Not for a second did Pascoe admit the possibility of death. Dalziel was indestructible. Dalziel is, and was, and forever shall be, world without end, amen . . .Chief constables might come and chief constables might go, but Fat Andy went on forever.Barreling his way into an investigation of possible terrorist activities, Superintendent Andy Dalziel is caught in the blast of a huge explosion at a video shop—and only "Fat Andy's" considerable bulk prevents his colleague, Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe, from suffering a similar fate. Now Dalziel lies on a hospital bed barely clinging to life, while Pascoe remains determined to find those responsible.But the truth is not always cut-and-dried, and sometimes those who are sworn to terror's destruction are even more dangerous than the foe they wish to annihilate.

Years ago, Brophy, the Heir of Autumn, sacrificed himself to save Ohndarien from the insidious Black Emmeria. Ever since, his beloved Shara has spent her life trying to free Brophy from the ensorcelled dreams that keep the ancient terror at bay. But her struggle is all for naught, until the mysterious Arefaine Morgeon returns with the key to releasing the trapped hero. Yet, once woken, Brophy has been twisted into a vicious monster after years of tormented dreams. Heartbroken and betrayed, Shara buries her broken heart in a single-minded quest for pleasure and prestige in the Summer Isles, until she is forced into a deadly clash with a sadistic mage whose power comes from pain and humiliation. In the struggle that follows, both Shara and Brophy will be tested to the limits as they fight to save Ohndarien.

Pickled...Then PottedAll that remains of Lula Mae Wiggins-who drowned in a bathtub of cheap champagne on New Year's Eve-now sits in an alleged Etruscan urn in Savannah, Georgia. Further north, at the Den of Antiquity antique shop in Charlotte, North Carolina, plucky proprietor Abigail Timberlake is astonished to learn that she is the sole inheitor of the Wiggins estate. Late Aunt Lula Mae was, after all, as distant a relative as kin can get. Arriving in picturesque Savannah, Abby makes a couple of startling discoveries. First, that Lula Mae's final resting pot is more American cheap than Italian antique. And second, that there was a very valuable 1793 one-cent piece taped to the inside lid. Perhaps a coin collection worth millions is hidden among the deceased's worldly possessions-making Lula's passoing more suspicious than orginally surmised. With the strange appearance of a voodoo preistess coupled with the disturbing disappearance of a loved one-and with nasty family skeletons tumbling from the trees like acorns-Abby needs to find her penny auntie's killer p.d.q...or she'll be up to her ashes in serious trouble!

In a glittering penthouse high above Park Avenue, two beautiful teenagers, students at an exclusive Manhattan girls' school, lie dead under suspicious circumstances. Feeling pressure from the top to solve the high-profile case fast, Melanie breaks all the rules and goes undercover. Teamed with Dan O'Reilly, a hard-to-resist FBI agent with a talent for making her pulse race, Melanie embarks on a wild chase from the rarefied world of New York's elite private schools to the darkest recesses of the city's nightlife. And, ultimately, into a fight for her life against a devious killer who has no intention of getting caught.

Ex-Atlanta cop-turned-house-cleaning entrepreneur Callahan Garrity doesn't know what she is getting for Christmas, but she never expects the gift that arrives at her door: her estranged, ne'er-do-well brother, Brian, and his adorable three-year-old daughter, Maura. A rebel who's been in and out of trouble most of his life, Brian's deep in it now since he illegally abducted Maura from under the nose of his shrewish former wife.When the beautiful child's mother is found murdered, the police come looking for Brian. And now, to save her brother and her holiday, Callahan -- along with her irascible mom, Edna, and a gaggle of House Mouse employees -- must uncover the truth and a killer, even if it means digging around the roots of her own family tree and exposing the rot underneath.

Beware of the cat striking back . . . On a lovely moonlit night, Joe Grey is minding his own business, carrying a gift of mice to a litter of kittens, when he stumbles upon a murder scene. Behind an empty house lies a swimming pool, its bottom covered with mud. There is also blood, the smell of human death, and drag marks. But there is no victim. Without a body, it's a crime that will be hard to prove. With stubborn feline curiosity, Joe Grey sets out to investigate. As he, Dulcie, and Kit follow the killer's trail among four houses whose owners are on vacation, they discover that more murder has been planned for the small, close-knit neighborhood. They uncover evidence of conflict among the residents and multiple signs of breaking-and-entering, although nothing valuable seems to be missing. With the help of two local ferals, the cats find the victim's hidden grave and learn of the violence that is yet to come. As they set out to alert the law, they discover the perfect way to thwart the killer—through that person's unnatural but powerful fear of cats.Thus unfolds the next installment in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's beguiling series about the gray tomcat P.I., his feline friends, and human companions, as, skirting danger, they unravel events shaped by human frailty and by the darkest feline imaginings from the killer's past.

In the 23rd Century, war is still hell . . . Navy Corpsman Elliot Carlyle joined up to save lives and see the universe. Now he and Bravo Company's Black Wizards of the interstellar Fleet Marine Force are en route to Bloodworld—a hellish, volatile rock colonized by the fanatical Salvationists who desired an inhospitable world where they could suffer for humanity's sins. Their penance could prove fatal—for the Qesh, a strange alien race detected but still mysterious for six decades, have made violent first contact.Suddenly countless lives depend upon Bravo Company—perhaps even the fate of homeworld Earth itself—as the Marines prepare to confront a vast force of powerful, inscrutable enemies. And one dedicated medic, singled out by an extraordinary act of valor, will find himself with an astounding opportunity to alter the universe forever . . .

In this poignant new entry in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's beloved, award-winning series, feline P.I. Joe Grey and his four-legged cohorts are plunged into a nightmarish mystery involving a series of strange events that endangers them and the humans they love The confusing events that early fall in Molena Point began perhaps with the return of Kate Osborne, the beguiling blond divorcée arriving in California richer than sin and with a story as strange as the melodies spun by a modern Pied Piper to mesmerize the unwary. Or maybe the strangeness started with the old faded photograph of a child from a half-century past, and the memories she awakened in the old yellow tomcat. Perhaps that was the beginning of the odd occurrences that stirred through the coastal village, setting the five cats off on new paths. . . . On the way home from visiting their friend Kate Osborne in San Francisco, tortoiseshell Kit and her elderly housemates, Lucinda and Pedric Greenlaw, are hurt in a terrible car crash on a winding coastal road. The accident is terrifying enough, but then two dangerous men steal the Greenlaws' town car, making off with a secret hoard of jewels and gold—a gift bestowed from Kate's newfound treasure—carefully hidden inside its doors. As paramedics rush the Greenlaws to the emergency room, a badly shaken Kit hides from hungry coyotes in the forested hills above the highway, waiting for Joe, Pan, and their human companions, Ryan and Clyde Damen, to rescue her.Back home in Molena Point, yellow tomcat Misto, discovering a faded photograph of a child living fifty years ago, becomes lost in his memories of that past century—while Joe Grey and his tabby lady prowl an abandoned stone cottage where they've discovered two rough-looking men hiding. The cats smell mildewed money, and soon smell human blood, too, and they wonder: Could these unsettling incidents be tied to the injury of the Greenlaws and to the theft of their car and treasureCould they be, as well, part of the larger mystery involving the very source of the cats' magical powers?Misto and his unfailing memory might provide some answers, but his feline detective efforts are nearly derailed when Misto's son, Pan, the bold red tomcat, led on by the Greenlaws' exotic treasure and by his taste for adventure, drives a painful wedge between himself and Kit, just when their romance feels so filled with joy. But Kit is busy with other matters, too, as she follows the two housebreakers, one badly injured and the other eager to end his partner's misery, as they make off with more wealth than even they realize. Though the cats know more than the thieves about the unique items stolen, their investigation is still in trouble. Only slowly, and after two sudden murders, do they at last claw their way to the truth, examining more intently the source of the gold and jewels, understanding more clearly, as well, the secrets of the moldering treasury bills—the mystery of their source, generations past, when Misto lived another life.

Garrisoned by the Nine Houses of the Derai, the towering mountain range called the Wall of Night is all that separates the people of Haarth from the terrible Darkswarm.Five years have passed since the Wall was breached and the Keep of Winds nearly overrun. Five years since the Heir of Night, Malian, and her friend and ally Kalan went missing in the wild lands of Jaransor.Now, in Haarth's diverse southern realms, events are moving. From the wealthy River city of Ij to the isolated Emerian outpost of Normarch, rumors of dark forces and darker magics are growing. As the great Midsummer tournament at Caer Argent approaches, Haarth will have one opportunity to band together against an enemy in which few believe . . . or be lost forever.

In this fourth novel in Lisa Black’s captivating suspense series, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean finds herself embroiled in a case in which everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect—especially when high-powered defense attorneys start turning up dead. When Marie Corrigan, a Cleveland defense attorney with a history of falsifying evidence and no shortage of enemies, is found dead in the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton, most people would agree that she had it coming. Forensic investigator Theresa MacLean is summoned to the crime scene by her daughter, Rachel, who is working the front desk. But even before Theresa enters the room, she knows that she’s walking into a forensic nightmare—for crime scenes at hotels, even the most luxurious, are teeming with trace evidence that has been left behind by innumerable guests and may or may not be related to the murder. But what Theresa finds is even worse than she imagined.Given the positioning of Marie’s body, everyone assumes the same thing—that it’s a lovers’ tryst turned lethal. But large questions remain: How did the killer gain access to the room without anyone’s knowledgeAnd has the scene been staged for their benefitThe little evidence Theresa has is conflicting at best. What’s more, a legal convention at the hotel provides an endless list of suspects—and potential victims. When two more bodies show up in quick succession, each in a similar state, Theresa’s investigation takes on a whole new urgency as she fears they may have a serial killer on their hands—a serial killer with a vendetta. But as she searches for the threads that tie the cases together, Theresa begins to suspect that she and her daughter are closer to danger than they realize. And a mother will stop at nothing to protect the life of her child.

The Makaum War: Book OneThey call it The Green Hell. A maze of tangled jungle, the planet Makaum is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. And for Terran Military Master Sergeant Frank Sage, it is now home.The war between the Terrans and the Phrenorians rages, and both sides have their sights set on Makaum. If the planet's rich resources fall into enemy hands it could mean devastation for the Terran Army. To ensure that doesn't happen, Sage is sent to assess the Makaum troops and bring them in line with Terran Military standards. But soon after arriving at his post, he realizes the Phrenorians are not the only threat. Heading up a small but fearless unit, Sage must stop a brewing civil war with the power to unleash a galactic cataclysm unlike anything ever seen.

Revenge never tasted so sweet . . . When Clayton Campbell shows up on her doorstep, Olivia Swift is stunned. For long ago, Clayton was the boy who stole her heart. He also the man her betrayal had sent to the gallows. A man she believed dead, now standing before her, looking leaner, harder, more powerful than ever, his haunted eyes filled with a lust she had never seen for vengeance . . . Or burned so hot . . . He has more than once faced death and escaped unscathed. Yet Clayton Campbell cannot deny that the sight of Olivia rouses in him something more than a thirst for revenge. Or that the bold beauty would lure him once more into a dangerous game. Only this time, Clayton plans to be the victor with the tempting Olivia in his bed as his prize. But once passion ignites between them, the hard-hearted agent will face his greatest battle yet for his heart . . .

#1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander spins the unforgettable story of a beautiful grifter and an irresistible mayor ... Mistaken for the Countess of Bridgewater, expert con artist Ophelia Kendrake can't believe her good fortune. This could be the opportunity she needs to secure the future of the sister who means so much to her. But when she meets Tyler Tye Matthews, her plans to dupe the sleepy town of Dead End, Wyoming, prove difficult for she met her match in the wildly attractive mayor. As the reluctant new mayor of Dead End, Tye is irritated to learn his first duty in office is to escort a visiting countess. But when he sees the stunning beauty, he wants to spend every waking moment with her. Suspecting Ophelia has secrets, Tye vows to uncover them and thoroughly seduce her.

Now, 25 years after it first took the world by storm, Colleen McCullough's sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback returns to enthrall a new generation. As powerful, moving, and unforgettable as when it originally appeared, it remains a monumental literary achievement a landmark novel to be read . . . and read again!

Twenty-two years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America...and he taught them how to kill it. Sam and Dean have hit New York City to check out a local rocker's haunted house. But before they can figure out why a lovesick banshee in an '80s heavy-metal T-shirt is wailing in the bedroom, a far more macabre crime catches their attention. Not far from the house, two university students were beaten to death by a strange assailant. A murder that's bizarre even by New York City standards, it's the latest in a line of killings that the brothers soon suspect are based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe. Their investigation leads them to the center of one of Poe's horror classics, face-to-face with their most terrifying foe yet. And if Sam and Dean don't rewrite the ending of this chilling tale, a grisly serial killer will end their lives forevermore.

The Orange County, California, that the Becker brothers knew as boys is no more—unrecognizably altered since the afternoon in 1954 when Nick, Clay, David, and Andy rumbled with the lowlife Vonns, while five-year-old Janelle Vonn watched from the sidelines. The new decade has ushered in the era of Johnson, hippies, John Birchers, and LSD. Clay becomes a casualty of a far-off jungle war. Nick becomes a cop, Andy a reporter, David a minister. And a terrible crime touches them all in ways they could never have anticipated when the mutilated corpse of teenage beauty queen Janelle Vonn is discovered in an abandoned warehouse.

Max Darling hasn't been interested in crime since his brush with a seductive young woman put him in danger of losing his freedom. He even refuses to talk to a woman who calls for help and says she is afraid. The caller leaves word she's hidden something in the antebellum house Max and his wife, Annie, are restoring. When Annie finds out, she hurries to the woman's home, only to discover she's been murdered. Evidence links the dead woman to a fortune in gold coins that has recently gone missing. Was this mysterious woman killed for a fortune in coins?The dead woman's son is accused but Max believes in his innocence, and Max and Annie plunge wholeheartedly into the investigation. Are the coins hidden in Annie and Max's houseThe intruder who shoots at Max seems to think so. And when Annie discovers the secret of their old house, death arrives at their door.

World War Two rages on. In the conflict's darkest days, both the U.S. and Germany scramble to achieve nuclear capabilities. And if Hitler's scientists hand him the atomic bomb first, the world will be his.Hand-picked and trained by OSS chief "Wild Bill" Donovan, Captain James Cantrell is expected to do the impossible. He must parachute alone into ravaged Poland, and into the jaws of the Nazi beast, to rescue an aging scientist who's been marked for extermination. With the Russians racing to capture the same prize, one wiry and tough ex-Oklahoma cop faces the most tragically difficult choice he's ever had to make. If the SS realize the value of Professor Jahne's secrets, their war is as good as won. So the fragile old genius must accompany Cantrell out of the country or else he must die.

Acorna's people, the Linyaari, have begun reclaiming their homeworld from the ravages of the brutal Khleevi. But the first wave of explorers has unlocked a larger mystery about the origins of the Linyaari -- one that has led Aari, Acorna's beloved lifemate, on a dangerous journey from which he may never return.Setting off on a quest to find Aari, Acorna and her friends -- Captain Becker, Mac, Nadhari, and RK -- are forced to crash land on the beautiful and barbaric exotic jungle world of Makahomia, home of the mysterious Temple Cats. But an evil scheme threatens to destroy the sacred felines. To save the cats, Acorna will lead a band of rebels on a journey into Makahomia's temples and hidden sanctuaries.And there, within one sacred shrine, she will discover shocking information that could lead to Aari . . .or to disaster.

Bobby Autry has always been a maverick. One of the best pilots in America's elite helicopter unit, nobody expected Autry to succeed when he was ordered to create a unit that could fly better than the Nightstalkers, shoot better than the SEALs, and think smarter than the CIA, but he delivered. He never cared about stepping on toes, only on getting results. But now Autry faces his biggest test. In the past, his strength as a soldier was in being able to operate independently, autonomously, without oversight. But now, he might have to take it one step further––he might actually have to break the law to get the job done. Autry has discovered a new threat to America, and it's coming from the inside. After intercepting a cache of weapons, he discovers that their destination is to be within one of America's biggest cities. A group of anarchists, hoping to fan of the flames of a politically–divided country, intends to transform the World Economic Summit into a war zone. With the time ticking down and government beuracracy slowing down the required response, Autry knows that the only way to defend his country is to break the law, arm his renegades, and pre–empt an insurrection on his own soil. If he isn't killed, he's almost certainly be court martialed, but caring about the rules was never Autry's style...

It takes a thief to catch a killer . . .Once one of the world's foremost art thieves, Tom Kirk now operates on the other side of the law. But a grisly discovery at the site of the brazen theft of a Da Vinci painting—a crime that bears the unmistakable hallmark of an old nemesis—entangles him in a lethal weave of a mystery that blankets the globe . . . and reaches back through hundreds of years of European history.In Spain, a friend, a master forger, suffers a brutal, horrific death—while in New York the murder of a prominent attorney drags FBI agent Jennifer Browne into the murky world of high-end art forgery and the rotten heart of the global auction business. And for Kirk, vengeance may require him to cross the line once more—to uncover the devastating secrets hidden in the writings of a power-mad emperor . . . and behind the most famous smile in the world.