999: New Stories | Dark of Night| First Family | Run For Your Life | Stand Up Comedy | The Death Chamber | The Stand





Reviews

Like the other reviewers, I bought this book mainly because of the new Stephen King story. However, there were also entries by the likes of Ramsey Campbell and Joe R Lansdale to whet the appetite.

Although most of the stories are OK, and a few are quite good, I was somewhat disappointed that only a small handful really did anything to take the horror story into the 21st Century. The Lansdale story, in particular, although a fairly interesting read, was far from something new, incorporating much visited themes such as the 'Monster' who rescues the main characters from the real monster (a serial rapist-killer) and Depression-era Deep-South racism ('To Kill a Mockingbird', anyone?). And this from the man who brought us the very disturbing 'The Night They Missed the Horror Show'!

This criticism aside, there are some highly individual entries from Chet Williamson and Neil Gaiman, and these, along with an on-form Stephen King, are probably worth the investment.

Taking on the world’s deadliest criminals is what the elite security force Troubleshooters Incorporated does best. But now they face a new and powerful threat from their most lethal enemy yet–a shadowy government outfit known only as The Agency.

For years, operative James Nash has performed ultra-covert “Black Ops” missions for The Agency, but when he decide to walk away from their dirty work, his corrupt bosses aren’t about to let him go. After Nash is nearly assassinated, Troubleshooters team leader Lawrence Decker launches a skillful deception to neutralize the threat and protect his friend. With the FBI’s help, Decker fakes Nash’s death, then brings him to a safe house with his fiancée, Tess Bailey, to recover from his injuries and strategize their next move.

Only a handful of people know that Nash is still alive–and fellow Troubleshooters Dave Malkoff, Sophia Ghaffari, and receptionist Tracy Shapiro aren’t among them. Believing that Nash is dead and that Decker has begun a romantic relationship with Tess, Sophia settles for second best and begins a love affair with Dave, who has adored her for years. But Tracy puts two and two together, discovering the truth about Nash–much to Decker’s dismay.

As passions flare, Decker struggles to keep his scheme afloat, and to keep Nash alive. But when he finds himself targeted for death, the game turns even more perilous, and Sophia, Tracy, and Dave are swept into the deadly play. Under fire and racing to unmask their relentless adversary, the Troubleshooters know that the closer they get, the greater the risks. But sacrifices and consequencescome with the territory. Forced to choose between love and loyalty, they are no longer just solving a crime–they’re fighting for survival.

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#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci follows the instant success of Divine Justice with another unstoppable thriller.

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, back from their harrowing and near-fatal adventure in the blockbuster #1 bestseller Simple Genius, return in a mesmerizing new thriller. A daring kidnapping turns a children's birthday party at Camp David into a national security nightmare, but the hostage is not who anyone would expect. The First Lady enlists the services of King and Maxwell to bring the child back safely. Years ago, King saved her then-senator husband from an assassin's bullet; whether they shared anything else is their secret. With Michelle still recovering from her own demons the pair are pushed to the limit, with forces aligned on all sides against them, and the line between friend and foe impossible to define...or defend.

Biography
A Washington, D.C.-based lawyer-turned-author, David Baldacci writes legal thrillers that are as tightly constructed as they are authoritative. Readers know his books, with their cinematic plots and colorful details, are sure to offer the sort of breathless entertainment that thrillers always promise but can’t always deliver.

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A spree killer passes brutal judgment.

A calculating murderer who calls himself the Teacher is taking on New York City, slaughtering the powerful and the arrogant. Everyone is his potential student - from the loudmouthed girl on her cell phone to the city's snooty upper crust. His message to them is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror.

No chance for redemption.

There is only one man in the NYPD who can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Michael Bennett. For anyone else, the pressure would be overwhelming, but Mike is ready to step up - taking care of his ten children has prepared him for the job! As the media frenzy escalates, all of Mike's children fall victim to a virulent flu bug - almost as challenging an assignment for Bennett as tracking down the killer!

One man struggles to save a city.

A secret pattern emerges in the Teacher's lessons, leaving Detective Bennett just a few precious hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history. Run for Your Life is the most speed-charged, adrenaline-packed novel ever from "the man who can't miss"

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#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci follows the instant success of Divine Justice with another unstoppable thriller.

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, back from their harrowing and near-fatal adventure in the blockbuster #1 bestseller Simple Genius, return in a mesmerizing new thriller. A daring kidnapping turns a children's birthday party at Camp David into a national security nightmare, but the hostage is not who anyone would expect. The First Lady enlists the services of King and Maxwell to bring the child back safely. Years ago, King saved her then-senator husband from an assassin's bullet; whether they shared anything else is their secret. With Michelle still recovering from her own demons the pair are pushed to the limit, with forces aligned on all sides against them, and the line between friend and foe impossible to define...or defend.

Biography
A Washington, D.C.-based lawyer-turned-author, David Baldacci writes legal thrillers that are as tightly constructed as they are authoritative. Readers know his books, with their cinematic plots and colorful details, are sure to offer the sort of breathless entertainment that thrillers always promise but can’t always deliver.

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Sarah Rayne's latest book is a tour de force of dark secrets that have at the heart a macabre experiment inside an old prison house. I loved the way the reader is taken back from the present to the 1930s and the quietly sexy (well, I thought so!) Dr Kane and his unwilling involvement in a famous (maybe that should be `infamous') murder case - and then even further back to 1916/17. The plot has twists and surprises, and the characters are vivid, from the present-day television crew, ghost-hunting in the spooky gaol for material for a TV documentary, to the ironic humour of the two fraudulent mediums in the 1920s.

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This book has it all. Never have I read something that has captured me to the extent of The Stand. It tells of a scenerio we can all vividly picture. A lonely world where mankind is close to extinction, while the cities and machines are left to gather dust and remind survivors of a world lost through the mistakes of man. This truly is the epic of all epics, and I assure those who are intimidated by the length to not be. You'll be captured by the story before you know it. The characters are so diverse and unique that it's impossible not to relate to them. My personal favourite had to be Larry Underwood, the drugged up rock-star whose life undergoes some extreme changes as the story progresses.

There are moments in the book that will bring a tear to your eye, there are moment that will leave you terrified. However, in my opinion this isn't a horror story, but instead a tragedy that tells of courage, hope and faith.

This is definitely the greatest book by Stephen King, and really makes me want to forget I read it so I can experience it all for the first time again.

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999: New Stories | Dark of Night| First Family | Run For Your Life | Stand Up Comedy | The Death Chamber | The Stand

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