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Sanctuary: A Novel
by Luca D'AndreaIn his haunting follow-up to the acclaimed Beneath the Mountain, Luca D’Andrea returns to the stunning Italian landscape of Alto Adige in this clever, twisting thriller that follows a woman on the run from her crime boss husband and the assassin sent to kill her.The Italian region of Alto-Adige is the northernmost part of the county, bordering Switzerland and Austria. The majestic Dolomites mountain range encompasses the area creating stark, beautiful landscapes. But this place of beauty also hides an evil side. For within the shadows of the towering Dolomites’ peaks, one man has forged a reign of terror. Since World War II, when he was only a boy, Herr Wegener has been entrenched in a black market crime organization. He is feared by all and controls everyone: politicians, police, and his wife Marlene. But Marlene has finally had enough...Unable to take her husband’s abuse and cruelty anymore, Marlene has reached her breaking point and goes on the run—but not before stealing millions of lire worth of sapphires from Wegener’s safe as well as his car. Marlene was a young woman when Wegener fell into her life by chance while she was working at a hotel to earn money for her family who still lives in a rural mountain town. He represented protection and sanctuary—until she found out too late how he made his money. But no one escapes Wegener, and he will make sure Marlene pays for her betrayal. Wegener sends a notorious assassin to kill his wife—an assassin known solely as The Trusted Man and who always gets the job done. Once he is given an assignment, he sees it through to the end no matter how difficult. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem for Wegener. But then one of his men discovers the one fact that would make him want Marlene alive. She’s pregnant with his son….With nightmarish villains and kind-hearted heroes, Sanctuary is a fairy tale-esque thriller that will leave readers racing through its pages to keep up with a cat and mouse game between a lunatic crime boss and his desperate, pregnant wife.
Up to No Ghoul
by Cullen BunnIn this thrilling and spooky middle grade graphic novel companion to The Ghoul Next Door by New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and Cat Ferris, Lavinia and Grey team up again to solve the town’s mystery.Ever wake up in the middle of the night to awful nightmares about vampires?When a mysterious blood bank rolls into town, Grey can’t help but get an eerie feeling. Could it be linked to his nightmares about vampires? After some investigating, Grey learns it’s something more sinister than he could ever imagine . . . and there’s only one creature who can help him—Lavinia.Despite the fact they are forbidden to talk to one another again, this spooky mystery is bigger than any promises between the ghouls and humans.This fun, lightly spooky adventure is a good Halloween read but is also the perfect graphic novel read all year round. It's a wonderful escape from everyday life, providing readers with a good scare and plenty of laughter.The Ghoul Next Door was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and a Kids’ Indie Next List pick. "This fast-paced blend of humor and horror is essentially an against-the-odds friendship story.," praised Kirkus.
The Ghoul Next Door
by Cullen BunnFor fans of Ghosts and Hilo, New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and acclaimed artist Cat Farris deliver a fun, spooky, full-color middle grade graphic novel about a supernatural adventure and friendships that go beyond the grave. “A thoroughly charming story of friendship, sweet and funny and haunting all in equal measure.” —Tony Cliff, creator of the Delilah Dirk series“Incredible artwork and a sweet, cool, and just creepy enough story that really hooked me.” —Jeff Lemire, creator of Sweet Tooth, Black Hammer, and the Essex County trilogy"A fun story with art that’ll knock readers dead."—Kirkus“Imaginative with the right number of chills.”—BooklistEleven-year-old Grey lives in the legend-haunted New England town of Ander’s Landing, and he can’t help but feel like a pair of eyes is watching his every move.He discovers odd, gruesome bits and pieces from the graveyard that are left for him as gifts like art carved from bones or jewelry made from (hopefully not human) remains. Soon Grey is caught up in something bigger than he could ever have imagined.He finds himself drawn into a strange mystery involving a race of reclusive subterranean creatures—ghouls, the eaters of the dead! Turns out, his secret admirer is a ghoul named Lavinia. An unlikely friendship forms between them. The only problem is, their friendship breaks traditions—and the punishment is a fate worse than death.Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection * Kids’ Indie Next List
The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home: A Welcome To Night Vale Novel (Welcome to Night Vale #3)
by Joseph Fink Jeffrey CranorFrom the New York Times bestselling authors of Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours! and the creators of the hit podcast, comes a new novel set in the world of Night Vale and beyond.In the town of Night Vale, there’s a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone’s home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from...until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early nineteenth century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath, as her spirit travels the world for decades until settling in modern-day Night Vale.Interspersed throughout is a present-day story in Night Vale, as The Faceless Old Woman guides, haunts, and sabotages a man named Craig. In the end, her current day dealings with Craig and her swashbuckling history in nineteenth century Europe will come together in the most unexpected and horrifying way.Part The Haunting of Hill House, part The Count of Monte Cristo, and 100% about a faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home.
The Bone Maker: A Novel
by Sarah Beth Durst"Durst consistently defies expectations."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)From award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst, a standalone epic fantasy set in a brand-new world of towering mountains and sparkling cities, in which a band of aging warriors have a second chance to defeat dark magic and avenge a haunting loss.Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived. Since then, Kreya, the group’s leader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice—for each day he lives, she will live one less.She’d rather live one year with her husband than a hundred without him, but using human bones for magic is illegal in Vos. The dead are burned—as are any bone workers who violate the law. Yet Kreya knows where she can find the bones she needs: the battlefield where her husband and countless others lost their lives.But defying the laws of the land exposes a terrible possibility. Maybe the dead don’t rest in peace after all. Five warriors—one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesn’t stop just because someone once said, “the end.”
Race the Sands: A Novel
by Sarah Beth Durst“National Velvet with monsters and a big helping of palace intrigue, Race the Sands is monstrous (literally), heartwarming, and empowering in equal measure. An incredibly fun and inspiring read.” – Katherine Arden, New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the NightingaleIn this epic standalone fantasy, the acclaimed author of the Queens of Renthia series introduces an imaginative new world in which a pair of strong and determined women risk their lives battling injustice, corruption, and deadly enemies in their quest to become monster racing champions.Life, death, and rebirth—in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope—you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time.Unless you can win the Races. After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok . . . and a rider willing to trust her. Raia is desperate to get away from her domineering family and cruel fiancé. As a kehok rider, she could earn enough to buy her freedom. But she needs a first-rate trainer. Impressed by the inexperienced young woman’s determination, Tamra hires Raia and pairs her with a strange new kehok with the potential to win—if he can be tamed.But in this sport, if you forget you’re riding on the back of a monster, you die. Tamra and Raia will work harder than they ever thought possible to win the deadly Becaran Races—and in the process, discover what makes this particular kehok so special.
Floodpath: A Novel (Outlaw Road #1)
by Emily B MartinThe epic fantasy adventure begun in Sunshield races to its thrilling conclusion in this imaginative finale in which the fate of four extraordinary young people—and their nations—will be decided.When their hopes for ending Moquoia’s brutal system of bondage are crushed, unlikely allies Lark and Veran are forced to flee into the harsh desert. With no weapons or horses, they must make their way to safety across the 50-mile expanse of waterless plains known as the water scrape. It is an odyssey filled with unexpected dangers that challenge even a skilled outlaw like Lark—though the farther they travel, the more she wonders if she even fits the fearsome title of the Sunshield Bandit anymore.Injured in the coup to overthrow the Moquoian monarchy, Tamsin, accompanied by Iano, retreat to a safe house, where they await the return of Lark and Veran. Determined to uncover the traitor in the court, they devise a plan to confront the new palace ashoki, Kimela.Imperiled by wilderness and their own tenuous alliances, Lark, Tamsin, and Veran each face massive risks to uncover the truth. But even if they find it, will their combined forces be strong enough to stop the evil infecting their beautiful land . . . and transform it into a fairer society for all?
Sunshield: A Novel (Outlaw Road #1)
by Emily B MartinA lawless wilderness. A polished court. Individual fates, each on a quest to expose a system of corruption.The desolate canyons of Alcoro—and the people desperate enough to hide there—couldn’t be more different from the opulent glass palace and lush forests of Moquoia. But the harsh desert and gleaming court are linked through their past, present, and future: a history of abductions in the desert to power Moquoia’s quarries and factories, and a bleak, inhumane future built on the sweat and sacrifice of these bond laborers.But events unfolding in the present could change everything. In the desert, outlaw Lark—known to most as the Sunshield Bandit—has built a name for herself attacking slavers’ wagons and freeing the captives inside. But while she shakes the foundation of Moquoia’s stratified society, she also has to fight to protect her rescuees—and herself—from the unforgiving world around them.In the Moquoian court, young ambassador Veran hopes to finally make his mark by dismantling the unjust labor system, if he can navigate the strict hierarchy and inexplicable hostility of the prince. And caught in the middle of it all, Tamsin is trapped within four walls, the epicenter of a secret political coup to overthrow the Moquoian monarchy and perpetuate the age-old system of injustice.Separated by seas of trees and sand, the outlaw, the diplomat, and the prisoner are more connected than anyone realizes. Their personal fates might just tip the balance of power in the Eastern World—if that very power doesn’t destroy them first.
A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror
by John Hornor JacobsA World Fantasy Award Nominee!The award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition.Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South—which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.
The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky: A Novella of Cosmic Horror
by John Hornor JacobsThey had escaped their country, but they couldn’t escape the pastHaving lost both her home and family to a brutal dictatorship, Isabel has fled to Spain, where she watches young, bronzed beauties and tries to forget the horrors that lie in her homeland. Shadowing her always, attired in rumpled linen suits and an eyepatch, is “The Eye,” a fellow ex-pat and poet with a notorious reputation. An unlikely friendship blossoms, a kinship of shared grief. Then The Eye receives a mysterious note and suddenly returns home, his fate uncertain.Left with the keys to The Eye’s apartment, Isabel finds two of his secret manuscripts: a halting translation of an ancient, profane work, and an evocative testament of his capture during the revolution. Both texts bear disturbing images of blood and torture, and the more Isabel reads the more she feels the inexplicable compulsion to go home. It means a journey deep into a country torn by war, still ruled by a violent regime, but the idea of finding The Eye becomes ineluctable. Isabel feels the manuscripts pushing her to go. Her country is lost, and now her only friend is lost, too. What must she give to get them back? In the end, she has only herself left to sacrifice. THE SEA DREAMS IT IS THE SKY asks:How does someone simply give up their home...especially when their home won’t let them?
Emerald Blaze: A Hidden Legacy Novel (Hidden Legacy #5)
by Ilona AndrewsIlona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestselling author, continues her spellbinding series set in the Hidden Legacy world where magic controls everything…except the hearts of those who wield it.As Prime magic users, Catalina Baylor and her sisters have extraordinary powers—powers their ruthless grandmother would love to control. Catalina can earn her family some protection working as deputy to the Warden of Texas, overseeing breaches of magic law in the state, but that has risks as well. When House Baylor is under attack and monsters haunt her every step, Catalina is forced to rely on handsome, dangerous Alessandro Sagredo, the Prime who crushed her heart. The nightmare that Alessandro has fought since childhood has come roaring back to life, but now Catalina is under threat. Not even his lifelong quest for revenge will stop him from keeping her safe, even if every battle could be his last. Because Catalina won't rest until she stops the use of the illicit, power-granting serum that's tearing their world apart.
Don't Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
by Jonathan MaberryFeaturing stories from R.L. Stine and Madeleine Roux, this middle grade horror anthology, curated by New York Times bestselling author and master of macabre Jonathan Maberry, is a chilling tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.Flesh-hungry ogres? Brains full of spiders? Haunted houses you can’t escape? This collection of 35 terrifying stories from the Horror Writers Association has it all, including ghastly illustrations from Iris Compiet that will absolutely chill readers to the bone.So turn off your lamps, click on your flashlights, and prepare—if you dare—to be utterly spooked!The complete list of writers: Linda D. Addison, Courtney Alameda, Jonathan Auxier, Gary A. Braunbeck, Z Brewer, Aric Cushing, John Dixon, Tananarive Due, Jamie Ford, Kami Garcia, Christopher Golden, Tonya Hurley, Catherine Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alethea Kontis, N.R. Lambert, Laurent Linn, Amy Lukavics, Barry Lyga, D.J. MacHale, Josh Malerman, James A. Moore, Michael Northrop, Micol Ostow, Joanna Parypinksi, Brendan Reichs, Madeleine Roux, R.L. Stine, Margaret Stohl, Gaby Triana, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rosario Urrea, Kim Ventrella, Sheri White, T.J. Wooldridge, Brenna Yovanoff
Camp Murderface #2: Doom in the Deep
by Josh Berk Saundra MitchellA long-abandoned—and long-haunted—summer camp sets the stage for the sequel to Camp Murderface, perfect for fans of old school scare masters like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike.There’s no such thing as an uneventful summer at Camp Sweetwater.Now that the Vampire Devils beneath the lake have been awakened, the camp is in big trouble. The first victims? Tez and Corryn’s counselors, Gavin and Scary Mary.The Camp Director insists that the missing counselors are just quitting and going home, but Tez and Corryn don’t believe it. They know something much more eeeeeeevil is afoot.With the help of their cabinmates, Tez and Corryn set out to investigate the disappearances. But what they find is a horror closer than the bottom of the lake... and it might just spell the end for all of them.
Camp Murderface
by Josh Berk Saundra MitchellSummer camp turns sinister in Camp Murderface, a spooky middle grade read perfect for fans of scare masters like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. The year: 1983. The place: Ohio. The camp: Scary as heck. Camp Sweetwater is finally reopening, three decades after it mysteriously shut down. Campers Corryn Quinn and Tez Jones have each had more than enough of their regular lives—they’re so ready to take their summer at Sweetwater by storm. But before they can so much as toast one marshmallow, strange happenings start…happening. Can they survive the summer? Or will Camp Sweetwater shut down for good this time—with them inside?
Obliteration: An Awakened Novel (Awakened #3)
by Darren Wearmouth James S. Murray“Scary amazing fun.”—Brad MeltzerEvils both above and below ground arise once again, threatening the world and all its inhabitants with extinction in this electrifying science fiction thriller—the final novel set in the Awakened universe—from the #1 internationally bestselling author and star of television’s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction writer.Thanks to the heroics of former New York City Mayor Tom Cafferty and his team, the world is once again safe. The villainous Foundation for Human Advancement has been dismantled, the cities of the world are safe from nuclear annihilation, and Cafferty is now on a hunt to decimate every nest of creatures on the planet.When Cafferty enters a nest underneath the Nevada desert, he is horrified to find it completely empty. It can only mean one thing: the battle for survival is not over. Across the planet, creatures are emerging from their subterranean homes. Now, the all-out war against humanity has begun—a war in which only one apex species will survive. Humankind has finally met its match. Cafferty knows that only one man can help him stop the onslaught. A man who is despised by the world. A man who has already caused the death of millions. A man who is a sworn enemy hell-bent on taking Tom Cafferty down forever: Albert Van Ness. But even this desperate move may not be enough to stop the creatures and save humanity . . .
The Brink: A Novel (Awakened #2)
by Darren Wearmouth James S. Murray“Murray and Wearmouth’s latest THE BRINK is a white-knuckled rollercoaster. This novel is chocked full of everything I love: strange creatures, a world teetering on the edge, and heroes who I’d want at my side during any firefight. This isn’t just a story hopped on steroids—but one injected with nitrous and blazing on all cylinders. Give me more!” —James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestseller of Crucible The sequel to the international bestseller (including #1 Sunday Times bestseller) Awakened, by one of the stars of TruTV’s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction author.Former NYC Mayor Tom Cafferty has been haunted by the horror of a single day. The opening of the brand new Z-train subway line beneath the Hudson River—the supposed shining moment of his tenure. But the ribbon-cutting ceremony turned deadly when the train carrying Cafferty’s wife and other citizens was attacked by a horde of hyper intelligent, bloodthirsty creatures previously unknown to humanity.Everything changed for Cafferty, ex-NYPD officer Sarah Bowcut, and tech-expert Diego Munoz that day. They had uncovered the deadly truth: the attack was no accident. And now the creatures that wreaked havoc underneath New York have spread worldwide, and with a massive cover-up—and a secret organization holding nations hostage with the knowledge of how to kill them—Cafferty’s team must fight against impossible odds to save the entire planet from an apocalyptic scale disaster.An explosive and thrilling international adventure, the stakes are even higher in the latest book from bestselling duo James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth!
Scary Stories Complete Set: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3 (Scary Stories)
by Alvin SchwartzThe iconic anthology series of horror tales that's soon to be a highly anticipated feature film!The three Scary Stories books come together in this ebook collection to form a timeless collection of chillingly scary tales and legends.Folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time.The ebooks in this collection feature Stephen Gammell’s artwork from the original Scary Stories books. Read if you dare!Includes Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories, and Scary Stories 3.
Melmoth: A Novel
by Sarah PerryFrom the internationally bestselling author of The Essex Serpent—soon to be an Apple TV+ Series“Masterful...scary and smart, working as a horror story but also a philosophical inquiry into the nature of will and love. Perry did as much in her richly praised novel The Essex Serpent, but this is a deeper, more complex novel and more rewarding.”—The Washington PostIn Melmoth, Sarah Perry’s breathtaking follow-up to The Essex Serpent, a mysterious dark-robed figure has roamed the globe for centuries, searching for those whose complicity and cowardice have fed into the rapids of history’s darkest waters—and now, it is heading in our direction.It has been years since Helen Franklin left England. In Prague, working as a translator, she has found a home of sorts—or, at least, refuge. That changes when her friend Karel discovers a mysterious letter in the library, a strange confession and a curious warning that speaks of Melmoth the Witness, a dark legend found in obscure fairy tales and antique village lore. As such superstition has it, Melmoth travels through the ages, dooming those she persuades to join her to a damnation of timeless, itinerant solitude. To Helen it all seems the stuff of unenlightened fantasy.But, unaware, as she wanders the cobblestone streets Helen is being watched. And then Karel disappears....
Immortal Born: An Argeneau Novel (An Argeneau Novel #30)
by Lynsay SandsNothing compares to the physical chemistry between an immortal and his life mate—or to the spellbinding thrills in a new Argeneau novel by New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands… <P><P>A simple promise to protect her friend’s infant son has turned Allie Chambers’ existence upside down. Caring for—and feeding—an orphaned vampire baby has been tricky enough. <P><P>But as little Liam grows, so does his appetite. He needs more blood than she can personally supply. And when her attempts to steal from a blood bank go awry, Allie wakes up surrounded by doctors, cops…and the gorgeous, mesmerizing Magnus, who she can neither trust nor resist.Magnus never expected to find his life mate breaking into a blood bank. <P><P>Clearly, Allie is already entwined with his world—in deeper, more dangerous ways than she realizes. A band of vicious rogue immortals is in pursuit, and Magnus’ first task is to keep her safe. His second: to awaken her to mind-blowing pleasure, and hope she’ll accept the life, and the passion, that only he can offer. <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Trouble With Vampires: An Argeneau Novel (An Argeneau Novel #29)
by Lynsay SandsIrresistible desire and thrilling suspense combine in this electrifying new Argeneau novel from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands. <P><P>For close to three thousand years the imposing, impossibly handsome Santo Notte has fought in armies across the world and battled his own, more personal enemies. Of all the places he might expect to encounter his life mate, a quiet corner of upstate New York doesn’t seem likely. But as soon as he makes contact with history professor Petronella Stone, while hunting down a suspected rogue immortal, he knows that she will be the greatest adventure of his eternal life. <P><P>He expects her to be surprised, confused, even overwhelmed. What he doesn’t expect is that Pet has a secret history of her own. There’s no mistaking the mind-blowing, mutual pleasure they share. But as Pet struggles to protect her nephew from a danger lurking too close to home, Santo realizes there’s another threat to her safety—him. And claiming their passionate future will be impossible until he leaves his past behind, forever… <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Vampires Like It Hot: An Argeneau Novel (An Argeneau Novel #28)
by Lynsay SandsNew York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands brings the heat in this new Argeneau novel, as one woman is rescued by an irresistible immortal …“Vampires...” <P><P>When Raffaele Notte pulls a barely dressed, disoriented woman from the ocean, the last thing he expects is for her to utter that word. The immortal has come to the island resort to help his cousin, but now, it seems, there are rogue vampires dining on unsuspecting tourists. And he soon realizes that not only is Jess a target, she’s also the life mate he’s been waiting for… <P><P>Vampires are real. Jess would’ve never believed it until she saw them with her own eyes. She knows she has to get off the island, and her gallant rescuer has offered to help. There’s something about Raffaele that’s unlike any man she has ever met, and his touch sends pleasure through her that is beyond all imagining. But when Jess discovers who he really is, will she risk life as she knows it for a chance of forever by his side? <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Clown in a Cornfield
by Adam CesareBram Stoker Award Winner for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult NovelIn Adam Cesare’s terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress—that just may cost her life.Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now. YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee
Westside: A Novel (The Gilda Carr Tiny Mysteries)
by W.M. AkersA New York Times Notable Book of the Year! “The Alienist meets The City & The City in this brilliant debut that mixes fantasy and mystery. Gilda Carr’s ‘tiny mysteries’ pack a giant punch." --David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of Murder As a Fine ArtA young detective who specializes in “tiny mysteries” finds herself at the center of a massive conspiracy in this beguiling historical fantasy set on Manhattan’s Westside—a peculiar and dangerous neighborhood home to strange magic and stranger residents—that blends the vivid atmosphere of Caleb Carr with the imaginative power of Neil Gaiman.It’s 1921, and a thirteen-mile fence running the length of Broadway splits the island of Manhattan, separating the prosperous Eastside from the Westside—an overgrown wasteland whose hostility to modern technology gives it the flavor of old New York. Thousands have disappeared here, and the respectable have fled, leaving behind the killers, thieves, poets, painters, drunks, and those too poor or desperate to leave. It is a hellish landscape, and Gilda Carr proudly calls it home. Slightly built, but with a will of iron, Gilda follows in the footsteps of her late father, a police detective turned private eye. Unlike that larger-than-life man, Gilda solves tiny mysteries: the impossible puzzles that keep us awake at night; the small riddles that destroy us; the questions that spoil marriages, ruin friendships, and curdle joy. Those tiny cases distract her from her grief, and the one impossible question she knows she can’t answer: “How did my father die?” Yet on Gilda’s Westside, tiny mysteries end in blood—even the case of a missing white leather glove. Mrs. Copeland, a well-to-do Eastside housewife, hires Gilda to find it before her irascible merchant husband learns it is gone. When Gilda witnesses Mr. Copeland’s murder at a Westside pier, she finds herself sinking into a mire of bootlegging, smuggling, corruption—and an evil too dark to face.All she wants is to find one dainty ladies’ glove. She doesn’t want to know why this merchant was on the wrong side of town—or why he was murdered in cold blood. But as she begins to see the connection between his murder, her father’s death, and the darkness plaguing the Westside, she faces the hard truth: she must save her city or die with it.Introducing a truly remarkable female detective, Westside is a mystery steeped in the supernatural and shot through with gunfights, rotgut whiskey, and sizzling Dixieland jazz. Full of dazzling color, delightful twists, and truly thrilling action, it announces the arrival of a wonderful new talent.
Playing Dead
by R. G. BelskyIt's been eleven years since David Galvin terrorized New York City with a series of gruesome murders. He picked his victim at random and stalked her silently, taking pleasure in a game of pretend until he captured his prey, played out his sick fantasies, and reached his ultimate passion watching her die. Then it was time to choose his next pretty woman.Now Galvin is dying in prison and he's chosen newspaperman Joe Dougherty to hear the shocking story he never revealed. Galvin's deadly game of make-believe was not his alone, but the brainchild of a group of wealthy college friends -- thrill seekers who killed for fun, kept their sickening secret, and went on to live successful, prominent lives. Galvin got caught. But among the rich and powerful, silence still prevails...and someone is still playing the game!
The Sea of Lost Girls: A Novel
by Carol GoodmanIn the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Shari Lapena, and Michelle Richmond comes a new thriller from the bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages—a twisty, harrowing story set at a prestigious prep school in which one woman’s carefully hidden past might destroy her future.Tess has worked hard to keep her past buried, where it belongs. Now she’s the wife to a respected professor at an elite boarding school, where she also teaches. Her seventeen-year-old son, Rudy, whose dark moods and complicated behavior she’s long worried about, seems to be thriving: he has a lead role in the school play and a smart and ambitious girlfriend. Tess tries not to think about the mistakes she made eighteen years ago, and mostly, she succeeds. And then one more morning she gets a text at 2:50 AM: it’s Rudy, asking for help. When Tess picks him up she finds him drenched and shivering, with a dark stain on his sweatshirt. Four hours later, Tess gets a phone call from the Haywood school headmistress: Lila Zeller, Rudy’s girlfriend, has been found dead on the beach, not far from where Tess found Rudy just hours before. As the investigation into Lila’s death escalates, Tess finds her family attacked on all sides. What first seemed like a tragic accidental death is turning into something far more sinister, and not only is Tess’s son a suspect but her husband is a person of interest too. But Lila’s death isn’t the first blemish on Haywood’s record, and the more Tess learns about Haywood’s fabled history, the more she realizes that not all skeletons will stay safely locked in the closet.