Six terrifying tales to chill the blood from the unique imagination of Joyce Carol Oates. A young boy plays with dolls instead of action figures. But as he grows older, his passion takes on a darker edge ... A white man shoots dead a black boy creating a media frenzy. But could it be that it was self-defense as he claims? A nervous woman tries to escape her husband. He says he loves her, but she's convinced he wants to kill her ... These quietly lethal...

A man on a mission must come to terms with his forgotten past in this gripping thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.
In Portland, he saved a young boy from a drunk driver. In Boston, he rescued a child from an underground explosion. In Houston, he disarmed a man who was trying to shoot his own wife. Reporter Holly Thorne was intrigued by this strange quiet savior named Jim Ironheart. She was even falling...

This collection of short works is comprised of pieces that previously appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, Playboy, and McSweeney's, in a volume that includes such tales as ""The Gingerbread Girl"" and "N."

Paul Sheldon. He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader—she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.

Now Annie wants Paul to write his greatest work—just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an ax. And

...

Boston, 1926. Francis Thurston goes through documents left behind by his grandfather's brother, recently deceased under mysterious circumstances. He soon discovers the existence of a cult that worships ancient and unspeakable horrors. Mysterious murders, blood rituals in the depths of the Louisiana swamps, artists who descend into insanity after nightmarish visions, and a Cyclopean city that rises from the sea. Step by step, Thurston realizes that...

Chloe hears some ghastly rumors about the neighborhood Cat Lady which could be true; Mark and Calvin are impressed by a new friend who doesn't play by the rules; and Alice finds out why she is told not to wake the baby.

"Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood. You've lost a lot of blood..."--Page 4 of cover.

Joe Burton's dad loves tacky lawn ornaments. But when he brings home two ugly lawn gnomes, strange things begin to happen at night.

A short story collection from the author of SOUTHERN GODS and A LUSH AND SEETHING HELL.