Twenty-three years ago, Anna North survived a living nightmare. A madman kidnapped her, cut off her pinkie, then vanished. Today Anna lives in New Orleans, writing dark thrillers under another name. She finally feels safe. Suddenly Anna’s quiet life takes a frightening turn. Letters start to arrive from a disturbed fan. Anna is followed, her apartment broken into. Then a close friend disappears. Anna turns to homicide detective Quentin Malone, but Malone’s more concerned with the recent murders of two women in the French Quarter.

When 17-year-old Katherine McCall awakened one morning to find her beloved sister, Sara, brutally murdered, her whole life changed in the blink of an eye. Kat was named the prime suspect and, on a string of circumstantial evidence, charged and tried. While the jury found her innocent, not everyone else agreed, and her only choice was to go into hiding. But she carried a dark secret with her, one that made her worry she might actually have had something to do with Sara’s death....

Kate and Richard Ryan have the perfect marriage - marred only by their inability to have a child. The adoption agency’s call fulfills that dream...and opens the door to a nightmare.... Julianna Starr has chosen Kate and Richard to be more than the parents of her child. For Richard is the man of her fantasies, the one she’s been waiting for. Stalking the couple, Julianna molds herself in Kate’s image and insinuates herself into Richard’s life, determined to tear their perfect marriage apart.

As MC and Kitt hunt a faceless killer, they are led deep into cyberspace, where no one is who they seem and you never know who's watching. At the heart of this fast-paced thriller is the relationship between the two headstrong women, their struggle to balance their dual roles, to learn to trust, and to walk the fine line between upholding the law - and taking it into their own hands as they race to find a murderer.

Sienna Scott grew up in the dark shadow of her mother’s paranoid delusions. Now, she's returned home to confront her past and the unsolved murder that altered the course of her life. In her mother’s shuttered house, an old fear that has haunted Sienna for years rears its ugly head - that it was she who had been the killer’s target that night. And now, with it, a new fear - that the killer not only intended to remedy his past mistake - he’s already begun. But are these fears any different from the ones that torment her mother?

Amid death and destruction, hurricane-savaged New Orleans has a new dark force to fear. As the rescue efforts unfold, a grisly discovery is made at one of the massive refrigerator "graveyards". One of these metal hulks contains six human hands - all female, all right hands. The press has dubbed the unknown perpetrator "The Handyman". Captain Patti O'Shay is the straight-arrow, by-the-book cop assigned to the case.

New Orleans Detective Quinn Conners is haunted by her father’s whiskey-soaked, last words—that he solved the Hudson murder and kidnapping. It wasn’t the first time he’d made that drunken claim, and she didn’t believe him. Twenty-four hours later she found him dead by his own hand.

New Orleans Detective Micki Dee Dare is a seasoned, no-nonsense cop. She doesn't need a partner, especially not Zach "Hollywood" Harris, an irreverent charmer, fresh out of an experimental FBI program. And her assignment - keep him alive while he fights crime using the special skills he brings to the table - is not what she signed up for. But the die has been cast and there's nothing she can do about it.

Before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, stained-glass restoration artist Mira Gallier had it all: a thriving business doing work she loved and an idyllic marriage to the perfect man. But the devastating storm stole her beloved husband – his body swept away by floodwaters, never to be found.Now, after years of pain and turmoil, it looks as if Mira is finally on the verge of peace and emotional stability.

A horrific crime. One witness - a 15-year-old girl from the wrong side of the tracks, one known for lying and her own brushes with the law. Is it any surprise no one believed her? Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana, PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis - but that wasn't always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She's worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.

In the unbearable heat of another sultry Washington, D.C., summer, a serial killer is on the loose. Dr. Tess Court, one of the capital’s most successful psychiatrists, wants nothing to do with the case—until the police convince her to lend a hand to the lead investigator, legendary ladies’ man Detective Ben Paris. Scarred by his family’s history, Ben has even less use for shrinks than Tess has for him—but the forces of animal magnetism and a shared desire to catch the demented criminal known as “The Priest” inexorably erode the walls they’ve built.

Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara found her calling at an early age, when a violently unstable man broke into her family's home, trapping and terrorizing them for hours. Now she's Savannah's top hostage negotiator, who puts her life on the line every day to defuse powder-keg situations.

Trauma victims are not new to medical examiner Faith McIntyre, but this one is different. The unconscious woman clinging to life after a hit and run is FBI agent Macy Crow. What the woman from Quantico was doing in a dark alley after midnight is just one mystery. The other is more unsettling: Macy is Faith’s mirror image—the twin sister she never knew she had.

Olivia’s parents were among Hollywood’s golden couples - until the night a monster came and took her mother away forever. A monster with the face of her father... Sheltered from the truth, an older Olivia only dimly recalls her night of terror - but her recurring nightmares make her realize she must piece together the real story. Now, assisted by Noah Brady, the son of the police detective who found her cowering in her closet so many years before, she may have her chance.

A champion boat racer, Cameron Quinn traveled the world spending his winnings on champagne and women. But when his dying father calls him home to care for Seth, a troubled young boy not unlike Cameron once was, his life changes overnight.

Twenty-three years ago, Anna North survived a living nightmare. A madman kidnapped her, cut off her pinkie, then vanished. Today Anna lives in New Orleans, writing dark thrillers under another name. She finally feels safe. Suddenly Anna’s quiet life takes a frightening turn. Letters start to arrive from a disturbed fan. Anna is followed, her apartment broken into. Then a close friend disappears. Anna turns to homicide detective Quentin Malone, but Malone’s more concerned with the recent murders of two women in the French Quarter.

Brooding and sexy Rafe Di Luca has returned to his family's luxurious vineyard resort and discovers that a long-ago quarrel has ignited once more, forcing him to work with Brooke Petersson, the woman he seduced...and betrayed.

Abby Davis isn't wearing a skimpy bikini or sipping umbrella drinks, not when she's busy chasing around four little ones. And Matt McKinney isn't looking for fun - he's a Navy SEAL, a grown man with a long list of missions and fallen brothers. Abby has brought her children to this beach to start over, to give them the enjoyable memories they deserve. Matt has been sidelined by a combat injury, and he is haunted by the loss of his best friend and the promise he made: to remain a SEAL - focused and dedicated.

General Travis Bains has two daughters, one who is good and one who is bad. Everyone knows Lindsey is the good one, and Jessie is the bad one. Jessie Bains is the other sister, the bad sister, which she has proven more often than not until the day she gets kidnapped and brutally raped. Will Hendricks, one of her father's soldiers, rescues her and brings her home but fears she may be nearly destroyed by what has been done to her. The most important thing, however, is that no one can know.

Jackson Pierce didn't make his fortune entertaining every half-cocked idea, especially one involving diaper changes. Not even the cute brunette who links him to the baby in her arms can crack his icy heart. A baby on the doorstep is the least of Hannah Woods' problems - she has to find the baby's uncle, or the child will end up in foster care. She sleuths her way to the reclusive CEO's doorstep only to find six feet of holiday sexy - and a door slammed in her face.

From Romance Writers of America comes a never-before-published collection of tales that showcases the breadth and complexity of the world's most popular genre of fiction!

Donya Stewart's chest filled with the soft beating wings of butterflies when she first met Emmet Grayne's green eyes at the ripe age of five. Unable to identify the tugging pressure within her when in his presence, Donya moved through the first several years of her life addled by her feelings for the boy who was her best friend's brother and very much like her own sibling. But one cool autumn night in her mystifying teenage years, Emmet erases any ideas Donya has of him being anything like a sibling.

With an astonishing blend of savvy, instinct, and passion, Milla Edge displays an uncanny gift for finding lost children. When all seems helpless, desperate souls from across the country come to her for hope and results. Traveling to a small village in Mexico on a reliable tip, Milla begins to uncover the dire fate of countless children who have disappeared over the years.

hnny Harris is home again, his too-tight jeans and damn-your-eyes belligerence honed to perfection by a ten-year stretch in federal prison for murder. Now he’s out on parole and ready for the job Rachel Grant has promised him to help him begin a new life. Unlike the rest of the town, Rachel has always believed in her former student’s innocence. But one thing has changed. The sullenly handsome boy she remembers is still sullen, still handsome - but no longer a boy.

Skylar James told a lie to the man she married, and eight years later she still bitterly regrets the deception. Unknown to Skylar, her husband, Gabe Maddox, now lives in the dangerous shadows of elite operatives who rescue victims. When Skylar tries to save a naive young beauty, kidnappers come after her. For Gabe, Skylar had been his last shot at trust and love. But news of her disappearance battens down his anger and launches him into action.

Just one night? Yeah, right. Pippa Laingley should have known better. When an unplanned evening of passion with Cameron Hollingsworth results in unplanned pregnancy, she's at a crossroads. She knew going in that the enigmatic entrepreneur had built a fortress around his feelings. What she's just discovered is that he's loved and lost before - wife and child. Tragically. Now Cam stands to lose it all again. If he lets Pippa get too close. If he pushes her away with loveless arrangements of financial support. Either way, he's doomed...unless he can let himself love again.

Savannah Wilde is the first of her sisters to return to Midnight, Alabama when a grueling case leads the young prosecutor to seek shelter in the quiet of the once grand Wilde mansion. But when she finds letters casting doubt on her family's dark, shameful past, she realizes that peace in Midnight is a shallow façade and sinister secrets lurk beneath the surface. Protecting her is Zach Tanner, once the town's bad boy, now the new police chief - and he still has a wild hold over her.

Young Billie Ames naively fell for the exciting pilot Moss Coleman at the Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II. Within a few months, she was pregnant, married, and traveling across the country to Austin...to the 250,000-acre spread known as Sunbridge and into the tantalizing world of the Texas rich. In a vast land dominated by the industrious Colemans, Billie fights to maintain control of her life and her marriage.

Mark Holbrook was a legend. A tall, rugged, imposing legend. He'd won a Pulitzer, interviewed kings and queens, presidents, and movie stars. Carly Barnett, on the other hand, was a former-beauty-queen-turned-advice-columnist. Not exactly on the same level. Still, Carly was determined to prove that she was more than a pretty face. Mark wasn't sure the beautiful and spirited Carly had what it took to be a reporter, but he was sure that he wanted her. And Mark never denied himself what he wanted.

"Something is murdering my men." Thus reads the message received from a Nazi commander stationed in a small castle high in the remote Transylvanian Alps. Invisible and silent, the enemy selects one victim per night, leaving the bloodless and mutilated corpses behind to terrify its future victims. When an elite SS extermination squad is dispatched to solve the problem, the men find something that's both powerful and terrifying. Panicked, the Nazis bring in a local expert on folklore - who just happens to be Jewish - to shed some light on the mysterious happenings.