Collection: Mystery, Thrillers, & Crime

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents Legacy, a new novel of a mother and a daughter, of ambition and romance, and of a traumatic past reawakened by a terrifying threat...

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her--before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents' house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend--and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend's ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina's footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she's just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren't close, but they're cordial--as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter's growing celebrity, Adrian can't help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving--the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins...

When death becomes entertainment, every life has a price. And Cassie West is about to find out how much hers is worth . . . Ready Player One meets Black Mirror in this stunning speculative thriller set in a future world in which virtual reality isn't just a game, it's daily life.

"Pinter's accessible speculative story will appeal to fans of Ernest Cline's enduring hit, Ready Player One" Booklist Starred Review

"Dark, gritty, and
suspenseful . . . A spellbinding story" Publishers
Weekly on Past Crimes

"Wow" Lee Child on Hide Away

"Absolutely addictive" Lisa
Gardner on Hide Away

"You'll burn through the pages"
David Baldacci on Hide Away

Welcome to Earth+. The year is 2037, and nearly all human interactions have migrated to the virtual world. Now, true crime fans don't just listen to podcasts or watch documentaries - they participate in hyper-realistic simulations and hunt for clues to solve the most famous and gruesome crimes in history. Criminal entertainment is a multibillion-dollar industry, and at the forefront is Past Crimes: known by its millions of fans as the Disneyland of Death.

Cassie West licenses crimes for V.I.C.E, spending long hours convincing grieving families to allow her to sell their tragedies to the highest bidder. Life is hard, and the cost of living high, but she and her husband Harris have never been happier. After years of trying, Cassie is finally pregnant.

But leaving work late one evening, Cassie starts to worry. Harris isn't responding to texts or calls. Even worse, dozens of emergency drones seem to be heading in the same direction as she is: straight to their home.

What she finds there changes everything. Soon, Cassie finds herself in a fight for survival, becoming a target in both the real and virtual worlds. But it's not just her own life at stake. If Cassie can't uncover the truth of what happened to her husband, thousands more may die . . .

Action-packed, satirical and beyond compelling, Past Crimes examines our obsession with true crime and how the pain of others has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, while also exploring the sinister possibilities of the virtual world.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and has continued to hold its place in the popular imagination to this day. Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. And, immersed in another case, he sends Dr Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and observe the suspects at close hand. With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal.

This edition contains a full chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle's life and works, an introduction by renowned horror scholar Professor Christopher Frayling discussing the background to the novel and the legends and events that inspired the story, with further reading and explanatory notes.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

New York Times bestseller Deborah Crombie returns with a "gripping police procedural" (Washington Post) featuring Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James as they race to solve the shocking murder of a young woman before panic spreads across London.

On a rainy November evening, trainee doctor Sasha Johnson hurries through the evening crowd in London's historic Russell Square. Out of the darkness, someone jostles her as they brush past. A moment later, Sasha stumbles, then collapses. When Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant, Doug Cullen, are called to the scene, they discover that she's been stabbed.

Kincaid immediately calls in his detective wife, Gemma James, who has recently been assigned to a task force on knife crimes which are on the rise. Along with her partner, detective sergeant Melody Talbot, Gemma aids the investigation. But Sasha Johnson doesn't fit the profile of the task force's typical knife crime victim. Single, successful, career-driven, she has no history of abusive relationships or any connection to gangs. Sasha had her secrets, though, and some of them lead the detectives uncomfortably close to home.

As the team unravels the victim's tangled connections, another murder raises the stakes. Kincaid, Gemma, and their colleagues must put even friendships on the line to find the killer stalking the dark streets of Bloomsbury.

Winner of the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic!

The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One hope.

The City Enduring, a booming metropolis at the edge of the universe, hasn't experienced a violent crime in generations. The Emotion Exploit has erased its citizens' full range of feelings, allowing three resident races to overlook their turbulent history and coexist peacefully--until now.

Rookie Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein is still adjusting to her assignment to protect this strange world when a brutal murder rattles its social order, threatening to undo centu r ies of controversia l pro gress . As the populace rises up against the legacy of the Emotion Exploit and leaders grapple for power under threat of a new war, Jo must rely on her unique instincts--as a Green Lantern and the only human in this sector--to solve the crime and guide the City Enduring toward a more promi sing future.

Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin joins bestselling Naomi artist Jamal Campbell in the Eisner Award-nominated sci-fi murder mystery Far Sector, collecting all 12 issues, concept art and character designs, and an introduction by Gerard Way.

The remarkable, acclaimed series of interconnected detective novels - from the author of 4 3 2 1: A Novel

The New York Review of Books has called Paul Auster's work "one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature." Moving at the breathless pace of a thriller, this uniquely stylized triology of detective novels begins with City of Glass, in which Quinn, a mystery writer, receives an ominous phone call in the middle of the night. He's drawn into the streets of New York, onto an elusive case that's more puzzling and more deeply-layered than anything he might have written himself. In Ghosts, Blue, a mentee of Brown, is hired by White to spy on Black from a window on Orange Street. Once Blue starts stalking Black, he finds his subject on a similar mission, as well. In The Locked Room, Fanshawe has disappeared, leaving behind his wife and baby and nothing but a cache of novels, plays, and poems.

This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition includes an introduction from author and professor Luc Sante, as well as a pulp novel-inspired cover from Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic artist of Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

With his family caught in the crosshairs of a group of brutal killers, detective Cork O'Connor must solve the murder of a young girl in the latest installment of William Kent Krueger's unforgettable New York Times bestselling series.

During a houseboat vacation on the remote Lake of the Woods, a violent gale sweeps through unexpectedly, stranding Cork and his daughter, Jenny, on a devastated island where the wind has ushered in a force far darker and more deadly than any storm.

Amid the wreckage, Cork and Jenny discover the body of a teenage girl. She wasn't killed by the storm, however; she'd been bound and tortured before she died. Nearby, underneath a tangle of branches, they also find a baby boy, hungry and dehydrated, but still very much alive. Powerful forces intent on securing the child pursue them to the isolated Northwest Angle, where it's impossible to tell who among the residents is in league with the devil, but Cork understands that to save his family he must solve the puzzle of this mysterious child whom death follows like a shadow.

"Part adventure, part mystery, and all knockout thriller" (Booklist), Northwest Angle is a dynamic addition to William Kent Krueger's critically acclaimed, award-winning series.

An unthinkable tragedy forever changes a group of teens and turns family against family in this edge-of-your-seat thriller that begs to be read in one sitting.

Best friends Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani endure every parent's nightmare when a tragic accident befalls their teenage boys, leaving one dead, another in a coma, and a third too traumatized to speak.

Reeling from the worst night of their lives, the three mothers plunge into a desperate investigation of the bizarre incident. How could something so horrible happen in their wealthy Southern California suburb?

They soon discover that the accident was just the beginning, and troubling discoveries lead to chilling questions: Do they really know their children? Do they even know each other? As more secrets surface, a fog of doubt and suspicion threatens to poison their families, their friendships, and the whole community.

With the illusion of happiness and safety long gone, these women must now confront the hazards of heartbreak, the consequences of jealousy, and the dangers of living double lives.

Ann Cleeves--New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows--returns with The Heron's Cry, the mesmerizing second book in the Matthew Venn series.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

"In Matthew Venn, Ann has created a complex, daring, subtle character." --Louise Penny

"A complex mystery full of surprises . . . this character-driven exploration of people's darkest flaws is a sterling example of Cleeves' formidable talents." --Kirkus Reviews

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr. Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

A fake honeymoon, a missing step-sister, and an island paradise with danger around every corner.

For the past eight years, Sydney Davis has been living a lie. Just when she starts to enjoy her comfortable life in a gated city, her step-sister, Callie, is taken right in front of her. Desperate for answers, the recent college graduate turns to the mysterious man who witnessed the attack.

Luke Artino works for an off-the-record organization that specializes in preventing human trafficking in hopes that someday, he'll forget about the one he couldn't save. When his boss finds Callie on a resort island in the Caribbean, Luke volunteers to go. All he needs now is a partner.

With Sydney's unrelenting determination and language skills that could be helpful on the mission, Luke reluctantly brings her along. The two pose as newlyweds at the private resort, but the constant surveillance forces them to grow closer than either was prepared for. As the mystery of Callie's disappearance becomes more complicated, so do their feelings for each other.

From a new voice in the romantic suspense world, Ashley McCauley creates a page-turning story about two people who must learn to trust each other if they want to survive.

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen is back--and the cookies are crumbling--as acclaimed author Joanne Fluke serves readers another helping of murder, mayhem, and mouthwatering mystery. . .

Blueberry Muffin Murder

Preparations are underway for Lake Eden, Minnesota's annual Winter Carnival--and Hannah Swensen is set to bake up a storm at her popular shop, The Cookie Jar. Too bad the honor of creating the official Winter Carnival cake went to famous lifestyle maven Connie Mac--a half-baked idea, in Hannah's opinion. She suspects Connie Mac is a lot like the confections she whips up on her cable TV cooking show--sweet, light, and scrumptious-looking, but likely to leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

Hannah's suspicions are confirmed when Connie Mac's limo rolls into town. Turns out America's "Cooking Sweetheart" is bossy, bad-tempered, and downright domineering. Things finally boil over when Hannah arrives at The Cookie Jar to find the Winter Carnival cake burnt to a crisp--and Connie Mac lying dead in her pantry, struck down while eating one of Hannah's famous blueberry muffins.

Next thing Hannah knows, the police have declared The Cookie Jar's kitchen crime scene off-limits. She's a baker without an oven--and the Carnival is right around the corner. Hannah's only alternative is to cook up a plan to save her business--by finding the killer herself. . .

Includes seven original cookie and dessert recipes for you to try!

"Delicious food descriptions and recipes, warm and familiar characters who grow into real people. . .a vivid picture of the small lake town and a well-crafted mystery provide the ingredients for yet another tempting feast that should satisfy all fans, old and new."--Publishers Weekly

Squid Game meets The Left Hand of Darkness meets Under the Skin in this radical literary sensation from South Korea about an alien's hunt for food that transforms into an existential crisis about what it means to be human.

After crashing their spacecraft in the middle of nowhere, a shapeshifting alien find themself stranded on an unfamiliar planet and disabled by Earth's gravity. To survive, they will need to practice walking. And what better way than to hunt for food? As they discover, humans are delicious.

Intelligent, clever, and adaptable, the alien shift their gender, appearance, and conduct to suit a prey's sexual preference, then attack at the pivotal moment of their encounter. They use a variety of hunting tools, including a popular dating app, to target the juiciest prey and carry a backpack filled with torturous instruments and cleaning equipment. But the alien's existence begins to unravel one night when they fail to kill their latest meal.

Thrust into an ill-fated chase across the city, the alien is confronted with the psychological and physical tolls their experience on Earth has taken. Questioning what they must do to sustain their own survival, they begin to understand why humans also fight to live. But their hunger is insatiable, and the alien once again targets a new prey, not knowing what awaits. . . .

Dolki Min's haunting debut novel is part psychological thriller, part searing critique of the social structures that marginalize those who are different--the disabled, queer, and nonconformist. Walking Practice uncovers humanity in who we consider to be alien, and illuminates how alienation can shape the human experience.

Walking Practice features 21 black-and-white line drawings throughout.

Translated from the Korean by Victoria Caudle

From the author of The Blondes comes a twisted, darkly humorous story about a woman's attempted murder, her lost memories, and the old friends who try to put her back together--or finish her off for good.

When Mia Sinclair-Kroner wakes from a coma, all she can remember are the movies she's known and loved. Her college friends quickly assemble for a weekend party, in an effort to help her remember. But with old friends come old wounds, and it soon becomes clear that Mia's accident might not have been an accident at all.

Was it Agnes, driven by her unspoken resentments? Or Zoey, who covets everything Mia has? Have the years apart only fanned the extinguished flame between Ethan and Mia, compelling him to violence? Or did Victor, who moved away, return with an agenda? Or was it Martin, the wealthy husband, who put a country estate between Mia and her past?

As old tensions and new suspicions rise, these friends must wade through their film knowledge, shared history, and everything that's kept them apart in order to figure out which one of them is trying to end things once and for all.

Beginning readers are introduced to the detective mystery genre in these chapter books. Perfect for the Common Core, kids can problem-solve with Nate, using logical thinking to solve mysteries!

Somebody has been raiding Oliver's garbage can each night. How can Nate narrow the long list of suspects down to one? Nate the Great might just have to go under cover . . . under cover of the garbage can lid, that is!

Check out the Fun Activities section in the back of the book!

Visit Nate the Great and Sludge!
NatetheGreatBooks.com

*"Marc Simont's charcoal and pastel illustrations provide the perfect backdrop for this clever case." --School Library Journal, Starred

"First graders' favorite private eye solves the case of Oliver's scattered garbage in those short, easy sentences that Sharmat transforms into crisp, tough-guy humor." --Kirkus Reviews (A Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice)

**An Instant New York Times Bestseller**

Brunetti is forced to confront the price of loyalty, to his past and in his work, as a seemingly innocent request leads him into troubling waters

What role can or should loyalty play in the life of a police inspector? It's a question Commissario Guido Brunetti must face and ultimately answer in Give unto Others, Donna Leon's splendid thirty-first installment of her acclaimed Venetian crime series.

Brunetti is approached for a favor by Elisabetta Foscarini, a woman he knows casually, but her mother was good to Brunetti's mother, so he feels obliged to at least look into the matter privately, and not as official police business. Foscarini's son-in-law, Enrico Fenzo, has alarmed his wife (her daughter) by confessing their family might be in danger because of something he's involved with. Since Fenzo is an accountant, Brunetti logically suspects the cause of danger is related to the finances of a client. Yet his clients seem benign: an optician, a restaurateur, a charity established by his father-in-law. However, when his friend's daughter's place of work is vandalized, Brunetti asks his own favors--that his colleagues Claudia Griffoni, Lorenzo Vianello, and Signorina Elettra Zorzi assist his private investigation, which soon enough turns official as they uncover the dark and Janus-faced nature of a venerable Italian institution.

Exploring the wobbly line between the criminal and non-criminal, revealing previously untold elements of Brunetti's past, Give unto Others shows that the price of reciprocity can be steep.

Help Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose solve mysteries from A to Z!

Kids love collecting the entire alphabet and super editions! With over 8 million copies in print, the A to Z Mysteries(R) have been hooking chapter book readers on mysteries and reading for years. Now this classic kid favorite is back with a bright new look!

E is for Envelope . . . Who is sending letters to Dink? All week long, Dink has been getting strange mail. The envelopes are addressed to "D. Duncan," but the letters inside are for someone named Doris. Plus, one envelope is empty! Could it be a secret code? And can Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose crack it?