Showing results by narrator "Crystal Sershen" in All Categories

Darkness Prevails is a collection of 15 terrifying tales by author Cliff R. Barlow. From twisted yarns about the demons of hell to gut-wrenching stories about the unrelenting demons within, this collection pulls no punches. You have been warned. This is not for the faint of heart.

The volume gathers together fifty-five stories, from "Armistice" (1940) to "Alma Redeemed" (1984), and including the immortal stories from The Magic Barrel and the vivid depictions of the unforgettable Fidelman. It is a varied and generous collection of great examples of the modern short story, which Malamud perfected, and an ideal introduction to the work of this great American writer.

On the slopes of Park City, Utah's newest ski resort, a woman is found dead. At first glance, it has all the makings of an accident. But what if she was murdered? Although skeptical, PI Sloane Monroe takes the case and learns not everyone is who they seem, and some will go to any lengths to protect their identity.

Meet Miss Zukas, the very proper, exceedingly conscientious, and relentlessly curious local librarian of Bellehaven, Washington. The Bellehaven police are baffled when a dead body turns up right in the middle of the library's fiction stacks. But Miss Helma Zukas - who never fails to make note of the slightest deviation from the norm - is not willing to let this nasty disruption stand. If the local law can't open the book on this case, Miss Zukas certainly intends to - with the help of her not-so-proper best friend, Ruth.

In Cry of the West , recently widowed Hallie Wells is facing a difficult situation. The sudden demise of her husband after selling their farm and just about everything they owned to travel west on the Oregon Trail, has left her stranded with an eight year old son. Dare she ask Cooper Jerome, recently returned from the War of the States, if he would put his life on hold for, say, five months to drive her wagon; and that doesn't include his return trip. At this point, she's out of options.

Charlotte is a successful romance novelist who escapes city life and moves to the small town of Crispens Point in Blackberry County. She immediately connects with some of the quirky but friendly residents and begins to feel at home right away. When a friend invites her to attend a local community church, Charlotte is attracted to the pastor, but refuses to acknowledge that attraction because of some dark things in her past.

On the slopes of Park City, Utah’s newest ski resort a woman is found dead. At first glance, it has all the makings of an accident. The victim, Charlotte Halliwell, collided with a tree as she schussed her way to the bottom of the hill. But what if her death wasn’t an accident at all - what if she was murdered?

No one knows the value of keeping a secret more than former high school prom king Doug Ward. But after washing the past twenty years down with a smooth glass of whisky, Doug's steely resolve has started to crack. For Private Investigator Sloane Monroe, her high school reunion cruise has been nothing more than a mundane reminder of why she hasn't returned to her hometown after all these years. When dried blood is found on the deck where Doug was last seen, Sloane finesses her way into the surveillance room.

Sara Beckett is a woman who knows how to get what she wants. And when she wants something, she goes after it with a vengeance. Even her best friend's husband...

Set against the backdrop of a New York City summer heat wave, this sizzling tale of a woman who knows how to use her beauty and her mind to her advantage, will have you craving for more.

Part 1 in the Heat Wave Adult Short Stories for Women Series.

Private Investigator Sloane Monroe has solved every case that's come across her desk with the exception of one - the brutal murder of her sister Gabrielle. Three years have passed without a trace of the killer until today, when a young woman's body is discovered on a patch of dirt in front of the local supermarket at daybreak. Now Sloane is faced with the most difficult challenge of her life - finding a man who's a master at concealing his identity before he captures his next victim and sends them to eternal rest.

Chronic loser Rebecca Alton is penniless, homeless, and sleeping on her sister’s couch. She needs a job, fast, but in this economy finding one is easier said than done. When she accidentally walks into the wrong office and finds herself auditioning for the role of fake girlfriend and very real babysitter to Carter Hudson, the out-of-control lead guitarist of an up and coming rock band, can she pull it off? And considering who her boss would be - Carter's brother and the band’s bassist, manager, and undisputed king of bad attitudes Kent Hudson - would she even want the job?

No relationships, that's billionaire Garth Solen's rule - especially not with a woman like his new employee Melissa Bencher, who thinks with her heart and not her head. But all bets are off when Melissa's attempt to make her jerk ex-boyfriend jealous by suggesting that she's dating Garth. To protect his ailing grandmother, he is forced to play the part of Melissa's adoring fiancé - or a dream come true?

Thirteen-year-old Willie Compton and his younger brother Leonard stumble upon a mine shaft while hiking the hills of Park City, Utah. The shaft is unsealed, abandoned. While Leonard stares at the hole in wonderment, a Slinky he's been flipping back and forth between his hands slithers through his fingers, tumbling toward the mouth of the shaft.

Stranger and Town: Six-year-old Olivia Hathaway tiptoes down the center aisle of Maybelle's Market, stopping once to glance over her shoulder and make sure her mother isn't watching. But Mrs. Hathaway is too preoccupied to notice her daughter has slipped away. Moments later, a frantic Mrs. Hathaway runs up and down the aisles, desperately searching for her missing daughter. But little Olivia is already in the arms of a stranger. Will PI Sloane Monroe find Olivia before it's too late?

Six-year-old Olivia Hathaway tiptoes down the center aisle of Maybelle's Market, stopping once to glance over her shoulder and make sure her mother isn't watching. But Mrs. Hathaway is too preoccupied to notice her daughter has slipped away. Minutes later, a frantic Mrs. Hathaway runs up and down the aisles, desperately searching for her missing daughter. But Olivia is already gone. Will PI Sloane Monroe find her before it's too late?

Time to serve up a can of whoopass on someone who desperately deserves it. A husband. A mistress. A wife's revenge. An old party girl shoehorned into domestic divaship, infuriated by her husband's cheating and his holier-than-thou, tree-hugging, no-tits and no-hips girlfriend, inflicts her wrath by training a local boy in the fine art of seduction. She and her new boy toy turned love god start a gigolo business as a distraction for the neglected and mistreated housewives of Alabaster Cove. If you've ever been betrayed. If you've ever been cheated.

Decorated homicide Sergeant Natalie Collins arrived home only seconds after her sister was murdered. The killer was still at the house, a man who believed that with each kill he was closer to living forever. He was hunting survivors of certain death - searching for their secrets. He escaped, and the evidence in Natalie's house pointed to her. Now she is on the run, hunted by the police and the killer with unfinished business.

Susan is an activist. And yet, though her political ideals form the center of her life, she questions her convictions. At the heart of this string of interconnected stories are tensions among ideas, feelings, and action. Miner deftly interweaves Susan's story with the tales of women whom Susan will never meet. The result is a textured and enveloping book that creates a sense of universality.

Confessions of a Failed Slut blends personal reflections - "How the Love Boat Ruined My Life" - with contrarian takes on porn (online and off), dating (ditto), "slut shaming," sex toys, "robot hookers of the near future," dinosaur erotica, the multiplication of genders and orientations, and what she calls "the epidemic of beta male faggotry" plaguing the land.

hostile stranger is hunting Dr. Show's ramshackle travelling circus across 1960s America. His target: the ringmaster himself. Struggling to elude the menace, Dr. Show scraps his ambitious itinerary; ticket sales plummet, and nothing but disaster looms. The troupe’s unravelling hopes fall on their latest and most promising recruit, Webern Bell, a 16-year-old stunted hunchback devoted obsessively to perfecting the surreal clown performances that come to him in his dreams.