The editors of the New York Times bestselling Death's Excellent Vacation bring home a new collection...with a never-before-published Sookie Stackhouse story!  There's nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherwordly portals in the attic. Now, for any homeowner who's ever wondered, "What's that creaking sound?" or fans of "how to" television who'd like a little unreality mixed in with their reality shows, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner return with an all-new collection of the paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself.  Sookie Stackhouse resides in these pages, in a never-before-published story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. And New York Times bestselling authors Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham, Melissa Marr, and nine other outstanding writers have constructed more frightening and funny fixer-upper tales guaranteed to shake foundations and rattle readers' pipes.

Ir a dos bodas -una de ellas la de un antiguo amor- y al funeral de uno de los miembros del club, ya disuelto, de aficionados al estudio de crímenes mantiene muy ocupada a Aurora «Roe» Teagarden durante unos meses. Por desgracia, su vida personal parece estar en un punto muerto, hasta que su suerte cambia inesperadamente.Tras el funeral, Roe descubre que Jane Engle, la fallecida, la ha nombrado beneficiaria de una considerable herencia que incluye dinero, joyas y una casa con un cráneo oculto en la repisa de una ventana. Conociendo a Jane, Roe concluye que la anciana le ha dejado deliberadamente un asesinato por resolver. Por tanto, deberá identificar a la víctima y descubrir cuál de los vecinos de Jane, todos aparentemente normales y corrientes, es un asesino. Y todo ello sin ponerse ella en peligro de muerte…

Never-before-published vampire stories by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, and many others.Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous-these all-new stories will ensure that readers never think of vampires (or birthdays) in quite the same way again.In New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Dracula Night," Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula's birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up-and finds Sookie to be a tasty-looking present.New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's crime-solving wizard Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love.In "Twilight," Cassandra DuCharme, who appeared in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year-but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt.Plus ten more bloody good birthday stories that take the cake.

Czytając Martwego aż do zmroku zaczynasz wyobrażać sobie autorkę powieści, Charlaine Harris, jako ukochane dziecko Laurell K. Hamilton i Joego R. Lansdale'a – może z Tanyą Huff i P. N. Elrodem jako rodzicami chrzestnymi. A jednak "humorystyczny wampirzy kryminał z elementem romantycznym" Harris jest nie tylko kolejną mroczną igraszką z naszym ulubionym motywem nieumarłych. Otrzymujemy również opowieść o parze odmieńców próbujących znaleźć sobie miejsce w świecie, i o ich związku, który nie jest łatwy ani dla niej, ani dla niego.W świecie Harris wampiry stanowią mniejszość społeczną, która niedawno otrzymała prawa obywatelskie. Ich nierozcieńczona krew stała się niezwykle poszukiwanym lekarstwem. Na czarnym rynku fiolka wampirzego płynu życiowego – który podobno "tymczasowo łagodzi symptomy pewnych chorób i zwiększa potencję seksualną, będąc czymś w rodzaju skrzyżowania prednizonu z viagrą" – kosztuje dwieście dolarów. Odkąd prawnie uznano nieumarłych, kelnerka Sookie Stackhouse wyraźnie miała nadzieję, że ktoś taki zjawi się w małym północnoluizjańskim miasteczku Bon Temps. Jest więc po prostu zachwycona, kiedy wysoki, ciemnowłosy, przystojny, blady wampir siada przy jednym z jej stolików. Jednak dziewczyny nie pociąga wcale nieśmiertelność wampira ani nawet jego zmysłowa atrakcyjność. Wydaje się za to urzeczona faktem, że nie potrafi czytać mu w myślach. Sookie bowiem, wyobraźcie sobie, jest telepatką. Dar, który sama nazywa upośledzeniem, utrudnia jej życie, a zwłaszcza spotkania z mężczyznami (mimo iż jest atrakcyjną dwudziestopięcioletnią blondynką). Właściwie wszyscy w mieście nazywają ją stukniętą. Czasami, atakowana przez setki natrętnych, cudzych myśli, sama się uważa wariatkę.Sookie jest bohaterką zupełnie niepodobną do Buffy, więc ratuje świeżo poznanego wampira – wampira Billa, tak, naprawdę! – przed parą ludzi chcących osuszyć go z cennej krwi. Właśnie wtedy odkrywa, że nie "słyszy" ani jednej myśli Billa. Fakt ten wystarczy, by Sookie poczuła do wampira sympatię. Cóż, niektórym związkom trzeba było na początek nawet mniej.Okazuje się, że korzenie Billa sięgają Bon Temps, że wrócił tu i zamierza się osiedlić w rodzinnej posiadłości, którą właśnie odziedziczył. W dodatku, walczył w wojnie domowej, a wampirem został w roku 1870. Fakty te zachwycają babcię Sookie, oddaną członkinię lokalnego klubu Potomków Wybitnych Poległych. Bill może dostarczyć klubowi szczegółów, dzięki którym babcia i inni członkowie znajdą się w "genealogicznym siódmym niebie".Jednak szczęście nie tak prosto osiągnąć. Gdy zamordowano dwie młode kobiety, a na ich udach koroner znajduje ślady kłów, podejrzenie pada na wampiry, czyli także (a może przede wszystkim) na Billa. Mordercą mógłby też być Jason, seksowny brat Sookie, który uwielbia kobiety, choć lubi także lekką perwersję. Bill i Sookie (z niejaką pomocą pewnego wampira imieniem Bubba) muszą się zmienić w detektywów, rozwiązać zbrodnie i znaleźć prawdziwego przestępcę. Tak się to zaczyna…"Pierwszorzędny kryminał… Przekonujący i zadziwiający". "The Washington Post Book World""Dobrze napisany i niezwykle interesujący… Wielka rzecz". "The Boston Glob""Atmosfera książek Harris nawiązuje do czarnego kryminału oraz powieści detektywistycznej… Fabułę stanowi świetnie skonstruowana historia, która sięga pod powierzchnię małomiasteczkowego życia". "Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel""Frapująca". "Minneapolis Star Tribune""Opowieści Harris na przemian czarują i mrożą czytelnikowi krew w żyłach. Z tą trudną kombinacją autorka radzi sobie bez problemów, wręcz doskonale". Carolyn G. Hart"Styl Harris ma urok i lekkość, które przypominają styl powieści Anne Tyler… Jest oryginalny i zadziwiający. Niezwykłego smaku tej książce dodają nawiązania do powieści gotyckiej". "The Christian Science Monitor""Nadzwyczajna". "Library Journal""Styl Harris jest gawędziarski, zawsze przymilny, "tylko między nami dziewczynami". "Kirkus Reviews""Charlaine Harris to imię i nazwisko, które trzeba zapamiętać". "Macon Telegraph and News""Doskonałe powieści… Harris inaczej opowiada o morderstwach". "Mystery News"

Edited by Lee Child, this is the follow-up to FaceOff, but this time 11 female thriller writers with 11 male thriller writers.

Sookie Stackhouse es una camarera con un inusitado poder para leer la mente. Su don es el origen de sus problemas. Siempre acaba sabiendo más de lo que le gustaría de la gente que le rodea, de todos menos de Bill Compton, porque su mente, la de un vampiro que trata de reinsertarse en la sociedad, es absolutamente impenetrable. Cuando sus vidas se cruzan descubrirá que para ella ya no hay vuelta atrás. La aparición de un asesino en serie es la prueba definitiva para su confianza… porque ni siquiera ella sabe si Bill es su protector, o si se convertirá en su fatal asesino.

Sookie Stackhouse es una camarera con un inusitado poder para leer la mente. Su don es el origen de sus problemas. Siempre acaba sabiendo más de lo que le gustaría de la gente que le rodea. De todos menos de Bill Compton, porque su mente, la de un vampiro qué trata de reinsertarse en la sociedad, es absolutamente impenetrable. Cuando sus vidas se cruzan descubrirá que ya no hay vuelta atrás. La aparición de un asesino en serie es la prueba definitiva para su confianza…Con esta novela, Charlaine Harris demuestra hasta qué punto su talento puede hacer que una casi imposible mezcla de vampiros, misterio, intriga y humor se convierta en una obra deliciosamente imprescindible.

Para Sookie Stackhouse, las actividades del día a día de los vampiros y cambiantes de la comunidad de Bon Temps y alrededores, en Luisiana, son de vital interés. Tiene un vínculo de sangre con el rey de los vampiros, es amiga del grupo de cambiantes local, trabaja para un hombre que puede transformarse en cualquier animal y tiene un hermano pantera…Aunque para la mayor parte de la población humana, los vampiros son criaturas misteriosas y seductoras, y eso que ni siquiera saben de la existencia de los cambiantes… Hasta ahora. Se han decidido a seguir la línea de los no muertos y revelar por fin su existencia al resto del mundo.Al principio todo parece ir como la seda… pero el cuerpo mutilado de una pantera aparece en el parking del Merlotte's. Sin embargo, un peligro todavía mayor que el susodicho asesino amenaza Bon Temps. Una raza de seres mayores, más sabios y mucho más reservados que los vampiros o los cambiantes, se prepara para una guerra. Y Sookie se verá convertida en el títere humano de todos ellos en su batalla.

An omnibus of novelsFrom New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris and Nalini Singh and national bestselling authors Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook, tales of man's worst friend…In these hound-eat-hound worlds, anything goes. and everything bites.Follow paranormal bodyguards Clovache and Batanya into Lucifer's realm, where they encounter his fearsome four-legged pets, in Charlaine Harris's The Britlingens Go to Hell. Seek out a traitor in the midst of a guild of non- lethal vampire trackers, one that intends to eradicate the entire species of bloodsuckers, in Nalini Singh's Angels' Judgment. Find out why the giant three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades has left the underworld for the real world – and whose scent he's following – in Ilona Andrews's Magic Mourns. Embark on a perilous search for the kidnapped niece of a powerful vampire alongside her blind – and damn sexy – companion and a hellhound in Meljean Brook's Blind Spot.These four novellas by today's hottest paranormal authors will have hellhound lovers everywhere howling.

Werewolves, vampires, witches, voodoo, Elvis—and weddingsAn “ordinary” wedding can get crazy enough, so can you imagine what happens when otherworldly creatures are involved? Nine of the hottest authors of paranormal fiction answer that question in this delightful collection of supernatural wedding stories. What's the seating plan when rival clans of werewolves and vampires meet under the same roof? How can a couple in the throes of love overcome traps set by feuding relatives—who are experts at voodoo? Will you have a good marriage if your high-seas wedding is held on a cursed ship? How do you deal with a wedding singer who's just a little too good at impersonating Elvis?

"On the way to a lunch meeting of her local book discussion group, the Uppity Women, small-town Southern librarian Aurora "Roe" Teagarden is shocked and dismayed to find her sister-in-law, Poppy, lying bloody and dead right outside her own back door. Poppy had her flaws, certainly – she and her husband were having trouble staying faithful to each other – but she didn't deserve to be so brutally murdered." Investigating a case like this is never easy, of course, given the gossipy atmosphere of any small town, what with Poppy and her husband's extramarital affairs, the local police detective, who also happens to be a former boyfriend of Roe's, and his seemingly unresolved feelings of Poppy, and the need to protect Poppy's family. But Roe is also coping with a burgeoning romantic relationship as well as the sudden appearance of her teenaged half brother. All in all, it's a lot for one woman to have on her plate, even one as together as Roe.

An anthology of storiesThis one-of-a-kind collection features stories from some of the biggest names in mystery and fantasy-blending the genres into a unique hybrid where PIs may wear wizard's robes and criminals may really be monsters.Sit in on a modern-day witch's trial, visit the halls of a magical boarding school with murder on the curriculum, spend some time with Sookie Stackhouse, visit London 's hidden world of the Nightside, and become spellbound with eight more tales of magical mystery.

Agatha Award (nominee)Publisher's WeeklyAn ingenious plot and sufficient flow of blood keep the pages flying in Harris's (Sweet and Deadly) third novel, as a series of killings patterned after celebrated murders is perpetrated on the small community of Lawrenceton, Ga. Twenty-eight-year-old Aurora (Roe) Teagarden, professional librarian, belongs to the Real Murders club, a group of 12 enthusiasts who gather monthly to study famous baffling or unsolved crimes. As a meeting is to begin, Roe discovers the massacred body of a club member. She recognizes the method of slaughter as imitating the very crime she was to address that night-suddenly her life as armchair sleuth assumes an eerie reality. The murderer continues to claim victims, each in the style of a different historical killer. Roe herself becomes a target, and also attracts two admirers, Robin Crusoe, a famed mystery writer new to Lawrenceton, and club member/detective Arthur Smith. Death seems to have infused new life into her waning social calendar, an irony not lost on this pensive character. Harris draws the guilty and the innocent into an engrossing tale while inventing a heroine as capable and potentially complex as P. D. James's Cordelia Gray. (Dec.)School Library JournalYA- Someone is killing the crime buffs of the Real Murders Society in Lawrenceton, Georgia. A librarian, Aurora Teagarden, sets out to catch the brutal murderer after fellow club members end up as victims. The uncanny resemblances to famous crimes challenge Roe and her two admirers, policeman Arthur Smith and mystery writer Robin Crusoe, to pursue the criminal. The lighthearted, witty handling of characters contrasts with the heightening suspense as Aurora seeks clues by searching past mysteries for the killer's identity-until she is caught in the sadistic web of terror herself. Clever pacing along with ample red herrings and judiciously placed clues keep Harris's story moving briskly. Let's hope for another fast-paced mystery featuring Aurora and her friends.- Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School, Upper Marlboro, MD***Aurora Teagarden, Lawrenceton, Georgia, librarian and member of a club devoted to the study of famous crimes, has prepared what she thinks ought to be a riveting speech for the Real Murders Society. But a playful murderer steals the show with a real-life re-enactment of the case Aurora has chosen, casting one of the club members as victim. Gathering her wits about her after the shock of discovering the body, Aurora-Roe to her friends-provides some tips for policeman Arthur Smith, another member of the club, on the similarities between the cases.Soon bespectacled Roe is receiving attentions not only from Arthur but from mystery writer Robin Crusoe. Robin is new in town and a tenant of the apartment complex Roe manages for her mother. It is not long, however, before the unwonted glow of romance Roe is basking in is overshadowed by the murderer, who seems to have chosen her for his next victim. Roe is too smart to fall prey to the ghoulish prankster but he hits his mark the next time, killing the parents of one of her friends, again in the style of an earlier crime. Lawrenceton appears to have a serial killer on its hands, and an audacious one at that. He taunts the police further by planting evidence in one of their own vehicles, and on the properties of society members.Roe is sure one of her fellow history buffs is guilty but can’t decide whether it’s Philip Allison, a mentally disturbed library worker; Gilford Doakes, whose special interest is mass murders; or someone seemingly more stable, like reporter Sally Allison or banker Bankston Waite. Supported by Arthur and Robin, between whom she is not yet ready to choose, Roe scours the chronicles of old murders and the real settings of the crimes for the clues that will crack the case.

Shakespeare, Arkansas, is a small Southern town with plenty of secrets, and Charlaine Harris's Lily Bard is just one more of its residents – albeit one harboring a few secrets of her own – with a desire to live quietly. Lily keeps to herself, between her job as a cleaning woman for several townspeople and her visits to the gym, where she's a devotee of karate and bodybuilding. These two pursuits seem a bit odd for the petite Southern woman, but as work and play, they keep her focused and balanced. When a fellow gym member is found dead after a workout with a barbell across his throat, Lily wants to believe it's an accident. But looking at the incident against the background of other recent events in Shakespeare, including a few incidents that appear to be racially motivated, she's afraid it could be a part of something much, much bigger – and much more sinister.

These Lily Bard novels stand out among traditional cozy mysteries because of the noirish spin Harris puts on the seemingly typical charming southern town of Shakespeare, AR, on her heroine. Lily Bard makes a compelling amateur sleuth. Here she heads home to Bartley, AR, for her sister Varenas Christmas wedding. But soon after she arrives, Lilys private-detective boyfriend shows up too: hes investigating a 4-year-old unsolved kidnapping. Lily cant help but get involved when she discovers that the case hits dangerously close to home – for Varenas new husband is the widowed father of a girl bearing a remarkable resemblance to the vanished child.

Cleaning woman and karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Trying her best to cope with her terrifying memories and horrible nightmares, she decides to join a weekly group therapy session in her hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas. At first, Lily can hardly believe the number of her fellow Shakespeareans that share her life experiences.As it turns out, the group members' feelings aren't the only things that need sorting out – they assemble for a session and find a woman dead, killed in bone-chilling fashion and deliberately left on display to send a twisted message. Who would commit such horrendous crime, and who is the intended recipient of the message?Before long, Lily becomes embroiled in this disturbing murder and its aftermath, one in which the brutal killer's motives are entirely unclear. The truth is, the situation has dredged up more than a few of her own terrible secrets, and she may not be able to rest until she can untangle the who and why of this terrible crime. But can she accomplish this before the killer strikes again, and before her nightmares send her over the edge? Shakespeare's Counselor is the most complex and absorbing installment yet in Charlaine Harris's engaging, original, and more than slightly dark mystery series.

Lily Bard is a loner. Fiercely protective of her independence, she concentrates on her karate skills and her work as the proprietor of a cleaning and errand-running service, and pays little attention to the town around her. When her landlord is murdered, though, she looks like the prime suspect. Uncovering the real killer may be the only way to prove her innocence, and Lily realizes that she must focus on the other residents of tiny Shakespeare. Her job gives her easy access to people's private lives, and she begins to snoop, finding plenty of skeleton-filled closets, and exposing herself to the unwanted attentions of a murderer.

Welcome back to Shakespeare – a charming Arkansas town with endless back roads, an eclectic mix of residents, and a dollop of noir. Featuring cleaning woman/karate expert Lily Bard." "Lily discovers lifelong Shakespeare resident Deedra Dean murdered inside a car parked in a woodsy area outside town. Determined not to get involved, Lily wants to leave the police work to Sheriff Marta Schuster and her team of deputies, and concentrate on cleaning, high kicks, and her boyfriend Jack's impending visit. But when Deedra's notoriously promiscuous lifestyle provides an extensive list of suspects but very few clues, Lily has no choice but to resume the role of amateur detective and join the investigation.

Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!In Charlaine Harris' 'Bacon, a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In 'Seeing Eye' by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother — and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's 'Last Call, wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers — the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

Now best known for her New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels, Charlaine Harris hit "a home run the first time out" (Birmingham News) with the story of a murder that embroils a small-town reporter in mystery that hits close to home…Catherine Linton has returned to her hometown of Lowfield, Mississippi, unconvinced that the death of her parents in a car crash six months earlier was an accident. And her suspicions are confirmed when she stumbles upon the dead and beaten body of her doctor-father's longtime nurse. There are secrets being kept in Lowfield. And the town where Catherine grew up may be the same place where she is sent to her grave…