Middle Thriller

A first-time author. A hotshot book editor. A whirlwind romance and a runaway bestseller nobody saw coming. The meteoric rise and sudden collapse of a cross-platform media empire. All of this - plus a basement full of undiscovered treasures left by former tenants - is thoughtfully unpacked and dusted off in this sideways collection of small, strange fictions. SITM is a light-hearted 44-story collection of mostly free-standing stories surrounding a framed narrative that explores how these tales were created.

Jack Rybicki is a high school senior who loves his girl, likes to party, and doesn't have much of a plan for his life. Then fate plucks him from obscurity and Jack, now renamed Jack Noble by his management team, becomes one of the most famous people on the planet. A teenager who likes to indulge himself with limitless resources is not the best recipe for a successful life. But, it's never too late in Middle Falls.

The summer of 1990 started out fine. Reem was about to enter his Junior year, and the architectural degree would put him on track to achieve his 5-year plan. Life in California was different from his childhood as the second son of a Kuwaiti millionaire. He loved USC. August 2, 1990, everything changed. Reem had worked hard to hide his wealth. He just wanted to be a regular college kid. Finding a girlfriend wasn't part of the plan, but he adored Sarah. She wasn't what his mother would have wanted for him, but then in an instant, none of that mattered.

An Israeli government minister is assassinated in the home of his mistress. Days later, a Mossad officer leads his final raid, killing a Hamas leader in his bed and barely escaping with his life. The action moves into the near future, when world leaders, united under the leadership of a visionary female president of the United States, broker a major compromise between Israel and the Palestinian authority. Their hope is to snuff out the violent flashpoint that fuels global terrorism.

A cross between Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and a bartender from Cheers, Sally Witherspoon, a fifty-something accountant turned biker-bar owner, loves solving puzzles. Up to now, she has focused on helping neighbors and friends find lost jewelry, lost pets, and lost loves. But when she finds her best friend and business partner, Bill Arnold, dead in a dumpster behind the bar, she needs all her wits and grit to find out who murdered him.

After twenty-one years of being overshadowed by her ex-husband, Winnie Hackleshack never had the opportunity to explore her adventurous side. But what does a forty-something divorced woman do to revitalize her spirit? She gets a rescue dog, buys a motorhome, and sets off for adventures unknown. Except the adventures include getting mixed up in a murder investigation.

An urgent phone call from principal/friend Antonio Petrocelli sends retired music teacher Susan Wiles rushing through the doors of Westbrook Middle School, where she discovers a missing bookkeeper and a ransacked office. Eager to keep the break-in quiet, the principal enlists her help.

When her sense of safety is shattered, a young girl realizes she must become something untamable—even otherworldly—to find freedom, in this visceral coming-of-age horror debut. A man’s body is found viciously murdered behind a neighborhood corner store, sending shockwaves through the...

Raised in a sanctuary hotel for spies, the daughter of one of its top agents is determined to follow in her mother’s footsteps and use her hard-won spy skills to help others in Confessions of a Junior Spy, a fun, fast-paced, middle grade series opener by Rosaria Munda. Bea dreams of becoming a...

Edi has collected antiques and ghost stories for as long as they can remember. Some old objects buzz with history, and when Edi touches them, they see fragments of the item's story. But are the visions real? Edi desperately wants to believe in the supernatural until a mysterious ghost transforms their mom into a mannequin. Helped by Delilah, a thirteen-year-old psychic, Edi researches local hauntings to untangle how and why their mom became a mannequin. When Edi finally employs their ability to see an artifact's history, they learn the terrifying truth.

Fifties are the new forties and I'm living my best life ever. I may have a few more aches and pains, graying roots, and couple extra pounds, but I also have two quirky best friends who always have my back, business is booming, and my love life has never been better or hotter. That is until my sweetie Ezra Holden invites me home for Christmas to meet his family. The season is full of surprises in Ezra's hometown, like a missing cousin, a case of mistaken identity, and a slew of painful memories—none of them my own.

A riveting thriller about a damaged undercover detective navigating a web of politicians, drug lords, missing persons, and his own flawed department, perfect for readers of Tana French, Don Winslow and Dennis Lehane. Infiltrating the inner circle of enigmatic criminal Zain Carver is...

Three years have passed, and Ally's memories of her kidnapping and torture still haunt her. Determined to keep her demons at bay, David refuses to leave her side. Until....the lies woven to protect come unraveled. Ally has no choice but to return to the land that once imprisoned her.

Nora Best is the envy of her friends. She's just turned 50 and has traded in her home with The Perfect-Ass Husband for an Airstream trailer and an adventure of a lifetime across the US. But during their leaving party, Nora finds her husband in a compromising position with a friend. Storming out of the party, she jumps into her truck with no idea how to tow the Airstream or where she's going. Nora ends up in a campground in the mountains of Wyoming, drowning her sorrows with its managers, Brad and Miranda.

Eight years before Denny Colbert was born, his father was involved in a tragic accident that killed 22 children. Now Denny is 16, and all he wants is to be like other kids his age. But he isn't allowed to answer the telephone or have a driver's license, and his family is constantly moving from town to town - all because people can't forget what happened long ago.

When a young teen discovers a top-secret parenting manual, it’s kids versus grown-ups in this kooky, illustrated middle grade thriller with nonstop, seat-of-your-pants action that will delight fans of Jarrett Lerner and Stuart Gibbs. When a tween boy [Codename: Furious Popcorn] picks up what...

Rosie's led a charmed life with her loving dad, who runs the town donut shop. It's true her mother abandoned them when Rosie was just a baby, but her dad's all she's ever needed. But now that her father's had a stroke, Rosie lives with her tough-as-nails grandfather. And her beloved dog, Gloaty Gus, has just gone missing. Rosie's determined to find him. With the help of a new friend and her own determination, she'll follow the trail anywhere...no matter where it leads. If she doesn't drive the whole world crazy in the meantime.

From a New York Times bestselling author, secret agent Jason Bourne can't help but feel connected to a man who also has amnesia—and the truth behind his identity could save Bourne's life. The man Jason Bourne fishes out of the freezing sea is near death. He awakens with no memory of who he is...

Something's brewing at the National Portrait Gallery Museum in Washington DC - 12-year-old Art is sure of it. But his only proof that a grand heist is about to take place is iced mocha, 42 steps, and a mysterious woman who appears like clockwork in the museum. When Art convinces his best friend, Camille, that the heist is real, the two begin a thrilling chase through DC to uncover a villainous scheme that could be the biggest heist since the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum theft in 1990.

Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she's always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It's Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world! The journey to Planet 80 UMa c is supposed to be just a fun camping trip. But then the local wildlife starts acting really dangerous. Only the onboard computer SABRINA sorta knows what's happening - at least when it's not goofing off or telling bad jokes.