Death Sentences: Short Stories to Die For – serie

With his hated father dead, a man''s life takes a dangerous turn. He doesn''t cry when his father, Frank, dies. The old man was an abusive, self-absorbed drunk, and when cancer takes him to his deathbed, his son is there to watch. At Frank''s final moment he leans over and whispers in his ear, letting the dying man know that he''s glad to see him go. His only inheritance is a heavy, leather-bound book. He has never seen it before, and has trouble believing that his brutal, ignorant father ever touched something so beautiful. But the volume is well-thumbed, full of aphorisms and advice written in the dead man''s hand. Soon after he reads it, the son finds his life spiraling out of control. If he doesn''t want to follow Daddy to the grave, he had best heed the lessons of the book.

The lie that bought Jacob Weisen a new life cannot help him escape the past. Birkenau could not kill Jacob Weisen. He survived the death camp and made his way to America, where he became famous telling the story of Isaac Becker, an author who was tortured to death when the guards caught him writing down his story. Becker''s manuscript was lost, but by telling the tale, Weisen keeps his memory alive. No other witnesses survived – and Weisen is the only person who knows his famous story is a lie. In fact, Weisen was a collaborator, who led his countrymen to the ovens and gave Becker up to the SS. Decades after the war, as his lies begin to unravel, he must choose between admitting the truth and dying in a hell of his own creation.

Monty Danforth finds the tin buried beneath a shipment of leather-bound classics. Inside is a millennia-old vellum manuscript written in an unfamiliar but unmistakably ancient language. Danforth tries to photocopy and photograph it, but he ends up with blank images, as though the ink were made of something impervious to modern technology. As the scroll''s mystery enchants him, this hapless bookseller falls into a cutthroat conspiracy that he may never escape. Soon a dead-eyed old man and his granddaughter come calling for the scroll. Danforth refuses to sell them the manuscript, but they will not be the last to demand it. Powerful forces crave the secrets locked within this ancient document, and Danforth will survive only if he can master its power.

Attempting the perfect murder, a killer encounters the perfect cop. After years of get-rich-quick schemes, Troy Pellingham''s bank account is empty and his options are down to one: take a job in his uncle''s rare book shop, and spend his days working for an unpleasant man whose only redeeming quality is a mammoth bank account. Though well into his eighties, Uncle Rodney is the picture of good health, and the day when Troy will inherit the old man''s money seems very far away. But then Troy gets a brilliant idea – why shelve books for a living, when he can kill for a fortune?After the deed is done, a peculiarly shabby police detective comes to call. Lieutenant Columbo seems dimwitted, and Troy expects he will have no trouble putting him off the scent. But as the noose tightens around his neck, Troy realizes that no murder is too perfect for Columbo.

They call him ''Cuchillo'' – the Knife. Not because he kills with a blade – he has plenty of men to do that kind of work for him – but because his mind is so sharp. As Mexico''s government wages war on the drug cartels, it takes brains to survive, and Cuchillo has not just survived – he has prospered. But when Cuchillo begins to cut too deeply, the federal police of both the United States and Mexico step in to dull his blade. P. Z. Evans and Alejo Díaz know the Hermosillo cartel is planning an attack on a tourist bus in Sonora, and they know they will have to capture or kill Cuchillo to stop it. The cartel leader has just one weakness: rare and ancient books. To destroy the intellectual''s evil empire, this unlikely pair of policemen will have to appeal to his inner bibliophile.

Lyle and Juan wait outside the lawyer''s house in ski masks, pistols hidden behind their backs. Shortly after dawn, Paul Parker, an aged lawyer, and his old dog step into the cold. The thugs kill the dog, and take the lawyer hostage. Parker''s day has started badly and is going to get much worse. Once a fine lawyer, Parker''s enthusiasm has slipped with age, and criminals like Lyle are part of the reason for his disillusionment. Years after they last saw each other in court, Lyle is convinced that Parker owes him something. At gunpoint, Lyle and Juan make Parker lead them to the old ranch, to open up a hidden library whose volumes hold the secret to forgotten riches, and the strangest war profiteering scheme to ever come out of the Great Plains.

Once visited by the likes of Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, and George Eliot, the London Library is a maze of books – a jumble of first editions and forgotten texts. For Tony, it is a refuge from the failure his life has become – and it is about to be invaded by a destructive old friend. Adam is a world-renowned novelist who spends so much time writing articles and appearing in documentaries that it seems impossible he actually has time to write books. He visits the library to research a nearly-forgotten English poet, Francis Youlgreave, who just happens to be Tony''s obsession. Tony has staked his career on the long-dead clergyman, and will do whatever it takes to keep Adam from stealing his research. In this ghostly library, scholarly conflict is anything but academic.

As World War II draws near, a dying genius fights against hate to preserve his legacy. Cancer has ravaged Sigmund Freud. It is 1938, and the great doctor has fled Vienna for London, where he races to finish his final, most dangerous work: a radical reimagining of the origins of Judaism, which posits that Moses was murdered by his followers. Though his colleagues say that such a controversial text could only give grist to those who would do the Jews harm, Freud is adamant about releasing the book – until a Nazi named Sauerwald comes to visit. He has written a manuscript in Freud''s name, a hateful screed that claims to prove that all of Jewish history is based on falsehood, and asks that Freud help him have it published – lest something unpleasant happen to the doctor''s family in Austria. Horrified by this foul threat, Freud responds with the only weapon he has left. He picks up pen and paper, and suggests that Sauerwald sit down on his couch.

When a bibliophile is murdered, it takes a bookseller to solve the crime. Good Advice, New Mexico, is a sunny town with a gloomy bookshop. The store''s eerie corridors are the province of Avery Sharecross, an ex-cop who has made the transition from chasing killers to tracking rare books. One afternoon, the local sheriff interrupts his book club meeting, and Sharecross''s old career collides with his new one.The area''s premier book collector has been found bludgeoned to death on the floor of his family library. A fifth-generation resident of Good Advice, Lloyd Fister devoted his life to books, accumulating a collection of local history that date backs to the sixteenth century. In his library, a single volume is missing: a Spanish book with a sinister past. Is the missing volume a clue, a motive, or a murder weapon? It will take a collector''s eye to decide.

A new Mike Hammer story from the archives of Mickey Spillane. On the death of crime boss Don Giraldi, a rumour begins to spread about the existence of a very dangerous book. A ledger that lists every deal made during his career. The rumored is that the book is in the possession of person he trusted most. But who can a crime boss trust? Hired by the local police to find the ledger, Mike Hammer soon finds himself in the firing line of everyone from the cops, the local politicians, and the crime syndicates themselves...

After the death of his father, a literature professor is drawn into the murder investigation of a bookstore owner... Though Don and his father both love books, their tastes couldn''t be more different. Don is a scholar, and his father reads nothing but schlock. His house is full of dime paperbacks, battered thrillers, and case after case of western novels, none of which his son could ever bear to read. At his father''s funeral, Don is approached by a strange man, a rare book dealer named Lou Caledonia. Don assumes the man wants to buy his dad''s old westerns, but Lou explains that something far more important is on the line. Don finds the cramped confines of Lou''s used bookstore immensely comforting, but a surprise waits for him downstairs. Caledonia has been shot dead, and Don is in danger, too. The boy who was too smart to read pulp fiction is about to find himself trapped in a thriller of his own.

A rare book collector finds a manuscript that might have changed the course of WWI.On the evening of November 11th, 1968, antiquarian book collector Francis Altman is giving a talk in honor of the anniversary of the Armistice Treaty. But his lecture takes a dark turn upon the haunting arrival of a classmate from his past. As the two men discuss their lives they realise that they are two sides of the same coin: both born and raised in Germany, but whereas Altman''s role in the war elevated his position, his comrade''s life was destroyed on the faceless, mechanized battlefields. This strange encounter leaves Altman in possession of the man''s personal manuscript, his mysterious ''life''s work,'' whose contents could have changed the course of history...

Tess Monaghan wants to like the Children''s Bookstore. It''s new, bright, friendly and packed with the kinds of books that she is dying for her daughter to fall in love with. But the owner''s attitude stops her in her tracks. What kind of children''s bookseller hates children?But Octavia, the owner, has a lot on her mind. Each Saturday, someone steals a stack of her most beautiful, most expensive children''s books, and the expense threatens to force her fledgling store out of business. Luckily, Tess is not only a book lover – she''s also a private investigator who doesn''t mind working pro bono to help an independent bookshop. Her investigation will make Octavia smile for the first time in months – and uncover a crime more suitable for the mystery aisle than the children''s section.

It''s no mystery who killed Robert Ripple, owner of Precious Finds Bookstore in Pokesville, Pennsylvania. It was Agatha Christie – or rather, a large carton of valuable Christie hardcovers that the not-so-young Ripple was attempting to lift when his heart gave out. The real question is why the so-called Friends of England, who meet regularly in the back room of Ripple''s literary emporium, are so eager to keep the place open after its proprietor''s death. Certainly it must have something to do with the Friends'' past lives as the associates of a slain New York mobster. Whatever their plan is, they''ll need the help of Tanya Tripp, Ripple''s recently hired and completely unsuspecting assistant, if they want to pull it off. But despite her trustworthy appearance, Tanya may well be hatching a scheme of her own.A DEATH SENTENCE STORY: original shorts about deadly books from the world''s best crime writers.

Charles Brockden finds a bookshop that instantly piques his desire. He must call it his own; he must add it to his already-extensive collection of bookstores. But surely the owner of such a fine shop wouldn''t easily part with it? Brockden forms a plan to acquire the shop in such a way that no one would ever suspect foul play: untraceable murder. And he knows he will be successful – because this is not the first time he has done it. A DEATH SENTENCE STORY: original shorts about deadly books from the world''s best crime writers.

In the fifteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition spreads terror throughout the land, with Prior Tomás de Torquemada serving as the ultimate judge of who will live and who will be consigned to the purifying flames. Never has Torquemada questioned his own faith or his sacred duty to rid the world of heretics, blasphemers, and nonbelievers. Now, however, an extraordinary volume has come into his possession – an ancient book that radiates pure evil. The prior realizes this abomination must be destroyed along with anyone who has come into contact with it, for it is surely the devil''s work, corrupting and possessing all those who touch it. But whom can Torquemada trust to help him achieve his mission now that The Compendium of Srem has passed through numerous hands... including his own? A DEATH SENTENCE STORY: original shorts about deadly books from the world''s best crime writers.

When A. Davenport Lomax''s young daughter asks him whether spirits and faeries are real, the Edwardian librarian just pats the little darling on the head. But when a desperate man emerges from the winding passages of the library muttering about demonology, he gets Lomax''s attention. Theodore Grange is a member of the Brotherhood of Solomon, a secret society dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of black magic, and he believes he has found a book written by the Queen of Sheba herself. Said to hold the answers to one thousand demonic mysteries, the tome will poison any man who dares read it.The next time Lomax sees him, Grange is at death''s door. To uncover the truth about The Gospel of Sheba, Lomax agrees to accompany Grange to a meeting of the brotherhood, where he will encounter darkness that threatens his life, his family, and his soul. A DEATH SENTENCE STORY: original shorts about deadly books from the world''s best crime writers.

Every writer knows what it''s like to be plagued by a bad case of writer''s block. But what happens when writer''s block shows up in person and starts terrorizing a best-selling author? Zachary Gold, struggling to write his second novel after becoming an instant success with his first, is suddenly confronted by a mysterious man claiming that Zach plagiarized his writing. In his efforts to escape the crazed imposter, Zach flees into a nearby library and hides out amidst the children''s bookshelves in the basement. Surrounded by fairy tales and fearing for his safety, the author attempts to put words on paper while grappling with the question of whether he should write a sequel to his smash hit or start anew with an original story. A DEATH SENTENCE STORY: original shorts about deadly books from the world''s best crime writers.

All book lovers dream of stumbling upon a long-lost treasure in the attic or inheriting a fortune from a distant relative. For Ellen Gallagher, the impoverished owner of a thrift store in South Carolina, the dream comes true when she finds in her possession a first edition of Agatha Christie''s Poirot Investigates that has been signed by the author – and inscribed to the Queen of England. When this extraordinary book mysteriously disappears from her shop, Ellen calls on her friend Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, to track down the stolen volume. But Annie''s persual of the book leads her to grave danger as in order to recover her friend''s prized possession, she must meet Death face to face.

When Professor Dominic Hallkyn receives an anonymous phone call late one night from a voice claiming to possess a priceless Chaucerian manuscript presumed lost forever, he doesn''t know how to react. Such a find could irrevocably alter the history of literature, as well as his career, and yet, he can''t know if the caller is legitimate or merely a student playing a prank. Hallkyn soon finds himself on a mad dash through the twisting streets of Boston, scrambling to meet the caller''s demands. In a struggle for this unique historic artifact, Hallkyn must risk his life to save a work that may be doomed to disappear from history... this time for good.

In 1953 Hollywood, Penny is just another washed-up, wannabe actress past her prime. She has settled into a quieter lifestyle, and when she comes across a low-rent bungalow in Canyon Arms, it''s a dream come true. Penny takes to the place instantly. But the dream bungalow with its French doors and tiled courtyard may not be quite so perfect. Penny''s neighbours start filling her head with stories about past tenants, whispering voices, and a suicide that may not have been a suicide. Soon enough, Penny starts hearing stranger noises in her bungalow and she can''t help but wonder about the true fate of the bookseller who died in her home a dozen years earlier. And her suspicions are only fuelled by the ominous inscription that she discovers in a book closely guarded by her landlord...

When Liam Everett''s reverend father passes away in the prime of his life, Liam knows something foul is afoot. Everyone insists that the reverend''s slip down the basement staircase of the church was simply an accident, a misstep. But the reverend knew those steps better than the back of his hand and Liam is sure he would never have been so careless and clumsy. But with everyone happy to accept Revered Everett''s death as a mishap, his son is left to find solace with the legacy his father left behind: sixty antique bibles. But it seems the reverend was more in life – and death – than everyone thought. Soon Liam is surrounded by more priceless books than he could ever have imagined, and the more he reads, the more shady characters keep showing up at his door...

Basil St. Florian is a captain in the British Army, an agent tasked with a dangerous mission in the midst of World War II. He has been sent across the channel into occupied France to find and photograph a manuscript that does not officially exist, one that may hold the key to a code that, if cracked, could prevent the death of millions and possibly even end the war two years earlier than anticipated. Basil''s mission challenges him with one problem after another, and it doesn''t help matters that the S.S. and the Abwehr are following his every move in a cat-and-mouse chase across France. But Basil is willing to risk his life to get to the manuscript, even if the genius professor Alan Turing can''t guarantee he''ll be able to extract the code if Basil is successful.

It''s been seven years since Else visited her tiny hometown on an isolated island off the coast of Scotland. She fled the island after years of bullying at the hands of the few other residents, but now that her mother has passed away, Else has no choice but to return. And when her old tormentor, Karen Little, hands her a book that holds a particular power over her, the cruelties of the past have Else seeing red.

For recent college graduate Ronald Hastie, a job at the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookshop offers the perfect occupation during a summer abroad in Paris. Working part-time in exchange for room and board leaves plenty of freedom to explore the city once visited by his literary hero, Robert Louis Stevenson, and things only get better when he meets a collector who claims to have the original manuscripts of both the first draft of Jekyll and Hyde and the never-published The Travelling Companion (both thought to have been destroyed). Then Ron meets the man''s mysterious assistant, and a reckless obsession stirs inside him. As the life he knew back home in Scotland fades from memory, he desperately seeks the secret lying within Stevenson''s long-lost pages...

Vin, a name of convenience for the agent known as Condor, has been released from psychiatric care and is back to work. The only problem is that his work now entails the mundane job of sorting through books meant for the incinerator instead of the high-adrenaline rush of being a covert spy for the CIA. Struggling to separate hallucinations from reality, Condor attempts to immerse himself in the task at hand, but his acute sense of danger soon overwhelms him. While wandering the labyrinth of the Library of Congress''s subterranean tunnels, he encounters a damsel in distress. Someone is following her, and Condor can''t resist the lure of covert ops – or placing his own life in jeopardy.

Back in the day, Little Mo Connor was a hired gun for Slick Dickey Scalini, taking down opponents without discretion, always with the same signature kill: three shots to the head, one shot to the heart. Now he''s living out his last days hidden away in an anonymous facility, surrounded by other seniors. Haunted by his past, his dementia comes as something of a blessing... though he can''t always remember what it is he wants to forget – he mixes up the memories from his own life with those from books he''s read. A lover of crime novels from the pulp paperback era, Little Mo relishes lurid tales – the more violent the better. Take his most recent acquisition: a novel in which he and his trusty .38 snubnose are the stars. It tells the story of a former hit man in love with Varla, a geriatric serial killer who convinces him that murdering his grown daughter is the only way to escape the captivity of their nursing home. But as the plot of the novel begins to play out in Little Mo''s waking life, he must struggle to separate fact from fiction before they meet in a deadly conclusion.

At first glance, the miniature book of hours with gilt-edged pages and the beautiful box that contains it look too small to be of any real consequence – which is exactly why the woman, hardly a thief in her day-to-day life, doesn''t think twice about pocketing the package when it catches her eye at the local antiquarian bookshop. But this minor transgression sets in motion a series of events, each one more disastrous than the one before it; as the pretty little box changes hands – being misplaced, stolen, lost, and discarded – it leaves a path of death and destruction in its wake. Meanwhile, all along, one question courses through this chilling history: is the book really the source of its dreadful power, or are the would-be owners of the item already cursed by their covetous desire to possess it – each impelled by one of the seven deadly sins.

These days, retired professor Donald Aitcheson spends his time doing whatever he pleases – driving through the English countryside, exploring small villages and dipping into whatever used bookstores he can find. On one such outing, he chances upon a collection of Robert Browning''s poetry with an inscription that uses lines from ''Porphyria''s Lover'' to threaten the book''s original recipient. Perhaps this note was only a joke made in poor taste; still, something about its tone captivates Aitcheson''s otherwise unoccupied mind, and leads him to a remote boarding school to investigate. But when what starts as a harmless game of detective comes too close to a deadly truth, Aitcheson finds himself face-to-face with a killer, and learns that some pages are best left unturned...