Short Mystery Collection

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, but even the light can't keep away all that goes bump in the night. From rituals and witches to summer slasher and sunny horror, this anthology has it all.

Fortune hunter Billy Newman is not a man of great strength or physical courage. Like a young Johnny Depp, he gets by on his wit, wiles and good looks. And he’s had quite a good run—striking gold in the Philippines and buying his very own island in the South Seas. . . . But there’s trouble in paradise, and Billy’s in the thick of it. The island’s crops are failing. The island’s people are dying. And the island’s owner—Billy—is taking the heat. Why? Because he’s angered the 75-foot-tall big-boss god of the island.

Meet Eddie Moran, a slightly disreputable American cooling his heels in French Morocco. He's as smooth as they come, one step ahead of the game...and of the police. Who's after him? Just about everybody. What's he done? A bit of everything - smuggler, revolutionary, whatever crooked little scheme will pay for his next meal or next drink. But Eddie's latest caper is one he may not be able to escape....even if he wants to.

This set of 5 tales from the noir school of crime and mystery highlights the dark spot on the human psyche that haunts people with the siren call of revenge, destruction, or ill-gotten gain. Here are featured a variety of characters and crimes, with different outcomes. Everything from cool, calculating killers to tortured souls caught in a net of circumstance beyond their control. Plotted heists, schemes, and cons, along with acts of passion committed in the heat of the moment.

Scare Street is proud to present the best in bone-chilling supernatural horror. This volume contains three tales of fickle fate and dark destinies, each guaranteed to have you looking over your shoulder and checking both ways before you cross the street. Life is precious, and accidents happen all the time. None of us are immune to a streak of misfortune. But sometimes, it’s better to accept your fate than to cheat destiny. Because when you try to swindle death, death fights back. And the deck is always stacked against you....

An obscure original manuscript of Marco Polo’s travels ... A tantalizing clue to the site of Kublai Khan’s fabled burial site ... A chance to unearth the truth behind a long-lost treasure. It’s an opportunity that would make Indiana Jones drop everything but his whip and race off to China. But he’d be too late. Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him. Two bullet holes and a bad case of malaria may not be enough to stop Daly, but a crew of criminals, a brood of British agents, and the entire Chinese army are all in the game ... and determined to keep him out of it.

Eighteen-year-old Lee Thompson has a chip on his shoulder and a mission in his heart to save his dad, an aging sheriff who’s lost control of his town. Old Diehard’s lost control of his town, and it seems every outcast and outlaw west of the Mississippi is on the prowl in Wolf River, Montana. Now Lee’s come all the way from Texas to stand up for his father, a man who hasn’t seen him since he was a boy and who doesn’t know him from Adam.

It is the early 1600s and the City of London sees Queen Elizabeth living out her dying days as Scottish King James waits in the wings to take to the throne. Meanwhile, in Southwark, along the south bank of the River Thames, Master Hardy Drew, Constable of the Bankside Watch, maintains law and order amongst the cut-throats and smugglers, in the taverns and brothels, as well as with the gentlefolk, who flock across the river to enjoy the latest plays by Shakespeare and Jonson.

Otto Penzler presents a collection of 19 unsolved mystery stories by a number of noted authors, including Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, and Mark Twain, where the ending is left up to the listener to determine.

When it comes to flying gliders, ace pilot Breeze Callaghan is as smooth as they come. He perfects a skill that will prove vitally important for decades to come - even into the jet age, as demonstrated by Captain Sully Sullenberger, who famously landed his disabled passenger plane on the Hudson River.

Ava Juarez left everything behind when she fled her home and family in rural Montana at the age of nineteen due to the crumbling relationship between her parents. She left everything including the love of her life and the only person who ever truly understood her, high-school quarterback Derek Jones. Now a successful antiques book dealer of thirty-four in Boston, Ava finds herself pulled back to Montana on business. But when the first edition deal goes sour and a snowstorm grounds her for almost a week, will a visit from Derek be welcomed or have her running off once more? Or will the ...

"What could go wrong?" is what a group of teenagers wonder about before breaking into an abandoned house at the edge of town. They seal their fates on the darkest night of the year, Halloween. Listen as history comes alive in front of their own eyes in a series of terrifying events. Broken families, lives tortures by those that had happened in the past. And in the middle of it, is the one person that was never supposed to come back in the first place. Allowing her to roam free is what will cause the demise of them all. But what if there is a way?

»You Will Be the Death of Me« Ivy, Mateo und Cal waren einmal befreundet, jetzt haben sie nichts mehr miteinander zu tun. Aber als Cal zu spät zur Schule kommt und dort auf Ivy und Mateo trifft, ist das die Gelegenheit, eine alte Tradition wiederaufleben zu lassen: einen Tag blau machen. Bei ihrem spontanen Ausflug in die Stadt sichten sie zufällig einen vierten Schüler auf Abwegen und folgen ihm – mitten hinein in einen Tatort. Ivy, Cal und Mateo kennen den Toten, der vor ihnen liegt – und eigentlich sollten sie jetzt die Polizei rufen. Doch sie alle haben eine Verbindung zum Opfer.

Stop the presses! One hundred thousand dollar reward offered for the return of George Harley Rockham! That’s more than enough to turn Shanghai newspaperman Jimmy Vance’s head. Throw in the gorgeous dame who’s offering the reward - Rockham’s daughter Virginia - and he might lose his head altogether. Fast-talking Vance jumps at the chance...the money...and the girl. But as Jimmy quickly discovers, there are several billion reasons to watch his back. Because that’s how much Rockham is worth.

Over 100 Full-Color Images! John DeGaetano, San Francisco Bay Area theater stage director, Broadwayworld nominee, advisor, and award-winning artist, re-creates his twist on Twenty-Seven adventures in the Collection series of Sherlock Holmes 10 Minute Stories. The collection combines content from books one, two, and three in the series with additional images. Known also for his play series, these new adventures are fun reading and easily adaptable for the stage as well. Based in part on the career writings of Holmes’ longtime friend Dr. Watson, the well-crafted stories are homage to Conan ...

Seven strange stand-alone tales involving unusual people caught in disturbing circumstances are presented in this collection.

After a run-in with the Sebring Beach Police Department where a vampire’s servant ended up dead, Helena Graves is offered two choices: Help the local PD chase down wanted monsters, or spend the next 10 years in prison. Since she has a teenage daughter to raise, it was an easy decision for her to make. Between running a somewhat controversial business, tense teacher conferences, and killer supernaturals on the loose, there's never a dull moment in Sebring Beach or Helena’s life. And for the first time in decades, her love life is about to get very interesting.

A Forbidden Truth. A Haunting Past. A Reckoning Unfolds. Some secrets should remain buried, but these won’t stay hidden. A cloning experiment spirals into chaos, its horrifying consequences bleeding into reality. Shadows twist and whisper as spectral hauntings refuse to be ignored, dragging their victims into the unknown. Betrayal poisons trust, transforming love into a battlefield where survival demands sacrifice. Vigilante justice is swift and merciless. Covert operations unravel under deception’s weight. The past claws its way into the present. Chilling kidnappings unfold where ...

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Johnny Trescott is as smart, tough, and fearless as they come. But he’s about to lose everything - his boat, his freedom, and his identity. Johnny’s mission is to track down drug runners in the Gulf of Mexico, and he’s got his eye on the biggest fish of all - Georges Coquelin. But an SOS from a downed plane that’s sinking fast leads him straight to disaster. Coquelin springs a trap. Stranding Johnny and the plane’s passengers on a deserted island, the drug smuggler commandeers Johnny’s boat and his name.

A secret lies within the Kingston mansion's walls, a secret that’s about to bring the past into the present … Inside the Kingston mansion, Nelly Fisher, a curious housekeeper left to finish her duties during a bustling wedding, is surprised to find the door to Mr. Kingston’s office unlocked. The office is off-limits to staff. But today, Nelly can’t resist peeking inside. Nelly enters and soon finds a hidden drawer beneath Mr. Kingston’s desk. The drawer is locked, but it’s not long before Nelly finds the key. As she riffles through the drawer’s contents, Nelly’s shocked when...