Psychological Thriller Short Stories

That long-ago summer, four friends came face-to-face with strange, dark events they couldn’t explain away. As they grew up and left town, they each tried to forget. Instead, the secrets lingering in the shadowy corners of their minds shaped their lives, haunting each of them in their own way. Now, in this chilling four-part serial by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, it’s time to stop running. It’s time to come home. Featuring: All My Darkest Impulses, Fog Descending, Circling the Drain, and Love the Way You Lie.

The two strikingly original short novels brought together here - in new translations by award-winning translators - were both literary gambles of a sort for Fyodor Dostoevsky. The first real expression of his genius, The Double is a surprisingly modern hallucinatory nightmare in which a minor official named Goliadkin becomes aware of a mysterious doppelgänger. Written 20 years later under the pressure of crushing debt, The Gambler is a stunning psychological portrait of a young man's exhilarating and destructive addiction.

In a town where the corrupt are protected, a bereaved mother seeks retribution for an arsonist’s crimes. Only Nameless can help ease the burden of her grief - and satisfy her rage - in part four of this thrilling series. After a suspicious house fire, Regina Belmont lost her two children, was left disfigured, and was abandoned by her gutless husband. Brokenhearted and bullied into silence by corrupt officials, Regina’s only recourse for truth and justice is Nameless. There’s something about this case that’s breaking Nameless’s heart as well. But can he bear to remember why?

A terrorist attack in the news leaves Nameless reeling from a disturbing vision. But it’s not a glimpse of the future. It’s a recovered memory that’s opening a window into his mysterious past. Uncharacteristically forthcoming—and unexpectedly personal—Nameless’s handlers have no choice but to emerge from the shadows. The indoctrinating factions of his visions are growing in number. What’s more, their chilling symbol of totalitarian control is now linked to the highest powers in the country.

This could be the most important mission of Nameless’s life. Because it’s putting him on a collision course with his own past and the nation’s future. The target: a fortified redoubt in the golden hills of California, the hub of a new world order that’s unthinkably close at hand. The time has come for Nameless to face its designer: the nihilist mastermind behind the One Solution. It’s also time for Nameless to discover who he is and was, and what brought him to this fateful endgame. But will the truth be a breaking point? Or a turning point?

This issue of Assemble Artifacts is packed with thrillers, sci-fi, horror, and more. It features Hongfei Liu's brilliant artwork and stories of elite survival, supernatural battles, and eerie mysteries. You'll find haunting twists on a childhood tale, genetic secrets with life-or-death stakes, and unsettling explorations of relationships under pressure.

The legendary writer Patricia Highsmith is best remembered today for her chilling psychological thrillers The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. A critically acclaimed, best-selling author in Europe, Highsmith has for too long been underappreciated in the United States. Eleven is Highsmith's first collection of short stories, an arresting group of dark masterpieces of obsession and foreboding, violence and instability.

In these psychologically daring, chillingly suspenseful pieces, the author of We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde writes about women facing threats past and present, once again cementing her reputation for "great intelligence and dead-on imaginative powers" (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

A deadly black widow has eliminated three husbands and counting. But Nameless knows her one weakness. To bring truth and its consequences to her crimes, the vigilante must spin a web of his own in part three of the Nameless series. Lucia - current last name, Rickenbah - has made a fortune by marrying rich men who tend to drop dead. But the superstitious blonde believes in more than money and murder. Nameless’s job is to scare a confession out of Lucia, and as the psychological warfare escalates, even he may be in for a shock.

Thirty-four years ago, on October 31, poor Hannah Talbott took part in a scavenger hunt gone violently wrong. The mean girls made sure of it. To this day, for a haunted local mother, the most unsettling Halloween costume of all is an urban legend they call Hannah-Beast. It’s a reminder of the past she can’t forget. Especially tonight when it’s come back, so close to home.

A series of suspicious deaths in a retirement home draws Nameless into the confidence of a terrified former resident - and into the dark heart of a shocking conspiracy. In part five of the Nameless series, it’s time to hunt. Oakshore Park is Michigan’s most exclusive assisted-living community. Presided over by two killer angels of mercy, it’s also THE go-to facility in assisted dying. For a cut, they make impatient heirs happy. Nameless must concoct a scheme just as cunning.

Evie and her daughter, Asteria, are fleeing an abusive cult when they meet a stranger in an abandoned Arizona shopping mall. Fate hasn’t set Nameless on their trail. It’s a premonition, and a chance to make reparations for a failure from his past he can’t even remember. This time, Nameless must do everything in his power not to fail those who trust him with their lives.

What strange science made Nameless who he is? What catastrophes have been erased from his memories? In the stunning conclusion of this series, the dark past comes flooding back, and Nameless must decide how much he really wants to know. In Indiana, a murderous psycho has kidnapped his own six-year-old stepson, Jamie, and secreted him away in a subterranean cave. It’s become their bunker. For Nameless, the case is breaking down his defenses, and it may force him to face his memories.

Lack of sleep is a form of torture. And Emily has been tortured for six months now. Ever since her sister unexpectedly died, Emily’s sleeping pattern died too. And now her sanity is in question. The once cozy confines of her home have become a maze of unsettling noises and eerie occurrences. Every creak and every oddity feels like an intruder lurking just out of sight.

Adela Bess is a recent graduate in the field of psychology. She has an interview to work with the prominent doctor, Ferris Hoover. She has heard nothing but great things about him. However, the hospital is in shambles and the patients are in poor condition. The plan is for Ms. Bess to work side by side with Dr. Hoover assisting him in his psychiatric work

Meet the extraordinary Kendra Michaels in this gripping short story by the #1 bestselling duo of Iris and Roy Johansen. Kendra Michaels's astonishing powers of observation and analysis have made her a go-to for law enforcement agencies all across the country. Her other senses, hyper-developed...

When Dan accidentally grabs the wrong luggage at the airport, he stumbles upon a shocking discovery - a stolen masterpiece by Vincent van Gogh. Suddenly thrust into the dangerous world of international art theft, Dan must outwit a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing to reclaim the priceless painting. This gripping thriller explores the dark underbelly of the art world and the high-stakes risks one man must take to do the right thing.

In a world obsessed with the pursuit of immortality, a brilliant scientist unveils a secret elixir that promises eternal life. As billionaires vie for this coveted prize, their desires set in motion a chain of events that will expose the dark consequences of unchecked ambition. In The Elixir's Curse, the boundaries of human existence are redefined, and the price of immortality is revealed in a gripping tale of power, vanity, and wisdom.

Join Lyla’s therapy sessions and step into her mind. Come on in and hear her story, but be warned - you will not be able to leave until she has answers. Told by Lyla herself, she is ready to disclose all to her psychiatrist - in return for his help. A last attempt to heal her soul. Meeting the love of her life, Peter, seemed the perfect escape.

Though she cannot entirely discount the effects of the head injuries they were both suffering at the time, Mary Russell is delighted by Sherlock Holmes' proposal of marriage. After all, they have become partners in crime, and she has recently come into her inheritance: What remains but to confirm the union with her mentor-turned-partner with the piece of paper?