Collection: Mystery, Thrillers, & Crime

Set aflame...

By danger--and him!

Hotshot firefighter Michaela Momber is used to saving people from peril. But when a saboteur puts Michaela's team in their sights, she's the one under fire. Volunteer firefighter Charlie Tillerman could be a prime suspect. And yet, Michaela knows another side of the enigmatic Charlie: he's the father of the baby she thought she could never have! Together, can they elude a killer to save their unborn child...and one another?

From Harlequin Romantic Suspense: Danger. Passion. Drama.

Feel the excitement in these uplifting romances, part of the Hotshot Heroes series:

Book 1: Red Hot
Book 2: Hot Attraction
Book 3: Hot Seduction
Book 4: Hot Pursuit
Book 5: Hotshot Hero Under Fire
Book 6: Hotshot Hero on the Edge
Book 7: Hotshot Heroes Under Threat
Book 8: Hotshot Hero in Disguise
Book 9: Hotshot Hero for the Holidays
Book 10: Hunted Hotshot Hero
Book 11: Hotshot's Dangerous Liaison
Book 12: Last Mission

From New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp comes an exciting Regency adventure, where a slow-burning love affair collides with a complex mystery...

After the scandal of his broken engagement, Nathan Dunbridge accepted his fate as a bachelor--so of course that's when the most ineligible woman of all turns up in disguise at a society event: Verity Cole, former spy and Stonecliffe's resident troublemaker... a woman Nathan finds equal parts alluring and irritating.

Living in London under an assumed name, Verity runs an investigation agency. So when a stranger shows up claiming to be the rightful Dunbridge heir, Nathan turns to Verity to help him uncover the truth. Verity agrees, always eager to unravel a mystery--especially when it involves the handsome Nathan Dunbridge.

As Nathan's family secrets threaten everything he's known, he finds Verity is the only person he wants to confide in. But Verity has secrets too--secrets that make it impossible to be with a proper gentleman like Nathan. And when an enemy from her past appears, will Nathan and Verity be able to hold on to their impossible love, or will they be torn apart?

A Stonecliffe Novel

Book 1: An Affair at Stonecliffe
Book 2: A Rogue at Stonecliffe

From the acclaimed author of The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and brilliant speculative thriller about families: real and virtual.

Some families are virtually perfect...

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby...

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi--a virtual baby.

Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin--the star of her own hit T.V. series--is back on the case again.

Agatha Raisin's private detective agency is working flat out on a series of shop burglaries. The break-ins seem to have taken a violent turn when a friend of Agatha's is murdered during a raid on his shop. Although determined to nail the villains, Agatha still makes time to help Sir Charles Fraith prepare to stage a massive, hugely glamorous, promotional event in the grounds of his ancestral home, Barfield House.

When Agatha begins to receive death threats and narrowly avoids being abducted by kidnappers, she takes advantage of a previously arranged trip to Mallorca to lie low for a while. There she meets her partner, former police officer John Glass, who is now working as a dance instructor on a cruise liner. Their relationship founders over John's apparent closeness to his stage dance partner, Louise. Putting her love life on hold, Agatha heads home, having worked out who has been threatening her life.

Can Agatha track down whoever it is that wants her dead, nail her friend's murderers and rescue her romance with John Glass? Everything comes to a climax at the Barfield Extravaganza when Agatha also manages to solve a 400-year-old Cotswold murder mystery!

The fourth installment in the beloved Detective Annalisa Vega series

Is there such a thing as a good sociopath? Newly minted private investigator Annalisa Vega is skeptical, but her first client, Mara Delaney, insists that some sociopaths are beneficial to society. Mara has even written a book titled The Good Sociopath centered around Chicago neurosurgeon Craig Canning. Dr. Canning has saved hundreds of lives so it shouldn't matter that he doesn't actually care about his patients, should it? But Mara has a more urgent problem, she is now concerned that Canning might not be such a good sociopath after all. A young woman in Canning's apartment building mysteriously plunged to her death from a balcony, and Mara fears Canning could be responsible. She needs to uncover the truth about Canning before the book comes out, so Annalisa has little time to search for answers.

Annalisa quickly discovers that more than one person wanted the young woman dead. Canning insists he didn't do it. His charming, unflappable demeanor suggests that either he's telling the truth or Mara is right and he's cold-hearted to the core. But the cops believe the girl's death was an accident. The more Annalisa probes, the more she becomes convinced it's a fiendishly clever murder, one only a brilliant psychopath could pull off. She draws deeper into a battle of wits with Canning, so determined to prove his guilt that she forgets Mara's most important warning--that sociopaths only care about winning at all costs. When Annalisa finally peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the horrifying truth of the girl's death, she may be too late to save herself..

Jessa has been raised to be the "perfect girl." She is unfailingly polite, never rocks the boat, and always follows the rules--no matter what. Her friends love to give her a hard time for being such a goody two-shoes, but Jessa likes it this way. She knows what's expected of her, and she's happy to be the person her parents (and society) want.

When a freak storm takes out the power during a sleepover at Jessa's creepy, old house, things go south before the pizza gets cold. Her friends are at each other's throats, unexpected guests keep showing up (some more welcome than others), and it's not just her brother serving up jump scares. A killer looking for the perfect girl has targeted Jessa, and she'll have to reject everything she's been taught if she wants to keep herself--and her friends--alive until sunrise.

Who knew perfection could be so dangerous?

In the latest installment of Tasha Alexander's New York Times bestselling series, Lady Emily must solve a string of high stakes "accidents" while trapped in a lavish villa in the Bavarian Alps.

In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection--as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness' boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead.

Almost forty years earlier, Niels, a young German lord, sings to himself in the forest surrounding those same alps, capturing the attention of a not-yet-mad King Ludwig. Niels and the king become fast friends, their relationship deepening into something more as their time together stretches on. But while King Ludwig is content to live out a fantasy where their responsibilities don't matter and the outside world doesn't affect them, Niels knows that their bliss cannot last forever...

Decades later, Emily continues to investigate Kaspar's increasingly lethal "mishaps" when tragedy strikes, ensnaring the guests in a web of fear and suspicion. It's up to Emily to sift through old secrets and motivations, some stretching far into the past, to unmask the killer.

There are rules for Voynich Woods: Always carry a whistle. Never go alone. Always come home before dark. And if anyone calls your name, don't answer. Because everyone who wanders from the path is never seen again.

Except for Riley Walcott.

Riley knows better than to stray from the trail in the woods behind her uncle Toby's house. But her little sister Sam breaks the rules in pursuit of a local legend, so Riley chases after her and discovers a knife-wielding figure and a waiting grave.

Madelyn lives deep in the forest. Subject to her mother's strict rules, she's forbidden from leaving home or using her magic--but one night, she risks everything to help a stranger who's lost in the woods.

Riley is murdered in a strange ritual, Madelyn uses her magic to resurrect her, and their lives are immediately entwined in the gnarled history of Voynich Woods. Riley, who feels trapped in her small town but too afraid to leave, was never a believer, but now the evidence is taking root under her skin. Madelyn has the scars to prove how terrible magic can be, and longs for a life beyond her mother's grasp. As the legends become all too real, Riley and Madelyn must confront their deepest fears to uncover the truth about Voynich Woods.

At once tender, violent, and thrilling, Dead Girls Don't Dream is a novel of recovery, healing, and finding your power.

Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor's trademark.

In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren's new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities, and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany.

Warren has barely unpacked when he's called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and Back-to-the-Lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren't adding up for Warren. The people of Bethany--from Weber's enigmatic wife to Warren's neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows -- clearly have secrets they'd like to keep, but Warren can't tell if the truth about Weber's death is one of them. As he gets to know his new home and grapples with the tragedy that brought him there, Warren is drawn to the people and traditions of small town Vermont, even as he finds darkness amidst the beauty.

AN ADRENALINE-CHARGED NEW WILDE & CHASE ADVENTURE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Archaeologist Nina Wilde and her husband, former SAS soldier Eddie Chase, believe their globe-trotting adventures are over - the biggest worry being how their now-adult daughter Macy is going to spend her life.

But after the violent theft of dangerous relics, with the only surviving guard claiming his attackers were "angels", Nina and Eddie are thrust back into action. Without their knowledge, though, Macy is approached by a mysterious group called the Knights of Atlantis - who want to recruit her.

In a deadly race stretching from the glamorous French Riviera to the blistering heat of the Karakum desert, Nina and Eddie must confront mercenaries, secret societies and the machinations of the world's first trillionaire - with the fate of the world in their hands...

Praise for Andy McDermott:

'Action, adventure and mayhem aplenty' SCOTT MARIANI

'A writer of almost cinematic talent' DAILY EXPRESS

'Adventure stories don't get much more epic than this' DAILY MIRROR

The ship was doomed before it ever left port. His fate was sealed before he ever stepped on board. From R. L. Graham, Death on the Lusitania is an immersive WW1 historical novel set aboard the ill-fated ocean liner.

Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.

Welcome on board the Lusitania's final voyage . . .

New York, 1915. RMS Lusitania, one of the world's most luxurious ocean liners, departs for war-torn Europe. Among those on board is Patrick Gallagher, a civil servant in Her Majesty's government tasked with escorting a British diplomat back to England.

When a fellow passenger is believed to have shot himself in his cabin, Gallagher is asked by the captain to investigate the scene but one crucial detail doesn't fit. The man's body was discovered in a locked cabin with the key inside and no gun to be found. Was it really suicide? Or murder?

Gallagher believes one of the passengers is a deadly killer who could strike again to protect their true reasons for being on board. And all the while, the ship sails on towards Europe, where deadly submarines patrol dark waters . . .

'Tis the season in Briar Creek, and this year festivities become fatalities in the newest Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Fatal First Edition.

During the most wonderful time of the year, famous author Helen Monroe arrives in Briar Creek to be the writer in residence, but her "bah humbug" attitude excludes her from the many holiday celebrations the town residents enjoy. To try to spread some Christmas cheer, library director Lindsey Norris invites the new writer in residence to join her crafternoon club. Helen politely refuses and when an altercation happens between Helen and another patron, Lindsey begins to suspect the author has been keeping to herself for a reason.

Another newcomer, Jackie Lewis, reveals she's visiting Briar Creek to be near Helen because she believes they are destined to meet. Having dealt with a stalker in the past, Lindsey feels compelled to tell Helen about Jackie, as she suspects that Helen is unaware her "number one" fan is in town.

When Jackie's body is later discovered in the town park beneath the holiday-light display with a copy of Helen's latest manuscript in her hand, the reclusive novelist becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her self-proclaimed mega-fan. Helen's frosty demeanor melts when Lindsey offers her help, and now the librarian and her crafternoon pals must prove the author innocent before "The End" becomes Helen's final sentence.

The must-read suspense novel of the summer about a mysterious sister's disappearance, her biggest betrayal and a deadly truth screaming to come out.

Two sisters went missing on their class trip--Grace, the outgoing athlete who is friends with just about everyone, and Maddy, the wallflower wilting in her sister's shadow who'd rather absorb herself in her journal than talk to her classmates.

But when Grace is found--injured, with no memory of what happened--everybody thinks she's lying. It's hard not to look guilty with Maddy's blood on her clothes.

Desperate to save her sister--and prove her own innocence--Grace must piece together what happened on that school trip with the help of her sister's notebook and classmates who may not be telling the police everything that about that tragic night.

She will discover her sister's secrets can't stay quiet...but what if her own are the most terrifying of all?

In the streets of Paris, someone wants to paint the town red...

When Special Agent Jeanette LaFarge is called in to investigate a vineyard in the Reims region of France, the last thing she expects to find is multiple bodies with every vein bled dry. It's yet another case tailor-made for Blackbird. Joining her is recent recruit Detective Daniel Murray, eager to use his newfound abilities to track down whoever is terrorizing Paris and its surrounding areas.

With each ashen victim grows the realization that those responsible weren't inspired by vampiric creatures of the night but by Elizabeth Báthory herself. The Hungarian noblewoman's unspeakable crimes against her people are being reenacted in both the City of Lights and across the French countryside. Unless the two of them act quickly, the upcoming harvest promises to yield blood instead of wine.

The Blackbird Files

Book 1: Death Behind Every Door
Book 2: Market for Murder
Book 3: Legacy of Blood

A masterful near future whodunit for fans of Glass Onion and Black Mirror; join a stranded start-up team led by a terrifyingly realistic charismatic billionaire, a deserted tropical island, and a mysterious AI-driven mansion--as the remaining members disappear one by one.

A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-algorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island.

Luckily, those who survived have found a beautiful, fully-stocked private palace, with all the latest technological updates (though one without connection to the outside world). The house, however, has more secrets than anyone might have guessed, and a much darker reason for having been built and left behind.

Kristen, the hyper-competent "chief emotional manager" (i.e., the eccentric boyish billionaire-CEO Sumter's idea of an HR department) is trying to keep her colleagues stable throughout this new challenge, but staying sane seems to be as much of a challenge as staying alive. Being a woman in technology has always meant having to be smarter than anyone expects....and Kristen's survival skills are more impressive than anyone knows.