Urban Mystery Thrillers

It's been a hell of a day for Abby Barlow. In just a few hours, she's survived an explosion, watched her employer die, had a startling dream, and now she finds herself in a seedy Chicago hotel with the sexy, unearthly Dante, a man she both desires and fears. For 341 years, Dante has stood as guardian to The Chalice, a mortal woman chosen to hold back the darkness. A terrible twist of fate has now made Abby that woman. Three hours ago, Dante would have used all his charms to seduce her. Now she is his to protect. And he will do so until his very death.

Derek Doyle has been a member of the Paranormal Investigations Team since the monsters revealed themselves to the world. Considering that he thinks a monster is needed to catch a monster, he's definitely in the right place. As a lone wolf not used to letting many people in, neither man nor beast was prepared for the effect consultant Dr. Ever Chace has on them. Growing up human in a world of supernatural creatures, Dr. Ever Chace has always felt a need to be special, to stand out. When asked to consult on a case where teens are being brutalized, she relishes the chance.

When Madison traded up for a gorgeous Victorian house in the New Orleans French Quarter, she thought she was getting away from her toxic life. Sure, the house was old and run down, but it was hers, and it was exactly the fresh start she wanted. But then she meets Remy, a mysterious, sexy witch with power, class, and charm to spare, and everything changes.

I never expected a midlife crisis. Sure, I'm over 40 and married, but my kids are grown and moved out. Then my husband asks for a divorce and my whole world crashes. But I am not about to give up. I am ready to tackle my do-over; my chance to become the me I've always dreamed of. Starting with moving into my late grandma's cottage and adopting a new kitten. However, my new life is a little odder than expected. Old books suddenly appearing in my house. Neighbors going missing. A supposed lake monster and a strange man who likes to skulk around with an axe.

One Master survived the inferno that destroyed the Order of the Illuminati. He may know that I survived, but does he suspect that I betrayed the Order? Rudolf Heine has sent Hunters flooding into Westport, wreaking carnage on vampires, shifters, and mages. Normal humans are taking notice, and the shadow world teeters on the verge of being revealed. The Hunters also may be hunting me. Do I stay and fight for my new life and my friends, or run again?

And the dead shall rise... Two hellish years. That's how long it's been since the hurricanes flooded the Gulf Coast, and the dead rose up from the ruins. The cities were quarantined; the infected, contained. Any unlucky survivors were left to fend for themselves. A feast for the dead. And the living shall gather... One boatload of refugees manages to make it out alive - but one passenger carries the virus. Within weeks, the zombie epidemic spreads across the globe.

When your father is a literal monster, the last place you want to go is home. Unfortunately, I wasn't given much of a choice. Following a five-year exile, I'm back in my childhood bedroom. Only, this time, there are silver bars on all the windows and vault locks on the doors. In lieu of a homecoming party, my father is hosting a barbaric tournament to determine who will win my hand in marriage.

Eric Banyon, musician, is out playing the blues on his flute one day, but he couldn't have known that the desperate sadness of his music would free a young elven noble from the magical prison he has been languishing in for centuries - nor does he believe it!

Aileen has a few rules for her life. Do her job and go home safe. Keep the supernatural world away from her human family. Stay off the vampire radar. And, above all, don't get involved in spook politics. But when Liam comes back into town bringing a mystery that threatens the life she's built, she finds every closely guarded rule flying out the window as she sinks ever deeper into the supernatural world. Ultimately, it may be the people she loves the most who pay the price in the high-stakes game that vampires call life.

After a routine delivery, midwife Sarah Brandt visits her patient in a rooming house and finds that another boarder, a young girl, has been killed. At the request of sergeant Frank Malloy, she searches the girl's room and discovers that the victim is from one of the most prominent families in New York - and the sister of an old friend. The powerful family, fearful of scandal, refuses to permit an investigation. But with Malloy's help, Sarah begins a dangerous quest to bring the killer to justice before death claims another victim.

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible. In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth - from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds - collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground. The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot.

The paranormal world just can't seem to cut Ren a break. Just when she thought she could finally settle into normal - well, relatively normal - life as the last of the dragon shifters with her four alpha mates, she finds her people on the brink of a supernatural war. The vampires have decided all shifter kind must be exterminated, and they've got the firepower to make good on that goal. Ren's got plenty of fire of her own, of course. But she's only one dragon, and there are a whole lot of vampires.

Once the streets pull you in, they own you. Or at least that's the way it's been for Nautica. Growing up in the hood, all she's ever known is the fast life - fast money illicitly made through scandals and relentless scheming. But when a big scam nearly finishes her off, she decides she wants more out of life than the hustle and tries to make a new life for herself on the East Coast.

For more than 30 years, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror fans crave. Now, with the 11th volume of the series, Daltow's back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. This light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows.

Sawyer Matthews is a retired and presumed-dead assassin. Ripped from her life of shadows and secrets, she's decided to gamble it all and accept a new chapter in her life - one that may lead to a brighter future. New beginnings come with new problems, though, and she's always lived by the belief that she doesn't deserve of redemption - a painful truth Sawyer has held in her heart for years. Their first case takes the team to Texas, where members are confronted with more than just Sawyer's painful past.

When the fae beckon, few resist. Even fewer return. As a veil witch, I'm used to taking out the supernatural trash. Everything from poltergeists to vampires, you name it and I've dealt with it. So opening a paranormal cleanup business just seemed to make sense. If I'm already dealing with the pests, why not get paid? But when I accidentally breach the faerie realm to encounter a girl recently reported missing, start seeing the ghost of a witch whose disappearance has never been solved, and discover a Book of Shadows that opens only for me, I can't just go back to business as usual.

After making a promise to leave the street life behind, a shocking revelation forces Animal back into the game to face his greatest opponent yet. When Animal's former lover, Red Sonja, shows up on his doorstep with a little girl, claiming Animal is the father, he and Gucci immediately fear it's a ploy for money. But Red Sonja has come to collect a debt of a different kind, one that can only be paid in blood. A powerful man is hunting Red Sonja and her daughter, and she calls on Animal to stop him.

Ewan's shock revelation sends Vee's life further into chaos, and she faces an uncertain future in a secret world she never knew existed. The Four Horsemen now have their missing link and will each do anything to protect and support her, but Vee's determined to show them she can be their equal. When Vee joins the Four Horsemen's hunt for those behind the plot to murder a fae queen, she discovers society faces bigger dangers than she realised. One night changes everything and increases Vee's determination to harness her power and step into her new role.

I'm a mage. Problem is, it might kill me. In London, I have my dream job: stacking books in a university library. Even though I'm a mage, I have a quiet life these days. At least, until Levi shows up. Immediately, I know he's trouble. He's too sexy, and I can tell he's dangerous. Worse, he wants a forbidden book in my library. No way in hell am I going to give it to him. It's my job to protect it. But now, Levi won't let it go. And it turns out, he's not the only person who wants the book. All of a sudden, enemies are closing in on me, trying to get the book.

Life as Aileen knew it ended when she woke up in a morgue sporting a new set of fangs after a wild night out. Now, as a courier for the supernatural world, she balances figuring out this whole vampire thing with making enough to support her ice cream habit. When a job goes disastrously awry and ends with a body on the ground, Aileen finds herself in over her head as she draws the attention of a powerful creature intent on her death.