Bibliomysteries

A rare eighteenth-century encyclopedia reveals a murderous secret in this short story by the CWA Diamond Dagger-winning author of A Shock to the System. For Professor Derrick Rounsevell, antique books can bring the past into the present, through not only their content but also telling traces left by previous readers. In the case of his newly-inherited copy of Bibliotheca Classica-an obscure eighteenth-century encyclopedia-peculiar markings reveal a chilling tale. Heavy erasures throughout the book indicate that a past owner attempted to remove any lurid content from its entries, which, in cataloging tales from mythology, resound with unseemly acts. Together with his wife, Harriett, Derrick investigates the book's intriguing history, uncovering a tale of manipulation, theft, and a century-old murder plot. In the process, Harriett makes discoveries about her husband that Derrick hoped would remain buried ...

The most evil book ever conceived falls into the hands of the leader of the Spanish Inquisition in this ingenious bibliomystery from the bestselling creator of Repairman Jack. In the fifteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition spreads terror throughout the land, with Prior Tomás de Torquemada serving as the ultimate judge of who will live and who will be consigned to the purifying flames. Never has Torquemada questioned his own faith or his sacred duty to rid the world of heretics, blasphemers, and nonbelievers. Now, however, an extraordinary volume has come into his possession - an ancient book that radiates pure evil. The prior realizes this abomination must be destroyed along with anyone who has come into contact with it, for it is surely the devil's work, corrupting and possessing all those who touch it. But whom can Torquemada trust to help him achieve his mission now that The Compendium of Srem has passed through numerous hands... including his own? F. Paul Wilson is a writer who is at home working in many different genres, from medical thriller to science fiction to mystery to urban fantasy to horror. Now he travels back centuries in time to explore the secret history of a book of great and terrible power, an ancient volume of eldritch lore that plays a substantial role in the author's popular Repairman Jack series of novels: The Compendium of Srem.

In 1953, Penny is just another washed-up, wannabe Hollywood actress who is past her prime. She has settled in to a quiet lifestyle, and when she finds a low-rent bungalow in Canyon Arms, it's a dream come true; Penny takes to the place instantly. But the dream cottage with its French doors and tiled courtyard may not be as perfect as it seems. Penny's new neighbors start filling her head with stories about past tenants, whispering voices, and a suicide that may not have been a suicide at all. Soon enough, Penny starts hearing strange noises and she can't help but wonder about the true fate of the bookseller who died in her home a dozen years earlier. Her suspicions are only fueled by the ominous inscription that she discovers in a book that's closely guarded by her landlord. . . .

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors Elsa finds a book with strange powers and must face her tortured past It's been seven years since Else visited her tiny hometown on an isolated island off the coast of Scotland. After years of suffering bullying at the hands of the few other residents, she left to make a new life. But now that her mother has passed, Else has returned. And when her old tormentor Karen Little hands her the very book that sent her running all those years ago, the cruelties of her past have Else seeing red.

Mike Hammer tears apart New York in search of a dead don's ledger. For years, cops have whispered legends that Don Nicholas Giraldi, the gentleman godfather, kept a ledger going back decades, keeping track of every police officer, mogul, and politician who took even a cent of his dirty money. Finding the register would put mayors, senators, and even a president or two on the hook for prosecution - or blackmail. When old Nic finally kicks the bucket, one such official comes to Mike Hammer and begs him to find the book before it falls into the wrong hands. Mike has never believed the stories of the old don's journal, but for $10,000, he is happy to play along. Every hood in town wants to get his hands on the book, and finding it will mean pushing to the very heart of Nic's family. No matter how many years may have passed, Mike Hammer can still push harder.

Former Chicago journalist turned globe-trotting spy Christopher Marlowe Cobb has already lived many lives-from London to Mexico to Berlin-when he returns to France in 1922. Where better to work on his novel than among such literary expatriates as Ezra Pound and Ford Madox Ford, who convene at the Shakespeare & Company bookstore in postwar Paris? Among them is Ernest Hemingway, fellow lone-wolf war correspondent, new friend, and confidante. Like Cobb, Hemingway is writing a novel. Unlike Cobb, however, Hemingway's manuscript has just been stolen off a train to Lausanne by what he's sure were foreign agents. To know what Hemingway knows is risky enough. But to write about it is positively dangerous. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Cobb volunteers to retrieve the manuscript-but he'll need all of his spycraft skills to infiltrate the compound where it's cached.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors. The lie that bought Jacob Weisen a new life cannot help him escape the past. Birkenau could not kill Jacob Weisen. He survived the death camp and made his way to America, where he became famous telling the story of Isaac Becker, an author who was tortured to death when the guards caught him writing down his story. Becker's manuscript was lost, but by telling the tale, Weisen keeps his memory alive. No other witnesses survived, and Weisen is the only person who knows his famous story is a lie.   In fact, Weisen was a collaborator, who led his countrymen to the ovens and gave Becker up to the SS. Decades after the war, as his lies begin to unravel, he must choose between admitting the truth and dying in a hell of his own creation.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors Attempting the perfect murder, a killer encounters the perfect cop After years of get-rich-quick schemes, Troy Pellingham's bank account is empty and his options are down to one: take a job in his uncle's rare book shop, and spend his days working for an unpleasant man whose only redeeming quality is a mammoth bank account. Though well into his eighties, Uncle Rodney is the picture of good health, and the day when Troy will inherit the old man's money seems very far away. But then Troy gets a brilliant idea-why shelve books for a living, when he can kill for a fortune?   After the deed is done, a peculiarly shabby police detective comes to call. Lieutenant Columbo seems dimwitted, and Troy expects he will have no trouble putting him off the scent. But as the noose tightens around his neck, Troy realizes that no murder is too perfect for Columbo.

In pursuit of the find of a lifetime, an academic confronts an old rival Once visited by the likes of Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, and George Eliot, the London Library is a maze of books-a jumble of first editions and forgotten texts. For Tony, it is a refuge from the failure his life has become-and it is about to be invaded by a destructive old friend. Adam is a world-renowned novelist who spends so much time writing articles and appearing in documentaries that it seems impossible he actually has time to write books. He visits the library to research a nearly-forgotten English poet, Francis Youlgreave, who just happens to be Tony's obsession. Tony has staked his career on the long-dead clergyman, and will do whatever it takes to keep Adam from stealing his research. In this ghostly library, scholarly conflict is anything but academic.

Ex-bestselling author Stewart Hoag is after a tell-all Hollywood diary in this short mystery from the Edgar Award-winning author. Once upon a time, Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag was a celebrity author married to a famous actress. But after a serious case of writer's block, Hoagy lost it all. Now, with nobody but his loyal basset hound, Lulu, by his side, Hoagy intends to get back on top by transcribing the salacious tell-all diary of recently deceased actress Anna Childress. It was a foolproof plan-except that Hoagy isn't the only one after the legendary journal. Suddenly, he and Lulu are up against a who's who of powerful studio execs, all clamoring to keep a generation's worth of Hollywood dirt from reaching the public.

A gripping novella from the New York Times–bestselling author of the Inspector Banks Mysteries and a "master of the art" (TheBoston Globe). Retired Cambridge professor Donald Aitcheson loves scouring antiquarian bookshops for secondhand treasures-as much as he loathes the scribbled marginalia from their previous owners. But when he comes upon an inscription in a volume of Robert Browning's poetry, he's less irritated than disturbed. This wasn't once a gift to an unwitting woman. It was a threat-insidious, suggestively sick, and terribly intriguing. Now Aitcheson's imagination is running wild. Was it a sordid teacher-pupil affair that ended in betrayal? A scorned lover's first salvo in a campaign of terror? The taunt of an obsessive psychopath? Then again, it could be nothing more than a tasteless joke between friends. As his curiosity gets the better of him, Aitcheson can't resist playing detective. But when his investigation leads to a remote girls' boarding school in the Lincolnshire flatlands, and into the confidence of its headmistress, he soon discovers the consequences of reading between the lines. Praise for Peter Robinson "Robinson is equally skilled at reflecting procedural details and treating his flesh-and-blood characters-despite their flaws-with compassion and humor." -The Miami Herald "Robinson is good at producing ingenious mysteries and this one doesn't disappoint." -The Sunday Telegraph on Friend of the Devil

A novella that introduces book detective Benny Morgan from the acclaimed, award-winning author of the “Lake District Mystery” series. Book collecting seems a rather harmless hobby, unless it's someone like Felix de Lisle doing the collecting. He's rumored to have ties to the mob. What's been proven is that he has a penchant for the spy novels of Simon Verity. Some might call it an obsession... It's this passion, and a bag of cash, that draws book scout Benny Morgan into his circle. De Lisle has gotten wind of a dust jacket that was commissioned for his favorite Verity title. It was never used and supposedly destroyed, but if there is a copy that exists, de Lisle must have it. As Benny searches for this elusive art in his world of collectors and dealers, he discovers the missing jacket and a dreadful secret that will put his honor, and quite possibly his life, on the line...

When his father passes away in the prime of his life, Liam Everett knows something foul is afoot. The reverend's slip down the basement staircase of the church was deemed an accident, but the man knew those steps better than the back of his hand, and his son is sure he would never have been so careless and clumsy. But with everyone happy to accept Reverend Everett's death as a mishap, Liam is left to find solace through the legacy his father left behind: sixty-three antique bibles. However, it seems there was more to the reverend in life-and death-than there appeared to be. Soon Liam is surrounded by a collection of priceless books larger than he could ever have imagined, and the more he reads, the more shady characters he finds at his door. . . .

A man obsessed with Dracula pursues a legendary lost edition of the classic vampire book in this chilling story from the author of the Bryan and May Mysteries. Carter, one of the world's leading experts on Dracula, owns many editions of Bram Stoker's novel, maybe even as many as his well-heeled rival, Mikaela Klove. But one thing has always eluded him: the chance to examine the possibly apocryphal blue edition of Stoker's seminal vampire tale. If it actually exists, the elusive edition is rumored to contain a different ending and a never-before-published chapter tantalizingly set in Dracula's personal library. Determined to read it for himself, Carter travels to Transylvania, where the rumored treasure might be hidden. But once there, he'll need to work with his nemesis to solve the mysterious puzzle-or risk an endgame neither he nor Mikaela can afford to lose.

As World War II draws near, a dying genius fights against hate to preserve his legacy Cancer has ravaged Sigmund Freud. It is 1938, and the great doctor has fled Vienna for London, where he races to finish his final, most dangerous work: a radical reimagining of the origins of Judaism, which posits that Moses was murdered by his followers. Though his colleagues say that such a controversial text could only give grist to those who would do the Jews harm, Freud is adamant about releasing the book-until a Nazi named Sauerwald comes to visit. He has written a manuscript in Freud's name, a hateful screed that claims to prove that all of Jewish history is based on falsehood, and asks that Freud help him have it published-lest something unpleasant happen to the doctor's family in Austria. Horrified by this foul threat, Freud responds with the only weapon he has left. He picks up pen and paper, and suggests that Sauerwald sit down on his couch.

Writer's block shows up in person to terrorize a bestselling author Zachary Gold, struggling to write his second novel after his first became an instant success, is suddenly confronted by a mysterious man claiming that Zach plagiarized his writing. In an effort to escape the crazed imposter, Zach flees to a nearby library and hides out amid the children's bookshelves in the basement. Surrounded by fairy tales, fearing for his safety, the author endeavors to write while grappling with the question of whether to attempt a sequel to his smash hit or start anew with an original story. The Sequel is the latest installment in our Bibliomysteries series, penned by none other than R. L. Stine, the man who made horror fun for young readers.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors. An aging mobster finds trouble in a nursing home in the latest caper from an Edgar Award–winning author. Back in the day, Little Mo Connor was a hired gun for Slick Dickey Scalini, taking down opponents without discretion, always with the same signature kill: three shots to the head, one shot to the heart. Now he's living out his last days hidden away in an anonymous facility, surrounded by other seniors. Haunted by his past, his dementia comes as something of a blessing . . . though he can't always remember what it is he wants to forget-he's always mixing up the memories from his own life with those from books he's read and movies he's seen. A lover of crime novels from the pulp paperback era, Little Mo relishes lurid tales-the more violent the better. Take, for example, his most recent acquisition: a novel in which he and his trusty .38 snubnose are the stars. It tells the story of a former hit man in love with Varla, a geriatric serial killer who convinces him that murdering his grown daughter is the only way to escape the captivity of their nursing home. But as the plot of the novel begins to play out in Little Mo's waking life, he must struggle to separate fact from fiction before they meet in a deadly conclusion. Hailed a "master of suspense" by the New York Times Book Review, author of the Thorn Mysteries James W. Hall now presents one of the most unusual and enthralling novellas in the Bibliomystery series. The Haze is a treat for book lovers and mystery buffs alike.

After the death of his father, a literature professor is drawn into the murder investigation of a bookstore proprietor Though Don and his father both love books, their tastes couldn't be more different. Don is a scholar, and his father reads nothing but schlock. His house is full of dime paperbacks, battered thrillers, and case after case of western novels, none of which his son could ever bear to read.   At his father's funeral, Don is approached by a strange man, a rare book dealer named Lou Caledonia. Don assumes the man wants to buy his dad's old westerns, but Lou explains that something far more important is on the line.   Don finds the cramped confines of Lou's used bookstore immensely comforting, but a surprise waits for him downstairs. Caledonia has been shot dead, and Don is in danger, too. The boy who was too smart to read pulp fiction is about to find himself trapped in a thriller of his own.

Five novellas about deadly books-and even more dangerous people-from five acclaimed mystery authors. Book Club: Ex-cop Avery Sharecross now spends his days tracking rare books in Good Advice, New Mexico. But his old career collides with his new one when the local sheriff asks him for help on a case of a dead book collector. Seven Years: New York Times–bestselling author Peter Robinson tells of a retired professor who discovers a threatening inscription in a volume of Robert Browning's poetry. Puzzled by the disturbing message, he can't resist playing detective. But the professor is about to learn the consequences of reading between the lines. The Final Testament: In this historical tale from New York Times–bestselling author Peter Blauner, a Nazi in 1938 London attempts to blackmail Sigmund Freud into publishing an anti-Semitic book in Freud's name. Freud retaliates by picking up pen and paper and suggesting his blackmailer sit on his couch. The Pretty Little Box: New York Times–bestselling author Charles Todd presents a story of an Englishwoman's simple theft of a devotional that sets in motion a dreadful chain of events. Pronghorns of the Third Reich: New York Times–bestselling author C. J. Box brings us to frigid Wyoming, where Lyle and Juan wait outside a lawyer's house in ski masks and carrying pistols. Lyle is convinced he's owed something, but he's about to uncover a mystery that stretches back to Nazi Germany.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors. An ancient scroll draws a bookseller into a chilling mystery Monty Danforth finds the tin buried beneath a shipment of leather-bound classics. Inside is a millennia-old vellum manuscript written in an unfamiliar but unmistakably ancient language. Danforth tries to photocopy and photograph it, but he ends up with blank images, as though the ink were made of something impervious to modern technology. As the scroll's mystery enchants him, this hapless bookseller falls into a cutthroat conspiracy that he may never escape.   Soon a dead-eyed old man and his granddaughter come calling for the scroll. Danforth refuses to sell them the manuscript, but they will not be the last to demand it. Powerful forces crave the secrets locked within this ancient document, and Danforth will survive only if he can master its power.

A quartet of crime stories about deadly books-penned by award-winning contemporary mystery writers. The Little Men by Megan Abbott: Rumors and strange experiences lead a washed-up actress in 1950s Hollywood to question the suspicious circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of a former occupant of her low-rent bungalow-especially after she discovers an ominous inscription in a book that's closely guarded by her mysterious landlord. What's in a Name? by Thomas H. Cook: Rare books dealer and amateur historian Franklin Altman has always wondered how the world might have turned out if the First World War had ended differently. On the fiftieth anniversary of the Armistice Treaty, an ancient German mysteriously appears and presents him with a personal manuscript, the contents of which, he claims, have the power to change history. The Book of the Lion by Thomas Perry: An anonymous phone call sends Professor Dominic Hallkyn on a mad dash through the streets of Boston in pursuit of a priceless Chaucerian manuscript. But the caller's demands will lead to a devilish plot twist. From the Queen by Carolyn Hart: When a priceless, first edition of Agatha Christie's Poirot Investigates, autographed and inscribed to the Queen of England, disappears from her South Carolina thrift shop, Ellen Gallagher calls on her friend Annie Darling, owner of the mystery bookstore Death on Demand, to track it down.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors When a bibliophile is murdered, it takes a bookseller to solve the crime Good Advice, New Mexico, is a sunny town with a gloomy bookshop. The store's eerie corridors are the province of Avery Sharecross, an ex-cop who has made the transition from chasing killers to tracking rare books. One afternoon, the local sheriff interrupts his book club meeting, and Sharecross's old career collides with his new one.   The area's premier book collector has been found bludgeoned to death on the floor of his family library. A fifth-generation resident of Good Advice, Lloyd Fister devoted his life to books, accumulating a collection of local history that date backs to the sixteenth century. In his library, a single volume is missing: a Spanish book with a sinister past. Is the missing volume a clue, a motive, or a murder weapon? It will take a collector's eye to decide.

A boy comes of age among a family of grifters in this powerful story from a New York Times–bestselling "master" (Stephen King). Never knowing a real home, Markus Novak's only constant in life is his passion for paperback westerns. The child of a family of outlaws, he moves through the West town by town with his mother and two uncles, staying in a place just long enough to run a short con and move along. After one job goes south and his mom gets locked up, Markus finds himself in the foster care of a rancher and his wife-with whom he's strangely comfortable, yet torn by loyalty to the family he's lost. To distract himself, he spends his days working the farm and his nights fixing a rusty old '55 Chevy. Then he discovers a note from his uncles hidden in a book at a local pawnshop and learns that they are hiding out in a mountain town near Yellowstone. Restoring the car soon becomes Markus's only hope of finding them, and maybe finally finding himself, too.

Have you ever wanted something so badly you would kill for it? Identified only by the hastily-and clumsily-chosen alias Charles Brockden, the narrator of this story finds a bookstore that instantly piques his desire. He must call it his own; he must add it to his already-extensive collection of bookstores. But surely the owner of such a fine shop wouldn't easily part with it. Brockden forms a plan to acquire the store in such a way that no one would ever suspect foul play: untraceable murder. And he knows he will be successful-because he has done it before.

A librarian is tormented by a lethal volume of black magic When A. Davenport Lomax's young daughter asks him whether spirits and faeries are real, the Edwardian librarian just pats the little darling on the head. But when a desperate man emerges from the winding passages of the library muttering about demonology, he gets Lomax's attention. Theodore Grange is a member of the Brotherhood of Solomon, a secret society dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of black magic, and he believes he has found a book written by the Queen of Sheba herself. Said to hold the answers to one thousand demonic mysteries, the tome will poison any man who dares read it.   The next time Lomax sees him, Grange is at death's door. To uncover the truth about The Gospel of Sheba, Lomax agrees to accompany Grange to a meeting of the brotherhood, where he will encounter darkness that threatens his life, his family, and his soul.

A thrilling new novella about a Jekyll and Hyde–obsessed Scot in Paris from the international bestselling author of the Inspector Rebus mysteries For recent college graduate Ronald Hastie, a job at the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookshop offers the perfect occupation during a summer abroad in Paris. Working part-time in exchange for room and board leaves plenty of freedom to explore the city once visited by his literary hero, Robert Louis Stevenson, and things only get better when he meets a collector who claims to have the original manuscripts of both the first draft of Jekyll and Hyde and the never-published The Travelling Companion (both thought to have been destroyed). Then Ron meets the man's mysterious assistant, and a reckless obsession stirs inside him. As the life he knew back home in Scotland fades from memory, he desperately seeks the secret lying within Stevenson's long-lost pages. . . .

Five decades after war's end, a rare-books dealer receives a strange visitor. The guns went silent on November 11, 1918, never to fire again. Throughout the 1920s, unrest seethed across Europe, and Fascists battled Communists in the streets of Berlin, but democracy won out. For years, peace has prevailed around the world. But there is a part of Franklin Altman that misses the war. A rare-books dealer living in New York City, Altman has devoted his life to studying the history of the Weimar Republic, when all of Europe hung in the balance and it seemed it would take but a single spark to set the world ablaze. Why did that spark never come? Altman is musing on these questions one evening when a man comes into his shop. An aged German veteran with a limp and the faint shakes of Parkinson's, he is about to teach Altman that in history, the devil is in the details.

When Professor Dominic Hallkyn receives an anonymous phone call late one night from a voice claiming to possess a priceless Chaucerian manuscript presumed lost forever, he doesn't know how to react. He soon finds himself scrambling to meet the caller's demands amid uncompromising suspense that culminates in a devilish plot twist. Perry takes his readers on a mad dash through the winding streets of Boston in pursuit of the unique artifact that may be doomed to disappear from history . . . this time, for good.

A puzzler of a tale about a dead bookshop owner, a priceless cache of first editions, and a deadly secret taken to the grave. It's no mystery who killed Robert Ripple, owner of Precious Finds Bookstore in Pokesville, Pennsylvania. It was Agatha Christie - or rather, a large carton of valuable Christie hardcovers that the not-so-young Ripple was attempting to lift when his heart gave out. The real question is why the so-called Friends of England, who meet regularly in the back room of Ripple's literary emporium, are so eager to keep the place open after its proprietor's death. Certainly it must have something to do with the Friends' past lives as the associates of a slain New York mobster. Whatever their plan is, they'll need the help of Tanya Tripp, Ripple's recently hired and completely unsuspecting assistant, if they want to pull it off. But despite her trustworthy appearance, Tanya may well be hatching a scheme of her own. For over four decades, Peter Lovesey has occupied an honored place as one of crime fiction's best and brightest. With Remaindered, he offers his readers a delectable tidbit about books and those who live - and die - for them.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors. In frigid Wyoming lies a mystery that stretches back to Nazi Germany. Lyle and Juan wait outside the lawyer's house in ski masks, pistols hidden behind their backs. Shortly after dawn, Paul Parker, an aged lawyer, and his old dog step into the cold. The thugs kill the dog, and take the lawyer hostage. Parker's day has started badly and is going to get much worse.   Once a fine lawyer, Parker's enthusiasm has slipped with age, and criminals like Lyle are part of the reason for his disillusionment. Years after they last saw each other in court, Lyle is convinced that Parker owes him something. At gunpoint, Lyle and Juan make Parker lead them to the old Angler ranch, to open up a hidden library whose volumes hold the secret to forgotten riches, and the strangest war profiteering scheme to ever come out of the Great Plains.

A horror writer's death leaves his daughter haunted by voices in this short story by the New York Times–bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. Pip Duke's life has descended into chaos following the death of her father, a bestselling horror writer. She now hears voices all the time, saying troubling things like: Your father's friends and family are after his money, or you shouldinherit everything. The voices also say she killed her dad, and the police are after her. To silence these disturbing thoughts, Pip checks herself into an inpatient therapy center. However, the place is far from calming. She can't trust the staff, and the voices in her head continue to say terrible things. There are those who want you released-only so they can continue to profit off your father's name. A different voice says some wish to claim her inheritance by getting her declared insane . . . If Pip hopes to ever know peace again, she must explore the depths of her psyche, sort through her memories, and unravel the secret that will be her key to freedom. Praise for Lisa Unger "Our most inventive suspense author." -J.T. Ellison, New York Times–bestselling author of Her Dark Lies "The premiere thriller writer." -Megan Abbott, bestselling author of The Turnout "Lisa Unger writes with compassion and deep psychological insights." -Luanne Rice, New York Times–bestselling author of The Shadow Box

Book-centered mystery novellas from four masters of the craft. From Anne Perry, the New York Times–bestselling author of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, comes The Scroll. Hapless bookseller Monty Danforth's recent discovery of a millennia-old manuscript plunges him into a cutthroat conspiracy. Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant and May mysteries, presents Reconciliation Day. One man's obsession with a lost edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula sends him on a dangerous journey to Transylvania.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors A thief targets a local bookstore and it will take a bibliophile PI to save the shop Tess Monaghan wants to like the Children's Bookstore. It's bright, cozy, and packed with the kinds of books that she is dying for her daughter to fall in love with. But no matter how badly she wants to support this adorable local business, the owner's attitude stops her in her tracks. What kind of children's bookseller hates children?   What's eating Octavia, the grouchy owner, is more than the pressures of running a small business. Each Saturday, someone steals a stack of her priciest, most beautiful children's books, and the expense threatens to force her fledgling store out of business. Luckily, Tess is more than a book lover-she's a private investigator who doesn't mind working pro bono to help out an independent bookshop. Her simple act of kindness will make Octavia smile for the first time in months-and uncover a crime more suitable for the mystery aisle than the children's section.

In this "utterly enchanting" Edgar and Anthony Award–winning novella, a book lover uncovers a secret world of literary wonders (Irish Times). A voracious reader, Mr. Berger leads a solitary but satisfying life. Preferring the company of books to that of people, he's looking forward to an early retirement in the English countryside, where he can spend his remaining years nestled comfortably between the pages of classic literature. But his serene life is disrupted when he witnesses a woman with a distinctive red traveling bag fling herself before a train. If Mr. Berger isn't mistaken, he's just seen the climax of Anna Karenina reenacted on the Exeter-to-Plymouth railway. Though there is no body on the tracks, and the destiny of the tragic victim was written nearly a century before, Mr. Berger still longs to rescue her. The investigation leads him to the Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository, where the living breathing characters of literary invention are under the guardianship of a curious caretaker-and where, for Mr. Berger, the line between fiction and reality will blur beyond comprehension.

A pulp novel has a book critic wondering if his new wife is out to kill him in this thrilling story by the New York Times–bestselling author of Nine Lives. When Henry arrives with his wife, Alice, for their honeymoon at a New England lake house, he encounters a strange sense of déjà vu. Plenty of vacation homes have shelves full of books, but this one has midcentury-American crime novels by the likes of John D. MacDonald, Ed McBain, Rex Stout, Patricia Highsmith, and more. It's just like Henry's collection back home. There is one book, however, that's unfamiliar: The Honeymoon Trap. As Henry reads it, he finds the story has uncanny similarities with his own situation-newlyweds on a honeymoon after a whirlwind romance. When Alice begins to act suspiciously, Henry's grip on reality slowly comes loose. He can't stop reading the book and wondering what his wife is up to. He also believes he may be caught in a trap, and getting out of it is going to be murder . . . Praise for Peter Swanson "Swanson specializes in writing mesmerizing thrillers that subvert readers' expectations." -Wall Street Journal "If you're looking for the suspense techniques of Alfred Hitchcock translated to the page, Swanson's your man." -Financial Times "[Swanson's] the real deal." -Joe Hill, author of NOS4A2

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors. With his hated father dead, a man's life takes a dangerous turn. He doesn't cry when his father, Frank, dies. The old man was an abusive, self-absorbed drunk, and when cancer takes him to his deathbed, his son is there to watch. At Frank's final moment, he leans over and whispers in his ear, letting the dying man know that he's glad to see him go.   His only inheritance is a heavy, leather-bound book. He has never seen it before, and has trouble believing that his brutal, ignorant father ever touched something so beautiful. But the volume is well-thumbed, full of aphorisms and advice written in the dead man's hand. Soon after he reads it, the son finds his life spiraling out of control. If he doesn't want to follow Daddy to the grave, he had best heed the lessons of the book.

The next story in the Bibliomysteries series, penned by MWA Grand Master Carolyn Hart Everyone dreams of stumbling upon a long-lost treasure in the attic or inheriting a fortune from some distant relative. But for Ellen Gallagher, the impoverished owner of a thrift shop in South Carolina, that dream comes true. She finds in her possession a first edition of Agatha Christie's Poirot Investigates that has been signed by the author . . . and inscribed to the Queen of England. When the book disappears from her shop, Ellen must call on her friend Annie Darling, owner of the mystery bookstore Death on Demand, to track it down.

Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors A pair of federal agents from either side of the US–Mexico border target a cartel kingpin They call him "Cuchillo," the Knife. Not because he kills with a blade-he has plenty of men to do that kind of work for him-but because his mind is so sharp. As Mexico's government wages war on the drug cartels, it takes brains to survive, and Cuchillo has not just survived-he has prospered. But when Cuchillo begins to cut too deeply, the federal police of both the United States and Mexico step in to dull his blade.   P. Z. Evans and Alejo Díaz know the Hermosillo cartel is planning an attack on a tourist bus in Sonora, and they know they will have to capture or kill Cuchillo to stop it. The cartel leader has one weakness: rare, old books. To destroy the intellectual's evil empire, this unlikely pair of international police will have to appeal to his inner bibliophile.