Short Thrillers

An ancient tomb. A deadly secret. A brotherhood that kills to protect it. When professional treasure hunter Porter Pursley receives an urgent call from his archaeologist friend George Jackson, he drops everything to fly to the Egyptian desert. The team has discovered the tomb of Bek-rah, a master sculptor from the nineteenth dynasty—but the magnificent chamber is completely empty. Porter specializes in solving the puzzles that technology can't crack, reading the minds of ancient architects who built elaborate deceptions to protect their greatest treasures. But as he investigates the ...

A collection of horror/thriller stories for readers who would enjoy a stroll through a graveyard after midnight. Hark! Don’t read this book if a deranged maniac has escaped from the local asylum. Otherwise, enjoy the horror.The creepers include: THE RANSOM OF ELVIS BOZO: After a tech billionaire is murdered in a staged kidnapping, his restless spirit seeks revenge. CAMP PINE HOLLOW: A father’s deal with the occult to bring his son back from the dead unleashes a bloodthirsty curse on a summer camp. FIRST DRAFT: A creative writing class turns deadly when students realize their horror ...

"A MUST READ FOR FANS OF MYSTERIES AND FOLK HORROR." - NP CUNNIFFE, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF "THE WEEJEE MAN". "...IT'S A WELL WRITTEN HORROR STORY WITH FANTASTIC CHARACTERS, BLOODY KILLS, AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT" - HORROR READS, 5 STAR AMAZON/GOODREADS REVIEW. "IT'S LIKE STEPHEN KING'S VERSION OF GREMLINS." - THE DANSE MACABRE While on a research expedition in the wilds of the Irish countryside, a team of archeologists are brutally murdered on an ancient druid henge. The bite marks found on the bodies by the forensic techs that gathered the crime scene evidence suggested that animals were ...

"Somewhere, there’s a way out. But first, you have to prove you exist." Daniel Young is trapped in a reality that no longer feels like his own. A freelance journalist known for exposing hidden truths, he always thought he was in control. That was before the glitches started—the strange messages, his laptop predicting what would happen next in his life before he even knew. Then he finds the encrypted files. Dr. Andrew Moostaaf—a scientist who vanished six years ago—left behind a warning that was never meant to be heard. The world is not what it seems. And Daniel was never meant to ...

From the collection Mary Russell's War, "Stately Holmes" delivers the author's signature blend of narrative mastery and historical detail while shining light on previously unexplored corners of the Russell-Holmes universe. Laurie R. King blends her long-running brand of crime fiction with historical treats and narrative sleight of hand.

Long lost to the public in out-of-print pulp magazines, dusty Victorian anthologies, and the pages of now defunct newspapers, these vintage vampire stories have truly proved immortal. Resurrected now for the year 2011, this is a stunning collection of nineteenth-century vampire stories by heavyweights such as Sabine Baring-Gould and Bram Stoker. These rare stories are arranged in chronological order from 1846 to 1913 and are compiled by two of the world's leading vampire anthologists and experts.

A terrifying mosaic of transformation and terror, "Eyes Like Mirrors, Flesh Like Ash" collects twenty macabre tales by Kevin Lintner that claw beneath the skin of reality. From a solo escape room session that unlocks an ancient evil, to haunted photographs that predict one's grotesque demise, each story delivers its own brand of psychological and cosmic horror. Enter cursed houses, twisted minds, eldritch forests, and nightmarish realities where flesh remembers, shadows whisper, and dreams consume. These stories are not for the faint of heart—they are for those who seek the forbidden, the...

When Overlook helper Belinda gets a chance to go to a special conference and learn about opening her own business, Thistle volunteers to watch Belinda's daughter Annie. Thistle was the queen of rotten children so she thinks Annie will be easy. That feeling only lasts until Annie disappears into the frigid woods surrounding Hemlock Cove. Answers are never easy, and when clues start rolling in, Thistle and Aunt Tillie are left to piece together a puzzle that is years in the making and could have dire consequences.

Working with family is no joke for Jackie Parker. Together with her husband Luke and his brother Logan, Jackie is up against wacky tenants, crazed landlords, and secrets worth killing for.

The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century - and, in his own humble opinion, is "probably the greatest detective in the world". In this complete collection of more than 50 stories, ranging from short tales to novellas, Poirot faces violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings, and thefts - all solved with his characteristic panache. Only Agatha Christie could have devised cases worthy of Hercule Poirot's skill and "little gray cells".

Nine stories that will redefine your fears from the fairy tales and nursery rhymes of your childhood. A small town hires a unique exterminator to clear their fields of pests, but when they refuse to pay he uses his skill for revenge. The U.S. military embarks on an experiment unlike any other and offers soldiers the chance to reach new heights and shorter contracts. An anesthesiologist discovers his skills go beyond simply guiding people to sleep and that they have lasting consequences. A brother and sister get lost in the woods and discover a beautiful woman with a house luring teenagers ...

Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books have fascinated fans and critics alike with their irresistible blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Now in Quatrain, she weaves compelling stories in four of the worlds that fans love in "Flight", "Blood", "Gold", and "Flame".

Some roads should never be traveled. From isolated rest stops to forgotten overpasses, Haunted Highways takes you deep into the eerie silence between mile markers—where lost travelers hear whispers in the dark and headlights vanish into nowhere. These 25 immersive horror stories are inspired by real unexplained encounters across America’s roads. Each tale pulls you into a nightmarish stretch of asphalt haunted by phantoms, cryptids, and things far stranger. Perfect for fans of Creepshow, The Twilight Zone, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, this collection brings atmospheric, slow-...

A blinding snowstorm - and a homicidal maniac - traps a small party of friends in an isolated estate. Out of this deceptively simple setup, Agatha Christie fashioned one of her most ingenious puzzlers, which in turn would provide the basis for The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in history. From this classic title novella to the deliciously clever gems on its tail (solved to perfection by Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple), this rare collection of murder most foul showcases Christie at her inventive best.

THIS IS A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED INDIVIDUALLY. Filling in some of the gaps between the full-length novels, this collection of short stories starts in 1987 when Bill Jedburgh is still in the Royal Hong Kong Police and first meets some of the key characters that appear later in the books. The final story is set in 2009 when Jedburgh gets help from an unexpected ally freeing a Danish diplomat who has been arrested in Shenzhen. Along the way we find The Reliable Man tasked to kill the Mayor of Davao (unsuccessfully, since he’s now the President of the Philippines) ...

The Nowhere Man is a figure shrouded in secrecy - a near legendary figure who helps those lucky few who are given the means to reach out to him. Before he was the Nowhere Man, Evan Smoak was a highly trained government operative known to a few as Orphan X. This is the story of Smoak's first outing as the Nowhere Man, where after completing a mission in Northern California, he happens to spot a young woman at a coffee shop....

Spring Break, 1997. A group of college friends sets out for an unforgettable trip to Mexico, but their adventure takes a horrific turn when they are abducted by a satanic cult in the Tucson desert. Their captor? Zeena Graves—a strikingly beautiful yet merciless cult leader who commands her followers from the darkness of an abandoned church. As midnight strikes on Easter night, she prepares to enact a ritual drenched in blood and terror that can only be completed After the Pink Moon. Bound by fear, surrounded by zealots, and with time slipping away, the captives must find a way to escape ...

Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. In this second dip into his case files (see 1000 Yards for a further novella), Milton is sent to Italy to investigate the death of a colleague from Group 15.

When pets investigate, you can be sure the fur will fly. When two kids go missing on Hallowe’en, the task of finding them provokes a Buster versus Amber challenge. The dog can follow the scent, but the cat will use her brains. Who will find the children first? And where are they anyway? But Felicity’s pets aren’t the only ones trying to solve this case. Her niece, Mindy, is out in the dark too. There’s a mob forming outside a suspiciously derelict and overgrown house, but is the lady inside really a witch? In the ultimate test of feline against canine and pets against humans, who ...

Acclaimed author Richard Prosch won the Western Writers of America Spur Award in 2016 for his short fiction. This volume of stories from old Wyoming and Nebraska brings the best of his westerns together under one cover for the first time. A wrecked wagon spells trouble for a Niobrara river man; the leader of a roadhouse band needs a tough man for a dangerous job; a gambler bets on the outcome of a western showdown; a pulp fiction character haunts a woman's memory of her husband. Old gunnies, laconic lawmen, John Coburn, Whit Branham, and a host of villains bring the action, humor and irony ...