Humorous Thriller

Dark Reading Matter is the 8th and final novel in the New York Times bestselling Thursday Next series, following 2012’s The Woman Who Died a Lot.

All Doreen Diller wanted was to be an A-List movie star. But after finding out her family in Florida is related to the mob, she may have to settle for Plan B—a hasty exit, stage right. Sophia, the reigning Godmother, is about to turn one hundred. But someone is determined to end her centennial celebration with a bang and grab the throne for themselves.

Everybody’s got their coping mechanisms. Val Fremden is no exception. But when her longtime boyfriend Tom Foreman takes off without even saying goodbye—well, that’s just the kind of thing that can make a good woman go bad. Out to track down Tom or die trying, everyone Val meets seems like a potential suspect. Especially her new coworker, Gary. Ever since he showed up, women around town have begun disappearing. And the macabre clues left behind at each woman’s last known address keep Val on the run like a chicken with its head cut off.

There’s a new craze at Dread Wood High. Flinch is a game of fear. The more you scare your friends, the more points on the app you get. At first it’s fun, but soon fun is replaced by fear. And Angelo and his friends notice that everyone is behaving more and more strangely every day—almost as if something is taking over their brains. With the fair arriving in town, adrenaline and excitement levels are high. But who are the people behind the super-creepy clown masks? With fights breaking out and Flinch in full force, it’s time for the final showdown at the Fear Ground.

Dangerous secrets lie in the audio of this book. Okay, I warned you. But if you think I'll give anything away or tell you that this is the sequel to my first literary endeavor, The Name of This Book Is Secret, you're wrong. I'm not going to remind you of how we last left our heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest, as they awaited initiation into the mysterious Terces Society, or the ongoing fight against the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais.

Will Noah and Violet finally defeat Daniel and his crew of rainbow griefers? Violet and Noah's village is celebrating the new amusement park opening in town. Everyone is enjoying the fun rides and tasty food. But when Noah spots a rainbow griefer in the village carrying blocks of TNT, the celebration suddenly stops. Before the townspeople can do anything about the dangerous interloper, the roller coaster explodes! The accident with the roller coaster is blamed on Noah and Violet's frequent enemy, Daniel.

Doreen’s acting career was in the dumpster—until she played a serial killer on TV. Now she can’t seem to live the infamy down. It’s not helping that her Aunt Edna is a member of the Southern mafia. Or that the gang of elderly ladies at Edna’s apartment complex consider Doreen their rising new star.

While serving school detention in the soup kitchen at St. Mary's Church, Sammy finds herself the prime suspect in the theft of Father Mayhew's ivory cross. But there have been other robberies at the church recently, and as Sammy attempts to discover the real thief, all the suspects appear to be religious figures who are above suspicion. That is, until Sammy cuts through disguises to uncover an enormous heist!

Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a "lucky" bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn't specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck.

Take an exit off the Jersey Turnpike to the irresistible world of Stephanie Plum, America's favorite bounty hunter, where she gets into more trouble than ever. This time, she faces a notorious gang in Trenton who wants her dead. Morelli warns that she's in too deep, and Stephanie more than agrees.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way . . . and she always gets her man. In To the Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.

When a chance encounter with a pickpocket leads to something more sinister, avid sleuth Patricia Fisher swings into action. The Aurelia is on its way to Thailand, but a mystery illness is spreading among crew and passengers. Is there a link between it and a world-famous immunologist on board? There is something very strange about his companions and their behaviour, but no one wants to listen to Patricia’s outlandish theories.

Barker Mifflin never leaves home without his go bag, his army boots, and his trusty flyswatter. As the town of Nevermind’s resident eleven-year-old survivalist, Barker knows catastrophe can strike anytime, anywhere. But now that school is out for the summer, he might be able to let his guard down. After all, he and his friends all got jobs picking strawberries at McFadden Farm. What could possibly go wrong?

Isobel Avery is on her second assignment as an undercover poison taster for Los Angeles's rich and famous. And she's actually enjoying herself. Until her sweet, agoraphobic client mysteriously leaves the safety of his apartment and winds up dead. When crucial evidence goes missing, investigator Connor Stiles will need Izzy's inside knowledge to help track down the killer. But despite three months of absence to make Connor's heart grow fonder, he doesn't seem pleased to be working with her again.

Cecil Younger never thought it would come to this: providing surveillance for a chicken coop being raided by a fowl thief. But things have not exactly been breaking right lately for the Alaskan P.I. The logical thing to do? Take a vacation, of course. Well, it's not exactly a vacation. Younger has been paid to investigate a doctor aboard a luxurious first-class cruise ship up the Alaskan coast. Except passengers are dying. Now Younger finds himself trapped on a ship of fools with a murderer who is leaving a trail of well-to-do passengers in his wake...and leaving evidence pointing an accusing finger at Cecil!

Noah and Violet, treasure hunters and protectors of the Overworld, are back in this fifth installment of the League of Griefers series. When skeletons corner Noah and Violet, the duo escapes through a portal to the Nether. Trouble brews as Noah accidently leaves the portal open, and the mobs from the Overworld enter the Nether. Noah and Violet must battle hostile mobs from both worlds to survive. Taking shelter in a Nether Fortress, they befriend treasure hunters who help them battle the mobs.

The last freelance PI on earth, Zach Johnson has been hired to track down a young beauty who happens to be a deadly secret weapon for the World Council. Figuring girls just want to have fun, he follows Natasha to various vacation destinations, but she eludes him, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. Zach, however, isn’t surprised to discover that things aren’t what they seem, and to save the world, he’s going to have to find a way to team up with the woman he’s supposed to destroy....

Stuck working in a run-down thrift shop, Val yearns for a way out—a destiny that doesn’t involve sorting used clothes by how repulsive they smell. The only problem is, Val is in debt to her boss all the way up to her sweaty armpits. Desperate to find a way out of her dead-end job, Val decides to clean up her act, even if it means giving up her most precious possessions. But her attempt to turn over a new leaf won't be easy. And Val is about to find out that one good deed doesn’t necessarily lead to another.

The world of Minecraft comes to life in this thrilling adventure! Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, but above all else, he loved to griefto intentionally ruin the gaming experience for other users. When one of his father’s inventions teleports him into the game, Gameknight is forced to live out a real-life adventure inside a digital world. What will happen if he’s killed? Will he respawn? Die in real life? Stuck in the game, Gameknight discovers Minecraft’s best-kept secret, something not even the game’s programmers realize.

Ruby Redfort’s not your average kid. She’s super-smart, always ice-cool, not to mention a gadget-laden secret agent with a talent for breaking codes. And she can keep her mouth shut…can’t she? Ruby and her butler, Hitch, work for an undercover crime-busting organization, where break-ins, daring rescues, and life-or-death situations are all in a day’s work. But always remember Rule #1: You can never be completely sure what might happen next.