The President of the United States vanishes from the White House. A top-secret prototype stealth fighter is destroyed during a test flight. Witnesses on the ground say that it was shot down by a craft that immediately vanished at impossible speeds. All over the world reports of UFOs are increasing at an alarming rate. And in a remote fossil dig in China dinosaur hunters have found something that is definitely not of this earth. There are rumors of alien-human hybrids living among us. Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences rush headlong into the heat of the world’s strangest and deadliest arms race, because the global race to recover and retro-engineer alien technologies has just hit a snag. Someone—or something--wants that technology back.

He was my little brother. I loved him, from his tiny toes to his drug-addled mind and his selfish heart.I love my brother. I loved him when he was a little baby with his tiny fingers and toes. I loved him when he was growing up and stopped following me around. I loved him when my parents gave him everything he asked for, even sometimes at my expense. I loved him in his rebellious teenage years that took him down the mean streets and away from me. I loved him when I would wait up all night and he wouldn't return at all. I loved him when I pulled gun on him and asked him to leave. He was my little brother and I always loved him.

In Shadow Prey, the crackling sequel to Rules of Prey, Twin Cities Sleuth Lucas Davenport teams up with NYPD lieutenant Lily Rothenberg to track down an elusive killer, known only as Shadow Love. Among the victims: - A Minneapolis slumlord - A judge from Oklahoma City - A Manhattan politician The Murder weapon: A Native American ceremonial Knife Is Shadow Love just another serial killer, or is he fighting a holy war -- one in which Davenport is slated to be the next casualty? The frenzied and erotically-charged action brings Davenport to the gritty back streets and alleys of Minneapolis' Native American slums. Performed by Ken Howard

No one was surprised when Aaron Crown was arrested for the decades-old murder of the most famous black civil rights leader in Louisiana. After all, his family were shiftless timber people who brought their ways into the Cajun wetlands--trailing rumors of ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Only Dave Robicheaux, to whom Crown proclaims his innocence, worries that Crown had been made a scapegoat for the collective guilt of a generation. But when Buford LaRose, scion of an old Southern family and author of a book that sent Crown to prison, is elected governor, strange things start to happen. Dave is offered a job as head of the state police; a documentary filmmaker seeking to prove Crown's innocence is killed; and the governor's wife--a former flame--once again turns her seductive powers on Dave. It's clear that Dave must find out the dark truth about Aaron Crown, a truth that too many people want to remain hidden.

When not only her way of life, but also the life of her dearest friend is threatened by an old associate, will it be enough for Madison, an ex-con artist, to continue as a law abiding citizen, or will she be forced back into the line of work that claimed the love of her life?After a heist goes horribly wrong, resulting in the death of her fiance, Madison is determined to turn her life around. Forced to disappear, she leaves everything behind, including her most trusted friend, Skyler. She follows the rules and gives up cracking safes in attempt to escape the dangerous lifestyle they were both leading. Even still, she cannot outrun her past. Now an old associate threatens Skyler and Madison must face the ghosts that haunt her. Left with no choice, she has to set aside the shards of her broken heart and the memories of her lost love in order to save something even greater.

On a rainy night in 1934, a man stops at a lonely diner along Route 12 in Michigan. This unsettling literary short story examines and contrasts the innocent and jaded, the old and new, and the circle of life.a police road block on the highway to chiang mai on a hot day. A policeman who takes more than his lunch break and decides to join a card game with his friends.an unscheduled encounter with a scorpion ultimately leads the policeman into some very hot water.

New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story perfect for fans of We Were Liars and I Was Here, about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident. Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

A new collection of stories by the internationally acclaimed author of "Any Human Heart" ("the finest storyteller of his generation" -"Chicago Tribune"). In "Notebook No. 9," a film director's journal becomes an unintentional record of his obsessive love for his leading lady and the slow destruction of their relationship. In "Beulah Berlin, an A--Z," a performance artist, longing for stability and order, reveals the details of her chaotic life through her comments on such varied subjects as angst, hay fever, photography, baby names, sonnets, and tobacco. In "Fantasia on a Favorite Waltz," a prostitute finds an unexpected friend in a young man who plays piano in a brothel. In "Adult Video," we see a man's life in film format-rewinding to his years as a struggling student at Oxford, fast-forwarding to his dreams of success as a writer, and watching the present unfold as he proposes to his future wife for all the wrong reasons. Exploring the ways a life can be dominated by a need for love and the torments that arise when love is misplaced or denied, these stories confirm William Boyd's reputation as a master of the art.

From the author of DESERT PLACES, ABANDON, and “Serial,” comes this short story which is an excellent and affordable introduction to the author’s work. In “Remaking,” tragic events unfold in a snowy, sleepy Colorado town. From the first scene, in which a man sits alone in the cold, watching a father and son in a diner, you know something is about to go horribly wrong. You may think you know what’s happening, but in this thrilling, heartbreaking story, nothing is as it seems. *Note: This story is collected with others in the eBook, FOUR LIVE ROUNDS, which also contains a Foreword by J.A. Konrath and introductions to each story by Blake Crouch. About the Author: BLAKE CROUCH was born near the piedmont town of Statesville, North Carolina in 1978. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Creative Writing. Blake is the author of four novels and numerous short stories, including “Serial” which he co-wrote with J.A. Konrath and has been downloaded more than 250,000 times. He lives with his family in southwest Colorado, where he is at work on a new book. Praise for Blake Crouch’s ABANDON: ABANDON would make an excellent movie, switching back and forth between the plain-but-sturdy homes, saloon and church in 1893 and the same structures rotting to dust in 2009...a clever dual story. CHARLOTTE OBSERVER ABANDON [is] two separate works of past and present seamlessly melded together into a single novel that demands to be read in one sitting, so you can better appreciate the beauty of Crouch’s storytelling…[O]ne of those books that almost instantly puts you in the mind of a classic. BOOKREPORTER Haunting, fast-paced, and thoroughly engrossing... ABANDON is one of the most original tales of ghosts, greed and gold I've come across. Crouch aligns both eras so perfectly, it's as if the characters are occupying the same breath within the space/time continuum. ABANDON will be one of the most talked-about books of the summer. THE MADISON COUNTY HERALD Ambitious…the palpable suspense just keeps building, and many thriller fans—especially those who like a touch of horror—will lose sleep to find out how it all ends. BOOKLIST ABANDON is terrific…a great storyteller hitting his stride. LEE CHILD

Meet Abbey Whistler. She's just died at the age of eighty and waits in her hospital room to be taken to the afterlife. But she quickly learns that crimes committed while alive actually do have repercussions when you die. Last Dance of a Black Widow is a sobering 3,000 word short story that explores the death of a life lived poorly.Meet Abbey Whistler. She's just died at the age of eighty and waits in her hospital room to be taken to the afterlife. But she quickly learns that crimes committed while alive actually do have repercussions when you die. From the author of the Pandora's Children collection of short stories, the novellas Dogs of War and King of the Merge, and the free short story Blink comes Last Dance of a Black Widow, a sobering 3,000 word short story that explores the death of a life lived poorly.

Maddy Young died. And he went to Two. Two is a lot like Earth, only everyone has died. Berlin didn't take her insulin. Darrel drowned. Dr. Raleigh died in an avalanche. And well Maddy, he died...(you'll have to read to find out, but it's pretty embarrassing.) After moving into the Two AdjustAfter years of running, Quinn has finally found a town to settle down in while she searches for the man who tore her life apart. Despite her every intention not to, she’s started to put down some roots and make friends. However, the small bit of solace she’s found is quickly shattered when a group of vampires walk into the bar where she works and turn her life upside down. Looking only to stop for a few nights and have a good time, Julian never expected to stumble across someone like Quinn. Determined to keep her free from the vampires looking to use her as a weapon, Julian is stunned to discover himself starting to care for the mysterious woman with a dark past she’s unwilling to reveal. It doesn’t take him long to realize that the vampires after her are only a part of the problem. This quiet little town is hiding a violent secret of its own; a secret that not only threatens the town, but Quinn in particular. ***The Fire and Ice series is a spinoff based on characters from The Kindred Series. You do not have to read The Kindred Series to enjoy this book or its successors. The maturity level of this series will grow with each book and is recommended for readers 17+***The recommended reading order of the complete Fire and Ice Series.Frost Burn (Book 1)Arctic Fire (Book 2)Scorched Ice (Book 3)

The “master storyteller” (Publishers Weekly) and bestselling author of Gates of Fire, The Afghan Campaign, and Killing Rommel returns with a stunning, chillingly plausible near-future thriller about the rise of a privately financed and global military industrial complex. The year is 2032. The third Iran-Iraq war is over; the 11/11 dirty bomb attack on the port of Long Beach, California is receding into memory; Saudi Arabia has recently quelled a coup; Russians and Turks are clashing in the Caspian Basin; Iranian armored units, supported by the satellite and drone power of their Chinese allies, have emerged from their enclaves in Tehran and are sweeping south attempting to recapture the resource rich territory that had been stolen from them, in their view, by Lukoil, BP, and ExxonMobil and their privately-funded armies. Everywhere military force is for hire.  Oil companies, multi-national corporations and banks employ powerful, cutting-edge mercenary armies to control global chaos and protect their riches.  Even nation states enlist mercenary forces to suppress internal insurrections, hunt terrorists, and do the black bag jobs necessary to maintain the new New World Order. Force Insertion is the world's merc monopoly. Its leader is the disgraced former United States Marine General James Salter, stripped of his command by the president for nuclear saber-rattling with the Chinese and banished to the Far East.  A grandmaster military and political strategist, Salter deftly seizes huge oil and gas fields, ultimately making himself the most powerful man in the world.  Salter's endgame is to take vengeance on those responsible for his exile and then come home...as Commander in Chief. The only man who can stop him is the novel's narrator, Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme, Salter's most loyal foot soldier and as close to him as the son Salter lost. As this action-jammed, lightning fast, and brutally realistic novel builds to its heart-stopping climax Gent launches his personally and professionally most desperate mission: to take out his mentor and save the United States from self destruction. Infused by a staggering breadth of research in military tactics and steeped in the timeless themes of the honor and valor of men at war that distinguish all of Pressfield’s fiction, The Profession is that rare novel that informs and challenges the reader almost as much as it entertains. From the Hardcover edition.

A Noir-ish story set in 1950's England, Dennis and Celia have spent two years having an affair. Her wealthy husband will not grant her a divorce and is determined to make her life a misery. Dennis and Celia devise a plan to get rid of Simon for good. At first, the plan seems foolproof. But nothing is infallible, and Dennis and Celia soon learn that getting rid of Simon wasn't such a good idea.A Noir-ish story set in 1950's England, Dennis and Celia have spent two years having an affair. Her wealthy husband will not grant her a divorce and is determined to make her life a misery. Dennis and Celia devise a plan to get rid of Simon for good. At first, the plan seems foolproof. But nothing is infallible, and Dennis and Celia soon learn that getting rid of Simon wasn't such a good idea after all. A dark tale with a grisly finality, The Long Drop To Eternity is a short story that noir fans will love.

Paul is employed by the State as a Teacher. He travels a long journey to his workplace in the rural areas. He expects to see his girlfriend Rosaline after some four months. His first night experiences and pain in the morning contributes to his decision to stay or not.Sir Aidan Franklin has been betrayed. After three years campaigning in a brutal intergalactic war, what should be a joyous return is instead filled with grief and rage - his family is long dead from a suspicious "pox" and their land stolen. Seeking revenge against the corrupt rival Deputy who wronged him, he narrowly escapes the Capitol and joins the Redtail bandit gang, using his experience to train them into an army. While preparing to enforce his House's claim by the sword, Aidan discovers a family secret dangerous enough to overturn the established order and plunge his homeworld into planet-wide civil war. How far will Aidan go to avenge his family and prove his honor? A tale of justice and oppression, longswords and plasma blasters, A Test of Honor is an eclectic, adrenaline-charged adventure set in a world of the future that echoes the past. Book I of the Aidan's War Trilogy.

Running away from yourself never works. You'll always catch up. "Donaldson, at his trademark best, fleshes out the characters to the max...and it's all wrapped around a well-paced, cleverly-plotted mystery that will leave readers wanting more." --Charleston Post on The Man Who Killed His Brother Mick "Brew" Axbrewder was once a great P.I. That was before he accidentally shot and killed a cop-worse, a cop who happened to be his own brother. Then Mick's partner, Ginny Fistoulari, blew off her own hand protecting him from a confrontation brought on by his alcoholism. Unsurprisingly, Mick and Ginny aren't on great terms any more. Now, a week after an incident in which he was shot, barely back on his feet, Mick has agreed against his better judgement to join Ginny in providing security at a "murder mystery camp", where a dozen people stay in an isolated, snowbound lodge to play at being detectives. Then a real killer starts bumping people off, one by one... As ever, Stephen Donaldson shows why he's regarded as one of America's greatest storytellers, with a tale of human pain and human triumph.