Narrator Jack and his mother, who was kidnapped seven years earlier when she was a 19-year-old college student, celebrate his fifth birthday. They live in a tiny, 11-foot-square soundproofed cell in a converted shed in the kidnapper's yard. The sociopath, whom Jack has dubbed Old Nick, visits at night, grudgingly doling out food and supplies. But Ma, as Jack calls her, proves to be resilient and resourceful--and attempts a nail-biting escape.

At first, Laura Sherman is thrilled to meet a fresh face, but will her relationship with the man next door go too far before she realizes he's not what he seems? Detective Andrew McGrath knows the only way to find six girls that have vanished without a trace is to get close to the suspect's wife - but will he get too close? Robert Barnett, a disgraced scientist, receives a shocking message that could change the world. But when a nationwide manhunt...

An unprecedented collective features pairings by 23 best-selling and critically acclaimed suspense writers, who in short high-action stories pit their most popular characters against one another.

Jeremy Marsh is now living in Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, and awaiting the birth of their daughter. But, just as when things are looking good, an unsettling and mysterious message brings trouble from the past.

"Detective Lindsay Boxer's long awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a teenage girl is badly injured left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals, but that the victim may be keeping secrets as well. At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her...

Already coping with battle fatigue following his return from Afghanistan, journalist Dawson Scott receives a tip he cannot ignore about a potentially huge story involving the son of terrorists at-large for forty years. Dawson Scott is a well-respected journalist recently returned from Afghanistan. Haunted by everything he experienced, he's privately suffering from battle fatigue which is a threat to every aspect of his life. But then he gets a call...

Cotton Malone's teenage son has been kidnapped, and an anonymous e-mail from those responsible proves they will stop at nothing to get their hands on a coveted prize: the legendary lost Library of Alexandria, which vanished 1,500 years ago.

Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, Special Agent Kate O'Hare. Together they'll go undercover to swindle and catch the world's most wanted and untouchable criminals. Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private...

"Colin Hancock is giving his second chance his best shot. At 28, he's focused only on walking a straight line-- getting his teaching degree, working out at the gym religiously, and avoiding all the places and people that proved so destructive in his earlier life. The last thing he's looking for is a serious relationship. But when Maria Sanchez crosses paths with him on a rainswept night in North Carolina, his plans are upended in a way that will rattle...

What if you can enter a madman’s cruel mind as he plans his vicious crimes? What if you can see the terrified face of his prey as he moves in for the kill—but you can’t stop his frenzy once he strikes?
Psychic Cassie Neill helps the L.A. police catch killers—until she makes a terrible mistake and an innocent child dies. Cassie flees to a small North Carolina town, hoping that a quiet life will silence the voices...