First Mystery

Robert Baxter once reveled in the intoxicating delights of Atopia - the man-made island where humans lose themselves in a world of boundless virtual realities. Now, Bob has returned to immerse himself in this mind-altering, consciousness-sharing refuge from the eroding Earth. But something is very wrong. Bob feels a tidal wave of doom cresting above the pleasure dome that is Atopia. As alternate universes perish, the salvation of all he loves - and all that exists - rests with Bob alone.

The gripping first bundle in the next great detective series. Book one: Mack August, frustrated Los Angeles police detective, moves to a smaller city in Virginia to start over. Rather than join the force, he opens his own PI shop and hires out to local attorneys - until Sheriff Stackhouse comes calling, a stunner in designer khakis. Trouble has arrived, she explains, in the form of a gang general from the West Coast. He's galvanizing the drug trade using vicious strong-arm tactics, and the police can't identify him.

Matt Kearns and the remnants of the scientific team return to a ravaged America. Modern medicine has failed to halt the spread of the flesh-consuming parasite, and humans have been forced to hide, even from one another. The infected roam the cities and suburbs of a ruined nation. But the devastating effects on human physiology are only the beginning. Something has been let loose, something that the team were not prepared for - human nature itself.

What happens when an undercover reporter gets in too deep? And when a practiced liar has to face off with her own truth - how does she choose her true reality? Who will be the first to lie?

In the southwestern desert, a mysterious cult prays for the return of the Visitors. Only one creature can derail that grand and glorious event: An evil entity, known as the Duad, can keep the Visitors from arriving and prevent the transfiguration to come. Daley, who lives nearby, has a far more serious problem: an alien consciousness that has taken up residence in her head.

It's 1956, and the cold war is hot. Hungary has just fallen, and Blackford Oakes is back from Budapest, puzzling over a betrayal and mourning a tragedy he couldn't prevent. But in Washington, all attention is focused on the race to put the first satellite in space. Ironically, Russia and America each have the secrets the other needs to succeed. The solution: kidnap a pair of extraordinary Russian scientists who can put the U.S. in the lead.

Many Christians mistakenly believe that their only choice is either to reconcile themselves to a fundamentalist reading of scripture (a "literal-factual" approach) or to simply reject the Bible as something that could bring meaning and value into their lives. In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg shows how instead we can freshly appreciate all the essential elements of the Old and New Testaments - from Genesis to Revelation - in a way that can open up a new world of intelligent faith.

In his most personal case yet, astrologer/detective David Lowell is presented with a briefcase containing one million dollars in cash and the promise of another million upon success, by Dr. Ethan Williamson, to find his dying son’s twin for a life-saving kidney transplant. A rare blood type has made a successful donor impossible to find, and time is running out for the boy.

Stories about demons are rising in pop culture, but accounts of their manifestations have been bubbling up throughout history. Paranormal investigator Richard Estep explores this societal fascination as he strives to identify exactly what demons are and where to find them. Consulting with experts ranging from an ordained Catholic exorcist to a medical doctor, Richard scrutinizes the history of demonology and infamous instances of possession, including the case that inspired The Exorcist. With all the facts at your fingertips, you can decide the truth for yourself.

In Coventry, Eric and Harry watch helplessly as they find themselves face to face with the latest arrival at Ground Zero. Tired and coming to terms with Eric’s devastating injuries, how can two men hope contain such an indestructible force, let alone escape the impenetrable energy shield that now envelops them and the city?

Hugo and Nebula Award winner Joe Haldeman ranks among the greatest science fiction authors to ever live. This thrilling entry from his Marsbound saga finds the mysterious alien Others prohibiting humans from space travel by destroying Earth’s fleet of starships in a display of unimaginable power. But Carmen Dula, the first human to encounter the Others, is determined to find a way to reclaim the future that has been stolen from humankind.

On the eve of Game One of the NBA Finals, basketball star Garrett Streeter discovers that his brother Jake has been kidnapped. To save his life, Garrett must intentionally throw the seven-game championship series. Caitlin Glass had aspirations of becoming a professional basketball player until an injury ended her college career. Now a police officer, she’s watched with envy as her college boyfriend, Garrett, went on to become a star. But as Garrett leads his team to the NBA Finals, he suddenly shows up at her door asking for help.

Growing up in a Tibetan Monastery, Ten dreamed of becoming a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. So when he was sent to Los Angeles to teach meditation, he joined the LAPD instead. But as the Buddha says, change is inevitable; and 10 years later, everything is about to change-big-time-for Ten. One resignation from the police force, two bullet-wounds, three suspicious deaths, and a beautiful woman later, he quickly learns that whenever he breaks his first rule, mayhem follows.

Despatches from the secret world behind the headlines. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his 17th novel, filled with his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge. Osama Bin Laden is dead. The President of the United States knows it. The world knows it. And SAS hero Joe Mansfield knows it. He was on the ground in Pakistan when it happened. He saw Seal Team 6 go in, and he saw them extract with their grisly cargo. He was in the right place at the right time. Or maybe the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ex-Minneapolis Police Detective Rembrandt Stone walked away from a career he loved - just the price of being sure he can come home to the wife and daughter he cherishes. But he can’t shake the deep regret over a case left behind. When his mentor dies and leaves Rembrandt with a box of cold cases and a mysterious watch, he finds himself thrust into a world he recognizes - the same world he’s woken from in a cold sweat a hundred times. But is it a dream, or some kind of twisted reality? If he solves the case that plagues him, will it destroy the life he loves?

An Englishwoman is found dead in a house near Rome. Her distraught husband enlists the help of his closest friend, Chris Bronson, who discovers an ancient inscription on a slab of stone above their fireplace. But who are the liars? And what is it they are lying to protect? Pursued across Europe, Bronson uncovers a trail of clues that leads him back to the shadowy beginnings of Christianity; to a chalice decorated with mysterious symbols; to a secret code hidden within a scroll. And to a deadly conspiracy which – if revealed – will rock the foundations of our modern world.

Joss McMillan’s perfect life crashes down the night he witnesses his sister’s murder - at the hands of a vampire. He then finds out his family’s secret heritage: They are part of the Slayer Society, a group whose mission is to rid the world of vampires. Joss is their new recruit. As Joss trains, bent on seeking revenge for his sister, he discovers powers that could make him the youngest, strongest Slayer in history. But there is a traitor in the Society, one whose identity would shake Joss to the core... if the traitor doesn’t kill him first.

Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet, is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder.Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs.

The Spanish Flu killed 30 million people worldwide in 1918. Now with history threatening to repeat itself, a scientific expedition speeds toward a remote island in the Arctic Sea to recover strains of the lethal virus preserved under layers of ice. For Washington Post reporter Frank Daly, it is the story of a lifetime. But his plan to join the expedition is ruined by a ferocious storm that delays him. And when he meets up with the ship upon its return to port in Norway, it is clear something has gone wrong.

Mail Carrier Bernadette Butler just can't stop delivering clues when the clerk of the new book store turns up dead in Sugar Creek Gap, Kentucky, after the town is already shocked over a tell all "fiction" romance novel that hit the shelves filled secrets that were brushed under the rug and now left hung out to dry.