First Mystery

Seventeen-year-old Emma was the only one who hadn't given up on her boyfriend, Lucas. Everyone else - his family, his friends, his doctors - was convinced that any moment could be his last. So when Lucas miraculously returns from the brink of death, Emma thinks her prayers have been answered.

Finding a severed hand at a client's house might throw lesser decorators off their games. But Chloe Carstairs and her mother, Amanda, won't let a little thing like murder keep them from decking the halls. With a body under the partridge's pear tree and a dead Santa in a sleigh, they have to crack the case before the killer strikes again - this time much too close to home.

As one of the most ancient and esteemed establishments of the academic elite, Old College is in for something of a shock when it appoints its very first female Deputy Head Porter. As she struggles to get to grips with this eccentric world—not to mention the polite and discrete appearance of some dead bodies—she begins to wonder just quite what she is doing here.

In the city of Prague, freelance treasure hunter Jules has finally located the bangle stolen from his dying mother, an artifact that may unravel a centuries-old secret: the location of an ancient tomb hidden from the world by one of Christ's disciples. But when a reclusive, ruthless billionaire beats him to the artifact, Jules joins forces with an institute of unconventional archaeologists who reveal to him clues penned two thousand years ago. Clues that support the claim his mother's bangle holds properties that science cannot explain.

Sudden disappearances worry inhabitants of Trioria, a little town in the Ligurian inland. Caterina Ruggeri, police chief, will have to shed light on the mysterious crimes by going back up to four centuries before: The murder of a witch seems to be hiding the causes of an esoteric vendetta. Caterina Ruggeri is appointed police chief and assigned to the police district in Imperia. She will find herself involved in a thorny investigation, during which she'll have to face people linked to an esoteric sect in a town that is a witches' place par excellence: Triora.

Seattle, 1984—while the city is gripped by the terror of the Green River Killer, young John is grappling with a horror that's far more personal. As adolescence falls upon John, so does the stark reality of his father's secret nocturnal life. The line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and John's inner conflict intensifies. Threads of trust unravel, alliances form in unlikely places, and the chilling realization dawns that sometimes the most perilous beast lurks uncomfortably close to home.

Peter Kargosi gets more than he bargained for when he does a favor and picks up Mia, a beautiful girl, from the airport. As soon as Mia shows up, she disappears, and two alien races approach him demanding to know what he knows. Peter, now entangled in an alien turf war, soon realizes to stay alive he must find the one thing they seem to want...the beautiful girl, Mia.

For years, they’ve struggled to keep their dying planet alive. But, as their star reaches the inevitable end of its life cycle, the Elquin people have finally run out of options. They must find a new place to live or face certain death and the planet Earth, with its thriving conditions for life, seems like the most promising option.

It's the year 2027. Extraterrestrials have finally responded to broadcast signals transmitted from Earth. President Elizabeth Schaefer creates a secret alliance with Bretta, a humanistic young female, who is seeking legal asylum for herself and over 200 refugees from another world. Together they must face an ominous galactic danger testing their strategies, strengths, and desires.

Leaving the planet Fleece far behind them, the Aurora and her mixed crew have two missions. The first is to return the human research vessel Geoffrey Laird back to Earth safe and unharmed. Afterward, the second task is to return to Quetanae space and search for any pockets of survivors from Kodo and Kalaya's home world. Sounds simple enough. But, of course, unknown sinister forces are gathering.

Libby has a nice life with a great job, a gorgeous husband, and a big home by the sea. But she's becoming more unsure of Jack's feelings for her - and if he is over the mysterious death of Eve, his first wife. When fate intervenes in their relationship, Libby decides to find out all she can about the man she hastily married and the seemingly perfect Eve. Eventually Libby stumbles across some startling truths about Eve. As she begins to unearth devastating secrets, Libby becomes frightened that she too will end up like the first woman Jack loved...

When former government agent Frank Compton steps back into his apartment after his tangle with the Modhri - a coral-like group mind - he finds a young woman with his gun in her hands waiting for him. Her little sister's life is in danger and Compton is the only one who can help. After retrieving his gun and kicking her out, he finds himself falsely accused of her murder. With a little help, he posts bail, gets a new identity, and begins the search for the little girl.

Reporter Eva Heart is sent to Cloud Lake to write an exposé on flying saucer sightings, a subject she is extremely familiar with. Nearly 20 years ago, Eva, then known as Jessica Carver, went missing, only to appear a week later, confused and frightened. A man went to jail for the crime. Now Eva must face demons from her past as she meets both old and new friends along the way. Will her real identity be exposed? Can history truly repeat itself?

Adam Helios is a bully magnet without many friends. When he starts hearing a voice that claims to come from the stars, he fears he’s losing his mind, so he withdraws even further. On the way home from a meeting at the school, he and his parents are involved in a horrible car crash. With his skull cracked open, Adam’s consciousness is abducted by the alien who has been speaking to him for months.

It's May, 1978, and a UFO requests permission to land. A human girl in her early teens and a robot exit the craft, and a strange botanical lifeform is found onboard later that night by a USAF landing party. The vehicle, robot, and the strange plant are impounded and subsequently sent to Area 51. NASA astrobiologist Gabriel Greenley is called in to study this new lifeform that at first appears similar to a botanical species known as oxalis. As a psi-sensitive, Greenley quickly learns the specimen is highly intelligent and potentially dangerous when he attempts to take a leaf sample.

256 BC: When a patrol boat of butchered Legionaries washes up on a beach, Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera volunteers to be the scout for the Legion's response. But, he runs into complications and is forced to exceed his assignment. Suddenly, he finds himself in a blood feud with a powerful enemy, posted at a besieged harbor garrison, and fighting for his life against overwhelming odds. Reinforcements are not coming. Surrounded by enemies, it's up to Alerio to battle with his gladius while standing in bloody water.

Erik Ashendale sees himself as a hero. Desperate to distance himself from his terrible childhood and evil twin sister, the professional monster hunter just wants to do some good. So he buckles down when an angel whispers in his ear requesting protection for a succubus targeted by his sinister sibling.

Brothers Harry and Jack leave Manchester for New York City for their annual weekend getaway. But upon arrival, they find a silent, deserted JFK, where the few ground crew they can spot have all been slaughtered.

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.

Brody Quail is a man without dreams...but he's beginning to live a nightmare. He exists in four different lives, in four simultaneous identities: happy young boy, lovelorn teenager, damaged young man, and a pitiable middle-aged loner. He lives blissfully unaware of his divided nature until a series of increasingly surreal experiences shakes this already fragile equilibrium. Time begins to stop and start for him alone.