The Best Bad Things

“A brazen, brawny, sexy standout of a historical thrill ride, The Best Bad Things is full of unforgettable characters and insatiable appetites. I was riveted. Painstakingly researched and pulsing with adrenaline, Carrasco’s debut will leave you thirsty for more.” —Lyndsay Faye, author of The Gods of Gotham A vivid, sexy barn burner of a historical crime novel, The Best Bad Things introduces readers to the fiery Alma Rosales—detective, smuggler, spy It is 1887, and Alma Rosales is on the hunt for stolen opium. Trained in espionage by the Pinkerton Detective Agency—but dismissed for bad behavior and a penchant for going undercover as a man—Alma now works for Delphine Beaumond, the seductive mastermind of a West Coast smuggling ring. When product goes missing at their Washington Territory outpost, Alma is tasked with tracking the thief and recovering the drugs. In disguise as the scrappy dockworker Jack Camp, this should be easy—once she muscles her way into the local organization, wins the trust of the magnetic local boss and his boys, discovers the turncoat, and keeps them all from uncovering her secrets. All this, while sending coded dispatches to the circling Pinkerton agents to keep them from closing in. Alma’s enjoying her dangerous game of shifting identities and double crosses as she fights for a promotion and an invitation back into Delphine’s bed. But it’s getting harder and harder to keep her cover stories straight and to know whom to trust. One wrong move and she could be unmasked: as a woman, as a traitor, or as a spy. A propulsive, sensual tour de force, The Best Bad Things introduces Katrina Carrasco, a bold new voice in crime fiction.

Offers an inspirational and compassionate approach to understanding the problems of life, and argues that we should continue to believe in God's fairness.

A gripping novel about a man trying to escape his violent past and soon becomes a murder suspect when a publisher—and the husband of the woman he's having an affair with—turns up dead. The man who calls himself David Loogan is hoping to escape a violent past by living a quiet, anonymous life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But when he's hired as an editor at a mystery magazine, he is drawn into an affair with the sleek blond wife of the publisher, Tom Kristoll—a man who soon turns up dead. Elizabeth Waishkey is the most talented detective in the Ann Arbor Police Department, but even she doesn't know if Loogan is a killer or an ally who might help her find the truth. As more deaths start mounting up—some of them echoing stories published in the magazine—it's up to Elizabeth to solve both the murders and the mystery of Loogan himself. "Witty, sophisticated, suspenseful and endless fun...the best first novel I've read this year." —Washington Post "A hypnotically readable novel, with...dialog worthy of Elmore Leonard."—Douglas Preston "Fans of Peter Abrahams and Scott Turow will find a lot to like."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Reprinted Edition The Piper clan emigrated from Scotland and founded the town of Santo Verde, California. The Gothic Victorian estate built there has housed the family for generations, and has also become home to an ancient evil forever linked to the Piper name. . . As a boy, Rick Piper discovered he had "the sight." It was supposed to be a family myth, but Rick could see the greenjacks--the tiny mischievous demons who taunted him throughout his childhood--and who stole the soul of his twin brother Robin one Halloween night. Now a widower with two children of his own, Rick has returned home to build a new life. He wants to believe the greenjacks don't exist, that they were a figment of his own childish fears and the vicious torment he suffered at the hands of his brother. But he can still see and hear them, and they haven't forgotten that Rick escaped them so long ago. And this time, they don't just want Rick. This time they want his children. . .

Danika hasn't had an easy life. Being insanely attracted to bad boys has never helped make it easier. One look at Tristan, and every brain cell she possessed went up in smoke. This man was trouble with a capital T. It was a given. She knew better. Bad boys were bad. Especially for her. Considering her history, it was crazy to think otherwise. So why did crazy have to feel so damn fine? For as long as she could remember, Danika had been focused on the future with single-minded purpose. Tristan came along and taught her everything there was to know about letting go, and living in the present. She fell, hard, and deep. Of course, that only made her impact with the ground that much more devastating. Bad Things is about Tristan and Danika, and their train wreck of a love story. This series can be read as a standalone, or with the Up in the Air trilogy. This book is intended for ages 18 and up.

One kid's trash is another kid's terror in this spooky supernatural mystery. When Cassidy Bean leaves New York to spend the summer upstate, she's disappointed to find that Whitechapel is not the quiet, pleasant suburb she remembers. Ursula Chambers, the strange old hermit at the end of the cul-de-sac, has passed away under mysterious circumstances. And the townspeople are shocked to discover that Ursula was a hoarder: Her farmhouse is teeming with stacks of newspapers, piles of furniture, mounds of antique dolls and taxidermy animals.Cassidy watches as the people of Whitechapel descend upon Ursula's farmhouse, claiming her abandoned treasures for their own. She listens as rumors spread that Ursula's vengeful ghost is stalking the town with a warning from beyond the grave. And when Cassidy resolves to uncover the truth behind the strangeness, she learns there are more bad things in the world than she ever suspected. . . .Modern master of the macabre Dan Poblocki is back with another scary story best read at night.

"Wonder Twins" on the run--and running amok--in Vegas. Road Trip!Paisley and Beau are boldface names again. Last time, paparazzi called them the "Wonder Twins," two kids found alone but alive in the woods of exotic New Jersey. Three days after their mom's death -- and before their dad's criminal misdeeds. Flash-forward to now: Their so-called lives? Suck out loud: Hating on their cougarized, Botoxic grandma, they're totally clueless about the location of ex-con Daddy. Till they discover a stash of old letters. That's when they decide to jack the Pontiac and hit the road. Holding up donut shops in Sin City might seem extreme, but if they can just get their pretty bad faces back on TV -- or TMZ -- they might wrap up their whole gaga saga with an Oprah-worthy reunion already!

Some mistakes you have to live with . . . One victim succumbs to an overdose. Another is brutally bludgeoned to death. Each, in turn, will pay. Because you never forget the friends you make in high school—or the enemies . . . And others . . . In the wake of her stepbrother Nick’s death, Kerry Monaghan is visiting Edwards Bay. Kerry has just returned to the small town overlooking an arm of Puget Sound that she left before high school, though not before falling hard and fast for Cole Sheffield, now with the local PD. But Nick’s death may be more than an accident. And soon there are others—all former teenage friends, linked by a dark obsession. You will die for . . . With Cole’s help, Kerry sets out to learn the truth about what happened to Nick. But within Edwards Bay is a shocking legacy built on envy and lust—and a secret that has unleashed a killer’s unstoppable fury . . .

Bad Things Can ́t Stop the Best Things is a read-aloud story of hope and encouragement to children who have been abused. In simple words and engaging pictures, Bad Things Can ́t Stop the Best Things recognizes the plight of children who are caught in abuse and celebrates the heroic courage of these children to heal. The healing words in this book, although written for a child ́s understanding, speak into the hearts of adult survivors also. To be cherished, valued, understood and believed are no small things. Bad Things Can ́t Stop the Best Things speaks of HEROES (those who have been abused, girls or boys), TRICKSTERS (those who use tricks and lies to hurt a child) and RESCUERS (those who sense danger and are standing by to help). HEROES are children of promise. The HERO MESSAGE if one of hope, strength and restoration.

From the author of Cottonmouths, a Los Angeles Review Best Book of 2017, comes an evocative suspense about the cost of keeping secrets and the dangers of coming home. Beneath the roiling waters of the Arkansas River lie dead men and buried secrets. When Jane Mooney's violent stepfather, Warren, disappeared, most folks in Maud Bottoms, Arkansas, assumed he got drunk and drowned. After all, the river had claimed its share over the years. When Jane confessed to his murder, she should have gone to jail. That's what she wanted. But without a body, the police didn't charge her with the crime. So Jane left for Boston--and took her secrets with her. Twenty-five years later, the river floods and a body surfaces. Talk of Warren's murder grips the town. Now in her forties, Jane returns to Maud Bottoms to reckon with her past: to do jail time, to face her revenge-bent mother, to make things right. But though Jane's homecoming may enlighten some, it could threaten others. Because in this desolate river valley, some secrets are better left undisturbed.