The Ultimate Mystery Thriller Horror Box Set (7 Mystery Thriller Horror Bestsellers)
Page 48
To be continued...
The Law of Three: A New Wasteland (The Portal Arcane Series - Book II), available now.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, dear reader, for taking this journey with me. If you enjoyed the book please leave a review on Amazon. It can be brief (20 words) and written in a few minutes. Authors depend on reviews from readers like you. And if you really enjoy my work, send me an email at jthorn.writer@gmail.com and I will reply with a free copy of a J. Thorn title of your choosing.
In addition, visit http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/JThorn_ where I will personalize and autograph your digital book for free. Please do not hesitate to get in touch. I respond personally to every message. My phone number is 216.245.8476 or if you appreciate creativity on the dial pad, 216.24J.THRN. Seriously, that’s my phone number. Call and leave me a voicemail with your name and number and I promise to call you back. Did a scene in the book trouble you? Call me. Did you love the book and want to shower me with praise? Call me. Do you want advice on writing or publishing your own book? Call me. Do you want to order a large pepperoni with mushrooms and cheese? Can’t help you there. I want you to have the best reading experience possible because we all have limited time on this planet. If you weren’t completely satisfied with my book, or if you loved it, or if you simply want help; please call me. I would love to hear from you.
Do you love horror and dark fantasy? Do you wish you could tell authors the kind of story you want to read? Do you want to be part of an exclusive group? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you have to check this out:
http://jthornwriter.blogspot.com/p/the-keepers.html
The beta readers for this project, SB Knight, Ren Warom, Peter S. Scott, and Adam Phillips provided invaluable feedback and helped to mold the story into what it has become. I would like to thank my fellow authors that have supported my endeavors over the past year, including Scott Nicholson, Vicki Kiere, Jack Albrecht, Dana Martin, Pat Mason, George Sirois, Virna DePaul, Tammie Clark Gibbs, Tim and Claire Ridgway, Taylor Lee, Carolyn McCray, and everyone else I am forgetting at the Indie Book Collective. Talia Leduc brought her magic red pen to this novel and her suggestions were exactly what I needed. In addition, I am eternally grateful to a host of faithful readers, reviewers, and bloggers, such as Elizabeth Buttle, Bryden Yeo, Bernadette Davies, Stefan Yates, Carol Scott, Cole Dowden, Regina (from Goodreads), and Katy Sozaeva. I thank you all.
Other works from J. Thorn
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If you enjoyed this title, you'll love J. Thorn's new twist on a classic theme. Find out why readers that enjoy the edgy horror of Stephen King are discovering The Hidden Evil.
Praise for The Hidden Evil Trilogy...
"Best one yet - chilling, horrific. There were aspects of this story that reminded me somewhat of The Shining...a sort of creeping horror that was very effective."
K. Sozaeva, Amazon Vine Voice, Top 500 Reviewer
"...grabs you by the throat and does not let go. Incredibly graphic it had me screwing my face up in horror at many of the scenes, yet eagerly clicking for the next page just to see what would happen next."
Bernadette Davies, Amazon reviewer
"...Preta's Realm is a fine example of character building done right. Mr. Thorn does an excellent job of crafting the characters and making sure that you can identify with them. He does a better job than some of the heavy hitters in the horror realm, actually."
Bryan Hall, Author of Containment Room Seven
Preta's Realm: The Haunting (Book 1 of The Hidden Evil Trilogy)
Drew works hard, pays his taxes, and loves his family. But when a visit from the spirit of his deceased grandfather coincides with the violent murder of two co-workers, Drew falls into a desperate spiral of delusion and betrayal until he finally faces the demons of the past, which threaten to drag him deeper into Preta's Realm.
Demons Within: Unholy Fire (Book 2 of The Hidden Evil Trilogy)
Ravna thought his ordeal with the hungry ghost was over. However, when a road trip takes him on an unexpected detour, Preta resurfaces, threatening to tear apart Ravna and his new love. Ravna must again battle the hidden evil, though he now faces a choice that could destroy everything, including the Demons Within.
Eternal: Blood Curse (Book 3 of The Hidden Evil Trilogy)
Doug believes Ravna has the power to defeat the hungry ghost once and for all. But he soon realizes that the final battle with the malevolent creature has yet to begin. Doug must combine forces with another Hunter in a race against demons and apparitions, hoping he isn't already too late. If they cannot close the portal in time, Gaki will call forth the hidden evil and the darkness shall be Eternal.
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If you enjoyed this title, you'll love Reversion: The Inevitable Horror (The Portal Arcane Series - Book I). Find out why readers that enjoy the creeping doom of Stephen King's Langoliers are diving into the engaging world of the Portal Arcane series.
Praise for the Portal Arcane Series...
"This is a great start for what promises to be an engaging, intense series."
Scott Nicholson, Author of the #1 Amazon Best Selling Horror Novel, The Home
"It's all about the journey, about the creeping horror of individual moments, the long wait, the brief moments of terror, and then more waiting. It was... a fascinating read, and I will definitely be interested in following this series.."
K. Sozaeva, Amazon Vine Voice, Top 500 Reviewer
Reversion: The Inevitable Horror (The Portal Arcane Series - Book I)
With a noose around his neck, Samuel arrives in a forest littered with caution tape and artifacts of the deceased. He struggles to regain his memory while fending off a pack of wolves and the mysterious visitors who seem to know more about this dying world than he does. Major, Kole, and Mara, new companions also trapped in the strange locality, realize they must outrun the ominous cloud eating away at reality. As their world collapses upon itself, Samuel must find a way to escape the Reversion.
The Law of Three: A New Wasteland (The Portal Arcane Series - Book II)
The Reversion plucks Samuel from a dying world and drops him into another, a decaying desert wasteland of darkness and peril. As his memories return, Samuel finds himself in another cycle of destruction, and he leads newcomers Jack and Lindsay towards redemption in the mountain stronghold of the mysterious one known as Deva. Finally, as the locality collapses behind him, Samuel realizes his only escape from the Reversion will be putting his faith in The Law of Three.
The Portal Arcane Series - Book III - COMING IN EARLY 2014
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If you enjoyed this title, you'll love The Seventh Seal. Find out why The Seventh Seal, is a best-selling, post-apocalyptic, dark fantasy thriller that has placed in the Amazon Kindle Top 100 Paid Best Seller lists in four different genre categories!
The Seventh Seal
John Burgoyne awakens from a Halloween party, with a hangover and a dead cell phone, on the first day of the End of Days. He's desperate, on the run, and fighting for his life. After a violent coup, the Father, the figurehead of the Holy Covenant and the commander of a new military order, pursues John through the post-apocalyptic wreckage of Cleveland, Ohio, in search of the hidden knowledge he believes John holds. Burgoyne escapes and aligns with the resistance until Father orchestrates a final showdown.
In the words of author Vicki Keire, author of Worlds Burn Through...
"...an edge-of-your seat apocalyptic adventure full of twists and turns. I couldn't put it down!"
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If you enjoyed The Seventh Seal, you have to read the novella sequel, Man's Ruin.
Man's Ruin - A Dark Fantasy Novella (The Seventh Seal Sequel #1)
A band of revolutionaries fights for survival in the urban decay of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, thirty years after the First Cleansing brought an end to civilization. Their enigmatic and seasoned patriarch, John Burgoyne, protects the clan until a man on horseback delivers an ominous m
essage. John decides to lead his tribe on a grueling march down the treacherous highway stretching from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, unaware of the forces aligning against them. When the clan faces a major decision on the road, John will be forced to do whatever is necessary to ensure their survival.
In the words of reviewer, Gordie, on Amazon.com...
"I started this in the morning and had it finished by lunchtime as I could not put it down..."
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If you like tight and fast-paced short stories, you'll love J. Thorn's horror and dark fantasy collection, Voices from Beyond: Volume 1 as well as The Hunt and Tunnel.
About the Author
J. Thorn believes in the imaginative power of the horror novel and the escape from reality it provides. He knows that embracing the entire spectrum of human emotion, even its dark realms, makes for a more meaningful and authentic life.
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HONOR CODE
by
Cathy Perkins
Kindle Edition
Copyright © 2012 by Catherine Perkins
All rights reserved
About the book
With HONOR CODE, award-winning author Cathy Perkins delivers a mystery NOVELLA linked to her recent mystery novel, THE PROFESSOR.
In a small southern town where everyone normally knows each other’s business, veteran detective Larry Robbins must solve the disappearance of eighty-year-old widower, African-American George Beason.
When evidence arises that Beason may have left town on his own, it would be easy for Robbins to close the case, but his gut instinct tells him more’s at stake. As he uncovers clues about Beason’s deceased wife and his estranged daughter, Robbins must untangle conflicting motives and hidden agendas to bring Beason home alive.
Includes bonus material – an excerpt from The Professor, a mystery by Cathy Perkins
Chapter 1
The old man startled at the noise.
Forehead furrowed, he struggled to place the sound, but heard only the familiar ticks of the house.
Darkness pressed against the windows, shrinking the pool of light cast by his reading lamp. Shadows lurked in the corners of the room and spilled from the kitchen.
He fumbled his glasses on and squinted at his watch. After midnight. He’d fallen asleep in the recliner again.
Another dull thud.
Wood hitting wood.
A loose shutter. His shoulders loosened. That’s good. Get Jarad to fix it. The boy needs a job. Somebody to teach him the value of work.
He moved his Bible from his lap to the side table and pushed the lever to lower the footrest. It creaked along with his knees. Everything in the house creaked. The furniture, the floor, him.
He stretched. Pushed long arms and gnarled hands as high as he could reach.
Dog raised her head and turned eyes filmed by cataracts toward the kitchen.
“You hear something, girl?”
A tinkling sound of breaking glass answered him.
The old man sat up, his stretch forgotten. A broken window was a different story.
The back door opened, a familiar rasp.
“Who’s there?” He shuffled toward the rear of the house.
A figure appeared, darker than the kitchen’s shadows.
“What are you doing –”
“Give them to me.”
The old man sighed and shook his head. “We already talked about this.”
“I ain’t asking. I’m telling.”
Dog growled. A low guttural note that raised the hair on the old man’s neck. “You go on home.”
“No.” Anger sparked in the rigid set of shoulders.
A long arm rose. Moonlight caught the length.
Not an arm.
A baseball bat.
“You put that down.” The old man took one step back, then stopped. Wouldn’t do to show weakness.
The figure rushed forward. “Give them to me.”
Dog surged past him, the growl a deep-throated snarl.
The wood bat thumped again.
And again.
Detective Larry Robbins stopped the unmarked in front of a small wood-frame house. He checked with Dispatch—right house—as if the Newberry, South Carolina patrol car parked out front hadn’t clued him in. After working these neighborhood for over twenty years, he recognized the street. Used to be a nice place. Poor. But nice. Now it was transition houses, sliding from bad to worse, as the old people died. Scum moving in dragged the area down even faster.
He wasn’t sure why he was there. No obvious violence. No one yelling. No one in the back seat of the patrol unit. Dispatch had said the on-scene officer requested assistance. He’d half expected a domestic or a drug bust.
The patrol officer, a veteran Robbins recognized named Ellis, stood on the porch with an older African American woman.
Another person Robbins recognized.
He climbed from the vehicle. “Miz Rose?”
He’d picked up and dropped off dozens of foster kids with her over the years. ‘Course he’d picked up a fair percentage of them again later and hauled their asses to jail. But that had been at the bungalow next door. Not the shotgun house in front of him. A hold-over name, the term referred to style, not violence. The house’s rooms lay in a straight line, one behind the other, with a central doorway leading into the next room. Story was, you could shoot at the front door and the buckshot would fly out the back without touching the walls. The houses were all over the South, usually in poor neighborhoods because they were cheap to build.
“Everything okay with…” What was the kid’s name? Child Services had taken the toddler from her drug-addicted mother. A mother who fed her addiction before feeding her child. He’d accompanied Child Services, bringing the little kid, big-eyed and clutching a new teddy bear, to Rose Nelson’s sanctuary.
“Tasha’s just fine, Detective Robbins. She’s up to the church at pre-school kindergarten. It’s Mr. Beason I’m worried with.”
Another older couple stood on the porch across the street and Robbins was aware of other eyes at windows, behind blinds. The visible ones seemed more concerned than angry or afraid. He wondered if the hidden eyes had something to do with the Newberry cop’s presence.
He headed up the driveway. “What’s the problem?”
“Maybe you can talk some sense into him.” She tilted her head at Ellis.
He shifted his attention to the patrol officer.
“Guy’s gone,” Ellis summed up the situation in two words.
“George Beason wouldn’t just go off in the middle of the night. And he shore would’ve told me he was going if he did leave.”
Rose Nelson wasn’t given to wild flights of fantasy. She looked at the cold face of reality every day. That she chose to meet it with love was a different story. “He left last night?”
“Must’ve. He always up early, out on his porch reading the paper. I went down to the store at ten and his paper’s still sitting on the stairs.” She pointed at the steps he’d climbed. “I knocked on the front door and he don’t answer. I went ‘round to the back and seen the window on the door broke in. That’s when I called the police.”
Ellis took up the tale. “I responded to a welfare check request. Mrs. Nelson indicated her neighbor, Mr. Beason, had not been seen in his usual routine. I found the rear entrance unlocked and entered the residence. Mr. Beason is not present in the home.”
Robbins fingers rose to his breast pocket, before he remembered he’d quit smoking.
Again.
“Miz Rose, you said he ‘wouldn’t go off in the middle of the night.’ Did you hear him leave last night?”
“No. But his car be gone. It was here yesterday.”
“What kind of vehicle does he drive?” Ellis asked.
“A fine Cadillac. He takes real good care of it.”
“Gold-colored Eldorado?” Robbins asked. There were a number of
the one-time luxury automobiles in the poorer neighborhoods. The gold one always looked freshly washed and waxed. He’d seen it plenty of times, parked behind the old man’s store.
“That’s right.” She didn’t look surprised. Newberry had about ten thousand residents. Most knew at least half the people—and their cars—and recognized the rest.
“What makes you think he didn’t go visit a friend?”
She shook her head. “He don’t see too good at night. And he don’t like driving on the highway. Said things moved too fast. Only times he drives is to church or the store.”
“Family?” Ellis produced a notebook from his kit.
“His son died in the war.”
The military. The time-honored way out of small towns everywhere, but no guarantee of coming home again. Robbins had used the army to get out of Gaston—population 674. Somehow he’d ended up a Military Policeman, a profession he’d used the GI Bill and a degree in Criminal Justice to continue when he finished his tour.
“One daughter’s over to Marion. She has a fine job with the college. The youngest one, she moved. She don’t come around much. The middle one… Lord, I don’t know about her.”