Collection: Mystery, Thrillers, & Crime

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian's talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn't make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet...and markedly devoid of homicide.

But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime--and fast--or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board....

Help Nancy and her friends find out who's causing a major pool party problem in this first book in an all-new, interactive Nancy Drew chapter book series. Includes space for readers to jot down their own ideas and solutions to the case!

Snooty Deidre Shannon writes in her blog "Dishing with Deidre" that since eight is half of sixteen, she's entitled to a Super Sweet Half-Sixteen party this year! And since the Shannons have a pool, she's decided to make mermaids her theme. Nancy, Bess, and George are invited to the big bash, where all party guests must dress in under-the-sea-themed costumes.

For her grand entrance, Deidre dresses as a mermaid and is carried out on a giant half-shell by six teenage "sea creatures." The garden boasts hedges clipped into the shapes of various types of ocean life. Deidre's father even booked "Queen Mermaid Marissa" to perform in their pool--fin and all.

But when a squirmy snake is found swimming in the pool too, Queen Marissa leaves in a huff! Who would sabotage the mermaid pool performance? Nancy, Bess, and George intend to find out!

From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.

The fireman is coming. Stay cool.

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies--before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she's discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob's dismay, Harper wants to live--at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads--armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn't as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter's jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman's secrets before her life--and that of her unborn child--goes up in smoke.

NYT bestsellingauthor of Kingdom of the Wicked, Kerri Maniscalco, presents her wholly addictive and incredibly suspenseful first series in a complete paperback set for the first time. Jump into this #1 bestselling mystery series for readers who love heart-pounding thrills, twists, and romance.

Stalking Jack the Ripper
In this spine-chilling gothic murder mystery set in gritty Victorian-era London, a resourceful lord's daughter named Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her brilliant friend Thomas Cresswell find themselves inescapably embroiled in the investigation of a ghastly serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

Hunting Prince Dracula
In this haunting sequel, Audrey Rose and Thomas uncover bizarre murders deep in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer...or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Escaping From Houdini
In their third harrowing adventure, Audrey Rose and Thomas find themselves aboard a luxurious ocean liner that becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one...with nowhere to run from the killer.

Capturing the Devil
In the shocking finale to the bestselling series, Audrey Rose and Thomas are on the hunt for the elusive, sickening killer known as the White City Devil. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse has them fighting to stay one step ahead of the brilliant serial killer---or see their fateful romance cut short by unspeakable tragedy.

Can you find your way out of what James Patterson calls the "coolest library in the world"? Kyle Keeley and his friends face their biggest challenge yet when Mr. Lemoncello goes LIVE with his first-ever televised BREAKOUT game!

From the coauthor of I Funny and Max Einstein--and with 100+ weeks on the New York Times bestseller list--the LEMONCELLO books are laugh-out-loud, puzzle-packed MUST-READS for homes and classrooms across America.

Mr. Lemoncello is leaving the library and going LIVE across the nation with his latest game. Kyle can't wait to audition, but only a lucky few will get to compete in front of millions of viewers in a completely immersive new breakout game--with real kids as the playing pieces! Nothing is ever as it seems with Mr. Lemoncello, and the clock is ticking! Can Kyle and his friends crack the codes in time to win it all?

Don't miss the bonus puzzle in the back! Look for the rest of the puzzle-packed series--Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race, and Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket!

PRAISE FOR THE SERIES:
44 STATE AWARD LISTS AND COUNTING
100+ WEEKS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST
* "A worthy successor to the original madman puzzle-master himself, Willy Wonka." --Booklist, starred review

He hadn't always just been my brother's best friend. There was a time when he was mine, too. Until he disappeared from our small town when I needed him the most.

Now, Caden's back. With his cocky smirk and infuriating nicknames. And I'm struggling to ignore his presence.

When my ex refuses to leave me alone, Caden steps in, suggesting that it will get my ex and Caden's calculating father off both our backs if we just pretend to be madly in love.

There's just one problem... Nothing I feel for Caden Shaw is fake-even when I thought I hated him. And there's no denying how the touch of his lips sparks a flame I'll never be able to extinguish.

As those pretend moments start to turn oh so real, someone's watching. They're not happy about Caden's new role in my life. And they'll do anything to rip me away from him-even burn us all to the ground...

Lily wants to get home. Her friends want to get even.

Lily needs a ride--a fire warning in Oregon has cancelled her train home to California. Her ex-best friend, Natasha, has offered to pick Lily up on her way back from Portland, though they're barely on speaking terms. As it turns out, Natasha's also giving a ride to Elke Azizi, the girl Lily got expelled from their school four years ago. Elke hasn't forgotten, and neither has Natasha.

It's getting tense in the car, and it's not just about the past. There's smoke in the air, and with the wildfires nearby, staying on the road is becoming riskier by the hour. When Natasha and Elke decide to take a detour, Lily hopes it'll get them out of danger. She has no idea, though, what her former friends have planned for her.

But as night comes, the plans change again when it becomes all too clear that leaving the main road was a mistake. Now the three of them are trapped in the woods under a burning sky, with no easy way out. To survive, Lily must depend on Elke and Natasha--but after all that's happened, can she trust them with her life?

"Gaudy Night stands out even among Miss Sayers's novels. And Miss Sayers has long stood in a class by herself." --Times Literary Supplement

The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction's most enduring and endearing protagonists. Acclaimed author Ruth Rendell has expressed her admiration for Sayers's work, praising her "great fertility of invention, ingenuity, and wonderful eye for detail." The third Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Gaudy Night features an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master. Gaudy Night takes Harriet and her paramour, Lord Peter, to Oxford University, Harriet's alma mater, for a reunion, only to find themselves the targets of a nightmare of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats.

The world's bestselling detective series has never been more suspenseful. Trapped in deadly showdowns, courtroom trials, and dangerous secrets, the Women's Murder Club must fight for their lives.
In a deadly late-night showdown, San Francisco police lieutenant Lindsay Boxer fires her weapon and sets off a dramatic chain of events that leaves a police force disgraced, a family destroyed, and Lindsay herself at the mercy of twelve jurors. During a break in the trial, she retreats to a picturesque town that is reeling from a string of grisly murders-crimes that bear a link to a haunting, unsolved case from her rookie years.
Now, with her friends in the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay must battle for her life on two fronts: in a trial rushing to a climax, and against an unknown adversary willing to do anything to hide the truth about the homicides-including kill again?

One night-a single moment-cost me everything.

My body, broken beyond repair. The boy I'd thought was my forever. The life I'd always dreamt of.

Now, Holt's back. And he's no longer a boy, but a man with shadows in his eyes and demons haunting him.

He says he's here to make things right. To get back a little bit of all we've lost. And he doesn't show any signs of leaving the small town that has been my refuge.

As stolen moments turn to days, Holt's around every corner. With his burning stare and lingering touches. Before long, my walls come crashing down and I'm just hoping that taking this second chance isn't as reckless as it feels.

But not everyone is happy that Holt has returned. As tragedy strikes again, I'm the one left in the crosshairs. And Holt might not be able to save me this time...



Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine

Stephen King teams up with long-time friend and award-winning author Richard Chizmar for the first time in this original, chilling novella that revisits the mysterious town of Castle Rock.

There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong--if time-rusted--iron bolts and zig-zag up the precarious cliffside.

Then one day when Gwendy gets to the top of Castle View, after catching her breath and hearing the shouts of kids on the playground below, a stranger calls to her. There on a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small, neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...

The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told--until now.

William Kent Krueger's gripping tale of suspense begins with a recurring nightmare, a gun, and a wound in the earth so deep and horrific that it has a name: Vermilion Drift.

When the Department of Energy puts an underground iron mine on its short list of potential sites for storage of nuclear waste, a barrage of protest erupts in Tamarack County, Minnesota, and Cork is hired as a security consultant.

Deep in the mine during his first day on the job, Cork stumbles across a secret room that contains the remains of six murder victims. Five appear to be nearly half a century old--connected to what the media once dubbed "The Vanishings," a series of unsolved disappearances in the summer of 1964, when Cork's father was sheriff in Tamarack County. But the sixth has been dead less than a week. What's worse, two of the bodies--including the most recent victim--were killed using Cork's own gun, one handed down to him from his father.

As Cork searches for answers, he must dig into his own past and that of his father, a well-respected man who harbored a ghastly truth. Time is running out, however. New threats surface, and unless Cork can unravel the tangled thread of clues quickly, more death is sure to come.

Vermilion Drift is a powerful novel, filled with all the mystery and suspense for which Krueger has won so many awards. A poignant portrayal of the complexities of family life, it's also a sobering reminder that even those closest to our hearts can house the darkest--and deadliest--of secrets.

In Thirteen, the third novel in international bestselling author Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn series, a juror sows reasonable doubt to ensure an innocent man is found guilty.

If you can't beat the system, be the system.

"A knockout."--Booklist (starred review)

It's the murder trial of the century--and Joshua Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house. He has done everything in his power to make sure the wrong man goes down for the crime. Because this time, the killer isn't on trial. He's on the jury.

"A terrific hook...more twists than a tornado... A genuine, read-in-one-sitting page-turner." --The Guardian

But there's someone on his tail. Defense lawyer and former conman Eddie Flynn doesn't believe that his movie-star client killed two people. He suspects that the real killer is closer than they think--but who would guess just how close?

"BOOKS THESE INGENIOUS DON'T COME ALONG VERY OFTEN."--Michael Connelly

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "Steven Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life."--Pat Conroy

At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.

Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history--one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale. . . .

"Reichs has written her masterpiece--smart, scary, complicated, and engrossing." --Michael Connelly
"This page-turning series never lets the reader down." --Harlan Coben
"The crowning achievement of a master storyteller." --Nelson DeMille

#1 New York Times bestselling thriller writer Kathy Reichs's twenty-first novel of suspense featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who uncovers a series of gruesome killings eerily reenacting the most shocking of her prior cases.

Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe's place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.

GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens.

There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why?

Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit--and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe's Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective.

Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on...and then her daughter disappears.

At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge--one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present.

Based on some of literature's horror and science fiction classics, this "tour de force of reclaiming the narrative, executed with impressive wit and insight" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders--and the bigger mystery of their own origins.

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents' death, is curious about the secrets of her father's mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father's former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde's daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.