Special X Thrillers

"A Grade A thriller . . . twisted, near-omnipotent villains, brutal violence, sharp plot twists, solid (and enthralling) historical research." -The Vancouver Sun   Canadian Mountie Robert DeClercq and his Special X team are facing down a stolen mummy with a trail of corpses in its wake. The question is: Is this the work of one killer? Or is it some sort of diabolical conspiracy? DeClercq's investigation leads him to a local porn king who specializes in snuff videos and a fresh trail of mutilated female bodies being dumped around the Gulf Islands. But just when DeClercq narrows in on the criminality behind these abominable murders, an old enemy returns. Not only is Mephisto determined to destroy DeClercq once and for all, but this megalomaniac won't stop until he puts all of humanity at the brink of Death's Door. . . .   "There are psycho thrillers and there are psycho thrillers, and the ones to watch are those by Michael Slade. This high-powered mystery stars a psycho so heinous that you might want to take a deep breath before starting this baffling case. [Death's Door is] a story to be read with caution." -Ottawa Citizen   "There isn't a precedent for the barbaric brilliance of a Slade novel. With its well-researched, candid ventures into the most deranged of sick psyches, Death's Door is a witches' brew of intense intellectualism, police procedure, and white-knuckle, wince-inducing gore." -Rue Morgue   "Slade has finely honed his skills . . . You'll be up all night reading it and, before you finally sleep, you'll check under the bed." -The Vancouver Sun</DESC>

"As far as historical, Vatican-connected occult thrillers go, this is a fun one, with the various timelines balanced to play off each other with verve." -Kirkus Reviews   When a World War II bomber is excavated fifty years after disappearing during a secret mission, the pilot's granddaughter, Liz Hannah, hires Wyatt Rook to investigate. A lawyer, historian, and detective, Rook is well-suited to follow a trail of clues that will take him from Germany, where he confronts the Third Reich's dark history, to another site just outside of Jerusalem shrouded in sinister shadows: the crucifixion of Christ.    What Rook uncovers is a web of religious mystery surrounding a cryptic secret that, if deciphered, could destroy the very foundation of Christianity: the question of how Jesus escaped from his tomb. Using paintings and maps as clues, Rook steps deeper into a world where his enemy is none other than a modern Crusader, the Legionary of Christ, who will stop at nothing to keep the Judas puzzle-one of the most vulnerable mysteries of the Bible-from being solved.   A Fangoria Book of the Month   "If you want a series of mysteries better than the puzzles in The Da Vinci Code, Crucified is your book. Slade has all the hot buttons punched." -The Globe and Mail (Toronto)   "There are twists aplenty, scenes of gruesome torture and murder (with Inquisition tools, of course), and a series of small mysteries leading up to the larger mystery at the center of the book. It leaves one wanting more." -Quill & Quire   "A walloping murder mystery that cuts throats and shows no quarter. Ambitiously dark, sophisticated, and complex. Enjoy." -Fangoria

This thriller "weaves together historical strands, contemporary killers, and the feats of [an elite police team] in a gripping, tense, and exciting climax." -Hellnotes   A war criminal and the head of Japan's organized crime, Genjo Tokuda wants nothing more than to avenge the murder of his family during the WWII bombing of Hiroshima. He has waited more than fifty years to enact his plan to kill the family of the surviving American airman responsible for the attack. When his prey is invited to speak at a convention for Pacific War Vets in Vancouver, he knows his opportunity for revenge has finally arrived.   Corporal Jackie Hett of the Special X team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will do anything to protect her grandfather, a crewman of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It's up to her and her fellow Mounties to put a stop to the all-powerful samurai gangster before he strikes.   "A virtuoso breakout by Slade." -Jack Whyte, bestselling author of the Camulod Chronicles   "With its strong emotional resonance, Kamikaze is a passionate indictment of the lies of wartime. It's intense, and easily capable of keeping a reader up into the wee hours." -The Vancouver Sun   "Slade is all about procedure, feeding our endless appetite for the inner workings of the police. . . . War itself comes off as the most murderous of serial killers." -The Georgia Straight

"Slade is at his peak with Ripper. A schizophrenic whodunit complete with locked rooms and self-triggering death devices. Highly enjoyable." -Time Out London   An American feminist is found hanging, her body slashed to shreds, her face flayed. Two hookers are murdered, their corpses mutilated in a similar pattern. These gruesome deaths are only the beginning of the trail Canadian Mountie Robert DeClercq will follow as he attempts to catch a brutal psychopath. It's a journey that takes him through the history of Satanism and the occult, searching for a serial killer's demons. Demons all too similar to the ones that drove Jack the Ripper . . .    A revised and expanded version of the original Ripper, which was first published in 1994.   "Intense enough to require seatbelts." -Quill & Quire   "Slade knows psychos inside out." -Toronto Star   "Builds up to a climax almost too frantically gripping for words." -The Northern Echo   "A shocking insight into the psyche of the insane." -Canadian Lawyer</DESC>

From an author who "writes the kind of stuff of which nightmares are made," three thrillers featuring Mounties battling a madman intent on world domination (The Globe and Mail, Toronto).    Robert DeClercq has faced a lot of lunatics as the head of the Special X team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But never one as sinister as Mephisto, a megalomaniac hell-bent on global destruction. But first Mephisto is fixed on taking out DeClercq-by any means possible.    Featuring the complete novels Burnt Bones, Death's Door, and Red Snow, the Mephisto trilogy showcases the Special X team as they confront an evil greater than they have ever known.   "The psycho to end all psychos. Mephisto makes Hannibal Lecter seem like an Oxford don with slightly unorthodox culinary tastes." -The Vancouver Sun   Praise for the Special X series   "Michael Slade's books are blood-chilling, spine-tingling, gut-wrenching, stomach-churning, and a much closer look at the inside of a maniac's brain than most people would find comfortable, but always riveting." -Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series   "Highly enjoyable." -Time Out, London   "Slade knows psychos inside out." -Toronto Star   "A get-under-your-skin thriller with machine-gun dialogue and impressive real-world research. It's one heck of a ride." -CNN.com   "As always with Slade, a cracking good detective story." -Anne Perry, New York Times–bestselling author of the Thomas Pitt series   "Murder with gore galore." -The Globe and Mail (Toronto)   "Michael Slade is a writer who clearly knows how to tell a story and make it real." -Robert McCammon, New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song and the Matthew Corbett series

"First rate, compelling, nerve-tingling. A novel of sex, death, and the macabre. Extraordinarily vivid. A thinking man's Texas Chainsaw Massacre." -The Vancouver Sun   The first in a series of crime thrillers featuring the Special X team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police-world-weary cops hardened enough to deal with the most heinous of crimes.    A serial killer is loose on the streets of Vancouver. A sadist preying on women, leaving a trail of decapitated corpses-and a totem pole displaying the grisly head of his latest victim.   If this killer is hoping to rile former Royal Mountie Robert DeClercq, he certainly made his mark. Lured out of retirement, DeClercq tirelessly tracks the psychopath across two continents. But as DeClercq gets closer to understanding complex motivations of a criminally insane killer, he's more certain than ever he's about to confront the ultimate evil.    A revised and expanded version of the original Headhunter, which was first published in 1984.   "Michael Slade's books are blood-chilling, spine-tingling, gut-wrenching, stomach-churning, and a much closer look at the inside of a maniac's brain than most people would find comfortable-but always riveting." -Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series   "A real chiller! The most gruesome I have ever read." -Robert Bloch, author of Psycho   "A novel so terrifying it will haunt your dreams for weeks." -Book of the Month Club Magazine    "Headhunter stunned me! It's really good!" -Alice Cooper   "Crime writer Michael Slade is the real deal! As a trial lawyer, Slade knows psycho killers, sex predators, and their horrific crimes inside out." -RCMP Staff Sergeant Christine Wozney (ret.), CO of the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis team (West Coast)   "[The 1984 edition of] Headhunter enthralled me with its hardboiled realism and noir horror. Now, a third of a century later, the reimagined story is no less exciting or frightening. The dark shadows in a Michael Slade novel make you want to keep your back against the alley wall." -Det. Insp. Kim Rossmo (VPD ret.)

Mounted police trained to track the criminally insane must hunt serial killers in this volume featuring the first four books in the Special X thriller series.   The Special X team of the Royal Canadian police are experts at decoding the criminal mind-and hardened by years of confronting the most heinous of murderers. From serial killers driven by demons as dark as Jack the Ripper's to psychopaths with a penchant for gruesome displays of their victims, no evil is too sinister for the agents of Special X. At least, not yet. . . .   This collection features the first four thrillers of the Special X series: Headhunter, Ripper, Bed of Nails, and Hangman   Praise for the Special X series   "Michael Slade's books are blood-chilling, spine-tingling, gut-wrenching, stomach-churning, and a much closer look at the inside of a maniac's brain than most people would find comfortable, but always riveting." -Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series   "Extraordinarily vivid. A thinking man's Texas Chainsaw Massacre." -The Vancouver Sun   "Highly enjoyable." -Time Out, London   "Slade knows psychos inside out." -Toronto Star   "A get-under-your-skin thriller with machine-gun dialogue and impressive real-world research. It's one heck of a ride." -CNN.com   "As always with Slade, a cracking good detective story." -Anne Perry, New York Times–bestselling author of the Thomas Pitt series   "Murder with gore galore, and a killer who enjoys his hobby." -The Globe and Mail (Toronto)   "Michael Slade is a writer who clearly knows how to tell a story and make it real." -Robert McCammon, New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song and the Matthew Corbett series

This thriller from an author who "writes the kind of stuff of which nightmares are made" pits a madman intent on world domination against a Canadian Mountie (The Globe and Mail, Toronto).   Robert DeClercq has faced a lot of psychos as the head of the Special X team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But never one as evil as Mephisto, a megalomaniac intent on recovering a relic rumored to hold the secrets of Stonehenge-mysteries Mephisto hopes to exploit for his own diabolical ends.   Determined to make DeClercq a pawn in his plan to uncover the ancient treasure, Mephisto lures him in by abducting one of DeClercq's own. Now DeClercq is in a race against time to save his friend and fellow cop from a slow and torturous death-and save the world from Mephisto's sinister scheme to create a hell on Earth.   "The psycho to end all psychos. Mephisto makes Hannibal Lecter seem like an Oxford don with slightly unorthodox culinary tastes." -The Vancouver Sun   "Burnt Bones is a very original thriller-nice and gory, with plenty of scenery-chewing scenes . . . that should appeal to anyone looking for a change from the usual stuff that litters bookstore shelves." -The Chronicle Herald</DESC>

"A get-under-your-skin thriller with machine-gun dialogue and impressive real-world research. It's one heck of a ride . . . not for the faint of heart." -CNN.com   Canadian Mountie Zinc Chandler knows he's facing down a psychopath when he's called to the scene of murder at a Vancouver hotel. There, he finds the body of a Hollywood producer suspended upside down like the Hanged Man tarot card, a crown of nails hammered into his head. When similar corpses turn up across the border in Seattle, Chandler is soon trailing a serial killer he is all too familiar with: his old enemy, the Ripper. But how can that be, when Chandler already put the murderer behind bars?    To solve the mystery, Chandler must look back in time to 1888, when London was terrorized by its own demented Jack the Ripper, and into the weird world of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.   His search takes him from the streets of Vancouver to the fantasy realm of the Goths at the World Horror Convention in Seattle to a nail-biting climax in the Kingdom of Bones on the cannibal island of Tangaroa in the South Pacific, where suddenly Chandler is in a struggle for his own survival.   "Bed of Nails could stand tall beside the horror-ific works of Stephen King or Anne Rice." -Halifax Daily News

"A harrowing tale of revenge. Hangman is a hardboiled police procedural . . . Readers come away not only entertained-and terrified-but also enlightened." -Cemetery Dance   A woman is killed on Halloween night in Seattle. Death by hanging-as cruel and vicious as it was back in the days when it was employed as a means of justice. Only there is no justice in this murder. And it isn't the last one. Suddenly the police on both sides of the US–Canadian border are tracking a killer with a taste for the drama of the gallows. And just when the investigation zeroes in on a suspect, another corpse is discovered. The string of bizarre and brutal killings leaves a complex trail of clues-and a terror that only escalates with each killing.   "Master of the Northern Giallo! There are more than a few reasons to take the stand and scream the glories of literary demon Michael Slade." -Rue Morgue   "Hangman's escalating suspense is sustained not only by readers wondering 'whodunit,' but who will be the next to die. Every character is both a suspect and a potential victim." -Quill & Quire   "Murder with gore galore, and a killer who enjoys his hobby. There's plenty of legerdemain before the trick ending." -The Globe and Mail (Toronto)   "Fascinating . . . The research on real-life hangmen is deftly larded into the fast-paced story." -The Vancouver Sun   "First-hand knowledge of the judicial system gives Slade's thrillers their authenticity." -North Shore News

"Slade blends crime genres like no other writer. Swastika is a clever whodunit that will challenge the sharpest readers." -Hellnotes   It began with a corpse with a swastika carved into its forehead. Was it a neo-Nazi hate crime? Or something even more sinister? As bodies mutilated with the emblem of the Third Reich begin to pile up, the investigators of the Special X police team uncover a conspiracy that takes them deep into Germany's dark history and a secret that lies buried to this day. A secret that some would kill to keep from getting out.    "A perfect blend of historical background, police procedure, and lightning-fast action with a dash of horror. Slade's skill at intertwining the past and the present is uncanny. Don't start Swastika unless you can finish it. You won't want to put it down." -Crimespree Magazine   "Swastika will please anyone who enjoys a good thriller with a historical bent." -Quill & Quire   "Readers who relish monsters wearing a human face must read Michael Slade." -Midwest Book Review   "An action-packed techno-conspiracy thriller." -Calgary Herald   "Slade knows his trade well, and is able to get inside the head of a grizzled cop and a psychotic neo-Nazi with equal skill." -Montreal FFWD Weekly

In this "mind-bender" about a psychopath seeking revenge "the plot yanks you compulsively toward its solution, and the shocks make you jerk back in fright" (Toronto Star).   The Winter Olympics are coming to western Canada, but the mood is far from celebratory when a snowboarder is murdered on the slopes, his corpse mutilated. And he's only the first athlete to suffer a grisly end. Soon, a raging winter storm and a deranged killer's team of mercenaries has cut Whistler Mountain off from the rest of the world.   It's a whodunit especially suited to the Special X team, which specializes in psychopathic behavior. Except an old enemy is targeting team commander Robert DeClercq. Bent on bloody revenge, Mephisto has elaborate plan that includes assassinating anyone connected with the Canadian Mountie. And that's just the start of this megalomaniac's horrific doomsday scheme . . .    Let the games begin!   "As always with Slade, a cracking good detective story." -Anne Perry, New York Times–bestselling author of the Thomas Pitt series   "Red Snow is crisply written, sly and exciting. Michael Slade is a writer who clearly knows how to tell a story and make it real." -Robert McCammon, New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song and the Matthew Corbett series   "Red snow indeed! This one is guaranteed to keep you awake with the lights burning." -The Globe and Mail (Toronto)   "In the annals of dark fiction, Canada can claim one true champion in Michael Slade. . . . The plot yanks you compulsively toward its solution, and the shocks make you jerk back in fright." -Toronto Star   "Very good twists, and a great villain. Mephisto, who seems to have attained a new level of insanity, is the kind of homicidal maniac you can't take your eyes off. The writing is tight and compelling." -Winnipeg Free Press