Search

Selected by #1 bestselling author Lee Child: the twenty finest crime stories of the year.There is no finer form for a crime than the short story. WIthin a few pages, a clue can be discovered, divulged and its significance determined; all else is mere embellishment. The classic mystery tale will be familiar to aficionados and casual readers alike: it was invented by Edgar Allen Poe, popularised by Arthur Conan Doyle, and perfected by Agatha Christie.But mystery fiction has changed a great deal over the years – as have all things – and the writers within these pages present far more than a simple case of crime and resolution. Far from predictable, these stories provide fertile grounds of aberrant circumstances and the poor choices they lead to. You will find diverse methods and motivations, original perspectives and perils. Above all, you will find tales of the extremes of human psychology caused by despair, hate, greed, fear, envy, insanity or love.Featuring stories by: Doug Allyn, Jim Allyn, Ambrose Bierce, Michael Bracken, James Lee Burke, Martin Edwards, John Floyd, Jacqueline Freimor, Alison Gaylin, Sue Grafton, Paul Kemprecos, Stephen King, Janice Law, Dennis McFadden, David Marcum, Tom Mead, David Morrell, Joyce Carol Oates, Sara Paretsky, Joseph Walker, Andrew Welsh-Huggins.

A new Mike Hammer story from the archives of Mickey Spillane. On the death of crime boss Don Giraldi, a rumour begins to spread about the existence of a very dangerous book. A ledger that lists every deal made during his career. The rumored is that the book is in the possession of person he trusted most. But who can a crime boss trust? Hired by the local police to find the ledger, Mike Hammer soon finds himself in the firing line of everyone from the cops, the local politicians, and the crime syndicates themselves...

These short stories are like shots of espresso – best downed in one go and guaranteed to leave the heart racing. Hand-picked by bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, they showcase the best of contemporary crime-writing, from masters of suspense and stars of the future alike. Whether ingenious detective story or hardboiled noir, action-packed thriller or stylish historical mystery, these twenty stand-out stories should form the cornerstone of any crime reader's library.Michael Connelly fans will be thrilled to find a Harry Bosch story,'A Fine Mist of Blood', in which the LAPD detective tracks a cold case to a very warm conclusion.

'What treats you have in store!'IAN RANKIN. Sigmund Freud deals with an unwelcome visitor; Columbo confronts a murderous bookseller; a Mexican cartel kingpin with a fatal weakness for rare books; deadly secrets deep in the London Library: who knew literature could be so lethal? Here are 15 short stories to die for from the world's best crime writers. With an introduction from Ian Rankin, DEATH SENTENCES includes original, specially commissioned stories about deadly books from Jeffrey Deaver, Andrew Taylor, Laura Lippman, C.J. Box, Anne Perry, Ken Bruen, Thomas H. Cook, Micky Spillaine & Max Adam Collins, Nelson DeMille and John Connolly.

AD 1193. England lies uneasy, a land without a king. Richard the Lionheart is feared drowned on his return from Crusade, his brother John conspires to usurp the crown. On the throne, in the Lionheart's stead, sits Eleanor of Aquitaine. At seventy, Eleanor is the most powerful woman in Christendom and as mother to both Richard and John she is determined to prevent the outbreak of civil war. But amid the royal court at the Tower of London, treachery is endemic and there are few men she can trust. Justin de Quincy is one of the few. The bastard-born son of the Bishop of Chester, Justin has neither noble blood nor fortune – but he is blessed with a sharp mind and unshakeable loyalty. Gifts that will make him an agent of the Queen, taking him to the very centre of power – and into the heart of danger. THE QUEEN'S MAN, CRUEL AS THE GRAVE and DRAGON'S LAIR see Justin moving from bustling streets of Winchester to the to the alehouses and stews of Southwark, from the horrors of Newgate Gaol to the mountains of Wales. He will prove his mettle – or find an early grave – as he uncovers the dark intrigues of Eleanor's court.

SAN FRANCISCO NOIR: Take one smart, funny detective. Add one beautiful, deadly Chinese assassin. Mix in a secret ingredient that people will kill for, pour into San Francisco then stir violently. STEALING THE DRAGON: A PI, an assassin, the Triads and an ancient talisman. Welcome to the world of San Francisco Noir BEATING THE BABUSHKA: Having taken on the Triads, Cape Weathers and the exotically deadly Sally Mei confront the Russian Mafia.If you enjoyed SAN FRANCISO NOIR, you'll also enjoy book three in the series, GREASING THE PIÑATA: First the Triads, then the Russian Mafia, now Cape Weathers and the exotically deadly Sally Mei tangle with a Mexican drug cartel.

Suspect your husband has had his hand up someone else's skirt? Call the Pants on Fire Detective Agency and ask for the fabulous Cat DeLuca, avenger of cheated upon women. Cat's own short, stormy marriage was a crash course in infidelity – his, not hers. But two years of unholy matrimony (and being the only daughter in a family of policemen) taught her everything she needed to know to launch the Pants On Fire Detective Agency. She has no pity for unfaithful husbands: if they're cheating, she'll catch them. LIAR, LIAR: He's suave, seriously handsome and most unusually, it looks like he's innocent. Too good to be true? As it turns out, yes... STICKS & STONES: Cleo Jones'husband stole her money, took her dog and slept with her sister – so she doesn't feel too guilty about shooting him full of buckshot. But she didn't kill him. Shame no one but Cat believes her... SOME LIKE IT HOT?: The diamond earrings worn by Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot have been stolen... But with one private eye already gunned down on the search, should Cat De Luca try her hand at finding them?

DEATH IN BYZANTIUM: At the heart of what is left of the Roman Empire, lies a city simmering with intrigue & treachery. Amid this maelstrom stands John, ex-slave, now the right hand of Emperor Justinian. It is John's skills as an investigator that Justinian prizes the most. But the emperor is not a sentimental man. Nor is he a patient one. John knows his position is precarious. One misstep and his enemies may have him. And if they don't, the emperor himself almost certainly will.ONE FOR SORROW: When the body of a high-ranking treasury official is found in a filthy alley, John's investigation stirs the ghosts of his past and threatens his life. TWO FOR JOY: John must discover why three of Constantinople's holy stylites have burned to death atop their pillars. THREE FOR A LETTER: The murder of a child threatens Justinian's dreams of resurrecting the glory of Roman Empire. John will need all his wits to keep his job... and his head. FOUR FOR A BOY: In this series prequel, John the slave takes his first steps along the dangerous path that will lead him to become Justinian's Lord Chamberlain.

AD 1270: The Priory of Tyndal, on a windswept East Anglian coast, is dedicated to love and peace. But Eleanor of Wynethorpe, the twenty-one-year-old new prioress, will find little of either. Instead, she will face lust, greed and murder. I. THE WINE OF VIOLENCE:Only a day after Eleanor's arrival at Tyndal priory, a brutally mutilated monk is found dead in the cloister gardens. Not only must Eleanor struggle to gain the respect of her terrified and resentful flock, but she must also find a killer. II. TYRANT OF THE MIND:In mid-winter, Eleanor is summoned to tend her dying nephew. A bitter chill pervades her family's castle: not only is it beseiged by blizzards without, but it seethes with murderous tensions within. Soon after Eleanor arrives, her brother, bloody dagger in hand, is found standing over the corpse of his oldest friend. Eleanor must prove his innocence before he meets his fate on the hangman's gibbet. III. SORROW WITHOUT END:In the woods surrounding Tyndal Priory, the discovery of a disembowelled corpse wrapped in a crusader's cloak horrifies the community. A bronze dagger planted in the man's chest is engraved with a strange, cursive design. It is no Englishman's weapon. Could it be a Saracen blade? Wielded by an assassin?

A PHOENIX COLD CASE: David Mapstone has returned to Phoenix, Arizona, the desert city he left behind a lifetime ago. The ex-cop, ex-history professor is working the police dept's cold case desk, unearthing long-buried secrets. And he's good at it: as an ex-historian Mapstone knows the past is never past, as an ex-cop he knows he can't trust anybody... CONCRETE DESERT: A young woman's body is found dumped in the desert in circumstances identical to those of an infamous 40-year-old unsolved murder. CACTUS HEART: Mapstone unearths the skeletons of a pair of four-year-old twins, the victims in a notorious Depression-era kidnapping case. But what should be a matter of tying up loose ends quickly becomes something more sinister, more personal... and more deadly. CAMELBACK FALLS: When Sheriff Peralta is shot by a sniper, Mapstone must confront the deadly consequences of a small-town shoot-out in 1979 that left Peralta and Mapstone standing over four dead bodies.

Festive felonies, unscrupulous santas, deadly puddings, and misdemeanors under the mistletoe... From Victorian detective stories to modern mysteries, police procedurals to pulp fiction, comic gems to cozy crime, there's something for every festive mood in this must-read collection starring sixty of the world's favourite detectives. Featuring an all-star cast of authors including Isaac Asimov, Mary Higgins Clark, Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Colin Dexter, Thomas Hardy, H.R.F. Keating, Ngaio Marsh, John Mortimer, Ellis Peters, Sara Paretsky, Robert Louis Stevenson and – of course – Agatha Christie, this is the biggest and best Christmas crime anthology in print today.

These short stories are like shots of espresso – best downed in one go and guaranteed to leave the heart racing. Hand-picked by bestselling author Robert Crais, they showcase the best of contemporary crime-writing, from masters of suspense and stars of the future alike. Whether ingenious detective story or hardboiled noir, action-packed thriller or stylish historical mystery, these twenty stand-out stories should form the cornerstone of any crime reader's library.Stories from: Tom Andes, Peter Beagle, K.L. Cook, Jason De Young, Joe Donnelly & Harry Shannon, Kathleen Ford, Mary Gaitskill, Jesse Goolsby, Katherine Hester, Thomas McGuane, Lou Manfredo, Nathan Oates, Gina Paoli, T. Jefferson Parker, Thomas J. Rice, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lones Seiber, Charles Todd, Tim L. Williams, Daniel Woodrell.

Here are three great new hardboiled tomes at a great price. THE RETURN OF THE THIN MAN: Two lost novellas from the true master of hard-boiled noir. STEALING THE DRAGON: Take one smart, funny ex-detective. Add one beautiful, deadly Chinese assassin. Pour into San Francisco and shake violently. CONCRETE DESERT: A decades-old cold case haunts the present in the desert city of Phoenix, Arizona.