Short Thrillers Suspense

Beautifully and authentically rendered by actor and playwright Adrian Vargas, these twelve stories tell of the almost unendurable journey most migrant campesinos undertake to find the "American Dream."

Hitches, Hideouts & Homicide: Mae West finds herself in a dangerous situation when she finds a treasure map that leads to more than just treasure...a dead body! Assailants, Asphalt & Alibis: This year the treasure hunters have descended upon Normal and staying in Happy Trails Campground. Once again, Mae and the Laundry Club ladies, along with Mary Elizabeth, find themselves doing things they never thought they'd never do. Go on a treasure hunt! Valleys, Vehicles & Victims: When a wedding party shows up at Happy Trails Campground, Mae West is thrilled.

It is ancient Rome, and Gordianus the Finder has a knack for finding trouble. Known to many as the one man in the ancient world who can both keep a secret and uncover one, Gordianus lays bare some of his most intriguing and compelling adventures.

Winner takes all? That’s not just a motto, but a lifestyle for Avery Shaw. She wants to win at all costs. Of course, she wants to help others, too. That comes second to winning, but it’s often a byproduct. Avery is a reporter about town, and there’s no story she won’t doggedly pursue, especially if she can scoop every other news reporter in the Detroit area and claim the glory for herself. This three-book omnibus includes: On Deadline & Under Fire, Above the Fold & Below the Belt, and Oracles & Obituaries.

THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN THE TOTALLY BINGE-WORTHY GRACE MCKENNA MYSTERY SERIES!

A Christmas party is punctuated by a gunshot under a policeman’s watchful eye. A jewel heist is planned amidst the glitz and glamour of Oxford Street’s Christmas shopping. And lost in a snowstorm, a man finds a motive for murder.... This collection of mysteries explores the darker side of the festive season, from unexplained disturbances in the fresh snow to the darkness that lurks beneath the sparkling decorations.

Now a major motion picture, Stephen King's brilliant and terrifying story of a marriage with truly deadly secrets. Darcy Anderson’s husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his routine business trips when the unsuspecting Darcy looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up...

These six cases are among the last undertaken by Sherlock Holmes before he retired to the Sussex downs. However, the problems facing the sleuth are as diverse and challenging as ever. What with seeking the whereabouts of the stolen Mazarin Diamond, discovering the importance of being called Garrideb, encountering a mysterious murder on Thor Bridge, searching for eternal youth and the threat of a vampire in Sussex, there is no sign of Holmes' deductive powers slowing down.

When a wealthy politician’s twelve-year-old son disappears, the family’s driver witnesses the aftermath. A field investigator for the World Health Organization travels the globe giving presentations about a biomedical enzyme that will lead to the extinction of the human race. And Father Augusto Saenz, the Jesuit priest and forensic anthropologist from Smaller and Smaller Circles, returns to investigate the murder of a woman whose secretive life holds the key to her death.

Is it a hoax, or is it something unspeakably real? In this short story about evil games and spiraling secrets, whatever bargain you strike, there’s a price to be paid. Mason Brandt dropped out of seminary and found a job at a spiritual center offering guidance to troubled teens. Mason was one himself years ago - a suspect in a young girl’s disappearance. When a female student is found murdered, Mason is dogged by suspicion and flees. He hopes Merle House will offer him sanctuary once again.

After everything she’s suffered—and everyone she’s lost—Mia Ledger wants nothing more than peace. She spends her days teaching riding lessons and raising horses on her quiet Montana ranch. But when she steps in to stop a kidnapping that echoes her own haunted past, she paints a target on her back. The crime syndicate behind the attack sends enforcers to settle the score. When Mia returns home to find her barn burning and her horses slaughtered, she fights back with the fury of someone who’s got nothing left to lose.

A million problems arise when trying to flip a crumbling old Victorian. But Lyda, a newbie seller, and Dani, a TikTok-trained home stager, are fixated on one: the dead landscaper in the bedroom. The notorious lothario was one of many last-minute contractors swarming around, and now every jilted lover and business competitor is a suspect. It’s up to Lyda and Dani to close the case before the open house.

For most couples, a quiet dinner for two at Auberge de la Reine Blanche on the Ile Saint Louis would be just the thing to smooth out the complications in a romance. But for gorgeous Mossad operative Delilah and trying-to-retire contract killer John Rain, nothing is ever easy, and when Rain sees a crew of hard-looking men setting up outside the restaurant, he realizes someone has been bringing her work home with her. Is it a hit - or something even worse?

Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More is almost out of Mother's Day cards. She has a few more in stock, but she's set them aside because she needs Greg's help choosing one for his mother. It'll be Jill's first time meeting her boyfriend's mother, and she's understandably nervous. Turns out Jill isn't the only one having feelings about mothers. Kyle, who works at the antiques store next door, needs to find the perfect card for a mother he hasn't seen since he was five - when she went away to jail.

When author Kevin J. Kennedy began receiving unmarked boxes filled with journals and scattered notes from an unknown sender, he was baffled. But confusion soon gave way to obsession. The mysterious stranger’s story drew him in, each page revealing tantalising fragments of a man consumed by his perception of flaws in the universe—and by a haunting belief that nothing is real. As Kevin sifted through the cryptic entries, he became consumed—piecing together the puzzle, chasing the truth, and desperately trying to uncover why these journals had found their way to him.

This bundle includes books 1-3 in the Hex Files series, a fast-paced paranormal mystery series with a kickass heroine, hilarious sidekicks, and an immersive world that will pull you in faster than you can say pizza: Wicked Never Sleeps, Wicked Long Nights, and Wicked State of Mind.

The snick of a lock. The squeak of door hinges. The creak of a floorboard... Nothing is more mysterious than footsteps in the dark. Are those approaching steps that of friend or enemy? Lover or killer?

Martin H. Ehrengraf, dapper and diabolical, may be Lawrence Block's darkest creation. He's the defense attorney who never sees the inside of a courtroom, because all his clients are innocent - no matter how guilty they may seem. Some even believe themselves to be guilty: They remember pulling the trigger, or wiring the dynamite to their spouse's car, or holding the bloody blade. But things have a way of working out when Martin Ehrengraf is on the case.

Treasure is a wannabe Instagram influencer in Lagos, Nigeria. She shows off a luxurious life in a gated community that her almost five thousand followers can only dream of. @Sho4Sure is determined to be part of it. The macho mechanic is Treasure’s number one fan, and double taps and blushing emojis are no longer enough. He needs to meet her in the flesh. If only Treasure were more prepared for destiny.

This "rediscovered" Sherlock Holmes adventure recounts the unique collaboration of Holmes and Sigmund Freud in the solution of a mystery on which the lives of millions may depend. Illustration by David K. Stone...