Urban Thriller

Human. Weak. Sick. That’s what I’ve been told I am all my life. But when magic hunters attack the castle where I’ve been kept hidden since birth, I discover my whole world is built on lies. Because the hunters are after me. Running for my life, I’m rescued by four dangerously handsome gargoyle shifters. They say they’re here to save me...but maybe they only want to save themselves. Because, as it turns out, I’m not merely human. I am a Protector of Magic - if I die, magic will vanish from the world. And my four winged guardians will turn to stone forever.

Not every danger comes in the form of a mega-threat like a Titan. Some predators are a lot cozier...more personal. When one such creature threatens an independent tutor, Harry Dresden must shake off the blood and dirt of his most recent battles and rise to the occasion, even when it turns out that the new predator is far more dangerous and connected than first appearances would suggest.

Apprentice mage Chance Fortunato has faced off with a lot of nasty things. Power hungry vampires, abusive alpha werewolves, and deranged cultists. But none of his training under his mentor Dr. Corwin has prepared him for the trial he is about to face: Junior Prom.

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.

When Branson, Missouri, is hit with a death wave - four unsolved murders - it doesn't take an expert to realize that all is not well. But luckily for the locals, Anita Blake is an expert in the kinds of preternatural goings-on that have everyone spooked. And she's got an "in" with the creature that can make sense of the slayings - the sexy master vampire known as Jean-Claude.

The London Silver Vaults—for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a paparazzi convention. Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace—only that’s what happened. The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light, and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.

In this dark and gritty collection - featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman - nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil.... Unfortunately, that's exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

Eddie's on his way back from a routine investigation when his horse almost runs down a half-naked blonde in serious trouble. Against his better judgment, he promises to protect the frightened young woman, only to find himself waylaid by unknown assailants and left for dead beside her mutilated body.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys - the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: He can control water - just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

The Hunter in the Darkness. Not a title I wanted, but that's who I am now. Vampires are trying to destroy my city. We're one mistake away from the world knowing about magic, but the vampires don't care. They just crave their next fix. I have to stop them, but I can't risk using the demonic powers I have. Whatever lurks inside me, it's dark, and it's hungry. I will find a way to fight on my own. Vampires are not the only evil in this world.

Pierce Ambrose. That was the name of the man I'd been sent to kill. The man I'd failed to kill. I have one day left to make good on my contract before the thugs holding my sister and her son start sending me pieces of them. Pierce Ambrose. A man with a secret I didn't uncover until it was too late to turn back, too late to give up on trying to kill him. Now, if I want to see my sister and nephew again, I have to try one last time. My name is Mac Brennan, and this time I'm playing for keeps.

The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter backlist lights up the night. In her eighth adventure, Anita Blake can't turn her back on a former lover during the full moon. Especially since he's behind bars - and he's a werewolf.

Vampires don't exist, do they? That is a question Private Detective Tony Mandolin finds himself pondering as the evidence piles up in a case involving a string of dead redheads and the usual dose of weirdness San Francisco has to offer. To complicate things, Mandolin has to deal with the perception that he has become the latest golden boy of the fog city's crime boss. Then there's his cross-dressing friend Frankie.... Just another day in San Francisco.

When a heartbroken widow with a newborn baby turns up at Darcey's office saying she's being followed, Darcey detects secret magic at work. She investigates the case, but her efforts are thwarted by her rival in the Elite. For some reason, no one wants Darcey to discover the truth. And it looks like she won't when her own past catches up with her. She's hauled off to Faerie to face execution. Her crime: murdering Mother of the Hunt. Solve the case. Check. Escape with her life. Check. And juggle the supernatural hotties vying for her attention? Umm, maybe.

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antiques and curios shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them and along with her business partners Teag, who has Weaver magic, and Sorren, a 600-year-old vampire, they get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.

The hunters think I'm dead. For now. Well, it turns out I'm a demigoddess. The only being in the world who can save magic from being completely destroyed. Unfortunately, I don't have the sword that can unlock my true potential, which means I'm not doing any saving anytime soon. When the Blood Coven extends a heartbreaking yet tempting offer - my sword in exchange for one of my hot and caring gargoyle guardians - I accept. Saying good-bye feels like a stab in the heart, but I don't have any other choice.

Katsuk, a militant Native American student, has kidnapped 13-year-old David Marshall - the son of the US undersecretary of state. He and his young hostage flee into the deepest wilds of the Pacific Northwest, where they must work together to survive as teams of hunters try to track them. Even as he struggles to escape, David begins to feel a certain amount of respect for his captor. What the boy does not know, however, is that he has been chosen as an innocent from the white world for an ancient sacrifice of vengeance. And Katsuk may be divinely inspired - or simply insane.

Being a mermaid does help Fred when she volunteers at the New England Aquarium. But, needless to say, it's there that she gets involved in something fishy. Dangerous levels of toxins have been found in the local seawater. A gorgeous marine biologist wants her help investigating. So does her merperson ruler, the High Prince of the Black Sea. You'd think it would be easy for a mermaid to get to the bottom of things. Think again...

At Midnight's local pawnshop, weapons are flying off the shelves - only to be used in sudden and dramatic suicides right at the main crossroads in town. Who better to figure out why blood is being spilled than the vampire Lemuel, who, while translating mysterious texts, discovers what makes Midnight the town it is?

On a quest to find her sister's killer, Mac is a major player in a deadly game, but with one great advantage: she knows how to find the Sinsar Dubh, an ancient book of magic so dark it corrupts anyone who touches it. What Mac soon discovers is worse than she had imagined. Surrounded by treachery, her enemies indistinguishable from her allies, she can be certain of only one thing: as All Hallows' Eve approaches, her time is running out.