Detective Science

Paraffin, Vermont, is home to the Grosholtz Candle Factory. There, 17-year-old Poppy finds something dark and unsettling: a room filled with dozens of startlingly lifelike wax sculptures. Later, she's shocked when one of the figures - a teenage boy who doesn't seem to know what he is - jumps naked and screaming out of the trunk of her car. Poppy wants to return him to the factory, but before she can, a fire destroys the mysterious workshop.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman is the unequivocal “master of the psychological thriller” (People). Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when Dr. Alex Delaware successfully treated her obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Now, at nineteen, Patty Bigelow, Tanya’s aunt...

Humans have always been fascinated by darkness. Especially the darkness of a city at night, when the black sky is made ever more inky by the pools of illumination dropped under streetlights. Whether the mean streets be in an alternate past charmed with dark magic or the dirty alleyways of futuristic crowded space stations, the city—and its darkened streets—will always fascinate us. Here then, an anthology of all new stories of science fiction and fantasy with a hardboiled noir twist that acknowledge that the city is a living, breathing entity...and it isn’t always on our side.

When the body of "how-to" book writer Terry Holiday is found by Aster Paterson in her flower garden, the townspeople of Haven are shocked. But they're even more surprised when the beloved bookshop owner insists that the spirit of her late husband Peter Paterson led her to the grim discovery. Only Aster seems unsurprised—she's been baking his favorite shortbread cookies every day, hoping to lure his ghost back home . . . Even Maureen is a little skeptical—until Peter's ghost appears in the bookshop window for all to see.

Welcome to Portlock: where the dead don’t always stay that way. When a human inspector drops dead in the Chrome Mine, things get messy fast. The dwarves are up in arms, swearing the mine is cursed, and when a second body turns up—this time without its head—all fingers point to the local hag. But I’ve met Matilda. She’s terrifying, sure, but she doesn’t seem like the elaborate crime scene type. More of a ‘crush you under a landslide’ kind of gal. Still, with the dwarves baying for blood and a murderer on the loose, I need answers before this case spirals out of control.

When a suspect explodes mid-interrogation and his office is taken over by an intergalactic despot, undead detective Dan Deadman reckons he's finally hit rock bottom. Banished to a dangerous underground hostel network, Dan becomes embroiled in a mass-murder investigation that will take him from the bowels of Down Here to the depths of the ocean. As the clues run out and the case collapses around him, Dan discovers a sinister plot that could wipe out two whole civilizations, and plunge the planet of Parloo into an endless bloody war.

After the shit that went down in Chrome Mine, I’m beginning to fear that I may never see my Sidnee again, because the Sidnee I’ve been left with? She’s downright scary. Just as we try to catch our breath, calamity strikes anew: the Mayor’s son has been murdered, and suspicion is being thrown around like confetti—from the mayor himself to nearly half the town, including the usually mild-mannered Sidnee.

The name's Burnside, and I always get the weird cases. I built my detective career taking down the strangest bad guys in Earth Sector. No matter how crazy the case, I always managed to get it off the books. After 20 years of pounding my beat, I was ready to pack it in, and I'd called it a day. Then these killings started, weird to the point of freaked-out PD Chiefs, and only one person who fit the case. So much for retirement. The story I'm going to tell you covers two years of my life, and took me from one end of human space to the other.

Fifteen-year-old Gemma's life on a small New Brunswick island with her father, Jonah, is not an exciting one. Her mother ran off when she was an infant, and Jonah, an amateur scientist, spends most of his time conducting experiments he thinks will one day bring him fame. But when a woman arrives on the island, Gemma tries to play matchmaker—only to discover Jonah's secret journals, which hold terrifying secrets about both their lives.

Upon his return to Los Angeles from a harrowing adventure in the South Pacific, Alex is called upon by his friend Milo Sturgis to help solve the murder of a celebrity author. For three months the police found no clues to the murder of Hope Devane, psychology professor and controversial author of...

THE UNITED STATES IS IN CHAOS as hordes of the undead ravage the country. General Gary Markum, virologist Dr. Benjamin Lieber, and Colonel Jack “Ghost” Crown, M.D., lead a secret military compound working on a cure. Simultaneously, Jack and his men battle zombies and vicious marauders to expand the Crown Territory safe zone.

Charli Goodwin's leaving Honeysuckle Hollow again...but only temporarily. Led by her grandmother, she and her friends from their small Southern supernatural town are headed to Charleston for a special witch convention. Charli hopes that the short time away from her home will help her figure out how to navigate the new changes in her life. Unfortunately, fate has no intention of giving her a break. When the grand dame of the Charleston magical society drops dead, the local witches close ranks against the outsiders.

In the quaint, rain-soaked town of Willowbrook, an unlikely duo forms a detective agency like no other. Grib, a clever goblin with a knack for problem-solving and a mischievous sense of humor, teams up with Grandma Maggie, a witty and resourceful retired librarian, to tackle the town's most baffling mysteries. The story kicks off on a stormy night, with Grandma Maggie seeking Grib's help to uncover the truth behind a series of strange symbols appearing around Willowbrook.

Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town’s missing golden girl. It’s no challenge - her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy - no one would get hurt and she’d get the money she needs to start a new life. But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she’s involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it’s too late.

Fifteen-year-old Laurel Goodwin wakes up to find her older sister Ivy missing from their Airstream trailer in the Oregon redwoods. A recurring nightmare convinces her that Ivy was abducted, but no one takes her dream seriously, including her mom. Laurel, a loner, has to learn to ask for help, and Jasper Blake, a mysterious new kid who shares her love of old books, quickly becomes her ally. Together they find their quiet town holds a deep secret and is the epicenter of a dark prophecy.

My name’s Stacy, but you can call me Inspector Wise. As part of the Connection—the magical law enforcement keeping the supernatural under wraps—I deal with the grittiest magical crimes. The Other Realm is a Vampire-eat-Werewolf kind of world, and only the toughest survive. Fortunately, I’ve got a rare magical gift: I can slip into minds and make people dance to my tune. It's frowned upon to do that though, so I keep my talents more hidden than Area 51.

Two novellas set in Aliette de Bodard’s award-winning, critically acclaimed Xuya universe, a timeline where Asia became dominant, and where the space age has Confucian galactic empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration. Contains The Citadel of Weeping Pearls and The Tea Master and the Detective.

Part of the short story collection Dark Bites, Phantom Lover is now available as a standalone audiobook! Haunted by recurring nightmares of terrifying beasts, Erin McDaniels is afraid to sleep-until a hero arrives in her dreams to save her...and makes erotic, incredible love to her. But can she...

In 1695, Isaac Newton already renowned as the greatest mind of his agemade a surprising career change. He left quiet Cambridge, where he had lived for 30 years and made his earth-shattering discoveries, and moved to London to take up the post of Warden of His Majestys Mint. Newton was preceded to the city by a genius of another kind, the budding criminal William Chaloner.

Amateur sleuth Mallory Viridian has just about got her bearings aboard the space station she calls home, but now the physical embodiment of the Internet is on its way, and it's bringing murder with it. Mallory Viridian has had a quiet few months. Even with the increased influx of humans visiting...