Paranormal Thriller Suspense

Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross is renowned for his cutting-edge science fiction. This third entry in his “edgy … spoof of Cold War spy thrillers” ( Booklist) finds covert agent Bob Howard learning about a top-secret dossier that vanishes with his boss. Determined to discover the contents of this memorandum, Howard runs afoul of Russian spies, ancient demons, and apostles of a hideous cult planning to raise the Eater of Souls from the undead.

Waking up in a tacky coffin and wearing off-brand shoes, Betsy Taylor can't believe the horrible turn her life has taken; then she discovers she's a vampire. Soon, Betsy becomes a participant in a power struggle between the forces of darkness. With only her friend Jessica and the hunky vampire Sinclair to help her, this new "Queen of Vampires" will have a tough time getting her afterlife straight.

The first story ever told left a scar on the skin of the universe, with its characters doomed to an endless cycle of reincarnation and death. Trapped by his enemies, Daniel Faust - magician, mobster, and newly-minted knight of hell - has been cast in the role of the eternal Thief. Now, the story is dead-set on writing his final chapter, the one that ends with a knife in his back. The curse can’t be broken without tracking down the original Thief. The truth is buried beneath the legacy of a long-dead stage magician and a cache of occult relics from the 1940s.

Chicago, 1932. Mick Oberon may look like just another private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he's got pointy ears and he's packing a wand.

For residents of Salem, Massachusetts, the day after Halloween brings empty candy wrappers, sagging pumpkins, and a community-wide identity crisis. That is, until Lee Barrett's TV production class suggests extending the spooky season with the traditional Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos. But when the students discover not all of Salem's dead are resting in peace, the post-October blues don't seem so bad after all....

The third book in Kat Richardson's best-selling Greywalker series, Underground features heroine Harper Blaine, walker of the shadowy line between the living and the dead. Seattle's homeless are turning up dead and mutilated, and zombies have been seen stalking the Underground. Harper sets out to find the source, and soon comes to realize she's tangling with an ancient evil.

Murder, sabotage, a talking mouse, and a high-school reunion - life is getting busy for part-time journalist and full-time Slip Witch Harlow Torrent. When the family businesses come under attack, the Torrent Witches gear up for war...except a little Slip magic problem gets out of hand. Is it the work of the diabolical Coldwell family or a dark force intent on mayhem?

My name is Nora Black, and I'm 51 years young. At least that's what I tell myself, when I'm not having hot flashes; my knees don't hurt; and I can find my reading glasses. I'm also the proud owner of a salon called Scents & Scentsability in the small resort town of Garden Cove, where I make a cozy living selling handmade bath and beauty products. All in all, my life is pretty good. Except for one little glitch.

Possessed of an extraordinary telekinetic gift - she can make objects burst into flames - Dahlia Le Blanc has spent her life isolated from other people. But just when she thinks she's finally achieved some peace, her world comes crashing down. For a reason she cannot guess, she has become the target of deadly assassins. Suddenly, no place is safe - not even the secret refuge she established long ago. Now she must rely on Nicolas Trevane, a dangerous warrior sent to track her down and protect her.

When the fae beckon, few resist. Even fewer return. As a veil witch, I'm used to taking out the supernatural trash. Everything from poltergeists to vampires, you name it and I've dealt with it. So opening a paranormal cleanup business just seemed to make sense. If I'm already dealing with the pests, why not get paid? But when I accidentally breach the faerie realm to encounter a girl recently reported missing, start seeing the ghost of a witch whose disappearance has never been solved, and discover a Book of Shadows that opens only for me, I can't just go back to business as usual.

Isabeau, the witch, longs to rejoin her sister and her home in these uncertain times, but she must first complete one last task for her teachers. To find her true purpose in life, she must reach the Skull of the World and listen to the silent words of the White Gods. Few survive. But those who do are changed forever. Now, when she does return home, she does so with an extraordinary gift. But when Margrit of Arran decides to take advantage of Lachlan’s absence by kidnapping his son - heir to the throne, Isabeau must learn to use her gifts in the face of evil - and overcome her enemy.

Centuries of political games killed most of the female werewolves. Now only a few survive, and the Elders work to change the old ways of thinking. Winter, the only daughter of the SilverPaw Alpha, finally meets the soul Gaia has chosen for her: Sterling, the cold, demanding, and entirely-too-human Alpha of the tiny SnowFang pack. Thrust into a world of human wealth for which she was never prepared, Winter must become Sterling's flawless wife and Luna from the moment she arrives.

When I was three years old, I was found homeless in the woods, alone and feral. When asked how I survived all of those years by myself, I had one answer: the Shadow Man. I have no memory of that time. No memory of anything, really, before the accident. I rely on stories from my fathers about this supposed imaginary friend. Got into a fight at school? The Shadow Man made me. Stole from a store? He forced me to. Snuck out of the house? He came with me.

Hello. My name is Stevie Cartwright, and I've been witchless for 30 days. If only there was a support group for down-on-their-luck ex-witches who've had their powers slapped right out of them (literally). Just as I was licking my wounds after returning to my hometown of Ebenezer Falls, Washington, and navigating my suddenly nonmagical existence with the help of my familiar, Belfry, things got sticky. Enter an ex-spy and newly departed spirit named Winterbottom, who's infiltrated my life with his sexy British accent and a couple of requests....

In detective Mera Maurea's experience, three things motivate a murder: secrets, convenience, or passion. But none of the three can explain why the Summer King is dead. With a tight deadline hanging over her head, Mera has to figure out who's the culprit before the frail balance that holds the nation of Tagrad together crumbles into dust. To aid her - or turn her life into a living hell, hard to tell which - is her fae partner Sebastian Dhay, a snarky detective with a penchant for the illegal. He's a volatile wild card who will do anything to solve the murder, even if it means his doom.

Lee Barrett has agreed to attend a storage auction with Aunt Ibby - even though she suspects the forgotten rooms will yield more junk than treasure. Her skepticism vanishes once the two win a bid on an overlooked locker and uncover a trove of beautiful curiosities, including a stunning wooden carousel horse with gentle eyes and fading paint. But just before Lee leaves the fairground relic at a local repair shop, the sight of a silver samovar awakens her psychic abilities and conjures visions of murder.

No one is like Daemon Black. When he set out to prove his feelings for Katy, he wasn't fooling around. Doubting him isn't something she'll do again and now that they've made it through the rough patches, well, there's a lot of spontaneous combustion going on. But even he can't protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they loved. With help coming from the most unlikely source and Adam's death still lingering with those who loved him, friends will become the deadliest of enemies and the villains will no longer be clear.

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to digest.

This second novel in the acclaimed Greywalker series finds PI Blaine Harper investigating a chilling case as Halloween approaches. After university researchers create an artificial poltergeist, the team leader suspects someone is faking the phenomena. When a student is murdered, Blaine is asked to investigate. Stepping into the spirit world, she realizes the haunting may be very real. But that doesn't necessarily mean a ghost did the killing.

Mina's excited to attend the annual Argleton Jane Austen Experience at the stately Baddesley Hall. It's just what she needs after all the recent murders - a whole weekend of dancing with Morrie, attending poetry readings with Quoth, and helping Heathcliff field marriage proposals from adoring fans. But murder and intrigue follow Mina everywhere. When an eminent Austen scholar is run through with his own sword, Mina and her boys must solve the mystery before the killer claims another victim.