What if Huey Long had been President in 1939? No Marshall Aid to Britain, no American involvement in the war ravaging Europe. Another chillingly credible ‘what-if’ thriller from the master of the genre.For years UN peacekeepers have been deployed to war-torn regions of the world from Rwanda to Serbia and Congo to East Timor. Now it’s America’s turn.Samuel Simpson is a young, idealistic journalist from Canada. Seeking adventure, he volunteers to become a records keeper for a UN war-crimes investigation team at work in upper New York State. Months earlier, a crippling terrorist attack against the United States resulted in its cities being emptied, its countryside set afire, and its government shaken to its knees.In the aftermath of this attack, a virtual civil war broke out, until UN peacekeepers arrived to establish an uneasy peace. While Samuel and his team travel through the New York countryside, searching for evidence of an atrocious war crime, he promptly realizes that death is quick to strike from any farmhouse, road corner, or rest area. Even more chillingly, he begins to suspect that there is a traitor in his team, trying not only to conceal important evidence, but working to betray and kill them all, including the woman he loves.Award-winning author Brendan DuBois paints a disturbing and poignant portrait in this smart, fast-paced thriller.

‘We’re fighting a new kind of war against determined enemies. And public servants long into the future will bear the responsibility to defend Americans against terror.’George W. Bush’s words as he signed the Homeland Security Act. Neither he nor anyone else suspected that a traitor could be one of those public servants.Deep inside Homeland Security a group of elite officers is gathered — from the police, the FBI and the CIA — operating in deep cover, their contact with each other and with other agencies strictly compartmentalised.One is Brian Doyle, an NYPD detective, chosen for his determination as much as his deductive prowess. Another is ruthlessly using the carefully gathered intelligence to unleash a biological attack across America.And when Doyle does work out that person’s identity, it seems as though he will be too late to prevent the attack.‘DuBois has his finger right on the button.’— MIRROR

‘We’re fighting a new kind of war against determined enemies. And public servants long into the future will bear the responsibility to defend Americans against terror.’George W. Bush’s words as he signed the Homeland Security Act. Neither he nor anyone else suspected that a traitor could be one of those public servants.Deep inside Homeland Security a group of elite officers is gathered — from the police, the FBI and the CIA — operating in deep cover, their contact with each other and with other agencies strictly compartmentalised.One is Brian Doyle, an NYPD detective, chosen for his determination as much as his deductive prowess. Another is ruthlessly using the carefully gathered intelligence to unleash a biological attack across America.And when Doyle does work out that person’s identity, it seems as though he will be too late to prevent the attack.‘DuBois has his finger right on the button.’— MIRROR

A volume of visions of future wars, fought with weapons out of nightmare, by today’s top writers of military science fiction, as well as some writers who are not usually associated with military SF, such as best-selling writer Gregory Benford, and award-winning author Kristine Katherine Rusch. Also present are Michael Z. Williamson, author of the strong selling novels “Freehold” and “The Weapon”, award-winning author of “Bolo Strike”, William H. Keith, and more.Through the centuries, weapons have changed radically, but the soldier has remained much the same. But in the future, soldiers, too, may undergo radical changes. As editor Joe Haldeman puts it, “Weapons are an extension of the soldier, and also an extension of the culture or species that produced the soldier. And they are sometimes more dangerous to the soldier than the enemy…”

A volume of visions of future wars, fought with weapons out of nightmare, by today’s top writers of military science fiction, as well as some writers who are not usually associated with military SF, such as best-selling writer Gregory Benford, and award-winning author Kristine Katherine Rusch. Also present are Michael Z. Williamson, author of the strong selling novels “Freehold” and “The Weapon”, award-winning author of “Bolo Strike”, William H. Keith, and more.Through the centuries, weapons have changed radically, but the soldier has remained much the same. But in the future, soldiers, too, may undergo radical changes. As editor Joe Haldeman puts it, “Weapons are an extension of the soldier, and also an extension of the culture or species that produced the soldier. And they are sometimes more dangerous to the soldier than the enemy…”

Nuclear brinksmanship. Psychological warfare. Spies, double agents, femme fatales, and dead drops.The Cold War—a terrifying time when nuclear war between the world’s two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button—provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today’s most celebrated mystery writers.Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson—the only American writers to be commissioned to pen official James Bond novels—have joined forces to bring us twenty masterful tales of paranoia, espionage, and psychological drama. In Joseph Finder’s “Police Report,” the seemingly cut-and-dry case of a lunatic murderer in rural Massachusetts may have roots in Soviet-controlled Armenia. In “Miss Bianca” by Sara Paretsky, a young girl befriends a mouse in a biological warfare laboratory and finds herself unwittingly caught in an espionage drama. And Deaver’s “Comrade 35” offers a unique spin on the assassination of John F. Kennedy—with a signature twist.

Nuclear brinksmanship. Psychological warfare. Spies, double agents, femme fatales, and dead drops.The Cold War—a terrifying time when nuclear war between the world’s two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button—provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today’s most celebrated mystery writers.Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson—the only American writers to be commissioned to pen official James Bond novels—have joined forces to bring us twenty masterful tales of paranoia, espionage, and psychological drama. In Joseph Finder’s “Police Report,” the seemingly cut-and-dry case of a lunatic murderer in rural Massachusetts may have roots in Soviet-controlled Armenia. In “Miss Bianca” by Sara Paretsky, a young girl befriends a mouse in a biological warfare laboratory and finds herself unwittingly caught in an espionage drama. And Deaver’s “Comrade 35” offers a unique spin on the assassination of John F. Kennedy—with a signature twist.

You’ve seen the headlines. On the court they brawl with opponents, fight with fans, and attack their own coach. Off the court they get drunk, grope women, and, sometimes, get tried for murder. Now these all-star bad boys from the ranks of today’s pro basketball provide easy layup material for the fictional imaginations of our finest contemporary mystery writers. Refereed by prizewinning editor Otto Penzler, this anthology collects fourteen dazzling, original tales of buzzer-beating suspense and postgame mayhem.In “Keller’s Double Dribble,” Lawrence Block tails a clueless hitman with courtside tickets to unplanned bloodshed… Jeffery Deaver’s power guard summons his formidable game instincts to thwart a pack of scammers in “Nothing but Net”… a flagrant foul and a cruel betrayal send a star player crashing in Mike Lupica’s “Mrs. Cash”… George Pelecanos’s “String Music” traces the dangerous escalation of a playground beef… and in “Galahad, Inc.,” by Joan H. Parker and Robert B. Parker, a college prodigy seeks unlikely defensive help against a sorority party sex rap.Other literary slam-dunk tales ask just how hard a former Olympic medalist will fight to get back his old glory… what hustle will win you the dunk-or-die prison matchup… and why the pride of the Knicks will never live to see the playoffs. You’ll find all the answers inside these pages from acclaimed storytellers Sue DeNymme, Brendan DuBois, Parnell Hall, Laurie R. King, Michael Malone, R. D. Rosen, S. J. Rozan, Justin Scott, and Stephen Solomita. There’s the whistle. Here’s the tip-off. Let these great clutch shot-makers put you in the zone.

Science and progress has turned inward, creating new realities and entire new worlds. Fletcher works as a virtual reality tester to escape to the past, and longs for a bygone era when humankind could still gaze into space.