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  The Citadel of Fear - Lovecraft...

  Francis Stevens, Gertrude...

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  Gertrude Barrows Bennett’s The Citadel of Fear (1918) is one of the greatest dark fantasy classics, a gorgeously written and imaginatively conceived masterpiece. In a career that spanned a mere three years, Bennett published half a dozen books under the pseudonym of Francis Stevens which came to define a number of later genres. She is most popularly known as the woman who invented dark fantasy, but along the way she also invented a new, creepier kind of dystopian sci-fi. When The Citadel of Fear first appeared in The Argosy, H.P. Lovecraft raved of its “wonderful and tragic allegory,” describing it as a “masterful” and “huge mystery” — a “gigantic tragedy.” Although set during the first world war, the story centres around the forgotten (yet active) Aztec civilisation of Talapallan, tucked away in an eerie underworld of the Mexican wilds. Among its many temples stands the black fetid shrine, where the dark god Nacoc-Yaotl is worshipped. When an Irishman and an American from modern-day United States stumble into Talapallan one falls in love, while the other is possessed by Nacoc-Yaotl. Their return to the quiet suburbs of the US is anything but, bringing in their lucid wake a world of rampaging monsters, mutated civilians, and battling gods. Romance, magic, adventure, and scrumptious writing are embedded in this lengthly, yet unavailable and often overlooked, masterwork.

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  The Few

  Nadia Dalbuono

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  Detective Leone Scamarcio, the son of a former leading mafioso, has turned his back on the family business and has joined the Rome police force. He may be one of the last honest men in Italy. 
  But when Scamarcio is handed a file of extremely compromising photographs of a high-profile Italian politician and told to ‘deal with it’, he knows he’s in for trouble. And when a young man is found stabbed to death in Rome, and a young American girl disappears on a beach in Elba, Scamarcio’s job gets a whole lot more complicated. 
  Worst of all, every lead seems to implicate the prime minister — a multi-media baron, and the most powerful man in Italy. As the case spins out of control, and his own past catches up with him, Scamarcio must navigate the darkest currents of Italian society — only to find that nothing is as it seems, and that the price of truth may be higher than he can pay. 
   
  ‘A rock-solid read, with the click-clack of shoes on cobblestones and the oppressive heat of a Mediterranean summer making for a delectable spring treat.’ Readings Monthly 
  "Packed full of twists and turns with never a dull moment... A real page-turner." Crime Review 
  ‘Gripping… You won't be able to put down this unsettling tale.’ The Sun

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  Hot and Sour Suspects - A Noodle...

  Vivien Chien

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  Lana Lee returns for another delectable cozy set in a Chinese restaurant in Vivien Chien's Hot and Sour Suspects. 
   
  "Pair your noodles with this steaming mystery, and you have the perfect chilly night combination!”―PopSugar 
   
  At the Ho-Lee Noodle House, murder is on the menu. 
   
  When Lana Lee’s best friend, Megan Riley, asks her to help host a speed dating contest at Ho-Lee Noodle House, she doesn’t see the harm in lending a hand. The night goes better than anticipated, and both Lana and Megan are beyond thrilled with the results. But before they can break out the champagne, Rina Su, fellow Asia Village shop owner and speed dating participant, calls to inform Lana that the date she’s just matched with has been murdered. Under suspicion of foul play, Rina enlists Lana’s help in finding out what really happened that night. 
   
  Without hesitation, Lana begins to dig into the man in question. To her dismay, she quickly finds that Rina’s date has a rather unsavory past. There’s a long line of slighted women, angry neighbors, and perturbed co-workers―all of whom seem to have a motive. 
   
  As Lana continues to spiral down the treacherous path of scorned lovers and mistreated acquaintances, she can’t help but dwell on how quickly an innocent evening filled with hope and positivity could turn so sour. When the media gets in on the case, Lana must rush to find the killer before more dates turn deadly.

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  The Adventure of the Lion's Mane...

  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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  "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (1926), one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. It is notable for being narrated by Holmes himself, instead of by Dr. Watson (who does not appear in the story).
  Holmes is enjoying his retirement in Sussex when one day at the beach, he meets his friend Harold Stackhurst, the headmaster of a nearby preparatory school called The Gables. No sooner have they met than Stackhurst's science teacher, Fitzroy McPherson, staggers up to them, clearly in agony and wearing only an overcoat and trousers. He collapses, manages to say something about a "lion's mane", and then succumbs. He is observed to have red welts all over his back, possibly administered by a flexible weapon of some kind, for the marks curve over his shoulder and round his ribs.

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  The Couple at Table Six

  Daniel Hurst

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  It was impossible not to notice them. The perfect couple at Table Six . . .  
   
   
   
  Max and Nadine Murphy have a tradition. Friday night is date night and it's always at their favorite restaurant. But that regular routine means somebody at the restaurant has become fond of them . . .  
   
   
   
  Hannah is the waitress who has found herself drawn to the couple at Table Six and the more she observes them, the more she wants to know everything about them. What is their home life like? What do they do for work? Why does Mrs. Murphy look agitated? And could Mr. Murphy ever be interested in becoming romantically involved with his waitress? 
   
   
   
  As Hannah begins to intricate herself into their lives, she learns they have been keeping secrets from each other. The couple aren't as perfect as they seem. But Hannah has secrets of her own, and the closer she gets to the couple, the more she is putting everything in her fragile life at risk . . .  
   
   
   
  She should have stayed away from the couple at Table Six. Now their lives will never be the same again . . .

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  The Adventure of the Dying...

  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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  "The Adventure of the Dying Detective", in some editions simply titled "The Dying Detective" (first published 1913), is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Together with seven other stories, it is collected as His Last Bow (published 1917).
  Dr. Watson is called to tend Holmes, who is apparently dying of a rare tropical disease, Tapanuli fever, contracted while he was on a case. Watson is shocked, not having heard about his friend's illness. Mrs. Hudson says that Holmes has neither eaten nor drunk anything in three days.

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