Modern Thrillers

Detective stories existed for centuries before the concept of the detective itself—amateur or professional— was fully formulated, and tales of mystery and intrigue have been thrilling readers since ancient times. The Lock and Key Library is the classic overview of the history of the mystery genre, at once a rousing listen for fans of the unsolved and unknown as well as an essential literary resource for those seeking to understand the roots of modern pulp fiction. This volume is sure to delight and enthrall armchair detectives and fans of classic mysteries alike.

In Crimson Falls freedom isn’t guaranteed, people aren’t what they seem, and the pizza is killer. When a seemingly ordinary pizza delivery girl with a secret past finds herself trapped under the thumb of a ruthless mob boss, every heartbeat becomes a battle for survival. Troyan Pryce—once driven by ambition in the world of medicine—now navigates a labyrinth of betrayal, violence, and corrupt law enforcement, where even her family’s safety hangs in the balance. With the underworld closing in and dark forces rising from every shadow, Troyan must defy impossible odds to dismantle an ...

A courtroom drama of biological science versus transgenderism, The Wise of Heart updates the Scopes Monkey Trial for the twenty-first century. He wanted to test the new Gender Awareness in Academia (GAIA) Act, but high-school biology teacher, Mike Andrews got more than he bargained for.

Texan billionaire General Midwinter will stop at nothing to bring down the USSR - even if it puts the whole world at risk. The fourth and final novel featuring the cynical, insolent narrator of The IPCRESS File sees him sent from his shabby Soho office to bone-freezing Helsinki in order to penetrate Midwinter's vast anti-Communist network - and stop a deadly virus from wiping out the planet.

Kenton's career as a journalist depends on his facility with languages, his knowledge of European politics and his quick judgment. Where his judgment sometimes fails him however, is in his personal life. When he travels to Nuremberg to investigate a story about a top-level meeting of Nazi officials, he inadvertently finds himself on a train bound for Austria after a bad night of gambling. Stranded with no money, Kenton jumps at the chance to earn a fee helping a refugee smuggle securities across the border.

Bernard Samson is a spy on the run. But in the murky streets of Berlin, he knows where to hide. Wanted for an act of treachery he has not committed, he must not only escape the grasp of London Central but get to the bottom of a tangled conspiracy that is about to change everything. In the thrilling penultimate instalment of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, Bernard's personal and professional life collide with devastating consequences.

Josef Vadassy, a Hungarian refugee and language teacher living in France, is enjoying his first break for years in a small hotel on the Riviera. But when he takes his holiday photographs to be developed at a local chemists, he suddenly finds himself mistaken for a Gestapo agent, and a charge of espionage is levelled at him. To prove himself innocent to the French police, he must discover which one of his fellow guests at his pension is the real spy. As he desperately tries to uncover the true culprit's identity, Vadassy must risk his job, his safety and everything he holds dear.

"I LOVED THE IMAGINATION OF THIS AUTHOR!" ~Satisfied Kindle Reader "FIVE STARS!" ~ Multiple Fans "ALICE CROWLEY IS ONE OF OUR BEST LIVING WRITERS!" ~ G. Taylor Married college professor Roxanne Harder has a creepy stalker lurking among her student body -- only he ain't no human. On her way back to her car from a lecture one night, Roxanne finds out just how hungry and desirous this beast-man can be. Right when she is about to be seized and taken, though, a second man-wolf arrives to engage in battle over mating rights and Roxanne's fertile flesh. Now the professor decides to give the victor...

Professor Karen Pelletier is about to realize her dream. After six years in the English department at New England's exclusive Enfield College, she is up for tenure. Then Professor Joseph Lone Wolf, her rival for the one tenured spot in the department, whose ethnicity gives him minority-preference status, is found dead from an overdose of Peyote buttons.

DS Charlie Stone is struggling. Recently separated from his wife and estranged from his daughter Maddie, Charlie is a single dad trying hard to keep his life together. An apparently cut and dried case of murder piques Charlie's interest. As he delves further into the murky coastal underworld, he realises things are darker than they first appeared. Charlie's family become being dragged into a world of darkness, danger and depravity. Can Charlie find the answers, while keeping all he holds dear, safe from harm?

Instead of the Victorian world of debutants and stolen love letters, we have a fallen tabloid editor capitalizing on the nation's thirst for celebrity gossip and threatening to expose a young pop star for a dalliance caught on a security camera. On the advice of her security manager, ex-Scotland Yard detective Gareth Lestrade, Milverton's blackmail victim consults Sherlock Holmes. Irascible, difficult, eccentric but brilliant, Holmes brings the full weight of his intellect to bear on this new case.

It was a typical afternoon in Northfield, Minnesota, when a middle-aged, autistic artist named Dutton James revealed to the world his new series of otherworldly, enigmatic sculptures, leaving art critics and the public stunned and intrigued. Then the questions started. What are these bizarre objects? From what planet or nightmare were they hatched? In the weeks that follow, as the mysterious artist’s fame skyrockets, Emma, Dutton's millennial stalker fan, attempts to enter the artist’s dangerous, opaque world in order to uncover the answers.

“Darkcliff is obviously a master storyteller, knowing how to keep the reader riveted the whole time.” - Jason P. Crawford, Amazon reviewer Mortals die easily. Gods must be killed twice. When he moves to Turkey, Braze prevents a suicide attempt and falls for a local girl - two mistakes with horrific consequences. As they plunge into a spiral of madness and depravity, Braze and the beautiful Mehpare understand why that man wanted to kill himself. A mysterious stranger stalks them during the day. At night, evil magic traps them in a temple that should have never been built. Their failing ...

Millions of pounds have gone missing, and the Department have sent agent Bernard Samson to Washington to track them down. But this mission is just the start of something far deeper and darker. It will take him from the English suburbs to Berlin, the South of France to Los Angeles and the heart of a maelstrom. In the first part of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, friends become enemies, pursuer becomes victim and no one - not even Bernard himself - is above suspicion.

Barbuda Gold Alex enlists the help of archeologist Dr. Sydney Anderson to hunt for lost Spanish treasure on the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean. She is shocked to learn that the man she is working for is not only a treasure hunter, but a pirate as well. She joins the crew to search for treasure hidden for centuries and to recover it right under the noses of a competing treasure hunter and his mercenaries. A surprise lies amid the sacks of gold.

Five years before the events related in O'Shaughnessy's first Nina Reilly novel, Motion to Supress, Nina is living in Carmel, California, with Bob, her toddler-age son, and working as a paralegal at a law firm while attending law school at night. Additional stress comes from Nina's former boyfriend, Richard Filsen, who thinks she is a bad mother and sues her for custody of her son.

Of all the mysteries Bernard Samson has encountered, the greatest is his wife, Fiona. Dedicated agent of the Service and a woman of secrets, she will risk everything to play the long game. As the truth about the decision that shattered their marriage is gradually revealed, the web of deception that has snared Bernard for 10 years begins to unravel.

Who have you spoken to about me? What do you know about Operation Wahasha? What have you told Detective Sara Nowak? These are the last words priest Jürgen Stiller hears before he is executed by a former terrorist known only by the codename 'Faust'. Then the killer begins the hunt for Detective Sara Nowak.

In a remote Chinese town - where the theft of a few chickens counts as a major crime - a young woman is found brutally murdered...with her heart, lungs and liver removed. Inspector Lu Fei, a weary cop who fled the city, suddenly finds himself under the intense scrutiny of the ruling party in Beijing. Determined to find her killer, Lu Fei must navigate a society where politics can be deadly, corruption is rife and the powerful are untouchable.

The odds are never in her favor. Good thing this mage doesn’t play by the rules. She once passed as an obedient servant. Now, Senior Investigator Ember Wright shines a light on corruption wherever she finds it. But the corrupt are hitting back. They’re hitting back hard. Her cover blown, they’ve branded her as public enemy number one. With a target painted on her back and on anyone who dares help her, Ember leads a global uprising. When her changeling friends get caught in the crossfire, she learns the true cost of freedom.