Collection: Mystery, Thrillers, & Crime

Robert McCammon delivers "a tour de force of storytelling" (BookPage) in this award-winning masterpiece, a novel of Southern boyhood, growing up in the 1960s, that reaches far beyond that evocative landscape to touch readers universally.

Boy's Life is a richly imagined, spellbinding portrait of the magical worldview of the young--and of innocence lost.

Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson--a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake--and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him. From an ancient mystic who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown--for his father's sanity and his own life hang in the balance...

An obituary writer finds one of her neighbors dead before her time in this debut cozy mystery perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Eva Gates.

Obituary writer Winter Snow is no stranger to grief, and writing obituaries for the citizens of Ridgefield, Connecticut, is her way of providing comfort to those who have been in her shoes. But funerals and eulogies are meant for the dead, so when the very much alive Leocadia Arlington requests her own obituary by the end of the week, Winter's curiosity is piqued. Even more so when she finds Mrs. Arlington dead soon after. Officer Kip Michaels and his relentless partner Tom Bellini make it clear that Winter is under suspicion for the death.

Drafting an obituary for someone who hadn't died yet certainly looks bad, but Winter knows that it wasn't her, and she becomes obsessed with trying to figure out the real killer. She dives headfirst into the investigation to give Mrs. Arlington and herself some peace. When Winter realizes Mrs. Arlington was working on a revealing memoir that has now gone missing, Winter begins to wonder if the death wasn't exactly random-accident or otherwise.

With the help of her foodie Uncle Richard, her wise octogenarian neighbor Horace, her best friend Scoop, and Diva, the Great Pyrenees puppy she inherited from Mrs. Arlington, Winter must uncover the killer before the next obituary written is her own.

When you're with Geronimo Stilton, it's always a fabumouse adventure!

It was my birthday! I was out with my family and friends celebrating when I realized, someone had replaced all my money with phony bills. I couldn't pay for my cheesecake! Could Hercule and I track down the prankster before it ruined my special day?

From rising star Jessica Goodman, author of They Wish They Were Us, comes a new fast-paced thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team--the only way out of their stiflingly small town. But their dreams are suddenly thrown into peril when a new girl threatens to take away everything they've worked for . . . until she disappears.

Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course.

The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. Mila was the top runner on her team back home, and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been looking for a friend. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted.

With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.

Get ready for a curveball! Help Mike and Kate solve four Ballpark Mysteries in some of America's favorite ballparks, collected together for the first time!

Team up with baseball super-fans Mike and Kate as they knock their first four mysteries out of the park! From a stolen baseball bat to a haunted stadium, there's no mystery that these cousins can't solve with their sharp detective skills and their love of the game. Includes Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up, Ballpark Mysteries #2: The Pinstripe Ghost, Ballpark Mysteries #3: The L.A. Dodger, and Ballpark Mysteries #4: The Astro Outlaw. Batter up!

One day, an alien orphan crash-lands on Earth and is adopted by a human couple, the Kents. Many years later, that little baby becomes Superman, protector of Earth! But how did the Man of Steel go from orphan to super hero? Experience Clark Kent's incredible journey in this action-packed chapter book for early readers featuring vibrant art by DC Comics illustrators.

On a culinary tour of the British Isles, retired Detective Superintendent Albert Smith and snarky former police dog Rex Harrison find something quite unexpected waiting for them at their B&B ...

... it's the almost-dead body of their landlady.

Refusing to believe in coincidence, Albert and Rex set out to discover why her 'accident' is the second terrible event there in two days. Something is stirring in Bakewell and it's not the ingredients for a famous tart.

In trouble faster than a souffle can fall, the duo must work fast before anyone else has an accident. But the landlady's twin sister is hiding a secret, Albert keeps calling it a tart when it's a pudding, and their taxi driver, Asim, appears to use a language all of his own.

With Rex's nose working overtime, you can be sure they'll track down the bad guys responsible. Unfortunately, that might be when the real trouble begins.

Baking. It can get a guy killed.

"You'll fall in love with Elvis, the spunky little dog who is an excellent judge of character, and Emily, the compassionate veterinarian-sleuth who rescues him." -Sharon Marchisello, author of Secrets of the Galapagos

As the new owner of the Coral Shores Veterinary Hospital, Dr. Emily Benton is in over her head. When she makes a house call at the home of her client, Mrs. Eliza Klein, she finds the woman's terrier, Elvis, in a state of distress and Mrs. Klein face down on the floor-dead. Emily immediately contacts her brother, Deputy Sheriff Duncan Benton, for help.

The cause of death is later determined to be nicotine poisoning, triggering an official murder investigation. Who would want to kill a retired piano teacher best known for her animal charity work?

Emily is caught up in the middle of the drama when she brings Elvis into her home. The little terrier's strong canine instincts drag Emily further into the investigation, putting them both at risk. While Emily and her best friend, Anthony, take on the role of amateur sleuths, Emily's brother and his very handsome colleague, Detective Mike Lane, work to uncover the truth and get justice for both Mrs. Klein and Elvis.

Twenty years ago, the mysterious death of his aunt left Aaron Holbrook orphaned and alone. He abandoned his rural Arkansas hometown vowing never to return, until his seven-year-old son died in an accident, plunging Aaron into a nightmare of addiction and grief. Desperate to reclaim a piece of himself, he returns to the hills of his childhood, to Holbrook House, where he hopes to find peace among the memories of his youth. But solace doesn't come easy. Someone--or something--has other plans. Like Aaron, Holbrook House is but a shell of what it once was, a target for vandals and ghost hunters who have nicknamed it "the devil's den." Aaron doesn't believe in the paranormal--at least, not until a strange boy begins following him wherever he goes. Plagued by violent dreams and disturbing visions, Aaron begins to wonder if he's losing his mind. But a festering darkness lurks at the heart of Holbrook House... a darkness that grins from within the shadows, delighting in Aaron's sorrow, biding its time.

Selected as a Most Anticipated title by People, Parade, Bustle, CrimeReads, She Reads, and more! An electrifying work of literary suspense from internationally bestselling author Katrine Engberg, The Tenant--heralded as a "stunning debut" by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs--follows two Copenhagen police detectives struggling to solve a shocking murder and stop a killer hell-bent on revenge.When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case. In short order, they establish a link between the victim, Julie Stender, and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who's a bit too fond of drink and the host of raucous dinner parties with her artist friends. Esther also turns out to be a budding novelist--and when Julie turns up as a murder victim in the still-unfinished mystery she's writing, the link between fiction and real life grows both more urgent and more dangerous. But Esther's role in this twisted scenario is not quite as clear as it first seems. Is she the culprit or just another victim, trapped in a twisted game of vengeance? Anette and Jeppe must dig more deeply into the two women's pasts to discover the identity of the brutal puppet-master pulling the strings. Evocative and original, The Tenant promises "dark family secrets--and a smorgasbord of surprises" (People).

Four brave siblings were searching for a home - and found a life of adventure! Join the Boxcar Children as they investigate some suspicious activity at a bus station in this illustrated chapter book series beloved by generations of readers.

The Boxcar Children take a bus trip to the Science and Hobby Fair, but a bad storm forces them to stay at a bus station along the way. Soon they are in the middle of a mystery involving a polluted river, two strange boys, and a suspicious bus-station manager.

What started as a single story about the Alden Children has delighted readers for generations and sold more than 80 million books worldwide. Featuring timeless adventures, mystery, and suspense, The Boxcar Children(R) series continues to inspire children to learn, question, imagine, and grow.

A century-old mystery--and a desperate battle to survive--unfold in this standalone thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion.

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins, and not a single bone found.

Now, journalist Abigail Foster and her historian father have set out to explore the long-abandoned town and learn what happened. With them are two backcountry guides--along with a psychic and a paranormal photographer who are there to investigate rumors that the town is haunted.

But Abigail and her companions are about to learn that the town's ghosts are the least of their worries. Twenty miles from civilization, with a blizzard bearing down, they realize they are not alone.

The ordeal that follows will test this small team past the breaking point as they battle the elements and human foes alike--and discover that the town's secrets still have the power to kill.

Part journey into old-West history, part nail-biting survival thriller, Abandon is a bloody, darkly surprising tale as only Blake Crouch could deliver.

The first explosive thriller featuring Peter Ash, a veteran who finds that the demons of war aren't easily left behind...

"Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Petrie's Peter Ash is the real deal."--Lee Child

Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with only one souvenir: what he calls his "white static," the buzzing claustrophobia due to post-traumatic stress that has driven him to spend a year roaming in nature, sleeping under the stars.

But when a friend from the Marines commits suicide, Ash returns to civilization to help the man's widow with some home repairs. Under her dilapidated porch, he finds more than he bargained for: the largest, ugliest, meanest dog he's ever encountered...and a Samsonite suitcase stuffed with cash and explosives.

As Ash begins to investigate this unexpected discovery, he finds himself at the center of a plot that is far larger than he could have imagined...and it may lead straight back to the world he thought he'd left for good.

"When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell."

--New York Times Book Review

[PLEASE BOX: ]

CHAOS

From the Ancient Greek (χάος or kháos)

A vast chasm or void. Anarchy. The science of unpredictability.

On a late summer evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her investigative partner, Pete Marino, respond to a call about a dead bicyclist near the Kennedy School of Government. It appears that a young woman has been attacked with almost superhuman force.

Even before Scarpetta's headquarters has been officially notified about the case, Marino and Scarpetta's FBI agent husband, Benton Wesley, receive suspicious calls, allegedly from someone at Interpol. But it makes no sense. Why would the elite international police agency know about the case or be interested? It soon becomes apparent that an onslaught of harassment might be the work of an anonymous cyberbully named Tailend Charlie, who has been sending cryptic communications to Scarpetta for over a week.

Even Lucy, her brilliant tech-savvy niece, can't trace who it is or how this person could have access to intimate information. When a second death shocks Scarpetta to her core, it becomes apparent she and those close to her are confronted with something far bigger and more dangerous than they'd ever imagined.

What do you get when you cross a cursed bookshop, three hot fictional men, and a punk rock heroine nursing a broken heart?

After being fired from her fashion internship in New York City, Mina Wilde decides it's time to reevaluate her life. She returns to the quaint English village where she grew up to take a job at the local bookshop, hoping that being surrounded by great literature will help her heal from a devastating blow.

But Mina soon discovers her life is stranger than fiction - a mysterious curse on the bookshop brings fictional characters to life in lust-worthy bodies. Mina finds herself babysitting Poe's raven, making hot dogs for Heathcliff, and getting IT help from James Moriarty, all while trying not to fall for the three broken men who should only exist within her imagination.

When Mina's ex-best friend shows up dead with a knife in her back, she's the chief suspect. She'll have to solve the murder if she wants to clear her name. Will her fictional boyfriends be able to keep her out of prison?

The Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries are what you get when all your book boyfriends come to life. Join a brooding antihero, a master criminal, a cheeky raven, and a heroine with a big heart (and an even bigger book collection) in this brand new steamy reverse harem paranormal mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes.

The final book in the New York Times bestselling Gwendy's Button Box trilogy from Stephen King and Richard Chizmar.

When Gwendy Peterson was twelve, a mysterious stranger named Richard Farris gave her a mysterious box for safekeeping. It offered treats and vintage coins, but it was dangerous. Pushing any of its eight colored buttons promised death and destruction. Years later, the button box reentered Gwendy's life. A successful novelist and a rising political star, she was once again forced to deal with the temptation the box represented. Now, malignant forces seek to possess the button box, and it is up to Senator Gwendy Peterson to keep it from them at all costs. But where can one hide something from such powerful entities?

In Gwendy's Final Task, master storytellers Stephen King and Richard Chizmar take us on a journey from Castle Rock to another famous cursed Maine city to the MF-1 space station, where Gwendy must execute a secret mission to save the world. And, maybe, all worlds.