Desperate Asylum

A walk on the wild side! In this series of collections of gritty Noir and Hardboiled stories, you’ll find some of the best writers of the craft writing in their prime.

Welcome to The Seventh Ghost Story MEGAPACK®! Once more we have a wide-ranging assortment of supernatural fiction, with setting across the world — Europe, the Americas, Asia — and across the centuries. You will note that we have a larger than normal number of "Anonymous" stories. No, the authors weren't embarrassed by their contributions. Victorian-era literary magazines and newspapers often ran fiction without crediting the author, or with only vague terms like "A Lady," initials, or humorous pseudonyms (as with the story by "Q.E.D." in this volume). Authors later collected their stories in books, and that's when readers discovered who had actually written what. If a story never got reprinted, its author remained a mystery. Modern scholars are still researching these anonymous stories, but many authors will never be properly identified.

Beginning in the 1950s, Flora wrote a string of 20 great novels — mysteries, suspense, plus three pseudonymously as “Ellery Queen.” He also published more than 160 short stories in the top mystery magazines. In his day, he was among the top of his field. This volume collects 26 of his classic mystery and crime tales for your reading pleasure.

Lysistrata paced restlessly in the garden, nervously plucking at leaves. It had been seven months since she had seen her husband, Lycon — since he had left her to go off to war.

Seven months of lonely days and empty nights — of aching heart and throbbing loins. Seven months of longing.

But now a strange smile played around her lips.

Tonight he was coming home—

This anthology features some of the most famous authors writing at the peak of their careers!

Книга продолжает серию, открывшуюся сборником «Истории, рассказанные шепотом». Включенные в нее новеллы, принадлежащие к разным жанрам, объединяет одно: в основе фабулы каждой из них лежит загадка, которую необходимо разгадать. Попробуйте сделать это, не дожидаясь разъяснений автора.

Skimmer was the hotshot — handsome, smart, arrogant... He had everything: personality, looks, women. He was ready for success — regardless of the cost... And then he met a girl and a gangster — and something went wrong... Hotshot is Skimmer’s story — a unique candid portrait, not of the knife-wielding delinquents who capture headlines, but of today’s troubled youth as they really are. The unforgettable story of a generation battling to find its way in a world it never made.