Psychological Twists

Why would a mother murder her four children with a smile on her face? What sinister end awaits the regulars of the local watering hole? When Beverly Havermore rubs elbows with other members of high society, what ghosts from her past come to haunt her? Could a curse be behind the mysterious speech problems plaguing an otherwise healthy Benjamin Anatole? The answers to these alarming questions can be found in this collection of seventeen nerve-racking, and at times darkly humorous, short stories that are guaranteed to chill the bones of even the most sensible reader. From a man choosing ...

The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die. Laura hasn’t had it easy: she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it. But now someone’s on to her—Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together?

Could you take a life to save your own? Faith's world will never be the same again. Not after he took everything from her. Now, there's only one way to stop the man who murdered her sister, and it will push her to the edge. After coming to terms with her involuntary commitment to Little Lake State Hospital, Faith discovers the monster who fractured her life is posing as her psychiatrist. Dr. Robert O'Reilly has only one promise: tell anyone about the horrible things he's done, and he will kill her mother. With no choice but to keep O'Reilly happy, Faith must suppress her desires for revenge...

Two years after the death of his fifteen-year-old daughter, investigative reporter Cole Sloane is still struggling to cope. Between the PTSD episodes, crippling depression, and a trial separation from his wife, he’s flailing, especially at work. But when a mysterious blast from his past—one that connects all the pieces of his life—lands on his doorstep, everything changes.

There’s no escaping the prison of your mind… Professional hacker Jeff Demarzo reports to work as usual, only to discover none of the colleagues at his company of the last five years recognize him. Fearful his grasp on reality is slipping, yet unwilling to accept the overwhelming evidence of his own insanity, Demarzo must embark on a dangerous quest to uncover the truth—whether he’s prepared for it or not.

A record New York Powerball. A psychotic IRS agent. A closet genius and his beloved Painted Lady. When Gus Fludd wins the lottery, his dream of restoring the ancestral Victorian--set deep in the Adirondacks--seems at hand. But just as the scaffolding rises and work begins, a psychotic IRS agent appears on his tumbledown porch, spouting demands and casting a deadly shadow over all his hopes. As Gus grapples with this sinister agent, his estranged wife suddenly returns, acting like an angel. His Dickensian brother first cajoles and then blackmails him for his 'share' of the money. Unwelcome ...

What's that movement behind the curtain? Why are those seagulls coming so close? What’s that light in the sky? Is that mist on the water? How sharp is that knife? Do dragons dwell in deep space? These questions and more are answered in Dark Rooms, ten short stories of dark fiction, supernatural, suspense and psychological horror all bound together with a black sense of humour. Stories of sibling love... and hate, and the dangers of driving in the rain. Would you really want to be stranded on a deserted island? And some days, going to the circus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Open ...

Violet Woods buries her firstborn child. Not lacking in fortitude, she soon produces five replacement boys. Violet, a matriarch with barely concealed neurotic psychosis, stifles the Woods brothers under her protective wing, and keeps them safe from wanton girls. As her hotel empire grows and the decades pass, the boys coerce their way into adulthood, each with his secrets and flaws. And Julie Spencer is pulled into the depraved family dynamic—trapped in their world. Through Katherine Black’s signature style of probing the darkest depths of twisting suspense, The Last Matriarch is a ...

A chilling thriller inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious final days. When Edgar Allan Poe is found, delirious and wearing a stranger’s clothes, Dr. Joseph Snodgrass rushes to his friend’s aid. But what begins as an act of kindness plunges Snodgrass into a sinister world of demons and darkness. Poe has vanished for five days. Now hunters are gathering—violent souls who believe Poe possesses something they crave. As they converge on Baltimore and New York City, Snodgrass is swept into a perilous pursuit. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance, and only Snodgrass can uncover the...

My baby is due in two weeks. Hand on my bump, I swear to my little girl, I won't be anything like my mother. I'm walking home after the perfect baby shower, enjoying the cool summer evening breeze. I can't wait to rest my aching feet. I'm almost at my door when the world goes black.

Steph spent months planning her perfect birthday celebration. Five days in an idyllic setting with her best friends. Long lazy lunches, crisp white wine by the pool and a climb up the beautiful Mont Ventoux. She couldn't wait. They’ve been there for each other through the good times and the bad. This was the break everyone needed. After their first night partying, they begin their hike. But as the lavender-scented air turns acrid from local wildfires, fierce winds whip up smoke–and tensions in the group. They become separated.

- A henpecked husband makes a stand against his surly wife.- Is a mysterious stain on the ceiling of a prison cell a product of the inmate's imagination or something more sinister?- A woman trapped in a loveless marriage finds magic in a gift from a friend.- Something is alive in the outhouse…- A young boy longs to venture beyond the walls of his post-apocalyptic city, until he learns the terrifying truth about what’s out there.- A terminally ill teen’s forbidden love affair turns tragic.- A young witch and her talking dog are tasked with ridding their home of unwanted guests. Magic ...

Twisted Tales returns with a second volume of psychological mayhem and disturbing supernatural encounters. If you're into screaming trains, vengeful clowns, the terror of online dating, remorseful ghouls, pandemic-spreading ghosts, murderous mansions, and seriously sick restaurants, then these Twisted Tales are the short stories begging to be read.

Half a dozen more terrifying tales of suspense and horror! A Night at the Movies (another post-apocalyptic story with a twist), Speaking of the Dead (when a seance goes bad), Carnival Clowns (three teenagers set out for the fair seeking fun), Killer Concert (a young woman goes to see her favorite band with murderous results), The Quitter (what could happen when you try and kick the habit), In Dreams (are recurring nightmares more than just dreams, or is someone trying to tell us something?)

Day one. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I slowly start to recognise my surroundings: the small hole in the door and a narrow window allowing only a small chink of light. The jewellery given to me by my loving husband is gone and I am wearing someone else’s clothes. The room is exactly as the first woman described. And the second. And the third… It’s then I know, I am the fifth woman to be taken.

When a perfect marriage, the perfect husband, and perfect life is nothing but an illusion. Sarah Standon is living the dream, at least that’s what everyone tells her. She is the wife of a successful solicitor who looks like a movie star. They live a Stepford existence and appear to have it all. Then, one fateful night, everything changes. A terrible accident leaves Sarah alone to deal with a situation so frightening she starts to question her grip on reality. Her perfect life has been exposed as the lie it always was and she loses everything.

NONSTOP EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT ACTION FROM PAGE ONE A candidate for President of the United States must die. His foreign policies pose a threat to other sovereign nations and global conglomerates. A deadly sniper has been hired to kill the candidate, and he is known for making fatal shots from over a mile away! The professional assassin, a former member of the Foreign Legion, boasts a history of ruthless hits. This dangerous marksman is supported in his deadly sniper mission by a group of disgruntled Native Americans; these Mohawk warriors are dedicated to aiding the lethal assassin until their ...

I thought our marriage was perfect. I thought our love was unbreakable. I was wrong. I had it all—Dayo, my brilliant lawyer husband, a penthouse dripping with luxury, and a life my father’s money made possible. But then I noticed the late nights, the locked phone, the way his eyes avoided mine. Suspicion became my shadow, and her name was Dora—a psychiatrist too beautiful, too close, too dangerous. I couldn’t let her take him. I dug deeper, and the truth cut like a knife: I’m not the first wife he’s betrayed, not the first life my father’s empire has caged. Now, I hold a gun ...

In the ancient alleys of Damascus, where tradition and secrecy reign, the sudden death of a woman sets the stage for a gripping mystery. When Haj Adel's daughter-in-law dies under suspicious circumstances, the call goes out to Mullah Abdullah Al-Allab, a devout imam with a hidden talent for detective work. As a revered figure in the community, Mullah Abdullah uses his position and keen insight to navigate the intricate web of lies, family honor, and societal expectations. Amidst the echoes of prayers and the whispers of scandal, Mullah Abdullah must uncover the truth in a city where ...

He doesn’t break rules. He breaks girls. Donna Talley wanted a fresh start: a new college, a new city, and a new life. But fate had other plans in the form of Killian Fairchild, her new stepbrother, who turns her dream of anonymity into a living, twisted nightmare. He’s cruel, calculating, and colder than the marble walls of their family mansion. With every brush of his hand, every whispered insult, Killian pulls Donna deeper into a game she never agreed to play. He toys with her sanity, stalks her in silence, and invades the last corners of her privacy—until fear isn't the only thing...