In Shell Game, O’Connell raises the standard once again. It is fall in New York City. On live television, the re-creation of a legendary magic trick goes horribly awry – a terrible accident, everyone agrees. But two people know it is not. One is an aged magician in a private hospital in the northern corner of New York state. What a worthy performance, he thinks, murdering a man while a million people watch.The other is Kathleen Mallory. Once a feral child, loose on the city streets, she is now a New York City policewoman, and not much changed: a tall young woman with green gunslinger eyes and a ferocious inner compass of right and wrong. For her, the death is too dramatic, too showy, and she is convinced that there will be another one – this perp loves spectacle. But even she cannot predict the spectacular chain of events that has already been set in motion, or the profoundly disturbing consequences it will have for those she holds most dear. For misdirection is the heart of magic. The lady never really gets sawed in half, does she?So why is there so much blood?Filled with the rich prose, resonant characters, and knife-edge suspense that have won her so many admirers, Shell Game is Carol O’Connell’s most remarkable novel yet.

Mickey Bolitar's year can't get much worse. After witnessing his father's death and sending his mom to rehab, he's forced to live with his estranged Uncle Myron and switch high schools. A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For awhile, it seems like Mickey's train-wreck of a life is finally improving – until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn't who she claimed to be. And neither was Mickey's father. Soon, Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem like a luxury – and leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew. First introduced to listeners in Harlan Coben's latest adult novel, Live Wire, Mickey Bolitar is as quick-witted and clever as his Uncle Myron, and eager to go to any length to save the people he cares about. With this new series, Coben introduces an entirely new generation of fans to the masterful plotting and wry humor that have made him an award-winning, internationally bestselling, and beloved author.

Set initially in a future shanty town in America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she'll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.

The summer of 1917.Britain is losing the war against the deadly German U-boats.After a close fought action, Commander David Smith uncovers what he believes is a deadly plot against Britain from a dying German sailor. Code-named SchwerttrZiger — or Swordbearer — it could turn the tide of the war in Germany's favour. But nobody will listen to him. He is under suspicion, and ignored. With just one one ancient destroyer, a turtle-back ‘thirty-knotter’ known as ‘Bloody Mary’, under his command, he must wage this battle on his own. Smith has to take on shore batteries and bigger, faster enemy destroyers. He has to fight the hostility of his commanding officer and is plunged into a world of espionage behind enemy lines. Through it all the mystery behind ‘Schwerttriiger’ lures him on — until he stakes his career and his life in a desperate attempt to solve it.‘Ship of Force’ is an edge-of-the-seat WWI naval adventure that combines thrilling story-telling with meticulous research.I think a 21 gun salute is required… Alan Evans has produced a cracking thrillerThe Daily MirrorEvans provides a different sea story, sustained suspense and vivid battle scenesPublishers WeeklyAlan Evans was a thriller writer known for vividly recreating the atmosphere of the First World War.

Cutting-edge technology and personal greed converge in this spine-tingling novel of medicine run amok. Deborah Cochrane and Joanna Meissner, students and close friends, spot a campus newspaper ad that promises to solve their financial problems: an exclusive, highly profitable fertility clinic on Boston's North Shore is looking for donors. Deborah and Joanna figure they can perform a good deed in helping infertle couples, while earning some money for themselves. Although rumours Surface of a fellow donor's unexplained disappearance, they remain undeterred. The procedures seem to go smoothly, but second thoughts and curiosity prompt the two women discover more, Stymied by the clinic's veil of secrecy, Deborah and Joanna obtain employment there to continue their probe. Working under aliases, they soon discover the horrifying true aims of Dr Windgate's research, immediately putting their lives – and their sanity – irrevocably at risk.

"Enormously entertaining and enormously authentic." – John Sandford“BORN IS THE REAL THING.”-Elmore Leonard“A NEW STAR.”-W. E. B. Griffin“Born owns not only the know-how to spin a good story but also has the stylistic chops to back it up. By turns funny and suspenseful.”- Chicago Sun-Times“Born shows his skill at mixing quirky characters and wry humor into a serious plot in his second novel… Once again, Born excels at blending the police procedural with the caper novel.”- Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel“Born’s latest novel bombards us with a constant blitz of Die Hard action and some good laughs, too… Readers will be riveted as they follow Tasker racing against the tick-tock of clocks attached to bombs throughout downtown Miami. It’s easy to lose track of time until you get to the end of Born’s memorable second book. Let’s hope he keeps ’em coming.” -The Miami Herald“Born masterfully combines dark humor and suspense in his explosively creative crime novel. The combination of fast pacing, strong characterization, and a vividly cinematic ending makes this a tough book to put down.” – Lansing State Journal“A winning protagonist… The plot of Shock Wave is tremendously entertaining, combining edge-of-your-seat action and suspense, an intriguing game of cat and mouse, and occasional passages of laugh-out-loud humor… Born is the best thing to happen to Florida crime writing since Elmore Leonard hit the Sunshine State. This guy is the real deal.” -Mystery Ink“Tough as bulletproof glass… top thrill work, with a Jerry Bruckheimer ending, much welcome humor, and the Bureau as Born’s tackling dummy.”-Kirkus ReviewsFlorida lawman James Born follows one of the most highly praised crime debuts of the year with a literally explosive novel of hunter and hunted.FDLE agent Bill Tasker, still smarting from a run-in with the FBI that almost got him killed, reluctantly teams up with the bureau again on a case involving a stolen Stinger missile. The op goes smoothly enough (though the feds take all the credit-what else is new?), but something about the whole setup just doesn't feel right to him. Tasker pokes around a bit-and stirs up more trouble than a nest of rattlesnakes: with his boss, with the FBI, with the ATF, and, worst of all, with a certain gentleman who loves to see things blow up… bigger and bigger things,as it turns out. The bomber hasn't killed anybody yet, but if this FDLE agent keeps interfering-well, there's always a first time, isn't there?

The thought of working with a hot-shot producer and her TV crew is about as appealing to Abby as sticking her hand in a bucket of leeches. But "Reality Check" is a program that claims to turn American dreams into the real thing, and Abby figures that if anyone deserves that kind of bonanza, it's Emma Lopez, who has been raising her three younger siblings since her mother disappeared. Abby is determined to help Emma realize her dream of a reunion-even when it becomes clear that someone out there doesn't believe in happy endings.

In the newest addition to the bestselling series, Stone Barrington and Holly Barker pursue a master spy and murderer in a tropical paradise where very little is as it seems.Teddy Fay, a rogue agent last seen escaping an imploding building in Iron Orchid, has been considered dead for some time now. But President Will Lee thinks Teddy may still be alive. In a top-secret Oval Office meeting, Stone learns that he and his cohorts, Holly Barker and Dino Baldachetti, are being sent to the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Marks, courtesy of the CIA, to track down Teddy once and for all.St. Marks is a vacationer’s paradise, but its luxurious beach clubs and secluded mountain villas are home to corrupt local politicians and more than a few American ex-pats with murky personal histories. Stone and Holly soon discover that in St. Marks, everyone is hiding something, and Teddy Fay may just be hiding in plain sight.

Author's 4th novel. As a former RAF pilot, a former Air Correspondent for The Sunday Times, Lyall certainly knows about flying.Combining his expertise with fast-paced, well-written plots has made him one of the most popular writers of action thrillers. An adventure story, influenced by the works of Hammett and Chandler. In this one, Keith Carr, piloting cargo around the Carribean, finds himself mixed up with potentially lethal local politics.

From Peter James, #1 bestselling author of Perfect People and the Roy Grace series, comes an unforgettable collection of nine short stories. From a woman intent on revenge to a restaurant critic with a fear of the number thirteen, and from an unusual Italian aphrodisiac to a story of ghostly terror, these are darkly humorous tales of murderous lovers, duplicitous dealings and urban domesticity turned on its head. Funny, sad, but always shocking, each tale carries a twist that will haunt readers for days after they turn the final page...

In this second short story collection from number one bestseller Peter James, some of our darkest dreams and deepest fears are brought chillingly to life. From a couple plagued by medieval spectres, a philandering cad caught with his trousers around his ankles, and the author’s own deeply personal experience of a haunted house, to the first ever case of his best-loved Detective, Roy Grace, James exposes the Achilles heels of each of his characters, and makes us question how well we can trust ourselves, and each other.

Collected short stories by Andy Weir.

Short Straw reintroduces Santa Fe lawyer Ed Eagle, who first appeared in Stuart Woods's 1992 thriller, Santa Fe Rules. In his first adventure, Ed fell in love with the seductive Barbara Kennerly, and married her-against his better judgment.Turns out that Ed should have listened to his intuition. Ed Eagle awakens the morning after his fortieth birthday to find that Barbara has vanished, and Ed's money-from his business, his bank, and his brokerage accounts-has been wired to the Cayman Islands. Barbara, it appears, had drugged his birthday wine, neatly cleaned him out and then fled to Mexico, from where she can't be extradited. And as if that weren't bad enough, when Ed arrives at work that morning he discovers that he's been assigned a new client who looks like nothing but trouble-Joe Big Bear, a part-time mechanic charged with a triple homicide. Ed hires two slightly shady investigators to search for his wife. But when they track Barbara down in Puerto Vallarta, they discover that Joe Big Bear may also be embroiled in Barbara's plot. Ed soon finds himself caught in a scheme that is much more far reaching-and deadly-than anyone would have expected.

An anthology of storiesThese all-new short stories of movies, music, murder, and mayhem by today's brightest talents will take you from vaudeville to Vegas, and make it chillingly clear that in the world of entertainment, if you want to make it, you may have to step on some people-or over their dead bodies…Includes first-run stories from€ Carolyn Wheat€ John Lutz€ Elaine Viets€ Parnell Hall€ Stuart M Kaminsky€ Edward D Hoch€ Annette Meyers€ Angela Zeman€ David Bart€ Bob Shayne€ Mark Terry€ Gary Phillips€ Suzanne Shaphren€ Libby Fischer Hellman€ Charles Ardai€ Gregg Andrew Hurwitz€ Steve Hockensmith€ Shelley Freydont€ Robert Lopresti€ Mat Coward

In a remote mountain range in 1970s New Zealand, a bird thought to be long extinct is miraculously rediscovered, and two experienced trampers disappear without a trace. Could these events be linked to the growing racial tension gripping New Zealand society, fuelled by a series of violent highway hold-ups? And what has happened to the gifted young Maori geologist who vanished three years earlier?A mild-mannered geology lecturer and an accountant with a passion for birdwatching find their orderly lives turned upside-down, as their search for the truth takes them from the comfortable suburbs of Auckland to the rugged and misty heart of the Raukumara Ranges, arguably New Zealand’s last untouched wilderness area. Will they find the answers before it’s too late?

As the two largest, most powerfully equipped naval fleets in history move slowly toward each other near Islas Piedras — an American missile site in the Indian Ocean that threatens Russia's grip on the Middle East — two men stand in the darkened control rooms of their ships. David Charles and Alex Kupinsky are worried because, as the admirals of these fleets, they may be responsible for all-out nuclear war. They are also concerned because once, a long time ago, they were the best of friends…As Admirals Charles and Kupinsky face imminent disaster, forced to make their moves on the chessboard of modern warfare, we look back over their pasts as men of peace and men of war. David Charles learned the hard way in the tragic Bay of Pigs, on the treacherous rivers of Vietnam, and in the backrooms of embassies around the world. Alex Kupinsky was raised by the man who watched his father die in World War II — the same man who has since become Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union.Moving from the real past to the possible future, from romantic memories of the women left behind to hard action on the high seas, SHOW OF FORCE is the story of men turned warriors, of a world turned battlefield. And as communications break down between Washington, Moscow, and the fleets themselves, it becomes the story of two men with the power to stop that ultimate folly of the mighty, World War III.