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The Place of the Lion: A Novel
by Charles WilliamsOne man must save the human race from total destruction when a small British village is invaded by a terrifying host of archetypal creatures released from the spiritual world In the small English town of Smetham on the outskirts of London, a wall separating two worlds has broken down. The meddling and meditations of a local mage, Mr. Berringer, has caused a rift in the barrier between the corporeal and the spiritual, and now all hell has broken loose. Strange creatures are descending on Smethem—terrifying supernatural archetypes wreaking wholesale havoc, destruction, and death. Some residents, like the evil, power-hungry Mr. Foster, welcome the horrific onslaught. Others, like the cool and intellectual Damaris, refuse to accept what her eyes and heart tell her until it is far too late. Only a student named Anthony, emboldened by his unwavering love for Damaris, has the courage to face the horror head on. But if he alone cannot somehow restore balance to the worlds, all of humankind will surely perish in the impending apocalypse. An extraordinary metaphysical fantasy firmly based in Platonic ideals, The Place of the Lion is a masterful blending of action and thought by arguably the most provocative of the University of Oxford&’s renowned Inklings—the society of writers in the 1930s that included such notables as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Owen Barfield. With unparalleled imagination, literary skill, and intelligence, the remarkable Charles Williams has created a truly unique thriller, a tour de force of the fantastic that masterfully engages the mind, heart, and spirit.
The Plague Stones
by James BrodgenFrom the critically acclaimed author of Hekla's Children comes a dark and haunting tale of our world and the next.Fleeing from a traumatic break-in, Londoners Paul and Tricia Feenan sell up to escape to the isolated Holiwell village where Tricia has inherited a property. Scattered throughout the settlement are centuries-old stones used during the Great Plague as boundary markers. No plague-sufferer was permitted to pass them and enter the village. The plague diminished, and the village survived unscathed, but since then each year the village trustees have insisted on an ancient ceremony to renew the village boundaries, until a misguided act by the Feenans' son then reminds the village that there is a reason traditions have been rigidly stuck to, and that all acts of betrayal, even those committed centuries ago, have consequences...
The Player Gods
by Kenneth TuckerHe awoke in Chicago with a name no one had ever heard and discovered that he was a private eye. And the year was 1940, but a 1940 that somehow he knew was not historical. For no one knew of Hitler and the Axis and the European war that would engulf the world. Fairies and trolls were among the city's inhabitants. Moreover, Chicago was being ravaged by a peculiar plague that caused madness and then spontaneous combustion of human beings. He himself was suspected of colluding with his wealthy client, Bianca Danielle, in the recent murder of her husband. Then he is charged with her murder, but has no recollection of his killing her. But then the clocks begin ticking backwards toward the hour of her brutal death.
The Playgroup
by Nancy WeberSingle mother Jill Everts brings three-year-old Daisy to New York, hoping her daughter will make friends and forget about her imaginary ones. But Daisy's new reality scares Jill even more than the precocious child's fantasy world. When Daisy meets Stephanie, James, and Nick at a Central Park playground, they recognize each other although they've never met before. Some wild circuitry seems to kick in; the four kids connect so powerfully, they can move objects without touching them. They can maybe even bring back the dead. What is their mysterious link? Why is a super secret government agent convinced that Daisy is the perfect human being--and why should Jill allow him to tap into her little girl's mind? Then there's the wife of Jill's lover--how far will she go to get her hands on Daisy? Although The Playgroup is about four extraordinary kids, it's also about the dazzling potential in all three-year-olds. As every parent knows, only a gossamer wall stands between our hopes and fears for our children.
The Poe Estate
by Polly ShulmanThis is a mind-bending, rousing adventure celebrating classic ghost and horror stories, by the author of The Grimm Legacy and The Wells Bequest. Sukie's been lonely since the death of her big sister, Kitty--but Kitty's ghost is still with her. At first that was comforting, but now Kitty's terrifying anyone who gets too close. Things get even weirder when Sukie moves into her family's ancestral home, and an older, less familiar ghost challenges her to find a treasure. Her classmate Cole is also experiencing apparitions. Fortunately, an antique broom's at hand to fly Sukie and Cole to the New-York Circulating Material Repository's spooky Poe Annex. As they search for clues and untangle ancient secrets, they discover their histories intertwine and are as full of stories of love, revenge, and pirate hijinks as some of the most famous fiction.
The Point Between: A Metaphysical Mystery
by M. A. DemersIt's hard to tell fact from fiction, especially when you're a ghost ...Bestselling mystery novelist Lily Harrington has been found hanging in her home in the tiny, oddball haven of Point Roberts, Washington, and all signs point to suicide. Worried the truth will be buried with her, Lily teams up with Marcus Mantova, the sexy detective of her novels, to influence the investigation and catch her killer. Yet no sooner has Lily come to terms with the existence of Marcus, the womanizing egomaniac she had thought a product of her imagination, than dead Whatcom County detective Penelope Winters also worms her way onto the case. Lies, frauds, and competing agendas take Lily on a roller-coaster ride over heaven and earth until, at last, she discovers the truth and another chance at life. PRAISE FOR THE POINT BETWEEN"As a mystery writer I really enjoyed all of the wonderful ideas about the afterlife M.A. Demers had with The Point Between! ... This book was a real page turner. I highly recommend it!" - Teresa Trent, Cozy Mystery Writer (teresatrent.com), 5 STARS"Demers does a great job of telling her story while developing characters with depth and personality. An effective way of provoking some "metaphysical" questions and inquiries. All the more enjoyable because it is set in my hometown, Point Roberts, Wa." - Annelle Norman, 5 STARS"Fun read with charming characters. Interesting point of view from the ghost of the victim who is trying to solve her own murder along with a few other ghosts. Loads of twists and turns and overall entertaining." - Kim Reed, NetGalley Review, 5 STARS"Cute read! If you love dime-store mystery novels, this will be right up your alley. There are several twists and turns, and the ending was somewhat unexpected." - Yvie Field, NetGalley Review, 4 STARS"A well-paced compelling read with touches of humor." - Juanita Foster, NetGalley Review, 4 STARS
The Poison Thread: A Novel
by Laura PurcellA thrilling Victorian gothic horror tale about a young seamstress who claims her needle and thread have the power to kill"A romping read with a deliciously dark conceit at its center... Reminded me of Alias Grace."—Kiran Millwood HargraveDorothea Truelove is young, wealthy, and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor, and awaiting trial for murder.When Dorothea's charitable work brings her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted by the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person's skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets one of the prisoners, the teenaged seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another strange idea: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread--because Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches.The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations—of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses—will shake Dorothea's belief in rationality, and the power of redemption. Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer? For fans of Shirley Jackson, The Poison Thread is a spine-tingling, sinister read about the evil that lurks behind the facade of innocence.
The Poisoned House
by Michael FordLife can be cruel for a servant girl in 1850s London. Fifteen-year-old Abi is a scullery maid in Greave Hall, an elegant but troubled household. The widowed master of the house is slowly slipping into madness, and the tyrannical housekeeper, Mrs. Cotton, punishes Abi without mercy. But there's something else going on in Greave Hall, too. An otherworldly presence is making itself known, and a deadly secret will reveal itself--a secret that will shatter everything Abi knows.
The Politics of Horror
by Damien K. PicarielloThe Politics of Horror features contributions from scholars in a variety of fields—political science, English, communication studies, and others—that explore the connections between horror and politics. How might resources drawn from the study of politics inform our readings of, and conversations about, horror? In what ways might horror provide a useful lens through which to consider enduring questions in politics and political thought? And what insights might be drawn from horror as we consider contemporary political issues? In turning to horror, the contributors to this volume offer fresh provocations to inform a broad range of discussions of politics.
The Polter-Ghost Problem
by Betsy UhrigThree best friends discover a haunted orphanage and get swept up in ghoulish shenanigans in this &“laugh-out-loud, high-action read&” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) for fans of Best Nerds Forever and the Fear Street series.One haunted orphanage + two types of ghosts + three freaked-out friends = plenty of trouble. Best friends Aldo, Pen, and Jasper are braced for a boring summer. And equally dull summer journal writing assignments. That is, until they see a slightly transparent boy with a bad haircut appear by the soccer field and then disappear into the woods beyond. The boys follow him and discover the long-abandoned Grauche Orphanage for Orphans, a house in the woods that is most definitely haunted. But the ghosts are not the problem. They have been trapped at the orphanage by a cranky poltergeist who erupts into violent tantrums if they put even a spectral toe across the property line. The ghosts ask the boys to help free them—but who is the angry poltergeist and what does it want? To solve the mystery, the trio must investigate the orphanage&’s dark past, evade Aldo&’s ghastly older brother, borrow a skeptical librarian, and duck lots of flying furniture, all while failing to agree on almost anything. Can they defeat the evil entity and rescue the ghosts before their parents catch on and ground them for eternity?
The Poorly Made and Other Things: A Story Collection
by Sam RebeleinAn unsettling and creepy story collection of literary horror set in the Renfield universe from “major new talent” (R.L. Stine) Sam Rebelein, author of Edenville.“I hope I get to go back to Renfield County again, before too long.” —LitHub on EdenvilleThere’s something wrong in Renfield County.It’s in the water, the soil, the wood. But worst of all, it’s in the minds of the residents, slowly driving them mad. When Lawrence Renfield massacred his family and drew The Giant in his farmhouse with their blood, no one imagined the repercussions. At the very least, the bloodstained wood should have been set aflame, not chopped down and repurposed as furniture, décor, and heirlooms across the county. But that’s exactly what happened. Now regular people—like you and me—are sitting on… eating with… admiring… the cursed wood and reaping the consequences. These are their stories.In “My Name Is Ellie” a young girl uncovers disturbing secrets hiding in the walls of her beloved grandmother’s home. An unassuming box, built with reclaimed wood, connects a grieving widower with his late wife’s lingering spirit in “Hector Brim.” In “Detour” a father, desperate to return home, finds himself trapped in a dizzying maze, haunted by stories of lurking monsters that live off the remains of weary travelers.Playing with the uncanny to explore themes of loneliness and grief, Sam Rebelein returns upstate to unravel the mysteries of Renfield. But regardless of what started the trouble, there’s one thing of which we can be certain: for those living here, the nightmare is far from over.
The Poppy War: A Novel (The Poppy War #1)
by R. F KuangOne of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time“I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year...I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- BooknestFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, the brilliantly imaginative debut of R.F. Kuang: an epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.But surprises aren’t always good.Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
The Port-Wine Stain
by Norman Lock"[Norman Lock's fiction] shimmers with glorious language, fluid rhythms, and complex insights." -NPRIn his third book of The American Novels series, Norman Lock recounts the story of a young Philadelphian, Edward Fenzil, who, in the winter of 1844, falls under the sway of two luminaries of the nineteenth-century grotesque imagination: Thomas Dent Mütter, a surgeon and collector of medical "curiosities," and Edgar Allan Poe. As Fenzil struggles against the powerful wills that would usurp his identity, including that of his own malevolent doppelgänger, he loses his mind and his story to another.Norman Lock is the award-winning author of novels, short fiction, and poetry, as well as stage, radio, and screenplays. His recent works of fiction include the short story collection Love Among the Particles, a Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year, and three books in The American Novels series: The Boy in His Winter, a re-envisioning of Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that Scott Simon of NPR's Weekend Edition hailed for "make[ing] Huck and Jim so real you expect to get messages from them on your iPhone;" American Meteor, an homage to Walt Whitman and William Henry Jackson named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and The Port-Wine Stain, an homage to Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas Dent Mütter (forthcoming in 2016). Lock lives in Aberdeen, New Jersey.
The Portal (Fiction Without Frontiers)
by Russell JamesThree hundred years ago, on an isolated island in Long Island Sound, Satan tried to open a doorway to Hell. Now he's returned to finish the task.A black speedboat arrives at the small island community of Stone Harbor. Its mysterious passenger, Joey Oates, inspires terror by his very presence. He&’s Satan incarnate, back to complete a ritual left unfinished three hundred years ago. A lost talisman called the Portal can open a doorway for the demons of Hell to enter our world. Oates plans to find the Portal, and finish unlocking it.Former lovers Scott Tackett, family hardware store owner, and Allie Layton, flamed-out Hollywood actress, are about to reconnect after years apart, until they discover the evil growing in town. Only they can stop Oates&’s awful plan and save the world from the living nightmares standing ready to crawl out of Hell.FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
The Portal: A Collection of Short Tales
by Ron Stelle<p>Meet the things that go bump in the night in unforgettable stories of horror and the paranormal by the author of The Mill and The Globe.<p> <p>Step into the Portal, where time and space are blurred, as you flip through the pages of the supernatural realm. Stories of monsters brought to life by Halloween magic, stories from your childhood nursery rhymes played out with a new twist. You will be transported to your worst fears in the carnival haunted house and become lost forever while looking in the penny arcade mutoscope. Come along for the ride as a writer is pulled into his stories by a muse with bad intent.<p> <p>The Portal is a collection of stories sure to keep you up late at night . . .<p>
The Portent: A Story Of The Inner Vision Of The Highlanders, Commonly Called The Second Sight (The Cullen Collection #3)
by George MacDonaldA gothic ghost story of romance, adventure, and the supernatural from the acclaimed 19th-century author of Phantastes. The Portent was originally written for magazine serialization several years prior to its release in book form in 1864. Shorter than most of MacDonald&’s novels, this spooky tale of the Scottish &“second sight&” is a thorough spine-tingling ghost story worthy of the twilight zone. MacDonald&’s love of mysterious old castles and libraries plays a significant role in the story and is found in many of his books. In The Portent, first person narrator Duncan Campbell is engaged as tutor in a large mansion. There he falls under the spell of somnambulist Lady Alice, who is trapped between the worlds of wakefulness and sleep. About this title, MacDonald&’s son Greville commented: &“The story is different from almost any other of his books. It is weird, yet strangely convincing, and has no touch of the didactic.&” Because of its mystical flavor, The Portent is often linked with MacDonald&’s earlier Phantastes. Though the books are completely different, The Portent yet contains elements that appeal to readers of MacDonald&’s fantasy writings, and thus spans the genres of both fantasy and realistic fiction.
The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque
by Jeffrey FordMystery concerning the identity of a woman who commissions a man to paint her portrait though he is not allowed to see her.
The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque: A Novel
by Jeffrey FordA mysterious and richly evocative novel, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque tells the story of portraitist Piero Piambo, who is offered a commission unlike any other. The client is Mrs. Charbuque, a wealthy and elusive woman who asks Piambo to paint her portrait, though with one bizarre twist: he may question her at length on any topic, but he may not, under any circumstances, see her. So begins an astonishing journey into Mrs. Charbuque's world and the world of 1893 New York society in this hypnotically compelling literary thriller.
The Postmillennial Vampire
by Susan ChaplinThis book explores the idea that while we see the vampire as a hero of romance, or as a member of an oppressed minority struggling to fit in and acquire legal recognition, the vampire has in many ways changed beyond recognition over recent decades due to radically shifting formations of the sacred in contemporary culture. The figure of the vampire has captured the popular imagination to an unprecedented extent since the turn of the millennium. The philosopher Ren#65533; Girard associates the sacred with a communal violence that sacred ritual controls and contains. As traditional formations of the sacred fragment, the vampire comes to embody and enact this 'sacred violence' through complex blood bonds that relate the vampire to the human in wholly new ways in the new millennium.
The Postscript Murders: A Chilling Mystery From The Bestselling Author Of The Stranger Diaries (Planet Omar Ser.)
by Elly GriffithsMurder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy&’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith&’s passing. But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy&’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all. And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes . . .
The Power That Preserves: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Book Three
by Stephen DonaldsonTwice before Thomas Covenant had been summoned to the strange other-world where magic worked. Twice he had been forced to join with the Lords of Revelstone in their war against Lord Foul, the ancient enemy of the Land.Now he is back - to a Land ravaged by the armies of Lord Foul. The Lords are besieged and helpless. No place is safe and Foul's victory seems certain. Only Covenant can avert it.Desperate and without hope, he sets out to confront the might of the Enemy. With him go a Giant, a Bloodguard and the madwoman he has wronged. And in Foul's Creche, Lord Foul grows in power with each new defeat for the Land . . .
The Prank (Night Fall ™)
by Ashley Rae HarrisPranks make Jordan nervous. But when a group of popular kids invites her along on a series of practical jokes, she doesn't turn them down. As the pranks begin to go horribly wrong, Jordan and her crush, Charlie, work to discover the cause of the accidents. Is the spirit of a prank victim who died twenty years earlier to blame? And can Jordan stop the final prank, or will the haunting continue?
The Prayer of the Night Shepherd (Merrily Watkins Mysteries #6)
by Phil RickmanThe sixth Merrily Watkins mystery finds her daughter embarking on a first job, and running into a dark local legendA crumbling hotel on the border of England and Wales, a suggestion of inherited evil, a strange love affair, and the long-disputed origins of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. Fascinating for young Jane Watkins, flushed by the freedom of her first weekend job. But the sinister side becomes increasingly apparent to her mother, Merrily, diocesan exorcist for Hereford. Then come memories of a child-killer, blood in the fresh snow.
The Prelate
by Olga KryuchkovaIsabella de Monte, a mistress of King Francis I, is accused of witchcraft and of conspiring against her royal lover. She is handed over to inquisitors, even though the marchioness is with child and ready to give birth. The executioner delivers the baby. Inquisitor Henri Dengon orders the executioner to care for the newborn... Years pass. René Chaperon, the executioner's adopted son, becomes a young man and begins to display unusual abilities: He has the ability to sense evil spirits. Henri Dengon becomes the chief inquisitor of the kingdom. The new Prelate has no idea what forbidding tests await him...
The Presence: A 2-in-1 Collection
by Heather GrahamBESTSELLING AUTHOR COLLECTIONReader-favorite romances in collectible volumes from our bestselling authors.A MURDEROUS VENTUREToni MacNally has the ultimate moneymaking plan—buy a ancient, run-down Scottish castle and turn it into a tourist destination. Toni and her friends concoct the perfect story about the ghost of the imaginary laird Bruce MacNiall to draw thrill seekers to the castle. Suddenly when someone arrives claiming to actually be Laird MacNiall—a tall, dark, formidable Scot—the bodies of young women start to be found in the nearby town.But even stranger, how is it even possible this laird exists? Toni invented Bruce MacNiall for the performance…yet sinister, lifelike dreams suggest he’s connected to the recent deaths. Bruce claims he wants to help catch the murderer. But even if she wants to, can Toni trust him…when her visions seem to suggest the tempting laird might be the murderer?FREE BONUS STORY INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME!When Twilight Comes by New York Times bestselling author B.J. DanielsWhen Jenna Dante is stranded with her child in a storm, she has no choice but to take refuge in a nearby desolate hotel. Harry Ballantine has been waiting for someone to finally come to Fernhaven, and now that Jenna’s there, he doesn’t know if he ever wants her to leave…Previously Published.