Dark Fiction

“In his stunning new book Specters in the Gallery, J. Michael Major delivers an intriguing, finely crafted, twist-laden short story collection chock full of clever tales and unexpected outcomes. Major’s stories explore the exhilaration of danger, the sliding scales of justice, and the sardonic laughter of wry wit. In story after story, Major creates compulsively interesting scenarios. He then bends, twists, turns and corkscrews his plots in directions you’ll never see coming. Fast-paced, fiendishly clever, dark, playful, and unsettling, Major’s stories don't just pull the rug out from under you. They redefine the very nature of the floor. I invite you to step into Major’s amazing gallery of wordly delights. Experience the brilliance of his storytelling for yourself. If you dare!” —Gary K. Wolf, Creator of Roger Rabbit 

Step inside a gallery where every portrait has a pulse, every joke has teeth, and every ordinary life is one bad choice away from the grotesque.

In Specters in the Gallery, J. Michael Major gathers dark, twist-laden stories of ambition, revenge, justice, faith, desire, and punishment. A private investigator follows the murder of a ruined writer and uncovers a creation dangerous enough to kill for. A desperate artist discovers the terrible price of being seen. A town buries its secrets beneath progress. A chain letter becomes a death sentence. Across horror, crime, satire, and speculative fiction, Major turns familiar fears into sharp little nightmares with a grin at the edge of the blade.

Fast-paced, clever, viciously playful, and unsettling, these stories do not simply pull the rug out from under you. They make you question whether the floor was ever there at all.

Enter carefully. Not everything on display is finished being alive.

“A marvelous collection of enchanting short stories, rich in imagination, intrigue and twisty turns of terror. J. Michael Major journeys across genres with skill and verve, producing an immensely engaging and clever concoction of tales that will keep you turning the pages.” —Brian Pinkerton, author of The Perfect Stranger

In the vast reaches of the Indian Territory, danger rarely stays buried for long. After weeks on the trail, Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves finds himself drawn into a new and growing threat that spreads across the frontier like wildfire. A violent prison break unleashes three desperate men—killers with nothing left to lose. Led by a former Confederate colonel with fierce ambitions and old grudges, the fugitives head west with a reckless plan that could ignite trouble across the Territory.

As rumors travel faster than riders, Reeves and the Lighthorse lawmen begin to piece together the trail of violence left behind. Each clue reveals a larger scheme—one involving stolen gold, rising unrest, and talk of stirring old loyalties back to life. With every mile, the stakes grow heavier, and the line between justice and vengeance becomes harder to see.

Across trading posts, settlements, and lonely stretches of open land, alliances shift and tempers flare. Settlers whisper of uprisings. Merchants close their doors early. And the name of the escaped colonel begins to echo like a storm rolling in from the horizon.

Set against a land where memory is long and justice rides hard, this new chapter in the Legends of the West series follows Bass Reeves as he tracks a danger that threatens far more than one town or one badge. It marks a turning point in a struggle shaping the future of the frontier—one forged in grit, shadows, and the relentless pursuit of what is right.

Shannon Delaney always lived in the shadow of her twin sister, Sarah. Sarah is brilliant, beautiful, and bound for Berkeley, while Shannon is unsure, overlooked, and heading nowhere fast. The only thing that’s ever been hers is Frankie—her best friend since fifth grade, the one boy who saw her for who she really was.

But now Frankie is slipping away, drawn into Sarah’s orbit as they compete together in a high-stakes math tournament. Then something strange happens. A mysterious blue light glows from an old glass paperweight by Shannon’s bed, revealing ghostly visions—of snow, of love, of heartbreak. She tries to convince herself it’s just a dream, but the feeling won’t fade. The glass may be showing her the truth.

As Shannon watches her world shift—her sister’s secrets, Frankie’s choices, her own unraveling sense of self—one thing becomes clear: the hardest truths aren’t always the ones others hide. They’re the ones buried inside.

From the Low Countries comes a high-stakes collection of crime fiction.

In Dutch Treats, the shadows stretch long and the tension runs deep. This gripping collection brings together twenty-one stories by some of the most celebrated crime writers in The Netherlands and Flanders—authors whose names are household words in Europe and whose work has won top awards like Holland's Golden Noose and Belgium's Hercule Poirot Prize.

These stories are sharp, surprising, and expertly told. Each is a stand-alone mystery, translated with care by editor Josh Pachter, a well-known name in the world of short crime fiction. They explore everything from quiet deception to bold, dangerous choices—with characters who are clever, reckless ... and sometimes just unlucky.

This isn’t merely one more mystery collection. It’s a showcase of major talent, featuring heavy hitters like René Appel, Michael Berg, Dominique Biebau, Bavo Dhooge, Hilde Vandermeeren, and Marion Pauw, to name a few. Their stories have appeared in the world’s most respected mystery magazines, and now, for the first time, they’re gathered in one exciting volume.

For readers who enjoy clever plots, moody settings, and a fresh perspective on crime, Dutch Treats is an unforgettable read.

Chicago Cop Stacey Macbeth had ended Lonnie Huggins’ reign of terror when he sent the vicious criminal to prison. Now, however, a non-for-profit team of investigators has freed him back into the real world on some trumped up allegations of misconduct on the part of Macbeth. Word on the street is that Huggins is out and looking to settle some old scores, starting with Macbeth. With innocents caught in the crosshairs, Macbeth vows once more to bring Huggins to justice, setting the stage for a head-to-head confrontation where the rule book has been hurled from the window. Both men embark on a collision course in which each is seeking his own brand of Chicago Justice, knowing that this time there will be only one left standing.

Kyle Colbert just wants to go home for Christmas. He savors his train commutes from Manhattan to his idyllic hometown. But as he arrives on Christmas Eve, his family tries to murder him. His neighbors and entire community suddenly want him dead. He can’t run to the authorities, because the FBI is also in a deadly pursuit. With a $1,000,000 reward for his “Death or Whereabouts," Kyle is running out of time to discover what's really going on to stop an even greater tragedy.

Step into the gritty world of crime and consequence with award-winning author Lou Manfredo's first collection. "A Dozen Ways to Die" offers twelve meticulously crafted tales that span the breadth of American history and the depths of human nature.

From the smoky speakeasies of Prohibition to the neon-lit streets of modern cities, Manfredo's stories peel back the layers of morality, justice, and the human condition. Meet a cast of unforgettable characters: hardboiled detectives, conflicted soldiers, cunning gangsters, and ordinary people facing extraordinary choices.

Among the twelve stories in this collection, "The Alimony Prison" is a Prohibition-era tale of corruption and survival; "Last Call" is a poignant exploration of a World War II soldier's moral struggle; and "Soul Anatomy" is a contemporary story that delves into the complexities of police shootings and ethical dilemmas.

Manfredo's prose crackles with authenticity, drawing on his extensive experience in law enforcement to paint vivid, realistic portraits of crime and its consequences. His unique blend of classic noir sensibilities and modern storytelling creates a collection that is both timeless and timely.

"A Dozen Ways to Die" is more than just a collection of crime fiction—it's a journey through the darker corners of the American experience, where the lines between right and wrong blur and every choice has a price.

Perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler, Dennis Lehane, and anyone who appreciates finely crafted crime fiction that goes beyond the surface to explore the complexities of the human psyche.

Veterinarian Tom Copeland takes a job at a factory farm called Sunnyvale after a scandal at his suburban practice. His job is to keep the animals alive for long enough to get them to slaughter.

But there are rumours of a strange creature living beneath the complex, accidents waiting to happen on brutal production lines, and the threat of zoonotic disease from the pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, and fish that the complex houses.

Suddenly, disaster rocks Sunnyvale, and cleaners, butchers, security guards, and clerical staff alike must come together under the ruthless leadership of CEO John MacDonald. Together, they’ll learn what happens when there’s a sudden change to the food chain.

Bon appétit. 

Former Navy SEAL Jack Landis may have taken on more than he can handle. While investigating a relatively simple slaughter of animals in Iraq, what he finds is an empty field with large pools of blood surrounded by mysterious scorch marks. It doesn’t take him long to conclude that the scorches could have been made by extremely powerful laser weapons. The resources it would take to build and deploy weaponry like that far exceeds what the Iraqis could muster. So the question becomes, who fired these weapons?

Back in Washington, CIA Deputy Director Richard North is outraged when he is passed over for the top job, a job that he had earned. Lou Pendleton is a buffoon and political lackey and won’t be hard to disgrace. But North quickly finds that Pendleton isn’t as easy to knock off the top spot as he had thought. When scandal doesn’t work, North turns to more extreme measures, putting the United States and thousands of lives in harm’s way.

Pendleton asks Jack to take on the responsibility for tracking down North and stopping him. This leads Landis to Russia and the Middle East, where he must rely on his training, instincts, and a network of allies, some more reliable than others, to navigate the labyrinth of clues to stop North from precipitating World War III.

Up-and-coming Amsterdam lawyer David Driessen thinks he’s hit the jackpot when a wealthy client showers him with praise, glamour, and plenty of money. But David learns far too late that every gift from the shady realtor comes with a catch—and a price tag. As his gambling addiction, his constant need for cash, and his wife’s infidelities combine to drag him deeper and deeper into his client’s twisted world of money and despair, David struggles to stay ahead of it all… before his time runs out.

In The Amsterdam Lawyer, René Appel—two-time winner of the Golden Noose, the Netherlands’ equivalent of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Allan Poe Award—once again demonstrates the skill that led leading Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad to proclaim him “the godfather of the Dutch psychological thriller.”

“A fascinating novel, bubbling over with greed, mistrust, and ruthlessness.” Gijs Korevaar, Algemeen Dagblad

"René Appel is a first-rate Dutch crime writer. The Amsterdam Lawyer is a compelling and twisted legal thriller, the first of what will hopefully be many of his books to appear in English." Steve Steinbock, reviewer for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

The Amsterdam Lawyer is translated from the Dutch by Josh Pachter. 

Rumors rising out of the Yucatan jungle report healings and miracles attributed to a holy relic. Father Pablo Diego Corellas discovers that even his own parishioners are making secret pilgrimages to the decrepit plantation where it is held. There, Doña Josefa, a mysterious woman who is either mystic or mad, possesses an artifact that she claims is a fragment of the robe worn by Christ at his trial. Guarded by armed Mayan farmers, she holds sway over an ever-growing number of pilgrims desperate for the healing power of the Purple Robe.

Much against his own wishes, young Father Pablo is dispatched to the interior to investigate, while a police captain and a vacationing American couple make plans of their own for the robe. But when the relic is stolen, they soon discover that miracles have unforeseen consequences and that no one is beyond their reach.