Maxima Library

For the first time ever, legendary editor Otto Penzler has handpicked some of the most respected and bestselling thriller writers working today for a riveting collection of spy fiction. From first to last, this stellar collection signals mission accomplished.

Including:

* Lee Child with an incredible look at the formation of a special ops cell.

* James Grady writing about an Arab undercover FBI agent with an active cell.

* Joseph Finder riffing on a Boston architect who's convinced his Persian neighbors are up to no good.

* John Lawton concocting a Len Deighton-esque story about British intelligence.

* Stephen Hunter thrilling us with a tale about a WWII brigade.

Full list of Contributors:

James Grady, Charles McCarry, Lee Child, Joseph Finder, John Lawton, John Weisman, Stephen Hunter, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell, Andrew Klavan, Robert Wilson, Dan Fesperman, Stella Rimington, Olen Steinhauer

High-Octane Stories from the Hottest Thriller Authors

Con men and killers, aliens and zombies, priests and soldiers – just some of the characters that kill and thrill in this compelling collection of gun-toting, double-crossing, back-stabbing, pulse-pounding stories. Jeffrey Deaver investigates the suspicious death of a crime-writer in 'The Plot'; Karin Slaughter's grieving widow takes revenge on her dying ex-husband in 'Cold, Cold Heart'; Stephen Coonts discovers a flying saucer in the depths of the ocean in 'Savage Planet' and John Lescroat's secret field agent finds himself caught up in a complex game of cat-and-mouse in 'The Gate Conundrum'. Handpicked by world number one Lee Child, celebrity authors and stars of the future are brought together, writing brand-new stories, especially commissioned for this must-have collection. Whether you're reading today's bestseller or tomorrow's phenomenon, grisly horror or paranoia thriller, historical suspense or supernatural crime, one thing's for certain. You'll be thrilled to the core.

New York Times bestselling author Lee Child and the International Thriller Writers, Inc. present a collection of remarkable stories in First Thrills. From small-town crime stories to sweeping global conspiracies, this is a cross section of today’s hottest thriller-writing talent. This original collection is now split into four e-book volumes, packed with murder, mystery, and mayhem!

First Thrills: Volume 2 contains stories six original stories by:

Stephen Coonts

Heather Graham

Wendy Corsi Staub

Kelli Stanley

Grant McKenzieKen Bruen

In this short story from the thrilling anthology FaceOff, bestselling authors Lee Child and Joseph Finder – along with their popular series characters Jack Reacher and Nick Heller – team up for the first time ever.

When Jack Reacher sits down to watch a baseball game at a Boston bar, he has no way of knowing what kind of trouble is about to walk in the door – and not just because he's a Yankees fan in a Red Sox town.

In this action-packed short story, Reacher and a new acquaintance – Sox fan Nick Heller – find themselves drawn into a much less friendly rivalry when the guy sitting between them at the bar turns out to be a marked man.

For more exciting pairs, check out all eleven short stories in FaceOff!

This irresistible guide to the world of the Reacher novels features timeless advice from Jack Reacher, the maverick former army cop, hero of Lee Child’s blockbuster thrillers, and now the star of a major motion picture.My name is Jack Reacher. No middle name, no address. I’ve got a rule: People mess with me at their own risk.You don’t have to break the rules if you make the rules. Case in point: Jack Reacher, the two-fisted, quick-witted, “current poster-boy of American crime fiction” (Los Angeles Times). The brainchild of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child, Reacher is a freelance troubleshooter with a mysterious past—and a serious passion for justice. Now the hard-won knowledge and hard-hitting strategies of fiction’s toughest tough guy are within every thriller reader’s reach—in a rapid-fire rundown of the trade secrets, tried-and-true tricks, and time-honored tactics that separate the man in the street from the man to beat.Rule 1. When in doubt, drink coffee. Rule 2. Never volunteer for anything. Rule 3. Don’t break the furniture. Rule 4. Only one woman at a time. Rule 5. Show them what they’re messing with.

'It's fascinating to see some of my favourite crime novelists coming together to create a taut, tense thriller; each chapter stands alone as a powerful story, yet they also combine seamlessly into a great read. Genuinely gripping.' – Harlan Coben

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With each crime writer picking up the story in their usual locale, each of the authors tell a gripping story of murder, betrayal and intrigue. Running through each story is a charm bracelet which brings bad luck wherever it's found. Set in locations ranging from nineteenth-century Georgia to wartime Leeds, the book features stories from contributors such as Peter Robinson (writing about 1940s Leeds), Fidelis Morgan, Lynda La Plante (1970s Britain), Val McDermid (1980s Scotland) and Mark Billingham tackling contemporary London.

An anthology of stories edited by Mary Higgins Clark

From Wall Street to Harlem, the borough of Manhattan is the setting for all-new stories of mystery, murder, and suspense, presented by best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark and featuring Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, S. J. Rozan, and other top Mystery Writers of America authors.

In Lee Child's "The Picture of the Lonely Diner," legendary drifter Jack Reacher interrupts a curious stand-off in the shadow of the Flatiron Building. In Jeffery Deaver's "The Baker of Bleecker Street," an Italian immigrant becomes ensnared in WWII espionage. And in "The Five-Dollar Dress," Mary Higgins Clark unearths the contents of a mysterious hope chest found in an apartment on Union Square. With additional stories from T. Jefferson Parker, S. J. Rozan, Nancy Pickard, Ben H. Winters, Brendan DuBois, Persia Walker, Jon L. Breen, N. J. Ayres, Angela Zeman, Thomas H. Cook, Judith Kelman, Margaret Maron, Justin Scott, and Julie Hyzy,Manhattan Mayhem is teeming with red herrings, likely suspects, and thoroughly satisfying mysteries.

Lee Child, Diana Gabaldon, James Sallis, and others reveal how, in Phoenix, sunshine is the new noir.

Featuring twenty of the year’s standout crime short stories handpicked by one of the world’s best thriller writers, Best American Mystery Stories 2010 showcases not only the very best of the crime genre, but the best of American writing full stop. Within its pages, literary legends rub shoulders with the hottest new talent. Contributors in the past have included James Lee Burke, Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connelly, Alice Munro and Joyce Carol Oates. This year’s guest editor is Lee Child, the creator of Jack Reacher and a simultaneous bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic.

In his introduction, guest editor James Patterson observes, “I often hear people lamenting the state of Hollywood... If that’s the case, I’ve got one thing to say: read these short stories. You can thank me later.” Patterson has collected a batch of stories that have the sharp tension, drama, and visceral emotion of an Oscar-worthy Hollywood production. Spanning the extremes of human behavior, The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 features characters that must make desperate choices: an imaginative bank-robbing couple, a vengeful high school shooter, a lovesick heiress who will do anything for her man, and many others in “these imaginative, rich, complex tales” worthy of big-screen treatment.

#1 New York Times best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, Louise Penny brings her “nerve and skill—as well as heart” (Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post) to selecting the best short mystery and crime fiction of the year.

An anthology of stories

Be prepared to be thrilled as you've never been before

Featuring North America's foremost thriller authors, Thriller is the first collection of pure thriller stories ever published. Offering up heart-pumping tales of suspense in all its guises are thirty-two of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning names in the business. From the signature characters that made such authors as David Morrell and John Lescroart famous to four of the hottest new voices in the genre, this blockbuster will tantalize and terrify.

Lock the doors, draw the shades, pull up the covers and be prepared for Thriller to keep you up all night.

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"Thriller will be a classic. This first-ever collection of thriller stories, from the best in the business, has it all. The quality blew me away." – Greg Iles

"The best of the best storytellers in the business. Thriller has no equal. Action, intrigue, and entertainment at the highest level. Adventure on a grand scale you won't forget." – Clive Cussler

"Thriller is entertaining, fast-paced, and just plain fun. It will take you to the most terrifying heights of suspense." – Tess Gerritsen

The best USA-based stories in the Akashic noir series, compiled into one volume and edited by Johnny Temple!

When a different kind of justice is needed---swift, effective, and personal---a new type of avenger must take action. VENGEANCE features new stories by bestselling crime writers including Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and Karin Slaughter, as well as some of today's brightest rising talents. 

The heroes in these stories include a cop who's seen too much, a woman who has been pushed too far, or just an ordinary person doing what the law will not. Some call them vigilantes, others claim they are just another brand of criminal.

Edited and with an introduction by Lee Child, these stories reveal the shocking consequences when men and women take the law into their own hands. 

Full list of contributors:

Alafair Burke

Lee Child

Michael Connelly

Mike Cooper

Brendan DuBois

Jim Fusilli

Michelle Gagnon

Darrell James

C.E. Lawrence

Dennis Lehane

Steve Liskow

Rick McMahan

Adam Meyer

Dreda Say Mitchell

Michael Niemann

Twist Phelan

Zoë Sharp

Karin Slaughter

Orest Stelmach

Anne Swardson

Janice Law Trecker

From International Thriller Writers comes WATCHLIST: two powerful novellas featuring the same thrilling cast of characters in one major suspenseful package. THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT and THE COPPER BRACELET are collaborations of some of the world’s greatest thriller writers, including Lee Child, Joseph Finder, Lisa Scottoline, and Jeffery Deaver, who conceived the characters and set the plots in motion. The other authors each wrote a chapter and Deaver then completed what he started, bringing both novellas to their startling conclusions.

In the first novella, THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT, former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a previously unknown score by Frederic Chopin. But he is unaware that, locked within its handwritten notes, lies a secret that now threatens the lives of thousands of Americans. As he races from Poland to America to uncover the mystery of the manuscript, Middleton will be accused of murder, pursued by federal agents, and targeted by assassins. But the greatest threat will come from a shadowy figure from his past: the man known only as Faust.

Harold Middleton returns in THE COPPER BRACELET -- the explosive sequel to THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT -- as he’s drawn into an international terror plot that threatens to send India and Pakistan into full-scale nuclear war. Careening from Nice to London and Moscow to Kashmir to prevent nuclear disaster, Middleton is unaware that his prey has changed and that the act of terror is far more diabolical than he knows. Will he discover the identity of the Scorpion in time to halt an event that will pit the United States, China, and Russia against each other at the brink of World War III?