Christmas 1951, Los Angeles: a city where the police are as corrupt as the criminals. Six prisoners are beaten senseless in their cells by cops crazed on alcohol. For the three LAPD detectives involved, it will expose the guilty secrets on which they have built their corrupt and violent careers.
The novel takes these cops on a sprawling epic of brutal violence and the murderous seedy side of Hollywood. One of the best crime novels ever written, it is the heart of Ellroy's four-novel masterpiece, the LA Quartet, and an example of crime writing at its most powerful.
Secret Cove. Ruggedly beautiful and remote, bordered by dark woods and deserted beaches, this postcard-perfect village harbors the mansions of the wealthy—families who have summered in splendid seclusion at Secret Cove for generations.
One hundred years ago, on the night of the annual August Moon Ball, a shy and lovely servant girl committed a single, unspeakable act of violence—an act so shocking its legacy lives still.
And now, long after the horror of that night has faded to a tale whispered by children around summer campfires, an unholy terror is about to be reborn. Now, one family is about to feel the icy hand of supernatural fear—as Melissa Holloway, shy and troubled and just thirteen years old, comes to know the blood-drenched secret that waits behind a locked attic door...
For in the dead of night as Secret Cove sleeps unaware, a soul-chilling presence slowly begins to enact a terrifying vengeance. Second Child: Is it unspeakable evil merely Melissa's nightmares made horrifyingly real? Is it the manifestation of deadly fury risen from the grave? Or is the heart-stopping horror soon to be unleashed in Secret Cove something even more insidious—something unimaginably evil...and alive?
Computer expert Cat Velis is heading for a job to Algeria. Before she goes, a mysterious fortune teller warns her of danger, and an antique dealer asks her to search for pieces to a valuable chess set that has been missing for years.
In the South of France in 1790, two convent girls hide valuable pieces of a chess set all over the world, because the game that can be played with them is too powerful.
Remember, remember the fifth of November...
A frightening and powerful tale of the loss of freedom and identity in a chillingly believable totalitarian world, V for Vendetta stands as one of the highest achievements of the comics medium and a defining work for creators Alan Moore and David Lloyd.
Set in an imagined future England that has given itself over to fascism, this groundbreaking story captures both the suffocating nature of life in an authoritarian police state and the redemptive power of the human spirit which rebels against it. Crafted with sterling clarity and intelligence, V for Vendetta brings an unequaled depth of characterization and verisimilitude to its unflinching account of oppression and resistance.
Frank Pollard is terrified of falling asleep. Each morning, he awakens to find something strange—like blood on his hands. It's a bizarre mystery that tortures his soul.
Two investigators have been hired to follow this haunted man. But only one person—a young man with Down's Syndrome—can imagine where their journeys might end.
That terrible place from which no one ever returns.
"The Moustache" is a remarkably intriguing novel that begins with what seems to be a trivial joke. The protagonist whimsically decides to shave off his moustache, intending to surprise his wife. However, this simple act spirals into a bizarre nightmare.
To his shock, everyone around him, including his wife, insists that he never had a moustache. This leads him into a world where the line between reality and imagination becomes increasingly blurred. Is he losing his mind, or is he caught in a monstrous conspiracy orchestrated by those closest to him?
In a desperate bid for sanity, he attempts to escape, but will running away provide the answers he seeks, or is it merely the point of no return? This novel will leave readers pondering the fine line between sanity and madness.
The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent. He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep police befuddled. Each clever move he makes is another point of pride.
But when the brilliant Lieutenant Lucas Davenport—a dedicated cop and a serial killer's worst nightmare—is brought in to take up the investigation, the maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.
Nick and Nora Charles are among Dashiell Hammett’s most alluring creations: a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis.
Nick Charles seems to find trouble wherever he goes. He thinks his sleuthing days are behind him when Julia Wolf, a former acquaintance, turns up dead. Nick—thanks to some persuasion from his enchanting wife, Nora—finds himself falling back into old habits and making a few polite inquiries. The prime suspect, Julia’s lover and boss Clyde Miller Wynant, has vanished without a trace. Everyone is after him, but Nick is not so sure Wynant is the culprit.
And when another dubious figure bursts into their bedroom, waving a loaded handgun, it seems Nick and Nora’s adventure is only just beginning.
The Thin Man is a murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.
To the fear-filled eyes of criminals everywhere, he is a man without a past—a Darknight Defender of the helpless and oppressed, a towering symbol of swift and vengeful justice, a wraith-like guardian of Gotham City's asphalt corridors. But to comic book fans throughout the world, he is...Batman, and he is a man with a mission.
Now, for the first time in paperback, readers can discover the deepest secrets of the masked crimefighter, from his own origin to his first meeting with Robin, his partner in the war on crime. This spectacular re-telling of The Batman legend includes his initial encounters with his most menacing foes, as well as a fact-filled tour through the Darknight Detective's secret headquarters, The Batcave.
A veritable encyclopedia of the Cowled Crimefighter's past, The Untold Legend of the Batman will delight comic adventure fans everywhere!
To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.
Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside.
For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry."
Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale's dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.
Despair is the wickedly inventive and richly derisive story of Hermann Karlovich, a man who undertakes the perfect crime—his own murder.
Extensively revised by Nabokov in 1965, the novel offers a masterly portrait of Hermann, who is rapt in his own reality, incapable of escaping or explicating it. Hermann is a compelling character in the fascinating gallery of living characters Vladimir Nabokov has given to world literature.
In his pseudo-worldliness and odd genius, Hermann stands alongside other neurotic Nabokovian creations. Despair is illuminated throughout by the virtuosity and cunning wit that are Nabokov’s hallmarks.
The Last Good Kiss is an unforgettable detective story starring C.W. Sughrue, a Montana investigator who kills time by working at a topless bar. Hired to track down a derelict author, he ends up on the trail of a girl missing in Haight-Ashbury for a decade.
The tense hunt becomes obsessive as Sughrue takes a haunting journey through the underbelly of America's sleaziest nightmares.
Koko. Only four men knew what it meant. Now they must stop it. They are Vietnam vets—a doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. Very different from each other, they are nonetheless linked by a shared history and a single shattering secret. Now, they have been reunited and are about to embark on a quest that will take them from Washington, D.C., to the graveyards and fleshpots of the Far East to the human jungle of New York, hunting someone from the past who has risen from the darkness to kill and kill and kill.
Join them on a thrilling journey through mystery and suspense.
When a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late-- client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Dirk Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe...
The Lady in the Lake is a thrilling novel by the master of hardboiled crime fiction, Raymond Chandler. It features the iconic private detective Philip Marlowe in his fourth novel appearance.
Marlowe is hired to investigate the case of two missing wives—one belonging to a wealthy man and the other to a man of modest means. As he delves deeper into the mystery, he uncovers a web of deceit, Mexican divorces, gigolos, and possibly a murder.
Throughout the investigation, Marlowe remains characteristically detached, realizing that he is not paid to care, yet drawn into the intrigue and danger that surrounds him. The narrative is peppered with Chandler's signature witty dialogue and vivid descriptions, making it a captivating read.
This novel is a staple of the noir genre, filled with suspense and twists that keep readers on the edge of their seats. A true classic that explores the depths of human nature and the complexities of truth and deception.
Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid....He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. This is the Code of the Private Eye as defined by Raymond Chandler in his 1944 essay 'The Simple Act of Murder.' Such a man was Philip Marlowe, private eye, an educated, heroic, streetwise, rugged individualist and the hero of Chandler's first novel, The Big Sleep. This work established Chandler as the master of the 'hard-boiled' detective novel, and his articulate and literary style of writing won him a large audience, which ranged from the man in the street to the most sophisticated intellectual.
A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.
In the Country of Last Things is a gripping dystopian epistolary novel by Paul Auster. The story unfolds through a letter written by a young woman named Anna Blume to a childhood friend. Anna ventures into an unnamed city that has descended into chaos and disorder.
In this bleak environment, no industry thrives, and most of the population survives by collecting garbage or scavenging for objects to resell. The city governments are unstable, focusing only on collecting human waste and corpses for fuel. Amidst this turmoil, Anna searches for her brother William, a journalist, suggesting that the Blumes hail from an eastern world that has not yet collapsed.
Auster explores themes of the modern city, the mysteries of storytelling, and the elusive and unstable nature of truth. This novel is a tense, psychological take on the dystopian genre, echoing some of our darker societal legacies.
Lady of Hay is a masterfully crafted first novel that tells the spellbinding story of a contemporary woman who discovers her past life as a 12th-century Welsh noblewoman. This extraordinary romance by Barbara Erskine has been translated into 17 languages and has sold well over a million copies worldwide.
With a narrative that spans centuries, the novel intricately weaves themes of love, betrayal, and revenge, taking readers on a journey through time and emotions.
Deep in the heart of Russia, a group of casually dressed young men are learning a different kind of lesson. The undergraduates sprawled around a game board aren't chilling out on campus: the young KGB agents attending the Charm School are brushing up on their American.
When a young tourist goes to the aid of a stranger on a dark Russian road, he is astonished to find a fellow American on the run. The man has been missing for over a decade, plucked from the jungles of Vietnam to become an unwilling tutor at the institution. Now his former students are poised to strike at the heart of America.
Detective John Rebus: His city is being terrorized by a baffling series of murders... and he's tied to a maniac by an invisible knot of blood.
Once John Rebus served in Britain's elite SAS. Now he's an Edinburgh cop who hides from his memories, misses promotions, and ignores a series of crank letters. But as the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind. Because he isn't just one cop trying to catch a killer, he's the man who's got all the pieces to the puzzle...
Knots and Crosses introduces a gifted mystery novelist, a fascinating locale, and the most compellingly complex detective hero at work today.
Broad humor and bitter irony collide in this fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, who, at age seventy-one, wants to be left alone on his Long Island estate with the secret he has locked inside his potato barn. But then, a voluptuous young widow badgers Rabo into telling his life story—and Vonnegut in turn tells us the plain, heart-hammering truth about man’s careless fancy to create or destroy what he loves.
When Ellen Lang's husband disappears with their son, she hires Elvis Cole to track him down. Ellen, a quiet and seemingly submissive wife, can't even write a check without him. All she wants is to get him and her son back—no questions asked.
The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer. The last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since—including his B-movie girlfriend.
At the same time, the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest—and no kid in sight—Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador.
Dagon and Other Macabre Tales is a collection of some of the most intriguing and eerie stories penned by the legendary H.P. Lovecraft. This volume brings together tales of horror, the supernatural, and the bizarre, each woven with Lovecraft's unique style and imagination.
From the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of the cosmos, Lovecraft's stories delve into the unknown, exploring themes of madness, ancient gods, and the fragility of human sanity. Dagon, the titular story, immerses readers in a chilling narrative of a mariner's encounter with a monstrous sea deity.
With its blend of gothic horror and cosmic dread, this collection is a must-read for fans of the macabre and the mysterious. Arkham House Publishers, Inc. has ensured that this edition reflects the author's original vision, making it a treasured addition to any horror aficionado's library.
Since his first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most beloved fictional characters ever created. Now, in two paperback volumes, Bantam presents all fifty-six short stories and four novels featuring Conan Doyle’s classic hero - a truly complete collection of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures in crime!
Volume I includes the early novel A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the eccentric genius of Sherlock Holmes to the world. This baffling murder mystery, with the cryptic word Rache written in blood, first brought Holmes together with Dr. John Watson. Next, The Sign of Four presents Holmes’s famous “seven percent solution” and the strange puzzle of Mary Morstan in the quintessential locked-room mystery.
Also included are Holmes’s feats of extraordinary detection in such famous cases as the chilling The Adventure of the Speckled Band, the baffling riddle of The Musgrave Ritual, and the ingeniously plotted The Five Orange Pips, tales that bring to life a Victorian England of horse-drawn cabs, fogs, and the famous lodgings at 221B Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes earned his undisputed reputation as the greatest fictional detective of all time.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes is a comprehensive collection that includes all of the master detective's adventures, penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This anthology contains:
An introduction by Loren D. Estleman is included in volume 2. This collection is an essential for any fan of detective fiction and a testament to Doyle's enduring legacy in the genre.
The Brothers Karamazov is a profound and multifaceted novel that delves into the depths of human psychology and the complexities of ethical and moral dilemmas. Set in 19th century Russia, this literary masterpiece presents a captivating narrative that intertwines a murder mystery and a courtroom drama with an exploration of erotic rivalry within a family dynamic.
The story unfolds around the Karamazov family, particularly the patriarch Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three diverse sons: Dmitri, the impulsive and sensual eldest; Ivan, the intellectual and rational middle child; and Alyosha, the youngest son, who is a wholesome and red-cheeked novice. Through their personal struggles and relationships, the novel addresses profound questions about God, free will, and morality, against the backdrop of a Russia that is facing modernization and social change.
Renowned for its rich character development and philosophical depth, The Brothers Karamazov encapsulates the social and spiritual striving of Russian culture during a pivotal era. It remains a testament to Dostoyevsky's legacy as one of the greatest novelists in history.
Dead Men Tell No Tales... Except to Harry Keogh, the Necroscope. And what they tell him is horrifying.
In the Balkan mountains of Romania, a terrible evil is growing. Long buried in hallowed ground, bound by earth and silver, the master vampire schemes and plots. Trapped in unlife, neither dead nor living, Thibor Ferenczy hungers for freedom and revenge.
The vampire's human tool is Boris Dragosani, part of a super-secret Soviet spy agency. Dragosani is an avid pupil, eager to plumb the depthless evil of the vampire's mind. Ferenczy teaches Dragosani the awful skills of the necromancer, gives him the ability to rip secrets from the mind and bodies of the dead. Dragosani works not for Ferenczy's freedom but world domination. He will rule the world with knowledge raped from the dead.
His only opponent: Harry Keogh, champion of the dead and the living. To protect Harry, the dead will do anything--even rise from their graves!
Tintin finds a lost briefcase and returns it to the owner, Professor Hector Alembick, who is a sigilographer, an expert on seals. He shows Tintin his collection of seals, including one which belonged to the Syldavian King Ottokar IV. Tintin then discovers that he and Alembick are under surveillance by some strange men. Tintin's flat is even bombed in an attempt to kill him. Suspecting a Syldavian connection, Tintin offers to accompany Alembick to Syldavia for research.
On the plane, Tintin begins to suspect his companion. The Alembick travelling with him doesn't smoke and doesn't seem to need the spectacles he wears, while the Alembick he first met smoked heavily and had very poor eyesight. During a layover, Tintin fakes a fall and grabs Alembick's beard, thinking it is false and Alembick is an imposter. However, it is (for Alembick) painfully real. Tintin decides to let the matter drop but then, while flying over Syldavia, it is the pilot of the plane who opens a trap door and Tintin drops out, landing in a haywagon.
Tintin has a hunch that a plot is afoot to steal the sceptre of King Ottokar IV. In Syldavia, the reigning King must possess the sceptre to rule or he will be forced to abdicate. Every year he rides in a parade during St. Vladimir's Day carrying it, while the people sing the national anthem. Tintin succeeds in warning the reigning King, Muskar XII, despite the efforts of the conspirators. He and the King rush to the royal treasure room to find Alembick, the royal photographer and some guards unconscious and the sceptre missing.
Tintin's friends Thomson and Thompson are summoned to investigate but their theory on how the sceptre was stolen proves bad and painful for them. Later on, Tintin notices a spring cannon in a toy shop and this gives him the clue. Professor Alembick had asked for some photographs to be taken of the sceptre, but the camera was a spring cannon in disguise, which allowed him to catapult it out of the castle into a nearby forest.
Searching the forest, Tintin spots the sceptre being found by agents of the neighbouring country, Borduria. Following them all the way to the border, he wrests the sceptre from them. In the wallet of one of the thieves he discovers papers that show that the theft of the sceptre was just part of a major plan for the taking over of Syldavia by their long-time political rival, Borduria.
Tintin steals a Me-109 from a Bordurian airfield (whose squadron is being kept ready to take part in the envisioned "Anschluss" of Syldavia) to fly it back to the King in time. He is shot down by the Syldavians who have naturally opened fire on an enemy aircraft violating their airspace. He manages to make the rest of the journey by foot.
Meanwhile the Interior Minister informs the King that rumours have been spreading that the sceptre has been stolen and that there have been riots against local Bordurian businesses, acts which would justify a Bordurian takeover of the country. The King is about to abdicate when Snowy runs in with the sceptre (which had fallen out of Tintin's pocket).
Tintin then gives the King the papers he took from the man who stole the sceptre. They prove that the plot was masterminded by Müsstler, leader of the Iron Guard, a local political party. The King takes action by having Müsstler and his associates arrested and the army mobilised along the Bordurian frontier. In response, the Bordurian leader pulls his own troops back from the border, though he stresses his own country's "desire for peace" and criticises Syldavia's "strange" behaviour.
The next day is St. Vladimir's Day and Tintin is made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Pelican, the first non-Syldavian to receive such an honour. Further inquiries by the authorities reveal that, in a classic Ruritanian plot device, Professor Alembick is one of a pair of identical twins: Hector Alembick was kidnapped and replaced with his brother Alfred who left for Syldavia in his place.
Tintin and Snowy return home by a flying boat with Thomson and Thompson, who suffer momentary panic when the aircraft appears to be falling into the sea at the end of the flight. The reader is treated to a rare "wink to the camera" from Tintin, who points out their error, and they laugh about it so much that they do indeed fall into the sea as they disembark.
Judd Stevens is a psychoanalyst faced with the most critical case of his life. If he does not penetrate the mind of a murderer, he will find himself arrested for murder or murdered himself...
Two people closely involved with Dr. Stevens have already been killed. Is one of his patients responsible? Someone overwhelmed by his problems? A neurotic driven by compulsion? A madman?
Before the murderer strikes again, Judd must strip away the mask of innocence the criminal wears, uncover his inner emotions, fears, and desires — expose the naked face beneath...
When the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox sought a wiseman to save them. He found Master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together, they set out to find the Great Root of Power, the only possible cure.
The quest led them to a host of truly memorable characters, multiple wonders, incredible adventures—and strange coincidences, which were really not coincidences at all. And it involved them in an ancient crime that still perturbed the serenity of Heaven.
Simply and charmingly told, this is a wry tale, a sly tale, and a story of wisdom delightfully askew. Once read, its marvels and beauty will not easily fade from the mind.
The author claims that this is a novel of an ancient China that never was. But, oh…it should have been!
The first scream came from the snowbound railwayman who felt the fangs ripping at his throat. The next month, there was a scream of ecstatic agony from the woman attacked in her snug bedroom.
Now, scenes of unbelieving horror come each time the full moon shines on the isolated Maine town of Tarker Mills. No one knows who will be attacked next. But one thing is sure: when the moon grows fat, a paralyzing fear sweeps through Tarker Mills.
For snarls that sound like human words can be heard whining through the wind. And all around are the footprints of a monster whose hunger cannot be sated...
Equus is a powerful exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel passion. The story follows Alan Strang, a disturbed youth whose dangerous obsession with horses leads him to commit an unspeakable act of violence.
As psychiatrist Martin Dysart struggles to understand the motivation for Alan's brutality, he is increasingly drawn into Alan's web and eventually forced to question his own sanity.
Peter Shaffer creates a chilling portrait of how materialism and convenience have killed our capacity for worship and passion, and, consequently, our capacity for pain. Rarely has a playwright created an atmosphere and situation that so harshly pinpoint the spiritual and mental decay of modern man.
Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence.
The Haunting of Hill House is a seminal work in the horror genre, considered one of the finest ghost stories of the 20th century. The novel follows the story of four main characters: Dr. John Montague, an investigator of the supernatural; Eleanor Vance, a shy young woman with a history of encounters with the paranormal; Theodora, a flamboyant and possibly telepathic artist; and Luke Sanderson, the young heir to the eerie Hill House.
Dr. Montague, seeking to find scientific evidence of the supernatural, rents Hill House for a summer and invites guests with past experiences of paranormal events. Eleanor and Theodora are among those who accept his invitation. Once there, the group starts to experience a range of strange occurrences, including unseen noises, ghostly apparitions, and mysterious writings on the walls. Eleanor, in particular, seems more attuned to these phenomena, which may be causing her to lose her grip on reality.
Shirley Jackson masterfully creates a sense of terror, not through overt horror, but by weaving the mysterious events of the house with the complex psyches of her characters. A finalist for the National Book Award and adapted into films, a TV series, and a play, The Haunting of Hill House remains an essential read for fans of the genre.
The terrifying true crime story of the I-5 serial killer from Ann Rule, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me.
Randall Woodfield had it all. He was an award-winning student and star athlete. He was drafted for pro football by the Green Bay Packers and chosen by Playgirl as a centerfold candidate. Working in the swinging West Coast bar scene, he had his pick of willing sexual prospects.
But Randall Woodfield wanted more than just sex. An appetite for unspeakable violent acts led him to cruise the I-5 highway through California, Oregon, and Washington, leaving a trail of victims along the way.
As the list of his victims grew to a total of at least 44, the police faced the awesome challenge of catching and convicting a suspect who seemed too handsome and appealing to have committed such ugly crimes—crimes that filled every woman within his striking range with fear and horror.
Newly-orphaned Anne Beddingfeld is a nice English girl looking for a bit of adventure in London. But she stumbles upon more than she bargained for! Anne is on the platform at Hyde Park Corner tube station when a man falls onto the live track, dying instantly. A doctor examines the man, pronounces him dead, and leaves, dropping a note on his way. Anne picks up the note, which reads "17.1 22 Kilmorden Castle". The next day the newspapers report that a beautiful ballet dancer has been found dead there-- brutally strangled. A fabulous fortune in diamonds has vanished. And now, aboard the luxury liner Kilmorden Castle, mysterious strangers pillage her cabin and try to strangle her. What are they looking for? Why should they want her dead? Lovely Anne is the last person on earth suited to solve this mystery... and the only one who can! Anne's journey to unravel the mystery takes her as far afield as Africa and the tension mounts with every step... and Anne finds herself struggling to unmask a faceless killer known only as 'The Colonel'.
Besnilo is part of the London creative opus of Borislav Pekić. Using elements of crime, political, and science fiction, Pekić has crafted a novel that delves into the horror without redemption—a depiction of ancient human guilt for which one must pay the full price.
More thrilling than Forsyth, more exciting than Stephen King, and more dynamic than Arthur Hailey—this Pekić novel is a breathless read.
The events in the book are fictional, but their possibility is real. The choice of London's Heathrow Airport is coincidental. The characters are also fictional. Certain facts are adapted to meet the demands of the story, which itself adheres to the traditional "rules of the game" of this paraliterary genre.
An unabridged Miss Marple mystery from the Queen of Crime.
For an instant, the two trains ran together, side by side. In that frozen moment, Elspeth witnessed a murder. Helplessly, she stared out of her carriage window as a man remorselessly tightened his grip around a woman's throat. The body crumpled.
Then the other train drew away. But who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there were no suspects, no other witnesses...and no corpse.
The year is 1327. Benedictines in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where “the most interesting things happen at night.”
Edgar Allan Poe remains the unsurpassed master of works of mystery and madness in this outstanding collection. Included are sixteen of his finest tales, such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, William Wilson, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, and Eleonora.
This collection also features a major selection of what Poe characterized as the passion of his life, his poems - including The Raven, Annabel Lee, Ulalume, Lenore, The Bells, and more, plus his glorious prose poem Silence - A Fable and his only full-length novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.
A stranger walks out of a bar and is later found dead at the wheel of his car. The narrator creates the story of this man — or, rather, two stories, based on the two personae that he has imagined. One of these is named Enderlin; the other, Gantenbein.
Originally published as A Wilderness of Mirrors.
Todd Bowden is an apt pupil. Good grades, good family, a paper route. But he is about to meet a different kind of teacher: Mr. Dussander. Todd knows all about Dussander's dark past. The torture. The death. The decades-old manhunt Dussander has escaped to this day. Yet Todd doesn't want to turn him in. Todd wants to know more. Much more.
He is about to learn the real meaning of power—and the seductive lure of evil.
Laurie was at home, but her boyfriend swears he saw her on the beach with another guy. Her family insists they see her coming and going when she's been out of the house for hours.
Who—or what—is taking over Laurie's life?
Witch Week tells the story of a world where witches exist, and the law dictates that all witches must be burned at the stake. The narrative unfolds in an English boarding school, where an anonymous note warns, "Someone in this class is a witch." This revelation causes a stir among the students of class 6B, especially a boy who has just discovered his ability to cast spells and a girl with a name reminiscent of a famous witch.
The story features the charming enchanter Chrestomanci, who also appears in other beloved works such as Charmed Life, The Magicians of Caprona, and The Lives of Christopher Chant. As the students scramble to identify the witch among them, alliances form and tensions rise, leading to magical mishaps and unexpected discoveries.
In this world of enchantment and danger, the students must navigate their fears and friendships to uncover the truth. Will they find the witch before it's too late, or will their society's harsh laws catch up with them?
In the midst of an international crisis, Heidi Milligan, a beautiful, brilliant American naval commander, accidentally discovers an obscure reference to the long-buried North American Treaty, a precedent-shattering secret pact between the United States and Great Britain.
The President believes that the treaty offers the single shot at salvation for an energy-starved, economically devastated nation, but the only two copies plummeted into the watery depths of the Atlantic in twin disasters long ago. The original document must be found—and the one American who can do the job is Dirk Pitt.
But in London, a daring counterplot is being orchestrated to see that the treaty is never implemented. Brian Shaw, a master spy who has often worked hand in hand with American agents, now confronts his most challenging command. Pitt’s mission: Raise the North American Treaty. Shaw’s mission: Stop Pitt.
Dirk Pitt is enlisted to spearhead his most daring mission yet—the rescue of a vital document for the United States. Pitt’s quest plunges him into a head-to-head confrontation with Britain’s most cunning secret agent—and into the throes of a torrid love triangle. As time runs out for a desperate America, Dirk Pitt races toward an underwater clash more terrifying than anything Clive Cussler has ever created—the breathtaking climax of Night Probe!
Down-and-out drunk Terry Lennox has a problem: his millionaire wife is dead and he needs to get out of LA fast. So he turns to the only friend he can trust: private investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is willing to help a man down on his luck, but later Lennox commits suicide in Mexico and things start to turn nasty. Marlowe is drawn into a sordid crowd of adulterers and alcoholics in LA's Idle Valley, where the rich are suffering one big suntanned hangover. Marlowe is sure Lennox didn't kill his wife, but how many stiffs will turn up before he gets to the truth?
A minor road accident landed county prosecutor Katie DeMaio in Westlake Hospital. That night, from her window, she thought she saw a man load a woman's body into the trunk of a car... or was it just a sleeping pill-induced nightmare?
At work the next day, Katie began investigating a suicide that looked more like murder. Initial evidence pointed elsewhere, but medical examiner Richard Carroll saw a trail leading to Dr. Edgar Highley. He suspected that the famous doctor's work "curing" infertile women was more than controversial—that it was deceitful, depraved, and often deadly.
But before Richard could tell Katie his fears, she left the office for the weekend and an appointment for routine surgery... in Dr. Highley's operating room.
Who is Jason Bourne? Is he an assassin, a terrorist, a thief? Why has he got four million dollars in a Swiss bank account? Why has someone tried to murder him? Jason Bourne does not know the answer to any of these questions. Suffering from amnesia, he does not even know that he is Jason Bourne. What manner of man is he? What are his secrets? Who has he killed?
الشيطان يعظ هي مجموعة قصصية رائعة من تأليف الكاتب الكبير نجيب محفوظ, الذي حصل على جائزة نوبل في الأدب. هذه المجموعة تقدم لنا قصصًا مثيرة ومشوقة، تبحر في أعماق النفس البشرية وتتناول موضوعات الخير والشر، الفضيلة والرذيلة.
يستخدم محفوظ أسلوبه الفريد في السرد ليقدم لنا صورًا حية وواقعية من المجتمع المصري، ويطرح أسئلة فلسفية عميقة حول الحياة والمصير. هذه القصص ليست مجرد حكايات، بل هي دعوة للتفكير والتأمل في جوهر الوجود الإنساني.