I thought the nation was coming to an end;' wrote Khushwant Singh; looking back on the violence of Partition that he was witness to over half a century ago. He believed then; and for years afterwards; that he had seen the worst that India could do to herself. Over the last few years; however; he has had reason to feel that the worst; perhaps; is still to come. In this fierce; uncompromising book he shows us what few of us wish to see: why it is entirely likely that India will come undone in the foreseeable future. Analysing the communal violence in Gujarat in 2002; the anti-Sikh riots of 1984; the burning of Graham Staines and his children; the targeted killings by terrorists in Punjab and Kashmir; Khushwant Singh forces us to confront the absolute corruption of religion that has made us among the most brutal people on earth. He also points out that fundamentalism has less to do with religion than with politics. And communal politics; he reminds us; is only the most visible of...

The sound of a scream in the early morning dawn leads to a case that will change Kate Burkholder's life irrevocably...When the police arrive at the Amish farmstead in Painters Mill they can't imagine the horror that awaits them. An entire family slaughtered: the men shot, the young women tortured and killed. The Amish are peace-loving, gentle folk and the town is shocked by what appears to be a particularly brutal and random killing. But is it random? Every family has its secrets. Kate knows that better than anyone. And as she and Agent John Tomasetti dig deeper into the victim's lives they discover a young woman who was living a lie. A girl who had to live in silence. With her own past resonating, Kate knows she has to maintain some distance. From the case, and from Tomasetti. She knows what could happen if she gets too close. But when she puts herself in the line of fire, she realizes that, this time, there may be no going back.

Urban fantasist Seanan McGuire ( Rosemary and Rue ) picks up a new pen name for this gripping, thrilling, and brutal depiction of a postapocalyptic 2039. Twin bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason and their colleague Buffy are thrilled when Sen. Peter Ryman, the first presidential candidate to come of age since social media saved the world from a virus that reanimates the dead, invites them to cover his campaign. Then an event is attacked by zombies, and Ryman’s daughter is killed. As the bloggers wield the newfound power of new media, they tangle with the CDC, a scheming vice presidential candidate, and mysterious conspirators who want more than the Oval Office. Shunning misogynistic horror tropes in favor of genuine drama and pure creepiness, McGuire has crafted a masterpiece of suspense with engaging, appealing characters who conduct a soul-shredding examination of what's true and what’s reported.

The Sheriff Takes A Wife?Never had Meg Dawson dreamed her trip home would lead to a whirlwind romance with the town's charismatic sheriff. But Logan MacDonald's past was still on his mind, and Meg knew their relationship couldn't lead to anything permanent….Until The Stick Turned Blue!Meg wanted this baby more than anything, yet she dreaded telling Logan about his impending fatherhood. She knew he'd offer marriage out of a sense of duty. But Meg vowed to say yes only when the sheriff's proposal was made for love's sake.

Fast Lawrence Shaw is enjoying some solitude for a change-but it's sorely disrupted when an elite businessman asks him to defend his mining venture. A counter-offer comes from the Cut-jaw gang, who'd like to seize the operation. And Shaw will have to play a deadly balancing act between the two...

Wilson thought he had acquired freedom from being a gritty, gruesome criminal when a car accident puts him back in the crosshairs. This time, dirty cops use him as bait, telling him the only way to stay out of cuffs is to put someone worse in them. Knowing that justice isn’t blind in the city, Wilson picks a fight with the Russian mob to lure both the corrupt cops and brutal robbers into a trap, scavenging once again for his freedom. Full of gory conflict, this latest in the Wilson Mystery series offers nonstop action and savage violence.From BooklistWilson, the Mob enforcer who appeared in Darwin’s Nightmare (2008) and Grinder (2009), is not a happy man. No surprise there—he’s always been a bit of a glass-half-empty kind of guy—but this time he has got a good reason. Some crooked cops are using him as a lure to nab some very bad people, and Wilson can think of only one way out of the predicament: to pit the cops and their prey against each other, letting them take each other out. Sounds like a good plan, but can he pull it off and somehow manage to stay alive? Knowles’ novels echo writers who have come before him—Richard Stark, for example, or Jim Thompson—but they’re not imitations. Wilson isn’t Stark’s Parker, and the author’s bare-bones prose doesn’t sound like Thompson’s. And the setting certainly freshens up the proceedings, too: you don’t see a lot of noirish crime dramas set in Hamilton, Ontario. For noir fans, a must-read. --David Pitt Review"Gunfights and well-choreographed scenes of carnage abound . . . This is pure, visceral action." —Publishers Weekly"There's nothing prissy, genteel, or insincere in Mike Knowles' work — prose so spare it flirts with cruelty, that cuts scalpel-clean and just as precise, and crackles with the kind of talent and energy that not only makes it difficult to put down, but that sends you frantically looking for his next book. Hard-boiled, hard-edged, hard-core, but never once crossing into parody or pastiche. There is power here, and Knowles knows how to use it."  —Greg Rucka, author, the Atticus Kodiak crime fiction series"Think Canadian crime fiction is soft? Mike Knowles proves otherwise, in this tense, terse, bloody-knuckled thriller. Knowles doesn't do nice—and his antihero, Wilson, makes Mike Hammer look like a well-adjusted pacifist. A kick in the nuts with steel-toed boots."  —Sean Chercover, author, Trigger City and Big City, Bad Blood"Knowles’s prose is appropriately terse and utilitarian, enhancing the grinder’s menace. Wilson is a bad guy you can root for, because the other bad guys – not to mention the cops – are so much worse . . . Wilson’s raw brutality draws readers in, and the book’s frenetic pace is enough to keep them hooked until the bloody climax."  —Quill & Quire"[Knowles] is a good atmospheric writer and he has the lingo down."  —Globe and Mail"In Plain Sight comes at you like a tsunami—hard, relentless, fast. Knowles is exploring invigorating new pathways in Canadian thriller-noir writing."  —Hamilton Spectator

Infamous poet Lord Byron comes to life with incendiary brilliance in this spellbinding blend of gothic imagination and documented fact. Wandering in the mountains of Greece, the supreme sensualist is drawn to the beauty of a mysterious fugitive slave; soon he is utterly entranced, and his fate is sealed. He embarks on a life of adventure even his genius could not have foreseen; chosen to enjoy powers beyond those any vampire has ever known, Byron traverses the centuries and enters a dark, intoxicating world of long-lost secrets, ancient arts and scorching excesses of evil. But Byron's gift is also his torment: an all-consuming thirst that withers life at the root, damning all those he loves.With its impeccable scholarship and breathtaking storytelling, THE VAMPYRE is a wonderful combination of fact and fantasy.

It's Christmastime -- the day after Cheated By Death ended. Jeff and Maggie spend Christmas dinner with Maggie's family, who are not receptive to her new significant other. It'll be a Christmas to remember . . . but who wants to?

Shock Totem Publication presents issue #3, their biggest yet, nearly 50% bigger than the first two! It features previously unpublished stories from the likes of John Skipp, Tim Leider, S. Clayton Rhodes, Steven Pirie, and eight others, plus one poem. Also conversations with D. Harlan Wilson and Count Lyle of the band Ghoultown, nonfiction from Mercedes M. Yardley, and much more

Rain May and her mum escape their old inner-city life for a dream house in the country. But there are more than a few suprises in store - like discovering a platypus or the fun of fridge poetry and phenomenally bright eleven-year-old, Captain Daniel, who lives next door. Together these unlikely friends adventure where no one has gone before.

Science Fiction. 78967 words long.

A jaded young reporter conducts a subtly life-changing interview. A short story based on close friends.