revelations are yet to come. Mission Flats is at once a relentless page-turning mystery and a vivid portrait of a cop’ s life. Here are the street corners, courtrooms, and stationhouses; the deal makers, thugs, and quiet heroes. An unforgettable world–and the luminous, boundary-breaking debut of a new voice in suspense fiction–Mission Flats will haunt you long after the final pages.