Dead Man's Tale & Other Stories is a collection of short thrilling stories. The strange events that are conveyed in each story will compel you to ask what really transpired. They will arouse your curiosity and send chills down your spine ... for you thought you knew all things.
Charlie Moon, Ute rancher and investigator, isn't afraid to throw the dice even when a man's life is at stake, but when that man is betting against himself and Moon's ability to save him, that makes for some awfully high stakes. Hard times have come to Colorado, and Moon's ranch is feeling the pinch. Investor Samuel Reed has never had that problem. He seems to have a special intuition when it comes to picking stocks and claims to be able to remember the future, which gives him quite a leg up on Wall Street. So it's no surprise that Reed is confident when he makes a wager with Moon's best friend, Granite City Chief of Police Scott Parish, that Parish can't keep him alive. Even when Reed doesn't give them any details beyond the date and time of his impending demise, that's more than enough information for Moon who wants in on the action and is just as confident that he's well on the way to saving his ranch. But Moon's best plans go awry when instead of one homicide on his hands, he ends up with two. James D. Doss infuses the pages of A Dead Man's Tale, the fifteenth in his popular series, with his potent brand of high spirits and homespun humor that has made him a favorite among mystery readers.
Have you seen the dark, strange corners of this big ol' stretch'a land called the West? Sure, you've heard the stories of gunfights and gold rushes, but that ain't the half of it. Not by far. Have you met Dr. Mirablis and his miraculous elixir re-vitae? Or heard the real story of the Ghost Dance and the man they call Walking Wolf? How about Sam Hell, the Dark Ranger with a taste for blood? Looks like you need yourself an education, and there ain't no teacher better than Nancy A. Collins. Dead Man's Hand collects her acclaimed novellas "Walking Wolf" and "Lynch," the short stories "Calaverada" and "The Tortuga Hill Gang's Last Ride," and completes the five-card draw with the all-new vampire Western novella "Hell Come Sundown." The West has never been wilder ... or weirder. Book jacket.
"It's all my grammy's fault. Ever since she tried to kill me. Actually, she tried to kill my whole family. All of us. My brother, my parents, a bunch of cousins, and several aunts and uncles. No one died, but now I smell like fish." Myles Walsh is a thirteen year old who has a talent for telling crazy stories that always seem to land him in trouble. When he discovers a dead body in a plastic bag hidden in the weeds near his house, he's about to play in the most important hockey game of his life. The last thing he needs is the body to disappear before the police get there. Of course, that's exactly what happens. Where did the body disappear to? Myles and his friends must uncover the dead man's identity and the story behind his death, or Myles can kiss his chance for hockey stardom goodbye. Little does Myles know that the dead man has a story of his own to tell. A story with the power to change lives.
The International Bestseller from the author The New York Times called "blisteringly funny" — it's the wild and wooly crew from Trainspotting back for one last adventure You don't need to have seen the blockbuster movie—nor read the earlier mega-bestselling books—to get what's going on in Dead Men's Trousers: Four no-longer-young men who constantly think back to their bawdy, drug-filled youth together on the streets of Edinburgh, decide they want to join forces for one last caper. Careful what you wish for... "Manages a sort of ragged glory, a life-affirming comic energy . . . A whooping last hurrah for the Trainspotting gang." —The Guardian "Crackles with idiomatic energy and brio." —Publishers Weekly Mark Renton is finally a success. He now makes significant money managing DJs, but the constant travel, airport lounges, soulless hotel rooms, and broken relationships have left him dissatisfied with life. Then he runs into his old partner in crime, Frank Begbie, from whom he'd been hiding for years. But the psychotic Begbie appears to have reinvented himself as a celebrated artist in Los Angeles, and doesn't seem interested in revenge. Meanwhile, back in Edinburgh, Sick Boy and Spud are intrigued to learn that their old friends are back in town, and concoct a new scheme for them all . . . Which is when things start to go horribly wrong. The four men, driven by their personal histories and addictions, circle each other, confused, angry, and desperate. One of these four will not survive . . . Which one is wearing Dead Men's Trousers? Fast and furious, scabrously funny, and weirdly moving, this is a spectacular return of the crew from Trainspotting.
"One of the most original thriller writers around." —Kirkus Reviews DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEAD AND OTHER TALES A mysterious and beautiful girl who teaches arrogant young men about true love A lonely traveling salesman who learns that his passenger is death Children who can absorb the psychic pain of their parents A desperately pursued serial killer who hides his face under gauze in a hospital room A woman who loves the alien infant nobody else wants These stories and ten others make up the new Ed Gorman collection Different Kinds of Dead and Other Tales, stories that have earned him such accolades as "One of the most original writers in crime fiction today" (Kirkus) and "One of the world's great storytellers" (Million, UK). Here you'll find the extraordinary range of storytelling skill and powerful emotions that won Gorman the prized International Fiction award and caused Mystery News to say of his previous collection: "A powerful, disturbing, often poetic collection filled with writing that is a model of clarity and right narrative control."
The gates of the prison slowly open. The frail bent man limps out after seventeen years. Little does he understand of the trap he is walking into. Can he stay alive? Can he keep his children safe? Does he have the skill it will take? It will take all he learned in prison and more. Strap yourself in, it will be a bumpy ride.