Middle Thriller

When Salem Grimes stumbles onto a dead body on her way to an AA meeting, she does what any self-respecting Christian would do - freaks out and screeches words that would make Jesus blush. However, learning her ex-husband, Tony, stands accused of the murder spurs Salem into action. Eager to help, she makes the bold decision to investigate the case as an amateur sleuth. What she lacks in skills, qualifications, or a general clue on how to find, well, clues, she makes up for with the genuine desire to help.

Richard Viner is basically an average young man on the street who, more or less accidentally, finds a dead body in a dimly lit alley while he’s taking his usual nightly stroll. He calls police and when they arrive they figure it’s likely a robbery gone wrong because the dead man’s valuables are missing. However, a prime suspect is arrested trying to pawn some jewelry belonging to the victim. He happens to be an old school-mate of Viner. Viner discovers the old chum is down and out and needs the money, so he decides to investigate and try get his pal vindicated.

It was a lonely English courtyard where attorneys received traditional apprenticeship … one of the ancient Inns of Court. The bludgeoned body of a well-dressed elderly man was found there at midnight, an apparent murder victim. Investigative newspaper reporter Frank Spargo was one of the first to arrive at the crime scene and he was puzzled about why such a prosperous looking man had been wandering there at that time of night. The only item found on the body was a small paper with a young barrister’s address.

A classic English murder mystery story, set in the legal center of London, draws the reluctant attention of a journalist as he makes his way home after a long night on the job. But his newshound instincts kick in. Who is the elderly man? What was he doing at the law chambers in the middle of the night? Why had someone seen fit to strike him on the back of the head?

Despite living in the same three-flat house in the suburbs of London, the residents are strangers to one another. The bottom floor is home to Tam, a recent ex-cop who spends his days drowning his sorrows in whisky. On the middle floor is Nick, a young man with Asperger's who likes to stick to his schedules and routines. The top floor belongs to Karen, a doctor and researcher who has spent her life trying to understand the rising rates of autism. They have lived their lives separately until now, when an unsolved murder and the man on the middle floor connect them all together.

The summer of 1990 started out fine. Reem was about to enter his Junior year, and the architectural degree would put him on track to achieve his 5-year plan. Life in California was different from his childhood as the second son of a Kuwaiti millionaire. He loved USC. August 2, 1990, everything changed. Reem had worked hard to hide his wealth. He just wanted to be a regular college kid. Finding a girlfriend wasn't part of the plan, but he adored Sarah. She wasn't what his mother would have wanted for him, but then in an instant, none of that mattered.

A first-time author. A hotshot book editor. A whirlwind romance and a runaway bestseller nobody saw coming. The meteoric rise and sudden collapse of a cross-platform media empire. All of this - plus a basement full of undiscovered treasures left by former tenants - is thoughtfully unpacked and dusted off in this sideways collection of small, strange fictions. SITM is a light-hearted 44-story collection of mostly free-standing stories surrounding a framed narrative that explores how these tales were created.

Edi has collected antiques and ghost stories for as long as they can remember. Some old objects buzz with history, and when Edi touches them, they see fragments of the item's story. But are the visions real? Edi desperately wants to believe in the supernatural until a mysterious ghost transforms their mom into a mannequin. Helped by Delilah, a thirteen-year-old psychic, Edi researches local hauntings to untangle how and why their mom became a mannequin. When Edi finally employs their ability to see an artifact's history, they learn the terrifying truth.

A cross between Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and a bartender from Cheers, Sally Witherspoon, a fifty-something accountant turned biker-bar owner, loves solving puzzles. Up to now, she has focused on helping neighbors and friends find lost jewelry, lost pets, and lost loves. But when she finds her best friend and business partner, Bill Arnold, dead in a dumpster behind the bar, she needs all her wits and grit to find out who murdered him.

After twenty-one years of being overshadowed by her ex-husband, Winnie Hackleshack never had the opportunity to explore her adventurous side. But what does a forty-something divorced woman do to revitalize her spirit? She gets a rescue dog, buys a motorhome, and sets off for adventures unknown. Except the adventures include getting mixed up in a murder investigation.

An urgent phone call from principal/friend Antonio Petrocelli sends retired music teacher Susan Wiles rushing through the doors of Westbrook Middle School, where she discovers a missing bookkeeper and a ransacked office. Eager to keep the break-in quiet, the principal enlists her help.

Eight years before Denny Colbert was born, his father was involved in a tragic accident that killed 22 children. Now Denny is 16, and all he wants is to be like other kids his age. But he isn't allowed to answer the telephone or have a driver's license, and his family is constantly moving from town to town - all because people can't forget what happened long ago.

Fifties are the new forties and I'm living my best life ever. I may have a few more aches and pains, graying roots, and couple extra pounds, but I also have two quirky best friends who always have my back, business is booming, and my love life has never been better or hotter. That is until my sweetie Ezra Holden invites me home for Christmas to meet his family. The season is full of surprises in Ezra's hometown, like a missing cousin, a case of mistaken identity, and a slew of painful memories—none of them my own.

Something's brewing at the National Portrait Gallery Museum in Washington DC - 12-year-old Art is sure of it. But his only proof that a grand heist is about to take place is iced mocha, 42 steps, and a mysterious woman who appears like clockwork in the museum. When Art convinces his best friend, Camille, that the heist is real, the two begin a thrilling chase through DC to uncover a villainous scheme that could be the biggest heist since the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum theft in 1990.

Eleven-year-old Jillian hates surprises. Even fun ones make her feel all panicky inside. But, she's always dreamed of joining her space-explorer parents on a mission. It's Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Jillian finally has her chance to visit an alien world! The journey to Planet 80 UMa c is supposed to be just a fun camping trip. But then the local wildlife starts acting really dangerous. Only the onboard computer SABRINA sorta knows what's happening - at least when it's not goofing off or telling bad jokes.

Three years have passed, and Ally's memories of her kidnapping and torture still haunt her. Determined to keep her demons at bay, David refuses to leave her side. Until....the lies woven to protect come unraveled. Ally has no choice but to return to the land that once imprisoned her.

FBI agent Nicholas Drummond and his partner, Mike Caine, are deep into an investigation of COE - Celebrants of the Earth - a violent group known for widespread bombings of power grids and oil refineries. While investigating a tip from a civilian who's overheard about a possible bombing plot, the Bayway Refinery in New Jersey explodes. Nicholas and Mike race to the scene and barely escape being killed by a secondary device.

At the center of Francine Prose's profoundly moving new novel is a young girl facing the consequences of sudden loss after the death of her sister. As her parents drift toward their own risky consolations, 13-year-old Nico is left alone to grope toward understanding and clarity, falling into a seductive, dangerous relationship with her sister's enigmatic boyfriend.

In 1958 a young Bible scholar stumbles upon a version of the Gospel of Mark far older than that recorded in the New Testament. Unfortunately, his discovery brings him nothing but vilification and accusations of forgery. Eventually, the secret gospel simply disappears. Fifty-one years later, the scholar is dead, the victim of an apparent heart attack. However, evidence found in his room, coupled with a letter to Cairo-based journalist Alex Fisher, suggests murder.

Christopher Buckley's comic thriller takes readers to the Arab land of Matar, where a philandering emir allays his restless wife by allowing her to start a TV network for Arab women. She is joined in this endeavor by a maverick American State Department officer known as Florence, who wants to use the TV network to start a revolution among Islamic women.