When supermarket employee Nelson Grant is found bludgeoned to death next to a half empty crate of bananas, the case seems a complete mystery. For Nelson Grant was well liked by his colleagues, so who could possibly want him dead? But then Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team discover that the crate contained more than just bananas and the case suddenly acquires a whole new dimension. This is a mystery novelette of 12300 words or approximately 45 print pages in the Helen Shepherd Mysteries series, but may be read as a standalone.

Macbeth from Ian Wood A novella in horrendous acts Macbeth was Shakespeare's shortest tragedy for a reason! It was appalling! Not only is it historically about as inaccurate as you can get (Macbeth was a real Scots king, but he defeated Duncan in battle, not by murder, and then he ruled for almost two decades before he was also killed in battle), it's also very poorly done. From the insane author of: Asshat's Fables Baker Street Bar Trek Dire Virgins Dune With the Wind It's a Wonderful Lie! Merde on the Prurient Express Misadventures Mindgame Raw Stars Thoracic Pearl Fallen Condom Urinals

Absolutely no one is sorry when the infamous Ruislip Wood Ripper, a serial killer who has already murdered three women, ends up dead in the forest, shot by a hunter while on the cusp of attacking his fourth victim. But there are just a few coincidences too many in this case for the taste of Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd. Was it really just pure luck that hunter Reginald Hargreaves just happened to be in the right place at the right time? And why did no one warn French tourist Anne Marie Sauvage that there was a killer on the loose in Ruislip Woods? This is a crime short of 6200 words or approx. 20 print pages altogether in the Helen Shepherd Mysteries series, but may be read as a standalone.

1936: A madman calling himself the Master of the Air threatens to let death and destruction rain down upon New York City. No one take him seriously, until an airship taxi suddenly explodes the very next day. But was it an accident or sabotage? Police Captain Justin O’Grady and the masked vigilante known as the Silencer both investigate the case. But it’s a race against time, because the Master of the Air has already set his sights on a new target: The Zeppelin Imperator, the largest airship ever built… This is a novelette of 8600 words.

When Edgar Asheford-Browne is found dead in his palatial home, with a hole in his head and a bloody fire poker next to his body, the cause of death seems obvious. Edgar Asheford-Browne was beaten to death. But as Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team begin to unravel the case, it suddenly seems much less clear. For Helen has to deal not only with contradictory evidence, but also with an entire library full of suspects who are all accusing each other. This is a mystery novelette of 10800 words or approximately 38 print pages in the Helen Shepherd Mysteries series, but may be read as a standalone.

When the elderly widow Maureen Pettigrew is found bludgeoned to death on the grave of her late husband, the case seems clear. Maureen is the latest victim of the cemetery mugger who has been terrorising Kensal Green cemetery for several weeks now. However, the only suspect – a young man in jeans and a battered leather jacket – is a phantom no one except the cemetery caretaker has ever seen. Can Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team find the young man in the leather jacket? And does he even exist? This is a novelette of 7700 words or approx. 26 print pages in the Helen Shepherd Mysteries series, but may be read as a standalone.

Before Kurval became King of Azakoria in the year of the forked serpent, he was commander of a mercenary company in service to his predecessor King Orkol. While helping to bring the rebellious northern provinces back under Orkol's heel, Kurval is ordered to hang twelve innocent young women as an example to the rebels. Kurval is disgusted by Orkol's cruelty. But can he find a way to save the twelve young women from the gallows? And dare he defy King Orkol? The new sword and sorcery adventure by two-time Hugo finalist Cora Buhlert and her occasional alter ego, 1930s pulp writer Richard Blakemore. This is a novelette of 14200 words or approx. 50 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.