Science Mysteries

When itinerant cave diver James Tighe receives an invitation to billionaire Nathan Joyce's private island, he thinks it must be a mistake. But Tighe's unique skill set makes him a prime candidate for Joyce's high-risk venture to mine a near-Earth asteroid - with the goal of kick-starting an entire off-world economy. The potential rewards and personal risks are staggering, but the competition is fierce, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Isolated and pushed beyond their breaking points, Tighe and his fellow 21st-century adventurers must rely on each other to survive....

Are you who they say you are? London, 2052. An ID tag is embedded in the flesh of your neck. Your every move is tracked. Your genes tell the State nearly everything about you. Everything you were. Everything you are. Everything you will be. For Freya, Kane, and the rest of this fledgling generation, the battle to break free of their genetic horoscopes will not be without bloodshed....

In The Profession, Pressfield taps his considerable well of military knowledge to craft a piece of speculative fiction set in 2032. With corporate and private powers wielding their own military forces, an exiled American general plans to return to the U.S. and claim the presidency for his own. Only his closest confidant stands any chance of defeating him.

The study of twins and the genetics of aggression totally consumes research scientist Jeannie Ferrami. An accomplished and headstrong researcher, Jeannie has developed a sophisticated software program to identify identical twins reared apart. But Jeannie's breakthrough project is threatened by the appearance of a sudden impossibility - identical twins born weeks apart to different mothers at separate locations.

Who wants to be a superhero? Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (superstrength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life plan?

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.

In this fourth installment of the Minecraft Gamer's Adventure series, Steve receives a distress call from his friends Max, Lucy, and Henry. They have found an abundance of treasure in a temple, but they can't get out! He immediately sets off for the desert to help his friends. Once Steve gets to them, they will all be rewarded with a supply of emeralds, gold ingots, and many other rare treasures.

The Mediator series has earned #1 New York Times best-selling author Meg Cabot unrivaled praise for her portrayal of a smart, courageous heroine. Suze Simon, a mediator who guides ghosts to the afterlife, is having a great time with her best friend from New York. But then four ghosts, the "RLS Angels", show up looking for revenge. The angry spirits died in a car accident and they blame Michael Meducci, a nerdy boy who has a crush on Suze.

The battle for Panama is over, and King Xavier Rodriguez secretly deploys the airship Vanguard to Queensland. The hunt for the Coral Castle is on. The rest of the fleet returns to the Vanguard Islands with new ships and supplies, but tensions rise with rumors of a hidden food cache. When two sky people are murdered, Chief Michael Everhart knows the stage is set for mutiny. And with King Xavier off in search of the Coral Castle, he feels the target on his back.

If Lexi Balefire's matchmaking skills seem like magic, it's for a good reason - being witchy runs in her family. Too bad the family magic has passed her by. Without access to enough power, Lexi might never control the Balefire legacy. Even worse, power might turn her into a wicked witch like her mother and grandmother before her. Lexi can only hope her dedication to bringing soul mates together is enough to counteract her family's sordid past.

Marnie's first big FBI case ended with a bullet in one shoulder and a chip on the other, a queasy heart and a serial killer in the wind, leaving her a public flop and a private wreck. When the FBI's preternatural crimes unit tracks her down at a remote mountain lodge for her insight on a local case, her quiet retirement is promptly besieged by a stab-happy starlet, a rampaging ghoul, and a vampire-hunting jackass in tight Wranglers. Marnie figures the only real mystery is which one will kill her first.

No one's tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

It's time for the Cherry Blossom Girls to become who we're meant to be. Solving murders? Taking on famous Hollywood actresses who have gone rogue? Exposing a terrible government program to the masses? Comes with the territory. One more mutant facility to destroy and we can set our sights on bigger things and faraway places. But it isn't going to be that easy, and there are other factors at play, risks we're going to have to take if we want to expose the truth. I just hope I'm ready to live up to the hype when the time comes.

Blair Wilkes is having a trying week. Her best friend stands accused of murdering a vampire, and dead bodies are showing up in the forest. She knows Alissa is innocent, but with the vampires out for blood - more than usual - tensions in the small town of Fairy Falls are at a tipping point. As if that's not enough, Blair's witchcraft lessons aren't going well, with her wand gaining a life of its own - not to mention her familiar. And then she discovers something startling about her family that puts her burgeoning relationship with former paranormal hunter Nathan under pressure.

Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. Neurosurgeon Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back. Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere.

Doing Time: For the prison writers whose work is included in this anthology, it means more than "serving a sentence"; it means staying alive and sane, preserving dignity, reinventing oneself, and somehow retaining one's humanity. For the last quarter century the prestigious writers' organization PEN has sponsored a contest for writers behind bars to help prisoners face these challenges. The contest honors the best short stories, plays, essays, and poems among hundreds submitted annually by men and women nationwide.

Nestled amid picture-perfect mountains, the idyllic town of Wayward Pines is a modern-day Eden—at least at first glance. Except that within its fences, the residents are told where to work, how to live, and who to marry. None of them know how they got here. Some believe they are dead. Others think they’re trapped in an unfathomable experiment. Everyone secretly dreams of leaving, but those who dare face a terrifying surprise. As sheriff, Ethan Burke is tasked with enforcing the town’s laws, and he’s one of the few entrusted with the truth.

Emilia is reeling from the shocking discovery that her twin sister, Vittoria, is alive. But before she faces the demons of her past, Emilia yearns to claim her king, the seductive Prince of Wrath, in the flesh. Emilia doesn’t simply desire his body, she wants his heart and soul—but that’s something the enigmatic demon can’t promise her. When a high-ranking member of House Greed is assassinated, Emilia and Wrath are drawn to the rival demon court. Damning evidence points to Vittoria as the murderer, and she’s quickly declared an enemy of the Seven Circles.

Rosie Daniels leaves her husband, Norman, after 14 years in an abusive marriage. She is determined to lose herself in a place where he won't find her. She'll worry about all the rest later. Alone in a strange city, she begins to make a new life, and good things finally start to happen. Meeting Bill is one, and getting an apartment is another. Still, it's hard for Rosie not to keep looking over her shoulder, and with good reason. Norman is a cop, with the instincts of a predator.

Christmas is coming to Beechwood Harbor, but will the manor residents be ready for his magical visit? With mischief and mystery at every turn, Holly and friends have to rally to save Christmas before it's too late! A Very Beechwood Christmas includes four mini mysteries set around a wild and magical Christmas when the real Santa Claus comes to town!