Stan Carlisle could read people, standing along the sidelines of the main carny attractions where he worked, watching the washed up geek eaten by alcoholism. The clairvoyant with her frightening pack of cards, the strong man with the muscles of a Greek god, the twisted leg acrobat who walked on his arms, and the charming ‘lectric bulb girl whose blazing body defied lightning: they all performed beneath the gaze of the crowd at the Ten-in-One show. The audience oooohed in awe and astonishment, averted their eyes in horrified embarrassment, forever applauding the appalling, falling for the oldest gag in the book, yet always coming back, like ghosts called up from the past, wondering what the future would hold. Stan understood them, saw through them, and knew he could go further. He was a convincer, not a pretender. He was a master with words and could pawn off more than palmistry. He would prophesize, proselytize, see his profits rise. The Great Stanton. If he played his cards right he could leave for much bigger and better things. All he needed was a jumping off point, and from there, a chance to climb.With a little magic-or was it murder?-a mentalist was born and transformed into a full-blown Spiritualist, greedy for glamour and a wallet full of rich and gullible worshippers. Soon, with hefty donations piling in from a growing congregation-all inspired by fraudulent transmogrifications-the ordained Reverend Stanton Carlisle was at the top of his game. But remember the tarot card of the hanged man, whose downward headed fate is strung up for all to see: fame is known to falter, and a low life is never far from reach.“Mr. Gresham yanked the reviewer into the midst of his macabre and compelling novel, and kept him a breathless captive until the tour was over. It’s a truly rewarding whirl through his nightmare alley…All of it adds up to Grade-A guignol with a touch of black magic about it…If you enjoy hundred-proof evil-and a cogent analysis of same with your nightcap-then, in the words of the Ten-in-One barker, hurry, hurry, hurry!” -The New York TimesNightmare Alley inspired a film in 1947 starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell, a graphic novel by the legendary underground cartoonist Spain Rodriguez, and a new musical adaptation now playing at the Geffen Theater in Los Angeles.

By and large the kind of tales an author writes are metaphors for the scars in the nooks and crannies of his/her psyche. In David Morrell's youth, thrillers and horror stories provided an escape from his nightmarish reality. Is it any wonder that, as an adult obsessed with being a writer, he has compulsively turned to the types of stories that provided escape when he was a child? In his own words, perhaps he is eager to provide an escape for others. Or perhaps he is still trying to escape from his past. In each of the stories in this collection there is a theme: obsession and determination. A character gets and idea in his head, a hook on his emotions, a need that has to be fulfilled, and he does everything possible to carry through, no matter how difficult. Written with the haunting emotional intensity and lightning pace that has made David Morrell the master of high-action suspense writing, this collection of stories will leave you dazzled.

The definition of an owl had always pleased him: a night bird of prey…sharp talons and soft plumage which permits noiseless flight…applied figuratively to a person of nocturnal habits. 'I am The Owl', he would whisper to himself after he had selected his prey, 'and nighttime is my time.'"Jean Sheridan, a college dean and prominent historian, sets out to her hometown to attend the twenty-year reunion of Stonecroft Academy alumni, where she is to be honored along with six other members of her class. There is something uneasy in the air: one woman in the group about to be feted, Alison Kendall, a beautiful, high-powered Hollywood agent, drowned in her pool during an early-morning swim. Alison is the fifth woman in the class whose life has come to a sudden, mysterious end.Adding to Jean's sense of unease is a taunting, anonymous fax she received, referring to her daughter – a child she had given up for adoption twenty years ago.At the award dinner, Jean is introduced to Sam Deegan, a detective obsessed by the unsolved murder of a young woman who may hold the key to the identity of the Stonecroft killer. Jean does not suspect that among the distinguished people she is greeting is The Owl, a murderer nearing the countdown on his mission of vengeance against the Stonecroft women who had mocked and humiliated him, with Jean as his final victim.From The Washington PostAs pointed out in Book World's May 2 Summer Forecast, readers hardly need to be reminded that Mary Higgins Clark's latest spring offering is here. Nighttime Is My Time brings to 29 the number of novels to bear her name, novels that have routinely graced bestseller lists and earned her numerous awards and the title Queen of Suspense. It is equally significant that Clark, an icon in the mystery field, has been generous with her time and attention to numerous younger writers, as evidenced by an award she and her publisher have sponsored since 2001 to recognize new talented authors, including Barbara D'Amato, Judith Kelman, Rose Conners and M.K. Preston, who follow the vein of suspense Clark has so expertly mined.In a recent interview, Clark attributed her popularity to readers' ability to "walk in the shoes of the character." In the guidelines for eligibility to win the award that bears her name, Clark spells out the makings of a good suspense novel: "A very nice young woman, 27-38 or so, whose life is suddenly invaded. She is not looking for trouble – she is doing exactly what she should be doing. She solves her problem by her own courage and intelligence. She's in an interesting job. She's self-made – independent – has primarily good family relationships. No on-scene violence. No four-letter words or explicit sex scenes."Nighttime Is My Time hews to this formula by creating an admirable protagonist, Jean Sheridan, a historian and author of a well-received book on Abigail Adams, then adds other elements to which virtually every reader can relate. Jean is returning to her hometown to be honored at the 20-year reunion of her class at Stonecroft Academy, a private school in upstate New York. But one of the six other honorees won't be attending the festivities. Hollywood agent Alison Kendall has been murdered in the book's opening pages by a man who had the resources to travel repeatedly to Los Angeles to stalk her before he drowned her in her own swimming pool.Alison's death strikes Jean hard. The two had been friends and part of a group of girls known for lunching together, their good looks and their cruelty to boys in the school. Typical high school behavior perhaps, but, like the boys of Columbine, Alison's killer has nursed a grudge over how the girls taunted him, most specifically for taking advantage of his stage fright when he played an owl in a school play. This murderer's vengeance, planned and implemented over two decades, calls for killing each lunch-table girl, and other unrelated women, and leaving no "signature" to alert law enforcement, save the little pewter owls he places undetected near their bodies, a "silent reminder of his visit, a calling card that everybody always missed." And although he readily admits to himself that Jean was the only girl who was kind to him, in fact had enough family problems of her own to have been ridiculed herself, our serial killer (who calls himself, unsurprisingly, The Owl) has decided she too must die.A reunion saddened by the tragic loss of a friend, a loss readers know is murder; the resourceful, successful heroine who has risen to the heights of her profession but must struggle to save herself and her daughter from the killer; the disappearance of actress Laura Wilcox, another honoree, before the reunion is over; a stalking serial killer who sits among the unsuspecting as a classmate and friend – Clark enlists these and other trademark devices to ratchet up the empathy and suspense.While her fans may be delighted as the red herrings and misdirections pile up in chapters so short that their white space consumes a hefty percentage of the novel's pages, for this reader so much exposure to the killer's habits, thoughts and actions undermines the novel's plausibility. While he may call himself The Owl and wear a frightening feathered headdress, it's unlikely that the kidnapped Laura wouldn't allow herself to say his name, even to herself, regardless of his admonitions not to speak it aloud. Implausible, too, is Sam Deegan, an about-to-retire veteran investigator in the D.A.'s office, whose inability to link past and present crimes is troubling. So is his tendency to share information with suspects and people unassociated with the case, including a nosy reporter for the high school paper whose sole purpose seems to be to move the plot along when the action gets sluggish.Clark 's successful contributions to the genre clearly indicate that she knows, and has done, better work. And while diehard fans may not object as Nighttime Is My Time wends it way to its inexorable conclusion, others who wish for more sizzle in their suspense or more spine-tingling entertainments may want to wait for Clark's next novel or try D'Amato, Kelman or the others whom she has so graciously encouraged.

A drug kingpin on the FBI's Most Wanted list is found hanging upside down over a bathtub, his corpse drained of blood. The killing looks like an organized-crime payback hit-until another Ten Most Wanted criminal is found similarly strung up, and then another. Soon Detective Alex Brandon of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department is grappling not only with a testy partner and a complicated home life, but also with a band of brilliant vigilantes whom the public starts to regard as heroes.Alex Brandon is almost too good to be true, with his penetrating blue eyes, his steely toughness, his politeness, and his tenacious smarts. But Jan Burke-best known for her well-regarded series featuring reporter Irene Kelly-is such a sane, intelligent writer that Brandon and the book's many other characters come vividly alive. She's also a fine craftsman of individual scenes, many of which are perfectly paced little dramas or comedies. Nine's gripping, multithreaded plot is sometimes too complex for its own good, and the climax tips into melodrama, but overall the reliable Burke, a past winner of the Edgar and other mystery awards, has produced another winning read.

In this electrifying short story by New York Times bestselling suspense master Jeffery Deaver, the destinies of seven strangers intersect in ways no one sees coming. It looks like just another gray March morning in the tough urban district nicknamed Nowhere when seven lives converge: a young man intent on buying a gun; the gangbanger who cuts him a deal; a by-the-book police officer on a last patrol; an advertising executive keeping secrets from her husband; a veteran haunted by a combat death; a single dad in a bitter custody battle; and a sharp-looking businessman en route to a new job he desperately needs. Any one of them could have a dark motive. Any one of them could be walking into a trap. When the fog lifts, it will all be much clearer — that a single, shattering act of violence has marked each of them forever.

David Gurney se sentía casi invencible… hasta que se topó con el asesino más inteligente con el que jamás había tenido que enfrentarse.Dave Gurney, el protagonista de la primera novela de John Verdon, Se lo que estás pensando, vuelve para afrontar el caso más difícil de su carrera, una batalla con un adversario implacable que no solo es un inteligente y frío asesino, sino que no tiene reparos en atacar directamente al punto débil de Gurney: su esposa.Ha pasado un año desde que el exdetective de la Policía de Nueva York consiguió atrapar al asesino de los números y, aunque es su intención retirarse definitivamente junto a su esposa Madeleine, un nuevo caso se le presenta de forma imprevista. Una novia es asesinada de manera brutal durante el banquete de bodas, con cientos de invitados en el jardín, y ese es un reto al que es imposible resistirse.Todas las pistas apuntan a un misterioso y perturbado jardinero pero nada encaja: ni el móvil, ni la situación del arma homicida y sobre todo, el cruel modus operandi. Dejando de lado lo obvio, Gurney empieza a unir los puntos que le descubrirán una compleja red de negocios siniestros y tramas ocultas.

You think you do not know who I am, but you do. They took you away and Seduced you and stole you from me, just as the others did before. They have tried to blot out your Memory of me...  But everything is clear now...

At first, British TV star and recent Los Angeles transplant Sarah Broughton thinks the letters she has been receiving are from a typical fan — someone a little strange, perhaps, but harmless. But when her admirer — who identifies himself only as “M” — starts threatening Sarah and her loved ones, she turns to detectives Arvo Hughes and Maria Hernandez of the LAPD Threat Management Unit and experts in pursuing the most dangerous of stalkers. Pitted against a frighteningly twisted mind, the detectives test their expertise and experience to the limit in the desperate race to save Sarah’s life.

A disturbing missing-person case reunites ex-Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster and FBI Agent Beth Daniels. Skye is just one of a dozen young women who have disappeared from Florida without a trace. Beth can do more than just imagine their fear. She was a victim herself — a trauma that’s strengthened her fight for justice.Then Lancaster uncovers a scrap of evidence, and the mystery begins to unravel. But the lead comes with a personal sting: the involvement of his estranged brother, Logan, an ex-con recruited into the shepherding of human trade. The only way for Logan to shed his demons is to come clean. For Lancaster and Daniels, that means being drawn, secret by secret, into a dangerous underground world.With time running out, three damaged pasts will collide; more secrets will spill; and Lancaster, Daniels, and Logan will have to fight to save themselves first if they ever hope to find the girls alive.

For Tess Monaghan, the unsolved murder of a young federal prosecutor is nothing more than a theoretical problem, one of several cases to be deconstructed in her new gig as a consultant to the local newspaper. But it becomes all too tangible when her boyfriend brings home a young street kid who doesn't even realize he holds an important key to the man’s death. Tess agrees to protect the boy’s identity no matter what, especially when one of his friends is killed in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity. But with federal agents determined to learn the boy’s name at any cost, Tess finds out just how far even official authorities will go to get what they want. Soon she’s facing felony charges – and her boyfriend, Crow, has gone into hiding with his young protégé, so Tess can’t deliver the kid to investigators even if she wants to. Time and time again Tess is reminded of her father’s old joke, the one about the most terrifying sentence in the English language: “We're from the government – and we're here to help.”

From Publishers WeeklyIn Armstrong's assured seventh Otherworld paranormal romance, her first in hardcover (after Broken), pretty Jaime Vegas, a 44-year-old necromancer who can reanimate the dead, faces her biggest career challenge yet-freeing the trapped ghosts of six murdered children. Thankfully, Jeremy Danvers, Jaime's hunky and very Alpha werewolf boyfriend, tags along for this hair-raising ride. Jaime, who has made a living onstage and off by her ghost-whispering skills, is in L.A. as one of three celebrity mediums participating in Death of Innocence, a TV special that hopes "to raise the ghost of Marilyn Monroe," but instead uncovers a serial-killing cult intent on man-made black magic. Seeking justice for the lost children and punishing the dark arts practitioners don't prevent Jaime and Jeremy from finding time for love. Armstrong deftly juggles such creatures as werewolves, witches, demons and ghosts with real-life issues. The only disappointment? Marilyn's ghost never shows.From BooklistFortysomething Jaime Vegas is a sexy, redheaded celebrity medium on the threshold of a spiritualist's dream: her own TV show. She is one of three professional psychics brought to a haunted site for a reality TV show and charged with raising the ghost of Marilyn Monroe. Obviously, this is Jaime's shot at stardom. Her costars are drawling, up-and-coming starlet medium Angelique and UK satanic specialist Bradford Grady, and watching the three one-up each other as they jockey for prime position, even during a warm-up seance, is good show-biz comedy. Jaime knows and uses a psychic's two primary tools, knowledge (prior facts) and statistical probability, but everything depends on her authentic, natural necromantic gifts. But when she finds spirits in the site's garden with whom she cannot commune despite her superpowerful silver ring, she fears she's out of her league (she's not wrong) and flies to Portland for help. Paranormal and show-business power struggles make for hard-to-put-down entertainment.

‘We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.’

It’s been seventeen months since the Bloodsmith butchered his first victim and Operation Maypole is still no nearer to catching him. The media is whipping up a storm, the top brass are demanding results, but the investigation is sinking fast.

Now isn’t the time to get distracted with other cases, but Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh doesn’t have much choice. When Benedict Strachan was just eleven, he hunted down and killed a homeless man. No one’s ever figured out why Benedict did it, but now, after sixteen years, he’s back on the streets again — battered, frightened, convinced a shadowy ‘They’ are out to get him, and begging Lucy for help.

It sounds like paranoia, but what if he’s right? What if he really is caught up in something bigger and darker than Lucy’s ever dealt with before? What if the Bloodsmith isn’t the only monster out there? And what’s going to happen when Lucy goes after them?

Una estrella de teatro y de la pantalla se arroja, en misteriosas circunstancias, por el balcón de su ático neoyorquino, ¿Fue asesinada por su amante, Ted Winters, un apuesto magnate de los negocios atormentado por un secreto inconfesable? ¿O se trata de un suicidio? Pero ¿por qué iba Leila a quitarse la vida en la cumbre de la fortuna y el éxito? ¿O la mató otra persona? Sin embargo, ¿quién querría acabar con la vida de una joven admirada y querida por todo el mundo?…