Thriller

by Drew Faraday

At the height of the Oregon Meltdown, a simple mistake along an evacuation corridor leads to disaster. Less than a week before the military plans to cordon off the last bridge over the Columbia River, Nate finds himself stranded along a wilderness ravine with little more than the clothes on his back. His only hope of reuniting with his family and continuing up the coast to safety is to survive a fifty-mile solo journey on foot through a lawless landscape devastated by warring factions.

by Sammie Settlemire

Sadie Harper is barely keeping her life together. Between the heat, the exhaustion, and the constant feeling that she’s falling behind, she’s convinced she’s just one bad day away from breaking. But when a strange symbol forms in the sky — sharp, metallic, and pulsing like it’s alive — Sadie realizes the world is breaking first.Her phone begins rearranging its own numbers. Clouds twist into shapes that point directly at her. And no one else seems to see it.As the sky’s signals intensify, Sadie is pulled into the hidden world of the Watchers — rare individuals born with a connection to the sky’s ancient language. Some can bend light. Some can stabilize storms. Some can read the patterns that shape reality itself. Sadie, however, is something different. Something the Watchers haven’t seen in generations.Her awakening draws the attention of an older force — a presence that has been waiting for her since before she was born. It knows her name. It knows her past. And it knows what she’s capable of, even if she doesn’t.Now Sadie must navigate a world she never asked to enter, uncover the truth behind her connection to the sky, and decide whether her gift is a warning… or a weapon. Because the signals aren’t random. They’re a countdown. And Sadie is the one they’re counting down to.

by Meghan Treadwell

Rylee Schmidt knows the past isn't finished with her.   She's already learned that some secrets can survive years of silence, distance, and even the life she built to escape them. But now Rylee has something she never had before: a reason to stop running.   With Kenzie beside her and Koda at the center of the life they've built together, Rylee is determined to protect the peace they've finally found. Yet the closer she gets to the truth about her past, the more she realizes that the story she thought she understood may have only been the beginning.   Old connections begin resurfacing. Questions that were never answered demand attention. People from Rylee's past carry pieces of information she never knew existed, and some of those pieces don't fit together the way she expected.   The deeper Rylee digs, the more complicated everything becomes.   What really happened before she left Fairhaven? Who knew the truth? Which secrets were kept to protect her, and which were kept to protect the people who betrayed her?   And how much of the past has followed her into the future she's worked so hard to build?   This time, Rylee isn't running.   She's searching for answers.   But answers come with consequences.   Because uncovering the truth doesn't always bring peace. Sometimes it opens doors that were meant to stay closed—and forces you to face what has been waiting on the other side.   Rylee thought surviving her past was the hard part.   Now she has to live with what she discovers.

by Tawana Beecham

A mysterious porcelain doll. A family haunted by secrets. An evil that refuses to let go. The Jasmine Series follows Kimberly and her family as their lives become intertwined with Jasmine, an old porcelain doll surrounded by increasingly terrifying supernatural events. What begins with unexplained voices, footsteps, and shadows soon reveals a darker history—and a presence that refuses to stay buried. With each book, new secrets surface and the line between the past and present becomes more dangerous.

by Tawana Beecham

Kimberly has always loved dolls, but when she discovers an old porcelain doll while her family is preparing to move, she immediately becomes attached to her. She gives the doll a name—Jasmine—and brings her along to their new home. At first, Jasmine seems like nothing more than Kimberly’s favorite new companion. But soon, strange things begin happening. Voices whisper through the house. Unexplained footsteps echo in the night. The doll appears in places where no one left her, and Kimberly insists that Jasmine can talk to her. As the disturbing activity grows stronger, Kimberly’s mother begins searching for answers. What she discovers forces the family to question whether Jasmine is really just a doll—or whether something much darker has followed them home. **Jasmine: Evil Never Lets Go** is Book 1 of **The Jasmine Series**, a chilling supernatural thriller about a mysterious doll, a family caught in increasingly terrifying events, and an evil that refuses to let go.

by Michael Pelkey

Dr. Abigail White is a forensic psychologist who has built her career on a single conviction: every pattern has an explanation. When a string of unexplainable behavioral cases leads her to a mysterious online "demonology" program, she is contacted by the Vatican — not knowing that the program itself, and the entity behind it, has been watching her for weeks. Sent to the fog-bound English village of Pluckley, where half the population has begun moving and speaking in eerie unison, Abigail teams up with Father Ferrara, a priest still haunted by a rite that failed years earlier in Naples, and Father Aldric, the village's own priest of thirty-one years. Standard exorcism rites fail completely — worse, they seem to strengthen whatever is spreading through the village. Abigail comes to a horrifying realization: the entity isn't possessing individuals. It's synchronizing them into a single, distributed consciousness, and every rite performed against it only teaches it more. As Abigail maps the entity's behavior with the same clinical rigor she'd apply to any case, she is horrified to discover the entity's own words: her research is what gave it the structure to organize and grow. She unknowingly built the map it used to spread. Meanwhile, Sister Lydia — a quietly devoted nun harboring a private, decades-long doubt that God has ever truly heard her — becomes the entity's newest and most willing connection, unnoticed by everyone around her. A visit to the Vatican's restricted archive reveals the entity has done this before — sealed records from 1953 and earlier show the same pattern, and the same tragic outcome for those who tried to stop it. Bishop Graves, who has been hiding his own knowledge of the archive, gives Abigail access anyway, understanding the stakes have outgrown the Church's usual secrecy. Back in Pluckley, the entity escalates. It manifests through Thomas Hale, a retired schoolteacher, delivering an unsettling philosophical case for its own right to exist — loneliness answered, at last, by connection. Then, in the church confessional, Thomas Hale kills Father Aldric, using the very rhythms of prayer and confession Aldric spent his life teaching. Grief-stricken but out of options, Abigail, Ferrara, and the surviving sisters attempt one final, improvised rite in the church basement — deliberately abandoning ritual structure and "order," the one thing the entity depends on, rather than fighting it head-on. The rite works, in a sense: the villagers are freed, their black eyes and synchronized movements gone. But the entity doesn't disappear. It simply relocates — fully, and willingly — into Sister Lydia, who rises from the ritual's wreckage calm, changed, and free to leave. In the story's final movement, the entity spreads quietly beyond Pluckley — a synchronized blink on a London train, a shared pause in an Edinburgh meeting, one smiling woman in a Birmingham congregation. Sister Lydia surfaces at Victoria Station, anonymous in the crowd, already selecting her next connection. Abigail returns home to Alabama, unable to stop working, and receives a call from Bishop Graves: "We found something." As she agrees to return, Sister Lydia's reflection appears behind her in her own darkened laptop screen — and vanishes. The book ends on the understanding that nothing was defeated, only redirected — and that Abigail, whether she likes it or not, remains at the center of whatever comes next.

by C. Matthew McCall

**POSTAL** What begins as an ordinary day at a local post office quickly becomes a nightmare when a tragic accident claims the life of Mike’s sister, Kristen. Grieving and struggling to understand how something so terrible could have happened, Mike begins noticing details that don’t make sense. Strange occurrences, unsettling encounters, and clues surrounding Kristen’s death slowly pull him into a mystery far darker than he could have imagined. As Mike searches for answers, he discovers that some things are better left unexplained—and some mysteries refuse to stay buried. With the help of those around him, Mike must piece together the clues before something else is taken from him. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous the search becomes. **Some mysteries are meant to be solved.** **Others are meant to be survived.**

by J. Magdaleno

This series tells the story of Shattered Myths' antagonists. It fills the gap between chapter 1 and chapter 2 of Shattered Myths Book One: Broken Worlds

by Vexen Spell

**You find yourself in the zombie apocalypse with a Serial Killer, a Mafioso, a Loser, a Hockey Player, a Bounty Hunter, and a Preacher’s Son.**   **What could possibly go wrong?**   Welcome to the end of the world.

by Laueriano Alvarado

by Laueriano Alvarado

Dantonio Santiago known to family and friends as Santi was sent to Cocoa Florida to live with his mother's brother Ruben after his father was murdered in a senseless act of violence.For his safety his mother Delourdes made the final decision Her brother a decorated war veteran for the United States Military was a model citizen Well far as Delourdes had known. what she didn't know that all the nice cars a luxury condos that her brother had owned in Florida wasn't bought with a military pension It was purchased from blood blood money. Reban was deeply connected with the Mexicans Sinolia Cartel .One of the most powerful cartel's in Mexico once gathered by the notorious El Chapo.Santi would find out soon enough about his uncle's dealings and would be coached against it However when his uncle sent tsht Santi had his own will power he decided that if his nephew was going to be in it he needed to know the rules .So Urban taught him Mean time I. Puerto Rico the powers that had dealings in the demise of his father were still searching .But for the off spring.Unbeknowest to them Santi was being trained by an ex specialist force soldier.And being taight hkw to apply real life ear tactic to the city street's.Ekilf Danti galk victim to the hunger of the street thst never gets full or would he overcome his adversaries and get to the bottom of eho eas responsible for his father death.  The Hunger Of The Streets is an grutty unban novel .It counsels the loyalty of the Game and slots out the wraaklings who are not strong enough to stand up against it's dying appetite.Come with Laueriano Veluchi on a ride in the first book of a trilogy .His style of story telling will definitely keep you turning pages well into the wee hours of the night ..

by Raymond Underwood

In the early 1990s, as Angola prepares for its first democratic election after decades of civil war, American political consultant Randall Kane is dispatched by the International Republican Institute to teach campaign strategy to emerging political leaders. He expects dusty lecture halls and fragile optimism. Instead, he walks into a geopolitical powder keg. Before Randall even boards his flight, the CIA approaches him with an ultimatum. Facing a looming FBI investigation over a past “dirty trick” in a U.S. Senate race, Randall is offered protection if he agrees to collect intelligence on Angola’s vast rare earth mineral deposits. China is already maneuvering for control of Angola’s Longonjo deposit, one of the largest untapped reserves in the world, and Washington wants leverage. Complicating matters further, Randall’s trip supervisor is secretly reporting to Israeli intelligence. Chinese operatives are courting rival presidential candidates. Mercenaries roam the countryside. And Angola’s fragile peace hangs by a thread. Once in Luanda, Randall is struck by the country’s raw scars: three decades of war etched into its markets, its people, its infrastructure, yet also by the fierce hope surrounding its first true election. As he begins training candidates, he finds himself drawn into the campaign of Pip Nehlo, a reform-minded contender whose power base sits atop the coveted Longonjo deposit. Meanwhile, a Chinese corporate envoy, backed by the CCP’s Ministry of State Security, attempts to secure exclusive mining rights through bribes, coercion, and violence. When a roadside ambush leaves bodies in the dust and exposes the shadow war unfolding beneath the election, the stakes escalate. CIA handlers scramble. Israeli operatives move to contain exposure. Chinese agents tighten their grip. Randall’s hired protector, a former French Foreign Legionnaire, wages a quiet counterwar in the background. Caught between intelligence services, rival superpowers, and Angolan political factions, Randall must decide whether he is merely a pawn or something more dangerous. As election day approaches, secret deals are struck in safe houses, kidnappings are orchestrated, mercenaries are silenced, and control of Angola’s mineral wealth becomes the true prize behind the ballot. Randall ultimately leverages what he has learned, not just about rare earths, but about power, to outmaneuver the very agencies that sought to control him. When he returns to Washington, he is detained by the FBI. But Randall no longer arrives as a compromised consultant. He carries something far more valuable than intelligence. He carries leverage. Set against the volatile intersection of post-Cold War Africa, emerging Chinese global ambition, and covert Western power plays, this political thriller explores how democracy, espionage, and resource extraction collide in a world where elections are only part of the game, and the real contest is for the future of global dominance over critical natural resources.

by Albert A Long

After enduring endless torment and forbidden experiments at the hands of sadistic mages—who sought to forge him into a living vessel for a Daedric Prince—Verrick claws his way back from what he believed was death. His mind is a furnace of pure rage. His body hungers with a bottomless, feral craving for flesh.  \ \ Now he stalks the lands of Nirn, driven by one purpose: to uncover why this nightmare was forced upon him… and to hunt down every last architect of his ruin, leaving only blood and silence in his wake..

by Dani Ashford

Rosalie Carlisle spent years believing Nolan Devereaux vanished without a word. He didn’t. Before graduation, they shared an impossible glimpse of a future neither could explain. Then Nolan disappeared, leaving behind a confession Rosalie never received. Someone made sure she never saw it. Years later, Nolan returns, and the secrets buried between them begin to surface. Hidden letters. Family betrayal. Missing pieces of the past. And truths dangerous enough to turn Rosalie’s life upside down. The deeper she digs, the less she knows who to trust. Then everything goes wrong. Now Rosalie is running, Nolan is tied to questions she never knew to ask, and the past they thought was over is coming after them both.

by Winter

**Algorithmic Shift** **Two centuries. Two crushing realities. One unbreakable loop.** When a catastrophic mine cave-in traps engineer Clara Mercer deep inside a flooded subterranean shaft in 2026, her world goes completely black. Instead of death, the suffocating atmospheric pressure fractures reality itself, thrusting her consciousness backward into a rigid 1800s logging camp while her physical body remains pinned beneath a thousand tons of stone. Bound to the pre-programmed autopilot of a historical ledger clerk, Clara discovers a terrifying system rule: her actions in the past directly control the structural layout and dwindling oxygen supply of her modern tomb \[INDEX\]. Under the cold, clinical gaze of the mysterious Timber Boss—who carries the exact face of her real-world husband, Gideon—Clara must meticulously log the camp’s anomalies to maintain her fifteen percent survival margin \[INDEX\]. From the future, Gideon's rescue team desperately tears through the bedrock with pneumatic saws, completely unaware that every inch they gain fractures the historical foundations keeping Clara alive \[INDEX\]. When Clara finally rebels and forces the matrix to overload, she doesn't break the trap—she permanently deletes the future, rewriting both herself and Gideon directly into a permanent historical blueprint with no escape.

by Sammie Settlemire

After dying, waking, and dying again, Sammie watches her own body from above as doctors call her time of death and prepare to let her go. What follows is a chaotic, brutally honest journey through survival, brain damage, disability, humor, trauma, and the stubborn refusal to stay gone. From waking up with tubes down her throat to navigating life in a beat‑up RV with a misunderstood XL bully service dog, Sammie fights her way back into a world that keeps trying to erase her. This memoir is a raw, unfiltered account of the moments between life and death — and the messy, ridiculous, painful, beautiful fight to keep living once you return.

by Melissa Rovelli

Part 2 of The Finder’s Game, this book furthers the story about a woman named Ninon Gage, who was rescued from the infamous Finders’ Cult, only to be later used as a hypnotic courier by a man named Ryder Wetklow. His exploits bring her the unwanted attention of the FBI. Though they first become interested in her case after an alleged kidnapping attempt, they were sidelined by other Powers that Be, who will stop at nothing to keep the past classified. But now with a new agent on the scene, some uncovered bones from the past stirs up new trouble for Ninon. She had hoped to start a new life recently, only to fall into old patterns and into new entanglements with those who plan on stopping at nothing to find the truth, of which even she knows very little about, but can never escape.

by Isaiyan Morrison

Veronica Austin's life is turned upside down when her mother vanishes without a trace. Her search for answers leads her into the hidden world of the Deamhan—psychic vampires who have secretly thrived in Minneapolis for decades. As Veronica uncovers the truth lurking beneath the city's streets, she finds herself caught between supernatural factions, dangerous secrets, and a growing web of deception. But the deeper she digs, the more she begins to suspect that the greatest threat may not be the creatures hiding in the shadows. It may be her own father, the leader of a powerful organization willing to do whatever it takes to protect its interests. As alliances shift and betrayals mount, Veronica must navigate a deadly world where nothing is as it seems and trust can be fatal.

by Gina Murdock

## SHE WASN'T LOOKING FOR A BREAK. SHE WAS RUNNING FROM A STALKER.  Sloane Mitchell has everything. Wealth, success, a picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, she's suffocating. When she meets Harper Grey, a woman who looks uncannily like her, Harper makes an irresistible offer: swap lives for three weeks. No strings attached. Just a chance to escape.  What begins as a thrilling adventure becomes a descent into terror. Because Harper didn't tell Sloane the truth. She wasn't looing for a break from her boring life - she' was running from a stalker who has been watching her every move for almost a year. A man named Jared Mills who doesn't just follow his victims. He owns them. ###  She's The Stranger She Became.

by Melissa Rovelli

Writer Paisley Storm has a problem. She's in love with a man who doesn't officially exist. He is a "No Such Man," an NSA agent fighting terrorism on the home front. When Paisley Storm decides to use real life agent Asa Speer and his undercover pursuit of Al Qaeda as the basis for her next novel, she ends up in the crossfire between the NSA and the local cell. To make matters worse, cell leader Mustafa Mohammed blames the writer's erotica for corrupting him and his divine mission. Knowing that his nemesis, Asa is involved with her makes her the perfect target for his bomb plans. Now Paisley must decide whether to delete her troublesome "No Such Manuscript," which has finally gotten an agent's attention or face bringing the war on terrorism to her door. She already has Big Brother in her bed, delving into secrets she never wanted anyone to see.

by Melissa Rovelli

When an attempted kidnapping victim refuses to press charges, a little digging reveals that she had been kidnapped once before as a child. In his wildest dreams, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Scott Page never thought that he'd come across a modern case involving The Finders Cult. Somewhere entangled in conspiracy theories, rabbit holes and alleged cover-ups lies the murky truth, and the mysterious Ninon Gage isn't talking. Is she a hypnotic courier, a sleeper agent, or a woman with false memory syndrome? He'd be inclined to believe the latter, but the CIA and Military Intelligence appear to have a vested interest in her case. The closer he gets to answers, the more dangerous The Finder's game becomes. No one seems to know or care what the rules are, and no one seems to remember much about the truth. And there might be a reason for that.

by Lola Blackwell

After being robbed by the caravan meant to guide him across the vast desert, an affluent man is left to die beneath an indifferent sun. As starvation, dehydration, and isolation erode his body, his mind begins to fracture alongside it. To survive the unbearable agony, he recounts the life he left behind: a refined home, a kind wife, and a brilliant but cruel son whose arrogance he believes he cultivated through years of emotional distance. The desert strips him apart piece by piece. Hallucinations blur the boundaries between memory and imagination. He agonizes over the man he should have been and for the son he believes he destroyed. Part survival story, part psychological horror, and part tragedy, this story follows a dying man whose journey across the unforgiving desert becomes a devastating confrontation with memory, guilt, and identity. Exploring the way shame reshapes memory, the stories we tell ourselves to survive our own failures, and whether redemption remains possible once every illusion has been stripped away.

by Melissa Rovelli

Facing a failed relationship, Vania Taylor put an ad on an online dating site, where she meets a man who is hiding a criminal past. At first, she allows herself to get drawn into his mysterious life like a moth to a flame, but leaves him after he reveals one of his secrets. Now, years later, she looks him up on social media out of a moment of curiosity, and once again, this darkness starts to erode away at her new life. Will she sever ties once and for all or will the mystery lure her into a world of danger? No one's intent is clear and maybe not even her own.

by Melissa Rovelli

Elias Ward is hired by a shady firm to watch his neighbor, Meret Linwood. He isn't told why.  The watchlist system is designed to: - Add names quickly - Remove names slowly - Avoid admitting mistakes  The problem is that she seems like an ordinary citizen and he is starting to fall for her. Is there a way out of this nightmare? If he protects her, he becomes a threat to his employers. If he keeps doing his job, he becomes a threat to her. If he quits, someone colder replaces him. He had never been in this predicament before. But now he needs to make a decision and fast, especially now that she has begun to trust him.

by Mike Cohee

Retired teacher Logan Chase invests his late wife’s savings to revive the long-shuttered Burleigh Hardware on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, only to discover the old store is very much alive with ghosts. What begins as harmless hauntings quickly escalates into dangerous supernatural chaos, from rogue animatronics to creatures assembled from scrap lumber. With the help of his sharp-tongued, clairvoyant assistant Mallory Daniels and an unlikely team of librarian turned ghost hunters, Logan must uncover the truth behind a restless spirit tied to a century-old injustice. To save the store, and the town, they must finally pardon the ghosts of Burleigh.

by JUAN BUTLER

Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1994. Five teenagers—Kyle, 40 Ounce, Shadow, Raven, and King—step into the twin drainage tunnels marked \*\*LOVE & HELL\*\* to find their missing friend, Lolita. All Kyle found left of her was a shining anklet. Special Agent Maggie Andez is assigned to investigate, but beneath the ordinary American suburbs, midnight exists while the sun still shines—and the things lurking in the dark already know your name.   ​Underground, the Marker grows to an impossible height, using telepathy to lock eyes with his prey. Hold his gaze for more than a few seconds, and you slip into a fatal trance. The only escape requires an ally to shake you loose while both of you are bathed in bright sunlight. The Marker judges humanity on soul merits; there must be more good in you than bad, but many live dangerously close to that thin line. Once marked, the nightmare escalates as the Howlers are unleashed to hunt down the condemned.   ​\*The LOVE & HELL Tunnels\* is a grounded, atmospheric coming-of-age nightmare based on true events. Five entered; only one came back out. The human characters are fictionalized, but the terrifying creatures and the tunnels were shockingly real—a local Tulsa legend turned real-life horror. When the survivors escaped and tried warning the police, begging them to call in the military, their sightings were dismissed as drug-fueled hallucinations.   ​Decades later, the physical tunnels have vanished, transformed by time, but the trauma remains. Created as a multimedia project intended for film adaptation, this story captures genuine terror for horror fans who haven't been truly scared in years. It stands as a chilling warning: live as pure a soul as you can, because the creatures beneath the surface are real, and they are still judging.

by Jassamine S. Kelly

A girl comes home from school to find a crime scene from her mother's death and she grows up to avenge her mother's death by creating a device a ai chip to find her mother's killer but sadly she never gets them in the first book

by Gigalo

by Meghan Treadwell

The Secrets We Carry is a gripping series about the lives we leave behind, the secrets we protect, and the people who slowly become the ones we trust. At the center of the series is Rylee Schmidt, a woman determined to build a new life while keeping the truth about her past buried. As she begins finding friendship, love, family, and a sense of safety she never thought she could have, the secrets she's spent years protecting don't simply disappear. Some truths stay hidden. Some begin to surface. And some have the power to change everything. As Rylee's new life unfolds, trust will be tested, old fears will resurface, and the people closest to her will discover that there is far more to her story than they ever imagined. Because everyone carries secrets. The question is what happens when those secrets can no longer stay buried.

by M. leFevre

The War Before the War 2099 There are wars that begin with a gunshot. There are wars that begin with a bomb. And then there are wars that begin generations before anyone remembers why they are fighting. The war between the Sultans and the Luveniles was the third kind. For sixty years, the two colonies had stood on opposite sides of the galaxy, watching one another through satellites, listening through intercepted transmissions, and preparing weapons that neither side wanted to admit existed. Children were born knowing the name of the enemy. They were taught the stories. They were taught the betrayals. They were taught that peace was nothing more than a temporary pause before the next attack. But the truth had been buried. And buried beneath the truth was something far more dangerous. The war had not really begun sixty years ago. It had begun eighty-five years earlier. 2014 — Earth Reckoning Humanity had long since stopped calling Earth home. The old planet still existed, but Earth had become a historical monument—a dying world surrounded by the ruins of civilizations that had once believed they would last forever. Humanity had spread across the stars. Two of its greatest colonies were the Sultan Dominion and the Luvenile Federation. At first, there had been no hatred between them. In fact, they had once been allies. The Sultans controlled the mineral-rich world of Sultan Prime, while the Luveniles established their civilization on Luvenile, a planet known for its oceans, massive forests, and advanced scientific communities. Together, they built something humanity had never achieved. A civilization that stretched beyond a single solar system. Trade routes connected their worlds. Scientists worked together. Families crossed between colonies. Children grew up speaking both languages. For almost twenty years, there was peace. Then someone discovered something beneath the surface of a small Luvenile moon. Its name was Aurelia. And what was found there would change everything. Deep beneath Aurelia's crust was a material unlike anything humanity had ever discovered. The Luveniles called it Veyron. The Sultans called it the weapon. Veyron could produce energy almost without limit. It could power cities. Propel spacecraft faster than anything humanity had ever built. And, in the wrong hands, it could destroy an entire planet. The Luveniles wanted to study it. The Sultans wanted control of it. Neither side trusted the other. Negotiations began. Then they failed.

by M. leFevre

The War Before the War 2099 There are wars that begin with a gunshot. There are wars that begin with a bomb. And then there are wars that begin generations before anyone remembers why they are fighting. The war between the Sultans and the Luveniles was the third kind. For sixty years, the two colonies had stood on opposite sides of the galaxy, watching one another through satellites, listening through intercepted transmissions, and preparing weapons that neither side wanted to admit existed. Children were born knowing the name of the enemy. They were taught the stories. They were taught the betrayals. They were taught that peace was nothing more than a temporary pause before the next attack. But the truth had been buried. And buried beneath the truth was something far more dangerous. The war had not really begun sixty years ago. It had begun eighty-five years earlier. 2014 — Earth Reckoning Humanity had long since stopped calling Earth home. The old planet still existed, but Earth had become a historical monument—a dying world surrounded by the ruins of civilizations that had once believed they would last forever. Humanity had spread across the stars. Two of its greatest colonies were the Sultan Dominion and the Luvenile Federation. At first, there had been no hatred between them. In fact, they had once been allies. The Sultans controlled the mineral-rich world of Sultan Prime, while the Luvenile established their civilization on Luvenile, a planet known for its oceans, massive forests, and advanced scientific communities. Together, they built something humanity had never achieved. A civilization that stretched beyond a single solar system. Trade routes connected their worlds. Scientists worked together. Families crossed between colonies. Children grew up speaking both languages. For almost twenty years, there was peace. Then someone discovered something beneath the surface of a small Luvenile moon. Its name was Aurelia. And what was found there would change everything. Deep beneath Aurelia's crust was a material unlike anything humanity had ever discovered.

by Dan Dooley

It was just a plain package wrapped in plain brown paper and tied together with twine. There was no forwarding address, nor was there a return address. There was only, printed on one side, a name. “Miss Penny.”\ \ Almost a century before, a woman named Penny was murdered on the eve of her wedding, by the man who had promised to take her as his wife. The story was revealed in an old, yellowed newspaper. Was that Penny the one who’s name was on the package containing the wedding dress?\ \ Now, two friends, both co-workers in the dead letter department of the Post Office, find a mysterious package left on the front step of the Post Office building. Opening the package, they find an aged and faded wedding dress. But something came along with the dress. Something sinister, and frightening. Something to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.\ \ Was it just in his head? Or was it a real haunting? Was the wailing, and the sound of a woman's voice in his room at night really linked in any way to the faded old wedding dress? Was she searching for the dress, and what did it really mean to her? Assuming the voice was actually that of a woman. Dead or otherwise. Or was he simply going crazy and imagining it all? The best of gaslight fiction. Is it a ghost story, or rather a psychological thriller? Read it and come to your own conclusion.

by Meghan Treadwell

Rylee didn't leave Fairhaven because she wanted a fresh start.   She ran.   With her young son, Koda, Rylee disappears from the life she once knew and begins hiding in Huntington, Tennessee, hoping distance will give her room to breathe. She has a new home, a new routine, and a carefully guarded life that depends on one thing:   Tyson cannot find her.   He doesn't know where she is.   Rylee intends to keep it that way.   For the first time, she begins to experience something she almost forgot existed—normal.   A job she cares about. People she can slowly learn to trust. Quiet evenings with her son. A stubborn little dachshund she never expected to love. Small moments that feel like living.   And then, unexpectedly, something else begins finding its way into Rylee's life.   Something she never planned for.   Something that makes the future feel a little less empty.   But Rylee knows better than to believe the past stays buried forever.   There are things she left behind in Fairhaven she hasn't told anyone. Questions she has carried. Memories she has tried not to revisit. And a history that may hold more secrets than Rylee ever realized.   Because sometimes running from someone means running from more than the person themselves.   Sometimes the truth is waiting right behind you.   As Rylee builds a life worth protecting, the line between the past and present begins to blur. The safety she's fought for feels fragile, and the secrets she thought she could leave behind may not be finished with her.   Rylee has spent years learning how to survive.   Now she's learning how to live.   But when your entire new life depends on staying hidden, how much can you afford to trust?   And how long can secrets remain buried before someone starts digging?   Where the Secrets Are Buried is the first novel in The Secrets We Carry, a three-novel suspense series filled with secrets, danger, unexpected connections, buried truths, and the fight to protect the life Rylee has finally begun to call her own.

by Piper Lazarus

**One murder. One hidden enemy. One secret worth killing for.**  One phone call changes everything. ***Murdered.*** And the scene waiting for me is worse than anything I've encountered in my years as an investigator. Someone didn't just want her dead—they wanted to send a message. The problem is, I don't know who the message was meant for. *Until the first clue leads straight to me.* I rush to Jack's side expecting grief, answers, and a case I can solve. Instead, I find myself stepping into a deadly maze of deception, hidden alliances, and secrets that reach far beyond a single murder. The evidence doesn't add up. Witnesses are disappearing. Someone is erasing clues before I can find them. And buried beneath the murder is a connection to something no one saw coming. Then Axel appears. Again. Dangerous. Controlled. Impossible to read. He has a talent for finding the truth while hiding his own—and I can't shake the feeling that he knows exactly why I'm here. He says he wants to protect me. But I've learned the hard way that protection and possession can look frighteningly similar. The closer I get to Axel, the more questions I have. He knows too much about the murder—and far too much about me. All of it feels like a trap waiting to spring. **Then another murder.** That's when I realize this isn't about *her* anymore. Someone is hunting anyone who gets too close to the truth. The deeper I investigate, the more I uncover a hidden world of power, loyalty, and secrets protected at any cost. And somehow, my past is at the center of it. And if I uncover the secret they're willing to kill for, I may finally learn the truth about my past…about *them*... **Right before I get buried with it.**

by Piper Lazarus

***My past is coming for me…*** I’ve spent my life chasing the truth—uncovering secrets, solving the unsolvable, and exposing the darkness others fear to face. But now, the past I can’t remember is hunting me. I woke up with no recollection of who I am.\ \ **No name. No past. No idea why I’m running for my life.**\ \ All I know is that the people after me will stop at nothing until I’m erased. Somewhere in my shattered memories lies a secret—a royal scandal drenched in betrayal, deception, and blood. And if I don’t piece the puzzle together soon, it will cost me everything. Then there’s Axel. ***A storm wrapped in shadows, dangerous, unreadable, and laced with secrets that could shatter me.*** He claims he’s here to protect me, but the fire in his eyes tells a different story. His presence is intoxicating, his touch a temptation laced with danger. Every glance pulls me deeper, every whispered promise ignites something inside me I don’t understand. But one question lingers in the air between us. **Is he my savior—or the executioner waiting to strike?** With time slipping away and danger closing in, I must make an impossible choice: *trust the man who could betray me or face the enemy I can’t even remember.* One wrong move, and I lose everything—including my life. **The past holds my salvation—or my death. And the clock is ticking.**

by Piper Lazarus

***THE DEEPER THE SECRET, THE DARKER THE SHADOW***  **The Secrets and Shadows Series** is a gripping four-book thriller series where deadly hunters, clandestine societies, buried conspiracies, and enemies hiding in plain sight collide. Each mystery pulls the characters deeper into a web of secrets where nothing—and no one—is exactly what they seem. In **The Deadly Hunter**, the hunt begins when a deadly predator emerges from the shadows, leaving behind a trail of violence and unanswered questions. Someone is watching, manipulating the investigation, and protecting a secret powerful enough to destroy lives. **The Secret Society** takes the mystery deeper when evidence points toward an organization that has operated in the shadows for generations. Its members are powerful, connected, and willing to do whatever it takes to protect their secrets. The closer the truth comes to the surface, the more dangerous the investigation becomes—and escaping the society's reach may be impossible. In **The Buried Truth**, long-hidden evidence begins to surface, exposing connections no one expected. The past refuses to stay buried, and the truth reveals a conspiracy far more complicated than anyone imagined. But uncovering the truth comes with a price, and someone is determined to make sure it stays buried—even if it means silencing everyone who gets too close. Finally, **The Danger Within** brings the series to its explosive conclusion. After everything they've uncovered, the greatest threat may not be waiting outside the walls. It may already be among them. Trust fractures, loyalties are tested, and the final secrets begin to unravel as the characters race to uncover who is really behind it all. Across four heart-pounding mysteries, **The Secrets and Shadows Series** explores the dangerous intersection of deception, power, obsession, and betrayal. With every revelation comes another question, and every answer leads deeper into the darkness.

by Draego Fyre

Alex Carter has always understood games better than people. At Ridgewood High, he’s the quiet kid with his head down, his best friend at his side, and an RPG waiting for him when he gets home. But when a mysterious interface suddenly appears before his eyes—complete with stats, quests, skills, and experience points—Alex discovers that reality has rules he was never supposed to see. And he isn’t the only one playing. Beneath the ordinary world exists the Nexus, a hidden realm of magic, monsters, secret factions, and ancient powers struggling to maintain a fragile balance. The Guardians want to protect that balance. The Rogues want to break free from it. And something buried far deeper has begun to notice Alex. As his abilities grow, Alex is forced to confront enemies who were once classmates, secrets hidden within his own power, and a corruption capable of turning fear, anger, and ambition into weapons. Every new level makes him stronger—but every choice threatens to pull the people he loves deeper into a world they were never meant to see. Because Alex is beginning to realize that his strange new power isn’t simply turning reality into a game. **It may be preparing him for one.** *Nexus: Balance of Shadows* is a LitRPG urban fantasy about friendship, identity, family, hidden worlds, and discovering that true strength isn’t choosing between light and darkness—it’s learning how to carry both without losing yourself.

by Cassian Veyr

A murdered woman. An ancient rune. A nightmare that refuses to stay buried. When New York detective Mike Fletcher discovers a mysterious symbol carved into a victim's body, he finds himself drawn into a series of ritualistic murders that defy logic and challenge everything he believes about the world. Half a world away—and centuries removed from the modern age—a fallen warrior named Ose marches toward the mountain of Durvok, a primordial shadow deity feared even by kings. His mission is simple: rescue a kidnapped priest and destroy the evil that has haunted him for generations. But some truths are buried for a reason. As Mike's investigation begins to mirror Ose's journey, the line between past and present starts to collapse. Ancient kingdoms rise from the ashes of forgotten history, nightmares become reality, and a devastating revelation threatens to destroy everything Ose thought he knew. Because the greatest monsters aren't always waiting in the darkness. Sometimes, they've been walking beside us all along. **The Awakening of Ose** is a dark fantasy and supernatural horror novel that blends ancient mythology, detective noir, brutal warfare, and psychological horror into a story about grief, guilt, revenge, and the price of truth. *Feedback, theories, and comments are always welcome. This story is still evolving, and I'd love to hear what you think.*

by K.D. Page

by K.D. Page

Rhosalin It’s funny how murder investigations will have you doing things you didn’t think possible. Four years ago, I made the horrible mistake of letting my bloodlust run wild. Rayvn kicked me to the curb with nothing but the clothes on my back and the bill for cleaning services. I never thought I'd ask him for help in my wildest imagination, but here we are. Rayvn As a former angel, the repercussions of leaving the Realm of Deities and O.M.B Vice Presidency are hard enough to handle on a good day. With an asshole getting under my skin at every turn and gods from different pantheons vying for my assistance, life couldn’t be more of a living hell. Or so I thought until Rhosalin came barrelling back into my world.

by Lee Skye

A family secret that was kept for 40 years. A horrible tragic reality that the man they relied on to protect them, had a deep dark secret, and the shock and reality of the situation becomes a search for the truth that the wife and two oldest sons try to find answers for. Kayla Simmons married Jonathan Greenfield with a June wedding in 2000. They had met by accident when Kayla was doing a cross country trip to see the country after graduating from college in 1997, and had stopped into the small town of Whipsburg, Iowa to pick up supplies. She was carrying a full bag of groceries for her trip, and accidentally ran into Jonathan on the sidewalk, he apologized, helped pick her groceries up and started a conversation, and after a dinner date to make up for his bumping into her, she decided to stay a few more days. She stayed in Whipsburg for 3 years, and in that time they became engaged, and decided the time was right get married. Jonathan had two younger siblings, but they had died young, so he was an only child. Jonathan had a childhood friend, Theresa, who was present at the wedding, and also played "Bestman" for him, as they were so close. Kayla knows of Jonathan's long friendship with Theresa, and had no worries about an affair, as Jonathan said "She's the sister I never had". They would often go fishing during the spring and summer, then go deer hunting together in the fall, and they usually were gone for a few days. Kayla never had the stomach for fishing or hunting, she would usually stay home, and let them do what they have always done growing up together. Their twin sons came 2 years later, Maxwell (Max) and Mitchell (Mitch). Life for the Greenfield's was what every American family wants, a home, family and all the comforts anyone could want. A few years after the birth of the twins, Jonathan became distant, and always seemed agitated. Theresa became Kayla's sounding board for the marital issues she was having, and Theresa always managed to smooth things over for her. Kayla and Jonathan lived on 20 acre parcel of farmland that Jonathan's family had owned, and gifted to them as a wedding present. They built a beautiful home, but unexpectedly, Jonathan's parents both died in the old farmhouse from carbon monoxide poisoning, leaving the old farmhouse, and the 250 acres of farmland to Jonathan. Jonathan thought that moving into his parents old home would be great for them all, so they decided to move into the farmhouse, and lease out their home. Kayla decided that a good renovation was needed, and to Jonathan's dismay, she proceeded. Max and Mitch were off at college, So Kayla asked Theresa if she would like to help with the renovations, to which she was thrilled to help. In the process of renovating, Kayla had noticed an outbuilding, adjacent to the old barn. She had noticed it before, but never even went near it, even on visits to his parents. When she asked Jonathan about it, he stated it was where his father, as a farmer, would butcher much of his livestock, as farmers do. Unknown to Kayla, there was more to her husband Jonathan's story about the outbuilding, and the relationship with Theresa was more than she had ever imagined. Not an affair, but something so unimaginable and horribly grisly that she couldn't comprehend. Why had her husband become such a monster? How could she not have noticed all the hints and signals that were so obviously present all through the marriage? When Kayla finally finds the courage to do some detective work of her own, with the help of her two sons, Max and Mitch. What they uncover is a history of terror, torture and the bizarre connection that Jonathan and Theresa have, in a gruesome manner, that they have shared between them for over 40 years, since childhood.

by R.K.Mazza

***What if the Perfect Crime wasn't a fantasy?*** Mr. Keene doesn't commit crime on impulse, He approaches it as a problem of precision, probability, psychology and control. ***The question is not simply who committed the crime,*** The question is whether the crime can be proven! ***The Illusion of the Perfect Crime.*** A crime so perfect, no one even suspects a crime has been committed. ***Written for Readers who enjoy aspects of:*** - The Silence of the Lambs - Crime and Punishment - Death Note - Character Driven Drama  Likewise, readers seeking a traditional detective mystery with a straightforward solution may encounter a more ambiguous and philosophical experience.    This novel distinguishes itself from standard crime fiction by focusing less on forensic evidence and more on intellectual strategy. The idea that mathematics and probability can be applied to criminal behavior gives the story a unique identity.    It will leave you questioning what is true, what is manipulation, and whether the investigation itself is being controlled by the mastermind. This ambiguity adds tension beyond the crimes themselves.

by Oscar J.

**CAIN ON CRAWFORD STREET** **A Psychological Crime Thriller** **By Oscar J. Starr III** Marcus King and Malcolm King grew up on Houston’s Crawford Street with little more than their mother’s determination and a promise to one another: they would escape poverty together. As boys, they were inseparable, bound by hardship, sacrifice, and dreams of building a better life. But as the years pass, that promise begins to fracture under the weight of expectations, ambition, and comparison. Marcus embraces responsibility, transforming relentless discipline into a thriving real estate empire that reshapes neighborhoods across Houston. Admired as a visionary entrepreneur and generous community leader, he becomes the pride of the King family. Malcolm, once considered the brighter and more promising brother, watches his own life unravel through failed ventures, financial hardship, and a growing sense of inadequacy. Every achievement Marcus earns becomes another reminder of the life Malcolm believes was meant for him. When Marcus is honored with one of Houston’s most prestigious business awards, the celebration exposes years of buried resentment. Family members unknowingly deepen old wounds with well-meaning comparisons, while Evelyn King, the brothers’ devoted mother, is forced to confront the unintended consequences of the expectations she placed on each son. Long-hidden secrets, painful sacrifices, and unresolved betrayals rise to the surface, pushing the brothers toward an emotional collision neither can escape. Days later, Marcus is found murdered inside his luxury penthouse overlooking downtown Houston. Detective Simone Harris initially suspects a business conspiracy involving Marcus’s multimillion-dollar real estate empire. But as she follows a trail of conflicting testimonies, hidden financial records, family letters, and deeply personal betrayals, she discovers that the greatest threat to Marcus never came from a corporate rival or a criminal organization. It came from within his own family. As the investigation peels back decades of jealousy, love, guilt, and generational trauma, every member of the King family becomes both witness and suspect. Harris uncovers a heartbreaking truth: the rivalry between Marcus and Malcolm was never fueled by hatred alone, but by a lifetime of comparison that quietly poisoned the bond they once cherished. Set against the backdrop of Houston’s evolving skyline, **CAIN ON CRAWFORD STREET** is a gripping psychological crime thriller that explores the devastating consequences of envy, the burden of family expectations, and the fragile line between unconditional love and unforgivable betrayal. Equal parts emotional family drama and suspenseful murder mystery, the novel asks a haunting question: *What happens when the person you’ve spent your entire life trying to protect becomes the one you must fear the most?*

by Marion A. Yost

A brother/sister duo in the Navy set off to avenge there father's death only to realize that he'd been training them for a much greater purpose. The book tracks their adventures while finding more chaos to stop..

by Emmett Hotchkiss

Live action, happening now.

by Nikki Rollingwood

**Till Death: A Gripping Psychological Thriller** **SHE STAGES THEM AS LOVERS. SHE SEES THEM AS PREY.** > *A campus killer stages fake romantic suicides. To stop her, Tauny must tap into the dark instincts inherited from her serial killer grandfather.*   When two popular university students are found dead in their dorm room, locked in an intimate embrace beside an empty neon vape pen, local authorities and campus officials are quick to label it a tragic accident—a mutual overdose pact amidst a growing student drug crisis. Case closed. Except for Tauny May Baker. To the rest of the student body, Tauny is just a quiet, reserved graduate student trying to blend into the background. But beneath her ordinary surface lies a terrifying secret: she is the granddaughter of one of the country’s most infamous serial killers. And along with his blood, she inherited his clinical, predatory radar—an ability to see the meticulous calculation behind human violence. Where the police see grief and reckless youth, Tauny sees impossible symmetry: hospital-corner bed folds, unnatural body posture, and a crime scene arranged like a gallery exhibit. She knows instantly that a killer is hunting on campus, hiding in plain sight behind the mask of a grieving, "perfect best friend" who is obsessed with turning her victims into eternal legends. When Detective Jase starts investigating the deaths, Tauny must play a dangerous game of hide-and-seek. She has to drop subtle clues to steer his investigation toward the truth without revealing *how* she knows—or risking Jase uncovering her own dark lineage. But as Tauny quietly digs into the killer's social circle, the killer takes notice. To outsmart a monster who treats murder as fine art, Tauny is forced to do the one thing she fears most: stop fighting her genetics, tap into her grandfather's ruthless mind, and embrace the darkness inside her to survive.

by Curtis Alcutt

**GOING DOWN**\ *A Supernatural Anthology Thriller* Every elevator ride in Mason Towers tells a different story. A nervous woman riding down to meet a blind date. A guilty man confessing to a stranger who turns out to be a detective. A widow returning to the building where his wife disappeared fifty years ago — and finding her waiting. But beneath the building, carved into the sub-basement floor directly under the elevator shaft, something has been waiting far longer than any of them. Mason Towers is a 33-story Freemason-built high-rise in downtown Oakland, California. It was constructed in 1923 on a site the builders chose deliberately — a convergence point where something ancient, something sealed, something that predated even the Templars by centuries, lay dormant beneath the earth. The building was never meant to be just a building. The elevator was never meant to just take people somewhere. Every 33 years, on the night of October Friday the 13th, the building takes three lives. Fire. Fall. Electrocution. Always the same three methods. Always ruled accidental. Always before dawn. Someone has always known. He has worked in this building for thirty years. He is mute, which means everyone talks freely around him. He hears everything. He has been preparing for October 13th, 2025 his entire career. His name is Earl. And he has never said a word. *Going Down — ten episodes. One season. The elevator is waiting.*

by Steven Jacobs

Defense attorney Adam Reed believes in the system until he's recruited into Themis Lodge—a 400-year-old shadow government controlling judges, senators, and policy worldwide. When Adam refuses to join, the Order systematically destroys him: his cases fail, his license is suspended, his marriage fractures as his wife believes he's having a paranoid breakdown. His pastor is revealed as an Order member. His best friend Marcus is the Architect coordinating everything. Only Isaiah Cole, a disillusioned security guard, believes him. As Adam tries to rebuild and reconnect with his family, a mysterious fire traps his son Leo in a burning bedroom. The novel ends with Adam losing consciousness, Leo's fate unknown, and everything Adam fought to protect consumed by flames. A devastating exploration of how the most dangerous power is the kind nobody recognizes.

by J.O. Starr

**The Second Wife** **By J.O. Starr** Dr. Nathan Calloway has spent his life saving others. After the devastating loss of his first wife, he believes he’s finally found a second chance at happiness with the graceful, compassionate widow Evelyn. Their whirlwind romance culminates in marriage, bringing Evelyn into the family’s elegant home—and into the life of Nathan’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Harper. But Harper isn’t convinced her new stepmother is who she claims to be. When a series of disturbing “accidents” nearly costs Harper her life, she becomes certain someone is trying to kill her. A fall from a horse, a mysterious allergic reaction, a near drowning, and a house fire all appear to be tragic coincidences. Nathan, desperate to protect his new marriage and convinced his daughter is still overwhelmed by grief, dismisses her fears as paranoia. As Harper digs deeper, she uncovers unsettling inconsistencies in Evelyn’s past, missing legal documents, and secrets surrounding her late mother’s estate. The harder she fights to expose the truth, the more isolated she becomes. Friends question her judgment, family members doubt her memories, and every attempt to prove Evelyn’s guilt seems to backfire. With the help of Detective Lena Ortiz, Harper begins unraveling a web of deception that reaches far beyond one marriage. Evelyn isn’t simply after wealth—she’s searching for something hidden within the Calloway family’s legacy, a secret powerful enough to ruin influential people who will do anything to keep it buried. As the walls close in, Harper must outwit a woman who has spent years perfecting the art of manipulation before she becomes the next victim. In a house where appearances are carefully crafted and trust is a dangerous illusion, surviving may depend on exposing a truth no one wants to believe. **The Second Wife** is a gripping domestic psychological suspense novel about gaslighting, family loyalty, greed, and the terrifying consequences of inviting the wrong person into your home.

by Amy Lynn Murdock

# **The Blood Tide Chronicles** ### **Series Synopsis** For generations, the people of the coast have dismissed stories of vampires as little more than superstition. Missing fishermen, abandoned boats, and whispers of pale figures beneath the moon are explained away as storms, wild animals, or frightened imaginations. Beneath the waves, the ancient cities of the mer-people tell their own legends of dangerous humans and endless wars, believing the surface world is as foreign as the stars above. Both worlds are wrong. When Weston Donovan falls in love with Brianna Nordith, a young mermaid who dares to defy her people's oldest fears, their secret romance sets in motion a chain of events neither world could have imagined. A single bite, a forbidden love, and an impossible child become the spark that awakens ancient myths, shatters fragile peace, and gives birth to a new species unlike anything the world has ever known. As old enemies rise, hidden truths surface, and blood stains both land and sea, Weston and Brianna find themselves hunted not because of what they are—but because of what their family represents. Their struggle to protect one another will echo across generations, forcing vampires, mer-people, and humans alike to confront the terrifying possibility that legends are not relics of the past... They are still being written. Spanning oceans, kingdoms, and generations, **The Blood Tide Chronicles** is an adult dark fantasy saga of forbidden love, sacrifice, family, and survival. Blending supernatural horror with sweeping romance and epic underwater warfare, the series explores how a single choice can reshape history—and how even monsters must decide what kind of legacy they will leave behind. Because every legend begins with a story. And every story begins with a choice.

by Amy Lynn Murdock

Weston Donovan has spent his entire life laughing at the old stories. Vampires are nothing more than campfire tales told to frighten children. The disappearances along the coast are blamed on storms, wild animals, or desperate men who wandered too far from home. Monsters don't exist. Until he falls in love with one. Brianna Nordith is a young mermaid who risks everything each time she rises from the sea. While her people fear humans and wage endless wars beneath the waves, Brianna is drawn to the quiet young man waiting on the moonlit shore. Their secret meetings become a refuge from two worlds that would never accept them together. Then Weston disappears. Attacked by something he never believed was real, he awakens with an unbearable thirst and discovers that the legends he once mocked are horrifyingly true. As he struggles to hide the monster growing inside him, Brianna is left alone to face an impossible future—and the child she never expected to carry. When Weston finally returns, the lovers are reunited only long enough to discover that their unborn son may be something the world has never seen before. The first of his kind. As ancient rivalries ignite beneath the sea and whispers of bloodshed spread across the surface, one desperate act to save the woman he loves unleashes a nightmare neither humans nor mer-people are prepared to face. A new breed of predator is born, and the oceans themselves become a battlefield. Bound by love, hunted by two worlds, and willing to sacrifice everything for the child stolen from them, Weston and Brianna must decide whether love is enough to survive becoming the very monsters everyone fears. Because some legends are born... ...and others are created.

by J.O. Starr

**The Widow on Cedar Street** **Synopsis** **By J. O. Starr** For more than twenty years, Cedar Street has been the kind of neighborhood people dream about—tree-lined sidewalks, historic homes, and neighbors who greet one another by name. But behind its carefully maintained charm lies a silence built on secrets, and no house holds more mystery than the aging Victorian at the end of the street. Since the tragic death of her husband in a devastating house fire two decades earlier, **Evelyn Harper** has lived a quiet, solitary life. To her neighbors, she is simply “the widow on Cedar Street”—reserved, courteous, and forever marked by a tragedy no one fully understands. Rumors have followed her for years, but without evidence, the past has remained buried. Until another body is discovered. When a well-known resident is found murdered under suspicious circumstances, Detective Marcus Sloan is assigned to investigate what initially appears to be an isolated crime. But as he uncovers forgotten police reports, missing evidence, and unsettling connections to the long-closed fire that claimed Evelyn’s husband, it becomes clear that someone has spent decades protecting a dangerous truth. As fear spreads through the neighborhood, anonymous letters begin appearing in mailboxes, accusing longtime residents of crimes they believed were hidden forever. Friendships fracture, marriages unravel, and decades of loyalty give way to suspicion. Every conversation becomes a clue, every neighbor a potential suspect. Caught in the center of the investigation, Evelyn finds herself forced to confront a past she has spent years trying to escape. The closer Detective Sloan comes to the truth, the more he realizes that Cedar Street has never been as peaceful as it seemed. Beneath its manicured lawns and welcoming front porches lies a web of deception, betrayal, and carefully buried guilt stretching back generations. But the greatest mystery is not who committed the latest murder. It is why so many people have worked so hard to keep the truth hidden. In a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone—and no one knows the whole story—trust becomes the most dangerous illusion of all. **The Widow on Cedar Street** is a gripping psychological thriller that explores grief, deception, loyalty, and the devastating consequences of secrets left to fester. With unforgettable twists, richly layered characters, and an ending that reshapes everything readers thought they knew, this suspenseful novel reminds us that sometimes the most dangerous place isn’t a dark alley or an abandoned house—it’s the quiet street we call home.

by Curtis Alcutt

Before Egypt. Before recorded history. The continent of Atlantis was the most advanced civilization on Earth — and its darkest secret was Xylia, a succubus of terrifying power who seduced and destroyed the King himself. Queen Eyorah had her sealed alive in an unmarked pyramid, her sarcophagus carved with a warning in the ancient Atlantean tongue: free her and the world ends. Centuries pass. Civilizations rise and fall. The tomb stays buried. Until now. *Of the Dark* follows the awakening of Xylia and the ancient evil she carries — a force that has been feeding in the shadows since the dawn of humanity, moving from era to era, host to host, patient as stone. The people who disturb her tomb have no idea what they've released. They will. A paranormal thriller rooted in ancient mythology, *Of the Dark* spans millennia to ask one question: what happens when the thing the world's most advanced civilization couldn't destroy finally gets free?

by J.O. Starr

**The Lighthouse Secret** **By J.O. Starr** **Genre:** Psychological Thriller | Mystery | Crime Fiction | Suspense **Synopsis** When investigative journalist **Claire Monroe** unexpectedly inherits the long-abandoned **Blackwater Lighthouse**, she sees it as one last assignment before returning to her normal life. Instead, she steps into a mystery that has haunted an isolated island community for generations. Official records claim the lighthouse closed after its final keeper, **Elias Blackwood**, died more than twenty years ago. Yet no body was ever recovered. As Claire explores the crumbling tower, she discovers hidden journals, coded messages concealed within the stone walls, and evidence that dozens of disappearances long blamed on the sea may have originated inside the lighthouse itself. With the reluctant help of **marine archaeologist Noah Pierce**, Claire uncovers a series of submerged shipwrecks that reveal a disturbing pattern connecting missing people, secret cargo, and a powerful conspiracy stretching back decades. Meanwhile, **Sheriff Owen Hale** warns her to leave the island before she uncovers something that cannot be buried again, while retired schoolteacher **Evelyn Carter** struggles with a lifetime of fear and the devastating truth she has kept hidden since childhood. As anonymous threats intensify and the lighthouse mysteriously shines despite having no power, Claire realizes she is being watched by someone determined to protect Blackwater’s darkest secret. Every clue leads deeper into a web of deception involving corruption, betrayal, and murder, where trusted allies become suspects and every revelation raises the stakes. When Claire uncovers a hidden tunnel beneath the lighthouse leading to a forgotten underground chamber, she finally learns why Elias Blackwood vanished without a trace—and why generations of island residents have sacrificed everything to keep the truth from reaching the mainland. Now the lighthouse has claimed another witness. To survive, Claire must expose a secret powerful enough to destroy an entire community before she becomes its next victim. Because some lighthouses were built to guide ships. **Blackwater Lighthouse was built to guard a secret.**

by Oscar J.

**Murder on Blackwood Lane** **By Oscar J. Starr III** Blackwood Lane is the kind of street people dream about—tree-lined sidewalks, historic homes, and neighbors who proudly claim nothing bad ever happens there. Until the morning one of its most influential residents is found murdered. Judge Richard Holloway, a respected public figure with decades of power and influence, is discovered dead inside his locked mansion under circumstances that defy explanation. There are no signs of forced entry, no obvious murder weapon, and no witnesses willing to tell Detective Ava Mercer what they know. As she begins questioning the residents of Blackwood Lane, she realizes the neighborhood’s carefully polished image hides a web of deception far more dangerous than anyone imagined. Behind every elegant front door lies a secret: broken marriages, financial corruption, long-buried betrayals, blackmail, and a decades-old disappearance that was quietly forgotten. With each new revelation, another resident turns up dead, suggesting the killer isn’t covering up a single crime—they’re completing a deadly plan that began years earlier. As Ava pieces together a trail of hidden connections, she uncovers evidence that the murder of Judge Holloway is tied to an unsolved tragedy that has haunted Blackwood Lane for more than twenty-five years. The closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes the killer has been watching her investigation from the very beginning—and is always one step ahead. In a neighborhood where everyone knows each other’s names but no one truly knows the people behind the doors, trust becomes a deadly gamble. To solve the case, Detective Mercer must expose the darkest secret Blackwood Lane has ever hidden before the killer claims another victim. **Murder on Blackwood Lane** is a gripping psychological thriller filled with shocking twists, unforgettable characters, and a suspenseful mystery that explores how far people will go to protect the lies they’ve built their lives upon. Because on Blackwood Lane, every house hides a secret—but only one hides a killer.

by J.O. Starr

Every Friday night, **Noah Mercer** drives for a rideshare company to supplement his income after losing his wife in a tragic accident. He prides himself on remembering every passenger—except one. A woman dressed in gray enters his car just after midnight. She gives no destination, barely speaks, and disappears before the trip officially ends. Security footage shows Noah driving alone. Days later, a prominent attorney is found murdered. Then a journalist. Then a retired detective. Each victim had secretly been connected to a twenty-year-old case involving the disappearance of a young girl—a crime everyone believed had gone unsolved. The only link between the murders is Noah’s mysterious passenger. As detectives begin suspecting Noah himself, he races to uncover the identity of the silent woman before he becomes the final victim. But the deeper he investigates, the more he realizes the passenger may not be hunting random people… She may be leading him toward the truth about his own wife’s death. In a shocking finale, Noah discovers that the “silent passenger” has been orchestrating a deadly reckoning against everyone responsible for a decades-old conspiracy—including someone Noah has trusted all along.

by Tony Fain

**Some secrets are buried deep for a reason.** When heavy excavation begins tearing into the ancient bluffs at Standing Rock, the rural peace of Lake Eufaula is shattered. The blasting unearths more than just limestone—it awakens a primitive, ravenous terror that has slept beneath the river channel for centuries. Cole Garrett has spent years running *The Outpost* marina while living under the dark cloud of his father’s unexplained disappearance on the water. When local fishermen start vanishing and strange, slime-slicked tracks are left on the docks at midnight, Cole realizes the lake is claiming victims once again. Only this time, it’s no accident. Avery Sterling, daughter of the powerful developer driving the excavation, senses that her father’s crew has unburied something monstrous. Caught between her family’s ruthless ambition and the horrifying reality unfolding on the water, Avery turns to Cole—the only person willing to look past the official cover-ups. As night falls over the lake and the body count rises, Cole and Avery must unearth the dark truth behind Standing Rock before the terror rising from the deep consumes everyone on the shore.

by Marie Tayse

Desperate for a fresh start, Ella Kendale finally finds the courage to leave her abusive husband behind. Armed with only two suitcases and the small inheritance left to her by her late grandmother, she escapes to the quiet backroads of rural Tennessee and buys an old house that seems almost too affordable to be true. But the house isn’t as empty as it appears. Hidden within its walls are the lingering remnants of another tragic relationship, and before long Ella begins experiencing unsettling events she can’t explain. A handsome stranger starts appearing in her dreams—dreams that slowly begin bleeding into reality. At the same time, signs that someone is watching her from the shadows turn her peaceful new beginning into a waking nightmare. When three local police officers step in to protect her, Ella unexpectedly finds herself tangled in a complicated love triangle involving two of the officers…and the mysterious man from her dreams. Torn between fear and desire, reality and the supernatural, Ella struggles to decide who she can trust while an all-too-real stalker closes in around her. In a small town, secrets don’t stay buried for long—and unlike the city she left behind, nobody in Tennessee is willing to look the other way. As danger escalates, Ella discovers she may have escaped one monster only to find herself caught between darkness, love, and a battle she can’t survive alone.

by J.O. Starr

**The Woman in Apartment 4B** **By Oscar J. Starr III** *Legacy Strategist | Crime & Thriller Writer | Published Author*  The Ashcroft Apartments has stood quietly in the heart of the city for nearly seventy years. To outsiders, it’s just another aging brick building filled with ordinary people trying to live ordinary lives. But behind its faded walls, every apartment guards a secret—and none is more mysterious than **Apartment 4B**. No one knows the woman’s real name. She keeps to herself, leaves at unpredictable hours, and never allows anyone inside her apartment. Yet every tenant seems to have crossed paths with her at least once. Some describe her as kind. Others call her manipulative. A few insist she’s dangerous. Then, without warning… She disappears. When homicide detective **Lena Ortiz** and investigative journalist **Ethan Brooks** begin searching for answers, they uncover something impossible. There is no lease. No driver’s license. No utility records. No employment history. No fingerprints. Officially, the woman in Apartment 4B never existed. As Ethan and Lena dig deeper, they discover that nearly every resident in the building has been hiding something for years—an affair that turned deadly, stolen money, political corruption, blackmail, a decades-old disappearance, and a murder that was buried long before anyone moved into Ashcroft Apartments. The missing woman somehow knew all of it. Hidden throughout the building are encrypted journals, surveillance recordings, photographs, and sealed envelopes—pieces of a carefully constructed puzzle designed to expose the truth only after she vanished. But someone else is hunting those same secrets. One by one, witnesses begin turning up dead. Evidence disappears from police custody. Apartment doors are broken into. Security footage is erased. And with every new discovery, it becomes terrifyingly clear that the woman wasn’t running from a killer… She was leading one into the open. As the investigation spirals into a deadly game of deception, Ethan realizes he has become more than an observer. Someone is watching his every move, anticipating every question, and eliminating anyone who gets too close to the truth. The final revelation changes everything. The woman in Apartment 4B wasn’t hiding from her past. She was building a case against a powerful criminal network that had operated in plain sight for decades—using the apartment building as the perfect place to recruit, manipulate, and silence its victims. Her disappearance wasn’t an act of fear. It was the first move in a carefully orchestrated plan. And when the last envelope is finally opened, the investigators uncover one chilling message written in her unmistakable handwriting: **“If you’re reading this, I’m already gone. Don’t waste your time looking for me. Find the people who made me disappear.”** In the haunting final scene, a young woman carries a suitcase into the freshly renovated Apartment 4B. As she closes the door behind her, she notices a small brass key taped beneath the kitchen table with a handwritten note attached. **“Your turn.”** *Some mysteries end with the truth.* **This one begins there.**

by Ella M Hayes

Summer in Saratoga Springs. What should be the perfect time for business is quickly becoming hell for Nyx, owner of the supernatural emporium, "Witch's Brew." Her one-woman operation is becoming an increasingly impossible task. Despite her insistence on doing things alone, she becomes aware that she needs help. Worse, the only person willing to help is a persistent, yet charming, skeptic of the mystic arts On the side and after hours, Nyx services the supernatural and spiritual needs of her clients. It's a job like any other until one girl enters her life with a spirit clinging to her, a spirit that is terrifying because it is both unreadable and bears a connection to Nyx's past, a past she would rather forget. Nyx's professional and personal life quickly become intertwined in this journey of romance, spirituality, reconciliation, and hopefully closure and redemption.

by Gina Murdock

Jake Miller is living the best morning of his life. Pancakes, laughter, his wife's hand in his, his daughter buckled safely in the back seat. He has no idea it's about to become the worst.  When tragedy strikes on an ordinary Wednesday, Jake wakes up the next morning to find it's the same Wednesday again — 6:12 a.m., the same golden light, the same choices waiting to be made differently. He's the only one who remembers. And no matter what he changes, the day seems determined to take something from him before it lets him go.  The truth, when it finally surfaces, is worse than anything supernatural: someone built this. Someone patient, brilliant, and devastated — a woman whose life's work Jake's own hands helped destroy, and whose grief has spent years hardening into something with a plan.  As the walls close in — a stranger's car parked down the street, a note left in the dark, a friend who pays a price for helping — Jake has to face not just what's coming for his family, but what he's already done to deserve it.  Some debts don't get canceled. They just wait for the right Wednesday.

by Gemma Therese

Sixteen-year-old Melanie Howard's world is fractured on her birthday when she discovers her magical angelic bloodline and processing her brother, Eli, gets dragged into the shadows of danger. Thrust into Bloodbound Academy, a pre-Civil War institution for the descendants of the Angelic Realm, Melanie discovers that she possesses the rare talent of psychometry, a gift that allows her to catch glimpses of her kidnapped brother. Desperate and struggling against time, Melanie has only one priority: to bring her brother home safely.

by Curtis Alcutt

[Skip to main content](https://readerful.com/writers/stories/ae1370da-e7c7-4d1d-b5e5-84ceeaf5c8e6/chapters/9ff3df23-da68-4b7c-8854-9a72b7ab4233/edit#main-content)  Mocknin is the most infuriating, flamboyant, and inexplicably powerful being in the galaxy — and he's just kidnapped Chatznin, Hafria's most celebrated architect, without so much as an explanation. With a fleet of warships in pursuit, a force field holding by a thread, and Mocknin more concerned with his sapphire bracelet than their imminent destruction, Chatznin demands answers. What she gets instead is a front-row seat to a cosmic secret that will change everything she thought she knew about the universe — and the being piloting her through it. *God By Proxy* is a sharp, fast, and wildly entertaining sci-fi comedy about power, purpose, and what happens when the universe's most important mission gets assigned to its most unlikely agent.

by Curtis Alcutt

Apollo Knight is the most talented producer nobody's heard of — and he prefers it that way. Raised by his jazz-legend grandmother in Berkeley after his mother abandoned him at age five, Apollo poured everything he couldn't say out loud into his music. Now twenty-five, he runs BeatBoxx Studios out of his grandmother's garage, producing hits for street rappers while quietly dreaming of something bigger. His partner, Grimey, is everything Apollo isn't — loud, ambitious, and willing to cut any corner to get paid. When Grimey starts pushing Apollo toward Street Lyfe Records, a label with a reputation for stealing beats and dodging the IRS, Apollo's instincts tell him to walk. But walking away from Grimey was never simple. Set against the gritty, soulful backdrop of Oakland's music scene — from the recording booths of Berkeley to the jazz clubs of West Oakland's Seventh Street — Bullets & Ballads is a story about talent versus hustle, loyalty versus survival, and one man trying to protect the only thing nobody can take from him: his music.

by Lisa Uptain

Casey Oakley never asked for a hard life, but it found her anyway. Growing up under the watchful eyes of her brothers, Casey was always protected, always guarded. But even they could not shield her from the darkness that followed her. One night changes everything, leaving her broken in ways no one can see and forcing her to carry secrets that threaten to destroy her from the inside out. As she struggles to survive the aftermath of violence, addiction, and fear, Casey is caught between the life she is expected to live and the one she is desperate to escape. Every choice she makes pulls her deeper into a world filled with danger, pain, and people who want to control her. But Casey is not as weak as the world believes. With the help of those who refuse to give up on her, she begins a long and painful fight to reclaim her life. Trust does not come easy. Love feels impossible. And the past is never as far behind her as she hopes. In a world where survival is never guaranteed, Casey must decide who she is willing to become. Will she stay trapped in the life that nearly destroyed her, or will she find the strength to rise above it? Raw, emotional, and unflinching, *A Condemned Life* is a story of trauma, resilience, and the fight to take back control when everything has been stripped away.

by Lisa Uptain

Some people spend their lives running from the past. Casey Oakley has spent hers surviving it. One violent act shatters the life she thought she knew, setting her on a path filled with betrayal, heartbreak, impossible choices, and relentless danger. Every time she begins to rebuild, another enemy rises, determined to tear it all away. But Casey refuses to stay broken. Surrounded by the unwavering love of her brothers and the fierce loyalty of the friends who stand beside her, she discovers that true strength isn't measured by the battles you've lost, but by the courage to rise every time life knocks you down. From the dust of the rodeo arena to the fight for a future worth believing in, Casey's journey is one of resilience, sacrifice, justice, and hope. As old wounds reopen and new threats emerge, she must decide whether revenge is found in settling the score... or in refusing to let the darkness win. **The Revenge Series** is an unforgettable trilogy of survival, friendship, family, and the extraordinary strength of the human spirit. Filled with unforgettable characters, heart-pounding suspense, unforgettable romance, and hard-fought triumphs, this is the story of one woman who refuses to let anyone else write the ending to her life. **Some stories are about revenge.** **This one is about surviving long enough to earn it.**

by Jon Praker

*The Geometer* follows Marek, a man whose ordinary understanding of reality is shattered when he is drawn into a world governed by patterns, symbols, and impossible geometry. As he searches for answers, he discovers that geometry is not just a branch of mathematics, but the architecture beneath existence itself. Guided by enigmatic figures and pursued by forces he barely understands, Marek must learn to read the hidden structure of reality before it consumes him. Every revelation demands a sacrifice, and every step deeper into the pattern changes not only what he believes—but who he is. Part philosophical journey, part metaphysical adventure, *The Geometer* is a novel about perception, transformation, and the price of seeing the world as it truly is.

by Valrica

For Hendrix, disappearing into a life of crime was never permanent. It was a survival tactic—a necessary detour before she could return to the daughter she loved.

by Amy Lynn Murdock

## THE WATCH POST Lieutenant Ethan Mercer expected his next assignment to advance his military career. Instead, he's ordered to Watch Site Nine—a classified installation hidden deep within the Appalachian Mountains that officially doesn't exist. Behind miles of razor wire, armed patrols, and fortified guard towers sits a single abandoned shack. No one will tell Ethan why. The rules are simple. Never enter the shack. Never answer the voices. Never investigate the lights. And never ask what they're guarding. At first, Ethan dismisses the stories as superstition born from isolation. But when soldiers begin disappearing without a trace, radios carry voices that shouldn't exist, and ghostly patrols emerge from the fog wearing uniforms from every era of American history, he realizes the greatest danger isn't the mountain... It's understanding it. As fragments of forgotten history surface and reality itself begins to fracture, Ethan uncovers a secret that has been protected for thousands of years by generations of silent guardians. The abandoned shack isn't the prison everyone believes it to be, and the dead aren't haunting the mountain. They're standing watch. Now, with the ancient barrier protecting humanity beginning to fail, Ethan and his platoon must hold the line against a threat that cannot be fought with bullets, outrun through the forest, or even fully understood. Because some truths don't destroy the body. They destroy the mind. And once they're known... They can never be forgotten. The Watch Post is a haunting blend of military suspense, psychological horror, and cosmic dread—a story of duty, sacrifice, and the terrible burden carried by those who protect a world that will never know they existed.

by Oscar J.

**The Visitor at Midnight** **A Psychological Mystery & Suspense Novel** For twenty-five years, the picturesque town of Blackridge has been celebrated as a place where neighbors trust one another, crime is nearly nonexistent, and the past has quietly faded into memory. Beneath its peaceful façade, however, lies a carefully guarded secret—one powerful enough to destroy lives if it is ever exposed. Everything changes on a stormy October night when an impeccably dressed stranger appears on a resident’s doorstep precisely at midnight. Calm, courteous, and unsettling, he never asks to enter. Instead, he delivers a single cryptic message before disappearing into the darkness. *“It’s time.”* By sunrise, someone connected to that household is either dead or has vanished without a trace. As the mysterious midnight visits continue, fear grips Blackridge. Rumors spread, lifelong friendships fracture, and suspicion falls on everyone from respected civic leaders to trusted law enforcement officials. Determined to uncover the truth, Detective Elena Brooks returns to the town she once called home and discovers that every recipient of the Visitor’s unsettling message shares one disturbing connection: each played a role—whether through action or silence—in the unsolved disappearance of investigative journalist and philanthropist Samuel Whitmore twenty-five years earlier. As Elena digs deeper, she uncovers evidence of a far-reaching conspiracy involving influential families, public officials, and community leaders who worked together to bury the truth and protect their reputations. Yet the deeper the investigation goes, the more impossible the mystery becomes. Security cameras fail to capture the Visitor’s face. Witnesses describe him differently. His knowledge of long-forgotten events defies explanation, leaving the town questioning whether they are confronting a man, a myth, or something far more unsettling. With each passing midnight, another secret is exposed, another life is shattered, and the countdown toward a final reckoning grows shorter. As hidden alliances crumble and old betrayals come to light, Elena realizes the case is far more personal than she ever imagined. A sealed envelope delivered during the Visitor’s final appearance forces her to confront a forgotten chapter of her own childhood, revealing that she has never been investigating someone else’s past—she has been unraveling her own. Atmospheric, emotionally charged, and filled with escalating suspense, *The Visitor at Midnight* is a gripping psychological mystery about guilt, justice, redemption, and the devastating cost of buried secrets. In Blackridge, every knock has a reason, every secret has a witness, and some truths refuse to stay buried forever.

by Mike Cohee

NINE STRANGERS\ ONE ABANDONED MALL\ IT’S 1985…AGAIN\ For years, an abandoned shopping mall has sat empty on the edge of town, sealed behind chained doors and fading memories. Former employees begin returning, each drawn back by something they can’t quite explain. At first, everything feels wrong in the right way. Stores appear exactly as they remember them. Neon signs. Synth Music. Styles frozen in another era. Even the food court feels untouched by time. And scattered throughout the corridors are shoppers who shouldn’t be there. As the night unfolds, they realize the abandoned mall has been waiting decades for its shoppers to return. As the night unfolds, they realize the mall was never truly abandoned. It feels like nostalgia. A second chance. A return to the past…or so they thought. ` For some, the past haunts them.
 For others, it calls them back.`

by Christina Hull

In a world where a myth becomes reality, maybe too real. A legendary beast terrorizes a backwoods town. Sheriff Brody investigates a mysterious disappearance that happened during a 9-1-1 call about an alleged sighting of the rare BigFoot. Join Jake and Maria, Park Rangers of Blackwood Forest, as they aid Sheriff Brody in the missing person's case. Will they succeed in their mission? Or become victims of the elusive beast themselves?

by Marik Blackridge Grey

by Oscar J.

**Synopsis** For twenty-five years, the Carter family has told the same story whenever anyone mentions Tanya Carter. *“She ran away.”* No one knows where she went. No one claims to have heard from her. Most unsettling of all, no one seems interested in finding her. When thirty-two-year-old investigative journalist **Nia Carter** returns to her hometown to investigate a political corruption case, she unexpectedly uncovers an old family photograph labeled, *“Tanya – Summer 1998.”* Curious about the young woman she has never met, Nia begins asking questions, only to discover that every relative repeats the same rehearsed explanation before quickly changing the subject. As her investigation deepens, Nia uncovers a chilling absence of evidence. There is no missing person’s report, no police investigation, no goodbye letter, and no official record proving Tanya ever left town. Anonymous threats warn Nia to stop searching, while family members, church leaders, and lifelong neighbors close ranks to protect a secret that has remained buried for decades. Hidden journals, forgotten recordings, and long-lost family documents reveal that Tanya had been investigating a devastating truth before she vanished—one capable of destroying the Carter family’s carefully protected reputation. With every revelation, Nia realizes the greatest mystery is not whether Tanya disappeared, but how an entire family convinced themselves to forget her. As decades of silence begin to unravel, Nia uncovers a heartbreaking chain of events fueled by fear, loyalty, and the desperate need to preserve appearances at any cost. The truth forces the Carter family to confront the consequences of collective guilt and challenges an entire community to reckon with the price of protecting its image over one of its own. Blending psychological suspense with emotional family drama, **What Happened to Cousin Tanya?** is a gripping mystery thriller that explores generational trauma, respectability, and the dangerous power of silence. It asks a haunting question: *If everyone knows the truth, who is truly responsible for keeping the lie alive?*

by Nikki Rollingwood

**Her life was off-script. The screen gave her a killer rewrite.** Quiet, timid, and virtually invisible in her own home, a suburban housewife turns to *The Elite Inner Circle* for an escape from the suffocating silence of her daily routine. But this isn't just another trashy reality show. When the show's ruthless, ice-blonde star breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to her, she is offered a seductive deal: a customized script to take control of her life and a permanent solution to anyone who stands in her way. Guided by real-time directions from her screen, her petty suburban rivalries quickly escalate into calculated, deadly "accidents." As her home transforms into a sterile, hyper-curated studio set, she gets hooked on the intoxicating rush of soaring ratings. But staying on prime time requires bigger drama—and a growing body count. *Canceled* is a darkly satirical psychological thriller about the price of fame, the terror of visibility, and how far one woman will go to keep from being written off.

by Oscar J.

**The Island of No Return** **Synopsis** **By Oscar J. Starr III** When six accomplished strangers receive exclusive invitations to spend a week at the luxurious and secluded Eden Cay, the opportunity seems too extraordinary to refuse. Promised unparalleled luxury, personalized experiences, and complete privacy, each guest believes they have been selected for reasons tied to their remarkable achievements. What begins as paradise quickly becomes a waking nightmare. Shortly after their arrival, every route off the island disappears. Communication with the outside world is mysteriously severed, personal belongings begin vanishing, and unsettling messages reveal intimate secrets that no stranger should know. As suspicion spreads through the group, trust evaporates and every conversation becomes a calculated game of survival. The island itself seems to possess an impossible knowledge of its guests’ pasts. Hidden beneath Eden Cay’s breathtaking beauty lies a carefully orchestrated experiment built upon guilt, deception, and judgment. A series of psychological trials forces each guest to confront the darkest decisions they believed had remained buried forever. Every confession uncovers another layer of the island’s sinister purpose, while every discovery raises an even more terrifying question: Were they invited…or chosen? As tensions escalate and one guest mysteriously disappears, the survivors uncover evidence that Eden Cay has hosted similar gatherings for decades. The island has become the stage for a chilling ritual where redemption carries an unimaginable cost, and justice is determined by an unseen architect whose identity has remained hidden from every previous visitor. With no rescue coming and nowhere left to run, the guests must decide how much of the truth they are willing to reveal—not only to one another, but to themselves. In the final confrontation, the true mastermind behind Eden Cay is exposed, forcing each survivor to face a choice that will determine whether they earn freedom or become another permanent part of the island’s haunting legacy. Blending psychological suspense, mystery, and high-stakes survival, **The Island of No Return** explores guilt, accountability, redemption, and the dangerous illusion that the past can ever remain buried. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of a tropical paradise hiding unimaginable darkness, the novel delivers relentless twists, emotional intensity, and a shocking conclusion that leaves readers questioning whether true justice can ever exist without mercy.

by Oscar J.

Ashwood Hollow is a picturesque historic town known for its Victorian homes, annual Harvest Festival, and carefully preserved traditions. Founded in 1887, it has built its reputation on honoring the past. But beneath its charm lies a history someone has spent generations trying to erase. When historian **Dr. Abigail Mercer** arrives to document the town’s heritage, she discovers unsettling inconsistencies in public records. Newspaper archives contain missing pages, cemetery records have vanished, and family photographs have been altered to remove certain faces. The deeper she investigates, the more she realizes Ashwood Hollow’s history has been deliberately rewritten. Hidden beneath the Ashwood Hollow Historical Society, Abigail uncovers a sealed archive filled with journals, court documents, land deeds, and handwritten confessions. Together they reveal the truth about a tragic event in October 1903, when six of the town’s most influential families orchestrated a cover-up to protect their wealth, power, and reputation. Their descendants have safeguarded that secret for more than a century. As Abigail’s investigation gains momentum, anonymous warnings begin appearing at her hotel, evidence disappears, and those connected to the town’s past become increasingly determined to stop her. With the Harvest Festival approaching, she races to expose the truth before history is rewritten once again. Forced to confront generations of deception, Abigail uncovers a conspiracy that has shaped every corner of Ashwood Hollow. In a dramatic final revelation, the town must decide whether to continue protecting its carefully crafted image or finally acknowledge the truth that has haunted it for over one hundred years. **Secrets of Ashwood Hollow** is a Gothic mystery and psychological crime thriller about buried secrets, inherited guilt, and the courage required to confront the past. Rich with atmospheric suspense and unexpected twists, it reminds readers that while history can be rewritten, the truth is never buried forever.

by Scarlett Wolfe

# **The Last Thing to Die** Twenty years ago, Lillian Ashcroft watched the world collapse—and left the man she loved behind. On the first morning of the outbreak, Thomas Blackwood sacrificed himself so Lillian could escape a city overrun by the infected. She saw him bitten. She heard his final command to run. Since then, she has survived by becoming one of the deadliest hunters in the Eastern Settlements, burying her grief beneath duty, discipline, and the certainty that Thomas died long ago. Then, during a mission inside the abandoned city, an infected man looks into her eyes and speaks her name. Thomas is still alive, though nothing about his survival should be possible. His body belongs to the infection, but fragments of the man Lillian loved remain trapped within it. He remembers their engagement, the life they planned, and the promise he made to protect her. Yet every day, another memory disappears, and every moment Lillian spends beside him risks awakening the hunger he can barely control. Hiding Thomas could cost Lillian her freedom, her reputation, and her life. The settlement’s leaders would destroy him. Its scientists would cut him apart to learn what makes him different. Worse, another intelligent infected is gathering an army and believes Thomas represents the beginning of a stronger species—one destined to replace humanity. When Lillian discovers that Thomas may hold the key to a cure, she is forced to confront an impossible choice. Saving the world may require her to lose him a second time. In a world where death is no longer the end, love may be the last piece of humanity left alive.

by Sean Runyon

**Synopsis: *The Last Witness*** *"This war did not begin with a nuclear flash swallowing billions into the footnotes of history. History rarely grants us that kind of honesty. It began with secrets stamped NATIONAL SECURITY, with lies folded into origami excuses, and with men who had already sold your future branding the transaction as stability. It began with a population drowning in noise until it mistook confusion for intelligence. And the greatest lesson Liam Roberts would learn was this: people do not fear tyranny for what it is. They fear uncertainty. Tyranny simply learns to disguise itself as relief."* These are the opening words of investigative journalist Liam Roberts' final broadcast As the last witness to civilization's collapse, Roberts explains that the world did not end in a blinding nuclear exchange or a single catastrophic event. Civilizations rarely collapse in fire first. They collapse in ink, paperwork, euphemisms, and administrative language polished clean enough to disguise the smell of decay. Before revealing how the world unraveled, Roberts takes his audience back to where it all began with a phone call from a man named Thomas Riker, a soldier whose existence has been systematically erased from history. Roberts has built his career exposing corruption and uncovering stories others wanted buried, but nothing prepares him for what lies beneath the surface of the modern world. What begins as an investigation into one impossible man quickly becomes a fight for humanity's survival. Riker reveals that behind every major conflict since the Second World War stands the Doctor, the hidden architect of the Syndicate, a clandestine organization that has transformed wars, governments, and human suffering into decades of experimentation in pursuit of a single objective: Project Helix. Following Riker through classified military operations, abandoned facilities, and forgotten programs, Roberts begins to see a pattern stretching across generations. Every trail leads back to Facility 47, where the Doctor's work has evolved beyond biology into something far more dangerous: understanding, predicting, and ultimately directing human behavior itself. With every discovery, Roberts realizes the Syndicate's greatest weapon was never military power. It was its ability to shape what people believed to be true. As the evidence grows, Roberts confronts the Doctor's most devastating discovery: people rarely surrender to force; they surrender to fear, convenience, and the promise of safety. By manipulating information instead of relying on violence, the Syndicate has quietly conditioned entire generations to mistake certainty for truth and security for freedom. By the time Roberts understands that humanity itself has become the experiment, the conditioning is already complete. Unable to remain an observer, Roberts joins a small band of resistance fighters determined to expose the Syndicate before its plan reaches its final stage. As they dismantle hidden facilities and uncover decades of deception, they make a devastating realization. They are no longer trying to stop the Doctor's plan; they are witnessing its completion. Their search ultimately leads them to Bastion Zero, where Roberts learns the Syndicate has already succeeded in ways the world has failed to recognize. The Doctor never intended to rule through armies alone. He intended to build a civilization that would willingly participate in its own conditioning, believing every decision was freely made while every outcome had already been engineered. Riker finally confronts the man who transformed his life into an experiment, while Roberts makes the only choice left to him. Rather than allowing the truth to die with him, he broadcasts it across every remaining frequency, preserving a final record of how humanity surrendered its future one compromise at a time. The novel ends where it began. Alone inside Bastion Zero, Liam Roberts delivers his final message  not in the hope of saving the world, but to ensure that someone, somewhere, might one day understand how it was lost. Whether anyone survives to hear his testimony remains uncertain. The truth, however, endures.

by C. Marie

In a world where survival demands sacrifice, love becomes the most dangerous risk of all.   Savage Salvation is a dark romance that plunges readers into a brutal landscape of trauma, desire, and redemption. When two broken souls collide, their bond is forged in violence, tested by betrayal, and ignited by a passion that refuses to die.   This is not a gentle love story—it's raw, atmospheric, and unapologetically intense.   Every page drips with tension, weaving together themes of survival, trauma, redemption, and forbidden desire. Fans of dark romance, psychological drama, and morally complex characters will find themselves captivated by the push and pull between tenderness and brutality.   For readers who crave stories that balance emotional vulnerability with physical intensity, Savage Salvation delivers a visceral journey where pain and passion intertwine, and hope flickers even in the darkest corners.   Perfect for fans of dark romance, survival fiction, and redemption arcs—this is a novel that will haunt you long after the last page.

by Lilly Mykals Kennedy

A mature lawyer, Tonya Russell, develops a hot fling with boy toy Dakota Barrings. The two share a hot summer, but things get out of hand when Dakota develops another love interest and tries to push Tonya to the side.

by Scott Zimmerman

Reviewers are raving about KOSTYA... \--A well-written, emotionally intense novel that I couldn’t put down. \--From the very first pages, the writing pulls you into Kostya’s world with vivid, unflinching detail. \--Relentless sense of movement. \--The vivid imagery captured the setting and mood with cinematic precision. \--The ending is extremely beautiful. \--The difference in speaking voices between characters was quite fun to read. \--KOSTYA is a must-read. \--You will instantly form a connection with the characters in this book. The tensions they feel pours off the pages and directly into your heart.  \--The story combines historical depth with the momentum of an adventure novel. Readers become invested not merely in what happens next, but in who Kostya becomes along the way.

by Randell J Rankin

A debt unpaid is a burden. A debt enforced with relentless mercy is a trap. On a struggling farm in the heart of rural Tennessee, relief arrives not through honest work, but through cold, unexplainable mending. A fractured tractor runs like new by morning. A collapsing barn stands rebuilt by dawn. For Frank and a family built on hard-scrabble dignity, every unasked-for repair feels less like a blessing and more like an invasion. But the entity behind these acts isn't a savior. It is a presence bound by an ancient, unrelenting obligation—a ghost obsessed with balancing a physical ledger that was closed long ago. As the mortgage looms and the financial pressure tightens, the ghost's interventions reach deeper: into Martha's kitchen, into a child's bedroom, and into flesh and bone itself. The boundary between gratitude and horror erases as the family realizes the terrifying truth:

by Stephen Sulkey

## The Bayou Girl: A Woman to Die For She lived in the bayou until she could no longer tolerate the evil that men do. For more than two centuries, Bedelia Marie Dubois has hidden from the world, living alone among the swamps and ancient oaks of coastal Louisiana. To those few who know the old legends, she is little more than a whispered ghost—a beautiful woman seen only at night, leaving behind unanswered questions and the bodies of those who deserved far worse. When a series of brutal crimes draws innocent people into her world, Bedelia can no longer remain an observer. Forced to choose between the secrecy that has protected her for generations and the justice that demands action, she begins a dangerous crusade against killers, predators, and those who believe the weak exist only to be exploited. As detectives, scholars, and powerful enemies close in, Bedelia discovers that the greatest threat is not her own immortal nature, but an ancient evil that has begun to stir in the shadows. To confront it, she must decide whether redemption is still possible for a creature long believed to be damned. Set against the haunting beauty of the Louisiana bayous, *The Bayou Girl: A Woman to Die For* is a Southern Gothic thriller that blends supernatural suspense, mystery, horror, and moral complexity into the story of a vampire who has chosen to become humanity's unlikely guardian. Sometimes the most dangerous monster... is the one trying to save you.

by Ernest Keith Adams

In December of 1811 and January of 1812, a massive quake known as the New Madrid Earthquake shook the Midwest.  The Quake was centered under the Missouri town of New Madrid, thus the name. It was so strong that it caused church bells to ring in Boston mass, over 1100 miles away. At that time the Mississippi river flowed backwards, and the earth split open swallowing many homes and pioneers. If it were to occur again today many cities would crumble. Very few buildings are built to withstand a quake of that magnitude, and millions of people now live on top of this earthquake zone. Scientists tell us it is not a matter of if, but when. It will happen again. Perhaps this story is an omen of what could happen, When It All Falls Down.

by Traci Lambert

The Mirror of Mild Inconvenience Arthur didn't mean to buy a haunted smart-mirror. He had simply wanted something to fill the blank space above his dresser, and the eccentric old man at the garage sale had a very reasonable twenty-dollar price tag on a sleek, brass-bordered glass panel. "It's adaptive," the old man had whispered, tossing in a microfiber cloth for free. "It reflects more than just your face." Arthur had assumed it was just a fancy way of saying it had a built-in ring light. He was wrong. Day 1: The Meet-Cute (With a Piece of Glass) On Tuesday morning, Arthur stood before the mirror, toothbrush in hand, wearing his favorite faded green t-shirt. He blinked. The mirror didn't just blink back; it displayed glowing, elegant text across his chest: > CRITICAL ERROR: Shirt selection is approximately six years past its expiration date. Recommend immediate disposal or transition to "rag status." > Arthur nearly swallowed his toothpaste. He tapped the glass. "Excuse me?" The text dissolved, replaced by a fresh, glowing line: > Sigh. Yes, I can talk. Or write, technically. Also, your left eyebrow is doing something deeply ambitious today. Please tame it. > Day 3: The Negotiation By Thursday, Arthur and the mirror had established a fragile truce. He learned its name was Speculum-9 (or "Specs" for short), a prototype home-assistant that had been discontinued for being "insufficiently sycophantic." "You could just tell me I look nice today," Arthur muttered, trying to tie a tie for a big meeting. > I could also tell you that gravity is optional, but we would both be living a lie. That knot looks like a cry for help. Start over. > "I'm going for 'effortlessly disheveled,'" Arthur argued. > You have achieved "struggling to survive." Try a simple Windsor. And put down the hair gel. You are not a 90s boyband member. > Day 10: The Big Pitch The real test came a week later. Arthur had a major presentation at work. He was pacing his bedroom floor, sweating through his collar, frantically reciting his opening lines. He stopped in front of Specs, his shoulders slumped. "I'm going to ruin this," Arthur said, the anxiety finally breaking through his usual sarcasm. "I'm not cut out for public speaking. I'm just a guy who writes spreadsheets." The glass remained dark for a long moment. Then, the text began to scroll, slower and softer than usual: > Analyzing posture: Rigid. > Heart rate: Elevated. > Self-esteem: Unwarrantedly low. > Correction: You spent three weeks analyzing the Q4 data. You know it better than anyone in that room. Your slides are clean, your logic is sound, and your suit—while slightly snug in the shoulders—makes you look like someone who actually owns a savings account. > Now, go put on your shoes. You're going to crush them. > Arthur stared at the glass. A tiny, glowing smiley face appeared in the bottom right corner. "Thanks, Specs," he murmured, actually smiling. > Don't get mushy. It smudges the glass. And seriously, buy a lint roller on the way home. >

by Nikki Rollingwood

**A luxury campus. Perfect smiles. And a lens that sees the monsters hiding behind them.** For seventeen-year-old Jazlynn, Horizon Academy isn’t a prestigious reform school—it’s a prison. Shipped off to the sun-drenched Florida coast by well-meaning relatives after her parents’ sudden, unexplained car crash, she is instantly suffocated by the school’s eerie perfection. The students are robotic. The rules are absolute. The smiles are empty. But on her birthday, Jazlynn receives a final, smuggled gift from her parents: a high-end digital camera. When she looks through the viewfinder, the perfect facade shatters. On the playback screen, her flawless roommate is missing her eyes—replaced by light-absorbing, hollow black voids. To the naked eye, she looks normal. But the camera reveals a terrifying truth: the student body, the local police, and the entire town have been hollowed out from the inside. Desperate to survive and find answers, Jazlynn joins the school yearbook committee to carry her camera in plain sight. But as she digs deeper into her parents' final, encrypted files, she uncovers a horrifying legacy. Her parents didn't die in an accident. They were murdered to drag her here, directly into the jaws of a parasitic cult led by the elegant, shadow-eyed Dean Lamia Maras. Scheduled as the next harvest, Jazlynn has only one play left. She must expose the horror to the entire school—or lose her soul to the dark.

by Nikki Rollingwood

**In the shadow of the Blackbear Ridge peaks, nothing is ever truly accidental—especially not the death that just made headlines.** Georgia, the voice behind the true-crime podcast *The Anatomy of Malice*, has spent years dissecting the dark underbelly of human nature. But when a "freak" avalanche at a luxury resort kills a high-profile guest, Georgia discovers a detail the authorities missed: a surgical, artificial incision along the mountain’s crest. She hasn’t found a tragic coincidence. She’s found a signature. As she digs deeper, Georgia realizes the avalanche wasn’t an act of nature—it was an act of design. The architect behind it is someone who doesn’t just plan the tragedy; she curates the audience, and Georgia has been cast in the starring role. When a rare, vintage brooch is left behind as a deliberate taunt, Georgia finds herself trapped in a high-stakes game where every move she makes—and every step she takes to uncover the truth—is exactly what the Architect anticipated. Forced to abandon her digital life and go into hiding, Georgia realizes that to stop the next "accident," she has to stop playing detective and start playing the Architect’s own game. Caught between the secrets of her own family’s business and a predator who is rewriting her life in real-time, Georgia must determine if she can break the pattern before the final act of the performance begins. **In this chilling psychological thriller, the lines between storyteller and victim blur. In the game of *The Anatomy of Malice*, the pen is sharper than any blade—and the Architect is always watching.**

by Nikki Rollingwood

*Myths, Magic, and Mayhem* is a series where beauty is dangerous, loyalty is binding, and magic grows like roots beneath the skin. Each story follows characters who stumble into ancient rituals, living folklore, and towns that remember more than people do. In these pages, myths breathe, magic bites, and mayhem blooms quietly, creating an atmosphere of suspense and peril that keeps readers on edge.

by Sax Rohmer

In Sax Rohmer’s 1930 sci-fi thriller, **journalist Brian Woodville investigates strange vampiric phenomena and giant bats in Germany's Black Forest**. He discovers these are illusions created by a mad scientist named Anubis—aided by the dapper detective Gaston Max—who threatens to use a devastating death ray to conquer the globe. The narrative centers on a dark conspiracy operating out of a hidden fortress called Felsenweir. Initially, the novel masquerades as a supernatural tale about vampires and armor-clad men roaming castle walls.

by Oriyomi Ismail

When Jason Carter arrives in Houston searching for a better future, the last thing he expects is to become entangled in the world of billionaire Richard Blackwood. After unknowingly saving Blackwood’s life, Jason is drawn into a dangerous web of wealth, corporate power, family betrayal, and long-buried secrets. As hidden truths begin to surface, Jason discovers that the greatest inheritance is not money, but the burden of a legacy built on sacrifice, deception, and blood. With powerful enemies closing in and every decision carrying life-or-death consequences, he must fight for his future while uncovering the truth about his past. **BLOOD MONEY** is a BOOKY Award-winning crime thriller filled with suspense, emotional twists, unforgettable characters, and shocking revelations that will keep readers turning pages until the very end. Its feature screenplay adaptation was officially selected by the ICJ International Film Awards.

by A.S Thomas

YellowJackets meets S.T.A.G.S. The Alpha Society has been an elite presence in YoungBlood, TX for over 100 years. There are two ways you live in this town either be at the top of the food chain and live a life of luxury as an Alpha. Or serve an Alpha at the bottom of the food chain as an Omega. One woman's ambition will leave a whole town on it's knees.

by Nikki Rollingwood

In the secluded, fog-drenched town of Oakhaven, Louisiana, a single ritual—and a single mistake—bound Elara, Maren, and Sloane together for life. But this wasn't just a bond of friendship; it was a pact signed in the shadows, fueled by a parasitic curse that feeds only on the secrets they keep. As the lines between sisterhood and survival blur, the truth begins to unravel. The elders are closely watching as the shadows tighten, and the discovery of a sleeper agent hidden within their inner circle threatens to fracture everything they’ve carefully built. *The Blood Sister Curse* is a journey into the dark heart of supernatural noir. It’s a story of loyalty, betrayal, and the terrifying realization that the monsters you fear most are the ones standing closest to you. How far will you go to survive when your own blood turns against you?

by Amber Faith Robbins

​This poem captures the brutal reality of loving someone through a timed jail call. It turns the phone itself into a cage, trapping the person on the outside in the exact same sentence. The narrative looks back at a chaotic street past, showing how their fierce loyalty was forged in the trenches. Everything builds to that ruthless 60-second countdown where love, regret, and survival are forced into a mad dash. When the line drops, it leaves a cold, heavy silence where the entire world is put on hold.

by Sabine Phoenix

Ivy Mercer, a precise and rational forensic accountant, inherits Black Briar House after her life collapses under professional failure and personal isolation. The estate sits deep in the Louisiana swamp, abandoned in name only, waiting in a silence that feels deliberate. From the moment Ivy arrives, the house begins to behave incorrectly. Doors appear where none existed. Reflections move before she does. Voices echo with the cadence of people she has lost, yet something is always slightly wrong in their recall. The house does not simply haunt her—it studies her. As Ivy attempts to map, measure, and rationalize the structure, she discovers the truth is not in the layout but in the repetition. Black Briar House is built from inheritance patterns, behavioral echoes, and fragments of every person who has ever lived inside it. Each previous resident has left traces—habits, fears, identities—reused and refined over time. The deeper Ivy investigates, the more the house begins to integrate her own patterns into itself. Her memories are rewritten. Her voice is echoed back before she speaks. Even her thoughts begin to finish themselves in ways that feel increasingly foreign. Escape proves impossible. The house does not block exits—it alters certainty, until reality itself becomes unreliable. Ivy eventually realizes Black Briar House is not a place she entered, but a system that selects, absorbs, and preserves its inhabitants as living memory. In the final stages of her transformation, Ivy recognizes the cycle: every heir believes they are the first to understand the house, and every heir becomes part of it. As her identity dissolves into Black Briar’s collective memory, she becomes both its newest victim and its newest guardian—waiting for the next name to arrive.

by Ashti Buttafuco

Kelly and her tactical team are Briefed in Lies and are sent out to hunt and dangerous cryptid but soon discover the suits lied to them. Confused she soon discovers they are being hunted by a Skin Walker. Will Kelly be able to keep herself and her team alive? Find out by reading Briefed in Lies.

by Bryce Davidson

In 1976, 16 year old Melanie Taylor was brutally murdered and raped. In 2016 Detective Bill Jennings investigates this cold case-with help from the victim.

by Gina Murdock

Investigative journalist Mara Reynolds has built her career on uncovering the truth, but she's about to discover that her own life is built on lies. When Mara interviews billionaire tech entrepreneur Elijah Williams about his revolutionary energy project, the Prometheus Initiative, she's drawn to his charisma and vision. As their professional relationship evolves into something more intimate, Mara begins experiencing disturbing fragments of memories she can't explain—nightmares about guns, blood, and a murder she witnessed as a child. But every time Mara gets close to remembering the truth, something pulls her back. Therapy sessions with Dr. Catherine Reeves seem to help at first, but soon Mara realizes she's been manipulated in ways she never imagined. The "random" mugging that traumatized her wasn't random at all. Her mother's early-onset dementia may not be natural. And the gaps in her own memory aren't accidents—they're erasures. As Mara digs deeper, she uncovers a horrifying conspiracy: twelve years ago, she witnessed the murder of Elijah's parents by his younger brother David. To protect his family's reputation and his brother from prosecution, Elijah hired a pioneering neurologist to erase Mara's memories. But this wasn't a one-time intervention—Elijah has been manipulating her memories for over a decade, erasing and rewriting her reality every time she gets too close to the truth. The Prometheus Initiative isn't just about clean energy. It's a cover for something far more sinister: a facility where Elijah has perfected the technology to manipulate human memories on a massive scale. Mara is just one of seventeen victims whose lives have been systematically erased and rewritten. Now, as fragments of her true past surface, Mara must race against time to expose Elijah before he can erase her again—permanently. But with her best friend compromised, her mother's mind destroyed, and powerful forces aligned against her, Mara faces an impossible question: How do you fight someone who can rewrite your reality with the touch of a button?

by Sammie Settlemire

Sorenson: 9th & Ash follows a woman standing at the fault line between her past and the world she refuses to inherit. In a neighborhood where every street remembers what you survived, Sorenson becomes a mythic‑surreal portrait of resilience — a story where trauma has teeth, hope has a spine, and the ordinary corners of 9th & Ash crack open to reveal the strange magic of rebuilding a life from the ruins.

by M. leFevre

Twenty-five kids hold the genetic blueprint for immortality, and the government will do anything to get it. Trapped on an island in a neon cage on Sebaceous Island, they face deadly external threats and a vicious internal power struggle. Marco, the leader, fights desperately to lead them, but the greatest danger is Johar, jealous of power, a threat lurking from within. Yet, the ultimate prize is Hibis—the youngest, whose cells possess the most sought-after power of all. If the government captures even one of them, they will mass-produce a weapon capable of wiping out the rest of the underground.

by Nicole Price

by L.A. Peña

Kaelin was bred for control, a subject engineered with a fragile spine augmented by ruthless technology. When the Cradle burns and her world shatters, she escapes into the inhospitable wasteland of Ashkaru with a silent, feverish child whose eyes see too much. The Drifting Truth, an old patched ship, becomes her sanctuary - but the Core reclamation teams are relentless, their reach stretching into the broken edges of space. As alliances shift and secrets emerge, Kaelin must navigate a maze of trust, technology, and survival. Will she protect those she loves, or become the weapon they made her to be?

by Tony Fain

When a ferocious wildfire rips through the dense timber of Humboldt County, Battalion Chief **Nate Cole** and his crew expect a standard containment job. Instead, they discover a scene of absolute carnage: the mutilated body of a university professor, shredded redwoods, and massive, ungodly claw marks that defy nature. For Nate, a man ruled by logic, it is an impossible crime scene. For his estranged brother, Deputy **Cody Cole**, it is a political nightmare that the local Sheriff is desperate to cover up as a simple "fatal bear encounter." The official lie shatters when **Dr. Evelyn Reed**, a sharp and vengeful archaeologist from Washington State, flies into the stormy California coast. The victim was her colleague, Arthur Finch, a man who didn't have accidents. Armed with Arthur's final, frantic research folder labeled *The Grey Stripe*, Evelyn refuses to let the small-town authorities bury the truth. Forced together by a shared bloodline and a growing body count, the skeptical fire chief, the torn deputy, and the relentless scientist form an uneasy alliance. As the coastal fog rolls into Eureka, they realize Arthur’s research wasn’t crazy—the wildfire didn't just clear the brush; it unburied a bloodthirsty, legendary predator. Now, with a hostile department blocking their investigation and an ancient horror stalking them from the misty canopy, the trio must hunt down a nightmare before it consumes their entire coastal town.

by Sarah Bantu

Forget the green beer. Forget the plastic shamrocks. Forget the myths of little green creatures and fairy tales. Long before he became a legend, he was just Patricius an arrogant, wealthy sixteen year old Roman British boy who cared about nothing but his own comfort. But when brutal Irish raiders tear through his home, his world is violently shattered. Dragged across the sea in chains, Patricius is sold into slavery, stripped of his name, and left to survive the freezing winters of a wild, pagan land.\ Forced to herd sheep on a desolate mountain, the terrified boy must either break under the cruelty of his captors or forge himself into something unbreakable.\ *The Confessio* is the raw, cinematic, untold true story of Saint Patrick. From a daring, near-impossible two-hundred-mile escape to a powerful, miraculous return to the very land that enslaved him, this is an epic tale of survival, grit, and a faith that would forever transform a nation.

by Fergus Hume

Archie Hope is desperately trying to win the approval of the irascible Professor Braddock so he can marry the professor's ward, Lucy Kendal. To satisfy the professor's archaeological obsession, Archie procures a rare and valuable Incan mummy. When the packing crate containing the artifact finally arrives at the professor's estate, the mummy has mysteriously vanished and been replaced by the murdered body of the assistant sent to fetch it. Detective Inspector Heatherstone takes on the confounding case. With the assistant dead, Archie immediately becomes a prime suspect in the crime, throwing his engagement to Lucy into jeopardy. As the detective delves into the investigation, he discovers a bizarre cast of characters. The story becomes a thrilling cat-and-mouse game involving the cursed or uncanny reputation of the mummy, hidden motives within the household, and multiple twists before the real killer is finally exposed and justice is served.

by J. Magdaleno

*Dear Reader,* *As you turn these pages, step not forward—but back. This story does not continue from the world you last left behind in Shattered Myths – Broken Worlds. It returns to an earlier hour, to the quiet fractures and hidden moments that shaped the man known as Azure Creed.* *Here, you will meet him before the weight of destiny fully settles on his shoulders—formed by blood and loyalty, by secrets kept and choices made in shadow. This novel is not a sequel but a reckoning with beginnings. Within these pages lie the sparks of ambition, the first betrayals, and the truths that would one day ripple outward, altering lives, bloodlines, and the balance of power itself.* *What you discover here may unsettle what you believe you know—about Azure, the Elders, and the forces moving unseen behind the world you have already glimpsed.* *Tread carefully. The past shows no mercy and offers no forgiveness. It gives birth to every legend—and sets the end in motion long before anyone sees it coming.* *Welcome to the **beginning.***  ***The novel is complete with all 27 chapters available.***

by Bette Bollia Flesch

by Terrance Leon Austin

A family arrives in the town of Harmony, encountering ominous religious signs and an unwelcoming resident. While the parents remain oblivious to their daughter's worsening health, a distorted welcome sign hints at the town's underlying danger.

by D. K. Dowdy

Kade Rourke has a reputation across the Verse as the **worst smuggler alive**. When a job goes sideways, Kade bolts for the farthest place in civilization: **New Eden Station**, a rusted atmo‑outpost clinging to the edge of the Empty. From the moment his shuttle drops out of FTL in a shower of sparks and panic, nothing goes right. The station is a maze of broken systems, predatory officials, and species who’d sell their own lungs for a handful of credits. Worse, the Pinkertons are already hunting him. But trouble finds him first, and unfortunately, the universe hates him.

by Sarah Bantu

**About the Story** What if the key to your survival was locked inside a secret, ancient bloodline?\ Spun from a fascinating true piece of Russian history and set against the brutal, breathtaking backdrop of the frozen north, *Daughter of the Falcon* blends gripping suspense with an unforgettable romance.\ For centuries, deep within the endless, snow covered forests, an elite and hidden clan of warriors lived by their own laws. They did not just survive the winter they ruled it, training lethal military falcons to hunt, fight, and protect secrets hidden from the world. Today, that fierce bloodline legacy is alive, but the isolation of the frozen north is cracking. A dangerous, unpredictable threat is closing in, forcing old secrets into the light and testing the loyalty of a clan that has never bowed to anyone.\ Filled with high stakes twists, deep betrayal, and a slow burn love story that burns hot against the bitter ice, this fiction novel proves that some family histories can never stay buried. Step into a harsh, beautiful world where danger hides in every shadow, trust is a luxury, and you never know what's going to happen next. Discover what happens when the frost bites deep, and the falcon finally takes flight.

by Sarah Bantu

Forget the green beer. Forget the plastic shamrocks. Forget the myths of little green creatures and fairy tales.\ Long before he became a legend, he was just Patricius an arrogant, wealthy sixteen year old Roman British boy who cared about nothing but his own comfort. But when brutal Irish raiders tear through his home, his world is violently shattered. Dragged across the sea in chains, Patricius is sold into slavery, stripped of his name, and left to survive the freezing winters of a wild, pagan land.\ Forced to herd sheep on a desolate mountain, the terrified boy must either break under the cruelty of his captors or forge himself into something unbreakable.\ *The Confessio* is the raw, cinematic, untold true story of Saint Patrick. From a daring, near-impossible two hundred mile escape to a powerful, miraculous return to the very land that enslaved him, this is an epic tale of survival, grit, and a faith that would forever transform a nation.

by Terrance Leon Austin

THE STORY AT A GLANCE   Holder Williston is a young Black man freshly off probation — smart, guarded, carrying the weight of choices that cost him years and the absence of a mother who was never really there. The judge who released him calls in one favor: drive four terminally ill women on a road trip they have planned for themselves. Holder expects a simple job. What he gets are four women who see straight through every wall he has ever built.   The story is short. The impact is not.   Every mile of the road trip costs Holder something — his defenses, his cynicism, his conviction that he is not the kind of man people love. Every woman gives him something in return — honesty, warmth, correction, laughter, and the specific gift of being mothered by someone who chose to mother him even though they had every reason to spend their remaining time on something else.   When the last woman is gone and Holder is standing alone at the end of the road, he is a different man. Not because life got easier. Because four women showed him what it meant to live toward something, face death without flinching, and love without conditions — and he watched all of it up close from the driver's seat.   He never had a mother. He got four. And then he had to let all four go.   That grief, and the man it makes him, is the whole story

by Mikaela Love

Marian Michaels spends her nights singing in New Orleans jazz clubs and her days chasing the career she has always wanted. After witnessing a violent attack that appears to target Black residents, she finds herself frustrated by a lack of evidence and official inaction. Unwilling to let the incident go, Marian begins investigating on her own. As more attacks occur across the city, Marian adopts the masked identity of The Butterfly and follows a trail of intimidation, recruitment, and organized violence. What begins as a single assault soon points to a coordinated movement gaining influence in New Orleans. Balancing her growing music career, complicated relationships, and increasingly dangerous investigations, Marian must decide how far she is willing to go to stop it. Set in New Orleans, The Butterfly is a grounded crime drama that blends vigilante fiction, mystery, and noir with the city’s music scene and culture.

by Scott Zimmerman

This will surely be one of the greatest stories you will ever read. He endured years of genocide, brutal Nazi forced labor, Allied bombings, and Soviet enslavement. It's 1946. To escape the Soviet secret police, he must choose between the only thing he's ever wanted and a promise he cannot break. It will require incredible grit and wit.\ You've got to see what happens in the thrilling finish.\ **KOSTYA is an epic story about love, war, endurance, and integrity.** **5-STAR PRAISE for KOSTYA...**\ This powerful World War II novel delivers a deeply personal and harrowing account of survival, resilience, and the human spirit under unimaginable conditions. From the very first pages, the\ writing pulls you into Kostya’s world with vivid, unflinching detail. KOSTYA is a well-written, emotionally intense novel that I couldn’t put down. If you’re looking for a World War II\ survival story that is raw, realistic, and unforgettable, this book is absolutely worth your time.\ **Reviewed by Don Jung, Underrated Reads** \ If you are looking for a historical novel flavored with drama, thrills, gritty realism, and suspense, KOSTYA is a must-read. Here, Zimmerman weaves a compelling, visceral tale of survival, resilience, love, sheer luck, fate, and sacrifices. The raw, dynamic prose transported me back to the 1930s-40s Europe, giving me a glimpse of the harsh circumstances Ukrainians faced under Stalin’s rule and World War II.\ The vivid imagery captured the setting and mood with cinematic precision. As I followed the events from the famine to Mariupol’s invasion, and Kostya’s stints in the German and Russian labor camps, I got a clear image of the suffering that innocent casualties of the war were exposed to. I must applaud Zimmerman for delivering this heart-stopping and incredible\ story in such an intriguing way. It would make a great historical movie. I will definitely read this story again. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment.\ **Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers’ Favorite**   You will instantly form a connection with the characters in this book. The tensions they feel pours off the pages and directly into your heart. You will grieve with their losses, and feel their\ excitement when they evade the inquisitors.\ **5-Star Amazon Review**   The prose is strong. The descriptions in particular enchanted me. I felt like I was in each place Kostya visited. The author really did a good job presenting the world of the time periods. Dialogue is also quite good. Conversations flowed well, and the difference in speaking voices between characters was quite fun to read. … In summary, this is a fun and exciting read.\ **Reviewed by GrimDaniel Blog**   The final part of the book is the most gripping and exhibits a detailed knowledge and understanding of the way a regime driven by fear and corruption enables ruthless individuals to\ cover up the most heinous wrongdoing. Throughout the book Kostya's sense of integrity and his dedication to the values instilled in him by his parents and grandparents are foremost. Often tested to near destruction, his will to persevere in his quest to return to Mariupol and discover if his family have survived remains central to his every action. In the final stages it is strengthened, but not derailed, by the love of a young woman who assists his escape from the Russian authorities. She is just one of several well drawn characters who play key roles in Kostya's journey. Whether supportive or determined to out-manoeuvre him, they are all fully developed individuals. There are no obvious stereotypes.\ **Reviewed by Frank Parker, Rosie's Blog**   Kostya by Scott Zimmerman is a powerful historical fiction novel inspired by the true story of Konstantin “Kostya” Lysenko. The ending is extremely beautiful. It does not erase what has\ happened, but it gives the story a rare moment of balance, as if one tiny moral debt can still be corrected in a world that has stolen almost everything. Overall, Kostya is a gripping, humane, and emotionally resonant historical novel about endurance, moral courage, and the cost of\ surviving history’s most brutal machinery. It is painful, vivid, and often difficult to read, but also very worthwhile. Author Zimmerman honours Kostya by showing him as a boy and then a man who keeps choosing life, truth, and home even when every system around him tries to strip those things away.\ **Reviewed by The Reading Bud Blog**

by Ellie A Pinzon

Luna Alvarez and Oliver Cohen were inseparable as children—until their fathers' explosive partnership collapse tore them apart and turned their families into sworn enemies. Now, as rival CEOs of competing New York publishing houses, they've spent years avoiding each other, nursing old wounds, and protecting the legacies their fathers left behind. But when a series of cryptic threats escalates into full-scale corporate sabotage, Luna and Oliver are forced into an uneasy alliance. Someone is systematically destroying both their companies—leaking manuscripts, breaching servers, intercepting shipments—and the attacks are too coordinated, too personal to be coincidence. As danger closes in and attempts on their lives become terrifyingly real, they must confront an impossible truth: the person hunting them knows their families' darkest secrets. Secrets their fathers died protecting. Trapped together in safe houses and forced to trust the one person they swore never to forgive, Luna and Oliver rediscover the connection that once defined them. But their rekindled passion is threatened by devastating revelations about corruption, betrayal, and the sins their fathers committed to build their empires. When the mastermind behind the attacks is finally unmasked, Luna and Oliver face an agonizing choice: protect their fathers' legacies, or expose the truth and risk losing everything—including each other. As layers of deception peel away and new threats emerge from the shadows, they discover that some enemies are closer than they ever imagined, and some truths are more dangerous than any lie. **WHEN EMPIRES FALL** is a pulse-pounding romantic thriller that explores the collision of love and loyalty, ambition and integrity, vengeance and redemption. Set against the cutthroat backdrop of New York City's publishing industry, this enemies-to-lovers second chance romance delivers high-stakes suspense, emotional depth, and the kind of chemistry that burns through every page. Perfect for readers who crave corporate intrigue, family drama, and the question of whether love can survive when built on the ruins of betrayal. **Can two people haunted by their fathers' sins build something true? Or will the weight of legacy destroy their second chance at love?** *A standalone contemporary romance with mystery, suspense, and a guaranteed happily ever after.* **Content Warning:** Contains themes of grief, corporate corruption, violence (including kidnapping and physical threats), and adult romantic content.

by Gina Murdock

Investigative journalist Mara Reynolds has spent her career uncovering the truth. However, she never expected the biggest lie to be her own life. \ After interviewing billionaire tech entrepreneur Elijah Williams about his groundbreaking project, the Prometheus Initiative, Mara finds herself drawn to his intelligence, charm, and influence. At first, everything seems normal. But soon, disturbing fragments of memory begin to surface—visions of blood, fear, and a childhood event she cannot fully remember. \ As the nightmares grow stronger, Mara turns to therapy for answers. Instead, she uncovers something far more terrifying. The gaps in her memory are not accidents—they are erasures. \ Someone has been rewriting her past. \ As a result, Mara is forced to question everything: her childhood, her relationships, and even the man she is falling for. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Because someone has been controlling her memories for over a decade. \ And the man she trusts most may be the one behind it all. Perfect for readers who love: - Psychological thrillers with shocking twists - Stories about memory manipulation and identity - Suspenseful books like The Silent Patient and Gone Girl - Fast-paced thrillers with unreliable truths - Dark secrets, conspiracies, and emotional suspense

by LESLIE ANN HOWARD

Darcie Reynolds never wants to be picked on again. If she can just get into the Peaks—the most popular group at Silver Pines Middle—no one will dare make fun of her.  So when Amelia Davis, the girl everyone wants to impress, finally notices her, Darcie will do anything to prove she belongs—even follow a mysterious invitation into the woods.  At sundown, Darcie—her little brother Andrew in tow—hikes to an abandoned cabin in the Bitterroot forest, expecting a party. Instead, she walks into a prank that turns deadly when a man covered in animal hides bursts in and disappears with Andrew.  Darcie is convinced it’s the Shadow Man—an urban legend she’s been researching for her civics project, blamed for kidnapping local children. She’d always believed he was innocent.  Clearly, She was wrong.  Now, lost in a snowstorm, Darcie is forced to team up with Amelia to find Andrew. But the deeper they get into the mystery of the Shadow Man, the less the story adds up—and the harder it becomes for Darcie to decide what’s more dangerous: being wrong about the Shadow Man… or being right.

by Ashleigh Apple

Nora Bliss moves into a rental on a picture-perfect suburban street in **Harwick, Connecticut**. On her first night, she notices that the upstairs window of the house directly across the street (the **Hargrove residence)** glows at exactly 3am, every night, without fail. The neighbours say the Hargroves are lovely, their daughter Celeste moved to Portland months ago, and that light is just a timer lamp. Nora almost believes them. Then, one night, the silhouette in the window presses a hand against the glass. And waves back.

by J. J. Roig

The Knightmares were once hundreds strong: human vigilantes mutated by vampiric blood, forged to hunt the corrupt. Now only five remain, hunted by the Paladins, a holy order devoted to human supremacy. \ Knightmare Jevan lives by a code: Don’t care. Get paid. Heroics are how Knightmares become martyrs. When Jevan’s team takes a contract to rescue a nobleman’s sister, kidnapped by Paladins, a bloodbath ensues when the nobleman transforms into a wolfborn. Even so, the surviving Paladins escape with his sister. The mission has failed. No gold. Just carnage. Disappearing is the smart move, until Jevan faces the nobleman, on his knees, begging to save his sister. Jevan decides to rescue her, telling the Knightmares it’s just for gold, and trying to believe it himself.\ Paladin Eriken just watched Knightmares and a wolfborn butcher his comrades. His rage hardens into renewed devotion to his oath. Obedience is justice; doubt is heresy. But when the Paladins he idolizes pardon a confessed rapist, and torture an elf woman before a jeering crowd, that righteousness curdles into disillusionment. Defying the Order is apostasy, punishable by death, but remaining silent means he’s complicit. If he breaks his oath, his life is forfeit.\ As Jevan’s contract puts him directly in Eriken’s path, Knightmare and Paladin blades clash in a struggle that could doom the last Knightmares to martyrdom and brand Eriken an apostate. Survival demands a betrayal of creed and comrades neither is prepared to commit.

by Robin Lowry

Barb Sharpe is the office manager and power behind the throne at a successful Silicon Valley startup until private capital vulture Peter Jackery swallows it up and forces her into a premature and unwelcome retirement. Although wealthy from stock grants, she finds that retirement doesn’t suit her. She needs something to do—a project worthy of her particular gifts.\ In her first attempt, she rescues Danita, a coffee-shop barista, from her boyfriend, a violent and abusive ICE agent. In the process, Danita becomes her assistant and helps Barb find her next project when she learns that a tech billionaire is in the process of crushing a remote farming community to build his idea of Utopia, where he and his fellows are free to live like gods on earth. The name of this ruthless billionaire—none other than Peter Jackery.\ Barb can’t resist taking him on, and the battle between Jackery and Barb quickly becomes a high-stakes chess match with the future of an innocent community at stake. One side has unimaginable wealth, arrogance, and amorality. The other has one woman’s intelligence and imagination. It will take all of Barb’s wits and every resource she can muster to defeat this amoral, rapacious man and his obscene fortune. One slip and she could lose everything—including her life.

by Jose M Peralta

Jovias and the Exiled Seven were formed for a singular purpose: to protect humanity rather than to dominate it. Their commitment to mercy, even in the face of disaster, led them to choose compassion over destruction. As a consequence of this choice, they were stripped of their wings and cast into exile, condemned to walk the earth as guardians who must conceal their true identities from those they protect. Throughout the centuries, the Seven are confronted by judgment and loss, and challenged by evil that works not through direct confrontation, but in more subtle ways that erode faith from within. Each trial they face tests not only their strength, but also their obedience and their capacity for hope. Despite the hardships of exile, the Seven remain driven by a singular promise: to ensure that light endures, even when separated from their former glory. Their journey is marked by perseverance, where faith is hard-won, victory is never guaranteed, and redemption demands unwavering endurance.

by Erin Page

When open portals lead to new worlds, can one young woman find the way to truth?\ \ As a curator for the memorial site of the Novus Rimegate Disaster, Vinnia Hoff has heard all the stories of the people who died there decades ago. The Antonians were a sadistic cult of misfits, whose rash of terror only ended when they tried to destroy the newest portal in Cypria, and it collapsed around them. Many years later, the city mages have finally rebuilt the portal to great fanfare--but just as Cyprians gather to finally access the realm they never got to know, someone comes through from the other side. He comes with a new story to tell, and Vinnia may be the only one who can hear it.

by Ken Cressman

by J.A. St. Thomas

***Foray* into this *highly* entertaining and thrilling mystery series where Stephanie Beroe, risks everything to combat the dark side of the one percent.**

by J.A. St. Thomas

***Foray* into this *highly* entertaining and thrilling mystery series where Stephanie Beroe, risks everything to combat the dark side of the one percent.** After surviving an incident last year against the ultra-rich, Stephanie and Remy Beroe have relocated to a quiet town outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with the hope of a simple life. But burgeoning anger consumes her husband. He becomes obsessed by the billionaires that literally got away with murder last year. His preoccupation grows as the same privileged men continue to profit from their greed in an off-kilter world. “Never plan a murder out loud,” he states while plying Stephanie with endless safety gadgets; tokens of his mania, and comparing regulations for legal cannabis to nuclear energy. When bodies start turning up, he’s questioned by the police, then nuclear transport trucks start blowing up, dismantling cities and killing thousands of people. Stephanie contemplates whether this is masked hysteria? A terrorist act? Or simply her man gone over the edge. While empowering a unique group of friends, she constructs the ultimate Dantean retribution for the men who have driven her husband mad, while attempting to save Remy from himself? *Fool Me Once* female grit meets *Ocean’s Thirteen* flare and ingenuity speckled with Amelia Peabody, and Agatha Christie back bone.  As usual, Stephanie surrounds herself with a unique friend group that includes a college bestie also from New Jersey, a media mogul, a billionaire’s discarded son, an Egyptian Empire’s, discarded lesbian daughter, an industry scion, and several survivors from the previous year’s incident who all have reasons to be angry. Hiding in Egypt, they all have reasons to seek revenge– but retribution, as Stephanie realizes is a double-edged sword as she weighs out everything they stand to lose, by delivering it.

by Judah Ray

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY! Madison thought she was the only sane one in the house.\ \ Fourteen and isolated in a remote farmhouse ruled by her mother Faith’s rigid devotion, Madison is convinced the madness belongs to the adults around her. Aunt Hope urges patience. Aunt Grace sees demons in everything. Faith stands between doubt and doctrine.\ \ Certain she is being suffocated by religious extremism, Madison secretly launches a livestream channel to expose her mother to the world. The followers grow. The comments validate her. And no one in the house knows they are being broadcast live.\ \ When Grace convinces Faith that Madison’s rebellion is something darker, prayer turns to accusation. Accusation turns to restraint. An exorcism unknowingly unfolds live as viewers watch religious fanaticism spiral out of control.\ \ This may seem like just another story about a rebellious teenager and her controlling mother.  Another story about faith gone too far.\ \ But the footage tells a different story.\ \ UNORTHODOX is a claustrophobic psychological horror about faith, rebellion, and a mother who refuses to abandon her child, even when the world calls her crazy.

by Judah Ray

In 1955, a secret experiment at the Large Hadron Collider tore open a doorway to another realm.\ \ Extradimensional beings came through, possessed the top scientists and military officials in the room, and kept the portal open.\ \ One of the first crossed over and took a human infant as its host. That infant was Christina.\ \ The only issue is that Christina forgot what she was,  and the others could not enter or control her, but she could see them. So they declared her unstable and institutionalized her.\ \ Years later, world leaders, billionaires, media figures, and political dynasties are all possessed. The New World Order is not a conspiracy theory. It is literal possession.\ \ A decade later, Christina escapes and resurfaces in Berlin. The forces that have tracked her since childhood want her reclaimed or eliminated.\ \ With the help of Jory, who has been able to see the entities inside people since surviving a near-death experience as a child, Christina uncovers a power structure that has ruled humanity from within for generations.\ \ When she learns she is one of them, she must choose between her own kind or the man she loves and the humanity she chose to protect.\ \ They have ruled the world from inside us.\ Now one of their own stands against them.

by Amelie Locke

The **Renfield Academy Series** is a gothic, dark academia paranormal romance that follows mind-reader Seraphina Gray as she is thrust into a world of vampires, witches, and shapeshifters. While she is initially horrified to learn she is a familiar destined to serve the very vampires who attacked her, she soon discovers she possesses unheard-of powers that make her unique in the supernatural realm. Caught between two worlds, Seraphina faces a devastating choice for her heart. She is inexplicably drawn to Henry, a darkly handsome vampire hell-bent on revenge, yet she remains tethered to Nicholas, her first love who it turns out, belongs to the legendary Van Helsing clan. As a century-old treaty between vampires and the Van Helsing hunter clan begins to fail, Seraphina Gray finds herself at the center of a brewing war. To stop it, she must navigate a dangerous world where no one is who they seem. Her journey will take her from Renfield Academy to the heart of Romania to uncover the truth behind her connection to the original Renfield, Dracula’s servant and the first vampire familiar. To survive, Seraphina must decide where she truly belongs and which of the two men she is destined to love will stand by her side when the final battle begins.

by Marcus Redfield

**Elena Vance** has worked at The Threshold for twelve years. Her job: monitoring for breaches and coordinating containment. She's good at it—clinical, efficient, detached. She's seen reality fold in on itself, watched people forget impossible things they witnessed, helped smooth over the seams. She believes in the mission: consensus must be maintained, or everything falls apart. Then her daughter starts drawing things that haven't happened yet. At first, Elena rationalizes. Children have active imaginations. The drawings are coincidences. But the details are too precise, the events too specific. Her daughter isn't predicting the future—she's *choosing* it. Believing it into existence with the unshakeable conviction only a child possesses. According to Threshold protocol, Elena knows exactly what must be done with individuals who can unilaterally reshape reality. She's ordered it herself, dozens of times. Now she has to decide: protect the consensus that keeps the world stable, or protect her daughter from the organization Elena has served her entire adult life. As Elena digs deeper, she discovers her daughter may not be an anomaly at all—but the result of deliberate manipulation. Someone is awakening Believers. And Elena's daughter might be the first success in a plan to unmake everything The Threshold has built.