Urban Suspense

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.

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 Mia Malone's grandmother asks her to take a week away from her restaurant job and come to Magic Springs, Idaho, she's happy to oblige. Like Mia, Grans has witchcraft running through her veins, and life with her is never boring. Plus, the cause is a good one - helping Grans get the local food bank up and running again. But there's an unappetizing surprise in store. While Mia is knee-deep in boxes of donated produce, she encounters the body of Dorian Alexander. Dorian was a warlock, leader of the local coven. He was also her Grans' new beau.

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?

Medium and clairvoyant Simon Kincaide owns a Myrtle Beach boardwalk shop where he runs ghost tours, holds seances, and offers private psychic readings, making a fresh start after his abilities cost him his lover and his job as a folklore professor. Jaded cop Vic D'Amato saw something supernatural he couldn't explain during a shootout several years ago in Pittsburgh and relocated to Myrtle Beach to leave the past behind, still skeptical about the paranormal. But when the search for a serial killer hits a dead end, Vic battles his skepticism to ask Simon for help.

Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross is renowned for his cutting-edge science fiction. This third entry in his “edgy … spoof of Cold War spy thrillers” ( Booklist) finds covert agent Bob Howard learning about a top-secret dossier that vanishes with his boss. Determined to discover the contents of this memorandum, Howard runs afoul of Russian spies, ancient demons, and apostles of a hideous cult planning to raise the Eater of Souls from the undead.

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.

A human, a hellhound, and an archangel walk into a bar...sounds like the first line to a joke, right? Only it's no joke. It's my damned life. Witches are running riot. Shifters are on the hunt. Demons are eating humans. There's a new drug on the street. Sigil is dark and deadly to the paranormal kind, opening up their second sight, urging them to maim, torture, and kill. And the bodies are piling up.

My name is Danica James. I'm a cop with the Arcane Division. Most mages have the ability to manipulate the elements - fire, water, air, earth, electricity. My magic only works on machines and electrical devices. They call me a magitek. That doesn't help much with demons and vampires, let alone criminals with lethal magikal powers.

A battle for the underworld is brewing. Taking the throne might be close to impossible between having a goddess and a secretive human organization bent on the domination of all the realms on her tail. How can Poppy, her hellhounds, and her judges defend it? It doesn't help when one of her judges goes missing while she sleeps. When they fall under attack Poppy must choose between fighting, staying safe, and searching for her missing man.

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.

The body that turns up in Bron's garden has been there for decades, and he died of natural causes. Just rebury him and carry on as normal, right? But it's kinda hard to be normal when the ghost of the dead man has been disturbed, and now he want...well, just what does he want? It's down to Bron, a traditional hedge witch, to find out. If she doesn't, that ghost is going to be lingering in corners and upsetting kitchen chairs for the rest of her life. Creepy, tedious, and noisy, all at the same time.

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.

My name is Scarlet Jones, and I'm a witch...of some kind. Probably. I grew up in a family full of strong Blood witches, in which my strange magic never belonged. I thought I was the only one of my kind out there, a true freak of nature, and I liked it that way. I lived on my own, learning to hunt these creatures nobody seemed to know anything about, a bunch of mindless thingies who were in the habit of sucking my magic dry wherever they found me.

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.

Ishmael Jones is someone who can’t afford to be noticed, someone who lives under the radar, who drives on the dark side of the road. He’s employed to search out secrets, investigate mysteries, and shine a light in dark places. Sometimes, he kills people. Invited by his employer, the enigmatic Colonel, to join him and his family for Christmas, Ishmael arrives at the grand but isolated Belcourt Manor in the midst of a blizzard to find that the Colonel has mysteriously disappeared.

Lena, Flint and their unique family have discovered what created their extrasensory abilities and hidden memories. When a new opportunity arises to give them answers to a past they thought was lost, an entire world is reopened. Now, stronger than they were before, they venture to the heart of what created them knowing they may not all return.

Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it's a title Eric Carter is stuck with. He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He's turned it into a lucrative career, putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course. When he left LA 15 years ago, he thought he'd never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him.

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.

Villains have all the fun - everyone knows that - and this anthology takes you on a wild ride through the dark side! The top villains from 16 urban fantasy series get their own stories - including the baddies of New York Times best-selling authors Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire, and Jonathan Maberry. For every hero trying to save the world, there's a villain trying to tear it all down.