Magic. It can get a guy killed. Return to the world of the Dresden Files with Harry Dresden (the only wizard in the Chicago phone book) and friends as they solve supernatural mysteries, protect the helpless, and fight evil.Brief Cases is a new collection of Dresden Files stories which will include an original novella, from international bestseller Jim Butcher.Stories included in this collection: 'Curses', 'AAAA Wizardry', 'Even Hand', 'B is for Bigfoot', 'I was a Teenage Bigfoot', 'Bigfoot on Campus', 'Bombshells', 'Jury Duty', 'Cold Case', 'Day One', 'A Fistful of Warlocks', 'Zoo Day' (original novella taking place between Skin Game and Peace Talks)

Playing fast and loose with the Order’s rules has finally caught up with me.Sentenced to hunt down a cagey insurgent known as the Death Mage, I’m not feeling overly optimistic. Wizards with far more experience have tried and, well … died.But overmatched or not, I want this assignment. The Death Mage killed my mother—he might also be my father.I need to play it smart, though. The mage wields an evil, mind-warping magic. A power that undermines his victims’ sanity while pledging their souls to an ancient being and devourer of worlds.How would I even know if that magic was corrupting me?Or is it already?

Piper Jones can't catch a break. After a lifetime of animosity and indifference from the supernatural community, she thought she'd finally found a home with the vampire king’s enforcers. Then the dark and mysterious Merc walks into her life, and it takes a disastrous turn for the worse. Now under attack by enemies both known and unknown, Piper has little choice but to flee her refuge—and start over in a place few vampires ever go. Rural Alaska seemed to fit the bill, except for Knox and his crew of werewolves. The pack shares a connection with Piper that few of them can explain, and none of them can escape. With time running out for answers, Piper must fight the demons of her past to ensure her future—or die trying. **

How deep is a mother’s love? Will determination and honor carry you among the stars? A story of loss and discovery, We Are Not Prey, balances the darkness of despair and the joy of new beginnings. This science fiction adventure blends magic and technology with the adventures of Ruth, a normal human, pushed into extraordinary situations. Ruth’s transformation takes her from Earth to worlds and situations of which she never dreamed.

Almost everyone remembers their first love. And so, we take a peek back at the D'Artigo sisters' first loves in three short stories. Because long before Smoky, Morio, and Trillian came into her life, Camille's heart belonged to her cousin Shamas. And before Shade, Delilah was learning what love meant from her all-too human detective. And Menolly wasn't always a vampire...at one time, she had dreams of creating a family with a man who taught her to respect herself and never settle for anyone who tore her down. Forbidden Love: Camille and Shamas secretly plan their future together, until his envy over her connection to the Moon Mother, and an attempt at an arranged marriage get in the way. Im-Purrfect Match: Delilah never expected to fall for Chase Johnson. But one night, while searching for information on a man named Tom Lane, the werecat and the detective discover an unexpected attraction. Shadows of Love: Menolly wasn't always a vampire. And once, long ago in Otherworld, a gentleman farmer taught her that she should never settle in matters of the heart.

Jagger Sintallon, a half-demon warrior, has dedicated his existence to fighting demons who enter the world through Hell gates. A loner of conflicting ideals, he offers shelter to a troubled woman but knows he is too rough, too dangerous, and too cocky for her delicate nature. Dedicated to Divine Will, Sonya Camael, a Seraph, is determined to discover why she is drawn to Jagger's doorstep and the reason behind her mission. She needs the demon's help but fears he may get himself killed before she can figure it out and the world slips into Hell's dominion. Sonya faces grave danger with evil stalking her every move, and Jagger shouldn't care but realizes he cares more than he'd likely admit. Sonya knows Jagger cannot win this war alone, but will her divine intervention mean his imminent end? Or will just the right combination of Heaven and Hell set the world right once again?

On the run from a killer, Kay Young depended on the stranger who rescued her one snowy night. Though a lifetime of hurt had made her wary of men, Clint Ardmore was different. He offered her shelter, protection...and the chance to discover true passion. A soldier-turned-writer, Clint craved the privacy of his secluded ranch, where he could be alone with the gruesome memories of combat. But once he let Kay into his home, he let her into his heart. When the danger shadowing her closed in, he knew that there was only one way to ensure Kay's safety...and stop a killer's obsession.

In this dark and gritty collection—featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman—nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil.. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s *Cold Case*, Molly Carpenter—Harry Dresden’s apprentice-turned-Winter Lady—must collect a tribute from a remote Fae colony and discovers that even if you’re a good girl, sometimes you have to be bad... New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s Sleepover finds half-succubus Elsie Harrington kidnapped by a group of desperate teenage boys. Not for anything “weird.” They just need her to rescue a little girl from the boogeyman. No biggie. In New York Times bestselling Kevin J. Anderson’s Eye of Newt, Zombie P.I. Dan Shamble’s latest client is a panicky lizard missing an eye who thinks someone wants him dead. But the truth is that someone only wants him for a very special dinner... And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman’s infernally heroic Caliban Leandros takes a trip down memory lane as he deals wih some overdue—and nightmarish—vengeance involving some quite nasty Impossible Monsters. ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY Tanya Huff • Kat Richardson • Jim C. Hines • Anton Strout • Lucy A. Snyder • Kristine Kathryn Rusch • Erik Scott de Bie * Advertising Read More

TWO SEEMINGLY UNRELATED MURDERS PUT TAMPA HOMICIDE DETECTIVE KAREN SWEENEY IN THE CROSSHAIRS... Both victims were women - but what could connect an elderly nanny and a young exotic dancer? As Karen discovers, the answer is Senator Grant Lawrence, presidential contender...and a man with secrets. As she is drawn deeper into a world of lies and hidden motives, the one person Karen is half ready to trust is the senator himself, a man torn by grief and guilt, trying to protect his children. Could he have committed such crimes? And if not, then someone is trying to ruin him, and everyone around him is at risk - his children...and even Karen herself.

Love comes with a price – especially among the undead. Sunny Martin is on the run from a monster—the monster within herself. Since the night she was drained of her blood and left to die, she has lived alone and in fear of the beast and its violent urges, always on the move. When a tumultuous affair with the mysterious leader of The Chosen ends in betrayal and murder, Sunny finds herself on the run once again. Heartbroken, she struggles with her desire to return to Nicolas, only to realize that sometimes you can never go back. In the ensuing days, Sunny must face the death of someone she loves, and face the love of someone she fears—an outlaw Chosen even more dangerous than the one who broke her heart.