Five novellas about deadly books—and even more dangerous people—from five acclaimed mystery authors.
Book Club: Ex-cop Avery Sharecross now spends his days tracking rare books in Good Advice, New Mexico. But his old career collides with his new one when the local sheriff asks him for help on a case of a dead book collector.
Seven Years: New York Times–bestselling author Peter Robinson tells of a retired professor who discovers a threatening inscription in a volume of Robert Browning’s poetry. Puzzled by the disturbing message, he can’t resist playing detective. But the professor is about to learn the consequences of reading between the lines.
The Final Testament: In this historical tale from New York Times–bestselling author Peter Blauner, a Nazi in 1938 London attempts to blackmail Sigmund Freud into publishing an anti-Semitic book in Freud’s name. Freud retaliates by picking up pen and paper and suggesting his blackmailer sit on his couch.
The Pretty Little Box: New York Times–bestselling author Charles Todd presents a story of an Englishwoman’s simple theft of a devotional that sets in motion a dreadful chain of events.
Pronghorns of the Third Reich: New York Times–bestselling author C. J. Box brings us to frigid Wyoming, where Lyle and Juan wait outside a lawyer’s house in ski masks and carrying pistols. Lyle is convinced he’s owed something, but he’s about to uncover a mystery that stretches back to Nazi Germany.
Loren D. Estleman (b. 1952) has written over sixty-five novels. His most enduring character, Amos Walker, made his first appearance in 1980’s Motor City Blue, and the hardboiled Detroit private eye has been featured in twenty books since. Estleman has also won praise for his adventure novels set in the Old West, receiving awards for many of his standalone westerns. In 1993 Estleman married Deborah Morgan, a fellow mystery author. He lives and works in Ann Arbor, Michigan.