Showing results by author "Bill Bernico" in All Categories

This volume consists of previously published Cooper stories. The stories contained in this in this collections include: "Full Circle", "About Face", "Egg Zackly", and "Double Take". The entire Cooper Collection consists of 136 stories (so far).

Two bodies are recovered from a shallow grave in the woods. Two more bodies are discovered under the sand at the beach. Could they be connected by the same killer or killers? Lieutenant Dean Hollister is scheduled to retire at the end of this work day, but he has trouble letting go of this case. There has to be more he can do before handing it over unsolved. Elliott Cooper and Gloria Campbell step in to try to help.

Short Story Twelve-Pack runs nearly four hours and consists of 12 short stories, including: "Now We're Even:" Payback to a former high school bully can be really satisfying if you do it right; "Paine in the Ass:" How to put the office know-it-all in his place once and for all; "Pieces of Eight:" Does the vacant neighbor's house really have gold doubloons hidden in its walls?; "Precious:" She's got all the money and he's envious. Now, how to get rid of her without going to prison.

Here are ten short stories of murder and revenge compiled into one novella...for your listening enjoyment.

You are a huge fan of author Lawrence Block and you would do anything to meet him and get his autograph. Would you die for it? That's probably carrying things a bit too far, but hey, this is fiction. Let's see what happens at one of Lawrence Block's book signings...

Matt's in line at the bank, trying to cash the check from his latest client. He's carrying his .38 in the holster under his arm, when suddenly, the man in line ahead of him turns around and yells to the customers that this is a holdup and that everyone should hit the floor. A fast-thinking clerk hits the silent alarm, trapping the robber in the bank. Now, in order to get out, he's gonna have to take a hostage, but who will it be?

Neighborhood businesses are being plastered with graffiti - some of it artful and some of it garbage. The police want to hire Elliott to find these spray can artists and offer them a deal of working with the merchants. Elliott is on another case, so Gloria steps up and handles this one with surprising results. The two brothers who are leaving their marks all over the city have been tagged The Marks Brothers by the merchants.

You have a chance to audition for the lead guitar position in Ricky Nelson's band. You have the experience, you just bought a new Fender Telecaster and you are ready to make the big time. But be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.

Nothing exciting ever happened to Melissa Berkley. It was time to try to change that, she thought. She stood on the stern of the ship looking out at the horizon. Most of the other passengers stayed inside, or sat on the deck chairs with something to read. Melissa had something to read herself, even if it was just a short note on a post card that read: "To whomever finds this bottle: I dropped it overboard in the middle of Lake Michigan on this, the third day of September 1997. If you find it, please mail this post card back to me and let me know where you found it."

Matt Cooper is hired to tail a political candidate to see if he's conducting himself and his campaign in an ethical manner. Meanwhile, someone is killing citizens around Hollywood and the police don't have a clue where to start looking for suspects. Matt's kid sister, Olivia is preparing for her high school graduation. Does Elliott have to worry about Matt taking on this job alone?

We've all been there. Some punk with a beater car creates a road rage situation, but being that your car is a new Mercedes-Benz, you don't want to take any chances so you let it slide. But the kid's not done playing with you. He raises the stakes but pointing a revolver at you. To hell with the car, that's what insurance is for. Go get him.

Matt Cooper's back...somewhat. That is, his son and grandson open the story at Matt's graveside, paying their respects to the legendary detective. It's now 2012 and Matt's been dead for ten years. His son, Clay and grandson, Elliott now run Cooper Investigations and they're hot on a double murder case.

Elliott Cooper's off to Las Vegas for a week-long P.I. convention and he's driving there in his new car. He stops for gas in Barstow and two thugs carjack him and his car. They slug him, dump him in the desert and leave him for dead. This could have been the end for Elliott Cooper had Jane not come along when she did. She takes Elliott back to her house in the middle of nowhere. Elliott had been hit so hard on the head that now he can't remember who he is, what he is and where he belongs.

The time is 1945, the place is Hollywood. Matt Cooper is still a policeman and owning his own private eye business is still a year off. He and Dan Hollister are investigating a series of murders who's victims were all guilty of the same thing - petty crimes. Of all the stories I've ever written, I like the ending of this one the best.

Short Story Nine-Pack consists of the following short stories of revenge.

Jon is a grade school student who has a part-time job at a labratory where they experiment with animal DNA. When he hears that one of the scientists needs a tray full of samples, Jon runs to get it, trying to show how helpful he can be. In his haste he spill the contents of nine cups of animal DNA and the contents mix together. Sure, it was an accident, but the results make for an amazing discovery.

It's 1980 and Clay Cooper is now running Cooper Investigations with his father, Matt, helping out as needed. Matt decides to join a lonely hearts club to try to find a companion his own age. He finds one and they have a wonderful night of coffee and talking. The next morning when he goes to call her, Sergeant Dean Hollister (Dan's son) answers the phone. The woman has been murdered and Matt was the last one to see her alive. He's been framed but he and Clay won't sit still for it. What they find during their investigation is a case of major proportions and a lot of people will die before this story is over...some you'll know and some will be strangers.

Contains the following Cooper short stories: "Dead Man's Hand", "Case Closed", "In the Red", "Going Down", "People of Wally World", "Handy Cap", "One Born Every Minute", and more....

Here are six more short stories of varied themes.

The Matt Cooper complete series consists of a total of 170 short stories to date. All the stories combined would make the file too large, so I broke the collection down into groups of 10 stories each.