El Paso was ready for trouble, as Ranger undercover agent Walt Slade found when he rode in — and was nearly gunned down by quick-triggered citizens, suspicious of any stranger. For a stranger might be one of the dreaded Starlight Riders, who raided and burned from their mysterious mountain hideout, threatening to destroy the Texan ranchers and farmers who refused to pay "protection money." In his role of the "outlaw" El Halcon, Slade prowled the Border Hills and the back streets of El Paso, hunting the Riders' brilliant mastermind — and keeping his hands close to his guns, because when the Ranger and his quarry met it would be time for gunsmoke talk!

In Catastrophe, the renowned Italian short story writer Dino Buzzati brings vividly to life the slow and quietly terrifying collapse of our known, everyday world. In stories touched by the fantastical and the strange, and filled with humor, irony, and menace, Buzzati illuminates the nightmarish side of our ordinary existence. From “The Epidemic,” which traces the gradual effects of a “state influenza” that targets those who disagree with the government, to “The Collapse of Baliverna,” where a man puzzles over whether a misstep on his part caused the collapse of a building, to “Seven Floors,” which imagines a sanatorium where patients are housed on each floor according to the gravity of their illness and brilliantly highlights the ominous machinations of bureaucracy, Buzzati’s surreal, unsettling tales reckon with the struggle that lies beneath everyday interactions, the sometimes perverse workings of human emotions and desires, and, with wit and pathos, describe the small steps we take as individuals and as a society in our march toward catastrophe. With hints of Kafka and Edgar Allan Poe, Catastrophe, published for the first time in the United States, feels as timely today as ever.

The Temple of Hanuman is a conversation between Aurangzeb, the Muslim emperor of India, and a mysterious Brahmin boy, whose temple Aurangzeb's soldiers are demolishing. Allowed to speak freely to Aurangzeb, the boy explains that all religions belong to God and how this is conceivable despite the apparent contradictions between the world's many religious faiths.Erika kills vampires, but not in the usual manner. Her way leaves a body behind, the demon cleansed from the vessel it tried to control. Mitch is a Hunter and Erika's trainer. However, Mitch is ever the traditionalist and focuses more on the physical training and not on Erika's unique ability. Adonis has no qualms about training Erika to use her ability. As long as she uses it to achieve his goals.Buffalo, New York is a long way from Dallas, where the events surrounding the Spiral X nightclub are fading from memory, but the Eternal War knows no boundaries, and battles aren't always won with a stake to the heart.

At his high school basketball try-outs, nerdy sports-obsessed Brian Blum meets new kid Marcus Hayes. What neither of them knows when they line up at the end of practice to shoot free throws is that Marcus will soon be living with the Blums, following his parents' messy break-up, and that he will go on to become an NBA star, the next Michael Jordan.As sportswriter Brian spends the following twenty years tracking his friends' career, he remains Marcus' only link to his pre-fame life. And, as Marcus mounts his comeback after a couple of years out of the game, both men must face the tensions and disappointments of getting older.The Sidekick is the story of a friendship, of two lives bound together but fundamentally different, and of what it's like to live your life in the shadow of greatness.

Lynnette Bonner - Fire She’s a first-year teacher in a school where kids are dying because of a new drug. He’s an undercover cop who’s been sent in to find the dealer. Years ago, Kyra Radell’s brother died from a drug addiction, so when students in her new school start buying a new street drug called Fire—and dying because of it—she’s determined to help in any way she can. Even if that means putting her own life in danger. Case Lexington, an undercover cop, has been sent in to pose as a high school senior. He wants her to stay safe and mind her own business. The only problem is, she’s not willing to listen to a mere student. Can he protect her and keep his cover intact? More importantly, will he be able to find the drug dealer before any more students—or teachers—die?

A grand old castle looks out across the North Sea, and the fishermen toiling on the deep catch the red flash from Ravenspur Point as their forefathers have done for many generations.The Ravenspurs and their great granite fortress have made history between them. Every quadrangle and watch-tower and turret has its legend of brave deeds and bloody deeds, of fights for the king and the glory of the flag. And for five hundred years there has been no Ravenspur who has not acquitted himself like a man. Theirs is a record to be proud of.Time has dealt lightly with the home of the Ravenspurs. It is probably the most perfect mediaeval castle in the country. The moat and the drawbridge are still intact; the portcullis might be worked by a child. And landwards the castle looks over a fair domain of broad acres where the orchards bloom and flourish and the red beeves wax fat in the pastures.A quiet family, a handsome family, a family passing rich in the world’s goods, they are strong and brave—a glorious chronicle behind them, and no carking cares ahead.Surely, then, the Ravenspurs should be happy and contented beyond most men. Excepting the beat of the wings of the Angel of Death, that comes to all sooner or later, surely no sorrow dwelt there that the hand of time could fail to soothe.And yet over them hung the shadow of a fear.No Ravenspur had ever slunk away from any danger, however great, so long as it was tangible; but there was something here that turned the stoutest heart to water, and caused strong men to start at their shadows.For five years now the curse had lain heavy on the house of Ravenspur...

‘EXQUISITE’ Fiona McFarlane, author of The Night Guest

One by one they faced him. One by one they died...Only four hours after Walt Slade landed in Los Angeles, he was locked in a desperate life-and-death struggle with the gang of killers he had trailed over a thousand miles.One by one they faced him. One by one they died — until at last he was up against the vicious, deadly remnants whose orders from their leader were —"KILL SLADE — ANY WAY YOU CAN!"