After their father's death, two children and their invalid mother head south to the rugged mountains of southwestern Virginia to live with their great-grandmother. They flourish until the local coal-and gas company comes around conniving to seize their property.

When Amos Decker is called to South Florida to investigate a double homicide, the case appears straightforward: A federal judge and her bodyguard have been found dead, the judge's face sporting a blindfold with two eye holes crudely cut out, a clear sign that she'd made one too many enemies over her years on the bench. What at first seems cut and dry is anything but: Not only did the judge have more enemies than Decker can count--from violent gang...

Why would Quentin Herms flee into the Quag? There was nothing in the Quag except certain death. Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. But his isn't unusual--nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave--he was chased. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. The Quag is a dark forest filled with terrifying...

"Nicolas Creel is a man on a mission. He heads up the world's largest defense contractor, The Ares Corporation. Dick Pender is the man Creel retains to "perception manage" his company to even more riches by manipulating international conflicts. But Creel may have an even grander plan in mind." "Shaw, a man with no first name and a truly unique past, has a different agenda. Reluctantly doing the bidding of a secret multinational intelligence agency,...

From the beginning, the fight was coming. Vega Jane fought her way out of the village where she was born, crossed a wilderness filled with vicious creatures, and raised a ragtag army behind her. But each triumph earned through grit and pain only brought her closer to him—Necro. A sorcerer whose unspeakable evil is matched only by his magical power. Vega and Necro are on a collision course. The clash between his awesome power and her iron will is...

"When two wealthy white landowners are found dead, the whole country immediately thinks it must be Jerome Washington, the hired help, who killed them. He was standing over the bodies when the police responded to an anonymous call and the only one on the property at the time of death. As far as the state is concerned, it's an open and shut case. Jack Lee, born and raised in Freeman County, knows that every man deserves a solid defense and agrees to...

A plot by the CIA to blackmail members of Congress into giving the agency more power. For the plot to succeed, a beautiful Washington lobbyist has to be killed, but a detective comes to her aid and they turn the tables on the plotters.

A rising threat has startled the world. Armies are preparing to fight. And as nations slip ever closer to open conflict, the struggle to reveal the truth might be the most dangerous battle of all....

"It started with a kidnapping. A shadowy organization known only as the Vespers snatched seven members of the Cahill family and demanded a series of bizarre ransoms from around the world. Thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister Amy began a global treasure hunt, determined to bring back whatever Vesper One needed, so long as it kept the hostages safe. But when they deliver the last ransom, Amy and Dan discover Vesper One's terrifying endgame....

Features pairings by twenty-three best-selling suspense writers, including John Sandford, F. Paul Wilson, and R. L. Stine, who in short high-action stories pit their most popular characters against one another.