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Follow a daring reporter in these four hard-boiled suspense mysteries from “a master of intrigue and adventure” (New York Times–bestselling author Clive Cussler). Meet Harker, an investigative reporter willing to do whatever it takes to break a story—even if it might break him first... The Harker File: A CIA agent knows the cause behind mysterious deaths in Wisconsin and Iowa—and their connection to Communist Russia. But getting the scoop means Harker will be the next to die... Dead and Paid For: A group of con men are preying on the families of US soldiers who are missing in action in Vietnam. Harker's out to uncover the truth without going missing himself... They've Killed Anna: In this Edgar Award finalist, a vast government conspiracy is hiding the dangers of nuclear energy from the public. Harker's source is about to help him break the story—when she suddenly dies. Now the journalist will need to watch his back... Kill the Reporter: Harker is helping a California senator search for his missing daughter—only to draw the ire of a religious cult hell-bent on silencing him.

Three hard-boiled mysteries featuring a tough as nails narcotics agent from “a master of intrigue and adventure” (New York Times–bestselling author Clive Cussler). John Bolt is the best narcotics agent in D-3—the Department of Dangerous Drugs—and with his Colt.45, he's out to make dangerous criminals pay, dead or alive... Narc: Bolt is out to stop New York City's toughest drug dealer from scoring one thousand pounds of uncut heroin from Cuba. It will be the biggest shipment in history, and everyone's dying to get their hands on it... Death of a Courier: Bolt's ex-partner is now a mafia enforcer. Known as Apache, he's working his way up the mob ladder by taking down D-3 agents—and he's about to have a bloody reunion with Bolt... The Death List: John Bolt is after a dying drug kingpin's little black book. Finding it would be the greatest bust of his career—but it means going up against a fearsome gang of corrupt cops.

A sword-wielding martial arts master takes down legions of bad guys in a series that inspired the 1970s cult classic starring Jim Kelly from Enter the Dragon. On leave in Tokyo, American GI Robert Sand is shot trying to protect an old man from a gang of drunk soldiers. Before Sand passes out, he sees the old man spring on his tormenters, beating them senseless with his bare fists. He is Master Konuma, keeper of the ancient secrets of the samurai, and Sand is about to become his newest pupil. Over the next seven years, the American learns martial arts, swordplay, and stealth, becoming not just the first black man to ever take the oath of the samurai, but the strongest fighter Konuma has ever trained. Here are the first four action-packed adventures in the series from an author who “writes with the quick, slashing motions of a karate chop” (Gerald A. Browne, New York Times–bestselling author). Black Samurai: When terrorists ambush the dojo and butcher his sensei, samurai Robert Sand takes vengeance in blood. The Golden Kill: Alone and outgunned, Sand races against the clock to stop a power-mad millionaire from pulling off the largest gold heist in history. Killer Warrior: Sand must prevent an arms dealer from selling a black-market atomic bomb to a vengeance-crazed Japanese man who plans to level New York City. The Deadly Pearl: To rescue the daughter of a secret service agent, Sand goes after a vile pimp trafficking in white slavery.

A half-mad, alcoholic Edgar Allan Poe aims to defeat an occultist's terrifying plot in this “intelligent, suspenseful” thriller set in 1840s New York (Booklist). It is said that beneath Solomon's glorious throne, books that gave the fabled king control over life, death, and demonic power were buried. The throne has been lost for millennia, but now one man seeks to find it and harness its secrets to unleash hell upon the world. Jonathan is the most powerful psychic on earth, and in service of his god, Lucifer, he will tear civilization apart. To combat his dark designs, mankind's hopes rest on a troubled author named Edgar Allan Poe. In the shadows of New York City, Poe drowns his talent in rotgut gin, trying to forget the death of his beloved wife. A bare-knuckle fighter named Pierce James Figg arrives with a letter of introduction from Charles Dickens, begging for Poe's help chasing down the power-mad devil worshiper. Now, writer and fighter must stand together to save humanity from a darkness beyond even Poe's tortured imagination. This fast-paced tale of historical supernatural suspense, which Booklist hailed as “unfailingly readable and terrifically well-written,” provides “one cliffhanging chapter after another” (Kirkus Reviews).

At Wellington's, it's OK to break hearts, but never break your reservation. Seven nights a week, the most beautiful people in Manhattan crowd around the bar at a dimly lit restaurant on Second Avenue. Fueled by drugs, liquor, and jealousy, the singles crowd has made Wellington's the hottest spot in town. Its gorgeous young patrons can go through several partners just before closing time, and the spectacle of'the hunt'ensures that the restaurant's tables are never empty. People don't come to Wellington's for the food, but for a close-up view of romantic blood sport. David James, owner and operator, runs the show. Around him swirls a hurricane of swingers, players, and tramps, but David stays cool. In this bar, the only rule is to never sleep with someone who's got more troubles than you. But the people who crowd around at last call have so many problems, it's impossible to keep count.

Sand must stop an arms dealer from expanding his business from murder to genocide. Even the finest samurai occasionally needs to hone his skill. Robert Sand is in Japan, pushing his body to the limit under an aged sensei's guidance, when he gets the message that practice is over. A French arms dealer named Valbonne has gotten ambitious, and is about to start selling something rather more deadly than a bootlegged Kalashnikov. He is building an atomic bomb. Valbonne's prospective buyer is a Japanese man who has never forgiven the United States for killing his family at Nagasaki. To take revenge, he plans to detonate the black market warhead somewhere in New York City. His contract with Valbonne earns him the support of the Frenchman's mercenary army, and the cunning of a bloodthirsty Native American who's handy with a hatchet. Unfortunately for them, this is just the kind of fight that Sand's been training for.

When an undercover op goes wrong, John Bolt loses his partner -- and his pants. It's cold in New York when federal narcotics agents Bolt and Kramer come to meet Angel Jarín, a dealer with a big mouth and a bigger supply. Masquerading as Detroit pushers, the agents are close to arranging a buy when Angel turns the tables on them. Three hoods dressed as cops ambush Bolt and Kramer in an alley, forcing them to strip naked and hand over their cash. Bolt realizes something's wrong about the time his knees begin to freeze. Blowing their cover would mean death, so the narcs play along even when the thugs take Kramer. They leave Bolt shivering in the alley, with forty-eight hours to collect a $75,000 ransom. As his numb fingers pick up his overcoat, Bolt decides the hoods are right. Somebody's gonna pay.

Harker uncovers a cult whose members believe in peace, love, understanding, and torture. Rudolph Franklin thinks his biggest problem is reelection. A battle with a fellow senator about military spending is getting ugly, and if he can't scrap out a victory, his career will be dead in the water. He calls Harker, a crack investigative reporter, to leak a story for him. Franklin thinks his problems are political -- until his daughter disappears. In Barbarann's bedroom, Harker finds pamphlets for the Children's Crusade, a hippy-dippy cult best known for selling buttons and hard candy on street corners. But Harker learns about the crusade's darker side -- the enforcers charged with keeping members in line, and keeping the press from asking questions. His first warning is a dead cat, hung from the ceiling of his hotel room, paw sliced off. If he crosses the Crusade again, the next paw they take will be his own.

Only Bolt can save New York from an alliance between the Chinese and Italian mobs. In a dank Chinatown gymnasium, a dragon prepares for the parade. As the teenagers inside the monster practice its ungainly walk, four Sun Eagles surround them and open fire. Trapped inside the dragon, the small-timers never have a chance. For the crime of stealing Sun Eagle heroin, they die on the gymnasium floor. The hit puts the Sun Eagles at the top of the Chinatown heap, in position to strike the bargain that will make them rich. Sick of sitting on the sidelines in New York's drug skirmishes, a mafia capo buys $4 million in Sun Eagle smack to use as a war chest in the bloodiest campaign the city's streets have ever seen. Standing in his way is narcotics agent John Bolt, a one-man army who can match any dragon, Chinese or otherwise.

When a dispute between modeling agencies turns to all-out war, beautiful people get ugly. Annie Laurie's modeling career has been dead since the day she turned thirty, but she is not through with that life. Now an agent, she plans to dominate the business as completely as she once did the nation's billboards. Only one person stands in her way: her ex-husband Byron Terry, super-agent. Lucky for Annie, he taught her how to play dirty. She uses every trick she knows to steal models from Terry's stable, making his girls more successful than he could ever dream. But when both set their sights on signing premier supermodel Karen Dial, Terry calls in the mob for help. From here out, scorched earth is in vogue. The model wars have come to New York, and the jet set is about to witness the most stylish bloodbath in history.

To fulfill an ancient rite of vengeance, two druids descend on New York City. Out for kicks on a dull summer night, a few Puerto Rican boys wander Central Park. Drunk, high, and bored they hack at an old oak tree, and they don't notice the white-haired couple appear behind them. Murmuring in an ancient tongue, the couple attacks the boys to save the oak. By the time the police arrive, two boys have been slashed to death, and their right hands cut from their bodies. Rupert and Rowena Comfort are druids, keepers of a religion that is older than civilization itself. For thousands of years they have lived in secret in the wilds of England, until the day that five Americans happen on their village and steal the book of shadows -- a witch's tome passed down by the druids for millennia. Rupert and Rowena will kill to save the book, starting with a spell whose recipe calls for the blood from two severed hands.

When terrorists butcher his sensei, a samurai takes vengeance in blood. On leave in Tokyo, American GI Robert Sand is shot trying to protect an old man from a quartet of drunk American soldiers. As Sand passes out, the old man springs on his tormenters, beating them senseless with frail, wrinkled fists. He is Master Konuma, keeper of the ancient secrets of the samurai, and Sand is about to become his newest pupil. Over the next seven years, the American learns martial arts, swordplay, and stealth, becoming not just the first black man to ever take the oath of the samurai, but the strongest fighter Konuma has ever trained. One night, two dozen terrorists ambush the dojo, slaughtering Konuma and his students as the first step in a terrifying assault on world peace. Though he cannot save his sensei, Sand escapes with his life and a gnawing hunger for vengeance. All he has is his sword, but his sword is all he needs.

A narcotics agent comes between a dealer and the biggest heroin shipment in history. One thousand pounds of uncut heroin. Street value: a quarter of a billion dollars. New York's baddest dealer is a preening hustler named St. James Livingston, and his latest scheme will make the French Connection smuggling operation look small-time. The shipment is coming in through a Cuban diplomatic mission, and when it arrives Livingston won't just make a fortune. He'll make history. Only John Bolt stands in his way. The meanest narcotics agent in the country, Bolt arrests Livingston's supplier during a South American raid. But cutting off the head won't kill this snake. Too many junkies are hungry for smack, and too many crooks are desperate for profits. The biggest shipment in history will also be the bloodiest, and Bolt stands to make a killing.

When a voodoo priest bewitches Sand's beloved, the samurai goes on the warpath. Black magic orgies. Human sacrifices. Necrophilia. These are just a few of Augustus Janicot's special skills. This charismatic sadist has built a formidable following, convincing politicians across Europe that his voodoo ritual can win them office. When they consent to his bloody rites, he films them, and uses the footage for blackmail. On the verge of obtaining unlimited power, the Warlock is about to make a fatal mistake. Janicot's next target is in Vietnam, and for Robert Sand, this is too close to home. An American trained in the ways of the samurai, Sand fears for the safety of Toki Jakata, the granddaughter of his late samurai master and the only woman he has ever loved. Sand has never been able to win Toki's heart, but he will do anything to keep Janicot from pulling it out of her chest.

A satanist threatens the planet, and only Poe has the imagination to stop him. It is said that beneath Solomon's glorious throne, books were buried that gave the fabled king control over life, death, and demonic power. The throne has been lost for millennia, but now one man seeks to find it, and harness its secrets to unleash hell upon the world. Jonathan is the most powerful psychic on earth, and in service of his god Lucifer he will tear civilization apart. To combat his dark designs, mankind's hopes rest on a half-mad alcoholic named Edgar Allan Poe. In the shadows of New York City, Poe drowns his talent in rotgut gin, trying to forget the death of his beloved wife. A bare-knuckle fighter named Pierce James Figg arrives with a letter of introduction from Charles Dickens, to beg Poe's help chasing down the power-mad devil worshiper. Writer and fighter will stand together, to save humanity from a darkness beyond even Poe's tortured imagination.

To protect the families of missing veterans, Harker could go missing himself. The US Army is out of Vietnam, but not all of its boys made it home. Thousands remain unaccounted for, and as the years go on, their families hold out hope that somewhere in the jungle, their boys survive. Harker, an investigative reporter, has uncovered a sickening scheme designed to prey on that misguided hope. A group of con men is going to the homes of missing soldiers, telling families that their GI is trapped in a secret Vietnamese prison, and can return home for a small ransom. When the family forks over the money, they disappear. Harker has exposed the con, and now he wants to punish those responsible. The mastermind is an unscrupulous security contractor named D. Z. Vale, who backs up his despicable scheme with a private army and an unlimited cache of ammunition. Harker has his typewriter, and it's the only weapon he'll need.

With a handful of agents, Bolt takes on the crown prince of European smuggling. Two French businessmen come to the United States to arrange an export deal. Normally the federal government would have no interest, but these Frenchmen are Corsican, and their product is the finest heroin in the world. For months the crime syndicate overseen by Count Napoleon Bonaparte Lonzu has stockpiled its smack, creating a worldwide shortage and sending demand through the roof. Now it is time to open the floodgates, and dump a colossal shipment of white heroin onto the United States. But the deal goes sour from the very start. Lanzu's lieutenants run into John Bolt, a narcotics agent who makes the toughest Corsicans wilt. He only has a handful of operatives in his critically underfunded anti-drug detail, but Bolt will crack the Corsican syndicate if he has to cross the Atlantic to do it. Count Lanzu may have an army, but next to a determined American cop, every Napoleon looks small.

A meticulous account of the greatest drug scourge the country has ever seen. Before crack, there was cocaine. In 1972, New Yorkers bought more powdered cocaine than heroin, and they paid dearly for it. Pimps, rock stars, UN delegates, and high school students all turned on with snow. Some used casually, and some threw their lives away for its fleeting high. The drug's devotees showed their allegiance with a golden coke spoon necklace -- a sign of the wealth required to maintain a habit when the drug sold for as much as seventy-five dollars a hit. They used it to party, to work, and to have sex. They snorted it, shot it, and rubbed it on their gums. And more and more, they killed and died for the sake of the priceless white powder. In this staggering exposé, Marc Olden gets to the heart of New York's cocaine underworld, painting an exhaustive picture of the drug's effects on society -- from the highest highs to the lowest lows.

Insane with grief, Sand vows to destroy a terrorist cabal. Ever since he took the vows of the samurai, Robert Sand has been ready to die. But now, for the first time in his life, he has a reason to live. Her name is Ann, and he sits beside her, awaiting takeoff for Geneva, when terrorists seize the plane. Holding guns on the passengers and crew, they douse the cabin in liquor and light a fire that will burn until it reaches the gas tanks. The terrorists flee as smoke fills the plane, but one lingers -- a Japanese killer with a vendetta against the black samurai. He puts two bullets in Ann's back, and even Sand's lightning reflexes are not fast enough to save her. The Sword of Allah, the most feared terrorist organization on the planet, planned the attack. Its next operation threatens to turn the Cold War up to a boil, but they made one foolish mistake. Robert Sand is angry, and will have his revenge.

A Japanese serial killer terrorizes New York, opposed only by a karate-savvy cop. In the dojo, Manny Decker learned that training, focus, and cold discipline could make a man more dangerous than any weapon. His skill with his fists was useful in the US Marines, and served him even better afterwards, as a cop walking a tough New York beat. Since he became a detective, Decker hasn't found much use for his hand-to-hand skills, but his mental toughness has proved invaluable as he navigates the narrow line of an Internal Affairs investigator. Keeping an eye on other cops, he has found, means risking his life inside and outside the precinct house. Decker also knows that a mastery of karate can be used for evil as well as good. Investigating a corrupt security company, Decker finds himself on the trail of a psychopathic killer who can snap a windpipe with one chop of his palm. Only karate can stop him, and when the final confrontation occurs, karate is all Decker will have.

On the verge of death from two gunshot wounds, Bolt vows revenge. They call him Black Beauty, because he is the most gorgeous thief the drug world has ever seen. Where some are content to make a living ripping off dime-bag hustlers, Black Beauty steals from big-time dealers, taking profits from international cartels to keep himself rich, well-dressed, and smiling. His latest score netted him $850,000, along with the twenty-two kilos of cocaine the money was intended to buy. To get it he killed four men, and left one narcotics agent to bleed to death in a parking lot. Before long, Black Beauty will wish he finished the job. John Bolt is too tough to let a pretty boy kill him. As soon as he's strong enough to lift a.45, he's coming after Black Beauty -- even if he has to take vengeance from a wheelchair.

Kidnappers have the ex-president's daughter, and only Sand can save her. When Robert Sand's sensei was murdered, William Baron Clarke helped him take revenge. The former president of the United States, Clarke is a rich man who uses his wealth to combat evil around the world. Since they first met, Sand has become his chief enforcer -- a killer with samurai skills and American style. Once, Clarke saved Sand. Now it's time to return the favor. A fringe militia called the Inquisition kidnaps Clarke's daughter, a brilliant college student. Their leader goes by the name Dessalines, and his cruelty is exceeded only by his madness. Before he executes his prisoners, Dessalines always stages a drumhead trial. Sand has three days before the verdict comes in -- time enough to perform some executions of his own.

For the sake of his master's memory, Sand will kill to recover a magnificent sword. Though useless in battle, the emperor's katana is a beautiful weapon. Cast from solid gold, this 1,200-year-old blade was thought to be lost until Master Konuma, teacher of samurais, presents it as a gift to the people of Japan. Soon after, he is savagely murdered, leaving his American student, Robert Sand, to avenge his death. The sensei is gone, but the sword remains as a symbol of his generosity -- until the day the katana vanishes. A madman snatches the treasure from the Metropolitan Museum, wanting the katana at his side as he makes a bid for world domination. Now it's Sand's turn to steal it back, and destroy the monster who dishonored his sensei's memory. The katana is too valuable to use in a fight, but for its sake much blood will flow.

Facing a long jail sentence, a woman takes a dangerous job for the New York Police Department. Lydia Constanza is not cut out for prison. Since she came to the United States from Cuba, she's twice been convicted as an accomplice to a violent crime, and done two short stints in jail. The second time, her nerves went, and she vowed never to return. Back on the outside and living in New York with a five-year-old daughter, Lydia and her boyfriend hold up a check-cashing place, tripping the silent alarm and landing, once again, in handcuffs. To stay near her child, this three-time loser offers up the only thing she has left: information. Harlem has become a dangerous place to wear a badge. Two cops have just been killed at a traffic stop, and Walter F. X. Forster is not going to lose any more men. Informants like Lydia are the lieutenant's last chance to stop the bleeding. It's the bad guys'turn to die -- if his snitches stay alive long enough to tell the cops who to kill.

Chasing a scoop on the CIA, a reporter finds his own name on the hit list. In Madison, Wisconsin, a dairy farmer drops dead of a heart attack. A few days later, a small-town citizen in Iowa is killed in a three-car pile-up. Few men know the connection between these deaths, and only one is willing to talk to Harker, an investigative reporter with sources on the inside of every agency in Washington. His source at the CIA is named Trotman, and he knows things that men cannot discuss in the light of day. The two dead men were CIA agents, defectors from Communist states living under assumed names. Trotman tells Harker not out of civic duty, but because the reporter will be one of the next to die. Getting the story of this terrifying conspiracy down in print is Harker's only chance for survival. He must work quickly to stay alive, but that's no problem. Reporters like Harker love deadlines.

Alone and outgunned, Sand has two weeks to stop the largest gold heist in history. The Chinese diplomat walks into the revolving door just a step ahead of the grenade. Samurai Robert Sand is too late to save him from the blast, but as the smoke clears he is hot on the grenade-tosser's heels. In Central Park, Sand disarms the killer and knocks him unconscious. His name is Ivan Vanich, and he is posing as a Soviet operative. His real employer is a power-mad millionaire, who arranged the hit as part of a plot to upend a Russo-Chinese trading contract and seize the profits for himself. The diplomat in the revolving door was only the first to die. On special orders from an ex-president, Sand races to avert catastrophe. His hunt for answers takes him to a sprawling English castle, where the samurai comes face to face with the man who would let millions die for the sake of gold.

When his source is murdered, Harker knows he's on the right track. Finally, Harker has a break in the nuclear story. There is a vast conspiracy inside the government to keep the dangers of nuclear energy from the public, and now he has a source on the inside. Anna Alexander, an employee at a nuclear firm, has documents that will blow the industry wide open -- if she can make it to her rendezvous with Harker alive. Her employers are poisoning her with plutonium, and when she calls Harker, she is nearly dead from radiation sickness. By the time he makes it to Nevada, she's gone. The car wreck looks like an accident, but the papers she was bringing him are nowhere to be found. They killed Anna to keep her from talking to the press -- so just imagine what they'll do to the reporter.

To escape jail, a pusher takes out a contract on everyone in Bolt's department. The Delgado cocaine operation is more than a business. It's an empire, supplied by a direct line to the coca plants of South America. Delgado's soldiers are not common hoods, but a cadre of teenage boys chosen for their loyalty -- and beauty. But now one of his lovers has failed him, allowing crack narcotics agent John Bolt to build a case against the kingpin. Delgado will handle his legal defense the same way he rules his evil empire: with murder. There are nine names on the list Delgado gives the killer. Eight are witnesses against him, whose deaths will assure Delgado's freedom. The ninth is Bolt's, who will die for turning Delgado's boy. But Bolt serves justice as ruthlessly as Delgado serves evil, and the dealer will find this narc has a kill list of his own.

A kingpin loses his little black book, and every pusher in the city will kill to find it. His name is Mr. Church. He is a drug kingpin whose empire stretches across six cities in the Northeast. And he is about to die. A rival dealer hires a gang of corrupt cops to end Church's reign -- not just to get him out of the way, but to get ahold of his list. This small notebook holds the names of the couriers, suppliers, and crooked politicians who make the international drug trade run smoothly. The hit comes off, but the list vanishes. Whoever finds it will become one of the richest criminals in the country -- assuming he lives to collect his first payment. Refereeing the melee is John Bolt, a narcotics agent with a hair trigger and a moral compass that's pointing him right at the heart of this war. Finding the list could mean the biggest bust of his career, and he doesn't mind killing to get his hands on it.

Sand attacks the empire of New York's deadliest pimp. Her name is Rochelle, and she is only fifteen when she disappears. Her father is a secret service agent assigned to ex-president William Baron Clarke, and when he asks for help, Clarke calls the most capable tracker he knows: Robert Sand, the only black man to ever attain the rank of samurai. Sand combs the tenements of New York's East Village in search of the girl, finally learning what no father ever wants to hear: Rochelle is in the clutches of Pearl, the meanest pimp in town. Called Pearl because of his exquisite taste in jewelry, he is no ordinary hustler. Kidnapping is his specialty, and the women he snatches for sale overseas are never older than eighteen. He is proud to call his business'white slavery,'but his latest victim may be his last. Robert Sand is coming for him, and all the guns in New York won't be enough to protect this Pearl from getting scuffed.

After a narrow escape, Bolt goes after the mobster who tried to blow him up. As far as the record industry is concerned, Matteo DiPalma is a manager, a producer, and the hit-maker behind some of the decade's biggest chart successes. To the federal government, he is a crucial link between drug-hungry musicians and the Rosetti crime family that keeps them supplied with heroin and cocaine. When federal agents nail DiPalma on a trafficking charge, John Bolt and six other cops go to California to escort him back east. The shotguns they carry aren't to keep DiPalma from running, but to protect him from a Rosetti hit. The agents don't count on death from above. The mafia helicopter appears too quickly for the cops to react. Bolt is just outside the blast radius when the grenade hits the roof, vaporizing DiPalma and his guards. When the smoke clears, Bolt is bloodied but not broken -- and ready to even the score.

To break the mafia, Bolt must face his murderous ex-partner. Narcotics agents aren't supposed to ride horses. But today John Bolt is tailing a drug courier in Central Park, and in two feet of snow, horseback is the only way to ride. When he hears the pop-pop-pop of a.32 pistol, he knows his man is dead. Bolt charges to the scene, and the gunmen open fire. They kill his horse, and Bolt avenges the animal. As one of the killers bleeds into unconsciousness, he says they were sent by Apache. Apache. Codename for Paris Whitman, a former top man in Bolt's department who flipped to the other side. Now a mafia enforcer, Apache is working his way up the mob ladder by targeting his old colleagues. Once, he and Bolt were partners. Now they fight each other in a duel to the death that will determine whether the trickle of drugs into this country stops, or becomes a flood.

The Ghost -- the code name for the secret member of an undercover cop's backup team. It is the Ghost's job to remain hidden, blending into the scenery, maintaining close observation of his assignment's surroundings. In short, he's supposed to keep the undercover cop alive. The Ghost's relationship with his undercover cop is unrivaled in its intensity.But every relationship has unpredictable turns, and in Marc Olden's The Ghost, undercover cop Rosalind'Ross'Magellan's relationship with her Ghost is no different. Magellan, impulsive, seductive, and an expert at the art of deceit and manipulation, is addicted to the rush of leading a double life; she has posed as a prostitute and a junkie to uncover dealers and sleazy players associated with New York City's underground night culture. Roaming desolate streets, abandoned buildings, and after-hours clubs without a police radio, badge, or vest, and often without a gun, her character reveals the true underbelly of New York City.In the tradition of Ed McBain and Elmore Leonard, Marc Olden's fastidious attention to nuance and the inner workings of the police reveals the work of a master crime writer. Mined with murder, blackmail, drugs, and betrayal, The Ghost is a story that will stay with readers forever.

At Wellington's, it's OK to break hearts, but never break your reservationSeven nights a week, the most beautiful people in Manhattan crowd around the bar at a dimly lit restaurant on Second Avenue. Fueled by drugs, liquor, and jealousy, the singles crowd has made Wellington's the hottest spot in town. Its gorgeous young patrons can go through several partners just before closing time, and the spectacle of “the hunt” ensures that the restaurant's tables are never empty. People don't come to Wellington's for the food, but for a close-up view of romantic blood sport.David James, owner and operator, runs the show. Around him swirls a hurricane of swingers, players, and tramps, but David stays cool. In this bar, the only rule is to never sleep with someone who's got more troubles than you. But the people who crowd around at last call have so many problems, it's impossible to keep count.

A Japanese serial killer terrorizes New York, opposed only by a karate-savvy copIn the dojo, Manny Decker learned that training, focus, and cold discipline could make a man more dangerous than any weapon. His skill with his fists was useful in the US Marines, and served him even better afterwards, as a cop walking a tough New York beat. Since he became a detective, Decker hasn't found much use for his hand-to-hand skills, but his mental toughness has proved invaluable as he navigates the narrow line of an Internal Affairs investigator. Keeping an eye on other cops, he has found, means risking his life inside and outside the precinct house.Decker also knows that a mastery of karate can be used for evil as well as good. Investigating a corrupt security company, Decker finds himself on the trail of a psychopathic killer who can snap a windpipe with one chop of his palm. Only karate can stop him, and when the final confrontation occurs, karate is all Decker will have.

When a dispute between modeling agencies turns to all-out war, beautiful people get uglyAnnie Laurie's modeling career has been dead since the day she turned thirty, but she is not through with that life. Now an agent, she plans to dominate the business as completely as she once did the nation's billboards. Only one person stands in her way: her ex-husband Byron Terry, super-agent. Lucky for Annie, he taught her how to play dirty.She uses every trick she knows to steal models from Terry's stable, making his girls more successful than he could ever dream. But when both set their sights on signing premier supermodel Karen Dial, Terry calls in the mob for help. From here out, scorched earth is in vogue. The model wars have come to New York, and the jet set is about to witness the most stylish bloodbath in history.

A half-mad, alcoholic Edgar Allan Poe aims to defeat an occultist's terrifying plot in this “intelligent, suspenseful” thriller set in 1840s New York (Booklist). It is said that beneath Solomon's glorious throne, books that gave the fabled king control over life, death, and demonic power were buried. The throne has been lost for millennia, but now one man seeks to find it and harness its secrets to unleash hell upon the world. Jonathan is the most powerful psychic on earth, and in service of his god, Lucifer, he will tear civilization apart. To combat his dark designs, mankind's hopes rest on a troubled author named Edgar Allan Poe. In the shadows of New York City, Poe drowns his talent in rotgut gin, trying to forget the death of his beloved wife. A bare-knuckle fighter named Pierce James Figg arrives with a letter of introduction from Charles Dickens, begging for Poe's help chasing down the power-mad devil worshiper. Now, writer and fighter must stand together to save humanity from a darkness beyond even Poe's tortured imagination. This fast-paced tale of historical supernatural suspense, which Booklist hailed as “unfailingly readable and terrifically well-written,” provides “one cliffhanging chapter after another” (Kirkus Reviews).

To fulfill an ancient rite of vengeance, two druids descend on New York CityOut for kicks on a dull summer night, a few Puerto Rican boys wander Central Park. Drunk, high, and bored they hack at an old oak tree, and they don't notice the white-haired couple appear behind them. Murmuring in an ancient tongue, the couple attacks the boys to save the oak. By the time the police arrive, two boys have been slashed to death, and their right hands cut from their bodies. Rupert and Rowena Comfort are druids, keepers of a religion that is older than civilization itself. For thousands of years they have lived in secret in the wilds of England, until the day that five Americans happen on their village and steal the book of shadows—a witch's tome passed down by the druids for millennia. Rupert and Rowena will kill to save the book, starting with a spell whose recipe calls for the blood from two severed hands.

Facing a long jail sentence, a woman takes a dangerous job for the New York Police DepartmentLydia Constanza is not cut out for prison. Since she came to the United States from Cuba, she's twice been convicted as an accomplice to a violent crime, and done two short stints in jail. The second time, her nerves went, and she vowed never to return. Back on the outside and living in New York with a five-year-old daughter, Lydia and her boyfriend hold up a check-cashing place, tripping the silent alarm and landing, once again, in handcuffs. To stay near her child, this three-time loser offers up the only thing she has left: information.Harlem has become a dangerous place to wear a badge. Two cops have just been killed at a traffic stop, and Walter F. X. Forster is not going to lose any more men. Informants like Lydia are the lieutenant's last chance to stop the bleeding. It's the bad guys'turn to die—if his snitches stay alive long enough to tell the cops who to kill.

A meticulous account of the greatest drug scourge the country has ever seenBefore crack, there was cocaine. In 1972, New Yorkers bought more powdered cocaine than heroin, and they paid dearly for it. Pimps, rock stars, UN delegates, and high school students all turned on with snow. Some used casually, and some threw their lives away for its fleeting high. The drug's devotees showed their allegiance with a golden coke spoon necklace—a sign of the wealth required to maintain a habit when the drug sold for as much as seventy-five dollars a hit. They used it to party, to work, and to have sex. They snorted it, shot it, and rubbed it on their gums. And more and more, they killed and died for the sake of the priceless white powder.In this staggering exposé, Marc Olden gets to the heart of New York's cocaine underworld, painting an exhaustive picture of the drug's effects on society—from the highest highs to the lowest lows.

For the sake of his master's memory, Sand will kill to recover a magnificent swordThough useless in battle, the emperor's katana is a beautiful weapon. Cast from solid gold, this 1,200-year-old blade was thought to be lost until Master Konuma, teacher of samurais, presents it as a gift to the people of Japan. Soon after, he is savagely murdered, leaving his American student, Robert Sand, to avenge his death. The sensei is gone, but the sword remains as a symbol of his generosity—until the day the katana vanishes.A madman snatches the treasure from the Metropolitan Museum, wanting the katana at his side as he makes a bid for world domination. Now it's Sand's turn to steal it back, and destroy the monster who dishonored his sensei's memory. The katana is too valuable to use in a fight, but for its sake much blood will flow.

Insane with grief, Sand vows to destroy a terrorist cabal Ever since he took the vows of the samurai, Robert Sand has been ready to die. But now, for the first time in his life, he has a reason to live. Her name is Ann, and he sits beside her, awaiting takeoff for Geneva, when terrorists seize the plane. Holding guns on the passengers and crew, they douse the cabin in liquor and light a fire that will burn until it reaches the gas tanks. The terrorists flee as smoke fills the plane, but one lingers—a Japanese killer with a vendetta against the black samurai. He puts two bullets in Ann's back, and even Sand's lightning reflexes are not fast enough to save her. The Sword of Allah, the most feared terrorist organization on the planet, planned the attack. Its next operation threatens to turn the Cold War up to a boil, but they made one foolish mistake. Robert Sand is angry, and will have his revenge.

When a voodoo priest bewitches Sand's beloved, the samurai goes on the warpathBlack magic orgies. Human sacrifices. Necrophilia. These are just a few of Augustus Janicot's special skills. This charismatic sadist has built a formidable following, convincing politicians across Europe that his voodoo ritual can win them office. When they consent to his bloody rites, he films them, and uses the footage for blackmail. On the verge of obtaining unlimited power, the Warlock is about to make a fatal mistake.Janicot's next target is in Vietnam, and for Robert Sand, this is too close to home. An American trained in the ways of the samurai, Sand fears for the safety of Toki Jakata, the granddaughter of his late samurai master and the only woman he has ever loved. Sand has never been able to win Toki's heart, but he will do anything to keep Janicot from pulling it out of her chest.

Kidnappers have the ex-president's daughter, and only Sand can save herWhen Robert Sand's sensei was murdered, William Baron Clarke helped him take revenge. The former president of the United States, Clarke is a rich man who uses his wealth to combat evil around the world. Since they first met, Sand has become his chief enforcer—a killer with samurai skills and American style. Once, Clarke saved Sand. Now it's time to return the favor.A fringe militia called the Inquisition kidnaps Clarke's daughter, a brilliant college student. Their leader goes by the name Dessalines, and his cruelty is exceeded only by his madness. Before he executes his prisoners, Dessalines always stages a drumhead trial. Sand has three days before the verdict comes in—time enough to perform some executions of his own.

Sand attacks the empire of New York's deadliest pimpHer name is Rochelle, and she is only fifteen when she disappears. Her father is a secret service agent assigned to ex-president William Baron Clarke, and when he asks for help, Clarke calls the most capable tracker he knows: Robert Sand, the only black man to ever attain the rank of samurai. Sand combs the tenements of New York's East Village in search of the girl, finally learning what no father ever wants to hear: Rochelle is in the clutches of Pearl, the meanest pimp in town.Called Pearl because of his exquisite taste in jewelry, he is no ordinary hustler. Kidnapping is his specialty, and the women he snatches for sale overseas are never older than eighteen. He is proud to call his business “white slavery,” but his latest victim may be his last. Robert Sand is coming for him, and all the guns in New York won't be enough to protect this Pearl from getting scuffed.

Sand must stop an arms dealer from expanding his business from murder to genocideEven the finest samurai occasionally needs to hone his skill. Robert Sand is in Japan, pushing his body to the limit under an aged sensei's guidance, when he gets the message that practice is over. A French arms dealer named Valbonne has gotten ambitious, and is about to start selling something rather more deadly than a bootlegged Kalashnikov. He is building an atomic bomb.Valbonne's prospective buyer is a Japanese man who has never forgiven the United States for killing his family at Nagasaki. To take revenge, he plans to detonate the black market warhead somewhere in New York City. His contract with Valbonne earns him the support of the Frenchman's mercenary army, and the cunning of a bloodthirsty Native American who's handy with a hatchet. Unfortunately for them, this is just the kind of fight that Sand's been training for.

Alone and outgunned, Sand has two weeks to stop the largest gold heist in historyThe Chinese diplomat walks into the revolving door just a step ahead of the grenade. Samurai Robert Sand is too late to save him from the blast, but as the smoke clears he is hot on the grenade-tosser's heels. In Central Park, Sand disarms the killer and knocks him unconscious. His name is Ivan Vanich, and he is posing as a Soviet operative. His real employer is a power-mad millionaire, who arranged the hit as part of a plot to upend a Russo-Chinese trading contract and seize the profits for himself. The diplomat in the revolving door was only the first to die. On special orders from an ex-president, Sand races to avert catastrophe. His hunt for answers takes him to a sprawling English castle, where the samurai comes face to face with the man who would let millions die for the sake of gold.

When terrorists butcher his sensei, a samurai takes vengeance in bloodOn leave in Tokyo, American GI Robert Sand is shot trying to protect an old man from a quartet of drunk American soldiers. As Sand passes out, the old man springs on his tormenters, beating them senseless with frail, wrinkled fists. He is Master Konuma, keeper of the ancient secrets of the samurai, and Sand is about to become his newest pupil. Over the next seven years, the American learns martial arts, swordplay, and stealth, becoming not just the first black man to ever take the oath of the samurai, but the strongest fighter Konuma has ever trained. One night, two dozen terrorists ambush the dojo, slaughtering Konuma and his students as the first step in a terrifying assault on world peace. Though he cannot save his sensei, Sand escapes with his life and a gnawing hunger for vengeance. All he has is his sword, but his sword is all he needs.

When an undercover op goes wrong, John Bolt loses his partner—and his pantsIt's cold in New York when federal narcotics agents Bolt and Kramer come to meet Angel Jarín, a dealer with a big mouth and a bigger supply. Masquerading as Detroit pushers, the agents are close to arranging a buy when Angel turns the tables on them. Three hoods dressed as cops ambush Bolt and Kramer in an alley, forcing them to strip naked and hand over their cash. Bolt realizes something's wrong about the time his knees begin to freeze.Blowing their cover would mean death, so the narcs play along even when the thugs take Kramer. They leave Bolt shivering in the alley, with forty-eight hours to collect a $75,000 ransom. As his numb fingers pick up his overcoat, Bolt decides the hoods are right. Somebody's gonna pay.

After a narrow escape, Bolt goes after the mobster who tried to blow him upAs far as the record industry is concerned, Matteo DiPalma is a manager, a producer, and the hit-maker behind some of the decade's biggest chart successes. To the federal government, he is a crucial link between drug-hungry musicians and the Rosetti crime family that keeps them supplied with heroin and cocaine. When federal agents nail DiPalma on a trafficking charge, John Bolt and six other cops go to California to escort him back east. The shotguns they carry aren't to keep DiPalma from running, but to protect him from a Rosetti hit. The agents don't count on death from above.The mafia helicopter appears too quickly for the cops to react. Bolt is just outside the blast radius when the grenade hits the roof, vaporizing DiPalma and his guards. When the smoke clears, Bolt is bloodied but not broken—and ready to even the score.