A Fine Dark Line

A Fine Dark Line
Author: Joe R. Lansdale
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2003-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0759528241

It is the summer of 1958 in Dewmont, Texas, a town the great American postwar boom passed by. The kids listen idly to rockabilly on the radio and waste their weekends at the Dairy Queen. And an undetected menace simmers under the heat that clings to the skin like molasses... For thirteen-year-old Stanley Mitchell, the end of innocence comes with his discovery of the mysterious long-ago demise of two very different young women. In his quest to unravel the truth about their tragic fates, Stanley finds a protector in Buster Lighthorse Smith, a black, retired Indian-reservation cop and a sage on the finer points of Sherlock Holmes, the blues, and life's faded dreams. But not every buried thing stays dead. And on one terrifying night of rushing creek water and thundering rain, an arcane, murderous force will rise from the past to threaten the boy in a harrowing rite of passage... Vintage Lansdale, A Fine Dark Line brims with exquisite suspense, powerful characterizations, and the vibrant evocation of a lost time.

Between the Lines

Between the Lines
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2013-06-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1451635818

Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy-tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom.

A Line in the Dark

A Line in the Dark
Author: Malinda Lo
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2022-10-04
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0593618394

“A twisty, dark psychological thriller that will leave you guessing til the very end."—Teen Vogue “[A] riveting read…"—NPR The line between best friend and something more is a line always crossed in the dark. Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend. And that’s the most important thing, even if Angie can’t see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is OK with Jess anyway. If nobody notices her, she’s free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more a curse than a gift. As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess discovers more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets and cruelty lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world of wealth and privilege, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences. When the inevitable darkness finally descends, Angie will need her best friend. “It doesn’t even matter that she probably doesn’t understand how much she means to me. It’s purer this way. She can take whatever she wants from me, whenever she wants it, because I’m her best friend.” A Line in the Dark is a story of love, loyalty, and murder. ★ "Mesmerizing."—Kirkus, starred review.

The Bottoms

The Bottoms
Author: Joe R. Lansdale
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2010-12-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307742660

This Edgar Award winner is "equal parts morality tale and page-turning thriller" (Denver Post)—classic American storytelling in its truest, darkest, and most affecting form, with echoes of William Faulkner and Harper Lee. Its 1933 in East Texas and the Depression lingers in the air like a slow moving storm. When a young Harry Collins and his little sister stumble across the body of a black woman who has been savagely mutilated and left to die in the bottoms of the Sabine River, their small town is instantly charged with tension. When a second body turns up, this time of a white woman, there is little Harry can do from stopping his Klan neighbors from lynching an innocent black man. Together with his younger sister, Harry sets out to discover who the real killer is, and to do so they will search for a truth that resides far deeper than any river or skin color.

The Best of Joe R. Lansdale

The Best of Joe R. Lansdale
Author: Joe R Lansdale
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2010-02-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1616960078

Godzilla’s in a twelve-step program. A soul-sucking Mummy stalks Elvis and John F. Kennedy. Joe Bob Briggs has a moral dilemma: If your girlfriend turns zombie on you, what do you do? And that’s the tame stuff. In this red-hot collection from world-champion Mojo storyteller Joe R. Lansdale, you’ll find his best, most outrageous stories. The high priest of Texan weirdness does it all: horror, mystery, satire, suspense, and even Westerns. Prepare to be offended, shocked, and cackling like a crazed redneck. Featuring five Bram Stoker Award–winning stories, this career retrospective contains some of Lansdale’s rarer work, his nonfiction forays into drive-in theaters and B-movies, and the novella Bubba Ho-Tep, later made into a cult-classic major motion picture. Come on in—the weirdness is fine.

While I Was Gone

While I Was Gone
Author: Sue Miller
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2002-11-26
Genre: English fiction
ISBN: 0345420748

The "New York Times" bestseller called "quietly gripping" by "USA Today" demonstrates how impulses can fracture even the most stable family. Despite her loving family and beautiful home, Jo Becker is restless. Then an old roommate reappears, bringing back Jo's memories of her early 20s. Jo's obsession with that period in her life--and the crime that ended it--draws her back to a horrible secret.

Outside the Lines

Outside the Lines
Author: Amy Hatvany
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2012-02-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1451640552

A gripping novel about a woman who sets out to find the father who left her years ago, and ends up discovering herself. When Eden was ten years old she found her father, David, bleeding on the bathroom floor. The suicide attempt led to her parents’ divorce, and David all but vanished from Eden’s life. Twenty years later, Eden runs a successful catering company and dreams of opening a restaurant. Since childhood, she has heard from her father only rarely, just enough to know that he’s been living on the streets and struggling with mental illness. But lately there has been no word at all. After a series of failed romantic relationships and a health scare from her mother, Eden decides it’s time to find her father, to forgive him at last, and move forward with her own life. Her search takes her to a downtown Seattle homeless shelter, and to Jack Baker, its handsome and charming director. Jack convinces Eden to volunteer her skills as a professional chef with the shelter. In return, he helps her in her quest. As the connection between Eden and Jack grows stronger, and their investigation brings them closer to David, Eden must come to terms with her true emotions, the secrets her mother has kept from her, and the painful question of whether her father, after all these years, even wants to be found. The result is an emotionally rich and honest novel about making peace with the past—and embracing the future.

Dark Corner

Dark Corner
Author: Brandon Massey
Publisher: Dark Corner Publishing
Total Pages: 509
Release: 2017-04-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0991339622

From Brandon Massey, award-winning author of Thunderland, comes a terrifying new novel about a town besieged by evil . . . and the one man who is determined to fight the darkness . . . When renowned author Richard Hunter dies in a boating accident, his son David travels to Mason's Corner, Mississippi, to find out more about the father he never really knew. At first, Mason's Corner seems friendly and unassuming-–the perfect small town. But after a newcomer moves into the old-–and supposedly haunted-–mansion on the hill, everything changes . . . People begin to disappear. Dogs viciously attack. And soon David discovers that the terror consuming this place has its roots in his own family tree . . . For something has risen in Mason's Corner. Something with bloody ties to the town's past. Something undead--and hungering for vengeance . . .

Draw the Line

Draw the Line
Author: Laurent Linn
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2016-05-17
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1481452827

After a hate crime occurs in his small Texas town, Adrian Piper must discover his own power, decide how to use it, and know where to draw the line in this “powerful debut” novel (Publishers Weekly, starred review) exquisitely illustrated by the author. Adrian Piper is used to blending into the background. He may be a talented artist, a sci-fi geek, and gay, but at his Texas high school those traits would only bring him the worst kind of attention. In fact, the only place he feels free to express himself is at his drawing table, crafting a secret world through his own Renaissance-art-inspired superhero, Graphite. But in real life, when a shocking hate crime flips his world upside down, Adrian must decide what kind of person he wants to be. Maybe it’s time to not be so invisible after all—no matter how dangerous the risk.