Short Stories Crime Suspense

In the parish of St. Bruno, sex is easy, corruption festers, and double-dealing is a way of life. Rene Shade is an uncompromising detective swimming in a sea of filth. As Shade takes on hit men, porn kings, a gang of ex-cons, and the ghosts of his own checkered past, Woodrell's three seminal novels pit long-entrenched criminals against the hard line of the law, brother against brother, and two vastly different sons against a long-absent father.

In a quaint, antiquarian bookshop in the Midlands of England, a woman is captivated by a rare gilt-edged devotional nestled within an exquisite and equally tempting box. Her desire to pilfer it overcomes her scruples, and her guilt and terror at doing something so audacious, so unlike her. With a simple sleight of hand, it's hers.

A collection of nine beautifully crafted, terrifying and intriguing tales of spine-tingling psychological terror and suspense from Ruth Rendell. The title story, is about a man whose life, in a sense, is a book. Life for Ambrose Ribbon is lonely, paranoid and obsessive without his mother, yet there is one book that he associates particularly with her: Volume VIII of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Piranha to Scurfy'. It marked a very significant moment in their relationship.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford wait anxiously for a letter from Russia that may contain information of international importance hidden beneath the stamp. The letter is anticipated by more than just the Beresfords, and they must fight to keep the information from getting into the wrong hands.

Violence, love, and a torrent of blood. A man wakes in a grimy hotel to find his marriage has ended but not in divorce. An orphan discovers he has a sister and a grisly family secret. And the loss of an infant son drives a man back to his brutal, bad ways. From the Manhattan's Lower East Side to the west coast of Africa, the seven noir stories in this riveting collection cut to the core of what makes us human - and what makes us killers.

Crime Never Pays runs 1 hour and 57 minutes and consists of the following short 10 short stories: "A Perfect Match," "Cellblock," "Cocaine," "Dog Day Morning," "Is It Safe?," "Loan Shark," "New On The Job," "Stella And The Chief," "The Fish Tie Strangler," and "Trick Or Treat."

Short Fuse contains five short stories, including "Starting Over", "Now What Do We Do", "You Here with Anybody", "Time's Up", and "Doppelganger".

A compilation of five of my latest short stories, available in audio format. Included in the collection are "The Candy Bar", "Maid to Order", "Sight Unseen", "Getting the Boot", "Good Help Is Hard to Get", "Vigil-Auntie", and "Where've You Been".

"La vitre tintait sous le vent, des nuages gris et bas - des nuages de la ville, des nuages de pierre - passaient dans le ciel - comme s'ils étaient de retour, ces nuages étouffants de l'été que pas un orage n'avait transpercés. Sophia sentit que ces nuages n'étaient pas au dehors mais en elle, que depuis des mois ils s'amoncelaient comme des pierres, et qu'à présent, pour ne pas être étouffée par eux, il fallait qu'elle brise quelque chose en mille morceaux, ou bien qu'elle parte d'ici en courant."

You wake up one morning with the weight of the world on your shoulders. You just lost your job, your girlfriend dumped you and you're about to be evicted from your apartment. Is it worth even going on anymore? Maybe not, but before you pull that trigger why not give a call to the folks at the suicide hotline. Maybe they can help. How good are these people at their job? Someone's gonna die no matter what. And there ain't a thing you can do about it.

This ain't no Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie. A policeman patrols the downtown area during the Christmas season, checking knobs and keeping the neighborhood safe. His rounds take him past the bridge on the edge of town where he sees a man standing on the railing, contemplating jumping to his death. Can our friendly neighborhood cop talk him out of it and give him a reason to live? Sometimes it's better to just mind your own business.

When Taylor, a professional writer, discovers that others have been plagiarizing her work, she gets even in her own way—by writing their fake obituaries. Nobody knows about her favorite pastime, and she wants to keep it that way. Then, one day, the unthinkable happens: One of the plagiarists turns up dead. Taylor tries to put it out of her mind, until two detectives come knocking on her door. Author Linda Smolkin delivers a gripping audiobook filled with suspense and an ending listeners won’t see coming.

My favorite line in my favorite song about Dallas goes like this: Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes / A steel and concrete soul in a warm heart and love disguise... The narrator of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's perfect tune Dallas" is coming to town as a broke dreamer with the bright lights of the big city on his mind. He's just seen the Dallas cityscape through the window of his seat on a DC-9 at night. Is he just beginning his quest?

When Tommy's Uncle Willy gives he and his wife three hundred dollars to help them out, both Tommy and Tina know it's more than just a gift. But what does Tommy's uncle want in return?

Jackie is nine-years-old and seems like a typical kid until you talk to his friend, Stuart. No one else can see or hear Stuart except Jackie. It was Stuart's idea to start that fire and it was Stuart who wet Jackie's bed. It was Stuart who told Jackie to kill those little animals. Jackie looks out his window to see little Timmy playing across the street. He'd better hope Stuart doesn't hurt that little kid.

Emmy award-winning actor Sir Derek Jacobi reads all 12 stories from this last collection to feature Holmes and Watson.

Nothing makes Portland detective Archie Sheridan happier than knowing that Gretchen Lowell - the serial killer whose stunning beauty is belied by the gruesome murders she’s committed - is locked away in a psych ward. Archie can finally heal from the near-fatal physical and emotional wounds she’s inflicted on him and start moving on with his life. To this end, Archie throws himself into the latest case to come across his desk: A cyclist has discovered a corpse in Mount Tabor Park on the eastern side of Portland. The man was gagged, skinned, and found hanging by his wrists from a tree....

The "Hot Kid" of the U.S. Marshals Service, Carl Webster maintains the law with a cool, showdown attitude. He's one of the richest creations in Elmore Leonard's half century of delivering the goods. From his appearances in the critically acclaimed novels The Hot Kid and Up in Honey's Room, Carl returns to lay down the law in a novella that originally appeared as a serial in the New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Beirut is a city of contradiction and paradox. It is an urban and rural city, one of violence and forgiveness, memory and forgetfulness. Beirut is a city of war and peace. This short story collection is a part of a vibrant, living recovery of Beirut. Beirut Noir recovers the city once again through writing, through the literary visions of its authors....

Dror Eytan is a ruthless, heartless, violent extortionist. I am a simple teacher who has never had to deal with people like Eytan. Eytan wants the money. I don't have it. My friend's life is at stake. What have I got myself into? Help.