The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings


Book Description

New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author The past and the present meet as two shattering climaxes converge Raymond Benson's The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings is the startling, climactic finale to the five-book, critically acclaimed saga of The Black Stiletto. It's 1962. Judy Cooper, the Black Stiletto, is devastated at the betrayal by her nemesis and former lover, mobster Leo Kelly. Additionally, Leo and his psychotically dangerous sister, Christina, have set out to ruin the Stiletto's reputation in L.A. with a series of crimes that are made to appear as if the crime-fighter is responsible. The very pregnant Judy must fight back only with her wits and cunning—until disaster strikes and she is forced to flee to her old hometown in Texas for the final showdown with destiny. Meanwhile, in the present, the Alzheimer's that afflicts elderly Judy is in its last stage, but her son and granddaughter, Martin and Gina, must continue to protect her from the past's last remaining assault, culminating in a cathartic and explosive conclusion. Perfect for fans of vigilante justice While all of the novels in The Black Stiletto Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: The Black Stiletto The Black Stiletto: Black & White The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings




The Black Stiletto: The Complete Saga


Book Description

New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author All five Black Stiletto books in one stunning saga This USA Today and New York Times best-selling five-book saga tells the entire amazing story of Judy Cooper, the famed Black Stiletto of vigilante fame. The story is told by Martin Talbot, the Stiletto's son, in the words of the Stiletto herself through her diaries. Martin does not discover these diaries until his mother, suffering from Alzheimer Disease, is confined to a nursing home. Imagine his utter shock when he realizes that his mother's diaries—and other revealing discoveries—bring the Black Stiletto's—his mother's—past into the present. This awe-inspiring five-book saga takes the reader through the parallel lives of Judy today and the young masked crime stopper from the 1950's and '60's. From New York to Los Angeles to Texas, Judy—the Stiletto—is a hero to the public, but a hunted enemy of law enforcement and criminals, including the Mafia. As she relentlessly fights for justice, her life is in constant danger. And that danger returns to the present to threaten Martin, his daughter, and Judy, herself. The Black Stiletto Saga covers the entire story. The old Judy, the young Judy, and the Black Stiletto. All five books in one package: The Black Stiletto, The Black Stiletto: Black & White, The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes, The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies, and The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings.




The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies


Book Description

New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author Black Stiletto Moves to L.A.—For Better or Worse It is 1961 in the fourth book of The Black Stiletto Series. Judy, the Stiletto, meets Leo, a charismatic man who convinces her to move to Los Angeles when she is "run out" of New York by increasingly hazardous police heat. Soon Judy suspects that Leo is not the white knight she first thought. Leo, who has connections with the West Coast mobs, has plenty of skeletons in his closet. His mysterious sister, Christina, who once served time for armed robbery, could also be a threat to the Stiletto's new life in California. Meanwhile, in the present, Alzheimer's-stricken Judy takes a turn for the worse as Martin comes to grips with the imminent end of his mother's life. And when elements from the Stiletto's past once again appear to threaten Martin's family, it is up to his daughter Gina to step up and take matters into her own hands. In a novel bristling with mysteries, secrets, and lies, The Black Stiletto saga takes a dark left turn into even more treacherous territory. Perfect for fans of vigilante justice While all of the novels in The Black Stiletto Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: The Black Stiletto The Black Stiletto: Black & White The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings




The Black Stiletto: Black & White


Book Description

New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author The Stiletto Faces Racial Injustice—Up Front and Personal It's 1959, and Judy Cooper, the Black Stiletto, sets out to confront a dangerous gangster known as the heroin king of Harlem when the teenage daughter of her beloved martial arts instructor ends up a prisoner in an uptown narcotics den. And the Stiletto has troubles of her own—a shady filmmaker is threatening to reveal her identity to the world—a close friend of her landlord and substitute father may be in cahoots with the Harlem criminals—she's fighting for racial equality—and she has fallen in love again . . . this time with an FBI agent who has standing orders to arrest her. Meantime, in the present, the Stiletto's son, Martin, faces his own blackmail crisis when he finds out that there is a second copy of an 8mm film he found in his mother's strongbox—showing the Black Stiletto unmasked in a film studio dressing room. As he tries to stop the filmmaker's son's extortion plot, he learns that his daughter, Gina, has been brutally assaulted in New York City. The past and the present meet as two shattering climaxes converge. Perfect for fans of vigilante justice While all of the novels in the Black Stiletto Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: The Black Stiletto The Black Stiletto: Black & White The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings




Corruption at the Crossroad


Book Description

More than 160 short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors. This volume will introduce you to horror, mystery, fantasy and thrills, from the dark worlds of Lovecraft to the cutting-edge suspense of the mean streets of the cities of the world. This monster collection speaks in the voices of some of today's leading masters of the short story, with something certain to appeal to every reader. Find a new creative voice to follow. Find a new world to love. An amazing wealth of fiction and imagination. Included in Corruption at the Crossroad: 12+1: Twelve Short Thrillers And A Play — Raymond Benson The Devil Made Me Do It Again And Again — Paul Dale Anderson Seeing Red — David J. Schow Bedbugs — Rick Hautala Destinations Unknown — Gary Braunbeck The Call Of Distant Shores — David Niall Wilson Falling Idols — Brian Hodge In The End, Only Darkness — Monica J O'Rourke 13: A Collection Of Horror And Weird Fiction — Michael Boatman Vapors: The Essential G. Wayne Miller Fiction, Vol. 2 — G. Wayne Miller Scars And Other Distinguishing Marks — Richard Christian Matheson




Blues in the Dark


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling and internationally acclaimed author comes a Hollywood crime drama set in the 1940s and present day that tackles racism, sexism, and murder. Karissa Glover is a movie producer who moves into a decrepit but functional old mansion in the West Adams Heights area of Los Angeles, where black celebrities of yesteryear—Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, and others—once resided. The former owner was a white actress, Blair Kendrick, who often starred as the "bad girl"—a femme fatale—in films noirof the 1940s. However, Blair’s career was cut short when she was tragically killed by the mob after allegedly witnessing the slaying of a corrupt studio head in 1949. As Karissa and her producing partner decide to develop a modern film noir about Blair Kendrick, malevolent forces from the past attempt to stop them—first with intimidation, and then with the thread of murder. Is this because Karissa has learned that Blair was involved in a then-taboo interracial relationship with jazz musician Hank Marley? What really happened on the night that death struck in a dimly lit studio mogul’s office? The consequences of Blair and Hank’s doomed love affair still resonate in the present day as Karissa attempts to unravel Blair’s secrets. Seeping with mystery, intrigue, Hollywood history, and forbidden romance, Blues in the Dark is Raymond Benson at his most insightful and page-turning best.




The Secrets on Chicory Lane


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of the continuation James Bond novels comes a new novel of suspense about coming-of-age in the 1960s, and the neighborhood street where first love, a child abduction, and abuse collide. Sixty-one-year-old Shelby Truman, a romance novelist, has received a request to visit her childhood friend, Eddie, who is on Death Row. Though mentally ill, Eddie is scheduled to be executed for the disturbing, brutal murders of his wife and unborn child. As Shelby travels home to Texas for the unnerving reunion, she steps back into memories of her past, recalling her five-decade-long relationship with Eddie in order to understand what led the beautiful but troubled boy who lived across the street to become a murderer. Shelby and Eddie used to visit an abandoned fallout shelter in his backyard, their “secret hiding place" where they could escape Eddie’s abusive father, enjoy innocent playtime, and, later, adolescent explorations. As they grow increasingly close, a tragedy occurs one July fourth, an event that sets in motion a lifelong struggle against an Evil—with a capital "E"—that has corrupted their all-American neighborhood. With only a few days left for Eddie to live, Shelby braces herself for a reunion that promises to shed light on the traumatic events that transpired on her street, changing everything Shelby thought she knew about the boy on Chicory Lane.




Hotel Destiny


Book Description

WHAT IF YOU, AS A GHOST, HAD TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER? From internationally acclaimed and New York Times best-selling author Raymond Benson comes a novel that is a ghost story with a distinctive noir sensibility mixed with David Lynchian surrealism. The year is 1985. Manhattan’s Times Square area is sleazy, and the streets are full of what Coleman Sackler calls “New York Street Skunk.” Cole is the night manager and self-proclaimed hotel detective for the transient Hotel Destiny, which has been plagued with scandals over the century, including several murders, gangster occupation and ownership, and fleabag status during the 1960s and 70s. Five recent slayings in the building have been attributed to—the police believe—one killer. During the gala grand re-opening Halloween party, Cole Sackler himself is murdered by a masked man. But hold on! Cole “awakes” and is still in the hotel—as a ghost. Prior to his death, a mysterious woman had told him that hidden portals located throughout the building can lead one to other time periods, and that the key to Cole’s destiny is in the hotel’s past and embedded in its many secrets. Thus, Cole’s spirit sets out to solve his own murder by dropping in on living characters throughout Hotel Destiny’s history and observing and/or interacting with them. His goal is to discover the identity of his killer, as well as learn the ironic truth about his own family, his heritage, and himself!




In the Hush of the Night


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author and former James Bond novelist comes a gritty, riveting tale of modern crime, featuring a female FBI agent embroiled in a Russian human trafficking case. Chicago Special Agent Annie Marino examines the case of a dead young woman who possesses a tattoo Annie has come across before—that of bloody bear claws. Several deceased women with the tattoo have turned up over the past few years, all suspected of being involved in a vast human trafficking operation. Annie’s neighborhood friend, Jason Ward, is a young writer engaged to be married into an upper-class family from a posh Chicago suburb. Jason believes his future brother-in-law, a war veteran, is definitely a bully—but does he also have ties to the Russian mob? Yana Kravec, a woman from St. Petersburg, Russia, has been fraudulently lured into a trafficking scheme and thrown into a horrid and seemingly hopeless situation. She is, however, determined to fight back and escape her captors. Annie’s investigation eventually uncovers a sordid plot of procuring slaves overseas and marketing them in the US. Her interests soon coincide with those of Jason and Yana, bringing the trio together to fight against a deadly network of criminals. As the separate lives of these characters collide, their paths ultimately converge in a night of terror and survival in a Michigan forest, where they become the prey of evil men who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.




Stiletto Sisterhood


Book Description

When they first met, best friends Priya, Isobel, Caitlin, Eshe, and Shayne swore a vow: Chase dreams not drama. Now, years later . . . Priya Seth is determined to win the coveted one-year mentorship with her idol at New York’s hottest law firm. Her rival? Last night’s hookup, Hadrian Marek. Despite having a privileged upper hand, Hadrian is willing to form an alliance. Priya’s only condition? No sex. Isobel Morgan is planning the perfect wedding, fighting to get the promotion she deserves, and caring for her dependent father. But when a video of her cheating fiancé goes viral, her world comes crashing down until she gets an offer that merges her passion for news and activism. The caveat? Long hours and travel away from her father. As these young women discover that achieving dreams is often erratic, and drama is as inevitable as adulting, the foundation of their friendship begins to crack, putting their sisterhood to the test.