Robert Swartwood

When eighteen-year-old Christopher Myers' parents are murdered, something is written on his bedroom door, a mark in his parents' blood that convinces the police the killer has targeted Christopher as the next victim. To keep him safe, he travels away with his estranged grandmother and uncle to the small town of Bridgton, New York. And it's in Bridgton that he meets an extraordinary young man who has come with his father to stop an unrelenting evil. Soon Christopher learns of the town's deep dark secret, and how his parents' murder was no accident, and how he has been brought to Bridgton by forces beyond his power—forces that just may threaten the destruction of all mankind.Advance Praise for THE CALLING:“THE CALLING is a powerful, gripping and terrifying novel, the sort that possesses your whole life while you're reading it; it'll stalk you through the day, and inform your dreams. Swartwood has delivered a novel that will become a classic.”— Tim Lebbon“Robert Swartwood's THE CALLING is a diabolical rocket sled of a psychological thriller. Told through the vivid, almost druggy point of view of a young man on the edge, tangled in a web of tragedy and surreal horror, Swartwood's novel gets under the skin and stays there. Highly recommended.”— Jay Bonansinga

The Calling

Five years ago Elizabeth Piccioni's husband was arrested for being a serial killer. Her life suddenly turned upside down, she did what she thought was best for her newborn baby: she took her son and ran away to start a new life. Now, living in a quiet part of the Midwest with a new identity, Elizabeth is ready to start over. But one day she receives a phone call from a person calling himself Cain. Cain somehow knows about her past life. He has abducted her son, and if Elizabeth wants to save him she must retrieve her husband's trophies -- the fingers he cut off each of his victims. With a deadline of one hundred hours, Elizabeth has no choice but to return to the life she once fled, where she will soon realize that everything she thought she knew is a lie, and what¿s more shocking than Cain's identity is the truth about her husband.

The Serial Killer's Wife

A mysterious man appears in town ... a man only children can see. A young boy's heart does not beat ... just like everyone else's in the world. A group of teenagers find an old woman in a cavern ... and a tunnel that leads to another dimension. Two boys on the run from an abusive father stumble across an empty farmhouse ... a farmhouse haunted by more than just memories. As Robert Swartwood proves in his first full-length collection, illusions are all around us. Some are real. Some are terrifying.

Stories

Real Illusions

Meet Holly Lin. Nanny by day. Assassin by night. Holly Lin is living two lives. To her friends and family, she's a pleasant, hardworking nanny. To her boss and colleagues, she's one of the best non-sanctioned government assassins in the world. But when a recent mission goes wrong causing one of her team members to die, she realizes she might no longer be cut out for the work — except the mission, as it turns out, is only half over, and to complete it will take her halfway across the world and bring her face to face with a ghost from her past. Things are about to get personal. And as Holly Lin's enemies are about to find out, she is not a nanny they want to piss off. Praise for No Shelter: "Excellent — memorable and something I'll read more than once." —Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of An Untamed State "No Shelter is part mystery, part thriller suspense, and all kinds kick ass!" —The Man Eating Bookworm

A Holly Lin Novel

No Shelter

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood comes the exciting first book in the Man of Wax Trilogy ... Ben Anderson goes to bed Sunday night, lying next to his wife in the comfort and safety of their Pennsylvania family home, to wake up the next day in a rundown motel in California — alone. He doesn't know how he got there, he doesn't know where his family is, and written in dried blood on the bathroom door are the words LET THE GAME BEGIN. Soon Ben is contacted by Simon. Simon knows all there is to know about Ben, more than he cares to remember himself. If Ben wants to save himself and his family, he will have to do everything Simon says. As the game begins — with stakes much higher than either man can imagine — no one knows where it will lead or how it will end. Only one thing is for certain: this time the game will change everything. Man of Wax is the first book in a thriller trilogy where everyday men and women must fight a power that threatens to destroy the world. Recommended for fans of Harlan Coben, Michael Marshall, and Dean Koontz. Praise for Man of Wax: "Man of Wax grabs you by the throat in the first chapter and never lets go. A suspense-filled thrill ride with plenty of shocks along the way. Read it!" —F. Paul Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of the Repairman Jack novels "One of the best 'scary' stories I have read this year ... great job, I loved it." —The Parents Little Black Book of Books

Man of Wax Trilogy

Man of Wax

Very short stories of twenty-five words or less appear in this collection from authors including Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, and Ha Jin and run the gamut from playful to tragic and conservative to experimental.

Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words Or Fewer

Killing Room

David B. Silva

Things are bad for Clay Miller and George Hitchens. For starters, they're on the run from a posse out for blood. Then, as they ride through the Utah desert, the two come across the crumpled body of a young boy on the brink of death. The boy can't speak, but it's clear he's frightened of something nearby. When asked what's got him so scared, the terrified boy writes three letters in the dirt ... DED By nightfall, Clay and George are tied up in jail. They can't move. They can't speak. They can do nothing but listen to the boy, outside, screaming for his life. Yes, things are bad for Clay and George. And they're only going to get worse.

Walk the Sky

Nomad

In a not-so-distant future, the world has devolved and most of the population has become the animated dead. Those few that are living are called zombies. They are feared and must be hunted down and destroyed.Conrad is one of the animated dead. A devoted husband, a loving father, he is the best zombie Hunter in the world. But when he hesitates one night in killing a living adult, his job is put in jeopardy. Instead of being outright dismissed, he is transferred to a program so secretive even the Government would deny its existence — and where Conrad soon learns a startling truth about how his own son might be in danger of becoming a zombie.As living extremists become more emboldened and blow up a Hunter Headquarters, as a power-hungry Hunter becomes more enraged and will stop at nothing to gain absolute power, Conrad begins to question not just his profession, but his own existence. And before he knows it he is on a journey of self-discovery, remembering a past he was forced to forget, and soon finding himself not only a hunted man, but a man who must now save both his son and the entire world.Praise for THE DISHONORED DEAD: “THE DISHONORED DEAD is simply brilliant, and its telling a superb achievement. Robert Swartwood has given us a wonderful twist, not only on the zombie novel, but on the dystopian tale as well. It's like BRAVE NEW WORLD meets LOGAN'S RUN, but with a bite all its own. Strongly recommended!”— Joe McKinney, author of APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD and FLESH EATERS “THE DISHONORED DEAD is one of the most original and gripping zombie novels I have ever read, offering a glimpse into the life of a zombie in a world turned backwards, where zombies live and humans are feared. Highly recommended!”— Jeremy Robinson, author of INSTINCT and THRESHOLD

A Zombie Novel

The Dishonored Dead

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood, a heart-pounding conspiracy thriller of riveting mystery and suspense. A message courier pushed into the path of a train. A young woman commits a terrible act of violence. A family man puts a gun to his head. John Smith suspects these aren't random events — someone engineered them. But who — or what? And why is John Smith their next target? PRAISE FOR LEGION AND ROBERT SWARTWOOD "Legion is an excellent thriller that does what most thrillers set out to do. Keep the readers hooked with a fast paced story, sprinkled heavily with jaw-dropping twists that end on a climax, which will leave the readers wanting more." —Fantasy Book Critic "Robert Swartwood is the next F. Paul Wilson — if F. Paul Wilson's DNA was spliced with Michael Marshall Smith. If you haven't yet read Swartwood, you're missing out." —Brian Keene "Robert Swartwood is a sharp writer, his prose lean and mean as a razor blade. He notches up the tension from chapter to chapter like a master story-teller, keeping you reading long into the night." —The Man Eating Bookworm

Prequel to the Man of Wax Trilogy

Legion

"Two dangerous criminals have escaped from maximum-security prison. Taken as their hostage, Ashley has to play their game if she wants to save her family--and herself. But they've underestimated Ashley. She'll do anything to survive."--Back cover.

Abducted

Nova Bartkowski is back in a brand-new page-turning thriller from USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood. Remington, Montana. A small town in the middle of nowhere. A town, like any town, that has its secrets. Nova Bartkowski has come to Remington to confront his father. The man who walked out on Nova and Nova’s dying mother so many years ago. But before he gets the chance, Nova stops two men in the process of attacking his father … but not before one of those men knocks Nova’s father unconscious, putting him in the hospital. Suddenly, all eyes are on Nova. A target is on his back, and it’s not clear why. But the more Nova digs into Remington’s dark secrets, the more he begins to realize he’s stumbled onto a deadly conspiracy — one that he may not be able to survive.

A Nova Bartkowski Novel

Bullet Country

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood comes a post-apocalyptic thriller like you've never seen before.In a dystopian future where the animated dead reign, the few remaining living are feared and pursued. Conrad is a Hunter. He's one of the best. But when he hesitates one night in killing a living child, he soon finds himself in a desperate fight to save his son - and the entire world.

Land of the Dead

The first three thrillers in the best-selling Holly Lin series: No Shelter, The Devil You Know, Hollow Point. “Excellent—memorable and something I’ll read more than once.” —Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of An Untamed State on No Shelter NO SHELTER Holly Lin is living two lives. To her friends and family, she’s a pleasant, hardworking nanny. To her boss and colleagues, she’s one of the best non-sanctioned government assassins in the world. But when a recent mission goes wrong causing one of her team members to die, Holly realizes she might no longer be cut out for the work — except the mission, as it turns out, is only half over, and to complete it will take her halfway across the world and bring her face to face with a ghost from her past. Things are about to get personal. And as Holly Lin’s enemies are about to find out, she is not a nanny they want to piss off. THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Javier Diaz is dead. Holly Lin knows this because she killed Javier and his men. Now, to protect her family, Holly must travel to Mexico to take out Javier's father before he learns about the death of his son. It should be a simple mission, but nothing is ever simple for Holly Lin. The plan is to take out everybody in the Diaz compound — until she encounters a woman and two children hiding inside. Suddenly, the night is only beginning. And by the end, Holly will come face to face with a new kind of evil — one that she will have no choice but to defeat. HOLLOW POINT Holly Lin has a new life. A new identity. It's been almost a year since she walked away from being a non-sanctioned government assassin. She now lives in a small Texan town, spending her nights as a bartender, her days shelving books at the local library. But it all changes one night when she's approached by a woman covered in blood — a woman holding a baby. Within minutes, the baby has been placed in Holly's arms and the woman is dead, killed by two men. Soon Holly Lin will learn a hard truth: the world she walked away from hasn't forgotten her. And it will do whatever it takes to get her back.

The Holly Lin Series: Books 1-3

The Debt You Pay

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood, a collection of six breathtaking thrillers. Included are the USA Today bestseller The Serial Killer’s Wife, No Shelter, Bullet Rain, Legion, Man of Wax, and The Inner Circle.

Full Throttle: Six Thrillers

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood, the first two books in the Holly Lin series bundled together for the very first time! NO SHELTER Holly Lin is living two lives. To her friends and family, she's a pleasant, hardworking nanny. To her boss and colleagues, she's one of the best non-sanctioned government assassins in the world. But when a recent mission goes wrong causing one of her team members to die, she realizes she might no longer be cut out for the work — except the mission, as it turns out, is only half over, and to complete it will take her halfway across the world and bring her face to face with a ghost from her past. Things are about to get personal. And as Holly Lin's enemies are about to find out, she is not a nanny they want to piss off. BULLET RAIN Nova is a free man. Having just walked away as a non-sanctioned hit man for the U.S. government, he's purchased a classic Mustang to drive across the country. But when his car breaks down in the middle of the Nevada desert, Nova ends up in the small town of Parrot Spur. There's something strange about Parrot Spur. Something ... off. Maybe it's the fact the town is full of ex-servicemen. Maybe it's the fact the abandoned mine might not be abandoned. Maybe it’s the fact the knockout brunette in the bar is clearly more than what she seems. In the end, none of it matters. What matters — and what Nova is soon going to learn — is that in the desert, the only thing that rains is bullets.

Robert Swartwood

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