A Stranger Came To Town

ANTHONY AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST ANTHOLOGY Including NYT bestselling author Michael Connelly’s story “Avalon,” soon to be adapted for television by David E. Kelley. "The very best of what crime fiction should deliver." -New York Journal of Books The latest Mystery Writers of America story collection, featuring surprising, page-turning twists on the genre from some of the top bestsellers and award winners in crime fiction It’s been said that all great literature boils down to one of two stories—a man takes a journey, or a stranger comes to town. While mystery writers have been successfully using both approaches for generations, there’s something undeniably alluring in the nature of a stranger: the uninvited guest, the unacquainted neighbor, the fish out of water. 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 the newest collection of stories by the Mystery Writers of America, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst, featuring stories by prolific mystery writers such as Michael Connelly, Dean Koontz and Joe Hill.

Patrick William Graham Jr. was destined to be small of stature, but that didn't mean he was short on courage. He grew up with a Cherokee tribe and became blood brother to the chief's son, Leaping Wolf. One of Pat's first toys was a hand-carved wooden pistol; when his draw was faster than his father's, he was given a working gun. When tragedy strikes, leaving Pat's father dead and his mother remarried to a man Pat despises, he leaves his tribal home. Out in the world, his small frame makes him an easy target for bullies, predators, and petty men with something to prove. After he kills a man who was riding him for being small, Pat's life changes in ways he can't control. He sells his skills as a gunman. In Mexico, he protects a silver mine from banditos and then helps them to improve their operation. One fateful day, however, on a job rustling cattle, he finds God and a better way to live. Pat is soon welcomed as the youngest Arizona Territorial Ranger, and he puts his skills and talents to the Lord's work. He prevents war with the Indians seven times. But his life isn't all heroics and escapades. Along the way, he also finds a bride, buys a ranch, and works with a family named Earp. Inspired by the stories told to him by his Texas rancher father, songs, and classic Western tales, A Stranger Came to Town is Nolan Fondren's love song to a long-lost time and place.

In the next riveting thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, the paranoia increases – along with the stakes – as the town of Rockton tries to solve the latest mystery at their door. Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it’s the natural flux of things, but Casey’s not so sure. It seems like something bigger is happening in the small town they call home. When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, someone who seems to have come to the Yukon for a wilderness vacation but instead is now fighting for her life, it’s all hands on deck. What – or who – attacked this woman, and why? With the woman unconscious, and no leads, Casey and Eric don’t know where the threat is coming from. Plus, the residents of their deeply secretive town are uneasy with this stranger in their midst. Everyone in Rockton wants this mystery solved – and fast.

A boy tries to help a hungry polar bear stranded in his island village but needs his grandpa's help to get the bear home.

When an old friend asked him to write a weekly dispatch from New Hampshire for the Mail on Sunday's Night and Day magazine, Bill Bryson firmly turned him down. So firm was he, in fact, that gathered here are nineteen months' worth of his popular columns about the strangest of phenomena -- the American way of life.Whether discussing the dazzling efficiency of the garbage disposal unit, the mind-boggling plethora of methods by which to shop, the exoticism of having your groceries bagged for you, or the jaw-slackening direness of American TV, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on the world's richest and craziest country.

America’s greatest western storytellers continue the explosive new legend of Will Tanner, a U.S. deputy marshal who deals in red-hot lead. The train grinds to a halt somewhere in the Creek Nation, and the bandits get onboard. They take everything on the train worth stealing and gun down a guard to make their escape—just another notch on the belt for Ben Trout and Zack Larsen, two of the most savage killers in the west. U.S. Deputy Marshal Ed Pine follows them to Muskogee. There the trail runs cold, and Ed Pine disappears. To save his friend, Deputy Will Tanner rides for Muskogee, where justice extends only as far as the range of a Colt .45. Tanner earned his badge in a blistering gunfight, when he got the drop on a trio of killers and saved the life of another fellow marshal. Now, he’ll have to be just as quick—and just as deadly. To bring in Trout and Larsen, Tanner must set his badge aside, and resort to the law of the gun. Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone “For most fans of the Western genre, there isn’t a bet much surer than a book bearing the name Johnstone.”—True West “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”—Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action as this old-time hero proves again that a steady eye and quick reflexes are the keys to survival on the Western frontier.”—Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown

This rerelease of the first Palisades romance by Karen Ball tells the story of a young widow who learns to love again. Taylor Sorensen has a secret: there are wolves on her ranch. Taylor's new ranch hand, Connor Alexander, has a secret, too: he's a wildlife biologist who's been sent to find out if, after sixty years, wolves have returned to Wyoming. Caught in a fierce battle against angry ranchers and centuries of superstition, Taylor and Connor are drawn together by their desire to protect these wild, majestic animals. What they don't know is that there's someone else out there who hates the wolves -- someone who's as determined to get rid of them as Taylor and Connor are to protect them.

The lawless days Old West lasted only a short time, but the stories of its outlaws and the havoc they wreaked are legendary. Tough Towns reveals the small American towns that fought back when criminal gangs invaded their quiet streets, making heroes of ordinary citizens and local lawmen who wouldn't be pushed around by armed hoodlums.

This edition in the Slow Travels series is an update of our California guide, now combined with Nevada into one. Much of the text is edited from the American Guide Series of the 1930’s and 40’s, with updated historical information, improved directions, and material from additional sources. All locations have been verified using GPS coordinates, as well as from satellite imagery and first hand knowledge. The California section explores current U.S. 50 and 395, as well as the former routes of U.S. 40, 60, and 99 which are no longer designated as such. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego are explored along these routes. The Nevada section follows U.S. Highways 6 and 50 east to west across the state, and U.S. 93 and 95 north to south. In addition, the former route of U.S. 40 is retraced along the Humboldt River, the route of emigrants along the California Trail from Utah and Idaho.All routes include reference maps and GPS coordinates for all listed sites.