Internationally bestselling author Lyndsay Faye was introduced to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries when she was ten years old and her dad suggested she read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." She immediately became enamored with tales of Holmes and his esteemed biographer Dr. John Watson, and later, began spinning these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction--from her acclaimed debut novel, Dust...

Hannah Swensen of the Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minn., discovers her neighbor's head bashed in; Jaine Austen's holiday stay at her parents' home in the Tampa Vistas retirement community is enlivened by the murder of elderly lothario; and, Maine reporter Lucy Stone investigates a four-year-old boy's disappearance. Includes recipes.

No matter how or where they appear, strangers are walking mysteries, complete unknowns in once-familiar territories who disrupt our lives with unease and wonder. In this newest collection of short stories, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst.

One novella & two short stories from the finest in mystery & suspense.

"NEW SCIENCE FICTION, URBAN FANTASY, AND MYSTERY STORIES WITH A NOIR THEME FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS LAURELL K. HAMILTON delivering an Anita Blake series story, LARRY CORREIA, penning a Grimnoiir series adventure, an original Honor Harrington series tale from DAVID WEBER, AND MORE. The silky note of a saxophone. The echoes of a woman's high heels down a deserted asphalt street. Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air. A man with...