Ink and Daggers by Maxim Jakubowski (2023)

**An enthralling anthology of 20 CWA Dagger Award-shortlisted gripping and thrilling stories for the most hardened crime fan.** Legendary editor, Maxim Jakubowski, delivers another chilling anthology collecting stories of cold-blooded murder, revenge and crimes-gone-wrong from the best of the best in crime fiction. Spine-chilling and gripping, these tales will grip you with their devious narrators and crafty twists. Featuring classic stories from Neil Gaiman, Ann Cleeves, Christopher Fowler, Val McDermid, Lavie Tidhar, Chris Simms, Christine Poulson, James Sallis, Victoria Selman, Conrad Williams, Stuart Neville, George Pelecanos, Simon Brett, John Lawton, Ken Bruen, Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins, Peter Robinson, Martyn Waites and Kevin Wignall.

バッカーノ！1935-C The Grateful Bet by 成田良悟 (2023)

バッカーノ!1935-D Luckstreet Boys by 成田良悟 (2023)

Slot Machine Fever Dreams by Christopher A. Bohjalian (2023)

It’s called Sin City for a reason. Dark secrets emerge when a young bartender meets a stranger on a hot streak in this gritty short story from New York Times bestselling author Chris Bohjalian. Dove, a recovering alcoholic covered in Emily Dickinson tattoos, serves up drinks and small talk at a casino in Vegas. Russell is a man on a roll. He claims to be a chain-restaurant manager, yet his tells point to different skills. The two leave together at the end of the night, but when all pretense is stripped away, they find themselves in a fight for their lives. *Slot Machine Fever Dreams is part of Obsession, a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.*

People Like Them by Minka Kent (2023)

Veronica and Ryan Hartley are the envy of Auburn Drive. When the exclusive neighborhood hosts its annual progressive dinner party, the couple’s perfection is on display. The neighbors are obsessed—entranced by the “it” couple’s movie-star looks and smoldering gazes. But is the perfect pair too good to be true? *People Like Them is part of Obsession, a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.*

Murder at the Royal Ruby by Nita Prose (2023)

Grace is an usher at the stately (and possibly haunted) Royal Ruby Theater. She’s also an aspiring actress ready for her big break. Vanessa is the glamorous yet spiteful star who’s made more enemies than friends on her rise to the top. When Vanessa winds up dead in act one, Grace is determined to find the killer. But is she seeking justice, or something darker? *Murder at the Royal Ruby is part of Obsession, a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.*

Just a Girl by Alyssa Cole (2023)

Tiana Carter has just started college and is determined to make the most of it. She’s thrilled to be posting videos about dorm-room cooking and campus fashion for a small but loyal band of followers. When she dips into the online dating pool, her first swipe right raises a huge red flag. Tiana’s polite rejection is met with scorn, and now a group of self-proclaimed “high-value men” are hell-bent on ruining her life. *Just a Girl is part of Obsession, a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.*

Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong (2023)

Katrina Kim may be broke, the black sheep of her family, and slightly unhinged, but she isn’t a stalker. Her obsession with her co-worker, Kurt, is just one of many coping mechanisms—like her constant shape and number rituals, or the way scenes from her favorite children’s book bleed into her vision whenever she feels anxious or stressed. But when Katrina finds a cryptic message from Kurt that implies he’s aware of her surveillance, her tenuous hold on a normal life crumbles. Driven by compulsion, she enacts the most powerful ritual she has to reclaim control—a midnight visit to the Cayatoga Bridge—and arrives just in time to witness Kurt’s suicide. Before he jumps, he slams her with a devastating accusation: his death is all her fault. Horrified, Katrina combs through the clues she’s collected about Kurt over the last three years, but each revelation uncovers a menacing truth: for every moment she was watching him, he was watching her. And the past she thought she’d left behind? It’s been following her more closely than she ever could have imagined. A gripping page-turner, as well as a sensitive exploration of mental health, Liar, Dreamer, Thief is an intimate portrayal of life in all its complexities—and the dangers inherent in unveiling people’s most closely guarded secrets.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose (2023)

Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows, sweeping up the guests’ secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But when a renowned guest – a famous mystery writer – drops very dead in the grand tea room, Molly has an unusual clean-up on her hands. As rumours and suspicion swirl in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about Gran, and everything else she’s kept tidied away in her memory for so long. Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time – and he knew her . . .

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates (2023)

When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm. She couldn't be more wrong. Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing...only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport...and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb.

The September House by Carissa Orlando (2023)

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee. Margaret is not most people. Margaret is staying. It’s *her* house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (2023)

Gracetown, Florida - June 1950 Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie’s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory. Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it’s too late. The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award–winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.

A Squeak in the Dark by R.K. Lemon (2023)

Children's book, for ages 6-12. You'll like April, she's a little quiet sometimes, a little loud sometimes, but she is always friendly. She lives with her mum in Glasgow, well she did until recently, now April and her mum are moving. It's a small flat, like her last one, but probably the first thing you'd notice is that it is actually a small part of Ythan House, an enormous stately home in the Scottish countryside. One night, April is awoken by a squeak in the corner of her room, followed by the sound of tiny little footsteps moving closer… Sometimes being small let's you see things that others can't and as April soon discovers, though Ythan House is very big, it is hiding some tiny secrets. With a little help from a friendly mouse and a very special ring she might just find out how special Ythan House and it's mysterious residents are.

Against the Tide by J. Elle (2023)

After the death of Ariel’s mother, the queen of the sea, the seven daughters of King Triton have grown estranged at best. It’s been years since Ariel’s older sisters have visited home. But this year’s Coral Moon is fast approaching, and it’s a special one for Ariel. Finally fifteen, she will be dubbed the Protector of her very own ocean territory as is tradition, and her sisters have agreed to visit for the celebration. But the ceremony is halted when Mala, one of the most renowned daughters of Triton, is abducted. The only clue to where she might have been taken is a hastily scribbled seaweed note, which says, “What could have saved Mother could save me, too.” To rescue Mala, Ariel must work together with her siblings, traveling to various seas, outsmarting dangerous ocean creatures, and delving into forbidden waters to find the truth of what happened to their mother. But as Ariel and her sisters begin uncovering new secrets about their family and their kingdom, Ariel will have to face the loss of a mother she never had a chance to know and discover what it means to be both a good sister and a strong leader. And the clock is ticking, because on the day of the festival, when the moon turns a true shade of coral, her sister will be lost, like her mother, forever.

The September House by Carissa Orlando (2023)

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee. Margaret is not most people. Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (2023)

<p><i>The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes</i>, published in 1927, collects the final set of <a href="https://standardebooks.org/collections/sherlock-holmes">Sherlock Holmes</a> stories authored by <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/arthur-conan-doyle">Arthur Conan Doyle</a>. All of the included stories appeared previously in <i>The Strand Magazine</i> between October 1921 and April 1927.</p> <p>As usual, the mysteries generally purport to be accounts written by Holmes’s friend <abbr>Dr.</abbr> John Watson. Uniquely, however, three stories in the <i>Casebook</i> are presented from alternative points of view: “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone” is narrated in the third person, since it was adapted from a stage play in which Watson hardly appeared; and “The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier” and “The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane” are both narrated by Holmes himself, the latter being set after his retirement as a detective.</p>

The Murderous Type by Sue Minix (2023)

I used to just write murder mysteries. Now I investigate them… Crime writer turned amateur sleuth, Jen, has taken over the running of the local bookstore in her hometown of Riddleton. But balancing the books at Ravenous Readers is nothing compared to meeting the deadline for her new novel. However, dodging phone calls from her editor takes a back seat when the local police chief dies in a suspected poisoning. To solve the murder, Jen must dust off her detective hat once more. With everyone in town seemingly a suspect, and evidence planted to incriminate local police officer and close friend Eric, Jen is working against the clock. Can she find the killer and beat her own writer’s block before it’s too late?

Degree to Die For by Karis Walsh (2023)

Tig Weston's beloved classics department is evolving, expanding its course offerings to entice a new and more diverse generation of students. Not everyone is willing to accept these changes, though. Tempers flare, and when the body of a prestigious alum turns up outside Denny Hall, Tig doubts she can bring her department through the crisis. Sergeant Adriana Kent always pictured classical scholars as tweedy bookworms, but suddenly her campus police officers are being called to Denny on a near-daily basis. Arguments in the halls, threatening emails, and even a fistfight, for God's sake. What should have been the most sedate department on campus seems to be going through a volatile transformation. And the most visible proponent of that transformation? The decidedly unstuffy and very sexy Professor Antigone Weston. Kent and Tig seem to be on opposing sides in this battle until the stakes become more personal. But before they can even think about a future together, they'll need to fight to protect the campus from a killer.

You Must Remember This by Kat Rosenfield (2023)

A rich matriarch sliding into dementia returns to her childhood home for Christmas with her family, and it's up to the devoted granddaughter to figure out what happened and why when matters run true to form.

Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (2023)

Geeta's no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn't kill him, but everyone thinks she did--no matter how much she protests. But she soon discovers that being known as a "self-made" widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It's even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry. Freedom must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good husbands...but not all of them are asking nicely. Now that Geeta's fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she's built. Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.