An Otto Penzler Book John Shannon is a petty thief on the run. A three-time loser framed for a murder he didn’t commit, he knows the cops are closing in on him and that he’s facing life in prison—or death by lethal injection. Then, as if out of nowhere, a bizarre text message draws him to a meeting in the dark of night. A foreigner who calls himself the Identity Man offers Shannon an incredible chance to start again: a new face, a new home, a new beginning. Soon, to his amazement, Shannon finds himself living a life he never dreamed possible. In a ruined city that is trying to rebuild, he finds work as a carpenter and a wood carver. He meets the beautiful Teresa Grey and for the first time falls in love with the sort of woman who could make him a better man. It seems too good to be true—and it is. Just as Shannon feels within sight of redemption, all hell breaks loose. It turns out this ruined city is crawling with corruption. There are crooked politicians, gangsters, dirty cops everywhere—and, for some reason he doesn’t understand, all of them seem to want Shannon dead. John Shannon has run out of second chances, and now he’s running out of time. Moving through the darkness in the burnt-out shambles of a dirty town, he’s got to ferret out the secret of his new life—and fast—if he wants to be left with any life at all.

He strikes without warning....he kills without mercy....he's only just begun.... Iris Johansen, the New York Times bestselling author of The Killing Game and The Face of Deception, delivers a gripping new novel of breathtaking suspense and explosive adventure. It is the story of a courageous woman who is coerced into tracking down a ruthless killer--but as she hunts out her prey with stunning accuracy, she becomes the object of his wrath.... As part of an elite K-9 search and rescue team, Sarah Patrick and her golden retriever, Monty, have a gift for finding what no one else can--whether it's a survivor buried alive by an earthquake or the skeleton of a murdered child. But their latest assignment is not like the others. This time Sarah is being forced to take part in a deadly mission...by a man who knows enough about her past to ensure her cooperation. A man who won't take no for an answer.  John Logan is used to getting what he wants, and what he wants now is Sarah's help. His top-secret venture has been sabotaged, its facilities destroyed, and its handpicked staff massacred. The sole survivor is being held for ransom. Logan knows that the only way to save the man--and the secrets he holds--is to find him as soon as possible. Smart, tough, and uncompromising, Sarah is furious when she is strong-armed into joining Logan on his search. And once she takes the perilous assignment, she realizes that Logan's promises that she and Monty will be safe may not be enough to protect them.  Because a killer is devising a sadistic vengeance...and he may soon find use for Sarah.  Racing against time to stop the bloodshed before more victims are claimed, both Sarah and Logan will look straight into the heart of true evil. And when the killer's search for revenge finally ends, no one will ever be the same again.... From the Hardcover edition.

Brad Ashton fled three years ago to avoid a conviction for murder. Now he's back. And his hope for freedom appears to be within reach.Unfortunately there are those who have no interest in his legal status; they only want him dead or on the run once more...Brad Ashton fled three years ago to avoid a conviction for murder. Now he's back. And his hope for freedom appears to be within reach.Unfortunately there are those who have no interest in his legal status; they only want him dead or on the run once more.But for Brad, running is no longer an option. It's a table stakes game in which the risks are high. But he puts everything he has, including his life, on the table, then settles in, determined to win every hand.

Dr. Genevieve Lenard, a brilliant investigator with high-functioning autism, faces her life’s greatest challenge when a murder probe uncovers a web of unimagined corruption. Will she finally learn to work with a team and stop more artists from being murdered?Murdered artists. Masterful forgeries. Art crime at its worst.As an insurance investigator and world renowned expert in nonverbal communication, Dr Genevieve Lenard faces the daily challenge of living a successful, independent life. Particularly because she has to deal with her high functioning Autism. Nothing - not her studies, her high IQ or her astounding analytical skills - prepared her for the changes about to take place in her life. It started as a favour to help her boss' acerbic friend look into the murder of a young artist, but soon it proves to be far more complex. Forced out of her predictable routines, safe environment and limited social interaction, Genevieve is thrown into exploring the meaning of friendship, expanding her social definitions, and for the first time in her life be part of a team in a race to stop more artists from being murdered.

An experiment on micro-organisms conducted in space goes wrong. The cells begin to infect the crew with deadly results. Emma Watson struggles to contain the deadly microbe while her husband and NASA try to retrieve her from space, before it's too late.

Rogelio enjoyed playing with his friend George in the ditch behind his house. And Rogelio's mother was glad he had a friend to play with until she found out George's true identity. Short story by Scott Semegran. This short story was first published in The Next One Literary Journal, Texas Tech University Honors College - Winter 2003-2004.In a post-apocalyptic world, humans have separated into four factions. Each faction is based off of a historical figure. The four factions are based off of the following figures: William Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Paul Revere. Together they are the Four Orders Opposition, and they are bitter rivals with one another. Each faction fights in a uniquely dangerous way, far different from the fighting styles of their opposing factions. They have been fighting each other for so long that they have forgotten the very meaning of their rivalry. But in the midst of their bloodiest battles, they may need to ally in order to fight off a more dangerous threat than they could have imagined.*Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical Fiction.Reviews are greatly accepted! Thanks for reading!

Ryan's world is turned upside down when his girlfriend is killed. Just when he thinks his life is worthless and he wants to take his own life a ghost has him running to save his life as well as another.Ryan's world is turned upside down when his girlfriend is killed. Just when he thinks his life is worthless and he wants to take his own life a ghost has him running to save his life as well as another. Everything happens for a reason and if Ryan can hold on long enough what seemed impossible just may be in arms length.

Before a new race of super-humans can save the world, they first have to be saved themselves by a group of ordinary soldiers. These ordinary soldiers, known as the Eine, must fight off a powerful and seemingly invincible foe, their pasts, and their doubts about the future in an impossible struggle against the odds.Due to the surprising popularity of my first three short books of poetry, I am releasing this early. It is a book of sonnets exclusively, thirty-nine of them, written over the years. I have culled the best of them from the 150 or so that I have written. They range from the very eclectic to the very romantic, some negative, some positive. Please feel free to review the book, I would love to hear what you think!

While vacationing in Greece in 1956, Lily Tassos, the hard-partying daughter of a powerful arms dealer, has a sudden change in plans. After her sometime boyfriend -a CIA agent- is murdered before her eyes, she finds herself holding a ticket to Moscow and a mysterious metal card. A far cry from her usual pairing of a Faulkner novel and bottle (or two) of white Bordeaux. Alone and haunted by her lover's death, apolitical Lily resolves to complete his mission and find out who killed him. Masquerading as a gung-ho member of the American Communist Party, she travels to Moscow, where she is contacted by Pasha Tarkhan. Brutal, yet charismatic, Tarkhan is both a high-ranking Soviet official and CIA asset, not to mention a covert supporter of the Russian Spiritual Underground. This alliance of self-styled "deists" have rejected the secular Soviet state and vowed to bring it down by means of faith, prayer...and blood. Grinding her old life beneath the heel of her Dior stiletto, Lily puts her new one on the line, surrendering to fate, love and, for once, events bigger than herself.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors A thrilling new novella from the bestselling author of the Bob Lee Swagger series A captain in the British Army, Basil St. Florian has been tasked with a dangerous mission in the midst of World War II. He has been sent across the English Channel to find and photograph a manuscript that does not officially exist, one that may hold the key to a code that, if cracked, could prevent the deaths of millions. St. Florian’s mission presents him with one challenge after another, and it doesn’t help that the SS and the Abwehr are following his every move in a cat-and-mouse chase across occupied France. But St. Florian is willing to risk his life to get to the manuscript—even if the genius professor Alan Turing can’t guarantee he’ll be able to break the code.

A lost child in a department store sets two men at odds. Short story. Horror. Thriller.A girl is snatched form a department store. Her father and a stranger become entangled in each other's lives. Horror. Thriller.

Dunny thought that he was onto a good thing when he stole that cab and used it to rob old-age pensioners.But today he may have picked up the wrong passenger...A short crime story about payback and bad decisions.As a fealinn, Eilwen has a natural affinty to nature, but when one of the tempermental eagles of Gaspar leads her to a hole the eagle's True-bonded Eaglekin has fallen into, Eilwen puts old animosity aside to try and save him.

Russian agents are uncovered at the heart of one of the UK’s most secret intelligence agencies, but he spies escape before they can be arrested, and the investigation into how they managed to get away leads inevitably to a hunt for their controller who managed to tip them off.In this Duncan James sequel to ‘Motorbike Men’, Russian agents are uncovered at the heart of one of the UK’s most secret intelligence agencies. The spies escape before they can be arrested, and the investigation into how they managed to get away leads inevitably to a hunt for their controller who managed to tip them off. An action-packed tale, with a surprise ending, moves swiftly between England, Switzerland and the Russian capital itself.

How do you catch a killer when you're the number one suspect? A man is caught on CCTV, shooting dead a cashier at a bank. Detective Harry Hole begins his investigation, but after dinner with an old flame wakes up with no memory of the past 12 hours. Then the girl is found dead in mysterious circumstances and he beings to receive threatening emails: is someone trying to frame him for her death? As Harry fights to clear his name, the bank robberies continue with unparalleled savagery...