Showing results by narrator "Thérèse Plummer" in All Categories

In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.

Sumac Lottery is nine years old and the self-proclaimed "good girl" of her (VERY) large, (EXTREMELY) unruly family. And what a family the Lotterys are: four parents, children both adopted and biological, and a menagerie of pets, all living and learning together in a sprawling house called Camelottery. Then one day, the news breaks that one of their grandfathers is suffering from dementia and will be coming to live with them. And not just any grandfather; the long dormant "Grumps", who fell out with his son and hasn't been part of any of their lives.

When Gwendolyn Bloom's father vanishes, she sets off on a journey she never bargained for. Traveling under a new identity in a world of assassins, spies, and criminal masterminds, she uncovers a disturbing truth. To bring her father back alive, she must become every bit as cruel as the men holding him captive.

After years spent surviving in the wastelands, a young woman returns to the city to find answers about her past. Instead she discovers a violently shifting landscape of betrayal and a power-hungry man who, if given control, might be unstoppable. Wicker City is no place for a lone wolf. Will she choose a side in the city’s constant power struggle? Or will she forge her own path?

The moment Spencer meets Hope the summer before seventh grade, it's...something at first sight. He knows she's special, possibly even magical. The pair become fast friends, climbing trees and planning world travels. After years of being outshone by his older brother and teased because of his Tourette syndrome, Spencer finally feels like he belongs. But as Hope and Spencer get older and life gets messier, the clear label of "friend" gets messier, too.

The citizens of San Antonio, Texas, are threatened with extermination by a terrifying outbreak of the flu. Quarantined by the military to contain the virus, the city is in a desperate struggle to survive. Inside the quarantine walls, Detective Lily Harris is working burial statistics duty at the Scar, San Antonio's mass graveyard, when she finds a murder victim hidden amongst the plague dead.

New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston returns to Texas with a captivating story of justice, secrets, and a love that can heal all wounds. Dedicated Texas Ranger Jack Kittrick is hard on the trail of a killer who is preying on the helpless in a large San Antonio hospital…a hunt that leads him to Maggie Wainwright, the beautiful, enigmatic legal eagle who had access to the victims--and a motive for the crimes.

Brek Cuttler has it all: a husband she loves, a daughter she adores, a successful law practice. And then one day everything she has ever known disappears. Brek finds herself standing on a deserted train platform, covered in blood. As she tries to comprehend what is happening to her, a man from...

Four "delightfully twisted" scripted stories by Erin Mallon are now available as a bundle.

Speed: the most demonized - and misunderstood - drug in the land. Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine or the mundane tolerance of marijuana, there is no sympathy for this devil. Yet speed - crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast - is the most American of drugs: twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all.

Sumac Lottery is the keeper of her family's traditions - from Pow Wow to Holi, Carnival to Hogmanay, Sumac's on guard to make sure that no Lottery celebration gets forgotten. But this winter all Sumac's seasonal plans go awry when a Brazilian visitor overstays his welcome. A terrible ice storm grounds all flights, so one of her dads and her favorite brother can't make it home from India. And then the power starts going out across the city...

Your heart beats only with their permission. Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting. Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe...

In 2008, after recovering from a few years of hard drinking and harder drug use, after building back up a life as a successful and happy New York writer, Eva Hagberg woke up dizzy. She spent the next five years searching for a diagnosis, a treatment, and most of all an answer. In February 2013, an MRI revealed a mass in her brain. A blood test revealed an elevated tumor marker: A sign of cancer. And that’s when the second journey started - one grounded in physiology, in steadily rising marker numbers, and in the brutal invasion of a brain biopsy.

Abby Ellin was shocked to learn that her...

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. This anthology includes brand-new stories by: Tommy Moore, Jessica Breheny, Naomi Hirahara, Calvin McMillin, Liza Monroy, Elizabeth McKenzie, Jill Wolfson, Ariel Gore, Jon Bailiff, Maceo Montoya, Micah Perks, Seana Graham, Vinnie Hansen, Peggy Townsend, Margaret Elysia Garcia, Lou Mathews, Lee Quarnstrom, Dillon Kaiser, Beth Lisick, and Wallace Baine.

Dulcie O'Neil is a fairy working in law enforcement for the Netherworld. When Knight Vander approaches her with a case regarding comatose victims, she agrees to help him, imagining the most difficult part will be combatting her attraction to him. What Dulcie isn't betting on is the case becoming personal - but all the victims are somehow linked to her. When her best friend falls victim to the Dreamstalker, Dulcie must do everything in her power to ensure her friend's survival, including associating with criminals.

A new job. A new case. A new criminal…? Special Agent Lara Grant will do anything to get her mark—until her last undercover case, infiltrating the notorious Moretti crime ring, forced her to get close to the top. Way. Too. Close… Now starting a new job in New York City, all Lara wants is...

Niki Ky spends her days in a medicated haze, haunted by the ghosts of those she left behind 10 years ago after a confrontation against an unspeakable evil that left her shattered. To find peace, Niki must return to the house on the side of Red Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama-to face creatures no human should ever have to face.

Gwendolyn Bloom is dead. But even armed with a new passport and identity, the danger is far from over. Her father is safe...but Gwen still hasn't untangled all his lies from the truth. Meanwhile, her enemies are closing in with a vengeance. She found her father when he disappeared off the face of the earth - can she survive being on the other end of a manhunt?

A sinister surprise is lying in wait… With her trusted team all focused on getting justice, Special Agent Lara Grant is relieved to finally see some progress, even if their investigation has now turned to delving into some gruesome events from over twenty years ago. An exhumation is necessary...