Supernatural

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to digest.

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smell of pine. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb. Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The town of Oak Hollow, Ohio is dying. Jobs are scarce, crime is rampant, and the authorities aren't helping. But, when the infamous haunted house on Asher Street is quickly converted to a funeral home, it appears something has come to pick clean the bones of this once-proud Midwestern town.

As a scrawny goat shifter in a pack of werewolves, my role is to get into places they can't go. The alpha who took me in after my parents died molded me into a master thief. For four long years, he's lined his pockets, while I've taken all the risks. Now he's sending me after the magical artifact he's chased for years. This is my chance to escape. All I have to do is pull off the biggest heist I've ever attempted, escape the seethe of vampires I'm about to rob, and ditch the wolves who watch my every move.

When FBI special agent Luke Kendrick discovers chilling evidence of dozens of victims at a crime scene in London, he recognizes the calling card of the notorious H. H. Holmes Society. Named for the eighteenth-century monster regarded as America’s first serial killer, the society is comprised of a twisted web of killers, working to carry out heinous murders in Holmes’s memory. And now the group’s been linked to a Scottish castle turned B and B—where guests check in but never check out.

When a true-crime podcast turns into a true crime, Abby and her fellow FBI investigators are shocked when a young woman is murdered during a live broadcast. With no clue as to the victim’s identity or location, the team must rely on Abby’s intuition to hone in on the victim. When they discover the girl’s remains at the University of Texas, the team can barely catch their breath before another female student falls victim to the same killer.

It began as a death-defying ritual in the Yucatán. Jonathon Roth and his family were pawns in an inconceivable endgame. Jacob Calakmul was its depraved and mystifying mastermind destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy, destroy the government, and bring about his personal Armageddon. Exposing the unbelievable truth to the authorities has made Roth’s life a nightmare.

Gullywasher's of Georgia has been abandoned a long time but it's far from empty. A determined CDC epidemiologist goes rogue to tackle a mysterious outbreak in Savannah, only to find himself entangled with a pair of urban explorers and a dangerous, tortured soul in an abandoned theme park where dark forces stir.

A tragic accident has left Hunter Faraday to be something of a pariah in his community. The blame placed on him is so heavy that finding work is all but impossible. The only option he has is to have his own business driving a hearse for the local funeral homes. This only serves to make the ridicule even worse. The figure of Death invades Hunter’s life, causing chaos in an attempt to make him accept his rightful role in the world of the dead (aka The Underworld). The Reaper in charge sees an evolution taking place as the servants of Death defy him.

Foxx Honeywell here. You know those fun stories where nothing goes wrong and everything is happy and joyful…yeah, that is not this book. This book is where everything goes wrong—multiple times. Horribly wrong. Because sadly, there are people out there who hate others simply for existing. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

He bullied me, took my innocence, and knocked me up with his secret baby. He was my brother's best friend. And my personal tormentor. When I told him I loved him, he just laughed at me. But now I'm back in town, and he's the new Alpha. And what he doesn't know is that he has a child. I was born as a shiftless wolf, adopted by a wolf mother. Everyone thought I was weak. But I have changed, and I'm weak no longer.

As the leaves fall and the fog thickens, the town of Myrtlewood prepares for the annual Samhain festival. But this year, something is different. The chill in the air is not just from the frost but from a deeper magic, an ancient magic that has lain dormant for years. Rosemary Thorn and her daughter Athena both sense that something is amiss. They soon find themselves caught up in a thrilling mystery as strange occurrences happen around town. They must navigate through the mystical and mysterious world of magic and uncover the truth behind the spooky happenings before it's too late.

In 1956, Kitty Cunningham disappeared on the way to the Starlite Drive-In. Now the first real evidence of foul play is coming to light in the ghostly realm—and it links directly to a modern crime. Only a sleuth with one foot in the past can solve the mystery and make things right.

Anna Koray escaped her father’s darkness long ago. When she was a girl, her childhood memories were sealed away from her conscious mind by a controversial hypnosis treatment. She’s now a decorated sheriff’s lieutenant serving a rural county, conducting an ordinary life far from her father’s shadow. When Anna kills a man in the line of duty, her suppressed memories return. She dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest.

Dustin Graves was a jack of all trades, a directionless dreamer until the day he found his purpose: as a ritual sacrifice. Transformed in death, Dust awakens to the eldritch mysteries behind the grit and glamor of the city of Valero – and to the wellspring of dark magic that lives inside his very bones.