Urban Crime Fiction

In the days of yore, he flew the skies and scorched angry mobs - now he hides from swamp tour boats and rises only with the greatest reluctance from his La-Z-Boy recliner. Laying low in the bayou, this once-magnificent fire breather has been reduced to lighting Marlboros with nose sparks, swilling Absolut in a Flashdance T-shirt, and binging Netflix in a fishing shack. For centuries, he struck fear in hearts far and wide as Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie - now he goes by Vern.

Ursula is unable to face up to the tragedy that consumes her, her world has shrunk to an almost unrecognisable state. Then Alice, who’s in the first flush of her relationship with Simon who seems perfectly normal—except that he flinches at the slightest touch. And Gareth, who lives a humdrum life as he struggles to cope with his mum’s increasing dementia. She can’t remember much about her days—not even when a postcard from his long-dead father comes through the door. None of these three strangers have ever met, but their worlds will soon collide.

One day changes Jody's life forever. She has shut herself down, haunted by her memories and unable to trust anyone. But then she meets Abe, the perfect stranger next door, and suddenly life seems full of possibility and hope. One day changes Mags' life forever. After years of estrangement from her family, Mags receives a shocking phone call. Her brother Abe is in hospital, and no one knows what happened to him. She meets his fiancée, Jody, and gradually pieces together the ruins of the life she left behind. But the pieces don't quite seem to fit....

Mina Wilde is thrilled to be invited to a prestigious writers' retreat at Meddleworth House. Heathcliff, Morrie, and Quoth decide to come along to keep her company and indulge in some of the estate's activities. Mina is excited to get feedback on her first novel, but her dreams of writing stardom are shattered when the other writers tear her work to pieces. A little criticism never hurt anyone, right? Wrong. Their picturesque country holiday soon turns deadly when a violent storm closes in. As the writers gather around the fire to critique each other's work, the power goes out.

The LaCroixs are four beautiful Haitian American women bound by money and blood. On the surface, the LaCroix Group is a venture capitalist company, but underneath, it’s so much more. The four sisters run long cons, targeting wealthy, prominent business figures. They have a system: Find the perfect mark, create the problem, then present the solution. For a cost....

In a world where magic is illegal, Cassel Sharpe has the most deadly ability of all: With one touch, he can transform any object - including a person - into something else entirely. And that makes him a wanted man. The Feds are willing to forgive all his past crimes if he’ll only leave his con-artist family behind and go straight. But why does going straight feel so crooked? For one thing, it means being on the opposite side of the law from Lila, the girl he loves.

In a poisonous cloud of spray, the curtain falls on a drama queen. Little did beloved British actress Mary Bellamy know that she would be done in at her own birthday party - choked by toxic mist from the bottle of Slaypest, a deadly insecticide. Basking in the glow of her most adoring fans - who all happened to be her most duplicitous enemies - Mary would make her final performance.

No stranger to fear since meeting the unhuman Inspector Hobbes, Andy Caplet fears getting fired from his reporting job (again). His main concern, though, is a shady property developer who has designs on Sorenchester Common, and more annoyingly on his wife. Perhaps a trip to the mountains will help him relax, but this proves even more perilous with foul weather, inedible food, brigands, and a terrifying cruise. Fortunately, mountain leopards, Yetis and Flossy, the yak, take a shine to Andy.

After the tragic and bloody end to The Cartel's reign, Carter is forced into isolation to evade the law. With his wife, Miamor, facing federal charges and his dear brother six feet under, Carter has never been more alone. His empire is at his feet, and he has no idea how to rebuild his kingdom. The only thing that is certain is that he has to stay out of the way and off the radar of the feds until he can figure out how to get his lady out of prison.

Acapulco, 1974: Rina Walker is on assignment. Just another quick, clean kill. She wakes to discover her employer's severed head on her bedside table and a man with an AK-47 coming through the door of her hotel room. She needs all her skills to neutralise her attacker and escape. After a car chase, she is captured by a Mexican drug boss who exploits her radiant beauty and ruthless expertise to eliminate an inconvenient member of the government.

A businessman snatched from an Upper East Side street in broad daylight. A miniature hangman's noose left at the scene. A nine-year-old girl, the only witness to the crime. With a crime scene this puzzling, forensic expertise of the highest order is absolutely essential. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are called in to investigate. Soon, the case takes a stranger turn: A recording surfaces of the victim being slowly hanged, his desperate gasps the backdrop to an eerie piece of music. The video is marked as the work of "The Composer"....

After she’s shot in the line of duty, Detective Carolina McKay returns to her hometown hoping to rebuild her life and conquer her demons. But before she can even unpack, a college student is found dead in a ditch. The crime scene looks familiar. Too familiar. Has the madman who terrorized Carolina’s childhood, reemerged? Or is a new killer copying those old murders?

Born in the slums of Brooklyn, in the first year of the 20th century, Willie Sutton came of age at a time when banks were out of control. If they weren’t taking brazen risks, they were shamelessly seeking bailouts. Trapped in a cycle of bank panics, depressions and soaring unemployment, Sutton saw only one way out. So began the career of America’s most successful bank robber. Sutton became so good at breaking into banks, and such a master at breaking out of prisons, police called him one of the most dangerous men.

Ryder Creed and his dogs have been making national headlines after intercepting several major drug stashes being smuggled through Atlanta's airport. But their newfound celebrity has also garnered some unwanted attention. When Creed and one of his dogs are called in to search a commercial fishing vessel, they discover a secret compartment. But the Colombian cartels' latest shipment isn't drugs.

Meet Sam Thornton. He collects souls. Sam’s job is to collect the souls of the damned, and ensure they are dispatched to the appropriate destination. But when he’s sent to collect the soul of a young woman he believes to be innocent of the horrific crime that’s doomed her to Hell, he says something no Collector has ever said before... “No.”

Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth - he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything - or anyone - into something else. That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she’s human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila’s been cursed to love him. And if Lila’s love is as phony as Cassel’s made-up memories, then he can’t believe anything she says or does.

When a Boeing 747 drops out of the sky with the men of the Cartel aboard, the women of the family have to step into their own. With the federal government on their heels and the family on the brink of destruction, a female dynasty is born. After the government's case is thwarted, the ladies plan to take the family legit. They head west to establish a new endeavor, but with new territory come new problems.

Scranton, the strangest city on earth has an uneasy “live and let unlive” relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call me. “My name’s Markowski, a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.”

Looking for clues about her sister’s death amid the crumbling decay of a derelict and near-deserted London neighbourhood, urban explorer Connie Darke makes a terrifying discovery: William Stark, the estate’s architect and long-time resident, is hanging from the church’s vaulted ceiling. For DI Lew Kirby, there’s no doubt that Stark was lured to his death—but who wanted him dead, and why? As Connie begins a covert investigation, desperate to find a connection to her sister, Kirby soon discovers that the remaining residents have something to hide.

Seven years ago, Zella Grisham came home to find her man, Harry Tangelo, in bed with her friend. The weekend before, $6.8 million had been stolen from Rutgers Assurance Corp., whose offices are across the street from where Zella worked. Zella didn't remember shooting Harry, but she didn't deny it either. The district attorney was inclined to call it temporary insanity - until the police found $80,000 from the Rutgers heist hidden in her storage space. For reasons of his own, Leonid McGill is convinced of Zella's innocence. But as he begins his investigation, his life begins to unravel.