Showing results by author "Raymond Benson" in All Categories

Diane Boston lives with her Marfan syndrome-afflicted 13-year-old son in a suburb of Chicago and teaches social studies at the high school, where her students have voted her Teacher of the Year. But she has some dark secrets. Her ex-husband Greg always suspected that Diane kept things from him, but he has no idea just how right he is.

Nuclear brinksmanship, psychological warfare, spies, double agents, femmes fatales, and dead drops… The Cold War - a terrifying time when nuclear war between the world's two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button - provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today's most celebrated mystery writers.

Imagine a world where you don't recognize the human face. That's Hannah's condition - "prosopagnosia", or "face blindness" - when the brain center that recognizes faces is inoperable. The onset of the condition occurred when she was attacked by an unknown assailant in the inner lobby of her New York City apartment building. And now she thinks he's back, and not just in her dreams. When she also attracts the attention of a psychopathic predator and becomes the unwitting target of a Mafia drug ring, the scene is set.

Could Martin Talbot's elderly, Alzheimer-stricken mother, Judy, really have been the Black Stiletto? When Martin discovers several volumes of her diaries hidden by his mother, he is stunned beyond all imagination. His mother, the underground heroine of yesteryear? The famed, still unidentified woman who battled Communist spies, took on the Mafia, and preyed on common crooks? The woman who exacted punishment on evildoers without mercy? But it is all described, in great detail, in the diaries. Could it be true? Talbot is filled with doubt and disbelief.

It's 1962. Judy Cooper, the Black Stiletto, is devastated at the betrayal by her nemesis and former lover, mobster Leo Kelly. Additionally, Leo and his psychotically dangerous sister, Christina, have set out to ruin the Stiletto's reputation in L.A. with a series of crimes that are made to appear as if the crime-fighter is responsible. The very pregnant Judy must fight back only with her wits and cunning - until disaster strikes and she is forced to flee to her old home town in Texas for the final showdown with destiny.

It's 1959, and Judy Cooper, the Black Stiletto, sets out to confront a dangerous gangster known as the heroin king of Harlem, when the teenage daughter of her beloved martial arts instructor ends up a prisoner in an uptown narcotics den. The Stiletto has troubles of her own - a shady filmmaker is threatening to reveal her identity to the world - a close friend of her landlord and substitute father may be in cahoots with the Harlem criminals - she's fighting for racial equality - and she has fallen in love again....

It's 1960. The Black Stiletto, in her civilian persona as Judy Cooper, volunteers to work for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, only to become involved in a devious behind-the-scenes plot that could change the course of history. Is the mysterious eastern European man she briefly dated associated with a Cuban/Soviet spy ring? Closer to home, the Stiletto must challenge dangerous tongs in Chinatown after befriending a teenage boy whose father was killed by the gangs.

Rick Shepherd is an ordinary guy from the mid-west with a history of depression and a hospital stay for a nervous breakdown. He's in a failing marriage, a dead-end job, and is undergoing the proverbial mid-life crisis. Not the best way to begin a business retreat in Jamaica with his company. After a bizarre encounter at a tourist-trap voodoo show where he is "cursed" by an actor supposedly possessed by a spirit, he meets a beautiful young woman named Larissa on the beach. She is mysterious and enchanting, and Rick falls head over heels for her.

From internationally-acclaimed New York Times best-selling author Raymond Benson comes a suspense thriller that blends modern-day crime, historical figures, and fantasy. When his ranch hand's newborn son is abducted from the hospital's maternity ward and found dead hours later in a trash dumpster, former FBI agent and West Texan Rusty "Red" River resolves to bring the perpetrators to justice. Investigation reveals that a string of similar child abduction/murders previously occurred in Texas towns between Limite and the Mexican border.

For Scott Hatcher, a former television writer turned struggling novelist with a failing marriage to boot, social-distancing and mask-wearing feel like fitting additions to his already surreal life. When his wife Marie and neighbor John Bergman disappear in the middle of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Scott is naturally mystified and disturbed, but he is also about to learn that his picturesque neighborhood hides more than just the mundane routines of suburban life.