Over two dozen of the very best mystery short stories from crime-fiction's maestro, Peter Robinson. Set in places as far-flung as Inspector Alan Banks's turf in Yorkshire, Robinson's own neighbourhood in Toronto, and in Los Angeles and Florida, these stories also reach back in time: to 1873 to an utopian milltown in northern England, Thomas Hardy country in 1939, and a small Yorkshire town during the Second World War. Complete with the award-winning stories "Innocence" (Crime Writers of Canada Best Short Story Award), "The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" (Mystery Readers International's Macavity Award), "Murder in Utopia" (Robinson's fifth Arthur Ellis Award) and "Missing in Action" (Edgar Award), this collection is full of spellbinding plots, suspense that grips and won't let go, utterly unpredictable twists, psychological truths both sweet and scary, and characters you'd like to meet (and some you'd hope never to encounter).
"A fascinating, timely, and often disturbing history of how underground do-it-yourself weapons manuals have influenced violent radicalism, and how the state has responded"--
Overcompensating for his numerous personal inadequacies, Tom Mayes, a small-town bad boy from Springfield, Ohio, bullied and intimidated anyone who crossed his path, regardless of age or gender. His heartless and inhumane actions eventually cost him his family and his freedom. Twenty years later-before the creation of the Internet, social media, and DNA websites-the remnants of this broken family were reunited, and four siblings shared the missing pieces of their unknown pasts to find answers, peace and closure. Based on a true story, the Mayes children concluded that their reunion occurred, not by chance encounters or by plain luck, but through miraculous events.
'Had me laughing out loud one minute and emotional the next. I'm excited to have found a new favourite detective' --- CLAIRE DOUGLAS This is one case Miller won't want to open . . . Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Still desperate to solve the murder of his wife, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase . . . containing a pair of severed hands. Miller knows this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne'er do well Wayne Cutler - a man he suspects might also be responsible for his wife's death. Now Miller has leverage, but unfortunately he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of. Chuck in a Midsomer Murders-obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème Egg, and Miller is in a mess that even he might not be able to dance his way out of.
"[A] valuable account ... The Wrong Hands brilliantly guides us through [the] challenges to American democracy." -Howard P. Segal, Times Higher Education Gun ownership rights are treated as sacred in America, but what happens when dissenters moved beyond firearm possession into the realm of high explosives? How should the state react? Ann Larabee's The Wrong Hands, a remarkable history of do-it-yourself weapons manuals from the late nineteenth century to the recent Boston Marathon bombing, traces how efforts to ferret out radicals willing to employ ever-more violent methods fueled the growth of the American security state. But over time, the government's increasingly forceful targeting of violent books and ideas-not the weapons themselves-threatened to undermine another core American right: free expression. In the 1886 Haymarket Square bombing, a new form of revolutionary violence that had already made its mark in Europe arrived in the United States. At the subsequent trial, the judge allowed into evidence Johann Most's infamous The Science of Revolutionary Warfare, which allegedly served as a cookbook for the accused. Most's work was the first of a long line of explosive manuals relied on by radicals. By the 1960s, small publishers were drawing from publicly available US military sources to produce works that catered to a growing popular interest in DIY weapons making. The most famous was The Anarchist Cookbook (1971), which soon achieved legendary status-and a lasting presence in the courts. Even novels, such as William Pierce's The Turner Diaries, have served as evidence in prosecutions of right-wing radicals. More recently, websites explaining how to make all manner of weapons, including suicide vests, have proliferated. The state's right to police such information has always hinged on whether the disseminators have legitimate First Amendment rights. Larabee ends with an analysis of the 1979 publication of instructions for making a nuclear weapon, which raises the ultimate question: should a society committed to free speech allow a manual for constructing such a weapon to disseminate freely? Both authoritative and eye-opening, The Wrong Hands will reshape our understanding of the history of radical violence and state repression in America.
Peter Robinson’s first collection of short crime fiction to be published in Canada spans his writing career and reveals his impeccable grasp of both mystery and suspense writing. The sixteen stories are set in places as far flung as Inspector Alan Banks’s turf in Yorkshire, Robinson’s own neighbourhood in Toronto, and in Los Angeles and Florida. They also reach back in time: to 1873 to an utopian milltown in northern England, to Thomas Hardy country in 1939, and to a small Yorkshire town during the Second World War. The collection also includes a novella, featuring Robinson’ s celebrated sleuth Inspector Banks. Going Home is a chilling yet profoundly moving tale of just how hard it can be to visit one’s elderly parents, even for only a few days. Four of the stories have won awards: ‘Innocence” won the Crime Writers of Canada Best Short Story Award in 1991, and “The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage” won the Mystery Readers International’s Macavity Award in 1998 and was nominated for both the Agatha and Arthur Ellis awards. “Murder in Utopia” won Robinson his fifth Arthur Ellis Award in 2001, the same year that “Missing in Action” won the Edgar Award.
Ian Watson is one of the most prolific short story writers in contemporary science fiction, with a range and invention that others might envy. In this collection we move from a ghostly occurrence in Catalonia to a memorably hallucinatory and atmospheric tale of eggs and ectoplasm in pre-glasnost Russia. The Times said of Watson that his 'stories are springloaded with effect, compressed with a drama that, in others, might take a novel to eke out', a judgement confirmed by he dozen stories collected here.
Fairies, Gnomes, Pixies, Brownies, Giants and what not!....... Tales from Fairyland are on the way.... Go on, proceed and take a look inside to be pulled in to the land of fantasy where you will encounter many wonders!
The stories in this new collection from Tom Noyes show us everyday characters weighing the evidence of their circumstances and seeking ways to understand more fully the mysteries that define their lives. The beauty of each story comes from the reckless hope of these characters, their sometimes blind faith in the possibilities of human connection. "Stories that follow truly human characters as they deal with the common problems of life, such as the death of a father and the relationship with his son, a boy struggling with illiteracy, the suicide of a loved one- all things that everyday people may deal with, but all written intriguingly to glue readers to the page. 'Spooky Action at a Distance' is deftly written and highly recommended."--Midwest Book Review "Humor, surprise, and eminently engaging narrators." NewPages.com "His command of craft allows him to unfold characters in a way that moves past mere cleverness and down into emotional tectonics of faith, affection, loyalty, and grief." Image Magazine
Escape into vividly-imagined worlds where little is as it seems with This is What We Are and Other Stories. Aliens, dystopian nightmares, and gateways to other dimensions are just the beginning in Josy Bongiovanni and Nora Bencsics's exciting debut anthology of science fiction, magic, and horror. Be sure to look for the common thread that weaves these stories into a greater whole. Can you find the connection in each of the stories? In the midst of political upheaval, a pregnant woman finds refuge as an alien descends to earth to meet her. ("Witness") A spectral voice offers hope to a troubled woman ("Possessed") The dangerous beat of a shaman's drum guides a woman's quest for answers. ("Seekers") As civilization crumbles around them, an urban couple desperately seeks shelter in the countryside. ("The Road to Ruby's") The dangers of a world decimated by a ravening virus drive an ill-assorted group of survivors into hiding ("This Is What We Are") A rebellious young woman uncovers more than she bargained for lurking in her personal device. ("Hidden Lights") When she claims her inheritance, a hapless woman unearths a deadly secret ("Masks") She's tagged and now Mary's on the run. Will she find out why people's life-changing implants are being stolen before it's too late? ("Tagged") Don't wait to immerse yourself in these chilling tales of escape and redemption! Read This is What We Are and Other Stories today!
