Noir Mystery Thriller Suspense

1850: Charles Dickens is in Manchester, performing at the Queen's Theatre with his acting group. But his career on the stage is cut short when a man is shot dead - on set. With Dickens himself caught with the gun in his hands, he is immediately arrested. Along with the help of his good friend Superintendent Sam Jones, Dickens must do all he can to find the real killer, before he is locked up for a crime he didn't commit. Can Dickens convince the authorities of his innocence? Will he unmask the true assassin?

Dany Longo is blonde, beautiful—and thoroughly unpredictable. After doing a favor for her boss, she finds herself behind the wheel of his exquisite Thunderbird on a sun-kissed Parisian morning. On impulse, she decides to head south. What started as an impromptu joyride rapidly takes a turn for the chilling when strangers all along the unfamiliar route swear they recognize Dany from the previous day. But that’s impossible: She was at work, she was in Paris, she was miles away...wasn’t she?

Southend-on-Sea, Essex: Detective Sergeant Tomek Bowen — driven, dogged, and haunted by the death of his brother — is called to one of the most shocking crime scenes he has ever seen. A man has been ritualistically murdered and dumped in an allotment near the local airport. Early investigations indicate this was a man with a past. A past that earned him many enemies. But when another victim is found murdered under similar circumstances, it becomes clear that Bowen is on the trail of a serial offender.

Local weather reporter Suzanne Maretto craves nothing more than to transcend life at her suburban cable television news station and follow in the footsteps of her idol: Barbara Walters. When she concludes that her unglamorous husband is getting in the way of her dream of stardom, the solution seems obvious: Get rid of him. She seduces a 15-year-old admirer, Jimmy, and persuades him to do her dirty work. Mission accomplished, Suzanne takes to the airwaves in her new role as grieving widow, in search of a TV deal. If that means selling Jimmy down the river, she’s ready.

Basil Stark isn’t the man he once was. A reformed pirate and private detective, he walks the line between criminal and hero, living in the corners of what was once the island of Neverland, its magic slowly fading into the new world of the 1950s. But when a routine missing-persons case turns into a murder investigation, Basil finds himself pulled into a tale of organized crime, murder, unstitched shadows and dangerous espionage. With only a handful of fellow outcasts and a stubborn determination to bring a killer to justice, will he survive the many people who want him dead?

Professional ballerina Thea Ross’s world shatters when her screen-legend father commits suicide, leaving behind a shocking confession to a decades-old murder. Determined to uncover the truth, Thea teams up with a relentless journalist, following a trail of clues that leads her back to the glittering yet treacherous world of 1930s Hollywood. There, she discovers the story of Lorelei Davies, a struggling actress willing to endure anything for her family’s sake.

In the court of the “King”, everyone knows their place. But as the Artist wins hearts and egos with his ballads, uncomfortable truths emerge that shake the Kingdom to its core. Part surreal fable and part narco-lit romance, this prize-winning novel from Yuri Herrera questions the price of keeping your integrity in a world ruled by patronage and power.

Brand-new stories by: Daniel Woodrell, Matthew Eck, Catherine Browder, Nancy Pickard, John Lutz, J. Malcolm Garcia, Kevin Prufer, Linda Rodriguez, Nadia Pflaum, Phong Nguyen, Andres Rodriguez, and others. Kansas City: where East and West collide, where naked ambition meets broken dreams, where blues and the night go together like rye whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Yes, Kansas City is a surprising place of grit, gore, and betrayal, at least in the imaginations of our diverse lineup of contributors.

Meet Mason Ezekiel Barnes, former NFL tackle turned successful author. Mason is obsessed with winning a Pulitzer and is thwarted by his fellow author and nemesis, the twerpy little gnome Conrad Bancroft. Mason spends his days writing at a local cafe, Perk Noir, the one-of-a-kind jazz coffee shop. He's obsessed with the life of jazz great Earl "Lightning" Perkins, former owner of the Perk Noir. One day, unexpectedly in walks Shelly, a fan of Mason's books. Shelly has a mysterious pocket watch she recently inherited. She convinces Mason to assist her in unraveling its history.

It begins when Harry Starke and his team, including an aging Vietnam vet with a taste for violence, are recruited by the FBI to track down an elite Iranian military unit armed with a tactical nuclear weapon.

It all comes down to Who is Perh Cushing, the mystery man who controls all the crime worldwide. Well, the search is on. He owns New York, Chicago, Detroit, and others. He funds Terrorist organizations, Finances every illegal origination known, and gives to charities. That's right, he is also a very charitable man, but who is? Well, that's what everyone wants to know.

Even spies need a vacation. Paris. Amsterdam. Vienna. But what happens when the president's top asset, the warriors of the Jefferson Group, get taken by surprise as they enjoy their well-earned time off in Europe? Not only does the enemy want to wipe out the Jefferson Group, they're also plotting to harpoon the president before the November election. Will Cal Stokes and his team escape the enemy's net, and will the president survive the election?

When Amos Walker was a teen, he had a poster of Gail Hope on his wall. A 60s bombshell in the beach-blanket tradition, she has fallen hard since her glory days as one of the dying studio system’s final starlets. But when she calls on Amos Walker she remains as lovely as ever: an elegant beauty with a $750,000 problem.

Raymundo Betancourt es el ciudadano modelo: profesionista honesto y responsable, solidario y comprometido con el bienestar de su comunidad. Pero como la vida no sólo es trabajo, también se permite dos sencillos placeres cotidianos: los chicles de canela y las niñas que mantiene secuestradas en su sótano. El monstruo pentápodo nos enfrenta sin ambages ni eufemismos con la mente oscura del asesino, del psicópata adorable y manipulador ante cuyos encantos sucumbió Aimeé - otra “pequeña”, pero a su modo - hasta el punto de volverse cómplice a cambio de un poco de amor.

Joe is a retired Special Forces operative with a bad case of PTSD and some substance abuse issues, moonlighting as a fixer for the most powerful crime families in town. In his newest assignment, Joe is sent to take out a shadowy figure named Zahir, who made the New York crime families' hit list by hijacking heroin shipments bound for US dealers and funneling the money to terror cells. Which means that Gotham's underbelly has brought Joe back to the one place in the world he doesn't want to revisit.

It has been three years since Detective Jonathan Stanton solved the most brutal murder in San Diego's history, and as a result found himself in the middle of the worst police corruption scandal in memory. Choosing a less high-profile position, Stanton is nevertheless reluctantly dragged into the violent world of The Sandman. The Sandman is clever, ruthless, and cautious. He leaves no evidence in his wake and takes a morbid interest in those that chase him. Believing Stanton to be his parallel, he finds an affinity for the detective. One that Stanton may not survive.

When old bones are discovered buried beside an A road, it becomes clear that Leon Martin—dubbed "The Ken Doll Killer" by the tabloid press—may not have taken his life 21 years ago. As Boyd investigates the old case file, it becomes clear that there may be new bodies buried at lay-bys around the country—more than that, something incredible was overlooked by the original investigating team.

Tommy, a New York City firefighter with a distrust for law enforcement, goes on a vigilante mission after his sister's mysterious murder in California. Many more innocents are marked for death. And he's closer to the elusive leader than the FBI. Tommy must overcome his own criminal past to stop him before the biggest slaughter yet.

Half a million dollars in drug proceeds, guarded by three men with automatic weapons - for professional thief Crissa Stone and her team, stealing it was the easy part. But when the split goes awry in a blaze of gunfire, Crissa finds herself on the run with a duffel bag full of stolen cash, bound by a promise to deliver part of the take to the needy family of one of her slain partners.

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies with Sidney Noir. This collection comprises of all new stories set in Sidney, Australia, by 14 authors of crime fiction....