Evil Fiction

Revisiting Dr. Michael Stone's groundbreaking 22-level Gradations of Evil Scale, a hierarchy of evil behavior first introduced in the book The Anatomy of Evil, Stone and Dr. Gary Brucato, a fellow violence and serious psychopathology expert, here provide even more detail, using dozens of cases to exemplify the categories along the continuum. The New Evil also presents compelling evidence that, since a cultural tipping-point in the 1960s, certain types of violent crime have emerged that in earlier decades never or very rarely occurred.

August Mulvaney has always been exceptional. As the genius son of an eccentric billionaire, his off-putting behavior is often blamed on his high IQ. They say there’s a thin line between genius and madness. August is both - a brilliant professor loved by his students and a ruthless, obsessive killer tasked with righting the wrongs of a failing justice system. And he’s just found his latest obsession: Lucas Blackwell.

They say love makes fools of us all. It certainly makes idiots out of some of us. It’s Dash’s second Halloween in Hastings Rock, and this year, he’s determined to have a normal spooky season—he’s going to hang out with his friends, hand out lots of candy, and seize every available opportunity for snuggles with a certain deputy. Fate, though, has other things in store. When Dash’s friend Keme is arrested for murder, Dash assumes it’s a misunderstanding—after all, this is Keme we’re talking about. But it turns out, not everyone in Hastings Rock trusts Keme. Or likes him.

Supervillains are murdering people in the streets, but yet superheroes are more concerned with gaining popularity than bringing the villains to justice. These villains think they are above the law and that nobody can stop them, but they never planned for me. I’ll murder every one of them with my powersuit, traps, and sidekicks. And if killing bad guys makes me a villain in the eyes of the heroes, well...I’ll destroy them too.

I am the golden child, the one who's supposed to be perfect. During the day, I attend Spine Ridge University as my father wishes, but when darkness falls, I put on my mask to hunt criminals and destroy them. Until one night, when I come face to face with three evil boys. Kai, Nathan, and Milo from the Phantom Society. Secretive, violent, dirty guys who promise to expose my vigilante justice and put my dangerous side job in the limelight. They'll show the world how savage I truly am—unless I let them have their way with me. My body bartered for their silence… And I say yes.

Late-night radio show psychologist Rain Sommers is used to the crazies calling in to rage from the shadows, but one caller’s chilling obsession with her and her long-ago murdered mother - an iconic singer beloved by the Goth community - has even Rain running scared as a serial killer known as the Vampire prowls New Orleans. FBI agent Trevor Rivette is convinced the caller and the killer are one and the same.

The Korsan have declared themselves an empire, and have their sights set on the destruction of the Free Fleet. Now, Nathan Scott must figure out how to hold the Korsan fleet at bay while they repair their ships and get their newly acquired battle platforms out of danger.

Gerda Jones is no average bridge troll. Sure, she can create riddles like the best of them, but she has skills up her sleeve that no one would expect . . . and a backstory that no one would believe. She uses her fortune-telling talents to change the fate of everyone around her, but avoids getting too close to anyone herself. All of that changes when Gerda catches the eye of Duke Julian von Slyke at his sister's wedding. The tall, dark, and handsome half-elf is making her let down her guard—and inviting a royal heap of trouble into her life.

Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor", and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of: a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The first three crime thrillers in the Detective Sebastian Clifford series together in a single collection for the first time. This collection includes Web of Lies, Speak No Evil, and Never Too Late.

On his 13th birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail - his only inheritance from his father and mother. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bag of sand. It is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them, using the only weapon he has: an incredible talent for breaking things.

Liam begrudgingly travels to another lord's domain to receive a noble education, and the Guide makes sure to muck up his reputation. When Liam attempts to bribe the reigning lord in exchange for a cushy life on the planet, he's deemed destitute and given the cold shoulder! Thinking the man is just far too upstanding for his "incentives", Liam decides that other nobles who got the same treatment must be just as wicked as he is! Will his pretty boy roommates, Kurt, and the gorgeous yet surprisingly friendly girl, Eila, become his new evil besties?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER The fate of the Chiss Ascendancy hangs in the balance in the epic finale of the Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy from Timothy Zahn. For thousands of years the Chiss Ascendancy has been an island of calm, a center of power, and a beacon of integrity. It is led by...

#1 New York Times bestselling author of A Banquet of Consequences Elizabeth George delivers another masterpiece of suspense in her Inspector Lynley series: a gripping child-in-danger story that tests Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers like never before. Barbara is at a loss: The daughter of her...

Hawk comes to Venice in search of a story, and quickly finds one. A fellow reporter is dead, and all the clues lead to the past. Parts of the puzzle lie beneath one of the city’s murky lagoons. Others lurk in the palatial villa of Count La Scala, a demonic terror-broker whose madness and passion for brutality have their roots in the smoldering ashes of the Nazi’s shattered Reich. In trying to uncover one of history’s greatest secrets, Hawk must save a beautiful woman from La Scala and evade the murderous pursuit of every terrorist group in Europe.

Roaming the west with Doc is a band of wild outlaws including a pair of hate-filled ex-cons and the voluptuous Zenobia “Zee” Swallow, Doc’s kill-crazy lady. The gang have been on a killing spree, leaving a trail of bodies near Ty Brannigan’s Powderhorn spread in Wyoming’s Bear Paw Mountains. U.S. marshals want Ty to help them track down Smilin’ Doc’s bunch. But when the hunt puts the Brannigan clan in the outlaws’ sights, Ty and his kin take justice into their own hands—and deliver it with a furious, final vengeance.

Cmdr. Gen. Rufus Triever is known throughout Valaria for his dogged bravery and unwavering loyalty to his master, Dark Lord Keith Monfort. What the golden retriever shapeshifter is less known for is his love of music, particularly that of renowned bard Bronwynn Lyriel. And when he's tasked with shadowing her to discover whether or not she's secretly an international spy and murderer, his interest goes beyond professional intrigue.

He’s the most notorious cattle rustler in all of Texas. His name — Jebediah Cotton — strikes fear into the hearts of every rancher in the territory. So it’s more than a little strange that someone would shoot Cotton’s youngest son in the back. Whoever did it is either a coward, a fool, or a crazy man. Whoever did it must die. Even if he’s a US deputy marshal named Will Tanner....

In the fourth book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, Ben Ripley enrolls in ski school, where the slopes, and the stakes, get really steep. Thirteen-year-old Ben Ripley is not exactly the best student spy school has ever seen—he keeps flunking Advanced Self Preservation. But...

Villains take center stage in this collection of 19 dark and magical stories. Listeners will be cheering for all the wrong heroes as some of the most fearsome, devious, and brutal antagonists perform savage deeds towards wicked ends. And why not? These characters are the champions of their own stories - evil is a matter of perspective. Contributors also include Mark Adler, Bradley P. Beaulieu, E.V. Morrigan, Peter Orullian, Matthew Ward, Kaaron Warren, Deborah A. Wolf, and Janny Wurts.