Mystery Survival Fiction

Charlie West just woke up in someone else's nightmare. He's strapped to a chair. He's covered in blood and bruises. He hurts all over. And a strange voice outside the door just ordered his death. The last thing he can remember is that he was a normal high-school kid doing normal things. How long ago was that? Where is he now? Who is he really?

Beneath heaven is hell. Beneath hell is Furnace. Furnace Penitentiary. The world's most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth's surface. One way in, no way out. Once you're here, you're here until you die, and for most of the inmates that doesn't take long - not with the sadistic guards and the bloodthirsty gangs. Convicted of a murder he didn't commit, sentenced to life without parole, 'new fish' Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars.

This is more than the story of nuclear conflict. It’s about the devastating effects wrought by nuclear winter. Our possible future is seen through the eyes of the Albright family. Hank Albright, a widower and proprietor of the Driftwood Key Inn, is the epitome of the laid-back islander inhabiting the Keys. His brother, Mike, is a homicide detective for the Monroe County Sheriff’s department. Along with his wife, Jessica, a paramedic and member of the sheriff’s department's water emergency team, they become involved in the investigation of a sadistic serial killer.

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy: sizzling-hot Ian. At first it's exhilarating - Vee and Ian's fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they're directed to a secret location with five other players for the grand-prize round.

A secret island. A sadistic society. And the woman who defies all odds to bring it down. Yesterday, Valoria’s worst problem was getting her sister to school on time. Today, she’s a slave in a perverse world. And an even worse fate awaits her sister if Valoria can’t become a cold-blooded killer. On a private island, the world’s most powerful people recreate their deviant fantasies in cosplay of Ancient Rome. Forced to fight and maim for other’s enjoyment, Valoria’s only hope of survival is to embrace the ruthless teachings of the cold, watchful man assigned to train her.

Sam is dreading senior ski weekend and having to watch after her brother and his best friend, Gavin, to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. Again. Gavin may be gorgeous, but he and Sam have never gotten along. Now they’re crammed into an SUV with three other classmates and Gavin’s dog, heading on a road trip that can’t go by fast enough.

Jackson is always eager to visit his aunt Sarah at her anthropological digs. This time she's in England, at Stonehenge, and Jackson's particularly excited to see the massive and mysterious stone formations in person. But then he sees a young man viciously attacked and witnesses a similar savage attack on his beloved aunt Sarah. A beast no one has ever seen before is on the prowl and Jackson must rush to stop it before it can kill again. Can he solve the mystery of the inhuman monster that is stalking the countryside - before it's too late?

In a frozen wasteland where survival hangs by a thread, Simon Frost and his band of hardened warriors embark on a daring mission. With their lives on the line, they scour the treacherous landscape in search of vital resources to keep their camp alive. But when they encounter a ruthless adversary, they find themselves outnumbered and outmatched as a relentless battle erupts. Bullets tear through the air, and the stench of blood saturates the earth as they fight tooth and nail, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

The area around greater San Francisco was suffering through a killing spree, but not your “run-of-the-mill” killing spree, this perp was different. He didn’t just rape and kill, he actually “staged” his victims in public venues like they were works of art. The people around San Francisco were freaking out, and wanted answers. Everyone’s favorite billionaire, Mr. Araby Triplehorn, stepped up to find a solution. That solution? A quirky private investigator from Arizona, who had received national attention from success on other major cases, Blake Moran.

Dylan is 12 years old and embarking on his first ocean kayaking trip with his parents. He has spent the last year convincing them that he is ready for the challenging - and very dangerous - adventure. In fact, he has been determined to go ever since he heard about the destination: Ireland’s Eye. The small island off the coast of Newfoundland is the easternmost settlement in Canada. Or it was. It is now hauntingly empty, a ghost town clinging to the edge of the unforgiving Atlantic.

The nation is thrown into darkness. Nuclear attacks kill millions. No one is coming to save you. When the warning of an imminent attack on America appears online, Jack assumes it's a hoax. But after the electrical grid is wiped out and a nuclear bomb levels downtown LA, his world crashes down. He's got only minutes to save himself. And the worst part? He's a thousand miles from Annie, his wife. With time running out on the West Coast, Jack must search for safety before it's too late. How can he escape the violence breaking out in LA and make it home to Texas?

Savannah’s friend Tamara Grimaldi was fourteen when her mom was murdered, and the body dumped along the side of Interstate 65 in Indiana. Since then, Grimaldi has kept an eye out for her mother’s killer, first as a homicide detective in Nashville, and now as the chief of police for the city of Columbia, Tennessee, a few miles off I-65.

Graham Salisbury has received numerous high-profile accolades from the ALA, VOYA, and several parent organizations. A Junior Library Guild Premier election, Night of the Howling Dogs is a rousing adventure set in Hawaii. On a Boy Scout trip, Dylan is looking forward to camping out at the foot of the Pu¹u Kapukapu volcano. But when an earthquake strikes, Dylan is forced to team up with a bully named Louie on a daring mission to rescue many of their scattered comrades.

Ever since he woke up ina terrorist torture chamber--with a year of his life erased from his mind - Charlie West has been on the run. He has one desperate hope of getting his life back: track down the mysterious agent named Waterman. But in fact, reaching Waterman - and recovering the secrets lost in his own memory - will only increase his danger. Because a team of ruthless killers is rapidly closing in on him, determined to stop him from finding the answers.

Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn't know whose side he's one or who he can trust. With his pursuers closing in on every side, Charlie makes his way back to his hometown to find some answers.

Turn back the clocks! Your sweet child has morphed into a teen. And it's no longer just a messy bedroom or an attitude with a capital "A" causing concern. There's a whole new range of issues on the horizon. What if your daughter texts a naked picture to a "boyfriend" ...which he then forwards to the entire class? What if your son becomes increasingly withdrawn...Or your child is being bullied online? Would you know what to do? You could read a whole book on teen psychology - but who has the time!

Jeannie Parker married a serial killer. She didn’t know it at the time. But she blames her own demons for steering her into such a black orbit. Now, she’s running for her life... Stumbling through the frozen woods, she’s mad-lucky to find the decrepit cabin. But she can only hide so long. Their final showdown awaits. At least she’s stopped lying to herself about his depravity—so impossible to withstand, let alone outwit. Maybe she doesn’t deserve to get away given her complicity over the years. Still, a budding survival instinct within, Nag, disagrees with her assessment.

Shay, one of the rare survivors of the epidemic sweeping the UK, has surrendered herself to the Army because she believes she's a carrier of the deadly disease. Along with other survivors, she unwillingly becomes a test subject in an effort to find a cure. When the lab where she's being held is attacked, Shay and a few others escape - with the help of Dr. Alex Cross, Kai's hated stepfather and Callie's father. Alex is the leader of the cult-like group Multiverse. Their agenda is murky, but genetic engineering might be one of their goals.

This is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with many nuclear bombs detonated around the planet. It was no longer a topic of conversation around the dinner table as in years past. Nobody was prepared, including the world's governments. Yet the threat was always real, and the devastation was predictable. The damage was incalculable. Millions died at the points of impact. Nuclear winter spread across the globe. A rapidly cooling climate shocked humanity and all living things...to their death.

From the best-selling author of the MEG series comes an action-packed trilogy that takes place during the four-year gap between Meg (book one) and The Trench (book two). While the stories focus on Angel, the Megalodon pup that was captured at the end of book one, in Survival, Steve Alten delves into the major characters and the challenges they faced in being caretakers of the apex predator of all time.