Anthologies
Twelve stories featuring private detectives deal with missing persons, death threats, blackmail, and murder
A collection of stories by noted private eye authors, this third anthology in the series contains works by George C. Chesbro, Max Allan Collins, Wayne D. Dundee, Sue Grafton, Rob Kantner, John Lutz, and Arthur Lyons
Presents the works of today's most highly acclaimed mystery and suspense writers, from Dean Koontz to Antonia Frazier, in a collection of thirty chilling tales
Includes stories by Sue Grafton, Loren Estleman, Susan Dunlap, Sara Paretsky, Ben Schutz, Max Allan Collins, Jeremiah Healy, and others
Collects twenty-two original tales of murder, sex, blackmail, con artistry, revenge, and other crimes, passions, and misdemeanors, from some of today's leading crime and mystery writers. Reprint.
A mystery anthology follows the first appearances and first short stories of several favorite characters and includes contributions by such authors as Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Max Allan Collins, Lawrence Block, Bill Pronzini, and John Lutz. Reprint.
This second volume of How the West Was Read , features eight original Western stories written specifically for audio and delivers more of the best of contemporary Western writing. Featuring: "George's Head" by Lise McClendon, "I Am a Roving Gambler" by Bill Crider, "A Fate Worse Than Death" by Richard S. Wheeler, "Lizzie Come Home" by Margaret Coel, "The Barber" by Loren D. Estleman, "I Am a Town" by Robert J. Randisi, "Dust and Ashes" by W. W. Lee, and "Medicine Man" by Marcus Galloway.
An anthology of fifteen mysteries presents popular amateur sleuths in their very first short stories by such popular authors as Lawrence Block, Sharyn McCrumb, Joan Hess, Amanda Cross, and Carolyn G. Hart. Original.
Joyce Carol Oates, Lawrence Block, Ramsey Campbell, and others blur the lines between terror and temptation in fourteen hedonistic tales of horror. Crimes of Passion , ninth in the award–winning Hot Blood series of erotic horror, has a criminally good array of talent—fourteen stories by authors as diverse as literary giant Joyce Carol Oates, mystery giant Lawrence Block, horror giant Ramsey Campbell, musician Greg Kihn, and Brian Hodge, who pens the stunning Bram Stoker Award finalist “Madame Babylon.” It’s “like a powerful handgun being cocked in your ear” (award-winning author Edward Bryant for Locus ) and “should serve to warm your veins quite nicely during the long winters night” ( Booklovers ). You’ll find yourself cuffed to the page until you finish this inescapable, essential volume. With some of the biggest authors and best stories, Crimes of Passion is erotic horror at its sinful, wonderful best. Praise for the Hot Blood series “Read Hot Blood late at night when the wind is blowing hard and the moon is full.” — Playboy “Outstanding . . . A daring combination of sex and terror.” — Cemetery Dance “Will appeal to your every kink.” — Locus “Seek out this one (or its predecessors) for some naughty fun.” — Booklovers
In this tenth edition of Hot Blood, the "original" award-winning erotic horror series, fear has never felt so X-citing, X-quisite, or X-traordinary. Join seventeen of today's top authors as they X-pose the evil side of human -- and not-so-human -- nature. Take a seat in a bar where "three in the side pocket" has nothing to do with pool....Sexercise in a gym with a woman whose appetite for murder is insatiable.... Enter a body-piercing shop where betrayl and revenge are on the tip of the customer's tongue....Get seduced by a horror groupie with a body to undie for.... Join two amateur filmakers as their video camera captures the most gorgeous -- and deadly -- creature anyone has ever encountered.
Famous detectives and careermaking cases fill this collection of detective stories, including contributions by Janet Evanovich, Tony Hillerman, Anne Perry, and others. Original.
The Private Eye Writers of America present a new anthology of stories by Shamus Award-winning mystery writers, including works by Jeremiah Healy, Loren D. Estleman, Max Allan Collins, Gary Phillips, Les Roberts, S. J. Rozan, and many others. Original.
It’s not easy to collect, in a single volume, the finest mystery and suspense fiction the world has to offer, but The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: Second Annual Collection rises to that challenge, inviting you to discover what Kirkus Reviews dubs “ . . . the year’s anthology of choice.” In his Second Annual collection, Ed Gorman once again brings together the year’s most powerful fiction by such outstanding authors as Lawrence Block, Stuart M. Kaminsky, Ed McBain, Joyce Carol Oates, Ian Rankin, and Donald E. Westlake. The volume also abounds with fresh new stories by newer authors, from U. S. publications, and also from sources on other shores, including England, Germany, and the Netherlands. Ed Gorman set benchmark for great mystery and suspense fiction with the First Annual Collection . Overflowing with award-winning authors and terrific stories, The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: Second Annual Collection also promises to be a treasure for anyone who loves a mystery. More than 200,000 words of superlative mystery and suspense fiction from around the world, with stories by: Lawrence Block Jan Burke Dorothy Cannell Clark Howard Peter Lovesey Joyce Carol Oates Nancy Pickard Bill Pronzini Ian Rankin And many others A Banquet of Mystery and Crime Fiction For those who love outstanding mystery and crime reading, award-winning author and editor, Ed Gorman, has once again collected the best stories of the year from around the world. Immerse yourself in stories that baffle, tantalize, and delight, by the following authors: Miguel Agustí Doug Allyn Noreen Ayres Robert Barnard Lawrence Block Jan Burke Dorothy Cannell Stanley Cohen Mat Coward Peter Crowther Brendan DuBois Jurgen Ehlers Pete Hamill Joseph Hansen Edward D. Hoch Clark Howard Stuart M. Kaminsky Richard Laymon Gillian Linscott Peter Lovesey John Lutz Christine Matthews Ed McBain Bob Mendes Denise Mina Joyce Carol Oates Gary Phillips Nancy Pickard Bill Pronzini Robert J. Randisi Ian Rankin Les Roberts Peter Robinson S. J. Rozan Kristine Kathryn Rusch Donald E. Westlake
An outstanding collection of thirteen stories-including one never-before-published-of famous sleuths taking their first steps in gumshoes and cracking their very first cases. Featuring: Mickey Spillane Michael Collins Edward D. Hoch (writing as Stephen Dentinger) Warren Murphy Lia Matera Judith van Gieson John Harvey J.A. Jance Sharon Zukowski Stuart Kaminsky Maan Meyers Jan Burke Terence Faherty
Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block, Bill Pronzini, William Campbell Gault, and other notable mystery writers present a collection of mystery tales featuring the exploits of such favorite private eye sleuths as Kinsey Millhone, V. I. Washawski, Stanley Hastings, and the Nameless Detective. Original.
All bets are off in this collection of thrilling stories, filled with high stakes, dangerous games, greed, and corruption, from Las Vegas to small-town bingo parlors, that features contributions from such bestselling authors as Lawrence Block, Leslie Glass, and Donald E. Westlake. Original.
Featuring standout writers of mystery and suspense like Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, James W. Hall, Jeff Abbott, Michael Collins, Max Allan Collins, and Lee Child — all of them best-selling authors, most of them winners of Edgar or Shamus awards (or both) — this anthology comes with a chamberful of surefire stories. Loaded with tension, charged with uncertainty, these taut tales bring their unsuspecting or hunted and fearful marks into the deadly sight of a hired killer's gun. The hit men, or women, meanwhile match their criminal wits with police detectives, seasoned private eyes, the resolute everyguy, or amateur sleuths to often unexpected and frequently startling ends. Every one of the stories here is a hit. Each of them craftily calibrated and written expressly for this collection, they include new work by the popular, award-winning Ed Gorman, the versatile writer-editor Robert J. Randisi, and the recipient of the first-ever Sherlock Award for best detective, John Harvey. With cunning invention hit-lit authors Christine Matthews, Barbara Serenella, Marcus Pelegrimas, and Kevin Wignall further ratchet up the suspense to keep Greatest Hits true to its name, and aim.
LONE STAR LAW Twelve thrilling Western tales that celebrate the proud heritage of the TEXAS RANGERS Louis L'Amour leads off this powerful collection with a stunning tale featuring his legendary Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie. Here, too, are superb, action-packed entries from today's outstanding Western storytellers -- distinguished award winners as well as daring newcomers, including Peter Brandvold · Randy Lee Eickhoff · Marcus Galloway · Ed Gorman · Elmer Kelton · Rod Miller · Robert J. Randisi · James Reasoner · Dusty Richards · Troy D. Smith · L. J. Washburn Edited by renowned author and anthologist Robert J. Randisi, Lone Star Law spans the existence of this elite investigative law enforcement agency. From fending off hostile Comanche to tracking serial killers, from aiming Winchesters and Colt revolvers to firing up laptops and state-of-the-art forensics technology, from targeting rustlers and outlaw gangs to leading harrowing hostage negotiations, the men and women who don the badge and white hat of the Texas Ranger stand as steadfast deliverers of American justice -- the Lone Star way.
After the Stoker Award nominated success of the Kolchak Chronicles (and its various printings), we have a brand new collection of original creepy-thriller Kolchak prose short stories! Again, we have culled the best and the brightest among horror/mystery novelists and comic writers! So listen in as Kolchak relays some of his most spine-tingling cases about voodoo, myths, ghost towns, time conundrums, Vikings, haunted amusement parks, pirates, big fish and some startling revelations about Kolchak's past!
Fast-paced gumshoe tales that have won the coveted Shamus award from the Private Eye Writers of America. Volume I includes stories by John Lutz, Bill Pronzini, Lawrence Block, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, Ed Gorman, Mickey Spillane, Marcia Muller, Nancy Pickard, Benjamin M. Schutz, Linda Barnes, Max Allan Collins, and Sue Grafton. Collected and introduced by Robert J. Randisi.
The classic American Western returns in this collection of brand-new stories by some of the top Western writers in the world today. Robert J. Randisi, Dusty Richards, James Reasoner, Larry D. Sweazy, L.J. Washburn, Jackson Lowry, Larry Jay Martin, Kerry Newcomb, and many other members of Western Fictioneers, the only writers’ organization devoted solely to traditional Western fiction, take readers from the dusty plains of Texas to the sweeping vistas of Montana and beyond, in the biggest original Western anthology ever published! Western Fictioneers was founded in 2010 to promote the oldest genuine American art form, the Western story. Its worldwide membership includes best-selling, award-winning authors of Western fiction, as well as the brightest up-and-coming new stars in the Western field. The organization*s first anthology features original stories by Steven Clark, Phil Dunlap, Edward A. Grainger, James J. Griffin, Jerry Guin, C. Courtney Joyner, Jackson Lowry, Larry Jay Martin, Matthew P. Mayo, Rod Miller, Clay More, Ross Morton, Kerry Newcomb, Scott D. Parker, Pete Peterson, Cheryl Pierson, Kit Prate, Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Dusty Richards, Troy D. Smith, Larry D. Sweazy, Chuck Tyrell, and L.J. Washburn. With original cover artwork by acclaimed artist Pete Peterson, THE TRADITIONAL WEST is more than 100,000 words of classic Western fiction.
Put on your Santa hat and saddle up for this collection of creepy Christmas stories from the Western Fictioneers, the world's only organization of professional authors devoted solely to Western fiction. 'Tis the season for ghosts, vampires, monsters, aliens, and other bizarre creatures to make these Old West holiday tales truly special. Legendary Western author Robert J. Randisi spins the spectral yarn of "Sheriff Santa and the Ghost of Two Gun Jim". Peacemaker and Spur Award winning author Troy D. Smith takes the reader on a murderous Christmas journey to "Bitter Mountain". New York Times bestseller and Peacemaker Award winner James Reasoner writes about a strange encounter on the Staked Plains in "Presents for One and All". Larry D. Sweazy, two-time winner of the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western fiction, tells the story of an epic battle between good and evil in "The Longest Night". An isolated stagecoach station under siege by Apaches is the setting of Cheryl Pierson's "The Keepers of Camelot", a tale of rebirth and redemption. These and many other stories by some of today's top writers in the Western field make SIX-GUNS AND SLAY BELLS the most unusual Western Christmas anthology ever published.
Welcome to Wolf Creek. Here you will find many of your favorite authors, working together as Ford Fargo to weave a complex and textured series of Old West adventures like no one has ever seen. Each author writes from the perspective of his or her own unique character, blended together into a single novel. In this volume: The brutal Danby gang paid dearly for their raid on Wolf Creek. But some of them escaped, and their new leader Clark Davis is hungry for revenge -on the town, and on the man that he believes betrayed the gang, Derrick McCain. Seminole scout Charley Blackfeather, meanwhile, wants his own revenge on Davis for his actions in the war...at the Centralia Massacre. Blood is going to flow...
Seven legendary authors unite to tell the story of one incredible character in a novel unlike any other: Elmer Kelton, Judy Alter, Loren D. Estleman, James Reasoner, Jane Candia Coleman, Ed Gorman, and Robert J. Randisi. For the first time, these amazing talents—combined winners of 14 Spur Awards!—have joined forces, and the result is truly the stuff of legend. Together they recount the life of Lyle Speaks, from his hardscrabble boyhood in Texas to his later years as an aging cattle rancher in Montana, years in which his colorful past may yet come back to haunt him. From one end of the West to the other, Lyle's exploits made him famous—admired by some, feared by others. But now Lyle wants to set the record straight. No matter what the cost.
Welcome to Wolf Creek. Here you will find many of your favorite authors, working together as Ford Fargo to weave a complex and textured series of Old West adventures like no one has ever seen. Greedy and ambitious cattle baron Andrew Rogers has caused a lot of trouble around Wolf Creek, intimidating farmers into selling out to him and hiring a small army of gunmen who have proven themselves capable of almost anything. But now he has set his sights on clearing out a whole town –Matthias, a hamlet near Wolf Creek settled by former slaves. Sheriff G. W. Satterlee has a plan to protect them… but it may be too late. Writing as Ford Fargo in this volume: Jory Sherman Robert J. Randisi Jacquie Rogers Jerry Guin Troy D. Smith
Hardboiled. Softboiled. Noir. East Coast. West Coast. And all points in between. Whatever you call them, gumshoe, shamus, Pinkerton, detective, private eye, P.I., shadow, tail, investigator, and wherever you need them, from East to West, North to South. They’re all here. From the hard pavement of Brooklyn, New York, to the mean dusty streets of Carson City. Down to sultry New Orleans and the freak show that’s Venice, CA. From the flim-flammers of Waco, Texas to DC, Las Vegas to San Berdoo and LA. And from Iowa City to San Diego and small town North Carolina—not to mention the low-life drug dealers in a little place called King’s Quarter, Maine. No one is safe in this impressive collection featuring fourteen original private eye stories plus one previously published bonus story. Crime fiction connoisseurs will visit one major crime scene after another with some of today’s best-of-the-best crime writers serving as tour guides. Poisoned-pen masters like: J.L. Abramo, Eric Beetner, Michael Bracken, Meredith Cole, Matt Coyle, Thomas Donahue, John Floyd, Gay Toltl Kinman, Terrill Lee Lankford, Janice Law, Paul D. Marks, Andrew McAleer, O’Neil De Noux, Robert J. Randisi, Art Taylor. COAST TO COAST: PRIVATE EYES FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA features suspense stories ranging from hardboiled to psychological to thrillers. And while these stories differ in locale, climate, mood and tone, they all resonate with the dark underbelly of crime. Praise for COAST TO COAST 2 … “Tough, taut and terrific. This cross-country collection of sleuthing stories —from the best writers in the private eye biz —is wonderfully written, always surprising, and completely entertaining.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Say No More “A tantalizing array of stories guaranteed to please fans of PI fiction. High fives all around!” —MWA Grand Master Bill Pronzini on Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea “A bang-up read of PI fiction from a gallery of impressive authors. Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea is compelling, fun, and full of surprises. A treat.” —Shamus Award-winning author John Shepphird Praise for the COAST TO COAST crime fiction series … “Envelope-pushers! A truly WOW collection by the best mystery writers out there —full of surprises only they can pull off.” —Thomas B. Sawyer, bestselling author of Cross Purposes, head writer of Murder, She Wrote “A sterling collection of coast-to-coast crime stories dripping with local color —all of it blood red.” —Chuck Hogan, author of The Town and Devils In Exile “An engaging collection from a stellar cast of award-winning mystery authors guaranteed to keep you awake all night.” —Hannah Dennison, author of the IMBA bestselling Vicky Hill Mysteries “This intriguing collection of stories from these masters of suspense will keep you guessing from cover to cover and coast to coast.” —Raffi Yessayan, author of 8 in the Box and 2 in the Hat
Jimmy Buffett is one of the great contemporary singer/songwriters, and it’s hard to imagine a citizen of Planet Earth unfamiliar with such classic hits as “Margaritaville.” Jimmy has also written novels, children’s books, memoirs, and a stage musical based on Herman Wouk’s Don’t Stop the Carnival , and his family-friendly concerts almost always sell out to audiences comprised of a mix of dedicated Parrotheads, casual fans, and newbies. In The Great Filling Station Holdup , editor Josh Pachter presents sixteen short crime stories by sixteen popular and up-and-coming crime writers, each story based on a song from one of the twenty-nine studio albums Jimmy has released over the last half century, from Leigh Lundin’s take on “Truckstop Salvation” (which appeared on Jimmy’s first LP, 1970’s Down to Earth ) to M.E. Browning’s interpretation of “Einstein Was a Surfer” (from 2013’s Songs from St. Somewhere ). If you love Jimmy’s music or crime fiction or both, you’ll love The Great Filling Station Holdup . Mix yourself a boat drink, ask Alexa to put on a buffet of Buffett tunes, kick back, and enjoy! Table of Contents Introduction by Josh Pachter Down to Earth (1970) “Truckstop Salvation” by Leigh Lundin A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973) “The Great Filling Station Holdup” by Josh Pachter A1A (1974) “A Pirate Looks at Forty” by Rick Ollerman Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977) “Tampico Trauma” by Michael Bracken Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978) “Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Don Bruns Volcano (1979) “Volcano” by Alison McMahan Coconut Telegraph (1981) “Incommunicado” by Bruce Robert Coffin Somewhere Over China (1981) “If I Could Just Get It On Paper” by Lissa Marie Redmond One Particular Harbour (1983) “We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About” by Elaine Viets Riddles in the Sand (1984) “Who’s the Blonde Stranger?” by Robert J. Randisi Last Mango in Paris (1985) “Everybody’s on the Run” by Laura Oles Hot Water (1988) “Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)” by Isabella Maldonado Off to See the Lizard (1989) “The Pascagoula Run” by Jeffery Hess Don’t Stop the Carnival (1998) “Public Relations” by Neil Plakcy Beach House on the Moon (1999) “Spending Money” by John M. Floyd Songs From St. Somewhere (2013) “Einstein Was a Surfer” by M.E. Browning